Vacation, all I ever wanted

We made it, sort of!
We left the house yesterday at nap time (no joy on that, but more to be said in a minute) to drive to the airport. Since we don't exactly live around the corner from the airport, we habitually drive down the night before a flight and stay in one of the hotels there. Miss C was fine for the drive but didn't take more than a 30 minute nap (traffic didn't help much). Once we got to the hotel, she had fun for about an hour then asked to go home. Poor kiddo.
This morning we got up gawd awful early (my fault, I chose the flights) to fly out. Our flight was uneventful, thankfully, but again, Miss C failed to nap and got up 2 hours earlier than normal because of the flight. Ugh. We're at our first stop, we'll see my SIL and the Zoo tomorrow but at present, I am lounging on the couch in our hotel room, hoping Miss C settles down enough to take a nap. Fingers crossed! Photos will be taken and more posts will be made, just wanted to catch everyone up for now!

"Tis the season

'Tis the season to:
Make and ship 10 batches of fudge (a whopping 30 or so pounds worth!)
Appreciate pack and ship from the USPS (11 packages per trip, but not having to deal with long lines at the post office, priceless!)
Write and mail approximately 165 holiday greeting cards (totally worth it though)
Have your hubby sick and pretty much unable to do anything (finally got the right meds so he should, fingers crossed, be on the mend)
Listen to your adorable 2 1/2 year old sing "jingle bells" 10 times in a row (its terribly cute though!)
Make stockings for school
To help your 2 1/2 year old take pictures using your DSi (she loves it, too!)
Have half of your staff on vacation and the other half trying to keep up with increasing taskers
Try to stay on track getting your department ready for a huge inspection after the holidays
Figure out how to handle flying back from vacation with your 2 1/2 year old after your hubby has to fly off on another (albeit short) trip (we've flown alone together before, its just going to be, well, challenging is all)
To have one of your people run up to shake your hand, thanking you for the card and recognition of their efforts. (Blew my mind and made my hand hurt less)
Truly, honestly, it is the season.
Happy holidays, everyone!

Yep, still here

Thanksgiving can be a very busy time of year normally, but this year was exceptionally busy.
This past week has run us all a bit ragged. Nothing dramatic or anything like that, just really busy with life. We started out getting the remainder of the items we needed for making Thanksgiving dinner for my folks (2 shifts worth, about 30 people at that point) on Wednesday, followed by DH picking up Auntie J (his sister).
Miss C loves her Auntie J to pieces so she has had a great time since Auntie J's arrival.
Thursday we all spent time at my work getting the meal together and helping serve. Understandably, Miss C got tired about an hour into it, so she left with DH and Auntie J. By the time i got home, they had all gotten a 2 hour nap, lucky dogs! We spent the remainder of the day playing hide and seek and making all sorts of pictures.
Yesterday we avoided the crowds (can't even imagine how Miss C would have handled the crowds that are normally out on Black Friday). We ended up having a nice dinner here at home and playing all day. It was a great time!
Today was adventure day. We went to the "new playground" again and Miss C got to "play baseball", as she refers to the batting cages. She has definitely gotten her swing down! This time we even ventured into the reading area and read a few good kids books they had. They actually have a nice selection considering the general audience of the place. When we got home, it was time for more games and the making some stained glass (we use plastic and markers but the effect is similar) and some paintings. Miss C had pretty much decided that we are making our Christmas cards tomorrow so that will be fun!
In all, a very busy and very fun weekend so far!
I do have one thing on my mind though. We can get Miss C a flu shot on Thursday (the one day they are doing it) but they are currently only offering the H1N1 shot, the regular shot is still for high risk patients only due to the limited number. At this point in the flu season, I am unsure of whether or not to get her a shot. Thoughts anyone?

Where have I been?

Ok, ya'll, I know. Its been absolutely forever since I last posted. I hope you can forgive me. Its been just so darn busy and Miss C was sick for a few days (fever under 101 but you can't send them to school like that, nor do you want to risk it getting worse, ugh).
Even better? Apparently the power supply on my lap top went out and when I decided to use my desk top, yep, problems there too. We have taken quite a few power hits recently due to high winds and my monitor is kaput! So, I am basically computer-less.
How am I making this post? Well, my wonderful hubby, DH, is letting me use his lap top until I can get my stuff working again, thus the delay.
To catch you up, Miss C had a great time dressing up and trick or treating. Since we live in a very spread out "neighborhood" (everyone is on a couple of acres) we decided to go to the "town trick or treating." Basically, all of the merchants on the main street down town give out candy to all of the kids who come by dressed up. Its apparently quite popular. It started at 5pm and ended at 7pm. We got there a little after 5 and it was amazingly packed! Miss C oogled the other people in costumes, laughed at the "silly doggies" with their outfits on and demanded to eat the first lollipop she received. We only stayed there for about 30 minutes because it was so cold and the lines were just that, lines. She is, after all, only 2, and only needs so much junk.
On the way home, looking into the back seat, I saw my childhood before me. A smallish orange pumpkin with a little kid peering inside and trying to pull out the best treats with one hand, the other hand holding on to the pumpkin. We got home and had to deal with the inevitable sadness of putting up the candy and the pumpkin. Miss C was a lot less upset about it than one would imagine once we got her in the tub. What upset her more, however, was my washing the green spray out of her hair!
We are off today and are taking advantage of what little time we get at home together. DH has another, albeit short, trip next week so today we went to the "new playground" (you remember my mentioning the remodeled bowling alley). Instead of bowling, Miss C decided she needed to try to hit balls. The pitching machine was broken but they had tees set up so we decided, what the heck. What do you know? Armed with a little too big helmet and the tiniest bat they had, Miss C showed us she really can hit a ball, over and over again! DH seemed really surprised but nothing Miss C does anymore really surprises me. I can't wait to see what comes next!
Oh, we recently acquired a new pair of rain boots (crocodiles no less!) and Miss C demanded to jump in the mud puddles so here is a video!

Hope you enjoy!

A fun weekend

Although DH is on yet another trip (yea, we all hate them but have to deal with them), Miss C and I have been finding ways to enjoy our time together. This weekend we decided to have a few adventures, some not big adventures, some HUGE!
The not big adventures were stuff like going to the grocery store, which, while an adventure for sure, especially since Miss C decided she was going to push the cart (yep, lots of fun there!), was pretty normal for us. We also went shopping for a new stroller. We have big strollers, you know, jogging strollers and the one you buy when you get the infant car seat, but we needed a stroller that folds up like an umbrella stroller but is big enough for my over 3 foot tall little one to fit in without jamming her back up against the back of it. We had to try out the strollers so that definitely made it an adventure. We also ran into a bunch of folks that I work with who have seen many photos of but had yet to meet Miss C. So, not big adventures but fun.
The HUGE adventures were going to the new playground at the local bowling alley. I know, sounds weird, but the bowling alley got rid of half of its lanes (down to 12 from 24) and added a video game room for older kids, a climbing area for (this is what the sign says, anyway) 3-12 year olds, a kid sized pool table, batting cages, a kid sized Foosball table and a toddler play area. They also added a lending library and a small Internet cafe. Miss C refuses to be told she is too little for anything so we did just about everything. Each time we went (we went twice, after nap both times, I'm not totally crazy!), we started in the toddler area, moved to the climber, decided to bowl (hilarious if you have a 2 year old!) and ended up back in the climber until someone was too tired to move (not just me, either!). It was a lot of fun. Miss C made me promise to bring DH when he gets home. I bet he can't wait either!

Our first haircut!

The difference is only a few inches but... when you consider what she had to do to get the hair cut, I am sure you can appreciate how much of a grown-up moment this was for her.

Before:

After:

Beautiful, if I do say so myself.

What we did this weekend, a nearly all photo essay

Here is our Saturday:

And our Sunday:

I love our weekends together!
So, what did you do?

Imagination explosion

We have found ourselves playing an awful lot of dress up lately. Not only are we emulating animals in both sound and movement, Miss C, in her attempts to grow up a whole lot faster than I want, is now all about dress up. We used to play dress up, it's like that only 100 times more involved. Don't get me wrong, its still a lot of fun! Check these latest shots out:

I know that there are so many more changes to come, but I have to tell you. One of the most wonderful parts of my day is when I get Miss C ready for bed and she still tells me "Sit with me, mama, I need you." I need you too, little one.

An ode to my BFF - Alphagal

A is for alpha, which describes both our personality types and while in most cases it would drive
people apart, I think it helped us become better friends
L is for lovely, which is what you are. You are a truly lovely friend.
P is for punny, which anyone who knows you realizes your ability to make puns out of almost
anything!
H is for healthy, which is what you have to be to run triathlons, crazy!
A is for amazing, enough said!
G is for genius, they don't just hand out PhDs to anyone, you know!
A is for always there, you are always a friend, regardless of distance and time, I love you for
that!
L is for leader, you know how to take charge and make things happen!

I can't believe it's been, gasp, shall I even say it, two decades since we first met! I know that my life has been truly enriched since the day we met and I can only imagine what the next couple of decades have in store for us (school, driving, boy friends, prom!)! I hope you have a wonderful birthday, Alphagal!

Yes, Virginia, there is such as thing as too many toys

I was looking around the house the other day only to discover, gasp, that my house has become one rather large toy box. I decided, there must be too many toys here.

Miss C has many relatives and friends so we find ourselves the recipients of many very neat toys. The problem is getting rid of them.

How do you do it? I mean, I know how to pick out what I think are "little toys" but how do you remove them without someone getting upset?

My technique, thus far, is to go through them and pull out ones I remember her playing with a year or so ago and putting them aside. I put all of those toys, and yes, there were many, in bags trying to sort by age group or type, and moved them into the garage. I have put them under a tarp for now.

The next step is waiting to see if Miss C asks for any of these toys in the next week or so. If not, I intend to offer them up to friends here with little ones. Any that remain after that, I will bring to the thrift shop.

How do you deal with the toy situation?

PS Teething update: Miss C is still working on 2 of her 2 year molars but we have found that slices of apples and baby carrots seem to help. Hopefully it won't be much longer until we are out of this fun phase!

I hate teething

I hate teething.
Really.
I do.
No, I'm not teething, silly, Miss C is. Well, Miss C is definitely an overachiever when it comes to teeth. She has a ton of teeth, 16 at last count, but we haven't seen a new one in over 8 months. Now Miss C is getting at least 2 of her 2 year molars (the other two appear to be close to breaking through as well). With one molar, we might get through with just a little pain. With at least two, well, with two comes a fever and lots of mouth pain, poor munchkin.
Miss C started running a fever after school yesterday. I gave her meds before dinner and she was fever free by morning, no issues. Happy as a clam. DH got a call just before lunch that Miss C was running a fever of 102. He got there right away and she was fine, except for the fever.
DH got Miss C home and she said no to lunch (an obvious indicator that she must not be 100% because she eats like me, every couple of hours!) and took a nap. DH gave her some meds and her fever does seem to be responding but meds only work for so long. Hopefully once the molars break through the fever and associated fussiness will go away, but for now, ugh.
I thankfully was able to get my back up support over here for tomorrow but I know that DH and I are probably going to compete for who gets to get home sooner to take care of Miss C. It will help but it won't take away that parent guilt that comes with not being there when you think you are the only person that can make things better. Ugh.
We're trying everything we can think of: ice, cold wash cloths, cold food, chewy cold teething rings, etc.
Have I mentioned that I hate teething? Does anyone have any advice???

So busy

I know, its been quite a while since the last post. Sorry.

Couldn't be helped. We had company, yea! Miss C's grandma and grandpa came to visit! DH came home! We had a great time!

Miss C is busy spending time with DH before he goes back to work this week. She had a great time with her grandparents and was wonderfully spoiled (wouldn't expect any less). She showed everyone how well she sings, how she knows her alphabet and even how to pretend to be nearly any animal you can think of. We really did have fun. Now we are back at work. Not so much fun but it could be worse, we could be apart.

I included a couple of photos of Miss C and her grandparents. Unfortunately, I didn't take as many during this visit as normal since DH was only here for the tail end. I will do better next time, promise!

Sing your little song

You all know Miss C loves to sing. She loves music, loves to dance and really loves to sing.
When I met with her new teachers before she started her new class 6 weeks ago, I remember mentioning to them that she could sing her ABC's to "G" and that we were working on the rest.
Tonight, after a rousing rendition of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" with signs and lots of arms movement, Miss C went into the ABC song. I waited for her to stop at "G" and finish with "Now sing with me."
Not this time. She sang every single letter. OMG! I was stunned. She finished the song then waited for her applause. OMG! How did this happen? I mean, we sing that song all of the time but she hadn't really been singing it back lately, just clapping. Wow. Just, yea, wow.

Can I get an "OH YEA!"??

Let's hear it for independent mamas who aren't afraid to make things happen and fix problems.
You will seldom find me praising myself but I am really so darn proud of myself today.
If you have been following my posts or at least the weather in the pacific northwest, you know it has been gawd awful hot up here lately. I posted about having to come up with a solution. I tried ice in bowls in front of fans, somewhat successful, but yesterday, the temperature was over 90 IN THE HOUSE when we got home. I took action before I even left work yesterday.
I ordered two portable air conditioners (not window units, they have a hose that connects to a contraption that fits in the window but nothing else is really required) around noon yesterday (I looked here and there were none). I got them here and the price was great with no shipping costs. I got an email this morning saying the smaller of the two had shipped. When we got home, I kid you not, that one was sitting on my front porch!
As soon as we finished dinner, Miss C and I took out our tools and put that puppy in her room. Ok, so maybe she only carried a couple of small parts but believe me, she was an integral part in the installation. I convinced her that the a/c was a very good thing (she thanked me for it! Such a sweet little girl!) and now all I want to do is sit in her room. I have the machine set to 70 so it will have to run for a bit before it get that cool (the house was 84 when we got home) but it is already a life saver. Miss C sat with me to read (something she refused to do for a while since it was too hot) and she is already asleep (the past week it has taken her a long time to fall asleep).
I am so happy! I am posting my recommendation for anyone looking for one of these units to go to this company (Compact Appliance, oh by the way) because I never imagined a less than 24 hour turnaround. Its like they really knew we needed it!
OH YEA!

A weather report

Sorry its been so long since I last posted. We have been pretty busy and it has just been darn hot. I mean, I didn't ever really consider 80s hot until I lived in a house with a great southern exposure (wonderful for winter, a sin in the summer) and even with all of the windows open and fans on, the house is still over 80. It sucks, let me tell you.
We play smartly, lots of swimming in mama's bathtub, no real cooking (microwave and counter top oven only!) and tons of water. If we go outside, it is to run or walk through the sprinkler. Even so, its still too hot to be comfortable to do much though we have given it out best shot.
Miss C is a great trooper. She tells me when its too hot to eat and will sit and eat a Popsicle if she just wants to cool off. She loves swimming in my bath tub (it is a bit larger than hers) and keeps me up with squirts from her water bottle. She even learned that if I give her a wet wash cloth before bed, it helps to lay it on her tummy because it makes her cooler (kind of a swamp cooler).
I need to buy ice, that's for sure. I also need to talk DH into looking into a/cs. He has managed to miss the hottest part of the year here two years in a row while he is spending his time in another hot area, we just have to figure this out here.
I know its only a few weeks (maybe 6 or 8) of the year that it gets this way but those times are miserable. Any thoughts on how to get a/c without breaking the bank or at least how to help cool the house? Ugh!

What kids eat

I just wanted to show a couple of photos I took last weekend to share what Miss C will actually eat. It cracks me up because stuff like this makes DH say "huh??"
It surprises me but then again it doesn't. We've been incredibly lucky to have such an amenable little girl. She will try anything once even if she thinks she won't like it. Don't want to jinx myself but not sure how much longer this will last. :)
What about you? Any interesting stories about what your kids will eat?

A tough week

As the title indicates, we had a bit of a tough week this week. Miss C caught a stomach bug.
It started out with a fever (around 101.5) Monday afternoon (I had to go get her from school). She stayed home from school on Tuesday (luckily, I was able to get a great sitter so I could go back to work and feel OK about it). No fever on Tuesday at all so we went back to school on Wednesday. I thought all was well until I picked her up on Wednesday and had one of her teachers tell me that "[Miss C] isn't feeling well." Apparently Miss C spent most of the afternoon sitting on a teacher's lap or in one of the little chairs with an upset tummy. Poor kiddo.
Thursday and Friday were days at home with the same sitter (college student who is the daughter of a man I work with, home for the summer). Miss C wasn't really herself on Thursday. She just wanted to lay around, not really doing much. Remember, this is the kid who always gets "Happy and busy" remarks on her day at school paper. So, of course, I spent the entire week worried about not being home with her.
She started to feel better on Friday. By the time I got home, she pretty much wore out the sitter. We even ran around upstairs after dinner playing tag, hide and seek and soaking each other with spray bottles so I think she is on the mend.
When she got up this morning, Miss C told me "I need pancakes" so the decision about breakfast was made early. We've had a fun day so far (Miss C is down for her nap) and I think this weekend will be fine, but you all know how tough it is when your little one is sick and you really can't do anything about it. The one thing I really am grateful for is that Miss C doesn't get sick often and when she does, she doesn't vomit. Its hard enough dealing with the other (you know) issues that come with it.
Anyway, we're going to spend the rest of the day painting, swinging and making play dough animals. If you have any suggestions on how to handle icky tummies aside from clear soda (she took one sip and gave it back), I would love to hear them (so I can write them down for next time).
So, how was your week?

Happy Independence Day!

Happy 4th of July!

So, what do you do with a 2 year old who is too young for the local fair (I mean, way too young to deal with the madness there!) and who is in bed long before the fire works? If you are me, you find the next best thing, Pancake Breakfast at the local fire house!

Yep, we spent some time this morning enjoying pancakes, eggs and ham at our local fire house with about 100 (at that time) of our neighbors and got to, you guessed it, explore the ambulance, the fire engine and the brush truck! So, you ask, did Miss C enjoy the adventure? You bet! At first she refused to go inside until we hopped in the fire engine but because no one was outside at the engine at that time, I had to talk her into going in and asking after breakfast if we could visit the truck. Once we mentioned wanting to explore, the fire fighters jumped into action and kept a whole lot of kids very happily entertained by letting them climb in and out of all of the different vehicles.

Below is one of the pictures from our adventure, the rest are here.

Oh, for all of my friends and family who have yet to get a blogger account, I have made it possible to make comments without a logon so ... :)

Too many changes too fast for me.

When did someone tell my little girl to grow up? For the last two days it has become readily apparent that I am no longer the mother of a little one but I really am the mother of a toddler perhaps even preschooler.

Why do I say this? Well, for example, the past two nights have involved a significant shift in our bedtime reading. Last night, Miss C sat in her (our) chair alone, legs covered with her blankets (like I normally do when she is in my lap) reading her princess songs book (out loud no less!) and then her animal baby book. She did let me read the second book to her but I read from the floor. After the stories, she put herself in bed. :( Tonight, again, different. Miss C sat on her bed with her Wall-E toy and I read to her there. After her third book (Good night, Good night, Sleepyhead) she laid down and waited for me to cover her up. Growing up way too fast.

Today was our first real weekend day alone with no obligations. Miss C announced during breakfast that it was "Mama, [Miss C] Adventure Day." I call our days out those but hadn't realized how much she caught on to that. She decided that she wanted to paint something for DH. I had mentioned a Paint Your World place downtown (very small town so down town is just a street!) and she got herself clothes and then, once we got our shoes on, I was told we were going to paint for Daddy. Wow.

Another big change, Miss C decided she needs to start using the potty and wearing pull ups. There is something to be said for peer pressure. Most of her little friends in school are in pull ups and working on potty training so apparently must she.

On the plus side, for her anyway, she is still napping for me and at school (I have mentioned that she is in a great class where the teachers notice that she plays with her shoes so they let her take them off for a nap, even though its preferred that they keep them on? And that they put her far away from the music so it doesn't disturb her when she sleeps? I am so pleased with her new class!) and she is still in bed around 630-640ish nightly. She is so busy at school and at home that she is still worn out enough to do both.

I never thought I would long for putting a diaper on my little one. Too many changes way too fast for me but there is little I can do to turn back the hands of time. i only hope she lets me cuddle with her still.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, DH!

And Happy Father's Day to my FIL, SNG, LeBon and all of the other wonderful daddys out there. The world is a better place because of you!

The end of a busy week

What a busy week!

If you read my last posting, you know that this week was a very busy week for us with the transition period. If you are curious, which I think you must be since you are actually reading this, Miss C did great this week! She absolutely had a great time in her new class this week. All week long, less today, I brought Miss C to her original class at the beginning of the day and sometime after breakfast, Miss J would take walk her down to her new classroom.

Since the first day of the transition, Miss C spent the remainder of each day in her new class. She was a little hesitant to get really involved, as expected, until today. She really loves the different playground (as I mentioned, it has a slide, a sandbox, lots of little cars and motorcycles and is just huge compared with the "yard" she had been playing in) and the toys in the new classroom are definitely more age appropriate and more stimulating than the last room.

Basically, she was ready for this. She didn't have any issues with the "no numnum" policy even though I haven't enforced that at home yet (too much transition in one short period could prove detrimental, especially with DH gone now). We come to school with the numnum and before we go into her classroom, Miss C says "no numnum, mama" and hands it over. Its so neat that she understands. I was a little concerned that she would either not talk in her new class since she does get shy or that her teachers might not understand her, but I needn't worry. Having talked to both of her primary teachers over the past week, they have assured me that she lets herself be heard.

Everyday this week has been a longer day than the last. I was able to get out of work shortly after Miss C's nap which meant we were actually able to spend more than a couple of hours together after work.

I considered moving Miss C's bedtime back about 15 minutes since we are getting a little less time together after school but every day this week she has been simply exhausted. She actually tells me before 6 every night that its time to go upstairs and take a bath. Wow. I know. I shouldn't really complain that she is in bed by 630 nightly and sleeps solidly but sometimes I just want a little more time snuggling with my "itty bitty [Miss C]".

So, how has your week been?

Big kid class

About a week ago, I got a letter from Miss C's school that she will be moving to the big kid class this week. I met with the teachers last Wednesday and had my orientation while Miss C napped down the hallway. After orientation, during which I learned that Miss C won't be able to have her numnum (that what she calls her pacifier, if you are new to the blog), I started to talk to Miss C about moving into the two year old class.
On Thursday, on our way out of school, Miss C and I walked down to her new room. I thought it would be a good idea to show her where the room is, what their toys look like, etc while the other kids were playing outside. We also looked out into the two year old playground, which, gasp, has a big slide, lots of little cars (her absolute favorite) and a sandbox!
The next day, Miss C reported to her current teacher that (pointing to the other playground) "I go play there." She seemed to be starting to get it. We talked about the move all weekend, just here and there, about her being a big girl and being honest about not being able to have the numnum in the new room. I reminded her of which friends are already in that room, all of the fun toys, etc.
Today, before I left for work, we talked again. I reminded her that sometime after breakfast, Miss J would walk her to her new room. I reassured her that she would have fun, that she could give Miss J a hug bye-bye and that if she had any problems, she could go back to the other room. When I left, Miss L, the nice woman we all check in with in the morning, reminded me that I can always call to see how she is doing (she knows how I think and that I will probably call).
I guess I should know better by now. I called a little after noon, enough time for Miss C to see if she was ready to spend more time in the new room, enough time to find out if she would be ok without the dreaded numnum. As soon as Miss L knew it was me, she told me "Oh! She's having a great time! She signed and talked about going to the big girl room. She said she was a big kid and that she was happy! She's sleeping right now." I asked "In the new room?" She replied "Oh yea, she is doing just great!"
Yep, that's my big girl, in the big kid class. Why does that make me a little sad?

Miss C is 2!

We have our 2nd year check up in the morning so I decided to put this post together now. Based on the doctor's measurements (Miss C stood on the scale and against the wall for them!), she is now 36 inches tall and 30.1 lbs. If the 2 year old formula holds true, Miss C will be 6' plus or minus an inch. Holy moly!

Here's my first attempt at a photo video. I know its a little long (just under 4 minutes) but its Miss C's current favorite song. Hope you enjoy.

Where did the weekend go??

Wow, talk about a whirlwind weekend. I thought, eh, first weekend after DH left would be tough but as social butterflies, our calendar was literally full.

Let's see, Saturday we actually got to sleep in and spent a couple of hours in the afternoon at a work party. Not exactly the best party for Miss C but she did know a few folks and after a little shyness at the beginning, she opened up and even held a friend's hand (that friend was a mom and a grandma and Miss C can tell, always!).

Sunday, wow. I thought that Saturday felt rushed, today started off with us getting up at normal school time so I could go in to work for duty. I tried to get my sitter over but alas, no joy. After work, we went to breakfast and then grocery shopping. We were gone 3 hours by the time we got home. After about 45 minutes home, I got Miss C down for a nap. After an hour and a half nap, we ate lunch and were off. We went by the car wash (Miss C got to sit in DH's seat, as she refers to it) and then were off to the nursery to replace a plant that the cat accidentally knocked off the window ledge. After that, we made it to the pool where Miss C celebrated a classmate's birthday. At first she was hesitant to get into the water below the second step but once one of her buddies got in, she was all over it. She even figured out how to float which she demonstrated to everyone. Once I showed her how to jump off the side of the pool, well, we spent a lot of time swimming, that's for sure. I need to get her back in classes because she really seems to enjoy it.

After swimming, we got out and had some yummy pizza with her friends and then cake, yea cake. I thought Miss C would be all over the cake but she wouldn't touch the frosting. Once I removed the frosting, she was in heaven. After the cake, Miss C looked me square in the eye and said "[Miss C] all done, time to go home." and I knew we had to leave. She is great about giving me a warning when she is about to melt down from the excitement so we said our goodbyes and came home. Once we got home, Miss C was all about playing outside and doing everything she could to avoid bedtime. As I type this, i am listening to a very tired little girl who went to bed over an hour ago but apparently cant' quite fall asleep. I even tried going up a couple of times, once with milk and once with more water, in case that is what was keeping her up but no joy. not even a wet diaper. On the plus side, she is content talking to herself and will most likely fall asleep in the next 10 minutes or so (or so I hope, since we have to get up in the morning for work and school).

i hope next weekend will be a little mellower but since her birthday party is next Saturday, i sincerely doubt it. Miss C does seem to take all of this well though and has yet to really lose her temper with me, though I know it is coming.

I am posting a couple of photos and have already uploaded a few more to our flickr. What do you think? A true water baby, eh?

Video Blog!

DH left on Memorial Day. We're doing fine but you all know how tough it is with your loved one gone. Just in case DH gets a chance to check, I am posting a short video from a recent dinner. Please note, she was simply playing and was in no danger of falling!

We're back!

What a fun trip!

For those not sure of the vacation plans, we went back to Texas where Miss C got to meet 3 of my siblings (Aunt A, Uncle W and Uncle D) as well as their spouses (actually only one spouse, Aunt L) and her cousins (Cousin B, Cousin M, Cousin J and Cousin A). Talk about a busy vacation!

Ok, first, the flights went well. We spent the night near the airport the day before the flight out. That made it a little easier the next day (until I realized, after the flight took off that my cell phone and car keys were in the room still. Alas, I got them back today. Yep, not fun but nothing we couldn't handle). Other than my error there, the entire trip was a great success. We got to see everyone (almost everyone...) twice.

Rather than get into too much detail here, I am going to throw in a few photos so you can see the visit. Unfortunately, i didn't spend as much time behind the camera as I wanted. I am hoping Aunt L will be able to send me her photos as well.

The rest of the photos are here. It really was an awful lot of fun seeing Miss C interact with all of her Texas cousins. Hopefully we can do this somewhat regularly.

Hope you all have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

Quick post

Sorry to have been so slient recently. Been busy with work and well, life. We are getting ready to start our vacation adventure. We (Miss C and I) are getting ready to drive to the airport so we can fly out to visit family (Aunt A, Uncle W, Aunt L and all of her cousins).

I am a little nervous because its a 5 freaking hour flight and the last time I flew alone with Miss C she was 4 months old and easy to cart around. I have packed our bag and one carry on (fingers crossed). I did get us each a seat because, as you all have probably noticed, Miss C is pretty tall and we need space! I have a snack bag along with the carry on (we can each have one for crying out loud) but I will try to put everything in the carry on before the flight.

The drive to the airport is why I need the separate bag (its 120 freaking miles). We are actually staying downtown tonight and flying out tomorrow (early flight, direct). I just finished running by the dollar store to get some last minute things for the flight (a couple of new books and dicast cars, little stuff for when she starts to get bored on the flight).

For myself, I packed my Kindle. I also packed a portable DVD player and some DVDs that Miss C selected (Elmo's World is currently the rave with her).

We will meet up with DH on Saturday (he is on travel).

Wish us luck and understand if I remain incommunicado for a little while. I promise to take lots of pictures and post once we get home.

Wow, just, yea, wow

Remember when we talked about kids making rapid advances when they are young? And how their vocabulary expands?

Well, we forgot to mention the really sweet stuff about when they start to read their own books out loud. Now, we know that most of the words aren't well, words, but I hope you enjoy this video. Tell me what you think.

Family Photos

We got some family photos done (I know, finally!) so I thought I would share one with you here and put the rest here. What do you think?

So cute!

So, Miss C has basically fallen in love with wearing her "pretty dresses", as she is now fond of referring to them. Additionally, we are wearing nighties to bed over pjs because, well, they are dresses we wear to bed, right?
I am not sure if its the grown up part of the dress, the age or what, but I think its awfully sweet. Hopefully I will be able to get her to stop moving long enough to get a picture of her in one!

Until then, I leave you with a relatively recent (relatively being the word) video of Miss C on her tricycle:

22 Months already? Not your regular post (For Maddie)

Miss C turned 22 months old yesterday. Usually I try to put in a list of her achievements and milestones but this week I have been a little distracted. First because DH is sick (infection, probably something along the lines of tonsillitis based on how those look) but also because I have been following another Mom's blog for a while and she just lost her little girl.
I don't feel right trying to explain her story (see this blog or through Poobou, another young Mom's blog here) but this family's tragedy has shaken me to the core. I always knew my little one was a miracle but I never realized just how few children are actually born without any complications. Those who aren't, those little ones who need extra help, don't always get to reach the milestones I am so fond of sharing.
In deference to this family's loss, i am not going to post my normal monthly Miss C update. Instead I am going to ask you all to help prevent this from happening again by sharing another Mom's March for Babies pledge site. If you are able to support this team, a team made up of parents and friends trying to do more, or even walk your own March for Babies, please do so. Little ones need all the help they can get.

Someone is becoming a big girl

Everytime I think Miss C is at some certain stage in life, she goes off and grows up on me. DH is going on travel for the summer and will miss our 2nd birthday here. In order to give him an opportunity to play with Miss C and the gift he intended for her to receive then, DH went out and picked it out a couple of months early. His argument, Miss C is getting to be a big girl and big girls need their Daddies to help them learn certain things.
This is a picture of what DH got Miss C.

As you can see, adorable as it is, Miss C hasn't quite figured out how to pedal and is just a shade too short (hard to imagine!) so I ran over to Wally World this morning after a short stop at work and picked this up.

As you can see, it is just a little smaller, about perfect for now. It does grow into a bike with training wheels, a little smaller than the other one, just right for growing into. I think Miss C is really starting to get the pedaling thing down (I did load a couple of videos too, in case you want to check them out.).

We did already institute the "you shall wear your helmet if you want to ride your bike/tricycle" rule and Miss C doesn't seem to have any problem with that.

What is the right age to start riding a tricycle or bicycle? How do you teach your little ones to pedal?

Video blog!

Miss C's vocabulary and her ability to express herself are exploding as I type this. She loves to cook with both of us so here is a video from tonight. Hope you enjoy!

Miss C turned 21 months old! (Yep, yesterday, forgive my tardiness!)

21 months is an in between age, I think. While Miss C didn't appear to grow physically, she definitely grew mentally.

Miss C's vocabulary and overall ability to express herself have improved exponentially. For example, while playing "night, night" in our bed (Miss C loves to play on the "big bed"), she often sends us out of the room. As soon as we get near the door we hear "I awake, [Miss C] awake!" followed by a series of giggles! Its too cute! She also tells us when she is back. For example, when Miss C decides its time for her to go "bye bye" into her play room she will often tell us "bye bye" and run off. A minute or so later, Miss C will run full throttle into whatever room we are in and announce to everyone "I back! [Miss C] back!" while poking herself in the chest to emphasize that she is [Miss C].

Miss C continues her love of cooking and cleaning (not sure how long this will last but hey, while we are enjoying it, right?). Anytime DH or I are in the kitchen, invariably you will find Miss C on her "big step" helping us out. It really is a help though. She will use her frying pan and make whatever it is you are making. On the off chance she doesn't actually want to be in the kitchen, MIss C will bring her cooking utensils, some plates, some spoons etc and cook for Elmo or her dolly. She requires Elmo to "eat" with us (which, for our sake, is just sitting at the table) which leads me to another item.

Miss C, shock of all shocks, continues to be very directive. Sometimes she will surprise you with her wiley ways though. If she wants us to sit at the table she will direct us one by one to "Mama sit down, daddy sit down, everybody sit down." Sometimes, however, she is actually quite subtle. This afternoon, for example, she asked to get help trying on a pair of shoes. Mind you, we have been home for about 45 minutes and have already eaten dinner so this was our winddown time before bath. Ok, shoes on. Next Miss C goes and gets her "yellow jack[et]", can anyone see where we are going with this? Yep, then she gets my shoes and deposits them at my feet saying "mama, get up, shoes on" and then points to daddy's jacket and says "daddy, jack[et]." Yep, before we could say "boo" Miss C had fenagled a quick trip outside. If it had been over 32 degrees out we might have stayed out longer but as it was we made it about 10 minutes before the cold won out and we went in.

Aside from the verbal skills, Miss C continues to develop her fine and gross motor skills. While announcing "I made that" to us whenever she colors a new picture, Miss C talked me (very difficult, by the way) into getting out her paints so we can paint pictures (she does bore of it after about 20 minutes but heck, how long is her attention span supposed to be at this age?). She races us down the driveway with increasing speed each time and she loves to garden (or pull weeds at present, if you will). Miss C also continues to develop her love of music and as such has taken up the recorder. We haven't started on how to use the holes to actually make certain sounds but she sure does love it!

Here are a few newer photos for you to enjoy:

So, what's new with you?

Fifth what?

We were supposed to be on a plane right now. We were supposed to be visiting family today. But, we're not. Why, do you ask? Well...

Yesterday I got a call from the day care letting me know that Miss C has developed a rash on her tummy and back and that I should have her seen.

Ok.. A rash. I started to think about what could be causing it. I know she is a little congested (that was a concern to begin with about our trip but we thought she would be ok). Did I use a new detergent? No. Did she eat something new? Well, she tried a cashew the day before but if there was going to be a reaction, we expected it sooner. Ok, time to tell the guys at the office that I need to get Miss C to the doctor.

Called the doctor. No appointments available. Time to try Urgent Care. Get to Day care, Miss C is painting. Happily. Painting. What? Why again did they call? She was fussy then they found the rash. Hmm...

Urgent care. May as well call it, roll the dice for a doctor care. Luckily we got the one good doctor for kids. A couple of tests and a full check later, we are told "Miss C probably has fifth disease . You should keep her out of school until Monday and away from pregnant ladies." Huh? She's fine. She has some sniffles, what?

Turns out, this fifth disease isn't a huge deal for kids. If you clicked on the link, you will see that lots of kids get it and their parents don't even notice it because its a virus. The rash, minor. Based on what we read, Miss C shouldn't even be contageous anymore since she has the rash but do you take the chance? Do you risk the other folks on the plane and the little one you planned to visit? No, you don't.

So, we're on a "stay cation" until Miss C goes back to school. Had to call everyone and let them know we can't make it. Had to call the airlines and figure out what to do with my non-refundable tickets. Luckily the customer care people understand and with my doctor's note (the one for school that says he considers Miss C contageous and that she shouldn't return until Monday) and won't charge me a change fee on the tickets. Had to call the rental car and the hotels to cancel reservations.

No fun. Miss C isn't acting sick, just a little congested but when it comes to risking not only ours but other people's health, can't take the chance. Maybe we can get away in May? I hope so!

Mine, Mine, Mine

For those of you with toddlers, this post will be familiar.

Our word of the day/week/month is "mine". It is a relatively recent development but thankfully an expected, common one. Miss C has been known, like most of her classmates, to stakeout specific areas of the classroom or certain toys and declare "mine" while not permitting even their closest little buddies to get within arms reach of said toys or area. At first I was a little concerned then I saw the rules of the classroom:

1. If I saw it first, it is mine.
2. If you have something I want to play with, it is mine.
3. If I discarded something and you picked it up, it is mine.
4. If I show even remote interest in something, it is mine.
5. And, above all else, if you want it, it is mine.

Luckily not all days are "mine" days. Today, for example, was a good sharing day. The not so good days include anytime a friend in Miss C's class decides to come over and talk to me. That, my friends, is a big no-no. One little girl used to try and sit in my lap, each attempt resulted in Miss C getting extremely mad and pushing said little girl off. If another classmate tries to give me a hug, Miss C will drop whatever it is she is doing to run over and yell "no!!!" at the top of her lungs while lunging to get the classmate away from me. Apparently parents fall under "mine" as well.

Have you dealt with this situation yet?

Happy days are here again

Well, after my last posting, Miss C decided that we (mama and daddy, that is) were going to win the bed time discussion so she pretty much caved. Caved, that is, as much as any 20 month old can after 36 hours of frustration with wanting to sleep on the couch. Its really no big deal now but boy, what a rookie mistake! We should have known better, should have kept her in her bed but when your little one gets sick, its hard to not give them basically anything they want to make them feel better, ya know?

Other than that, we have been doing just fine. We are planning an exciting trip to visit a ton of family in a couple of weeks. We can only go for the weekend but Miss C will have a chance to meet Aunt A and her cousins there and see Aunt L and Uncle W and their little one. We also plan on visiting a couple of other friends in the area and perhaps one or two more family members, not sure of the schedule yet.

To help on the trip, I got Miss C a harness for her airplane seat so we don't have to carry a car seat on to the plane. I also plan on bringing a portable DVD player and some stuff to watch in addition to our normal travel fare of coloring books, paper, crayons, tons of her favorite books, snacks, etc. I admit I am a little nervous because this is the longest flight she has been on (4.5hours on the way there, just under 5 on the way back). I know how fidgety I get, I can only imagine how difficult it will be for her. That's one of the reasons we got her a seat rather than taking advantage one last time of being able to have a lap infant. In case you are wondering, we fully intend to have her pacifier handy to help her clear her ears, that or a sippy cup always make it easier to fly.

So, here is my question to you all. For those who have endured air travel of this duration, do you have any recommendations or words of wisdom?

Miss C turned 20 months old and all she got was a fever

20 months, already?

Yep and for our 20 month day we got, a fever. Lovely. 103. No fun. Funny thing, Miss C was mainly her normal, cheerful, playful self. She snuggled a little more but who would think that would be the only sign (other than, later on, the fever itself). She's doing fine, taking Motrin and sleeping pretty soundly. I just got back from about 15 minutes of snuggling. Miss C woke up and just wanted to snuggle. Poor kiddo.

Well, I started this posting on Monday but didn't get far with it until tonight. Our week has been rough. Miss C has been very healthy so her getting and keeping a fever for more than a day was unexpected and we suffered, that's for sure.

It took 4 days and 3 nights of constant cuddling, sipping on juice and water, sleeping on the couch and sometimes the floor (all of us) and two visits to the doctor but I think we are beyond the worst. Miss C's fever finally broke for more than an hour this afternoon. She still isn't back to her chipper old self, but that will take time. One of the negative aspects of this situation is that we allowed Miss C to sleep outside of her bed. While some folks have done that all along, Miss C hasn't slept in anything but her bed or the cot at school, ever. I mean, she always went upstairs for her naps, always slept in her bed (even her own pack and play when we travel) so this was different. Unfortunately, she liked the different, especially when it means downstairs where we are when she needs sleep.

Well, we had to get her to sleep in her bed tonight. I mean, she wasn't running a fever anymore but she (we all) sorely needs the sleep and we know that she will sleep well in her bed, if we can get her to even lay down in it. That took a lot of doing, a lot of crying and a serious amount of will power. Miss C has discovered that crying gets attention. We are talking to her about not crying just to make noise, especially when she knows the words. I think that will be an on-going battle, but I digress. Tonight after dinner and bath, normal routine, we tried the bed again (last night we caved because she still had a mid-grade fever). Ok, so first I tried, I talked, I asked, I did everything short of close the door behind myself. DH then tried. He even offered to move a different mattress in the room. I tried again. This time I told her she wasn't getting off the bed and I sat at the opening of it. She stood and stared at me like i was the meanest mama ever. We had a stare-off. After about 10 minutes, DH came back in and we told her good night, we love you.

About an hour later (we were terrified to even open the door), DH poked his head in to see if Miss C indeed fell asleep standing up. Ah, success! She was laying down asleep in her bed, for now. Hopefully we won't have to go through this again tomorrow!

CONGRATULATIONS, ALPHAGAL AND COMPANY!

My BFF (Alphagal) just gave birth to a beautiful baby boy! Hugs and kisses and of course well wishes to Alphagal, SNG, E-baby and the newest addition, A-baby! We love you all!

Talking in full sentences

When did my little babbling baby suddenly turn into a little girl who could express her thoughts in full (or close enough to it) sentences? In my sleep apparently!

Just last week we noticed a significant shift in Miss C's speech, sentences! Her first real sentence was "I got it!" After that she added "Right here!" in response to "where is (whatever)". Then she began to say "here you go" and added "angel" at the end of it because apparently I say that to her. Now she is more than just directive (you remember, "sit down", "wait", "come here" and all of those fun directions) she is up front about what she wants "mama, more milk (insert word of choice, such as color, play, water, etc) please" and where she wants to go "[Miss C] go outside, play" followed quickly by "please" in case I missed the earnestness in her voice. Its incredible how much our little sponge has retained. While coloring ("mama, color [Miss C]"), I started writing and spelling her name. Now when she wants me to write her name, Miss C spells it for me! I know! Its scary!

Beyond that, Miss C has a boyfriend. Ok, quick story. Over Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa (two more words she uses regularly!), Miss C received an Elmo Live. For the entire time we were visiting, Miss C wouldn't come any closer than my arm could reach to Elmo (I say it that way because if she wanted to hear him talk, she would use my hand to make that happen!). Ok, so we couldn't bring him back with us because we only had so much bag space. Instead, Grandma put it in the mail. Two weeks separated apparently made a difference because almost as soon as we got him out of his bed (the box he was mailed in), Miss C gave him hugs and kisses. He is her little boyfriend now! I have some pictures but seem to have misplaced my transfer cord so those will have to be posted once i find it!

Ok, that's enough of an update for now. Hope everyone is doing well!

I know, I know!

Ok, I know its been a while since I last posted. The only excuse I have is that we have been BUSY!

Once we got back from vacation, we went back to work full bore. I changed jobs (I am still at the same place). I went from having a couple of people working for me to running the entire watch organization. I have five divisions of folks working for me along with the responsibility for the daily operations at our command. That being said, its not a job to take lightly or one that you can just slip into. For the past week or so, since i took the job, I have been trying to first take care of the administrative stuff (re-issuing directives in mine name, establishing policy etc) then to get with each of my divisions to figure out how to improve our product. Additionally, I have been working with a couple of other folks on the same level to revamp the overall organization. There are job qualifications to approve, personnel to qualify, etc. With all that, once I get out of work, its family time.

All of you with kids (heck, those with significant others get this too, right?) understand that you have to shift modes when you get home to family time. Miss C is developing so fast and every day its something different. This week has been all about singing, dancing and lots of books and coloring. Its go, go, go from the minute I leave work to pick her up until the minute she goes to bed. After that is chore time (thank goodness DH helps out with lots of that, it just gets a little nutty when he is gone) then I get a little break.

The new job is going well and I am finally feeling like I am having an impact here. About time, considering that i have been here for over a year.

Well, that's it. That's why I've been so quiet lately.

In other news, we are planning a trip in early Spring, or thereabouts, so Miss C can meet some of my side of the family. Ok, she met Uncle W and Aunt L once when she was very little but she hasn't met Aunt A or her kids so we are going to take a long weekend and go out to visit. We have a few other folks we absolutely have to see when we are there, so we are trying to come up with a plan of action. Has anyone else taken a long weekend to visit family? How do you visit all of the folks without overwhelming the little ones?

Happy Birthday, DH!

Happy Birthday, DH!

Miss C and I are so lucky to have you as daddy and husband.

My love, you are my best friend, my confidant, my love. I don't know what I would do without you.

Sorry no big plans this year (isn't football enough though? :) ). I promise to make it up to you over the next 12 months.

First post of 2009 and Miss C is 19 months old (ok, tomorrow!)

First, let me apologize for not having posted in nearly, eh, forever? Yea. Been kind of busy with the holidays, travel, etc. Hope you all understand.

We got back from our vacation visiting with family a couple of days ago. Miss C had a great time with her Great Grandma, Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie J. We are going to try and visit other family (Aunt A, her cousins B, M and J as well as Uncle W, Aunt L and her cousin A) sometime in the next couple of months.

Ya know, I thought last year was fun but this year was amazing! The changes i have seen in Miss C have been incredible.

I am sure she is probably at least 1/2 and inch taller than a month ago which puts her around 35 1/2 inches at 19 months! She is just at 28lbs and boy have her skills changed. She pretends to be all sorts of animals (cats, dogs, alligators!) and has her puppets pretend to be even more (we found these two super cute mittens for the bath, a purple monkey and a pink pig and she uses them as hand puppets) animals (namely Elmo!). When it seems like we don't understand what she is saying, Miss C not only signs her words but if the word has an action, she acts it out! Example? Well, we were talking about our recent airplane ride and Miss C was saying "airplane". Apparently I didn't understand so she signed it then used the sign and flew the plane around "rrrrmmm, rrrrmmmm" just for me! Too funny!

Like I mentioned in an earlier post, we are potty training. Nothing too strenuous, just letting Miss C get comfortable with the potty. She actually used the one on the airplane and at her great grandma's both without her little seat on top. I was surprised and pleased. On the plus side, she held my hands rather than the potty so very little in the way of ickiness!

Miss C's favorite act now is tumbling. She does make mama and daddy do it too so she gets examples when she wants them. When we play, Miss C pretends to be the "mommy" and we are the "babies" (I asked her about this one day when she was rubbing by back saying "good girl!"). She also has a number of tasks for us. Example? She will tell us to "sit, wait, come, etc" including hand signals when she wants something. Too funny and wayyyy too much like her mama!

Well, that's about it for now. Busy, busy, ya know! We will try to post more regularly. Oh! Before I finish, I have uploaded our holiday photos, they can be seen here.