Family Photo Blog Entry

Miss C and Daddy with Moon Beam

Miss C posing for a holiday picture

Miss C and Grandpa

Miss C and Grandma

E2 C2, the next generation

Cindy, James, Miss C and Gracie (beagle)

Happy Thanksgiving

Hey everyone! Just wanted to post a quick happy thanksgiving to all of our family and friends. We've been a little out of contact because of the cross country move but we made it to our destination late yesterday. We are so thankful that we were able to visit family and friends along the way and that it was a really smooth trip. We will update more once we relax a little! HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!

Playing catch up

So I know it has been over a month since I last posted. Please accept my heart felt apologies!
We've been so darn busy lately, its not funny. Aside from normal work busy-ness, we spent a week on the east coast finding a place to stay and a school for Miss C (success on both fronts, yea!) and since we have returned we have been crazy with getting the house ready for showing (no success on that front, boo!) and getting us ready to move. Ugh. Thank goodness DH works so hard to keep my stress levels down. I hate moving!
We spent some time this week making and packaging cookies so Miss C could bring some in for the teachers that have made the largest impact on her during our time here. We handed them out this morning and they were a hit so yea! 
What next? Ok, first we pack our bags for our extended hotel stay (about 3 weeks total until we are in the  new place), then we have folks come over to pack the house. Yep. After work Friday we can start the journey. Yea. I know, not so enthusiastic but I will get there. We have loads of stops planned because Miss C is a very active kiddo and needs to be able to stretch her legs. DH has arranged our hotels for the drive and I have a template for basically providing you all, my friends and family, some insights into the places we stay at in the event that you too get to move across the US!  I am pretty excited about getting Miss C's take on each hotel including what she thinks of the breakfasts because we all know a bad breakfast can ruin a day, especially a travel day.
I will try to post pictures along the way but no promises! We're nearly ready! Any last minute suggestions? Here's what we have so far:
We have a dvd player in the car for her and one for the hotels, though I doubt we need that one,
We have built a project box with lots of stuff to do when we do get to the hotels
We have snacks planned and can pick up more en route
We plan to bring about 7 days worth of clothes including PJs so we don't have to worry about laundry all of the time

What am I forgetting?

Surprise Adventure!

So, what do you think?

We think it was pretty successful!

Yep, that's my girl!

So, we've got the house on the market and thankfully we have had a few showings.  The only issue is that we have to be out of the house for the showings.  During the week, its no big deal since they are usually when we are at work anyway but on the weekends, well, it gets challenging.  We got a call yesterday requesting a showing late this afternoon so Miss C and I decided that we would have an adventure after her nap so we would be out of the house during the showing.  Today was the day to check out new playgrounds. 
We decided to check out a playground at a nearby elementary school and one near Miss C's school.  We had a great time at both playgrounds but at the first, after exploring the entire area, Miss C wanted to return to one specific part of the playground.  Well, there were three little boys, about 7 years old, playing there.  Miss C thought they were going to try to scare her so she looks at me and says "watch this."
This is where I say, she is definitely my kid!  Ok, so she starts walking very seriously, stomping almost, over to the boys and says "Hey guys, I'm brave and I can run super fast! Watch this!" and proceeds to run over to the slide and play!
Seriously!  I did tell her that her initial reaction probably should be to introduce herself to the boys rather than expect them to try to scare her but wow! What a crazy kid!

Leaning forward

Hey! So, last time I posted, Miss C had just transitioned into her  "big girl" class. What a blast! She is definitely enjoying being with older kids.  Her demeanor has changed somewhat, more independent, more outgoing, but she remains our sweet little girl.
A friend from Hawaii recently moved here so we had a play date on Sunday with them and their 2 year old. Miss C took the time to help her new friend adjust to being here, shared her toys (which you all know is nearly impossible at this age) and even offered to share her room if her friend needed a nap! What a girl!  Hopefully we will have more play dates before we move.
On that note, we will be relocating from the great northwest to the eastern seaboard around Thanksgiving. This will be our first long distance drive with Miss C so I ask you all, what do you recommend? We have 2 cars to move so we have decided that I will drive with Miss C and DH will drive with the cat (I know, I have the better deal). We are practicing doing things for ourselves in the car (read: Miss C is trying to not drop everything then yell to me to pick it up while I am driving) to make the move a little easier.  What did you do?  What insights can you offer?
We've been doing great. Had visits by DH's Mom and sister, Miss C really opened up to them! Miss C also started talking on the phone more very recently. I think the impetus was a short trip I had which resulted in the first time she and I were apart for any length of time.  I called after bath and she told me all about her day. She is talking to DH more when he calls and she even talked to her Grandpa a couple of weekends ago, which until now was nearly unheard of.
Well, that's pretty much us in a nut shell! We're staying busy, trying to sell the house (wish us luck!), planning to check out our new location and find a place to live there and all that fun stuff.  One thing all of this has reminded me is that we have entirely too much stuff. DH got a POD (portable on-demand storage, for those unaware) to clear out some space to allow for better showings and we haven't actually missed all our junk that is in there. OK, so some of it is purely seasonal but really? We definitely have to take a good look at what we bring with us and maybe par down a little?
OK, hope you all are having a great week and remember, let us know your  best recommendations for a cross-country move with a 3 year old! Thanks!

The big kid class

Ok, so we started this week "in transition."  Miss C started Monday in her original two year old class and a little while after breakfast was taken to her new classroom. She never looked back!  In fact, on the way home from school on Monday, Miss C told DH that she only wants to go to the "three year old room" from now on.
We have learned a few of her classmates' names (that will take a little while), talked with the teachers about her adjusting and even had breakfast with her class.
I admit I was a little nervous about the transition, in addition to the new room and new teachers, there are potentially 50% more students in the class, all of whom are older than Miss C. As usual, Miss C kicked butt. She remembered that Tuesday was music day and brought in her harmonica. Apparently she enjoys playing it in her classroom and the teachers complimented her play. Yea!
Today was bring in your favorite toy day as well as breakfast with parents day. We managed to remember both but since so few students brought in a toy, Miss C wasn't able to share hers. She insists that she wanted to share but the teachers didn't want her to basically give up her toy to someone else without being able to share someone else's toy., Sounds fair to me.
Monday is another big day. It will be Miss C's first field trip and I admit it, I am 10X more nervous about it than she is. The kids will be away from school (via school bus, another adventure!) from 9am to 2 pm, Nope, no nap time scheduled for the kids. Ugh. Hoping Miss C gets at least a cat nap in the bus on the way back to school.
We think her teachers are terrific and that Miss C is very well adjusted to her new class. She is still being very quiet in the classroom with her classmates but she is starting to open up. We told her teachers to give her another week and she's be her normal, chatty self.
Other than that, Miss C finally decided it was time to mail her numnums (pacifier) to the babies (I have to make sure she gets a thank you card from them!) and got a trumpet in return! Yea, Miss C!
One picture just to show how big she really has gotten (she is holding her carrot harvest!):

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Movin' on up...

Ok, so we finally got some resolution with Miss C's class situation. First some background... since she started her current (the two-year-old) class, Miss C has been reminded that once she is both potty trained and three years old, she will get to move to the "big kid class." On her birthday, Miss C woke up and asked me "mama, am I three year old now?" I answered her "yes, baby, you are." She then replied "when do I get to go to the big kid class?"
Well, that was nearly 5 weeks ago and each time we ask, we get told that there's no seat yet. I got tired of that answer. I asked earlier this week what the bottle neck was. See, it seemed to me that they have two two-year-old classes and only one three-year-old class.  Good thing I asked. As it turns out, all three of the other classes are preschool classes, the main difference from the one Miss C is in now is student:teacher ratio which, frankly, sucks here. Its about 7:1 right now and will go to 10 or 12:1. Anyway! Once I pushed, I was told that there are seats in the other two classes that we can join now, the difference being there are four and five-year-olds in the other two classes along with three or four three-year-olds.
We met with the school director as well as teachers from both classes. Both DH and I clicked with one specific teacher and the classroom and decided to go with that one. Since her birthday, Miss C has both patiently and not so patiently waited to transition and her wait is now over. We start preschool on Monday! Wish us luck!

Happy Anniversary!

13 years ago we said our vows and we continue to live them daily. I love you with all of my heart, DH!

Happy Father's Day!

Can you imagine going from this:

To this:

Happy Father's Day, DH! We're so lucky to have you! Hope you had an amazing weekend, too!

If anyone want to see more pictures, hop over to our flickr page!

OBTW: Stats from the doc: 40 inches (95th percentile), 35 pounds (84th percentile). Head, can't even remember! She's doing great physically and developmentally! No more shots until she turns 4, she is happy about that too!

Has it really been three years?

I can't believe it. Tomorrow, June 9th my baby turns 3!
She is such a big girl now, just ask her.
I haven't had her in to the doc yet for her check up but she is definitely at least 40 inches tall and the last time we had her weighed she was about 35 pounds. She is surely in the 95th percentile for height and about 80th for weight. She is very potty trained (thank goodness she decided it was time for that) and oh my gosh can she express herself!
We still have some trouble with certain sounds, like s sounds, those can sound like fs still but boy once you figure her out, you are bound to come up with an interesting conversation.
Lately she has come to saying "remember when" before she tells you some story. She is fond of telling people stories about her that we have told her about our childhood. For example, DH told Miss C about his childhood cat. When her sitter was here, Miss C related the very same story to her but only it started out as "when I was little..."
Miss C has also developed a keen sense of humor. We were driving home talking about water and tides. I know, interesting conversation, right? Anyway, I had been showing her the difference between high tide and low tide. Today, however, she chose to consistently answer incorrectly. When I asked her about it, she told me "mama, I am just teasing you!" Seriously! She got DH the other day when she looked at him and said "oh no, I just had an accident" and ran to the potty. DH got there and Miss C gave him a huge grin and said "Daddy, I was just messing with you!"
I have definitely got my hands full! Aside from the communication skills, Miss C has decided she is "big enough" to like certain things. For example, she decided that she likes butter a while back but now she likes syrup too! She confided in me today that she will be big enough for broccoli when she is three. Yea, we'll see that tomorrow. She has also started sticking to her guns more. When she makes a decision, it is difficult to change her mind. Its interesting to watch because we have always striven to give her opportunities to make decisions, usually giving her two choices. Now, she often gives herself a third choice which she sticks with.
I know I haven't posted in a while nor have i posted pictures, but I will try to post some pictures in my next entry (can't give you all everything at once!).
So what comes next? :)

2 going on 12

So, have any of the rest of you dealt with a little one getting too grown up too fast?
Let me tell you, its interesting. It starts with stuff like you are talking to someone and you say a day of the week, like Friday and that little voice next to you asks "Mama, what's on Friday?" Or, you say "no throwing balls in the house" then your angel bounces a ball to Daddy. Daddy says "Honey, I think that constitutes throwing" and the next thing that little voice besides you says is "Daddy, what is constitute throwing?"
Then there is this "I can (insert statement here, examples include get dressed, go potty, get ready for bath, etc) all by myself." That alone is fine, its when she adds "I don't need you anymore" well, that just breaks my heart.
Miss C is 2 going on 12, I tell you! She potty trained in 3 days, through no help of mine. She gets herself dressed (it can take forever but she is just delaying!). She gets herself ready for her bath and into her bath. She bathes herself and often washes her own hair. She wants to read her own bedtime stories.
She is conscientious too. For example, when she gets up at night to go potty, she doesn't flush because, she says, it is loud and it might wake us up. She also wants to share with us. For example, yesterday she gave me half of everything, from an apple to a cookie, to me.
Yesterday afternoon, after I got back from ordering her birthday cake (a major to do!), Miss C announced to me that she is a princess. Ok, no problems. After a while she asked to wear her Cinderella costume. We needed to go outside to plant some new shrubs. What did she do? Very daintily, Miss C used a spade and dug holes, inserted dirt, mulch, what have you and planted 3 new shrubs, all without getting dirty. How does she do that?
Seriously, I know we all want our kids to grow up, but how do I keep her from growing up too fast?

Potty training update

For those of you nice enough to follow our story, I felt it was necessary to provide an update.
Miss C is definitely a big girl now. As I mentioned in the last post, Miss C decided two weeks ago to only wear panties. I made a couple of mistakes along the way, one of which was to basically force her to wear a pull up one night because i was afraid she would have an accident. While it pissed her off, she proved me oh so wrong.
The day after, Miss C looked me in the eye (she does this to make sure I understand her, oh so grown up) and said, quite clearly, "Mama, I told you. I am a big girl. I wear panties. I don't have accidents, see?" Oh gosh, you are a big girl!
She has thrilled her teachers to no end. One day last week she had a minor accident, a toot gone wrong. She was very concerned that her teachers would put her in a pull up because of it. Geez, they had already asked me if I wanted to do anything with her pull ups! They reassured her and DH that they have the utmost confidence in her potty training and don't plan to put her in a pull up every again.
This week has been incredible on that front. While the teachers saw her potty last week, on Monday she really impressed them by going #2 in the potty at school. They were more than impressed, they were stunned.
When I brought her to school this morning, I asked her if she needed to go potty. She told me she did but she wanted to wait until the potty that has the door on it was available (one room she is in first thing in the morning only has one potty but it does have a door, her regular classroom has 2 potties but no doors, so, ok, I get it). No problem. I waited. Her regular teacher walked in the room (she was on break, another teacher was in the room, something Miss C doesn't like so we usually wait for Campbell, as she calls her, to return) and I mentioned that Miss C was waiting on the potty. Campbell told me "heck, we don't bother to ask Miss C if she needs to go potty, she's doing so great, we know she will go when she has to." Wow, talk about a confidence boost for a little girl!
So, that's it. We gave an entire trash bag full of bags of pull ups to another girl in her class and I have 4 very nice, hardly used potty chairs, in case anyone needs them! :)

What an amazing week (beware, potty talk below!)

Since last Sunday, I have seen so many incredible changes in Miss C, I can hardly believe it.
Last Sunday, Miss C and I went out and purchased a big girl bed for her. Its a twin, hardly huge, but a big milestone in her life. Unfortunately, that bed hasn't been delivered yet. Originally, I was told it would be ready by Friday but now I can't get it until next Wednesday. Its ok though. When I bought it, I realized I needed an interim solution so when we got her new sheets, comforter etc, we also bought a twin size air mattress so she could get used to the bigger bed. What a hit!
Ok, so that was Sunday. Around Tuesday, Miss C decided she wanted to wear a "firt" to school. A "firt"? What the heck is a "firt"? So, I asked her where she had some. She told me in her treasure chest (her dress up clothes are in that) so I figured out she wanted a skirt. Success! Then, she wanted to wear tights with her skirt. Oh boy! Big girl time!
Miss C wowed them at school in skirts a few days this week (thank goodness I had a few in her size in the house!). Come Thursday evening, another huge shift. Miss C demanded panties. Oh boy. Ok, here goes.
I let her wear them, she used the potty a lot that evening. Unfortunately, she also woke up twice with a wet bum and wet bed clothes. Thankfully, I am prepared. I bought 2 waterproof mattress covers when we got her new sheets so no big deal. Each time she had an accident, she demanded another pair of panties. This is a huge change from the last time she wanted to wear panties.
Friday morning, we went to school in panties. She pottied before school and immediately pottied when we got there. Her teachers were a little thrown off balance only because a couple of her other friends, who she has been in school with for all three classes she has been in, are also starting their potty training this week (peer pressure? maybe). She had 7 successes and 4 accidents at school on Friday. Not bad for a first day.
Ok, so here is the part where i get selfish. Rather than get up a lot Friday night, I convinced Miss C to wear a pull up and then panties on top for bed. If she woke up dry, great, if not, no huge issue. She woke up a little wet this morning but in great spirits. We had a busy day planned, lots of big girl clothes shopping. Miss C wanted more skirts, a few school dresses (most of the ones we have are party dresses or getting small on her). She also needed new tennis shoes, more tights, you know, stuff.
We left the house at 930am. She tried to go potty before we left. Ok, so i admit, I might have been a little crazy to go out when she is so early in her potty training, but I packed her bag with extra clothes and panties so off we went. When we got to the store, we stopped by the potty first thing. I have learned that it is best to both go in the big potty, i go first then she tries. No output but no accident either. We found lots of great stuff and then went to lunch.
When we got to the restaurant, we told the host we needed to find the potty first. Ok, another attempt. Again, no success but no accident so no big deal. Nice lunch with one of my guys who is retiring and his brother. After lunch, we decided it was important to go potty before driving home. We got to the bathroom but the big potty was being used. Rather than try to use the little potty, Miss C said we would wait. So, we danced to the restaurant's music in the bathroom while we waited to potty. Once the big potty was available, Miss C told me I had to go first. Ok, done. When it was her turn, she asked me to run the water so there I was, running from the big potty to the sinks where you have to wave your hand under the faucet to get it to run. By the time I got back, Miss C was beaming "I went potty in the big toilet, mama! I got all the yellow potty out of my tush!" She was so thrilled with her success that after we washed our hands, she ran out of the potty and yelled to everyone in ear shot "I went potty in the toilet!" She actually got applause from a couple of people!
This afternoon, another huge success. Miss C gave me this "uh oh" look and said "mama, I have to go (#2)! and proceeded to run into the bathroom. Next thing I hear is "MOM! I WENT POOP IN THE POTTY NOT IN MY PANTIES! I CAN DO IT! I'M A BIG GIRL!" Yes you are, sweetie, you are a big girl now.
Talk about a great week! And, oh, where has my little girl gone?

A photo blog

Photographic evidence of our recent exploits! Captions are below the photos. What do you think?

Post Easter Egg Hunt drive home.

Easter Egg Hunt Success!

Ready for the Easter Egg Hunt!

Easter Egg hunting with my friend!

Cheese!

Can we decorate cookies yet?

Dancing with my friends!

Big girl in a party dress

Wonderful weekend

Last week was a tough week. I ended up picking Miss C up from school on average an hour later than normal due to some stuff we had going on at work. No, not going to talk about it here, just know that it was important but not as important as Miss C.
The angel that she is, Miss C didn't give me any problems despite my later than normal arrivals. She took it all in stride even though it seemed to her that we were pretty rushed every night. We were, seriously, quite rushed. I needed to get her fed, bathed and in bed in a remarkably short amount of time. We couldn't run around much outside after school because it was so late once we got home. I flexed a little on bed time but couldn't flex too much because Miss C still needs a lot of sleep. She lives in a growth spurt!
Luckily, I received very few work related calls this weekend and Miss C and I were able to have some fun times. On Saturday we went to Chuck E Cheese. For most people, this isn't too big a deal but the nearest Chuck E Cheese is a 45 minute drive and opens at 10 am. We left here a little after 9 and got there just as it was opening. I thought Miss C was going to lose it completely when she realized exactly what I had gotten her into. She figured it was a playground but OH MY GOSH it was a serious playground! I am grateful she is pretty fearless because one of the first things she did was climb into the tube climber and "drive" the little yellow car that overlooked the entire place! She just waved down to me as she explored. We had a great time! The only reason I was able to get her to eat was because I snuck a bite of pizza into her mouth when she stopped briefly. At that point, she realized she was famished! Half a small cheese pizza later, we were back at it! I had to break her heart and tell her we had to leave around 1140. It was just too darn crowded and getting perilously close to nap time. She sat down and cried as I got her to the car. Poor baby. But, heck, she was beat! Unfortunately, she was so tired that she slept for the drive home (about 45 minutes) then played in her room rather than nap. Ugh.
The rest of Saturday was pretty much a blur of playing with practically every toy she has!
Sunday was a relax day. Miss C found a recipe she wanted to try in one of my cook books (a chocolate heart!) and told me that since i said we don't have all of the ingredients that we need to go grocery shopping so we can get them! Deal! We ran out to the store and were back with enough time to make the heart and have a nice lunch together. She took a solid nap and we spent the afternoon playing, building with tinker toys and making a nice pasta dinner together. She is even getting better at recognizing when she is hungry vice just grumpy because at 4pm she demanded dinner! (Mama, my tummy is so hungry! I need pasta now, please!)
I am so glad we were able to have a nice weekend together. Sorry no pictures in this post, I haven't managed to get them uploaded yet but will try to do so tomorrow!
So, how was your weekend?

Happy 200th Post!

Wow! I didn't even realize I had managed to post that much!

Ok, so the point of this post is actually just to put up a few new photos of my little girl, who we all have shared time with in life and via this blog. She is the light of my life and makes every day more special than the last. Please join me in oogling the newest pics! :)

Long weekend

Since DH left two weeks ago, Miss C and I have been figuring each other out again. Its not that we don't spend loads of time together when DH is home but when he's gone, that third person to play with is gone. So, we've been trying to find lots of fun things for both of us to do.
This is a long weekend so we decided to have loads of fun. Miss C had a big FIRST today. We decided after our morning of errands (we typically grocery shop on Saturday mornings) that today was the day to get a library card.
After Miss C's nap, which was rather short due to her excitement, we got our coats and shoes on and ran off to the local library. We filled out the form and Miss C even "signed" her name (all of that signing in at school is really paying off!) and then Miss C got to hand her paper over to the lady for a brand new library card! What excitement!
We explored the children's section, built some castles with their blocks (love this library!), made a heart picture to take home (again, love this library!) and found 5 books (her decision) to read for the week. We also decided that this will be our Saturday routine.
We live in a very small town and there aren't a whole lot of things to do here that don't cost an arm and a leg. We are still going to the "new playground" tomorrow (I think someone might try to convince me that its our Sunday routine!) after nap. Now we just have to come up with something super fun for Monday!
How are you spending your weekend?

Hives?

Hey all!
Its been nearly a month since I last posted. I blame, well, life. :)
You all know how busy being a parent coupled with having a full time job can be. You do your best to make sure everything is taken care of but every now then something, in my case this blog, gets left behind.
So, a quick recap. Miss C has been getting hive like rashes about once a week for the past couple of months. Before you start to worry, there is no associated breathing issues and the rash goes away within 30-45 minutes of its discovery. After a lot of investigation on our part and a quick trip today to the doctor, I have come away with a couple of points:
1. If this happens to you, keep a food and activity log for your child
2. Unless there is associated breathing issues, don't freak
3. Look through your family history to determine if there is a history of allergies
4. Find a great doctor
5. Don't let this overwhelm you
Ok. so we found a great doc who thinks that we should keep some benedryl on hand in case you do get an adverse reaction, keep up with the logs and not to stress it out. She doesn't think we need to do allergy testing because the reactions aren't severe and there is no family history of allergies.
After all that, Miss C had to get one of her HIB shots (some issue here a couple of years ago prevented most kids her age from getting these on time) but we celebrated her bravery (not a peep during the shot!) with a Mama/Daughter lunch! What a big girl! She even ordered for herself!
So, in all a very successful trip! Quick stats update: 38 inches tall and 35 pounds! My little girl is going to be a very tall girl indeed!
Hope everyone is having a great day and has a great weekend!

Happy Birthday, DH!

Happy birthday to my wonderful husband, DH. I don't know what we would do without you. My world wouldn't be whole, that is sure. We love you!

Vacation Recap

Ok, so the long and short of our vacation:

Miss C got to go to the zoo 3 times during our grand adventure! That alone was worth the flight time involved! On the third visit, she even got to feed a giraffe! Yea!

While visiting with DH's family, Miss C built a snowman, made snow angels with me and participated in a snow ball fight (everyone got into that one!). She also got to taste her first strawberry shake (ala Jack in the Box following a wonderful Grilled Cheese Meal).

On our last day before we came home, Miss C and I had to drop DH off at the airport for yet another (albeit short) trip. After we left the airport, Miss C and I decided it would be grand fun to meet my side of the family that lived in the local area.

We drove to my Aunt's house but alas, no one answered the door (frown here). We did call later and left a message with my Uncle that we were in town and wanted to visit with my Grandmother. My Aunt called back later to arrange a good time for a visit.

Little did I know that the visit would turn into a reunion of sorts. As it turns out, two of my cousins still live near my Aunt and Grandmother. My aunt called them and they all came by with their families to see us (totally unexpected and quite a lot of fun). We all went out to dinner after a bit of visiting.

Miss C absolutely adores my cousin J. He has two kids (a boy, 9 and a girl, 11 who are both so sweet its not funny) and thinks my other cousin (C)'s two boys are supposed to come with us because one rode to dinner with us. She had no issues with this new crowd of people, probably because she had just visited with DH's side of the family and she understood me when I explained who everyone was.

Most importantly, Miss C got to meet my Grandmother. My grandma isn't doing great. I mean, she's doing ok, kind of. I was told that she was living in an assisted living facility so I didn't know what to expect but then when I talked to my Aunt, she told me that Grandma was out at the Casino playing poker so I figured, eh, really, how bad could it be? When I saw her using her walker, so frail looking, I realized how much time had passed. I decided to make the visit during this trip because it just seemed like the right time to.

To see the photos for the visit (there are quite a few) look here.