Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I had such a great day today :) Mom and dad have been telling me about Santa coming to visit me and sure enough, when I woke up this morning, I discovered that he *did* come to see me! He ate the cookies that I left him and drank the milk - he must have been hungry by the time he got to our house. And he left me a whole table full of presents complete with the blue ornament that I asked him for :)

This was me when I first walked downstairs and discovered that Santa had been there.



The first gift I opened was a Sit and Spin. Can you tell how much I loved it???





My next gift was a CAMERA! I opened it and said "Santa got me a pretty camera!"







What to open next???



Santa also brought me some new snow boots (how timely given that it's supposed to snow tomorrow???), a new clock for my room, a tote bag to carry my library books in, and a Leap Frog Scribble and Write.

Ooh!!! A laptop from my Great Aunt Jenny! I'm going to check my email, mommy :)



I'm doing work now...



I *love* my blocks from Grandma and Grandpa Coble and was enjoying my Penn State jersey from mom and dad!





My Great Grandma Speicher got me an ornament for my THIRD Christmas! She's recovering well in Indiana from Open Heart surgery and I was thinking about her a lot today.



I had a really nice visit yesterday with my Grandma and Grandpa Coble and my Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Coble! I'm so lucky to be able to spend time with so much family who loves me so much :) I got so many really nice gifts and I was so well behaved all day. I'll have to wait for Grandpa to send mommy some photos before I can post them, because mommy didn't take too many. I really enjoyed my blocks, books, dolls, clothes, letter abacus, Barbie, CD, stethoscope and my basket! Grandma and Grandpa even got me a book that they recorded reading to me, so I can open it anytime and can hear them read a book to me - how awesome is that??? We all had a nice dinner and I ate well. When they had to leave to go home, I hugged my Great Grandpa and then went to mommy and said "I like him!" Mommy said she likes him too and we all got a good laugh.

More tomorrow...it's been a long day :) Hopefully Grammy, Grampy, Aunt Laurie, Uncle Dan, and cousins Courtney and Kaylee will be able to get here! They're getting up early and driving down here, so fingers crossed the weather isn't too bad and they're able to make it without trouble. Good night all and I hope you had a very Merry Christmas!

It's Almost Christmas Time!

Wow - hard to believe it's been a few months since I've updated. What can I say, we've been a family on the go!

I'll start with now and work my way backwards as I have time to fill in the details. Last weekend, Mom and Marie took Arabelle and I to visit Santa Claus. I was less than impressed and wouldn't sit in his lap. Mom was hoping that if Arabelle sat on his lap that I would too. No such luck, so mom had to sit next to Santa with me in her lap. Mom was NOT prepared to have her picture taken and wasn't thrilled about this :)




















I have been a good girl for the most part. I have my tantrums every now and then about pretty random things, but I think they can be attributed to my latest ear infection (second of the winter thus far). This is round 2 of antibiotics and we're going to keep a close eye on my ears through the rest of the winter. I came so close to getting tubes in the spring, but then had a 6 month break from the infections which kind of resets the clock. Fingers crossed my ears either get better soon or we make the leap to tubes.

Mom and dad got me The Elf on the Shelf and I've really been enjoying finding him every morning. He is magic and watches me every day and leaves at night to tell Santa if I've been good or bad and comes back in a new place every morning. I named him "Criddle," which was one of the suggested names in the book. I think I'll understand him better next year, but it's been fun this year. Christmas is going to be fun and I really enjoy our tree. Though the first night daddy put it up, I was a little freaked out that there was a TREE in the living room! Now I love it and can even turn the lights on all by myself. I have a few of my very own ornaments and am obsessed with straightening them out every day. I helped mommy wrap some presents this morning - my job was to hold the tape and pull out a piece when mommy needed it. Then I picked out the gift tag and carried the presents to the tree :) I was such a big helper!

I've been doing pretty well with potty training, but it's made it difficult to spend too much time out of the house for sure! At home, I can use the potty and wash my hands all by myself with my potty seat and stool! Sometimes mom still needs to remind me to go and we spend much of the day in the bathroom, but we're getting there. Mom put all of my diapers away and I'm wearing big girl underwear at home for the most part.

I'm talking really well now and have a rather large vocabulary. Mom and dad are constantly amazed at the sentences and phrases that I've been able to string together. I'm very good about saying please and thank you and am getting better about using my words instead of crying when I'm upset about something. Sometimes when I'm having a tantrum, I tell mommy "I have tears. I need to calm down."

I've been having a blast with the leaves outside. Mom and dad got me a rake to use to "help" them. You can see that I'm not such a huge help, but at least I had fun :)





I've become an expert in putting my own coat on! I lay it out on the floor with the collar towards me and flip it over my head. Mom gave me my very own basket to put my hats and mittens in, so I can put those on myself too. My new thing is to pretend that I'm going to work. I get "dressed" all by myself and announce that I'm going to work. This is my latest attire.



This was another one. I asked mom to help me put on *two* pairs of sunglasses, then said "I can't see, mommy." We all laughed about that one!



Mom and I had a date at the zoo on Veteran's Day because my school was closed. We had a fun day and I enjoyed the gorilla's the most :) Mom bought me a baby tiger that I love to cuddle with at bedtime.



Mom let me make my very own pizza with dairy free cheese! I have a lot of fun helping mom and dad cook and this is one thing I can almost do by myself!



I am *obsessed* with sushi avocado rolls! Mom loves sushi and we discovered that I really enjoy these too. I pick them up and dip them in soy sauce and then try to bite off little pieces. It's a little hard to bite through the seaweed wrappers, so I usually end up shoving the whole piece in my mouth! I can eat almost as many pieces as mommy :)



My teachers helped me make a marshmallow and pretzel menorah! Mom's let me eat a few pieces each night since we brought it home. I really enjoy it!



More later...hugs to all!

First visit to the zoo!

I had such a great weekend! I got to go to Alanna's birthday party yesterday and saw all of my friends. It was so much fun, the weather was perfect, and I got to sing Happy Birthday again. I got to go to a new park and hopefully will go back again soon. They had swings that were just my size and Zachary and I rode on a see saw together. I even got to see Miss Gulnara - I haven't seen her in a few months and that was a pleasant surprise.

I took a late nap, so we didn't do much in the afternoon other than play with my new Dora blocks and Mr. Potato Head and read some books. When I went to bed last night, I cuddled with mom for a while and asked her to sing me Rock a Bye Baby. She sang it a few times, then I went right in to bed. I then sang the ENTIRE song to my stuffed tiger - every single word. Mom sat downstairs listening to me on the monitor and smiled a lot.

My forehead is looking better - a few of the stitches look like they may be coming out, but the bottom of the cut still looks pretty bad. I've been letting mom and dad keep the bandaid off at night, so it can air out a little. I think we may leave it off during the day tomorrow and see how it goes. My skin is starting to get irritated from where the bandaid has been. Mom will probably send a box of bandaids to school with me just in case.

Today was fabulous! Mom made me eggs for breakfast and we went to the zoo! We weren't expecting too many people to be there since it was cooler, but the parking lots were packed and it took a while to find a spot. When we finally got there, I had a blast. We saw a tiger first - he was sleeping, so I yelled "Wake up tiger!" He did lift his head and I laughed like crazy. Next we saw three lions! There were 2 females and 1 male - the 2 females had just had cubs, but they weren't out for us to see yet. We got to see one of the lions walk through the water and get a drink. We saw the gorillas next and I saw them climb up some trees. The mommy gorilla ran across the habitat with a tiny baby on her back! I was so excited about that - I ride on mommy's back in the carrier sometimes too. We also saw three zebras, which I was really excited about. There was a cheetah right next to the zebras which was daddy's favorite. Mom really liked the elephants, but they were always on the other side of the habitat from where we were standing. The sloth bear was pretty cool too - he had really big fuzzy floppy ears. I told mommy that he was "inside" because he was behind the glass. On the way out, we waited for a while and finally got to see the Giant Panda! It was just like the stuffed pandas that I have at home. I was pretty tired by that time, though, so we walked back towards the car and grabbed some lunch for the road. I ate a Boca burger and apple slices and mom and I talked the whole way home (she said she was trying to keep me awake until we got home). It worked and we talked all about my favorite animals. The zebra's were my favorite with the tiger in a close second. We'll definitely have to go back soon.

I took a really good nap when we came home and then got to hang out with dad this afternoon while he was watching football. Dad taught me all about football and I do a touchdown cheer when someone scores. Mom went for a run, but came back early because there were too many bugs. While she was gone, daddy taught me how to throw and catch a ball! I did such a good job and actually caught the ball a lot :) Thank you to Jeff and Kathryn for the awesome starfish ball that you gave me - it's perfect for throwing and catching! Daddy was so afraid that I'd be one of those kids who runs at a ball without actually opening my arms to catch it, but I proved to him that I can play the game.

Hope everyone had a great weekend - Happy October!

I'm TWO (and had my first ER visit)!

It's been a few weeks since I updated, but it's been very busy! I turned TWO last Tuesday and had a really great birthday. I spent the day at school with my friends and then had a nice dinner with mom and dad on the deck. It was low key, but I got to eat three cupcakes at school and was in a super good mood. I even sang Happy Birthday to myself!

We had a bit of an adventure on Friday and I had my first visit to the ER :( I was running around my classroom right after lunch and I tripped and went head first into one of the tables. I split open my forehead right above my right eye and mom and dad had to take me to the hospital to get stitches. The director of my school got in touch with mom while she was at work and said that I had an accident and would need stitches. They kept me awake instead of letting me nap since I had hit my head pretty hard. Mom was in DC, so she called dad and had him go to school to get me since he was closer. Mom's co-worker was kind enough to give her a ride up to my school since mom's car was at the Metro station across the street from school. Mom ended up getting to school not long after dad did. When they got there, I was running around the hallway, happy as can be, completely oblivious to the huge gash on my forehead. The bleeding had stopped and I had a big bandage on my head to protect the cut, but the director showed mom and dad a picture of the cut so they would be prepared when we got to the hospital. There was no doubt I needed stitches.

We got to the hospital about an hour after I fell and were taken back to the pediatric ER pretty quickly. A nurse came in and put a numbing agent on the cut and we sat and waited. Mom and dad learned a lesson that if we have to go to the ER again, they should take the time to grab some snacks, a drink and some books - it was a long wait for a tired, hurt 2 year old! A doctor came in about 15 minutes after they put the numbing agent on and asked mom to apply pressure so it would work better, but I wouldn't sit still for that, so we just had to sit and wait. An hour and a half after they first came in, another doctor came in to look at the cut and see what "tools" he would need to stitch me up. At that point, we had been at the hospital for several hours and I hadn't had a nap, snack or anything to drink since lunch time, so I was a little "wiggly" to say the least.

I got pretty upset when the doctor and nurse came back in because they had to wrap me up in a sheet to keep my hands down by my side so I wouldn't bump the doctors hands. It was a pretty awful experience, but the doctor worked as quickly as he could so I could get back in mom's lap. It was a pretty deep cut and all told, I have 4 internal stitches and 10 external. The cut goes from the inside corner of my right eyebrow straight up to near the hairline. It looks like it's closed pretty well, so hopefully it won't scar too badly. Mom's not at all happy about the prospect of a facial scar like that, though :(

On a brighter note, I had a WONDERFUL birthday party on Saturday! Dad stayed up ALL night on Friday to cook the pork and put together my present. Mom and dad got me a train table and I was *so* excited to see it when I woke up on Saturday! So many friends and family came to celebrate with me and I had a blast. Grandma and Grandpa Coble helped out a lot and ran some errands for mom so she could get things ready at the house. Grammy and Grampy Clements also came early and played and read with me and helped get all of the food ready which helped mom a lot too :) Needless to say, mom and dad didn't get as much done on Friday as they hoped since we spent all afternoon in the ER. My friends starting coming around 3 and we played with my water table and made a huge mess of the yard. Since we all got wet, we ended up taking our clothes off and running around in our diapers.

Mom had a balloon lady come at 4 and she made us so many different balloon animals. She brought one with her that was a kitty tree for me and made me a kitty on a bracelet! Then she made me a dog on a leash and kept making balloons for me and my friends. She made a bee, giraffe, mermaid, alien, a dragon hat, a horse, a Denver Bronco, a few swords, a sea otter (that looked like a Nittany Lion), and a few Elmo's. I'm sure I'm missing a few - she did such a great job and we all had so much fun. I'm not sure who had more fun with the balloons - me and my friends or daddy and his friends! If anyone is interested, her website is:

http://www.beckysballoonanimals.com/

We had cupcakes after she left and then had dinner (aka pork time) afterwards. A little backwards, but it worked! Of course I didn't eat much dinner, but who would when they had cupcakes before??? I opened a few of my presents after dinner, but I was so easily distracted and ended up saving a few things for the next few days. I got so many nice things. Toys, clothes, dolls, books. I really can't tell everyone how much I appreciate the generosity!

Mom and I went back to see the doctor on Tuesday morning and they all agreed the cut looks pretty good, though we can't tell how well it is actually healing until the stitches are gone. We'll keep a pretty close eye on it, keep putting neosporin and Vitamin E (once the stitches dissolve) on the scar and will go to a plastic surgeon if we're not happy with how it's healing. One of the nurses in the practice used to be in plastics and she said it looked good, so keep your fingers crossed! I can now get the cut wet and mom is supposed to clean it out with soap and water twice a day. Unfortunately, that means that the bandaid has to come off twice a day :( That is by far the worst part. Mom and dad tried to leave the bandaid off last night to let it air out a little, but I cried and said my forehead felt yucky, so daddy put it back on. I was a champ and really let mom clean it out tonight, but I wouldn't get in the bathtub, so we just used a washcloth. I let mommy hold the washcloth on my forehead and closed my eyes and told her it felt good.

Will keep everyone posted on the forehead thing and will post pictures as soon as people send them to mom. She was running around like crazy and didn't get a chance to take too many photos of her own :(

Thanks again to everyone - I had a really fantastic party and had so much fun!

Congrats Joe and Ruthie!

I'm about a week late, but Congrats to Joe and Ruthie! We went to Charlotte last weekend for their wedding and had such a great time. We decided to fly because mom had a bunch of frequent flier miles (thank you Bank of America check card...) and didn't want to take another 7 hour drive for a weekend just 2 weeks after we got back from NC on vacation. Mom and dad decided to get a seat for me even though I could have flown for free on their laps. They figured I'd do better in my carseat, so they took that on and installed it on the plane for me to sit in. Mom was a little anxious about taking me on the plane and dad was trying to figure out how to carry everything! We ended up checking 3 bags, carried on my carseat, diaper bag, camera bag, and dad's laptop. Surprisingly it was a pretty easy trip. Thanks to Kim who suggested leaving the stroller at home and carrying me in the Ergo through security. Mom didn't even have to take me out of the carrier! She just had to take my shoes off and put my Grover doll through the x-ray, then we walked through and picked up our bags on the other end. Easy peasy!

When we got to Charlotte, mom's Aunt Jenny was waiting for us!!! Mom and I haven't seen her since I was 9 months old and dad hasn't seen her since they got married 6 years ago!!! She even bought a stroller for me to use, so I got to ride to the car in style instead of riding on mommy's back :) Mom had a bit of trouble installing my new carseat rear-facing in Jenny's car, so I got to ride forward for a few days. We had a really early flight, so we got there around 8:15 and had the whole day to hang out at Jen's house. We had a really nice visit and I had so much fun with all of the toys and books she had for me to play with. She has two small dogs, Barney and Betty and I had fun gathering their bones and putting them in their beds. Mom's cousin Kaitlin was away at Clemson, so she was kind enough to share her room with me. We put her mattress on the floor and it was the perfect bed for me!

Saturday, we got up and drove to the hotel so daddy could get ready for the rehearsal. Mom and I checked in and took a little nap :) We woke up just in time for mom and dad to go to the rehearsal dinner which was right next to the hotel. I was lucky enough to stay with Baby Cora and her grandma in the next hotel over. I had a great time reading books and "helping" with Baby Cora. Thank you, Angela's mom!!!!! I had a fun night and really appreciate being able to spend some time with you. Mom came back to get me after the dinner and I went to bed pretty easily. Since mom and dad didn't take my air mattress, I got to sleep in the big bed with mommy. She says I was a bed hog, but it worked out well.

The wedding was on Sunday, so when I got up (would you believe I slept till 9am???), mom took me back to Jenny's house, which was about an hour south of the hotel. We had some lunch, then mom had to go back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding. I got to spend the night with Aunt Jenny and Uncle Ken and we had a BLAST!!! They took me to the fair and I even got to ride on a train! I got to Skype with Kaitlin and I had fun with that too :) Uncle Ken is great at reading books and I heard so many new good books. Jenny tells mommy that I was great and didn't even cry at bedtime. This was my first night away from mom and dad and I think we all survived really well.

Mom and dad came back to get me on Monday and we had a few hours to relax before we had to head back to the airport. We had a pretty smooth flight home as well - our flight was oversold, but thankfully we were confirmed with 3 first class seats, so we were good to go. It worked out well in first class because I had plenty of room and couldn't even kick the seat in front of me from my carseat. I talked pretty much non stop on the way home, but I don't think the people around us minded. The man in front of us snored the whole way home and the lady behind us complimented mom on how good I was when we landed. We made it home around 7pm and settled right back into our usual routine. I went back to school and mom and dad went back to work on Tuesday. All week I've been asking where Aunt Jenny and Uncle Ken went - I hope I get to see them again soon.

I had a pretty good week and even got to see Miss Sharon yesterday so mom and dad could go to Erin's birthday dinner. We all had a lot of fun. Today mom tells me is sushi and football with Jay, Molly and Baby Jake - I can't wait (though I *really* don't want mom to hold Jake...).

Mom tells me that my birthday is in a little over a week - can you believe it??? How is it possible that I'm almost TWO???

I'm talking up a storm now and talk pretty much in complete sentences and repeat everything. Here are some of my favorite phrases:

Where did mommy (daddy/kitty) go?
Mommy, there are a lot of cars (as we drive home from school)
I want to go downstairs (when I wake up in the mornings or from naps)
Mommy cover me up
Sydney goes first (up the stairs as I point at mommy and tell her to stay away)
Fill up my water please (I'm a very polite kid so far!)

Hope everyone is well - I'm going to go play now!

Home Sweet Home

We made it home today. It's bittersweet...vacation was AWESOME and I hate to leave it, but I had SO much fun playing with my toys when I got home :) I walked right in to the family room and made a house out of my blocks for mom.

My tummy is still bothering me and I had somewhat of a rough night last night. At some point, I must have fallen out of bed (or climbed out) and knocked my monitor off and it hit the bed rail. It woke mom up instantly because it was so loud and she came running in to see if I was ok. She looked in my bed and I wasn't there. She was a little freaked out since she was woken up from a dead sleep and didn't have her glasses on. I had walked over to the door and was standing behind her and said "Hi Mommy." I think she jumped almost to the ceiling! Turns out I had woken up because my belly hurt and mom had to change me (which is *quite* the painful process, unfortunately). Once I got back in bed, I chatted for a while and it didn't seem that I was too ready to go back to sleep. Mom checked the time and it was a little before 5am, so she decided to just let me get up, figuring that by the time we hit the road, I'd be exhausted and zonk out. Mom and I cuddled for a while on the couch, played with my stuffed animals, drew some pictures, and hung out on the deck and drank some coffee (ok, coffee for mom, milk for me). When daddy got up, he loaded the car and we headed out around 10. We had a third floor condo which was great for the view, but it took FOREVER to load and unload all of our stuff. Mom's car was packed to say the least. By the time we dropped off the keys at the real estate office and stopped to grab a bite to eat, I was sound asleep. I only slept for about an hour and a half (even shorter than a normal nap for me) and ate a turkey sandwich when I woke up. I spent the rest of the trip hanging out in my carseat, drawing on my magnadoodle, singing songs, talking to Cookie Monster, my baby, Grover, and my "Heepo" (i.e. Hippo). We hit some traffic (OK, a lot of traffic) in VA right around Richmond. All told, it took us a little over 7 hours to get home. I didn't cry, didn't whine, nothing. Seriously, I was happy and content THE ENTIRE WAY! I think mom and dad were afraid to jinx the situation by talking about it before they got home, but I did such a great job and they are very proud of me :) Even though I was so good, I think daddy was hoping that I'd take a second nap so he could nap while mom drove for a while. I hope he got a quick cat nap in at least!

After I played with my toys, mom and I ate dinner, then I took my bath and we read some books in my room and I climbed in to my bed. I didn't protest at all and ended up talking to myself for a little while before falling asleep. Fingers crossed I sleep well tonight! I really think vacation has helped my sleep pattern - I've slept better in the past week than I have in a LONG time.

Back to work and school tomorrow. My laundry is all done, bag is packed, lunch is packed, and I'm ready to go!

Last Day on the Beach

I am sad that we are going home tomorrow, but I do think it will be nice to sleep in my own bed and take a bath in my own tub with all of my toys.

Today we spent the morning on the beach - it was a great morning and I got to practice my jumping a little bit. This is a recently learned skill and I want to jump all of the time, but mom and dad tell me it's not such a good idea in a third floor condo :) So mom said I could jump on the beach all I want.

Here's me in mid-air!


I don't usually get juice, but soy milk is hard to come by and it's been so hot that mom and dad want to make sure I stay hydrated, so they've let me have a few juice boxes this week. Needless to say, I *love* them :)


I'm ready to go in the water with mom and dad! The waves tickled my feet :)


Daddy bought me a kite!!!!! Here I am waiting for him to put it together so we could go fly it.


See how excited I was about my kite???


This is a happy girl right here :)


We decided to go to Cape Lookout this afternoon, then spend some time walking around the town of Beaufort which is a nice historical town on the waterfront. Since it was a pretty long drive to get there, I napped in the car on the way to the lighthouse. We had to take a ferry to get from the mainland to the island where the lighthouse was. This was my first boatride and I loved it! I love to go "boom boom" over speed bumps in parking lots and we had lots of opportunities to go boom boom in the water too. On the way out to the lighthouse, I even got to see the wild horses that live on the island! The whole way out on the boat, I was holding on to Cookie Monster and my blankie - mom was also holding on to them for dear life, knowing full well that if they flew off the boat that it would not be a pretty sight. The skies were somewhat ominous as we neared the island, but the boat captain thought the storm would pass and not really hit where the lighthouse was. He was WRONG! It rained the entire time we were there :( We ended up not even going out to the beach to see the lighthouse, but rather sat in a covered area and got to see a demonstration put on by one of the park rangers. She showed us some whale bones, horseshoe crab shells, logger head sea turtle skulls and skeletons, and whelk shells. She even said that they had recently found a sea turtle that had mortar shells stuck in it's shell - that means the turtle was around during the Civil War! How crazy is that???

The rain never eased up, so we decided to make a break for it and run back to the ferry. We were confirmed on the 4:00 ferry, but it was about 3:45 and we thought we'd try anyway. We were lucky enough to get on, but were completely soaked. It really hurt riding back because the rain was pelting us all around. Luckily, mom had packed an extra shirt for she and I in my diaper bag, so she put her shirt around me to shield me from the rain. I hugged mom and put my head on her shoulder to keep myself warm. When we got back to the car, daddy changed my clothes and I was *much* happier (and warmer).

We drove to Beaufort and the rain had slowed down a little. We walked around to some of the shops and mom bought dry sweatshirts for she and I. We ended up eating at a great seafood restaurant and it was FREEZING with the air conditioning, so it's a good thing we had new sweatshirts :) I ended up eating a hot dog because I couldn't really eat anything else they had on the menu, but I gobbled it up along with some watermelon (and mommy's and daddy's watermelon), fries, and applesauce.

Mom and dad think I must have eaten some dairy at one of the restaurants we went to :( My poor tummy is really upset and I scream in pain when I have to go to the bathroom and it is pure torture to have my diaper changed :( I have a rash all over my belly which is what first diagnosed my dairy issue, so mom and dad think that has to be it. I got some Benadryl and hydrocortisone tonight, so hopefully that will make me feel a little better. I guess I haven't outgrown my dairy issues yet :(

Hope everyone is doing well and we'll post some more pictures once we get home and settled back in to the daily grind.

My Shell-Phone

Mom said she'd post more pictures when we get home - we've been using daddy's camera and don't have the right software on this computer to get the pictures off of the camera :(

Anyway, I had another fun day yesterday! The forecast was for rain, so we decided to go to the aquarium early in the morning, then hang out at either the beach or pool in the afternoon once the rain stopped. It worked out really well and we got to the aquarium a little after 9 when it opened. We got a good parking space and went right in. We walked around and saw some fishies and a few big plastic frogs which I really liked. Not too long after we got there, there was a dive show in the big tank. They had built a replica of the U-352 which was the sub that daddy got to see on Tuesday! He said it was a pretty good replica, but was a little smaller than the real thing. They had three divers who suited up and gave a demonstration in the water. The one diver had a full face mask and was able to talk to us from under the water! Daddy taught me that divers make bubbles when they breathe, so now I keep talking about how I saw the divers make bubbles. When the first diver entered the water, I said "there's daddy!" I got a little restless there, so we got up and walked around some more. I got to touch a horseshoe crab, hermit crab, and even a few stingrays! I didn't want to leave the ray tank.

We went to lunch after the aquarium, then came back to the condo to take a nap. I took a really long nap and we went to the pool afterwards. Mom and dad got me a new swim vest that made me a little more comfortable in the water. I chased mom around the pool and drove my little boat a little too. We couldn't stay there too long because it started raining, so we came back in. I kept putting my seashell up to my ear and saying "I call grandpa on my shell" so mom called grandpa and I talked to him with my shell up to my ear. We had a low key rest of the evening.

Today we were going to go to the beach in the morning and to see Fort Macon in the afternoon. We packed everything up and headed down to the beach, but were only there for a few minutes when it started raining again :( There was no end in sight, so we packed up and came back in. I was having a "sensitive" day today and just wanted mom to hold me, so we sat on the couch for a while and snuggled. I also got to talk to grammy and grampy on my shell-phone! I ended up taking an early nap which worked out ok. When I got up, we drove to Fort Macon which was only a few miles from our condo. I got to ride on mommy's back since there were steps that were not stroller friendly. I was SO good and just hung out and talked to mom and dad for the few hours they were there. I saw some cannons and knew that they said "boom boom." There were a few rooms that had museum type exhibits and I got to push the buttons to make the programs start.

Here are some pictures from today. Daddy got a lot more on his camera, but we'll have to post those later.

The entrance to the fort. It was pretty crazy with steep drop offs and no railings.


View from one corner of the fort looking up.


I was tired, so put my blanket on mom's shoulder and put my head down for a little.


The flag. I told mommy: "Look at the big towel..."


Me and daddy with one of the cannons.


I put my face up to the cannon and yelled "Hello!" It said "Hello" back to me!


One more day, then we have a LONG drive home. Thank goodness for my magnadoodle!

Where'd the kite go?

No pictures right now, but maybe mom will put some up later. We forgot to take the camera to the beach this morning. I'm actually taking a nap now (it takes talent to write the blog *and* nap at the same time...) and mom is reading her book on the deck and daddy is diving again. He had such a good day diving yesterday and was able to cross something off of his bucket list! I'll let him fill in some of the details, but he got to see the U-352 which was truly a dream come true. The conditions were perfect and that was the first dive of the day. He said that his vacation is complete and he'd be happy if we went home now :) I think I've convinced him to stay a few more days, though.

After daddy got home yesterday, we went to the dive shop to look around and went to a fantastic restaurant. I was pretty good and had chicken and fries and some of mommy's fish. Dad had shrimp and grits and it looked delicious, but I wasn't allowed to have shrimp or the cheese that was on the grits. When we got back to our condo, we hung out on the deck for a little bit and watched the moon and looked for kites. On Monday night, mommy and I sat outside and watched a kite flying for about 45 minutes before I went to bed, so now I am obsessed and constantly ask "where did the kite go?" I think I have daddy wrapped around my little finger because he said he'd try to find me a kite by the end of the week - I can't wait!

I've actually been sleeping pretty well on this trip so far. Mom and dad brought my aero bed and I slept on that at Jeff and Kathryn's house and only woke up once. Since we've been here, I've been sleeping in a big girl bed because there's not too much room for my air mattress. It's actually worked out well and I've been napping and sleeping well at night. Of course the sun and water probably take a lot out of me, but that's ok - I'm having a blast!

This morning mom and I went to the beach for a few hours and looked for seashells and walked way out into the ocean. I kept saying "here's a big wave mommy!" The waves would crash and mom would dip me in the water, but there was NO way I was putting my feet down. I held on to mom for dear life and she wasn't about to let me go. We stopped at the pool on the way back in for lunch and we swam for a bit and played with my bucket on the steps. I kept splashing mommy and she said it was ok (unlike in the bathtub where she's always telling me not to splash her!)

Maybe we'll have more to write later, but for now we're just enjoying an uneventful (other than daddy's diving) and relaxing week. This was definitely long overdue.

Vacation Time!!!

I'm on my first real vacation with mom and dad this week :) It was somewhat of a spur of the moment decision and mom and dad decided to take a week off and head to the beach.

As it turns out, Jeff, Kathryn, Carson and Sienna moved to NC a few weeks before we were coming, so it worked out for us to stop and stay with them overnight before we came down here. I had SO much fun and am so glad I could meet them. Carson and Sienna have an awesome play room and they were so nice to share all of their toys with me! They made really good food and I ate really well while I was there too :) I've been waking up since we've been here and asking where they are - I really do miss them and hope we can get together again soon. Mom and dad had a really good time too - it's been far too long since they saw Jeff and Kathryn, so hopefully now that they're on the east coast we'll get to see them more often. I think mom and dad have to go toy shopping when they get home because I found a lot of new things that I really enjoyed :)

This is our second day at the beach and mom and I are about to head out for the day. Daddy is diving today and is hoping to see some cool things underwater, so we'll catch up with him this afternoon. I think we'll spend the morning on the beach, come back, eat lunch and take a nap, then head to the pool for the afternoon. I'm a little overconfident in the pool and don't want mommy to hold me, so that is a constant struggle. I loved the ocean yesterday, but was a little scared when I was sitting on the sand and the water washed up on me. Mom tried to run yesterday (her 10 mile training plan was supposed to start yesterday), but her foot wasn't ready to run, so she'll have to sit out another couple of days at least :(

Here are some pictures from the first day.

Putting my feet up on the railing like daddy :)


Daddy says he could get used to this.


This is the view from our porch. Not too shabby!


Looking sassy in my beach gear!


All ready to head out!


Chillin' on the beach.


With that I will sign off and head out for another fun day in the sun!

Earthquake!

First of all, everyone / everything is A-OK! I managed to sleep through my first earthquake this morning! It was a magnitude 3.6 and the epicenter was about 2 miles from where we live - dad says it's pretty much right under the townhouse they used to live in! I didn't sleep well at all last night - I got up at least 10 times - never really fully waking, but crying for a few minutes before settling down again. Mom had to come in and rub my back a few times. Surprisingly, though, I didn't even stir when the earthquake came through. Mom was up super early because she was going for a run before work, so she was sitting on the couch having a cup of coffee. The earthquake happened at 5:04 am. It got REALLY loud all of the sudden and the pots on the pot rack started shaking. Mom seriously didn't know what it was - she thought it might be a big truck coming down the road or a low flying airplane or the house falling in to a sinkhole (yes, she's aware that's a slightly irrational thought, but it was a strange noise!) or something. Poor Raz was in the kitchen looking at mom with big eyes and a BIG puffy tail. Mom could feel the rumble move from the kitchen to the family room where she was sitting - it was pretty wild! It only lasted maybe 10 seconds, but it felt like forever. When it stopped and mom gathered her nerves, she walked to the bottom of the steps at which point daddy was walking out of the bedroom. At least mom knew she wasn't crazy at that point!!! They stood around and watched the news for a few minutes and that confirmed that an earthquake had just happened. Scary stuff!

I never stirred. When they were reasonably sure that nothing else was going to happen, mom headed out for her run and daddy tried to go back to sleep. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to fall asleep and was still awake when mom got home 40 minutes later :( Mom showered and got me up for school only to discover that I was sleeping on the floor again. This time, though, I wasn't even laying on my Jelly Cat Panda Bear (Thank You Jay and Molly!), but was just on the floor. I guess it's not too bad that mom's only found me on the floor twice since she put me in my big girl bed!

Today was also my last day at school. I start at my new school on Monday. Though she is glad, mom cried when we hugged my friends good bye tonight and I think her teachers thought she was crazy :( Casey and I both told her - "Mommy, no crying" and patted her on the back. We will certainly stay in touch with my friends, but will miss seeing them and their parents every day!!!!!!!

Splash!

Mom and dad got me a new water table and I had a BLAST with it tonight! I was completely soaked by the time I finished and I think I emptied half of the water on to the deck. I'm thinking it will give mom and dad some time to sit and relax on the deck while I play. Dad even got a hammock and hung it from a few trees in the back yard - it's so much fun to sit and swing.



Last weekend, we went blueberry picking on Sunday with Laurie, Zachary, Rachel, Adam, and Alanna! We picked 2.5 pounds of blueberries and I already ate my fair share. We froze the rest. Will post those pictures shortly.

After blueberry picking, we ate a quick lunch, then went to the lake for a family run. Dad had to do 7 miles and mom had to do 4.5, so dad started out running with me in the stroller. The breeze felt wonderful and I fell asleep almost instantaneously. Dad did a few miles with me then passed me off to mom, so they each ended up running about 2.5 miles with the stroller (significantly more difficult to say the least!). It was a hot day, so when they were done, we took a trip to Rita's! My fave :) OK, it's really mom's favorite, but she uses me to justify going there.



Mom and dad just booked a vacation for us next month!!! We're going to the beach in NC so daddy can go diving and mommy and I can lounge oceanside :) We haven't really been on vacation since I was born, so it'll be fun! They also just booked flights for Joe and Ruthie's wedding in September! Mom tells me I get to stay with my Great Aunt Jenny - I can't wait to see her again and I think I'll have Uncle Ken wrapped around my little finger by the time we leave :)

I *think* my 3rd 2 year molar is finally through! Instead of fighting mom at bedtime tonight, I laid down, said "good night mommy, I love you." Let's hope I don't get up several times like I have been all week :( Good night everyone!!!

Terrible Two's at 21 Months :)

I'm giving mom a run for her money these days! Everything is no, mine, go (as in mom, get out of here), or mommy uppy (pick me up NOW). And I go from wanting mom to hold me to throwing a tantrum in a split second. If mom or dad tell me no, I have a FIT and have even started hitting and biting mommy when I'm mad at her :( She tells me it hurts and that she doesn't like it, but I guess it's just my way of communicating that I'm unhappy. We're all hoping this passes quickly because obviously it's not easy for any of us!

Mom and I went grocery shopping this morning and ended up having a late lunch, and then I didn't want to nap after that. My favorite book lately has been "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed." I can say it pretty well and when mom says "the mama called the doctor and the doctor said...," I fill in the rest, wag my finger back and forth, and say "NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED!" Well, on our way home from the grocery store, I picked up one of my books that was in the car - it was a book called "Ten Little Ladybugs." Instead of counting the ladybugs like I usually do, I shouted "NO MORE LADYBUGS JUMPING ON THE BED!" Mom got a pretty good laugh out of that one. Mom also discovered that I learned Baa Baa Black Sheep and can sing nearly the entire song :) I learn so much at school!

Speaking of which...I'm starting at a new school a week from Monday! I really liked it when we went to visit and will be moving in to the 2 year old room there. There are two 2 year old rooms there and in my room, there's a hamster and some fish! In the other room there is a bunny named Snickers. This school seems very good in terms of dealing with food allergies, so I'm hoping that will make it easier for mom and me (right now she is sending 100% of my food to school, so that's breakfast, 2 snacks and lunch every day). They have photos in the kitchen and in each classroom of every kid who has food restrictions and the teachers and chef all seemed to know how to deal with it. The new school is actually about half way to work for mommy (we're on the waiting list at the location close to us, but can't get in there until I'm 3!!!). Mom's also excited that she will be able to use my cloth diapers at the new daycare, so hopefully we don't have to buy any more disposable diapers!!!

I haven't been napping well this week and today was no exception. I ended up "talking" to myself for almost an hour (which I usually do, but at some point fall asleep). Mom left me alone thinking I was signing to myself in my bed. Little did she know that I quietly climbed out of my bed, opened my drawer, got out all of my socks and diapers, pulled out my toy bins, got all of the toys out, put all of my books in my bed, and then hid behind my curtains. Whew - that was exhausting and you'd think I'd have to take a nap after all of that, but nope! At some point, mom and dad decided to just get me up and let me nap in the car on the way to Jay and Molly's.

All of my socks and diaper inserts in a nice big pile. When mom walked in the room, I was tossing them up in the air like they were confetti. I thought she was going to be mad, but she just laughed, got dad and came back with the camera :) The yellow blankie was mom's when she was a baby - isn't it nice that she's willing to share it with me? It's my favorite and I always ask her to cover me up with it.



I usually take a lot of my toys to bed with me, but there's not usually THIS much stuff in there!



After we abandoned my nap, we got in the car and headed to Virginia to meet Baby Jake! I slept for about 20 minutes on the way there, then woke up and screamed the rest of the way. Mom is surprised I was as good as I was given the lack of nap. I'll share some photos of Baby Jake once daddy puts them up. I liked him a lot, but I really enjoyed playing with Kona Bean and Holly (a mini dachsund who was SO well behaved and gentle). Jake was really good the whole time we were there. He did go through 3 diapers in a matter of minutes and I laughed about that. I still do that to mom sometimes :) I can't wait to teach him things as he grows up - I promised mom I'd teach him how to say "I like that party hat" from Go Dog Go.

Daddy put up some photos from the 4th at Mt. Vernon and from the fireworks. Here are a few. The rest are on the smugmug site (link on the right).







With that, have a good evening everyone!

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Aunt Molly and Uncle Jay welcomed Jacob Orion Huie to the world today! Sounds like mom and baby are doing well and we can't wait to meet him! Mom and Dad taught me how to say "Hooray Molly" and "I love you Jacob." If they'll let me, I'll post a picture of him after we meet him :)

We had a great weekend! Mom and dad's 6th wedding anniversary was yesterday. They went to dinner and a show and I got to stay at home and play with Ms. Sharon! I woke up saying "Sharon, Sharon" this morning. Needless to say I had a wonderful time. Too bad I didn't sleep in a little later this morning, though.

Mom and dad told me that Uncle Steve and Aunt Angela *totally* surprised them and paid for their dinner as their wedding gift!!! That was SO nice of them and they really didn't have to! Mom and dad said that the looks on their faces when the waitress told them that dinner had been taken care of by Steve and Angela were PRICELESS. Their jaws were on the table and they couldn't stop talking about it all night. So my props go out to Steve and Angela - you've got mad game for pulling that one off and mom and dad REALLY appreciate it!

Today we drove down to Mt. Vernon. Mom had never been there and they had some cool festivities going on that dad wanted to see. It was hard to find parking, but once we did we had a really nice time. It was pretty hot and we didn't actually tour the mansion (there was an hour wait), but we walked all around and got to see the water (i.e. the Potomac). I also got to pet a mule (I thought he looked like a horse, but he had HUGE ears) and we saw horses and a few sheep. We had a blast and were all tired by the time we got home. Of course I had slept in the car on the way down there, so I didn't nap again at all this afternoon, much to mom's chagrin. All she wanted to do was nap, but no such luck. Even when daddy stayed with me so she could try to sleep I was so wound up and was shrieking and she couldn't sleep.

After throwing a tantrum because mom took my barrette away from me (I had pulled it out of my hair and was chewing on it), we went out to dinner at Red Robin. Mom and dad had huge burgers and I got stuck with a plate of spaghetti and some broccoli. I didn't even touch the spaghetti, but at least ate the broccoli and some of daddy's fries. Daddy's water had a lemon in it and I asked him for it. After taking a bite out of it, I exclaimed very emphatically "I lika dat lime!"

Then we went to see the fireworks at the Soccerplex near our house. Mom and dad had prepared me for the "boom boom," so I knew what to expect. The "secret" entrance that we always use was blocked off by the police, so we ended up making a U-turn and parking in a random church parking lot and walking over. It worked out well and we still had a pretty good view. We took some toys for me to play with and those kept me occupied while we waited for it to get dark. When the fireworks started, I got really excited! Mom and dad were afraid I'd be scared, but I had a wonderful time and was SO good, especially for being up s much past my bedtime. I kept saying "LOOK daddy!", "LOOK mommy!", "Boom, boom," "Baby see!" (as I held my baby doll up to see the fireworks) and "Blankie see!" Like they say all the time, I make mom and dad laugh :) Of course I fell asleep in the car on the way home and then chattered myself to sleep once mom got my jammies on. She's hoping again that I sleep in a little tomorrow, but chances of that are slim to none ;)

Hope you all had a Happy and Safe 4th! I certainly enjoyed mine and am so excited to be able to say Happy Birthday Jacob!

My new bike!

Mom bought me a bike last week and daddy put it together for me a few days ago while I sat in the garage and watched him. Now I ask him every night to put his shoes on and let me ride my bike :) It's so much fun, but I'm still a little too short to actually reach the pedals. I'll get there, though. My helmet is almost bigger than me! But mom wanted me to get used to riding with my helmet on because she wants to get a bike seat for me to ride on her bike when grandpa brings it in a few weeks. It sounds like a lot of fun. I already love going for runs in my stroller with mom and dad, so I'm sure I'll enjoy bike rides too. I've been getting in lots of stroller runs lately. Mom is training for a 10K and dad is training for a half marathon!!! They're crazy, huh?



Whatever stomach bug I got on Saturday lasted until yesterday. Mom had to keep me home on Monday and Tuesday and took me to the doctor on Monday. She said it was probably a virus and to keep me hydrated. Mom's advice to new moms and dads is to find a good pediatrician! She has really gotten to know my doctors well and feels really comfortable with most of them (OK, all but one in the practice and even that hasn't really been an issue). She's even formed a relationship with the nurse who always calls her back - now that the nurse knows me, she and mom get along pretty well. Of course mom gave me lots and lots of diluted juice just to get me to drink fluids. I don't usually get juice (mom tells me it has too much sugar in it - what fun is she???), but now I'm asking for it all the time and mom just gives me water, harumph. After eating not much other than applesauce for 3-4 days, I finally ate a good dinner tonight. Mom made pasta with peas and tuna and I picked out all the peas first, then the tuna, then ate the pasta. Not too bad, but I kept calling the peas green beans.

Mom tried to work while she was home with me on Monday and Tuesday and every time she talked on the phone, I said "hi grandpa." Too cute. Mom ended up moving my table and stool from the kitchen to the dining room so I could play with my play-doh and draw with markers while she worked. I did *really* well and mom kept telling me how proud she was of me :)

I've also started using the potty a lot more!!! I almost always tell mom *after* the fact that I need a new diaper, but I've started telling her that I want to go in the potty before hand! The downside to this is that sometimes I wake mom up several times a night and ask for a clean diaper. She's gotten pretty good at changing diapers in the dark and going back to sleep quickly. I think it helps that we use cloth diapers at home, so I can tell when I'm wet and I don't like it. I'm sure it will still be a while until I am out of diapers, but mom can hope, right?

What else is new??? Mom and dad are going out for their anniversary on Saturday night. Can you believe it's been 6 years already? They tell me that they first started dating 14 years ago! That's a long time! They got tickets to a Reduced Shakespeare show at the Kennedy Center and Ms. Sharon is going to come stay with me :) I'm so excited to see her - I miss her from the infant room at school!!!

Hope everyone is staying cool. At least the heat has broken for a little while at least. Happy long weekend :)

It's definitely summertime!

Wow - I can't believe how hot it's been the past few weeks! It's been in the mid 90's and has felt even warmer than that. Thank goodness for air conditioning and lots of water play at home and school!

I've been sleeping a little better, though have gone back to waking up a few times at night the past few nights. I do love my big girl bed, though. I've been drinking a *lot* of water because it's been so hot. I must have had too much water last night because I woke up early in the morning and my pj's, sheets and blankets were all soaked :( Mom changed everything and I went back to sleep for a few hours. She put up some light blocking shades in my room and they help me sleep a *little* later now that the sun comes up so early. Only one night have I climbed out of my bed and mom found me sleeping on the floor when she came to wake me up in the morning. I didn't seem to mind, though!

My vocabulary has absolutely taken off. I repeat almost everything and babble incoherently at times. I'll tell you what I want to eat (or not), what I want to read or what toy I want to play with. I'm back to being a pretty picky eater about half the time. I've been loving steak on the grill, but don't do so well with the veggies. Mom made us some kabobs the other night and I did well with those, but I didn't like the onions. I guess it's good that she's still making me some chicken "nuggets" with veggies hidden in them. And I *love* hummus, so at least that's a good source of protein!

Last weekend I had an awesome play date with Alanna, Zachary, Rachel and Jacob! We went to the Adventure Playground that's at the soccerplex near our house. I met everyone through school and they are all such good friends. I think our mom's all had fun hanging out too. Here are some photos of me at the playground:





Saturday afternoon, we went to Gemmell State Park to hang out with some more friends. Marie was kind enough to blow up Belle's pool for us to play in - we had a BLAST!!!



Mom brought some popsicles since it was so hot. I'm not sure why she thought it was a good idea to give me the wild berry flavored one when I was wearing my white swim cover-up :)



Belle was kind enough to share her car with me. I was yelling "Bad Driver!" as mom often does, ha ha.



Belle was lounging and trying to dry off after our dip in the pool.



I painted a picture for daddy for Father's Day. It was a lot of fun and I ended up dumping a plate full of paint on the carpeted floor of the dining room :( Mom got it cleaned up, but once again was reminded how terrible of an idea it is to have a carpeted dining room!







We went to Angela's baby shower today, but mom forgot to take the camera :( It was incredible, though! They had a Dr. Seuss theme and the food was awesome. I had so much fresh fruit and didn't want to eat anything else :) I was pretty well behaved which mom was surprised about given that I had missed my nap. I fell asleep on the way home and then mom was able to transfer me to my bed and I slept for another hour and a half! Mom even got a quick nap in there in the process. I was so excited to see Molly and Angela and kept saying their names the whole way down there. I can't believe that we'll get to meet Baby Huie in less than a few weeks! We're wishing them all the best and I promise to give him some pointers as he grows up :)

When I got up, we finished watching the US Soccer game (boo) and then went shopping to get some more summer clothes. I had fun there, but started fussing on the way home. Apparently I had a pretty bad tummy ache and had the worst diaper explosion that I've ever had! Mom had to completely disassemble my carseat, remove the cover, wash it, wash all of my clothes, and wash her clothes. Fun times. Now she has to put everything back together tomorrow morning :(

I just *had* to have this hat while mom and I were shopping this afternoon. Pretty cool, huh?



With that, I will say good night!