Happy Presidents Day!

My school was closed yesterday and for once, so was mom's office!  She doesn't usually get off for "federal holidays," but I guess because of the dates of New Years this year, Aon decided to close for Presidents Day.  Huzzah!  I was so excited on Sunday night when mom and dad told me I could stay home with them the next day.  We had a fantastic weekend, but I was excited to see my friends this morning - Tuesday is Fun Fit day!

Dad had to travel again last week, but mom and I had a pretty good week.  I was generally in a good mood, even though I missed daddy :(  We've got our nighttime routine down to a science and I go to bed like a champ. Take one of these steps out of the rotation, though, and I WILL.NOT.GO.TO.BED (not to worry because I remind whoever is putting me to bed what needs to happen next). 

• Bath or shower
• Brush teeth - mom says I'm a champion tooth brusher - I open my mouth wide and let mommy brush top, bottom, in front, behind, and even my tongue (that tickles!) - we sing songs while she brushes and usually get through at least 2 or 3 rounds of Twinkle Twinkle, ABC's or something similar. 
• Jammies on (I get to pick them out, so they don't always match)
• Read books - again, I get to pick them out - I tend to pick the same ones, so sometimes mom asks me to pick a different one.  Thank goodness for library books so we have a wider selection.
• Vitamin E oil on my forehead (don't forget this step)
• I turn my turtle nightlight on
• Mom turns Jewel on (lullabye CD) and my sound machine
• I turn my light off
• I cuddle with mom for all of 10 seconds (mom misses our cuddle time) then I say I'm ready for bed.
• I climb in bed
• Mom covers me with 2 blankets
• Mom pats me on the back
• Mom or dad fill my water (I always take a cup of water to bed with me) and I ask daddy to come pat me on the back
• Dad comes and pats me on the back - this step presents a problem when dad's traveling - boo :( But I can comprehend enough now that I know where daddy is and I enjoy talking to him on the phone, so mom and I have been able to cope. We've been working on the days of the week, so I know when daddy will be home and that really helps.  I've been sleeping with "daddy's blanket" which helps me sleep too.  Now that he's home, though, "his" blanket is at the foot of my bed and has been replaced by my normal quilt.  

I've been doing pretty well overnight, but still waking up at least once most nights.  It's usually an easy fix (mom or dad assuring me that there is nothing scary in my room) and it's much better than it has been.  I think I've just been having nightmares, but Maddi and Tyler told me that it's ok to go to sleep and I remind mommy of that almost every night. 

I was supposed to have my swim class on Saturday, but we ended up not going :(  I've been having some trouble listening to mom lately and when she asked me to get my bathing suit on, I threw a fit and started crying.  She decided it wasn't worth a fight and that if I really didn't want to go that we wouldn't :(  We'll try again next week since we've now missed two weeks in a row (the washer leaked last week, tantrum this week).

Mommy, daddy and I had sushi again last night.  Mom went to the orthopedist again (it was our fourth appointment this year!) because her knee is still hurting - her appointment took so long that she stopped on her way home for my favorite avocado and vegetable rolls!  I gobbled mine up and think I may have eaten more than mom or dad!  Turns out mom likely has a stress fracture in her leg that will heal itself.  If it's not that, it's probably tendonitis.  Mom declined the cortisone shot, but if it doesn't get better soon, she may be changing her mind! 

The weather was pretty nice over the weekend and I really enjoyed being outside!  I had a daddy date on Saturday while mom was out for a few hours and we got to go to the playground!!!  I even helped daddy clean up ALL of my toys in the family room and kitchen!  When mom came home, we were practicing throwing and catching a ball.  I also got to ride my bike a little.  I'm *almost* tall enough to reach the pedals now. I rode all the way down the street to the house that had balloons on the mailbox, then we turned around and came home so I could eat lunch and take a nap.

This one's for Uncle Jay.  Where's the nearest Chipotle???


I tried to help mom mow the lawn.


So happy!


Who knew a pool noodle made such a great toy in the winter too?
 

Happy to be on my bike again.


Daddy taught me how to do a somersault last night!  I must have done them for a good half hour once I finally figured it out on my own.  For a while, I was convinced that I could only do them if daddy was sitting on the floor with his legs out.  But he taught me that I could tumble all by myself and I couldn't get enough.  Mom tried to get a video, but the battery in the camera died as she started filming, so we'll have to try again. 

Take care everyone!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

Hard to believe this is my THIRD Valentine's Day already!  I had a great time - I got to wear a cool red shirt that mom bought me and wore my heart sweatshirt and took my Valentine's cards (with lollipops) to school :) 



I had a fun weekend with mom and dad, but we missed my swim class on Saturday :(  Mom and I were getting ready to pack up our bags when I discovered that the washer was leaking!  I went potty and said "Mom, there's water on the floor!"  The washer had leaked all over the laundry room and it was one big puddle.  Mom couldn't get the washer to stop filling, so she woke dad up and started cleaning up.  It finally stopped filling and mom and dad couldn't find anything wrong.  They pulled the washer out from the wall and ran a few loads and it seemed to be fine.  Hopefully it was just a fluke - they have been able to do several loads of laundry since then and it's been ok.  Thankfully they don't have to wash diapers anymore - that would have been a disaster!  Fingers crossed it was nothing major...

Mom and dad went out on Saturday night to go to an Indian restaurant that mom has been dying to go to - Rasika.  They said the food was awesome, but the service was AWFUL!  They allowed 2.5 hours for dinner and were still almost late for the show.  They went to see Comedy of Errors at the Folger Shakespeare Theater and really enjoyed it.  Ms. Gulnara, one of my former teachers, came to babysit me and we had such a great time!  She helped me make some valentine's for mom and dad and they were waiting on the wall when they came home. 



I had a play date with Alanna and Zachary on Sunday - we had a BLAST and I didn't want to leave :(  I was so good and even told mommy when I had to go potty - I stayed dry the ENTIRE time!  We'll have to get together with them again sometime soon.  I first met Alanna when we were about 5 months old and we're still such good friends :) 

I have *finally* started sleeping a little better.  After several weeks of waking up every half hour all night, mom took me to the doctor again last week.  Thankfully my lungs and ears are clear (just another cold), but that left mom and dad to try to figure out the sleep issues once again.  They think I was having nightmares and have since bought a very dim light bulb to put in my lamp, set my Good Nite light and have instituted a "2 animal" and "2 blanket" rule.  I may have been stalling by asking for more and more animals at night, so now I know I get 2 animals and get to pick the ones I take to bed with me and which ones go back to the toy bin.  And with the Good Nite light, when the moon turns blue, I know it's time to go to bed and when the sun turns yellow in the morning, I know it's ok to say "Mom, come get me!"  3 nights in and we're pretty good so far.  I've woken up a few times, but nothing like it was. 

Here are a few photos:

I like to stretch with daddy after a run:



Jumping is so much fun!



Since daddy has been traveling a lot, I've been sleeping with "daddy's blanket" aka the DC United blanket :)



I think I made mom's night tonight!  She's been working with me on spelling simple words like mommy, daddy, cat, etc.  On the way home tonight, she asked me what my name was and I said "Sydney Clements...S - Y - D - N - E - Y."  That's right - I spelled my own name!!!  Granted mom has said it a thousand times to me, so it's quite possibly memorization, but it's the first time I said it correctly on my own.  It took a while after we got home for me to repeat it for dad, but I did :)  So yes, I know how to spell my name!!!

Till later...hope all is well!

Photos from Thunder Snow...

Mom just realized that we never posted any photos from the storm we had a few weeks ago!  A little late, but here are some photos from my fun afternoon in the snow.  I had a blast playing in the snow and throwing snowballs!

It's a Sad Post-Superbowl Monday :(

My Here We Go Steelers chants clearly didn't work :(  There's always next year, I suppose.  I had a fun time even though we didn't win.  We had a PARTY for our friends!  I had so much fun getting things ready for the party and kept dancing around.  Dad, Uncle Joe and Aunt Ruthie made all of the food and it was scrumptious (yes, I say scrumptious - I told mom on the way to school the other morning that my cereal was scrumptious).  Mom says thanks to "Messy Street" (aka Sesame Street) for teaching me the word scrumptious.  I don't get to watch too much TV, but this show must have made quite an impression on me.  The menu consisted of Avocado eggrolls, lots of wings, lots of crackers and dips, homemade duck prosciutto, curried chickpeas, black bean hummus (it was too spicy for me), pork empanadas, chicken and bacon pastry puffs, and a lot more that I can't think of.  Ruthie made the BEST macarons (so mom tells me, she wouldn't let me have any). 

Mom and dad have started reintroducing dairy to me and so far I seem to be ok.  I haven't had any episodes of hives since I've started having dairy again, so mom is guessing that the last round was related to my ear infections and just how my body responded to the illness.  I'm still drinking soy milk with no plans to change that, but I've had cheese, butter and yogurt with no ill effects.  I've been eating mom out of house and home, so she's also glad to finally be able to feed me the school menu instead of having to pack my breakfast, lunch and 2 snacks a day!  Dad was out of town last week, so mom and I had another sushi date :)  I ate *12* whole pieces of avocado roll and veggie roll.  Can you believe it?  Mom didn't even eat that much! 

This is all that was left of my sushi :)


I definitely needed a bath after dinner this night!


I'm a little obsessed with my Palomalu jersey and doing my dance...


What time is it?


Kitty likes to crawl in cabinets when you open the door...


My best bud Arabelle!


Mommy and me at the Superbowl Party!


Daddy and me at the Party!


I shared my car with Baby Jake - he wasn't so sure what to make of it!


I helped mommy vacuum the floor (with my popper).


I was going to work in my car with my purse.


Not much else going on here.  I've *almost* got the potty thing down.  I only wear a pull up during nap and night time and underwear the rest of the time.  I usually come home in the same clothes that I go to school in, so that's good.  I still sometimes have accidents, but usually only in the car if we get stuck in traffic :( 

I'm doing MUCH better in swim class now.  I have one more class in this session and mom just signed me up for another 6 weeks!  I did great last week and loved doing Humpty Dumpty.  I'm so good at it now that when I fall to mom, I go the WHOLE way under the water!  I have to remember to close my eyes and mouth, but I did it at least 3 times last week and had a blast!  I'm still working on blowing bubbles, but I'll get there. 

Well, I should probably think about getting some sleep.  I haven't been sleeping well again, but hopefully tonight will be a good one!  I've just started coughing and mom's debating taking me BACK to the doctor again.  We've been there so much already this year, it's a little crazy.  At least we can usually get an appointment pretty easily if we need it.  Hope everyone is well and I'll be in touch soon.