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!