Happy Spring!

Though it hasn't felt much like it yet, Happy Spring everyone!  I can't believe it's April already - where has the time gone???

Once again it's been a while since I last wrote, so I have a few things to write about.  For Grandpa's birthday a few weeks ago, mom and I met him at the Baltimore aquarium!  I got to go to mom's office first and got to meet all of her really nice colleagues.  My school was closed for a Professional Development Day, so mom took a day off and we met grandpa there.  What a fun day :)  We got to see lots of fish, but my absolute favorite thing was watching the scuba divers.  One of them fed the giant sea turtle right in front of us.  Did you know that sea turtles like lettuce?  The turtle at the Baltimore aquarium only had three fins because it got too cold in the wild and had the turtle equivalent of frostbite.  So the turtle will never be able to be re-released to the wild.

After the scuba divers, we went to see a 4-D Dora and Diego movie!  Mom thought I would really enjoy it because I'm pretty much obsessed with Diego these days.  Most days I don't watch TV at all, so it's a pretty big treat for me to be able to watch an episode of Diego.  So when mom saw what the movie was, she certainly got us tickets.  Well, the 4-D movie adds scents and feeling senses to the movie in addition to the 3-D glasses.  So when Dora and Diego splashed in the water, we actually got splashed with water too!  It REALLY scared me!!!  I freaked out and ended up hugging mommy and crying nearly the whole time :(  Maybe next time we go I'll be more prepared and will enjoy it more.

When we left the movie, we went to see the Dolphin show.  I was SO tired by then and started to lose focus, but we made it through the show and I got to see all the dolphins swimming and splashing with their tails.  They swam so fast and were able to jump pretty high too!  Mom says that she and daddy swam with dolphins on their honeymoon and said it was a blast.  Maybe I'll get to try it some day too.

We left there and went up to the Rain Forest to try to see the sloths and monkeys.  The monkey's weren't out because they're not fully acclimated to the exhibit and no one had been able to see the sloths that day.  So the Rain Forest was a bust - lots of birds which mom didn't like and a few lizards which were pretty cool.  We stopped at the gift shop on the way out and Grandpa got me a really cool octopus and mommy got me a stuffed turtle.  I was about done at that point, so we left to get some lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.  I don't think I ate more than two bites of my lunch, but I sure liked Grandpa's Fish and Chips!  Since I had been so good all day and since it was Grandpa's birthday, mom and I split a piece of Mango Key Lime Cheesecake (did I tell you that I'm *loving* being able to have dairy now???)  It was delicious, though I think I ate more whipped cream than cheesecake.  Mom said that's ok - more for her!

Here are some pictures from the day.  None of them turned out well because it's so dark in the aquarium and mom doesn't really know how to use her camera...

Me and Grandpa.


Looking at some fishies...


Crazy looking fish next to where the scuba divers were.


Turtle waiting to be fed.


Nom, nom, nom...


This fish is almost as big as me!


Dolphins!


Hi :)


The following week, mom had to take her first overnight business trip.  She got to take the train to New York and I kept telling she and daddy that I wanted to take a train ride sometime!  Mom was super sad to leave me for two days (she left before I got up on Tuesday and got back after I was in bed on Wednesday), but it gave me and dad lots of good times together :)  I even got to ride in daddy's fast car to and from school both days!  Mommy only got a few minutes to call on Tuesday night (it was a very packed agenda for those two days) and I had a tantrum mid-call, so that was short lived.  But daddy and I made a video and emailed it to her, so she got to see me say good night.  She says that totally made her day.  Mom bought me an apron set to "surprise" me while she was gone, but I wanted nothing to do with it, so she gave it to me when she got home :)



The Saturday before last (4/2), mom and I went to pick up her race packet for the Parkway 5K which was this past Sunday, the 10th.  While we were there, dad went to pick up his packet for the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, which was on the 3rd.  On Sunday morning, we all got up at the crack of dawn and headed down to the Metro.  I got to take a train ride!  This wasn't my first ride on the Metro, but perhaps the first that I will remember.  Daddy was definitely ready.  It was really cold in the morning, but I was super bundled up in my stroller with a big blanket over me and a warm thermos full of oatmeal waiting for me when we got there.  Mom and I walked to the bag check with dad (he accidentally threw away his bag check bag, so we wanted to make sure he could actually check his stuff before we walked away).  They had plenty of extra bags, so we said good luck and started our hike to the first viewing point.



We walked from the start / finish (pretty much at the base of the Washington Monument) past the World War II Memorial, past the Reflecting Pool (or the construction site that used to be the Reflecting Pool) to the Lincoln Memorial (aka the "Blinking" Memorial) to about Mile 1 of the race at the foot of the Memorial Bridge.  It was a nice brisk walk for an early Sunday morning!  When we got there, I got to get out of my stroller and run around the grassy area until the runners came through.  There was a policeman there and I got to talk to him and see the lights on his car :)  A little while later, the elite women runners came through - they were FAST!  They were allowed to start a few minutes ahead of everyone else, so it was another few minutes until the elite men came through.  I clapped for the runners and mom tried to get settled in to figure out when dad would be coming through.  There were about 17,000 runners and it's REALLY hard to find the person you're looking for, so she had to be on the lookout!  We had it figured out pretty well and we spotted daddy running towards us!  He knew which side we'd be on and ran by and gave us a high five!  I was so excited!







We waited there for another 10 minutes or so until daddy came back by at Mile 2.  He was on the other side of the bridge and mom didn't see him (though he saw us).  After 15 minutes or so (he was going to be running around 9 minutes/mile or less), we started walking down the hill towards Ohio Drive towards Mile 4.  We got there with plenty of time to spare and saw daddy again!  When he ran by, I started to really cheer for the runners and we started walking towards Mile 9.  I kept yelling "Run Faster Daddy!  We'll catch up to you!"  Mom just laughed, knowing how much faster daddy was going than we were.  But the way the course is laid out, we walked to mile 9 and "parked" ourselves on the up hill figuring that dad would want a cheering section on the hill.  Turns out that mom almost got thrown up on (um, yuck!) and dad didn't see us, but we saw him and yelled like crazy!  After we saw him, we walked toward the finish and waited where we agreed to meet, near the bag pick up.  Dad came by not too long after and it turns out he KILLED his goal!!!  I'm so proud of him!  A full 5 minutes faster than expected - that's a lot!

http://www.cherryblossom.org/results/2011/2011cucb10m-m.htm

Here is the walk from Mile 4 to Mile 9.  Look how many runners are still crowded together!


We met up with Alex and Colleen afterwards and hiked over to Eastern Market for brunch.  Mom got quite the workout pushing me in the stroller hauling all of the gear with somewhat flat tires!  I passed out somewhere along the way (about 3 hours earlier than my normal nap, which wasn't surprising given what time I woke up!)



Brunch was FABULOUS (though cold).  We went to Belga Cafe and they had the best Belgian Waffles.  We had to sit outside since we didn't have reservations, but it was ok - I slept most of the time and then woke up in time to eat and get back in to the sun. We stopped at Starbucks on the way home for mom to get some coffee (and she got me some yummy mango snacks), then we headed back home on the Metro.  Mom and dad both tried to nap when we got home, but I wanted nothing to do with that, so mom stayed up with me and I got to watch some TV (a rarity for me unless mom is really tired).

I had a really rough week in terms of potty training.  I've been doing SO well, but for some reason after mom went away for just 2 days, I started with some very defiant behavior.  I would stand up and deliberately pee in my underwear, then laugh about it.  Monday and Tuesday at daycare were rough - probably 8 outfits each day just from defiant behavior.  I think I scared one of the "floater" teachers when I deliberately peed on my cot after naptime (including my pants, shoes, blanket, pillow, etc.).  Boo. Mom, dad, and my teachers were all consistent with me and I'm back on course now.  I've been completely dry for at least 6 days now including nap time and night time, which confirms mom's belief that I was just acting out trying to get attention. 

Last Saturday, we went to the DC United - LA Galaxy soccer game!  I had so much fun and got to hang out with Gabriel at the tailgate.  He shared his toys with me and I shared my fruit with him.  It was fun!  I stayed awake THE ENTIRE way home - dad and Joe were sitting in the backseat with me, so I didn't fall asleep.  Mom had taken me to the car about half way through the second half, though, so I already had my jammies on and was ready for sleep.  I fell asleep quickly on the way from Joe and Ruthie's house back home.  Mom was able to carry me straight to bed, tuck me in and say good night!  The easiest bedtime we've had in a LONG time :)

Sunday morning mom had her race, the Parkway Classic 5K.  She was supposed to run the 10 Miler with Molly, but mom dropped back because of her leg and Molly wasn't feeling well, so she didn't run.  Mom left and drove down long before I woke up.  Daddy got me up and ready and headed down a little later (though still early especially after being out late the night before!)  We waited and cheered for the runners.  When mom came by, she ran over to us and gave daddy a high five.  The finish was only a tenth of a mile or so past us, so mom finished, got some water and walked back to find us.  Mom didn't do too badly, but she was about 37 seconds slower than she wanted to be.  She said she got hung up at the start where slow people were near the front and some girl just stopped in the middle of the course and mom ran right in to her!  Some people just don't think!  But she finished in 28:37 which is a personal record by 11 seconds, so not terrible. Dad made yummy short ribs for dinner on Sunday night - the entire house smelled delicious!  A great way to break in the new dutch oven that mom and dad finally broke down and bought. 

There must have been something in the air on Monday night because I had an AWFUL night trying to get to sleep (as did several of my friends at school as we discovered on Tuesday morning).  It took almost 3 hours for me to fall asleep and nothing mom or dad did could calm me down.  It was truly bizarre.  I finally let mom hold me and passed out in her lap on the glider and slept ok until mom had to wake me up for school at 6 the next morning.  Tuesday night I think I was exhausted, but the last two nights have been a little rough again.  Oy.

Tomorrow is FRIDAY though and mom, dad and I are all really looking forward to a weekend - it's been a LONG week!  Hugs to all!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Seems like I'm on a schedule of posting on holidays lately...no rhyme or reason for that, we've just been busy.  Daddy's had a few trips for work, so mom and I have been watching videos that dad has made for me and making videos of me singing to send back to him :)  I really like watching my own videos and always ask mom to see dad before I go to bed.  Works out quite well! 

I've also had a few "dad" days this week because mom's had early morning or out of town meetings.  I've really enjoyed going vroom vroom in dad's car on the way to school!  I don't get to ride in the Mustang too often - my carseat only fits forward facing, so when we go out as a family, or even if dad takes me out, we usually use mom's car where my seat still fits rear facing.  I explained to mom last night that dad's car goes vroom vroom because it has a big engine so it can go fast.  She agreed and laughed with me.  Mom and I were at a card store the other day and I found a whole display of toy cars - I immediately found the bright red Mustang and told mom that it looked like daddy's car, so of course she bought it for me.  I *love* it and couldn't wait to show it to daddy! 

I've been doing much better with swim lessons and don't throw a fit anymore.  I haven't been as clingy and really like the Humpty Dumpty still - except now I don't rely on mom to catch me - I fall in and go under water and then she brings me up and we swim to the wall.  Mom bought me some goggles, but they're still a little big on me.  I don't seem to mind the water as long as I close my eyes though. 

Mom and dad decided not to do the gym classes with me for now - it's a 20 week commitment and we have enough weekends that we can't make it that it's probably not worth it.  So maybe next term - I really enjoyed the class I went to, but it's just not practical. 

Mom and I are going to Seattle!!!!!!!!  Mom and Kim have been talking forever about seeing each other again and they finally found a time to make it happen.  The trip is on random days, but that's what happens when you try to book a cross country flight on miles.  We have one connection each way, but I think it will be ok (at least mom is telling herself it will be ok).  We're going to take my carseat for the plane and of course lots of activities and snacks.  Aunt Laurie had the great suggestion of wrapping some small gifts for me to open along the way, so I think we'll have to try that.  We've got time to figure it out, but I am SO excited to see Kim, Mike and Daniel!  I seriously talk about it every day - I wake up and tell mom I want to go to Seattle and go on a big plane :) 

Can't think of much else new at this point, though I'm sure I'll think of more as soon as I hit Publish Post.  So here are some photos to tide you over...

This one's for all of you who don't believe I'm not happy all the time (because I usually am!).  I can throw a tantrum with the best of them...


Ms. Jen gave me this sticker for going to the potty at school.  I moved it from my shirt to my PJ's and back to my new shirt the next day, ha ha.


I told you the Vitamin E Oil was a vital component of the bedtime routine...here I am trying to put some on mom's forehead (also part of the routine).


Daddy and I doing somersaults:


Kitty and I are friends sometimes.  Except when she bites me.  Then I cry and mom asks what happened.  I tell her kitty bit me.  She asks if I was bothering kitty.  I say yes.  Mom tells me not to bother kitty and she won't bite me...but I still bother kitty and she still sometimes nips at me.  No big deal, but the conversation with mom is funny.


I'm LOVING being able to eat dairy again - I had a very blue cupcake at Zachary's birthday party :)


The same day as Zachary's party was Arabelle's party at My Gym!  We had SUCH a great time.  Here's me and my best bud in the ball pit.


Here's the FOUR year old!


I couldn't care less about anything there other than the trampoline (and possibly the ball pit).  I didn't want to get off!


My other best bud Gabriel!  We had so much fun jumping together :)


Doesn't my hair look lovely after a day in a pony tail?


Eating sushi with my chopsticks! 


The Very Hungry Caterpillar may very well be my favorite book at the moment.


Still love my Cozy Coupe :)


My new shape stacker.  I know to put all the squares, circles and octagons together on one peg, but I don't necessarily put them in order of size.  I'll get there, though!


Weather's finally nice enough to take my car outside!


A bike helmet is clearly needed to rake the leaves :)


Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!  I'm Mom's Lucky Charm!


Hugs from Sydney!

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.