First Christmas Program - Toddlers

Brooklyn goes to a Lutheran church/preschool for daycare. Last night they had a Christmas program for the 2 - 4 year olds.

It was H.I.L.A.R.I.O.U.S!

The kids in all 3 classrooms had been practicing their songs for weeks. John and I knew something was up when, come December 1, Brooklyn began singing Jingle Bells even though we hadn't started listening to Christmas music at home yet.

So we get to the auditorium and find PRIME seating right on the middle isle. I couldn't believe no one had taken the seats we found! A perfect spot for stills and video of this very first of, I imagine, many plays/concerts/games/etc that we will attend to support our daughter.

As the program begins out come the 4 year olds dressed as participants in the nativity story. They come down the middle isle and take their places in one long single file line across the stage.

Music starts. It's Silent Night. One half of the line is singing a speed racer version. The other side is singing really slow and the music track is yet at it's own speed. We were cracking up hearing this musical chaos. By the time the kids got it together, the song was over.

Next come the 3 year olds. They sang Feliz Navidad. Bahahahaha! I know the director put that in for comedy because there was nothing funnier than seeing their puzzled little faces and hearing the confused murmer during the "prospero ano y felicidad" part. So many of us parents were cracking up.

Finally, the 2 year olds come out dressed as elves - each child holding onto a long gold ribbon (to keep them focused and together, I imagine) as their teacher lead them up to their places on stage with the other two groups.

We were able to see Brooklyn walking down the isle before she saw us. She did really well in this new environment and from where I was seated could get many good pictures while daddy ran the video next to me. Once she saw me, she smiled soooo big and almost came to me rather than going up on stage.

The kids finally all took their places and started to sing Jingle Bells, shaking their little bells with all the bell-loving passion a two year old can muster. They did great and you could tell they were having fun.

You never know what to expect with a child's first experience in a group performance. I guess some kids could get shy or frightened, but not mine. She's a ham! And it didn't surprise John or me in the slightest. (Lisa, Krissy - I can hear your thoughts right now..."Well, she is YOUR daughter!" Hahaha!)

No, Brooklyn was not shy on stage at all. She would sing, shake her bells, look for us, wave really big, yell "Mommy!" every now and then, pose, cut up with her little friend Savanah. It was so hard not to giggle into the video the entire time.

After the singing was over it was time for each group to leave the stage in an orderly fashion to go back to their classrooms and take off their costumes.

The 2 year olds each took hold of the ribbon and were to follow their teacher. Brooklyn decided to come straight over to me for a big hug, but since she was first in line she took all the other kids with her!

The entire auditorium of parents was cracking up as we had this pile of kids in our row rather than following the teacher.

Good times.

I truly love having a 2 year old. There are moments of I'm-gonna-pull-all-my-own-hair-out, but the antics and hugs and silly faces and hilarious conversation keeps your hair in your head.

Stuff She Said...

Chick-munk

Daddy: Brooklyn, want some nu-nus?
Brooklyn: Daddy, it's NOODLES.

Wow, has it really been this long?

I need to update this thing for reals.

She Said It

Me (while driving to daycare/work this morning): Wow, the sunshine is really in my eyes.

Brooklyn: Cover you eyes, Mommy.

And we have lift off!

It was like the clouds parted and the sun shone just long enough for lift off to be successful. Up on the roof none of us could believe it didn't get scrubbed. But I'm glad it went on the first try. And I can't believe I didn't cry. It is sad, this thing coming to an end. But (trying to stay positive and I can't believe I'm going to be this cliche...) when one door closes another opens.

I can't get the pics of lift off from my Canon right now but I can give you this little tidbit. Here is a highway cam of the poor tourists trying to leave the KSC Visitor's Center.



Yeah, you guys thought a trip over here was going to be this awesome adventure...all fun and games in sunny Florida. Ha!

It's an adventure all right. But in that traffic right now it might seem like a big steaming pile of adventure, filled with "rude drivers", topped with a dollop of "road rage", and sprinkled with "holy cow my kids are screaming and fighting in the backseat".

Nah. It was all worth it.

Go Atlantis Go!!!

I'll write another entry documenting my memories of the shuttle program, but for now, with exactly 30 minutes before Atlantis is scheduled to lift off, I wanted to share some of what is going on around town in anticipation of this final launch.

It took me 1 hour to drive 2 miles on my way into work this morning. And this was 5 hours prior to launch. I shared the road with hundreds of tourists, tour buses and media vans.

One report stated that 1 million people were expected to come to view the launch. That is IN ADDITION to those of us who already live here.

Here is a screen shot from a highway cam showing the traffic coming from Orlando into Brevard County via the Beeline. See the left most lane on the screen that looks backed up for miles? Yep, that is the road carrying peeps here to Brevard County. And this show was taken about 2 hours prior to launch.



A few weeks ago my coworkers and I were able to go out to the launch pad and have our pictures taken with STS-135 Atlantis, the shuttle who's mission will close out the Shuttle Program.





Weather is looking dismal for lift off. There's a 70% chance that weather is too cloudy and rainy for an emergency landing but Houston still says we are a go.

Time will tell.

I'll be watching and photographing from the roof of my building and if it launches, will post pics later.

God bless the crew and all the employees who made this great program and great day possible!

Words I Don't Want to Forget

As Brooklyn begins to enunciate words better, we will really miss the way she used to pronounce things.

Nu-nu's = noodles
Hem = Hand
Dider = Diaper
Noke = Milk
Brellella = Umbrella
Shoshalon = lotion (? I know ?)
Sickle = motorcycle
Neckace = necklace
Jittar = guitar
Monnnn-terrrr = monster
Yogurk = Yogurt

Summer Sucks for Grownups!

That's all.

I just wanted to proclaim the suckiness of not having a 3 month long summer vacation.

Memorial Day Getaway

We decided to get a hotel room on Cocoa Beach for 2 days over the long weekend. We asked some friends to come out and hang at the pool with us for an afternoon. They ended up getting their own rooms for the same days as us. Fun!

We also celebrated my sis's birthday and had the family come out for cake and swimming on Monday. Also fun!

Now for the down side.

Getting Brooklyn to sleep in the hotel room for naps and bedtime was half hilarious and half nightmarish. In the afternoon John had this brilliant idea that he would put her in her pack-n-play with all the lights out and then we would hide behind the dresser so she would eventually go to sleep. In the evening she would not go to sleep as long as she saw us in the room. Which was a hard problem for us to fix because...um...well...we wanted to sleep too.

Picture this:

9:30pm.

All the lights are out.

Everyone is in bed.

"Mommy, cha-doin?"

"Brooklyn, I'm going to sleep. Now you go to sleep."

Lays back down. Sings quietly to herself "Marching boom boom boom!" (her version of The Ants Go Marching.)

This goes on for like 20 minutes.

Finally I go pick her up and she points to my bed.

I put her in bed with me.

Here is where the nightmare begins. She's tossing and turning and kicking me and yelling "If you're happy and you know it shout HU-RAAAAAAAY!" and John is giggling his butt off over in the next bed. (The front desk gave us two double beds. Yay us.)

Yes, it's funny. But it's also late. So I'm getting annoyed that this cute little Tazmanian Devil won't settle down.

So I put her back in her bed. That experiment was a FAIL.

We continue to hear her singing quietly to herself and every now and then a loud "HU-RAAAAY!"

Around 10:15 I don't hear her singing any more.

Then at 10:17..."HU-RAAAAAAY!"

Dang it!

Now at 10:30 I think she's finally asleep.

THANK GOD.

The Week Of Fear is over.

We replaced her crib with a toddler bed. Bring on the first-time-parent anxiety.

All the stories mom told of us getting out of bed and cracking eggs all over the kitchen floor flash to the front of my mind. Is this do be my new daily morning surprise?

What happens when she realizes she doesn't have to stay in bed at night if she doesn't want to? Do we now have to deal with a cranky AND tired two year old?

Crap.

John bought a gate to put in her doorway and a screen along the side of her bed so she wouldn't fall out.

She's been sleeping in her bed now for going on her third week and all is well. The first night was a major adjustment for her (and us!) but she adapts extremely well.

So proud.

Flight of the Butter Bean

So Brooklyn decided to Greg Louganis out of her crib this morning. I walked in the room just in time to see her fling her leg over and catapault onto the floor with a thud.

It happened so fast but I ran to her in time to catch only her lower half...not enough to keep her from hitting her head on the faux wood flooring.

She screamed. I scooped her off the floor, wishing we could go back in time 10 seconds and still in utter shock of what I had just witnessed. Did this really just happen? I am hating myself for not having better reflexes.

I hugged her and rocked her until she stopped crying...which was only for a minute or two.

What do I do now? Is this one of those times when you take your kid to the ER? My mind went racing back to January 22, 2010 where she suffered a brain injury during a car accident that landed her in the children's hospital for 9 days.

While I'm reminiscing that nightmare, she asks to read her ABC book. Okay, good. At least this way I can see whether or not she shows any sign confusion. Like I'm a doctor now or something.

She named off every object in the book that she normally knows. That seems like a good sign, right?

So after about 10 minutes we go into the kitchen to get her some milk and we are playing on the floor and chatting.

Then she says "Brooklyn's bed. Boom." Reminding me that she just fell and went boom. I said "Oh really. Can you show me where you fell?" She went right into her room and pointed at the floor saying "boom boom." (I guess she learned 'boom' at school.)

I'm still trying to decide if a trip to the hospital is in order. She hasn't vomitted, and she's behaving quite normally, so I'm thinking it will be okay.

But then the crippling paranoia kicks in. What if something is going on inside her head? What if her brain is swelling right now and she dies in two hours?

Yes...this is the way my brain works.

Then rational thought takes over. She's acting fine and kids jump out of bed all the time. John agrees with me and so we go along our merry way.

To be on the safe side, I called the nurse practitioner and she told me as long as Brooklyn isn't demonstrating any unusual behavior, no need to bring her in.

Relief.

Just Talking

John: I look old and fat.

Me: Honey, seriously....you DO NOT look old.

John: Hey...

Me: Don't. I knew it the second after I said it.

Dear Brooklyn,

I found this poem and want to use it on a scrapbook page some day.

How Do I Love You?

How do I love you?
Let me count the ways;
I love you on your very best
And very worst of days.

I love to see you laughing
And dancing in the rain;
And even if you make a mess,
I love you just the same.

I love to hear you sing,
I love to see you smile.
I love the way you take each day
In your own unhurried style.

I'm happy when you're happy.
I'm sorry when you're sad.
And even though it may not show,
I love you even when you're bad.

I love to watch you sleeping,
Tucked away in dreams.
I love to hear you whisper
All your future hopes and dreams.

I love to watch you play
And all your silly ways.
I'm sure you'll never know
How much I love you more each day.

How do I love you?
It's impossible to say;
For if I had a million days
And time enough for all the praise
I couldn't tell you all the ways
I love you.

LOVE

Muthahood - are you in it?

Life After Death

So last night was the first time I have been back to my Grandma's house since she passed away nearly a year ago. Was very weird being there.

I have SO many thoughts.

I was told to go through what is left of her things. Take anything you want. I didn't really want anything.

1) To me the items were still Grandma's. Her paintings and quilts. Endless pictures in frames. Her figurines and dishes. Her jewelry and books. I felt like a vulture. Picking over the remnants determining what had value and what didn't. Just doesn't seem fair.

2) A knick knack will not keep her close. A punch bowl will not help me remember the smell of her perfume. If it falls and smashes into tiny bits, will I forget how much she loved Holstein cows? Not likely. Her memory lives on in my mind and photo albums.

Don't get me wrong...I can appreciate that some are comforted by having these things. Nothing wrong with that. No judgement here.

But what do you do with the rest of the stuff. So much stuff.

I looked in all the closets, remembering her wearing certain outfits or necklaces. The kitchen...dishes and silverware reminding me of all the holidays.

Drawers and boxes filled with pictures. I've never seen so many pictures. All family. Son, daughters. All the grandkids and great grandkids. The years frozen in time.

Then we found her box of video tapes. I had no idea.

My sister and I playing our instruments, 1987. A snippet of news coverage from 1990....the anchor interviewed my sister who had won an essay contest when she was 13 or 14 years old.

I had no idea mom sent these tapes to her. That she kept them.

Wait a minute...why am I just now learning that she DID care? All these years of me thinking her unconcerned. I should have known from the piles of pictures she always had sitting out on every available surface.

Makes me sad to realize how little I really knew her. How similar we are.

She didn't need the trinkets either. She only needed the pictures.

The people in the pictures.

Brooklyn Said It

Dropped sippy cup.

Daddy picks it up for her.

"Good girl, Daddy."

Things She Says

We are getting into the part of parenting that I have been waiting for....the things kids say. Yay!

I know, I know...they won't always be funny things. I anticipate some embarrasing moments for mommy or daddy, but these are the things that make life interesting and fun.

And give me stuff to put on the blog.

On our way home from daycare I'm teaching Brooklyn about the things around us, the river, the trucks, cars, train and trees. Naturally she thinks all these things are hers.

Me: Brooklyn, do you see the water?
Her: Brook-a-lyn's water.
Me: We are driving over a bridge now.
Her: Brook-a-lyn's bidge. (That's how she says is...bidge.)

Well, yes there is a Brooklyn bridge but I hope she isn't sad when she learns that neither it or the city are actually hers.

Shall we dance?

So last night we happen to flip to the channel showing Dancing with the People You May Have Heard of a Long Time Ago Stars. Brooklyn was fascinated with the dancing.

She stretched her arm out toward me, beckoning me to come dance with her. So I got on my knees and put my hand in hers. She then shimmied and twirled around, as best a toddler can do, and then tried to "dip" herself by throwing her upper body backward.

As you can imagine, John and I were cracking right up.

Easter-y Cuteness

Daddy's Birthday

Happy Birthday Sweetie! I hope you had a great weekend!

Somehow, no matter what the occassion in life, our celebrations seem to always be about the Bean.

The fruit of our labor

The other night we were all sitting on the couch having some sherbet. I was sharing mine with baby girl. She took the spoon from me and said "I do it." Then she dipped her spoon into my bowl and, rather than feed herself, she put the spoon in *my* mouth. As I ate from her spoon, she said "Good girl, Mommy." After every spoon full I would hear her praise my job well done in the sweetest little voice God ever made.

I guess all the celebrating we do over HER jobs well done is really catching on. Yay us!

The Intracacies of Discipline: a Story of Frustration

I don't even know how to tell this story.

Okay, I ask Brooklyn to do simple things, like "Please come here so we can put on your shoes." I get ignored. So I go pick her up, bring her over and put on her shoes. Frustrating but nothing to go postal over.

"Brooklyn, lets walk to the car...no, don't play with the water fountain. We have to leave." I'm ignored as she stops at every water fountain to push the button and will not follow me even though I walk to the end of the hall and pretend to leave without her. So I back track, pick her up (even though I am already carrying a ton of crap) and carry her to the car. Now I'm getting irritated.

"Brooklyn, you HAVE to hold mommy's hand in the parking lot." She pulls away and refuses to hold my hand. At this point I throw every blessed thing I'm carrying down right in the road and have to grab her before she runs around the car thinking this is some immensely fun game of chase. I force myself to be gentle even though I want to snatch her bald-headed.

What is the deal??

She listens to daddy. She listens to her teachers at daycare.

I'm told I need to be more firm. To get down on her level and look her in the eye. It's true...I do need to be more firm. I don't know how to be firm without getting angry. I don't know how to be patient without letting stuff slide.

Firm and loving. It has to be possible. God is firm and unwaveringly loving.

"Lord, show me how to be both of these and not lose my ever loving mind. Okay, just show me how to be both of these. I'm certain that parenting is going to make me lose my mind anyway. Amen."

KSC Family Day Picnic

We went because I'm not so sure there will be another Kennedy Space Center Family Day picnic.

The weather was nice but it was warm. Brooklyn seemed to have fun:

Playing (falling) in the bouncy area.





And petting/riding her first horsie!! My mom was walking beside Brooklyn the whole time though you can't see her in the pic.





It was a lot of work but totally worth it to be outside in the beautiful weather all afternoon. God I love living in Florida!

Two Cheese Monkies

La la la-la, la la la-la, Elmo's Song....

Okay, so now that you have this ANNOYING a@$ song stuck in your head (you're welcome) I bought this online for baby girl. Waiting for it to be delivered was excruciating!

The first thing she did with her new Elmo doll (after hugging his stuffing right out) was share her cracker with him. So sweet!

I can't believe I'm writing about pee-pee

So last night Brooklyn actually USED her potty. Woot!

I had her sit on it before her bath and when she got up and I saw, well...you know...I cheered and clapped for her. Then I gave her a teensy mini marshmallow. (Is it marshmellow or mallow? Oh who cares.)

I know, I know. I don't want to get into a habit of using food as a reward but she loves those very much and hoped she will make a connection that pee pee in the potty = fun times.

The things she says

Yogurk - yogurt (she LOVES yogurk!! She asks for it every time she sees it in the fridge.)

Neckace - necklace. This child will wear all her 'neckaces' at the same time.

ABDBDBDB is the way Brooklyn sings the ABC song. It's so cute...just tickles me!

Ring - rain

Monter - monster...as in cookie.

She can find her elbow. She can say moon and airplane and loves to find both in the sky.

She loves to sit on her potty, with or without clothing on. No pee-pee yet, but sitting in the right place for it is a great start.

Loves to take baths. She knows what 'swim' is even though she's never seen it or done it.

Ing - earring

Core - color

Pow - pillow

Bucket - blanket

All None - all done

Booken - Brooklyn

We have a Tricycle Rider!

Yep, this weekend Brooklyn started riding her tricycle by pedaling it with her feet instead of the "flintstone" method she had been using. She looked like such a pro! She's growing so fast and learning so many things...I'm truly amazed.

First Hair Cut!!!

We took Brooklyn to have her little bangs trimmed. Of course they saved her hair for us and gave her a certificate.



Brooklyn did so well. I was proud of how she sat quietly and bravely in the chair with the plastic apron wrapped around her.



She's part of the third generation in John's family to have a hair cut at this particular shop. John, his dad, his brother, and his nephew all get their hair cut here. The shop is for men but what better place to have your first hair trim?



A sweet girl from our church (Britney) gave the hair cut while Daddy got his hair cut in the next chair over.



All the patrons were so patient with my endless picture taking. They were all dads and grandpas themselves and had been in our shoes before.



And now you can clearly see Baby Girl's bright blue eyes and sweet little face! Can you tell she loved her balloon?

Brooklyn,

You are so cute. You heard me sneeze this morning and told me "bless you."

I love how you are growing and learning every day. Your vocabulary is increasing in leaps and bounds. You can sing several parts of the ABC song. Sometimes you surprise us with the things you say.

You are amazing, little girl.

Love,
Mommy

Ching!

My friends and I toast our glasses to many occasions...new jobs, birthdays, pregnancies, graduations etc. Even a home remodel project well done gets a 'cheers' from all.

Seeing this, Brooklyn wants in on the action and will thrust out her sippy cup to have someone 'ching' her glass with theirs. It's quite funny when we are sitting at home having dinner with no particular celebration going on, to see her out of the clear blue, sitting in her high chair, announce "ching!" while holding her cup out. And of course Daddy and I oblige.

Another funny thing she does (thanks to her Aunt Sarah) is eat whole olives off of her fingers. I'd love to have a picture of her cute little fingers wearing olive caps.

Well one night she and Daddy were sharing a snack of olives. He put one on his finger and when she saw it she yelled "ching!" and they had to toast their olive fingers. Here's to cuteness!

Valentine's Day

My valentine is a fantastic man, husband, father and friend. We are starting our 8th year of marriage and I would not change one single thing.

So my valentine and I decided to have dinner at the same seafood restaurant we had our first date so long ago. We chatted about the first date and the mystery surrounding that night...were we even on a date? *shrugging* I don't know. I thought we were just friends. What does that even mean, by the way? We talk nearly every day. It kind of feels like a date. Are we dating? What does that even mean? Okay, so let me get this straight...we are dating then? Yes, that's fine with me. After all, I DO like you. A lot.

Teeheehee. Good times.

Happy Valentine's Day!

(made these sweet bean bag hearts for Brooklyn and the other kids in her daycare class.)

Spreken zie sassy?

Why yes, yes I do speak Sassy!

Recipes I want to try...

Okay, so I love finding blogs written by first time parents. It's so neat to see how similar our experiences truly are. But when I find a parent blog that also has cooking tutorials with great pictures and instructions....WIN!

I was going to post a few recipes that I found on Four Lease Ranch blog here, here, and here but then I realized she has another blog dedicated to just her cooking. You had me at chocolate cake.

Lisa and Krissy, if you are reading this...I call dibs on the tortilla casserole for small group.

New Posts

Every now and then I'll find some photos or remember something that I forgot to post.

So that my blog stays chronological, I'm post dating them so they will show up as if I posted them when the memory happened.

So that you don't miss any new posts that happened to be tucked back in an old folder, I'm listing the new articles here. Enjoy!

How we manage until Daddy gets home.

Pictures from the Day

Play Date with Markers

How to eat your first ever Oreo

18 Month Check Up

Pigtails and Bacon

Just an average heart warming Tuesday

Brooklyn,

I know you won't remember this but yesterday when I walked into the toddler room to pick you up from daycare, you were playing happily with your little friends. I love watching you interact with other kids. Then your friend Savanah got on the bouncy zebra and jumped and jumped. This prompted you to go to the bouncy horse and jump and jump. Your teacher and I clapped and cheered at how fast you both were bouncing. This got the other kids excited and soon everyone was clapping and cheering. I felt like we were having a party! It was hilarious to see the huge smile on your face. I love watching you have a good time.

Then you and I walked out to the car but rather than get right in, we took a walk. It was a brisk sun shiny day. We walked along the fence between the property and a pond, looking at the birds and scanning the ground for bits of anything you thought was interesting.

You found an acorn top and considered it precious. You would throw it down the sidewalk and then run to pick it up. I just enjoyed being outside with you. Then I found a rock and threw it. You would run to pick it up. This went on for several minutes. Finally, I noticed all the acorns on the ground around a small oak tree and pointed them out to you. You love collecting 'akins' and picked out as many as you could fit in your little hands.

Then I showed you the pockets on the front of your shirt and how well they would safely hold your little treasures. You gently put each acorn in your pocket. You are such a joy to watch.

After walking back to the car and buckeling you in safe and sound, we drove home. You manage to get your shoes and try so hard to put them back on. You'll get it eventually. I love how eager you are to learn and master new things.

Once home, I gave you some cereal for a snack and opened some cinnamon applesauce for myself. You showed great interest in my applesauce so I sat on the kitchen floor with you in my lap and we shared it.



You won't be small for very long, my precious baby. These are the moments I want to remember forever.

I love you,
Mommy

We did it!

We are notorious for eating out basically every night and honestly, it gets old. Then when we do finally shop for groceries, we get bored with the idea of cooking so we put it off until the food spoils. It's not that we hate cooking at home. I actually love it. It's the shopping and clean up afterward that is a major PITA.

Anyway, the food we waste is a disgusting habit that I want to break.

So last week John came home from a farmer's market with a bunch of fresh delicious veggies and cuts of meat. I think he spent around $40. Immediately we sat together and planned out dinner for the week using up all of what he bought.

Monday - Fajitas
Tuesday - Meatloaf
Wednesday - Pizza (Not us cooking but it was a frantic day so give a girl a break.)
Thursday - Home Group where meals are provided
Friday - Ate out with John's parents
Saturday - Steak, corn on the cob, baked potato
Sunday - Burgers and I even made a CAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Monday - Spaghetti (sauce was leftovers we had in the freezer.) What? We ate leftovers?! YES.

We win at cooking this past week! The only thing we threw out were the leftovers from Friday night (resturant food.) Not my fault. It wasn't that great a meal to begin with so the remnant should have never come home with me.

Tonight we will use up the last of his farmer's market run: Chicken marinated in a mandarin orange maple sauce with asparagus. Woot!

Pigtails and Bacon

I was finally able to wrangle Perpetual Motion Toddler still long enough to put her hair into pigtails. Then, to distract her from immediately pulling them out, we went for a walk to visit the neighborhood cats and ducks.









And then Saturday morning we went for breakfast. I cringed when John let her steal his bacon, but she liked it so what could I really say at that point?

18 Month Check Up

We learned at your (infinitely long) doctor visit that, at 32.5" tall and 26.25lbs, you are in the 75% in height and weight, which I think is great considering how small you were at birth.

Here you are waiting for the pediatrician to come in.

And waiting.

And waiting.

Until finally he arrives.

Did you notice the time stamp on the above photo? No? Let me enlarge that for you:

FYI, our appointment was at 10:00am. Grrrrrr!

Moving on....

Brooklyn, at 18 months you are so much fun! You love to try to do things on your own. You run everywhere you go. You still enjoy putting things in the trash for me and daddy. You are an excellent mimic. You are so curious about everything. Your vocabulary is growing daily. You've figured out how to put my iPod on the Bose player so you can dance to Blues Traveler. You take very good care of your baby by sharing your gold fish crackers with her.



and taking her for rides on your scooter.

You LOVE Elmo. I mean L.O.V.E Elmo. Or Emmo as you call him. You love to say Doo Daa Doo Daa Doo Daa as we sing Camp Town Ladies. You think every semi truck or bus is a choo choo. Did I mention you love trains???

You have become kind of whiney and temper-tantrum-y when you don't get your way. You constantly want 'up' and I can't always hold you while I'm cooking or doing laundry, so when I tell you 'no' you gently lay stretched out on the floor and cry. You hit your head on the tile floor once during a tantrum and ever since then learned that easy-does-it. So I can't help but laugh as you ease on down to the floor and try your best to stay mad. Mine is your new favorite word. I know this stage will pass. And there are soooo many good things about you that these few unpleasant age-related things are easy to see beyond.

To end this post on a good note, I love how you ask to go night night when you are tired. I love how you snuggle your blankets in the morning. I love how you think that hiding your face makes the rest of you invisible. I love how much you giggle when you see the neighborhood cats. I love how you yell Daddy! and run to the door when he comes home.

Good, bad, happy, sad...you are so special to us. I love you with all my heart.

Viva Las Vegas.

My vacation was great. Here is a photo recap of all the merriment.


Tiffany picked me up at 5:00am in the pouring rain on Friday, so I was too tired to be sad that I didn't get to see Brooklyn and say goodbye before we left. Getting through OIA security was no problem at all...no naked scanners, no junk touching. It was the same experience as it has always been. Thank goodness. I love when you expect the worst but get the best.

The flight over was nice - got upgraded to business class for the first leg. Hello leg room!

I also took some pics of the grand canyon as we flew over. Yes, my camera lens...uh...ROCKS! (pssst, I have the best husband ever...he buys me lenses even when I don't ask for them or know that I even want them.)

We were met with champagne, roses and a stretch limo

to take us to the hotel. We traveled like the princesses we are!!!

Tiff and I saw a show (Le Reve)

toured the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop
(of Pawn Stars fame...no, we didn't see Chumlee. Dang it.)

gambled (I won some major loot!), got dressed up

ate some really good food at a french resturant in our hotel (Andre's) where I found the definition of yum....

Veal tenderloin with baked foie gras

and Grand Marnier souffle. Caution: This WILL make you slap yo momma.

some so-so food (In & Out Burger - I reeeeally don't get what all the fuss is about. It's a hamburger, people!):

El Diablo Cantina (where the margarita's make you silly!)

had some delightful cupcakes from The Cupcakery in our hotel:

We hung out with some of the natives:

and walked through many of the fancy hotels. Check out this chocolate fountain!?! For realz it starts up in the ceiling...

And these crazy cakes!

And we visited an ice bar aptly name Minus 5. (Get it? Minus 5 degrees is how frickin cold it was.)



MGM Grand stuck out to me as a potential vacation spot when I come back with my family. I mean really...who has a lion exhibit in the middle of their lobby? Only the cool people, that's who.



Speaking of cool people, I did miss John so badly. I want him to be a part of every fun and exciting thing I do. Of course I missed Brooklyn too. Thankfully John sent me many pictures and text updates of her to keep me from going crazy.

The flight home was Les Miserables. At this point in your vacation you are DONE with the anticipation and just want to be home. Not to mention AirTran seats feel like they are literally shrinking around you in flight.

Vacations are always a blast, but when I walked through the door of our apartment to John's waiting arms, I cried because I realized how deeply I missed my family. The arrangement of roses he had for me was icing on the cake.

PS I made a little promise to myself to never vacation without them again. After all, I didn't get married and have a family to go solo. In fact, I took today off to spend some time with my daughter.