Keeping Up With Sydney

Boo at the Zoo!!

2011-10-23T19:23:00.000-07:00

Sydney and I went to Boo at the Zoo today!! They give all of the animals pumkins and Halloween themed toys to play with. It was very cute!!

9th Anniversary Part 2

2011-10-23T19:21:00.000-07:00

Our Wedding - 9 Years ago!!

Mommy & Grandma Cathy!!

9th Anniversary

2011-10-23T19:20:00.000-07:00

Mommy and Daddy celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary tonight!!

2011-10-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

Our friendly owl was visiting us today!! So beautiful!!

The Simple Farm

2011-10-23T19:18:00.000-07:00

Close to our home, there is this little organic farm called the Simple Farm!! It's just a cute little place that I like to take Sydney to sometimes!!

Funny story, see the ring Sydney has on her hand? Well it's shiny and big and she reached in to touch a chicken and it took her ring off!! All of the chickens started chasing each other and made a huge scene. I finally went and got one of the workers because I was afraid the chickens might choke on it. The worker laughed and said the chickens love shiny things!! She got the ring back for Sydney and everyone lived happily ever after:)

My Sweeties!!

Rollar Skating

2011-10-23T19:14:00.000-07:00

I started rollar skating when I was 4 years old!! Rollar skating was a HUGE part of my childhood!! I don't have a lot of childhood memories of my Mom, Dad, sister & I doing things together - but I do remember rollar skating a few times!! I can't wait until Sydney gets good at it and we can go to a skating rink!!

Man I just love to watch her!!

2011-10-23T19:11:00.000-07:00

Sydney's buddy Caden, our neighbor. They go to preschool together also:)

Cliffords Birthday at School

2011-10-23T19:03:00.000-07:00

It was Cliffords Birthday at Sydney's school today!! The teachers did a fantastic job with all of the activities!!

Here they are dancing!! Mrs. Osborn and Ms. Miller

All of the kids brought a stuffed dog to school!

Sydney loves her teachers!

2011-10-23T18:59:00.000-07:00

Mommy made another Diaper Cake!! LOVE making these!!

Blessed

2011-10-23T18:56:00.000-07:00

Sydney had a project to do for school where we had to take a picture of our home and our pets. I thought I would include them in her blog for her to look back at some day:)

Zoey and Ziggy!!

A Princess Birthday Party!

2011-10-23T18:54:00.000-07:00

Sydney's friend, Aubrey, our neighbor, turned 3 and had a real princess birthday party!! It was so cute!

All of the little girls had princess outfits on!!

Sydney was amazed that Snow White showed up to the party!!

My little Princess!!

Snow White putting makeup on Sydney!!

1st time wearing makeup!!

Mommy Turned 40!!

2011-10-23T18:50:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I am 40!! This was a big deal for two reasons...I turned 40!! And, we left Sydney for the 1st time to go on a trip!! We left Sydney with Robyn and Caden (our neighbors) while we went to Rocky Point!! She did awesome!!

1st Day 4 Year Old Preschool

2011-10-23T18:48:00.000-07:00

Sydney was so excited to start Preschool again!! This is her favorite skirt!! She was not nervous at all!!

Growning so fast!!

Birthday Party Part 2

2011-10-23T18:45:00.000-07:00

Not sure what happened, but not all of the photos from the previous blog posted. Below are the rest of them...

Along with the art activities, and manicures, the kids also played pin the sunglasses on Barbie and we had a pinata!!

She was so suprised with her gifts!! She was so excited to get all of the Barbies!! You can tell by her face:) What a sweetie!!

4th Birthday!!

2011-10-23T18:34:00.000-07:00

Sweetie had a wonderful 4th birthday!! It began with her waking up to a room full of balloons!! She was so suprised!!

We had a Barbie themed birthday party at her request!! I made everything!! I had so much fun doing it:)

What would a Barbie party be without a real Barbie Cake!! And yes, I made it!!

Chocolate cupcakes with pink princess frosting!

Pink Princess Puffs!! These were a big hit!

Pink dipped pretzel sticks!!

This was our craft table. We colored Barbi prints and decorated crowns with jewels!!

Everything pink!!

The manicure station!!

The dress up gowns!!

The Barbie Princess chair!!

Sydney had a wonderful time at her party!! What a great day!!

1st Trip up North!

2011-10-23T18:24:00.000-07:00

Our friend John invited us up to his cabin this summer. We had so much fun hanging out in the cooler weather. Sydney loved being able to play outside as it's been so hot in Phoenix, that we have been stuck inside!! John calls his house a cabin because it's in the woods on a golf course - BUT - it's huge and amazing!!

John and Sydney

They have a kids club house on the property that Sydney got to go spend some time at. She loved it! This is the fort they made.

This is the view off of the back porch. Greg is getting us bloody mary's from the drink cart:)

View off of the back porch

Back porch - beautiful!!

Lulu!!

Daddy in his happy place!

John and Daddy on the front porch!

The Great Room!!

The Kitchen!

Our bedroom

The kids camp Sydney went to!!

The kitty tale she made at kids camp!

Mommy golfing!

golf course!!

Starting her young!!

What a great trip!!

1st Day of Vacation Bible Camp

2011-10-23T18:16:00.000-07:00

I signed Sydney up for her first vacation bible camp at Scottsdale Bible Church. She loved it!! She went for a week at the end of July!!

My little stinker!!

Minnesota 2012

2011-10-23T18:10:00.000-07:00

At Mankato Fun Days parade! Jolinda, Dad, Abby, Sweetie & Ally. What a great day!!

My family!!

Sydney and Ally!! Best buddies just like Ally's Mommy and I since the 5th grade!!

My nephew Cory and his son Kai!!

Sydney finally realized that if she waved to people in the parade, they would throw her candy!!

Abby and Sydney on the rides

Grandpa Nick and Sweetie!!

She had so much fun on the rides!!

My childhood friends, Nikki and Jolinda!! They will always be my soul sisters!!

Me and my uncle Jimmy!

Nikki, Tavia, me and Jolinda - friends for 30 plus years!!

More Minnesota Pictures!!

2011-07-15T17:38:00.000-07:00

Here are more pictures from Minnesota. I am unable to put all of the pictures in one post due to the program I am using to download the pictures to my blog.

Sydney and Grandpa Ramy really bonded during this trip!! It was very sweet to watch!

Sydney took this picture:)

During this trip, I was able to reconnect with a very dear and old friend, Jolinda. Jolinda and I became best friends on my 1st day at a new school, in 5th grade. We remained best friends until well after high school. Life then got in the way and we lost touch for a bit - but now we are reconnecting and loving it!! This is her youngest daughter, Ally. It was beautiful to watch our girls form a friendship with each other!!

After Greg left to go back to Phoenix, Sydney and I drove down to Mankato and spent a couple of extra days. This picture was taken at Nikki's house. A few of my girlfriends from Mankato all met at Nikki's house on Friday night to reconnect. We brought our daughters with and they all met and played together for the first time. It was so cool to see our kids play together!! In this picture they are making homes for their new fire fly friends that they captured. This was the first time Sydney had ever seen one!! It was so fun watching her catch them - brought back lots of memories of when I was young and used to catch them.

Here are the beautiful Mommies!! I have so many awesome memories with these awesome ladies. Love you all (Jolinda, Nikki, Gina, Laurie, Me & Tavia).

Funny faces with our girls!!

Sydney and Nikki's girls!

Love it!!

More Minnesota - Visit to Grandma's House

2011-07-15T17:37:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful visit at Grandma & Grandpa Ramy's house while in Minnesota!!

I LOVE this picture!

Missing you Mom...

This is Sydney's fashion girl pose!!

Mad Cow - or Mad Daddy!!

Fun at the Lake in Minnesota

2011-07-15T17:33:00.000-07:00

I was so happy at how well Sydney took to the lake while in Minnesota! She loved being on the boat, in the water, and tubing! The 1st time she tubed was with me!! And, guess what, it was my 1st time tubing also!! We both laughed so hard, I cried!! Then she tubed with her Daddy, which of course they both loved!! Then, she tubed all by herself!!! She is so brave! On the 2nd day there, Mommy got more brave and went water skiing!! 1st time on ski's in over 20 years!! I got up on my 3rd try and did pretty good:)

Enjoy the pictures!!

Sydney, Ella & Lilian.

Swimming with uncle Jeff and Ella!

So brave!

The Mommies!!

S Y D N E Y

2011-06-29T07:34:00.000-07:00

Look who learned to spell her name today!! This is the 1st time she has spelled her name all by herself!! So proud of my little 3 year old!!!

2011 Circus

2011-06-28T08:55:00.000-07:00

Mommy surprised Sydney with a trip to the circus last week!! She had no idea that we were going until we actually got there!! We went an hour early so we could participate in the Pre-show activities were we had the opportunity to go down on the stages and meet the clowns, see the elephants & zebra's up close. Sydney was so excited!!

She loved the clowns this year!! She had lots of "belly laughing" as she called it!

Down on stage

One of the performers

She got to try on a real circus cape!! It was so heavy!! I can't believe they can perform in some of the costumes they wear!!

My pretty girl!! We put special curls in her hair for the "surprise outing"

We loved the zebra's!!

We were right up close to the elephants!

We had great seats!! Pretty much front row to the stages. We saw everything up close that entered and exited out of the arena!!

What would the circus be without some sugary sweets!!

Having fun!!

She is watching the performers on the high wire!!

The suspense is too much!!

She really laughed loudly watching these clowns perform!

Her new spin/light-up toy!!

We were very close to the tigers - they were loud!!

Amazing!!

Yikes!

We had a wonderful time at the circus. Of course, I spent most of the time watching Sydney watch the circus...priceless:)

My Pretty Girl

2011-06-24T15:42:00.000-07:00

Sydney sees me get ready everyday - she watches me put on makeup, style my hair, dress, etc. She has now started to mimic me and will oftentimes disappear after she is done getting ready!! A few nights ago, I was getting ready to go out to dinner with a friend. Sydney disappeared and said she was going to go get ready also. She came back a bit later and looked like this...

She had every bow/flower she owns in her hair!! She was so proud of herself:)

Mommy & Sydney after "getting ready"!!!!!

Our Little Artist

2011-06-24T15:38:00.000-07:00

I bought Sydney a new easel board with markers and chalk. She LOVES it! I keep it in the kitchen and she draws while I am doing my computer work for church and while I am cooking! She's actually a very good drawer!! Below are just a few examples of her artwork:)

This is her picture of giraffes and palm trees. As a Minnesota gal, I didn't even know what a palm tree was when I was her age!!

This is a picture of Mommy with a ponytail in her hair!!

Exhausted Sweetie!!

2011-06-13T15:59:00.000-07:00

Sydney started Vacation Bible School today at Scottsdale Bible Church! She has been counting down the days for three weeks now! We haven't really had an opportunity to talk about it yet because she came home exhausted and is still taking a nap - 2 hours so far!! We kept her pretty busy all weekend so I think she is pretty wiped out!

Greg had the whole weekend off this past weekend! Huge for us! He played with Sydney in the pool Friday and Sat. which really wore her out! Then Sat. night we went to City North where they closed off the street and had a band playing. We ate dinner there and then watched Sydney dance:) She also had her 1st experience with cotton candy - she didn't like it - neither did I as a kid! She wouldn't take bites of it...she would lick it!! She also got her face painted! She ended up getting to bed about 2 hours late but was still up bright and early on Sunday! Sunday was another pool day. Again, she was in bed about 1 hour late! So between the late bedtimes and camp today, poor sweetie is exhausted!! But isn't that what summer is all about!!!

Part 2: Stay-Cation Pictures!

2011-06-13T15:57:00.000-07:00

Below are some more pictures from our Stay-Cation in Tuscon. We actually stayed in a Casita off to the side of the resort. Below was a view from our front door. The mountains were beautiful!

The resort grounds were also beautiful.

Sydney did a great job learning to swim on her own. Here she is swimming with her head under the water!!

Sydney keeps asking when we are going to go back!! She LOVED the water slide!!

Our Trip to the Ostrich Farm

2011-06-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

We are back from our "Stay-Cation" in Tuscon!! On the way there, we stopped by the Ostrich Farm and had a blast feeding deer, goats, donkey's, Ostriches & birds!! We will definitely be returning to the farm!! Sydney was so cute as she feed and pet the animals!! Mommy & Daddy had fun feeding them also!! Enjoy the pictures...

We fed the deer first. They were so cute and very hungry!!

I love this picture...if you look at the expressions on the deer - it cracks me up!!

Feeding the goats!! These guys were so obnoxious!!

So cute!! Think goodness they were behind the wall or they would have taken Sydney down!!

The donkey's!!

So the ostriches were a little too aggressive for Sydney. We walked up to them and before we could even get food out or get a good look them them, this guy reached down and snapped Sydney's whole hand!!! We were all in shock it happened so fast!! I looked down at Sydney and she had this look of panic & fear. I picked her up and she immediately started crying. No damage was done accept for the fact, Sydney didn't stop talking about it for the rest of the day!! Needless to say, we did not hand feed the ostriches after this!!

We then went in to a special area to feed the birds!! So flipping cool - definitely my favorite part!! Before walking in to the birds, a staff member came out to tell us what to expect. She said to hold the food out and to not be surprised and make sudden movements when the birds land on you. Sounds easy enough...right?? OMG, we walk into the bird area and before we even get a look at our surroundings, a bird lands on Greg's shoulder or head and it startled him and he swatted at it out of reflex!! Then one lands on my head and I scream - then on Sydney's head and she runs!! We did exactly everything the staff told us NOT to do!!! Thank gosh we were the only one's in there. The staff member came over, calmed us down and showed us how to properly hold the food. We then began to relax. At one point, I think I had like 4 birds on my arms and one on my head!!

This was so funny - these birds land on Sydney to eat the nectar - but they ended up fighting over it!

They are still fighting over the nectar and it's all gone!

Such an awesome experience!

The birds were all getting excited and flapping their wings - kind of unsettling at times!

What a great little farm this place is. I highly recommend it to anyone with kids. It's inexpensive and an excellent opportunity for kids to interact up close with the animals!!

Summer Plans

2011-06-02T13:13:00.000-07:00

We are now into our 2nd week of summer. After doing a ton of research, I think I have come up with some great ideas/plans for us to keep us busy most of the summer!! We kicked off the summer with a weekend BBQ and had friends and family join us for some fun in the sun. Coming up in June - this weekend we are finally using the "Stay-Cation" trip I won last August!! We leave tomorrow for the Hilton in Tucson and stay until Sunday. This is a 1st trip of this kind for the three of us and I am soooo looking forward to it! The trip includes 2 nights at a AAA 4 star resort, 2 spa treatments & dinner at the restaurant. They have 4 pools, one of which is a kid pool with water features and a water slide. I am hoping we can just relax and unwind and have some much needed fun!

June - August we have movie tickets for a kids showing every Wed. morning. Also in June, for one full week she will be attending Vacation Bible School for half the day. We also have some gift certificates for a fun indoor bouncy house that we will be utilizing this month along with some free circus tickets!!

July - We are thrilled to be going to Minnesota!! The day after we return from Minnesota, Sydney starts another Vacation Bible School at her preschool for 1.5 weeks!!

August - Birthday parties for Sydney and Daddy and then back to preschool!!

So, I think I've done a pretty good job filling up our calender and keeping us busy!! I am sure we will be spending a ton of time in the pool also as Sydney loves to be in the water:)

Sydney's Last Week of 3's Preschool!!

2011-06-02T12:56:00.000-07:00

I know, I fell behind again on the blog! The connection at work is terrible some days which makes it very difficult to post on the blog! Today, it seems to be working well so let's see if I can get caught up!!

We are now into our 2nd week of summer...which means no preschool. WE miss preschool!! The pictures below are from Sydney's last week at preschool. I volunteered both days...I love to watch Sydney interact with her classmates!! During the last week of school they had an Olympic Day where the kids all participated in numerous physical activities. I was in charge of all of the girls in her classroom - boy was that exhausting!! I don't know how these teachers do it everyday!! Also during the last week, any kids with summer birthdays got the chance to have a birthday celebration with their peers. Sydney was very excited to be 4 years old for the day!!

Sydney's class

We were the "Pink Ladies"!! Sydney started school mid season and they ran out of red shirts, therefore, she didn't have one to wear. She didn't seem to mind so much because she got to wear a pink shirt - her favorite color!! Don't let these cute little girls fool you...they were a handful!!!

Funny faces!! I don't think the teachers were to thrilled that we were doing this!!

Sydney's birthday celebration at school.

Here she is sharing information about her favorite toy with the class (share bag)!

Here is she letting her friends touch her toy as she talks about it.

We miss preschool so much and look forward to going back in August. She will then be attending Mon-Thurs from 1-3:30pm. It's such a great school and we feel so blessed to have found it. Yesterday, when I was doing some work - I observed Sydney role playing activities from her preschool classroom with her toys. I just love that she is learning so much both intellectually and socially!

KC Pink Ladies Part 2

2011-05-04T19:53:00.000-07:00

Here are additional pictures from the Relay for Life Fundraiser I participated in. We were the KC Pink Ladies (KC stands for Kate's Cup which is the name of our women's ministry).

I had such an amazing time with some amazing, compassionate women - I feel very blessed that God placed me with this group!!

Walking the track - this was before it got to crazy cold!

Taking a break - I think I had been walking about 5 hours at this point!

This was taken about 10:30pm. The wind was crazy and it was freeeezzzzing! Hard to tell but I have a big ole fro on!! At least it kept my head warm!!

These last two pictures were the end of the night - when we finally decided that we were completely windblown and frozen! We are all still smiling!!

Mother's Day Tea at Preschool

2011-05-02T20:26:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a special day for Mommy and Sydney - Sydney's preschool put on a Mother's Day Tea Party for all of the Mommy's!! It was sooooo cute!! They started by surprising us with a recital - they sang 4 songs to us!! I had no idea they were doing this. Then they put together a video presentation of pictures set to music of the kids. We all cried!! Then it was off to their classrooms where they surprised us again with hats they made for us and a special fish bowl with our pictures in it! We then got to walk around outside where they decorated everything so beautifully with the kids artwork and flowers. The teachers and staff did an amazing job!! Enjoy the pictures!!

They are releasing a butterfly they had in the classroom.

My beautiful hat!! I was so proud to wear it:)

The kids were to fill in the blanks: I am 11 years old with blue eyes and brown hair. My favorite colors are red and white and I like to cook toast and waffles!! I also like to go outside and play!! What a hoot!!

"I love my Mom because she makes dinner for me" I always wondered what I would look like as a red head!!

Sydney made this picture:)

Robyn, my neighbor! Her son is also in Sydney's room. They are best buddies:)

Relay for Life 2011

2011-05-02T20:17:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, I try to do some kind of event each year to honor my Mother. This year I joined the KC Pink Ladies and completed the Relay for Life event. The KC Pink Ladies are a bunch of ladies from my women's ministry, Kate's Cup. We all decorated pink shirts and had a bake sale at our tent. The idea is that someone from your team is to be walking the track from 6pm - 6am. The weather was terrible, the wind broke records, tents were flying everywhere, dust/dirt everywhere - but we still had fun! We ended up closing down at midnight due to the weather conditions - so I ended up walking for about 5.5 hours. I was definitely feeling it the next day but no time to rest because I had to set up for the annual block party!

There were some very emotional moments throughout the night - I shed many tears as I listened to survivors tell their stories and to walkers tell their stories of loved ones' lost. I told my story a few times - I had my Mom with me the entire evening on the front of my shirt!

Every half hour they had a different themed lap. Some of the different themes were: the survivors lap; limbo lap; funny bunny lap; remembrance lap; lighting of the luminaries lap; dress a guy up as a lady lap; purple lap, etc. Some teams really got into it!! All in all, it was a great night of getting to know people, sharing stories, meeting survivors, remembering lost loved ones, and fighting for a cure.

The 1st lap around the track was for the survivors - very emotional!

This was the beginning of setup for our tent - we were not able to decorate everything due to the wind!!

I was upset that they spelled my Mom's name wrong - but thought my Mom might get a good laugh out of it! I must have walked by that luminary 100 times in the 5-6 hours I was there and EVERY time I was a little "bugged" by the misspelling of her name. Now that I look back at it, I probably should have just had them make another one right away - oh well:)

Once it got dark, they lit these luminaries on the bleachers that spelled Hope and we all followed a man playing "Amazing Grace" on the bag pipes. This was the most emotional part of the night for me and many others. This lap was called the "Remembrance" lap - most people walked in silence and cried...me included.

For you mom...I will keep fighting this battle for you and for our sweet Sydney...I love you

Easter 2011

2011-05-02T18:59:00.000-07:00

We had a very nice Easter again this year! It started with Sydney waking up around 6am and seeing huge bunny paw prints from her bedroom door and down the stairs!! She came running into our room to tell us she saw "paw prints" and wanted us to come see them. So we all followed the paw prints down the stairs and saw that the Easter Bunny had come!! Sydney quickly started looking for hidden eggs!! She then found her Easter basket on top of the toilet seat in the downstairs bathroom. She thought this was sooo funny!

We later went to church. Sydney announced to EVERYONE she saw that the Easter Bunny came and left paw prints and an Easter basket in the toilet!! Later that day, we had our last big dinner with Nana & Paps and Aunt Peggy!! Nana & Paps left a few days later:( We had a wonderful dinner and now have many more beautiful memories!!

Preschool Easter Party

2011-05-02T18:46:00.000-07:00

Sydney had a party at Preschool to celebrate Easter! I was volunteered in the classroom that day and helped the teachers:) I love to be in her classroom and to watch her interact with her peers. Her teachers are great and the classroom just feels so calm! We all had a great time!

Eating ice cream and strawberries!!

A picture of the front of the classroom!

Here are their Easter baskets they made! Then went out to the park to play after ice cream. A few Mommies stayed in the classroom and helped the Easter Bunny hide eggs! Sydney thinks the Easter Bunny lays Easter Eggs:)

Sydney found an egg!!

Back to circle time!! It was so much fun being a part of her special day at school!!

Fun at a Birthday Party!

2011-05-02T18:39:00.000-07:00

I felt so bad for Sydney this week! We had 2 fun birthday parties to go to over the weekend but she ended up getting sick with a head cold!! I felt terrible for her! Her nose would seriously NOT stop running! Poor thing had a severely chapped upper lip and cheeks! We missed the party on Sat. but we did go to the one on Sunday - not sure if it was the best idea but it was for our neighbors son and they really wanted us there. Sydney had a blast but was very run down the next day:( A few days later, she was back to herself! Below are pictures from the birthday party. It was at the Railroad Park - lots of fun!!

The kids are all lined up and getting ready to start a game. The boy in the stripes is Jack, the birthday boy! He is such a cutie - he turned 3!!

Red light green light game!

Sydney always makes this face when she gets to do something special and knows people are looking at her - so cute!!

Look at her poor chapped face!! She was a trooper!!

Off to ride the train!

1st time riding the train without Mommy or Daddy holding on to her - Mommy was a nervous wreck!!

My Sweetie!

Giving Daddy a new hair cut!!

Early Morning Tea Party!

2011-05-02T18:29:00.000-07:00

One of Sydney's favorite stories right now is Alice and Wonderland. She has watched it over and over and Nana also got her the book!! So, we decided to have an early morning silly tea party!! We had tea (apple juice), coffee (our morning medicine), blueberry scones, little vanilla cookies with strawberries and cream. I laid out our fancy table cloth and got out silly hats for everyone to wear - Sydney LOVED it!!

Not sure how much Daddy liked it but he played along:)

Sydney's Buddy!!

2011-05-02T18:21:00.000-07:00

Summer time is approaching which means the lizards are coming out!! This poor little guy ran right into our pool and almost didn't make it back out!! Once rescued, he hung out on our pool deck for a bit to drain out...Sydney thought he was just there to hang out with her!! Normally, lizards do NOT let you get this close to them!! Meet Lucky the Lizard!!

Aunt Arlene and Uncle Vince with Nana before leaving to go back to Chicago!! We had such a nice visit with them and feel so blessed that we get to spend some time with them each "winter"!!

Shortly after this picture, Lucky ran off - almost up Sydney's dress!! Sydney was not happy that her buddy took off and had a mini melt down:(

Love this picture!!

Funny Girl

2011-05-02T16:50:00.000-07:00

So, the other night as I was making dinner for Greg & I (Sydney had already eaten), I told Sydney she needed to pick up all of her toys before she was allowed to have her dessert. She reluctantly agreed and I could hear her picking up the toys. Shortly after, she came up into the kitchen and announced she was all done picking up toys. So I walked down to the living room and saw this...

Now I know that doesn't really look like much in this picture BUT the stack inside this basket is almost as tall as her it just doesn't show up in the picture well!! I still can't figure out how she was able to pile all of her toys into this basket without them falling over!! All I could do was laugh!!

My silly girl!

1st Soccer Game

2011-05-02T16:41:00.000-07:00

Sydney had her 1st soccer game a few weeks ago!! She LOVES to run up and down the field chasing the ball but she isn't too aggressive in actually getting to kick the ball - she is more of a cheer leader on the field!! She likes to cheer her team mates on, telling them where or what they should be doing and screaming!! Pretty funny to watch!! She also enjoys running by the crowd and waving to everyone!!

GOOOO PIRATES!!

She kind of just does her own thing on the field...

She is one of two girls on the team

Sydney's First Prayer

2011-03-31T13:25:00.000-07:00

A very cute story to share with you all... For quite some time now, Greg and I have been praying with Sydney before dinner and (sometimes) bedtime. Nothing fancy, just enough to say thank you for all of our blessings. Sydney also has prayer time at school two times - 1st when class starts & 2nd right before snack time. She also learns about prayer during Sunday School and while I am at my Women's Ministry. Because she has all of this experience with prayer, we tried something different for our dinner prayer last night. As we held hands and Greg began to pray, I interrupted him and looked at Sydney and asked her to say our prayer tonight - and she did - all by herself!! It was the most beautiful prayer I have ever heard!!! "Dear God, thank you for our food, our family..." she then proceeded to give thanks for her individual toys!!! I was sooooo proud of her:)

Happy Patty's Day!

2011-03-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

For Preschool this week, the teachers informed the kids that the Leprechaun might be making a visit to school. Sydney was so excited to actually see one!! That sneaky Leprechaun came into their classroom 2 times!! Once while the kids were out at the playground and then at music class! I asked Sydney how she knew the Leprechaun was there since she didn't get to see him. She said that he messed their classroom all up both times and hid some of their things. He also left some chocolate gold coins! To add to all of the excitement, when we pulled into our driveway when we got home from preschool, there was a big shamrock on our garage door. Then when we walked into the house, their were shamrocks all over the house and green bead necklaces!! And, that silly Leprechaun even peed blue in our toilet!!! And to Sydney's amazement, he also left a big "pupcake" for her! That Leprechaun is sure sneaky:)

Oh Yes, I Did!!!!

2011-03-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

I know, I am a total hypocrite!!! Over the years, watching Jordan play soccer and dealing with all of the parent drama and the crazy soccer schedules, I swore that if we had another child, she would NOT play soccer!!! I blame it on my neighbors!!! They kept asking us to let Sydney play on their son's team AND I finally caved in!! Yes, you heard me right, Sydney is an official soccer player and I am an official Soccer MOM (YIKES)!!! Sydney started her new soccer team last week. She has practice one day a week after preschool. Her 1st game will be April 2nd! Below are pictures from her practice. The coach asked me the question I dreaded, "Is this Sydney's 2nd year playing?" When I said no, she was surprised and said, "Wow, she's pretty good!" I say dreaded question because I just have this feeling that Sydney will be good at it and decide this is something she wants to pursue and I will be forever a "Soccer Mom!" I hope you all know that I am just kidding - I will be proud of my little sweetie and enthusiastic and supportive in any extra curricular activity that she chooses:) She did look very cute at her 1st practice! I was so proud when she scored her 1st goal:) Enjoy the pictures!!! She's a natural! She is even kicking the ball with the inside of her foot - Daddy and JoJo taught her that:) Look at the focus on her face! She's calling for the ball from her coach! She did have one melt down at the beginning of practice. The coach was using her ball to practice with other kids and Sydney was heart broken that other kids were using her ball and not her!! The coach said it happens all of the time!! That's her coach. How about those black and pink cleats and pink striped socks!! Hey, a girls gotta look cute while she's working up a sweat!! This is her team!! Look at the focus on her face!! Love it! Stretching!

Hanging out with the boys!

This is her buddy, Caden, who is also our neighbor. They spend a lot of time together.

Listening to the coach!

My Little/Big Einstein

2011-02-20T06:42:00.000-08:00

I was driving Sydney to school last week and she asked,

"Mommy, why do I go to preschool?"

I said, "You like going to preschool don't you?"

She said, "Yes, but why do I go to preschool?"

I said, "You go to preschool to learn about things."

To that she said, "But Mommy, I already know everything!"

Yep, that's the stage we are in right now...

Jan. & Feb. Picture Overload!!

2011-02-18T11:47:00.000-08:00

OK, so I am done procrastinating all of this!! I am going to try and catch everyone up in this one post!! So much has happened in the last two months!! I think the biggest change is that our sweet Sydney started preschool!!! I wasn't intending on starting her until the fall. We were just going to tour some preschools that I heard good things about and decide from there. Well, the moment I saw Sydney's face and how she just lit up like I have never seen before, I knew that she belonged in preschool. She is just so darn smart both intellectually and socially - she needs more interaction than I am able to give her alone. So, they had one opening left at the school we loved so we signed her up! The day we stopped by to get paperwork, the office assistant took Sydney into the classroom to introduce her to her new teachers and classmates. She took to them all right away. Her little friend Caden (our neighbor) is also in her class. We were only there to get paperwork and she was suppose to start the following week. Well, she was so excited to be there that the teachers said she could stay for the rest of class - a whole 1.5 hours! I wasn't expecting this at all. Sydney bagged me to stay! They took my phone number and said, "Go, we have it handled. She'll be just fine." I gave Sydney and kiss and left the classroom. I felt very strange...got into my car, drove a mile down the road to a strip mall, parked the car and thought, "I better call Greg and let him know what's going on." So, I called Greg, told him excited Sydney was in her new classroom, playing with the kids and working on art, and how her fact lit up with pure joy and....well, I started crying!! Yep! I sat in my car and cried - wasn't expecting that! I was so happy for my daughter and so excited for her new adventure BUT, I also felt this unexpected, overwhelming sadness...my only child is growing up into a beautiful big girl!

When I picked Sydney up from her classroom that day, she seemed bigger to me. She has now been in her school for a month - and as I am sure you can guess, she absolutely loves it! She goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the afternoon. At first I thought I would be getting all kinds of things done during that 2.5 hours BUT you would be surprised at how fast that 2.5 hours goes by! We have already signed her up for next year when she will be going 4 days a week!!

Enjoy the pictures...

In January, I took Sydney to an indoor aquarium we have here in Phoenix. It's nice but not very big. We went on a weekday when there was hardly anyone there but us!!

Here she is looking at some fish.

More fish

Here she is a little nervous because that is a shark tank behind her!!

We thought this fish was funny!

YIKES!

Bull sharks!!

Sharks!!

This was so cool - a glass tunnel to walk through with the sharks swimming all around us. Sydney was pretty nervous going through here also!!

Sydney being silly!!

Sydney loves to dress up now. She always wants to have jewelry on and bright, colorful clothes! She will often disappear into her bedroom and reappear with some very interesting outfits on!!

1st day of Preschool!! She was sooooooo excited!! She kept saying it over and over!!

She has her cute little backpack on but you can't really see it - so cute!!

Her classroom!!! She ran right in when they opened the door without even saying goodbye to me!! I had to run in after her and bring her back out so I could get a picture and kiss:)

This was taken right after her 1st day of Preschool!! She was so excited to tell me all about her day!! This was her 1st art project!!

Sydney and I were really bored one day at the beginning of Jan. So I took her outside on an adventure and we collected leaves - we then came home and made this project to preserve them. It was lots of fun:)

Sydney had her 1st sleepover and Nana & Paps!! This was a big deal for all of us!! She packed 4 bags!! She would have kept going but I had to finally put an end to it! She wasn't even going to be there for 24 hours!! At one point, she came down the stairs and had her all of her clothes from her bottom drawer in her arms, wanting me to put them in a bag!! It was very cute and it was a successful 1st sleepover!!

This is a diaper cake I made last week for a baby shower. Not bad for my 1st time! They are actually fun to make!!

I took Sydney to North Mountain today and let her walk up all by herself (holding my hand of course)!! This is the same mountain that I used to push her up in the jogging stroller all the time! She did so good!! I brought bread with to feed the little squirrels at the top.

My "lil Monkey"!

She calls these little guys "little critters"!!

They are so cute! They come right up to your feet and just wait to be fed!!

The squirrels also get very close up!! Sydney was having a blast!!

Love the view from this bench!!

Celebrating life!!!

My Little Buddy!!

Christmas 2010!!

2011-02-07T08:09:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas at the Wade Residence! We were so busy all month long with so many Christmas activities!! Between our MOMS group, Kate's Cup (women's ministry), Christmas shopping, Christmas decorating, Christmas parties/celebrations with friends - Whew, makes me tired all over again!! I hit complete exhaustion the 1st week of January!! I think it took me at least 2 weeks just to pull myself together again!!

We were very blessed that we got to have Jordan and Nana & Papa in Arizona for Christmas!! Jordan spent a lot of time playing with Sydney - they have such a wonderful bond! Sydney just lights up when she sees her "JoJo"!! Nana & Paps were able to come back to Arizona and spend Christmas Day with us!! This was very special to all of us. When I was little, we always had a Christmas Eve celebration at my Grandma Doris's house and Christmas afternoon at the Nickels Grandparents home. I always had so much fun playing! My hope is that Sydney will have some of the same memories and will have a strong sense of how important family is.

Below are some of our Christmas Pictures from 2010! Enjoy...

A ballerina doll from Auntie Abby.

A Strawberry Shortcake DVD from Santa! How did Santa know she liked Strawberry Shortcake?? Love her expression...

Grandpa Nick & Karen got Sydney a whole box full of dress up clothes!! Big hit! She loves to wear her princess clothes and model them for anyone who will play along:)

This is her knew American Girl set. She LOVES it!! It now sits in her bedroom.

Her scooter from Santa!!

She was so excited to see that Santa ate some of her cookies that she decorated and that Rudolph ate some of the mini marshmallows we left him.

One of my favorite Christmas pictures!! So blessed to have us all together for Christmas!!

Our annual Christmas feast with our family!!

One of Sydney's favorite people!!

Yummy cake!!

Christmas 2010 with the enormous tree!!

Christmas Eve before Church. This year, Nana, Aunt Peggy, Uncle Michael & Erik came with us to Church!!

Sydney with cookie frosting on her mouth!! She was suppose to be decorating cookies...instead, she was decorating her face and mouth!!!

This is the "special" cookie she made Santa!! Hmmmm, hope Santa likes frosting!! Trust me, there is an actual cookie under there, somewhere!!

Decorating Christmas cookies!!

That's it!! We were so busy at Christmas time that I realized, I really didn't take that many pictures!! I guess it's better to live in the moment anyways instead of missing a moment because of trying to take a picture!!

Thank you all for the Christmas memories and thank you God for all of our many blessings. And, I can't possibly end this post without saying, "Merry Christmas Mom. You were with me in my heart every moment. I love you so much and know you are with us. We love you..."

Polar Express Trip!

2011-02-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know, I am posting this almost 2 months AFTER our trip!! Better late then never, right? We had such a wonderful time at the Polar Express!! I am so grateful we took the plunge and took this amazing journey!! The week of the trip, I read the book Polar Express to Sydney so she had an idea of what the Polar Express was. We also rented the video; however, it seemed to make her a little scared so we didn't watch the whole movie.

I was also excited to take this trip because I thought there would be enough snow up North to take Sydney sledding - but that just wasn't in the cards. Maybe next time.

Every year, the Polar Express sells out quickly! Knowing this, I purchased our tickets back in September - and they were almost sold out at that point!! We purchased the Polar Express Package which entitled us to tickets for the Polar Express, a night at the Grand Canyon Hotel, and dinner/breakfast tickets to the buffet. Now that the trip is over, I can definitely say that it was worth the money! We planned our trip for the middle of the week so we were able to bypass much of the crowd. We didn't have to wait in any lines and the trip was relatively stress free!! Below are pictures from our trip - enjoy:)

This picture was taken at dinner. Can you tell Sydney LOVES her chocolate cake!!

As if the chocolate cake wasn't enough...she also got ice cream!! Here she is trying to get the last drop of her ice cream!!

We were so excited that our dinner table was right next to this huge fireplace!! It was beautiful! It felt like we were at a cabin resort. It was freezing outside (in the high teens if that!) but so warm and cozy by the fireplace, enjoying our dinner and wine.

A happy memory!!

After dinner, we had to go back to our hotel room and get ready for the Polar Express! All of the kids wear their P.J.'s on the train, just like in the book and movie. These are Sydney's Christmas jammies! Like I said, it was really cold outside so Sydney enjoyed wearing her kitty cat hat also! This was the 1st time Sydney had experienced cold weather like this - it was pretty funny!

Off to the Polar Express! I am not sure who is more excited at this point - Mommy or Sydney!!

Here she is mad because I made her stop so we could get a picture of us in the hotel! She wanted to get to the train!! We took this picture to give everyone an idea on what the hotel looked like. It was so cool - so old yet very well maintained. And, they had it all decorated with Christmas decor. The hotel lobby had a HUGE fire place that was so elegant and old. It was a gathering place for guests to warm up!!

Outside, between the hotel and Grand Canyon Railroad station, they had everything decorated for Christmas. It was beautiful and so colorful and bright! Sydney was so excited as she took it all in. She also got to pet this horse!

Here it is...The Polar Express!! So huge and magnificent!!

Here we are getting on the train!!!

So exciting!! The people working on the train were soooo nice and had so much energy!! They really brought life to the whole experience.

Thank goodness the train was heated!! We got to relax and cuddle and play! During the ride out to the North Pole, they read us the book, "The Polar Express" and we got cookies and hot chocolate. Sydney is not a fan of the hot chocolate (she doesn't even like chocolate milk!) but she loved the cookies!!

Being silly on the train!

Getting some love from Daddy!

She ate her cookie and mine!! Remember, she also had chocolate cake AND ice cream at dinner!! YIKES!!

Here she is getting her ticket punched - just like in the book/movie! Shortly after this picture was taken, our train arrived to the North Pole!! We didn't actually get out of the train when we got to the North Pole - but we did get to see Santa in his sleigh with his elf. We also get to see the town and all of the toy shops and buildings and Santa's house! Everything is lit up with Christmas lights! Once we pass through the North Pole, the train stoped then started again in reverse. When we got back to where the sleigh was, Santa was gone!! Hmmm, where did he go??

Little did we know, Santa actually got on the train when it stopped at the North Pole!!!

AND THEN THE BIG MOMENT....receiving a bell from Santa!! This was priceless and still brings a tear to my eye! She just lit up with excitement and anticipation. What a special memory for all of us!

After the kids got their bells, the ride back to the station consisted of everyone singing Christmas Carols! People really got into this - even the parents! The whole experience of it all really brought out the kid in everyone!

Between the hotel and Grand Canyon Station, they have this little fake Christmas town set up and all lit up - it looks really cute at night time. This is only one of several little buildings.

After the ride on the train, we then went to see Mrs. Clause!! At this point, there was hardly anyone there , so Sydney sat on Mrs. Clause lap for a long time and talked her ear off!! It was priceless! Mrs. Clause was so patient with Sydney and listened to all of Sydney's "suggestions" in regards to Santa!! We have this on video - it seriously was hilarious!!

More suggestions from Sydney on how she thinks Santa should get into her house and so on!!

Time to write her letter to Santa!!

Mailing her letter to Santa!!

She made a decoration for the Christmas tree and Mrs. Clause's elf was kind enough to help Sydney reach the perfect spot for her ornament!

After our visit with Mrs. Clause, it was getting pretty late so we went back to our room for bed. Sydney was still pretty hyper from the day (the sugar)! We brought with us some meat/cheese, crackers, juice and wine and had our own little celebration in our room. Sydney had her own bed - although I ended up sleeping with her so she would go to sleep!! It really was the perfect day!

The one thing that was missing from our trip was snow! Williams is right by Flagstaff and Flagstaff reminds me a lot of Mankato! They also get the same winter weather as Mankato. I was hoping we would be able to go sledding on the trip but once I saw the forecast earlier in the week- I realized we wouldn't be able to do this. I really wanted Sydney to see snow...

Guess what we woke up to in the morning....

SNOW!!!!!

We quick got ready and went outside - there really wasn't any accumulation on the ground yet, but we had a blast watching Sydney trying to catch all of the snow flakes!! We then went and ate breakfast. By the time we got out from eating, the weather was quickly turning into a snow storm!! We played in it just a bit before we headed out. This made our trip perfect!!

This was taken right before we left.

When I look at this photo, all I can think is, "Thank you God for my family!"

You can't tell by this picture but the snow was really coming down good!

So beautiful!! By the time we hit Flagstaff and for awhile past, the road conditions were getting pretty slippery. I was glad once we were out of the storm!! It's been over 14 years since I have been on the road in this stuff!!

So, that's it! That was our wonderful adventure to the Polar Express! The trip met all of our expectations and more! What a great way to bring in the Christmas spirit!!

Christmas Season is Here!!

2010-12-12T14:57:00.000-08:00

The Christmas Season is in full swing at the Wade's residence!! We have had three fun activities in the last week: Cookies with Santa; Christmas Caroling at an assisted living facility; and a Snow Day!!! Enjoy the pictures...

This was taken at our Cookies with Santa Christmas Party put on my my women's ministry. Nana got to come along with us and see Santa Clause, do art's and crafts, and eat cookies. We really had a great time!

Here Sydney is talking to Santa after making him a special card!! It was priceless!!

Arts and crafts!!

Here Sydney is at the assisted living home that we sang Christmas carols at.

This was also taken at the place we sang Christmas carols!!

On Sat., Desert Ridge Marketplace had a Snow Day party and had real snow hauled in for the kids to play with. It was so awesome to play in the snow in 75 degree weather!! Santa was there also!!

This is a picture that was taken right before Sydney got to sit on Santa's lap!! She was so excited to talk to him!!

And here she is with Santa - so excited and not afraid at all!! She asked for a Princess Scooter and a Princess ball!!

So cute!!

Even Santa kept commenting to us on how delightful she was!!

Sydney's 1st time seeing real snow!! She was nervous to walk on it so Greg took her hand and helped her along!!

1st time touching snow!!

My 1st time wearing flip flops in snow!!

My 2 sweeties!!

Mommy & Sydney!!

Having a snowball fight!! All of the snow is almost gone!!

That's it for now!! More pictures to come later in the week - we go on the Polar Express on Wed!!!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-30T13:57:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe it's already the Christmas Season!! This is my favorite time of the year...so may traditions we get to participate in and so many things to be thankful for!! We had an awesome Thanksgiving!! Uncle Paul came to stay with us!! We had a house full of people on Thanksgiving Day!! Us, Uncle Paul, Nana & Pap, & Uncle Michael and Aunt Peggy! All of the food was fantastic!! We have so much to be thankful for!!

Below are MANY pictures - in the reverse order of how they occurred (oops!) therefore, all of the Christmas Tree pictures are 1st with the Thanksgiving pictures to follow. ENJOY!!

We got a new Christmas Tree this year!!! It's over 9 feet!!! LOVE IT!!

Sydney got another video email from Santa this year!! Here she is watching it on the computer!! She gets so excited when she watches it. She is amazed that he knows all about her and what she wants for Christmas. I told her it's because her Elf on the Shelf named TOYS, flys to the North Pole every night when she is sleeping & tells Santa all about her!!

Here she is waving goodbye to Santa at the end of the video email!

Sweetie and Mommy!!

Here we are decorating the Christmas Tree. Since I was a little girl, my Mother and I always put the Christmas Tree up the weekend of Thanksgiving!! My Mom and I always had to have a huge tree!! In Minnesota, we could go out and cut our own tree down and haul it home. So many wonderful memories of all of the different trees we brought home!! This is a very special picture of a tradition being passed down... and wouldn't you know, in my hand, I am holding a dragon fly!! That wasn't planned!

The new mammoth tree comes in 4 huge sections in these very large bags!!

Greg trying to help me put it together - its very heavy!!

Even Ziggy got in on the Christmas spirit!! Every year we put these collars on them and they chase each other and play - I think they actually like them:)

Uncle "Paws" getting in on the action!! This is a prelit tree so it was hard trying to figure out which cords plugged into each other!!

Yayyy, we finally got it up!!

Look at how big it is!!! Mom would be so proud!! As you can see, Sydney is very proud of her Christmas Tree!! We decorated it with silver and gold dragonflys, angels, crosses, snow flakes and bulbs!! It has a beautiful glow at night time!

This was taken the day after Thanksgiving. Sydney and Uncle Paws are having some art time bonding!

The day before Thanksgiving, we joined our MOMS group to tour the fire station. Sydney had a blast!

Admiring the big wheels!

Sitting in the fire truck! Had a hard time getting her out of here!!

Waiting in line to go sit in the fire truck again!

She looks like she has to go potty!! I kept asking her if she needed to go because she was doing what looked like the "potty dance". She said, "No Mommy, I don't have to go potty!! I'm doing the happy dance!!"

Sure enough, she didn't have to go potty...she was just really happy!!

Here Sweetie is helping me set the table for the "fancy dinner" - that's what she called it!!

What would Thanksgiving be without the festive head gear!!

Here she is helping me make pumpkin bread!! Love the outfit!!

Here is the banana bread!! We were busy!!

Mmmmmm...

Our annual "Thankful Turkey" or "Thankful Chicken" as Sydney calls it!!! Another tradition I started that helps us focus on what this Holiday is all about! Sydney said that she was thankful for Jesus!!

Next, it was time to make cup cakes or "pup cakes" as Sydney calls them. Mmmm, do you think she enjoyed the chocolate??

Making "Pupcakes"!! Of course she needed to sample some of the sprinkles to make sure they were good!

Mmmm, they sure where tasty!!

That's it for now!! We are looking forward to the next few weeks - we have a busy calender full of Christmas events to include Cookies with Santa, Christmas Caroling, and the Polar Express!! I will do my best to keep the pictures coming!!!

Sydney Stories

2010-11-09T10:53:00.000-08:00

A couple of nights ago, as Sydney and I were completing our bedtime rituals, I picked up the book, "Brown Bear Brown Bear..." to read to Sydney for her bedtime story. I got her all tucked into her big girl bed and layed down next to her. I opened the book and began to read. She quickly stopped me and told me she could do it herself. I laughed and said, "ok" thinking to myself, "this will be interesting!" To my complete surprise, she read me the entire book!! Now, I know she cannot read yet, but I am in complete dismay that she has the entire book memorized!! Guess it's time to get some new books!!

A new behavior that Sydney has started is quite interesting to say the least!! When I or Greg am not around, she will ask the adult she is with to do something that she knows Mommy or Daddy doesn't allow. In her words, "Can I have ___. My Mommy/Daddy always lets me!!" That little stinker!! I know have to warn people when I leave her with a sitter that she does this! Manipulating at 3 - oh boy, we are in trouble!!

It is November, which mean Nana & Paps are back in Arizona!! We are so excited that we get to spend some time with them again!! Sydney is beside herself every time she hears that we are going to see them. We are blessed to have them with us!!

Halloween and Uncle Paul's Visit

2010-11-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

We had a exciting Halloween this year!! At age 3, Sydney (and her parents) had such a great time and really got into the whole spirit of things!! We decorated our house, inside and out, and made lots of Halloween crafts and goodies! We had a Halloween MOMS Party, a Halloween Party during her Art Class, a haunted house party with Aunt Peggy & Uncle Michael, and a Neighborhood Halloween Party Halloween night!! Below are just some of the pictures from all of the festivities!!

All of these kids live right in our neighborhood!! They all play together so well and love to hang out with one another!!

Halloween night!!

Yummies!!

"Trick or Treat"!! Sydney LOVED trick or treating!! She ran from house to house singing loudly!! LOVED IT!!

In this picture, she had just won a prize at the Haunted House Halloween Party we went to with Aunt Peggy and Uncle Michael!!

"Super Girl"
She has special powers in her belt!! (For real! That's what she said!!)

Aunt Peggy helping with a craft.

Sweetie with Aunt Peggy & Uncle Michael

Sydney being silly

PUMPKIN PATCH - 2010!!

"Happy Halloween"

My Sweetie.

Perfect day at McDonald Ranch!!

My two Sweeties!!

1st Horse ride!! She was sooooo brave smiling the whole time she was on the horse. When she got off, she kissed his nose and pet his head and said thank you. PRICELESS!!

This picture was taken at Sydney's Art Class Halloween Party at the community center!

At this particular community center, they have a special senior citizens wing where every Wed., during Sydney's art class, they have live music and dancing. For the Halloween party, they had the kids march through this wing and all of the seniors marveled at the kids in costumes and handed out candy! The kids loved it as much as the seniors:)

The pictures below are from my Uncle Paul's visit to Arizona!!

Sydney was upset because I was outside with them!! She wanted Uncle Paul or Uncle "Paws" as she calls him, all to herself!!

Uncle Paws was quite the trooper playing every game Sydney wanted and letting her dress him up as she wanted!!

Off on another adventure!! I can't remember what they were trying to capture??? But it was pretty much the theme for 24 hours!!

After a hard day at play, it was time for a story before bed.

Paul, Sydney and myself went to the State Fair together. Boy was it hot!! This is a picture at the petting zoo. There were a ton of animals in here!!

Like I said, it was sooo hot!! Just look at her red face!! This cool treat helped a little!!

Time for the rides!!

Never thought I would see Uncle Paul on a pink elephant!!

Watching Uncle Paws playing with Sydney really warmed my heart. It brought back a lot of childhood memories and feelings of when I was young and loved to spend time him! He has such a warm spirit with kids - I don't think he even realizes it!! It really means so much to me that she loves him so much. I know it warms my Moms heart also!! Love you Uncle Paws!!

Art Pictures and Other Cute Things!!

2010-10-03T14:32:00.000-07:00

It is a Sunday and I am at work (working for Greg today) which means I have some free time to download pictures!!

Before I forget, I want to give a big shout out to Aunt Peggy and Uncle Michael for babysitting Sydney today while I am at work!! Sydney was so excited to have them come over today and to have them to herself!! Thank you guys:)

Enjoy the pictures!!

"Stained Glass Apple"

This is an art project Sydney completed at Art Class on Wed's. She loves this class so much!

Another picture from her class. The teacher had to literally pull the glitter out of Sydney's hand - she didn't want to put it down!! We had glitter everywhere in the car and on Mommy!!

Another picture from her class which included more glitter:)

I just had to take a picture of this fresh produce I got from Green Bee Produce. I let them know on Tuesday's (via Internet) that I want a small box of fresh, locally grown produce and on Thursday, they deliver it to me at my Women's Ministry meeting at the church!! I love it and I love that Sydney enjoys eating it also:) Now that I look at the picture though, I realize I need to do more research into this company - do we really have local farmers growing pineapple and coconut?

Here is Sweetie drawing an elaborate picture of a Monster on the kitchen floor while I am cooking dinner for us.

I can't remember all that was going on in this picture but I remember that it was a BIG monster with big teeth, giving someone a ride. She spent a lot of time with all of the details!!

Daddy took this picture of Sydney before they left for her sports class.

I know this is a terrible picture as far quality but I think it is soooo cute!! It's of Sydney playing basketball at sports class!! She just looks so "sporty" with her shoes and outfit!! Go Sydney!!!

Here is a picture of the "fairy dust"!! We keep it up on a high shelf to keep it safe. The babies on each side have very special meaning to me. My Grandma Doris gave them to me after Sydney was born. I used to play with them at her house when I was a little girl. She originally had given them to her Mom as a thank you gift for babysitting my Mom when she was little!! They are really cute and I am so honored that Grandma gave them to me.

This picture just doesn't do this chandelier justice!! This is from Sydney's new room - it's gorgeous!!

Here she is sleeping in her new bed!! It's way cuter in person!!

Beauty and the Beast

2010-10-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

I took Sydney to see a special showing of Beauty and The Beast today!!! I was so excited for her to see this movie. Disney vaulted it along time ago and it hasn't been for sale or rent. Each time she saw a preview for it she would get so excited and say she wanted to see it!! So they are re-releasing it on Oct. 5th for a short time and to market it, they had only 2 showings of it this week!! And, to top it off, it was a sing-a-long!! Very cute!! She loved the movie and is now begging me to buy it!!

WARNING:
The rest of this posting might be somewhat disturbing for some to read, especially Nana!! It has to do with Sweet Sydney's NOT SO SWEET ALTER-EGO!!

Whoever came up with the saying, "Terrible Two's" NEVER parented a three year old yet!! OMG, Sydney had the worst temper tantrum EVER yesterday!! And to top it off, Greg is out of town on a golf trip - so there was no break for me in the near future!! She ended up spitting at me, sticking out her tongue & pulling my hair - while screaming and crying and giving me the evil eye!! I couldn't believe it!! I was mortified!! Usually a time out will calm her down, but nothing was working. So, I did the only other thing I could think of in my state of shock...I warned her that if she spit, hit, or stuck her tongue out at me again, I was going to put some soap in her mouth. Well, she did it again!! I had to follow through with my threat so I put a pea size drop of soap on my finger and placed it inside her mouth!! OMG, if looks could kill!! She was NOT happy. I explained again why I was giving her this consequence. Unfortunately, she didn't get it the first time and we had to do it again. She finally calmed down and ended up falling asleep on the sofa from exhaustion!!

Now, what I didn't tell you is that while all of this chaos was going on, I was trying to cook 3 full meals of baked rigatoni, salad and garlic bread for two families from my MOMs group who just had babies (and one for us) and get it to them by 5pm!! After cooking and and packing it up nicely for them, I still had to drive 20 minutes to deliver it to them!! Here I was trying to do something nice for two other families and this was happening!! Karma was NOT on my side!!

Today has been better but still, lots of battles!! Hoping this phase goes by quickly!!

2010-10-01T13:03:00.000-07:00

Sydney helped me take down her crib on Wed. so we are now down to just her big girl bed!! She has successfully slept in her bed without screaming out throughout the night, for 3 nights in a row!! Woot woot - that's my big girl!!! So proud of her and how brave she is!!

Pink Room Update

2010-09-28T15:54:00.000-07:00

If you will recall, earlier in the week, we moved Sweeties crib into her new Pink room. We then emptied out all of her stuff from the old Green room where we placed the full bed. We did this to help Sydney realize that the Green room is no longer her room and to help her transition into the Pink room. Even though her crib is now in the room, she is choosing to sleep in the Big Girl bed, which is awesome; however, the first couple of nights at bedtime, she has been very upset and begs me to stay in her room or to sleep in my room. As a result, the first couple of nights I stayed with her for a few minutes and tickled her face. For the last three nights, she has been waking up several times throughout the night, screaming!! Needless to say, we have all been tired! Out of desperation, I decided I needed to get more creative...

So, I did the only logical thing I could think of...I called Tinkerbell and got the recipe to make magic fairy dust!!! When I informed Sydney of this, she was beside herself and very eager to make the magic fairy dust. So, we headed off to the craft store, got our supplies, came home and made the fairy dust and put it in a special small glass jar with a cork. We then took it to her room, cast the spell on it that Tinker told us we needed to do to make it magical, and then we found a very special place to keep it. Then, last night, after Sweetie got into her Big Girl bed, I sprinkled just a tiny bit of the magic fairy dust around her bed. I tucked her in and left her room. She eventually fell asleep without me there and guess what - only one scream last night!!! She woke up at 6:30ish (that's sleeping in to us). I could hear her tiptoe into our bedroom and climb into our bed and then she gave me a kiss to wake me up!! So sweet. Daddy told her that since she was so brave and slept so well that he was going to take her to a very special place today. This made her very happy. While I was working, Daddy took her to the splash pad for some water fun!! Let's hope tonight goes well too!!!

Side note to Mommy - don't sprinkle magic fairy dust over the top of the princess mesh awning over Sweeties bed...she woke up with glitter all over her head!!! Oopsie, didn't think it would get through the mesh!!! Oh well, Sweetie thought it was cool!!

Sydney's Room

2010-09-24T13:20:00.000-07:00

Busy, busy day we have had today!! Sydney still does not want to sleep in her new bed yet in her "Pink" room so we decided early this morning to take her crib apart and set it back up in the "Pink" room next to her new bed!! We had to take the crib apart because it wouldn't fit through the doors (of course)! So now, we have two beds in one room!!

We're not stressed about it. I actually think it's pretty funny! She will figure it out in her own time. We will just wait to finish decorating it until then:)

Everyday, I am just amazed at how quickly my house gets turned upside down. I am constantly cleaning, picking up, dusting, washing walls, cleaning carpets, etc. Of course, I know everyone has to do this - I'm not expecting any sympathy... I just decided to take this picture and post it so years from now Sydney can see it:) It just amazing me how quickly she can create such a mess!! And everything is left in such random places on the floor and on the furniture. I wonder what goes through that brain of hers. It's like I can trace her foot steps throughout the room, what she was doing with each item, how long she played with it and what made her move on to the next activity. See below...

Sydney is really into imaginary play and role playing right now. It's so cute to listen to her change her voice as she plays Mommy and Grandma to her babies!! She is constantly taking care of them all, creating meals for them in her kitchen, and then putting them to bed in their pack n play (can't see it in this picture). She is so caring and affectionate with them - so sweet.

2010 Minnesota Trip!!

2010-09-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

OK, so I am a month late at posting these pictures - at least it wasn't 2 months!! Here's the thing, we got a new camera right before Sydney's birthday and as most of you know, electronics and me take awhile to warm up to each other!! Also, it takes a long time to upload hi resolution pictures to the blog!! I usually don't have large chunks of uninterrupted time to do it. Today however, I brought my computer to work - and since I didn't have any big projects to complete at work - I could work on this!!

Our annual Minnesota trip was awesome!! Unfortunately, we couldn't stay long so there were people whom we couldn't see, which really bummed me out. But, we were grateful for the time we had and we have some wonderful memories to last a lifetime!!

Enjoy the pictures!!

Getting ready to board the airplane. Sydney was very excited!!

On our way to Minnesota!!

Family Fun!!

Sydney's mode of transportation through the Minneapolis airport!!

Ahhh, Minnesota sweet corn!! Our first night in Minnesota!!

Sydney, Lily & Ella playing with Polly Pockets. Sydney loved playing with her cousins!! It's been a month since we have seen them and she still talks about them almost everyday. She keeps asking me if her cousins can come over and play!! I so wished we lived closer to them.

Water slide fun at Nana & Paps!! Aunt Susan brought over a huge water slide for the kids to play on. Sydney loved it!! Each of the kids had some pretty nasty wipe outs on the bottom of the slide but didn't hesitate to get right back on and do it over and over and over...

Eating dinner with all of the cousins on Nana's deck.

So precious!!! Whenever I see Grandma and Sydney together, I can't help but to think of my Mom...

She loves her Grandma!!

Having her birthday cake with Grandpa Nick.

Abby, Karen, Grandpa Nick and Sydney:)

Enjoying her birthday cake.

It's almost gone...

I think she liked the ice cream cake!!

Our awesome family!!

Mommy's side of the family!!

Nana cleaning up the kitchen, laughing at us silly parents!!

The "Mommies" having a little adult fun at Nana & Paps!! Lots of laughs and silliness:)

Sweetie sitting with "grandma & grandpa" by the fireplace at Grandma Doris's house.

Sydney, Alex and Kai eating cake. Kai makes funny faces at the camera like Sydney used to, he he!!

Nikki with 2 of her beautiful daughters!! I have known Niki since I was in 5th grade.

Playing in Grandma's back yard by the garden. What a beautiful day. Brings back so many memories of when I used to play in Grandma's back yard as a child! I am 39 and they have lived in that house for 39 years!!

Picking berries for the birdies.

Sydney and Kai picking berries off of Grandma's tree.

This picture was taken at Grandma Doris's house. We all had our chairs in a circle in the backyard as the kids played. Sydney had her shoes in the middle of the circle. This dragonfly landed on her shoe and just hung out with us for awhile...I could feel my Mother's presence all around me. A very emotional moment for me.

Sydney and Kai playing in the garden dirt at Grandma Doris's house. They had dirt everywhere!! So, what better way to wash it off than to run through the sprinkler...

We did not have a swim suit with for Sydney to wear but I don't think she minded too much!!

Aww, to be a kid again!! Oh wait, I ran through it too, but I had to keep my clothes on!!

Soooo cute!! I wish we lived closer to Cory because I think Kai and Sydney would be best buddies.

We went to the Mall of America and spent the day at Nickelodeon Universe!! It was so much fun!! Its all in doors and the theme is based on all of her favorite shows!! She went on several rides by herself! It was a weekday so there were no lines...beautiful!!! Being here with Sydney brought a little bit of my inner child out also - it was a blast!!

Sydney and Daddy riding the little roller coaster - it was actually very fast!! Daddy was done with fast rides after this!! Ashely and myself went on the BIG roller coaster after this and had a blast!! I love roller coasters:) I think Sydney will also!!

Oh my gosh, this was by far her favorite ride!! I don't think Nana was so excited about it - it looked a little scary for the kiddos but they loved it and were not afraid at all. They get into this seat and they are secured down by the big green bar and then it shoots them way up and then drops them way down. I can't tell you how excited Sydney was - she was laughing so hard.

Sydney driving the Rugrats bumper cars all by herself!! She had so much fun!!

What kid doesn't love Dora & Boots!!

This ride made me a little nervous!! It was slow until it went around a corner - then it would whip her to the outside really fast!! Of course, she LOVED it!!

Driving a semi just like Grandpa Nick!!

Sydney was so excited to see the statues of the Backyardigans - one of her favorite shows to watch around dinner time every night while I am cooking!!

Meeting Sponge Bob Square Pants and Patrick!! Sydney was soooo excited!! Patrick was getting a little fresh with Mommy:)

She was so excited to hold Sponge Bob's hand!! How magical it must be as a child, watching a cartoon character on TV and then meeting them in person!! So awesome to share this experience with her.

Mommy, Daddy & Sweetie being silly!!

Cousins: Ashley, Will & Ben

Daddy being silly!! His head hit the top everytime it moved up!! This ride was more his speed, lol!!

Sydney loving it that her Daddy is being silly:)

Our little "Super Hero" playing out front at Nana's & Pap's house.

Watch out, she's on a serious mission!!

Off on another Super Hero mission...

At the airport in Minneapolis, getting ready to retun home.

Wish we would have had more time to see more people!! Living so far away from everyone is sometimes hard - feels like we need to make up for a year of not seeing each other in only a few days time! Thank you everyone for the great memories and know that we love you all!!!

xoxoxo

Wow, Life Passes Quickly

2010-09-21T11:16:00.000-07:00

Unbelievable!!! I cannot believe how long it has been since I have posted on the blog!! Things have just been crazy for us, in many ways, and with so much going on, I had to put a few things on hold!! But, I am back and feeling like I can breath again:)

So much has happened in the last month: We went to Minnesota for our annual summer trip; We've had several outings with our MOM's group; My birthday; two kid birthday parties; Emptying, painting, and remodeling Sydney's new Pink Room; And, Sydney started some classes!! Wew, makes me a little tired just thinking of it all again!!

I will do a separate post of our Minnesota trip due to all of the pictures. For now, I will give you all a quick update as to the events above:

We are still very involved in our MOM's group. We do something with them about 3 times a month. Last week we took the kiddos to a place called Jump Street. In a nutshell, it's an indoor facility with built in trampolines!! Sydney LOVED it!! I tried jumping with her but she fell and landed on her face and got mad at me - oopsie!! She got over it and I thoroughly enjoyed watching her play!!

Because we decided to hold off on preschool for a bit longer, I decided to get Sydney involved in more classes with Phoenix Parks and Recreation. She is now in a Sports class on Tuesdays - which her Daddy takes her to - and she is also in an Art class which I take her to on Wed.'s. Both classes are set up where we drop her off and she's with with the teachers. I LOVE this!! It's a great stepping stone for the next step - preschool (next year). I also love it because Sydney has an opportunity to learn from someone else and to interact with children her own age in a classroom setting (art class). And, I'll admit, I also love it because I get almost an hour where I can sit quietly and read while she is learning!!!

Sydney and I have been very consistent with our new church. I really, really like it - all of the sermons have really touched me personally and I leave feeling renewed and empowered. Sydney LOVES going to "Church School" (that is what she calls Sunday school) and learning about "Cheeses" (that is what she calls Jesus)!!! They review a lesson plan, do a craft and then play. I feel really good about my choice to bring Christianity into our lives. I often think of my Mom and how proud she would be of me for this choice and for introducing Christianity into Sydney's life. Unfortunately, Greg works a lot of Sundays and cannot go with us much - but that will change one day and this will then become a family ritual.

Along with going to church, I decided to join "Kate's Cup" at the church. It is a Women's Ministry for Mom's only. We meet every Thursday for 2 hours in the morning. The kids are in child care during the 2 hours (the same place she goes for "Church School"). Each Thursday there is a buffet, a motivational speaker, small groups, and prayer. It's very inspiring and empowering and I look forward to it each week.

Many of you know that we have been planning and working on Sydney's room for a few months now. We finally got the painting done (was hard to get done due to work schedule) and we now have a very pink room. We emptied out what used to be Jordan's room and painted it pink and put in a twin bed, her dresser, and some other things that I have purchased. Sydney has been so excited to sleep in her big girl bed. She talked about it everyday!! We finally let her sleep in it on Sunday night. She went to sleep right away. Unfortunately, she woke up three times throughout the night and finally ended up coming in our room about 4am. The next day (yesterday) she announced that she did not like her new bedroom. When it was time for a nap, we walked upstairs and into her pink room. She got very animated and said she was not going to sleep in the big girl bed. She then went into her green room and crawled right into her crib!!! Poor thing is so confused. She fell right to sleep in her crib!! Later that night, at bedtime, she announced that she would not be sleeping her her big girl bed. I suggested that we move the crib into the pink room. She flipped out and said no. She said she "LOVED" her green room and that she never wanted to go into the pink room again!! She got into her crib, I covered her with her green blankie and she let out a big sigh with a big smile and said, "I love my crib!" She went right to sleep and slept all night!! When I got her from her crib this morning she said, "I told you I sleep in my crib!!" So, the pink room will sit empty for bit longer...

Minnesota trip pictures coming soon...

Busy Weekend

2010-08-24T05:40:00.000-07:00

Sydney had a fun filled past weekend! We went to Addison's 3rd birthday party!! If you will remember, Addison is her best buddy - and Addison's Mom and I are best buddies also:) So cute when we got to the party and the girls saw each other - they run up to each other and hugged. We then went to their house after the party and the girls played until almost 9:30pm! Well, you all know what happens when I put Sweetie to bed late...she wakes up even earlier!! So, we went to bed late and were up before 6am!! Daddy had to work so after my run, Sydney and I went to church. Now that Sweetie is 3, she was moved to the 3 year old's room and she now has Sunday School!! They had a lesson plan that included a video and a coloring project. When I walked in to pick her up, she was the only child that didn't want to go!! To top that off, she has bruises all over her legs from getting in and out of our hot tub so I was totally embarrassed!! I am sure it looked questionable!! Oh well, kids will be kids:) We then went back to Addison's house for a pool party!! The girls played hard and by 5:30pm, Sydney was completely done! We packed up and headed for home - had ice cream, showered and she was in bed by 7pm!!

We stayed home most of Monday and Sydney watched videos - she was still so tired out from the weekend. She didn't resist at all for nap time or bedtime. In fact, at 7:45pm, she asked me if it was bedtime yet!!! Before going to bed, I helped her get her new babies ready for bed and we put them in the knew baby pak n play and tucked them in. Sydney then sang to her babies, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" like Mommy does. It was so cute!! Then off to bed.

We are getting very excited about our Minnesota trip. Sydney talks about it all of the time! She is thrilled to go see her Nana and Paps and to go on the airplane. I am also very excited because she is at the perfect age for the trip!! I can't wait for her to see and play with all of her cousins and to see her Grandmother. I really don't miss living in Minnesota but I do really miss not being around our family and spending quality time with them. Despite the stressful childhood I had growing up in Mankato, I still do have some wonderful memories of places and people who have left a positive imprint in my life and I wish I could share more of those places with Sydney. Someday:)

Birthday Party Pictures!!

2010-08-16T15:00:00.000-07:00

The Birthday Weekend has come to a close!! What a great time it was! Nana surprised us all and flew into Arizona on Wed. We were very surprised and so excited to have her with us for Sweetie's birthday! Thursday, we had Sydney's "photo shoot" and she even shared her camera time with her big brother JoJo!! She was so funny to watch - and loved the camera!! Below are just a few of the pictures...

Friday was Sydney's actual birthday! Mommy had a surprise birthday donut for Sweetie with sprinkles for breakfast! A very special treat at the Wade residents!!

I think she enjoyed it!!

Birthday card from Great Uncle Paul!! She loves Tinkerbell!!

Then Nana took us out to eat for Birthday dinner at Mimi's Cafe. Sydney loved it - the food was great!! She was so proud to be sitting in between her Nana and JoJo!

They brought out a piece of Chocolate Mousse for Sydney and we sang Happy Birthday! Before she blew out her candle, she made a wish and said it out loud, "I wish for everyone to be friends!!" This made me very emotional!! She (we) loved the birthday dessert!!

Mmmmmm!

Then back home and off to bed for her big party the next day!!

She woke up to a room full of beach balls!!

She was a little confused!!

Mommy wrote a special note for her sweetie out front of the house!!

The party is going to start soon!!

The birthday cake, Mmmmmm!!

Right before people begin to arrive!

My Sweetie!!

Everyone waiting for the show to begin!! The kids all went swimming for about 45 minutes and then everyone came inside to watch the surprise show!! We had Deb's Dragon's and Other Misunderstood Creatures" come and present a hands on show of snakes, dragons, lizards, tarantula, scorpion, and more!! Sydney handled every single one of them without any fear. Wish I could say the something about my self!!

Tarantula on Uncle Michaels head.

Tarantula on my hand!!

Seriously, Sydney was braver than me!!

JoJo handling a dragon.

A huge snake!!

Opening gifts!!

After gifts we had a pinata and then the kids went swimming some more! The party was a huge success!! Everyone enjoyed themselves!! How in the world are we going to top this one next year!! Thank you all for an amazing day and for making Sweetie so happy!! We are so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives!!

Happy 3rd Birthday Sweetie!!

2010-08-13T15:06:00.000-07:00

Dear Sweetie,

Three years ago today, Daddy and I were blessed with a beautiful miracle...YOU! You have brought so much joy into our lives. You have completed our family. I remember all of the days I spent day dreaming of what my life would be like with my little girl. So much anticipation! I have been so blessed because the joy you bring into my life has exceeded any dream I could have ever of imagined. You are so precious, so amazing! I have done many things in my life that I am proud of but none of that compares to how proud I am of being YOUR Mommy!!

I love you so much and I feel so honored to be your Mommy!

Thank you God for blessing us with our little girl.

Thank you Mom for watching over us and for teaching me how to be a caring, nurturing Mommy to my little girl.

And, thank you Sweetie for just being YOU!!

I love you so much,
Mommy xoxo

A Great Day...

2010-08-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

Sweetie's birthday party is coming soon and I couldn't be more excited!! We started out with a pool party theme but something came up and now we will be adding another element to the party. Can't say right now though because it's a surprise - only Greg and I know!! I will definitely be posting pictures!! Everything is coming together nicely though. This is a special party because it's her first one here in Arizona!! As you know, previous birthdays have been in Minnesota. We will still be having a little get together in Minnesota to celebrate with family but most of my energy has gone into the party in Arizona. We are expecting around 10 kids and 14 adults!!

We had a great play date this morning with our MOMs group. We had a tour at PETCO where the kids got to touch many animals and reptiles - yay!! Followed by lots of sanitizer! We then walked across the parking lot to Barns & Nobles and the kids participated in Story Time while the Mommies sipped on yummy caffeine drinks!! As we left, Sydney said, "Mommy, that was a great day!"

I love days like this!!

Happy 45th Birthday Daddy!!

2010-08-03T16:22:00.000-07:00

Today is Greg's birthday!! Jordan, Sydney, Daddy & I all had a nice dinner and cake Sunday evening for Greg's birthday because I work today until late. Our camera is broken so I don't even have any pictures to share with you. Sydney loved singing "Happy Birthday" to her Daddy and was even more excited to help him blow out his candles. She was a little, well A LOT disappointed when she tasted the cake!! Sydney LOVES cake but this one!! It was German Chocolate - one of Greg's favorites because he loves coconut. We now know that Sydney doesn't!! She made the funniest faces as she took the first bite - poor thing almost started crying!! Fortunately, we had another birthday party earlier in the day for a neighbor boy and she had cake then.

Sweetie is very excited for her first Arizona Birthday Party!! She talks about it everyday! We mailed out our invitations a couple of days ago. They were made out of mini beach balls:) Because her Birthday is in Aug., we are having a pool party with lots of beach balls!! What kid doesn't love to play with beach balls!! I hope it's not too hot out!!!

Keeping the Faith

2010-08-01T14:22:00.001-07:00

I think I may have finally found a church that's close by that we can join. Becoming an active member in a church has been something I have really wanted for our family since I was pregnant. It's been a very difficult process. I have been struggling with my faith for some time now. I was brought up in a Catholic church and even went to Catholic school (which I loved) until my parents were divorced. At that time, the Catholic Church was very strict about divorce and my Catholic school days were over. I had to switch to a public school in the 5th grade. It was so hard for me on so many levels. I think that's when my faith started to fade. I continued to stay in CCD and was Confirmed (although that was even a battle because I was constantly questioning the Catholic beliefs). After my confirmation, I quit going to church.

My Mother continued with the Catholic church until she died. When I found out she had cancer, I grew VERY angry with God. And when she died, well lets just say I had a few words with God and have been holding a grudge since. The last year, something has changed in me. I have began exploring Christianity with a different mindset. I have focused more on MY relationship with God and not on religion. God and I have come a long way in the past year and now I am ready to start going to church on Sundays again. But, not just any church. It needs to feel right to me. I don't want to go somewhere where I feel "preached at" or judged - I have spent enough years feeling guilty. It needs to be a place where we, as a family feel welcomed and appreciated and accepted as we are and not by who someone things we should be. I want a place where music is exciting and positive. I want a place where children are loved for who they are in a positive environment. I think we may have finally found our place. We went to this church last weekend but I wasn't sold. I didn't like the band that was playing and we had Sydney with us and she was very active. I also didn't like the fact that it didn't physically look like a church and people were taking notes on a service outline provided by the minister during the service. But I thought about it all week and took another look at my expectations. I decided to go again today. Greg had to work so I went with Sydney. I placed her in the 3 year old childcare (which she loved) and I went to the service myself. A new band was playing which I enjoyed much more. And a lady came and sat down right next to me and introduced herself. She is also a stay at home mom and had her two daughters in the church childcare. This was her first time there. She turned out to be really nice and we introduced our daughters and they were so sweet. Also, I realized that I kind of liked it that people were taking notes during the service - in fact, I took some myself. I realized that taking notes will help me (just as it is with everyone else around me) really think about what the minister was saying and remember how to apply it throughout the week in my everyday life. As far as the church not looking like a church - well, I just need to get over that. Appearance is not everything!!

So, I feel pleased today and hopefully we will find our place in this new community. I know my Mother is pleased - looking down at me. Her faith is what kept her so strong during some very difficult times in our lives. I want Sydney to have this faith.

So God, look out, here I come - we have a lot to talk about...

2010-07-31T07:38:00.000-07:00

Sydney is now talking to us in third person. It's quite funny! She says things like:

"Sydney's hungry"
"Sydney needs a drink"
"Sydney's a little sleepy"

Very cute:)

Mmmm, Yummy!!

2010-07-30T18:19:00.000-07:00

So Sweetie and I were driving to drop off some supplements to a friend and we drove by the place where I had to get 3D ultra sounds done when I was pregnant. As we passed the building we had the following conversation:

Me: "Sweetie, thats the place Mommy used to go to get pictures of you when you were in my belly."

She thought about that long and hard and said, "Mommy, I wasn't in your belly. I am right here."

Me: "Yes, before you were born, you were in my belly."

Sweetie: "I was in your belly when I was a baby?"

Me: "Yep, before you were born."

She was quiet for a long time and then in a very anxious voice said:

"Mommy, you mean you ate me and I was in your belly? Mommy, why did you eat me!!"

At this point I was crying I was laughing so hard but had to quickly pull it together and change the story around a little bit so she doesn't go around telling people that I eat her!!!

I get such a kick out of the way a 3 year old mind works...they take everything literally!! Can you imagine the horror she felt when she thought I ate her and she was in my belly!! Poor thing:)

2010-07-29T19:46:00.000-07:00

It's been 7 long years today since I last held you Mom. I am so grateful that I can still hear your voice in my head. I can still feel the comfort of your touch. But I so desperately wish I could hold you again.

2010-07-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

Up until Friday, I was still putting pullups on Sydney when we left the house and at night time. Starting Sat., we ended that and have only been putting pullups on her at bedtime. She has not had ANY accidents in 4 days!! And we have been doing a lot of errands the last few days!! I am so proud of my sweetie!!

More 1st's!!

2010-07-24T07:05:00.000-07:00

Sydney and I have had a busy couple of weeks. Last week she had three babysitters in two days - that's a record for us!! On Friday afternoon, she went over to our neighbors, Sheila's, and spent a couple hours while I went to the doctor. Later that night, I went to a MNO (Moms night out) event at another moms house and Amara came over and babysat Sydney until Greg got home from work. She must have had a great time because the first thing she said to me when I got her out of bed the next morning was, "Mommy, can I go play at Amara's house!" Then on Sat., she went to Aunt Peggy and Uncle Michael's house and played while I went and got my hair done!! She loved it and was exhausted when she got home!! Then, that night, she had her first sleep over at our house! Jace and Addison slept the night while their parents enjoyed a night out! Needless to say, we were all pooped out on Sunday!!

Sydney and Addison having juice in the morning during her 1st sleepover!!

Before I share the rest of the pictures I need to share some of Sydney's words she is using right now:

"Shive" Shy

"Pupcakes" Cupcakes

Oh shoot, I can't remember anymore right now!! I need to start writing this stuff down as she says it!!

Yesterday, we went to the Children's Museum for the 1st time. It was so cute and Sydney had a blast. We took Sheila, our neighbor and friend, with us. I so enjoyed watching Sydney interact with other children as she explored her imagination! She really is such a smart, loving, compassionate child:)

This is a huge jungle gym contraption made totally out of recycled materials. It's HUGE and all enclosed so the kids (and adults) can safely go very high. Sheila and I climbed up it with Sydney and had a very interesting time trying to get back down!!

This is Noodle Forest!! Very cute!

Sydney doing the grocery shopping!! We were in this room for a very long time as she did all of our grocery shopping for the month!!

Here she checking the food out!! Notice the jug of protein powder!! That's my girl!!

I loved watching the kids interact in this environment because they were all so serious! It was so interesting to see how they see us adults as we complete these tasks - because that is what they are doing here - reenacting how they interpret us shopping. Even the foods they were putting in their carts represented how their families eat. It was nice to just sit back and observe for once instead of chasing!!

I LOVE this picture! She is having so much fun here pretending to make her puppet talk and interact with the other puppets. This picture brings me so much joy!

Puppet show!!

Paining the castle!! She LOVES to paint!!

Going through the car wash with a little help from Sheila!

She still struggles with peddling a trike by herself. We really don't have a place for her to practice much because our driveway is so steep and it's way too hot out to ride bike!! She'll get it soon enough!

The textile room has a huge playhouse that the kids can climb in and out of and put soft cushioned furniture in and out. She spent a lot of time in here helping the kids remodel the fort over and over and over. She kept singing the "Teamwork" song from "Wonder Pets"! It was way cute!!

Taking a much needed rest from moving all of the furniture!!

Ziggy looking after Sydney's babies!!

Sydney loves arts and crafts! Here is a mask that she made!!

These were our 4th of July rice crispy bars!!

Ready for some fun in the sun!!!

Being silly with her bear!!

2010-07-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

Miss Sydney informed me of how she was going to address me for now on:

"Mom, I am not going to call you Mommy anymore. I am going to call you Mom"!

The "Princess" as spoken!!

Summer Fun

2010-07-12T15:55:00.000-07:00

Sydney continues to be the center of attention wherever we are!! She loves to paint and use her markers to draw pictures - mostly smiley faces. I will take picture of one soon and post it. They are very detailed for her age - big head, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hair, arms, legs!!! Very impressive!! She also loves her playdoh and will stand for 30 minutes playing with it!! She loves to put on her Barbie shoes and hold her pompoms and do shows for us!! She has become a good swimmer and will now jump in the water. Thank God we have our pool out back because it's been so darn hot, there is nothing else to do!! We went to a movie to day, "Despicable Me", it definitely wasn't as good as the Toy Story 3 but it was something different to do in the AC!! She is doing great with potty training!! She wants to be in the bathroom all by herself now! Sometimes she doesn't even tell us she has to go and we will all of a sudden hear the toilet seat bang down and a flush!! She's very independent - and I think she gets that from her Mommy!!
Below are some pictures over the last two weeks. Enjoy...

JoJo is home for the summer and Sydney is loving her playtime with him!! He is so good with his sister:)

We took Sydney to see fireworks for the first time on the 4th of July. We went to Aviano park which is just across the way in another neighborhood. We layed out a blanket int he park with several other families and watched the firework display right above us. It was a beautiful 30 minute display of colors and booms!! Sydney was a little nervous at first but then quickly became captivated by the magic. It was priceless and yes, I cried!!!

Watching the fireworks!

This was before the fireworks - Sydney had so many choices of kids to play with and she decided that playing soccer with the boys was what she wanted to do...great!!

At Aviano park - trying to decide who she wanted to play with.

Summer fun = Popsicles!!

Getting ready to jump in the pool!!

"Come One Come All" - Circus Time!!!

2010-06-26T08:46:00.000-07:00

We have had a VERY busy week!! Sydney started swim lessons on Monday. We started in the Parent/Child class where I was in the pool with her. By day 2, the instructor said we should move up to Level 1 class because Sydney was ready to begin learning swim strokes. This meant I would not be in the pool with her. This freaked me out because the water is above her head and she would need to latch on to the side of the pool until the instructor was ready for her. She is the youngest in the class - most kids are 4-5 years old!! She LOVES it!! I stay right at the edge of the water and make sure she is holding on securely - yes, over protective, I know!! But she's my baby!! She has one more week left of lessons and then we will practice at home with her for a bit. She got to used to wearing floaties and now has a false sense of security when she gets into the pool with them!! So, we are trying to get her to understand that she can sink to the bottom if she doesn't learn how to swim.

Yesterday, we went to the Circus!! So much fun and we had awesome seats!! I really don't know who was more excited to go...Me, Daddy 0r Sweetie!! We had a great time and it was a great show!! My pictures of the actual circus didn't turn out so well but at least we have awesome memories!! Enjoy the pictures!!

Their newest baby elephant!! They brought him out at the end of the show!! So cute!!

We had so much fun watching her expressions and excitement during the show!!

Clowns, clowns and more clowns!!

Beautiful bright costumes!!

She loved to watch the "Lions"!!

So funny!! She is watching an act up in the air over our heads!!

Same act - so funny!!

She got to pick a toy out - she picked this horse!! She has been playing with it almost nonstop since!! She has her Barbies ride him.

Clown noses!!

Silly girl!!

Before the show, we got to go on the floor and meet the entertainers and try on costumes!! She was a little nervous and overwhelmed, especially of the guys on stilts!!

Below are some of my favorite pictures!!! Sydney is going through a stage right now where she loves to dress up and put on impromptu shows!! The pictures below were taken this week!!

I swear, she put this ensemble together herself!! This is her "Super Hero" outfit!!

Could she be any cuter!!!!!

Before swim lessons. Love her profile!!

She was "posing" for the camera. She actually wanted me to keep taking more and more pictures!!

She was so proud of this moment!! She decided to set up a picnic for all of her friends. She actually did all of this herself!! So cute!!

A Great Day...

2010-06-17T18:08:00.000-07:00

June seems to be flying by!! Sydney continues to say the funniest things on an hourly basis! She uses words like "scrumptious" "wonderful" "marvolous". She starts every morning by saying "Its a beautiful day" as she cuddles with us in bed. She ends most days by saying, "Mommy, that was a great day!!" And, at least once every hour she says to me, "Mommy, I love you!!" How could I not feel like the luckiest Mommy in the whole world with a daughter like Sweetie!!!
She is my little cuddle bug and loves to cuddle with me and give me tons of hugs and kisses. Sometimes it takes all I have to not just eat her up!!

She is doing wonderful with her potty training. She wears "big girl" panties around the house and is good about telling us when she has to go potty. Only a few accidents here and there. I still put her in pullups when we are out and about - but we are getting close!!

She is really starting to show an interest in dress up and role playing. It's very cute - I think I may have to hit up a few 2nd hand stores and look for some dress up clothes!! She loves to dance and put on shows for us. And one of her favorite toys right now is the keyboard and microphone that Nana got her before she left to go back to Minnesota for the summer. She loves to sing!!

Yesterday, we went with Aunt Peggy to the Glendale Aquatic Center and played in the water park. Sydney had a blast playing with Aunt Peggy. We got lots of sun and were definitely tired when we left. As Sydney would say (and she did say it before bedtime) Mommy, this was a great day!!"

Enjoy the pictures...

She was so excited and in awe!

So cute, thanks again Aunt Peggy!!

Cuddles for Mommy!! I could just eat her up!!

My 2 Sweeties!!

She takes my breath away!! Thank you God!

A rare moment of Ziggy showing affection!!

My buddies...

My beat up toes from the 1/2 marathon last week!!!

Mommy's 1st Trip Away!!

2010-06-09T15:18:00.000-07:00

My trip to San Diego for the Rock n Roll Half Marathon was good! It was difficult being away from Sydney for so long and it was also difficult being away from Greg. The trip really helped me get out of a funk that I had been in and to come home feeling much more appreciative for what I have at home! Thank you to my wonderful husband for supporting the trip, even though financially, it probably wasn't the best time to go. And thank you to Aunt Peggy and Uncle Michael for babysitting Sydney on Sunday while Greg was at work. It was a big treat for Sydney to spend 2 Sundays in a row with you!!!

The 13.1 miles in San Diego were beautiful! I ran the entire run with my friend Jamie. The last 13.1 I did in Jan., I was so focused on the pace and time that I really didn't get to appreciate the run. Because this was more of a fun run, I didn't put in as much training and didn't have to push myself as hard. The humidity affected us much more than we thought it would but we were fine - we just poured a lot of water over our heads as we ran!! My asthma didn't kick in until mile 11 but Jamie did an awesome job at pushing me and I was able to finish without the inhaler. I did however, have to stop right past the finish line and take a puff. With in seconds, I could breath again!! We had lots of laughs over the weekend and were pretty silly at times - all things I really needed! Now I am back at home and recharged and ready for summer!!

This morning, I took Sydney out front to water some potted plants. They are looking pretty rough due to the heat, so I decided to add a little plant food to the water. Sydney wanted to help but I explained to her that I didn't want the plant food to get on her because it could make her sick. She said, "OK Mommy...Mommy, what will the plant food do if I touch it? Will it turn me into a plant?" I stopped in my tracks and just had to smile and laugh. Man I love her!!!!

A Mommy Moment

2010-06-01T13:15:00.000-07:00

Once a week, I go online and print coupons for groceries and other household items. This morning, as I was completing this task, I came upon a Huggies save $3 coupon and got all excited and was almost ready to print it and realized...Sydney doesn't wear diapers anymore!! She wears big girl panties when we are at home and pullups when we are out and about and at nighttime. I had to stop a minute and think about this. For the first time it really sank in...I will never buy diapers again.

I should be happy right?? I get to save money!!! Instead, I find myself a little sad. My baby is growing up.

A Very Important Conversation!!

2010-05-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday in the car, Sydney asked me a very important question:

"Mommy, how do I get these hairs off?" (pointing at her legs)
"Well honey, we don't take those hairs off, they stay there."
"But I don't want them there Mommy"
"Why"
"Because sometimes they make me scratchy!"

She cracks me up!!!

My Little "Big" Girl!!

2010-05-18T17:22:00.000-07:00

We have started potty training with Sydney!! About two weeks ago, I took her to Target and let her pick out a pack of "big girl panties"!! She was so excited!! She picked out Little Mermaid panties and we brought them home to wash. The next morning, she was very excited to show them to her Daddy whom then proceeded to put them on her. Well she ended up wetting herself!! That's all it took - from there on in, she would announce when she had to go "pee-pee" and it was a mad dash to her potty!! Then, a week into it, her attention to detail faded and she started going in her diaper again. That is until this last week!! We watched her buddy Addison on Friday night. Addison is potty trained already and she used the potty a few times while Sydney watched. Sydney again became very interested in the potty and is now going "Poo-poo" in the potty but not "pee-pee". It's all very exciting and just a little frustrating:) When she does go in the potty we all do cheers for her and give high fives and hugs!! She gets so excited - LOVE IT!!!

So today, I am at work and Sydney is with her Daddy. Her Daddy decided to take her to Banana Republic to do an exchange. When they walked in, Sydney announced to the sales person, "Excuse me, where are the banana's"? Well it is called the "Banana" Republic!!!

Sydney is not usually shy when we are out and about. She will often yell out "Hi" and wave to people as we walk by them! It's so funny and sometimes a little embarrassing - but people are always pleasantly surprised by her "friendliness" and will often stop what they are doing to say "Hi" back to her! She will not back down for any opportunity to have a conversation with complete strangers either!! And the things she tells people sometimes makes my mouth drop open!!

The things she knows just amaze me - and most people around us!! Today, Greg said that a couple walked by them and were walking their dog. Sydney looked at the dog and announced that is was a French Poodle - it was!! Now how the heck does she know that??!! Her brain just soaks in EVERYTHING!!!

Picture Galore!!

2010-05-17T14:17:00.000-07:00

I had an awesome Mother's Day this year! It started out on Sat. night with a nice dinner with Sydney and Daddy. Next was a 10 mile run in the a.m. (OK, that part wasn't so awesome - but I am in training for the San Diego Half Marathon and had to get the run in) and then a little rest. We then went to our friends Tim and Jessica's house and they hosted a little Mother's Day BBQ for us and Jamie and her family and a few others. It was a beautiful sunny day. Sydney had a blast swimming with her buddy Addison and Daddy took care of all her needs while Mommy sipped on cocktails and soaked up the sun!! It ended with a Peanut Buster Parfait - Mmmmmm!!

Me and my Sweetie!!!

Sydney and her buddy Addison on Mother's Day

So sweeet!!

Mother's Day

Daddy and Sydney being silly!!

This is a little arts and crafts activity we made. She was so proud of it as she ran with it and let the wind make the ribbon fly!!

This was a present for Nana for Mother's Day. Sydney pained all of the paper and then we cut out her hand prints in each one!! We then put them in a bright pink vase (not shown). She loved it!!

Sydney and her cousins Vic and Max!!

Sydney with Nana and Paps before they left to go back to Minnesota!! We miss them so much!!

This was taken yesterday at our friends pool. She was so tired by this point. She sat there for like 20 minutes!! I didn't mind at all - cuddles for Mommy!!!

2010-05-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

Ok, enough is enough, I need to be better at posting on this blog!! Especially now that Sydney is doing so many crazy, amazing, wonderful things!! Summer has arrived which means tons of new experiences for Sweetie - and tons of pictures to take. I will start dedicating time each day to blog - so keep a look out...

Feeding the Ducks!

2010-04-08T13:51:00.000-07:00

I took Sydney to Roadrunner Park this morning to feed the duck/birds/pigeons!! It was a beautiful morning and thought she would enjoy doing something different. She had a blast chasing after the birds and pigeons - not sure how much they were enjoying it!!

I love the way she has her arms wide open as if she is welcoming it all in. It was a special moment for me.

This is a "Sydney expression" that I was able to capture on camera.

She's verbally dishing it out to the pigeons!!

Feeding the ducks!!

So cute!

On a mission!

A little play time after feeding the ducks!

Being silly!!

"Just Playing"

2010-04-07T18:46:00.000-07:00

Greg took Sydney to the park for a bit late this afternoon. It was awesome to have the house to myself for an hour!! Shortly after they came back, Greg asked Sweetie to cook him something from her kitchen. As she was cooking and talking on the play phone that comes with the kitchen, she started to go poo-poo! As if that wasn't funny enough - I then asked her if she was done going poo-poo.

Mommy - "Sweetie, are you done going poo-poo?"

Sweetie - "No"

Mommy (noticing her full diaper) - "Well what's that poo-poo doing in there?"

Sweetie - "It's just playing"

Mommy - "Well what's it playing with?"

Sweetie - "A poo-poo ball!"

Mommy & Daddy - laughing hysterically!!!!!

Never a dull moment!!

A Special Gift

2010-04-06T14:21:00.001-07:00

Every year at this time, we get these big flying bugs that look like giant mosquito's. They don't bite and they are pretty slow and easy to kill - but they are non-the-less, disgusting!! Sydney does not care for them and will not go near them - I am sure she learned this from me!! They act like moths in that they are attracted to light at night, which means, they cling to our sun screens from 4pm on. Sydney makes a big deal about it and I usually end up having to shut the shades so she can't see them.

With this in mind, imagine how funny it was this morning when she saw one on the outside of the sliding glass door. She kept pointing it out and her Daddy said something about killing it.

She said, "No Daddy, don't do that! He needs to be with his family."

So cute that she understands the concept of the importance of family and how every creature has one. She just continues to amaze me with her intelligence and her ability to grasp concepts that most children do not until much later in age. You know my Mother and colleagues in the Counseling field have always told me that I have an "old soul" because of my ability to see past what is on the surface. I have a feeling my sweetie may have the same gift - A gift I got from my Mom!! Thank you Mom...

Picture Overload!!!!

2010-04-05T13:38:00.000-07:00

Below are MANY pictures that were taken over the past two weeks. Between preparing for Easter Day Celebration and all of our Easter parties up to Easter Day, we were very busy and I took many pictures. They are in no particular order!!! Enjoy:)

Easter morning, we went to Church with Angelo, Sheila & Jeshua. It was a beautiful morning and a lovely service. I am just bummed that we didn't get a family picture taken.

Here is Mommy and Sweetie Easter night.

Sweeties new Easter necklace from Nana and Pap!

Look at those eyes....

We took her pretty Easter dress off while she ate dinner and she refused to put it back on. She also refused to take her shoes and socks off. This is how she prefers to dress on most days home!!

Such an awesome picture of Sweetie, Uncle Michael and Aunt Peggy!!

Love this picture!! Sydney was by Uncle Michael's side the entire night!!

Her Easter globe from Aunt Arlene and Uncle Vince!!

She called the Easter globe her Angel!!

Her pretty Easter dress!! She's only 2.5 years old and wearing a size for in girls for her Easter dress - it's because she's so tall!!

She loved this new toy!! There is a ribbon attached to the stick and she twirls it around!! Big hit!! Nana enjoyed it also!!!

Nana giving Sydney her new necklace!!

Sweetie and Angelo - our friend and neighbor.

Sweetie and Sheila, Angelo's wife & friend!!

Her first Peep!!

She only ate the ears off the Peeps and then lined them up on the table!!

On Sat., the day before Easter, our neighbors had an Easter egg hunt and party. We had so much fun!! They really went out of their way and did it up nice for the kids and the adults!! It's just so awesome that many of the neighbors are finally getting to know each other and having parties for the kids (and adults)!! It makes me so happy to know that Sydney is going to have kids her age to play with as she grows up here in our neighborhood!! This little boy's name is Jack.

Jack has an awesome Playset in his backyard that Sydney LOVED!!

Easter egg hunt at Jacks. They live 2 doors down from us.

Checking out their Easter goodies.

This lovely picture was taken a few days ago while I was getting some cleaning done. She insisted on wearing her kitty-cat hat (it was 80 degrees out), a diaper, her "princess shoes" and her necklace. Very stylish and cute!!

Her outfit for the afternoon!!

Later we made Easter cupcakes to bring to Jacks party. Sydney was having a hard time staying focused so I put her in her chair and gave her her own cupcake, frosting and sprinkles and just let her go at it. She really wasn't interested in the frosting or sprinkles - she just wanted to eat the cupcake!! She calls them "Pupcakes"!!!

All ready for spring!!!

She loves to pose for the camera!!

This was taken at our MOMS group Easter Egg Hunt/Party last week!! Yes, we had two Easter egg hunts/parties before Easter morning. Sydney is a pro at finding Easter eggs now. She calls them "Easters". This is her friend Savannah.

Here she is at our MOMS Easter egg hunt!! She was so excited!!

So cute!!!

Her basket got so full, we ended up putting some of the eggs back out for the other kids!!

They were all filled with candy. I really don't allow Sydney to eat candy much so I was pretty sneaky and got rid of all but a couple suckers. She is allowed to have suckers when we are shopping - it distracts her long enough for me to actually get some shopping done! Other than that, she really doesn't eat candy!! So, FYI for future holidays - please don't give Sweetie candy. Instead, we filled her eggs with little toys like plastic dinosaurs, wind up toys, organic berry bunnies, things like that:)

She really had so much fun at this party. And the weather was absolutely beautiful!!

So that's it for our Easter holiday this year. We are both exhausted today from all of the Easter parties and preparations and our Easter Celebration last night with all of the Wades!! Once again, I feel truly blessed to be in the Wade family and to have my beautiful family!!!