More 1st's!!

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!!

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

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!!!

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...

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!!

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

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.