Keeping Up With Sydney: August 2009

Monday, August 31, 2009

Minnesota Zoo Trip

Here are some pictures from our Minnesota Zoo trip. It was lots of fun to see Sydney have this experience with her cousins - thank you Aunt Susan and Aunt Jessica for bringing the kids out to play:) It was pretty warm out this day!!

Lillian was such a big help - keeping her eye on Sydney and making sure she didn't run off.

Playing in the cave!!

Cousin Lillian keeping an eye on Sydney:)

Dada and Sweetie

This was our favorite part of the Zoo - Sydney loves giraffes and they loved her. She is feeding him a biscuit of some sort and he is loving it!

I was laughing so hard when he put his tongue in my hair - very unexpected!!

Sydney was so excited - not afraid at all!

So funny!!!

Great memories!!

At this point, Sydney touched the giraffe and he didn't like that so much so he walked away. How cool for Sydney though.

Popeye faced sweetie holding the fort up!!

They recently added on a water park which was a great way for the kids to cool off before leaving the zoo!!

This was a little statue of a bear that she absolutely loved!! She kept walking up to it and hugging and kissing it and telling him secrets!!

Cousin Lillian and Sydney

Minnesota Trip Part 2

Here are some more pictures from our Minnesota trip. The weather was beautiful when we were there. Not too hot and only 3 rain days. Below are some pictures from our boat ride the night before Daddy had to leave to go back to Phoenix.

And of course, no boat trip would be complete without the popeye face!!!!

Sydney enjoying one of her many pieces of Minnesota Sweet corn. The corn we get here in Phoenix doesn't even come close to the sweetness of Minnesota grown sweet corn!! Sydney calls it "Popcorn"!!!

Stay tuned for Minnesota Zoo pictures...

2 Year Old Checkup!!

Just got home from Sydney's Two year old doctors appointment. She cried most of the visit - she usually does!! But we did manage to get in some good laughs also~!! She weighed in at 32.5 pounds (she gained a pound in Minnesota - must be all of that sweet corn she ate!!) and she is 37 inches tall!! The doctor said she is above the 95 percentile!!

During the visit, Sydney was very aware of the cries and noises coming from the other rooms and started talking about it in front of the doctor. The doctor was shocked and said, "She just talked in a complete sentence!" I said yes, she has been for some time now. The doctor said that Sydney is VERY advanced for her age as most 2 year olds know about 20 words and are usually not yet able to put the words together to say sentences. I told her that Sydney has been saying her ABC's and counting to 20 since about 18 months old and is now able to identify feelings and colors. The doctor laughed and said, "You have one special girl there!"

She said that our next step is to make her first dentist appointment and to start introducing potty training. She said Sydney is bright enough that she will probably catch on quickly. I said that we were not in any rush and that we have the potty chair and make it available to Sydney but that is as far as we are taking it right now. Then, we had the shots!!!! She stopped crying as soon as I picked her up and was very excited about her band aides!! My little trooper!! We then came home and had Popsicles...yummy!!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

My New Challenge

It's official, as of last night I am committed to and registered for the PF Chang Rockin Roll Marathon held in Jan. You might ask why I am doing something so insane...

Well WHY NOT!!!!

I will be turning 38 next week years old next week - God has blessed me with strong working limbs - I love a challenge - and I can raise money for a charity that I feel very passionate about - all sound like good reasons to me to put my body through hell!!!

More importantly, this is something I can do for me!! I have been so focused on getting pregnant, keeping the pregnancy, and raising Sydney for so long that I really haven't had anything of my own. I have always been a very competitive person and a goal sitter. Fortunately, through hard work and perseverance, I have achieved many of my big goals in life. So, I think training and preparing for a marathon sounds like just what I need at this stage in my life!!!

Also, I believe by sharing this experience with Sydney, I am serving as a positive role model for her. I want her to grow up understanding how important it is to take care of our bodies and the importance of health and hard work. The charity I am running for is Team Chances - a nonprofit organization with a mission of ending childhood obesity!! What a great concept!!!

Wish me luck!!!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Minnesota Trip Part 1

We are home!!! Yes, we are home early. Our trip was originally suppose to be for one more week; however, poor Nana got VERY sick with the stomach flu. After much deliberation, we decided to come home early. Nana needed her rest & I knew she would fuss over us if we were there:) And, if we were to get sick, it was best for us to be home. Sydney was awesome on the flight home which was a huge blessing! We only got a little sick for a day or two - no biggy but it was nice to be home!

We had a wonderful trip. I took lots of pictures so there the trip will be divided up into parts and not very well organized!! Our flight there was uneventful. The weather was amazing! We had two or three rainy/cool days. I will tell you more about the trip as you look through the pictures.

Sydney's Birthday Party!!!