Big girl bed

During our stay in PA, Blair had been sleeping on a double bed – no crib. We had already gotten her a big girl bed (set-up in her new big girl room), but were waiting for the right timing to make the move. Well, enter “the perfect time.” We didn’t want to take a step backwards since she had done such a great job in a regular bed – so when we returned, we went straight to the new bed. Success. She loves it and it is the perfect bed for her. It even has some great drawers for toys so we have more storage space.

I debated about whether or not to do a toddler bed, but in the end, opted out of the toddler bed. This bed (from IKEA) seemed to be such a great height / size that I didn’t think she needed that middle step of a toddler bed. We’ve been fortunate that she has done so well in her new bed / room and sleeps like a champ (if you call waking up on the weekends at 7:15am – a champ J).

Down by the Beach...

In May, my little family and I got outta dodge and headed south to Port Aransas. Travis and I were in NEED of getting out of work – so we rented a 2 bedroom condo in Port A to get in some good quality beach time and Bug time.

We made great timing getting down there and Blair did great during the drive. Once we got to the condo, our first priority was food! We headed to the local grocery store and stocked up on Bug items (her staples, yogurt, macaroni and cheese, crackers, etc) to make our stay more comfortable.

On our first full day, we were out at the beach by 8:30am. No joke. Blair was sleeping in a “big girl” bed and was up by 7am every single day. Despite our condo being on the beach, there was still a bit of a walk getting to the beach (walking through the resort). Blair walked the whole way, each way! I was so proud of her – she just trekked it like T and I (who were juggling chairs, cooler, bags, etc). The good thing about the beach is that it wore my girl out. We’d come back to the condo, shower and change her, then put her in her room with a movie and she’d be OUT!

We got to eat and see a lot of the places that Travis had remembered from when his family used to vacation there, so that was a lot of fun. Travis said the food was just as good as he had remembered and I can tell he was happy to have his family making this trip, just as his family had done when he was younger.

On our last day, we ventured out to the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus. Blair had a blast getting to walk around and point out fish, sea horses, sting-rays, and jellyfish. Outside (in separate tanks, of course) they had dolphins, otters, and turtles! She had so much fun getting to run around and check out all of the animals. It was a great way to let her burn off some energy and see some aquatic life.

Our little vacay was exactly what we all needed. A lot of good quality family time, playing in the waves, chasing birds, and getting some rest. J It was perfect. It was even better to have the weekend to recuperate before coming back to work.

 

Here are some pictures at the beach...

 

 

 

 

Swimming at the condo's pool...

Lunch at Snoopy's!

 

 

 Pictures from the aquarium...

 

 

 

 

 

Blair - 2 Year Stats

So, I am WAY behind on Little Miss’s 2 year stats. Here they are!

Height – 35.75” – 88%

Weight – 31pounds – 89%

Head Circumference – 19” – 70%

She continues to be in the higher than average ranges, and perfect. So, nothing new there.

While we are still talking about sizes, she is currently in 5T or some size 5 clothes and wears a toddler size 9 shoe (and size 4T-5T pull-ups).

My little girly-girl is still a tom-boy at heart. She always has her shins banged up from playing hard. She loves to RUN everywhere. Uncle Chris thinks it is funny how much energy and how fast she is. At the same time, Little Miss enjoys her jewelry, dresses and bows. You just never know with this one.

Blair loves to play outside – and with this amazing weather in the last few months, we have had the chance to spend more time outdoors. She loves to find / spot lizards and to catch rolly-pollys. She even has her own real ladybug at her Gammy’s house that she found. It is funny because she calls all bugs, “ladybugs”. She loves the sound and sight of airplanes overhead and we are always on the look-out for birds. We have resident pair of cardinals that live around our house / neighborhood that love to tap on our windows.

Blair’ vocabulary continues to grow and she can string together some small sentences and communicate very well. My favorite thing she says (other than, “I love you, Mommy!”) is when she is trying a new food and she says, “I like it!” – in a very declarative manner. It makes me laugh every time.

Books and reading are still a favorite pastime of this little gal. She has fallen in love with Green Eggs and Ham, so we usually read that at bedtime. The other night, while Travis was reading the part about not liking the green eggs and ham in the house with the mouse, she told Travis, “Don’t like it with a Mouse, Fox.” She did not like that he would not eat the green eggs and ham with the mouse, or the fox. Her day care recently held a book reading competition amongst the different classrooms and I am proud to say that Blair’s class won! We logged quite a few books, so it was neat that their class pulled through. I don’t remember what the “prize” was – but the exercise itself was good.

Lately Blair has been carrying around a pile of action figure type toys. She has some from Toy Story (a new favorite, ahem, obsession), a few Sesame Street, a couple of Finding Nemo pez dispensers, some Little People animals, and, most recently a microphone (a fun gift from Gramma Ancy). Most of the time she carefully stands them all up on her table. And she’ll tell us that they are her buddies. I love these silly little quirks that make up our girl. She is just so interesting. You can always see her thinking and analyzing.

Other than that, we are just trying to keep up with this busy little girl! She keeps us on our toes, that is for sure. There is never a dull moment with Blair and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We love her more and more each day!

Teddy Bears' Picnic - Blair's 2nd Birthday

 

If you go down in the woods today you're sure of a big surprise
If you go down in the woods today you'd better go in disguise
For every bear that ever there was will gather there for certain
Because today's the day the Teddy Bears have their picnic

Every Teddy Bear who's been good is sure of a treat today
There's lots of marvellous things to eat and wonderful games to play
Beneath the trees where nobody sees they'll hide and seek as long as they please
That's the way the Teddy Bears have their picnic
Picnic time for Teddy Bears
The little Teddy Bears are having a lovely time today

Watch them, catch them unawares and see them picnic on their holiday
See them gaily gad about
They love to play and shout
They never have any cares
At six o'clock their Mummies and Daddies will take them home to bed
'Cause they're tired little Teddy Bears

 

The theme for Blair's 2nd birthday party was "Teddy Bears' Picnic." We invited Blair's school buddies and some of our friends to the park with their teddies for an afternoon of play time. We had picked out a park in Cinco Ranch because 1) Blair liked it a lot, 2) it had bathrooms (important when there are small kiddos around that are potty-training), 3) the park was beautiful with a lake nearby. The night before, we had driven by and to my horror - the mulch underneath the playground was all moved and the playground was roped off. Big mounds of fresh mulch were waiting (key word: waiting) to be spread. There were two landscapers standing near one of the piles, so I thought, "Oh, they are getting ready to spread the mulch." At least I had hoped.

 

The next morning I ran by the park again only to find it in the same condition. I was terribly upset because I had gained special permission to use this park. We ended up having to move the party at the last minute. We actually used the park down the street from our house and just "shuttled" people to our house if they needed to use the restroom. I tried to contact everyone that had RSVPed, and in the event that people had either missed my message - or showed up without RSVPing - we had left a sign and maps to the new park. It was very chaotic and I was stressed. Long story, short - I didn't use all of my cute decor and little details, but the party turned out great. Blair and her buddies had a blast and that's all that really matters. Despite it raining all week - the day turned out beautiful. In the midst of the chaos, I didn't take a single picture - but luckily, I have some. :)

 

 

 

 

  

 

 Love this little girl! Happy 2nd Birthday, Blair! ♥



Playing Catch-up!

Well, looks like it has been some time since I posted on the blog. I will say that I thought February was my last post – but looks like it was April & Easter. Nice. Further than I thought!

Well – it has been four months, so I guess I have some catching up to do.

I am excited to share (which most of you already know) that our family is growing! Travis and I are having another baby! Harlow Noelle will be joining us in December, just a couple of weeks before Christmas. We are so excited to meet this sweet girl and know that Blair is going to be the best big sister! We talk about Harlow all of the time. Up until she felt her kick for the first time (just a couple of weeks ago), I don’t think that she really grasped the concept. She sure does now. Watching her reaction to filling the kick was like watching a light bulb go off – very sweet!

I am now 23 weeks along and this pregnancy has been very similar to my pregnancy with Blair. I was sick during the 1^st trimester and now I am feeling great and having a much easier 2^nd trimester. So far I have gained 8 pounds, which Dr. Schmidt seems happy with. I definitely feel bigger than I did last time, but I think that’s the way it goes with #2! During Blair’s pregnancy I craved a lot of seafood. This time, I prefer Italian food – or any kind of pasta dish. I also find myself craving Dr. Pepper – which is slightly against my usual “Coke” norm.

Although I have been slacking on my blog, I have been keeping up my letters to each of my girls. I am hoping I can get them compiled more into a “journal” for them, but at least I am writing. With Blair growing and changing everyday – it has helped me remember the funny / sweet things she says, changes in her personality, etc. What a special little girl she is. She is a feisty little thing – but so sweet and funny and wonderful. Maybe I am bias, but I think she hangs the moon.

I’ll be catching up with other posts with pictures and things we have been up to – but I will leave you with a couple of pictures from our unofficial announcement that Blair and I did…