18 Months

Eighteen months... Wow! Lindsay has been pure sweetness with a little bit of sassy-ness thrown in for good measure! I think that our monthly picture really captures her 'toddlerness' :)

Here is Miss Wiggle Worm! Sitting still and posing is not an option for 18 months.

 Testing the limits... we have been having lots of fun with this one...NOT! A glimpse of 2? Yikes!

 Learning our limits... it's hard being 18 months! LOL

 A minute later, all is right in the world, and she is a happy girl once again :)

Lindsay is all girl, and likes to go places with her sunglasses and purse...

Quick story: Lindsay and I have been going to the pool or "poo" as she calls it a few times a week. We took her to feed the ducks, and all she wanted to do was go swimming in the nasty poop-filled water. Jarrett had to keep her from diving in the stinky water with both hands.

We have a Dr.'s appointment in a few weeks, so I will post her stats then. Here are a few things our girl has been doing new this month:

-Favorite word: "No"

-Hugs & Kisses... My absolute favorite :)

-Favorite TV show: Sesame Street, hands down!

-Shapes: Lindsay recognizes and says shapes and letters, "Oval" (any circles) "Star", "Heart", the letter "e" and likes to 'count'. She can count up to 3 objects.

-When we meet someone new, she likes to introduce us. She will touch me and say, "Mama", then touch Jarrett and say, "Daddy". We have been trying to get her to say "Lindsay", but no success yet.

-Favorite food(s): Blueberries, Buttered Sourdough Toast, anything that Mom or Dad have on their plate, guacamole, chips & dip, cheese, chicken strips... bacon! The Dr. mentioned at her 15 month check up for us to help her gain a little weight, and give her lots of high-calorie foods. Although she will go straight for the veggies on her plate first, we have discovered she is more of a grazer, rather than a three-meal-two-snacks kind of girl.

-Phrases/ words: "mmmmm... Tat's good!", "Peas" (please), "Hi/Bye", "Shooos" (shoes), "Juice", "cheese", "Ffff"(flower), "Shhh" (either sleeping or fish), "Pup" (dog), all the embarrassing body parts (lol). She knows many animals sounds, and will make the sound if you ask her. There are so many I can hardly count. She is learning new words every day!

-Tiny tot... she finally wearing size 18 month clothes, although many of them are still a little big. She recently out grew her size 3 shoes and we are trading up for size 4!

-Lindsay loves to be outside, whether it is picking flowers, running in the grass or swimming at the pool, she adores the outdoors.

-She was still taking 2, 1.5 hr. naps per day since a week ago, when we have been in the process of going to 1 nap. She refuses to sleep more than 1.5 hrs during any given nap time, even though I have been trying to shoot for 2-3 hrs in the afternoon. Oh well. I think I miss the two naps more than she does! She has been sleeping through the night, so I can't complain :)

We have been getting the question does Lindsay have any concept that she is going to be a big sister, or that there is a baby in Mommy's tummy? Well, all I can say is sort of. We talk about big sisters, read our big sister books and we are careful of baby sister in Mommy's tummy. At night Daddy tells Lindsay good night Big Sister, and she will pat the baby in Mommy's tummy and we all tell Little Sister "Love you and goodnight". We were at the park the other day and one of our friends asked Lindsay if there was a baby in Mommy's tummy, and she lifted up her shirt and looked down at her own tummy. LOL. She has been really good around little babies; she has no problem with me holding other babies, when she actually notices. Love our busy, sweet, sassy little girl!! xoxo

Dancing Girl

We were at Best Buy yesterday and our girl heard some music! Girl's got some moves... our favortie is the booty shake!

In the Kitchen

Last week Lindsay and I spent some time in our kitchen making sugar cookies. We had some new neighbors that moved into George Page, and I wanted to bring them a "Welcome to Pepperdine" plate of cookies. Who am I kidding? I was really looking for any excuse to make cookies... I think I will blame this time on Baby Fish! I did most of the baking, and Lindsay decorated her first sugar cookie. She was very concerned with the cookies being in the oven where it was "hot".

She colored while we waited for the cookies to finish baking...

I gave her some sprinkles to decorate her pink cookie.... she got 1 sprinkle on there, and was ready to eat it!

YUM!

This is when I took away the sprinkle shaker... a little sprinkles goes a long way. She was not happy for 2.456 seconds.

Then she sampled her creation... all was right in the world after that!

Lindsay's steps to eating a sugar cookie #1: Lick all the frosting and sprinkles off cookie.

Step #2: Take a bite and eat the cookie. Enjoy!

Here is our finished product... I looked last year for wave-shaped cookie cutters, but was unsuccessful. Our new neighbors had to settle for blue and orange stars and butterflies. LOL.

Other news... Lindsay got her first life-sized play kitchen! Our sweet neighbor, Jessica, was moving last week and her daughter (who is now 6) had outgrown her kitchen. She didn't want to move it, and offered it to Lindsay! It was adorable and in great condition, so we said "Oh yeah!". She even gave us a bunch of fake plastic food, and we found the perfect spot for it her bedroom!

It is a little big for her, but it leaves her room to grow into it, and hopefully she will get to enjoy it as long as Jessica's little girl did! She would not even look up for a picture she was having so much fun!

Monterey & San Francisco

Last week, Jarrett, Lindsay, Carol (Jarrett's Mom) and I took a mini-vacation to Monterey Bay & San Francisco! Warning: Lot's of pictures! Here are some highlights of our adventure...

One of the first stops was the Monterey Bay Aquarium... Lindsay loved seeing the "ish" aka "Fish" and watching all the kids. In the photo above, she liked looking at the tide pools, but was so not going to put her hands in there with the seaweed. LOL.

One of my favorites... Daddy and Lindsay checking out the coral reef display.

She was pretty into the sting rays... I think she wanted to go swimming with them.

My favorites were the jelly fish and the sea turtle... looked like the turtle we saw in Hawaii a few years ago. It was so relaxing watching them swim; I think I could have stayed there all day :)

Nonna & Lindsay

Our little pearl :)So, inside the aquarium was a little area made special for toddlers... it was too cute! Daddy & Nonna took Lindsay on a simulated wave jumping thing...

You can tell she liked it :P (I was reaching for her because it the sign said, "No shoes" which meant sweaty toddler feet on the mat, and here my daughter is, rubbing her face on it...gross!!)

They even had a water exhibit where the kids could play with plastic fish in their "tank". She loves to splash, so this was right up her alley!

After a lovely dinner in Santa Cruz, we ventured up to San Francisco and spent the next morning at Pier 39. We walked by the Merry-Go-Round, and guess who wanted to take a spin!

Nonna, Lindsay & Daddy on the ride... She was waving the entire time!

We stopped to shop for some souvenirs at the magnet shop... Lindsay went straight for the fake ice cream cone. Mmmmm.

Drove down the crookedest street in America... Lombardi Street...

We took some time from out sigh seeing to play at Golden Gate Park. Mama (Which I should mention she is calling me "Mommy" now!) and Lindsay picking flowers.

On our second day in San Fran, we visited the Bay Kids Museum in Sausalito, a quick 15 minute drive over the Golden Gate Bridge. It was too cute... Perfect for her age! They had an exhibit with a "stream" with plastic fish and frogs for the kids to splash in. I think their little aprons are pretty darn cute.

Here our girl is TASTING the water... yuck!

Lulu helping the salmon swim upstream...
Nonna, Daddy & Lindsay

They also had a Curious George exhibit... Lindsay likes to watch CG on PBS some mornings. She has been really into pointing to eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hair etc. She was showing Daddy all of CG's features.

Love it.... Out of all the things in the museum, (and amidst all the chaos and kids running around) all she wanted to do was have her Daddy read to her.

After the museum, we had a delicious lunch at Yank Sing, a Dim Sum restaurant near Fisherman's Wharf. It was an experience, with sweet Chinese ladies bringing around trays of yummy bite size little dumplings, spring rolls, cream cheese crab wontons (my fave) which you got to choose. I was surprised how much Lindsay ate... she loved it!

At the end of our trip, we had to get a little something sweet before heading out on the long, 5 hour drive. Ghirardelli's was just the ticket.

We enjoyed a Rocky Road and a Peanut Butter Chocolate Sundae.... Some one's a fan of whip cream.

We had such a fun time! Thank you Nonna for going with us on a wonderful trip! We love you!!

10 Weeks and Growing!

Baby Fish in 3d, 10 weeks. He/She has arms covering face, and stubby little legs! Not sure if that is an umbilical cord or something else between the legs :) Too soon to tell...lol.

I feel like with this baby I am going CRAZY not knowing the gender. With Lindsay I was curious, but I was just so excited experiencing my first pregnancy,and busy subbing, I really didn't care as much. Maybe it is because I have more time on my hands (as much as you have with a 17 month old) or I think I should be able to tell naturally because I am doing this whole pregnancy thing over again, but I have been checking out all the old wives tale and even did a baking soda test. Here are the results:

1. Carrying high or low: Too soon to tell. Blowing up and huge already.

2. Y in the eye: Can't see one.

3. Morning Sickness: Nausea, signals girl

4. Cravings: None specific, but love sour suggests boy, however, with Lulu I loved fruity/sour too.

5. Baking Soda Test: It fizzed and foamed, signals boy

6. Leg hair growing slow/faster: Slower, suggests girl

7. Heart Rate: 61/2 weeks= 123 bpm, 10 weeks= high (Dr. didn't give me a #, but said high) The baby was also moving like crazy. Mixed results?

8. Chinese Gender Chart: Said girl for Lulu (correct), said girl for this baby too.

Thankfully, Jarrett and I have agreed to not let my gender-craziness go on for too long... we are going to spend the extra $ to do the ultrasound at 16 weeks to find out! Thanks, Honey!! Can't wait to find out if our little Baby Fish is a She or He! Love that precious little baby all the same... what a blessing :)

Baby Fish

Somebody's going to be a big sister...

Baby Fish.... arriving early February 2012!

We are excited to share our new little blessing, offically due February 3, 2012. When the baby is born, Lindsay and he/her will be 23 months apart, which is the same age difference as my brother and I. Two babies under 2? Are we crazy? Possibly. However, Baby Fish was completely planned and right on schedule. We love thinking about the experiences that await, which can be shared by both kiddos since they'll be so close in age, and possibly, even friends (someday :).

As of today, I am 9 weeks along. We've been to the OB and everything looks perfect! The baby is situated nice and cozy; busy growing and with a heartbeat at 123 bpm. I have been hit with a few different symptoms with Baby Fish than I had with Lindsay, including all day nausea and fatigue, but overall, everything is great.

Naturally, most people almost immediately ask us what we want... a boy or girl? Of course, it would be nice to have one of each, but as long as our little baby is healthy, that's the most important thing! I have a feeling it's another little girl, but, we'll just have to wait and see until sometime after August 19th.

How I told Jarrett...

After taking the tests in the afternoon, I waited until almost bedtime. In our offical evening routine, Jarrett gives Lindsay her bath, I do the dishes, then I read her her book and put her to sleep. I told Jarrett that I wasn't feeling great, and asked him if he could read Lindsay "Goodnight Moon" and put her to bed. Jarrett jokingly said, "Really Katie?! You are already acting like you are pregnant before it even happens." I waited quietly by the door as he read Lindsay the story, and when he turned to the page and finished saying, "Goodnight stars, Goodnight air..." he paused because there was a piece of paper that read "Goodnight New Baby Brother or Sister!" followed by the last passage, "Goodnight noises everywhere." Surprise!! I kept thinking he would rush out of the room for all the details, but it was just quiet. Being the dutiful Daddy he was, he made sure Lindsay was fully asleep before we got to celebrate our new Baby Fish!

Fourth of July 2011

Happy 4th of July!!

This year for the 4th we stayed in Malibu, and had a nice and relaxed holiday! One of our friends invited us to the Pepperdine Kids 4th of July Parade, made up mostly of kids who live on campus. It turned out to be more of a 'race' than a parade, and we were cracking up at all the kids racing around the parking lot in a loop. Lindsay enjoyed waving to all the kids passing by. Maybe next year we will decorate her Princess Mobile...

I wanted to get some shots of our little ham in her patriotic dress.

Giggling at what? I have no clue.

Mommy & Lindsay.... It was like 84 degrees that day, (hot for the Bu') and we were out in the sun, so she is making her tired face :)

We BBQ'd for dinner, set off the smoke alarm (promised public safety we were not setting off fireworks indoors) and put the baby to bed. She tried to make it until 9pm, but that is super late for her, so she missed out on seeing the firework show. We did too, unfortunately, but were not about to leave our sleeping kid. So instead we watched the HBO miniseries, John Adams, (Which is fabulous if you are into American History) which detailed the first 4th of July and Declaration of Independence...so there's our patriotic spirit! Then we went to bed. LOL Hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday!