Memorial Day Weekend

On Memorial Day we honor the people who fought for our country and gave their lives so that we could live the way we do, like my Grandpa Lawrence who fought in WWII (he died at age 86 in 2000).

My sweet girl has 6 teeth coming in all at once! Ouch! Nap time and bed time have been difficult to say the least, but who can blame her, that's a lot of new teeth! I feel awful that she's in such pain, but I'm grateful to be at the receiving end of lots of hugs and her sweet head resting on my shoulder as she falls asleep. Even with all that pain going on we spent plenty of time outside and shared a lot of laughs.

 Shirtless ballerina with her monkey backpack

 Having fun taking silly photos of ourselves

 She loves brushing her teeth

 I bought a used playhouse on craigslist & surprised her!

Double Stroller

Taking a walk at the end of a chilly day

RIP Bennett (2000-2013)

My beloved cat Bennett died last night at home. He was 13 years old and had been in declining health for weeks but I still had hopes that he would improve. He was the sweetest cat, he did not have a mean bone in his body. He was completely deaf since birth and he had an extremely loud meow. He loved to howl in the middle of the night for no reason. Imagine me, home alone with a newborn yelling at him in a loud whisper "For the love of all that is holy, shut the f**k up, you're gonna wake the baby!" (Then I would laugh at myself because he couldn't hear me).  He was so happy when I was pregnant and on bed rest, he would sleep next to me or on me the entire time. All cats sleep a lot but he was what I would describe as a "master sleeper" since he didn't hear anything, he could sleep through anything. I got him and his brother Ed when they were six weeks old (Ed died in 2011). It's weird, after 13 years, we now have no animals in the house. We will probably get a dog in the future but definitely no more cats because so many of our family members are allergic.

He was amazingly tolerant

Hmmm, I don't know about this tiny human

Sleeping buddies

Always there to share in the love

Looking regal

I'm laying on the kitchen counter, so what?

 Snuggling while on bedrest

Helping me on the computer

 Laying on my pregnant belly & feeling the baby move

During the last weeks of his life

We love you kitty

22 Months

It's so amazing to witness her growing vocabulary and recognition of people & things. She wakes up talking and goes to sleep talking. Words/phrases she utters many times a day:

This book

Shoes

Button

Blue

Bubbles

Choo Choo all (aboard??) I think she's trying to say "aboard"

Purple

Thank you baby

One, two...

Outside

Walk

Two things she wants to do right now: 1) go outside and 2) take a walk. First thing in the morning when we go downstairs she points to the front door and whines to go outside. Hmmm, kinda sounds like I'm describing a dog whining to go out doesn't it? LOL Anyway, when it's time to go inside for lunch or dinner, she starts throwing a fit. She has a defiant side which I'm sure part of it is her age and testing her limits, and another is her innate personality. I just don't know if I'm going about discipling her in the correct way. Where's supernanny when you need her?

Weight: 26 lb.

Clothing size: 24m-2t tops, 18-24m bottoms

Diaper size: 4

Shoe size: Toddler 6.5

Playing in a puddle at the Botanic Gardens

 Running up and down the ramp

 Moving the chair to just the right spot

 This is the life

 I see a squirrel!

Posing for the camera

Mother's Day

The busy weekend started with a Bridal Shower for my cousin who is getting married in June. Sadly, I will not be able to attend as the wedding is in France and I'm not ready to take my daughter out of the country just yet. After the party we went out for dinner for her Bachelorette Party and then I bowed out after dinner because 1) I'm too old for this and 2) It's mother's day and I have to be up early!

And no need to go out for brunch because our au pair made crepes...SO yummy! She also assisted Serena with an art project and a card. I love it!

I had a lot of other ideas to spend the day outside but it was just too cold so we took a few walks around the neighborhood and went to the park. 

My grandmother came over to celebrate with us.

And to my mom....I love and miss you every day. Sitting here wishing I could give you a hug. Miss you so very much.

First Haircut

For months I've been struggling with taking her to get her hair cut for the first time. I've been putting it off because I don't want to admit that she's getting older. :( But lately, her baby fine hair has been hanging in her eyes and she was getting a baby mullet so I finally broke down and took her yesterday to get her hair cut. I was so proud at how well behaved she was during her haircut. Of course it helped that they had special seats to sit in and a little TV in front of the seat. They even had the special keepsake envelope for the lock of hair and took a picture for us. The haircut was kinda expensive for a first haircut but the experience made it worth every penny.

 Enjoying a celebratory lollipop 

Weekend

Uh oh, this is what I have to look forward to in 14 years!!

 Enjoying the swings

 Birthday party for our cousin at the children's museum

Ready for Spring

It was 80 degrees earlier this week...