weekend with "grammy lou"

John made plans for us to spend Valentine's weekend in Philly, and we had soooo much fun. We haven't done things like that very often, but always say that we should try to fit in more "date nights", because we always do have a great time. We had a nice dinner at Mission Grill and had lots of fun bowling, which I almost didn't get to do :( First, they weren't going to let me in to the place, which served alcohol, because I didn't have ID. Then, when I pointed out that I would obviously not be drinking (check out the belly, dude!), Mr. Bouncer with too much authority decided I wasn't allowed to bowl because I was pregnant. John and I had just taken a taxi trip from our hotel specifically to go bowling, and I am super emotional right now, so I was in no mood for crazy rules set by the door guard. Anyway, he changed his mind, and we had lots of fun. We decided I would get a 50 point handicap based on the scores we hoped to get, and John still kicked my butt the first game. I think he got a 159!! (I didn't break 100)! I did a little better 2nd game, and with my handicap, beat John by a little. We're tied now, so we definitely have to have a re-match.

We stopped for brunch at a crepery on Penn's campus on the way back home, and then very happily returned to our sweetie, who was waiting at home with Grammy (who was super nice to offer to baby-sit :) I'm pretty sure Sylvia did not mind that we were gone one bit, which is great. I love knowing that she is having so much fun when we're not around. She recently got in the habit of referring to her Grammy's as "Grammy" and "other Grammy". I'm not sure which was which, but I decided to teach her "Grammy - Mary Lou" and "Grammy - Donna" as an alternative. I grew up with a Grandmom Shirley and a Grandmom Alice, so it makes sense to me.

Sylvia picked up the names right away, but sometimes shortens Grammy - Mary Lou to Grammy Lou, in her cute little Sylvie way. Here they are at the start of their fun weekend, filled with books, baths, and princess clothes. Thank you Grammy Mary Lou!

song time with Sylvie

itsy bitsy, followed by a "Ba-Ba Black Sheep / ABC" medly



too cute!

soupy smiles

This was from a month or two ago. It was the first time Sylvia ever had tomato soup, which I put some crackers in. This video is just simply, "typical Sylvie" to me. She makes the littlest things so funny. I love that she will say "excuse me chair" when she wants to get through and become angry when it doesn't move. I love that she puts hats on her stuffed elephant, and then when she thinks they look funny, she laughingly says "silly Elephant!".

And I love that when she can't find something, like crackers in her soup, she calls out to them...."where are you crackers??"

happy durr-day to daddy!!

Even though Sylvia has been home all week sick (luckily the fever seems to have broken today), she still had more energy than me. She knew today was Daddy's birthday and asked a few times to sing for daddy. Here are the results:

Take 1:

Take 2:

Take 3:

Happy Birthday John! I love you!!!

look dad - green hands!

This was the night that Sylvia's tricky friend, Dillan, must have secretly told her how to escape from her crib. After she saw his big-boy bed that night, she climbed out of her crib the next night. hmmmm....and they look so sweet and innocent as they plot their schemes!

Actually, I think Sylvie was the only one up to tricks. We thought she was playing quietly in the next room - she was actually giving herself a full body tatoo.

Note who has the messy belly and who has the clean belly:

Look Dad, Green Hands!! :)

little baby updates

We are officially in the third trimester (yeah!), and all is going well. I passed the diabetes test, and all of the lab tests look good. Now, I just have to track movements each day and am visiting the doctor every 2 weeks, which means we are approaching the finish line. I cannot believe how fast this is going. I have about a year's worth of work to fit into less than 2.5 months of work - not looking likely at this point :)

We also unofficially have a name for baby, although not sharing at this point. Everytime I tell someone what we're thinking, the name falls off the list for one reason or another, so for now, we're staying quiet. We discussed many little girl names, but this is the only one so far that we both think sounds "right". Sometimes names are beautiful, but just not right for "our baby." Some that were seriously considered by one or both of us:
Addison
Audrey
Elizabeth
Eva
Isabel
Julia
Madeline
Stella
and a few dozen (or hundred?) others....choosing a name for someone else, who will be associated with that name FOREVER is just not that easy!

p.s. John is at his first Hockey session tonight. He's been looking forward to it for weeks. I'm looking forward to knowing that he is back here safe and in one piece. As Sylvie would say "Be Careful Daddy!!"

puppy love

Sylvia doesn't normally go to daycare on Fridays, but she made a special appearance yesterday for the Valentine's party. I chased her around the house before she left trying to get a few good photos where she was smiling, my camera was flashing (not always the case these days), and there was nothing blocking her face, such as Clifford the Big Red Dog. No east feat!
Her first response when John told her that it was my birthday was "March, 1!". "Yes Sylvia, your birthday is in March and you are 1. How old will you be in March?" "2!!!". We repeated this exchange every time my birthday was mentioned.

Friday morning, she and John sang Happy Birthday. Her version went like this: "Happy Birthday to Mommy, Happy Birthday to Daddy, Happy Birthday to Sylvia, Happy Birthday to Mommy!"
Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!

baby sister update

There's nothing earth-shattering to report, but all is going well. I had lots of blood tests and the gestational diabetes test yesterday and should know the results on Monday at my next appt. The diabetes test seemed worse last time around. It basically just involves two blood tests and a drink in between that tastes like McDonald's orange drink. I had memories of it being disgusting, but it wasn't that bad, and I've been through far worse.

Besides feeling super exhausted, things are good, so I can't complain. I get my Rhogam shot on Monday, which is needed because of the difference in John and my blood types. I can't believe I'll be that far along already (28 wks!). I had been a little concerned because almost all of the movements I had felt these past few months are more like rolls and turns as opposed to kicks. However, it seems that baby had a growth spurt at 27 weeks, because I have felt several kicks over the last week, and luckily, John got to feel some too. Yes, the baby has legs! Peace of mind.

We have been refering to the baby as "Baby Sister" in the style of Berenstain Bears. The teachers asked me last week if we were naming her "Dawn". Sylvia's first response when asked the baby's name is almost always "John", which they were misinterpreting. Anyone there who takes Sylvia seriously either believes we are naming the baby Dawn, John, or Tinkerbell. The name is undetermined at this time, but I'm pretty sure those names are all out of the running. It is kind of funny to me that with Sylvia, we had her name picked out far in advance, but didn't really tell people. This time around, I have been telling everyone our thoughts, but we keep changing our minds, so everything I've told people will probably change. Maybe if we keep our mouths shut, we will be able to settle on a single name for this little darling:) We're always open to suggestions - at least for the next 10 or 11 weeks!

How now GREEN cow!

Last week John went on another one of his glamorous business trips. No, it wasn't another landfull - this time he went to a few different dairy farms with lots of cows. I think I will buy him a mask for his birthday :) Every time Sylvia was on the phone with him, she asked what color the cows were, and always asked if there were..... green cows? no. Yellow cows? no. brown cows? yes, and black and white. green cows? no. When John came home he brought her a surprise. A bank (which she she now has 3 of and absolutely loves putting money into), that was shaped like a green cow.
Yes Sylvia, there are green cows :)

cowgirl

Say a prayer for the cowgirl her horse ran away
She'll walk 'til she finds him her darlin' her stray

When you don't have Cardinals or Steelers gear, don't really like those teams anyway, and don't really care who wins the Super Bowl, what's a girl to wear? hmmm....how about a cowgirl outfit?

"Grammy, that is definitely my hat.......but it looks cute on you too!"

bye bye bye

We said good-bye to our Jeep Liberty on January 31st :)
On the bright side, we said hello to our fancy new red Acadia at the same time. May it get us where we need to go, safely, for many, many years into the future.

crocodile rock

She sings: She plays:

she dances:

....and she strangely resembles Elton John :)

just another ordinary day

Sylvie and I have similar routines on Monday and Fridays, which are unfortunately mostly inside because I can't stand the cold weather. We go on walks whenever the temperature rises a little, and I plan to start taking her to the library.

In the meantime, on a typical day she wakes up around 7 or 7:30 in her BIG GIRL BED :)

Our days often include a bit of laundry, which Sylvia LOVES to help with (doesn't she look so old!):

Making pictures for Daddy (with or without the help of Elmo):
And some silly-song time while eating lunch:

I cherish every second.

playing and learning

I realized the other day that Sylvia is actually learning things at daycare. That probably sounds silly, but in a room full of 2 year olds, I figure if she is generally happy and seems to have fun, then that is success. I can't imagine trying to teach things in such a potentially chaotic environment.

However, everyday we get a little summary of what she learned. For example, a few days ago they focused on green things. I asked her what they looked at that was green, and she quickly answered: limes, grass, apples, etc; she basically recited all of the details from the paper, and went on to tell me how snakes hide in the grass, and animals eat grass....Impressive, for both Sylvia and her teachers.

Here is a link to some photos the director took, mostly during one of their music sessions. Once or twice a month a music teacher comes, and they get all of the kids together to sing and dance. I think Sylvie is setting next to her "boyfriend" JJ in every photo. Sometimes on days when we are home, she asks if she can go play with JJ. In these photos Ms. Beth is wearing glasses, and Miss Amber is wearing a pink shirt.

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=ibi1d13.13dsjw9f&x=0&y=do54cb&localeid=en_US

I've got one hand in my pocket...

In the past few weeks, Sylvia has learned many new songs and now sings them while playing the piano - I'll have to keep the video camera handy. She can consistently count to 11. I think that is thanks to having read "One Fish, Two Fish" 9 million times. Thank you Dr. Seuss and your 11 fingered guy! We're working on 12-20, and the other night she did reach 14 on her own. Big milestones, I think.

Her favorite things have expanded to include peeling oranges and bananas, playing in the basement (which comes in handy for those times I am actually motivated to go down there and exercise), anything to do with snow, and every single piece of her clothing with pockets. I took these a few weeks ago as she was happily strolling with her hands in her pockets:

Vivian Jane

Sylvia's newest play-mate arrived January 17th: Welcome Vivian Jane! A beautiful name for a beautiful little girl.


John and I haven't decided on a name for little Tex, but Sylvia has settled on Tinkerbell. A few weeks ago she told all of her day-care teachers that her little sister was Tinkerbell. I think they were afraid to ask me if that was a joke, just in case it wasn't :) So for now, we are excitedly awaiting Tinkerbell Tex.

snow bunnies

One afternoon after work I let Sylvia stomp around the snowy yard in her boots for about an hour. She had soooo much fun and was not very happy when we had to go in for dinner. After dinner, I went off to a doctor's appointment and Sylvia and John spent another hour or so playing in the snow for real: snow pants and all.

Sylvie was sooo excited to tell me about the snow angels when I got home. I am so glad she got to have a little fun in the snow this winter. All of the snow this winter seems to disappear fairly quickly. It doesn't take much to make her smile: a few snow flakes on her tongue and she is smiling ear to ear!

Fly Eagles Fly

We had lots of fun as the Eagles flew those last few games. Sylvia loved that we all wore our "Eagles" as she would say, and we all loved the wings and gained lots of weight (or maybe that was just me). The super bowl is now over, and the Eagles didn't quite make it, but we had lots of fun along the way.

Post-game artwork: "Daddy - Sylvie" hands

I think they're playing the Eagles Fight Song: