Vacation=several lists, packing and more packing

So our first family vacation will begin Sunday afternoon when we head out of town for Omaha, NE. I am so excited! I really think we're going to have a great time and that Sydney will just love the zoo. She has become really interested in finding animals in books, etc. and today noticed a zebra on a page of her sticker book. She was able to identify it when I asked her where the zebra was, so hopefully that carries over to the zoo so she can see one in real life! The forecast looks like it's supposed to be mid-80's so lets hope it stays that way!

Anyway, in preparation for our trip I started making lists (yes lists) at the end of last week. I wanted to write everything down so I wouldn't forget some of the items I could see myself just overlooking; when I started one list it branched in to another, and yet another, you get the picture. I figured the first step would be to do the laundry. Ick! I didn't want to start that too soon because then we'd be out of clothes but if I waited until the last second it would be true chaos. Aah! I started with Sydney (like usual--she needs the most "stuff") by doing her laundry and then finding one outfit for the zoo, a back-up for the zoo (accidents do happen! :) ), and an outfit for the evening--for each day we'll be there. Then there are the pajamas, bath items, comfort items, hair clips (okay not a necessity...), diapers (I just brought the whole package!), and loads of miscellaneous other items that I brought just in case we might need them (nasal aspirator, saline drops, tylenol, etc.) Another list I had is for her food. I plan on packing her a lunch each day we go to the zoo plus having snacks readily available for her throughout the day. I dread the idea of being caught unprepared so I'm over-doing it...I think that's better than under-doing it! We'll bring a cooler for her cold stuff and a separate bag for her other food. Total, she'll probably have at least 3 bags (her clothes will go in with ours which will help). It is insane! Luckily we have practice in packing her whenever we go to Delphos--it's quite a deal to be gone even for a few days. Thankfully, Joe and I are SO much easier to pack! I used to be the high maintenance one...if we only knew! :)

When we return expect lots of zoo pictures! :)

Fun Thursday!

This morning Sydney woke up in time to eat breakfast and be ready to head out the door early so I could make it to a Pilates class at 8:30. (Okay so we were a few minutes late...but no worries!) It's a very laid back class and a parent of one of my students teaches it and her friend runs the daycare in the basement. Perfect set-up because I can bring Sydney and know that she's having a great time while I'm upstairs sweating my butt off. :) (Who would have known that a whole bunch of fancy stretching would be such a workout?!) It's great for us to get out and be social for awhile and it's just the right length of time. When I came to get Sydney after class she came right over and latched on to my leg and after I picked her up, she puckered up to give me a great big kiss. :) It was so sweet!

While Sydney was eating lunch her package from Grandma and Grandpa Ponton arrived in the mail. Each month she receives a gift from them for her monthly "birthday." This month she was given a tin tea cup set. It is wonderful! I took one tea cup out and she was off sipping and "cooking." Maggie of course was very curious and I kept telling Maggie "no." Then Sydney of course wanted to give Maggie a sip! So she wasn't being very helpful. :) I'll post pictures of her playing with it later, but we played with the tea cup set until naptime!

Pouring her babies some tea!

Happy 18 Months Sydney!

Today Sydney is 18 months old. I cannot believe that now she's closer to two years old rather than one. It is just incredible how quickly time has gone by having her in our lives, but it's been the most exciting and most rewarding year and a half ever! We just vaguely remember what life was like before her (very boring we realize now!) and can't imagine not having her here with us. She definitely keeps us on our toes but we wouldn't have it any other way!
Here are just a few silly pictures of Sydney or some of Sydney's "work." I found these bunny ears the other day and put them on her head and she wore them around for probably 20 minutes or so! She had no idea that she looked so silly. :)

Sydney also helped me unload the dishwasher yesterday. She was such a big helper, how could I possibly let her know that the containers/lids went somewhere else? She worked so hard putting them in their place, I had to smile and capture what it looked like (before putting them in their correct spots.) :)

Happy Father's Day!

Yesterday Sydney slept in (well, she played in her crib for quite awhile) so that I could fix Joe breakfast and he could sleep in--it was nice! Joe's request was biscuits and gravy, bacon, and scrambled eggs. It ended up being mighty tasty if I do say so myself! I was dying to give Joe his presents, but being Joe he just took his time eating, drinking coffee, etc.; he was in no rush at all! I kept myself busy by picking up the kitchen and washing dishes until he was finally ready for his gifts. Nearly two weeks ago I took Sydney up to the Oak Park Mall to the Picture People to get her pictures taken for Joe for Father's Day. Earlier this year he had gone to Nebraska for a business trip and returned with some Nebraska gear for Sydney; a NU cheerleading outfit included. Luckily it fit so that's what she wore and they supplied her with red pom poms. The pictures turned out SO cute and he was SO surprised! He couldn't figure it out. :) Next we gave him a digital photo frame and I had gone through all of our pictures to find the ones of Joe and Sydney and some of Sydney that I know are his favorites and uploaded them to his frame. It was fun going back and looking at the photos with him from when Sydney was just a newborn. She has changed so much, yet in some of her photos she looked just like she does now just with the baby round face and hardly any hair at all. :)

Last year's Father's Day picture!

Since we were still full from breakfast at lunchtime, and Sydney was kind of a grump, she laid down for an early nap, Joe mowed and I got ready for our afternoon. Joe's request for supper was to eat at Famous Dave's, which also means we're going to Cabela's since they're "right next door" to each other. We went to Nebraska Furniture Mart also in search of an ottoman for our living room. We set out mid-afternoon and went to our two stops before arriving at Famous Dave's. While we were waiting Sydney got her first "big girl" cup at a restaurant. I have given her a straw and cup to use before and she had taken a drink through a straw but never really got the hang of it. She'd do all the motions but never "suck." Well she did here and she thought she was pretty hot stuff! :) She was hamming it up with our waitress too. We had a great day together as a family and I'm grateful that Joe is such a wonderful father to Sydney (which makes a great partner for me!). He loves to read with her, play with her, do "chores" with her--and she loves her Daddy!

Sydney wore her sunglasses the whole time we were in Cabela's--she didn't want to take them off!Trying to get a father/daughter shot in NE Furn. Mart--she was a busy bee, no time for photos!

More please! (pineapple that is!)

Last night Sydney signed her first "phrase" and what a polite one it was: "more please." Teaching her signs was always something I wanted to do but never did; Aunt Bailey gets the credit for Syd knowing "more." She'd practice every now and then with her when she visited until one day, out of absolutely nowhere, when I said "more" Sydney made the sign for it! Then came the dreadful day of trying to get her to say "please." She had said it before at the appropriate time (with some prompting from dear ol' Mom) so I knew she could do it and kind of had the idea. Lets just say we were both reaching our meltdown points with me trying to get her to say "please" and that's when I decided to teach her the sign. It took quite awhile and a different approach from me but she finally got the hang of it and would use it ever so often when prompted by me. Disclaimer: Teaching her this one sign is not so that she'll show off (these are the only two she knows! :) ) or so I can say "my daughter can sign" (like Joe thought when I first told him she learned the sign)--this is purely a communication/manner-teaching thing! (And I don't have any plans for teaching more..except for maybe "thank you"..we'll see.) So anyway, within the last several days Syd has gotten the hang of using the sign "please" for various things, and also using them together but with me having to remind her of each one. (Once she saw the amazingly goofy, positive, and lovey-dovey reaction she got from me after using "please" on her own there was no stopping her!) So last night after eating her five chicken nuggets, probably 1/4 cup of noodles and lots of green peas, Sydney got her fruit for supper (it is saved until very last and served separately because otherwise she will eat nothing else!) I opened a new can of pineapple rings, gave her two and started cutting them up in to bite sized pieces. She ate those in no time flat so I gave her 2 more (thinking these would be the last ones.) Once she finished those off, she signed "more please" right in order, together, in her perfect little signing way (she pinches her fingers together and twists them together--like the itsy bitsy spider song for "more" and then rubs her belly all over for "please"). I was thrilled and so excited! Then Joe and I thought "well how can we say 'no' to that?!" So Joe gave her another ring...this proceeded for about 3 more rings. In the end her meal included five chicken nuggets, her loads of noodles and peas, and 7 pineapple rings. She wanted more but 1) it was bathtime, 2) she'd almost eaten the whole can! So we had to bribe her with bath time and I had to run the water so she believed us. :) It was so much fun and exciting. She later did it again for Joe while in the tub, he was reading her bathtub book Ariel and Friends (the Little Mermaid) and in between readings she kept asking for "more please"! :) She is really coming in to her own and I see Joe's ornery/comedic side coming out of her more and more. She is so silly and always doing something to make us laugh!

Weekend in Delphos

This past weekend my Uncle Deryl and Aunt Donna came up from Oklahoma to visit my mom and dad. Joe and I knew we wouldn't be able to be in town the next weekend for Father's Day for various reasons so we thought this weekend would work out great as an alternate trip (even though my dad had to leave early Saturday morning for a golf trip in Nevada so unfortunately we didn't get to spend much time with him.) So we headed out Friday after Joe got home from work and arrived around 8:30 or so. When we got there supper was just being placed on the table; Donna had fixed a huge and delicious meal for all of them (that we later enjoyed as well!) We ended up staying out on that back deck (Joe, Deryl, Donna, and me) until the wee hours of the morning enjoying the fire pit, some mixed drinks, but most of all each others company and conversation! We had a blast. Next morning was rough but we managed! Deryl and Donna were on a mission to clean up some areas of the yard and plant flowers and a garden for Mom to enjoy and take care of. They did an awesome job using some limestone from our old front planter to construct a little vegetable/herb garden and a planter in the front yard. I must say I got inspired and did some picking up around the yucca plant in the front--Sydney was helping me by picking up leaves I had raked out, one by one, and placing them in the bucket. Bless her precious heart. :) She started warming up to Uncle Deryl while Bailey and Aunt Donna ran to Minneapolis and by the time they returned Syd had found a new buddy in her silly Uncle Deryl! We stayed out playing until way past her supper time!

Sydney, watching TV with Uncle Deryl.
Sydney, reading with Grandma Ponton

Earlier in the day while Deryl, Donna, and Mom were in Salina picking out flowers we visited my grandma Dorothy. We were going to eat lunch with her so we came up early so that she could play with Sydney before we ate. It's amazing--Grandma has this small box of toys that contain a few stuffed animals, a couple beanie babies, two whipped topping containers and their lids and a wooden spatula. Sydney played forever with those few toys (and when her cousin Addison is there, they play together with those toys for the longest time!) Apparently we have too many for her to choose from here at home because she always acts bored!! :)

Sunday we went up to Grandma Dorothy's again for "snacks." Aunt Rhonda, Aunt Dee, Traci, and Justin were all up there and playing with Sydney. Traci found a little container for blowing bubbles, sat on the floor and started blowing bubbles for Sydney. Sydney LOVED them! She said "bubble" over and over again and was shrieking and dancing around; she started and stopped at the same spot each time-she'd walk over to the chair Grandma Dodo was sitting in and hang on to the armrest, wait for Traci to blow bubbles, then run through them, try to catch them, try to eat them (yuck!), and once they were gone, go right back to her "spot." It was SO funny and poor Traci's lungs sure got a workout-this went on for quite awhile!!! I wish I would have had my camera. :( Needless to say, Traci, that night when we got home we blew bubbles on the driveway! :)

The world of playing pretend...so much fun!

Within the last week or so Sydney has truly come in to the world of playing pretend, especially with her baby dolls. Just this past weekend she found a sleeper of hers from long ago (:( ) and put it on her baby--with help. Then she dug deep into her box of diapers in her closet and felt the need to put one on her baby (truth be told we just stuck it inside the sleeper!)
Just yesterday she found a little tin set of a cup, bowl, and plate that was in her room. The cup was just the right size for her and after "helping" me unload the dishwasher she snagged a bowl and a small storage container to use with her cup. She had all three things on the bottom step and was just dipping and sipping away out of the cup. She was so nice to share with us as well and so desperately wanted Maggie to take a sip! (I swear she thinks she's a human as much as Joe and I!) We talked her out of it by saying that Maggie wasn't thirsty.



Sydney also snagged (such a great word for how toddlers get things in to their possession sometimes!) the swiffer and swept the floors for me for about twenty minutes, going from the kitchen, down the hall to her room, and back...and back and forth. I had just swept that so I didn't think of putting a "pad" on it...I just may next time. :)
Here's Sydney, "coming in for the real thing" as Joe would say...to give me a kiss!!

Thank the Lord for sweet potatoes!

Sweet potatoes are one of two (that I can think of) vegetables that Sydney will eat voluntarily in their "natural" form. (Thank goodness because they're so good for you!) Corn being the other one (which you can't do much with corn as it is!) All other veggies are usually chopped up, shredded, mashed, smashed, etc. so that they can be hidden somewhere within the food that she loves or there is the occasional vegetable piece that is gently placed in to her mouth by a loving and adoring parent. :) I did mash the sweet potatoes the other day and put a tad bit of butter in them, with a few sprinkles of cinnamon and she gobbled them up! I do need to give credit where credit is due however...the other weekend Joe fed her 17 peas (yes we counted--we were so excited!) and she ate them without a fuss! (Never again of course, but we relished in it for sure!)
Today was supposed to be our big fun Tuesday. It started off great with Pilates at 8:30 while Sydney played in the daycare with plans to go the playground afterwards but with rain and t-storms in the forecast we decided to just stay home. At 11 we went to Books and Babies at the library and Sydney was "that" child that would not sit still and listen to the story. Granted, it was a very colorful, fun room with lots of things to explore! Also, she recruited another little girl to move around with her, so I felt better. :) She was in to giving out hugs as well--she hugged nearly every other child in the room at least twice!

Such a little helper!

Sydney has become such a little helper around the house. She loves little "jobs" and doing "chores" with her Dad. She's always wanting to feed and water Maggie and "help" put clothes away. It is absolutely incredible watching her remember routines and somewhat, follow directions. I am watching our little girl grow in to a big girl right before my eyes!

Sydney pushed Maggie's food bowl all the way over there all by herself!

This past weekend she got lots of quality time with Aunt Bailey while Joe and I went to Kansas City to celebrate our anniversary. We enjoyed going out to dinner, going to a movie, and..sleeping IN on Sunday morning! :) While Syd's early bird really came through for Aunt Bailey--waking her at 6:15. ;)

Today Sydney was sure lovey on Maggie--poor (but good Maggie). She is so tolerant of her little sister...seriously. So much so that at one point, Sydney literally pushed her little "walker" over Maggie's tail and not a single part of Maggie's body flinched. She is such a good big sister! :)

Sydney's 18 Month appointment

Today we had Syd's 18 month appointment; I know I know she isn't 18 months old yet but we're in the right month. :) Everything checked out great and she's actually above where she needs to be! She weighed in at 25 pounds (60th percentile) and 32.5" (70th percentile)--she's been right at 50/50 for most of her little life until now! She must have hit a growth spurt! Our doctor also asked about her speech and how that was coming along. He said that by age 2 the experts say they should know about 50 words. Literally just the other night I thought to myself: at an upcoming appointment they'll ask about her vocabulary so I started counting, roughly how many words she can say and sign(s) that she can do. I counted 27 (and later remembered 3 more so...30!), so she's well on her way. Looks like we have a talker on our hands! :) She can also point to her head, nose, ears, eyes, mouth, feet, and will look at her hands, when asked to find her hands (that counts right?). Okay, brag-fest over. :) (In my defense though....I do have to document this information somehow right? :) What better way than to share it with friends and family!) It's just truly so exciting having a front row seat to her life as she explores the world and discovers new words and new things!! Every day is an adventure and she is becoming funnier every day!

Sydney and Maggie's playdate!

Sydney, Maggie, and I were invited to a play date at the playground of a nearby elementary school. One of the other girls that was invited also has a Great Dane named Drake and planned on bringing him. (He made her cookies for her birthday! :) ) We arrived right on time and there was no one there! Which I kind of was glad about...Maggie hadn't been out and about much since we've moved here (except for out in the country with Joe.) So I was a little nervous and wanted her to get used to her surroundings before Drake arrived. She instantly found a place to use the bathroom (Traci you know how she is!) and was having a blast! Little by little our friends started to trickle in and Drake finally arrived. There was a moment of "meet and greet" and then they were off! A couple of kids were ran over in the process but all of the kids were in love with both dogs and were petting and loving on them. It was fantastic!

Sydney had fun going down slides and climbing on some of the steps. Her friend, Cole, from daycare was there and they were so happy to see each other! There was also another baby there that Sydney spent probably 15 minutes rocking in his car seat and chattering with him. We had a blast! We left to be at the library at 11:00 for Babies and Books. There were three other little kids there about Sydney's age (and one that kept running around :) ). We sang a few songs and read a story about the star shape. Sydney even had a little name tag! I'm so excited for our Tuesdays now--play dates and trips to the library!