Easter festivities!

Something I have been worried about this year with our new baby on the way is that Sydney won't get an Easter experience...church, the eggs, etc. The secretary at my school had suggested a church in town that has Easter activities, including an Easter egg hunt, the weekend before Easter. So we went there yesterday morning. It took Sydney awhile to get the hang of it but she found quite a few eggs!

Sydney and Dad--it was a little breezy and chilly!

After the "hunt" we went to the sanctuary of the church where there was a puppet show explaining the true meaning of Easter. Fortunately for us, one of the puppets was a Princess (Syd's new infatuation) and another was a donkey (she loves any animals!). It was a great puppet show and really held her attention!



Next we went to the arts and crafts area where Sydney and Daddy colored a butterfly to represent new life by following and loving God.
Our last station was the games! Sydney and Daddy got to play Duck-Duck-Goose (much to Joe's dismay :) ) and then I took a turn playing an egg relay game with Sydney. She had such a good time!
Last but not least--she wanted to "drive" the huge (albeit kind of creepy) bunnies in front of the entrance.

Happy Easter everyone!

Enjoying the beautiful weather! Well for a couple days at least...

We were blessed with two beautiful days over our Spring Break! We spent almost all of Thursday outside playing and a lot of Friday as well! Here are some pictures!



Her imagination gets me every time---she saw a "bear" in our front yard and we had to hide from it! "Oh no, Mommy! Bear in our yard!" she'd say. :)
Probably not the safest thing, but Dad had to work while Mom got a pedicure, so Sydney got to help. ;)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Here is a trio of pictures of Sydney's St. Patrick's Days!

2008--1st St. Patrick's Day!

2009

2010

Last year we went to Topeka for the St. Patrick's Day parade with our friends Tiffany and Noah. Tiffany's brother and daughter Akadia also came with us! It was SO very hot--about 30 degrees warmer than it was today!

This year we were lucky enough (no pun intended ;) ) to spend St. Patrick's Day with Tiffany and Noah again. Boy have our kiddos changed and grown in just a year! We skipped out on the parade today since it was so cool and the kids had a great time playing with all of Noah's toys!

Here is a picture from last year of Sydney and Noah playing, once we finally got back to their cool house!
And some pictures from today! (including the several "takes" trying to get a good picture of Noah and Sydney, both sitting, both smiling. :) )

Petting Harly--bless that cat's heart!

Pretending to be puppies :)

take #1 (I think?)

and...#2

and #??

Good one to end on! :)

Playing Memory with a princess is always exciting...and Sydney reading

Yesterday we tried on Sydney's Easter dress for the first time--it was a bit too big but she loved it anyway! She did not want to take it off, said she was a "princess!" I have no idea where she gets this...we only have princess stickers--no movies, etc. and we never refer to her as a princess...I'm wondering if it's just an innate little girl thing to want to twirl in pretty dresses! Anyhow, I found a hand-me-down dress from a friend of ours that we tried on next. Sydney was in heaven. Then she wanted to play Memory and then she wanted her bunny to join in the fun! So I have included a couple of pictures of our "princess" and a video of her helping the bunny with her turn (yes, Sydney had a turn, Mommy had a turn, and Bunny had a turn. :) ) Gotta love their imaginations!

Also every night before bed we read a story; I take a turn reading, then she takes her turn. She goes through phases and her current phase is Baby Bear Baby Bear What do you see? Last night she was reading with Joe and I got a video of her reading during her turn. I was surprised that she remembered nearly all the animals. I guess I shouldn't be surprised though--we have only read it close to a thousand times I'm sure!! (For those who have never heard it, it goes "Baby bear baby bear, what do you see? I see a _____ looking at me.") Joe does a good job translating the names of the animals. :)

Last but not least--Sydney and her Diego sticker chart. Today has been her first day in big girl undies and she's done very well! One accident today so far but she was able to tell me as it was happening so I can see some positive to that! :)

Trip to Manhattan!

We have been wanting to make a visit to Joe's mom and dad for quite some time but it always seemed one of us had come down with something to prevent us from going. Anyhow, Saturday was the day! We left in the morning and got there around lunchtime. It was great to see his mom and dad--the last time we had seen them was Christmas I think. They, of course, loved seeing Sydney and she, of course, loved showing off for them. :) It made me feel good that she took right to them without hesitation (so imagine how they felt!) Grandma and Grandpa Helget gave her her Valentine's Day present while we were there--a singing puppy. She loved it! I am not kidding you we heard that dog sing its song over 50 times yesterday, if not more. Good thing I like the song! She also got to play with her cousin Alex and Aunt Ginny--she had a blast with them. Thank goodness for Alex playing hide and seek too; what an exhausting game with a toddler who wants to play it all.the.time. :) When we left she kept saying "Alex is my friend....Alex is my friend." :)

Walking on stilts with the help of Aunt Ginny and Alex!

Enjoying her sandwich while her puppy serenaded her. :)

We left Manhattan and headed to Topeka. Joe went to Dick's Sporting Goods while Sydney and I ran and got some of the last things on our list for the new baby! I had ordered a size 0-3 month baby girl coming home outfit and when we got it, it was huge! So after much debate, I went and exchanged it for the size smaller. Then we went to Babies 'R Us and finished up our shopping! We got: burp rags, socks, extra crib sheets, a closet organizer, a couple of baskets for Sydney and the baby's changing tables, another swaddle blanket, and a few other things. I say a few but I ended up spending a lot more than I anticipated! Good thing we have been able to reuse MUCH of what we used for Sydney--I had forgotten how expensive baby stuff is! Now that I feel prepared with all the material things, anyone have pointers on how to mentally prepare myself for another new baby? ;)

35 weeks!

Thursday was the 35 week mark--holy cow I can't believe it. Our dear Sydney arrived at 35 weeks 5 days...so you can say I might be a bit over-prepared for a woman who should have 5 weeks left. I got my hospital bag packed as much as I can--I need to wash another pair of lounge pants and a shirt for myself and then I should be good to go! The baby's bag is also packed, all I need is a baby girl coming home outfit and then he/she is set too! I have a list of everything we need to grab as we're heading out the door. Now if only the little peanut can hang on until Aunt Bailey gets back from Virginia and my friend Marilyn gets back from all of her spring break adventures--we should be set! (They are the ones that will watch Sydney when the time comes!)

Here's my 35 week belly picture...I have had at least 4 people comment this past week about how I have "dropped." I was shocked that so many had mentioned it--I don't notice it but then again my belly has been in my way for the last 5 months or so. ;) See for yourself! All I see is that I am H.U.G.E. :)
And how can I make a blog post without something to say about Sydney? ;) Her Uncle Michael brought down a giant caterpillar (when he came to ride with Joe and Dad to Iowa last weekend) and she just discovered it last night. The picture doesn't do the size of the caterpillar justice, but she loves it!

Big girl Sydney!

Joe and I decided that we'd try getting serious with potty training while I was home with Sydney over spring break next week. It is the first extended period of time where one of us could try to be consistent as far as potty training goes--if it doesn't stick we'll just continue as best we can until summer time. I got some ideas from our daycare provider today and also implemented a sticker chart. She got to pick out which chart she wanted--she chose Diego. :) We printed off two and she got to pick out where we hung it up--she chose her bathroom door (she can see it from her potty!). I told her that each time she pottied on the potty she would get to put a sticker up on the chart (thanks to Aunt Bailey we have close to 400 stickers I think of Dora and Diego! :) ) After we hung up her chart she tried going to the bathroom but didn't. I told her she could try again before her bath--she did try again and was SUCCESSFUL! :) I'm trying not to get my hopes up because I know it can be very up and down, but Joe and I were both so excited for her and she kept saying "I did it! I did it!" :)

The proud big girl with her first sticker on her chart! (Lets hope the first of many! :) )

Joe's 30th birthday and a weekend in Delphos (lots of pictures!)

Thursday, March 4th we celebrated Joe turning the big 3-0! He got off work early and picked up Sydney while I ran and got him a full slab of ribs from a yummy rib place nearby. When I got home Sydney and I made him a cake (which she thoroughly enjoyed! :) ) She helped Joe unwrap presents and promptly asked for cake afterward!

Our professional taste-tester!

Turning 30 is a fire hazard! ;) (it also left lots of ash on the cake!)

Opening Sydney's present...she carried it through the store saying "He's going to love it! He's going to love it!"

Joe with his authentic Suh #93 signed mini-helmet :) and his helper!

Sydney enjoying her hard work!

Joe and my dad and a couple other guys went on a trip to Iowa to a deer hunting "thing." :) So Sydney and I picked up my sister and headed back to the big town of Delphos to spend some time with family! We hadn't been back in a couple of months and I knew that if I didn't go back now, I didn't know I'd be able to go back again with the baby on the way. Anyhow, we got to Grandma Dodo's Friday night and Sydney was wound for sound! We ate supper while she played (she had eaten on the way) and we just chatted with Grandma for awhile. The next morning we had my cousin Erin's bridal shower and Sydney got to see the rest of her family there including her cousin Addison. It took them both awhile to warm up to one another but once they did (and once almost all of the guests left) they were running all over the place chasing each other. :)

Grandma Dodo fed us for nearly every meal....she does love to cook though I think it was a ploy to get Sydney up there too. ;) Syd jumped right in to playing like always and enjoyed being spoiled by Grandma Dodo and all of her cousins and aunts.

Maggie also had a fun-filled weekend....she came along with us and my dear cousin Traci :) was kind enough to take her out to their house for part of the weekend. Maggie enjoyed playing with their dog Scout and their calf, Little Bill. Yep, from what we hear they were romping around the yard together! She was SO out of it when we got home Sunday evening and even in to Monday! :)