March 19 - The New Face of Forty

 
 
 
 

My family and I got together to celebrate my 40th birthday on Sunday (b.day was the 26th) It was really nice getting together with everyone, and my new toy (the gowearfit) kept me reasonable with the food intake. I mean, don't get me wrong... I had TWO servings of Grasshopper Pie AND a cupcake, but the scale didn't hate me the next day.

I'm really looking forward to weight loss after the baby comes :-)

I got some very nice presents from my family. Kevin got me the Gowearfit, of course. My parents got me a pretty necklace, jammies, and a cast iron casserole dish. I'm excited to try that out! I also got 2 g.c. for pedicures, which I'm looking forward to! And Damon/Shelly/Austin/Brittnee got me some nice face lotion and an all in one shampoo/bodywash. I'm already finding the lotion very helpful with some redness in my cheeks!

My Mother-in-law and siblings-in-law each got me wonderful Amazon gift certificates, and I'm VERY excited to use them as well!!!!!!!!

March 28 - Big Girl Lunch

 
 
 
 


I'm getting to be such a big girl. I've started eating at the dining room table. Mommy even added a booster seat so I don't have to sit in my high chair anymore. Here are some pictures of me eating lunch at the table. I had a nice day with Daddy today. Dad gave Mommy a "ME" day so she could go run a bunch of errands. She even got on the treadmill in the morning!

This afternoon, we went to see Uncle Ross and Aunt Lynn so we could celebrate Mommy's birthday. We had a great spaghetti dinner, though I had more fruit and bread than spaghetti. Mommy got some awesome golf stuff for her birthday and we had a lovely time with the Igguldens. They leave tomorrow for HAWAII, where Ross and Lynn are getting MARRIED WOO HOOOO!!!

March 20 - 22 Outside, Outside

I have a laundry list of things to write about for this weekend, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I think I'll just post the pics, and if I ever get around to it, I'll actually edit the text!

 
 
 
 

March 16 - Monkeys, Dance Lessons, PT

 
 
 
 

Katie was enjoying a banana this morning, and the fact that she's wearing her Monkey sleeper made it for quite a photo op.

Katie didn't sleep well last night. She had to be rocked asleep by Daddy, and she wanted NOTHING to do with Mommy. Mommy came in to see if she could help or intervene, and Katie kept sobbing, "Bye, Mommy".

She was a little fussy at Grandma's this morning, but that didn't stop Grandma from taking Katie to her dance lesson in Camas. Katie was very shy around the other children and parents/grandparents. After the dance class was over and some of the kids had left, grandma had brought Katie to the play area. She was pretty upset at first when Grandma went to pay for the lessons, but as long as grandma was near by, she warmed up. After a while, it was a challenge just getting Katie to leave the play area. :-)

One of the songs they dance to was "Twinkle Twinkle". When it came time to do a motion for stars, Katie kept doing the sign for stars :-)

Katie had a nice afternoon with Grandpa. She took a nice walk and spent some good time outside, until the rain came.

I went to the Doc this morning for my back pain. It's in the sacroililal joint (or something like that). I got a referral for Physical Therapy. I was able to make an appointment this afternoon with a PT in Ridgefield. I will see him twice a week at least through the pregnancy. As long as I do the work, I think it'll help me quite a bit. Hope so, anyway. The back pain has been debilitating, and I've been idle for far too long. It's not fair to me, Katie, Kevin or the baby.

March 15 - Quiet Day

 
 
 
 

I guess today was a recovery day. Katie didn't get up until around 7:45 this morning. We went out for breakfast. Even though the service was incredibly slow for a Pregnant woman and a toddler, Katie and I handled ourselves very well :-)

After breakfast, we picked up a few groceries, and then we laid low at home. I was incredibly exhausted, so I spent a little too much time lounging on the couch. I did manage to get out with Katie for a walk, though. I was glad to bring the stroller, because I ended up using it a couple of times with Katie... Once voluntarily for Katie, once involuntarily :-) She and I couldn't come to an agreement on whether or not to continue digging rocks out of a decorative drainage area or to go for a walk back towards our house. So, after some unsuccessful "negotiations", Katie ended up in the stroller. She only protested slightly. Once we got back to our development, I let Katie back out of the stroller and gave her her wagon. We'd run into Daddy with his camera, so he took some pictures of us at the tail end of our walk.

Katie didn't nap well today, and was a little fussy this evening, which was tough.

March 14 - Busy day!

Today, we had a bridal shower for our friend Lynn, who is marrying our best friend Ross. Or, as Katie would call them, Aunt Wynn and UNK-le Woss. Katie had a nice bath in the morning and a very nice 2.5 hour nap (whew). She had such a late lunch that people started arriving before she was done eating!

Katie was incredibly shy with all the people here (and there were lots!) The shower was very nice. Lynn's friends, co-workers and family had very nice things to say about here, and it was just a big love-in (as bridal showers should be!)

Katie and Mommy were POOPED by the end of the shower. In fact, Kevin and I missed the Caring Hearts Banquet, which was disappointing. I thought I could rally, but by 5:30, I knew it would not be a smart idea (my back was aching and I was very worn out).

Long day!

 
 
 
 

March 9 - Nice weekend

Katie had a nice weekend. On Friday, she and Mommy went to Toddler Story Time at the Ridgefield Library. It was CROWDED. There were 16 toddlers and an infant. Katie is still pretty shy around other kids. She did come closer to participating in the bubble popping. She also had fun doing an activity shaking bells to music. When the music stops, the shaking stops... she did a good job at that (it pays to shake the bells slowly, ha) The librarian read 3 stories about cats, and they were very cute. After, we hung out for almost an hour playing with the toys. It was nice to chat a little with the other moms. This is the 3rd week in a row we've gone (is it becoming a habit???), and at least 2 of the mommies have been there each time and another couple moms have been there twice. It would be nice to eventually get to know some of the other Moms and kids.

After we left story time, I managed to (barely) wrangle Katie into the car. Although the sun was shining brightly, it was CHILLY, so I didn't want to take Katie to the park. Katie got upset when I put her in the car, but a train whistle intervened long enough for me to strap her in. When she heard the whistle, she said, "Train, train" and started doing the sign for train.

We'll definitely go to the park this Friday after storytime, when the temperature is supposed to be warmer.

When we got home, Katie had a really good lunch and a pretty good nap (from what I can remember)

Later in the day, Daddy took Katie for a walk. It was bitter cold with the wind, so they got back a little earlier than expected. Daddy was willing to go back outside with Katie, but she refused to put on mittens and her hat, so that was that; she didn't handle that all that well, but we are working on our Love and Logic responses :-)

Saturday, after a yummy breakfast of blueberry pancakes and a good bath for Katie, we went over to the g'rents. We loitered long enough for Mommy and Daddy to enjoy a cup of coffee (yes, I/we were THAT tired), and then we went kid-free to run errands. That makes for nice weekends, and Katie always enjoys her time with the grandparents. While we were gone, she went for a few little walks, had a 2 hour nap, and a great lunch. She was having a wonderful time when we showed up.

Sunday, we woke up to Daylight Savings (too early, even by our standards) and a dusting of snow. The day was spent indoors (Not sure any of us made it out of our jammies) with lots of house cleaning, daddy getting ALL of the laundry caught up. I was able to do some of the house cleaning before my back said, "uhhhh.... time to take a break" Katie had a mixed day. She woke up too early, didn't nap but maybe 45 minutes, and was a bit fussy. Still, she had a good time playing basketball, playing with her puzzles, reading books, watching golf with Daddy, and she and Mommy watched "Heffalump" (mommy mostly watched with her eyes closed).

The pictures are of Katie playing basketball with a balloon. Now, the incredible thing about this balloon is she was given the balloon by an employee at Fred Meyer Jeweler on Friday, February 6. The balloon is STILL intact over a month later. I've never seen a balloon with such lasting power... she has sat on it and everything.

Katie had a good Monday with Grandma and Grandpa. She was to go to dance class with Grandma, but when they got there, the doors were locked, the lights were off... Perhaps the dance teacher hadn't changed her clocks? Kind of a disappointment, especially since this was the first week Grandma and Katie were able to go.

Katie had fun playing catch (Pway Cat) with Grandma. When Grandma would catch the ball, Katie would say, "Good Girl!" I can only picture how cute that was!

 
 
 
 

March 5 - Fun with Finger Painting

The pictures and slide show say it all!! I made some finger paints using corn syrup and food coloring. Katie had quite a good time.

Katie is 21 months old today and is officially off the bottle!! The first night went pretty well. We warmed her milk in her sippy cup, and though she protested only slightly, she did fine.

We got her some real finger paint, smaller chalk for her easel, and playdough at Target this evening. It'll be nice to switch up her days with some new fun, a la Crayola!

Enjoy the pictures!

 
 
 
 

March 2 - Day With Daddy - In Katie's words

 
 
 
 

Grandma and Grandpa were on their way home from California, so Daddy took the day off today. We had the BEST time!! After a morning bath, Daddy took me to one of the many parks up in Heron Ridge. If you cannot tell from the pictures, I had a fantastic time!! We also went to the post office, and if the library had been open, we would have made an appearance!

After lunch and a good nap, we took a good walk to the mailbox. It's amazing how I can turn a few hundred yards into an hour-long adventure! I get very focused looking for "baby rocks"

I was in a great mood most of the day. Probably because of all the fresh air I got and the new activities I did. In fact, I didn't really get cranky until Mommy showed up!

We had to hustle out the door so we could run a few errands before we met Uncle Woss and Aunt Lynn at Chevy's to celebrate Ross' Birthday. Most of the trip to the restaurant, I kept giggling and saying, "Uncle Woss... UNCLE Woss..." Mommy's getting a little concerned :-)

I must have thought Lynn was looking a little thin, because I kept handing her my tortilla chips, grapes, & goldfish crackers to eat. She has a busy few weeks before the wedding, so I wanted to make sure she kept her strength up!!

I got a bit upset when the waitstaff came over to sing Happy Birthday to Uncle Woss and started wailing (let's face it, I was probably a little tired, too) Nothing a few walks around the restaurant to look at grownups and babies couldn't cure, though!

I'm sure there's more to type up, but frankly, Mommy is writing this for me, and she's plum tired!! If I think of anymore tidbits, I'll update this.

March 1 - Skinny kid (?)

I know it may not look like it, but I was almost shocked to see how much Katie has thinned out. I really noticed it in these pictures. She still has baby fat, but her tummy is much leaner than a few months ago.

Yet another indication that our baby girl is growing up!!