Road Trip

We just returned back from a weekend road trip to Portland where we watched Daddy play 6 games of soccer.  To be honest, Carmen and I only attended 4 of the 6 games and I probably watched a total of 10 minutes of those 4 games combined.  I was busy chasing Miss Carmen up and down the field as she enthusiastically introduced herself to anyone who would pay attention to her.  She would wave, walk up and say 'hi' and blow kisses.  She quickly made friends with all of the dogs and enjoyed giving them all 'gentle touches', especially a bull dog named Gordo.  Carmen also enjoyed picking lots and lots of flowers (dandelions) and saving them for Daddy when she would proudly present them to him at the end of each game. 

Carmen was thoroughly spoiled--she loved eating out and getting crayons and ordering off the kids menu and was able to stay up way past her bed time each night and watch TV in bed.  She got to sleep with us in the big king-sized bed; she certainly got much better rest than we did as she was sleeping horizontally or sometimes upside down.  One night Daddy even slept with his head almost on the nightstand as Carmen had him squished and hanging off the side of the bed.

All and all it was a great weekend away. We had one hiccup where we encountered a dead battery that was so bad we couldn't even get the car jumped.  Hooray for AAA!  We waited only 30 minutes for help to arrive and were presented with a brand new battery and we were off.  It was fun spending the holiday weekend as a family and Carmen was quite the car trooper.  She slept most of the way there and back and happily munched on way too many snacks, which kept her occupied, when she was awake. But, with Lamby as her travel companion, she was a happy camper and so were we!

Art Work

Carmen is turning a bit crafty.  She is into stickers and likes putting them on paper and then removing them from the page and sticking them to furniture, the wall and on us (usually our feet).  She also likes crayons, not necessarily coloring with them but rather dumping them all out of the box and picking up each one and trying to put them back in the box.  She also comes home with a new art project each week from daycare. Last week it was a car and this week a daisy.  Her art is somewhat abstract and up for interpretation but it always finds it's way onto the fridge and is proudly displayed.

This is a daisy, Carmen style.

This is a car.  Notice the nice touches--the butterfly,
the propeller and my favorite, a wallaby sticker.

Crayons, lots and lots of crayons.

Weekend Adventure

This weekend we enjoyed the sunny weather by taking the ferry to Bainbridge Island for an 'adventure.'  Everything to Carmen is an adventure these days.  She liked looking at the boats, watching the birds and getting her hair blown by the wind.  But, most of all she liked running around the ferry boat with Daddy chasing after her.  We had a nice breakfast together where Carmen was well behaved and enthusiastically ate her pancake.  She then was rewarded with a piece of fudge from the candy store right after breakfast (great parenting...).  Mommy and Daddy then got a coffee treat and we all took a stroll along the waterfront.  It was a great morning and I look forward to next year's adventure to Bainbridge.

Shoes, just a tad too big, but room to grow

Carmen has found a new love...shoes!  A girl after my own heart. It's so funny to see her trying on our shoes.  She usually puts them on the wrong feet and then promptly steps out of them when she tries to walk, its more of a shuffle really.  However, she doesn't seem to like to wear her own shoes, just ours.  Just last week we almost had a shoe casualty in the grocery store when she unvelcroed them and kicked one off.  Luckily a nice customer saw the missing shoe and we quickly claimed it. 

Half Way

Hi little gummy,

Today I am 20 weeks into my pregnancy with you.  Half way to your big day, September 17th.  We just found out that you are a little boy and we couldn't be happier.  We got to see you today. You had your little hands in fists in front of your face but finally let us get a peek at your cute little nose, eyes and lips. You are 13 ounces and the size of a cantaloupe. You will change our lives for the better and we'll wonder what we every did without you. 

We are making preparations for your arrival and are also trying to do a few new projects around the house to get things in tip-top shape.  We talk about you often and wonder what your personality will be like.  Similar to Carmen's or completely different?  Will you have lots of hair?  Be a good sleeper and eater? Will you be a thumb sucker like your sister? Only time will tell. Thus far you've been a dream. I've been feeling great and am now starting to feel you move. You are definitely growing as my tummy is really starting to expand.  As you know, I love my sweets and I've been eating lots and lots of gummy bears (I've consumed a three pound bag already and we still have 20 weeks to go).  We've been calling you our little gummy since we've known you were in my tummy.

We can't wait to meet you in September, hold you and let you know how much you are loved. We feel very lucky that our family of three is becoming four.  Thank you for enriching our lives and giving us the opportunity to be parents again.  We can't wait for this next adventure.  See you in 20 weeks little gummy!

Little Miss Independent

Hard to believe our little girl is not so little anymore.  She's just over 16 months now and is developing quite the personality.  She is sweet, but headstrong, and certainly lets you know what she wants.  While her vocabulary is growing a bit each day, she still likes to enthusiastically point to what she wants just so you don't misinterpret her needs.  She is very particular.

She loves stuffed animals and dolls and has been practicing wrapping them up in blankets (or kitchen towels) and rocking and kissing them. Hopefully this lovable trend will continue with her new baby brother or sister.  She loves to line things up and then put as many things in her arms as she can carry, transport them to a new location, drop them and do it all over again.  Her new discovery is the toilet.  If she sees you heading for the bathroom she quickly runs down the hall and comes in, then squeezes herself in between the toilet and the wall so she can flush.  We've caught her a few times trying to put her hand in the toilet (or Lamby, her prize possession) so we are diligently trying to remember to keep the lid closed. 

Her hair continues to grow and her bangs are well to her nose.  It's hard to think that at one time I was convinced that the 'old man hair' she had would ever grow in. She does pretty well now keeping in her barrettes, but on occasion she pulls it out and uses it as an eating utensil (who needs a fork!).  Her current favorite foods are avocado and blueberries; she simply can't get enough and would eat these things all day if you'd let her.  She is getting quite good at drinking out of cups (particularly mommy's water bottle) and wants to do so many things by herself, including feeding herself yogurt and soup with a spoon which sometimes turns into quite a messy proposition.  She's had more baths lately due to the high volume of food in her hair after mealtime.

When you ask her a question (no matter what it is) she enthusiastically responds with 'Yeah.'  Would you like a treat? Yeah.  Would you like to eat shark fin soup for dinner?  Yeah.  Are you having a baby brother or sister? Yeah.  I'm sure she'll catch on sooner or later that Yeah is not the proper response to every question, but for now, it keeps us entertained.

She is getting really good at recognizing sounds.  When she hears the garage door she runs down the hall and stands in front of the door leading to the basement because she knows either mommy or daddy is home from work.  She knocks on the door to let you know she is standing there and waiting for you to walk through the door.  Usually the best part of my day.  She blows kisses and waves and is oh so lovable.  When she doesn't want to do something (like get her diaper changed) she tries to run and hide in the corner or duck behind something which is always funny to watch.  We usually pretend that we don't see her and are convinced that she's disappeared and when we start to walk away she pops out of her hiding spot.

She continues to make us laugh and smile with the silly things she does, the looks she gives and the noises she makes.  Although, her laugh is still by far the best.  We just can't get enough of our Little Miss Independent Carmen!

A day with Dad

Today Carmen and Daddy spent the day together while mommy was at work.  I came home to a tornado of a house, Carmen still in her jammies from the night before with a few spots of chocolate on them.  Apparently Dad decided it was time for Carmen to break-out her chocolate Easter bunny.  Needless to say, Carmen thoroughly enjoyed her day with Dad!