Lookin' old

Doesn't she look like she needs a sibling? It's funny how it seems crazy to get pregnant again when you've still got what seems like a baby in your house, and then within those 91/2 months of pregnancy, they manage to grow up so much you're worried you've waited too long. (I say that like I've done it before.) I'm not actually worried... it's perfect, but I think she's ready. Only 21 weeks to go!

P.S. A week from today is the big ultrasound!

From Hats to Words

Can't ever get her to keep her own on in the sun,

but mom's hats in the house... apparently way more fun.

She's 22 months on monday, so close to 2! Here are some of her favorite words right now:

-Hi, Bye Bye, Mommy, Daddy (Dad),“where’d _____ go?”, “there it is”, uh oh, oh no, wow, woah, wee! (These are the old-pro ones she's been saying for a while... the following are with a little bit newer confidence.)

-Shark (today for the first time but really clear) , Duck (especially Donald), Dog, Bird, Mouse (Mickey), Sheep, Pig, Ball, Tree, Car, Plane, Choo choo (as in trains, but she hasn't said train yet, she usually does it when she sees a truck- hasn't said truck either, calls it a car, and then does the hand motion and the "choo choo"... I don't know, but it's pretty cute), Balloons (aboons), Bike (after she calls it a car and I correct her), Shoe (usually wants them put on and taken off, no where in-between, like perhaps on her feet), Star, Nose, Mouth, Chin, Toes, Cheese (only says it for cheddar, suddenly over the cheese sticks after my last stock up from Costco- of course), Apple (appy), Eggs (with surprising enthusiasm, even after I started sneaking in the spinach, thank you Missy),Berries (followed by a very smily "mmmmmm"), Show (usually in a very desperate voice with puppy dog eyes pointing at the TV... sigh, what have I done?)

It's true what they say, it seemed like one day she decided she'd finally give us the pleasure of hearing some of the MANY things she was busy storing away in her mind. It is SO fun to realize how MUCH she understands and what a smart, funny, coy, AMAZING little kid she is. SO excited (and a little terrified) to see her as a big sister. I'm hoping I can slow her down for a moment and get her a little more interested in her dolls so she'll think helping me with a little one is fun. We'll see.

One good thing about Summer TV...

Possibly the only good thing... 'So You Think You Can Dance' is the highlight of my week. Totally unexposed to this world of the quintessential feminine talent growing up, I never thought I was missing out on anything by having zero skills in dance. Now I dream of hip hop and contemporary dances in my sleep, wonder what kind of woman I'd feel like wearing a gown and dancing ballroom, and sometimes, Ross and I are guilty of pausing and rewinding so we can attempt to mimic the choreography and dance along with the scantily clad teenagers.

I love this show.

Our tough girl

Ross put a rub-on tatoo on her arm when we ate at Islands the other night... it's been through like six baths and hasn't budged. I thought I might be mad at first.... but I think it's pretty cute. (To the future Sophia: cute refers to the temporary, rub-on tatoos only.)

Yesterday morning we enjoyed swimming in a gorgeous new neighborhood pool in a development where a friend just moved. Now we're off to the weekly pool day. It really is the only way to survive the summer here. We tried to go to a park in the afternoon yesterday and after about 15 minutes in the 115 degree heat, two sets of bright red cheeks, and an onset of lethargy.... we dragged ourselves to the air-conditioned car and made our way to the indoor McDonald's playground where we were both terrified by big 12 year olds running around the play structure like a herd of elephants. I was even more terrified at the realization that I'd succumbed to feeding my daughter nothing but french fries and lemonade for dinner. But I felt so bad for the heat stroke I'd put her through just moments before, all I wanted to do was make her happy. Sigh. Dreaming of that day when we wake up with dew on our plants outside.... (our then live plants.)

Our House

(Completely unrelated to the rest of my post... just enjoying a cute photo of my little girl-- I found her in her room "reading" A Whale Tale, one of her favorites. Pretty darn cute.)

Back to the title of the post...it's on the market! Probably one of the worst markets possible for selling a house out here... but it's on it, nonetheless. We're not totally desperate since, no, we're not going anywhere. So if it takes a year, it takes a year. We just figured that if we wanted to upgrade any time soon, which we do, we needed to get the ball rolling now. The whole thing is a little more exciting than I expected, and even though the average house sits on the market for over 200 days before selling, I just know, of course, that someone is going to knock on my door tomorrow and love it and buy it. So I'm keeping it very clean... we'll see how long that lasts. How on earth do you keep your house ready to show for 200+ days living with a toddler?? Maybe I'll learn some really good habits for the next house.

Happy Father's Day... to my sweet husband

To: Daddy
From: Sophia (and Mommy)



(So the song doesn't really make sense. But I've yet to find a great daddy/daughter love song. I just wasn't feeling "Butterfly Kisses." So enjoy the melody and if you get creative... some interpretations could make sense for when she gets older.)

Happy Father's Day Ross... I figured you could never see too many pictures of you and Sophia loving life together. You really are a superb father. We love you.

Little Girls and Dear Friends

I just uploaded my camera and felt like posting the latest cute ones. There's really no theme to the post except that she's wearing the same outfit and it is in fact two different days. :) But I guess you didn't need to know that.

The ones with the other adorable little girl were taken Tuesday night when we watched Sophia's friend Hallie. They were born like 4 days apart and are in the same ward. She's the cutest little thin, curly-haired thing and makes our little Sophia look even chunkier than I thought! Sophia usually seems to play with boys so it's so fun to see her romp around with another little girl to the music of little girl giggles and squeels. Loved it.

Marnie and John... are really gone. :( Did I even mention it on this yet? It's been on my mind ever since they told us a couple of weeks ago, but our sweet, sweet friends decided to flee the desert heat for Boise, Idaho. John's going to stick with the business but work independant of a big firm like Merrill. They're going to do GREAT and they'll be amongst family when their little boy is born in July. They've been some of our very closest friends out here and we're going to miss them to PIECES! (Marnie I don't have enough pictures of you guys-- this is Christmas two years ago.... way before the new tiny bum and huge belly!) Obviously still beautiful.-- She's one of those that loses weight with pregnancy...and I still love her. That tells you something.

It's Back on the Calendar

It's scheduled- and it feels so good! Rescheduling my cancelled April trip to DC has been a bit challenging what with the juggling of my schedule, Sarah's, and Lizzie's (who's watching Sophia the days I'm gone.) Not to mention the attempt to use the Delta credit I have from the cancelled trip, for a price within decent range of it. Nonetheless... I did it. September 12-17th. Flying to DC, toddler free (of course I'll miss her to PIECES), almost 30 weeks pregnant, to spend a couple of days there and then a couple in NYC with SARAH!!!!! I've never been to either city and feel a little less American because of it. Thank you, Sarah for living in such a fabulous place and making time to show it all to me!! I'm counting down the days...

She. Is. Fast.

TOO much fun- literally

Saturday, we let ourselves in to Shadow Ridge- the Marriott Vacation Club property I used to work for, for a day of fun in the sun. They have a perfect little kiddy pool and a ... dun dun dun.... slide. It looks like it was nothing but fun right. But you haven't seen her face change from smile to VILE in about .5 seconds.

Every time she hit the water and knew the slide was over, she was furious; screaming and pointing back to the slide for as long as it took Ross to get her out of the pool, climb back up the stairs, wait in line behind other orderly, rule-following children as she tried to jump out of his arms and run to the front of the line to propel herself head first if she had to- down the slide again. I have no doubt she would have done it if she could. What started out as some good old family fun took a very quick spiral downward and Ross ended up outside the gates with a screaming child in a fit in the grass while I filled my arms as fast as possible with our pool toys, snacks, towels, water, diapers, lotions, hats, back-up clothes, back-up back-up clothes, and much more I'm sure. (Please recall the bottle of water and book that I packed for our "romantic" kid-free day at the beach. Sigh.)

So it really was funny in retrospect. That is after Ross changed the flat tire that we found upon arriving to the car with our screaming Tasmanian devil. (Yes that's the truth.) It was like some evil addiction. The 8 second ride was so much fun it made her angry during every other second that couldn't be spent in the sliding motion. Some joy just isn't worth it. Maybe when she's a little older.

Oh yeah- and I'm searching for a new template and since blogger has like 9 for all of us to share, I just keep changing my mind.... I'll probably end up back where I started eventually. Opinions welcome.

Today...

I'm just loving that her hair is long enough for these...

Phase 4 "Family Beach Day"

When we were pregnant with Sophia (and Ross thought he had really wanted a boy) we were at La Jolla Shores and saw a dad coming out of the water with his little 3 year old girl (or so) in a wet suit. I saw them catch my big-softy-of-a-husband's eye, and I watched him get that face he gets when he's affected. Affected- Usually it's by something to do with honor, country, brotherhood, or children, his eyes water and he takes a deep breath in and sort of puffs out his chest, perhaps to compensate for the big softy he can't help but be from the neck up. I love it. Anyway, he did this when he saw the daddy/daughter, and ever since, I knew he was sincerely excited to have a girl. I also knew he was awaiting the day where he was that dad emerging from the awesome ocean with his little girl. So needless to say, it didn't hurt my feelings when throughout our "romantic weekend" I'm fairly certain he was counting down the hours to when he could take his little girl in the waves for the first time as a true toddler.

And this concludes the week in San Diego. Memorial Day, a gorgeous, sunny day (the pictures from before were from Sat. which were a little gray- don't be deceived, the next two were perfect- no sweatshirts Joe), we played like a family reunited after a couple of days apart. She played in the sand, went in the water with Ross and really couldn't get enough. She was fearless as always. She couldn't be stopped by the freezing cold water or the disintegrating, sand-filled, non-swim diaper containing her rear. She charged the waves and went a bit deeper than we expected, making her daddy look a bit silly for not taking his shirt off since he was chest deep and soaking wet by the end. We were so content to watch her explore and discover and react. And reminded why it's so wonderful to have children even though they make schedules, sleeping in, eating, driving, and generally most things in life... harder. And that should be the purpose of vacations right? To remember why it's all SOOOO worth it.

Vacation- successful.

Luckily, still happy to be home.