Glory Be!....an update.....

So...just after I published that last post.....she crashed in her crib and slept until I woke her up 2 hours later! Toddlers....you just never know, do you!

Oh No! Say It Isn't So!!!

For the last 3 days that Laina has been home with me (Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday) she has not taken a nap. She has instead played in her crib, singing, dancing (yes dancing), jumping and having a grand old time with her "buddies" (stuffed animals). Today she started yelling to me "Mommy, I need you!!!!!" and I bolted up the stairs sure I was going to find her in distress.
As I bound on into her room, she looks at me and says "Mommy, I dropped my sandwich". Well the "sandwich" was really one of her buddies blankets --- apparently they were all having a picnic and the "sandwich" fell behind her crib and this was the big emergency!

I'm not sure if Laina realizes how vital nap time is. It's my two hours in the day to do stuff! It helps me re-energize before the afternoon toddler session. And most importantly, it insures a pleasant evening because Laina is well rested. I sure hope that naps are not being slowly phased out! Stay tuned!

Here are a couple of cute pictures of Laina in her beach wear. Her bathing suit is striped and matches her cover up, hat, sunglasses and flip flops. For those of you who are not as intimate with Gymboree gear as I am (and my friend Rachel is), the whole outfit is adorned with FISH which we all know are mommy's favorite! She looks awfully adorable in the full get up and now we just need a good 80 degree day to try it all out for real! Bring on summer!

Portland Seadogs!

We took Laina to her first Portland Seadogs game yesterday and we had a great time. We didn't stay very long. The game started at 1pm which is Laina's nap time so we knew she wouldn't last very long but we went for it anyway.

We've been reading a Sesame Street book lately and in it, Elmo's plays baseball with his new friend Angela. Angela scores a home run and we always say "hooray Angela" when we get to that page. Laina keeps telling us that when she is bigger she wants to play baseball, score a home run and have everyone say "hooray Laina". She's really been into baseball lately and so we decided it was time for a Seadogs game. So we get to the park and we sit down in our seats and Laina looks around and says to Joe and I, "where's Angela". We about cried laughing - that kid is so funny. We love her logic.

Laina enjoyed a "Seadog Biscuit" which is an ice cream sandwich made out of chocolate chip cookies. Who wouldn't love that, right! I think her favorite part of the game was the enormous L.L. Bean boot that adorns the ball park (you can see it in the very back of the picture with Laina and I in the stands). Laina kept telling me "Daddy is in the boot". She also liked the stuffed animal Slugger we picked up for her on the way out of the park.

A fun day was had by all! Glory be...Spring is here!

Rhode Island Vacation

Last week Laina and I headed down to Rhode Island to visit with Auntie Di, Uncle Tommy & Cuzzie Nik. Aunt Lyn was also visiting so it was a full on family reunion! On the way down and back we stopped at Grammy & Grampy's house for a quick visit, some lunch and a potty break. The highlights of our stay at Di's were:

1. going to the REALLY cool playground down the street from Di's house. Its a playground that's not attached to an elementary school and it is just "toddler heaven". We went there a couple times and Laina is still talking about it.

2. taking a bath in Di's enormous jacuzzi tub big enough for both of us to fit in the bathtub. Laina LOVED pouring water over my head.

3. rolling down the hill next to Di's house for hours with Cuzzie Nik. Laina had such a fun time and Nik was so great just rolling, rolling and rolling down the hill over and over and over again!

4. seeing Laina sleep in a sleeping bag for the very first time. It was pink - she was adorable - she called it her "sleeper sack" and she loved it. I was jazzed that she didn't get up and wander around! Maybe she'll be able to move to a big girl bed soon - egads!

Here's a slide show of the rolling festivities!

Playdate Fun!

Last Saturday, Laina and I had a fun play date with Max, Asa & Cassie and Colby and Karla! The kids are definitely starting to get used to playing together and you can tell they are becoming friends. Here's a picture of the three of them playing feverishly with some toys. Laina's favorite part of the day was playing with the modeling clay. Cassie is SO much more laid back then me and so Laina had free reign with the modeling clay and she had a blast. I enjoyed catching up with Karla & Cassie and seeing baby Asa who is growing like a weed! It's really nice that we all still get together regularly, especially since we were so close while those 3 babies were growing inside our bellies! Laina Max & Colby went through so much together before they were even born!

Tour De Saco

As you may know, I'm training to participate in the Avon 2 Day Walk for Breast Cancer this fall (for more information click Avon link on my list of favorite spots on the web). I'll be walking 26.2 miles over the course of 48 hours in New York City this fall, along with my sister Dianne who was diagnosed with breast cancer last fall. Avon provides a suggested training schedule which I've been following pretty closely. On Friday with the gorgeous temperatures here, Laina joined me for a nice long walk. We left home at 10am and headed into town, stopped at the post office, went to Sportshoe Center to buy some new sneakers for Laina, then over to the bank, on to Shaw's to pick up a few things then we walked over to the playground and then walked home. We were out and about for 2.5 hours and although I don't consider it a real training walk, with all those stops, it did give me a nice long walk for the day. Laina was great company in the stroller. It was the first absolutely beautiful day we've had here reaching the high 70's and I was so concerned with shading Laina from the sun that I didn't think about myself and ended up with a sunburn! Here are a couple of pictures of Laina on our "Tour De Saco".

No doubt she's my daughter...

You probably know that I'm somewhat organized, tidy, and like things to match. Well, my daughter is definitely following in my footsteps. I'm really curious to know whether this is "nature" or "nurture"...Is she so particular about things because its just in her genes, or did she learn this by watching me? Fascinating stuff.

Laina knows to pick out hair clips that match her outfits. She makes sure that her socks match her clothes. She even notices when she and I both happen to match each other. She cleans up her toys when she's done playing with them. At school she encourages her friends to pick up their toys. She goes around the house closing drawers and doors around her to keep things "tidy". But yesterday, this was the best. I picked her up from daycare and apparently she got in a little tussle with her friend Evan over a chair. I think Laina probably wanted the chair and Evan wanted the chair too. In frustration, Evan tried to bite Laina and fortunately he missed biting her skin and instead he bit her shirt and she ended up with a hole in her sleeve. When we got home and she was telling me about the whole thing, she told me she wanted Evan to bite the other sleeve so that she had a hole on the other sleeve too and then she would have matching holes. Too much.

Here's a cute picture of Laina modeling one of my hats.

The world according to a 2 year old

If only life worked the same when you are an adult as it does when you are a toddler. Picture this...

Your boss tells you to start working on a project and its due yesterday and you just look at them and reply "no want to", walk away and start doing something YOU want to do instead.

You tell your husband you want to buy a new car and he tells you he doesn't think you should spend that kind of money and you reply "I want it RIGHT NOW" and you buy it.

Your bills are due and you really need to just sit down and work on the checks but instead you decide you'd rather watch reality TV and you just decree to the world, "my busy".

And of course there's my personal favorite...every day, after someone lovingly prepares your lunch, you get to take a nap (see photo above).

Oh, if only it were as simple when you get older.

A Daddy "Up-Do"

Laina and Daddy were home alone tonight while I was out running some errands. This is what I found when I came home. Daddy's learning the fine art of hair clips. Good work, Daddy.

Gymboree: A Religous Experience

It's Gymbucks time! There's something about this store that just draws me in, mesmerizes me, and brainwashes me into spending way too much money on my little girl. When I go into Gymboree, I have to go alone. I can't go with Laina because I need 100% concentration. It's crazy. There's just something about the store that overcomes me. I went to the mall alone tonight. Joe stayed home with Laina. She asked where I was going and I told her that I was going to Gymboree. Her reply, ever so precious was "you buy stuff for Laina?" Oh, she doesn't know the half of it! While at the mall I decided to pop into other favorite stores such as Bath & Body Works and I tell you...I'd just rather spend my money on Gymboree these days. What has happened to me?

So this time around what does Gymboree do? They go and create a line filled with tropical fish! I swear they do this to mess with me. They just know I love fish - I'm sure of it! My bathroom is decorated in fish, Laina's bedroom is decorated in fish, I have a fish tattooed on my foot for goodness sake! The picture above is my all time current favorite Gymbo outfit (which we are now the proud owners of). I say current favorite outfit because tomorrow they'll go and come out with some other adorable line I can't get enough of. It's going to be a snazzy summer for Ms. Laina.

Spring Fashionista

We stimulated the economy this weekend. It started on Saturday with just Laina & Mommy and we headed off to Kohl's and TJ Maxx to gather up some spring clothes that Laina can wear to school. Then on Sunday Joe, Laina & Mommy headed down to Kittery Outlets to snatch up some fun new Gymboree stuff for Laina's non school days! Here is a picture of Laina this morning before school modeling some of her new spring clothes and sneaks.

So, this morning when I brought Laina to school her little friend Adriana was also sporting some new spring clothing and the exchange between Laina and Adriana was priceless. They both realized they were wearing something new and Laina said "my new shirt...your new shirt" and then Adriana said "my shirt new too" and they kept pointing to and touching each other's new duds. They were such little people showing off their new stuff and complimenting one another. Amazing that this happens at age 2 already!

Pizza - - - pure culinary perfection

The picture says it all. The girl loves pizza and what's not to love, right. It's saucy, cheesy, bready, and just plain yummy. I think Laina would eat it 3 times a day, 7 days a week, if given the chance.

We've signed up for another class! We began our "Music Together" class this week. It meets for 10 weeks in the same location where we take dance so Laina's getting very familiar with the place. This class has about 10 kids and their parents and its all about music. There's singing and the kids can play musical instruments, the teacher plays a keyboard and sings everything. There's a section for free dance where we all just get up and dance around the room. It's very liberating to jump around the room with your 2 year old and not really care who is watching you! Each week someone gets to bring in a favorite song for the "free dance" segment. I have a sneaking suspicion we'll be bringing in "Jenny Jenkins" when it's our turn!