A Whole Hand!

Even though Sydney's actual birthday isn't until Thursday, we celebrated in a BIG way yesterday. We started off the day at the butt-crack of 7am, much to my dismay, with choruses of "Is it my party yet?" and "When can I open presents?" After breakfast and waking up the other half, I ran around finishing up some last minute errands- cake and balloons and various supplies my already overloaded pregnant brain didn't think about until that very moment like, ya know...forks.

Once everything was set up and organized, it wasn't long before guests started showing up. I insisted on taking pictures of the party preparations- for prosperity's sake.

My good friend Jessica was kind enough to bring by her bounce house for the kids to occupy themselves with until the main event arrived. It always amazes me how often it is that buying something outright ends up being cheaper than renting it. Such is the case of the bounce house.

Guests began trickling in at 12:45, and I promptly entered the Hostess phase of my many masks for the day. Bubble wands and sidewalk chalk were presented for the amusement of FAR too many children under the age of 7 than I cared to admit I had the non-existent sense in inviting. In all reality, it was not the unpleasant experience I make it out to be, but it was ALOT for everyone.

We had various family members without children stop by with birthday wishes for the big girl, but most didn't stay long- it was obvious this was an absolutely kid-oriented party, and I dont blame them one bit for getting the heck outta Dodge while they still could!

Then it was time for the sugar-high of cake before my promised entertainment arrived to wear the kids out for the evening. The cake was a HUGE hit, and the cacophony of voices that rose up in a slightly off-key rendition of "Happy Birthday" was both heart-warming and a reminder of why it is mostly blissfully ignorant drunks that participate in karaoke contests.

Once everyone was properly infested with sugary goodness, it wasn't long before the ever talked-about FunBus arrived. I may have been a bit premature in my announcement to about 12 children between the ages of 3 and 7 of the great beasts arrival, so it was then my responsibility to corral the little rascals until the bringers of said contained fun had a chance to set up. It was not easy, but my background in preschool education served me well. It also erupted a variation of frightened looks and amused grins from the adult party goers.

After several stirring rounds of "If you're happy and you know it" the bus crew declared they were "ready" (yea right- have they MET these kids?) and the crew of merry-makers were off.

The bus was a great break for the adults throwing the party- namely me- to sit down during this blissful intermission and snag a piece of cake for themselves, as re-hydrate before the chaos re-ensued after just a short hour. The kids didn't even seem to notice the sudden absence of their caregivers.

Now that everyone was properly worn out, wearing the afterglow of organized calorie-burning, preschool-style,it was time for the girl of the day to find out what sweet loot she acquired.

Quite frankly, she made out like a bandit.

Toys

Shoes

Games

Clothes

After all that, I'm seriously considering skipping Christmas this year. Seriously- where am I supposed to put all this fresh loot? Oh yea...

Yea, I still have to clean that...

After the bulk of the guests left, there a small, intimate group left to open, sort, and more importantly, test the new toys before they made it to their ultimate home- seen above.

A team of highly trained Russian circus bears were strapped with the task of assembling all toys that required assembly "by an adult" And by circus bears, I of course mean my ever patient and kid-at-heart fiancée Tim.

God love him, despite his well-known anxiety issues, he never once excused himself from the party, never walked outside under the guise of "we need more ice" or anything of the sort. Seriously, this guy deserves a medal.

Once all the toys were accounted for, Sydney asked that a few of her closest girlfriends stay to "break in" her new toys. I cautiously agreed, and was pleasantly surprised when the group remained calm, cool and collected for 2 hours after the party was to have ceased.

Overall, it was a wonderful day for my wonderful little girl. I put in alot of work putting this shin-dig together, and it was all worth it for the look of absolute wonder that was plastered on my daughter's face all day.

Now, to get planning for next years party.....

Little help here...?

It OK- we're all mad here!

Apparently, the Powers That Be would like to be sure I'm ABSOLUTELY ready for the chaos that will ensue once Squirt is here. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of accomplishments and obstacles. I took my NLN exam for entry into the RN program and scored a 99% Squishy and I had a nice relaxing day at the beach with some treasured family members:

It was slightly overcast, but sometimes thats more dangerous than when its super sunny out, as you're not uncomfortable enough to think "herm- I should re-apply my sunscreen" So Squishy and I both came home with minor sunburns. It was, overall, a glorious day.

Squishy and Grandma Rose...pretending to be on a watery roller coaster? Whatever they were doing, they were having a blast!

In other recent news, Squishy got her first "real" haircut in a salon, and did GREAT!

She also got to dye her hair blue as a reward for good behavior at school for a whole MONTH!

And I have been busily planned her super rad dino-themed birthday party which will be held on August 28th complete with the FunBus!

A good time is sure to be had by all, and all kids are promised to be returned worn out and NOT high on cake (yea right...)

Pictures of that fun extravaganza will be posted afterwards!

Until then, adeiu!

Its a ZOO out there!

Yesterday was our family outing to the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, FL. It went well, considering the complications- we got rained out and Squishy refused a proper lunch, which led to SUPER MELTDOWN EXTRAVAGANZA!

She was so excited to go that morning:

Luckily, we made it out the door at the respectable time of 10am, and got there at 11am. After being forced to park in the next county over (OK, not really, but thats what it felt like!) Squishy got tired of walking and requested a lift:

It was in the 90's, so it was definitely a tiring day. We saw a few animals, then stopped for a lunch break before hopping on the train tour included in our ticket price. Squishy was oddly off-put by the train, but quickly recovered once we got going and started seeing the African Savannah animals we promised her!

We got to feed some Key Deer- with some help from Tim-Daddy. The does were VERY gentle and Squishy was tickled pink!

We saw Squishy's favorite bird of prey- the Bald Eagle. We stood here for a good 15 minutes just staring

We saw "Giant Whizzys" aka River otters (yes, Whizzy is a ferret!)

Then we tried our hand at feeding the emu- who admittedly, was not quite as gentle as the Key Deer....We left the actual feeding in the capable hands of the Tim-Daddy

Then, we hiked off the refreshing rainforest coolness of the aviary where we fed tiny, yet very bossy Lorikeets from even tinier cups of red nectar mush.

Then, next to the aviary was a beautiful butterfly garden which afforded my camera multiple opportunities to show off its fine focusing prowess!

We entered Expidition Africa just as we were mentioning the plesant coolness that had fallen over the zoo. With full intent to feed the giraffes as promised, we trekked to the viewing platform only to be met with the impregnated drops of what promised to be a fun adventure out to the car in the next few minutes. Not before Squishy demonstrated her intimate knowledge of giraffe anatomy:

And then, the waiting game until our savior, Tim-Daddy, offered to retrieve the car on the midst of the chaos falling from the sky.

Overall, it was a fabulous family day.

The Beginning of the Beginning

I think this blog is going to replace the traditional hardcopy "Baby Book" of yore. With Squishy, my oldest daughter, there were so many things that should have been recorded- both in words and pictures. This time, I'm taking full advantage of the interwebs to record the miraculous journey from single celled zygote to cooing, pooing infant, to running, screaming toddler.

To get caught up, I took a pregnancy test on April Fool's Day. Jokes on me- it was positive. No, this was not planned. What with having made the decision to attend school full-time starting in August 2009, having quit my job, this may not have been the best timing to bring a new little life into the world, but it was what it was. I've been known to work better while flying by the seat of my pants.

Two weeks later, myself and Squishy went to a free clinic to get an ultrasound to be sure that the Depo Provera shot I received on March 1st hadn't affected my new additions development in any way.

Besides looking slightly like some kind of sea monkey/ant hybrid, everything looked to be where it should be. They estimated my due date at about November 14-16th.

I felt the peanuts first flutters at about 10 weeks.

I started showing (to myself) at about 12 weeks- MUCH earlier than with Sydney.

12 weeks with Squishy:

12 weeks with Squirt:

Big difference, huh? Anyhow...

We had our BIG ultrasound on June 11th- the worst part of which was the undeniably ridiculous request to "Drink 32oz of water starting 1hr before the appt time" that they so carefully wrote on my Rx card to bring with me to the hospital. Really?!?! OK, whatever- I'll indulge in your silly medieval torture-like request. Oh, whats that? The fullness of my bladder is distorting the ultrasound images? Oh, I'm sorry- wasn't it YOU WHO TOLD ME TO DRINK THAT FRIGGIN MUCH IN THE FIRST PLACE?!?!

In the end, we got some AWESOME picture of our little girl!

nose/mouth shot

Profile

The cutest tootsies on the PLANET! (besides Squishy's, of course!)

Right set of arm/leg

And now, at just a day shy of 24 weeks (which I found out, if just the BEGINNING of your 6th month) little Squirt has developed quite a personality already! She likes to play when I'm trying to eat, sleep or especially when I'm trying to down my (HOT) morning coffee. But she always seems to calm at my touch. She can recognize her sister's voice, and will calmly wiggle when Squishy reads her stories, sings songs, or when we're just being silly together.

Squishy is very matter-of-fact about her upcoming responsibilities, and seems to grasp the almost non-existent list of activities her new baby sister will be able to participate in after her screaming, messy entrance into the mortal world. Squishy does, however, seem quite confident in her ability to teach Baby Squirt the very important skills of talking, walking and relieving herself on the potty instead of in her icky diaper.

Only time will tell if Squishy's ambition pays off.