Ready , Set, Play!

Mommy has a new helper now that Baby Andy is getting bigger and it's harder to lift me. We took Kaitlyn to Ready, Set, Play the other day and she was such a trooper, she went in all the little bouncy things with me!This place is basically a huge bouncy world with about 15 different play areas. Suzy just LOVES it. She's such a vestibular kid, is anyone surprised?
Pure glee and excitement.
Mommy is so glad Kaitlyn was there. A few months ago, she was able to squeeze through these little play areas. But now, no way!

How Suzy spent Father's Day

A little golf with Daddy and Pawpop

A mirror of reflected sayings....

A few weeks ago, Suzy had a short tummy bug. Then, Mommy got it. For days, she perseverated on how we both "threw up" in the bowl. I was actually very proud of her for being able to do this at the age of two. Just to be safe, I would wrap her in a towel to help aid in minimizing mess. So, today, after we got done swimming and she announced that Emmy had a tummy ache, I wasn't too surprised at what she did. I was, however, taken aback at the conversation that occurred between her and Emmy. She is such a "little mother" and I'm so touched by how very sweet she is.

"Emmy needs to throw up. It's OK, It's OK. Feel Better. AAAAWWW what a bummer. You can do it. It's OK. Throw up, baby. I will get a rag for her. I need a big rag." It was really sweet. It was also very eerie how as she was talking, it was as if she were playing back a little tape recorder with the exact words I used with her. Just a little reminder for me that these wee ones really do soak up all that you say to them. It truly makes me want to be a better person when I think of how she is like my little mirror......

"Something Else"

I know people say to "write things down" so that's what I'm doing tonight. It seems Suzy is starting to say such cute things and I just can't remember them even the next day or when Rob gets home. But, today, I remember.

We read in the "big blue chair" every night before bed and last night she climbed up into my "lap" (more like the distal portion of my leg really) and announced, "My baby brother is taking up a lot of my Mommy's lap!"

We have a neighbor who is helping me with chores and lifting of Suzy during the mornings. When Suzy woke from her nap, she announced, "Kaitlyn is my boss. I'm gonna be the boss of Baby Andy". We'll see how well that works out for her!

On Friday, we went to my clinic to take a friend out for lunch (to Chick-A-Lay) and Suzy announced that Daddy was working at an office and Mommy works at the clinic. After a few moments of thought, she announced, "I work at Ready Set Play". I'll try and post pictures from our adventure there later. It's basically a big bounce house that Suzy LOVES.

My favorite for tonight, however, comes from bedtime with Daddy.

As he is leaving the room.....
Suzy: "Daddy, I need some more water."
Rob: "I just filled your cup, Suzy Bear."
Suzy: "I need something else."
Rob: "What do you need, Suzy?"
Suzy: long pause "Something else."
Rob: "Ok, what is it that you need?"
Suzy: "Something else."
another pause
"I need my birdies to sing to me" (We have a noise machine that has birds - it reminds her of the Doggy song from her music classes.)
Rob: "Your birdies are already on, Suzy."
Suzy: "Then I need the other birdies."
So, Rob switched to the other type of birds on the machine and all was well. I guess we have officially hit the "stalling" stage of bed time. But, still, it was pretty cute and creative on her part. I am reminded of my friends, Ashley and Andy, commenting that while they were in China people could just say, "I have a thing" and all was well. No questions asked. I guess Suzy just needs, "something else".

I had a great birthday this weekend and we celebrated with some friends from our bible study. I feel so blessed to be given the gift of time from such wonderful friends. We started the day at the water park pool. Then off to lunch with Grammy and Pawpop and dinner with everyone again at the house. It was one of the best birthdays I've had in a very long time. I'm optimistic that this will break the chain of my "yucky birthdays" of the past several years.


The sheepish grin is because Suzy blew out the candles on Mommy's pie before everyone was done singing! Thank you,Gwyneth for taking such a great shot to capture this moment!
Suzy was quite a fan of the birthday hat.

One of the best memories of the night was after dinner getting three of our four girls clean in the tub together. It was so cute. There was shaving cream everywhere! (Hence the milky water - it's just the soap.)

Some of our very close friends have a little boy, Nate Dog, who Suzy absolutely ADORES. Here she is with Aunt Ashley.This was the absolute highlight of her day. She got to help change baby Nathanial!
Pure bliss. Hardly a diaper gets changed now without Suzy requesting to be a helper. I wonder how long this will last?
I just love her expression here. She is absolutely enamored with him.
Aunt Ashley and Uncle Andy are so sweet they even let Suzy help out with Nathanial's first few rounds of solids. We are so blessed to have such great friends in our lives.

Fun with cousins!

Last week, Rob's sister and her family came for a visit. We had a great time. Here are a couple of pictures from our trip. It's hard to get three under three to all look good in the same photo. If you think Suzy looks like me, guess who I think Holly is the clone of? My sister, Laura, had my mini-me in my nephew, Jimmy, and it looks like Rob's mini-me is his niece, Holly!A little cousin love!

The ultimate incentive.... GUM! Suzy will now do all business in the potty with a little promise of some gum. At first, she would just swallow it. But now, she's even good at just chewing (with lots of inspection between bites) and then putting it in the trash can. I really wasn't all that excited about potty training this close to the birth of Baby Andy, as I'm sure she will most likely regress anyhow. But, since I'm craving sweets and gum is on the OK list - she's been requesting mine. To try and stall it off, I told her that gum was for when she is older, like when she's old enough to poop in the potty. I thought I was buying some time. Two days later, voila! Who knew? Anyone want to take bets on how long before it's stuck in her curls?

Since Daddy's company was bought by Dell, we had a perk of having really great seats at a Round Rock Express game at the Dell Diamond. I'm really getting into this baseball thing. I've been to three games now and I ask to go again and again!I'm not sure what I'm cheering for, but this is sure fun! I especially like the music they play.
I tend to take after my Mommy a bit here. I LOVE the funnel cakes! (On a side, this was one of the last yummies before the diabetes was diagnosed. Mommy cheats, but not that much!)

My little fish. I'm just not ready for her to be this big and independent yet.......

Suzy is very into "dress up" right now and it's so fun to watch her change in and out of such adorable little costumes. Her Grammy bought her a trunk full of princess outfits for Christmas last year and I've just been adding all kinds of little odds and ends that I find at garage sales here and there.


Isn't she just the cutest little bug, ever? ;)
So full of life.

A ballerina fireman. Hey, why not?

Mommy's Little Helper


I used to vacuum with Suzy in the sling. Here she is with baby Emmy modeling Mommy.Here's baby Emmy getting a diaper change. I think it's funny that her two favorite dolls are named after two of my sisters (Lola and Emmy). I especially like the photos with Emmy. She has hair that just about matches my little Suzaroo. Oddly, so does Aunt Emmy. :) Suzy is really into babies right now. She is fascinated by changing them and "patting" them. I hope she makes a good little helper when Baby Andy gets here and doesn't try and smother him! She's so very excited. She kisses and hugs my belly often and pushes her back up against my belly and says, "I want Baby Andy to bump me". Oh, and if I haven't mentioned it before, "God" is in her belly and Daddy's belly is full of butterflies. So cute.

On a side, she also made that little green blankie for her dollies. She loves the sewing machine and will actually sit on my lap and help push the peddle to make various things for her dolls.
Suzy still loves to help in the kitchen and yesterday she woke up and announced that she wanted to make pudding. It was practically torture for this Mommy who LOVES pudding but is now Gestationally Diabetic. Those who know my eating habits can understand what a sacrifice that was!

Have I ever mentioned how much I just love little hand prints? This one was left on my mirror after Suzy was perched up on my sink while I combed her hair and tried to get ready one morning. Of course, she had to have some "lotion worm" on her hand as well when I did my "belly butter" and it left a nice slimy little residue on my mirror. I left it up for nearly two weeks and decided I should just take a photo and actually clean my bathroom....

As an OT mom who teaches handwriting, how can I not be totally impressed with this? Plus, she did it while I was at a dinner "date" with a bunch of fellow therapists. It's so weird. I've never even pointed out the lines to this child or shown her how to use a tripod grasp. Even weirder, in the age of computers, I'm not sure she's seen much of my writing between lines. Most of the little chicken scratches that I do are on plain, unlined paper. Granted, I'm sure this isn't the "norm" and she'll go back and forth a gazillion times before I even introduce handwriting to her. But, I just thought I'd "brag" on this little random happening from my two year old! It just amazes me that I can work on something like this for literally hours with an older child and yet she can just "do" it unprompted. It simply humbles me and reminds me that God really did give us all different abilities and strengths.

Church Bulletin


Our church emailed a request for photos representing motherhood. So, I sent in a few pictures that I had taken of some friends as well as this one that was taken by my friend, Michelle Pragmann. The lady at church said it reminded them of a magazine photo and so they were inspired to change up the normal format of the bulletin for the Mother's Day service. I've always loved the picture, but been embarrassed by my messy hair and obvious roots. :) It was a great day of photography. Michelle had just bought a new camera and we were having some fun playing with it out in the hill country. I don't think I had showered at all and was just wanting to spend some time in fellowship with her and maybe learn some photo secrets of how to capture moments with my sweet Suzy. After seeing some of her pictures, I was inspired to start my own quest with photography. With some perspective, it really is a picture of my love for Suzy and what I hold as the ideal of Motherhood. Love with a selfless regard for oneself. Suzy couldn't care less that I was "un-kept". She was just thrilled to be spending the day with her Mommy.

My New Hooter Hider!

My good friend , Gwyneth, bought me a "Hooter Hider" for baby Andy. I'm taking the approach of letting Suzy have access to everything and making it as if I'm not just having a baby, she's getting a baby brother. So, all of the gifts and such will most likely be "well loved" by the time baby Andy arrives. I just thought this was hysterical. She's seen both Gwyneth and Ashley use these while she's around and I was surprised at how accurate she was with the whole process. Thankfully, she doesn't get it completely yet and I haven't had to give any answers at all. I think she thinks the food comes out of the belly button or something. She doesn't ask, and neither do I! :) On a side note, she has decided that "God is in my (Suzy's) belly." I figure he's in her heart, so why not! I did joke early on that she must have been another immaculate conception, so hey, it may not be too far off anyhow! :)

An added bonus, it can be turned around to be a super hero cape! Uncle Andy would be so proud!

Here's a recent picture of my big belly. Normally, I wouldn't post just a pic of me, but some of my long distance friends were wondering how big I'm getting. The answer... HUGE! Technically, I still have three months to go! For me at least, it's true that I am growing straight out with a boy. Suzy was totally different. She was All Over! :) Also, I wanted to show off my Grandma Carolyn's pearls. I wore them to a nice brunch at the Country Club that Rob's Godmother, Ramona, and her daughter-in-law hosted for me.

Some fun pics from the park.


Suzy woke up from an awesome nap today and I discovered that her "new room" is like a sauna. Granted, I knew that room was warmer and hence why we are wanting to put baby Andy in her "old room". However, I didn't realize just how warm it got until she woke up this afternoon a sweaty little mess. On the upside, her curls LOVE humidity. So, I made good of the situation and after adjusting the air conditioning and adjusting the blinds, we headed off to the park to capture these splendid little curls she was sporting. :)


Here she is playing with my Gorilapod (fancy tripod). I wonder if she'll ever take an interest in photography? She's already beginning to show some signs. At the baseball game the other night, she was very content playing with the point and shoot camera and actually kinda got the hang of it! I'll try and post those sometime later this month.
Here is my little humid goldilocks.





I think she's got great locks for locks of love, if only it would grow enough to donate it! :)