"Mimi"

I just have to say, that Sydney makes me laugh literally every day!  Lately she has been calling me "mimi".  She will yell at me from across the apartment, "MIMI!"  and come running to me.  It is just so funny and cute.  I think she got it because she used to say mama, and would  hear Matt saying mommy, so she started saying mimi.  Anyway, here are a few pictures of her antics this past week...

I have to laugh that no one got my very subtle hint that we were having a baby!  Truthfully, I wasn't sure if I wanted the news out yet, so I made it subtle.  But news travels fast, and relatives keep writing on my facebook wall, so I figured I better just spell it out and spill the beans!  As far as baby news goes... I know I haven't shared much, because truly there is not much to share.  I'm about 9 weeks along, so not very far... I see the doctor on March 16th for my first appointment and will have an official due date then, but as far as my calculations go, I'm thinking it's on or around October 10th.  I haven't been feeling great... I get sick mostly in the evenings and at night, which makes sleeping hard.  But, I do know that it could be a lot worse.  The main thing is that I've been very TIRED.  I run out of energy very quickly!  I am looking forward to the 2nd trimester, when I will be feeling better and pregnancy will just be normal.  It kind of hasn't sunk in yet, probably because I haven't gone to the doctor.  I think also, I haven't been as anxious about what pregnancy will be like, or what it will be like to have a baby, since I have experienced it before.  So, it hasn't been on my mind as much as with Sydney.  But, we are very excited to be having another baby!  It is kind of weird to think about it, since Sydney still seems so little, but she will be almost 2 (23 months) by the time the baby arrives, so we are excited that they will be able to be pretty close in age.  I am afraid that this baby will rock her world though!  Sydney loves our attention, so it will be quite an adjustment, as I'm sure every baby is... but we have plenty of time to worry about that!  It's a good thing that pregnancy lasts 9 months, otherwise I don't know how we'd ever be prepared!

The News is Out!

Simply put... read Sydney's valentine! Nobody really got it, but I have heard suspicions.

February

This month has been an exciting one for us! We have officially decided that we are moving and purchasing a condo in Daybreak! We have picked out colors, put some money down, and are waiting for it to be finished in May! Our contract for our apartment is up at the end of March, so we will be moving out then, and will be in limbo, living with some friends in their basement for about a month and a half. We are excited to have our own place though! It will still be pretty small, (bigger than where we are now) about the size of a 3 bedroom apartment (a little bigger) but we will have our own garage and lots of amenities, like swimming pools, gym memberships (with daycare provided) and other things! Plus we get to pick out our own colors of paint, cupboards, carpet, etc- which has been exciting...I only wish I were a better decorator! Here is a picture of the stuff we picked out- the wood is the kitchen floor, linoleum (left) bathrooms and laundry room floors, cupboards to the right, carpet at the bottom, paint colors in the middle, and counter tops in the middle.



Sydney has grown up a lot this month. She climbs everything, and is starting to say a lot more. She says a lot of simple words: ma-ma, da-da, baby, ba-ba, bubbles, (the "name" of one of her bath toys- I was showing her it blew bubbles, and from now on she calls it bubbles) ball, (both balls & balloons), nana, (banana) nummy, (food) cookie, and others. It is so fun to watch her imitate words that we say! And she is understanding a lot now. I can tell her to go get her shoes, or a diaper, and she will. She knows many body parts: nose, eyes, ears, hair, teeth, tounge, feet, and hands. She is so curious and outgoing. She will 'talk' to anyone, and is into everything. It is fun to watch her learn new things every day! Here are a few pictures of her from this past month-

climbing

sleeping

showing me her teeth (Love this one!)

We had a fun Valentines Day! We didn't do a lot, because we had just celebrated with a night out and a babysitter for Matt's birthday. But we enjoyed being lazy at home, making sugar cookies, and valentines. It was a lot of fun just spending time together. Here are the valentines that Sydney gave out to members of our family!

Sydney's La-Z-Boy

A couple of weeks ago we got Sydney's old infant car seat out of the storage closet. It has been sitting in our family room next to the tv since then, and it is Sydney's favorite place to sit! She is constantly taking books over to sit and read. She'll take dolls over and sits them on her lap. And my favorite...she takes her sippy cup over and sets it on the subwoofer next to the chair, like its a cup holder, and pulls her blanky up on her lap! It is her new favorite place! Now her La-Z-Boy is just apart of our room...it's too cute to put back in the storage closet!

Matt's Birthday

As Matt likes to say he turned "a quarter of a century old" on Thursday. We celebrated that day with a small cake and ice cream along with presents and a special surprise that morning. It was a small celebration because it was a Thursday, which may have actually made Matt's birthday a bigger celebration, because then we celebrated the rest of the weekend. On Friday, Allie and Brett watched Sydney while Matt and I went on a date. We went to dinner and a movie. It was very enjoyable to go to a movie without a baby in tote, and we had a fun night! On Saturday, we went to dinner again with Chris and Lisa and then watched a movie at their apartment. And on Sunday, we had birthday cake and ice cream with my family, as well as Matt's favorite dinner- meatloaf. It was a great, fun filled, weekend! Happy 25 Matt!

Uh Oh!!!

Sydney has been finding lots of new places to play and things to play with. Which has caused a lot of closed doors, things on higher shelves, etc. We have a NEVER-ENDING problem, because there are just not enough high shelves to put things on. I guess we'll just have to teach Sydney not to touch things, instead of avoid the problem! Several months ago we had to cover up the computer on/off switch, because Sydney loves buttons...

...and this is what I found a few days ago...

I can't really tape the lid shut! Hopefully it was a one time thing!

We've Got a Climber!

It has been so much fun watching Sydney explore the world around her the past couple of months! She just seems to love life and love learning. She keeps growing- but hasn't gained much weight because of walking and getting sick. However, she is a teeth-growing machine! She now has 8 full teeth and 2 MOLARS on the way. She has learned so much since turning one- it is amazing! Here are a few of Sydney's favorite things:

1. Baths! Her new favorite thing is to lay down in the bath tub...

2. Copying- Sydney will try to copy anything other people are doing. She tries to put people's shoes on, vacuum, feed or put clothes on her dolls, and play with purses...

3. Reading (still)...


4. Coloring! We don't bust out the crayons very often, but anytime she can get her hand on a pen and paper she tries!

5. Getting into cupboards, drawers, closets, etc... and smiling about the messes she makes! Sometimes she sits in the cupboard, closes the door, and plays peek-a-boo! She also likes to shut herself in the closet and play with mom's shoes!


6. Boxes! At Christmastime we got several packages, and every time we got one Sydney would immediately climb onto the top of the box when I would bring it in. Then, when the contents were out of the box, she would climb on inside. Who needs toys?


7. Playing! Sydney plays by herself a lot! Many times she ends up in her room, with the door closed, playing with her toys. Here she is inside her basket-which brings us to her ultimate favorite thing...


8. CLIMBING! Sydney climbs onto or into ANYTHING she can. (As evidence from the pictures)