Christms is Coming....Like a Speeding Train!

I really need to become one of those people who can start the Christmas season before Thanksgiving. But I just can't get in the spirit until the leftovers are eaten. I always think I have a lot of time to get everything done AND enjoy the season. But with family far away, I have to keep track of shipping time, or be prepared to pay a premium to make sure gifts arrive on time. In my head this date is next Friday! But even then, I might be late. The end of the year is coming so fast, but then it always does. It's not like Christmas moves dates during the year. And I love the holiday season, I really do! David thinks I'm a grinch, but I love the lights, the giving, the tree!

We had a holiday party at the gym tonight for the Xcel team girls and it was so much fun. I brought Indigo because David is helping a local circus show that opens next weekend. She had a blast! I am so excited to see if she would actually enjoy a class. Fingers crossed that she can have a few fun years before growing into her body. David frequently apologizes for making her too tall to be a gymnast. But who knows, one of the best girls on my high school team was one of the tallest. The girls just loved playing with her and helping her jump on the tramp and play on the equipment. I love those girls!

Indigo is developing language so quickly. We can hardly keep up with the things she says. Her favorite is to boss us around. She will say "sit here," or "sit down" with such authority we have no choice but to obey. And it is nice to know what she is asking for. Mostly it's "want juice," "Dora (the Explorer)" or "Suh Pak" (South Park - thanks daddy!). She is also still signing quite a bit. Mostly the signs for more and please. When she rubs her chest with her hands and says "peas," She can have just about anything. It just melts my heart.

Her current favorite songs are "Mahna Mahna" and the dreidel song (from the South Park Christmas album - again, thanks daddy!). I suppose we'll have to cut her off from that stuff shortly, but it's pretty cute right now. 

I can't wait for Indigo to see all the presents under the tree this year. I think we have overestimated how much she will enjoy her gifts on Christmas. I think this will be the year of the boxes. I will have to find a few big ones for her to play in. I do think she will enjoy her gifts in the long run. She is already enjoying the kitchen that Auntie Leigh bought. She makes everyone coffee when we are visiting. It is too cute.

She crashed in the car on the way home. I was smart enough to put her PJs on at the gym. She spends enough nights sleeping in her clothes like a frat boy due to our crazy schedule. I'm watching "The Full Monty" (freakin' love that movie) and waiting for David to get home after tech. Until next time!

Toddler Trick or Treating

Trick or Treating with a toddler is SO MUCH FUN! Indigo was a pro. We went to my friend Emily's parents' house and went around with Indigo's friend Eli (or as she has started calling him - eye-lye). After we pulled her out of the first house (I think she wanted to see if Elmo played at their house too), she really had it down. She loved taking the candy and was good about saying thank you. I asked her what she would say when she knocked on the door and she said "knock, knock." Duh, momma!

She dressed up as Abby Caddaby (Elmo's friend on Sesame Street) and was SO cute. Emily helped with the idea and Lissa and Erin sent the hat, wand and Abby onesie. We just had so much fun. Halloween is pretty weird though. We spend 364 days teaching stranger danger and then the kids get one night where the beg candy from strangers in the dark. Too funny. 

She is really communicating now. When she wants to hear "Call Me Maybe," she says 'ca be baby?' and "Good Time," (also Carly Rae Jepsen) she sings 'ooh oh o.' so we know exactly what she wants! She has started wanting more reading time. She asks for "Night Moon" and loves how daddy reads it. She also loves to dance. So we try to have lots of time to dance at home. 

Life is good, busy as always. David has a work thing tonight so baby is in bed and I'm watching 'Mirror Mirror'. It's ok. I wish it wasn't filmed on a sound stage, and it's a bit slow. But beautiful design and the girl is cute. Earlier this week we watched 'Life as We Know It." Really good! When they have to figure out how to take care of the baby and the problems they encounter - so real! Of course the whole plot of the movie revolved around an orphaned girl. David and I both wanted to wake Indigo up and promise not to die on her! But that is depressing so we'll move on. 

I have to start making notes before I write. I have thoughts all day and then totally forget when I have time to blog. Guess I'll never go pro. I'll just keep plugging along, posting pictures of my cute kid.

Don't forget to vote! You can't complain if you don't participate. 

See...I'm still here

So it's "year-end" again at work. That glorious time when we work like dogs and REALLY wish the crazy big renewal season for most of our clients didn't coincide with Thanksgiving and Christmas. It's also another time of year that I get screwed up on the season - the weather is nice here (windows open tonight, woot woot!) which makes me think it's spring and all my work is for 1/1/13 and beyond. So I get really confused. I know it's dumb. And then I suggested that my sister plan a backyard baptism - in February - in Minnesota! I'm really losing it...Or I'm finally becoming a native? 

Indigo is awesome! She is learning new words every day. And she is so funny! I coached last night and David put on Sesame Street and lounged on the couch and she said "night, night" and started patting his back and darn if he didn't fall asleep!

Life is good, we are blessed in so many ways. I'll keep this short and add the pictures that David's sister-in-law, Danelle took at the family reunion. They turned out really great!

I Did a Kip!

At the gym today, the team was on bars and I decided to show them proper form to do a kip (a fairly basic skill to mount the bars, but an easy one to lose if you don't work those muscles often enough). I totally didn't expect to make it, I just wanted to show them technique and then halfway through the swing, it felt pretty good, so I gave it a shot and made it! I haven't done a kip since before Indigo! It felt pretty good to make it (maybe I haven't totally let myself go). Then I went to pit bar and did a flyaway. I'm not sure I can land them anymore, but it's fun to flip into the pit! 

Indigo got to come to the gym today too. I brought her with me and David picked her up after his meeting. She LOVED jumping on the trampoline! We should probably go to toddler open gym sometime. I think they have mommy and me classes, but they are at like 9:00 am on Thursdays. Once in awhile I think it might be nice to be a stay at home mom but luckily (for me, and the fact that I have to go to work everyday), it's not very often!

All of that was just a silly segue into our vacation recap. I think because the only other time I had a chance to visit St. Louis, I went to gymnastics camp instead. So Amanda has seen the city, but I never have. It is a lovely town. I can totally see why my friend Tristin wanted to return. That, and the endless supply of family members to love on her adorable daughter Sophie! Seems like a win-win. 

Breakfast at the airport

We had a great time with David's family. His aunt and uncle were fabulous hosts. And we spent the weekend at Heartland Lodge in Illinois. Being the oldest cousin, with the newest baby, they spoiled us with a whirlpool suite and a gloriously soft bed. It was so much fun to see his mom's entire family again. All the brothers and sisters fell in together like they didn't live all over the country. And the cousins all had a great time riding dirt bikes and hanging out together. Indigo enjoyed all the attention from everyone and was very well behaved. I was worried that we didn't bring any toys for her, but she found a tray of polished rocks which kept her busy for the better part of a day. David's cousin Shanell played "hide the rock" in her hands and under her feet for at least 20 minutes! That's my girl. Mensa-bound, I swear. 

Hell St Louis!

David's sister-in-law is a photographer and she took the family picture as well as individual families. I think they turned out pretty well - I'll post once I have copies. 

I also spent a morning with my friend Tristin who used to work with me at CVS Caremark. She has a lovely home and a beautiful baby daughter. Indigo played very nicely with Sophie. We had snacks and went for a great walk on a wooded path that opened up to a really fun park. Indigo fell asleep on the walk back and then we said goodbye. I sure hope I get to see Tristin again soon. It was funny how it felt like last week that I saw her but I think it's been almost 3 years! Where has the time gone?

Ted Drewes custard - Yum!

We spent the rest of the day with David's sister Erin and his aunt Lauri. We swam and relaxed until Erin and my M-I-L had to leave for the airport. Then we headed home and it was back to the grind. Saturday is Date Night. We have tickets to see our friend Ron perform "The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs" at Actors Theatre. The show got a lot of attention for shedding light on terrible conditions at the Apple manufacturers in China. But then it turns out the author/performer took several liberties with the story. The apology given by Ira Glass for running the story as news and not art was almost as good as the tale itself. But looking at it from a performance standpoint, it is a great story and I'm excited to see Ron on stage.

All Right....Let's Do This!

I have been so lax in my updates. You know when you get out of the habit of something and it's so hard to get back in? I don't want that to happen. So I'm back! We have had a very busy 6 weeks. I can't believe it has been that long. We traveled to Minnesota to see my family and on Thursday we go to St. Louis to see David's family for a long weekend. 

I really enjoyed spending so much time with my sister and all my family and giving my mom so much time with Indigo. She is so much fun right now. She is talking and making jokes and dancing and just loves life. It's really hard not to be happy when you are around her. 

She started counting to 10 this weekend. I count and she follows along and then we get to 10 and she says "all done!" and then covers her eyes and says "ready or not, here I come!" It's pretty awesome. And we play the 'night night' game where either she or we will pretend to go night night and then wake up and get all excited. She laughs and laughs. And she gets humor now. We play the shush game where we shush each other and then she screams really loud and I get scared. Her belly laughs are the best. Tonight, while watching Glee, she started dancing in her high chair to 'Call Me Maybe' so we put her on the floor and she danced and danced.

I still can't believe just how much fun it is to have her in our life. She is so sweet and kind and loving. She's doing great at daycare. Two of the staff have given such great compliments this last week, it makes me so happy. I don't even know if I can take credit for her. I feel like it's all her! But I do try to set a good example. Her teacher says she has really good manners and has been good at channeling her frustrations when kids take toys etc. Apparently she steps away from the situation and says "no bite!" I'm very glad she has learned not to bite her friends any more. 

 

We started thinking about her school years and how we hope to not be in this condo when she gets ready for kindergarten. We live near a school, but we're not sure if that is the school we want her to attend. We're hopeful the economy will continue to recover and we can have a hope of moving in a year or so. We don't want to short sell this house but we are still pretty far under water. We talked about renting it out but I worry about the gap between what it might rent for and our payment and HOA. So, we'll see what happens. It's nice to start thinking about it and knowing we need to make a plan. I can't believe we've lived in Phoenix for 5 years next month. It has really flown by. And it definitely feels like home. 

Yep, I Really Only Like Gymnastics

I tried to watch Olympics men's volleyball this morning this morning. It was boring. I turned it off to watch "Morning Glory" again (which is a really cute movie if you haven't seen it). Turns out I love the Olympic spirit, and I like to watch the sports that they pair in between the gymnastics coverage, but I really don't have any interest in watching 90% of the sports! I'm pretty sure that makes me un-American but oh well. 

It was SO fun to watch the gymnastics. I am so proud of all these young women who have achieved the life-long dream of so many. NBC even did a story remembering the Magnificent 7 - it made me teary-eyed. 

I have to admit though, I'm pretty sure I don't have it in me to raise an elite athlete. In gymnastics or anything else. The schedule, the stress, the cost - oh my! I give my parents so much credit for supporting me to do the thing I loved best. 

Of course, we'd find a way for Indigo to do anything she wants. As parents we do just about anything for our kids, don't we? Luckily, so far her biggest talent has been to fit TWO binks in her mouth. Olympics, here we come!

She has also recently gotten good at repeating everything we say. I  never realized how often I saw "wow" or how much we talk on the phone. She loves to be "on the phone" with her bink, a comb, a shoe or our iPhones. She loves to sing an is actually picking up a tune.....Great......I may have to become a stage mom. Lord help me!

Is it Fall Yet?

I get so confused this time of year. Schools in this area are almost year round so some kids have gone back and the rest go back in the next few weeks, while the rest of the country is still in the middle of summer. At work I am setting up pricing for November and cool weather is four months away. So I am so confused about what time of year this is. 

I do know that it is time for the Olympics again! We watched the opening ceremonies last night. Such a contrast from Bejing in 2008. It was impressive, but I wasn't totally blown away. They said that the director didn't plan to top Bejing, he wanted to do something totally different.

The gymnastics competition starts today with the men and then alternates with the women. The women's team final is on Tuesday. The Americans are the favorites, but anything can happen. They really have to stay healthy. The top vaulter is competing with a broken toe. Ouch! I guess it adds to the drama. 

David's dad popped in for a quick visit. He did a little traveling and went to northern Arizona to watch  Hopi ceremony and then drove down to see us for a couple of days. Indigo loves him. She can't say "Grandpa," but can say "Pop-Pop" which is what Eliza calls him. That could be fun, since I called my grandpa "Pop." 

Indigo is totally over her ear infection. But I think the next teeth coming in are tough. She goes from happy to meltdown very quickly. She's testing boundaries too, and does NOT like to share or hear the word "no!" I guess that's to be expected at her age. But it's hard not to give in because when she is screaming and upset, it feels like we're the only ones who suffer! But if we teach good behavior now, hopefully life will be easier down the road. 

Not much planned for today. The boys might take Indigo to the Tonto National Monument. I don't know if I will go because I have Parent's Night Out at the gym and I'm not sure i we'll get back in time. 

Here are a couple of pictures from our fun outing at the mall last week. 

Talent Show

I am now a stage mom. It's pretty hilarious! Indigo's daycare had talent show, dinner and silent auction tonight to benefit a family with three boys who have Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a very serious, typically fatal form of the disease. All 3 boys have it and their two daughters are carriers and could pass it on. It makes me so grateful that Indigo is so healthy. 

I'll try attaching the video (the last video I tried didn't play). The teachers taught the kids the bumblebee song (I learned it in camp with yuckier lyrics). My friend Emily had given Indigo a bumblebee onesie so she wore that and daycare made wings and antennae and painted their faces. Emily was thrilled when I told her they were going to "bling my baby!"

David's aunt and uncle and my aunt and uncle came along with my cousins. It was so great to have them all there. The song lasted under a minute but I think Indigo has caught the acting bug. She wanted to go back on stage after they were done. 

She is totally over her ear infection although we have one more day of antibiotics. She takes her medicine so well. I agree with her that it is yucky and that she is almost done. She seems to understand and drinks it without much protest. Such a good baby! 

Last Friday we had a family date night. We took Indigo to the Scottsdale Fashion Square mall to stay cool and let her play. She has recently discovered escalators. She must have ridden up and down 25 times (with daddy's help, of course). 

Now, Daddy is in Connecticut for training on new lighting equipment. So us girls are flying solo. It's not too bad, and the week will go by very fast. Emily and I are going to see Magic Mike on Friday while her husband babysits. And when David gets back we are going with them to see The Dark Knight.


Computer is not cooperating! I'll load the video to Facebook and email it to anyone who wants it!

...And We're Back #2

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it" (Ferris Bueller). I guess you could say we were living life. But it felt more like we were surviving it. Life has just been crazy. David went to Page, AZ twice in 4 weeks for a couple of days each time so I was flying solo. My work has been busy and David's work never seems to stop. Then Indigo got an ear infection last Sunday so she has been irritable and not herself. We thought it was just teething but it got worse over the weekend so I took her in yesterday and started antibiotics. She's perked up a lot but had a hard time falling asleep tonight - I suppose because it hurts to lie down. Poor baby! (update 7/12/12 - she is pretty much back to normal today. She had a lot of fun at daycare and was dancing and playing with daddy when I got home from the gym tonight.)

We had a very nice 4th of July at my aunt's house. Indigo loved swimming with her cousins. We met a couple there who are adopting a child in August. They are very excited and had lots of great questions. It made me think about our parenting choices and how we have been working hard to make Indigo a part of our life and not live completely for her. They were intrigued by this thought and said it seemed like a good idea. Go us! Does this make up for her falling asleep on the toy shelf Tuesday at daycare because she wasn't feeling 100%? 

I've been reading a lot of parenting blogs recently and several themes have been popping up. It seems nobody uses public changing tables these days. They prefer to change the babies in the back of their SUVs, in strollers, everywhere but the designated areas. Personally, I am 100% fine with changing her in bathrooms and have used the floor in cases where there was no changing table. I like having the sink right there to, you know, WASH OUR HANDS after a changing! I think this makes more of an impact on keeping everyone healthy than trying to avoid germs altogether. Let's face it. Kids are going to come into contact with germs and they are going to get sick. It's either going to happen through daycare, or at church daycare or on the 1st day of kindergarten if they have not been exposed before that point. I guess that is just my little soapbox. 

Indigo has a talent show at daycare on Tuesday. David's aunt and my aunt and some family are going to come watch. It should be super silly! 

And in two weeks the Olympics start! I love the Olympics. I started my 28 year gymnastics career after watching Mary Lou Retton in 1984 (good GOD I'm old). I'm really enjoying the gym right now. The Rec team girls that I coach and coach Casey went to Lake Owen camp in Wisconsin and came back energized and ready for their new season. We are switching to xCel this fall. It is a more organized competition program where they still get to do optional skills. It should be great! And David's really helping me watch all the Olympics I want. He keeps quoting Dana's line from "Sports Night" - "Olympic FEVER baby!" It's cute. 

This computer seems to be limping along so I'm going to call it a night before I lose this post for a second time. 

I tried to post - really

I started a new post.....and then the computer crashed. All is well. Indigo has an ear infection but she's working through it. Work is busy but good. Ono coming up on Saturday. Should be fun!

Just Your Average Wednesday

Oh, the things my girl is learning! Daycare is doing a talent show on July 17th (anyone local want to come?) and they are practicing  the "baby bumblebee" song. It's changed a little since I sang it at summer camp, but she knows the dance and tries to follow along. It's so cute. 

For Father's Day, Indigo gave David a rock, because she thinks he's a rockstar! He thought it was pretty cute. The real present came after church. Auntie Leigh, Uncle Russ and cousin Kyra came and picked her up to play and I took David to the fancy theatre that serves dinner and drinks and saw Rock of Ages. It was really fun! Tom Cruise was amazing, and who doesn't love a fun 80's rock musical?  

Tonight I made Indigo dinner and I found a can of gluten-free vegetable noodle soup. I got it ages ago (but not expired!) and I knew I was never going to eat it - it just didn't look good to me. So I fed it to the baby. Ha ha. She LOVED it. Couldn't open her mouth fast enough for the next bite. I'm wondering if this is a mommy fail, or a brilliant move?  I also feed her foods I don't like. Lately, that has only been applesauce. I think this a good thing. She should decide for herself what she likes. I'm definitely trying to load up on the veggies now and hopefully she'll continue to like them, or I'll give her enough nutrition to hold her over when she starts to get picky!

I have really enjoyed watching Indigo and the new kitty become great friends. They play together and seem very tolerant of each other. I've been teaching Indigo to be gentle and I've been watching to make sure kitty doesn't scratch or bite (she scratched a little by accident today). I think it will be really fun for them to grow up together!

B&B's and Butter Queens

Short post - I just booked flights for some fall trips! I didn't mean to charge so much on the credit card, but flights have been super expensive and Southwest (yay no bag fees) is having a sale that ends tonight. So purchase I did.

I've been trying to get to Minnesota forever. I haven't seen my sister or my grandma for a  year, let alone the rest of the fam. And my mom hasn't seen Indigo since her birthday. I didn't want to leave David home without us for a week, and he thought it would be fun to go. The only caveat is that we HAVE to go to North Dakota. The only states he has yet to visit are Hawaii and North Dakota. We might also get to the "Great MN Get Together" AKA the state fair. The BEST state fair in the country. Maybe if we go, he'll never want to go to the AZ fair again. We never went when we lived in Wisconsin because I talked about mini donuts and cookies and didn't mention the butter queens! I should know my husband well enough to know that he would be a sucker for a young woman carved in butter!

And then in September, we are going to St. Louis to celebrate David's grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary (We're celebrating at a B&B resort in southern IL). It will be fun to see his family again. Indigo is doing so much now and the younger cousins should have more fun with her than they did last summer. She was cute, but pretty stationary back then. 

Her current new thing is playing "ring around the rosy." she holds our hands and dances and sings and then 'falls down' at the end! Daycare taught her that, and tonight I came home from coaching and David had taught her "where is thumbkin." She holds her hands up and then runs them around her back with the song. So cute!!! I haven't gotten a video, but I did catch her pulling every book off her shelf. Enjoy!

PS - David got me a kitten for my birthday! She is very sweet. Still without a name. It was the best birthday gift ever. 

I Am So Blessed

I'm just feeling blessed these days. On the eve of my birthday I can't think of anything I want other than more time with my husband and daughter. Every day with her is like a gift. She is so amazing and wonderful. I just had no idea. 

We had a great visit with David's parents and also got to spend time with his aunt, uncle and cousin. She really enjoyed Grandpa, but I think she got a little confused when he and Daddy were together because they are quite alike in body and voice. We went to Tombstone with Tom and she was the center of attention in the little tourist area. I didn't get a picture, but she wore her Easter sailor outfit and was super cute. 

Lissa flew in for the weekend and to make the drive back with Tom. She loves going to Trader Joe's and found lots of yummy food to share with everyone. Indigo especially loved the freeze dried strawberries and yogurt graham stars. We spent the day with David's Aunt Joleen who took us to Sweetie's candy store in Chandler. Indigo got to sample every flavor of gummy bear! She seems to have my sweet tooth so I need to make sure we give her lots of healthy food to offset the treats.

On Memorial Day we visited the Arizona Science Center for a special Van Gogh multimedia exhibit. We also got to eat at Pizzeria Bianco. It was every bit as good as it's reputation as one of the best pizza places in the country. 

We spent an evening at Steve and Joleen's and Lissa and Indigo played outside with the hose until it got dark. She didn't like the feel of the grass but after we put her shoes on, she loved the water!

And finally, on Saturday David brought her to the gym while I was working PNO. She didn't know what to make of the foam pit, but liked playing with the pit blocks and jumping on the resi pit and the trampoline. David figures that since she's bound for the gym at some point, we might as well shoot for the Olympics!

We've had a busy few weeks but I've been trying to take time every day to be thankful for all the good in my life. 

Here are few pictures of our adventures!

So Much Fun

We had so much fun with David's parents. Indigo had a great time playing with grandpa. And then grandma came and she had even more fun. We got to spend time with David's Aunt Joleen and Uncle Steve and his cousin Alex too. We went to the Science Center on Monday. Like Disney, I just didn't realize that she would have as much fun at her age as she did. We could have spent hours in the water playground alone. And she made a beeline for a little rocking horse and knew exactly what to do. I have no idea how she knew! The best part was when she and daddy took a nap together in the Van Gough experience that we went to see. Dark room with video and classical music put them both to sleep for about 20 minutes! I don't have the energy to use the computer to post pictures. That is my goal for the next couple of days.

The In-Laws are Coming!

I was so productive today! I drove to work because Indigo had her 15 month doctor's appointment today so I had to leave early. Since my car was in Scottsdale, I got an oil change in preparation for a road trip with David's dad this weekend. 

Chillin' at Kelly's graduation

I picked up Indigo from daycare and the assistant director and the ones room director had an "intervention" with me. I have a biter. Oops! Not really sure how that happened. They were really nice about it and just wanted to let me know. They were "shadowing" her pretty closely today and effectively stopped her from biting 3 times today. I asked them if there was anything we could work on with her at home, because she doesn't bite at home so it's hard to stop a behavior we don't see. She gets aggressive when other kids take her toys. So we will start by taking toys away from her and practice sharing. When she bites or tries to bite at school, they pull her away from the other kids and give her a short time out. They aren't too worried. They think it is just a phase. I agree, and also think her eye teeth are painful as they come in and she is frustrated. She was happy to see me after the 'talking to.' Little did she know she was on her way for shots!

Shopping with Daddy

We had a nice visit at the doctor's. She is in the 50th percentile in weight, 75th in height and 90th for head size. Baby's got a big, big brain! I mentioned I have a crush on her doctor - he had new glasses today. He was so cute! He said she was perfect. We asked about the biting and he said she's at the age where she gets frustrated. We tell her to get her shoes and she knows what we want. She says "ma mee wha da" and gets mad when we don't understand and she can't figure out why we don't give her what she wants. He said her skin looked great, she's doing great on language and motor skills. Her next appointment at 18 months will include a language evaluation. It's a test for the autism spectrum. I wonder if there are online study guides? She got her shots and was a very brave girl. We could hear two kids in the next room screaming bloody murder as they got their shots. I can't talk - I think that was me as a kid. Until my pregnancy, there was a 50/50 chance I would pass out while getting blood drawn. Luckily, being poked and prodded for 9 months broke me of the habit!

After her doctor's visit, I went to the eye doctor. David came and helped me pick out new glasses. I think I like them. I last got a pair a few years ago so it will be nice to have something new. David left the office before me to feed Indigo and get dinner going. He went to the Roger Waters concert tonight with our friend Dean. David and I saw the same concert (The Wall!) a few months before Indigo was born. I didn't have a real need to see the same show again but totally respected David's desire to see it again.

Crashing after a busy Sunday

After David and Dean left I put Indigo to bed. She was worn out from her day and the shots, I think. I vacuumed and cleaned the floors and wiped the baseboards down in preparation for the in-laws! Tom is in St. George UT now visiting his mom and he is driving here on Thursday (David's birthday). We are going to Tombstone this weekend to get away for David's birthday. Lissa is coming next Friday to see us and drive back to Casper with Tom. Flight prices are so weird. Yesterday I checked flights and they were not cheap (we are less than 14 days out) but today they were almost $100 cheaper! So we booked it for her right away. I guess the flight wasn't full. Maybe I can employ the same technique to go to Minnesota to see family.

So I got the house in order for their visit. I worked HARD! The house is clean enough that I think I'll kick David out until his dad comes on Thursday! When I finished I played a little Fruit Ninja on the Kinnect. I didn't do too well. I guess I wore myself out cleaning. Then I found Little Shop of Horrors on Netflix because I had the song Downtown in my head. The movie is almost over and I think I'm ready to collapse on the couch to wait for David to get home. Until next time.....

The Joy of Sense and Sensibility

I LOVE the movie Sense and Sensibility. I don't know how many times I have watched it but I love it every time. And I don't particularly like that genre of film, and I have no interest in reading the book, but there is something so sweet about the movie. The unrequited love throughout is just heartbreaking! And the scenes are so well composed. It's just so watchable, I love it. And when Hugh Grant's last line - be still my heart! One of the first gifts my father-in-law gave me was a copy of the screenplay that he had at home when he learned I enjoyed the movie so much. I was so touched. 

Today we drove to Flagstaff and watched my cousin Kelly graduate from NAU.  All my little cousins are growing up. That must mean I am really old! We had a really nice day. We left Flag and drove home through Sedona and took Schnebly Hill Road which is an easy 4-wheel road through the mountains. Just beautiful. Indigo slept the whole way, which is hilarious given how bumpy it was.  We had a nice lunch with the family. 

When we got home us parents took a short nap on the couch and put on Sesame Street for The Bug. Is there something in the water at daycare that makes all toddlers addicted to Elmo? She had never seen Elmo at home but she LOVES him! Daycare has a small TV and they show Elmo and some Sesame Street. I'm not sure how I feel about TV at daycare. But I think it's in small amounts and if I was home with her, let's be honest, she would watch A LOT more TV than she does now. Anyway, it's adorable to watch her dance and be glued to the show. She also knows the "if you're happy and you know it" song. She claps at the right time and tilts her head from side to side when you sing "then your face will really show it." So cute.

Today feels like Saturday so it's great to still have the weekend in front of us. Tomorrow is date night at Actors Theatre. Should be fun!

The photos are from the last couple of weekends. We drove up to South Mountain after church two weeks ago and last weekend we saw Avengers with Tito and Emily. Indigo got to spend time with her "cousin" Eli. He walked with her around Desert Ridge (she is wearing her Avengers outfit - but i added pink shoes and her flower hat). 

May Day

In training

Remember May Day as a kid? I think we used to make baskets with a bit of candy and leave them at the neighbors' houses for them to find. I always get nostalgic on this day. It was also my Grandma Anne's birthday. She passed away while I was in college. She was a neat lady to say the least. I also got nostalgic last week because it was National Pretzel Day so we had a little pretzel potluck at work. A coworker made a strawberry cream cheese cake with jello and a pretzel crust. It was so good! I'm pretty sure my mom made it for her card club or potluck at some point growing up. It made me think of her!

Indigo scraped up her nose again at daycare. She was walking to the playground and misjudged the curb and fell flat on her face! Just as soon as it was healed from her last incident, too. Hopefully this one will heal as well as the last one did. I would put some Neosporin on it now, but  she passed out in her car seat on the way home (she didn't nap today). I put her right to bed and she has been asleep for 2 hours. I think she'll wake up at some point because she's hungry, but she very well might not!

She is cutting 4 more teeth. They look like molars on the top and bottom. They are HUGE compared to her other 8 teeth and I think they are bothering her. She had a meltdown on Saturday. I had to take her into a room at the church and just let her scream! At one point she stopped and smiled at me. It was the funniest thing. I thought she was done with the tantrum and then she started back up again! And two nights ago she woke up screaming. David brought her to bed and tried to comfort her, but she only wanted to lay on my chest. He gave her some Tylenol and I soothed her for a bit and changed her and she went right back to sleep. I wonder if she was awake or if it was just a bad dream.

She says 4 or 5 words now. She says bye-bye, up, duh (down, I think), dada, mama and more. More and bye-bye are the most used and most clear. I could be making the others up, but I think she is saying them. She also really likes to draw. We need some coloring books  STAT! The Sannerud family sent her "Harold and the Purple Crayon," and it came complete with some crayons, so we'll start there. 

Not much else to report, really. Her next doctor visit isn't until 18 months. She's wearing 18 month clothes. The tops are getting small and the pants are still big in the waist. I guess she is long-torsoed. We're in size 4 diapers still. David bought a box of 5's a few weeks ago but I haven't used them. I'm not quite ready to move out of YET another size. It just means she's growing up and it's happening too fast. I gave a bunch of baby toys to friends who are having a girl in August. I'm so excited for them and glad they can use everything, but man, it's hard to admit my baby doesn't need them anymore!

I've been reading more parent blogs online and got a fun message back from my favorite blogger (that I don't know personally)! I feel so special. Her site is http://mooshinindy.com/ and she is awesome. I love her photography and her prose. I also read about baby Avery's bucket list at http://www.averycan.blogspot.com/. Get a tissue before you read it, it is amazing. It makes me wonder what Indigo's bucket list should look like. Not that she is going anywhere, I pray, but just thinking about things I want her to experience is kind of fun. And it makes me remember to enjoy the little things and not be in such a hurry to get stuff done. 

1st D-Back game!

When I read things like that or read articles about babies being abused it makes me want to run out on work and pick her up from daycare and just hug her. My favorite part of the day is when she spots me at daycare and she comes over and gives me a hug and a kiss! Today they had just dumped out a crate of Beanie Babies and she brought over a frog and said "Mama!" It was just too cute.

How Time Flies

So I basically 'unplugged' for a week because I was reading 11/22/63 by Stephen King. Turns out the guy really can write! I was pretty engrossed in it and finished yesterday at lunch. It helped that Indigo took a 4 HOUR NAP on Sunday after church. David was out helping Actors Theatre so I just sat and read. It was very nice. 

Last week David had several dinners so a couple of gym moms helped me out and watched Indigo while I coached. She is so good with other people. It is nice to know I can leave her and she doesn't seem to mind.

The weekend was fun but busy. We saw some friends Saturday afternoon and went to see Cabin in the Woods on Saturday night. Very interesting movie. I'd recommend it but I can't give anything away.  I'm pretty sure it was the first movie I've been to since The Muppets on Thanksgiving. I guess that is just what happens when you have a baby. I'm ok with that. 

On Monday, daycare called. I thought maybe she was sick since she slept so much on Sunday. But no, she biffed it on the sandbox and hit her nose really hard. It bled and her nose and eyes swelled up. But she is such a trooper, she didn't even cry. Now it is just scratched up and a little swollen. I've nicknamed her "Bruiser." I'll have to take a picture tomorrow. 

Today when I picked her up she very clearly said "buh-bye" to everyone and waved. It was so clear and it was the first time she had said it so perfectly. And her little voice is so cute. I can't wait to hear more. 

Basically, I'm just feeling blessed. The rest of the week will fly by. Coaching, Diamondback game with friends on Friday. Saturday I have Spring Jam at the gym and a meet that night. I think Sunday afternoon we are free. Time to change out the winter clothes for the summer ones as the temp will likely hit 100 degrees. Our "winter" is coming when we all stay inside and try to keep from frying. (highlight from coaching last week - I impressed my girls with 2 flyways into the pit). 

Since I didn't take a picture of Bruiser, here are a few of her being herself. She helped me unpack the groceries last week and took a bite of a tomato. I got a quick pic of her walking to the car in her new outfit from Leighton, Laura and Aunt Jo. It's so hard to get a good pic as she is constantly moving. Then we have her little sweater dress from Saturday (it was quite chilly!) and one of dinner Sunday night. I made a Thai shrimp and rice dish I thought she would like. She scraped all the coconut off of her tongue and then scraped rice off of the raisins and just ate those! So I gave her some edamame too, since it's her favorite thing! She likes it when I pop them in her mouth. Did I mention how awesome she was? I'm truly blessed. 

Cutest Kid at Church

What a great week!

After Monday's failure at Fiesta Mall, I went to Tempe Marketplace and got the phone case returned without ANY issue and got the ghost armor replaced on my phone. I also got a car wash because it was time, and they have a gas discount with a wash. Total success and Indigo and I shared a a smoothie, which she LOVED. It is so fun to see her enjoy new foods and flavors. 

The rest of the week flew by. Emily and Tito watched Indigo overnight. I met them for dinner (along with her parents and "cousin" Eli) and handed her off. She enjoyed dinner at King's Fish House. Grilled artichoke was a big hit and I ordered a dish with pineapple and peas and rice which she enjoyed. I'm glad that she's pretty good at restaurants. We like to eat out and it's nice to be able to take her along. 

David came home after working the Good Friday church service and we had a date night planned on Mill Ave (as part of the downtown Tempe business board, there was an event he was going to), but he came home with a very sore eye! He drove through something on the bike and it got him in the eye. There was no way we were going out. He was able to sleep and in the morning he was still in pain so we looked at our options. I called our eye doctor and she said to go to Urgent Care. I called Urgent Care and they said to go to the ER. Knowing that the ER might take several hours and could cost hundreds of dollars because of our health plan, I suggested the MinuteClinic at CVS. It's staffed with a Nurse Practitioner and I thought that we could find out what might be wrong and figure out the treatment options. The NP saw him pretty  quickly and found he had a scratch on his cornea. She gave him antibiotics and said it's like a skin cut and would heal in a day or so. So, we got a diagnosis and great care for $0 copay and the cost of the prescription vs. hundreds of dollars and time (that we didn't have) at the ER. 

Emily and Tito had Indigo all Saturday because we had a long rehearsal for Easter Eve service. They tried to take her to see the Easter Bunny but she was having none of it. I have to admit, the Easter Bunny is a little creepy, especially when you are little. But I appreciate the attempt! Emily has so much fun playing "auntie" and I love that she tried. Our friends stayed for church and we had a nice dinner afterward with some good conversation.

Easter Sunday was AWESOME! The theme at church was Insurrection and they set the crucifixion story in the 1840's with video, costuming and set. Indigo's Easter outfit from Grandma and Grandpa Empey was a sailor dress and hat. It was as if she was costumed specifically for the day. She looked SO CUTE!!! I'm biased, I know, but it was so fun to have her walk around as people came in. Everyone commented and she had a blast being so doted on. It was very fun. And service was great. I ran the light board and feel very blessed to have an opportunity to enhance people's experience during worship and to really enjoy church as much as I do. 

Happy Girl

Our "American Girl"

She LOVES Dave Hopper,
Church Facilities Manager

Pictures can barely show
how cute she was!

Joy

Communication Commenced

Indigo is totally communicating with us now. It's really cool. We were feeding her on Saturday and she made the "more" symbol and said, "mo!" So cute. And she makes the "all done" symbol she she is finished eating. We still have a long way to go before we're having conversations, but it's fun so far. 

We went to see David at Easter rehearsal since he was going to be out late and would miss her bedtime. She loved the music and the lights. It is so fun to watch her engage. 

After that, I TRIED to return a phone case at Best Buy. They wouldn't allow the return because it was broken. Yeah - that was the whole reason I was returning it, and have returned about 10 others for the same reason. But apparently, they have to pay to ship it back to the manufacturer and they don't get any credit back. And the people who allowed returns in the past just didn't check the item properly. Not sure what there had been to check before, all the others were also broken! So there goes $30. I might try a different store. Or, this is their new policy as they try not to go out of business. I don't want to live in a world where your choices are Amazon or Wal-Mart, but Best Buy needs to figure out what it is and do it well. 

To make matters worse, I went into the mall (Fiesta - not the greatest in town) to replace the Ghost Armor on my phone but they are out of business! I think they might still be at Tempe Marketplace, but I better get there quick before they shut down too. I have a small scratch on my phone so I need to get the film replaced before it gets worse. What a hassle. What a waste of time. 

So we got home and I got Indigo in her PJ's, nursed her for a minute and put her to bed. And that was my Monday! I'm glad we saw David but I spent an awful lot of time in the car instead of hugging the baby, which is what I really wanted to do. Maybe we can do more hugging tomorrow. 

I love this picture - she is wearing her Easter outfit from Auntie Emily and family. We went to visit my great-aunt Jo in the hospital. She broke her hip last week and had it replaced. Indigo got to pick up her birthday gift from cousin Leighton and Laura and Little L and Aunt Jo. She wanted to carry it out herself. Such a big girl now.