Cali

We lost our best friend last week. Our faithful, funny dog Cali passed away after vets discovered that cancer had taken over a large portion of her internal organs. We know in our hearts that we did the right thing but we are still so very sad about it.

The house is much quieter (even with a toddler running around) and our routines are changed. Nighttime is tough because for almost 13 years, the last thing we did was let Cali out, listen to her bark a few times, do her thing, eat a bite of food, and run upstairs to sleep under our bed. In her younger days she slept on our bed, but that was tough for her lately. Plus, she liked to sleep diagonally and take up way too much room.

We have so many happy memories with Cali. She was a sweet, happy, smart dog and quite the world traveler. She loved going for walks, eating cat food, having her ears rubbed and just being with us. We worried about how she would act when Amelia arrived, and she responded with incredible patience and understanding and the occasional "why me?" sigh.

Friends have reminded us of her funnier moments: Being spray painted green at a St. Patrick's Day party, being caught red-handed on the top of the dining room table eating the feast before another party, racing up and down the beach and at the hills of St. Mary's Lake. We know she had a good life and as Sean liked to say, she knew it too because she came from a life on the streets :)

We will always miss and love our Cali girl. We know you are up in the big, fluffy human bed in the sky, eating cat food to your heart's content and snoring as loud as you want. Good dog!

The Peanut

We got to experience yet another joy of parenting the other night: "Foreign Object Removal!"

Apparently Amelia shoved a peanut up her nose during snack time, unbeknownst to Mommy (I'm up for Mom of the Year this year). A few hours later, she told us about it. Lucky Sean was watching her while I was at the gym. He tried to get her to blow it out, he tried the snot sucker, he tried tweezers. Nothing worked. He called the after hours number for our pediatrician and got the most fantastic tip ever! (Thank goodness for Daddy! I think I would have panicked after Googling, and probably rushed to the ER!)

Anyway, by this time I was home and feeling really guilty. The doctor's tip was to basically do reverse CPR on Amelia. Sean laid her down, covered up the unblocked nostril and gently blew into her mouth. Lo and behold, the peanut came shooting out the other nostril! How cool! And soooo much better than a night in the ER!!!

Needless to say, no more peanuts until she's 18!

2 Year Stats

Just a quick note about Mia's 2 year old check up. I like the idea of printing out this blog one day and having a record of this stuff !

Height: 34 1/2 inches (1 1/2 inches too short to go on all the rides at Bush Garden's Sesame Place! But we are going to try it this Fall anyway!)

Weight: 28 lbs

50-75% for both.

She's healthy and happy and was a perfect angel this time at the doctor's office! Barely shed a tear for the one shot that she needed! On a slightly disconcerting note, there has been fluid behind her ears for the past few check ups. The doc wants her to come in again in a few weeks, and then again a few weeks after that to monitor it. I really hope she hasn't had fluid there since her only (known) ear infection back in October!! She shows no signs of hearing loss and her verbal skills are great, so we'll just have to see what happens.

I have some cute photos to post as soon as I find where that stinker has hidden my camera!

The Little Lady's Birthday Party

We had a great little party for our little ladybug. I made ladybug cupcakes which turned out super cute and we had a great visit with friends and family :) Amelia had been so looking forward to blowing out candles, and she did a great job with her single "Number 2" candle! Thanks so much to those who were able to make it! Mia had a blast. We missed you Engels but hope to see you soon!

I'll put lots more photos of the party and of some of our summer fun on the photo website soon!Stay cool out there!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Our dear Amelia,

We wish you the absolute happiest of birthday's today! Every day we are further amazed and delighted by you and your charming, cheerful little self. You come up with such funny things and are such a big girl that it completely blows us away. We see ourselves in you, but we also see an independent, smart, brave little person and we are astounded at how well you have turned out so far! We hope we are doing something right! We know you will continue to grow and change, and challenge us this year and we hope we can keep up with you. You make us want to be better parents and people and I guess that is what this is all about. We love you so very much. Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

All our love,

Mommy and Daddy

And now, back by popular demand (well, Grandparents liked it last year....), the Amelia highlight video! Enjoy:)

Photos for You!

Grandpa W and Grandma Sharon flew down in the new plane for a quick visit! It was Grandpa's birthday and Mia got lots of practice singing the birthday song to him :)


Testing the controls :)

This is fun!

Another (better fated) Amelia aviator ?

Coloring with Zach and Maddie

Being goofy!

Happy Fourth of July on the Battleship Wisconsin

I love the Crepe Myrtles in Norfolk! We have 3 beautiful trees in front of our house in full bloom.

Que pasa?

Long time no blog again. I've had the longest lasting cold of my life and haven't felt like doing too much. Of course, we have still been very busy--places to go, people to see, birthday parties to plan! For now, I just want to document a few of the cute (and not so cute) things my Mia has been doing lately. My mom always suggest that I write them down because I'll forget, and I couldn't agree more!

1) Cute Sayings: Some of her favorite foods are "mac and cheese-a-roni" and "pop-is-cools" (popsicles). I just love how she pronounces these! She is also fond of saying "Have a good day" and "Thank you so much". So polite :)

2) 2-year old behavior: We've started doing the "time-out" chair in response to certain behavior (hitting mommy!, running away down the driveway!). I don't really think she gets it yet. She will pinch me on the arm and then say "time out chair"! Like it is a fun place. Hmmmm, need to re-think this.

3) Singing: She's such a singer! I told her that her birthday was coming up and she loves to sing the Happy Birthday song. My dad was here for a quick visit (on his birthday) and we made cupcakes. Amelia sang him the birthday song about 25 times :)

She's also practicing the tricycle and loves her gym class! She'll grab hold of the uneven bars and swing like a monkey all day long if we let her.

I have some fun photos of Grandpa W and Grandma Sharon's visit along with various other events. Look for them soon!

Little Girl

I was just looking at Amelia and thinking how much she looks like a little girl now. She's grown taller and her legs are long and skinny. Her legs are also covered in bumps and bruises and scrapes and mosquito bites, and lately, band-aids. She wears pigtails an ponytails and attempts to brush her hair. She has started picking out her clothes and shoes and she likes to take off her clothes (and diaper) too. She will use her potty whenever I put her there and I think I need to start getting more serious about potty training.

It is just so amazing and sort of sad that she will be 2 in a few weeks. Some days she seems to be at the cusp of the "terribleness", like when she runs away from me at the playground or snatches toys from her friends. Other times she is so loving and affectionate and will hug and kiss me all day long. She loves to kiss my "boo-boos" (or freckles) and say that they are "all better". She sings and "reads" and has opinions and is just fascinating to watch grow up! Not too fast though, little girl. Please, not too fast.

Oh, Happy 4th of July to all! I'll post next week about what we did!

Having an "almost 2 year old" moment

A Week at the Beach

We just got back from our annual week vacation in Isle of Palms, South Carolina (well, we missed a few years while in Spain). Everytime I go there, I envision living and/or retiring there. Even in the busy season, it is so gorgeous and peaceful. I'm still in a bit of a funk since returning.

We weren't sure how Mia would react to the ocean, but she LOVED it! There is a great tidal pool during low tide, and she spent a lot of time splashing and playing in it. Gabriel and Norah were so much fun to be with and Mia had a blast with them. Some days she was so worn out from playing with them that she put her head down on the sand and said "night-night"!

Lots of good photos on the album website and a few highlights below. I never did get one of the whole family, but I'm warning them now: Next year bring khakis and white shirts and be prepared for a photo session on the beach at sunset! :)

Love to the McBrides xoxo Miss you already!

Our awesome deck view.
Norah and Mia riding the waves :)

Chillin in the tidal pool

Our house!


Avoiding bedtime...

Our budding bird watcher

Uncle Ben

The last time Uncle Ben visited, Mia was kind of stand-offish and shy. He was in town again this week, and Mia could not get enough of him! She thinks he is the coolest thing ever. It might be because he lets her play with his cell phone and laptop (something we try not to let her have here). She also liked rubbing his shaved head :) It always makes me sad for her when people she has grown attached to have to leave.

Saturday we head to Charleston for the McB Beach week! I'm so looking forward to that beautiful, wide beach, yummy seafood dinners, and fun times with the cousins! I am kind of dreading the loooonnnggg car ride down there with our very active, almost 2-year old though. Advice anyone ?

Mischevious 2-year old narrowly avoids getting mauled by enormous cat.

Uncle Ben is so much fun :)

Bienvenido A Miami!

I just got back from a long weekend with my best girlfriends in South Beach, Miami. It was a fabulous getaway, complete with (ridiculously expensive) fruity drinks, lots of laying around the pool and beach, delicious meals and just catching up on each other's lives. I am so glad to have these women in my life!

I did miss Amelia and Sean terribly though! I missed my Mia so much that I joked I felt like I was missing a limb. I made Sean keep her up so that I could say goodnight to her when I got in. Sean did fantastic and kept Mia busy and happy while I was gone (not that I was worried).

Here's a look at a few of my favorite photos from Miami.

Alexis took this photo, and I think it is really cool. We had lunch at the restaurant where Top Chef 4th runner up Jeff is the executive chef. See below.

Us with Chef Jeff

All dressed up!




We all turn the big 35 this year, hence the celebratory trip!



Love the flops!

Myself!

The most common word to come out of Amelia's mouth lately is "myself". She is so independent and wants to do EVERYTHING herself. Climb into her highchair, strap herself in, wash her hands, get dressed etc. etc. She's even started showing interest in potty training-woo hoo!

She loves to be with other kids and I think she'll really enjoy her "pre-pre" school 2 mornings a week this September.

We have a lot of fun things coming up this summer. Plenty of local beach visits, a week in Charleston, SC with the McB clan, zoo trips, water parks, pools and more. I have a 4 day trip to South Beach, Miami coming up with some of my oldest and dearest friends and I'm very excited about it! A little anxious to leave my baby for such a long time, but it will be so nice to have a conversation without constant interruption :)

And now for a few new photos of Miss Independent. Happy beginning of Summer everyone!