Shyla's 3 Year Well-Check

Oh my gosh!  Would you please take a look at my three year old!  Isn't she just so stinkin' stylish cute?

This is the outfit she wanted to wear for her 3 year well-check yesterday with Dr. Terry.  It went really well.  When she first saw him in the hallway she started crying, but by the time he came in for her actual exam she had warmed up to the situation and did a great job!  She didn't cry at all; in fact she laughed throughout most of the appointment.
All looks good with my little munchkin.  In the past year she grew over 4 inches and gained nearly 5 pounds!  She is now just over the 50th percentile for both height and weight.  And the best news of all, she didn't need any shots!  Hooray!
In other news, she is doing great with the potty training - more on that later!

WW - Restart

I didn't intend on quitting Weight Watchers when I returned to work, it just sort of happened.  I gave myself a few weeks to get acclimated to being back at work, and then I kept trying to attend on Tuesday after work.  Well, 20+ weeks later it is clear that attending after work simply won't work.  Thus, now that I am on summer break, I can attend my favorite Tuesday morning meeting but upon returning to work I will need to make time for it on Saturday mornings.

I am about 4 pounds heavier than my last weigh-in, which was in December.  If you are interested, check back each Tuesday (for now) to see how things are going.

For now, I'm 20.2 pounds away from goal.

Shyla turns Three!

It is so hard to believe that Shyla is three years old!  In some ways, she seems like such a baby still: when she wants to be snuggled, when she cries out of sheer exhaustion (oh wait, I do that too!), and when I peak in on her while she's sleeping.  But in other ways she seems like such a big-girl: when she rocks her own baby, when she tells Harper not to cry because, "it's okay, baby Harper" and when I notice how much of her crib she now takes up.

To celebrate, we had a family birthday breakfast on her actual birthday.  Grandma Barbara brought over a Blueberry Coffee Cake and all the cousins had lots of playtime together.

Stevie was in Chicago for a wedding so he missed the breakfast but after nap we picked him up at the airport and headed to my favorite Pita Jungle for a birthday dinner with Daddy.  Of course, Shyla got a yummy dessert to celebrate.

And then the past weekend we continued the celebration with a birthday bash at my parents house!  Of course we had to have a jumping castle, because that's truly all that Shyla really wanted!

It's been an amazing three years watching Shyla grow and learn and make us laugh!  We tried really hard to make her birthday special and we think it was!  Thank you to everyone who participated, helped, and celebrated with us!

Harper is 10 Months!

Yesterday was Harper's 10 month birthday.  Yesterday I got a call at about 9 AM that she was sick at daycare.  Fortunately, Stevie was able to go get her and I get to spend the day with her today.  (He took her to the doctor and her ears & throat are fine, so we need to treat the symptoms and allow the virus to run its' course.)

As you know, I usually do a birthday photo-shoot with the month stickers but she was so warm last night that I had to just put her in a tepid bath to bring her fever down.  Notice how resourceful I was with the bath toys?

Anyway, I cannot believe that Harper is 10 months already!  Pretty soon we will be planning her 1st birthday!

Harper at 10 months may be my favorite stage!  She is fun and it's exciting for us to see what will make her laugh.  She is crawling all over the place, scooting when she really wants to get somewhere quickly, and walking if she has a table or something else stationary to hold onto.  She has 2 little teeth on the bottom and I believe she is working on some more, based on the amount of drool and chewing on things she is doing.

She takes about 5 bottles a day, adding up to about 20 ounces.  We are trying to get her to get more and more nutrition from food but she has a hard time sitting still in the high-chair.

Shyla is still her favorite thing to look at.  It won't be long before these 2 are running around causing havoc together.

I love how soft her skin is and how she gazes up at me when I rock her.  I love the little baby noises she makes and how I feel like we are actually communicating.  I love when I hand her a bottle in the car she just reaches her little chubby hand out to grab it.

It is this age and stage that really makes me understand why my mom always told us we "weren't allowed" to get any older.

Mother's Day 2012

Last Sunday was Mother's Day.  We had planned to go for a family walk at Sabino Canyon in the morning but with me fighting pink eye and having to wear my glasses, I decided it would be too sunny and would probably result in a headache.  So, we stayed home and had a relaxing morning.

Stevie and Harper went to Starbucks for me.  They returned with a 580 calorie frappachino which is no where close to my usual drink of iced coffee, but it's the thought that counts.

Shyla had a rough morning.  I think she was feeding off me.  I felt overly exhausted and was frustrated by my glasses and lack of eye makeup.  

After nap, however, we got to go to my grandparents for tacos with the whole family!  Yep, everyone managed to get there and everyone managed to fit into the mobile home!  The kids, of course, enjoyed playing on the porch and I was lucky enough to get this picture of all of them.

I am so lucky to be surrounded my such amazing moms, most especially my own mom.  I hope I can be half as dedicated to my kids as she is to us!

CIMI 2012

For good reason I don't talk much about work.  However, I will talk about CIMI.  CIMI is the Catalina Island Marine Institute and it's a 6th grade trip that I have now gone on for three years.  (2008, 2010, and 2012 are the years in which I have gone; I have had babies in 2009 and 2011.)

My teaching partner, Paula, and I take nearly 40 students to this 3-day sea camp off the coast of Long Beach.  While there we hike, camp, kayak, snorkel, dissect, learn about conservation and ecology, and learn to work together.  It is a great experience for the kids and adults alike and, although I missed my girls like crazy, I am happy to be part of it.