Weather Report

While driving this morning, Little Miss and I talked about the weather. She asked where the sun was, and I explained it was behind a building, but she would be able to see it soon. Then, she informed me it was going to snow. I said, yes, it would eventually but not for awhile. She told me it was going to snow tomorrow. I said not tomorrow. She replied, "It is, Mommy. It's going to snow tomorrow. You wait and see."


I wish I had her confidence.

We interrupt this Vacation Update...

Tonight, during the long process of putting Little Miss to bed, we read a book. The book was an I Spy book which means you have items to find in a big, busy collage. One item was the Queen of Hearts. So, we spent a long time looking for the queen. Little Miss says she doesn't like queens because they're jealous. (In Snow White, the queen is said to be jealous of Snow White's beauty.) I said that not all queens are wicked or jealous. Then, after a few moments, she said "I love the queen. She's not very nice, but I love her."

Vacation Update - Mickey Mouse

You'll see in the above picture that Little Miss is cuddling up to Mickey Mouse. What you can't see is the fact that she was the first to meet Mickey, Minnie and Goofy. Mickey knelt down on one knee and Little Miss gave him a big hug... and wouldn't let go. So, all of the photos have Little Miss on Mickey's lap. When we went to leave, she gave Mickey one last hug and said "Sorry, Mickey, I have to go now." Mickey placed his hand over his heart and gave her a sad wave goodbye.

Vacation Update - Epcot

The whole family stayed together for the first part of the day. We rode on The Living Seas where we took a ride with Nemo. Here is Husband and Little Miss inside Bruce, the Shark. Then, at some point, half the family went one way and the other half of us went to relax.

Little Miss was too little to ride the rides the other half went to visit. Plus, she fell asleep in her stroller. So, Brother-in-Law, his dad, Husband and I went back to the Norway pavillion and had cold beverages. I took a brief stop in Mexico and picked up a margarita and the boys all had beer. Little Miss slept for quite awhile while we just relaxed and had a breather.

At some point, the rest of the family rejoined us. We toured half of the countries until the kids asked to go home. So, we head back and put the kids to bed. It was a great first day!

Vacation Update - Just the Girls

Two Saturdays ago, we woke up early (like the sun wasn't out yet) and got ready to get a bus to go to Norway - well, Epcot Center's Norway pavillion. We had reservations for the Princess Breakfast. Grandma, Aunt, Mom, Sister, and Little Miss and I all donned tiaras and arrived in all our royal glory.

Belle met us at the door, and we all had our chance to have our picture taken with her. She taught Little Miss how to hold her gown out. Then, we were seated and given breakfast while the princesses walked around.  We were very lucky because our table was right by the door through which the princesses exited.  So, we were the first to meet them. 

After breakfast, all the princesses (Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Snow White) took children by the hand and led them throughout the dining room in a parade. Little Miss went willingly with Snow White and loved all the attention. Then, we left and went to meet the rest of the family.

Vacation Update - Leaving on a Jet Plane

Two Fridays ago, we drove to the airport and went to FLORIDA! Little Miss was very excited. She loved all the informational pamphlets in the seatback in front of her. She thought the layout of the plane was her map. You can see her reaction below in the video. She must have said "according to my map" twenty times at least.

Husband is trained to sleep by the time the plane hits cruising altitude, but oftentimes, he is asleep before that. Little Miss was awake a little longer than that, but she sooned joined him. I stayed awake and read, enjoying the quiet and my window seat.

We arrived in Orlando and met up with a co-worker and her family who were flying home that evening. We then took the shuttle to meet up with the rest of my family (who drove and arrived earlier that afternoon). We had a nice dinner and caught up, but we had an early morning the next day.

Weekend Update - Fun with Friends

Last weekend was a busy one! On Friday, we cleaned the apartment for a visit from friends. Husband's childhood friend, his wife and son came to visit on Saturday morning. Their son and Little Miss got along quite well and played together. Then, we drove to Nephew's first birthday party! It seems like yesterday that we were driving to the hospital to catch our first glimpse of him. It was a nice party, and Little Miss had a blast. There was no nap and she stayed up very late (around 11PM) so she was a little trooper.


On Sunday, we had some family time before our friends came over and then we all went to Dogfish Head Alehouse for lunch. After, we went to the National Aquarium. I don't think it was worth the money, but I was always curious so now my curiosity is satisfied. Little Miss barely made it through the day. After barely sleeping the night before, she made it through the day, but then both of us took a glorious nap in the late afternoon.

This week has gone by smoothly. Little Miss has been so good and so full of personality. She has been getting so excited for Disney World. So, blog will be quiet for a week and then many updates and pictures coming at you!

Books Read in July 2011

1. Chasin' Eight by Lorelei James (NOTE: This is part of a series. You can find more information and order in which to read here.)
2. House of Daughters by Sarah-Kate Lynch
3. Cowgirls Don't Cry by Lorelei James (NOTE: This is part of a series. You can find more information and order in which to read here.)
4. The Lover's Dictionary by David Leviathan
5. Corralled by Lorelei James (NOTE: This is part of a series. You can find more information and order in which to read here.)

Not a bad month for reading. Some of the books I had on my list forever. Two of the books were for book club. (So, I'm all set for book club in SEPTEMBER - weird, right?!)

Movies Watched in July 2011

1. The Namesake
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
3. The King's Speech
4. Friends with Benefits

Good movies this month. I rented the odd numbers and saw the even numbers in the theater. I would recommend them all.

Let's Call the Whole Thing Off!

 

Little Miss watches television with us at night. It helps calm her down in the evening and get ready for bed mentally. Lately, she's been taking lessons from television and applying them to real life. For instance, Special Agent Oso taught her how to correctly throw a football. Sometimes, however, she'll pick up language from a show. She can booby trap the kitchen with help from Jake and the Neverland Pirates (or Jake and the Never Pirates as she calls them). However, lately, Little Miss is obsessed with Peppa Pig which is fitting for our little one born in the Year of the Pig. So, because Peppa is British, she has taught Little Miss to say "to-mah-to". It's kind of freakishly cute.

Bedtime

So, no matter when we put Little Miss to bed, she falls asleep at 9PM.  One time, we didn't put her to bed and, at 9PM, she just got changed and put herself to bed.  Tonight, at 8:45PM, Little Miss was cuddling with Husband on the couch.  She jumps up and says "it's getting late, I need to go to bed."  She runs into her room, turns off the light, turns on her music and gets into bed.  Wacky kid.

Weekend Update - Hot Hot Hot

Last Thursday, Little Miss spent the night with my family - Mom, Dad, Sister and Nephew. She thinks her older cousin is the best thing since sliced bread. Today, she announced that he knows EVERYTHING. Plus, he's the nicest because he made her breakfast (which was quite impressive even if it was cereal), got her a red popsicle, and gave her a Silly Bandz. At dinner, she wanted an orange popsicle because that's what he likes best.

This has to be some of the hottest weather I can remember. Maybe not the hottest, but it's been right up there. So, it was perfect timing that Little Miss was invited to a birthday party at the water park. On Saturday, she was so excited that she voluntarily crawled into bed for a very early nap and was all ready to go to the party. It was so cute to see all the classmates see each other outside of school. They mostly played independently, but they would occasionally play with each other in between playing with their parents or eating pizza or cupcakes. The cupcakes were absolutely adorable, and Little Miss ate hers with absolute enthusiasm. It was embarrassing, but at least she enjoyed herself. After, we went home with a goody bag (a cute little shovel and pail set with a beach ball, bubbles, and other items inside) and giant monkey balloon.  Another note:  I was thinking of getting a pinata for Little Miss's birthday.  I no longer think that's a good idea.  Toddlers and a stick are a bad combination.  Plus, the pinata at the party NEVER BROKE.  The dad finally just ripped it open and flung the candy everywhere.  Below is video of Little Miss giving it a whack.

On Sunday, we mostly ran errands. We needed a new suitcase so hit up the mall. Then, we went to the toy store, the bookstore and the baby clothes store where Little Miss got new rain boots. I'm sure I'll have pictures of those considering she wears rain boots 4 out of every 7 days.

Very busy weekend, but it was fun. We have some busy times coming up so it's nice to see Little Miss being cooperative or at least being able to communicate why she isn't happy. I'd like some down time now but tomorrow is Monday so back to the crazy grindstone.

Weekend Update - Movie, Books and Sun (What More Could You Ask For?)

A couple of weeks ago, I won tickets to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 2. The prize included 2 tickets with reserved seating and vouchers for popcorn and soda. So, a friend and I went to Georgetown last Friday to see the movie. We had a yummy dinner at a Thai restaurant and then settled in to watch the movie. The movie was so good and the reserved seating lessened the stress of finding a seat in a sold-out show.

On Saturday, I met with friends for book club. It was a nice lunch and conversation - with a little talk of the book. I went grocery shopping after that and then had a quiet night at home.

On Sunday, Husband met up with friends to watch golf so Little Miss and I went to my parents' house to use their pool. The second picture above shows Dad's sandals next to the shoes Little Miss decided to wear to the pool.  You can see the full ensemble in the first photo.  Quite the stylish little one.  We hung out there all afternoon. Sister and Nephew joined us later. Little Miss got to borrow Nephew's Swimmies and loved them. She loved being independent in the water which may be a great step to teaching her to swim. Good weekend!

Bedtime Fun

Little Miss went to bed under protest tonight.  She went very unwillingly but went through the motions.  Then, as soon as bedtime arrived, so did a thunderstorm.  (Actually, both things are still simultaneously happening.)  So, she called for Daddy because he's a bigger pushover at bedtime.  However, he was also cooking dinner so he only attended to the first round of grievances.  Then, usually we ignore her.  I heard the thunder rumbling and her whimpering so I went in to give hugs.  At this point, I noticed she wasn't whimpering, she was just plain whining.  I could see in her face she was exhausted.  She was rubbing her eyes and yawning... but whining.  So, I told her if she didn't settle down, I was going to leave because I didn't come in there to hear her whine.  She looked at me and said, "I don't want to settle down.  Leave."  When I didn't leave, she sat up, pointed to the door and said, "Leave!"  So, I did. 

Funny but in the seconds since I left the room, it's been silent from her room and I bet anything she just rolled over and went to sleep.  Should have just stuck with my usual routine of ignoring her.  That'll teach me to be nice during a thunderstorm. 

Weekend Update - Wicked Carnival

On Friday, we had a quiet night. We had a party earlier in the week in DC where we stayed out late so we needed a quiet night. On Saturday, Little Miss threw my contacts down the sink (AGAIN) so it was a long day of yelling and napping - by all parties. In the evening, we went and ran some errands.

On Sunday, Mom and Sister came over for brunch and Husband made us pancakes and bacon. Then, Mom, Sister, and I went to The Kennedy Center to see Wicked. It was a lot of fun. After the play, Husband, Little Miss and I met the In-Laws and Nephew at a local carnival where Little Miss rode the Merry-Go-Round, motorcycles and boats. Then, she played a carnival game and we left. It was very hot. We drove a little ways and got some ice and custard at Rita's. We got home late, but everybody had a good afternoon and a great weekend.

Weekend Update - Videos from the Weekend

On Sunday, we went to a carnival (more during the weekend update), but here are two videos of Little Miss enjoying herself on both the train (with Mother-in-Law and Nephew) and on the boats. I don't know where she thought she was steering, but she was steering that boat like it was her job.

Movies Watched in June 2011

1. Super 8
2. Cars 2
3. Cars
4. No Strings Attached

I saw the first two in the theater and the second two on DVD. Decent month all around but no stand outs.

Books Read in June 2011

1. The Pirate Hunter by Jennifer Ashley (NOTE: This is part of a series. You can find more information and order in which to read here.)
2. The Care and Feeding of Pirates by Jennifer Ashley (NOTE: This is part of a series. You can find more information and order in which to read here.)
3. The Chase by Erin McCarthy (NOTE: This is past of the Fast Track series. You can find more information and the order in which to read here.)
4. Dreaming by Jill Barnett (NOTE: This book is the companion book to Bewitching which gives you background information on the secondary characters in this book.)

Good month for reading. Dreaming was a straight reread. I rarely do complete rereads, but it was nice to visit a sweet, classic romance novel.

Weekend Update - Fun in the Sun

My goal to have Little Miss sing Firework on video didn't pan out, but I'm not giving up.  Either way, Friday and Saturday were spent cleaning or at least cleaning up.  On Saturday, we had friends over for dinner and had a nice evening.  Little Miss received a present from the newlyweds and spent Monday night decorating (video below with a picture of the final product).

On Sunday, we went to Brother-in-Law, Sister-in-Law and Nephew's pool until the storms came in. Little Miss is now tall enough to walk through some of the pool which makes her feel like quite a big girl.

On Monday, I mostly slept the day away, but Husband and I had a relaxing evening watching all the firework shows on TV. Good long weekend with a little bit of everything - friends, family, and relaxation.

Passing on Our Childhood

Last weekend, Husband woke up with Little Miss and the two of them watched a couple of episodes of The Smurfs. She said she liked it but didn't talk too much about them. Later, we were walking to the store to run some errands, and she was acting really silly - walking backwards and singing a nonsense song. I asked her what she was doing and she replied, "Mommy, I'm just smurfing."