By Baby is 2

I can't believe I have a two-year-old! It is just crazy. I miss the days when she was a cute chubby little baby that would let me hold her in her arms. Look at her cheeks in the picture above, she was so stinkin' adorable. She is even cuter now, but in a drama queen sort of way.

Want to know something funny about having a two-year-old? Well two days after her birthday I had someone tell me that it was time to get working on another one. Really? I thought that would be so predictable that nobody would mention it, but it actually happened anyway. More comments have been made this past week than the whole previous year about having another child.

Right now Lucy is playing right next to me with her purse slung over her shoulder and talking away to her baby. Two minutes ago she tapped on my shoulder and said "My baby got hurt and cry mommy." This morning she talked about crying for the first time when I went into get her. She had been fake crying, stopping as soon as I opened the door, then looked at me and said "Ucy cry mommy, I cry," as she demonstrated where her tears were with both of her hands. She is a crack up for sure.

We went to the doctor yesterday and she had 3 different nurses and the doctor comment on how well she talked for a two-year-old. I told one of them that talking wasn't the problem, it is keeping quiet we were working on. Here are by baby's stats:

36" tall - 90%

27lbs 2oz - 50%

Lucy is tall and thin. My mom had me get my doctor's records out last night to compare Lucy to me at that age. I was a little bit shorter, and a little bit fatter. Go figure.

(I am now wearing her purse and holding her baby over my shoulder and keeping there with my chin. Oh the things we do as mothers)

I need to upload all my pictures because so much has happened that I want to blog about, but want the corresponding pictures to make it better. Pictures make every post better in my opinion. So coming up are posts about Lucy's Backyardigans Party, our new playroom and her first day of Ballet.

09.09.09

Last week was a tough one. We all spent a little time being sick. Lucy got it first on Sunday, Tuesday it was slow in coming, but I ended up going from feeling faint and nauseated to loving the toilet bowl by the end of the day. Tyler was on a business trip in Boise and spent the entire time in his bathroom, poor guy. He so got it the worse. Here is a picture of Lucy being pathetically sick on the couch. I think she looked adorably angelic with no energy!

(Whoever says these leashes are mean doesn't know what they are talking about. Does Lucy look like she hates it?)

Okay I know it is Wednesday, but I have been meaning to get online and blog about my weekend. I had so much fun with Tyler being home and us having his attention! Plus, we all felt so much better after being sick that week. Friday afternoon we went to the Oregon State Fair to meet up with a bunch of friends from work. Later that night we finally went to ride some rides (we promised Lucy a ride on the carousal) only to find out she was and inch or so too short. Come on, how in the heck could she hurt herself? Needless to say we did not have a happy camper so we had to distract her with the fish pond where she got a lovely turtle that she now totes around the house. She was happy and forgot all about the fish she won earlier from a duck pond!

After the fair we stopped by to play games with Jon and Amanda until almost 2 in the morning. I was so tired the next day, but Lucy slept in till after 9 which couldn't have worked out better.

Saturday Tyler spent the day working on Lucy's birthday present with his dad. We are giving the room above the garage a makeover with a full fledged stage and curtains. Look at the almost finished product below. You couldn't tell they are related or anything right?You should see it now, BEAUTIFUL! I spent the day cutting and sewing curtains. I am not done yet as I am figuring out how to sew as I go. Around five or so we a break to watch the BYU game...what a wonderful way to round out the day huh?!! Go Cougars!

On Sunday I ended up making a cake (Amanda made the frosting) and we went over to celebrate my wonderful mother-in-laws birthday. I feel so blessed to have someone so wonderful in my life. I hear all these horror stories of in-laws, but I feel so lucky to have gained another set of wonderful role models who are complete assets to my life! Happy Birthday Ane!

Monday, Labor Day, was anything but a rest from our labors. I made two trips to Lowe's and spent the entire day painting and taping off the play room. Tyler helped by painting most of the first coat of blue on the ceiling. Can you believe it took 1 1/2 gallons of paint for the first coat? I am in shock! We decided the playroom is bigger than we thought. I haven't started on the second coat or the yellow walls. One step at a time right?

MY BABY TURNS 2 ON SUNDAY. I THINK I AM GOING TO DIE OR SOMETHING BECAUSE SHE IS MY BABY, NOT A TODDLER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Grandma Bernice's Birthday

On June 3rd we celebrated my grandma's birthday by spending a day in the Columbia River Gorge. We drove up the Scenic Highway and it was more beautiful than I remember. We stopped at all the hot spots like Crown Point (picture below).Multnomah Falls

the dam

We also went to the fish hatchery, which who knew there were fish that were over 7' long. We had a picnic with some awesome fried chicken my mom made in honor of my grandma, she made the very best! It was the best picnic right down to the table cloth and yummy lemonade (mom you thought of everything).

I have actually been thinking about my grandma so much lately, I have never missed a single person more in my life! I have to cry just thinking about her, we are coming up on a year without her with us. Tyler reminds me that I am so lucky to have had her so close to me all these years. How lucky I was to have a grandma that was such a wonderful, kind and hilarius person to help shape me into the woman I am. I feel so blessed, but at the same time I want her in my life still. I want Lucy to know her and it makes me so sad to think how much she would have loved to have seen Lucy grow up. To hold her so tight. Grandma always said that Lucy felt so good in her arms.

I miss her and want her back, but how thankful I am to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. To know that I will be with her again. It helps, but it still makes me cry to not to be able to play games with her (oh the memories), or to call her about the latest thing Lucy said or did (she would have loved and looked forward to the frequent calls). I can't tell you how many times I have thought, 'oh I should call grandma,' only to realize that she won't be picking up the phone any time soon. I don't undertand why it hasn't totally registered in my brain that she is no longer with us. I still feel the pain in my heart, I wish it would just go away!

Sunny Summer

Me and Lucy have had so much fun this summer. It is amazing what you can do with a toddler. We have enjoyed everything from Disney World and multiple trips to the Oregon Coast, to the duck pond across the street, the Zoo, parks, our back deck, OMSI, playgrounds and so much more.
Just today we were at Bridgeport before dropping Tyler off at the airport. As a family we ate great food outside, got a balloon and watched Lucy play on the play structure. The simple pleasures of a child! I have almost as much fun as she does while watching how much fun a little pebble on the ground can be. Why can't adult life be that simplistic? I believe I need to get back the basics. I need to think more about my child than I do myself. Take care of my self yes, but do more for her and Tyler than I currently do. I have a NEED to see her smiling face and hear her cute giggle a whole lot more!

Mom's getaway

So two weeks ago I got a little mommy getaway. It was wonderful! I left on my own Thursday night to San Diego and was met by my lovely, pregnant friends Beth and Carla. We stayed up till after 4 talking. I haven't stayed up that late in forever! We talked about our time as roommates and all the fun we had. By the end of the weekend we concluded that while we LOVED our single life of 'seduction,' chick flicks and shopping for ourselves, we so wouldn't go back. Being married is so much better for us at this point in time. But if you are still single, live up the life for sure!

We got together for Kristen's wedding and boy was she a blushing bride. I have never seen her so girly and gorgeous! We were able to spend her last night as a single woman with her and had so much fun, and yes, more memories were shared.

Have any of you ever been to a busy day of weddings at the Las Angeles temple? Oh my goodness was that an experience. There were 15 weddings that day, but I swear they all happened at the same time. We had to wait HOURS for Kristen and Matt's names to be announced on the back stairs to make their first appearance as husband and wife. But don't worry, we made the best of our time. We would judge the brides maids dresses and guess what kind of girl picked it out. We even waited for one more bride to come out after Kristen because we had to see the girl that hated her best friends. I so wish I had taken a picture of the hot pink bondage strips that made the skinny girls look fat. We weren't disappointed with the bride, she was as we imagined:)

I came home Sunday night and was so happy to see my hubby and adorable angel Lucy. I feel trips away from them make me be a better wife and mom.

Oh, and I chopped off my hair right before I went. I love it, but think I will go even shorter next time. Tyler finally realized that I look better with a short bob than long hair that I never cared to blow dry. Now it's 4 minutes from wet to styled. What more can a mom ask for? (sometimes a wet pony tail but I am dealing)

Hornibrook Updates

1. We signed our lives away a couple of weeks ago and got the keys to our first home. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

2. Our family and ward helped us move in Saturday and our house is full of boxes. I don't remember purchasing this much stuff, but I am happy we for sure have enough room for it all in our home!

3. Today I had one of these baby's visit my house.

To make a really long story short, I went to take the trash out into our garage and the door locked behind me. With wet hair and no make up or shoes on, I knocked on neighbors doors, broke a few screens, cried a lot, prayed a lot on my knees in my back yard, tracked a lady down at the park across the street and called 911. 3 men came to my rescue--my hero's for sure! Lucy was oblivious of the situation as she slept away in her crib.

This was just as bad as the time I let Lucy hold the keys to our car as I strapped her into the car seat. I shut the door and went to put her stroller in the back and heard that dreaded locking sound. While it was a super hot car and by then end she had turned red and was rather wet, she thought it was a funny game. Lucy kept pushing the lock button over and over again making the car honk for everyone to enjoy, but never once pushed the unlock button. My mom and I sang her songs and played peek-a-boo with her through the windows till AAA came to our rescue. It seems all these unnecessary and very scary things happen to me, but I PROMISE I learn from my mistakes.

Moral of the story is don't lock yourself out, or let your child lock you out of the house or car.

4. Tyler has been working so hard and has only spent two nights in our new house. Fortunately my dad took him and my brother Dane to a golf school/camp this week in Arizona. Tyler called today and said his game has improved already and he is having a great time. The camp goes through Thursday and my lover deserves every minute of it to take a break from the stresses of work. (even though he has to work on his computer and make calls all night to manage his territory, he gets to relax and do something he loves during the day).

5. In less than two weeks I get to go see some of my very best girlfriends in California for Kristen's wedding. I am so so so excited to see them and have a girls weekend!

COLORS

I have been working on colors for a month or so with Lucy. Most everything we talk about has a color involved. "This book is blue" or "Find the purple two," but it never seemed to help her get the concept. The other day at IKEA I was buckling Lu into her car seat and she kept saying 'yellow, buuu' over and over again. I couldn't really understand her but she was quite persistent as she pointed and said it over and over again. Finally I looked to see what she was pointing at and it was the building. The 'Yellow and Blue' building, all of the sudden her words became very clear. I was so happy and exclaimed how proud of her I was. Ever since our experience last Thursday, EVERYTHING has a color involved. She knows Purple, Yellow, Blue, Green, Red and Orange quite well.

Today Lucy was eating Fruit Loops and she had to tell me the colors of each one before it went in her mouth. My excitement in the colors has worn off, but it still makes me a proud mom to know that when I talk about things long enough, it all pays off. One day the information just clicks in their little brains and it is a wonderful thing. I am absolutely amazed how much their brain resembles a sponge, soaking up everything around them!

Escape Artist

This morning Lucy woke up at 7:30, which today was a little early for me (I'm still tired from staying up till after 4 two nights ago). So I went in and laid her back down with a pacifier, blanket and bunny. This usually keeps her happy for an hour to an hour and a half whether she goes back to sleep or just reads in her crib. She's such a happy little girl, I feel rather lucky it works more often than not. Around 8 I heard her whining so I got up to start our day. I walked down the hall and opened Lucy's door and was shocked to say the very least. I hit Lucy with the door. That's right, I hit my child, not softly mind you, with her bedroom door. Somehow that little girl of mine got out of her crib and was at the door waiting for me to come get her. WHAT? There isn't even any furniture close enough to her crib for her to climb on. Are her muscles really that strong? I have heard of lots of mom's saying their kids escape, but I never thought it would happen with me, at least not with Lucy.
So there you have it, I have an escape artist on my hands and have no clue where to go from here. I am SO not ready to have her in a big girls bed. I like having her contained in her crib. But now that she can possibly get out (it may have been a fluke), she could really get hurt in the process.
If you want to know my deepest feelings on the subject, I am not ready for her to grow up. I tried the potty training thing and she's ready, but I'm not. I read somewhere that it is a child's first step to really growing up. And then to have to put her in a real bed, what does she think she is doing to me? She is only 22 months old, that is not a big girl yet, it is still a baby in my book. How do I get this through her head? Sigh...

The Half-Blood Prince

What were you doing at 12:01 this morning? I happened to be clapping away as the theater went dark and my good friend Harry was soon to appear on the big screen. Ever since I saw 'Yes Man' I have wanted to go to some kind of fanatic party. I really wanted to be totally decked out for the Harry Potter midnight showing, but I had to settle for the glasses and a eyeliner scar drawn by my mother.
We got to the theater 2 1/2 hours early and went strait in (shocking). We scored some great seats and began our waiting. Amy downed 1 1/2 ginormous diet cokes and had to go to the bathroom 3 times, once 20 minutes into the movie. We made a friend sitting next to us (she had been there for hours before us), downed many calories of junk and got super excited for the show to begin.

(my stissy with her coke straw wand)

My brilliant sister also won the Harry Potter trivia game at the front of the movie theater. She answered questions only a Harry Potter freak would know. Like the words for certain spells, who knows that crap? Anyway, she won tickets which she forgot to pick up. I was super enthusiastic the whole time, yelling things like 'that's my sister.' I got lots of strange looks, but hey, I was wearing Harry Potter glasses and an eyeliner scar, I deserved it!

Let's just say that Harry did not disappoint. The movie was actually fantastic, and because I haven't read the book in years, I didn't catch all the differences. I did notice certain huge omissions, but they didn't bother me as much as they did Amy. But overall, we both loved it and will for sure be seeing it again soon.

What did disappoint were the lack of Harry Potter enthusiasts. I did see about a dozen or so fully dressed fans, but that was it! Some puffy painted t-shirts or Hogwarts ties/scarfs and such, but really, where were all the full fledged freaks? I wanted my picture with them because secretly I want to be just like them (for a night only)!

November 2010 can't come soon enough!

Coldplay

Last Friday, thanks to a good friend, me and Tyler got to spend the evening enjoying the music of Coldplay. We went to their Viva la Vida concert and honestly had such a good time! First off, Chris Martin is not only an amazing singer, but it is a treat to watch him preform. He put on a good show, interacted with the crowd and showed more enthusiasm than is seen by most artists. We loved it!

I tried to get a few clips of the show, but I just had my little camera so the footage and sound aren't real good. Their were dozes of those yellow balloons flying around and Chris kept hitting the ones that would fly up on stage with his guitar and tons of confetti would fly out. It was awesome to watch!

If you like their music even a little bit, they would be a good band to see in concert!

On a different note, Lucy LOVES getting her picture taken. She hasn't always been like this, but over the last two months she can't get enough. She will say some form of the word picture, then 'cheeeeeeessse' (you can tell that is what she is saying out loud in this picture), then look at the picture taken and say 'aaahhhh cute.' It is then back to wanting to take another picture. Here is one of the 25+ I snapped last week. She looks so homely, but I still think she is adorable!