Is it a toddler thing or a girl thing????

We're going through some issues which some may label as part of the 'terrible twos'.  I prefer not to call it that, since I am finding that two is so much fun and I understand exactly what is going on with Marea and her new found independence.  But that doesn't mean that some things arn't driving me crazy....like, her inability to make up her mind!  She has become the queen of making a decision, changing her mind, then changing it again, and again, and again.  And all the while, fussing and whining about it.  The funny thing is, she can usually have whatever it is that she wants, it's just that she changes her mind in the middle of getting it and then fusses and whines because it's not what she wants anymore.  I guess she's just exploring her ability to affect change and make decisions.  Or maybe she's testing the limits of my patience.  I don't mind that she changes her mind back and forth between two things a bunch of times, but I just can't stand the whining and fussing!  I think Gary gets the worst of it in the  morning, when she's just gotten up and she wants her milk and something to eat. (In fact, it often revolves around what she wants to eat.)  I often hear a lot of whining coming from the kitchen in the mornings.  And i'm so grateful that it's Gary who is dealing with it because, lord knows, mornings are my absolute worst time!  

But overall,  I still know that we are the luckiest parents.  Today while wandering around Ikea I I heard and saw several toddlers crying.  Marea doesn't ever do that.  She may test and push limits and be very secure to express herself at home, but when we're out and about, whether it be our playgroup, or shopping, or with friends or family, she is always the most delightful and well behaved kid.  And I know that other people think that too, because I am always told how easy and what a great kid she is.  I agree!  

slumber party!

Marea and Jackie had their first slumber party over the weekend.  It was also Marea's first time spending the night with Grandma and Grandpa Frost.  From what I hear, they had a fabulous time, complete with watching a movie in bed and falling asleep within 20 minutes.  Grandma said that at one point she went in to check on them, and Marea was trying to put a paci in Jackie's mouth.  The next morning I picked her up at HB pier where we watched Sara play volleyball for a bit.  Marea looked very happy, she was running around with Jackie and Emily having a good time.  She fell asleep within 2 minutes of being in the car.  I like it when she's nice a tired!  I hope there are lots more slumber parties to come.

Our summer is managing to still be super busy, despite the fact that I am 4 weeks away from having this baby.  We have been really busy with our moms group, hanging out at the beach, lots of trips to the pool, toddler birthday parties, etc.  Marea's vocabulary is getting even better...it's truly amazing.  She can communicate just about anything.  Maybe that's why she's going thru her little autonomy stage right now....because she knows she can affect her choices!  She's definitely been very opinionated about how she wants things to be these days, and at times it can be frustrating, I know how important it is to support them in this, so I try to be patient and make it fun and easy for everyone.  I hope I can continue to give her the same amount of care and attention when baby #2 arrives!  I know she's excited for her baby sister, and I think that will help.  She talks about her sister a lot, about all the things she wants to do...change her diaper, feed her, kiss her, hold her.  It's super cute.  But i'm still not sure that she knows what's coming!  

On the topic of potty training...I think we're almost done!  Marea was doing great, and then there was a bit of a regression, but it seems that we're back on track.  Now I just need to get up the nerve to put in her big girl pants all the time.  But it's hard because I don't want to have to clean up any messes!  

my favorite words

I thought I better jot a few of these down before Marea starts saying them correctly.  Cuz we've been working on pronunciation a bit, although some words she's just starting to say correctly on her own.  Like, 'gwa-wa' is 'grandma' now.  And 'melmo' is 'elmo'.  Without my help!

Anyways, here's a few faves:

'goggy' -doggy

'shower'-flower

'yegos'-legos

'yight'-light

'pu-cakes'-cupcakes

'skuck'-stuck

'mountain'-fountain

there's lots more, i'll add them as i hear them!

Hair

What is it about my hair?  Or, actually, anyone's hair?  When it's time to go to sleep, Marea absolutely must have some hair to rub.  I try not to be annoyed as my hair gets twisted, pulled and tangled into an obnoxious mess, but sometimes I just can't help it.  And now i'm noticing that I have a lot of broken hair and i'm sure that it's because of Marea's dirty habit.  Baby girl, I love you more than anything in the world, but WHY the hair fetish?  After she goes to sleep, she often tugs and rubs her own hair.  I hope that as her hair gets longer, she relies more on her own hair for soothing.  Otherwise we may be getting her a wig real soon.

The Countdown

Well we managed to have an awesomely fun summer so far.  After Marea's birthday we went to El Capitan Canyon in SB for some plush 'camping', which was just perfect for all three of us and exactly what we needed.  We played at the beach all day, bbq'ed at our camp in the early evening, (fighting off the 'meat bees'), and then it was into the jacuzzi tub and the fancy beds for a night of good sleep in the great outdoors.  What could be better than that? We will definitely be going back next summer, as a family of 4 of course.  Marea loved 'camping', in fact, yesterday she said that she wants to go camping again.  I'm sure in a few years we'll give her a taste of some 'real' camping.  But for now, this is just my speed.

We hosted our first Fourth of July party for the family, which turned out really nice.  It was a lot of work, mostly because of my condition, but it was great to finally be able to host something and have everyone over.  Marea even stayed up for fireworks, and she wasn't scared.  After that party I decided that it was time for me to slow down a bit and spend the rest of the summer relaxing.  Good thing I was already there mentally, because physically, my body started to really slow down.  It was perfect timing.  Although i'm a bit sad that i feel physically limited right now, i'm learning a big lesson in letting go and taking it easy.  I feel very pregnant right now, and i'm wondering how i'm going to manage for these last 7 weeks. I know i'll be okay, but I have to say, the sooner the better!  Marea is talking more and more about baby sister, and i'm starting to talk to her a lot more about the baby coming and all the things that we'll do to take care of the baby.  I'm totally curious to see how this all works out when we come home with a real live baby!  So in the meantime, while we're anxiously awaiting the arrival of baby sister, we're filling our last weeks of summer with lots of playdates with the moms group, hanging out with Mia and Sean at their pool, and playing with Madison (some of Marea's fave friends), lots of pool days at Grandma and Grandpa's house (with popsicles after swimming), beach days, bike rides with daddy, eating the yellow tomatoes off the bush in the backyard, playing in our blow up pool, enjoying the company of Auntie Sam and Uncle Robbie now that they're back, music in the park and at the zoo, and on and on.  A perfect life!

Celebrating Two

To my Sweet, Adorable, Loving Little Miss Pie on her 2nd Birthday:

Two years ago today, on the very first day I kissed your sweet little cheeks, I had no idea how much joy you would bring to my life.  I'm practically speechless.

Watching you grow and change over this past year has been absolutely amazing.  You have grown from a baby into the most delightful toddler I have ever known.  You can talk up a storm, you can express what you need and want with pleases and thank you's, you can build tall towers with blocks, blow bubbles, sing the ABC's, Itsy Bitsy Spider and Twinkle Twinkle, run and jump and climb like crazy, you have created your own relationships with so many people (all your grandparents, cousins, aunties and uncles and our new baby friends), and you're still as cuddly as ever and love a good snuggle and hair rub with your mommy and daddy.  One of my favorite things about you is that you are so easy-going.  You're usually up for just about anything and you always able to have a good time no matter what we're doing.  I could go on and on about the wonderful things about you, and how happy you make me and your daddy. And I know that you are going to be an awesome big sister.  That little girl in my tummy has no idea what is in store for her!

I know that our future holds wonderful things and I am looking forward to being there with you every step of the way.  

Happy Birthday Miss Pie!

Summer of Fun

It's not even officially summer yet, but we're off to a fantastic start.  I'm trying to squeeze in as much fun as we can possibly have before I get too big and the baby comes.  So we're doing lots of stuff!  Here's how we spent last week (just one week!)

Right after Utah, we had Grethe's wedding.  Marea associates Grethe with the kitty jumpie now because I got it for Grethe's bachelorette party, but Marea got to enjoy it the whole next day.  So when we were spending time with Grethe before her wedding, she would always say, "Jump in kitty".  Marea was quite the dancing queen at the wedding.  She really busted out of her shell and spent a lot of time tearing up the dance floor with all the other kids.  It was super cute. 

Then we headed off to Disneyland, with our friends Kate and Madison,  for her first visit.  It was definitely more for me than her, but she really enjoyed it.  Her favorite things were the Jungle Cruise, Winnie the Pooh ride, the play area at Toon Town, the train ride and the parade.  She's definitely not a disney manaic, *thank god*, because she's a little too young and I really haven't pushed any of the disney stuff.  And i'm super happy about that, I hope it stays that way!  

After that it was off to the Long Beach Aquarium with Auntie Conny, Jackie, Emily and Lauren.  It was fun to see her enjoy it in new ways since our first visit last summer.  She's definitely more interested in different things now.  Her attention span for the fish is better, and she likes learning the names of different animals, since she loves words and talking so much.  She really liked the seals this time.  And the touch tanks.  

THEN we saw ELMO LIVE!  It's so funny because she actually refers to it as "elmo LIVE".  I'm not really sure how she picked up on the 'live' part, but it's funny.  She really enjoyed that, especially the part where they sang Itsy Bitsy Spider.  

All that stuff happened in a week.  Now is it any wonder why I don't get much written down in this blog?  Time flies when you are having so much fun!  Lots more is coming too....we have lots of great stuff to look forward to!

Marea is also moving into a big girl bed.  I hope this goes smoothly....it probably will, she's so easygoing, i feel so fortunate that everything seems to go smoothly!