Table and Bike Seat

I mentioned in a post a couple of weeks ago that we were going to attend a BBQ at Chet's boss' house. We had a really good time; his wife and I really got along and their children were great. Their daughter is four-years old, and had some things that she has outgrown, we so left the BBQ armed with a couple of really nice things: a princess table and a bike seat. We were literally going to buy a bike seat just like the one they gave us that same weekend, and I am so thankful to have a gently used one instead! The princess table is just about the same size as the one Sydney sits at to eat at daycare; she loves it. She doesn't eat all of her meals at home at the little table, just some. She likes climbing into the chair, and sometimes standing in it, so we're trying to break her of that (sometimes we just have to take the chairs away). She's okay with the bike seat, but doesn't really like the helmet, so we'll have to get her used to that too. Also, the red dress I wore to the Seabee Ball was borrowed from Chet's boss' wife!

Princess Table

Princess Sydney

Not too sure about the helmet...

Visit from "Aunt Ver" and Cute Outfits

The weekend before Valentine's Day, Veronica's (one of my college roommates) ship pulled into Jacksonville, and she was able to stay with us all weekend! It was so great to catch up with her and just relax (all we did all weekend was shop at Target and watch episodes of "Toddlers and Tiaras"). We lovingly refer to Veronica as "Aunt Ver", and she and I also share the same birthday! It's a rare occasion for Chet and me to visit or receive visits from college friends (other than the ones who live in Jacksonville), but Ver and I have been very fortunate in that this was the THIRD time in a single year we were able to see each other!

Sydney and "Aunt Ver", March 2010

"Aunt Ver" and Sydney, March 2011 (Sydney is wearing what we like to call her "smoking pajamas"...it's hard to tell in the picture, but they remind Chet and me of a smoking jacket...ha!)

Here are some random pictures of Syd. I like them because she's wearing a couple of the super cute outfits she received for her birthday!

"Walking" in Jeggings

Green!

She's yelling around the corner at Chet, who is in the downstairs half bathroom.

"Huh?" (My favorite part of the outfit are the striped leggings!)

Random Act of Kindness

This afternoon, I picked up Sydney from daycare and went to the grocery store on our way home to purchase dinner items. Chet and I do this frequently, as I have not yet perfected planning meals WAY in advance since I still work full time (getting better at planning meals is one of my goals once I'm finished working...although I'm sure there are plenty of moms who work full time and are great at meal planning). Also, I love and am good at shopping sales and using coupons, but sometimes, like today, time gets away from me and we find ourselves at the store buying the bare necessities for our evening meal, with no coupons in hand. (There is a point to all of this, I promise.)

Sydney was tired after daycare, and I was really hoping she'd fall asleep in the car and continue to sleep in the grocery store (she still uses her infant car seat that we can carry in from the car...she can technically use it until she weighs 32 lbs, and Chet and I are having a hard time letting go of the benefit of not having to wake her up just because we've "arrived"). Alas, she did not fall asleep, and was cranky in the store (I guess I can't blame her, but it certainly makes shopping a lot more painful). We were finally ready to check out, and all of the lanes seemed equally busy. I got behind a woman about my age who was there with her little boy (happily munching on a cookie) and her own mother. The woman had quite a few items to purchase, but no more than the person I would have gotten behind in the next lane. I took out all my items and put them on the conveyor belt, and a few minutes later (once I realized things weren't progressing as quickly as I thought they should), I noticed that she had about 100 coupons. Good grief... And they weren't all "normal" coupons. She was using coupons from different stores, and the poor clerk had to ask the manager a few times if certain things were valid.

Sydney was off-and-on cranky through all of this, and then started to get REALLY cranky. I mentally glared at the woman in front of me, whose little boy was NOT cranky because he was still eating that darned cookie...Sydney doesn't eat cookies, so I couldn't use that trick...plus she had her mother there to help in case things got out of hand. I was also annoyed that she had so many coupons, but quickly realized how hypocritical it was for me to be mad at her for that since I have, on occasion, been the crazy coupon monster in a store with a long line behind me. Sigh... I decided not to be bitter, but it was hard, but it WAS better than getting flustered. To appease Sydney I ended up opening a bag of apple slices for her to eat. I should have opened them sooner, because she immediately began smiling, waving, and offering everyone apples.

We FINALLY made it out of the store, and as soon as we exited, I heard someone behind me say, "Excuse me, ma'am". (By the way, I was wearing my uniform during all of this.) I looked behind me, and there was a man about 50-years old looking like he wanted to tell me something. He pulled a dozen roses he had just purchased in the store out of his cart, handed them to me, and said he just wanted to thank me for serving our country. Although this had nothing to do with the crazy coupon monster lady, I immediately felt guilty for being so impatient in the store, and thanked him for the flowers. The encounter was a little awkward, just because things like that hardly ever happen, but not at all creepy (in case anyone was wondering). It was such a nice gesture on his part, and I shall pay the kindness forward. (By the way, I guess I felt guilty because I'm pretty sure had he been able to hear my inner thoughts while I was waiting in line at the store, he wouldn't have bought me flowers.)

Seabee Ball

Last night, Chet and I attended the annual Seabee Ball (Sydney's daycare provider kept her). We had fun, but didn't stay too late. The music/dancing doesn't start until after dinner, the guest speaker, etc., and we were ready to leave by then, but I have to mention the band that was "hired". They are a group that is a subset of the Navy Band (that's why I said "hired"...since this is their job in the Navy, I'm not sure they get paid for gigs like this), and they were AMAZING! Seriously. There was a drummer, a saxophone player, an electric guitar player, a piano/keyboard player, and most of them also sang. They played cover songs, and their songs sounded exactly like the real ones (but kind of better, because it was live and you could tell they really loved what they did). They played everything from the BeeGees to the Zac Brown Band. It was so funny seeing them jamming out in their uniforms too. Anyway, I digress. Here are a couple of pictures (taken with my five-year old point-and-shoot digital camera...which disappoints me more and more each time I use it; I wish we could have had someone take a picture with our nice camera).

Birthday Morning Pictures (super late!)

Here are a couple of pictures of Sydney the morning of her birthday. This was after Chet and I went into her room and woke her up for the day, softly singing "Happy Birthday". She simply laid in her crib and stared up at us suspiciously as we sang over her; looking back, I don't blame her for being a little creeped out.

Waiting for me to come downstairs to start snapping the "birthday pictures".

"Not the bow again!"

"Walking"

I took Sydney to the doctor for her 12-month checkup on her actual birthday. She weighed (and still pretty much does) 19.4 lbs, but I can't tell you how "tall" she is. The height measurement that day was totally inaccurate (Sydney was squirming like crazy), but the doctor estimated she is in the 50th percentile for height. Sydney still isn't walking on her own, but her latest thing is to grab our fingers and take off practically running. She does this with her daycare provider too, and prefers this method of travel over crawling and being carried. Mentally, she's ready to walk, but I think she needs a little more practice with balance before she walks alone (although she can stand for long periods by herself without holding onto anything). She's a great talker though! She says "mama", "dada", "baby" ("be-bee"), "thank you" ("t-t"...that's it, just a double "t" sound), "hi", "bye bye", "BOO!", and "Sydney" ("Nee nee"). She is also doing well pointing out (and sometimes repeating) "nose", "eye", "ear", and "mouth" (although sometimes she gets her eyes and ears mixed up...ha!). She also does great at following orders we give us, such as "give me that", or "go get your baby", etc. It's amazing how early they understand things, even if it's awhile down the road before they may be able to voice them.

Carousel

Last Monday (President's Day; Chet and I were off work) we took Sydney to the zoo. It was super crowded, so we didn't stay long, but we did take her on her first carousel ride. I was a little nervous, because I wasn't sure how she would react. We stood in line, right next to the carousel, and watched it for one ride. She was wide eyed the whole time. We were one of the first ones to board the carousel when it was our turn, and I debated whether or not to choose an animal that was stationary, or moved up and down. I decided to go all out and choose one (a dolphin) that went up and down. She was fine just sitting there, waiting for the ride to start, and sort of tensed up (wide eyes again) when the ride started. But she did great! She pointed at Chet every time we passed him (he didn't ride, just took pictures), and then waved at the people standing in line when the carousel stopped.

Nothing Much

It's been a while since I've posted; I just haven't been in the mood lately. Probably because there are things I NEED to post about (Sydney's birthday party, for one), but certain events happened so long ago that posting about them has turned into a chore. Don't worry...I shall post pictures soon...

On another note, I attended a Creative Memories party last night. Have you ever heard of it? It's like a Tupperware party or Pampered Chef party, but Creative Memories sells products that help organize your pictures (both printed and digital) and create anything from a calendar to a 12x12 family photo album that you can design and print yourself in the comfort of your own home! (I should be a Creative Memories consultant!) Anyway, it was a great get together, and Ia purchased both the organizing and creating software. We are good at keeping our photos organized, but Creative Memories provides a lot of "extras" that make sorting and finding your photos amazingly easy. I'm pretty excited, and plan to delve into the software as soon as I receive it in order to get acquainted with it and make sure that I get my money's worth!

Sydney has an ear infection (her first one, believe it or not) that was diagnosed Tuesday. She is doing very well, and we plan on attending a BBQ tomorrow at Chet's boss house (their four-year old daughter wants to "hold the baby", which is Sydney).