Five Months Later - I'm Back!

Whew, what a crazy 5 months it's been...insane!

1) This summer was out of control with days upon days of 100+ degree weather! We had a small reprise with a 5-day vacay in Southern California visiting our good friends.

Libby's First Trip to the Beach! She loved it! San Clemente - August 6, 2011

2) I am pregnant! We're expecting a son on January 17, 2012...just six days before Libby's second birthday. I found out just after I posted my last post on Mother's Day. Apparently we got pregnant on Easter. Guess an EXTRA special egg was delivered!

Our Baby Boy on the Way! EDD 01.17.12

3) We bought a house! We made the offer on July 1 and moved in over Labor Day Weekend. It's 2,000 sq. feet (so nearly double the size of the rental we've been in for the past three years), 2-story and has 4 bedrooms and 2 baths with a two car garage.

View of our new home's interior from the entry way

So yeah, that's why I've been away. Plus work was wacky all summer too with two positions downsized (I am now a department of 1.5...don't ask!), travel for a seminar we hosted, many meetings and special projects.

Fall is finally here and at 25 weeks pregnant I am looking to slow down a bit now that we're all moved into our new place.

More to come!

Mother's Day 2011

Two years ago today Libby was just a little ball of cells making its way into my womb. I still marvel at this fact. The miracle life is simply amazing. I adore seeing my Little Being grow and develop with each passing day. She's her own little person, already, and I am so lucky to be her mother.

This Mother's Day weekend we spent time in the great outdoors. Friday began with an afternoon visit to Hunter's Park in South Tulsa. We've never been before and I was so happy to have received a late invitation from a friend with two daughters, one is four and other is almost 7 months. After some time at the park it was time to go. There was an ice cream truck that Libby called "ice cream bus" and I stopped and got us a push-up pop to share. She's never had one and it's been at least 30 years since I've eaten one! It was so good! On the way home I picked up a Radio Flyer Trike I had bought over the phone earlier in the day from a local consignment shop. When we got home, we took it for a spin in the driveway! She also enjoyed her first time using sidewalk chalk and our driveway now is decorated with pastel loveliness.

Saturday we headed to our familiar stomping grounds at La Fortune Park. Libby has no fear when it comes to climbing on the play equipment and I love that, for the most part, she can run around freely.

Sunday, J made us bacon and pancakes with sliced strawberries. Yum, yum! I also got lovely cards and gifts from both him and my mom and not one, but two cards from Libby (apparently my mom and J had her bases covered). J had to work so Libby and I spent the afternoon playing in the front yard. Mom had some gardening to do so Libby got in on the action, which was adorable!

This was my second, official Mother's Day and it was awesome! I am so happy to have Libby call me mommy!

Awesome Weekend: Part One

After a week of gray, misty, overcast skies and near freezing temps we were rewarded this weekend with blue skies, gentle breezes and a 76 degrees of sunshine! After a crazy week at work (not one, not two, not three, but FOUR big deadlines met!) and too many nine hour days and working through lunch,  I was ready to just relax and enjoy my family.

Friday afternoon my mom and I took Libby to the playground at 41st/Riverside...

First, my dear hubby let me sleep in until 9 a.m. He got up with Libby and I awoke to the sounds of her finishing her breakfast..."all doooooonnnnneee!" We hung out while J whipped up some delicious pancakes. The windows and doors were open and the cross breezes felt awesome as we drank our coffee and ate our pancakes. The backyard has been alive with birds of every color...blue, red, black, brown and shades between...mating season is in full effect and it's fun to see their little dances and rituals. And see them building their nests...readying themselves for the little eggs that will surely result from all of their Springtime fun!

Libby's really into her dolls lately...and is loving this double stroller my mom picked up for her from Target:

She's also really obsessed with "BEADS!" And loves my necklaces and earrings. So I let her wear this Kukui nut lei that we brought home from our wedding in Hawaii....

Pop was in town for the gun show and stopped by for a few hours.

She just had to show him her babies...and stuffed elephant, of course!

And then we headed out to La Fortune Park where we played on the toddler-sized equipment:

And then watched some ducks for a bit...

What a great start to the weekend! And I love that Libby gets to spend so much quality time with her grandma...they are best buds!

Awesome Weekend: Part Two

The weather was still great come Sunday, so mom and I took Libby to the Tulsa Zoo at Mowhawk Park. Libby's been to the aquarium twice (once here in Tulsa, well, technically, Jenks and the first time was in Seattle, last October)...but this was her first time to the zoo. And it was my first time to the zoo here in Tulsa and the first time I've gone in about 15 or 20 years!

We started with the elephant exhibit since Libby is obsessed with "eh-a-fence" but there was only one out and she was way across from the observation area so Libby hardly saw her. And lost interest quickly. So it was on to the giraffe exhibit. Again, only one giraffe, but he was eating and easy to see.

She had been in the Ergo about 20 minutes at this point and wanted "down!" She was funny watching the giraffe and kept saying "ball!" because he was eating some food from the green ball tied to the fencing.

Across from the giraffe was the zebra enclosure...




I love this photo of Libby with my mom...

 

Despite bringing the stroller, in addition to the Ergo, she wanted to walk on her own at this point. So we put on her "puppy backpack"...which is basically a kid leash. I never thought I'd be one to use one with my kiddo, but she doesn't want to hold hands and wants to walk on her own. So this is our compromise. And she loves the thing! She asks for it all the time at home. And in the car I let her hold it (sans the long tail) and she's super excited when we arrive at our destination to wear her puppy backpack! That said, we're still working on holding hands and staying with mommy, daddy or grandma!

We headed to the Big Cats...the tiger and lion....yes, again, just one of each. And ongoing theme at the Tulsa Zoo, at least on this day...

Then we saw some penguins...

And checked out the bears (black and brown) as well as some lemurs and made our way to the train. This was Libby's first train ride! She was thrilled that the "big kids" in front of us were wearing backpacks too...yep...a monkey and tan puppy version of her kiddie leash! Apparently, all the cool kids wear them!

At the train stop was the carousel, so we went for a spin on the ferocious looking tiger! Libby had a blast! And so did I...I love just seeing her experience new things and enjoying the moment! This was her second time on a carousel (the first was in December at the mall when we had her holiday portraits taken).



One of my all-time favorite photos of me with Libby.
There's a lot of emotion in my face here!

Oh, I should mention that on the train ride Libby asked to nurse, so we did. And then a little more on the bench while we waited for our turn on the carousel. I have no idea if others saw us (I nurse without a cover, but am discreet by wearing a nursing tank under my top so I can lift up my top and still be covered underneath...

At 14 months Libby's still going strong with nursing. During the week it's about 2-3 times a day, but on weekends it much more. And I am okay with that...at least for now. She's still my baby and nursing is so beneficial for her AND for me!

Anyway, then it was off to the petting zoo, where ironically, we saw some mama sheep nursing their lambs. And Libby got to touch some goats!

After about two hours in the park she started to fade...which was understandable as her nap time was nearing AND we'd been in the 80 degree weather and walking in 30 mph winds! So we wrapped up our visit with a stop by the otters and headed on our way home...

Libby stayed awake during the 15 minute ride home but then promptly fell asleep for nearly 3 hours which is record napping for her! I am sure this is just the first of many more visits to the zoo to come. We had a great day and a wonderful end to our awesome weekend!

She's Back!

Hooray, my sweet little girl is back. The past two days have been SO much better. She's gone down at her regular bedtime. Last night, she slept SO well. She was down at 7:30 p.m. and woke up to nurse at 1:30 a.m. and then went back to sleep until 8:30 a.m. It was awesome! I attribute it to this:

We welcomed the first day of Spring with a trip to the park at 41st and Riverside Drive:

We picked up some bagels from Old School Bagels in Brookside and then headed to the park on 41st and Riverside. We had about an hour at the playground. It was so fun to see her playing like a big kid. She climbed on the equipment and went down the slide. She spun in the spinning cup thing (I swear this playground is so modern I have no idea how half of the equipment even works) and ran around. It was a nice 78 degrees and breezy! A perfect day.

We got home and she had a great nap! I needed to vacuum and she's terrified of it so I strapped her into the Scootababy and we got the job done. Then, she decided she wanted to try her own "vak-oom" and figured out how to use her popper. Until now she's just carried it around! So cute to see her figure it out!

All that activity definitely tired her out (and the pugs too)!

Now that Spring has sprung and we have nicer weather, I want to be sure she gets at least a hour a day outside to play. Even if it's divided throughout the day. It's SO important! And it obviously makes her sleep so well! It'll be good for ALL of us to get outside and enjoy all that Mother Nature has to offer!