Happy 2nd Birthday Lovebug!!!!!

Happy Birthday Lovebug!!!!!

Though probably sounding cliche, I cannot believe where these first two years have gone.  They have absolutely flown by!  And we've been having the time of our lives with lil' miss thing :).

So I don't forget to remember what Lovebug was like as a two-year-old, or you dear blog reader, here's a quick run-down.  Do not feel obligated to read everything, but there may be some cute pics at the end :).

Eating:  Anything and everything all.day.long!!  Your favorites include:  sticks, spring cheese {string cheese}, fruit snacks, yogurt, hot dogs, pizza, mac & cheese, McDonalds {yep!}, cheeseburger, french fries, strawberries, grapes, Diet Coke :).  You are not a great breakfast person, even when Daddy brings you a donut. 

Sleeping:  You're getting better.  You will most nights go to sleep on your own again when Mommy says "I'll check on you".  Sometimes, you're a stinker and you run out to see where Mommy is, though.  You go to bed {since we're on our summer schedule} around 9:30pm and wake up to have "mama sit me" between 3:00-4:00am.  You'll wake up a few more times until you're up and at 'em at 8:30am.  Every night before bed, you do your thing with Daddy, and then you and Mommy read "Hello, Herky!", which by the way my dearest daughter, you know most of it. :)

Playing: You love to play with your babies, and to write and color pictures.  You LOVE to play with Mommy & Daddy's cell phones... even trying to text other people :).  You play your ABCs, MacDonald's, and your Mickey Mouse on the iPad.  You run the bases around our house multiple times a day, but love it when we chase you then surprise you.

Potty time:  You now wear pull-ups, though don't use them consistently.  You love to use your potty, but never really want a treat for it. 

Vocabulary:  wonders never cease your Daddy and I when we hear you talk.  Though there are times we can hardly understand you, most of the time you speak pretty well!  You sing your ABCs and other songs, you're favorite questions are "What doin?" and "why?", and you love to tell Mommy "no time-out" when you know you've done something you shouldn't have.

Overall demeanor:  you are spunky, independent, "I do myself", "no Mama", throw down, beautiful, silly, strong-willed girl.  You hate baths, but love to splash in the hose.  You hate holding my hand in the parking lots, but will pull me around the house to have me turn on your songs. 

To there you have it, dearest Lovebug and followers.  You are officially 2. 



{Daddy was in charge of the balloons.  A big ol' Dora is rockin' the top of the balloon stack}





{Happy Birthday, sweet Lovebug}

A birthday party post will be coming soon folks.  I'm still trying to recover from it, so I can't imagine how she's feeling :)

It's Almost Party Time!!!

This week is a crazy week for us.  Not only are we getting ready for a sweet vaycay to Denver, CO on Sunday, we're getting ready to celebrate Lovebug's 2nd birthday {albeit, a day early} on Saturday!!!!

I cannot believe it's almost time for her to turn 2.  The party theme?  If you've been following us for awhile, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to guess.

If not, here's a clue :)

Little Words that Make the Biggest Differences

Today at naptime, I instituted a new to me procedure for little Lovebug whom yes, still refuses to go to sleep unless "mama sit me" occurs. 

I'm not proud to say this, but I've been cuddled and crunched onto my daughters' crib/daybed for the past two weeks' worth of naps and night night times, and I can't take it anymore!!!

Ahem, back to the story at hand. 

I instituted four simple words, that not only worked at naptime, but also worked at bedtime, too!!!

"I'll check on you."

Yep.  That's it.  Four simple words.

Naptime went smashingly well!  That was a very Duchess Kate type saying, now wasn't it.  Seriously though, it went great!  Sure it took Lovebug 30 minutes to finally crash, and sure I have to "check on you" about 10 times.  But the best thing was, I never had to "sit you" with her!!!

And... she slept for 1.5 hours... but was in bed for 2!!  That's a world record around here folks!

Fast forward to bedtime.  It wasn't as good as naptime.  She actually made it out of bed 3 times in between my "check on you" times, but she managed to fall asleep on her own {well, with Mr. Mickey da Mouse's help, too}, but she did it!!  Two times in one day.

Ahhh... don't ya love it when little words make the biggest difference?  Tonight, these four words rank up there with the "I love you's", "I miss you's", and "big hug's". 

So, blogosphere, don't worry about my next post.  No need to get up and come get me.  I gotcha. 

I'll check on you :).

Another One Bites the Dust

This has seemed to be my mantra this past week.  Why?  Well, let's see...

1. It's been a week {plus} since my last post.
2. SummerFest 2011 came and went.
3. Lovebug headed to urgent care for an infection...again...
4. I have been enduring countless sleepless nights... this toddler bed biz is for the birds.
5. Coach's freshman season ended, thus beginning his tenure with the Varsity squad.
6. Our beloved Hawks {Ankeny, that is} lost last night in tournament play, therefore ending the quest for the state championship.
7. My body.... it cannot withstand these hellish temps we've been having.

So, now that I seem to have my complaining out of the way, let's move into some sweet shots of this past week.



{waiting for the parade...}



{quality time with cousin Austin}



{cheese face with Momom Sy-ya and Papi Dale}




{the big slide with Daddy... she was not thrilled with it}




{boy oh boy do they love each other}

  Story about this next picture.  I attempted to take Lovebug on the carousel by myself.  I let her pick out her own animal and everything.  Would she sit down for me?  Nope.  Daddy had to stand by her.  Daddy had to hold her.  Mommy couldn't do anything... but go along for the ride.  She cried and shook with fear for the first few spins, and by the time it was done, she wanted more.  So she got it.  Daddy took her on it again... and she did the whole "I'm scared" thing all over again.  However, does this next picture look like someone who's scared of the carousel?  You be the judge.

I didn't think so either.  Stinker.



{wonder where she learns to cheese from?}

This next picture, though not my best photog work, is of Lovebug and her friend Cami.  Cami's dad coaches with our Coach, and guess who her Mommy is?  Missy, of course :)

These two girls are of the same strong-willed, independent, have their own agenda, cuter than a button mold.  Lovebug talks about Cami and her brother & sisters all.day.long before and after baseball games.  It pretty much breaks my heart that they aren't going to see each other as much anymore... but hopefully, we won't let that much time get in between their visits. 




{though you can't tell now, their smiles are infectious}



Crib Gate 2011--Part 2

Hello blogosphere, followers, lurkers, and stalkers.

It's been a few days since Crib Gate 2011.  If you haven't had a chance to read about it, click here for the full scoop.

The first step in Crib Gate 2011 was the removal of the front of her crib.



{ could she BE any cuter?!??!! }

The result of taking the front off was not good.  Sure, she looked cute posing the one time, but she didn't want anything to do with it. 

What's a Mama to do?!?!? 

Target!!!  Target will have something to help me with this.  So, off we went to Target where I got one of those bed rail protector thingys.  I know, nice wording, right?  Not only did I get that, I thought to myself, "self, let's move her room around.  That'll make it better!"  So move it, I did.

Then, shear terror set in and I realized neither of those things was going to be enough.  So I put a TV and DVD player in her room.  Uhm, did you hear me?!??!?  I put a TV and DVD player in her room!!!!!  Girlfriend is only ONE and I shoved that stuff in her room.  Desperate times call for desperate measures, people. 



{ the finished product }

Now, one would think that by moving her room around, turning her "bed" into a "couch", and letting her fall asleep to her beloved Mickey Mouse, would make it alllll better, right? 

WRONG!!! :(

I swear, it only made it worse!!!  She woke up Thursday night a bajillion times.  And had to have Mommy touching her.  She also cried if she couldn't see me.  Seriously people, it was HORRENDOUS!  It was like newborn stage again.  Only worse, 'cuz she didn't wake up like that when she was a newborn!

I knew I had to bring in the big guns. 

Enter a google search for Mickey Mouse toddler bedding.

And once again, enter Target :). 

Several dollars later, Lovebug had herself a new big girl bed. 

Allow this Missy-esque and Kendra-esque photo to tell you all about it :)



Wanna see her reaction to it?  I captured it for you :).  You're welcome.


{ Minnie!!! }



{ pretty sure someone's excited}



{I get my own pillow?!???!}





{ W-O-W! }



I'm happy to say that last night, Lovebug slept from 10pm-4am without waking up :)  That's big news!!!

I'm also happy to say that Lovebug just took a 2.5 hour nap!!

The moral of this story??? 

Bribery works!!!!!  And I'm not ashamed :)

The Life of a C.K.

Ok blogosphere, we all know why I call Coach Coach, right?  Right. 

Well, meet C.K. 

Coach's Kid :)

The life of a C.K. is semi-glamorous.  Sure, your Daddy is FAMOUS, but that sometimes means that he's gone and doesn't get to play at home. 

As the resident C.K., Lovebug gets lots of attention from the players and their families.  I can't count how many times I've had a mom say to me "I could just take her home!",  "Isn't she the cutest?!?",  "Hey!  Lovie is here!!".  Side note:  Really, they don't say "Lovie".  They say her real name.  Don't hate me 'cuz they use it and I won't use it for you.


{looking at pictures on someone's phone}

 A good C.K. goes to almost all the games... even when it's raining.

Or when they act like they don't want to be there at all.

It's hard to have to see your Daddy thru the fence and know you can't go get him.

But sometimes, sometimes, fun things happen for C.K.'s that don't happen for everyone else in the stands.  Sometimes, their Daddy lets them the bases!!



{ run, run, RUN!!!}




{ high 5!  Good base running skills!}



{ they walk with the same winning swagger :) }

But the best part of being a C.K. is when your Daddy lets you sit on his lap... in the dugout... and all the boys fawn over you :).



Yep.  Lovebug is a C.K., and she couldn't be happier :)

Our 4th

Our 4th was exactly what we wanted... some low-key, family time. 

Perfection.

Sunday night we watched fireworks with Shannon, Andrea & Austin at Prairie Meadows. 



{  i  <3  these  2  }



Monday brought Lovebug's first parade experience at Slater.  A nice, small town celebration. 



{before the parade... wondering why we're all standing around}




{that's one happy Daddy}

 As the parade got going, Chatty Cathy Coach realized he recognized someone. :)

Turns out it was the baseball coach for a nearby team.  They were super nice people who happened to have a daughter one month older than Lovebug.  Coach also showed his knowledge of picture taking, as he snapped some pics of us girls together.

Lovebug was quite excited she got to eat the Tootsie Rolls as they threw them to her :)

{girlfriend squatting like the guy next to her.  nice.}



{tootsie roll!!!}



All in all, it was a great holiday had by all.  

From R & R to TLC

Last weekend, Lovebug and I traveled back to Mom and Dad's for a few days of what we thought was going to be quality grandparent-granddaughter bonding and R&R for me :).  Sunday afternoon/evening was great!  Mom and Dad surprised me with this!!!

Oh yeah baby!  Lovebug and I got ourselves a new bike trailer!  Of course, we had to take it out for a stroll after Dad showed me how to take it apart, fold it, unfold it, and hook it back up again.  Ahh... I love riding bikes.  It was somewhat surreal to be riding around the same streets I used to cruise... only this time with my not so much a baby baby on board in a trailer :).  The streets were the same as I remember. 

We chillaxed in their 3-season room while Lovebug kept everyone entertained. We followed that up with a yummy steak dinner.  For dessert?  Ya know, besides the cupcakes that Mom made, Mother Nature whipped up a big ol' thunderstorm.  So big, in fact, that Mama Sy-ya made everyone go down to the basement because we were getting some wicked rad 60-70 mph winds.  When one has winds like that two months after a tornado, one heads to the basement.   While down there, we got a phone call from their neighbor...

Mom:  "Hello?"
Neighbor:  "Part of your tree fell down and is blocking the street."
Mom:  "What??!?  Dale!  Our tree fell down in the street!!!!  Oh great!"
Neighbor:  "I'll call the com center."
Mom:  "Thanks!"

Once the winds died down enough, we all went upstairs to see this tree that had crashed.  Unfortunately, the pic below isn't my greatest photog work ever, so bare with me.  When you look at it, you will see their front deck and the sidewalk leading up to it.  In the middle of the sidewalk is the severed limb.  The limb went all the way into the street and would only allow for one vehicle to get through the street.


{sorry... hard to see through the screen door}

 The city guys came and hauled away the majority of the limb that night, but it left many smaller, yet annoyingly large branches left scattered around their yard.  Fun times.  All in all, the storm dumped almost 2 inches of water in not much time at all. 

Monday morning brought Papi Dale headed off to work, and us girls to hang out.  Mama Sy-ya and Lovebug decided to play dress-up with one of my old hats...

...while I cleaned and organized some stuff in their house.  I even used a toothbrush to Old English some of their furniture.  I know, right??!?!  Craziness!!!  While getting ready for lunch out, I answered their phone to a frantic, not-so-good sounding Dad.  He was asking for Mom... he'd been in a car accident.  I rushed the phone to Mom then rushed to get Lovebug and I ready.  I threw a bunch of stuff in a bag, loaded Lovebug up, and drove all of us to the scene of the accident {after Mom called 911 to tell them where Dad was}.

We followed the fire & rescue crew from town out, and I dropped Mom off and she ran to Dad who was standing in a ditch with the rescue crew.  He was holding a towel on his forehead.  I knew I was going to be in the way of others who needed to get to the scene, so I drove past.  As I looked over, I saw Dad's windshield.  You could see two spots on his windshield where it was obvious something had hit it, and it was spiderwebbed all over.  Needless to say, not what you want to see on your Dad's truck!  As Lovebug and I sat in our van, I watched a sheriff and two ambulances pull up... then saw a backboard get taken to the ditch, then saw them load Dad into the back of the ambulance.  Insert complete hysterics from me... followed by quickly realizing I was upsetting Lovebug.  I stopped, pulled myself together, and waited for Mom to come back to the van.

We followed the ambulance to the ER and there we stayed for 5 hours.  Some x-rays, CAT scan, 20 stiches, and a split later, we left.  Poor Papi Dale was broken :(  He'd broken his nose, had a deep laceration on his forehead requiring 4 internal and 16 external stiches, had dislocated his right ring finger, had a nasty cut on his right-hand thumb, and lots of other cuts. 

Now, when my brother and I both had our car accidents, Dad took pictures of us as proof/evidence... ya know, to make sure we never did it again.  It was turn around time. 



{still managing to give a small smile}



{ouch!!!}

Fun fact:  my mom and I are both petrified of other peoples' blood, so you can only imagine how she and I were handling seeing Dad look like this.  However, something took over and I turned into Nurse.  I helped clean his head, made sure he took his medicine, gave him his ice packs and told him when he had to take them off.  Ya know that "fight or flight" thing?  Yeah, it's true.

Moral of this story folks... rain+gravel roads+unmarked field entires=no bueno :(

Tuesday brought a very sore Papi Dale, and haircuts for Lovebug and I.  Since Papi Dale couldn't work, he got to go with us girls today!  Lovebug was quite the big girl for her haircut and sat ever so kinda still :).  Caryl worked her magic, which is good, because these beofre pics show you how truly insane Lovebug's hair can get!

{white girl fro}

 Even though Papi Dale was sore, it wasn't going to stop him from getting some unexpected quality time with his granddaughter.  So while Mama Sy-ya mowed, Papi Dale took Lovebug for a ride on my old tricycle :)



{legs aren't quite long enough to reach!!!}



{notice who is doing all the work here :)  and notice Papi Dale's right hand :(}



{Not sure who had more fun here, Lovebug or Papi Dale}

 Wednesday came which meant we had to go home...but not before we all headed to Carroll to watch Coach's team play!  Again, since Papi Dale was still off work, he got to go, too!  Another unexpected bonus of a car accident.  Ya know, if you want to look at the bright side of a car accident.

Coach was one happy Daddy when he saw Lovebug strollin' up to the fence.  And Lovebug was one happy girl when she saw her Daddy :).

There you have it.  From R&R to TLC.  Though I hated that my Dad had to go through all of that pain, it was nice to be able to help take care of him for a change.

Update:  Papi Dale found out that he's on work comp for 2 weeks because he has torn ligaments in his right hand thumb & ring finger.  And one super sore back :(.