Hair, Haggis, and More

The past couple of weeks have been extremely busy.  Last weekend Sydney's BFF Maggie came over to BBQ, get some sun, and have some fun.  They always enjoy spending time together.  The morning after Sydney asked, "where's Maggie?"  Since the last place she saw Maggie was playing with toys in the living room, naturally she should be there the next morning still playing with them :)

I wanted to include a few more pictures from Nana's recent visit.  Nana's visit was certainly a fun-filled time, and on one occasion we took a small jaunt to Lake Padden.  Not only did Sydney get to play on some of her favorite toys, but she also got to locate some ducks.  Fortunately there were no mean geese there.

One monumental thing did happen recently.  Sydney got her very first hair cut.  We decided it was getting to a length that was a little unmanageable...she kept tripping on it...ha ha!  It wasn't as bad as in the movie Tangled, but it was time to at make some change.  So, after Karen consulted Vogue, Cosmo, and a few local stylists, the decision for the appropriate hair cut was made...just a slight trim off the ends.

In other news, last weekend also included a short trip out to Ferndale to get in touch with my cultural roots at the Highland Games.  It is always a fun event, and Sydney had another first experience...haggis.  That's right, haggis.  And for those of you who do not know what it is, you'll have to Google it.  But Sydney was braver than her mother and easily tried it.  In fact, on the way home she kept asking for more (no joke).  So, we'll see if that is something she continues to enjoy.

Well, that's it for now.  I hope everyone has a great weekend!!!



Got haggis???



What Could Be Better?...

Sydney was so excited...she could
'bear'ly contain it...haha!

Sydney's Nana from Montana came for a recent visit.  This meant a lot of fun catching up with Sydney, and she proudly showed off her many talents.  Since Donna saw her previously, Sydney's speech, humor, and general personality has blossomed even more (even though that's hard to imagine).

So, what could be better than spending time with Nana?...a trip to the zoo with her Nana.  We took a quick jaunt down to the Woodland Park Zoo to look at the lions, bears, tigers, elephants, birds of prey, and other wild creatures.  It was a little busy because of Memorial Day Weekend, but it was still a great time. 

Ever have that feeling of being
watched by a prehistoric animal?


Strangely, we had many people approaching us, pointing at Sydney, and asking 'what species is that?'  I told them we were unsure, but that she certainly was not tame, and not to feed her.  We fed her once and haven't been able to get rid of her since.  On a similar note, I did tell Sydney that if she saw anything big and hairy not to call out and say 'hi uncle'...haha, I'm only kidding, or am I?

Sydney was fascinated with many of the animals, but in contrast to previous trips to the zoo she could actually name most of the animals that she saw.  And to take advantage of the situation, I thought it would be fun to take some comparison pictures to show how much she's grown in the past year or so.  Probably to their own delight, Karen and Donna do not look any different than the year before.

We have many other fun pictures to share from Nana's visit, including Sydney's first hair cut and Sydney sporting some new attire, but that will have to wait until our next post :)



Does the elephant have any junk
in his trunk?  I don't know...

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Another Year Gone By...

It's amazing how quickly kids grow.  In just a matter of months so many things can change.  Getting bigger, speaking more, and everything that comes with getting older.  Because those things are so noticeable when kids are younger, it makes it very easy for us to remember that we, too, are getting older.  As tragic as it is to add another year to my own longevity, Sydney was at least present to help me bring in another year.  She was very excited to repeatedly tell me happy birthday, and she was also very instrumental with helping to unwrap some presents.  So, as painful as it was to turn 28...at least it was nice to usher in this occasion with such excitement from her.

In other news, Sydney moved rooms at school.  What does this mean?  It means she has progressed academically (or perhaps chronologically), from toddlerhood into young girlhood.  I've picked her up from school a few times where she was playing with her four and five year old friends.  This doesn't really surprise me since she is an advanced little tike (she gets that from me).  But she has loved moving into her new room at school, and she always shares what she has done at school.  And it's a little funny, but Fridays are now 'show and tell' for her.  I guess that's another marker of her age.

In other news, Sydney's last tumbling class was today.  This means she'll have a little break before starting back up with either swimming, more tumbling, or archery.  She also mentioned wanting to take some culinary courses, so we'll have to weigh everything out and see what she ends up taking.

In other news, Sydney's Nana from Montana will be here next week.  She is looking forward to spending some time with her, as well as an excursion to the zoo.  It's always a fun time when she's here, so Sydney will make sure to rest up for Nana's arrival.

Have a great weekend!!!

Happy Mothers Day!!!

If you're a mother, a mother of a mother, or a mother of a mother of a mother, we appreciate you and hope you have a relaxing Mother's Day.  Sydney appreciates all of those important women in her life...her Momma Karen (obviously), her Nana Donna, her Grandma Gloria, and her Great Grandma Pagels.  And for all of the other mothers out there (excluding those on the freeway...those are a different type), thank you for all that you do.  You are appreciated!

In Sydney news, she recently achieved another major milestone....accomplishing her first cinematic experience.  That's right, she went to the movie theater and watched the movie Rio with her dad, mom, and grandma.  She watched the entire movie and never made a peep.  The possible reality could have included one of those unfortunate situations of having an obnoxious kid that ends up crying or throwing a tantrum much to the dismay of the audience in the theater.  And while we hid our natural fear of the unknown as we entered a darkened theater, we were very pleased that she watched the whole movie and liked it.  This will ease our fears of taking her to other movies in the future.

On a different note, Sydney also had a blast at Easter.  She had no shortage of family members on hand willing to blow bubbles for her.  Like any kid, she loved running around and popping all of them.  Of course, she was intent on trying to produce bubbles as well.  Unfortunately, this often resulted in her blowing very hard into the wand.  While bubbles typically did not form, she excelled at spitting violently trying to produce them (she did not catch on to the technique others were using).  For some reason she also thought the wand had to be pushed against her lips, which did not help her bubble-producing cause but did result in rather large soap deposits on her chin.  Well, I'm sure she'll get it in time :)

Sydney also continues to enjoy tumbling class.  This is an opportunity that also doubles as a time to visit with BFF's Maggie and Kate.  Well, there's always a lot more that's going on, but that's a quick summary of the past two weeks. 

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

Head Over Heels...Literally

There's a certain segment of the two-year old demographic in Whatcom County that is back into tumbling action.  In this case, Sydney, Maggie, and Kate are all enrolled in the Spring session of tumbling class at the Y.  What does this mean for the energy-abundant two year olds?....well, of course running, jumping, tumbling, and screaming with fun.  What does this mean for their mommies and daddies?...that's right, chasing, corralling, persuading, and at times, crying while begging for cooperation.

I make fun of it, but all in all, it's a great time that the little ladies enjoy.  Who wouldn't enjoy jumping on a trampoline and doing somersaults down squishy mats?  It is great fun to see them burning off the energy, all while hoping enough energy was released to eventually result in an afternoon nap.  And while achieving a nap might seem like a small benefit, after tumbling class a nap is actually much needed and well-deserved by the parents.  So, when we are lucky enough to achieve such a gift, we make use of it by participating in the same napping activities.  When we are less fortunate, we struggle through the day with growing bags under our eyes that are a badge of our dedication and love for our children.

 

The Throne and More

Sydney has definitely made progress on the potty-training front.  Last weekend we were able to spend most of our time at home.  That gave her a chance to be without a diaper.  Overall, she did pretty good and only had a couple of setbacks, but we asked her on a frequent schedule if she had to go to the bathroom.  On one occasion, she said, "uh oh, I spilled."  Which, I guess if you are spilling your bladder then technically it is accurate.  But, in general, she did really well.  Since she hadn't been as excited about using the throne at home, we had to resort to a little bit of the old and time-tested method of bribery.  This at least peaked her interest in trying, which was all we were striving toward.  Hopefully this will start the natural trend of wanting to go and she'll make it her normal habit.  Having said that, I won't be holding my breathe quite yet.

In other news, Sydney has been obsessively playing with a cardboard box in our living room.  Sure, what kid doesn't like a cardboard box?  But there's only so many times you can put her in, take her out, put her back in, take her back out....before you become fatigued.  I think the excitement with it is wearing off, but I'm sure she'll have a new fixation to take it's place.

As far as counting and ABC's, she's doing great on both fronts.  She will occasionally skip a few numbers, but that just means we don't let her leave the tip when we eat out.  And as for her letters, she has got the ABC song down pretty well.  We're just waiting for the remix version to come out, along with the club mix.  All in all, everyone is doing well and Sydney is just loving life!

As for the pictures, I thought it would just be fun to include a few of the older pictures...since now she is becoming such a young lady.

Grandma Gloria went to Oregon to visit Uncle Nathan and the cousins, so we hope she travels safe and has a lot of fun with them!!!

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

What Goes Down...

...must come up.  Is that how the saying goes???  Well, perhaps it's the other way around...unless of course, you are underwater.  We recently got some pictures that the instructor from swim class had taken.  She had a waterproof camera, so she was able to get some fun pictures.

Honestly, I think Sydney did very well in the class, overall.  She not only got the basics down, but she took first in "who can hold their breathe underwater the longest" competition.  She also placed runner up in the cannonball competition, and took a respectable third in the 10 meter platform dive.  All in all, she loves swim class and I'm sure she'll be in another one in the near future.  I think the next series offers some deep water equipment testing and how to avoid the bends.

In other news, Sydney will get to spend some time with her BFF Maggie today.  She is pretty excited to see her and play with her at the park.  It looks like there is a big bright object in the sky (I'm not sure what it's called but someone said it was the sun), so that should make for an enjoyable time.

Recently, Sydney also helped to celebrate her Great Grandma's 80th Birthday.  Happy Birthday Grandma!!!  She's still such a young'n...we can only hope our genes (and jeans) serve us as well. 

   

 

  

Have a great weekend everyone!