A Little Rest

We were home on Monday, so London was able to take her afternoon nap in her own bed (which she seems to really enjoy). When I went in to get her after she woke up, London was lounging in her bed having a very pleasant time. When I asked her how she was, she responding with "I took little rest" and "Good sleep mama". Those are usually things I ask her when she wakes up, so I guess she thought she would go ahead and let me know how great her nap was! My heart just about melted; she definitely has her moments!

Parade Fun

Greater Andover Days was this weekend and our family had a lot of fun. We went to the parade on Saturday morning, at which London was awestruck. There were dogs, horses, cars, and people throwing CANDY at us. London is still talking about the candy, I can't even imagine what she was thinking at the parade, she was totally mesmerized. And after the fun (and brief) parade we headed to the 'fair'. To say it was small would be an gross understatement, but they did have fair food (which is all I wanted!) and a moon bounce slide for London. It was a really fun time. It seems that family time is few and far between this semester, so it was a special day!


London and Abbey watching the parade.


London wasn't satisfied with her lemonade, she decided she would rather have Daddy's coke.


Daddy wouldn't share his coke (I know this looks pitiful, but you have never seen London after caffeine).


Whee! London loved the moonbounce slide.

Leash Laws

One thing London definitely has is her own sense of humor. We decided to go on a family walk yesterday evening (it was so beautiful), and we were talking about which dogs to take (I have not had enough energy to handle everybody lately). After London suggested we take Maya, I said "Oh yes, that would, work we're taking Daddy" (which is not how I meant it, I meant to say he was coming with us, but after 6 pm I don't always think or talk coherently). London started laughing and said "Daddy's leash!" (As in, I need to go get Daddy's leash). That's my funny girl!

Anyone Need a Mattress?

I just couldn't resist posting this to share with everyone. These 'bargains' were not propped up in our neighborhood, but a neighborhood, a very nice one I might add, close by. Who thought it was a good idea to prop their old mattresses on the back of their fence with 'Free' posted (kind of) on them. Seriously people, no one wants the mattresses that are no longer suitable for your family because of the urine stains from your kids potty training days. There are garage sales, and Goodwill, even the garbage truck will take them away, so please remove them from the sidewalk before they fall over and crush a small child.
I have to add that I was somewhat embarrassed to take this picture (I circled the block twice), but I think only one person saw me; it was well worth it.:)

I Scream, You Scream....

There is really no point to this post other than to share my growing concern over the questionable looking ice cream truck drivers we have in our community. Most of you are probably thinking that I shouldn't be judging people by the way they look, but these are probably the same people who have not seen our assortment of ice cream vendors circling our neighborhoods. What could be more shady than a man who looks as if he was just released from Federal circling the block playing inviting music and peddling ice cream to small children. That's what I thought. The last man I saw had an eye patch (and it was not a discrete one), among other things; I mean, seriously people, an eye patch, it doesn't really help the friendly neighborhood ice cream man persona. James told me I should snap a picture of him to get the full affect for this post, but somehow I didn't think that would be the best idea. So at this point London is not allowed to get ice cream from the ice cream trucks, ever. Poor kid, I told you I was the queen of paranoia.

I felt compelled to add that there are many kind, wonderful ice cream truck drivers, and I am very grateful for them and the spirit of fun they add to the community. This is something I would typically have only said to my husband or close friends, so please feel free to share any 'issues' or 'concerns' you experience in your life, with me; I'm just keeping it real people!

Don't Count On It

I am always so excited (and proud) when London shows off a new skill. Her newest thing has been counting things. She pointed to two planes in the sky and told James "Two airplanes Daddy!" Needless to say, Daddy was wowed and told me she was counting. Well, then she did it again the other day while we were driving in the car. "Two buses, two buses Mama!" And sure enough, there were two school buses in front of us. I was so proud of her new found skill, I made over her observation. (It went something like "Wow London, that's right there are two buses. You are sooo good at counting things, etc.") I guess the abundance of praise led London to show off other things she could count. She held up her little foot and proudly said "Two toes Mama!" Two toes, five toes, close enough for mommy:).

Kids Day Out, Here I Come!

Here are just a few pictures of London eagerly anticipating her first day of school.



London showing off her cool new backpack (which she hasn't parted with at home, but at soon as we get to her school, it's "mama carry backpack".



We are soooo excited!



Ali and London getting ready to head off to school. (You'll notice London brought Ali's camera outside to help capture the moment).



"Cheese Mama!" London decided to turn the tables and take some pictures of me.



"Seriously Mom, no more pictures!"


London seemed to have had a great day at school. She made an apple, which she told me about first thing when I came in her classroom. (She was shouting, "Apple Mama, Apple!") She also showed me around her class, and when I asked her what other fun things they did she told me "Lunch! Ate cheese, crackers, grapes!" Nothing seals a great first day of school like food, she is so my child.

Mommy's First Day of School

London is at school, for the first time ever, and it was a lot harder then I thought it was going to be. She was so excited this morning, she couldn't run fast enough down the hallway to her classroom. And once we were in her classroom, she didn't waste anytime checking everything out. There were some tears, however, when I told her that I was leaving for a little bit, but would be back to get her later. (It was well timed with another little boy having a meltdown as his mother left the room).:( There would have been tears on my side as well, but thankfully, my good friend Rachel was there and I had an uninterrupted conversation and breakfast to look forward to with her! But now I am anxious to go get my baby and see how her day was. I think I may even get there a little early (I was not expecting that, I think all this alone time has been a shock to my system!) I didn't know it was going to be so hard (I'm sure all the experienced moms are snickering at me at this point, and I'm sure that I will quickly adjust). So I'm off, I'll post pics and some details about London's day later!

Ready for School

I'm sure I will have several pictures of London's first day of school tomorrow (okay, it's kid's day out, but as far as James, London, and I am concerned it counts), but I couldn't resist posting some tonight. London was so excited, she had her backpack on all evening and she kept saying, "Ready for school mama!" I hope the enthusiasm lasts!

I have to add, that when James came home later this evening and saw London's lunch sack sitting on the kitchen counter, he almost lost it. He decided that London is offically done growing up, we'll see how that goes!

Strictest Mommy on the Block

So I view myself as a pretty firm, but not overly demanding parent. I've set guidelines which I usually (uh-hmm) stick to, and I try not to be too over zealous when it comes to rules and no's and dont's. But somewhere in all my good intentions I must have really come down too hard (it has been a long week, HELLO pregnancy hormones). On Thursday, London and I were having a great day of fun together, (it was just us that day) and we were enjoying fun times with friends at the Barnes and Noble story time/playgroup. It was princess (excuse me, princess/prince) themed, and all of the children were decorating their crowns. London was coloring hers, choosing all different colors of permanent markers (yes, you heard me, permanent, and despite my best efforts it did get on her dress, WHY PEOPLE!!!) I was oohing and ahhhing at her great coloring and at one point I asked her if she could go find a purple marker (she is really into colors lately and likes to point them out everywhere we go). She went searching, but there weren't any in our cup of markers. When she returned I noticed she had a diaper issue that needed to be taken care of and so I picked her up and told her we were going to change her diaper and that we would be right back. Well, on the way to the car she kept saying something that I couldn't quite make out at first, and then I realized she was saying "sorry mama, didn't find purple marker". London thought we were leaving because she was unable to locate a purple marker for her crown; what have I done!!! I explained to her that that was just fine and that we would find some different colors when we went back in, she just needed a fresh diaper. I have no idea where that came from but I was not feeling like mom of the year on that one. As heart wrenching as it was, it was also sweet, and made up for some of the many moments we have had this week (London finally figured out she was two and decided she better act like it). So if any of your children need a good dose of guilt, bring them over to my house, I seem to have a gift.

Food for Thought

So I know that London is getting to the age where she says funny things on almost a daily basis, well at least I think they're funny. And I'm sure our families get a kick out of them too. But I apologize to all my friends who log on to my blog occasionally to find yet another story about how funny and adorable and precious my baby is, but what can I say? The most recent, somewhat embarrassing, but gotta make you smile moment happened when we made a run to Walmart to get Maya some more dog food (which by the way, is grossly affecting our food budget, who knew a 70lb dog could eat so much??). We were in the checkout lane with only the dog food (miraculous, I know) and London proceeded to inform the cashier that we were buying "Maya's food". Unfortunately 'Maya' sometimes comes out like 'my', and so she repeated to the cashier what sounded like "my food" several times. I smiled and said, "Maya is our dog" to which the cashier just gave me and James questioning looks. Surely no one would really believe we feed our child dog food, but I am the queen of paranoia; so we left the store with me waiting for someone from child protection services to stop us in the parking lot. I wonder what we should have for dinner tonight....

Throwing money away...

London has had a wonderful (and never-ending) birthday. She received more cards in the mail over the weekend. One of the sweet cards had some money in it, and like any child whose been alive long enough to realize the 'importance' of money, she was delighted. She insisted carrying it around, and I let her, with the intention of retrieving it from her once the excitement wore down. Well, of course I forgot all about it, and it wasn't until I was putting her in her car seat that it occurred to me she no longer had the bills in her vice-like grip. When I asked her what happened to her Birthday money, she answered (with a huge grin) "throw in trash mama". And sure enough, I found it in one of our bathroom trash cans. As if children aren't expensive enough as it is, ours is actually THROWING money away. But I suppose this was her money. But I am happy to report that the money was rescued and is safely (which means to high for London to reach) stored in her piggy bank. It is never too early to start saving....


I spoke to soon about the never-ending birthday, London received another (thanks Papa, Honey, and Gee Gee!) B-day card in the mail. We are going to have to call it her Birthmonth from now on!

Party Pics

In celebration of London's B-day I thought I would post some pics from London and Abbey's Birthday party (it was a few weeks ago).

Happy Birthday London!

My baby is two!! I don't quite know what to do with myself, she is growing up so fast! I tried to document her day to share with every one (which is why she won't look straight into the camera, she is starting to get annoyed with my constant 'moment capturing'). Overall it was a fun day for her (I, however, am about to fall over!):)




London started her day having breakfast with Daddy.




Singing in the Rain

Playing in the rain with Ali (we were waiting for the bus to drop off Matthew from school).


This was probably London's favorite part of the day!


Next, London helped make her birthday cake.


Which led to London leading a Broadway show on the coffee table.


After the cake was done cooking (and the show was over) London decorated her creation.


"Ta-daaaa!"


When Daddy got home is was time to open presents, Thanks for the book Gammie and Bapa!


London loved this Dora birthday card. It sang Happy Birthday in English and Spanish and she danced with it for about 10 minutes!



Every girl needs a pair of red, sparkly, Dorothy shoes (Thanks KK!)


Too pooped to pop. It's finally time for stories and bed, what a fun day!! Happy Birthday London, we love you!

Potty at the Park

One of the things I love about having an almost two year old is never knowing what kind of adventure the day will bring, and today was no exception. It was exceptionally beautiful outside, and so after story time (which is always a hit), we took our paper tambourines (which the girls colored beautifully) and headed to the park with friends. As a side note, I love watching all the little girls together, London, Abbey, Kelsy, and Ali, they make quite the group (Hello teenage years :)). Anyway, in the middle of the swinging and sliding, one of our little girls decided she had to use the potty. Conveniently, one (very kind) mom had come prepared and retrieved a porta-potty out of the trunk of her car. And I'm sure you can imagine the scene that followed, five little girls having their own 'personal' party around the potty. Nothing says party at the park like bare bottomed girls and a plastic potty in the middle of the playground.

*I have been informed (thanks mom) that I need to mention that we were the only people at that playground.*



Checking out the potty.



Learning one of the valuable lessons of portable restrooms.



This trip to the park rocks!



Nothing brings friends together like bathroom breaks!

Church Picnic

Here are some pics from our church picnic Sunday evening. London just couldn't get enough of the moon bounce/slide. (And you know what, she really could hold her own in there (I don't know whether to be proud or worried.))


London having a serious conversation with Mr. Wade.


London sporting baby Lilly and her purse (of course!).


London climbing into the moon bounce. (And yes I do realize that she's about 2 feet shorter and several years younger than most the other children hanging off of the moon bounce.)


London sporting the 'low rise, diaper top' look (I hear it's going to be big this fall). And also protesting the 'no cellphones in moon bounce' rule.


Enjoying yummy picnic food (sorry James, there's always next year!).

Mommy and Me

The main reason I added this picture (besides the fact that I am usually the one snapping away and very rarely make it into our photo album) is because I wanted to have proof that a) I do wear clean clothes (no mushed food or snot on this outfit!) and b) I do occasionaly do my hair. I know my typical look is wet hair piled on top of my head, but this was date night, bring on the glam!!!

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall...

Occasionally, London gets up before I am finished getting ready in the morning. She really enjoys putting on her 'makeup' and getting ready with me. This particular morning, she was feeling especially feisty and having a very interesting conversation with herself in the mirror.

It began with some ohhhs and ahhhs, and telling her mirror-self she was "pretty".


That led to putting blush on her mirror self...


Which then led to kissing her mirror-self...


And then, in a strange turn of events, London started arguing with her mirror-self about who the blush brush belonged to. Hmmm, I guess we missed that milestone of 'baby recognizes self in mirror'...