Our little nude gardener

Back in June, we made an effort to have Cyanne spend some time each afternoon running around outside sans diapers. A little fresh air never hurt anyone...
She spent this time helping Tom in the garden or helping him water the plants around the house.

Here are some photos of her 'helping' Tom water some sunflower seedlings:














































































And, of course, there's nothing like fresh strawberries to top off an afternoon outside in the yard. Especially when a bath is in the immediate future anyway.

















(I'm aware she may hate us in years to come for these but I think they're adorable. She's so, so cute! [Have we said that already?])

Garden Produce

June 14th, 2009:

The garden is starting to produce some incredible, beautiful food.
The tomatoes are just starting to come on. We had a few tasty ones thus far.
However, here is a photo of some of the lettuce, snow peas, french sorrel, herbs, and spinach Tom picked for our salad tonight.





Beautiful!

Cyanne - Post First Haircut

Oh my goodness, someone has a HUGE case of the cuties!
Here are a few photos the day after Cyanne had her first haircut.

These were taken back on June 14th, 2009:

A fun weekend

It was a gorgeous day (back on June 14th) so we decided to go down to the wharf. We enjoyed lunch at Longboards - sunshine, ocean breeze, and lots of seagulls and flags to keep Cyanne entertained. We then took Cyanne back to the Sea Center where she felt all sorts of fun sea creatures!






And then... we stopped for ice cream. She totally nixed Daddy's Rocky Road (yucky yucky!) apparent by her scrunched up face and tongue sticking out... and instead, ate the vast majority of my mint chip. She's a big mint chip fan.... but then really, who isn't? =)

We checked out the boats and birds - met with loud "ooohhhhssss" and "aaahhhhssss." She also loved looking at all of the dogs that wandered by.

First Haircut

Cyanne had her first haircut June 13th.
We ventured to Kid's Cuts in Santa Barbara - her first "salon" experience!
She did a fantastic, amazing job!! Tom and I were totally prepared (Starbucks in hand) for a total meltdown. I was expecting tears, wailing, swift movements of the head -

But instead -
we had a serene, calm, rather dazed child sitting in my lap.
She played with a bucket of (I'm sure clean and sanitized daily) toys and just kept an eye trained on the man cutting her hair.

I had him trim her bangs which were in her eyes and just a light cut of the back. Yes, I'm aiming for the long hair... And we had to keep her precious ringlets...

Here are some before photos:



During:
While not looking thrilled, she was at least calm!




And after!:
We took her to the beach to celebrate her new 'do.

Cyanne and Max - The lovefest continues

(these were taken back in May... bit it's even more true now.)

Cyanne LOVES Max.
Max tolerates and dare I say, likes Cyanne.







Every single time she sees Max, she points to him and says "aawwwwww...." and immediately walks over to him, puts her hands on his back, pushes him to the floor, and promptly lays right on top of him. He just lies there until she's finished snuggling.







Or, if we're holding him, she'll walk over, give him a hug and say "aaawwwwww...." as in nice kitty.... I like this kitty... he's soooo soft. He's just like my stuffed animals but way, way better.





Really, Cyanne LOVES Max.
A lot.

A Night Away...

Tom & I are going to have our first night "away" since Cyanne was born...
I have never spent a night apart from her since she was born - that means we have spent 693 nights together in a row.
And, well, even more if you count the 9 months she was growing before she was born =)

We are doing this for several reasons:

1) For fun.
2) Because we know it will be a long time before we're able to do it again after Blabey Baby Girl #2 arrives this fall.
3) Because I didn't want our first night away from Cyanne - my first night away, I should say - to be the night I was in the hospital delivering her sister.
4) Because I'm very tired and the thought of sleeping without a baby monitor and not having to wake up when Cyanne does in the morning is frankly, highly enticing.
(Of course, because we are who we are and I am who I am, I will wake up at 7 AM anyway... just as I would were I home with her. At least I know this and therefore, won't be surprised when it happens tomorrow morning =) I just won't have to jump out of bed and start the day that early.)
5) We wanted to have a little time to spend together and gather ourselves and our thoughts before the craziness that will be the next 3 months begins:
Tom traveling, third trimester of pregnancy, total remodel of the attic into bedrooms, organizing all things baby, getting ready for the baby, a volunteer Junior League project done by me started and finished this fall, reading a new legal book by Judge Aldisert on Opinion Writing, interviewing him, and writing up an article for the local bar magazine, oh, and work and all that comes with that. I'm sure there's more, but that's what comes to mind. All, hopefully, to be done before November 15th.

So, a few reasons for us to 'escape' for the evening.

Here is where we'll be:
The Montecito Inn in Montecito.
To come: a fantastic dinner at Lucky's, walk along Coast Village Road, and a walk along Butterfly Beach (one of the very first places I ever took Tom on his first visit to Santa Barbara back in the Spring of 1999 - a little over 10 years ago...)

And here is where I plan to spend a few hours (at least):


I shall substitute my margarita for my diet coke and water... and shall enjoy every moment of relaxation -
While, of course, thinking about, wondering about, missing, and likely worrying about Cyanne the vast majority of the time. =) I'll try and keep the worrying to a minimum, I promise.

"No"

Ah, we have entered the world of "No."

Mommy: "Would you like to get out of bed?"
Cyanne: "No."
Mommy: "Would you like to stay in bed?"
Cyanne: "No."
Mommy: "Well, what would you like then?"
Cyanne: Silence - Jumping up and down in said crib with puppy & blanket, all smiles and giggles.

However, I don't mind it because it is frankly adorable the way she says it. This little voice with great enunciation and a little circle formed by her lips: "No." Very deliberate.

It is helpful at times such as when I'm getting her dinner ready and I ask her whether she'd like something - blueberries, meatballs, pasta, tomatoes. She'll either make a "yummmm" sound and smile and do the sign for 'hungry' or say simply, "No."
Last night it was clear she was not interested in blueberries (perhaps she'd had one too many at daycare?) but was all about the cheese.
But then, really, who isn't?
She is my child, after all... =)

So, off we go into the world of "No."

She does nod her head for Yes - now we just need to get her to say it so she finds a friend for her "No" word.
The "Yes" might come in handy, say, when we're offering ice cream...

She usually gets what she wants though because she smiles adorably and says "peease" for please - and does the sign for it.
It's been well noted in our household: it's almost impossible to say no to an adorable little girl saying "peease" and smiling at you, waiting for whatever it is you're holding or whatever she's wanting to do.

Welcome Home Party

We had a fantastic afternoon/early evening last Saturday with some of our wonderful friends at Padaro Beach Grill - we got to welcome back the Strong's!! They just completed a 5,000 mile journey!

Along the way, they were able to see some beautiful sites, visit with Victoria's family, have Gwendolyn meet her 104 year old great-grandfather (!), and spend some much deserved, wonderful time together as a family exploring new places such as Sedona, AZ and Santa Fe, NM... All in all, a fantastic time.

Ms. Gwendolyn certainly enjoyed her beach & pool time!! =)


We're thrilled to have them back...

But are so, so glad that they were able to take the trip in the first place, that everything went well, that Gwendolyn was able to explore in entirely new ways and in new places, and that they were able to make some fantastic, unforgettable memories as a family.


Also... they (of course!) were the amazing people they always are and used this journey as a vehicle (ah, ha ha...) for raising SMA awareness.

They had signs on the RV which people hopefully noticed when they drove by!!.... and they started the Sponsor-A-Mile fundraising drive to raise money to fund research for SMA. If you haven't donated yet... please do!

Here's a group shot of some of the wonderful ladies (and some of the kids - Gwendolyn, Laith, and I'm holding Cyanne so you can only see the tippy top of her head =)) who were there.
A wonderful time!!

21

It struck me the other day that Cyanne is now 21 months and I am now 21 weeks with Baby Girl #2. It just seemed a neat sharing of numbers.
Cyanne is blossoming into this amazing, entertaining, spunky toddler and baby #2 is, we hope, growing steadily and becoming bigger and bigger.

Amazing how the time passes though.
21 months stuns me whenever I think about it.
21 weeks seems about right. Over half way done though!

I told Cyanne the other morning about her baby sister.
She just looked at me inquisitively with these big blue eyes. She watched me put my hand on my stomach and tell her about her baby sister. She then put her hand on her tummy and then her hand on mine and just quietly watched and listened to me.

I'm not sure whether she actually got the concept. I think I'm going to have to take her baby doll to help with visual illustration. =) But I'm fairly certain something went in and started working its way around in there.

At any rate - my two babies:
21 months.
21 weeks.

And on we go...

Big News: It's a........

GIRL!

We had the ultrasound this morning -

Dr. Soffici said she looks great - healthy, everything is in the right spot, right size, looks good... Heartbeat sounded strong: 146 bmp.
She is currently 10 inches long and weighs approximately 10 ounces.

We saw lots of neat views of the head/brain (the lobes), spine, ribs, the hands/arms were up around her head, fingers, legs, stomach/liver/intestines, thighs, feet... And then... the check between the legs where the was just a line and nothing else.

Therefore - we have another little girl on the way!

She was moving quite a bit!
We definitely got a few 'quit poking me' responses to his poking/prodding =).

We got a DVD of it too so if any of you are hanging out at our house and would like a viewing, just let us know =).

We're both excited (and Tom's relieved we don't now have to buy an entirely different wardrobe =)) and now have to figure out how to let Cyanne in on the little secret that is her little sister...

So - there you have it!

We're very thankful we have a healthy, strong little baby girl in there!
Now... we hope she keeps on growing and hanging out in there until mid-November!! No need to come any earlier than expected, at least in my opinion (though my tune may change in those later months =))!

And also... to pick a name. At least now we can focus on girl names. =)
Good thing we already have a list from before!

If I can figure out how - I will try & scan some of the images...

Since we haven't written much about this pregnancy on here, I figured I would provide a little background:

During this pregnancy, I've had a lot of similar cravings from the first time. Carrot juice, cranberry juice, cheese, spicy foods, sweet potato fries, (bizarrely) CPK BLT pizza (yes, I love salad on top of my pizza), really strong (decaf) coffee, Diet Coke (with lemon/lime), fizzy water, Starbucks venti skinny decaf vanilla lattes, hot salsa, taquitos (preferably from Playa Azul), arugula, nuts... and the occasional pickle. I've also been adding a ton of lemon or lime juice to pretty much any liquid I consume (other than coffee). It's a rather bizarre list, I know. There are more but those are what come to mind.

In terms of the baby girl:
I started feeling movement a lot earlier this time. Helps when you know what you're looking or feeling for... I felt the first BIG kick around 16 weeks. I was lying in bed and turned around to put down the book I was reading and apparently, that movement did not sit well with the wee one. There was a huge kick from inside.

I've felt little flutters and kicks ever since with a few big ones every now and again. That usually happens when I twist in some odd manner and the baby says, um, hey... you're smooshing me or um... my foot is there, move it! But, as always, it's very reassuring to feel something, anything. It's a nice, (for now) gentle reminder. So, I respond with a "hi baby... how are you doing in there? Staying nice and comfy?"
It's definitely picking up though... which is great.

The heartbeat first registered at 160 and at my last OB visit, was 144 bpm.

I am currently almost 20 weeks (will be 20 weeks on June 28th) so almost 1/2 way done! Which is amazing... I've gained 4-5 pounds so far which is on track based upon my calculations.

I'm still tired but not quite as tired as I was during the first trimester. Ah, the sensation of your eyelids being pulled down and being totally exhausted... Oh, what I'd give for a nap. Cyanne, though, is often not keen on naps and therefore, Mommy cannot take one either, no matter how fantastically enticing I try and make it sound to her =). One weekend afternoon I even started to fall asleep on the mat on her floor while holding her puppy and blanket with her standing over me giving me this look of "what are you doing down there?" And then she put her hand to her cheek as she does for her "sleeping" sign. Yes, Mommy is sleeping (sort-of). Resting, more like. Thankfully, it's getting better.
Overall, I have felt pretty good.
Though I am able to convince Tom to give me the occasional back/neck rub while we're hanging out or watching TV. Amazing what carrying a child will do for (an already bad) back!

Cyanne is, for the moment, blissfully unaware of the little sister she's to have hopefully in November. She's doing great. I'm sure she'll be a wonderful big sister... Now, I just have to read up on the whole introduction process.

We head off to Cooperstown, NY tomorrow, Friday, June 26th. We are really, really looking forward to it! Not only will Cyanne have lots and lots of quality time with her Nanna and Grandpa but Tom and I will hopefully be able to relax!
(Oh and don't worry... we'll be bringing the DVD for your viewing pleasure, grandparents!!)

Yay for baby girls!!!

The new addition!!

As many of you know by now...
It looks as though Cyanne will be needing to add this to her wardrobe:


or perhaps...


I will post Thursday after our ultrasound appointment. We will hopefully find out whether I'm carrying a boy or girl...
Guesses?
I'm still betting girl though I've gotten several "boy" comments and guesses.
We shall see!

Either way, Cyanne's world is going to change quite a bit!! For the better... =)