IKEA Trip

I hate to trump the ballerina photos so quickly, but I have to share this story:

I've got about 30 days before Liv arrives, a room to finish decorating, and lots of other things to do.  So....  Why is this little girl running around the house naked?  No time to dress Jillian???

WE'RE POTTY TRAINING!

Perhaps against my better judgement, I've decided to go gung-ho on potty training.  I know it will be a pain once Liv gets here, but Jillian is really into it, very capable of using the facilities, and understands the whole concept.  It's going pretty well so far!

So- what's the rest of the story?  

Today my Mom and I took Jillian to IKEA to shop for a few items for Liv's room.  This was Jillian's FIRST trip out of the house without a diaper on.   We went to the bathroom before we left the house, and we went to the bathroom immediately upon arriving at IKEA.  Jillian tried to go when we arrived, but no luck.  She did however promise to let me know if she needed to go.  

We went into the elevator to start our marathon trip, and mere moments after leaving the bathroom for the first time Jillian announces, "Oh no- there's poop!"

Ahh!!  I look in her underwear, nothing yet.  We run (wrestling with those wiggly IKEA carts!) to the bathroom telling her, "wait Jillian... wait!" 

When we went to the bathroom, she looked really confused.  We had her stripped down, ready to go but she refused.  "No Mommy- no poop!  You need to poop?  NO POOP MOMMY!"

Confused, we decided not to push the issue (isn't the the rule when potty training?  Don't stress them out about it?) so we told her to let us know if she changed her mind.  

As SOON as we got back into the elevator, she announced, "POOP!" again.  Goodness child, I think I'm going to lose my mind.  Maybe we're premature on this potty training issue.

Then- I followed her gaze to the wall of the elevator, where they were advertising food from the IKEA cafeteria.

OH.  Mommy moment.  No sweetie.  Those are meatballs.

My Mom and I could not stop laughing.  Hope that does not ruin IKEA meatballs for you if you are a fan!

Hahah!!!

Final ballet Class- Summer '09

Jillian really enjoyed ballet class over the past 8 weeks... She is the littlest ballerina in her class by far, but she did a pretty good job! For the final class, we were able to go in and take video/photos. These photos are all from after the class was over, and I'm still editing video, so look forward to that- she's a hoot. The hardest part of recording was keeping the camera steady as I giggled... the 'performance' was adorable.

Ryan is out of town for a week (fishing in Alaska!) so my Mom was able to take advantage of a frequent flier ticket, and hop a plane to keep us company. She arrived just in time to attend story time this morning, go out to lunch with friends, and ballet this afternoon- Tuesday is my favorite day of the week so I'm SO glad she was able to be here to join in all the fun!

LINK for the other photos from ballet...

Jillian's alter ego

I know you're used to seeing Jillian in lots of pink, doing ballet... dainty girl-ish things.  Well- I'd like to introduce you to tough Jillian.  She's a whole new kid when she wears the Vans Aunt Marilyn brought for her.  Don't make this baby mad... look at that face!

Jillian Quotes, #1

I decided to title this one with a number, because I know there will be lots more where these came from ;)

I also know you may not find these two stories as hilarious as I did, but I want to write them down... for documentation sake!  :)

#1- The crib for Liv has arrived, and we set it up in her room.  Jillian was helping me wash linens the other day, and tie the bumper onto the crib.  During this process, she asked if she could, "get in the crib?"  I told her, "no... This crib is for when Liv comes home to stay with us... it's just for tiny babies!  Your crib is in your room."  She looked a little confused, ran out of the room, and came back with her baby doll.  "For tiny baby?" she asked?  "No Jillian.  Just baby Liv- no toys."  Hmm...  Pondering this, she ran out of the room again.  When she returned a minute later, she grabbed my hand, pulled me over to the crib, pushed on my belly and said, "Okay Mommy... Then GET IN!"  Haha...

#2- I just went into Jillian's room as she is supposed to be napping, and was playing/crying instead of sleeping.  I checked to make sure her diaper was clean, and then told her she, "needed to nap before I took her out."  She looked at me with great big alligator tears running down her face and said, "YOU take a nap!  I just want to make dinner!" 

Sounds like a good deal to me!  ;)

More adventures...

Our family at Sesame Place:

After dinner, with Elmo!
Ernie stopped by while we were eating:
Jillian on the carousel: 
Daddy, Jillian and Mommy watching the Abby Cadabby show:
Helping Daddy find our next destination on the map:
Ryan and Jillian planning the most efficient route to see all the shows we could squeeze in:
I know, I know... we've gotta slow things down a little bit, but I feel like there is so much to cram in before Liv arrives in a month or so!  It's been such a fun summer!

Our family just returned home from a quick road trip to Pennsylvania where we were able to participate in a press release for Sesame Workshop, AND go to Sesame Place!  It was such fun!

Sesame Street just launched a new tool for families to stay in touch online.  Think facebook for kids...  It's a totally secure site where you can invite up to 30 people to join your 'family' page.  Then, each person can contribute to the site: share photos, use the tools on the page to make fun drawings...  This is PERFECT for military families, or anyone else looking for a way to allow their computer savvy children to safely stay in touch with loved ones!  Check it out, and email this link to others if you feel they could benefit from this site- it's a great tool! LINK

And, here is a  LINK for the rest of the photos we took at Sesame Place!

All about Cabo!

I made a couple of collages with our pics, but if you'd like to watch a slideshow of the photos in their full size, click this LINK!

The entire trip went really well!!  We had a wonderful time despite the fact that our return flight ended up being delayed over 11 hours.  We had to spend the night in Texas and return home this afternoon rather than late last evening.  That was a little tough on us since it was already the longest amount of time we've been away from Jillian.  It was comforting though, knowing she was at home in good hands- my Dad was in from Nevada watching her, and they had a wonderful time.

Despite this being a work trip for Ryan, we ended up with a good amount of time to relax together.  We went swimming and took FULL advantage of the spa vouchers that were not being used by our group.  Ryan had 2 massages while we were there, and I had 3 PLUS a pedicure!  Woo Hoo!

Enjoy the photos!

Home Sweet Home...

It may be hard to believe that even though we're here:

We are really, really looking forward to being back here tomorrow:
Ryan and I are at a BEAUTIFUL resort in Mexico...  Cabo has been great, but we're ready to go home!  Wish me and my big-'ol belly luck on our long plane ride home tomorrow!  We can't wait to see sweet Jillian...

More photos soon!

Follow up from 4th of July...

Okay-  Here's a LINK from YouTube... If you scroll to about 5 minutes, 40 seconds into the clip, you should be able to see one of the times Jillian, Ryan and I were on TV!  You can also see our good friends, Nate, Karen, and Tessa!  With these cute babies, how could the camera have resisted us!  

4th of July fun!

Last night we were on NBC for the Macy's Fireworks show in NYC!  I don't have a link to watch it online (yet!  I'm still looking!) but we heard there was a close up of me, Jillian and Ryan watching the fireworks!  Woo Hoo!

Once the filming for the show started, I could not take photos, but here's a couple from before that, and here's the LINK for the rest I took...

Although the Intrepid in NYC (a retired aircraft carrier) was closed to the public for the fireworks, we were lucky enough to score tickets through Wounded Warrior Project to be guests on the ship for the big show!  We were sitting in the first row, and had an awesome view of some of the best fireworks I've ever seen!  We could even see little bits of paper floatingin the air from the explosions! We were that close!!!

This is at about 6:45 pm.  The show did not start 'til 9pm, and look how many people were waiting near where we were headed!  We were up on the big boat in the back of the photo...

She's trained so well to smile!  ;)  This cute outfit came from my wonderful cousin Heidi for the occasion!  Thanks Heid!

Ryan was also able to get tickets for our friends Meg & OZ, and Karen, Nate and Tessa!  It was a great group!

I know this looks cheesy, but yes, we really were having that much fun!

Check out the NYC skyline behind Ryan and Jilli!  How crazy lucky are we to be a short train ride away from this cool place!  Visiting NYC is so much fun!

Swimming in the backyard!

I just can't get enough of this little girl.  The link below has the other 38 photos I took of Jilli today in the backyard!

Happy 4th of July Weekend!
LINK

She's getting SO big!

I know there will be a time when we'll look back at these photos, and think, "AW!  She was SOooo little!" but right now, at this moment, she's big.

To be honest, sometimes it's a little hard to deal with!  Where is our baby?  Good thing we're weeks away from meeting Liv- I know that will help! ;)  But, what about when Liv is an ornery 2 year old?  Geez...  I guess I can understand how people end up with a dozen children!  Haha!

Last night I went to a book club with some friends in the area, and Ryan tucked Jillian in.  When she knew it was bedtime, she ran into the kitchen and sat down on the floor.  Once Ryan tracked her down she said, "Daddy, I'll just do a time out."  haha.  See what I mean?!?  She's BIG!

Here's a few photos I took of her today:

And some yesterday at ballet class:
I found this new outfit at TJ Max for $10 and could not pass it up.  I wanted her to wear her ballet shoes outside for the photo, but she's all about the rules, and "ballet shoes are ONLY for inside!"  Oh well- Crocs it is!

Happy July!