Life's a Beach

Long Beach that is. One Saturday morning, I woke up thinking I want to do something different and fun with Carlee. The aquarium popped into my head. I went online to see when they open and found out it was the weekend of their kids' festival. We got ready and headed down there.

It was such a beautiful day outside. We enjoyed just walking around before the aquarium opened.

Then the aquarium opened and Carlee wanted to find "Nemo". She was in awe of every exhibit.

Included in the kids festival was free face painting, arts and crafts where Carlee painted a shark pink, and different shows performed in the main hall.

Here Carlee is showing off her "purple fish tattoo."

She loved putting her hands in the water and wanted to touch the sting rays. She wasn't scared at all.

Posing for mommy!! I wish I took my good camera (only had my phone). The aquarium is a great place to take pictures!

She wanted to take a picture in front of the orange and pink fish.

Then after all the fun at the aquarium, we headed over to Shoreline Village for lunch. It was such a beautiful day that we lunched on the patio.

I love this girl. She makes me laugh.

After lunch we headed home for a nap. As soon as I buckled her in the car seat, she passed out. Too much fun with mommy. I try. Our next adventure is going to be Sesame Street Live.

Off to Grandmother's house we go!

Carlee and Grandma had a date night planned for Friday while Mommy went to the Dodger game with some friends. If you ask Carlee where I went she'll say "Mommy play games with Teta." Close enough. Carlee knew she was going to be going to Grandma's and all week she kept asking when she was going to go to Grandma's and when her and Grandma were going to Target. This kid loves her some Target. She knows where all the local Targets are and often cries out if we've passed a Target and didn't turn it. So finally Friday rolled around and we were about to head over to Grandma's house. Right before we left, Carlee came around the corner saying "This is heavy for me Mommy. This is heavy for me." Just as I turned to look at her, I saw her piggy bank drop on the floor and break into 4 big pieces. Before she could get upset, I told her it was an accident and we'd by a new one. Then I reminded her that she's going to Target with Grandma, so she can get a new one then. That stopped any tears that were starting.

Carlee was happy to see Grandma and Starr (the dog). Carlee didn't even care that I was leaving. She was excited for her night. While at the Dodger game, Grandma sent me pictures of my funny little girl.

Here she is trying to get out of her car seat...

Here she is with her new "oink oink" aka piggy bank. I think she's happy now.

Here she's modeling the new clothes Grandma bought. Spoiled! I guess while in Target, Grandma would pick out an outfit and Carlee would say "I have that". I guess this happened a few times. (We shop at Target, what can I say?)

I don't know what she's doing here, but I thought it was a funny picture.

And lastly, Grandma's two favorite girls!!!

In My Daughter's Eyes

I love this song. I don't even need to explain, it says it all.

Starting to see a change

...in my toddler that is.

I know I've blogged about the terrible two's. Sorry if I sound like a broken record but in my life, the terrible two's are real and something we deal with constantly. Carlee's generally well mannered but when she wants something, she wants it! Maybe it has to do with everyone giving in to her, or just being a toddler. I know I've been making more of an effort to stand my ground. Its easy to give in when I don't have anyone else in the home to help out or reinforce rules/ discipline. But I've been more patient and not giving in. I refuse to let a two year old win!

In the past couple of weeks I've started to see fewer tantrums. (I hope I'm not jinxing myself). But she's also made huge leaps in her talking. I think her being able to communicate more and more cuts down on her frustration that leads to the tantrums. Or I can only hope.

But even with all the tantrums and meltdowns, Carlee has been so goofy and silly. I'm loving watching her personality really develop. I guess that's what being a mother is all about...taking the tantrums along with the moments that melt your heart.

Here are a couple of those moments that made me stop and think "Man, I love this kid":

*We were at the park and Carlee needed help fixing her sandal. I fixed it for her and asked her for a kiss. She gave me a quick kiss before running back to the playground. She got about 10 feet away before she turned and came running back saying "Oh and a bug hug!" with her arms open wide. I said "Ok I'll take a hug"! I know there will come a time when she won't want to hug me so I'll take it when I can get it.

*This weekend Carlee was insisting that she help me clean the toilet and then later do the dishes. Of course I let her help. (Although having a toddler help using means a larger mess or a lot more time spent doing the task at hand). But I let her help and she was beyond excited to do so. After the dishes I told her to remember this enthusiasm over chores when she's 13. She turns to me and says "I'm two and a half." I just laughed and said "Yes you are."

*This weekend we were also at Target. We had to get Carlee's cousin, Brooklyn, a birthday present. While shopping, Carlee was throwing random items in the basket. She kept saying "For Brooklyn's present." She picked out a cute outfit so I wasn't going to argue. Later in the cosmetics department, Carlee found a Hello Kitty display. (She loves Hello Kitty) I could have sworn Carlee was throwing items over her shoulder into the cart. I asked her what she was doing. Her reply: "I need it!" I can never keep a straight face when she says something that catches me off guard. I said "You need this?" Then she starting jumping up and down saying "I need it! I need it!" Ok, so that wasn't cute. I'm looking at what she had. Hello Kitty lip gloss, Hello Kitty face wipes, Hello Kitty eye lash curler. Eye lash curler? I asked her "Do you even know what an eye lash curler is?" She looked at me and in all seriousness said "No but I need it." OMG, I lost it! I started busting up. Even a lady walking by was laughing. Maybe she was laughing at me having that conversation in the middle of Target with a two year old.

*I recently discovered that Carlee knows all the words to several songs from the Lady Antebellum CD. The other day I caught her singing along to every song. It is the cutest thing in the world. One time she was singing and my CD player skipped (that's a whole other issue with my car), the music just stopped but Carlee kept singing. She finished the lyric. It was hilarious.

*When Carlee is away from home, I take every opportunity to clean my house. With a toddler, a spotless house is impossible. So I try to enjoy it even if it is for a couple hours. When Carlee came home, we walked into the house, she's looking around the living room and with her hands up she asks looking all puzzled, "Where'd my toys go?" I had to laugh. I explained that just because they're not all over the house doesn't mean that they're gone. Maybe we need to work on her picking up her toys so she understands that.

Carlee does stuff on a daily basis that cracks me up and reminds me what I love about being a mom. I love experiencing everything. I'll gladly take the tantrums if it means I get random kisses, funny remarks, and smiles all day long. Who wouldn't love being a mom to this little girl?

Happy April Fools!

I've never been one to prank someone. Maybe because I lack the creative ability to come up with something good. I'm also kind of gullible. So April Fools isn't particularly a fun and exciting day for me. But how many adults play April Fools jokes on one another!? I'm just hoping today is uneventful. I don't have any fun practical jokes to tell you about, but I do have an April Fools story to share.

April Fools two years ago definitely wasn't uneventful. It was a normal weekday. I got off work, picked Carlee up. (She's 5 months old at this time.) We stopped by the market to pick up some groceries. While in the store, we ran into my mom. We did our shopping then left about the same time. I put Carlee in the car and lock the doors while I'm loading up the back with the groceries. When I'm done I close the back only to realize I had set my keys down INSIDE the car! I locked my kid in the car!! I immediately called my mom who had left the parking lot a minute earlier. I told her what I did and she replied, "Oh I get it...April Fool's." No Mom!! I'm not joking about this! So I hung up with her and started looking through my wallet for my AAA card. That's when I found the card that has my keyless entry code on it. I went to the driver door and entered it and the door unlocked!! Thank goodness. Carlee was locked in the car for maybe 90 seconds, but it seemed like hours to me. I have since memorized my keyless entry code. I've also heard that if you lock your child in the car, call the fire department and not AAA. The fire department will get there much sooner. I hope no one locks their kid in the car, but just in case!

Happy April Fool's!

Just too tired

I swear there aren't enough hours in the day. I've been meaning to recap my girls quick trip to Vegas, vent about the terrible two's, and anything else I felt like commenting on. But I just don't have the time, patience or energy to do a full recap with pictures. So the Cliff Notes version will have to do...

Vegas included stopping at the outlets. Specifically the Coach outlet. Lunch. More shopping. Damage done at Guess and Michael Kors. Dinner. [Free] drinks. Dancing. A little gambling. Called it a night. Woke up Sunday, got In-N-Out and drove home. Quick trip but just what I needed. (Here's one picture from the night)

Once I got home it was back to mommy duty. Enter Carlee with her terrible two's. The tantrums and whining has picked up in recent weeks. Why? All I can think about is how I've heard that 3 is worse. Please tell me its not true. Carlee's newest thing is saying "Right now!" when she wants something. My response: "Excuse me!?" My first reaction is 'where does she learn this stuff?' But when I think about it, I realize I've told her to "come here right now" or "put your shoes on right now" as we're running late. So of course when she wants something done in a timely manner she's going to use the same phrase I do. So I've wised up and will change my approach. Let's hope by me changing a few things, it will somehow affect the tantrums and those will be almost non-existant. I can hope, can't I? Plus who can stay mad at this little face...

On a different note, I do have to say that I am very proud of Carlee who is fully potty trained now. She even held it from downtown LA until we got to Grandma's. (She tried going before we left but didn't have to). She was fairly easy to potty train. I really didn't do much. She's been pretty easy at everything ever since she was born (sleeping through the night, eating new foods, etc). If I have another kid I'm probably going to be screwed. Or maybe not...maybe I'm paying for it now. Because these terrible two's are no walk in the park!

Weekend Rundown

It's Sunday night a little after 7pm and the little one is already asleep. After a busy weekend and a lingering headache, the peace and quiet is pure heaven. Too bad it won't last and I'll have to wake up to Monday! Ugh. But it was a good weekend and all good things must come to an end, right?

We started the weekend off by heading to the park after work Friday. I haven't realized how fast Carlee is growing up until watching her at the park that day. Carlee no longer wants me to hold her hand or be right next to her when she's climbing, crawling, running, jumping, etc. She tells me I can sit and watch her. So I do. I watch her run up the stairs and straight to the biggest slide and go down it without hesitation. When did this happen? Then she even made friends with some kids that were playing. I've never seen her interact with kids other than her cousins or our friends' kids. There was a 5 year old girl with a small puppy that Carlee immediately took to. As I watched Carlee and this little girl engage in a conversation, I wished I could make out what they were saying. I was just amazed that this little girl could understand Carlee and having an actual conversation with her. It was the cutest thing.

After a little mommy and me time, it was time for mommy to have a night out with other mommies. I joined some other fabulous moms I know to celebrate just a few pregnant moms in the group. There are currently 8 pregnant mommies and they were all at dinner (and there were only 13 of us)! I was in the minority...thank goodness. Dinner was a blast as always. The get together's are always too few and far between, but we had fun none the less. Here's a picture taken right after I left (had to hurry home and pick up the peanut).

Such an amazing group of women/ moms. I'm lucky to know each and every one of them!

On Saturday we did a little shopping before we had lunch with another wonderful mommy and her adorable little daughter at Cha Cha's. Lunch and catching up was good but short lived (as are most dining experiences with a toddler). So we headed home for a much needed nap. When Carlee woke up, the first thing out of her mouth is "Backpack?" While shopping, Carlee had to have a backpack. She's been talking about getting a Dora backpack for preschool for days now. Poor thing doesn't realize she doesn't start preschool for another 6 months. After denying her the backpack at a few stores, I broke down and got her one. She had the Dora one in her hand the entire time and at the last minute changed her mind. She is the new proud owner of a Princess and the Frog backpack. All she talks about now is going to preschool and taking her backpack. Doesn't this look like a first-day-of-school picture? This was only to go to Grandma's house. Backpack on and purse in hand. (Don't get me started on purses. I think she's going to have a purse fetish like her momma). Once we got to Grandma's we had a mess...because that's what we do. Then we taught Carlee how to play hide-n-seek. Three grown adults playing hide-n-seek is a funny sight. Carlee was doing good counting to ten before coming to look for us (Grandma, Uncle D, and myself). After awhile she must have thought "forget this" because her counting was now "1,2,3,9, 10". Uncle D yells "cheater!!" from his hiding place while I'm trying so hard not to laugh because Carlee is 3 feet from me and can't see me hiding underneath the table. It felt like being a kid again. I think I need to take more time out to play hide-n-seek with my child more often!!

Sunday rolled around and we did the usual errands, clean, laundry...all that fun stuff. We lounged around and played. Carlee showed off her OCD side...

We did a little more shopping with Grandma. But only made a purchase at Sanrio. (Not for me, although it did bring back elementary school days). While at the mall, Carlee saw the purses at the entrance of Nordstrom and yelled "purses!" She's 2 years old, she can't have a thing for purses yet. Maybe I should stop buying purses when I'm with her. Oops.

The rest of the weekend was spent unwinding at home (and still staying on top of the potty training). So far we've been doing good. Carlee had one accident this weekend when she went peepee on Uncle D. I don't know if that was an accident or she did it on purpose! Overall, a pretty good weekend. Next weekend should be fun as well. But a different kind of fun as I'm headed for a girls trip to.....VEGAS!!