Spring, Who?

Winter decided to rear its ugly head once again in Indiana so no more trips to the park or rain jackets this week.  Just winter coats and indoor activities for us.  After a rather anti-climatic visit to the OB on Friday (1 lb. weight gain and NO change otherwise) Phoebe and I ran errands.   We ran to a children's consignment store and Hobby Lobby.  Not many people know that a craft store carries books, but Phoebe figured it out months ago.  And because I'm 39 weeks pregnant, I let her indulge while I sat down next to her.  I can't tell you how many salespeople came up to me to make sure I was ok or offer me a chair.  It was actually quite relaxing and I got in a nice phone chat with my mother-in-law as well.  We did snag these dry erase crayons (we have a hard time remembering to put the caps on tightly so I thought this might be a good compromise).  We tried them out this morning after dressing ourselves before church (rest assured this is NOT the outfit we wore out the door!).

And yes, we're mean parents, Phoebe is still in a crib, but only because she's never climbed out.  However, I think that's short-lived.

After church, we had lunch with YiaYia and Papou.  Phoebe had a sleep-over at their house Friday night and Saturday morning, she and Papou made birdhouses together.  Then Phoebe went and picked out the colors with YiaYia and they painted them together.  On Sunday, they glued on all kinds of things that sparkled. 

Then Phoebe sang everyone a few renditions of "Tomorrow" and "Twinkle, Twinkle."

And along with Spring taking its retreat, it seems the novelty of being potty-trained has worn off as well.  We had two accidents on Thursday and then just lucked out the rest of the weekend.  We did go out and buy princess panties in an effort to encourage her efforts.  We just hope they pay off and don't recess further IF baby brother ever decides to show up!

A Spring in Our Step

Ryan has had to work some longer hours with this new company and as a result, hasn't gotten to spend as much time with Phoebe as he'd like.  He came home one night last week with these foam play mat squares which Phoebe dubbed her "princess puzzle."  She's had a blast changing its shape, playing hopscotch (envision a 38-week pregnant woman teaching her toddler hopscotch - it is NOT a pretty sight!) and even making a princess box.

Friday, after our weekly OB appointment (2 cm. and 70% effaced and ONLY a 1/2 lb weight gain - thank you very much), Phoebe and I headed out to run some errands.  Among the things on our list was to stop and try and recitfy her hair situation.  We're still committed to growing out her bangs, but want to make the transition a bit more fashionable.  Every time she gets a haircut, I feel like she's less of a toddler and more of a little person.

After the haircut we hit a couple stores and then headed to a park as it was starting to feel like spring.  Unfortunately,  I think we were at the park less than five minutes and it started to rain.  She hid in the silo for a bit, but our departure was inevitable.

So what do you do on a Friday afternoon when it's raining outside?  Why, we headed to Costco and got a frozen yogurt.  At this point, I should mention that Phoebe came home from school Thursday with a paper that said she peed in the potty ALL day long.  When she woke up Friday, she said she wanted to wear panties and so we did.  We were doing quite well until we found the playhouse in Costco in which Phoebe entertained herself for a good 25 minutes - at that point, she decided to poop.  With all of our "gear" in the car, we made a quick shopping trip and then got cleaned up in the front seat before heading home.

On Saturday, it was yet another day for panties (it figures as I'd just ordered another jumbo box of size 5 diapers online from Amazon earlier in the week).  After having breakfast with some friends of ours, we went off to tackle our to-do list.   We had to make a stop at the mall to return a few things and Phoebe has recently been interested in stopping in the women's clearance shoe room at Von Maur (but how do you argue with that!?).  She picks out the flashiest heels and insists on trying on at least a half dozen shoes before we can leave.

And because we'd had such great success going potty (in public, no less!) and the sun was shining, we headed to a park since we didn't get much time at one the day before.  It amazes me how much more confident she is this season compared to last summer.

And as much fun as it looked, I was happy to sit on a bench and snap pictures while Phoebe and Daddy ran up and down, back and forth.

And for those of you who haven't seen my mammoth form in person recently, here you go.  And yeah, there's only ONE kiddo in there.

Let's just say Daddy makes a much better playdate these days than Mommy does.  They had a great time soaking up the sun together!

For all of us, it was just nice to be out without coats and enjoy the blue skies.  Spring is literally right around the corner and we're so grateful!

Come on, Spring!

We started off the week with my birthday.  Phoebe put on her other dress after we got home from dinner and did a dance or two.  How can you celebrate better than that?  Here she is talking on the phone while she dances.  So coordinated, this girl - she definitely gets that from her daddy!

Still loves hanging out with Ana the Panda! 

I think we'll have to go back to Build-A-Bear for a matching tutu!

Friday, after our weekly OB appointment (where NO progress was indicated - except another four pounds gained!) and lunch with Ryan - Phoebe and I headed to the Children's Museum.  We haven't been much this winter because I'm so paranoid about germs.  But with the sun shining and temps only in the 40s, we were wanting to do something and they have a new Dora and Diego exhibit.  We do not watch Dora the Explorer but that didn't stop Phoebe from making all the rounds at the new exhibit.  Our first stop was the climbing wall.  As Phoebe gets older, she becomes more adventurous and had no problems jumping right in.

Obviously this wall was no challenge for our daughter!

They had an animal rescue section and Phoebe took care of this frog.  Gave it an X-ray.

Gave it a bath and then an ice pack...

And Phoebe is a HUGE fan of puzzles.  The exhibit isn't all that old but these puzzled had definitely seen better days!

There was something to do with acorns but the kids had a hard time sharing.  Luckily, there were some nice kiddos in the bunch!

Then we headed to the Barbie exhibit.  Phoebe wanted to try on every pink outfit she could find but wasn't too keen on walking the runway by herself.  She stuck mostly to dressing the barbie dolls and doing their hair.

And of course had to make a stop and talk on the pink phones!

Even as we near the age of 3, our favorite stop at the museum is still Playscape.  Since we didn't arrive till almost 2:00, the crowd was very manageable.  We played in the water for quite awhile.

And then the sandbox.  We'd even gotten into the sandbox at home earlier in the week and then forgot to put the lid back on before the rain hit later that night. 

We closed down the museum and participated in the parade that gets everyone out the door close to 5:00.  The best part of Friday was coming home from the museum to find Auntie Kate in our driveway!

Saturday morning, I met my good friend, Amanda for breakfast and then we were off to the spa to get our hands and feet done.  I think I could have sat in that chair all day...  When I came home, Phoebe indicated that she needed her toes done as well.   Not sure why she had the sunglasses on but she's been wearing them inside the house or various stores here recently.

There's a sneak peek at those baby blues!

After the nails were done, YiaYia, Papou and Auntie Kate came over to help us get some baby stuff out of storage.  We were so thankful to have sun and temps in the 50s!

Auntie and Phoebe hung out in my trunk till it was time to pack it full.

When we got home, Auntie Kate entertained us with her Kinect skills. 

And although Phoebe didn't dance with the game, she still decided to dress for the part, feather boa included.

Sunday, after church, we went to YiaYia and Papou's for lunch and Phoebe desperately wanted to get outside.  And yes, we're STILL in the dress phase.  In fact, I've washed this dress the last two nights and she's worn it each day following.  Even wore it to school today...

A little follow-the-leader.

We were sad to say good-bye to Auntie Kate but know she'll be back soon to celebrate her birthday, the arrival of baby brother, whenever he decides to show up and Phoebe's birthday.  It's always fun to have family visit!  As much as we try, I think Phoebe gets bored with Mom & Dad sometimes...Love you, Auntie!

Birthday Weekend

Phoebe has worn a dress EVERY single day for probably the last 10 days.  This has led to some creative outfits at school AND on the weekends.  Here's one get up.  Oh, and I should preface this post with the fact that we're attempting to grow Phoebe's bangs out.  Some days she wants her hair done, others she doesn't want you near her hair.  Either way, it pretty much looks like this by the end of the day.

This hair-do is courtesy of Nana as I'd have never thought to braid just part of her hair...and whatever it was that I did that morning had to be re-done at school as I'll be the first to admit, I have NO talent doing hair and no creativity when it comes to trying something new.

All of a sudden, Phoebe likes pudding.  AND if it means convincing her to eat all her veggies first, we're ok with letting her have some for dessert every now and then!

Friday, she spent the night at YiaYia and Papou's while Ryan and I had a date night.  We picked her up Saturday afternoon and although a bit tired, she'd had a good time.  She helped YiaYia bake a cake for our upcoming Sunday Birthday Celebration.  The cake was for GGPa's 85th birthday that due to the inclement weather, we weren't able to celebrate in February.  That fact didn't stop Phoebe from wanting a PINK cake.  Luckily for us, Grandpa is pretty easy going!  Ryan had to do a little shopping, so Phoebe and I hung out in a department store.  She promptly found a chair and a stack of books and was set till he returned.  Note that the large Elmo got the boot. 

Sunday after church, GGMa and GGPa came over from Anderson for lunch and dessert.  They hadn't seen Phoebe for quite some time since we were in Georgia for Christmas this year.  It was fun to see them interact.  She did entertain them with a few rounds of "Tomorrow."

Phoebe did YiaYia's hair.

Then Uncle Steve and his girlfriend, Courtney finally arrived from Chicago.  Although Phoebe was SO happy to see them, she didn't want her picture taken.

Here's GGPa with his pink and purple cake! 

I got to celebrate with a peach cherry pie from Grand Traverse Pie Co. (yumm-o!).

And Uncle Steve picked his traditional peanut butter pie.

Phoebe really enjoyed having Uncle Steve in town for the afternoon!

He got a shirt and lots of green boxers from Auntie Kate.  He'll conveniently be in Ireland for St. Patrick's Day so Auntie wanted to make sure he was decked out in the proper colors for the holiday!

And this is why our kid doesn't take naps - at least it was Diet Mountain Dew...

Phoebe announced during lunch that we got Uncle Steve clothes so it was no surprise when he got to our gifts.  At least she didn't know what the books were called that we got him!

Here she is showing off her skills with a glue stick!  Pink is her go-to color right now - sorry Uncle Steve - I'm sure it'll still look nice on the fridge!

We did manage to Skype with Auntie for a bit while we were all together.  It's sure no fun when half our family lives over nine hours away, but we look forward to having her in town briefly next weekend!  And here's one last cheesy picture of Phoebe and Uncle Steve before they headed back north.