giving thanks

our little girl, all grownz up.



we were heading out yesterday to thanksgiving dinner with the phung family [thank you for the delicious meal and great company, as always!] and thea just looked like such a big girl to me. i can't believe she's going to be two on monday. how is this possible?! she had her two year check-up the other day where we found out she weighs 31 pounds and measures 35 inches, 90th percentile for height. at this rate, she's going to tower over me by her fifth birthday.



as we prepare for bam bam's arrival at some point this week, i've been flooded with memories of thea's birth, especially since i was in labor at exactly this moment two years ago. i remember it like it was yesterday which is odd because these days i can't seem to remember what i did yesterday.

i'll try to post at least one more time this week and we will, of course, keep you updated when we have news!!

going for a jog

we've officially entered the "i'll do it," "let me do it!" "i can do it!!!!" phase of development, which can be trying at times. just the other day we were in a hurry and i picked thea up out of her car seat to get out of the car quickly and she broke down crying because she wanted to do it herself. while sobbing she threw herself in front of me and tried to physically restrain me from walking away so she could get back in and re-do the whole experience.

she also wants to get herself dressed and loves to put on clothes these days...hers, mine and especially zack's boxers, which she has fashioned into pants, shirts, dresses and hats. here's an outfit she put together last week that's actually not half bad, compared to some of them:



the lighting was very strange in this photo but i love the way it turned out:

a month of firsts

in an attempt to even out thea's scraggly mullet and knowing that if i don't get things done now, they aren't going to get done for awhile, i took thea to get a haircut yesterday.

we stop into little locks every week because it's a few doors down from music class, it's also a toy store and it's the home of two very fluffy bunnies and one big lizard. so after a few months of hanging out there i figured thea would be pretty comfortable and not make too big of a scene when we strapped her down and cut off her hair.

she was apprehensive for the first minute but with the help of a 'thomas the train' episode playing above her and a big mirror where she could watch herself, she was totally cool with the whole experience.

here are a few pics:

a big one!

this morning while thea was coloring downstairs she took her diaper off, declared she had to poop and asked me to come upstairs with her. she sat down on the big toilet and did it all in a matter of a few minutes. it was quite remarkable actually. i'm not getting my hopes up that this is the end of diapers [nor am i totally sure i want it to be as not wearing them opens a whole new bag of issues] but i did set a goal of november 2010 to have thea toilet trained and i'm pretty amazing at her timing. i haven't pushed her at all, simply asked her every time she started mentioning poop if she wanted to sit on the toilet and the answer has generally been no. today was clearly a different story....

at the pumpkin patch

a couple sundays ago thea and i visited a pumpkin patch which had loads of rides and games. her two favorites were the bouncy house - she jumped her little heart out for over 45 minutes - and the train. she immediately took a liking to the train operator and made funny faces at him every time she passed. i think he gave her an extra long ride because he found her so amusing.

three is a wonderful number

i'm going to vancouver this week, my last plane trip for quite some time. i'm feeling big and tired and really just want to stay home with my feet up but am staying busy taking thea to all kinds of lessons and activities on top of working full time. i've become acutely aware that ourime as a family of three is almost over so i'm trying to take every opportunity i can to do fun things with her. and while i'm excited to meet nuggie numero dos, i also feel some sadness that this chapter of our lives is ending. during just about every dinner over the last week thea has looked up from eating with a big smile on her face and said, "zack and sarah," like she couldn't be more pleased with how things are in this very moment and it gets me a little choked up each time.

every monday morning she and i go to music class, which she loves. her teacher, miss crystal, has risen up the popularity charts in our household and gets at least a few mentions a day. this morning zack surprised us and met us out front. thea was so excited to see him that she grabbed his hand and we walked in holding hands as a threesome. i wish someone had taken a photo.

in honor of the holiday, all the kids were encouraged to dress up in their costumes so here are a few pre-halloween pics. more to come when we go trick-or-treating on sunday!





ps: i've been a terrible blogger over the last two months. we had not one but TWO milestone birthdays in our family last week. i won't mention numbers but would like to say a belated and very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to grama and papa!!

looney bin

thea has been coming up with some doozies lately. i'm not sure where she picks up these things but she said this to zack last weekend, totally unpromted and it was a completely appropriate response for the way he was acting!

nine ten ten

so, it's the just about the last day of september, exactly one month since i posted, and thea turned 22 months today. as the boss said, "vacation's over" and i need to get back to posting. i'll keep this one short though a longer one about the last month is coming soon.

we had an AMAZING time at our wedding and want to thank everyone who joined us and also those who couldn't make it but were there with us in spirit. it was a weekend we will remember and treasure forever. thank you to our families, our friends and especially our parents for making all our dreams come true.

we don't have the photo files from our photographer yet so i'm including a link to a few on his blog. he does have a website where you can view all the photos, so if you're interested, please email me and i'll send you the username and password.