Andra's First Snowman!

At last! A snowman-worthy snow! Our first snow this season wasn't good snowman snow...way too fluffy. But this stuff was PERFECT...so Andra and I made a toddler-sized snowman...my first one ever with my kiddo. Kind of a milestone, don't ya think? :)

Here's my girl mid-chew...stealing some of the chocolate we were using for the eyes and mouth. Funny she didn't want to munch on the carrot?? I suppose she's a girl after her mother's heart.

This one cracks me up! I just got lucky and happened to capture this moment...she was getting frustrated that she couldn't hold or throw her snowballs because of her bulky mittens. hehe!

Don't we all feel like making that face sometimes? :) I love how toddlers wear their emotion all over their face...no guessing how they feel!

To be truly honest, this snow is making me a little nervous. See, we have our date tomorrow morning with Curious George!! (for the Curious George Live show) I'm terrified of waking up tomorrow to a snow emergency and a cancelled show. So, say your prayers tonight that our little gal still gets to meet her monkey buddy tomorrow morning...we've even got backstage passes! And we (more like me) have been looking forward to this for months!

Rain, Rain Go Away...

We're witnessing history. That's what I keep telling myself as we watch record rainfall pelting our windows here in southern California. :) It's not exactly what we were expecting for our sunny California vacation, but that's okay.

The good news is we had a couple days of beautiful weather in San Diego when we first arrived. Still colder than what this region usually is, but still sunny and warm. Andra spent a couple hours on the beach at the famous Hotel del Coronado. Someday, I'll actually be a guest there. Someday. :)

We tried to savor the warm weather while we had it, because we knew the forecasts were looking a little ugly. Here's Andra getting friendly with a parrot in Seaport Village.

And Dave and Andra on the coast of Coronado Island.

And then the weather went down the tubes. We actually high-tailed it out of San Diego a day early, because they were predicting mud slides and flooding. We knew we were in trouble when one forecaster described the approaching weather as "epic." Greeeeeat. We made the drive to Palm Desert in the pouring down rain...thinking there wouldn't be rain in the desert, right?! Well, sort of. There's LESS rain. Although still plenty to go around.

The first few days we've been here in Palm Desert, it's been relatively clear and sunny in the mornings...so we've made the most of our mornings. Then, the rain and cold comes in the afternoon and evening. This morning, we spend a few hours at the Living Desert...it's a zoo with desert animals. We were all impressed and had a great time soaking up the sun shine.

Here's Andra getting friendly with a goat at the petting zoo.

Despite the weather, we're still having a great time. I'm getting to spend lots of time with Crystal, one of my very best friends in the whole wide world. She's a golf pro here in the Desert (I've got friends in the right places!). And Andra has made a new friend; she's fallen pretty hard for Crystal's dog Tux. Maybe they can be pen pals when we're back home? :)

Our Latest Adventure

Bowling.
I know I know, we're walking on the wild side!...but when it's below 10 degrees with several inches of snow on the ground, your options are limited. :) So off we went to the local bowling establishment, so I could show Andra just how terrible her mom is at bowling. The up side? She got to spend some quality time with her Uncle J before he headed back to school for the spring semester.

They have these cool little ramps, so little tikes like Andra can just put their ball at the top, it rolls down a ramp, which gives it enough momentum to get down the lane in less than 10 minutes. Smart!

I'm happy to say we'll be leaving the cold temperatures behind and heading to southern California this weekend for some warm weather! Can't wait!!

Back from the Holidays

Yes, we're alive...and have finally emerged on the other side of the holidays. Sorry for the lack in posts lately; the holidays are always a busy time of year, and I'm just now getting all my photos loaded onto the computer and out into cyber world. :)

To sum up Christmas 2009, I'd have to say it was our family's most memorable yet. There was something that made it especially magical this year, and I think it was living it through the eyes of a child. Andra is really starting to understand the many traditions that surround Christmas, and she certainly seemed enchanted by it all...and that enchantment was contagious. It was such a joy to watch her experience it all. I'm hoping by next year she might start to understand the real meaning of Christmas...at least on a basic level. I told her a lot this year that it was Jesus' birthday, which seemed to really confuse her!

Here she is on Christmas night with her cousins, Garrett and Zayda.

One photo missing from the bunch this year is the traditional picture with Santa...and that's because Andra wouldn't go within 20 feet of him! She loved to see him in books and movies, but when we saw him in person, she would cling to us and refuse to go anywhere near him. So I didn't push the issue, and she was perfectly content to admire him from a distance.

She did, however, take a very special liking to Rudolph (Roo-off!). I'm not exactly sure why. I think it all started when this stuffed Rudolph (courtesy of Aunt Libby) re-emerged after being packed away with other Christmas decor since Christmas 2008. They were inseparable throughout the entire holiday season! In fact, she now insists her middle name is Rudolph, and when I ask her, "Are you my girl?", she replies, "No, Roo-off!" I'm currently plotting how to make him disappear again into the Christmas boxes without causing her any trauma! I think he'll remain a really special treat if she only sees him once a year.

Aside from the holidays, Andra's world was brightened about a week after Christmas when we got our first significant snow of the season. It was only a few inches...not enough for a snowman or extensive sledding, but enough to entertain a 2 year-old! We went on some sled rides around the yard and down the driveway (which really is the perfect slope with perfect speed for a toddler)...and Andra said her sled was like Santa's sleigh. Too cute. :)

Here's wishing you and yours a happy, healthy and blessed 2010!

Curious George, HERE WE COME!

I distinctly remember the day when the advertisement came fluttering out of our Curious George DVD. My jaw dropped and my blood pressure began to rise; "What?! A LIVE Curious George stage show is in the works?! We MUST be there!"

Feverish internet research immediately commenced...during which I discovered, YES, it's true, there's a Curious George Live stage show...AND IT'S COMING TO OUR CITY! I immediately joined the fan club, which entitled me to a secret club of crazy parents that would receive a promo code to purchase the tickets BEFORE they're on sale for the public! Then, I got some cryptic fan club email that thoroughly confused me...where's the secret code?? were the pre-sale tickets on sale yet? did I miss my golden opportunity?? The link didn't seem to be working. So, for a number of weeks, resolving this mystery was on my to-do list, but efforts to reach those in charge were unsuccessful.

But then, lo and behold, at 10:24 this morning (when I'm supposed to be working), the clouds parted, I heard angels singing, and THE email arrived in my in-box with my secret code to buy pre-sale tickets!! Oh, be still my beating heart!!!

So log on I did, and we now have three Curious George LIVE tickets in our possession...third row, baby! I'm downright giddy. Just giddy. Andra's gonna go nuts! Afterall, George IS her favorite...we watch at least one "Georgie" episode per day, read about 5 George books (most of which I have memorized), own multiple George stuffed animals (one for our house, one for Grandma's, so she's never without her beloved friend), followed him like hopeless groupies all summer long during his various appearances at community events, Andra was even Curious George for Halloween (and Dave the Man with the Yellow Hat...see our Halloween post...Dave is breathtaking in yellow!). Needless to say, with Andra and George...it's true love.

Come to think of it...maybe Dave should wear his Man in the Yellow Hat costume to the show! Although the people sitting behind us wouldn't be able to see around the monstrous yellow hat.

Now if only I could find some backstage passes... THAT would make me Mom of the Year!

A few days later...
Update: It's official...I am, in fact, Mom of the Year!!!! A wonderfully sweet promoter for the Curious George Live show happened to stumble across this blog entry, and seeing my borderline crazy enthusiasm for the show, offered us "backstage" passes to meet and greet with the cast before the show!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Needless to say, I'm now over the moon excited and counting the days until show time!! The details are yet to be finalized, but it's sounding pretty certain. So, you're all welcome to stop by and see my "Mom of the Year" trophy. I've buffed it to a mirror shine. ;) Just kidding...the trophy only exists in my head; the reward will be seeing Andra's excitement that day!

Ooooon, Twoooo, Geeee....

I'm such a proud mom...our little gal can count to ten!! I was actually stunned to find this out myself. :) We hadn't been working on counting or numbers specifically...then, one day, I overheard her counting while she was playing with her toys...she got all the way up to ten, and I nearly fell out of my chair!! How on earth did she learn to count to ten?! We hadn't even been practicing! It just goes to show what sponges toddlers are...they soak up everything around them, sometimes, without you even noticing what they've learned!

I tried and tried and tried to upload this video directly onto this blog, but to no avail... so, click on this link and you can watch it on YouTube. (it's takes awhile for her to work up to it, but she finally does it at the end...I talked over "one" and "two" a little bit...but I promise you, all ten numbers are there!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dDNjchG2Z8

Boiler Up!

We try to make it up to West Lafayette to visit my little bro at school at least once a semester. With Christmas season right around the corner, and a beautiful weekend with some free time, we made a last minute trip to check up on Jonathan and make sure he's behaving at school. Just to brag a little...he's got a 3.9 GPA thus far (it's his sophomore year), is crazy involved in lots of activities, and has even managed to find some pretty good friends already. I'm just not sure what they see in him. ;)

Ya ya...I know this post is supposed to be about Jonathan, but I couldn't resist sharing a pic of Andra and her cute little hat Grandma bought her! Such excellent taste, that Grandma.

Here's Jonathan showing Andra his penguin costume leftover from Halloween. If you know my brother at all and his quircky sense of humor, this costume just somehow suits him perfectly. It's so "him." Andra, on other hand, isn't quite sure what to think of that monstrous beak protruding from his forehead.

The joys of trying to take a picture with a toddler...

What made this visit special was that, after many months of unsuccessful previous attempts, Andra FINALLY started saying "Uncle J" clear as a bell! And said it all night. It was pretty cute. I know she'll be excited to see him home soon for Thanksgiving!