How Do Dinosaurs...?

Having a bed-time story read by your Daddy has got to be every girls favorite memories as a child. I just remember sitting on my bed cuddled up with Megan, listening to Dad read us a story. There would always be long pauses where we'd have to poke Dad so he'd continue on. He's usually put himself to sleep before us! Justin is a great story teller and makes bed-time special for Addie. Right now her favorite stories are How Do Dinosaurs Eat there Food? and How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? by Jane Yolen. Justin is getting tired of them night after night but she won't let him start out with anything else.

Daddy's little Ewok

After a busy day we relaxed at home this evening before Addie's bath time. Justin put on her Star Wars t-shirt and just left her in her diaper. It brought back memories from last October when I went back to work and Justin stayed home with Addie for his paternity leave. I'd come home from work and Addie would just be hanging out in her diaper and a t-shirt. Most often this one. Funny that at 4 months she could wear this and at 16 months she can still wear it. I think it fits her properly now though.

Baby #2

Yep, you read it right we are pregnant again! Due May 1, 2009. Addie was affectionately nicknamed Hokie Bird because we didn't find out the sex before birth so this new little edition is going to be lovingly called Hokie Bird 2. Anyway, Hokie Bird 2 is 9 weeks along and has a strong fast heart beat according to my doctor. On the sonogram today not only did we get to see the little heart beating but also watched him/her wiggle around a little. It's just amazing and has calmed so many of my worries. I've been a tad consumed with exhaustion and nausea let alone the fact that one moment a apple will look delicious to me, the next it makes me want to vomit. The joys of early pregnancy! The good news is that all this tough stuff disappeared after week 12 with Addie so God willing, I will feel more like myself in three weeks or so.

Beyond all that Justin is just giddy with excitement. I think the husbands get to focus on the excitement so much earlier because they don't anxiously wait for the sonograms with the heartbeat and have to deal with all the pregnancy symptoms. Justin can't stop smiling and smothering me with sweet nothings about how amazing I am to be carrying his baby...again! I'm so lucky. Addie is clueless as of now, and will probably be too young to completely understand the implications of the baby in Mommy's belly arriving come May. Besides that, she is going to be a great big sister if the adoration she had for her cousin Riley is any indication of how she will be with her little brother or sister. It's all very exciting for us.

And if this isn't too many details yet I've attached the sonogram pictures!

Dancing Queen

When music comes on our girl is dancing. Yesterday she even started grooving to the sounds of the hammering and sawing that was going on upstairs in the construction. I guess she thought it was a funky beat. Note: I don't make her wear her sunhat inside, she insisted on wearing it.

Filipino "art"

Jeepneys in the Philippines are a major source of public transportation for the locals. They barrel along the road producing massive amounts of pollution and are always decorated with artwork, tassels, and curtains. On the way to Subic this past weekend we came across an especially ridiculous Jeepney picture. Justin's statement was "How did they get in my head?"

Subic Bay

Yesterday we took a road trip with friends to Subic Bay. It's about a 2 and a half hour drive northwest of Manila. We packed up the cooler and the Jeep and hit the road early to get out of the city before traffic could slow us down. Once we hit the open road it was blissful. Green rolling hills and jagged rock formations covered in palm trees lined the highway. Lots of little villages and fields and fields of rice patties. The drive itself erased the stress of Manila from our minds. Once at Subic we set up shop at Cayman Beach Resort with a "deluxe" cabana and charcoal grill. Our friends we were with have a daughter Addie's age, so Stella and Addie played in the sand together and became fast friends. We grilled pork ribs and ate fresh fruit. The weather was sunny and the water was refreshing. It was a perfect day-trip out of the city. Addie had no reservations about the beach this time. She immediately covered every inch of her skin in sand and pulled our hands towards the water. She walked a bit with her Daddy picking up coral and shells. For two little girls who didn't have a nap that day they did fantastically well at the beach. Towards the end of our beach day we were visited by wild monkeys! They came out of the jungle behind us looking for food. You can see Justin, Addie, and I peaking out of the cabana to get a look at the monkeys up in the trees. Addie (the animal lover) loved the monkeys. The girls crashed on the ride home. Our fun-day-at-the-beach officially ended when we hit Manila traffic which added an additional hour and a half on the trip home. The only other downer was when we stopped at a rest-stop for food. All of us were excited to see the Wendy's Hamburgers sign, only to have our hopes stomped on when we found out the store had closed. This left us with a bunch of other gross choices, KFC being the least nasty of them all. It's strange ordering at familiar fast food chains in the Philippines. First of all they had no biscuits (what the?), so we ordered two "fun shot" meals (basically chicken nuggets, fries, and a soda pop) for about $4 total. Needless to say it wasn't so "fun". There is a reason we don't eat KFC in the States and now we will never eat at KFC in the P.I. again.

After we had one panic-inducing mix up in Quezon City trying to get on EDSA the right direction toward Makati (home) we sat in traffic until we were in familiar territory. We were never so glad to see Spendido Gardens! The day was exhausting but in a good we-did-something-fun-today way. We will definitely be making our way to Subic again soon. Getting out of the city was just what the doctor ordered.

Adelaide Updates

Since I bummed everyone out including myself with the last post I'll now get back to the stuff everyone really wants to hear about...Adelaide Rose.

Our little baby is now officially a toddler. Here are a few of the new things she does:

- Climb everything, couch, chairs, toys, baskets, thanks to Gymboree

- She's become a bit more picky at mealtimes. She still likes broccoli and asparagus but generally is choosier about what goes in her mouth. Crazily she loves black olives like her Aunt Rachel

- Talks! Addie says Mama, Dada, Lucy, baby, ball, this, fish, puppy (or doggy it's tough to tell), up, yaya, bye bye, Hi, and a few more words that are her made up language to communicate with us.

- Yesterday she repeated me when I said "so cool" she also blurted out "oh wow" while we were reading a book.

- Makes up her own little games with her toys- adorable and I love watching her while she plays.

- Runs! Loves going down the slides at the park and climbing the stairs mostly by herself.

- Favorite playtime activity is reading books and looking at the pictures. She hands them to me and Justin to read and flips through the pictures. She points out the animals in the pictures. We do this off and on for hours during the day and before bed. I'll also point out that when Daddy gets home from work he takes over for story telling. She prefers him to read them aloud. Who wouldn't though with that great Daddy voice.

- At bedtime she now likes to skip being rocked and sung to and prefers to go straight to bed (I cried the first time this happened!) she reaches her arm out for her crib while I'm kissing her goodnight.

- Dances, while this is not a new thing for Addie she's now got some new moves that involve picking up her feet and waving her arms. We love catching her dancing to music.

- Rocks and sings to her baby doll. She kisses her and gives her sips from her sippy cups. Baby even gets to share her goldfish crackers at snack-time.

- Loves rough housing with her Daddy. As you can see in the pictures Justin is just as excited as Addie that she's getting sturdy enough to play big kid games like "horsey" with her Dad.

- Loves Oreos (well they're actually Trader Joe's all natural version but exactly the same). And if you are curious she immediately takes the two cookies pieces apart and scrapes off the filling on the inside with her teeth.

- Addie's clearly growing. Her hair is getting so long in back and most of her baby fat rolls on her legs are melting away. There is still one little crease that won't budge and I'm secretly hoping that one little baby roll hangs around for a while longer. She's got a mouth-full of teeth and molars to chew with.

- I could go on and on. My baby girl is not a baby any longer. Everyday there is a moment that melts my heart. Most of the time it's when she throws her arms around my neck for a voluntary hug or when she touches her nose to mine in a sweet little Mommy-Daughter eye contact moment which I'd like to believe is her way of telling me she loves me.