Last year and this year...

Here are the Christmas pictures from last year and this year...It is still amazing to me how much Ivy has changed in such a short time...

Christmas 2008

Christmas 2009

Don't want to brag...but I must!!

Again, no pictures... But I wanted to send out a potty update. Ivy woke up this morning with a wet diaper (no surprise there) but I sat her on the potty, and she went then. After she was done, she asked for a Dora diaper. It is a pull-up with Dora the Explorer on it. I have no idea how she knows who Dora is. We've never watched that show. But whatever toots her horn, if she really wants to wear the Dora diaper, fine by me! I want you to know, I took that same pull-up off of Ivy tonight before her bath. She used the potty all day today!! She didn't have a poopy diaper today (thanks to a late one yesterday!) so I'm sure we'll have to change more diapers tomorrow...

And a tooth update: Ivy's 2-year molars have popped through on the bottom. I had noticed she was chewing on her pacifier a lot but she never really complained. But tonight, she was saying "Ahhhhh" while I was brushing her teeth and I saw the new teeth! And they are like half-way in, so they've been there for a while, she's just never sat still long enough for me to really get a good look.

The more and more I post these things, the more I realize how fast Ivy is growing. I cannot believe she will be 2 years old in less than 3 months. How has the time passed so quickly?

Again, Merry Christmas! I won't post anymore until after Christmas so everyone have a safe and happy holiday.

Wolfpack fan...

No pictures this time...

Richard won 2 tickets to the NC State vs. Elon mens basketball game through his work. They do these random drawings and Richard won! I wasn't expecting much of a game, but Elon was leading at the half! And I think State only won by a little bit - less than 10 points. Anyway, we got to sit in the GSK box which was so nice. There is lots of room for Ivy to move around which definitely helped us enjoy the game a little more. Ivy had a great time. She learned to say "Goo Sate!!!" She tried to do the wolfpack hand gesture but really just looks like she is doing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". And by the time we left, she was leaning her head back and howling like a wolf. It was hilarious! We bought her a couple of pom-poms to shake and that was fun for a few minutes. When we got home and got out of the car, she wanted to shake the pom-poms. As Ivy walked up the sidewalk, shaking her pom-poms, she said, "Ivy shakin' pom-poms." That is one of the most complete sentences I've heard her say so far!

Potty Update: We had lots of errands to run today - first we walked at the mall, Ivy pottied before and after our walk (in the mall toilet). We went to Sam's Club, Ivy pottied there too! We got home unloaded the groceries, Ivy caught her nap in the car. She wouldn't go back to sleep, but pottied again. Then we ran back out to AC Moore (pottied there!) and then Panera for a bowl of soup (pottied there!!). Then home and she pottied 2 more times!! She is just amazing. That is 8 times that she pottied today! And I would say that she told me that she needed to potty 3 of those times. All I do is ask if she needs to use the potty and she says "Yep!" We stop whatever we're doing and run to bathroom. I am just amazed at how well she is doing. We are heading to the beach after Christmas, but when we get back, I'm hoping we can work on her telling me she needs to go. But I'm fine with the way things are going. She is doing great!

Okay, a busy week coming up. My Dad is flying in tomorrow, so I may not post anything until right after Christmas. But I'll be sure to post pics of Ivy and her Christmas fun!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Just cute...

I just thought these pictures were cute so I thought I'd post them...

Ivy enjoying a little snack of pop-corn...

Ivy with Grandma (Richard's Mom)...

Richard took this one...

On another note, Ivy seems to be potty-training herself. She has been very interested in the whole potty thing for quite some time. And for a while now, I've sat her on her potty after her nap and she will go. But in the past month, she has been telling me more and more that she needs to go and will go when she sits down. She's even going in the big potties at restaurants and stores!! All I do is ask her if she needs to go potty, she says "Yep!", I sit her down, and she goes!! So we'll see what happens, but hopefully this continues!!!

Some pictures...

Here is Ivy sporting her AC/DC t-shirt and new dark purple Converse shoes...

The cats have really been enjoying the Christmas tree skirt...there is always at least one cat under there...sometimes Ivy likes to lay under there too!

So I decided to wrap a few presents and put them under the tree...Ivy decided to start opening one. Here is the first picture I snapped after I told her to stop...

And here's what she looked like after I asked her to move away from the tree...

Ivy sitting on Tucker...

We've had more ducks!!

Richard got a Snuggie for me at a White Elephant gift exchange... I haven't used it much but here's a picture of me posing with my snuggie the first night I had it.

It was a Happy Thanksgiving...

Our week started out a little rough - Ivy was a little under the weather. We started out our Monday as usual - with a walk. We walked at the mall because of the rain. We were going to do a little shopping after our walk but when we got in the car, Ivy seemed so tired and her eyes were so dark underneath. So we decided to head home. She fell asleep in the car at 10:15 which is very unusual. We got home and Ivy woke up, wanting to watch t.v. I laid her in my bed and she watched Sesame Street until she fell asleep right around 1:00. Sometime in there I took her temperature and it was 103!! So a call to the pediatrician was warranted. After the nurse called me back, they asked me to bring her in. The doctor seemed to think it was some sort of virus that would cause her to have a fever for another couple of days or so. We had orders to let her eat and drink whatever she wanted. We got home, had some nice warm soup for dinner. She had a little Motrin before bed, woke up the next morning fever free, and hasn't had a fever since. So I guess her little 2-3 day virus was only a 24 hour thing....

We all went to Richard's parent's house for Thanksgiving. We had so many people this year that we had place cards! Ivy had her own place card and got to eat with the fancy silver.

Ivy getting a little piano "lesson" before lunch...

My mom fixing some broccoli salad...

Richard and Craig having a little snack while waiting for lunch...

Uh oh!!! Richard must have tried to steal Craig's smoked salmon!!!

(Just kidding - this picture was totally posed - although I must say that I snapped it at JUST the right time!!)

Richard's Mom, Pat, fixed a 23 pound turkey! Here is Pat, Craig, and Richard trying to figure out how to get that heavy bird out of the roasting pan...

Aunt Judy, Craig, Ivy, and Aunt Sandy

After lunch at the "kids table"...

This time of year we get these really cool ducks at our pond. They are called a Hooded Merganser. The black and white one on the left is the male, and the brown one on the right is the female. They seem to come a couple at a time (could be the same two, I guess) but we've seen up to 12 or 13 at one time.

Here are some other interesting facts about Hooded Mergansers...

• The Hooded Merganser finds its prey underwater by sight, the nictating membrane (third eyelid) is clear and acts to protect the eye during swimming, just like a pair of goggles.
• It is the smallest of the three species of mergansers found in North America.
• They are extremely agile swimmers and divers but awkward on land because their legs are set far back on the body.

Last night, we went to a Mexican restaurant. Ivy kept saying "amals" "amals" because she wanted to play with the claw game where a claw drops and it grabs a toy. This one was full of animals. We kept telling her we'd look at it on the way out. She didn't let us forget and Richard played it with her. He didn't get anything the first time, but the second time he tried, he got TWO animals! I've never seen anyone win at that game, much less get two things!! Of course Richard gave them to Ivy. She thought it was so cool. She won a frog and a dolphin jumping through an American flag heart.

Nothin' happening...

Sorry that I haven't posted anything in a couple of weeks. We just haven't been doing much of anything - just our normal routine...

I have started decorating for Christmas - I am so proud of myself. I've gotten my Christmas cards done - and I mean in the envelopes, sealed, addressed and stamped!! I've gotten the Christmas tree up and decorated. And I decorated the fireplace (well, as much as I can do for now.) I know it is early to decorate but I do a lot of the decorating by myself so I only have the two hours during the day that Ivy is napping and maybe a couple of hours at night before I go to bed. And of course, I have all the normal house stuff (laundry, vacuuming, etc.) to get done too. So I'd better get started or it may never happen!!

Here is Ivy "helping" decorate the tree.

We had rain for what seemed like a week solid last week. It was thanks to the tropical system, Ida. One day, our power went out for most of the day. Imagine being trapped indoors with a toddler and not having running water, no music, nothing!! We had to use our imaginations (but with all the other days of rain, we were running out of ideas!). I try not to let Ivy watch a lot of tv but I do like to have it as a backup. I know I can turn on Sesame Street or put on a dvd if I just need some time to get something done.

Ivy being silly during the power outage.

Will it ever stop raining???

Thank goodness I had charged the laptop!! It finally dawned on me that I could stick a dvd in the laptop and let Ivy watch a little something while I got lunch fixed.

The next day...We had this box laying around, ready to take to the recycle center. Ivy discovered that it opened and ended up playing in it for 35 minutes. She laid in the box. She laid on the box. She opened the box. She closed the box. She played a drum in the box. She put Elmo in the box. She had the best time...I think she could have played with that box for hours but it was time for bed. But it does make me wonder why I have spent so much money on regular toys!!

Ivy got a new winter coat - this is how she was playing with it...

And here is the finished tree.

Richard isn't feeling well and he wanted me to make cupcakes. So me being the loving wife that I am, I made cupcakes. Well, Ivy had to have one. I put the thinnest layer possible of icing on the smallest cupcake. Ivy ate the barely iced top half of the cupcake and this is what happened to the bottom part.

That's it for now...hopefully I'll take more pictures this week. We don't have a lot going on, but we are supposed to be having fairly nice weather towards the end of the week. We'll get to play outside a lot more than we did during our soggy week last week!!

Halloween Weekend...

Lots of pictures!!! On Friday we took Ivy to see some tigers and other cats at a place called Carolina Tiger Rescue (formerly called Carnivore Preservation Trust). This was her third trip to this facility and she seemed to like it a lot. So I know we'll go back.

These are Caracals.

The one on the left is Kiniki and the one on the right is Mary Stewart.

Ivy strolling to see some Tigers!!!

This is Rajaji.

This is a Serval.

This is Mona. She kept a VERY close eye on Ivy. It was almost scary!!

I think she thought Ivy looked like a yummy snack.

This is Mushroom. He is a Binturong.

This is Jellybean. He was laying down in his enclosure and got up and walked over to where Ivy was sitting in her stroller. He stayed right there where she was and kept looking at her. He didn't stare at her in the same intense way that Mona did, but he seemed to like Ivy.

He is so beautiful...

Another shot of the very handsome Jellybean.

This is Isabella. She has epilepsy due to inbreeding.

This is Rajah (I think...).

Lucky the tiger getting a quick drink...

Ivy left the Tiger Rescue with a new back-pack. She calls it her "pack-pack" and she loves putting things in the pockets and carrying it with her.

Ivy loves her "pack-pack"!!!

Now for the trick-or-treating pictures!!!!

We went trick-or-treating with Ken & Jess and of course Corbin!!

Ivy running to find Corbin...

Ivy and Corbin getting ready to hit the first house!!!

This house left out a bowl and a note that read "Please take 2 pieces."

Ivy and Daddy walking to the next house...

Trick-or-treat!!!

Okay, I think we have enough candy...