the wheels go round and round

Bus! Plane! Choo choo train! Helicopter! Car! CJ seems to be a bit obsessed with the various modes of transportation. Wheels on the bus is her favorite song, but she loves to play with her train set and is always quick to point out trains or railroad tracks. And all day we see and hear planes or helicopters flying above. She always says the same thing too "Plane! not helicopter, plane!" Of course her helicopter comes out a bit different..."coptercopter" and she reverses the saying when it is a helicopter. She is really quick at discerning which one is flying over, even when we are inside. She also points to every single silver van, and announces "my car". Any trip we take is filled with lots of observations, and mostly about the other vehicles we see. It is fun to watch her discover new wonders and words in the mundane of life. Here are a couple of pictures from when we went to the Navy aviation museum. She loved "flying" the Blue Angel and the helicopter. She told one little boy who came over that it was her helicopter.




We are keeping busy and trying to get all the last minute stuff ready for the new baby. We went to the hospital for monitoring again today, checking for preeclampsia, hypertension and stress on the baby -I wasn't feeling well and having some swelling issues. The baby was having some very unusual heart rates but after about a couple of hours, it found a base rate and was much more stable. Everything turn out great, and the baby is not in-stress. So we are back to waiting. I am getting anxious and really hope that the baby doesn't wait 3 or 4 more weeks. I try to remember that it is not in my time but in God's time. Plus we want this little one to be as healthy as it can be!

ZOO

We headed to the Gulf Breeze zoo today. 5 1/2 hrs later we left. It is not a big zoo, but it wasn't busy so we were able to go at CJ's pace and never feel like we were holding someone else up. That was really nice. In October we visited the Montgomery Zoo and took the train ride...it was like being on Jurassic Park, although CJ had fun just being on the train, Eric and I were disappointed that all we saw were fences and a pond, until the very end when there was a buffalo. So today before we bought tickets we asked if we would actually see animals...they assured us we would--and we did! Most of the animals are free range roaming around, the ostriches attempt to escape each time the train goes in the gate to the area, and the baby hippo is still small enough to get loose out of the hippo confinement. They have a camel that is due "any day", but I spoke with one of the park people and she said they have been saying that for the past 3 months. I really hope my baby doesn't hang out for 3 more months!!! They also have a petting zoo with various farm animals, and you can feed the Giraffes! They have built a platform that you climb up to and they come over for food! Giraffes have very long tongues and they are smooth. CJ walked the whole time and had fun chasing the ducks and chickens that are everywhere. Oh, and Zebras are part of the Rhino family. We didn't take the camera today because at the last zoo, we didn't get very many good pictures. Today we could have gotten several great ones, so maybe next time.

Fatherhood lesson #86

E.T., the movie, is way too scary for a two yr old. I know you moms out there didn't have to try it to know that, but some people learn thru trial and error. It only took a few minutes and she was in tears and hiding. Thanks Dad.

On another note, I have been taken off bed rest and told to go ahead and have this baby. Wanna takes bets? Today I am leaning towards --past the due date, which is Feb. 21. We'll see what happens. Tomorrow I'm off to do some much needed grocery shopping.

Props to Mr. Mom

I am still on bedrest, feeling better than I did a week ago, but will remain on bedrest at least until next Wed. However, Eric has stepped up and done a great job handling the house. He has learned that some of the "cute" things he has taught CJ, are really not so cute if you have to deal with them all day. The two of them have been going to Gymboree classes and having fun. And today he got to take her to her 2yr check up. She is 30#s and 35.5 inches and still hates going to the doctor. We feel very blessed that Eric's class was delayed before I was put on bedrest and that he has been able to stay home. He seems to be getting into a routine, the dishes are clean, the laundry is clean, and he has still found time to play his computer game. He also has a new appreciation for stay at home parents and has informed me that he thinks I should take a nap everyday, since he has a hard time getting thru the day without one and is exhausted at the end of the night, overwhelmed with stuff that still needs to get done. He is doing a great job and just wanted to give him praise as his work as a stay at home dad!

Happy Birthday

Today was CJ's birthday. I will try and post pictures soon. She is officially 2 and using the big potty! She got a bike, karokee elmo, a toy guitar, lots of books, and a cool growling flashlight. She also got new clothes, but the guitar and elmo took all the attention. Although we had plans to take her to Chuck E cheese's tonight, they got cancelled with a trip to the hospital. After 3hrs they decided I could go home, even though I am still having contractions that are less than 5mins apart, but put me on bedrest. It should be an interesting 3wks! I am only 34 weeks, so they want the baby to wait at least 3 more weeks to make it to term. Eric is taking the paperwork to his commander tomorrow and should be able to stay home. That will be a great help! However, it means that he will be delayed at least 3 more weeks in starting IFS. As long as he gets it done and can start API by June, then he doesn't have to worry about an age waiver or anything like that...oh and it means we get to enjoy the Florida sunshine longer!

Embracing the 2s

I have added a link to view her pictures we took today. She did much better today, yesterday CJ just clung to me as if she was terrified of the camera. I found it hard to choose. Enjoy!!

*** I got word that the link wasn't working...so here is a new one, click on 2yr old pictures and you should see the dozen or so shots we got.

Here are some pictures from Christmas and the end of December. Still working on trying to get my scanner and program to not blur the pictures, but enjoy! We have had wonderful weather, and the shorts prove it. We went to Pensacola Beach one day, and it was windy with big waves. The gulf of Mexico is really a wonderful sight.

Moving

Moving is a great time to sort out the stuff of life that you really don't need. But it is also a pain! We have pictures up, and everything put back together...all that we have left are those boxes of "stuff". Files, odds and ends and the sort. I would love to just trash it all and be done with it, but I know that at least some of the files we are suppose to hang on to, so we are slowly sorting thru them. It is also not a fun task so that is why it is left till the end. The moving company said they would come and pickup our empty boxes, just give them 24hr notice. Well today when I called them, they informed me that they will call me the next time they are coming to Milton and at this point, they have no idea when that will be. ARG!!! we want our garage back. We could take them down the street to recycling, but they are good boxes that really could be reused. We'll see just how long it takes, I'm nesting, so I may not wait for their call. However, our house no longer looks like this --boxes everywhere-- and that is really nice.
CJ has been a great trooper thru the move. She loved "helping" put together items and furniture. It is also one of her favorite pretend games right now, we hear banging going on all over the house as she "fixes" things with her plastic fire axe and fire extinguisher. CJ has also been helping with the cooking. Here she is helping make monkey bread, but as you can see, she is quite the poser when the camera comes out.