Day 195

Well folks, Penelope made it through her second day and night without her sleep suit and is doing great!! I underestimate this kid-- she takes the bull by the horns! :) Naps are ok, but sometimes take a bit longer because its light(er) in her room and she can now stand, so she just decides to stay up a bit longer sometimes. What are ya gonna do? She's tired by the time I put her down, so she eventually lies back down and passes out. 

Today we cleaned up while Papa ran errands and went to appointments, then met our friends at the fair to give him some quiet nap time. He worked yesterday, he needed the catch up rest. We had a great time! Afterwards, made dinner and then it was time for bed. Time flies when you're having fun!

The pics from today are of P and Daddy playing before his 3rd or 4th appointment-- he needed a quick rest, and so P decided to climb over him, back and forth.... It was too cute, she loves her Daddy, and couldn't stay away from him. Also one from bath time... She's behaving well in the water, not standing when I tell her no, and keeping her balance well, never falling over.

That's all for today, folks... Goodnight.

Day 194

Today was good and bad.... We had a visit from our friends Patty, and her sons Mateo (5) and Lucca (2). We bbq'd burgers, swam, and watched some cartoons-- basically had a blast! :) But, I know for a fact now that our baby is teething, and that it's hurting her. :'( She woke from two cat naps this morning and afternoon just wailing, screaming and fighting me. I gave her Tylenol, and she seemed much better after a bit. She's also adjusting to sleeping without her suit, and now I'm wishing we'd have done that before she was teething... Poor kid, having to deal with all that at once. But-- we began, so no turning back, and she's doing okay. I put her down at 7:40, and I haven't heard a peep yet, at 9:51. She was whiny and clingy all day, I'm hoping she has a break of it tomorrow!! 

We're meeting friends at the fair tomorrow afternoon if we're up to it (if P isn't having a hard day, and me too!), so that should be fun. The rest of our week is pretty full, as well. It's been a busy summer, have I mentioned that already?! :)

Since I hope Penelope will read this someday, to know how her first year went, I'd like to add that in spite of all the rough days, the sleep issues and other obstacles, we are just so happy to have her in our lives. She is such a joy in our lives, and has just made Thomas and I the proudest parents you'll ever meet. She's funny, sweet, and super smart... We love her so so much!!! :) There, I feel like Mama's been complaining too much lately, and we all have to remember that Mama is still a very happy Mama! 

I have no pics from today-- it's another one of those "having too much fun to stop and document" kind of days. So-- tomorrow I'll be sure to post a few. 

Goodnight ;)

Day 193

IToday was all about getting the house and ourselves back in order. We slept in-- 9am! Daddy let us rest. We went for a walk in the mall, P & I, and then she and Papa did the grocery shopping. Before dinner, those two played in the pool, just wading and splashing. She loves the water, I have to get her back to Waterworks for another lesson! We did a short evening walk today, and then put P down... Without her sleep suit!!!!! I know it had to be done, but it was always so hard for her. Well, tonight she did pretty well. I should mention that Daddy put her down for her last nap without it, so he started it. :) He knows she can do it, I just hate to see her struggle in any way. What a mushy pushover!!! :/ We'll see how she does tonight. Also, she's cutting TWO teeth now-- the two bottom front teeth. And honestly, she hasn't seemed very uncomfortable! I haven't had to whip out the Tylenol in a long time! I'm hoping she gets through teething okay, and without too much pain. 

We still have cleaning to do this week, and visits scheduled for tomorrow and Wednesday, so the busy trend continues. We're okay with that, though... It's been a fun summer so far, and we are lovin' it! 

Good luck to Penelope tonight, for a great night's sleep! Night! 

Day 192

It's gonna be short tonight.... Mama's exhausted. We had a VERY long day: up at 6 (thanks, P!-- NOT), after breakfast cleaned up a big old mess & packed up everything to go home. We drove over an hour to get to the airport, then began that whole song & dance. Not fun. Penelope did ok first part of the plane ride home, but had a royal meltdown the last 30-40 minutes... On a 2 hour flight. I was very happy to get off that plane. I suspect it'll be a long while before we do that again. Daddy was calm and collected, handling Miss Meltdown great-- put her to cry on the floor where she fell asleep for a bit-- THANK GOODNESS!!!  

We're home again, and I look forward to just getting back to our schedule. It's real tough having a baby & trying to adhere to anyone else's schedule. BUT-- we did have a great time in Seaside. We sure did enjoy seeing Grandpa, Anne, Ben, Holly & Lily. We'll see if we're brave enough to do it again next year!!! :/

Night.

Day 191

Another fun, relaxing day in Seaside! First of all, must mention that we three, Penelope, Daddy & I, slept in until 10am!! Granted, we were semi-awake while P was (playing around our lifeless bodies) from 7-8. After that, I gave her a bottle and she fell asleep with me in my bed for a couple more hours-- it was HEAVEN! We haven't slept in, all together like that, ever!! 

Moving on. :) Later we had a yummy lunch (Papa's chicken tacos) with Holly's friend Lena & her family, who visited for the afternoon. We got to see some really cute kiddos. :) After Scrabble and taking P on a walk up the Promenade, it was dinner time. Tonight, our after-dinner game was Monopoly-- this was decided after Daddy tried to get us all to play some silly game called "Farkel Party". We enjoyed our time here, and tomorrow we'll go back home. Until next year!! :)

Here's just a few pics from today... Goodnight.

Day 190

Today, we:

1. Woke up super early

2. Took a morning walk on the beach-- Lily & Holly ended up joining us last minute!

3. Were taken to Carter's for some baby clothes shopping (by Grandpa) :)

4. Walked to town to ride bumper cars and the carousel (which Penelope rode!!!!!), buy chocolates & salt water taffy (P spun a wheel in the candy store and won us some candy!) and visit the distorted mirror house

5. Ate a yummy dinner out-- while Penelope screamed... We all took turns entertaining her :/

6. Played three rounds of Taboo-- FUN!

We had a great day, lots of fun and not too much trouble from old P. She had two naps, one short, one long, and seems very comfortable in our rooms on the third floor. We have our own bedroom, living room and bathroom, and she sleeps in her pack n' play in our living room. She went down easy tonight and slept through dessert and Taboo, thankfully. 

Not sure what tomorrow holds other than tacos for lunch, but I'm sure we'll enjoy ourselves. We are having a good time in Seaside, and love being together with family! 

Here are lots of pics from our day.... Goodnight! ;)

Day 189

What a long, LONG day. Sheesh! Woke up at 6am, left for the airport around 8:30-- rushing around in between-- and arrived in Portland, Oregon around 12:30. Penelope behaved herself on the airplane (go girly!!) even though that meant the three of us (Thomas, Lily & I) playing with her nonstop. She screamed a few times, but no meltdown even though she hadn't had her morning nap. Success! BUT-- we won't do that on a longer flight, and definitely no with two little ones. The Rindge family will travel to Seaside next year by rail, we think! After a long car rental process, we had a couple hours in the car to Seaside-- factor in a stop for lunch, and P still hadn't really napped!! Thankfully, she did the last 30 minutes of our car ride, making it her only nap of the day. We fought to keep her up till 7, so she could sit at the dinner table with us all and she did really well, considering! She was down at 7:15, and we played some cards... She's sleeping comfortably in a room adjoining ours, in her new Pack n' Play that her Grandfather & Anne bought her. :) 

Long day, folks... Long. We'll hope Miss P sleeps well tonight so we can have a fun day tomorrow. Naps will definitely be a part of our schedule, you can bet on it! 

We're proud of Penelope for having been such a good trooper baby today, for behaving throughout! But now, here's today's pics... Can I go to sleep now?! ;)

Goodnight.

Day 188

Today was busy, indeed. We began early, as we have been lately. Penelope wakes up at 6ish, and is all bright-eyed and bushy tailed, ready for a party! Meanwhile, even Daddy (who is like that about an hour later) is still confused with sleep. I gave her a bottle and turned on the news, no point in fighting it. After going to town on a toasted bagel (see pics), she went back down at 9. We ran errands, packed for Seaside, took our evening walk and bathed baby-- whew, what a nonstop day! While I was making her laugh this evening, I noticed a teeny weeny tooth bud poking through her gums! It's on the bottom, and it's definitely there... :) That would explain her recent rough time at night-- it's like she falls asleep fine, then is woken out of nowhere and cries for close to an hour (on and off). I'll be keeping a close eye on her for awhile, temperature and for swollen gums. We'll do what we can to help ease her pain.

Here's pics from today... Goodnight, see ya tomorrow from Seaside! :)

Day 187

Today, Penelope and I went to my monthly prenatal appointment together-- Daddy had a couple of meetings, so it was just us gals. All is well in my belly, thank goodness! :) Penelope screamed her head off when Dr. Chu began measuring my belly and then listening for baby's heartbeat with her Doppler thingy. It was like she thought Dr. Chu was hurting me!! Very sweet. :)

When Daddy came home, we went to the park for a long walk-- P loves those, she just looks at everything and babbles happily! She went to bed on time without much of a fuss at all. We are hoping she sleeps well in Seaside... We'll see!

For dinner, I made P some tiny pasta and applesauce on the side-- she liked it okay, but the applesauce (I could tell from her funny faces) was kind of tart! We'll try both again tomorrow. Also, I gave her her first ponytail! :) It was a tiny thing, but very cute, and her bangs were off her face all afternoon. :)

Tomorrow is our last day to get ready for our trip-- we'll be busy busy busy!! We are happy to be going away and to be seeing family. Penelope will enjoy a new setting, I'm sure of it! 

Pics are from yesterday (the ones on the grass) and today (all the rest)... Night!