Day 255

Today, Penelope and I wee on our own, until two of Mama's friends came over to visit around 1pm. :) My old co-workers, whom I've stayed in close touch with, finally made it down and we had a great time catching up. We grilled lunch, looked at photos, and played with Penelope. Poor kid was getting super cranky at a certain point, so I knew it was bedtime... Only problem was it was only 5 pm!! She'd already had her 2-hour nap for the day, it was too late for another, so I kept her up best I could, till 6:10 maybe. :) We watched an episode of Ruby together, and then she was in Snoozeville! What a perfect day, weather-wise also... I think fall is truly trying to wiggle it's way in, and I am THANKFUL! I'm over the summer heat, and am so ready for all things fall: cozy blankets, food like chili & beef stew, sweaters & boots, chilly air, hot chocolate, and cozy nights with my hubby by the fire. :) Hurry up and really get here, Fall!!!! Oh, I forgot to mention the most important part of this Fall... Our new baby girl! She is so active and alive in my belly, and I've begun to know her daily patterns, that I feel I already kinda know her.... So ready to kiss her cheeks and have her sleeping in between Daddy & I (in a sleeper, of course!!) I truly hope P handles having a baby sister well... That she isn't mad at sister because I'll have to be with her so much, nursing and all. She's already a Daddy's girl, so that's just gonna get stronger once the new baby's here... I think it'll be good. :) 

We won't see Papa till the day after tomorrow, so we're going to go swimming at Waterworks tomorrow... Either that or to the park, depending on how I feel baring my large body in a swimsuit tomorrow!! Sometimes it feels fine, other times... Not so much. 

Oh! One cool thing we did this morning-- I got P's birthday party decorations!!!! It's going to be a Baby Minnie Mouse theme, and it's gonna be super cute. :) I can't believe she's already gonna be one year old. She's made this last year the most amazing and transformative of my life... I'm sure T would say the same, at least life-changing!! :) We don't take a minute of any of our life for granted. 

That's all for today... Here's a pic, and I bid you good evening.

Day 254

We had a great day-- first of all: ALL of us slept in until 9:30. 9:30!!!!!! I mean, wow. I don't think I've slept that late in more than a year. Worth a mention, I think, no? :) We decided to get moving right away and pack for the beach. We were set up on the beach at 11am! Lemme tellya, it takes a good, solid team of two to get our family up, fed breakfast, packed for the beach and out of the house in about an hour. Go us! We brought our Joovie playpen to the beach, thinking Penelope would sit and play in it while T & I relaxed on our chairs, reading or talking and eating... Not so much. :/ P didn't really like that idea, and after I gave her as many keep-quiet-snacks as I'd allow, we had to release the Kracken. Daddy took her to the water-- she didn't go in, though, too cold, and they also played on the sand. Our sweet girl learned that sand doesn't taste good today. Valuable lesson, I think! In our two hours there, we did enjoy ourselves, and even though it was a huge schlep, it was worth it to have a day on the shore. :)

After bath and dinner, our girl went to bed nice & quietly. :) She had to be super tired after such a long day!! Here are many pics from today-- goodnight!

Day 253

Beautiful day, I loved today!! :) We were up early (as per usual, Penelope) and decided to go and get our Costco shopping out of the way. We arrived right as they opened, and ate pizza for breakfast! We also ran into Mana, heehee. :) (1st pic is of Penelope in our shopping cart)

After a nice 2 hour long family nap, we got up, got ready and Mana came over to watch P so Mama & Daddy could have a date. :) Daddy surprised me with the best date ever-- we rented a little Duffy (small boat, very simple to drive) and went around Newport Harbor... So much fun! I even drove the little boat for a spell, it wasn't a fast boat. :) After an hour and a half of boating, we walked to The Rusty Pelican on Pacific Coast Highway for steak and seafood. YUM. Just YUM. And don't get me started on the baked Alaska at the end! I'll be dreaming about it for a week! It was a beautiful evening, and Penelope, your Daddy always knows when Mama needs a little date night, and really makes it special! Your parents really love each other. :) 

When we got home, Penelope was still awake, it was barely 7pm. Mana said she did well, they played, ate dinner, took a walk, played with the animal see n' say, and read Goodnight Moon. She does really well staying with Mana, and that's such a relief! We know we can go out, relax and not worry about her. 

That's all for today... Tomorrow we'll go back to Newport for an early beach day. No time is wasted when Papa is home, we try to enjoy every moment we can. Here are lots of pics from today. Night!

Day 252

Today was non-stop. But a good day! We were up early, and ready to go to playgroup at the park ahead of schedule. Since P was a little cranky, we took a drive before arriving at the park so she could catch some z's. :) Playgroup is so much fun, and we love it! There are always three of us moms with our kids who show up every week, and then we'll get other people who come, and it's fun to meet new people.(Was that a little confusing?) Afterwards, we went home and Daddy & Penelope hit the road-- on the bike, they were meeting up with a friend of his and his daughter for some lunch. Mama got to run some errands solo... How strange!!! Very different, but efficient. ;) Baby girl and I had some cuddle time after dinner, while Papa was at school, and she went to sleep without fuss. I think it's safe to say she just doesn't hate bedtime anymore! Now if we can only get her to feel that way about naptime. :/ But-- we take what we can get at this point: sleep. At night. Hours and hours in a row!!!! We both know this "sleeping" thing will end on November 8th (Mama's c-section date), so we are relishing all the rest we are getting now. 

Well, that'll do it for today, folks. Back atcha tomorrow. Here are a few pics: the first two are from P & Daddy's lunch date, the last is on our evening walk tonight. Goodnight!

Day 251

Today we had a visit from Mana. She came early-ish and took Miss P out for a nice walk. She hung around for a while after so I could get the house in order. What a busy morning! :) Afternoon consisted of a little scouting trip to Party City to see what kind of party Penelope will have when she turns ONE YEAR OLD!!! We've decided to do a small pizza & cake party here at our house, and just family will attend. I'm super excited for her to feel special-- she will, I know it! She'll eat cake, maybe some pizza and wear a cute birthday hat... I can't wait! :) Later, we just hung around at home and Penelope got to bed at 7pm on the dot, and this time she didn't go right to bed, but talked for at least 20 minutes! Cute. She didn't cry, and that's the great thing. Our baby is sleep trained, period! ;)

Tomorrow we have mommy/baby playgroup at Canyon Park, yay!! Afterwards, Daddy and Penelope are going to have a little Daddy/daughter day! And Mama is gonna go and do stuff ALONE (??!!) for a few hours. Wow! I may go nuts, I won't know what to do with myself! ;) I am happy that those two will be having time together. 

That's all for today. Here's a cute pic of the love of my life... Well, one of them :) Goodnight!

Day 250

Yay, Daddy was home today!! :) We woke up and he was there soon after... It felt like forever, and I could tell P was happy to see him. We ate a big breakfast, and all of us had a nice nap later-- I love when we do that. 

New things Penelope does: plays peek-a-boo behind her closet curtains, gives Mama & Daddy kisses, and climbs eeeeeeverything. Today I caught her up on her crib, on the outside... Ugh, she is gonna take a nasty spill one of these days, and I'm not looking forward to it. :/

Daddy had class tonight, and P went to sleep early. That's all! :) Here's a couple pics of Penelope in her little play area. Goodnight!

Day 249

Today was a nice relaxing day for Penelope and I. Aside from going to the park this morning, since Miss P decided again not to take her morning nap, we were home. I will stop trying to force the morning nap if I think she really isn't tired... And lately (last two days) she really hasn't been. I'm thinking her sleeping through the night (7pm-5am, up quickly for diaper change & bottle, then down again til 8am) is making her not need as much sleep during the day! I'm sure if she has a hard night, maybe that'll change, or maybe some days are different than others, and that's all. Who knows? All I know is that I'll stop stressing out over it and just look for my baby's cues. :)

We had fun today testing out her new big-girl car seat!! She's forward facing now, and I know how much she LOOOOVES it! She looks at me, smiles, and is just so excited (I know) just to feel a part of our car time. :) She's so cute, she was laughing and waving her arms around the first few blocks we drove... So cute.

We are so super happy Daddy comes home tomorrow-- it's been four long days, and we're looking forward to just relaxing at home and having some family time. :)

That's all for today... Here's a couple pics I took. Night!

Day 248

 Penelope and I had a nice day together. We ran errands after baby decided she wouldn't have her morning nap-- she slept in the car. :) She hasn't done that in a while, but I guess sometimes you just don't wanna nap! It was a got one, even though it was the first day of fall. We got some photos back from Costco and I one was really BIG... We'll have to figure out what to do with a Penelope poster!!! :/

Oh, baby girl is climbing all over everything now.... Man, it's going to be nuts once she's walking! One more thing: Mama finished baby's next pillow... It's becoming fun now! :)

Here's a couple pics from today... Night!

Day 247

Today was a fun day, full and non-stop, but lots of fun. We left for LA a little later than planned, but we got to Daddy's fire station right on schedule: 12pm. We visited with him, played in the handball court and gave Daddy lots of hugs and kisses to last until Tuesday morning. :) We went to Aunt Anita's place after, and decided to hightail it right to the mall for some Mongolian BBQ (pregnant Mama has been craving it forEVER). We spent the day enjoying Auntie & Bella's company, and made it home pretty late-- 6:30!! We immediately cleaned up, got ready for bed and I let P stay up a bit longer since she had just woken from a long nap in the car. She went down without a peep after our new nightly routine: we lie down with her milk and instead of me trying to make her sleep, we talk, cuddle, laugh, and I keep her up, but we wind down. I put her into her crib awake and she (for the last week almost) goes to sleep without crying!!!! Tonight I heard her talking to herself a bit-- very cute-- but no crying, and Mama loves that. Almost a year later, it still feels like a knife in my heart anytime my baby cries. So, sleep in Casa Rindge is pretty darn great these days. :)

That's all for today. Enjoy a few pics while I work on Penelope's next pillow! Check out the first one, it's awesome, sewing, and I'm really enjoying it. 

Goodnight!

Day 246

Today Penelope and I had a nice quiet day together. We were up at 8-- my baby slept all through the night again!!! I seriously thank GOD that she's finally learning how to self-soothe and knows that when Mama or Daddy put her in her crib, it's time to sleep. We are relieved that we'll have a sort of reprieve before our new baby girl comes. :) Lets just hope it sticks! ;)

Anyway, we just ran a few errands today, and one of those included picking up a verrrry cute costume for Penelope to wear on Halloween! I put it on her, and it's a bit small, so it may have to go back... She'll grow between now and then, so we'll see..... :)

We hung around home most of the day, and cuddled in bed lots, it being an overcast and gloomy day-- perfect day for cuddling! We'll be going up to LA tomorrow and visit Aunt Anita & Bella. We miss them lots, and can't wait. :)

That's it for today, folks. Here's a few pics of our little bug eating her breakfast this morning, and then playing in jer bedroom. G'night!

Day 245

What a nice day we had, us three Rindges. :) We had to be up and ready by 10:15 to make an early park meet up-- it was an event put together by one of my new neighborhood walking friends, a parent & kids group. We rode bikes over to Canyon Park (with a dozen donuts!!) and met a couple new moms & babies. We played, then sat on blankets and talked... It was a good time, and I have to say, like prenatal yoga and LOTS of other things-- T was the only Daddy there! And he always handles it so well, making friends and had the moms laughing. :) 

Later, after an early dinner (we ALL had chicken & veggies), Daddy went to teach class & Penelope went to sleep without a peep again!!!!! I'm afraid to accept it, thinking she'll turn around tomorrow and be miserable again at bedtime, but.... Could she finally be fully sleep trained?! I promise you, winning the lottery would be just a little more exciting and awesome than this is: having P asleep at 7, ALL night! What a good girl. ;)

Here are a few pics from today... We had so much fun having Daddy home for four days & we'll miss him when he's gone starting tomorrow. Goodnight.

Day 244

Today was awesome! We all slept in-- 8am, which is sooooooo ok with me! We got ready and head out to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach! :) I had to "book" Daddy about a month in advance, he's so busy, haha. We thought it'd be empty, it being a weekday morning, but no. Every home schooled (and hooky-playing) kid was there. With their whole darn family!!!!! Yeah, it was crowded, but it was still awesome. We saw so much amazing sea life, and Penelope just loved it. Papa had her in the Bjorn, so she got to see everything close up, and we were able to move around the crowds pretty easily. Lets not mention that the whole reason we had to do the carrier is because I forgot to put the stroller back in the car this morning!! :/ Pregnancy brain in full effect, folks. Good thing it all worked out. We had lunch at Islands afterwards, where we gave Penelope her first taste of lemon-- see the hilarious pics. We hit a bookstore and then called it a day... It was awesome! Penelope behaved herself so well, and we all enjoyed ourselves. Yay!

We are proud to say that P went to sleep without any fuss tonight... We really hope she is learning that bedtime is bedtime. It would make November a LOT easier. 

That's it for today, folks. We have Papa home for one more day, and we are happy for that, then we'll visit Auntie and Bella in LA this weekend. Hopefully we have nice cool weather! Goodnight.

Day 243

Today wasn't super hot-- YAY!! :) I have to say, I'm relieved summer is coming to a close. We didn't suffer long this time around, but we did suffer hard at the end!

We woke early and after P went down for her nap, we all got ready and went to my appointments. Since we had time in between the two, we went to the Newport Beach Library and played in the kids' area, then walked around and ate some food I packed in a beautiful courtyard. After my second appointment-- prenatal-- we were all beat. P had a great afternoon nap and we got to relax. Daddy had class tonight, and so me and Penelope went on a walk, then I gave her a bath. That was our day! 

I'd like to mention that lately Penelope has made huge progress in sleeping through the night. We decided that she was waking and eating twice nightly out of habit, and definitely not out of necessity. So, we just began letting her cry a bit when she wakes and letting her go back to sleep on her own. Thankfully, she's ready for the change and has handled it great. We've only had her cry a long time once or twice-- and we've been doing this for at least a week. She's showing us she's ready for Mama to be able to take care of her sister at night, and not have to worry about her. Awesome work, P!!! We are so so super proud of her, and how amazing she is. 

Here's some pics from the place where I had blood drawn, the library, and later at home. Tomorrow we go on a fun adventure that I've been planning-- can't wait! I hope my sweeties have fun... That we all do.

Goodnight!