Patterns

Lexxa still has a tough time going to sleep without me or Brad in the room. This is not a surprise since she's always been kinda high maintenance that way. Needless to say, my nights are pretty frustrating sometimes. Lexxa and Logan share a room so I've got a 2 year old who doesn't want to go to bed and a 5 year old who wants me to stay in there with her. And, half the time they end up playing and giggling and not going to sleep right away. I feel like I have a pretty good routine for them, so they know it's bedtime, but yet, it's still a battle.

So, last night I had it. I decided that if Lexxa could play and giggle in her room with Logan, then she really, truly didn't need me in there with it. So, I left. In the middle of her playing with Logan, she would cry and say "I want Mommy. I want Daddy." I went back in the room to get them to lay in bed and I was frustrated and telling her that she couldn't be that upset. "You're laughing and then crying...laughing and then crying" I say in my firmest voice trying to explain to her that she's fine and I'm not even that far away in our little two bedroom apartment. So, she says to me "Mommy, that's a pattern--laughing, crying, laughing, crying!" She was so excited about it too. I gave up on the lecture. But, I was really happy to know that she's learning so much in school!

How I Met Your Father

Yesterday was the season premier of the show "How I Met Your Mother." It's a pretty funny sitcom about a guy narrating to his children his journey to meeting their mother. It made me think of when I first met Brad. And, today happens to be the day, 9 years ago, that Brad and I went on our first date. A blind date to be exact.

My friend worked with Brad and told me that she worked with this really nice guy and she thought we should go out. I'm not that shy about these kind of things and I trusted her judgement, so I said ok. So, we talked on the phone a couple of times and then decided to go out. We went to Red Lobster and to a movie--I know it sounds lame and not that spectacular, but at the time it seemed like a great idea. We had a good time and Brad was pretty shy, but that's where it all began. We spent a lot of time together after that and look where we ended up.

It's crazy to look back to 9 years ago and see how much our lives have changed. Honestly, after our first date, I never would have thought that I would have ended up married to the guy. But now I know that life just wouldn't be the same without him :-)

Catching up...the longest post ever

Wow, is it really September already? This means that it's almost time for eggnog lattes...oh wait, sorry, back to the point of this post. All of my friends do such a great job of keeping up their blogs and I just can’t seem to do it. I feel like so many things have happened since June that I haven’t posted updates on. So, this may be a long and boring post, but at least I’ll have it written down somewhere.

The summer started off with Lexxa graduating from her PreK class. She absolutely loved school and made some friends along the way. She was all decked out in her cap and gown and the class sang songs for all of the parents and family members that were there for the celebration. After the graduation, I headed to work and some of the parents got together later in the evening at Chuck E Cheese to celebrate. Lexxa was a little unsure of this since she is scared of Chuck E. Cheese, but we went and she had fun. The only problem was that she didn’t want to go by the bathroom because of the big puppet Chuck E Cheese and in the middle of the place, she peed in her pants. We had to go and get her all cleaned up just because she didn’t want to walk in that direction.

Next, Logan turned 2! Every time my kids have a birthday, it makes me think about how fast time seems to go by. But, since we know that we don’t want any more kids, I feel like every milestone with Logan is a little different. I’m so happy to see him growing up and learning new things, but at the same time, I’m sad because he’s not a baby anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to go back to the baby stage, it’s just a different feeling when you know it’s your last. Anyway, we didn’t do too much to celebrate his birthday because we were getting ready to head to Disneyland. We had a few close friends and family members come out to the park to have cake and play, and he had a blast. Then it was time for our Disneyland trip. I guess this could be a whole blog post in itself, but I’m condensing all of this because I know I’ll never catch up if I don’t. Our trip was awesome. Brad and I hadn’t been to there since we were younger and so everything was new to all of us. The hotel was great, and we had a lot of fun at Disneyland and California Adventure. Halle Berry was even sitting right behind us at the Pixar Parade! That was pretty crazy. Her little daughter is so adorable. Lexxa especially loved the Princess breakfast at Ariel’s grotto. I will never forget the priceless look of pure excitement in her eyes when she knew the princesses were coming out. It was a ridiculously expensive breakfast for what you get, but in the end it was all worth it just to see her excitement. Even Logan loved the princesses…he laid his head on each and every one of them to take a picture. He also loved seeing Mickey Mouse or Mickey Mouse related items everywhere. All in all it was a great trip and it was really nice spend time as a family. We’re excited to go back in a couple of years when Logan is a older and he can do a little more too.

July was filled with birthday parties, barbecues, visits from out of town friends and Brad’s Pebble Beach Golf trip. And, we even transitioned Logan into a toddler bed (which is basically his crib with the front railing taken off). He’s doing a pretty good job, it just takes him a bit longer to go to sleep. Some nights he drives me insane and others he’s totally fine.

Then August arrived. Lexxa started school and she loves it so far. I can’t believe my little girl is in Kindergarten. I feel like having kids makes you judge time a little differently. For example, when I started working at my current company, Lexxa was only 5 months old. It just seems weird to think of it that way even though I know I’ve been there for 4 and a half years. Anyway, Lexxa is doing great in school, but I’m not sure if I’m ready with all that is involved. Two weeks into it and we’re already starting fundraisers and the school is asking for volunteers for their back school BBQ and for the classroom and so on. Things are crazy enough now that Brad is working at night, so now I just have to find a way to balance it all. Either way, I’m so proud of my little girl and I’m amazed at her unique personality (although the whole “I’m a big girl and I have an attitude” thing is not fun sometimes).
Next up: Lexxa’s Birthday! She had to have a Princess and the Frog party and she was so excited to have it at Pump It Up. Another big milestone—5 years old. Her party ended up being lots of fun. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so excited for her birthday. I think it really registered that the day was all about her and she got to be the princess! Needless to say, she had a great day and was showered with way too many gifts. Thanks friends and family for coming and celebrating with us!



Ok, I started writing this post in August and now it’s already September. Hopefully you'll see another post from me before Christmas so that I don't have to torture you with another post this long!