Ada Can Fly!

Ada has some ADORABLE shoes. I've been brought up to appreciate a solid, quality pair of shoes. (OK, I was pigeon toed when I was born and had to wear correction shoes for the first year of my life. And then, doctor's orders, my Mom bought me only nice shoes for the rest of my childhood. By the way- we're talking nice tennis shoes here- not Christian Louboutin's.) Anywho, thus far Ada has mostly Stride Rite shoes with a few Target sandals or flip flops thrown in there that were just too irresistable to pass up. However, Ada needed a pair of comfy tennis shoes to play at recess and on the neighborhood playground in- so I grabbed a pair at Wal-Mart the other day. Ada L-O-V-E-S them.

When we were discussing all of the endless possibilities her new shoes have given her, I was saying "You can run so fast! You can jump so high! You can climb so many steps!" And Ada said "I FLY!" I thought that was the most adorable thing I'd ever heard... hence the most random post you've ever read!

Happy Birthday Casey

Casey turns 29 tomorrow- so we've been celebrating on and off (along with my Grandma's birthday, too- will blog about later!) all weekend. Here are some pictures- and who knows, maybe the celebration will continue into next weekend! ;)

Dinner with Grandma and Grandpa on Friday night (they left for Dubai on Saturday to begin their house hunt!)

Strolling to the pool hand in hand for some quality time.
Struttin' her stuff around the perimeter.

Jumping in- "Again, PLEEEAAASSE!"

Kickin' and blowin' bubbs.

Chillaxin' in her tube.

An attempt to eat out- this ended very badly. Especially for the bus boy...

Gift #1: I mosaiced (sp?) a clock! We are trying to put things in the backyard that remind us of our awesome past (and future) vacations. This is for Spain and Mexico (in 4 weeks!). We put Cypress trees along the back fence to bring us back to France. :)

Gift #2: still waiting on this one. Casey's wanted one forever! :)

Mad Scientists

So, teaching Chemistry, I spend a LOT of time with these people planning, discussing, experimenting, setting our hands on fire, almost setting our faces on fire, eating lunch, acting like idiots, and laughing about it all. I don't have any good team pictures, but this is us at a Retirement party in the library, acting goofy as usual!

This picture is our team in a nutshell. Starting at the right corner on the opposite side of the table: Ashleigh Gaulke (making a goofy face, and probably a goofy noise, as usual); Me (making a sarcastic comment, as usual), Rhonda Burrough (probably thinking about how psychotic her classes are), Amiee Modic (making an even more sarcastic comment than me), and Colleen Dale (KHS Instructional Coach- asking herself how THESE lunatics had such amazing Science TAKS scores!)

Missing: Leslie Stiles and Darla Hall- sad face!!

Four Generations

I have another Four Generations Picture somewhere on the hard drive that I should post with this one (from 4th of July)... and Andrea took a ton more adorable pictures on Mother's Day (ever notice how I NEVER get around to blogging about the important stuff? I've yet to write or post pictures of Easter, anyone's birthday but Ada's, or our anniversary to name a few!) But this picture just makes my heart smile- look at Ada cheesin'!!!

Lil' Fishie

Here's Ada practicing her newly mastered swimming skills! :) (Kind of long, kind of boring... for Ada's die-hard fans only!)

'Bout Time

Finally a tomato! This is a cherry tomato, it's supposed to be that small. Although it would be no big surprise to me if our big tomatoes sprouted runt fruit, too! :) Ada's already eaten this lone tomato. She popped it into her mouth, juice went everywhere, and she looked as close to heaven as a 19 month old can get. (For those of you that don't know, tomatoes are Ada's food that she'd live on forever if she were stranded on a deserted island...)

Caught a Bug

My poor buggy is sick- and I would have NEVER known it had she not started running a fever at school yesterday. Happy as a lark, playing, eating, and sleeping like a champ with all of the following: coxsackie virus sores all in her mouth and throat (actually caught it from me- and let me tell you it's PAINFUL. But she never peeped about it), upper respiratory infection, sinus infection, and ear infection- inner and swimmer's ear. She never had ear drainage like they're supposed to with tubes, but Dr. Gonzalez couldn't even see in her ear it was so awful. :*( I'm so sad for her, and feel terrible for letting it get so far before taking her in- I had just chalked her runny nose up to allergies. Having a sweet, well mannered kid is usually a plus- except for when they're sick and never complain!

We are staying home from school tomorrow (mostly because coxsackie is so contagious), so we are planning on a good, snuggly day!

Sweet-N-Spicy

SWEET because The Dowells had an AWESOME family day today! It's been a while since we've just hung out together all day. There always seems to be an errand to run, people to see, places to be, things to do, etc. Today we did all of the above: but together! We are in the process of revamping our backyard (I'll post pics when it's complete- but it's starting to look AWESOME!!)... so we all hopped in the car and went along for the ride.

SWEET, also, because we got Sonic slushies for the trip(s). I'm ADDICTED to Route 44 Sonic Unsweet Tea (extra ice, please), and my friend D'Ann posted a few weeks ago how much her daughter loves Apple Juice Slushies (YES! They make those!) and today was the perfect day to introduce The Bug to the world's greatest beverage makers. She now, is obsessed.

Ada sippin' on her "slsh"

Me with my tall order....

And SPICY because I just had to get some pictures of my bizarre-taste-budded-daughter eating hot sauce and green sauce by the chipful at dinner tonight. I sware this child has a perfect fusion of my preferences (tomatoes, avacadoes, bananas, berries, etc healthy fruits and vegetables)... and Casey's (spicy sauces and any condiment. The other weekend, I gave her Ranch to dip brocoli in and she ate the ranch with a spoon until it was entirely gone...) So here she is, in case you didn't believe it!

Ponytail!

Ada's hair is long enough for a ponytail!!! .... Sort of. It will officially fit and stay in a Pebbles-like updo, and it's so adorable I want to eat her alive! Sometimes she rips it out within minutes, sometimes I pick her up from daycare and it's still there. Nonetheless, it's a big milestone for my bald baby so I'm posting pics! (Some pics were of Ada "posing" when I said "Let Momma take a cute picture of you!")

Please excuse the backyard- it's a work in progress... better than 2 weeks ago, that's for sure!

Cheese!

Posing.
Another one of Ada's favorite poses- Downward Dog.

Double Dates

We always go on double dates with the Schilhabs (Brent and Katy), but I never post about it! Brent and Casey became friends in college through a mutual friend, and I'd met Katy a few times- but in the past couple of years Brent and Casey have become joined at the hip, and Katy and I are twins separated at birth, apparently. It's kind of crazy... but anywho, we love them (and their daugher Mia), so I thought I'd post a pic!

The Dudes

The Chicks (Katy and I often accidentally dress IDENTICAL- so this time we pre-planned to wear DIFFERENT colors to prevent embarrassing glances... however it backfired on us because we ended up in the exact same shirt but Katy wore her white one, and I wore my coral one!!!)

Hmph.

So, I'm managing to deter my garden from growing. It is not dying. It is not flourishing. It is not doing much of anything at all. I can't decide if I planted too early, if our shortcut of not scrounging up "5 *different* types of compost" as Mel's Mix demanded (we couldn't find it, OK!?), or all of the loud vibrating yard work that's been going on as of late with the sprinkler system, new grass, and soil being brought in has scared the plants into complete stillness and silence in the hopes they will not be seen... but they are just dormant. And lame. And mocking me with their bland leaves and short stems and wilting blossoms and the occasional miniature fruit. The berry bushes are doing berry well, and the avacado tree that I planted from a seed is almost as tall as my freakin' bell peppers. Whatevs. I've over it. I knew I'd manage to screw it up! I will not post pictures of my runt plants because I'm too embarrassed.

On another pessimistic note- I am not only highly effective at effortlessly murdering gardens, I also have an uncanny ability at looking at appliances and inducing mechanical failure. In the past 4 years we have repaired our old dryer twice, purchased a new dryer, purchased a new washer, and repaired it once. And now, the new washer will be repaired a second time this coming Tuesday. Yes, I occasionally probably overload the washer with that one towel that really should be saved for the next load. But that is just torture for me to leave it lingering in the basket. Cluttering the top of the dryer and collecting mold. So I stuff it in there. And now that turquoise towel with a bleach stain that was stuffed into the washer will remain soaking in cold soapy water for 4 days, waiting on a repairman to come and rescue it. And scold me... Again: whatevs. I will probably never change my efficient yet ultimately inefficient ways.

How 'bout something cute, now. On my evening walk tonight with Ada, this was one of our conversations:
Ada: "Uh oh. My shoe."
Alicia: "Uh oh- you took your shoe off. Do you want it back on?"
Ada: "No."
-3 minutes of silence-
Neighborhood dog: "Woof!"
Ada: "Did you see that dog?" (almost as clear as a bell she asked this!)
Alicia: "Yes! He barked at us!"
Bird in a tree: "Chirp!"
Ada: "I see that bird."
Alicia: "Me too."

#1 and #2

We'll talk #2 first- we had Day #2 of Swimming Lessons, and Ada went under water! I realized that these are just "get your feet wet" (literally and figuratively, of course) introductory lessons- that there is no magic wand to teach my 19 month old to hold her breath under water. So, on the "We All Fall DOWN" part of Ring Around The Rosie, I did it. I put her under. She didn't love it, but definitely begged for more ("a-gain! a-gain!") throwing in the air, jumping into the pool, and swinging in circles which now all entail being dunked. So proud of her- and actually pretty proud of myself for going toe-to-toe with my phobia! :) I think, honestly, these swim lessons are just as much for me as they are for Ada... Here are some pictures of her racing up the path to the pool with sheer glee!!!

...and now let's talk #1: Ada went #1 in the big girl potty tonight! She's really not officially potty training yet, she only tells you she's gone to the restroom because she thinks it hilarious to wave her hand at her nose and go "stiiiiiiinky!" when she's gone #2... but our Wal-Mart bill was low this week so I went ahead and got the training potty so we'd have it ready and waiting! She loves sitting on it naked, pretending to wipe and flush, and now, going tinkle in it! I was so proud of her I made her macaroni-and-cheese, chicken nuggets, and baked sweet potato fries for dinner (her absolute favorite meal). I swore I'd never reward her with food.... but this was a special occasion! :) Here are some cute pictures of my pottyin' girl (warning: full frontal ahead)!

Swimmin' Lessons

I have not yet blogged about the "pool incident" I've been dreading since I realized I had a phobia of drowning when I was four years old (not only of drowning myself- of ANYONE I know and love drowning) Well, it actually began as a fear that my Mom was going to be eaten by a shark when she went swimming in Galveston, but eventually evolved into a more general fear of drowning. Drowning while being eaten by a shark is now just one of many ways of drowning that I fear. But I digress. I was waiting to discuss this dreaded "pool incident" when I had a happier note to sign off with- which now I do! :)

Casey's parents have an amazing backyard with an amazing pool- which we enjoy thoroughly. A few weekends ago, we were grilling out outside and playing in the yard with Ada. Casey turned his attention away from her for a split second (actually just to grab the ball that they were playing with together), and OF COURSE she half fell/half jumped into the water.

*You would think with all of my swimming/swim lessons/lifeguarding/swim coaching experience I would not be such a water-phobe- but with experience comes knowledge and I know how dangerous one little water aspiration can be to a little body like Ada's.*

I did not see her actually mid-air, but I SWARE I heard her swooshing in before I heard the splash. (Mother's instinct? Sixth sense? It didn't hurt that I heard MiMi scream "SHE'S GOING IN!") I felt like I was moving with Matrix-like speed and agility- I made it across the patio, yard, and to the opposite side of the pool in the same amount of time it took Casey to kneel down and scoop Ada out. She did so great- she probably had to linger midway down for a few seconds waiting on one of us to snatch her back into the oxygen rich, breathable air- and she didn't inhale one ounce of water. They say that that's instinct for babies....

Almost scarier than those 5 seconds, however, was Ada's reaction: Unscathed. Unshaken. Fearless. Proud? I knew she'd seize the next opportunity for another dip. And the next. And you get the point.

Which brings me to the reason for this post: we started our first day of swim lessons today!!! They teach the following things through fun songs and games: breath holding, bubble blowing, back floating, and swimming to the edge of the pool to hold on. It was such a blast, and I'm so looking forward to the next 7 classes over the next two weeks! Ada did awesome, of course. Here are a few adorable pictures of my little fearless minnow! (I couldn't narrow the pre-lesson pictures down to just one, so I'm including all of them!)

Too Cool for School

I'm missing my girl today while I'm at work!! So I thought I'd post a quickie before lunch duty. We got these shades for Ada yesterday, and she is obsessed with them! She is so adorable in her carseat sportin' her "gasses." She pushes them up her nose like I do with mine when they slide down, and she wears them on her head like I do when I don't need them. It's too adorable!