Ithaca is Gorges

Enjoying the gorgeous mid-January weather in NY:

Back in warm southern California modeling her new "Ithaca is Gorges" shirt on our sunny playground: Matilda got this shirt from her G-pop and grandma Kathy for Christmas and independently Grammy bought a matching onesie for the new baby. They officially have their first matchy-sibling outfits!

Christmas Sewing

I meant to post pictures of some of my holiday sewing projects, after they were doled out at Christmas, but got distracted until now. Matilda was gifted this art portfolio for her 2nd birthday and it has gotten us through many restaurant meals, plane trips and doctors waiting rooms. After searching around a bit online I found this tutorial as a launching point to try making my own. I tweaked the design a bit and after making several versions was happy with the final results. Below you can see the small, crayon version I made for most of the little ones on our list and a larger colored pencil version I created for the one big girl present we needed. 

I also fell back on my old standard of initial shirts for several girls including the one below for Megan and a matchy set for Gigi (seen modeling hers here) and her new sister Cate. All the remaining small babies got another of my less glamorous but practical, sewing stand-by: bibs.    

Pregnancy Report: 28 Weeks

I am sure that two months from now I am going to look at this picture and think, "Oh how cute, such a little belly." But for now, I feel like a whale and cannot fathom how enormous I will be by April. Hugeness aside, everything is going fine. The baby is moving like crazy lately, especially late in the day. We can all sit around each night watching my abdomen perform a wild, jerky dance. Anytime I touch my stomach Matilda assumes the baby is kicking and says, "Settle down in there you new baby, you." Matilda continues to be very excited about the baby, maintaining her stance this baby is a girl despite our constant reminds that it could be a boy. M got an "I'm a Big Sister" book for Christmas and it became an instant favorite. Now that we are past the holidays and all our trips we are hunkering down to finish the many around the house projects before Baby 2 hits the ground. I am also really savoring these weeks with M, trying to maximize her only-child fun and soak up the time together before we are four. 

New York: Day 1

I can't seem to tackle a post on our super fun filled NY trip so I will just start with pictures from our first day there - which was quite hazy since we arrived on the red eye & then went straight to Dad's house to hunker down for a big snow storm.

Matilda and Abby greet each other suspiciously:

First trip out to eat some snow. For Matilda all snow play revolved around eating snow. Please note the grocery bags on her feet; we were unable to find ANY snow boots in the stores in Los Angeles so Grandma Marge saved the day and delivered some straight from Ohio the morning after this snow storm.

First visit of many to the barn to see the brand new lambs and dole out hay by the fist-full.

Alphabet Baby Shower

This past weekend we threw a shower for Sarah & Gaurav's new baby, due in 3 short weeks. I decided on an alphabet theme for the shower & got a little carried away with ABC everything. We had letters strung from the ceiling, alphabet blocks & books for decoration, even ABC shaped sugar cookies in place of the traditional cake. For activities rather than torture everyone with belly measuring or baby food tasting games I made an "ABC book" that each guest had help fill in by drawing a picture corresponding to the letter of their choice. Here you can see Elissa filling in the letter F page. 

Tim did the noses:

Even Gaurav got in on the action with kites, one of my favorites. 

Adam got some better pictures than I remembered to take (seen on Flickr here), especially of the cookies, decor and letter guessing game (guests had to guess how many letter beads were in the jar and the winner won a gelato gift certificate).

Making it Through the Dip

My little brother got a great new job today! I am so proud of and excited for him. Brian, this video is just for you, as a little reminder of how far you have come.

Alive, but barely.

So we had a fantastic time in NY, and while the sub-zero temperatures did not kill us, the trip home almost did. On the return trip alone we had missed two flights due to weather/mechanical delays and another flight was cancelled completely - we also had an extra stop in Vegas, which turned into an unexpected overnight stay. As we were standing in line just before midnight at the casino/hotel waiting to check in, surrounded by ringing, flashing slot machines Matilda seemed hypnotized by the activity. After a few minutes, M declared she wanted to go to a "regular hotel." I guess she, like her parents, is not the biggest fan of Las Vegas. 

We are getting readjusted with all the jetlag, bags unpacked (they arrived 12 short hours after we did), some 1,000 odd photos and videos downloaded, and the kitchen restocked with non-vacation type foods like salads and fruit. We all indulged a bit too much in NY and are severely missing G-pop's fabulous breakfasts - this morning after her first bowl of cereal Matilda asked for some eggs and bacon. 

First Sledding Expedition

OK, so I was joking about the ice skating, but we did get out to go sledding finally today - on the coldest day yet. It was about 2 degrees above zero when we came in. Thankfully there was plenty of hot chocolate to warm our bellies.

On Horseback with the Kids

Here's a taste of what we are keeping busy doing in NY. Lots of pregnant-lady safe activities like horseback riding, ice skating and sledding! Having tons of fun so far and surviving the bitter cold temperatures with lots of play and hot tea. Matilda cannot get enough of the snow and insists on wearing her snow boots at all times- just to be prepared.

Odds and Ends

The negativity around here has died down somewhat, although Matilda is still very much flexing her will - no surprise I suppose. We have managed to recover from our whirlwind trip to the Bay area and are now all packed to hop a plane tonight for a very cold visit to NY. We will get pictures up eventually from the Bay area trip but for now here are two of my favorites:

M love seeing the anchovies at the Monterey Bay aquarium. I think she would have been content to spend all day standing there imitating the way they open their mouth really wide while swimming.

 Don't try this at home folks! We parents decided it was best not to watch to closely as the girls romped out back. Everyone survive with no major injuries and much fun was had. It was amazing how occupied Matilda was with Indra and her toys while we were there - Tim & I really got a break to relax and catch up with our old friends. 

In other news, today I am 26 weeks pregnant, which marks the beginning of the third trimester. I am trying not to hyperventilate at that thought alone. This pregnancy seems to being going by at top speed - I remember feeling like my pregnancy with Matilda took forever but not this time. Here is a crappy picture where you can witness my impressive belly - we are at In n' Out waiting for a burger dinner in this photo which might do something to explain the girth!

New Years Resolution

While Tim & I have yet to sit down long enough to make a list of resolutions (which I will actually skip seeing as how last year's list was a waste of time), Matilda seems very clear in her resolution - No Napping in 2009. Until today, she had not taken a single regular nap so far this year. She had fallen asleep in the car a few times, but otherwise her resolve was strong. We found that her conviction for this resolution would only waiver when faced with a car ride between the hours of 5 and  6 p.m. Today somehow she let the sleepiness overtake her and she is getting a little rest now while I (blog) pack and organize for our NY trip.

Negative

We are solidly in a "no" phase right now. I have no idea when it started, if it escalated slowly or just suddenly appeared. Regardless, for the past two - three days Matilda has been only able to say "NO." Sometime over the weekend she also learned to say "no way," which she will now yell instead of a simple "no!" It is quite impressive. The first few times I almost laughed each time I heard this smart aleck response but the novelty has since worn off. At one point today I was terribly tempted to ask her all sorts of trick questions (Do you want some chocolate? Would you like a new present? Do you want to go to the zoo?), just to see if she would say anything other than no. At one point today it hit its peak when I had reprimanded her about something minor and then left her bedroom. M stood in there for a solid 5 minutes yelling no, until she finally ventured out into the living room, only to tell me no some more. 

Happy New Year

We are enjoying New Years weekend in the San Fransisco area with our old friends Tom & Sarah and their 6 year old daughter Indra - Matilda's constant companion. M is in heaven here playing with all of Indra's toys and a constant supply of lip gloss, face glitter and guitars. She is having so much fun in fact that she has refused to nap for two days straight now; we will see how long till we reach total melt down but for now it is all fun and games. Tonight there are big plans for cheese fondue, followed by chocolate fondue, plans tomorrow for a factory tour of Jelly Belly, and then Sunday will be spent in Monterey at the fantastic aquarium. A great New Year so far, hope yours is the same.