Bedtime...

After spending weeks trying (unsuccessfully) to convince Sydney to go to bed at a normal hour, I finally decided to change the routine.

For about a week, I would take Sydney into her room around 8:30 and rock her to sleep. We would sit in the rocking chair and while she finished her sippy cup of milk, I would wrap a blanket around her tight and rock. It seemed to work out okay and she never lasted very long. After 10 or 15 minutes I could lay her in her bed and leave. The only problem was that since all of the lights were off, sometimes I would rock myself to sleep too!

Everything changed two nights ago when Sydney decided that she could rock herself to sleep. So I take her into her room, she climbs into the chair, I hand her a sippy cup of milk and a blanket, and she rocks herself to sleep. I turn off the lights and go out and about 10 minutes later Donnie goes in to her room and moves her into her bed.

I just kind of miss rocking her to sleep myself. maybe our next child won't be so independent...

Sydney's 2nd Birthday

Last night we celebrated Sydney's second birthday. I can't believe she is already two! It seems like just yesterday I was cradling her in my arms in the hospital, and now she runs around all day, talks a ton, and really has a mind of her own.

She has grown so much in these past two years and we have been so blessed to be a part of that. She is an amazing little girl!

We took Sydney to Build-A-Bear, only she decided to build a cat. She loved looking at all of the clothes and accessories. We bought a princess t-shirt for Stripey, but we probably should have bought a hairbow or something too because she still looks very masculine.

Sydney did not want to leave the store, but we bribed her with a trip to the candy store. She really likes those Valentine hearts - ya know, the ones that taste like chalk. After the candy store we went to dinner and then returned home for cake, ice cream, and presents.

When she saw the cake (we wanted an ice cream cake, but Dairy Queen was all out, so we settled for a store-bought cake) she was so excited! She wanted to eat the entire thing herself, but after a few bites she realized that wasn't happening!

She really likes presents, but I think she enjoyed the bags and tissue paper the most. She received a Disney Princess DVD, a Dora DVD, two new shirts, and about 5 books. We bought her a couple of books about new babies coming to families to try to get her used to the idea.

It was a fun night - even if it was just the three of us. Luckily, she is not old enough to want a lot of people around, but maybe next year we can live close enough to family that she can celebrate with her cousins (and grandparents, and aunts, and uncles...)

Last night

We took Sydney to her first NBA game. Donnie found $40 tickets for $5 each on eBay, so we decided to go.

The game didn't start until 8:30, but Sydney is a night owl like her daddy, so we thought she would be okay. She was a little fussy before the game started, but we just bribed her with popcorn and peppermints.

Once the game started and there was some action on the floor, she absolutely loved it! She had such a good time clapping and yelling, "Go Jazz!" She kept telling Donnie, "That's awesome!"

She really liked the cheerleaders/dancers and the bear mascot too. Every time she saw the bear she would growl really loudly.

Even at the end of the game she was still full of energy and yelling. Thankfully, when we arrived home she went straight to sleep.

All-in-all it was a fun night and since Sydney had such a great time (and the Jazz killed Phoenix) we decided we would try it again before the season ends. After all, this will be our last season in Utah - which is really hard to imagine after spending almost 10 years here.

The last few weeks...

With the holiday season - and Donnie gearing up for finals - we have been pretty busy lately.

We spent a week in Idaho for Thanksgiving, and spent time with Donnie's family there. It was nice to see family that we haven't seen in a while - Sydney and I haven't been there since last Christmas. Sydney found a new friend in her cousins' dog Max. She really liked chasing him around - and REALLY liked just sitting by him.

When we returned home, we decided it was time to unpack our Christmas decorations and get in the spirit. We live in a very small apartment (600 sq ft), and we are not allowed to have real trees, so we used our 2 ft beauty from last year. It came with lights, so the hard work was

already done!

I know, Charlie Brown had a better tree, but we're woking with little space and little money! I do find it odd that I am the only one without a present under the tree (hint, hint Donnie).

After a snow-free November, mother nature decided to step it up and we woke up on December 1 to 4 inches of snow! Donnie and Sydney went out to play and make a snowman. Sydney lost interest in the snowman pretty quickly, so he's a little small.

It snowed last night and all day today too. The snow should continue falling through Monday, so there will be plenty of snow-themed pictures to come.

Here are a few pictures of Sydney, and her new best friend, Monkey.

Just a reminder...

This week we played outside everyday (hooray! it was actually warm enough, not WARM, but warm enough). On Wednesday we walked to campus and went to the life science museum and had story time and then checked out all of the animals.

On Thursday, Donnie and I babysat one of Sydney's friends, and we spent the majority of Friday night at the grocery store(chasing Sydney through the aisles). With all of that excitement, it's no wonder I have so many pictures of Sydney "sleeping."

Outside, Sydney tries to climb on the bikes the other kids ride, but she is too little. She gets kind of sad, and really frustrated that she can't make them work, so we went to Toys R Us and bought Sydney a cheap little bike. She was so excited! She even helped put the bike together (not so much help as hinder the process). Once the bike was assembled, she was ready to get on and never get off!

Today, Donnie and I were in the living room watching a football game. Sydney ran between that room and her bedroom carrying out as many toys as she could each time. One time, she went to her room and after about 5 minutes she didn't return. I went to her room to see what she was doing, and I found her like this.

Trick or Treat!

Tonight was Halloween so we took Sydney out for a sugar high (I think Donnie was more excited than her).

We dressed Sydney as a princess and went to a children's party on campus first. Different clubs/organizations set up booths with activities like bowling, bean bag toss, basketball, mini golf, picture taking, "horse shoes," doughnuts on a string...

It was a lot of fun, even though Sydney "cheated" on almost every game. Bowling she did well on, but the bean bag toss and basketball she walked right up to the target/hoop and shoved in the bags/ball.

We only stayed long enough for her to do each activity once and then we left to go trick or treating (Donnie said we weren't getting enough candy at the party). Sydney made out like a bandit and we called it a night around 8 p.m.

When we returned home she finally let go of her "purse" (or pumpkin bag). Long enough to let us pick out a few pieces of candy. Then she dumped what was left (which was a lot) onto the floor and reveled in her bounty.

We took a few pictures on campus, but forgot the camera when we went door to door.

Fall Fun

Looking for some Halloween Fun we took Sydney to a local corn maze. When we arrived we found not only a corn maze, but a huge inflatable haunted maze, an enormous jumping pillow, a pumpkin patch, hayrides, pedal cart racing, singing chicken show, kiddie corral pig races...



The best part is that Sydney is still free! We had a great time doing all of the kiddie things. We were there for 3 hours and never ran out of things to do - nor did we do any of the non-kiddie games/activities.

Sydney even tried her hand at milking a cow

We ended the day at the corn maze. She was most excited about actually finding corn in the maze - only she kept calling them "bananas." Donnie then told her that it is corn and that's what we make popcorn (her favorite treat) from, so she then tried to eat it.