Aysia turns two!

Yesterday was your birthday! It was a pretty good day, I think!

First, we surprised you in the morning with your new walk-in kitchen. You love it! You always want to cook now! I'm so glad you like it so much.

Then, at school, I dropped off fruit salad for the school party during nap time, and sure enough, you were awake and saw me right away! And it was only halfway through nap time. If I tried to leave, you would definitely have a fit, so I brought you to the mall with me. You weren't very patient while I bought my maternity belt (my hips are in so much pain these days!), but then you were happy to ride the escalator and see Santa. And you were so good - we rode down and up, then you were fine to get back in the stroller and go home. Very mature of you! :)

Next, it was back to school for the holiday party. But I brought in noisemakers and hats, and everyone sang happy birthday to you. You loved it! You had a bunch of food (even some healthy stuff) and were just very cute in general. You are certainly very talkative and helpful, and in my opinion, the best one in the class! :)

And then finally we went home for a small family birthday party with Grandma Susan, Bob-bob-bob, Grandma Rosa, Pop-pop and Aunt Lisa. We ate, we played, and we had more cake! I even cooked the dinner and baked / decorated the cake myself. A big deal for your mommy! You got some very nice gifts, and then we watched the DVD of your Uptown Playaround party and you had fun watching yourself.

All in all, a real good birthday for Aysia!

Aysia climbs out!

So, yesterday, Grandma Susan said you climbed up on the railing of the crib, and could have easily climbed out if she didn't stop you. I guess it's time to move to the toddler bed. I am not looking forward to that - you having free reign to get up whenever you want! I need to get some toys in your room and get the gate up so we don't have to worry about you roaming around while we sleep. Big changes, little girl, you're growing up!

Meanwhile, you've been talking about Santa Claus a lot, and getting excited about Christmas. We decorated last night and you liked all the new stuff. It definitely makes me more excited about the holidays, seeing them through your eyes!

Aysia and playing

You were very cute this weekend. First, we went to Sophia's birthday party, and you got comfortable pretty quickly and played with all her toys. People commented how great your vocabulary was and how smart you are! Mommy was proud! But more importantly, you had a really good time, and only had a mini-meltdown when Sophia was opening presents and you couldn't do it.

Then on Sunday, we visited friends with a 5 year old and a 3 year old. You and Jolie (3 yo) really played together. jumping on her bed, pushing a stroller - the first time i saw you really interacting with someone else, vs playing side by side. It was great to see. And I felt I could let you roam a bit without sticking right by you. You're starting to gain some independence, little girl!

Aysia and the shower

You were very cute this morning... you wanted to take a shower with me for the second day in a row. I would love it if the routine could be us taking a shower together in the morning every day. It would be fun, and some special time we could spend together. Plus getting you into the bath lately has been such a nightmare. you cry "no bath, no bath", but then once you are in, you love it. And it's hard to get you out!

But you've never liked the shower before. You've always been scared of it. Except when we were down the shore, you loved taking an outside shower together. But that never carried over to inside. So these last few days have been great. You make these excited, yelling sounds, like it's the most thrilling thing in the world! Daddy helps us, and I still need to get a better shower caddy and liner that isn't too long. But once I get it setup right, maybe this could be a routine we do together, and maybe we could get good at doing it ourselves.

The other thing that's great is your hair. The one thing you hate about the bath is washing your hair and the water getting on your face and eyes. But in the shower, you're good with it. So it's so much easier. And then your hair will look good all day because it won't be slept on (and we just can't comb through your curls dry!).

So I'm hopeful!

Aysia loves pizza

Last night when I picked you up from school, I asked you if you wanted pizza. I had some leftover pizza at home and that was the grand plan for dinner. But you said you wanted pizza "at the restaurant". There's an Italian restaurant across from your school, and we've gone there a few times for dinner, or to pick up takeout for home.

So we had pizza in the restaurant. It was really nice, you have learned to eat it like a pro, I don't have to cut it up or anything. So we just sat there, eating our pizza, talking about the day. Well, when you weren't trying to look around me to watch the TV they have in there! And you named whether all the people in the restaurant were a man or a woman. You're very good at that! It was an enjoyable night, except for my guilt of feeding you pizza for dinner. At least at home I would have made some veggies, too. Healthy food is not my strong point, I acknowledge that! But I do try. And with Carolyn cooking one or two nights a week for us, you are getting some good home cooked meals!

One thing that made me sad, though... just as it's getting really easy to take you to a restaurant after school (and there are a few others in the same strip mall, too), I'll be picking up you and your little brother, and handling the both of you by myself might be a little too much. So after another month or so, we might not be doing the restaurant after school for a while...

Aysia and Santa Clause

I took you to see Santa Clause yesterday. Grandma and grandpa came (thank goodness), and we went to the mall around 3:30. The line was long, and took about an hour. There was no way you were ever going to be able to wait on line that long!! So we rode the escalators... up and down and up and down. It was your first time on one to be standing yourself and you loved it. More than Santa, I think!


When it was finally our turn for Santa, you weren't too crazy about him. And the people there didn't do much to help get a good picture, so I don't love this year's Santa pic. But you did ask for a trampoline, and even said please once I reminded you. I think you might get your wish! I'm excited to do some of the Christmas traditions with you this year. You're still a little young to fully understand, but I think you will get excited and enjoy it. Now I just have to get the decorations out before it's too late!

Hello Aysia

Hi Aysia!

Mommy here. I thought I'd start this blog so I can jot down my random thoughts about you, milestones, interesting stories, etc., that I don't want to forget as time goes on. You're one week away from turning 2 years old (Dec 22), and I feel like I've forgotten more than I remember already! I tried to be good with the baby milestone books, or scrapbooking, but alas, I wasn't. I don't quite remember when you first rolled over, or first crawled, or took your first steps... however I will figure it out and document it in one of my blog entries for you!!

I have been great about taking lots of pictures and creating beautiful photo books and photo collages for you, so you will have great picture memories of growing up. That I am very happy and proud of. But photos don't tell the whole story, and sometimes the smallest little moments can be the most special, so I want to have an easy place to record them for you.

You will be sharing this blog space with your little brother, who is due to enter this world on Feb 2. I'm excited to see how you will interact with and nurture him, but also a little sad that I will not be able to devote my full attention to you as I have for the past 2 years. On the other hand, I hope you two become fast friends, and while there may be a little jealousy initially, that over your lifetime you will cherish having a little bro!

So with this brief explanation, I leave you to enjoy reading about the experiences, accomplishments and milestones of your life, as seen through your Mommy's eyes!

With all my love,
"My Mommy"