Happy Father's Day Daddy (a.k.a. Brian)

I Love You Through and Through

A novella by Sydney. This is based on the book by Bernadette Rossetti Shustak, which is a story about a boy and his teddy bear. This version is about a girl and her frog.


I love you through and through.





I love your top side.





I love your bottom side.





I love your inside.






and outside.






I love your happy side,






your sad side,






your silly side,






your mad side.






I love your fingers






and toes,






your ears







and nose.






I love your hair






and eyes,






your giggles






and cries.






I love you running






and walking,






silent






and talking.





I love you through and through ...


Yesterday, today and tomorrow, too.

Love,
Amy and Sydney

5 random things

This is my first blog game. My friend Melinda tagged me to blog 5 random things about myself.


1. Melinda actually inspired me to start this blog. I wasn't keen on blogging at first, but turns out I really enjoy it. Of course, this blog serves as a baby book and Sydney chronicle, but it's also a great place for me to write. I write and write at work, but it's news writing and the opportunity for creativity is often limited. I am only able to write a handful of fun features each year. The blog is a place where I can play with words, and I think my writing continues to improve because of my blog writing. And, it's something fun for Brian and I to discuss and collaborate on. I love it when I write something that makes him laugh.

2. There is a void in my life now that Gilmore Girls is off the air. Where else can I find witty dialogue, quirky characters, fashion and unexpected plot turns? The Weather Channel. It's a nice blend of geography, science and history, plus the maps are pretty to look at. The meteorologists are certainly entertaining too.

3. My plan is to run every other day (or work out at the gym) and spend an hour the other days studying for my program exams. I just learned today that I will be tested this fall and graduating in December. This is actually a relief.

I love running, or probably what most people would consider fast jogging. If 'turtling' was a word that may be the best way to describe it. I did run 4 miles this evening. Going the distance is always a bonus, but it's more important to enjoy it.

4. If I was trapped in a grocery store overnight, I would go to the freezer section and eat the ends off of all of the Skinny Cow and Nestle ice cream drumsticks. The ice cream in these ice cream treats is just OK, but I love the end of the cone where there is a pile of chocolate. Of course, I realize this scenario is unlikely because grocery stores are open 24 hours, so it's not possible to be trapped in one.

5. Speaking of food, which I do a lot, I hope to make more time for Brian and I to cook together. The weather was lousy on mother's day, so we spent the afternoon making fudge drizzle cookies. We tag team on most dinners - I cook, he cleans. But, it's fun to cook together.

Now, I get to tag my other blog friends. So, if Christy, Steve or Naomi (I'm sure MySpace pages count) read this ... tag, you're it!

Trek to the Smoky Mountains

We visited the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee this week. The temperature ranged from 94-96 and the humidity hit 835 percent. We got some good hiking in and we learned how to travel with a toddler. Sydney 'saw' deer, a turkey and a snake.

WEDNESDAY


Our first hike was the classic Laurel Falls.


The path was narrow but 'paved' with pebbles so Sydney spent most of the ascent and descent in her stroller.


The falls are behind us.


Turns out the aquarium in Gatlinburg is amazing. (I had my doubts because Gatlinburg is the ultimate tourist trap.) Brian and I have visited a number of aquariums, and we were really impressed with this one. More than 8,000 species on display, including an underwater view of a coral reef courtesy of a moving sidewalk.




Sydney scopes her treasure.


Our little Jack Sparrow.


Seahorse.


A sting ray's underbelly.

THURSDAY


We also visited Cades Cove.
Sydney plans our route through Cades Cove.


Sydney participated in the park's ecological relocation program by carrying pine cones, tree bark and rocks from place to place.


Daddy escorts Sydney on the Saw Mill loop.


Family photo.


Hiking on a Cades Cove trail.


Fine dining: Eating lunch in the car.



Hotel habitat.


Sydney's sleep arrangements when we're not sandwiching her.



The beast awakes.



The pond in front of the hotel is home to a duck and her 10 ducklings. Speaking of waterfowl, Sydney's big fan of the Gossie books. She was well acquainted with Gossie, Gertie and Ollie, and we got to know Peedie and Booboo on this trip.

Other highlights from the trip:

Eating my fine cuisine - shrimp and sweet potato - in the car because Sydney combusted in the restaurant. I'm a slow eater and she was in need of a nap. (The Park Grill in Gatlinburg is a great restaurant. Sydney ate like a queen off the kids menu too.)

We weren't in the hotel room 15 minutes and Sydney fell into the nightstand. She bruised her face, but the marks are almost gone now. This incident combined with her not wanting to sleep, drove us to drive to Walgreens at 12:30 a.m. to buy pacifiers. This was 10 days after she gave it up. She came back with the sniffles, so we have not forced her to relinquish it yet.

A simple carbohydrate

While Sydney scurried around the house Friday night, Brian said he was in awe of how quickly she'd grown into a little girl. He said, "It's hard to imagine she was just a potato a year ago."

Here is our potato 17 months ago.



Here is when she was a spud last spring.



Now, she's a tater tot.



As Miss Piggy would say, 'Kissy, kissy." Sydney is all about the kisses right now. She blows kisses to strangers at the store, and even the automated checkout machine at the grocery story. She loves kissing Brian's knee, and tonight during dinner Sydney paused from her meal to ask for a kiss. When we say, "I love you," Sydney tries to repeat it. But, it sounds like she is ordering a waffle.

Mother May I?

Mother May I? Brian makes sure every day is mother's day around here, and he spoiled me a with a fancy new camera this month (part anniversary, part mother's day gift).

Here are my debut photos, which were shot last weekend.




Memorial Day weekend was a nice blend of fun and productivity. We played, ate well and visited with good friends. We also maintained our house and I planted some veggies. Four varieties of tomatoes, two varieties of peppers, onions and cilantro. Sydney helped a bit, until I caught her eating dirt from the trowel just like she would consume applesauce from a spoon.

It was a good weekend and we didn't let Sydney's wailing drown the fun. The area around her mouth continues to chap/blister, and Brian says it looks like we are feeding her fried poison ivy. So, I had an epiphany while talking to a Target pharmacist Friday night and decided to take Sydney's pacifier away. She was only allowed her stifle stick when she slept. So, there was lots of crying (all her) and little sleep (all of us) this weekend. Her crying is frantic bellowing. The first two days her mouth only continued to chap because of the waterworks. Neither Brian and I can resist her for long when she's inconsolable like this, and so we take turns cuddling, rocking and swaying with her until she falls asleep. I know we are only replacing one bad habit with another. The last two nights were the worst, and I found myself not only singing the regular nursery rhymes, but also Christmas Carols and BINGO in Spanish. (Un perro grande tengo yo ... Thank you Green Mountain High School for that lesson. When my sister Julie reads this I'm sure the Spanish tune will be stuck in her head:)

If you ask Sydney, "Is Sydney a big girl or baby?" She quickly responds "BigGirl." It sounds like one word when she responds. I'm not sure when or why Sydney decided it was time to aspire to be a big girl, but I keep telling her losing the pacifier is one those big girl moments. As I say this, she is blubbering in the crib calling for her 'baby' (which we tried to sub the pacifier for) and her beloved 'Webster.' My poor big girl.

Wild Kingdom

We vacated West Lafayette on Friday to spend the afternoon at the Indy Zoo. It was perfect. The weather was gorgeous and we arrived just as the student groups were departing. Sydney was perfect too, despite no naps that day.



Applying sunscreen on Sydney.


"Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?" Actually, the creature in the background is a Kodiak bear. Just about every animal exhibit prompted one of us to recite a phrase from one of Sydney's books. Unfortunately, we did not see any "Hippos go Berserk." Obviously, Brian and I are a real thrill to chill with nowadays.

Above is my attempt at playing family photog. Me, not so good. Brian is the talent in the family.



What a busy day at the zoo. While I was buying this lemon freeze, Brian and Sydney watched some lemurs and ducks tussle. We also rode the train. Sydney did awesome considering she skipped her morning nap, then we were at the zoo when she normally would have taken her afternoon nap. Sydney kept her requests for puppies to a minimum, but she did call the yak and elephant 'puppies.'



After the zoo, we stayed at the 5-star Peelle estate. We were well-fed (homemade fried chicken and Cheesecake Factory super chocolate cheesecake) and well cared for.

After dinner, we rested on their porch.


Sydney and Aunt Jackie.


Sydney deep in thought.


Sydney calling her people.


The lack of sleep started catching up with Sydney. Fast forward a couple hours later, and Sydney would crawl into the same position and say 'sleep.' Poor thing. She fell asleep in my lap, while Brian, my sisters and brother-in-law chatted. It's been a long time (at least a few months) since Sydney has fallen asleep in my lap. Precious.

Maybe our conversation was boring her: dream vacations, the first cassette tape we bought (or CD in Jackie's case) and what reality TV show we would want to star in. It was a great visit.


The plan was to run a couple errands, then hike around Eagle Creek Park on Saturday. We made it to aisle 2 of Trader Joe's when the lack of sleep (missing 3 naps and a rough night of sleep) finally caught up to Sydney. She erupted. (Sorry Dad, no porto for you, no wine for me. We never made it very far.) We headed to the park, but detoured back to West Lafayette when the kid finally conked out. She was a trooper.

We even experienced the remnants of her sleep deprivation today. We were sympathetic.

She rarely fusses and is usually agreeable, but she was so whiny, whiny today.

But, she made me laugh. I was trying to put on her shoes and coat so we could play outside, but she didn't want to go and she threw herself in the floor and cried. I've never seen her not want to go outside. The funny part: she's laying in the floor crying so hard and repeating "happy, happy, happy." I don't think she meant happy. I'll need to correct her before her next tantrum.