She's 3!

This is my favorite sequence of Ila's birthday party (or actually the only pictures that were somewhat in focus since I usually refuse to use the normal flash on my camera). Auntie CaCa made her this beautiful cake and Ila loved blowing out the candles and having everyone cheer for her. Ila got so caught up in the moment she leaned over and gave her friend Kate a big juicy kiss.  . . (see video for kiss).

Passy-Free and Under 3!

Sunday marked THREE weeks of Ila being 100% passy-free! She had only been allowed to have it in her bed at naps and at night for probably a whole year now, and after so many transitions of potty-training, then big-girl bed, then surf camp, preschool, etc. I just couldn't take her beloved passy too! But it was time. That nasty little thing was causing terrible morning breath and crusty chapped lips for too long. I started the transition by poking a hole in it, which did nothing, so I made a bigger slit in it so it wouldn't suck anymore. She still kept the thing in her mouth for about a week though, so I knew she wasn't just going to tire of it that easily. So one night I told her she had to go to bed without her passy and if she did a good job we would take her to buy a new stuffed animal the next day. She was up a few times that first night, but still didn't ask for it so we took her to the toy store conveniently on our street and let her pick out this guy. I suggested we name him "Passy" and explained that he would replace her other passy. Worked like a charm! She didn't ask for her other passy again and this new "Passy Doggy" has become her favorite animal to snuggle with at night. Out with the stinky crusty passy and in with the new plush pet...

Birthday Splendor

This pretty much sums up Ila's elephant-themed birthday party yesterday:

More pics coming soon.

Do You Know the Maple Kind?

If you haven't seen this youtube video, here is your chance. Ila loves it and can't stop repeating one of the lines...

And here is Ila's rendition of it:

And a few bloopers:

A Day at the ZOO

After a few unexpected delays (like sleeping in, falling off a tricylce, car dvd malfunction, motion sickness from trying to fix dvd player, then a headphone malfunction) we were off to DC for a day at the zoo with our dear friends Pete and Melinda. We saw gorillas, cheetahs, lions, tigers, elephants, and a 20-foot anaconda to name a few. They even had dip'n dots! I realized recently that Ila didn't quite understand the size of some of these animals when she told me she wanted a real elephant for her birthday to live in our house. Time for a trip to the zoo! Look at her face in some of these...

Watching the tiger growl

who's taller?

 

It's Complicated

Some of you may know that I've had a rocky relationship with my iphones over the past few years. Yes, I'm on my 3rd now. (Do they have to put so much glass on them?) Anyway, for me, my iphone is like that annoying little sister that never leaves you alone and is always bothering you, yet you can't live without. I am completely dependent on it at times to get where I need to go, to fast-foward 4 minute-long messages from certain family members (you know who you are!), and to capture those precious moments throughout the day like Ila farting in the bath tub or dancing to Michael Jackson. Yes, there are many ways I have fallen prey to it's sleek looks and endless opportunities for entertainment and convenience, but a lot of times it's just too much. I know it's become the norm to not even go to the bathroom without your phone because... what if you fall in the toilet or run out of toilet paper OR an earthquake happens WHILE you are on the toilet and out of toilet paper (no, that didn't happen to me, but what if it did!?) .... you get the idea, our dependency on them has become a bit extreme.

I am just as guilty as the rest of you with this mentality, but what I absolutely can't stand is the expectation of being REACHABLE at all times. Since everyone has a cell phone now, (and most are as addicted as I am), it's become the norm to have one's phone attached like an extra body part. That's why I sometimes like to put mine in "time-out" by leaving it in the kitchen to pretend it's a landline. . . but then what if I want to check my email while I go to the bathroom?! "Un-shun" as Dwight Schrute would say. Sometimes I feel like it fills in all those extra moments in the day when I could just relax and not feel like I should be doing something because I can. It's clearly a struggle for me, and it's easier to blame technology than to just develop a little more discipline I guess. But as a stay-at-home mom, it IS nice to be connected to friends throughout the day, check the weather instantly before heading to a park, or look up recipe ideas for that night if I haven't planned yet. 

So you're probably wondering about the photo above and I can explain. You see, when other frustrations occur while ON the beloved phone, (let's say your husband hasn't touched the knee-high grass in the yard since we got back to Cville and takes his very first day off to go surf crappy waist-high waves in VB and then gets stuck in hurricane traffic on the way home) - it is NOT looking good for mr. iphone3 (above). 

As much as I tried to convince him to let me just get a landline for the kitchen (with a cord!) and a car phone for emergencies, he laughed and promptly ordered me an iphone 4. I did experience 5 days of freedom though and it was lovely and peaceful. I completely excused myself from contacting or being contacted by anyone except a few emails. But then the iphone 4 came and I realized I could do things like this:

and this:

and I was already hooked. 

Maybe I need some anger management you might say? Naaah, just a really huge case for my iphone. And c'mon, I've had very few pregnancy outbursts lately so I think I was about due for one. 

First Day of Preschool!

Ila had her first day of preschool today and did GREAT! We had gone to visit her teacher and see her classroom before the big day, so she was excited to go back. After antcipating this day for months and memorizing all her preschool books, she proudly announced "I didn't cry!" when we picked her up. She seemed so happy and proud of herself too. Her mommy on the other hand did cry a bit after dropping her off, so that box was checked by the 28 year old, not the 2 year old (almost 3 year old.) 

We are so proud of our big girl!

Special thanks to Gramma "Woofie" for the cute outfit!

Sydney was jealous and wanted to be in one too.

She picked out her backpack and lunch box herself on http://www.landofnod.com/ while we were away this summer. It was weird shopping online with a 2 year old, but it worked!

WE'RE HAVING A . . .

 GIRL!!!

Most importantly, everything looked great on her ultrasound this morning so we are rejoicing over a healthy baby girl to be born in January.

"Why Are You Wearing That Dress?"

... was the title to our pastor, Paul Walker's sermon on Sunday after Ila had so poignantly asked him that question the week before. She reeeally needed to know why Papa Walker was wearing those funny looking robes (that episcopal priests sometimes wear) and it turns out there's actually a really good answer and it's not just to look all superior and holy ;) Ila was the star of the sermon (at the end) and doesn't even know it.

You can listen to it here if you want:  http://www.christchurchcville.org/sermons-2/. It's from September 4th.  A good listen for while you're checking blogs!

Hershey Ride at Grammie's

We took a very short trip to VB this weekend for Ross' Granny's 90th birthday bash and we also spent a couple hours out at Grammie and Jake's farm. Ila had her first real horsie ride! My first ride like this  was when I was 2, so I'm glad Ila could get one in before she turns 3 at the end of the month. She loved it.