Grandpa Bobby's Birthday

The last travel weekend for a few weeks - phew! Saturday we went to Saratoga to visit Grandpa Bobby & Nonnie, grandma Ebie, whatever we're calling her today. We had a really good time. Though Shara was pretty clingy, she did go in the pool with Liz & me and went to grandpa & grandma so they could cuddle with her. She even wanted grandpa to put her in the swing and take her to see the dogs, which she didn't seem scared of, but she was being held.

The trip there went quite well, with a lot of help from Pooh. We ate most of the way there - 1/2 a waffle, 1/3 bagel w/cream cheese, a bar, a smoothie ... which was good because there were only munchies easily available. Not that we couldn't have helped ourselves to the kitchen and nonnie did get us a couple slices of cheese. It was a very nice place to visit. Chris & Tom are great hosts and it was so relaxed. You knew you could make yourself at home and just help yourself. At least that's the impression I got.

We didn't realize Chris had a pool, nor that the weather was going to be so nice, but luckily we were able to borrow bathing suits. I didn't think Shara was going to want to go into the pool. She kept fussing about something and I wanted to get a sense of if she wanted to go in, so I said that we should put our feet in and she didn't want to, so I didn't keep the suit on. Liz was in one, and she took Shara in first and I realized she did want to go in. The problem she was having is that she wanted to go in by herself and in the deep end. That's where all the big kids were. So Liz took her down to a nice built in bench near the deep end and played with her there. I joined and it was a lot of fun. Alan got video. We also played on the swings then had dinner and the day went by quickly. Shara really liked being around the big kids but didn't want to join in on kickball or when they were just running around, even though there was an 18 month old boy who was also running. Shara was happy to watch and play with a truck. She did have fun after supper in the top of the swing set with a couple of big girls. They were having fun having her say back what they told her to say, "say swing set", etc.

The ride home was ok. We had a quick stop at bubbe & papa's, and had to carry in a sleeping shara who soon woke up and scarfed down 3 little doughnuts. Then she was up for 1/2 the ride home watching Pooh. I finally told her that we could watch Pooh at home anytime and she didn't have to stay up to see it, so she then wanted me to turn it off and she went to sleep.

Sunday was great. Although I went to the market during naptime, we really didn't leave the house!
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Back to the Capitol Region

This weekend we went back to the Albany area for Liz's graduation party. We had a nice, but rollercoaster type of time. We left after dinner, to let Shara sleep for the ride. She didn't fall asleep until about 1/2 hour before we got to mom's. We brought her in while she was sleeping and she woke up and wouldn't go to sleep in the crib. She did sleep with us, but there wasn't much sleeping for me since little Shara takes up the whole side of the bed like an adult. The next morning was nice. We all had breakfast and played a little while getting ready to go to Jill's. Alan stayed behind to set up mom's computer and mom, Shara & I went to get the pizza's and go help at Jill's.

We got to the Looker's and ran around trying to help get things ready. Between the rushing, Bella barking (just a little), the door slamming, little sleep, etc. Shara was not a happy camper, let alone in the mood to play on her own and be put down. I carried her around most of the day. She didn't like the house and wouldn't let me change her diapers inside but had to go change her in the car. She did have a good time outside and really liked the chocolate dipped strawberries & apricots. She put a whole big apricot in her mouth and started to gag. I told her to spit it out and she did. She then didn't want to waste it and preceeded to eat it. A little slime never hurt anyone.

The most fun I think she had was on the trampoline. She even remembered jumping with Kathleen, which really surprised me that she remembered her name and everything. We had a good time too and it was great fun seeing Howard and his family. It's amazing how the time goes by so quickly and you don't realize it until there are new little people right in front of you that you never met before.

We went home that night and Shara slept the whole way home and didn't really wake up until about 8 AM the next day, which was Father's Day. We got up and moving and went to breakfast at Good Days. Shara sat in a booster seat and it worked out great. She's such a big girl. After breakfast we went to Uma & Jidor's for a quick visit. Shara didn't really have a chance to fall asleep in the car and then wouldn't take a nap but stayed up and played. We did need to have a chill-out time when she started getting over-stimulated and began hitting Brutus. She agreed that it would be a good idea for her to play in her crib a little. That evening she went to bed fine, but woke screaming at about midnight. I thought she was sick or hurt, but it must have been a bad dream and she didn't want to go back to sleep and didn't until she had some tylenol around 4 AM. She woke again @ 5:30 but went back after just a short-ish time with mom in the chair. Not a fun night. We'll see what happens tonight!

Shara's Birthday Party

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted! We have been so busy. Shara's second birthday party was a very nice day for all. We had a smaller party than originally thought, but it ended up being nice that there weren't too many people. It wasn't rushed and we were all able to relax and visit. Shara had a great time eating with her friend Katie at her big girl table, which we put downstairs in the family room. When Hannah came all the girls had fun chasing bubbles and helping to open the presents. They were so cute and even though Katie had on a lovely green cast on her arm, she still managed to eat her cupcake and ice cream as well as the others. I got a little weepy - ok, I was basically crying - when everyone was singing "happy birthday" to Shara. She was so happy! I don't think I've ever seen her so excited and you could tell from her face how special she felt. She's so cute. It was a very nice day and the butterfly cookies & cupcakes turned out great and the most important part is that everyone was able to be together on such a nice day.