Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Visiting The Dentist
Today, Arabella had her first dentist appointment. She did great! She smiled the whole time and even wanted to sit in the chair by herself. Her teeth are looking good, she has 20 teeth in and the dentist said "She has Beautiful Teeth". He also said that I must have had a good diet when I was pregnant with her because the proof is in the pudding (gotta love that line) and he could tell by just looking at her teeth. I guess that was one thing I was anal about when I was pregnant with her, eating well. I tried to eat as much natural and organic fruits, veggies and other nutritious food and stay away from the junk (I cheated every once in a while). I guess the red, orange and yellow bell peppers I craved and ate every day did do some good! One thing that we need to start to work on is getting rid of her didgy a/k/a pacifier. Right now it is not causing any damage to her palate, but it could and then she will have issues later on. We are trying to only give it to her at nap time and bed time, where it usually falls out, but sometimes she finds one around the house or in my purse and she just pops it in her mouth. Arabella, you did great! Mommy is so proud of you...now if only we can keep you unafraid of the dentist so you don't have nerves like I do when I visit the dentist!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Catching Up
Arabella and I had so much fun when we visited Connecticut for Labor Day weekend, actually it was 8 days, but who is counting?? Although, I think that I needed a vacation from the vacation when we got back since I was driving all over the state trying to fit in visits with as many family members and friends as possible. I also had to fit in some shopping and a doctor visit for me. Yes, everything is fine, it was just a routine doctor visit for me, since the wonderful Canadian/Quebec medical system is so overloaded I decided to make an appointment with my old OB/Gyn in Connecticut. Much easier, less stress and Arabella got to spend the day at the pool with Auntie Lori!
On Friday morning, I met a childhood friend in West Hartford Center for a late breakfast or early lunch. I was super excited to see Alana since it had been 10 years and I wanted her to meet Arabella. As soon as we saw each other, it was like we had just seen each other last week - it amazes me that it was like that since so much time has passed. We have grown up, gotten married, I had Arabella - but still it was as if we were back at the beach just hanging out. I guess that is a true mark of real friendship - that you can go years, decades without speaking and when you do reconnect, it is like that time didn't pass. We talked and laughed and got caught up. It was so much fun to see her and spend time with her. Arabella also had fun and I promise that when we are back in Connecticut, we will see each other again. Thanks for having a fun morning with us Alana, can't wait to see you again soon, only next time, maybe we can do some shopping like we used to!
Arabella and I were also invited to Laureen, Mark and Brandon's BBQ on Sunday. It was the first time that I have seen Laureen since her baby shower and I was looking forward to meeting her new bundle of joy, Brandon! He is such a little cutie and such a good baby. And who can resist those big blue eyes?? Arabella was so gentle with him, it was adorable to watch her with him. It was such a fun time and we were able to relax, spend time outside and catch up on everything that has gone on over the past few months. Thanks for inviting us, the food was excellent (Teddy even enjoyed some of the corn on the cob) and we had a blast!
We also were able to spend a ton of time with Dad, Aunt Margo and Uncle Bill! Arabella had fun playing with bubbles with Uncle Bill. She also had fun at Grampy's/Dad's playing with all the animals. She and Aston has so much fun lounging around together and watching TV. I was amazed at how good he is with her, he would let her climb all over him and she would give him big hugs! Arabella also had fun chasing the cats around Grampy's house too. I bet the cats were happy to see us leave so they could get some peace and quiet again.
Arabella even had her first cannoli - she is a little Italian girl through and through. She opted for chocolate, not my favorite, but maybe as she grows, she will become partial to the ricotta one like me...one can hope right?
Arabella had fun with Grampy and was able to sweet talk him into giving her money for her piggy bank - each and every dollar or cent that was given to her has been deposited into them! You can see the money in her hand in the pictures below. Thanks Grampy!
Time went by too quickly like it always does. It was so hard to fit in visits with everyone and we are sad that we couldn't see you, but rest assured, on the next go around, we will see you.
On Friday morning, I met a childhood friend in West Hartford Center for a late breakfast or early lunch. I was super excited to see Alana since it had been 10 years and I wanted her to meet Arabella. As soon as we saw each other, it was like we had just seen each other last week - it amazes me that it was like that since so much time has passed. We have grown up, gotten married, I had Arabella - but still it was as if we were back at the beach just hanging out. I guess that is a true mark of real friendship - that you can go years, decades without speaking and when you do reconnect, it is like that time didn't pass. We talked and laughed and got caught up. It was so much fun to see her and spend time with her. Arabella also had fun and I promise that when we are back in Connecticut, we will see each other again. Thanks for having a fun morning with us Alana, can't wait to see you again soon, only next time, maybe we can do some shopping like we used to!
I know this is a cheesy group pic, but we forgot to ask someone to take our picture outside and so we had to settle with the one the clerk took in Plimptons!
Arabella and Alana having fun!
Arabella and I were also invited to Laureen, Mark and Brandon's BBQ on Sunday. It was the first time that I have seen Laureen since her baby shower and I was looking forward to meeting her new bundle of joy, Brandon! He is such a little cutie and such a good baby. And who can resist those big blue eyes?? Arabella was so gentle with him, it was adorable to watch her with him. It was such a fun time and we were able to relax, spend time outside and catch up on everything that has gone on over the past few months. Thanks for inviting us, the food was excellent (Teddy even enjoyed some of the corn on the cob) and we had a blast!
We also were able to spend a ton of time with Dad, Aunt Margo and Uncle Bill! Arabella had fun playing with bubbles with Uncle Bill. She also had fun at Grampy's/Dad's playing with all the animals. She and Aston has so much fun lounging around together and watching TV. I was amazed at how good he is with her, he would let her climb all over him and she would give him big hugs! Arabella also had fun chasing the cats around Grampy's house too. I bet the cats were happy to see us leave so they could get some peace and quiet again.
Arabella even had her first cannoli - she is a little Italian girl through and through. She opted for chocolate, not my favorite, but maybe as she grows, she will become partial to the ricotta one like me...one can hope right?
Arabella had fun with Grampy and was able to sweet talk him into giving her money for her piggy bank - each and every dollar or cent that was given to her has been deposited into them! You can see the money in her hand in the pictures below. Thanks Grampy!
Time went by too quickly like it always does. It was so hard to fit in visits with everyone and we are sad that we couldn't see you, but rest assured, on the next go around, we will see you.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Fabulous Finds
I have been meaning to blog about 2 Fabulous Finds that Arabella received from Grammie when she was visiting last month.
My favorite is a book entitled Fletcher and the Falling Leaves. It is a wonderful story about a little fox and the changing of the seasons. Arabella loves Fletcher and the storyline holds her attention and is just the right length. The illustrations are beautiful and help to explain the wonders of the world around us.
Our second Fabulous Find is ring flash cards by Mudpuppy. Grammie purchased the "N is for Nature" alphabet flash cards for Arabella. They are amazing. There are 26 cards and each card is double sided. One side has the both the upper and lowercase letter in addition to words beginning with the letter that are found in nature. The opposite side has the uppercase letter and an nature image. What is great about these flash cards is that they do not have the usual words that you would find on alphabet flash cards. For example, Uca is one of the words on the "U" card. What is a Uca...it is a type of crab, who knew?? Arabella loves the cards - she can tell you what letter is on each card, even if you ask her out of order, and she even knows that when you come to the kangaroo card, that a joey is in the mom's pouch! I don't think that I would have know to teach her that without the help of these cards. Since she has had so much fun with them and loves to look at them, I researched Mudpuppy and found that they have a handful of other flash cards and they are sold on Amazon. So I have ordered her 2 more sets - Opposites and Words in English and French (since we are supposed to be learning French, it might just help me too!). There is also an English/Spanish set, that would be more up my ally since I had so many years of Spanish, we might try that one at a later date. Anyway, if you are looking for a great gift or something fun to teach with, you need to check these flash cards out!
My favorite is a book entitled Fletcher and the Falling Leaves. It is a wonderful story about a little fox and the changing of the seasons. Arabella loves Fletcher and the storyline holds her attention and is just the right length. The illustrations are beautiful and help to explain the wonders of the world around us.
Our second Fabulous Find is ring flash cards by Mudpuppy. Grammie purchased the "N is for Nature" alphabet flash cards for Arabella. They are amazing. There are 26 cards and each card is double sided. One side has the both the upper and lowercase letter in addition to words beginning with the letter that are found in nature. The opposite side has the uppercase letter and an nature image. What is great about these flash cards is that they do not have the usual words that you would find on alphabet flash cards. For example, Uca is one of the words on the "U" card. What is a Uca...it is a type of crab, who knew?? Arabella loves the cards - she can tell you what letter is on each card, even if you ask her out of order, and she even knows that when you come to the kangaroo card, that a joey is in the mom's pouch! I don't think that I would have know to teach her that without the help of these cards. Since she has had so much fun with them and loves to look at them, I researched Mudpuppy and found that they have a handful of other flash cards and they are sold on Amazon. So I have ordered her 2 more sets - Opposites and Words in English and French (since we are supposed to be learning French, it might just help me too!). There is also an English/Spanish set, that would be more up my ally since I had so many years of Spanish, we might try that one at a later date. Anyway, if you are looking for a great gift or something fun to teach with, you need to check these flash cards out!
Dog Days of Summer
It feels like it has been forever since I blogged, but I guess that is what happens when you travel and are having too much fun to check email, Facebook or your blog! So I should start with our last "Summer" Wee Wiggles outing. I say it is our last Summer one since it has been a little cool here and I am not sure that we will get the Indian Summers that we are used to back in the States. On the last day of August, we spent the late morning at a Splash Pad in a park off the island and Arabella had so much fun! It was a very warm day and this was just what we needed to cool down and for her to take a good nap so that I could finish up packing for our road trip.
Climbing
Tonight while cleaning up the kitchen, I turned around and this is what I saw...
Scared the crap out of me and I am not sure how I would explain a broken refrigerator door!
Scared the crap out of me and I am not sure how I would explain a broken refrigerator door!
2 Going On 20
Tonight Arabella saw me listening to my iPod and she wanted to try. When I asked if she wanted to listen to Katy Perry, she told me "No, Gaga, Lady Gaga". I know Lady Gaga is completely appropriate for a 2 year old to listen to, but she insisted and I was getting dinner ready and did not want a meltdown. So, yes, she HAD to listen to Lady Gaga. She looked all grown up in her sunglasses and with my iPod on, it was funny, but also a quick flash forward about 14 years - she just needs to ditch the pacifier (we are working on it) and get a little taller!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
I Remember
I remember just like it was yesterday. The most perfect blue sky without any clouds. The warm early Fall sunshine. I remember looking up at the sky before I walked into my office building to workout and I wonder know if I knew in that second that the world was going to change. I remember as I was getting ready to go up to my office hearing on the radio that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. At that moment I called my brother, thinking that it had to be a small plane, not knowing that in that moment it was something more terrible. I knew as soon as I stepped off the elevator at my firm that something horrible had happened. There was a silence that I had never heard before. People were in the break room huddled around the television watching the terror unfold and all the sadness that it left behind. I remember being scared and worried about my family and what could happen next. I remember being glued to the television and computer at home to try and make sense of what had happened, I could barely sleep that night.
Just thinking about September 11, 2001, makes me cry. I have the following picture framed in my office of the twin towers
Recently, Arabella was in my office with me and she pointed to the photo and said "Castles, Big Castles". It was so sweet and she was so inquisitive as if she was asking me to tell her about the castles. In the only way I could while tears filled me eyes, I tried to explain that they are castles in the sky and are filled with angels who are watching over our country. That was the best I could do, at least for now. She will learn about it soon enough when she goes to school and learns US History, and I wonder how the story will be told and what the school books will say about this horrific day.
In that one instant the world forever changed and it will never be the same. Today, I remember those who lost their lives and their families. I remember those who protect the United States and are in harms way to keep us safe. And I remember to be thankful for those we hold closest to our hearts, for we never know when our lives will change in an instant.
Just thinking about September 11, 2001, makes me cry. I have the following picture framed in my office of the twin towers
Recently, Arabella was in my office with me and she pointed to the photo and said "Castles, Big Castles". It was so sweet and she was so inquisitive as if she was asking me to tell her about the castles. In the only way I could while tears filled me eyes, I tried to explain that they are castles in the sky and are filled with angels who are watching over our country. That was the best I could do, at least for now. She will learn about it soon enough when she goes to school and learns US History, and I wonder how the story will be told and what the school books will say about this horrific day.
In that one instant the world forever changed and it will never be the same. Today, I remember those who lost their lives and their families. I remember those who protect the United States and are in harms way to keep us safe. And I remember to be thankful for those we hold closest to our hearts, for we never know when our lives will change in an instant.
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