Happy 23rd Month Birthday Sweet Pea

A letter to Inara as she inches closer to turning 2

It's the eve of your 23rd month birthday, and I find myself thinking about how big you are. One more month, and you'll be turning 2. I can't believe that. I swear you were still in my tummy just 6 months ago. But when I look at you and all the things you do and say now, I realize you're not that little baby girl you once were, but now you're growing up to be a big girl.

Some of the things you love doing right now are playing hide and seek (especially with daddy), playing marketplace (this is when mommy comes to the food stand with the shopping cart and asks you for food I need and you get it for me), playing little people, and reading lots and lots of books. You've become quite the avid reader lately. Mommy reads to you at least 3 different times a day, plus before bedtime. Of course, you love reading Curious George books. But you have started liking Berenstein Bears, Pooh books, and a Finding Nemo book all about school. You also still love helping mommy around the house. When we come home from grocery shopping, you now like to put the fruits and veggies in the fridge for me. When I make dinner, you want to see what I'm doing, so I will pick you up and show you what's cooking in the pots and pans. One day I even had you help me make dinner. I made homemade pizza and salad for daddy and I. You helped me sprinkle the cheese and toppings on the pizza, as well as add shredded carrot to the salad. I encourage you to explore and try new things, with my help of course.

Last month we took a big family vacation and went to CA. We stayed at NeeNee and Pop's house for 12 days. During that time, you became infatuated with Toby the dog. You now say "sit down" to Daddy and I just like you did to Toby. Also on our trip, I think you really started to build a strong bond with Uncle Mikey. He helped so much with you on the trip, and I think you loved spending the time with him. Our big adventure on this trip was taking you to Disneyland for the first time. Now all you talk about is Mickey, Minnie, and Donald. Pop bought you a Mickey Mouse doll, which you have to carry with you all the time. You even put him in your stroller and push him around the house. When you look at the pictures, you ask to go again and always talk about the rides. I can't wait to take you again because you really loved visiting Mickey's house. Of course at Pop's house we went swimming a lot too. You started jumping from the side into mommy's arms and loved doing this over and over again. You would count "1, 2, 3, 4" then jump and immediately say "Again!" Also, when we watched other people jump off the diving board into the pool you kept saying, "Me too!" You so want to learn how to jump off the diving board. I better get you enrolled in swim classes asap. You don't show much fear and want to do everything. That's my girl!

In the past month, you've started building quite the vocabulary and becoming the never-ending chatter box. Just today you said microwave for the first time, and I was shocked to hear such a big word from you. Some of my other favorite things that you've started saying are "you're welcome," "cantalope," "watch Nemo," and one courtesy of Pop "oompa sharumpa." I absolutely love hearing you say the last one. You started saying it after we were in CA, and I got you to say it on the phone for Pop. He chuckled. I know he's proud of that one.

One thing that really amazes me is that you can count to 10 already. I know I always count when we walk up the stairs and various times through an average day. But it really surprised me when I heard you start counting along with me and made it to 10. And you're not even 2 yet. I'm so proud of you. Mommy continues to work on colors with you and we will next start on our ABC's. I can't say it enough: our baby girl is getting so big.

You have really shown a huge growth in your conversation skills these past few weeks. I now feel like when we talk it's becoming more like a conversation. You ask a lot of questions, and I explain things to you, which prompts more questions. One of our routine conversations is when we are in the car. You often ask to see the cows. You call out for them and moo like cows do. We then go back and forth on which type of animals we are looking for: horses, chickens, rabbits. I then ask if we can look for monkeys, and you giddily respond, "no mommy." We continue this for most of our trip. When in the car, you also like to look for objects such as busses, flags, doggies, diggers, and continuously ask for more. Car rides, even really short ones, are always fun when you're in the car with me.

There have been a couple instances when you've said something that has really shocked me. You're starting to form sentences, and I'm very very impressed. Last week, I asked you to play by yourself for a minute so mommy could go potty. You ran after me yelling your usual "Me too!" I told you when you get a little older you can go on big girl potty too. To that you replied, "Mommy, no diaper. Big girl potty." My mouth dropped open. Did she just say what I think she said? Yep, you are definitely showing signs of being ready for the big girl potty. Guess this means you and mommy are going to start potty training soon. Gulp! I have no idea what to do, but I'll figure it out.

Back in CA, you kept playing with Pop's special cell phone. He was showing you how to play songs on it, but you struggled a bit to figure it out on your own. One day, as you were playing with the phone, you got it to play a song. You were so happy and yelled, "I did it, Pop." We were all surprised and humored by this statement. Now you say it all the time when you complete a challenging task. Way to go, sweet pea.

We are working on manners and asking for things nicely. You've been saying please (or peas as you say it) for quite awhile. Now that you can form sentences, you can ask for more things and politely as well. The other day you and I were eating cantalope with our lunch. You suddenly said, "Mommy, give me more cantalope." I looked up at you, and without hesitating you said, "peas." I also love that you reply "welcome" when someone says thank you to you. It's the cutest thing to hear you be polite and use your manners. I'm so proud of you.

Another thing you've been saying for awhile now is sorry. I've been explaining to you that you need to apologize when you hurt someone or make a mistake. For the first time though you showed empathy. I was too close to the kitchen counter when I tried to get up and smacked my head on the bottom of the counter. I yelled "ouch" and sat on the floor holding my head when suddenly you came running to my side and said, "what happened?" I explained what I had done. You were so concerned about me. "Mommy owey." You leaned over, hugged me, and said, "kiss." I asked if you wanted to kiss mommy's owey. "Yes," and you kissed the boo boo on my head. It totally brought tears to my eyes to see my daughter have such concern and care and want to make me feel better. I hope this is because I've shown you how to be a caring, loving person. This meant so much to me baby girl. Add this to the list of all the reasons I love you.

Along with showing concern for your mommy, you always talk about your friends. When we were in CA, several times I asked who we were going to see that day, and you would replay with "Whitney. Tamum (Tatum). Owen. A (Avery)." I get the feeling that you love spending time with your friends and look forward to seeing them. Now that we're back home in Colorado, you ask me every day if we're going to see Pop, NeeNee, Mikey, Toby, or your new buddy Kylie, who you now call Kylie Bear. I love that you ask to see friends and loved ones. It makes me so happy to know that my daughter looks forward to seeing all these people. At one time I was concerned about you being overly shy, but now I'm really starting to see you blossom and grow into a social butterfly. You got to stay with Miss Jen and Addison one day this week and did wonderfully playing with them. Then you did fantastic this week playing with Avery, Kristi and Jack when mommy went to work at the consignment sale. It makes me feel that when you start preschool, you will have an easier time adjusting and will enjoy playing with new friends and teachers.

I don't want to forget something else you said to me this week that totally made me cry. I volunteered to work at the consignment sale two times this week. I know you really missed me because of something you said. When I got you up in the morning and said we needed to get ready to go to Auntie Kristi's house so mommy could go work for awhile, you said, "Mommy no work." You totally got me baby girl. My heart sank and all I wanted to do was squeeze you tight. I can't imagine ever having to go to work every day and not spending all my time with you. I adore you so much and never want you to feel that way again. Yes, sometimes mommy will leave for a few hours, but know that I will always come back to you. I'm so grateful that I don't have to work and be away from you. I wish all moms could have this opportunity. I never take it for granted. You truly are the most precious, amazing child in the world, and Mommy loves you more than you could ever know. Sweet pea, happy 23rd month birthday. I can't wait to celebrate your 2nd birthday next month. You deserve the world!

Our CA Vacation Chapter 2

Inara is napping and Shawn is doing yardwork, so I thought I'd try to finish the blog on our trip to CA. I'll do my best.

Our flight out was an adventure, as all flights with a child are. Inara had her own seat but hardly sat in it for more than 5 minutes at a time. She moved all around. "See out window" was an often heard quote from the little one. Thank goodness Shawn took the window seat, so she would crawl on him the most. Shawn also played Curious George on the new Netbook he bought specifically for the flight. She didn't seem all that interested. We both tried to get her to nap, but she kept resisting. The last 20 minutes of the flight were the roughest because she started getting cranky. Of course, she finally gave in and fell asleep just as we touched ground. Yes, the girl fell asleep when we landed. Figures. Poor Shawn had to do some stealth moving off the plane to avoid waking her. When we got to baggage claim, we were greeted with a big sign that said "Welcome home Tomlinsons" my mom was holding. So cute! I was so excited to see my parents. We got all our luggage and started getting into the car when Inara woke up. She started crying at first until she realized NeeNee and Pop were in the car too. Then she seemed pretty happy. That night for dinner mom made us homemade enchiladas and sopa. It was the perfect homecoming meal. Lisa and Kylie came over too. I can't believe how big Kylie is, but then again she is 3 1/2. Inara and Kylie spent a lot of time together while we were in CA. I'm so grateful for that. She gets to see her cousin Avery all the time, so I was hoping she'd get to build a friendship with Kylie too. Don't think she'll ever forget that spitfire now that she got to spend a week and a half with her. Later that night, Shawn drove up to Santa Maria to spend a few days with Mike & Nina and to see Erin, who has now relocated up there. Plus, Shawn got to be the first family member to meet Erin's new boyfriend. We were all excited to hear the scoop on the new guy, who has luckily passed the big brother test.

Friday, Mom, Mikey, Inara and I had to do some running around so I could get things ready for Sierra's baby shower on Saturday. Saturday, Mom and I went to Sierra's baby shower. It was so great to see Sierra and to be there to participate in this special day. I can't wait for her to have her baby girl. Auntie Marisa loves spoiling her nieces and nephews. I also got to see my other BFF Elizabeth and catch up with her.

After the shower, Shawn, Inara and I headed down to Foothill Ranch to have dinner with some old Blockbuster Video friends of ours. We probably haven't seen Scott and Jenna in 10 years, so it was a long overdue visit. Scott is now married and has a daughter who is 4 months older than Inara. Jenna is also married and has a 3 year old daughter. Funny that all of us had girls first. It was so easy to talk to them and their spouses as if no time had passed in our friendships. They are both great people, people I truly want to have in my life forever. I so hope we can all stay in touch and would love to have them out to CO to visit sometime.

Sunday night Erin came over to spend the night at my parents' house. It was great to see Erin and get to catch up with her.

Sunday was a lazy day in the morning with some much needed pool time. Erin stayed and had lunch with us, then headed back up to LA. Sunday night, Shawn and I got to go out without child in tow to have dinner with Toby, Tony, Katherine, Elizabeth, Tom & Diane, Jason and the infamous girlfriend Lilli. I was super excited to meet Jason's girlfriend. I can't believe they've been together for a year now, and we're just now meeting her considering Jason is like a brother to us. It felt like I've known her for a long time though since we've been talking on Facebook already. She's adorable. And I can tell Jason is really happy. We went out for a drink afterwards so we could talk some more. It was a much needed night of catching up.

Shawn had to work Monday through Thursday, so Inara and I got in a lot of visiting and family time during the week. We visited my Grandma Mary one day. It was so good to see her. She seemed to know who I was and was rather excited to see Inara, who didn't sit still for very long. It was a short visit, but a much needed one. We also got to spend some time with Grandma Di and Grandpa Tom, Jason's parents. They are such wonderful, special people. Inara even calls them Grandma and Grandpa. It's so cute. Diane had lots of toys for Inara to play with, and she wasn't shy with either one of them. She even gave Tom a hug good-bye, which is impressive considering she's usually a little scared of men. It was so good to chat with them. We didn't get to visit with them again during our trip like we had hoped as they had a death in the family. I wish we could have seen them one more time so I could have given Diane a big hug. I'm so sorry for their loss and wish them my deepest condolences.

One day we also got to see Sara McCarthy and her two daughters. Boy have they gotten big. I can't believe Stephanie is entering 1st grade already. Jeez, time flies. I haven't got to talk to Sara much since moving, so our short but sweet visit was long overdue.

We got to visit with lots of family too while we were there. My cousins Rob, Kelli and Alex flew in from WA the week we were in town, so we got to see them for the second time this year. I love getting to see them. They couldn't believe how much Inara has changed in the few months since we've last seen them. Trust me, I understand. The girl changes every day. My aunt Jeri and uncle Dave came into town as did my cousin Kim and her daughter Madison. There's always lots of laughter when they are around. I last saw Madison when she was just a few weeks old. I can't believe she just turned 1 year old. Yikes!!! I swear Inara may only have about an inch or two on Mady. She's so tall! It was so cute watching the girls play together, especially once Kylie got there too. We had all 3 girls playing in the pool. I'm sure Pop was in heaven seeing all the kids playing, just like we used to do at Nana & Paka's house back in the day when I was part of the kid squad. It's hilarious watching Kylie jump into the pool. One of the best quotes of the trip was whenever Kylie jumped into the pool (or anyone else for that matter), Inara would yell "Me too" because she wanted to jump off the diving board too. Sorry baby girl. Maybe next summer.

One night we got to go see our friend Jenna's house and spend some more time with her family. Her daughter Amelia and Inara really played well together, shocking since Inara can be very shy with new kids, but she really took to Amelia, and they seemed to have a great time. I loved that I got to spend this time with Jenna's daughter. Jenna meant a lot to me and now that we've reconnected, I hope we can further our friendship again. One reason I was really eager to go to Jenna's house is because she lives next door to the house I loved the most growing up, the one on Amy Street. This house meant so much to me growing up because it was the house Michael came home to, the house where Mom and I would water the backyard and see frogs jumping in the water fountain, the house where Pop and I would play Prices is Right and I would run down the hallway when dad would call my name as if I was the next contestant on the show, and it was the house with the LARGEST backyard of all the houses we ever lived in. I even specifically remember my cousin April and I having our Easter egg hunts in this backyard. Plus, it was the house I would walk to and from elementary school with my mom and Michael. I just love this house. What a small world that my friend Jenna would end up living right next door, and she knows the family that lives there, so we were able to walk through the house. Boy, they've done a lot of changes to it, but it's still the house I remember growing up, except now my old bedroom is the laundry room. Jacked. They've added on two new bedrooms, updated the master bathroom, and even added a family room and the backyard is STILL huge. It was cool to be able to walk through it and flashback to all my fond memories of it. Think I'll end this chapter of our vacation here. I still have so much more I want to write about, especially all the fun we had with my parents and Mikey. I'm sure all you are asking for a break for your eyes' sake, so until the next chapter I'll say good-bye for now.

Our CA Vacation Chapter 1

We are now back in CO after 12 days in CA and boy am I tired. I think I'll need a vacation to recuperate from all the visiting we did. I figure with all the stories I have to share that I better break up the blog into chapters, so we'll start with the end of the vacation first and our trip to Disneyland.

Mom, Pop, Mikey, Shawn, Inara and I headed to Disneyland this past Sunday and are so very grateful for the passes we got from Grandma Di and Grandpa Tom, our dear friend Jason's parents. I can't thank you guys enough for helping us out. We got to the park around 9:30. On our way there, Pop was asking questions about where we park. I realized that my dad hasn't been there for a LONG time even before California Adventures was opened. This made me so excited to have him join us, especially given it was Inara's first trip. Let me tell you the girl did fantastic! Better than I could have ever imagined honestly. She was pretty excited to be at Mickey's house as I kept calling it for the past few weeks. We stopped at City Hall right when we got there so we could get her button that says First Visit. Have to get any freebies we can. Our first ride was Small World. Inara loved it. I died laughing when she would point to things and say George. Yes, sweetie, Curious George is friends with a panda bear. Yes, George does have a rug like the magic carpet Aladdin was flying on. Too funny. I'll confess at one point I totally got all teary-eyed and fought back the tears when I realized I was now sharing Disneyland for the first time with my daughter, and she was thrilled to be there. Yes, I'm sappy that way. Pop didn't go on the ride with us. When we met up with him afterwards, he had a surprise for Inara: he bought her a little Mickey Mouse doll, which she then carried around with her the rest of the day and has been sleeping with every night too. This made me sappy again. I loved that my dad got her her first Mickey doll. Funny side note: Pop bought a bag of Cheetos which Inara ended up eating half of. Too bad Mickey got dirtied with Cheetos crumbs throughout the day.

Next we went to Toontown and rode the Roger Rabbit ride. Of all the rides Inara went on that day, this was the only one she kinda got scared on. I understand. It is a weird ride even for me. We then walked around Toontown and saw Goofy. I tried to get her close enough to get her picture with him, but he was walking away. He did turn around to see Inara. When he put her hands on her face, she shivered and buried her head in my chest. I had a feeling she'd get scared with the costumed characters. This was proven after we walked through Mickey's house and got to meet Mickey Mouse. The second I got close to him to get our picture taken, she started screaming. Needless to say, I have a classic pic of me smiling with Mickey and my daughter crying. Poor baby girl.

Then we went on Autopia, which Shawn was excited to take her on. I must say those cars are small for 2 1/2 people. It was starting to get hot at this time, but not too bad that we couldn't stand being there. Also, I didn't think it was as crowded as I've seen it in the past. We had to wait in lines, but nothing obnoxiously long.

Next we had lunch at the Mexican restaurant. Tasty food but boy was it expensive.

We then headed to Pirates of the Carribean. Shawn really wanted to take Inara on Pirates. I wasn't sure how she'd do, but was willing to go along with his idea. All 5 of us went on this ride. Inara did surprisingly well and then suddenly Shawn nudged me to tell me Inara was asleep. The kid had fallen asleep on Pirates. Classic! I guess I understand: dark, slow, cool...perfect recipe for a nap. So right before our boat goes up the hill at the end of the ride, it paused and freakily the couple in the row in front of us jumped out of the boat and started running along the side on the actually ride. What the f? I got so pissed! Of course, a voice comes over the loud speaker to not leave the boat but the couple was long gone. They stopped the ride while security searched for them to no avail. The good news: this stalled us a little so Inara could get a bit of a nap in, so it kinda all worked out.

I really wanted Inara to go on the Winnie the Pooh ride, so we went to Critter Country and she was thrilled to see Pooh and the gang. I think this was her favorite ride. She kept yelling out the character's names and was smiling, having a grand old time. We then watched the costumed characters of Tigger and Eeyore from a far for a few minutes.

Next Pop, Shawn, Inara and I went on Jungle Cruise. She liked seeing the animals and even did her elephant impression as we passed them. We then checked out Fantasyland. Mom, Inara and I rode the carousel, which Inara always loves. It's the cutest thing watching her wave as she passes you. Then we rode on Casey Jr. Train. You know how much Inara loves trains. I really wanted Inara to see a parade, so after the train, I hussled to the area just outside the castle so we could catch the new parade, Celebrate. Inara was super excited to see Mickey, Minnie, Pooh, and the rest of the gang. She started bouncing in my arms as I held her and clapped after the songs were over. I just knew she'd love the music and dancing. We did a bit of souvenir shopping and by this time it was nearing 5pm, so we headed home. Like I said, the only time she napped the whole day was on Pirates, but she wasn't cranky and did fantastic. I was so excited! Even better was the fact that Mom, Pop and Mikey got to be there with Inara on her first trip to Disneyland. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day!