life @ houseofchinn

Open Wide!

2012-01-05T16:01:00.002-05:00

Daisy couldn't quite master the chop sticks at Dim Sum, so I helped...

Rose is Rose

2012-01-05T15:58:00.002-05:00

My great Aunt Rose, and Rose, at dim sum in San Francisco. More pictures to come.

San Francisco - Day 3

2011-12-30T20:46:00.002-05:00

San Francisco - Day 3

Daisy began our day by telling us about "no more monkeys jumping on the bed"...

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David had read about a place called Mama's that served great breakfast. We strapped both girls in carriers and walked about a mile and a half, only to find the line out the door and around the block.

With toddlers, you learn that lines aren't a good thing. So we left and began walking back to another little cafe we had passed along the route. We quickly grabbed a picture of us with Coit Tower in the background.

We ended up eating a place called Pat's Cafe. It was tasty and the atmosphere was quiet and lovely.

Daisy enjoyed a snack while waiting for the food to come.

David and I both got omelets that were very good. Mine had avocado, tomatoes, and chicken apple sausage. David's had italian sausage and peppers (I think). Daisy ate my fresh fruit cup. She LOVES fruit. The omelets were served with fresh sourdough toast which was delicious.

Outside of Pat's Cafe

After checking out of hotel, David picked up a rental car and we made a few sightseeing stops. First was Coit Tower in person. The line to park was long so we jumped out and took a quick picture before driving away.

We then went to the top of Lombard Street, known as the "crookedest street in America."

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The view from the bottom

We then headed out to lunch, and found a place called Patxi's Pizza, which served deep dish Chicago style pizza. We had to try this out since we love real Chicago pizza. This place didn't disappoint.

After lunch, we drove by the place we stayed on our honeymoon 10 years ago. The place looks the same and we have very fond memories of staying there.

I decided I wanted to run across the Golden Gate Bridge, which was something we were not able to do in 2001. Because September 11 happened the Tuesday of our honeymoon, they closed the bridge to pedestrians. I had always wanted to walk on it. Now that I'm a runner, I thought it would be so cool to run across it. So David let me check something off my bucket list (he wants to do it too, but someone had to stay with the girls). It was wet and rainy, but David dropped me off at the end and he took the girls on a drive. I ran across it, and met him on the other side. I can't thank him enough for keeping the girls (Rose was having a crying fit because she was hungry) while I was able to run the 1.7 miles across.

Finished and back with the fam...

We then kept driving up Hwy 101 to Windsor, where our friends Dom and Hilary are visiting from France. Hilary's family lives here and they are in town for the holidays.

Dom holding Daisy... don't worry, she warmed up to him after about 5 minutes.

Eating some appetizers and enjoying the relaxing night.

More to come soon...

San Fran - Day 2

2011-12-29T23:28:00.002-05:00

So to answer a few questions, we are vacationing in SF for a few reasons. Many of you know that sometime each fall we go to a different city for an NFL game (tradition we started on our honeymoon). This year, being our 10th, we decided to revisit he place it all began. Our first game was in San Fran, so this year we made our game Oakland. We're spending a few days going places we went 10 yrs ago. We also are visiting some friends near Santa Rosa who live in France but are spending the holidays with family in the US.

Now on to some more of our adventures from today:

Day 2

We got up and walked a few miles to the Ferry Building near Pier 1 and ate some fresh croissants. We then jumped on a ferry and rode across the Bay to Sausalito.

We grabbed some yummy breakfast at a little place called the Lighthouse. Daisy enjoyed her Mickey Mouse pancake.

After heading back on the ferry, we ran a few errands and took a nap. We then headed out to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39.

We ate dinner at Bubba Gump's, which is one of the places we ate on our honeymoon.

After dinner, Daisy rode the carousel. She chose the panda to ride on!

We then grabbed some mini-donuts for dessert.

San Francisco trip

2011-12-28T16:18:00.001-05:00

Day 1

We left Richmond at 6am for first flight...Daisy and Rose both slept

Second flight was from Chicago to San Fran. Daisy and Rose did great!

Then we took a taxi to our hotel. It was both girls' first cab ride.

Daisy was tired and didn't last long. Rose didn't even make it a mile before crashing.

Now we're just getting settled in our room

Road trip

2011-12-22T14:34:00.001-05:00

We left Blacksburg this morning to head to Mechanicsville for Christmas.

Daisy and Rose both took a nap in the car early on.

We stopped in Charlottesville for lunch with Aunt Lisa and her friend Phil. We had soup and sandwiches -- of course I had grilled cheese!!

David and Lisa walking Daisy

Lisa carrying Daisy on her shoulders

Now we're gonna hop in the car and head on the rest of the way. More later!

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T10:54:00.046-04:00

Halloween at houseofchinn was fantastic!

Rose went to daycare in her ladybug outfit.
Apparently, it didn't last throughout the whole day, as she came home in back-up clothes. That was okay, though, because I had planned on another outfit for the evening.

Here are the treat buckets that Daisy took into school for her class Halloween party.
We went over to Daisy's best friend's house to go trick-or-treating with Penelope.

Our two little skeletons!Here are Daisy and Penelope, ready to go.
We went to about 10 houses total and the girls were sufficiently scared by some boys in scary costumes after house #5 that it required a several minute break. They got the courage up again to keep going.
Unfortunately it was raining which made being outside not that great. But we had fun, and we came back to the Phillips' home to look at all the candy they chose. David let Daisy pick her own candy, and unlike her friend who picked chocolate items (yay for the parents), Daisy was swayed by the color. That meant a lot of jawbreakers and other hard candy that did not interest mommy! :)

Also, my cousin Jamie came over from Radford to hang out with us, and Rose had fun snuggling up with her. All in all, it was a great first trick-or-treating experience for Daisy and we had a lot of fun as a family.

Halloween video and pics

2011-11-01T09:22:00.001-04:00

A video and a few more pics from Halloween:

Before going out... we tried to get a pic with Rose and the older two. Daisy neglected her responsibility as big sis to prop up Rose.
There they go walking up to the first door!
Time to trick-or-treat

YouTube Video

David and Daisy back eating lootAll four girls dressed up

Pumpkin Patch -- Part Deux

2011-10-17T22:51:00.001-04:00

Although we went to the pumpkin patch as a family with Grammy and Grandpa, Daisy and mommy got to go again with Daisy's daycare today.

The 2-year-old class took a field trip to Sinkland Farms, and we had a great time. Here are the kiddo's:Daisy out in the pumpkin patchDaisy and mommy riding the hayrideIt was fun for Mommy to go on Daisy's first fieldtrip as we made lots of great memories. Mommy also go to meet several of the other daycare moms and make some new friends!

Saturday happenings

2011-10-15T20:46:00.001-04:00

A few pics from today...

Daddy carrying both his girls first thing this morning

Daisy licking her plate after a French toast breakfast:

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This afternoon we went to a wedding for some college friends, Rehana and Mike.

Here's Daisy watching the ceremony

A pic of the bride entering. She looked beautiful and the weather was perfect for a fall outdoor wedding. We wish Rehana and Mike the best as they start their new life together.

Now we're home watching our Hokies on the Internet. Keep it up Tech!!

Yum...

2011-10-14T18:52:00.001-04:00

Friday night at houseofchinn is homemade pizza night. We start with a refrigerated crust from Trader Joe's. David has perfected the seasonings and the crispy crust. Here's a picture of tonight's especially yummy pizza:

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-11T15:58:00.000-04:00

Grammy and Grandpa Rose came in town for the weekend and on Saturday we went to the pumpkin patch. Enjoy these photos of our experience:

Pics of the Week

2011-10-01T22:37:00.010-04:00

Here are a few pics from the past week:

Daisy being Daisy

Daisy is potty-training. We spend a lot of time here these days!

Baby Rose

Daisy had to get an echocardiogram to check out a heart murmur, but everything appears to be okay. She was very brave!

Rose smiling, which she does a lot more of these days!

Wendy goes back to work next week so it will be off to daycare for Rose. I'm sure we'll have more to post then!

Some quick happenings around the house

2011-09-29T13:40:00.003-04:00

I realized abut a month or so ago that I had a bee problem... a nest under our front step... I emailed a question to one of my coworkers who is a beekeeper himself to help me identify if they were honeybees and how to get rid of them... After trying to send him a picture he ended up just coming on by the house where he confirmed his suspicion, they were wasps, not bees... He said he's tried everythign to get rid of them, drowning, covering in dirt, mixing up various 'chemicals', to no avail until at a convention he was told to pour a little gasoline in the hole and light it and that does the trick... so I gave it a shot one morning while Daisy was still in bed and the bees, i mean wasps, were well, still sleeping to, so i hoped...

after a couple tries getting the match to light the gasoline, it worked!

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and my wasp problem is no more. It's a good thing when new visistors come, since they come to the front door, even though we use our side door more, but moreso because daisy and i love to sit on the front step and wait for mommy to come home... we haven't gotten to do it in a while, since mommy's been home the last two months, but daisy still likes to wonder over to the front step and sit down and watch the cars go by... and she can now do it again safely without the risk of being stung!

The past few weeks have been especially nice at lunch time, where Rose and Wendy have come to visit me. Here is Rose working hard in my co-worker's chair... I'll miss these lunch dates when wendy goes back to work, not too mention the eating out that we've done in just the past week, mexican, chinese, pizza buffet at Ceritanos (mmmm), etc... next week... back to pb and j...

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Here is a short video of a birthday gift for Daisy from Aunt Katie and Uncle Chris.

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One of the first words she learned was ladybug, which she still just calls, lbug,... she loves lbugs like her mommy loves ladybugs...
We love you Aunt Katie and will be praying for your surgery.

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and finally.... as I took Daisy to 'school' the other day, i was trying to grab a picture of daisy with her back-pack on, but i couldn't get her to walk in front of me...

What trio of beautiful girls I have in my life...

Double the pleasure

2011-09-29T13:38:00.003-04:00

It's week 2 of the NFL season and the bears are 1-0 and looking good! Speaking of looking good... check out these girls!

Daisy is wearing her monkey back-pack that she got for her birthday. As you know she's fascinated with her clothing and accessories, and this one is no different. she loves putting it on and taking it off and putting it back on...and wearing it around the house, even with nothing in it.

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A short video of Daisy and Rose snuggling...and Daisy getting her teams mixed up, but she's learning! Rose, you're up next!

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On the way back from Richmond, Aunt Lisa gave Daisy a cute pink jammies outfit and some other pink clothes... perfect gifts, she loves her pink clothes!

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Aunt lisa also gave Daisy another back-pack!!! Much to Daisy's delight! Although she doesn't yet know who is on the back of the back-pack i'm sure she'll learn soon...

Granny Rose meets Rose

2011-09-29T13:35:00.003-04:00

While in Richmond, Granny Rose was visiting and she got to meet her Great Granddaughter, Rose.

It was a lot of fun to have four generation of Roses together under the same roof...

10 years, don't they go bye in a blink?

2011-09-29T13:34:00.003-04:00

May anyone who read's this blog, have a life, as lucky as mine where you can wake up one morning and say, "I don't want anything more." 10 years, don't they go by in a blink? (okay, so that's not exactly how the quote goes from Meet Joe Black, but its close... I'm so lucky to have Wendy, and these past 10 years have gone by in a blink.

I surprised Wendy with some of our wedding favors to celebrate at our 10 year anniversary lunch... so... IBC Cream Soda (Wendy's favorite) isn't really all that good after 10 years! :)

Neither was my black cherry after 10 years...

After lunch we got on the road and headed to Richmond for the evening. We had a date at Shula's for dinner. I don't have any pictures but it was such a delightful meal with Wendy. We both got the shula cut 12 oz filet mignon, and split the twice baked potatoes, crab macaroni and cheese and creamed spinach. We also ordered desert, actually before dinner since they made it fresh, and got the molten lava cake...it was very delightful. The service was excellent, the football menus was kind of cool and mom and dad watching the girls for us made for a perfect night to celebrate ten years.

BBQ Contest with Mike

2011-09-29T13:33:00.003-04:00

My brother Mike who lives in Newport News inivited me to join him in an official Kansas City BBQ Contest. It is an inaugural contest for 'Bay Days' the downtown Hampton, Va fair. There were four categories, Poultry, Ribs, Brisket and Pork... The Grand Champion is the winner of all four categories and received a 5 digit sum of money! So naturally, we had to enter all four categories. A friend of Mike's joined us to make up the 'Meataterians' team.

I took a bunch of video of the contest on our video camera which I can't post here, but when we first go there, we realized that we were out of our league. Some of the 'competition' had local restaurants, and a few posted their numerous trophies from around the country in front of their area. But, there were also some novices, or rookies, like ourselves, so we thoguht we had a chance to at least place (1-5 get awards).

Turn in starts at 11:00 AM on Saturday, but due to the nature of smoking meat, everyone starts smoking sometime late Friday night or very early Saturday morning. Why not make the turn in at 3 Pm, so I could get some sleep? Don't the judges know I have two little girls at home that keep me from sleeping as it is? We started around 10 PM or 11 PM as I recall...and I did doze off for a couple hours.

Above is the Briskett

and the ribs

and the chicken before cooking. We all like thighs/dark meat, so that's what Mike purchased and then de-boned...

the chicken going on the smoker...

the ribs nearing completion

making me very hungry... forget teh competition, let's just eat!

the Pork (shoulder)...

....fall off the pone...

the Pork turn in...some with the crust, some without...

the ribs at turn in

the chicken at turn in...Bertie (Mike's wife) helped with the 'plating', which was also scored in addition to taste.

The briskett...

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doesn't that look good?

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and the final plating of the briskett...

At the award presentation, they started with poultry and the fifth place award and they called, 'Meataterians'!!!! To our surprise, we were in fifth place for chicken! We started to let it get to us and I know I started to think, those Chinn boys really know what they are doing with the smoker's, they aren't amateur backyard smokers!!! We can take on these nationwide professional smokers and restaurant owners!

Well... we didn't place in any thing else and as expected the 'professionals' got most of the awards, but Mike (and the team) came away with a small check and a medal.... Where's the next contest, maybe Woodstock, Va....

Double the daughters

2011-09-29T13:29:00.002-04:00

Quadruple the fun!!! It's been a while since we've made any updates and following this one will be there or four more posts that include our 10th Anniversary, Grandma Chinn visiting, Rose meeting Great Granny Rose, the BBQ Contest, Daisy opening some birthday presents and of course some pictures of Rose and Daisy and more. Enjoy!

PS Wendy has more pictures to add and I would, too, but the last month or two, or maybe even three, who can keep time anymore? Daisy has asked for my or Wendy's iPhone's by saying, 'Pictures of Daisy', which means she wants to scroll through the pictures on our phones. She knows how to turn on the iphone, slide to unlock it, and knows which ap to press to get to the picture as well as some of the other aps that are 'for her' (ie Animal noises, etc. that she enjoys). I did catch her about a month ago making a phone call to a civil engineering company here in town... for two minutes. Luckily it was a weekend and went to their voicemail system. I bet they liked that message. I hope they don't have caller ID! The other thing I think she has done inadvertantly is deleted some pictures since its so easy to do with a click of a button... here goes!

Daisy loves to play with these bowls and tupperware. She loves to take them out, spread them out, and stack them up. She's actually generally pretty good about putting them away, too. She is really enjoying taking lids off and putting lids back on and stacking cups and bowls. Playing in this kitchen is one of her favorite past times.

I honestly can't remember why/when I took this picture, apparently at night, but its Daisy, and she's beautiful.

Here is a good shot of Grandma Chinn and Daisy reading. Daisy is in her jammies (or pajama jamas as I call them). Daisy doesn't get to see Grandma Chinn as often as she likes, but she points her out in photos and says, 'Grandma Chinn'. (Last night (sept 28) after, Daisy pointed a picture of Wendy and I at graduation with our parents. Daisy proudly points at the people and says, Grandma Chinn, Daddy, Mommy, Grammy, and I don't knowhim...when pointing at Grandpa Rose...for some reason. She clearly knows who he is. Unfortunately she pointed at my dad and said, 'who dis',...too. I miss him, and he would have loved Daisy and her love of running around the house saying, 'Go white sox!' throughout the day.

Daisy out tailgating...for the second season! Grandma Chinn joined us, as did Rose, for her first tailgating experience, although she slept for most of it... and the Hokies won!

Just like when Daisy was born, we went with Grandma Chinn to the Palisades for dinner. It's become a tradition, have a baby girl, go with Grandma to the Palisades! Who knows, maybe this was the last trip for this tradition?!?!? Anyway, Grandma showing off a maple and walnut desert I think.

Wendy showing off some homemade ice cream... I can't remember what was in it.

and I had some kind of homemade cheesecake.... The whole evening was a lot of fun. The weather outside was blustery, which was odd for an early September, but it just made the setting perfect on the beautiful drive out there. Daisy's godmother Jeanette joined us, as did Betty and Carl, which was a treat. Grandma Chinn, Carl and Betty, and Jeanette are always helping us out and giving us stuff for the girls. A further treat was Grandma Chinn picking up the tab. We also had very good dinners.... though I failed to get a picture of them. Daisy did well, she colored and played some in the corner and we went outside for a short walk, too.... and as our tradition, I placed Rose on the bookshelf in the restaurant and Wendy took a picture. Hopefully she can post that soon. I did the same with Daisy before.

Finally, here is a picture of Daisy riding her elephant with a gift from my Aunt Elaine in Colorado. Daisy got a couple tu-tus from her when we were visiting last fall and this year sent her a long flowy headband that Daisy loves. Daisy loves her girly clothes, and has started dressing herself, usually in multiple skirts!

Rose speaks

2011-09-21T23:29:00.001-04:00

I'll try to post a massive update soon... I have a month's worth of updating to do.

For now, I'll start by simply sharing this video of Rose from tonight. She is moving a ton and is getting really expressive. :)

YouTube Video

The way to my heart...

2011-09-21T10:16:00.001-04:00

This morning, unprovoked Daisy asked to wear her white sox hat. Even though the season has long been over she still proudly wears it and warms my heart.

Meeting Gramma

2011-09-01T23:30:00.000-04:00

Today I met my other grandma. Gramma Chinn lives in Florida and is a teacher. She started school a few weeks ago but took a few days off this week to come meet me and visit my big sis, too.

More about her visit in the coming days!

Sleepy Thursday

2011-08-25T12:14:00.001-04:00

Quick pic of Rose sleeping in the swing we borrowed from our friends Dom and Kristen

Also, pic of me and the girls (self-taken) from yesterday afternoon

The many faces of Rose

2011-08-16T14:45:00.001-04:00

Rose "smiling"

Look at me yawn

I'm fading fast...

And I'm out!

Sleeping in the bassinet

I sleep a lot

Snuggling with Daddy

And that's what I spend my days doing! :)

1-week!

2011-08-14T23:11:00.000-04:00

Rose is a week old today. I can't believe it -- time flies! Here are a few pics from today.

Tomorrow David is going back to work and we'll have Daisy return to daycare. We'll see how life is with just Rose and I during the day...

Sisters

2011-08-13T18:41:00.001-04:00

Daisy and Rose

Healthy "little" girl

2011-08-12T16:42:00.001-04:00

Rose had her first pediatrician visit today. She weighed in at 9 lbs 7 oz. This means that in 5 days, she was back at birth weight (plus an ounce). Overall, the doctor said she looked great!

Earlier in the day, she had her first "bath" at home.

And one more pic from the day... A sleeping Rose.

Peaceful

2011-08-11T12:55:00.001-04:00

I'm not sure as a mom you can ever get tired of the peaceful sight of a sleeping baby.

Nice to meet you

2011-08-11T10:31:00.000-04:00

Here are some visitors who have come to meet me:

My big sister Daisy

My Grammy and Grandpa Rose

Lots of mommy and daddy's friends. Here's Jessamyn:

And Jeanette:

Kristal, Jackie and Evan also came by but mommy forgot to snap pictures of them. But thy all held me, too.

Then mommy's friend Peggy from work came by. She and the other Peggy sent some balloons from NRCC.

We received flowers and cards from several other people as well.

Finally, I got to meet two of my aunts. Aunt Cheri had a chance to snuggle with me in the hospital before I went home.

When I got home, Aunt Lisa was waiting to meet me as well.

It's been great to get so many visitors and I look forward to meeting new people in the coming days and weeks. Thanks to everyone who has checked in on me so far, either in person or with my mommy and daddy via phone, text, or email. It's nice to know that I'm already so loved! :)

Coming home!

2011-08-09T20:47:00.000-04:00

We brought baby Rose home from the hospital today. I'll try to write a longer post soon, but for now, here are some pics of the last two days.

Mommy and Rose

Our first family picture with the four Chinns!

About to leave...here's Rose in her car seat

Family picture by the car

On the way home from the hospital, both Daisy and Rose fell asleep. Here we are arriving at home with two sleepy girls in the backseat.

Will post more again soon...

Introducing...

2011-08-07T22:03:00.001-04:00

Rose Esther Chinn

Born on August 7, 2011 @ 1:15pm

Weight: 9 lbs 6 oz
Length: 21 inches

Mom and baby Rose are both doing well. We'll share more labor/delivery details later, but we wanted to get this posted.

Also, in case you are wondering, her name is a combination of names connected to Wendy's grandmothers. Rose is the surname of Wendy's paternal grandmother (also is Wendy's maiden name). Esther was the first name of Wendy's maternal great-grandmother. This keeps with the tradition of how we named Daisy. You may remember that Daisy Lucile is a combination of David's grandmothers' first names.

Friday's update

2011-08-05T18:14:00.039-04:00

Well yesterday turned out to be a long day for several reasons...

First, as you all saw on the news, we had the VT alert situation. For those of us around here in 2007, it definitely brought back some strange feelings and uneasiness. At the same time, it surprised many of us that a simple report of a "possible" gun made the national news. We can all understand why VT took the stance they did in sending out the alert, but it was very strange that it made the national news so quickly. I spent my morning getting updates from David, who of course was on campus at work, while watching the news coverage. Since we live less than a mile from campus, I was constantly looking out my window looking for anything suspicious and trying to listen for sirens, etc. Made for an interesting morning.

I headed out in the early afternoon for my 41-week check-up. This one was over at the hospital office with one of the nurse-midwives. I intentionally chose this so I could see this nurse practitioner, Sherrie, because she is my favorite of all the docs/midwives in the group.

She checked me out and said that I was 2cm and about 60% effaced. She said the main hold-up was that the uterus was posterior...basically, it needs to angle forward. She went ahead and pulled it forward with her hand and when she did, she said the baby slid right on down. She felt that it wouldn't be a whole week (which would mean induction), and that she felt that once I started having contractions, things would speed way up. So she gave me some suggestions on how to get some solid contractions going.

Because it was the 41-week visit (albeit a day early), she went ahead and sent me across the hospital to get the NST (non stress test) and another BPP. This began the second half of my long day... After sitting through the first 30 minutes of the NST, the nurse told me she "wasn't thrilled" with the way the baby was moving around. About that time, patient transport showed up to take me to ultrasound for the BPP. I went to ultrasound and waited for 10 minutes, then had the BPP done. Again, things looked good, but it did take a few minutes and lots of poking/prodding to get the baby to move one final time to score an 8/8. I was told they wanted to see me back in the birthplace to continue the NST, so I walked back across the hospital. I walked through the door only to have a nurse tell me that they needed one more pic in ultrasound, so I had to walk back over. I went back, got one pic taken that apparently had not printed correctly, and then walked back to the birthplace.

David wasn't with me, as he had a meeting he was unable to get out of. This was the first baby visit he's ever missed (with either pregnancy) and of course it was the one where I was going all over the place. When I got back for the NST, they told me they were looking for more activity. Earlier in the afternoon, there were a few "concerns" about the readings and they wanted to see some more. I laid there for 15 minutes and not much was happening. They had me move around and change positions and drink some juice and do just about anything to see if the baby would move more. All the while, I was texting David trying to make arrangements for him to get Daisy from daycare, which was going to pose a challenge since I had the car seat with me 15 minutes away. Fortunately, the position changes worked and mini-chinny began to move quite a bit. The nurse sent the strip up to Sherrie, who was monitoring me all afternoon, and she said she felt comfortable with what she had seen and letting me go. I walked out of the hospital feeling better (it was a nerve-wracking afternoon) about 5:15...just in time for me to get to Blacksburg and meet David at daycare and give he and Daisy a ride home (he had biked to work).

We grabbed some dinner and headed out to our bible study for the evening. It was nice to get out of the house and spend the night with friends and be able to take my mind off of the events of the day.

Today, we walked to breakfast and I had some contractions, but they stopped as soon as I stopped walking. I then went to a friend's house for "mommy lunch" where a bunch of moms and kids come over. I decided to have David drop Daisy and I off with the stroller, and after a few hours there, I walked home. This way I could get some contractions going and Daisy could nap in the stroller. I thought the house was about 1.5 miles away...turns out it is a full 2 miles. Anyway, I walked home pushing Daisy through some neighborhoods, some with a few hills. It was good exercise and definitely got some contractions going. David met me for the final 1/4 mile (I called him to come out) so he helped push Daisy up the hill on our road.

I have been relaxin at home for the afternoon and have been having contractions on/off. We'll see what happens the rest of the night...

Here are a few pics from the end of the week.

This is a pic from the ultrasound. It's hard to make out, but it's a front-on view of the face.

Wednesday afternoon, I walked Daisy to the park in our neighborhood (1/2 mile away...up a giant hill). We had fun playing together.

At homegroup on Thursday night, Daisy got some chocolate dessert... you can tell by her mouth she enjoyed it!

This afternoon, Daisy was playing around in the basement while I relaxed. I'm not sure what she was trying to do with her legs...

More updates to come... hopefully soon!

Enjoying time with Daisy

2011-08-03T06:51:00.001-04:00

While we wait for her sibling

She loves her bows and barretts in her hair. She also has started reading to herself. It's super cute.

She loves pigtails!

And the white sox even if they have lost four straight!

YouTube Video

Update and Daisy pics

2011-08-02T20:26:00.000-04:00

Several folks have asked about the BPP ultrasound yesterday. It went well and the baby scored an 8/8. Plenty of movement, a strong heartbeat, and the fluid levels and placenta looked okay. The technician took measurements but didn't tell us what those were. I'll ask at the appointment on Thursday (assuming no baby between now and then) to find out if they have an estimate or not.

Because the baby is sitting so low, the technician also had a hard time getting an angle and good picture of the head to measure. This explains all the pressure I have been feeling down there... the baby is about as low as it can be without me being in labor.

Again, so far, this is duplicating how things went with Daisy. That means if this baby continues to be consistent with Daisy, we'd be looking at next Monday as possibly going into labor. Although I would enjoy it being sooner, it would mean that our baby would share a birthday with Jeanette (our dear friend and Daisy's godmother).

In other events, I decided to try a new recipe last night for a "sweet sausage marsala." It turned out great, and I had some wonderful help in the kitchen.

My helper, who was eating grapes while I cooked:

The ingredients:

The finished product:

These pictures are from today, and just because Daisy is cute and there can't be enough pictures of her. She is sporting a dress that her Gramma Chinn sent her.

That's all for now... more updates later.

deja vu

2011-07-30T14:24:00.002-04:00

Well here we are. Second child on the way, and second time we have reached our due date with no sign of birth in sight!

We had our 40-week doctor's visit yesterday morning, and the report reminded me exactly of how it was with Daisy. Head nice and far down, creating a lot of pressure, but very minimal dilation and effacing.

We were scheduled for a Monday morning ultrasound for the BPP (bio-physical profile) where they check to make sure the baby has enough fluid and is moving around well, etc. Assuming that looks good, and we don't have the baby sometime during the week, we'll have our 41-week appointment next Thursday afternoon. At that point, we'll discuss the plan for the final week, including induction if needed. Our doctors/midwives prefer not to go past 42 weeks (the rate of stillbirth jumps dramatically past that point) and I agree. I really do not want to be induced, so we're willing to go the 42. But after that, we'd rather be safe than sorry. Part of this is because at times, people are unsure of dates of conception so actual due dates can be off. This can make it likely for babies to be "late" but not really be that late. I am 100% positive of our date of conception, therefore I know that our due date was calculated accurately. As I said, I'm willing to go the 42 weeks that most practitioners agree is safe, but to me it is not worth the risk after that just to avoid induction.

I am trying to have confidence that God knows our situation and desires and that he will provide. Many of you remember that Daisy was late, and in our 9th day past due date, my water finally broke and the labor process began. So I know that just because I'm late now doesn't mean that the worst case scenario will happen... but I'd appreciate your prayers anyway that I (we) will be patient in waiting for the big day to arrive.

In other news, we did our usual Our Daily Bread breakfast after our appointment yesterday.

We then went to a local showroom to see some landscaping stones for possible use in our driveway project.

Also, this morning I took Daisy to the local library to read books and attend storytime. It was nice to get her out of the house and for all of us to keep ourselves busy as we play the waiting game!

Hopefully more news to come soon. To close, I'll post one video of Daisy reading to herself when we got home from the library today.

YouTube Video

The Week in Pictures

2011-07-23T20:11:00.000-04:00

Well, for those looking for an update, mini-chinny #2 is still hanging inside the womb. We've hit 39 weeks and are prepared for this one to possibly be late to arrive, just like big sister Daisy.

Whenever we do go into labor, we'll make some posts with updates.

For now, we have some pictures from the week to share.

Daisy found some hair bows that mommy had bought a while back. She wanted to have all 4 of them in her hair at once.

Daisy looking cute eating breakfast on Thursday morning.

Daisy lying on the floor at Jessamyn and JD's old apartment. We stopped by to help clean for their inspection to end their lease.

Daisy and daddy at Chick-Fil-A on Friday morning for breakfast. We had some coupons for free breakfast meals so we did this after our doctor's appointment.

Later in the day on Friday, we had lunch with some friends. Terri brought over ice cream, and Daisy enjoyed an ice cream cone with Samoa ice cream from Edy's. It was very tasty.

Today, Daisy played in the basement while daddy and I caught up on a few tv shows we had recorded.

She figured out how to "balance" herself between the couch and the coffee table.

My day with Aunt Lisa

2011-07-15T21:22:00.002-04:00

Let me tell you about my day today with my Aunt Lisa. She and her dog Radley came to town early this morning. They met mommy, daddy and me for breakfast at Our Daily Bread after mommy had her doctor's appointment for the new baby.

We ate a yummy breakfast at ODB and then we went to Kroger to grab some groceries for the rest of the day. I rode in a cart with a car on it and had a lot of fun!

When we got back to our house, Aunt Lisa and I played with bubbles. It was so much fun!

YouTube Video

Aunt Lisa also brought me a gift -- a sand/beach playset. It has lots of cool shovels and buckets and other things to play with. I have already used them to "dig" in the gravel near our driveway. We spent a lot of time outside today... here I am just lounging on the deck while Daddy Smoked some sausage and chicken

After I took a nap, Daddy took me for a bike ride and Aunt Lisa and Radley went for a walk alongside of us. I love riding the bike with Daddy!

In the early evening, I had my final swim class. Here is me in the water with a life jacket on. Aunt Lisa got to come, too, and she and mommy watched me do my lesson with daddy.

YouTube Video

When we got home, we had homemade pizza for dinner and relaxed on the deck. Mommy then went to meet some friends for dessert and Daddy, Aunt Lisa, Radley and I walked to Rita's for dessert. I was so excited about getting in the stroller that I climbed in it all by myself when daddy and mommy weren't looking.

After walking back home, I went to sleep. I was tired because it was a long day filled with so much fun. I'm glad Aunt Lisa and Radley came to visit me. I hope they can do it again soon.

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-07-13T11:00:00.001-04:00

So this may seem "late", but let me explain. For mother's day, David gave me a gift certificate for a night's stay at the Inn at Virginia Tech with breakfast.

We decided we wanted to use it before mini-chinny #2 makes his/her appearance, so we settled on this past Friday night, July 8. David talked to Jeanette, and she was happy to come spend the night with her goddaughter. So Daisy and Jeanette had a sleepover at home, and David and I went "away" for the night to the Inn (which is about 2 miles from our house, in case you are wondering).

After we got checked in, we headed up to our room and I immediately enjoyed a chance to put my feet up.

I was craving the strawberry poppyseed summer salad from Panera, and it is a block away from the Inn, so we went there for dinner. We were going to walk, but it looked like rain, so we drove. Good thing, because after we finished, there was a torential downpour! Glad we weren't out in that walking.

We grabbed a movie from the redbox machine at Kroger and headed back to the Inn. We watched the movie on our laptop and just relaxed. We both were exhausted and were asleep by 10:30.

It was nice to have a huge king bed to spread out in, and we both slept well. I got up to use the bathroom at least 4 times, but that's normal these days, and I didn't have any problems going back to sleep. It was nice knowing Daisy was taken care of and not worrying about listening into the monitor or her waking up.

I got up about 7:30 and took a warm bath. David woke up about 8:00 and we took our time showering and getting ready and hit the breakfast buffet around 9:00. We made it home shortly after 10am to find Daisy and Jeanette playing happily.

It was a nice relaxing "Mother's Day" night! :)

Bike Riding with Daisy

2011-07-13T10:24:00.003-04:00

Daisy loves to ride with Daddy on the bike...

YouTube Video

Daisy's new ride

2011-07-10T17:00:00.001-04:00

Before I could even get in the door with it daisy was saying 'push' so we've been making laps around the backyard and on our new hard drive way where there is a bit of shade...

Like a big sister...

2011-07-07T14:15:00.001-04:00

Our friends the cooans came to town and their oldest Katie was like an older sister to daisy. They played together and daisy took to Katie very quickly.

Reese also enjoyed playing with daisy.

And they enjoyed picking blueberries in the backyard.

YouTube Video

One on one...

2011-07-07T14:11:00.001-04:00

To come... Or I guess it's really two on two...

Cheerios....

2011-07-07T14:08:00.001-04:00

It never gets old to me watching...

YouTube Video

Or daisy eating... She loves her cheerios and even moreso her milk...

Baby you can drive my car

2011-07-07T14:06:00.001-04:00

Daisy on I-81!!!!

Swim Lessons

2011-07-06T20:36:00.001-04:00

Daisy has been taking a water bugs swimming class at the Blacksburg Aquatic Center on Mondays and Wednesdays. It lasts for 4 weeks. David has been doing the parent part with Daisy -- it would be a little tough on me while 8-9 months pregnant!

One of Daisy's friends from daycare, P, has been doing the class with her. They love having each other in the pool together.

Below are some pictures from the past few weeks during swim time.

YouTube Video

On the road

2011-06-16T20:10:00.001-04:00

Mommy tickling Daisy in backseat of car:

YouTube Video

Cool Daisy in her sunglasses

Sunday Ads

2011-06-12T19:40:00.001-04:00

Daisy spent 30+ minutes just flipping through newspaper ads tonight...

YouTube Video

Saturday breakfast

2011-06-11T08:00:00.001-04:00

Daisy wanted to eat her cheerios outside this morning...while wearing her Sox hat, her Sox jacket, and the froggy bib... She is a very particular little girl :)

Bathtime

2011-06-10T20:56:00.000-04:00

Pics and videos of Friday night bathtime :)

YouTube Video

Cow!

2011-06-09T18:02:00.000-04:00

Look at the cow I colored at daycare

Oh, and I like to wear my pink sunhat everywhere :)

Outside

2011-06-04T17:35:00.001-04:00

Daisy looking ready for summer

Some final Picts

2011-06-02T03:54:00.001-04:00

Descriptions to come back on re other side of the pond...

More pics

2011-06-02T03:51:00.001-04:00

'Rebar'

Playing with the kids

Some addl Picts

2011-06-02T03:49:00.001-04:00

More pics

2011-05-31T16:21:00.001-04:00

Old playground

Construction pics

2011-05-31T16:06:00.001-04:00

Construction update

2011-05-31T01:37:00.001-04:00

These were tile walls earlier in the day

I don't have many pictures because I didn't take my phone with me to the orphanage to work but we are building a new playground, totally gutting a bathroom (pictures above) and reinstalling new fixtures and finishes, finishing another playground they started last year and putting siding on a newly constructed porch.

The girls have been able to play with many kids, many who just loved to be held and would say 'nyet' when they tried to put them down.

It was a very physically draining day but everyone was in good spirits and played a ukranian favorite afterwards, UNO.

More later...

Mommy and Daisy happenings

2011-05-30T21:04:00.000-04:00

Saturday evening, we went to Dongbo and Callie's wedding. This is a picture of Daisy sitting in the courtyard of the church.

Our friend Sher was in town for the wedding. She's currently in the Peace Corps, stationed in Ethiopia. This was her first time back in the U.S. in 21 months...she left just a few weeks before Daisy was born. She was so excited to meet Daisy and it was wonderful to catch up with her.

Here's a picture of us and the groom... we are so happy for Dongbo and Callie.

After the wedding, we headed towards Mechanicsville to spend some time with my family while David was gone.

Here are a few pics from our visit so far:

Daisy snoozing

Daisy and Asher getting a wagon ride

Daisy and Asher being silly

Memorial Day cookout at Mema's in Tappahannock

Daisy getting into the pool... she wasn't sure how she felt about it

Another pic of Daisy in the pool... this is about all she did while in it

That's about it for our exploits so far... lots of time with family, which is helping to distract Daisy and I from thinking about missing Daddy. Only a few days to go!

Forced famine

2011-05-29T00:41:00.001-04:00

We visited the forced famine memorial today

After attending a large conference that almaz (the church here in Ukraine) was hosting.

And a reminder of my little girl at home...

Mommy - Daisy time

2011-05-28T08:48:00.001-04:00

David is on a mission trip in Ukraine this week (in case you hadn't figures it out from his posts so far). That means it's mommy & Daisy time.

Our last family picture before Daddy left:

Last night our friend Annie came in from out of town. She and Daisy read books together this morning.

Here's bathtime last night:

And this was from Thursday after we said bye to Daddy:

We've been playing and trying to stay distracted because we already miss Daddy so much.

We'll see him soon, though.

Breakfast of champions...

2011-05-28T01:57:00.001-04:00

Or Americans

Quick pics from the Sanitorium

2011-05-28T00:12:00.001-04:00

Welcome to the vacation place of the rich and famous... 30 years late!

Kiev!

2011-05-27T09:46:00.001-04:00

The first thing outside of the airport ... Nothing that says welcome to Kiev... At least that I could read!!!

Sasha! (our ride and host!)

In Moscow

2011-05-27T06:53:00.001-04:00

Free wifi and a super nice clean airport... Short layover before our flight to Kiev... And I found a random hokie

She's wearing a vmi shirt but she went to tech and is headed to Kiev!

Moon 'bouncing'

2011-05-22T08:15:00.001-04:00

YouTube Video

And this was meant to be a picture but it's a video. Daisy has really taken to Jorie.

YouTube Video

Choo choos!

2011-05-21T07:44:00.001-04:00

I love looking for choo choos with my uncle Steve

And aunt Jorie

30 wks, ODB, road trip

2011-05-20T12:21:00.001-04:00

This morning we had our 30 week checkup. Everything looked good and mini-chinny definitely was trying to move away from the heart doppler.

Afterwards, we of course went to Our Daily Bread for breakfast. This time we had Daisy with us since we were leaving town shortly afterward.

YouTube Video

Now we are on the road to Richmond to see our dear friend Rachel graduate from medical school!!!

Daisy is napping...

More later!

Big bed, little girl

2011-05-20T12:04:00.001-04:00

Daisy's new big bed

Tired little girl in the big bed

Friday pics

2011-05-20T10:55:00.001-04:00

Daisy joined us for our odb tradition

A yummy cinnamon roll!

More pics from mommy's camera coming soon...

And a bunch of daisy being cute!

YouTube Video

Time to hit the road to Richmond!

Location:Owens St,Blacksburg,United States

May 19 Chinese picnic

2011-05-20T10:48:00.001-04:00

Quick pics

2011-05-18T23:25:00.001-04:00

Still love putting on hats and mittens

Pig tails!

Out for a walk with daddy

YouTube Video

Playoff with ants!

YouTube Video

Mmmmm creme brûlée

YouTube Video

I like the sweet caramelized topping

YouTube Video

I like to play in the kitchen like daddy

And I still like my cheerios and milk in the morning!

And it finally stopped raining for a few minutes to allow a rose to bloom!

Third times a charm!

2011-05-09T06:27:00.001-04:00

Three nights in a row! Maybe she is potty training herself!

What a day!

2011-05-07T21:33:00.001-04:00

(quick recap)

Grammy and grandpa came in last night to bring daisy a 'big girl' bed that we will try to transfer daisy into soon.

This morning Grammy put daisy in the stroller and headed to the farmers market and Starbucks while grandpa and I installed a door in the basement. It took more than we expected...

When Grammy got back we ate some lunch and daisy then took a nap while dad and I cleaned out the gutters. After daisy woke up mom took her to caboose park while dad and I finished.

Then they left rift as Jessica and Nathan showed up and did a bit of gardening in the front by the rose bushes which they were rewarded with dinner!

Then daisy and I went to a symphony in squires

The first piece was from Harry Potter which I didn't recognize since I hadnt seen any of the movies

YouTube Video

It was getting late so we left at intermission and went home. I started to change her into her pajamas and asked if she wanted to go potty so we went into the bathroom and....

YouTube Video

Maybe it's not a fluke?!?!

She's sleeping now and I'm in bed. We miss mommy but we'll see her tomorrow!!!

Big news!!!

2011-05-06T22:18:00.001-04:00

Warning.... This is not g rated... Maybe pg or pg-13....

Tonight the unexpected happened... Everyone expected the bulls to win but who expected daisy at one day before her 20th month of life would tinkle in the potty?

She used to tell us all the time when she needed a new diaper but she doesn't do it nearly as often these days though she still does some. Often times when we go potty she'll walk in and since she saw mommy or daddy on the potty she wanted one. So... A few months ago we got her a little plastic one from ikea that she would sit on whenever we were sitting on ours... A couple weeks ago there was a little drip which I think was a 'leftover'... So tonight before taking her bath I took off her pants and diaper and then i sat on my toilet and she eventually sat on hers.

Then to my surprise she just let out a big stream of tinkle!!!! I was so proud!

Then she nonchalantly took her bath as if it were no big deal... Yup, that's my girl!

See the chocolate lips? Maggie moos....yum!

Chinese Buffett picts

2011-05-05T14:15:00.001-04:00

Daisy ate really well what we brought her and then some Chinese food and fruit.

We thought she was done until mommy got desert and then she needed some too

Mmmmm ice cream. One of her favorites

She used her spoon for a bit but realized it was still quicker to use her hand!

YouTube Video

She was adorable!!! Even after sneezing on me with a mouth full of ice cream!

She then drank the melted ice cream from the bowl like she does her milk from her cereal bowl in the mornings but i didn't get a video in time as I was still coated in sprayed ice cream.

YouTube Video

Star of the night

2011-05-05T14:06:00.001-04:00

We ended our first semester of mandarin with a party at the local Chinese buffet. It was a time where we could meet some of the students from the other more advanced classes and enjoy a meal together and of course practice our chinese! It was a lot of fun, but miss Daisy stole the night. She was the star and center of attention for the night. Everyone was taking pictures of her and were so impressed how well behaved she was. Hopefully this link will work with some of the photos the instructor took...

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150159255161417.279882.596746416&l=78aa2e2f55

Save some for me!

2011-04-29T14:08:00.001-04:00

Day 2...All done....

Morning sans Daddy

2011-04-28T10:15:00.000-04:00

David left at 4:15am for a short 2-night trip to Minneapolis for his annual participation in a research study for kidney donors.

Daisy actually slept through ALL of the storms last night, which was a blessing. Although she woke up happy and well-rested, I woke up pretty tired. I had trouble sleeping through the storms and couldn't fall back asleep after David left, especially since I knew he was driving to the airport in the middle of all of the bad weather.

The morning started with breakfast... I ate a bowl of cereal while Daisy enjoyed a scrambled egg and peaches (she has stopped eating cereal for a bit).

Then, after getting Daisy dressed for the day, I brought a few toys to the bathroom so I could get ready. Here's Daisy looking at me while I'm putting on make-up.

Finally, here's a picture that we texted Daddy before we left the house... we miss him already but we are praying for his safe travels in the midst of all of the storms and that his appointments for the study (which involve a few hours worth of IV's and periodic blood draws) go smoothly.

Bathtime!

2011-04-27T21:09:00.000-04:00

Daisy has clearly figured out the bathtime routine. She began to fill up the "rinse pitcher" herself.

Super cute girl sitting in the bubbles!

Chill'n at aunt lisas

2011-04-25T19:20:00.001-04:00

And an Easter egg hunt (practice for sunday!)

YouTube Video

Pizza... Mondays?

2011-04-25T19:16:00.001-04:00

We switched from pizza night Fridays to Monday's due to all of our upcoming and past few weeks of traveling.... So here is the first pizza Monday...

And I needed to get a new pic up so I'm not staring at myself 40 lbs ago every time I visit the blog!

11 years

2011-04-23T08:41:00.000-04:00

11 years ago today, David asked me a question...

I said "yes"

(technically, I answered "da", which is yes in Russian)

the rest is history! :)

and one more pic to share...this was us at a wedding the day before we got engaged... april 22, 2000. wow... been a long time, but great memories!

One more...

2011-04-16T17:43:00.001-04:00

Beautiful

Enjoying an afternoon

2011-04-16T17:34:00.001-04:00

On the drillfield

Here we go!!!!

2011-04-16T12:42:00.001-04:00

Good morning from...

2011-04-09T10:24:00.001-04:00

The first and third capital of Ohio!

YouTube Video

Breakfast and tea...

2011-04-05T11:40:00.001-04:00

Daisy and B breakfast...

Mommy and daddy breakfast

Daddy and daisy tea time...

YouTube Video

2011-04-05T08:07:00.001-04:00

Cousin Breakfast

2011-04-05T08:06:00.001-04:00

Daisy and Brennan on Tuesday morning eating breakfast before we take Brennan to preschool.

Daisy is eating her usual cheerios (and grapes). Brennan opted for leftover pizza and grapes.

Sunday dessert...

2011-04-03T20:28:00.001-04:00

Mommy's cream puff

Daisy's Klondike bar...

Beautiful weather at least for today...dim sum pictures from this morning coming later....

Crackerbarrel lunch

2011-04-02T21:49:00.001-04:00

With my godmother Ann

YouTube Video

Dinner and a bath

2011-04-02T21:45:00.001-04:00

YouTube Video

Feeding the hens...

2011-04-02T18:47:00.001-04:00

YouTube Video

Goodbye Ohio

2011-04-02T12:16:00.001-04:00

Hello Indiana

On the road again...

2011-04-02T11:53:00.001-04:00

Day 2 of our journey to Chicago.

Just left breakfast with David's godmother Annie in Springfield, Ohio.

Annie gave Daisy a new toy which she already loves. We hope it will keep her busy in the car!

Last night we spent the night with our friends Steve and Sarah in Columbus. We had a great time visiting. Sarah and I went for a run before dinner (she's my friend that started GYRO running club) and it was great to catch up as we struggled to run 2 miles. After making homemade pizzas for dinner, we settled in for the night and got some rested up for road trip day #2. Unfortunately we forgot to take pictures in Columbus. :(

Now onto Chicago! We just passed another Sante Fe with VA tags, a Radford sticker, plus a White Sox sticker and Bears license plus frame. How crazy to see this in Ohio!

Anyway...off we go!

Daisy is playing in the car

And hopefully sleeping some, too.

More updates when we get to Chitown! :)

Coloring

2011-04-01T16:17:00.000-04:00

After the Burger King playground stop

Daisy spent some time coloring in the car

On to Columbus for the night!

Somewhere in wv....

2011-04-01T15:10:00.001-04:00

At a burger king...

Picks from last Friday

2011-03-31T11:12:00.001-04:00

YouTube Video

Desert... For Wendy triple chocolate cake and fresh whip cream.

Or me... Beef chow fun!

But what was for dinner??? Wendy needs to post the bes shwarma since aix!!! Oh and grilled cheese for her of course!

Sunday dinners...

2011-03-22T12:55:00.001-04:00

This past Sunday we had salad, garlic bread smothered in cheese, semi-homemade spaghetti, and homemade chocolate chip cookies!

In addition to that daisy had a few bowls of applesauce, craisins, and of course some cheerios...

And then daisy, Devin and koren made some beautiful music together...

YouTube Video

And then koren and daisy played on the floor together...

YouTube Video

It's not official...

2011-03-17T17:04:00.001-04:00

But it sure feels like spring is here! Daisy was so upset when I picked her up today that she started crying because i was taking her home, which meant she couldnt play outside with her friends any more (all the kids were outside at day care today)

So when we got home we went out back to sit in our chairs. We first ate popcorn but that didn't last long.

And now we've moved on to smores! Don't tell mommy'

This is the best weather we've had this week and the third tome daisy and I have been out in the backyard. She loves to be outside!