Disney on Ice

Mimi and Papaw were able to score some Disney on Ice tickets for the show yesterday and knowing how much Kate has loved ice skating recently we thought it would be fun for her to see some of her favorite princesses dancing and twirling on ice!  Kate is all about princesses these days.  She knows all of their names and will ask for specific ones if we're picking out a pricess bandaid for example.  Her favorite is still Belle but she loves all things princess.

This Disney on Ice show featured The Little Mermaid, Toy Story, Tinkerbelle, and Cars.  Kate hasn't seen any of those movies but she knows Ariel and Tinkerbelle, so we still thought it would be entertaining!  And it was...for a little bit.  At the point of no return, Kate became a lot more interested in running the empty hallways and riding the escalator!  I can't blame her.  It wasn't the most spectacular show I've ever seen either, but it was still fun to go!  (Thank you, again, Mimi and Papaw!)  After the show we all enjoyed a dinner together at Nada - a Mexican Place right next to the arena!

Walking to our seats with Mimi!

How's that for a view?!

Tinkerbelle and her fairy friends!  This may be the next go to for Kate.

Running the empty halls.  One can only sit for so long!

The motley crew at Disney on Ice!

Just lounging in the window at Nada!

Clippie fashion.  The new IN thing...When you've got an
antsy toddler and you're trying to have dinner, you pull
whatever else you've got in the bag out and these clips
happened to be a winner!

More Sugar!

Gender day is here!  The results are in and out of the eight votes we received for the gender of baby number two we were split evenly down the middle!  Four people voted BOY and four people voted GIRL!

Half of you are correct because we just confirmed WE ARE HAVING ANOTHER GIRL!!!  Another girl!  More pink, more sugar, and a little sister for Kate!  We are just ecstatic with this news!

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Now, when I say 'confirmed' what I mean by that is a couple of weeks ago we snuck off to a little ultrasound venue to find out a tad early what the sex of our second baby is.  (No, we couldn't wait.)  We were given the same results - more pink - but we wanted to wait and confirm with our real doctor until we started spreading the news!

But IT IS CONFIRMED, so the news is primed for spreading!

This makes me very happy!  I think Brian kind of wanted another girl too!  Most of you have heard my explanation for wanting more pink but part of the reason is because it is what I know.  Obviously if we were having a little boy, I'd figure it out, but knowing a little about what is to be expected is semi-relieving and less terrifying.  Another part of the reason is we have a TON of girl stuff - clothes, toys, shoes, etc.  I don't doubt that I'll be buying more stuff and/or items in two sizes, but this little lady is already going to have a pretty stellar wardrobe to start off with!  Yet another reason is because I don't know if we're going to have any more kiddos.  Brian has always had his mind set on two.  I suppose I'm a bit more open at this point.  If we aren't jumping on the two plus children train, I'm so, SO happy Kate is going to have a sister.  If we decide to try, well, I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there!

A little sister!  This news just makes my smile beam from ear to ear! (And, thank you, Frozen, for having two characters that are sisters!  This makes it way more fun for Kate!)

In other wonderful news, our little bambino is growing and progressing wonderfully!  Everything looks very healthy and all tests results have come back so far with glowing accolades!  This makes this Mama even more happy!

We have already fallen in love with that little profile!

So what do we know about our little lady so far?  We know she LOVES grenadine and blueberries like her big sister did while she was in utero. New additions to the love list are cheese and tomato sandwiches, ice cream sandwiches, strawberry smoothies, and Lucky Charms!  (I seriously have HAD to have some sugar-y cereal which is very uncommon in our household.)  Oh, and sweet tea.  Little sister has loved herself some sweet tea!  We also know that she is honing in on her Maryland roots because she has also loved her steamed shrimp!  Obviously all of these menu items make Mommy very happy too!

During our ultrasound we saw that she also loves to stand on my bladder which may or may not be the reason I've had to excuse myself to the bathroom way more frequently this second time around! Nonetheless, there's a healthy baby girl on board and we are so excited to meet our newest addition!

I suppose Brian and I had better start working on some names!

Another little girl!  I can't stop smiling!

Back to Sky Zone

Almost exactly one year ago, we took Kate to Toddler Time at Sky Zone.  Once she warmed up a bit, she jumped her little heart out!  It was no different this time.  You see, the thing about Kate is she needs to warm up.  This is very similar to my personality.  When confronted with a new situation, she takes it all in and watches before she jumps in.  This is one of the many things that I love about her.  I totally get it, understand it, and respect it.  But once Kate warms up, she talks, she jumps, she tells you she's going to be a big sister, and she'll even pick her nose in front of you.  It's like you've been buddies forever.  But if you push her, like me, she will not warm up - to you or the situation.  She has to do it on her own.  (My, oh my, I've been down this road.)  Once again this is just one of the many traits of Kate that I love.  She is who is she is, and, to me, that is all she needs to be.

We warmed up at Toddler Time for a bit and then once we got our feet wet, we were all jumps!  This year Kate even jumped into the foam pit, twice, with absolutely no hesitation!  She loves Sky Zone and it's great for us to see her have so much fun!  It's also a great way to get a little energy out when you've been cooped up indoors all winter long!  We all start bouncing off the walls after a few months of Ohio winter!

Bananas has come with us everywhere recently!

Be still my heart.

Testing the waters?

Observing.

Observing from a different angle...

And more observing!  That bow, that hair, that monkey -
everything about that little girl just melts my heart!

Ahh, nice and warm!  Bananas even gets in on the action!

Jumping right into the foam pit!  No hesitation whatsoever!

And chasing the purple ball in the dodgeball court!

:)

Uh oh!  Purple ball is chasing Kate now...

Aha!  Captured.

Taking a little rest.

After Sky Zone we stopped for lunch and Kate
insisted on putting Bananas in her coat to "keep warm".

I love my monkey and she loves hers!  She's going to
make an unbelievable Mama one day!

Ice Skating

If you are not aware, Kate is in love with Frozen.  At the end of this movie, there is a part where Princess Elsa makes an ice skating rink for the people of Arendelle to enjoy.  Kate LOVES this part and she especially loves talking about Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Kristoff, and Sven ice skating!  Being that she loves it so much, whenever we reach the end of the movie, I throw some of my slippery socks on Kate and we go "ice skating" around the hardwood floors of our house.  Once again, she LOVES this!  There are times where the movie won't even be on and she'll look at me and say, "Ice skimming?"  As if I'm going to say no to ice skating around the house?!  Of course not!  And off we'll go.  It's also gotten to the point where I will be folding laundry and she will see these socks and refer to them as "ice skimming socks"!

With this new found love, Brian and I both thought it would be fun to take Kate real ice skating!  So for Valentine's Day this year we took a little family trip to the ice skating rink after we ran a few errands!

It was another snowy weekend and Kate adored seeing
her new monkey, Bananas, get snow on his head!

Her skates were the most adorable little skates ever!

Getting suited up!

Walking to the rink!

Our little skater!

She thought it was hilarious the few times we fell!
Girlfriend is all about slapstick comedy these days!

Nearly a pro!

Ok, Kate's ice skating form is absolutely darling.
I know I am biased.

You see, practice makes perfect!

Family photo on the ice!

She's got it down!

Hunkered down in the bench area while Mommy
takes a few laps to stretch her hunched over back out!

When I asked Kate to smile she did, but she was so
enthralled at the other ice skaters that she couldn't
look at the camera!  Heart this.

Best ice skater ever...  [Insert eye roll here.]

Plum tuckered out after a bit of skating!

Kate, again, LOVED ice skating so much and she did such a good job!  I was so proud of her and impressed with her balance!  Even though she skated with me the whole time there were a couple times that I let go and she stood there, uninterrupted, without falling!  That's pretty good for a nearly 2.5 year old in my book!

Brian, on the other hand, who had claimed he was the best ice skater ever mere moments before we got on the ice, made it half way around the rink by holding on to the edge before he declared his feet hurting so much that he had to take his skates off immediately.  He took a little break on the bench while I triple lutzed it on the ice with Kate.  Let's just say if Kate continues to enjoy ice skating as much as she has already then she'll be taking after her Mama's skill set!

Best ice skater ever.  Riiight.  And he wonders why I give him "that look" when he says these things.  Five years into this marriage and I've got a few things figured out, Bri!

Flashback Friday

Just a few days after Kate was born, three to be exact, Brian snapped this photo of me sitting on the couch with my loves:

Baby Kate, Bones, and Mommy - Nov. 2012.

And just tonight we were all sitting in the same spots as that day nearly 2.5 years ago!

Toddler Kate, Bones, and Mommy - Feb. 2015.

While a certain someone has grown substantially, not much else has changed.  Sitting on the couch with my loves is one of my favorite places to be.

Valentine's Cupcakes

I've learned that holidays are waaaay more fun when you've got a kiddo in the mix!  As a matter of fact, having your own kiddo is like having a second childhood.  At least that's how it is for me!  The songs, the games, the excitement, it is all so much more fun with there's a little person to share it with!

With that being said, I try to make the holidays special.  I love holiday jammies and think they are adorable, so I try to buy after season/clearance holiday jammies for next seasons after the holiday is over.  I also love holiday crafts and holiday activities, should they permit.  With Kate going to a daycare, they also do a lot of season/holiday related activities and I'm so glad she gets immersed in what is going on around her.

Valentine's day is no different, so this weekend we decided to decorate some valentine cupcakes with our favorite toppings!  Cupcakes and Valentine's Day just go hand in hand, so we may try to make this an annual tradition!  If not, I'm sure we'll find another holiday to decorate cupcakes on!  Thanks for helping us decorate, Mimi and Papaw!

Kate distributes some topping options.
Sprinkles first...

...and then M&M's!

She then performs a bit of quality control!

M&M's?  Check.  Sprinkles?

Check!

Except for that escapee white one.  Clearly that
will have to be remedied.

Daddy performs some quality control too!

She will soon be a cupcake extraordinaire!

Now that's a fine looking bunch of V-day cupcakes!