dancing queen...

...young and sweet, only 17 (months old)...dancing queen, feel the beat from daddy's record spinning machine...you can dance...you can fall down...having the time of your life...oooh, see that boo bear, watch that scene, dig it - toddler dancing queen...

although we don't have anything else to post at this time, we didn't think it right to delay this cuteness. daddy was spinning some vintage '80's alterna-vinyl sunday afternoon and boo bear went buck-wild busting a move as soon as he put on erasure...go figure

just when you think it can't get any cuter, she goes and does this...

raw footage of the (top toddler) chef in her element...

oops- meant to post this down below, but made a goof...

liberty lands lookout

most of you know that i (mommy/carrie) am currently working full-time until mid-march. let me tell you, i have a whole new respect for moms who work full-time out of the home - this ain't easy! although it doesn't seem so bad on payday (am trying to scurry some money aside for my maternity leave), the hardest adjustment for me has been the reduced time with my sweet boo bear. when i had this past monday off and the weather was GORGEOUS, we immediately seized the opportunity to head out to liberty lands (our fave park & playground). ivy initially pretty much had the run of the place and took it all in stride. she loves commandeering both the tot jungle gym, car (instructing mommy to get in the back while she drives, of course), and slide (which clearly works better with tongue protruding...see below). we had a great time, and wouldn't you know it, whom do we run into while leaving? - shelley (ivy's caregiver) and ivy's gaggle of little buddies from shelley's!


seriously mom, i got this - just get in back and i'll drop you off for your friend-date in a few minutes!

top chef! (toddler edition)

this is how you do it! see the consistency? you want some nice cheesy sweet potato-rice deliciousness! just follow me and you'll come out on top at judges' table! (padma, tom colicchio, where are you!!?) ivy obviously loves to help in the kitchen, and this past monday, mama had off from work, so we made a day of it...going to liberty lands (our local beloved park/playground) and making some sweet potato rice balls for the little one to take with her to shelley's this week.
it tastes even better if you stick your tongue out while mixing...
raw footage of the chef in her element...
yum...i'm a big girl now and i insist on eating at the table (note high chair in background!) since mommy and daddy haven't gotten me a proper booster seat yet, i have to sit on this big old phone book...they call it "old-school syle."

preview of coming attractions...

taking a moment as we leave for the hospital for our long-awaited ultrasound...i am going "brrrr" with my lips (hence the lame look) and rubbing my warm belly in contrast to the frigid air (wisconsinites are laughing, but the wind chill here was only 8!)
an illegal shot in between when the ultrasound tech left the room and the doctor came in. we were thrilled to learn that our baby (who was doing aerobics the whole time!) appears healthy as can be. baby also appeared cute as can be, and i even got gently reprimanded by the very nice ultrasound tech for touching the screen. (in my own defense, i wasn't actually touching it, i was just pointing and more or less "cottoning" it and telling it how dang cute it was and how much i love it!)
seriously, look at that little button nose! at the end of the exam, we were asked if we wanted to know the gender of our newest little bundle of love, and of course we replied "yes!" she told us that we are having...
...ANOTHER LITTLE GIRL!!!! daddy sure is going to have his hands full, but we were both thrilled! we simply cannot wait to meet her and love her and cuddle her and sniff her and...

this shot is of her lying on her back...her spine is near the bottom, and her head is in profile on the right side of the screen...

WE LOVE YOU AND WE CAN'T WAIT TO MEET YOU, SWEET DAUGHTER!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxo

round three...christmas in norlina

no, that's not our clever abbreviation for north carolina, we're talking about the metropolis of norlina, north carolina where grandma lives...it's also "where north carolina begins." we had a lovely visit with a trip to the canal museum, all the pork your heart could desire, ivy constantly terrorizing tammy the cat, and of course, a wonderful time with grandma (or gabba, as ivy would come to call her).
the boo bear also entertained herself with endless rounds of hide-and-seek (i snapped this one while hiding as she entered the back room to look for me)...tammy was always the winner at hide-and-seek, though...