Big Changes

Hello all!
I was clearly too busy enjoying the summer weather to update my blog. It has been a great (hot) summer in Chicago. We have had so many nice summer days which is great because Reese just loves being outside and especially going to the park....

 ...or the beach.

In less than a month we will have the chance to explore some new parks because on Oct. 3rd, Mike and I are closing on a house!!!

We are purchasing a 3-bedroom bungalow in West Ridge, a lovely neighborhood about a mile away from my parents house.

We are very excited to finally be getting our own place. It has a back yard and a full basement so, plenty of room for Reese to run around. And, yes...I did say 3 bedrooms, we are planning ahead!

We have been spending some of our free time looking for furniture. Reese joins us sometimes...

...however, she's not a huge help because she keeps picking out things that are purple or fuzzy. She has some very specific tastes.

Purple is her favorite color these days and she insists on wearing something that color everyday. Guess what color we'll be painting her bedroom in the new house.

Speaking of bedrooms, Reese moved into a "big girl bed" this summer. She has been doing great. Once we tuck her in and shut off the light she stays put. We don't hear a peep out of her until morning when the sound of our door knob being jiggled by tiny hands awakens us. (Note to self: install lock on bedroom door in the new house).

It is just in the last few weeks that we have been overwhelmed by how grown up she is. Not only does she look taller, she talks in complete sentences and has becoming very capable; washing her hands, bringing her own plate to the table, pedaling her tricycle, getting undressed by herself and throwing her laundry down the shoot. Despite all these achievements, she insists that she's not a big girl yet. She wants to stay "tiny" as long as possible and that's just fine with me!

That's More like It!

Ok, I feel better. After a rocky spring the (formerly) San Diego Sandors are doing alright. We are happy, healthy, busy and tan.

Summer is the best!

First and foremost, Reese loves her new preschool. We were bracing ourselves for the worst and it really couldn't have turned out better. Like most kids in school, she'd still rather be at home, but for the most part she is happy to go each morning. Her teachers are wonderfully caring and conscientious. They keep her day full of fun, engaging activities and she is starting to make friends, which is to say she talks about the other kids when she's at home. There have even been times when I come to pick her up and she has wanted to stay.

There is lots of summer fun at home too. We are still living with my parents (although we just made an offer on a house!). But, in the meantime that means we are blocks from the beach. Reese loves the beach, both splashing around in the water and building castles in the sand.

Two of my childhood friends have been in town for extended visits with their kids, Stacey, is visiting next door with her 3 kids who adore Reese and fight over who gets to push her on the swing.








Sarah and her daughter Clementine, (pictured, left) were visiting from NYC, accompanied us to the 4th of July events in Evanston. Reese is smitten with both of them. She will forever associate them with her first viewing of fireworks. She was awestruck. It was hard for Mike and me to decide to watch the pyrotechnics or the look on Reese's face.

It's hard not to enjoy summer in Chicago, blazing heat aside there is so much to do, especially as a kid. She helps grandma water the flowers, it's been a dry summer, so that keeps  her very busy.

Reese jumps at the chance to picnic in the backyard or fill up the kiddie pool.


She has discovered BBQ chicken and corn on the cob.

We still have a few fun things in store. I think we're going to try to squeeze in a camping trip in August so we'll get to see what Reese thinks of s'mores, sleeping in a tent and lightening bugs.

So much to do, so little time! 

Chaos is the New Normal

May 2012 was a month I could have skipped. As you know, now that Mike and I both work full time, Reese is attending a full-day preschool program. The school is a charming, safe environment that is near my job. Reese's two teachers, Miss Erica and Miss Jessica or "Missica" as Reese calls them both, are very sweet. Nevertheless, Reese is not happy to go there and let's me know exactly how she feels. In the morning when I drop her off, she looks at me with her big brown eyes and says, "Reese go home?"

In the afternoon, you would think she would be thrilled to be finally going home, as I am, but she has started throwing tantrums. I don't know whether it's due to hunger or lack of sleep...one of the biggest struggles for me has been not knowing exactly what she's doing/eating all day...or more likely just trying to express her displeasure with the situation . Whatever the case, it is emotionally draining and really cuts into what little time we have together as a family.

Then in the middle of the month Reese brought something home from school --a sinus infection, which became complicated when the antibiotics she had been prescribed caused an allergic reaction. She ended up in the emergency room with a head-to-toe rash and 104 degree fever.

So, just as she was getting into the routine of school, we had to keep her home for a week and a half.

It is now June and things are looking up. Reese is almost back to her old self again (tantrums included) and has returned to school. The last thing we need right now is more upheaval but next week she will actually be starting at a new preschool. A spot on the waiting list at our first choice school opened up and although it's not ideal, we decided to move her.

The new school is in Evanston and is really lovely. They have a lot of space both indoor and out, the teacher/student ratio is really low 1:4 so they are able to do a lot of different activities from science to art to swimming to walking trips around the community. Our hope is that she'll be more engaged and not have as much down time to think about how she'd rather be at home.

Wish us luck!

Reese at 2

Reese’s 2^nd birthday is quite a milestone for us.

 We can finally stop referring to her age in months! She is refining all of the skills and abilities she has developed over the last few months and becoming more independent.  

We have been told that if you double the height children are at age two, you will have a pretty good estimate of the height they will be full grown. Reese is 33 inches which means she could measure about 5’ 6” (Two  inches taller than her mom!)

Here are some more fun facts about Reese at age two:

Height: 33 inches
Weight: 29.5 lbs.
Shoe Size: toddler 7
Bed Time: between 7 and 8
Favorite Foods: cheese, yogurt, bread, raisins, nuts
Favorite Toys: Doll House, play kitchen, Rody bouncing horse
Favorite Books: Olivia, Babybug, Mother Goose
Favorite Playtime Activity: Ring Around the Rosie, certain yoga poses, swinging
Favorite Color:purple
Dislikes: sausage, cooked carrots, tomatoes
Playmates: Sofia, Noah, Nora, Patrick aka "the gang from Tot Lot"
New Skills: walking up and down stairs unassisted, taking her clothes off!

Not everything about getting older has been good though. Reese has had to learn that parents have to work and kids have to go to school. Now that Mike and I are both working full time we had to enroll Reese in a full-day preschool program. For about a week and a half there was a lot of emotional turmoil for the Chicago Sandor's but we are finally starting to get used tot he new routine and are hopeful she is starting to be okay with the change.

We are excited about all the fun things she will be able to do at school but it is really hard to get used to not seeing each other as much. I see Reese about 5 hours any given weekday but poor Mike only gets about 3.  Luckily we also got to introduce her to the concept of "the Weekend" so we'll just have to make the most of the time we do have together.

How Big is Reese?

SO BIG!!! This is what I think almost everytime I look at my daughter. There are times when she is doing or saying things and I think, "Who is this little girl and where is my baby?"

Here she is sitting in her booster seat on the front porch. (Incidentally that seat belonged to me as a little girl too!) Even though you still see a sippy-cup in this picture, she can pretty sucessfully use a regular cup now. Also, she can feed herself pretty well using a fork or spoon. Even with something as messy as yogurt she has a pretty high success rate.
Because she is so capable and mature, we started to potty train her this past month. (She was so excited she put her underpants on her head and sat down fully clothed!) Initially it was very successful, she was excited to use the potty and wear the pull-ups but, after awhile she became frustrated with the whole procedure and now only asks to go to the potty as a stall tactic before bedtime.
So, we'll wait a little bit and try again. Afterall, she's not quite two yet so we're in no rush.

I would estimate that Reese knows well over 200 words and probably understands even more than that. It is so nice that she can tell us what she needs or if something is wrong. We can explain things to her and because of her maturity and comprehension she typically accepts what we tell her. Just today, for example, she was asking me to put a sticker on her hand before her nap and I told her it would probably fall off and that she had to wait until she woke up. She didn't fight me on it but, sure enough, her first word to me when I opened the door was "Sticker?!"
It's so exciting to see our baby turn into such a lovely, smart little girl and I expect it's only going to get better!

My Kind of Winter

Well, tomorrow is March 1st. I hope I'm not jinxing everyone by saying this but, it seems our first winter in Chicago was pretty much non-existant. I am the last person who would ask for snow but in some ways it's too bad we didn't get more snowy days.

After the one major storm we had in January, Mike built an amazing snowfort in the back yard.

I think he had as much fun building it as Reese had playing in it. Both of them immediately started planning for the next big storm but alas...it never happened.

Still, we have some great memories.

Even I will admidt that snow is a lot more fun with a toddler around.

In fact, life in general is a lot more fun with Reese around. She is 22 months now and approaching what some people call the "Terrible Twos". It's a term I dislike because it just means they are pushing for independance and frustrated by their limitations and I don't personally consider that to be terrible. But I admit it can be challenging.

However, Reese is quite the opposite of terrible. She is a delight. She is very verbal and understands so much of what we tell her that we don't have as much conflict as expected. She also continues to be as mellow and pleasant as she was the day she was born.

She is also very funny and likes to entertain us. Sometimes she'll make up songs and sing, but mostly she likes to dance. (Watch to the end to hear her talk.)



She also enjoys cracking herself up.





So, for those of you who were certain we would run back to California at the sign of the first frost, I'm happy to report that we have survived our first "winter". Who knows what we'll have to contend with next year but for now,

...bring on the Spring! (or maybe, bring on the swing?) picture taken today: 2/29/2012 - 60 degrees people!!!!!!!!