my day with ada

Due to a work emergency Elliot had to spend Sunday working, so, with a little help from Grampa, Ada and Mommy spent the day hanging out and seeing some of Ada's favorite places around San Diego.

We started out the morning with our routine Sunday trip to Starbucks with Elliot. Ada has started to drink coffee (chocolate or vanilla flavored milk - sometimes steamed) and these trips are pretty funny. Today she decided that she HAD to wear her Mickey ears and carry two of her stuffed animals (the 2010 Olympic mascot and her new lion). After our morning refresher we made a quick stop at home to pick up my soccer stuff and some snacks and headed to the Zoo.

We have passes to the Zoo and have made a few quick trips, mostly hanging out by the monkeys and the elephants, but today Ada insisted on taking a swing by the bears. While we were hanging out watching one of bears play in the water a camera crew from ESPN (and a nosey crowd of onlookers) showed up to do a shot for this week's Monday night football game. So if you see a shot of a bear playing in the water with a Jets and Chargers helmet in front of it, imagine Ada climbing up and down the railing, paying no attention to the camera guy saying over and over again, bye bye bear, hi bear, bye bye bear, hi bear - just off to the right. This was pretty much the highlight of the trip to the zoo and we were soon off to our next stop - Mommy's soccer game.

Ada managed to squeeze in a quick nap between the Zoo and soccer. I thought she might stay asleep while we walked down to the field but she sensed fun and popped awake. Shortly after we made it to the field Grampa showed up to babysit while I played my game and from what I could tell they had a wonderful time together. Each time I looked for them they were in a different spot, reading by the bench, exploring the side of the track, tracking down soccer balls, climbing the stadium stairs, riding the tackling dummy, and using the stair railings as a jungle gym. It is important to note that Ada got very excited when I told her she was going to hang out with Grampa today, but didn't realize it was at soccer. So later on when I said we were on our way to soccer Ada demanded, "No no soccer, Grampa!" When she realized she got to hang out at the stadium AND play with Grampa her day was made.

As if this day had not already been full of tons of fun, we decided to get some Jamba Juice and head to the beach after the soccer game. Elliot's office is down by La Jolla Shores and there was an off chance that he would soon be done with his weekend work, plus Ada has a newly discovered love of the water so this seemed like a good trip. Once at the beach we finished up our smoothies and Ada insisted on stripping down to nothing but her diaper. After some initial clingyness she started darting into the water and then quickly darting out of the water running away from the waves. I have never seen Ada have so much fun in such a close proximity to water. She LOVED the muddy sand, and the shallow water. She even stopped her fun for a little while to try to show a younger boy how much fun splashing was. Finally, after about 20 minutes of this I coaxed her over to the shower by the beach bathroom to clean up, letting her out of her diaper. Once I had her cleaned up I got her shoes on but before I could get her clothes on she proudly walked out of the shower area nekkid from head to ankle, nothing but her shiny pink sneakers on. I love this kid!!

Our lives have gone from busy to insanely busy these days and I do not get a lot of time to hang out with Ada one on one so today was extra special for me. I wasn't sure if she was having fun all day but I got my answer as we started our bedtime routine. She started screaming, flailing, and trying to out muscle me to get back to the living room. It wasn't until we got to her bedroom and I made eye contact with her and asked her if she had had fun today. She didn't answer me. She didn't nod her head emphatically. Instead she stopped fighting me, snuggled her head deep into my neck and gave me a big hug. That was all the answer I needed.

kisses

Ada has been watching the our daily morning routine now for almost two years and she knows that after Elliot gets us set in the car, he shuts her door and then gives me a kiss goodbye. This varies some, but that is the routine 90% of the time. Well, Ada has now decided that she wants to be more involved in this part of our daily routine. The other day as Elliot leaned into the car to kiss me goodbye Ada declared, "I want kisses". This was funny enough all by itself, but then we looked back and she was sitting there, strapped into her seat, leaning forward, head tilted back, eyes closed, and lips pursed waiting for a kiss. We tried not to laugh too much and Elliot of course obliged with a goodbye kiss.

This was just the start of Ada's kissing frenzy. She will now decide that she wants kisses just about any time of day. And if she is around Elliot or I and she wants a kiss she will grab a hold of our cheeks and bring our face down to hers and once again declare, "I want kisses!".

Yet another tale I am tucking away for the days when she wants nothing more than to pretend that she is an orphan roaming around the streets of San Diego with nothing as embarrassing as PARENTS to hold her down.

Thanks!

Wow, where did August go! We had a great month. Ada turned 2, had her first trip to Disneyland, Elliot and I enjoyed another year of wedded bliss (5 years!!), and this blog celebrated one whole year of activity!

Thanks to everyone who tells me that they check on a regular basis for new content, this motivates me to write more. I started this blog as a way to let all of you into the life of Ada and hopefully my descriptions are enough to let you see her joyfully bopping through life.

healthy fear of water

Yesterday Ada attended her first pool party of the summer. Last year she went to three or four and by the time the summer ended she was a little water lover. Well, the fall, winter and spring happened and she forgot how much fun water could be. So we spent most of yesterday's pool party with Elliot and I in the water, standing next to the side of the pool where Ada was sitting with her feet in the water. She faked like she was going to get into the water a couple of times, turning around on her belly so she could kick her feet in the water like the big kids, but never slid in. She did agree to come into the water once, early on, until she realized what she had agreed to; and she did jump into the water once but then quickly realized that she had jumped into water and screamed her new piercing scream until we pulled her out. Then there were the three times I scooped her up and brought her into the water with me but those too were accompanied by the piercing scream so we gave up. Ada was content to sit on the side of the pool throwing every toy that was once on the side of the pool into the water.

She did happen to fall in once when she was trying to retreive an orange football that was right by the edge. Luckily both Elliot and I were there to scoop her up out of the water and eventually put her back up on the 'blanket' as she moaned out her request over and over again. This one tumble was enough for her to refuse to come anywhere near the edge of the pool again. And while I'd love for her to love the water, as an over protective worrywart of a mother, I'm also very thankful for her healthy fear of the water.

traveling soul

We spent this past Saturday through Tuesday traveling up to the Pacific Northwest to attend the Campbell Family Reunion (my Grandma Ott's family) and also to visit Elliot's family in Vancouver and Vancouver Island. We were a little worried about the whirlwind nature of our trip and how that would jive with Ada but she handled it like a champ.


The trip started out very early on Saturday morning, we had a 6:30 am flight out of San Diego which meant leaving the house around 5 am. OUCH! Normally, Ada will sort of wake up, look at us like we are crazy, and then go back to sleep until we hit the terminal at the airport. Not this time, she took one look around the car and realized something was afoot and sprang awake. We should have known then that this was going to be a great trip, and it was.

Here are some highlights:

Picnic: The big inflatable slide!! Ada easily spent half of her time at the picnic on this slide. She started out cautiously (not surprising) forcing her Dad to carry her up the rope ladder and then slide down with her on his lap. However, once she convinced her Grampa Ott to take her over to the slide he convinced her to climb up the ladder herself and slide down on her own (with him close behind). It wasn't until Mom took her over that she was forced to do it all on her own. I am SO mean! Had we given Ada a choice between staying at Al's house on the slide and going on the rest of the trip with us, I'm not sure she would have selected the time with us.

Coffee with Auntie Jackie: On Sunday morning Ada's auntie Jackie let Elliot and I go for a run while she took Ada for a walk. They went to get coffee, well milk for Ada, but Jackie called it coffee and I think that made Ada think she was so much cooler. Once Ada had her morning coffee she opened right up and chatted up Jackie all the way to the park where they watched swimmers and saw ducks and pretty much entertained each other.

Great Grandma's Basement: Who wouldn't love a basement full of fun stuff to explore and jump off of. Making it extra cool was Grampa Ott and Daddy helping her discover all of the really cool things like dynamite boxes (empty of course) and a vice.

The Trampoline at Erica's house: Ada got to meet two more of her cousins on this trip: Erica and Niccolo. She has met both of them when she was younger but this time she actually interacted with them. She and Erica became fast friends on the trampoline in the backyard. They worked so hard we all burned hundreds of calories just watching them. Ada also insisted on Erica joining her in the blue plastic car so that Mommy and Daddy could give them spins around the yard.

The big hotel bed: Our hotel room in Vancouver had two beds, so we let Ada own one of the beds. You could just tell how regal Ada felt as she lounged on the big fluffy pillows and pulled the cozy comforter up around her. Of course she did not want to sleep in the bed alone so (after trying to climb into bed with Mom and Dad) she slept in her pack-n-play, but first thing she did in the morning after waking up was crawl back into her throne.

Great Grandma's muffins: When we were at my Grandma's house on our way up to Vancouver Ada ate more bran muffin than anything else, so we were sent off with a baggie full of muffins. This turned out to be a life saver as we didn't have time for breakfast the morning we headed over to the island and these muffins served that role just fine. Ada liked them so much she even ate the wrapper of the first one we gave her. Of course she insisted on eating her muffins while sitting in her throne.

Balloons: Since our trip was so close to Ada's birthday she received many gifts while we were traveling along. Her favorite was really not a gift, but it was the balloons that were on her present from her Grampa Hicks and Grandma Lynn. These balloons provided intermittent entertainment the entire time we were at their house.

The beach: Elliot's Dad lives right on the beach on Vancouver Island. Ada is not a huge fan of water but after some coaxing she did manage to make her way down to the beach. She even walked on the sand (and over rocks and shells) until the water hit her feet, where she quickly scampered up my legs and into my arms. She then INSISTED that I walk out into the water, and once we hit my depth limits she insisted that I walk up the beach - still knee deep in water. Elliot eventually came to join us and took over the job of holding Ada above the water. However, Elliot was much meaner that me - he lowered her feet into the water and pulled her through the water. And for a second Ada forgot that she has sworn off water as she let out a giggle and even managed to smile a little bit.

The hose: When we came back from the beach Grampa Hicks brought out the hose to hose the sand off our feet. Ada loved this and eventually managed to gain control of the hose and figured out how to pull the handle on the nozzle and aimed it at both her Dad and Grampa. She LOVED this.

The ferry: The ferry ride over to the island was not all that eventful. Ada did lots of exploring and dragging Elliot and I around. The ride back however we were able to get a row of two benches with seats facing each other, as well as a window sill just wide enough for Ada to sit with her back against the wall and legs up on the sill watching the water below us go by. She climbed down every so often to get some food or to wake Elliot and I up, but for the most part she was the Queen of the ferry.

Getting home: While we definitely enjoyed our trip, the look on Ada's face when she saw her own crib, and all of her own toys was one of relief and comfort. As much fun as she had traveling the coast, just like Elliot and I, she was happy to finally be home.

We really enjoyed catching up with everyone and our only wish is that we could see all of you much more often. Many thanks to all of those that took us in, fed us, entertained us, and just let us visit; and special thanks to Elliot's mom for timing her visit to coincide with ours.

first mile

I believe Ada ran her first mile last night. I say 'believe' because we weren't measuring the distance and she was not running a route we normally run, but she was running, and running, and running, and running. Running so much that Elliot and I were having to scamper along behind her to keep up.

All this running happened while we were at the Padres game. She really loved the game, and the details of all the funny things she did while watching the game may make their way into a future posting; but the really great Ada moment came when we finally talked her into making our way out to the Park at the Park.

For those unfamiliar with Petco Park, there is a large park, with a hill, and a mini baseball diamond out beyond the stands. If you stand on top of the hill you can watch the game live, otherwise, they have a HUGE screen on the back of the batter's eye showing the TV broadcast. This is pretty much the most awesome thing in the world for parents.

Once we made it out of our section and up the stairs to the main concourse Ada decided to run. So she ran from section 109 around the right field side of the stadium to the Park in the Park where she found a group of kids rolling down the hill. Ada of course had to join in the fun, so she managed to trudge up the hill and then tried REALLY REALLY hard to roll down the hill. Except Ada lacks one very essential quality necessary for rolling down any hill - the ability to let go. So she tried to roll down but her fear of losing control got the best of her and she never quite got there. She did however master scooting down the hill, and walking/running down the hill (which was no small feat as the hill was steep and the grass was wet).

Next, we managed to coerce Ada into checking out the OTHER side of the hill, and the mini baseball diamond. She wasn't all that impressed with the other side of the hill, but as soon as she saw the mini diamond she was IN LOVE. She sprinted towards the field and found the closest entry gate. Ada was easily the smallest kid involved in the mini game. In fact, she maybe came up to the waist of the next smallest kid out there - but this didn't stop our little runner. Nope. She started out at third base and ran to the pitchers rubber, walked it like a balance beam and then "jumped" off of the rubber and headed for first. Then she took a lap of the outfield, back to third, pitchers rubber, through the pitching traffic, back to third, across to first, and out the right field gate. Phew. I'm tired just writing about it. Had she realized that running through the gate was the end to her mini baseball diamond fun I'm sure she would not have made such a GLARING mistake, but that's the reason I'm the Mom and she's the toddler.

Next we headed to the Padres store to look for possible gifts to bring up North to Ada's cousins (sorry guys we didn't find anything). Ada loved the store almost as much as she loved the mini baseball diamond. She found the big foam fingers like a heat seeking missile and proceeded to entertain everyone in the store with her sprinting around with the foam finger on her tiny hand.

After we managed to drag Ada out of the store with a monkey and a foam finger in tow Ada started the last leg of her mile.

We left the park with Ada up in my arms but she quickly decided that she wanted to walk. So from Tony Gywnn Way (just outside the park) to our parking spot in the San Diego Convention Center, Ada RAN. It is probably important to note that Ada took turns between running, wandering, and jogging along with the foam finger practicing her Gretzky pump. She did this the ENTIRE way back to our car. I tried to help her down the stairs to the parking garage - no dice. We offered her a lift from the stairs to the car - no dice. Nope. She was in it for the long haul. Well almost the long haul. She ended up tripping herself about four feet from our car and in a moment of unusual whininess she laid there crying until Elliot picked her up. Thus ending her miles of running.

Needless to say she was asleep before we hit the freeway. Thank goodness for running!

cake

Ada has discovered the world of cake. Not entirely surprising since I have morphed into a mad cake making machine since Ada was born, but somewhat surprising since she practically ignored the cake we served up for her on her first birthday. Well over the weekend Ada helped me make a cake for her Auntie Monique, cracking the eggs (her favorite) and pouring the sugar. Confidently spouting out her new favorite words 'cake' and 'cupcake'.

Last night when we were up at Eric's house for dinner she finished her meal, brought her plate to the kitchen, and even emptied her leftover food into the trash. Then she wanted to go outside. So much so that after I explained that the rest of us were going to finish our dinner at the table and then went and did just that, she clung to the screen, moaning a droning 'moommmmeeee, moooommmmeeee' until I finally gave in and came to find her at the door. She stopped her moaning but quickly turned to all out wailing and flailing on the floor when she heard my words, "After everyone is done eating dinner". The only thing that got her to quiet down and even join us for dinner was the promise of cake, leftover cake from Monique's birthday party. But I had warned her that it would not come right away. She was going to have to wait for all of us to finish our meal and conversations, and that she was going to have to sit there, politely, through it all. And sit through it she did. She sat in her chair, scowl on her face, hands grasping to the table so tight you could see her knuckles turning white, and eyes that kept repeating, "Have patience with these people, for cake is coming. Have patience with these people, for cake is coming." We tried asking about her day, or asking her what color the flowers were, but her concentration was strong and our attempts were nothing against her wall of sullenness.

And when the cake came she completely flipped. She forgot about outside. She forgot that she was mad at us for making her sit through conversations about jobs and soccer. She forgot that she was working really hard on her teen angst act that she will no doubt perfect in the coming years. All that was out the window the moment the yummy pumpkin and chocolate cake was presented before her. She silently but enthusiastically ate the top layer off of her slice and only once she made it through this top layer did she smile a chocolate toothed smile that let me know all was good and she was once again a happy child.

At least until tonight when we ask her what she wants for dinner and she confidently says, "CAKE!!".