Daycare Update

I was originally holding off on posting a daycare update because I wanted to give it a fair shot. I clearly had my (strong) opinions about daycare for the first week, maybe even two weeks, and I knew I was judging unfairly because I was still getting over that "no one takes care of my baby as best as I do" complex.

Well, I'm over it.

Welllll, kind of. Sydney has now been in daycare for eight weeks now, and she--and I--love it. Love it! Sydney is constantly doing activities (tummy time, music with shakers, hand puppets, story time with Og and friends [I have yet to find out who Og is], dance parties, Splash Days [the cutest thing in the world], etc. etc.) and learning new things, and she seems to be adjusting well to the teachers, a new schedule and her new life in school. She is still not napping as much as she needs to be, but I guess it's okay because she sleeps so soundly at night and catches up with her naps on the weekend. Can't complain about that, right?? :-)

A lot of people have asked what Sydney's daycare schedule is like now that I'm consulting and working from home at least three days a week - well, she's still in daycare full-time because I'm still working full-time. It's nice because on the days I finish work early, I can pick her up early, and on the days I know are going to be long, I can swing in and say hi. Except that doesn't work too well because most of the time I end up just taking her with me. How do you leave that face?

On my first day going back to work/Sydney's first day of daycare, a girlfriend of mine sent me a little note with the best piece of information I could have ever received: in short, she said that everyone saying, "It gets easier," is kind of bullshit and that it doesn't get easier - but it becomes your norm and you become more efficient in your new norm. That is EXACTLY true (at least for us) because it really hasn't gotten any easier. On the days Jordan is out of town or has to leave for work early and I have to drop her off, my heart still breaks and I have fight like hell to not tear up (it's actually so embarrassing now). It's especially hard because she smiles and reaches for me when I hand her over, and there's a good five seconds where I contemplate taking her back and taking her home, but then I see how much the teachers love her and my heart melts.

So, there's still a part of me that misses hanging out with her all day and second guesses my decision to go back to work, especially when I see other moms posting pics of them and their babies at the pool or something, but for now I do think I made the right decision - for us. I'm really loving what I'm doing now work-wise and feel blessed I have the opportunity to work and the opportunity to choose to work. I'm thankful I have a supportive husband who encouraged me to do whatever I felt was right for myself and for our family, and I'm REALLY thankful we have a daycare who doesn't mind sending us 1-2 pics of our little peanut every day. Yes, every day. I can't help it! I just miss my little bug so much, so I'm taking full advantage of the picture service they offer. The little updates we receive help me to get through my day and make me happy to see how much fun she's having. Here are a few of my favorites (sorry for the low quality of the pics; they're sent to us in an embedded format)...

Played so hard she lost a boot!

Her little gal pal rocking her

Syd's first Splash Day!

Snuggling with her favorite teacher

Funny story about daycare - there is this sweet little girl who is about five months older than Syd named Jordan, and we recently found out her last name is Anderson. And Jordan (Baby Jordan) LOVES Sydney! So cute.

Happy Monday, everyone. Trying to get all caught up before we leave for Montana tomorrow!! :-/ EEK.

First Flight!

I swore I would have this blog all caught up before Sydney turned five months, which happens tomorrow...nothing like finishing at the last second! 

Our friends were getting married at the end of May up in northern MN, so we decided to fly (because driving is brutal), which meant Sydney's first plane ride!

I had heard all the usual advice--bring toys, feed her as you're ascending and descending, check the stroller at the gate, etc. etc.--and everyone assured me Sydney would be fine, especially since Sydney is usually so chill. But I was so nervous -- knowing my luck, once we were seated in the plane that would be the ultimate moment when Sydney decided to come unglued and freak the #*@! out. So I made these little treat bags to at least acknowledge that we knew a crying baby on a plane can be the most annoying thing unfortunate.

Cute, right? My plan worked. Once we were seated and I passed these puppies out, I had passengers across the aisle saying, "Aw, I would've sat next to you had I known we were getting candy!"

Turns out I really didn't need the bags because Sydney was practically comatose for the entire duration of the whole flight - she was awake for maybe five minutes when we first arrived at the airport and then she was out like a light until we got home to my parents' house and I finally had to wake her up.

Awake when we first arrived at DIA

Sleeping through security

Sleeping on the plane

Landed in MN - still sleeping

We were lucky the plane wasn't full and were able to bring Sydney's car seat on the plane. It helped redeem Southwest in my book because they sure as hell lost a lot of points when we checked in.

Rude Lady at Southwest's Ticketing: "Mrs. Anderson, do you have your daughter's birth certificate with you?" 

Me: "Um...no - do I need it?" 

Rude Lady: "Tsk!" [Ignores question.] "Do you have her immunization records?" 

Me [thoroughly confused]: "Um, no - we're just going to Minnesota. Why - do I need those?" 

Rude Lady: "Tsk!" in an even louder voice. Ignores question again while shaking her head like, "You're a terrible mom," and then asks, "Do you have a passport for her?" 

At this point, as you can imagine I'm very confused with all the questioning and a little put off with this lady's rudeness.

Me: "No...Minnesota is in the US. Why do I need a passport for her?" 

Rude Lady: "Well, you need to have some proof of her being under two in order to not charge you for another seat." 

Ohh - couldn't she have explained that right away? Instead of asking if I brought immunization records or a passport for my four-month-old when taking an hour and a half flight to Minnesota?? 

Me [pointing to my child who can barely lift her head]: "Well...wait, isn't...isn't she proof enough?" 

Rude Lady: "Well, we have to have actual proof." 

Me [in my head]: "More proof than a real, live, breathing baby?!?" 

Me [to her]: "Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't know I needed any documentation. I'll make note for the flight back and future flights." 

Rude Lady [heavily sighs and types a million clicks on the keyboard and then heavily sighs again]: "Well, I mean, I can't let you..." 

Me [interrupting her because I sure as heck wasn't going to miss our flight over this]: "Look, I'm really sorry, but unfortunately I don't have any documentation. Like I said, I didn't realize I needed to bring her birth certificate or immunization records or a passport for this flight, but in the future I will definitely make sure to bring proof of age. But for now, again, I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do other than you to trust your instinct that she's not over two." 

Rude Lady [heavily sighs again and showboats her 100+ WPM typing skills for another 30 seconds]: "Well, I just put down extensive notes in your passenger file so that you can fly with her today. But IN THE FUTURE, you NEED to have SOME FORM OF PROOF that she is UNDER TWO YEARS OF AGE otherwise SHE CANNOT FLY. OR we will have to charge you for ANOTHER SEAT. I also put that down in your passenger file. You're lucky I'm letting you slide this one time." 

What the f is a passenger file??

Then some other Southwest worker walked up behind the rude lady and asked what was going on. The lady explained in detail, all the while giving me the evil eye like I was trying to smuggle a bomb on the plane, and he just looked at Sydney and goes, "Oh, that baby is for sure under two years - she's fine."

Mwuahahaha!! Suck it, lady.

Anyway, finally all checked in, we breezed through the airport and arrived at security, which I had the most anxiety about. But it was amazing! We got to go through the TSA pre-screen line, and we didn't have to take any liquids out or take off our shoes or anything. Plus, I feel TSA sticks the old, gentle, nice people to monitor that line (because everyone is already pre-screened), so we got the feel-good, sweet grandma treatment.

Sweet TSA Grandma: "Oh, you can leave everything in your bags, honey. No need to take liquids out; you've got your hands full enough." 

Me [in total shock and awe]: "Even her bottles? They're breastmilk and barely over 3.5 oz, but there are two of them." 

Sweet TSA Grandma: "No, that's okay, dear, you can go ahead and leave them be. What a beautiful sweet little baby you have there."

Nice TSA agents, a short security line, AND you don't have to take anything out of your bags/take off your shoes? I'm never flying without Sydney again.

We arrived in MN safe and sound and drove up to Brainerd early the next morning. The wedding weekend was a total blast, and it was wonderful to see everyone and celebrate our friends. Huge thanks to my parents--who were also invited to the wedding--for taking such good care of Sydney Friday and Saturday night. She sure is a lucky little lady!

We met Jordan's entire family that Sunday for brunch, and it was so much fun to see our niece Kennedy and how much she has changed. It's fun the girls are only six months apart because we get a glimpse of what Syd will be doing in the near future. The flight back to CO was a little more eventful, as Sydney didn't really sleep much. Nearby passengers again loved their little treat bags, and Sydney was a doll and charmed everyone around her. I'm so happy her first flights went so well because we just booked two more flights for her! Eek.

Babies Gone Wild, napping edition

A little karaoke before the wheels fell off

Rolling over with mama

The best-looking groomsman and bridesmaid

My little date before Jordan joined us

And lastly, CONGRATULATIONS to our wonderful friends. You guys make a beautiful couple, both inside and out, and we couldn't be happier and more honored to have celebrated your special day with you. We love you guys! Cheers to a lifetime of happiness and laughter. xoxo

4 Months

Our little doll turned four months old on May 28th. WHERE is time going?

I love our pediatrician. He's so great -- really personable and friendly, but what I love most is he has a sense of urgency like Britney Spears eating Cheetohs. He rarely keeps us waiting, and he's very efficient and swift. And an added bonus is he doesn't talk in an annoying baby voice to Sydney like his doctor partner does, who speaks baby talk exclusively.

Sydney's four month checkup went well. She weighed 13 lbs and 9.4 oz, which put her in the 37th percentile for weight, and she was either 24 or 25 inches long, which either put her in the 41st or 52nd percentile for height (both numbers are written down on our sheet). And her little nugget head was 39.9 cm, which put her in the 30th percentile. So, we've got ourselves a little peanut.

Syd took her shots like a champ and only cried for about a minute, which was partially because she fell asleep after her checkup (and before her shots) while her pediatrician and I were talking, so she was sad and mad that I woke her up to get nailed by a needle four times (poor little bug).

Something I never mentioned at her two month checkup was Sydney's heart murmur. Our pediatrician found a slight murmur but said he wanted to wait for her four month checkup to see if it went away on its own because he didn't think it sounded bad enough to get it checked out right away. So we waited, and unfortunately Sydney didn't grow out of it, and it was still there, clear as day. He recommended we take her to a pediatric cardiologist, so away we went to get her checked out.

Too early, Mama

Sydney got an EKG and while we were waiting for her results, she was laying on her back happily cooing and suddenly rolled over! She had rolled from her tummy to her back before but never back to front, so this was hilarious to suddenly see. I clearly wasn't prepared, so this is the only picture I got from it, haha.

Results of her EKG showed that while Sydney did still have a murmur, it was a stills murmur, which means it's innocent enough to just let it be and she'll most likely grow out of it - so, a little unsettling but I trust they know what they're talking about. (They may have went to school for years on this.) Sydney did so well throughout the entire appointment, though, and I was so proud of her for being such a brave little babe.

Happy four month birthday, sweet girl. We love you SO much!!!!

Memorial Day Weekend

So about a year-and-a-half ago, a few of Jordan's buddies were coming out to visit for a long weekend of skiing. To make things a little less expensive for our friends, we're usually able to borrow a couple of ski medallions, which are transferrable ski passes for unlimited skiing and riding with no blackout dates to six mountains in Colorado - aka a medallion is to a skier/snowboarder as a Golden Ticket was to Charlie Bucket. Unfortunately we weren't able to obtain any medallions for the weekend, but a friend who works at a really nice resort in Breck suggested we sit through a 90-minute timeshare presentation and in exchange we would receive two free ski passes, no purchase necessary. Okay, perfect.

Or not.

South Park aired an episode a while ago called "Asspen," and it's still one of my favorite episodes ever. It's so funny. If you're not a South Park enthusiast like myself, the episode is about the boys and their parents vacationing in Aspen for "free" because they saw an ad that if they sit through a 30-minute timeshare presentation they could stay the weekend for free. The parents sit through the presentation and repeatedly refuse to buy, but then they're told the presentation is actually a lunch. So they sit through the lunch and ask to leave halfway through when they're suddenly told to look at the other side of their place cards, which reveal a prize to use an exclusive chairlift. So they're finally excited to be out skiing and thinking they're going to be skiing an exclusive part of the mountain when suddenly their chairlift takes them straight back to the presentation room. They try to leave the room only to be held at gunpoint by police officers, who evidently work for the timeshare company as well, and find out everyone in authority, including the President of the United States, works for the timeshare company. Finally, the parents are forced to buy a timeshare, but by the time they're done signing, the weekend is over. It's ridiculous and hilarious -- and so. freaking. true.

HELLO.

Jordan and I totally got South Parked.

The presentation was supposed to be only 90 minutes, but our friend who suggested the idea said they usually only last an hour. A whopping four-and-a-half hours later, Jordan and I finally met our buddy for a drink -- as the proud owners of a "Breckenridge Grand Vacations: Timeshare Experience" holder. Dead serious.

But even though we didn't intend on buying anything, we did get a lot for what we paid: in addition to the two free ski passes, we also got an entire weekend at the resort, two more activities of our choice (ski passes, round of golf, spa services, etc.), a $50 gift certificate to one of their restaurants, free use of their underground, heated parking garages for a year (Breck charges $20 to park in their lots during the season), free day use of their resorts for a year (including gyms, game rooms, locker rooms, ski storage, indoor and outdoor heated pools, indoor and outdoor hot tubs, etc.), and the big ticket: a one week "Dream Vacation" (literally what they call it) at one of their timeshare resorts anywhere in the world for the timeshare price of $200-400 (yes, for the entire week) - and that's really what sold us. We knew we were going to start trying to get pregnant, but c'mon. It was November 2012 - we had plenty of time before June 1, 2014.

No, actually we didn't.

Wednesday, May 14th, I remembered our "Dream Vacation" and realized we had of course run out of time. I checked their website for resort availability, and there was practically nothing available at such short notice, so we didn't have much of a choice other than to book the week in CO. The resort available was one of the nicest resorts in Breck, which was awesome---but we booked knowing fully well we wouldn't even get to enjoy half of the week due to work.

AHHHHH.

But we did manage to get up there by Thursday afternoon, and we had a lovely, relaxing weekend. (Although I wanted to slap myself when upon checking in, the concierge said, "Mrs. Anderson, we're so overjoyed you're staying here, but we're also wondering why you chose to have your Dream Vacation with us when you could have gone anywhere in the world." Yeah---thanks, buddy.) We met up for dinner one night with my girlfriend Keri, who I was dying to visit with since I had only seen her once for 10 minutes after she had gotten back from Sochi (yes, she was in the Olympics!), we saw our friends who recently moved to Silverthorne and saw their adorable place (the guys also went golfing at an awesome course), and we took Sydney for her first dip in a pool. It wasn't anything super extravagant, and the weather was a little chilly, but the resort and suite were so nice and it was so much fun to just to cozy up with our little family in the mountains. Can't complain about that, right?

Hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. I heard/saw on Facebook how gorgeous the weather was in Minnesota, and with so many pictures of cabins/lakes posted, I can't say I wasn't a tiny bit homesick!

These two. <3

More Bumbo chair action, omg

Our Friday morning...working in the suite. :-/

Keri's Olympian ring - SO BALLER!

Caught Jordan watching TV like this...I wonder where Sydney gets it from? ;-)

Sleeping on the drive home...vacation is tiring!

Back home - these two must've had so much fun that I caught them looking at mountain properties