Bye, Bye Paci!

Tink is officially 18 months old! She is changing by leaps and bounds each day, and we truly enjoy watching her grow. I decided a few months ago that 18 months was the cut-off point for her pacifier, but as the date approached, R and I both started having second thoughts. She only uses it in bed and on long car trips, and we were pretty happy with how things were going during those times. Why change a good thing, right? We somehow managed to convince each other that the longer we wait, the harder it will be, and we decided that Friday was the day. We didn't talk about it until Friday, but all afternoon, I kept telling her what a big girls she was and that she didn't need her paci anymore - she just kept nodding and smiling, not a clue of what was about to happen. After dinner, we brought out the balloons and let her go upstairs and get her paci. We tied them together and after a few sucks and "bye-byes", she let them go. It was a little scary, but she did really well - again, not having a clue. We gave her a bath and went through her regular bedtime routine without a hitch. As R was laying her down, she stared asking for her paci, but he reminded her that she sent it away with the balloons and left her to fend for herself. He came downstairs and we braced ourselves for a very long night. Amazingly enough, she cried for about 15 minutes, and slept the ENTIRE night! We were both completely amazed. Nap time was a little trickier, but she fell asleep after about 45 minutes. We're completely surprised and proud of her for adapting so quickly - such a bittersweet moment for me as a mom. Of course, Daddy had to take her to Chuck E Cheese's to celebrate :)

tying things together

getting ready

one last suck

letting go

watching

Bye-bye!

"No more paci celebration"

(notice how thrilled the girls are about Chuck E.)

fish

So, my Mom decided that the girls needed fish - they are really into animals right now and love to make fish faces . . . sounds like the perfect Nana idea, doesn't it? Buy the grandkids a fish and then hop a plane home so that the kids can look at them once in awhile and think about what a cool Nana you are while your children feed and clean up after them. I don't have enough of that to do already, right? In all fairness, she did ask first, and I did say yes. Anyway, when we got home from Canada, we found a small tank and a note - apparently, my Mom is just lucky enough to choose the fish that was about to give birth. Literally. On the way home from the pet store. So now, Tink is the proud owner of not only a Mommy and a Daddy fish, but lots of little baby fish. Seriously. Did I mention that I'm five months pregnant and a little overwhelmed with the thought of how crazy my life is about to become? Gotta love grandparents :)

Oh, Canada

We just returned from our whirlwind trip to Canmore for Matt and Tina's wedding! Tina is a dear friend, and we were so excited to be able to make the trip to celebrate her big day. The weather was beautiful and the Canadian Rockies were breathtaking - I can't imagine a better setting for a fall wedding. Every detail was planned "to a T", which if you know Tina, wasn't shocking in the least. This was Tink's second international trip, and she did very well! She rolled right along with the flight, the altitude, and the busy schedule, including crazy bedtimes and skipping a nap or two (why do I have a feeling that we won't get this lucky twice?) She did have two small mishaps - she hit her eye pretty hard on the arm rest in the airplane, and was stung by a bee on the lip as we were leaving the wedding! She managed to make up for it by getting to taste Canadian maple syrup and Timbits (donut holes) for the first time. The wedding was VERY kid friendly (once again, thanks to Tina), and she played with lots of new friends and got a special "Tourist" Chuck E. doll and personalized coloring book as wedding favors. Ryan and I truly enjoyed the slow pace of our trip, something we rarely experience anymore. All in all, we had a wonderful time and hope to make another visit soon. Ryan insists that we need to visit in the winter, but we'll see :)

The perfect setting

The beautiful bride

Becoming Mr. and Mrs.

Tink's seat for the wedding :)

Taking a walk with Daddy

Playing in the trees

Family Photo-Op

Hot Chocolate and Timbits

Canadian maple syrup

Breakfast in the Rockies

Gotta touch the water

One last picture

BOOMER!

We had a great day on Saturday with R's family. Tink got to wear her OU jersey and I managed to get her hair into pigtails - something I've been waiting to do for a long time! She wasn't too happy about it, but they sure were cute :) PaPa even paid for the OU game so that we could watch at home instead of going to a sports bar (which I was very thankful for!) The Sooners redeemed themselves with a victory, and we made a late (and very wet) drive home. I have a feeling that Tink has a lot of "game days" like this one in her future. . .

first pigtails!

being silly

helping herself to some Chex mix

Sooner born and Sooner bred

Snips and snails and puppy dog tails. . .

We are thrilled to share that Tink is going to have a little brother! We had a great doctor's appointment and sonogram yesterday, and our little guy looks great. It still seems a little foreign to imagine a baby boy in our house, but I'm sure it will feel just right when the time comes :) God is so good and has such perfect timing, as usual! Here are a few pics from yesterday - in the mean time, any ideas on what his online nickname should be?

No, he doesn't have a horn - that's the umbilical cord!

Celebrating at Five GUYS (per Daddy's request) :)