Carpooling

Each time I take the 405 I dutifully stay in the regular lane even though I have Veda in the car and could possibly use the HOV lane. I've never been sure if she counts as a "person" and whether or not I'd end up with a $300 ticket. I finally checked - and yes - she counts! Hooray.

Blah

That's how I feel. We spent all day at LAX on Saturday waiting on a delayed flight that ended up cancelled. We drove the long hour home and did it all over again on Sunday. We barely barely made our connection in Denver as our flight was delayed again and I was drenched in sweat and about ready to lose my mind. Sweet Veda wouldn't sit still on the flights and insisted on pulling the arm hair and trying to grasp the glasses off of the innocent airline customer seated next to us. As if sitting in the middle was not bad enough, he had to endure two hours of harassment. On the second flight I had to change a poopy diaper in the aisle and I didn't think twice about it. I even made the guy sitting next to us hold her while I made a bottle. I didn't ask - I just sat her down and she crawled up on his lap. I didn't stop her - I needed a moment to get organized whether he liked it or not. For the record - I think he did even though he looked very nervous;)

I got up early and drove to Chicago today for a meeting. Tomorrow we will drive to Ames for a meeting at Iowa State. Veda gets to come along as we are meeting up with Grandma Laabs and she will play with the Bean while I'm off working. Here's a pic of Veda. Exhauseted from playing with Nana and Bull all day she fell asleep in the splits!

Bean Stalkers

When we started posting to the blog we added an analytics tool so we could track our visits. I can tell you that between March 16 and April 15 we had 256 unique visitors and more than 1800 visits. That's 256 people who now know that I'm not funny, that I don't know how to spell, and that Veda is so sweet you could eat her;)

The top 5 states are Iowa, California, Arizona, Missouri (Mrs. Fisher?:), and Ohio. Not much of a surprise.

Thanks for following;) Veda loves all the attention! Next week we will be travelling to Iowa. I have work in Iowa and Illinois and will do my best to post updates while I'm on the road. Todd will be kickin' it in the Natti with his good friend Jody at P&G Brand Manager College.

Veda's four food groups

Mom's shoe

My shoe

Dad's shoe

Anything Paper

I was dumb enough to give Veda the church program on Sunday to distract her.. Half way home we realized she had injested half of it. Whoops.

My First Easter

We had a great Easter Sunday. Best of all was the 2 hour nap that Mom and Veda took in the middle of the afternoon! We went to sunrise service at 6:30a on the beach! Waves crashing in the background - sun rising over the Santa Monica Mountains - really doesn't get any better than this. It was a perfect reminder of the wonder of God's creation.

It was early enough that we were able to get into one of our favorite breakfast places without worrying about long lines. Veda happily chewed on a straw and kept herself occupied while we ate;) When we got home we had an Easter Egg hunt in her crib! I tried to get her to figure out if she opened the eggs she would find a treat inside. Apparently we aren't quite that smart yet. We then went for our first swim in the pool! We loved it so we know what we'll be doing all summer!

Later in the afternoon we went to the park. Dad challenged Mom to a game of HORSE at the basketball court while Veda cheered me on. Didn't go so well but if you factor in my handicap I think I did alright. Then Steaks for dinner. A perfect day!

Funny "chubs" Face

I think this speaks for itself...

Happy Bunny vs. Angry Bunny vs. Real Life Bunny

It was all Bunnies, all day today...Veda was dressed with her bunny ears while we went for a walk...while on the walk home, we spotted a real life "albino" bunny (red eyes and all). Either the Easter Bunny was a day early or some unlucky kid lost their rabbit today??

Pouty Face

It's been too cold to take Veda swimming by her standards. I have been eager to try out the new floaty toy that Todd bought her so I decided the bathtub is big enough. She wasn't having it. I don't know if it was the bubbles or the scary lady bug or what but we quickly retreated to the baby bath where happy baby returned.

Veda Illustrates the Need to Baby Proof!

Bully

The other day Veda had her first play date with the Soffin boys and baby Rees (not pictured). At one point little Jacob started crying - we looked over and Veda was doing push ups on his back - laughing away. She would crawl over and grab the toys right out of their hands - ha ha - enjoy it while it lasts dear - pretty soon they'll be beating on you!

Little Miss Brainy

Ugh - I need a break. I'm having a tough time with miss V. I think she is getting too smart for me. I think she knows that I can not handle crying and whining and that it eventually results in horsey rides, long walks outside, or treats. I'm going to have to put on my bad cop hat and let her cry it out.

We Party !

No real story behind this picture...just partying with the cereal bowl and a spoon....just another day hanging out in the cage.

Beach Weather

It was a beautiful warm spring day in Southern California. We took Veda to the beach. I don't know if I'll ever get all the sand out of her chub rolls - ha ha. She is showing us new tricks everyday. She is eating finger foods now, drinking water from her sippy cup, and pulling herself into a standing position. Looking forward to what fun she has in store for us next week!

A+

Veda had another well baby Dr. appt today. She weighed in at a whopping 20lbs 6oz. She's at 90% for weight, 80% for height, and 70% for head. The Dr. didn't seem concered about her eating habits and was impressed in general with her progress. She only had to get one shot today and sqirmed but didn't even cry - she's a tough one.

Veda's visit to the park with Nana and Gramp Bull

New Trick

Veda was so excited to see us today when we returned from Tokyo that we couldn't get her down for her afternoon nap. She was exhausted and finally caved into sleep... while she was sitting up.

Day 2 in Tokyo

We had an amazing time with our new Japanese friends at dinner last night. We had a huge feast of sushi and just when we couldn't eat another bite they brought out a sushi cake and then tempura. It's amazing that we couldn't speak their language and they couldn't speak a lick of English but the more Sake we had the less it mattered. Ha ha ha.

Moshi Moshi

Day 1 in Tokyo was a success. After 11 hours of tourism we are beat. Our highlights of the day... Todd falling through a paper wall at the restaurant, Ryan convincing Todd that his yogurt (disguised as an egg) was supposed to be mixed with his beef bowl, Octopus balls, the 53 minute walk to go four blocks to the restaurant our "tour guide" couldn't find (we have this on video), the button on all public toilets that makes a flushing sound to cover up the sounds of going to the bathroom to save embarassment! There are too many to name. Will be back with another update...

Nana, Mom and Me!

Blogger Vacation

We are headed to Japan tomorrow. Don't know if we'll be able to post while we are there but we will try. Veda decided to sprout a tooth today. It's a sharp little sucker and I'm sure its surfacing felt something like childbirth or passing a kidney stone - at least you would think so by the way she was carrying on last night. Nana and Grandpa Bull made it to town today for their babysitting adventure and got the full scale run down of the Veda dos and donts. She seems pretty excited to have new people around to give her attention. She needs a lot of it these days.

UPDATE: While Veda was nawing on my finger before bed I discovered she has not one but two teeth. One on the top and one on the bottom. I wonder if it feels like giving birth to twins?

We bought her a "cage" so she wouldn't venture out to the tile floors, knock her head on the floor and end up with a goose egg like she did last night. I let her sit on the bathroom (tile) floor. Big mistake - she went down backwards and the impact shook the house;) She has offically started to crawl. She figures it out and then gets sheepish and needs her training wheels back on.

We've also figured out this fun toy. She kept fighting Dad for the remote control (a battle no one can win) and so we just took the batteries out of an old one and now it's hers. I think she feels like she's getting away with something.

Well - wish us safe travels and we hope to return with lots of good stories!

Mommy and Me

I rarely get my picture taken with sweet Veda because I'm always the one snapping the pics! This is after dinner out with Jen and Steve (at a bar watching March Madness) while our neighbors Kathy and Tom watched Veda.

Spring Fling

It's nice and balmy here. We are having spring fling here at the Laabs house. We've moved Veda's exersauver outside and I've transformed the front porch into my office. We are going shopping for new porch furniture this weekend (although Todd doesn't know it yet).

The top picture is proof that I put Veda in Green on St. Patty's Day - at least for an hour before she spit up all over herself.

Veda Updates

She is sooooooo close to crawling. In fact, she can crawl backwards. She gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth and then usually gives up and lays down like she's exhausted from the very thought of trying to move forward. She is also really into pee-a-boo and I'm totally impressed that she covers her own face with the blanket and pulls it down and laughs.

The Colorado Trip! Fun Times!

Girls Trip

I'm in Colorado with the girls to celebrate Brooke's bachelorette party. We are staying way up in the mountains near Boulder at my Boss' cabin. Veda is at home with Todd and Todd is experiencing his first all day solo daycare with V. I hope she is treating him well;) Here's a pic I took last week before I left - she has discovered the toy in her crib and she just bangs and bangs on it until it plays music for her.

It's been a rough trip. I ended up in the emergency room on Friday. I was in a meeting and started to feel extremely uncomfortable. An hour later I was practically crawling into an urgent care. Long story short - I ended up in an ambulance to the emergency room where they eventually treated me for the severe pain (with lots of good drugs) and diagnosed me with Kidney Stones. A MRI showed a healthy stone in each of my kidneys. I passed the one that was causing me the pain and the Dr. said I have another episode to look forward to in the next 10 days or so. Hopefully before we leave for Japan!

Getting Around to My New Year's Resolution

I've recently been invited to volunteer for the Ventura County Wine and Cheese Festival (http://www.cpwineandcheesefestival.com/) that will be held just miles from our home at the Cal State Channel Islands campus. I'm so excited. This is exactly what I've been missing from my life in California - community, volunteer work, and networking. The festival procedes benefit Casa Pacifica (http://www.casapacifica.org/) - a home for abused and neglected children (also located a few miles from our home). I've passed this shelter many times on the way to the beach and often thought that it might be a bed and breakfast or some type of retreat. I'm warmed to know that good deeds are being done so close to our home and that children in serious need are getting the love they deserve.

If you live in So Cal you should plan to come to the festival and support a great cause (or fly in from wherever you roam and spend the weekend with us)! If you want to help me out you can donate something for the silent auction! Anything helps - we will be bundling baskets of goodies together if we need to. We are also looking for baskets and containers.

Big Foot

We bought these monkey PJs for Veda because she has outgrown her others (and because they are funny - they say "I'm not tired" on them). They are size 18 months. She turns seven months on Thursday. She blew right through the 9 month clothes and her 12 months fit perfectly now. I am very curious to see how she measures at her April 1st Dr. Appointment. Her infant car seat only holds up to 22 lbs. I think we might have to retire it well before her first birthday.

Here's her new exersaucer - one of the many many hand-me-downs from cousin Savannah. She LOVES this thing. For some reason it requires her to use her "outside voice" though. Not sure about the screaming... She is on the verge of crawling. She mysteriously moves several feet while I'm not looking??? I have to put her in this when I leave the room to make sure she stays put - we haven't baby proofed the house yet - a project we will need to tackle SOON.

Dad's Rules

So, Kathy is off wine tasting today with her friends in Ojai, CA (about 30 miles from here). While she is away, I thought I would share some of the rules that we have when dad's in charge:

1.) No Horsey rides before naps - Veda loves bouncing on my knee and pretty much insists on it. This tends to fire her up vs. wind her down.

2.) No Veggies - mom insists on cereal and fruit for breakfast and veggies for lunch and dinner. We throw that out the window when dad's in charge. Fruit is way better.

3.) Watch lots of movies (but dad always gets to pick the movie)

4.) No screaming...we always use our inside voice.

5.) Limit of 1 poop (or less) per day...this has been hard to enforce, but we both understand the importance.

6.) No playing with the talking cell phone toy...we prefer non verbal stuffed animals.

7.) Lots of Horsey rides AFTER naps...(but never after eating...always have to wait at least 45 min - we learned that the hard way).

Veda's Plane Trip

On the flight home from Denver, Veda got her own seat. I think she liked it quite a bit, its gonna be hard to go back to sitting on mom's lap on future flights.

Frequent Flyer

Veda has logged in 18 flights now (20 by the time we fly home on Friday). She is a relatively good traveller. I have to tell you that I'm surprised by how helpful and gracious people are. Of course there are always the grumpy business men who are noticiably irriated by every grunt, squeal, and scream. Mostly people will offer to help with my bags, the stroller, or even the baby. When Todd and I flew home from Mexico in November we pawned Veda off on some lady who offered to walk her up and down the aisle. Ok by me. She was in heaven and I had at least two other passengers ask to be put on the Veda waiting list.

Things I've learned:

The flight attendants will gladly hold the baby while you use the restroom.

They have lids for the cups they serve you your beverage in on the place - this is quite helpful when baby is grabbing at your drink. Who knew?!

An empty extra cup is a fun fun toy for baby.

Some planes have changing tables in the bathrooms over the toilets but if they don't... you can change her on the toilet seat but this is a circus act - much easier to do it on the floor somewhere if you can find room.

Always pick a seat on the right side of the plane (seats c or d on the small planes) because they will make you move over there anyway because that's where the extra oxygen masks are located.

Don't bother bringing reading material - not going to happen.

Be prepared to do everything with one hand... take down the stroller, make a bottle, change a diaper. Go ahead cut off my arm - I can handle it.

I CAN participate in a conference call, change a diaper, and drink a latte at the same time;)

Having a baby is like having a VIP pass - everyone lets you cut in line and generally feels sorry for you - use it to your advantage;)

When Dad Gives Veda a Bath...

Rough week

We traveled to Arizona this week. I had some work dinners to attend and Todd's Mom flew down to take care of Veda and help Auntie Kel celebrate her 30th birthday. Turns out she had to take care of me as well. I ended up with a horrible stomach flu and fever near 102. I couldn't move and was so grateful to have someone taking care of Veda! We are home and in bed by 8 and looking forward to a weekend of recovery. I have work in Ohio next week and Veda will be spending time with Nana Sayre and Grandpa Bull. She going to go Platinum with her frequent flyer miles soon!

Pic 1 Working on Uncle Chris' computer

Pic 2 Veda meets Mom's boss Jim

Pic 3 Grandma Laabs teaching Veda to walk

Veda laughing at Grandma Choking

Veda meets Uncle Joe

Todd's good friend Joe is in town. Some day we will tell her wild stories about Uncle Joe and Todd and a few that involve Mom and Heather too- he he. Poor Joe - being around miss Veda makes him his son Ryan - we wish he and Heather were here too;)

Party Time

Last night we went to celebrate with our friend Jon who turned 30. Dad lead his flippy cup team to victory while Hilding watched baby V. Hilding is in town for the week - the last time we'll see him before he ships out to Iraq for the second time;(

Tutu

I picked this up in Seattle at a little shop near Pike's market. So sweet. I let Veda play with this while I took a shower. When I came out the tag on the tutu was half gone - she had eaten it - ha ha - I guess we are at THAT stage now;)