We had our first ultrasound on Friday morning. So Todd went in late to work after the appointment. We tried to get some work done before we left and Veda was happy to help. The ultrasound went well. The baby wasn't cooperating so we couldn't find out the sex - Oct 27th will be the big day. It was neat to see the baby jumping around and good to get a positive report that everything looks as it should. 
It's the simple things in life...sometimes you just need to sit on the counter naked with potatoes. That's all it takes to go from screaming tantrum, to happy baby.
Here's V eating my rollers. Her daily routine while Dad is getting ready in the morning consists of opening all the bathroom drawers, pulling everything out, and making sure that all the rooms on the second floor have an even distribution of Mom and Dad's bathroom items. Every time I want to curl my hair I have to go on a treasure hunt;) It's a disappointing morning. Todd called to say that someone hit him while he was driving to work this morning. I thought this was going to be a real inconvenience because he has to turn in his lease next week. How in the world would we (most likely I) get in fixed in time? Then he reminded me that he drove my car to work - oh joy!
At my Doctor's appointment yesterday with my Urologist he informed me that the test results have identified the culprit responsible for my Kidney Stones... Salt. I have "way too much" sodium in my system. I laughed out loud because I am always giving Todd a hard time about eating too much salt and I'm the one with the problem. So this morning I started reading all the nutritional panels on our food in search for something healthy to eat. Ughhhhh!!! Everything has tons of sodium. This is going to be a serious chore to cut down on salt and it doesn't just mean staying away from the salt shaker.
Kel and Chris left yesterday and boy is it quiet around here;( I did spend the day with the Direct TV guy who spent 6 hours at the house installing Todd's birthday present. The good news is that we now have two less TVs in our house because they couldn't connect all of them - the bad news is that Todd now has a reason to stay glued to the couch ALL day on Sunday with NFL Sunday ticket.
This is Todd and Chris' way of teaching Veda about the birds and the bees. Cute huh?
We had a sunset dinner on the beach Saturday night with the Ehlers. Veda LOVES the sand. I suppose it will be much like her love affair with snow the first time she experiences it. The sand is everywhere in our house. I wonder how people who LIVE on the beach deal with this nuisance? 
Aunt Kel made the best dinner ever. Giada's seafood pasta. Veda feasted on her milk. Today the ladies head to the spa while Chris and Todd watch football and hopefully, Veda.
I've been so busy juggling work and baby that I haven't given my camera much attention this week. Here's a pic from the archives that I don't think I've shared. Big day today. Aunt Kel and Uncle Chris are coming to visit. I'm thinking that I wish I had maid service. I've never thought I was too busy to clean myself but now I'm thinking I'm just too tired - that's a good excuse right?!
If you don't have this toy then you should get it. Veda loves it - we had some great Video but I couldn't get it loaded. Thanks Brooke - Veda picked this out with her birthday money;))
Todd travelled to KC this weekend for a live fantasy football draft with his friends. Veda and I were lucky enough to have Megan visit for the weekend. It was like having my parents come to visit - she cooked, cleaned, and babysat - ahhhhhhh! She even played doctor. Veda took a bad spill and we had a bleeder so Meg gave her a Bandaid - which she kept pulling off of course. I'm going to have to stock up on those - she's getting more brave and having more accidents. This morning I came out of the bathroom and found her standing on the coffee table;)
So in this picture Veda is attempting to climb on to the coffee table to gain access to Dad's dinner. She also pulls this in the bathroom while I'm getting her bath ready. She stands at the edge of the tub with her leg up on the ledge as if she can really get over if she tries hard enough. She's ambitious.
I made Todd prime rib for his birthday dinner and it was amazing and amazingly easy. I have never made it before and figured people don't eat it often because it's hard to make but no, it's expensive - that's why. I went to the Butcher shop and asked for a few ribs worth of prime rib having no idea how much that really was - just following the recipe I looked up online. Good thing the butcher asked how many people I was feeding because he suggested I go home with two ribs worth. That was almost 6 lbs of meat and was about 4 times more expensive than I had guessed. Gulp. Happy Birthday Dear!
In our attempts to appease Miss Veda, we are always looking at new "play locations." Kathy found this rather clever new location...our jacuzzi in our bathroom. She loves it in there (even without water). The ledge is just her size and you can fill it with toys instead of water. We've seen her play in there for up to 30 min, which is the equivalent of 3 days in grown up time.
I swear that this is a true story...it was towards the end of the day at Disneyland and we decided to enter into Toon Town with Veda. As we were walking up the hill, Kathy says..."hey look, a Post Office...great, I need to buy some stamps!" She got all the way in the door before she realized what she was actually doing. The 5 yr old behind the counter was probably a good hint that this wasn't your normal Post Office. (I made her take this picture to "capture the moment.")
Here's to another great year. You've taught us about caring, respect and patience for one another. We love you lots - Todd, Kathy & Veda
I found this little backpack and bought it up because it has a leash! This will be perfect for public places - especially because Veda doesn't like being confined to her stroller now that she can walk. She likes wearing her monkey and carrying the leash around herself. She spins in circles trying to get to the monkey - funny.
I haven't propoerly given credit to my Mother for slaving over the sewing machine for four days! She made this car seat cover for a car seat that was gifted to us by friends. $5 of fabric and lots of her time or I could have bought one online for $80! It fits perfectly and is excellent in every detail. The picture just doesn't to it justice. Thanks Mom!
Well I will tell you where the Magic is not... We took Veda to Disneyland for her first birthday. We walked from our hotel. We went through security where they looked through our bags and then came into a large open space. We looked left to the turnstiles and right to the turnstiles and took the one with shorter lines. An hour and a half later after a muppet 3-D movie and a sub-par lunch we realized that we were not at Disneyland. No no. We were at Disneyland's California Adventure Park. Veda was grumpy and I give credit to her knowing the entire time that this was not the Disneyland Magic we had promised her.
Veda, meet Mr. Potato Head. Thanks Aunt Kel and Uncle Chris - I think he's funny.
First I swept. Then I walked Heather's dog. Then I went shopping with my babysitter and Kiki. Then I went to my cousin's soccor practice. Aunt Melissa made me cupcakes and my cousin Savannah and I had a feeding frenzie. I had frosting everywhere imaginable - kind of like sand in your swimsuit when you get home from the beach. Then the neighbors came over and showered me with gifts and THEN Dad came home and gave me a bath. Definatly my best birthday so far! Oh and thanks Auntie Betsi for my super cool Birthday Tshirt - I got lots of birthday greetings!
It's your first birthday. You're walking and think you can run but you can't and you keep falling on your face. I think you will get your 4th tooth today. You can say duck, yum, dada, bottle (ba), baby (ba), hi, bye, dada and up. You wave and give high fives, hugs and kisses. We gave you your first cup of milk this morning. It didn't go over as well as I thought it would - it sure smells better than formula! I won't have to buy anymore formula or clean anymore bottles after today. Life is good!
We spent the evening grubbing on pizza with our new friend Baby Jack at the very same hospital that we were headed to exactly one year ago tonight! We are so happy for our good friends Jennifer and Steve and we wish Jennifer a Very Happy Birthday tomorrow!
During our trip to the fair yesterday, we stumbled upon the preppiest sheep at the fair. Of course, Veda had to get her picture taken with him...check out the sweet hair do on this guy....
The next "Baby Laabs" is due March 25th but will arrive the week before by C section. The little white dot in the middle of the dark circle is the bean. I'm exhausted just thinking about having a Toddler and a newborn - so I'm sleeping on it - a lot. I'm going to bed right about the time Todd gets home from work - ha! Our first Ultrasound is Sept 11th. Not sure if we will learn the sex then... maybe?!
Veda had her first ever trip to the County Fair today in Ventura. The petting zoo was definitely the highlight of the trip. There was a couple pot belly pigs, some minature deer, several curious goats and one giant llama who apparently eats shirts! Oh, and 2 ducks, which Veda definitely recognized from her books.
