Valentine's Day

Corey and I haven't celebrated Valentine's Day in so long that I can't even remember the last one we celebrated (sorry babe). This year, however, Nakiah and I woke up to breakfast in bed!!! Corey got up before us, as he does every Saturday morning due to his unfortunate work schedule. I didn't realize it at the time but he got up extra early and made breakfast for his girls. We were treated with cinnamon french toast, fresh strawberries and orange slices, a big glass of milk and a single long stem red rose. If you know Corey, you know this breakfast wasn't piled on a plate with butter and syrup pouring over the edges. He served us on a large white rectangular platter, french toast sprinkled with powdered sugar cut, on the diagonal, neatly arranged on one side of the tray. Fancy cut strawberries and orange slices artistically arranged in the corner of the tray. Syrup poured into a small glass bowl and the rose laying across the tray. What a way to start the morning!!

After breakfast and saying goodbye to daddy, I took Nakiah to the park for some fresh air. She loves playing on the toys but gets a little too brave and demands her independence. I was trying to help her on the steps because she had gloves on and I was afraid she didn't have a very good grip of the rails...she didn't care and pulled her hands back. The picture above is right after her refusing my help and right before her tumbling down the steps and hitting her face on the rails. Below is the aftermath when I asked if I could look at her mouth to make sure there was no blood/broken teeth/cut lips etc. The rest of the morning was great....for both of us! Nakiah got to drive the cars

She even braved another set of steps, this time she stuck to her knees....but still NO help from mom!

She LOVED stomping on the bleachers to hear the noise she could make

Her favorite part of the whole park.......?

The Rocks!

She loved throwing them on the concrete...

...or on the benches, anywhere really!

I just hope the guys at work don't mention all the clean up they had to do the next day!

Oh yeah ~ Auma couldn't resist a Valentine gift for her little girl

Jungle Playland

Jungle Playland has easily become Nakiah's favorite (indoor) place to play. Between my mom and Corey and I, she's been making pretty regular weekly trips. Her favorite place is the ball pit and the little jungle. She could spend all day in the ball pit, especially if she were the only kid in there. The last time Corey and I took her there, I was in line waiting to pay and Corey put Nakiah down and let her run. I watched her walk around a bit and suddenly, out of nowhere, she turns around, screams and runs right to me. She wrapped her arms around my legs, gave me a great big hug and took off to the toys. I could almost see the light bulb turn on like she suddenly realized where she was and how much she enjoyed being there.

Quiet Time

Nakiah is has always needed her quiet time.....

During this time she is completely zoned out (usually to her Sprout cartoons) to the point that I can get in her face and loudly say her name and the only response I get from her is a head tilt for the purpose of looking around me. We came home from the park on Saturday morning, I gave her a juice and a graham cracker. She didn't even stick around for me to take her coat and shoes off. She took her pony out of her hair and headed straight for the TV. She laid down on her fluffy dog and vegged out for a couple of shows before she told me she was ready for her nap.

Sometimes its the dog, sometimes she rolls around on the floor, sometimes its her chair and a bottle. I've learned that this time is her time and its pointless to even try talking to her. We have a mutual understanding - she has quiet time and I get a chance to pay bills, empty the dishwasher, do a load of laundry....all the fun things on the never ending mom list!

Food Is Fun!

Nakiah has so much fun eating these days, sometimes I think it might be her favorite part of the day. She's getting to that age where she'll ask for an apple, or banana or whatever but it MUST be whole! If I cut the apple into slices, peel the banana and give her half or cut something into smaller pieces, she suddenly is not interested in eating it.....but she'll have a bite of mine... and then she'll keep it thank you.

I've had to start eating my apples peeled so that when I give it to her, I don't have to alter it in any way. Whatever it takes to be a big girl I guess.

She very much likes to "get mommy" with her messy hands. She'll sign please and then say "mmmuuuuhhhh" like she wants to give me a kiss but when I lean forward she tries to rub her hands all over my face. She is really into tearing her food apart and checking it out, especially berries or something that has an "inside".

Oh, and did I mention how much she likes to squish everything between her fingers?

Compliments of Auma....

Boy or Girl?? Ultrasound Today!

We had our midway ultrasound today. Both Grandmas, Nakiah, Corey and myself got to say hi to baby today and watch him/her squirm around. At one point baby even kicked/jumped/punched so hard that the ultrasound tech felt it. So, technically, she was the first person (other than myself) to feel the baby move....sorry daddy! Baby was moving quite a bit so we actually got to watch for quite a while. Baby was even sucking his/her fingers at one point and had his/her hand and arm by his/her face almost the entire time. The ultrasound tech said baby is growing right on schedule, measuring 18 weeks 4 days and weighing in at approximately 9 ounces. Baby's heart rate was 155, which is a bit higher than the numbers they have given me at my OB's office.

Today's ultrasound and a couple other incidents have changed my mother's mind....she now believes we are having another girl. **WARNING** She also believed Nakiah to be a boy for most of my pregnancy! :-) On the flip side, just to confuse you a little more - Corey is convinced he may have seen "evidence" of a baby boy in mommy's belly. **WARNING** Corey and I both thought we saw the same "evidence" during Nakiah's ultrasound.

Baby O'Neil #2 - 2/16/09

Nakiah - 4/9/07 Baby O'Neil #2 - 2/16/09

*baby is looking at you at a slightly downward angle, facing to the right*

Nakiah - 4/9/07 *laying on her side, head to the right, feet to the left, looking directly at you* Baby O'Neil #2 - 2/16/09 *baby's foot and toes pointing left, large blob in middle of black area is baby's leg* -baby was sitting cross legged most of the time- Nakiah - 4/9/07 *laying on her back, looking up, feet to the left, side view*

Boy or Girl?

You'll have to wait and see!

Kissy Kissy

I have no idea where Nakiah picked this up or how long she has had this figured out...

...but tonight during her bath she showed me how the ducks kiss. She put their little beaks together and said "mmmmuuuuuhhhh".

She did this over and over again. Then she would kiss each duck, then I had to kiss each duck and then she would kiss me and the ducks would start making out again.

Oh my!

Mohawk No More :-(

Nakiah's hair has gotten so long that we can't even make mohawks during bath time any more....

Now its just a cupie doll swirl thing It was a sad day....okay, maybe just for mommy!

Brusha Brusha Brush!

Nakiah recently got on a huge teeth brushing kick. She NEEDS to do it all the time. She just got over a double ear infection and in order to get her to take her medicine, we bribed her with brushing her teeth.

As soon as I would tell her that she could brush her teeth after her medicine, she would walk to the fridge and open her mouth like a little bird She pulls her little potty (which doubles as a stool) up to the sink and signs "please" and says "teeth" until she gets her toothbrush. The water must be on and she desperately needs toothpaste. For the most part, when someone else isn't involved, her brushing of teeth consists of running the toothbrush under the water, sucking the water off the bristles and biting the bristles to make sure all the good stuff is off. (her toothpaste is apple berry flavor)

Hopefully she's always this into hygiene!!

Celery or Ranch???

I'm not a big celery eater, but a couple days ago I had a craving. As I was cleaning the celery Nakiah saw it and said "nummy". I didn't think she would actually eat it, especially considering how stringy it is, but she seemed to like it just fine and was all over it when she saw me dipping it in the ranch (she loves to dip anything).

She was dipping and eating... Eating and dipping.....until I walked back to the kitchen

I came back out and this is what I found

Next time I ate celery I think she remembered how fun the dip was and again asked for some "nummy"

I was trying to determine if she actually liked the celery, which she ate when I put it in her mouth....

....or if she was just eating it as a means to get what she really wanted!

I'm pretty certain the ranch was the ultimate goal!

Another Pregnancy....Another Car!

When we found out we were pregnant with Nakiah we decided to get serious about car shopping. Nakiah = New car for Mommy Apparently we continued the trend,

Baby #2 = New car for Daddy

Needless to say, Corey is pretty happy with his new toy. I got to drive it home from the lot....that night, he found more than one excuse to drive somewhere! :)

People weren't kidding when they said having babies is expensive!!