Fiona's first day @ new daycare!

Fiona cried in the morning when Craig and I dropped her off, but the ladies who run her room claim she did fine for most of the remainder of the day. They have a classroom hamster named Lucky, and apparently he was used as a distraction whenever Fiona started to get upset.

Why kids need to stand at the window and cry, I don't know, but it is heartbreaking! Fiona was SO happy when I showed up to fetch her in the late afternoon. We held hands and walked out to the car, chatting about her day. Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit easier for her. The center is closed on Thursday and Friday (and Monday for Labor Day), so just as she is getting used to being there, she'll be gone for five days and will forget who these people are.

And next week it begins anew, poor monkey. She will love it there soon enough, but for now, she can't be having a good time. Luckily, it isn't affecting her evening mood at all.

Martha impending!

BFM (Best Friend Martha) jets into town tonight from the town of beans, and I can't wait! This is my 40th birthday present, and isn't it a lovely one? Just the chicas! She is leaving behind her many boys/men, and likely won't know what to do with herself with no food to cook, toys to pick up, or dirt to wipe off.

How glorious!

"Hi!"

Moving on up!

Today is Fiona's last day at the girls' current daycare center. On Monday, she starts at the new digs, where the girls' friend, Ethan, goes. We will miss the ladies at the current center, but Fiona will still see them every day - at least until Rory gets accepted into the new school. Yes, we will be doing the dreaded "double drop-off" every day for the foreseeable future. It isn't too horrible, as they're not that far apart, but we can't wait to move Rory over, too.

Bon voyage to Fiona! And adios to the ladies at the old place!

Jell-O jigglers ROCK

With twice the sugar, half the water, and highly cut-able, how could they NOT be fun?

Through a fly's eye

Yes, we play with our children's toys. Here is our visual confession! Rory on the top; Fiona on the bottom.

Fiona is 18 months old!

I have no idea how it happened so fast, but my squishy little baby has become a squishy little toddler! Today, Miss Fi turns 1.5 years old (her nicknames include Fia, Ona, Fi, WeeFee/WiFi, juicy morsel, and more). Astonishing! She is quite a pip, and spends 95% of her time having fun and enjoying life. The other 5% of the time, she throws hissy fits when prevented from trying to achieve her goals. => That's about the nicest way to say THAT!

Fiona is talking up a storm, and already loves to sing. She can sing the ABC song, some bits of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," "The Wheels on the Bus," and "Down By the Station," among others. Her word list includes, but is not limited to: Mommy, Daddy, Rory, Henry, Papa, kitty cat, doggie, puppy, hippo (of course!), hockey, sock/Sox, me, I do, apple, tiger ("tigee"), polar bear ("po bo"), panda bear ("pan bo"), car, lion, mine, how are you, wow, hop, bouncy, yes, no, sorry, ball, airplane, tree, train, book, I see you, whoa, and water ("nani" - her only made-up word, as far as we can tell). 

To commemorate her 18-month existence, she woke up and ripped down the darkening blinds in her room. She wakes up at 6:15 am nearly every day, and plays in her crib until 7:00. She periodically enjoys beating on the wall when she wakes up, so we had to move her crib away from the wall so the beating wouldn't wake up Rory. She is a wild thing! Fiona is very focused on her goals, and enjoys yelling loudly (and hurling her body about) if they are not met.

She is a good sleeper, a good eater, and is very friendly and outgoing. We adore her!!

Brief visit with Rory (R1), Rob, and Parker!

On Saturday morning, Rory Shaffer-Walsh (after whom we named our Rory - aka, R2) made the grevious error of calling me and telling me she was local-ish. The Shaffer-Walsh clan lives in Patchogue, NY (on Long Island), and they were driving through Frederickburg, VA en route to Ohio to visit Rob's family.

So of course I insisted/begged/groveled until they relented and agreed to meet up with me and the girls at a local Starbucks on Route 7. I can be very persuasive when need be.

We had such fun, and I hope it didn't add too much to their already painfully long drive!! A few pics of the peeps!!

This just in! A new Lanning baby has joined the ranks!

Brian (aka, B-Luv) just texted me to say that son #4, Luke Edward Lanning, was born today - 08/08/08 - at 1:26 am. Luke clocked in at 8 pounds, 8 ounces, earning him the nickname "El Ocho." I think I may instead call him "Crazy Eights," and WATCH how fast I buy him an Alex Ovechkin item!! Ovechkin's Washington Capitals number is 8, in case you didn't follow that tangent.

Congratulations to the Lannings! You're only one baby boy away from an entire hockey line (not counting the goalie). How awesome!

A few vacation pictures

Following is a smattering of the loads and loads of photos we took while on vacation. I will eventually post the lot to a Website (once I figure out how to use the new .me application from Apple), so these will have to do for now. Enjoy!  

Back from the Vineyard!

We just got back from Vineyard Beachy Vacation 2008, and it was a sandy blast! I didn't blog from there because there wasn't a computer on which I could even check my *Webmail*, so to blog seemed pointless. => That said, it was nice to be totally disconnected for once! We spent lovely days with Nana and Grandad (Craig's folks), the wonderful English relatives (Aunt Jean and Cousin Bethany), and even got in some brief visits with Laura's family in CT.

I'll post some pictures after I have the energy to rifle through them!