So Many Exciting New Happenings!

The first exciting announcement is that Paprika got her first tricycle yesterday! Whenever we go to the park, she always wants to ride everyone else's trike. Yesterday I got scolded by another mom at the park when Paprika took off with her son's trike. So, after the park, I took Paprika to the store and we got Paprika her very own tricycle. She LOVES it and constantly asks to "Go Bike!" which, of course, means that she wants to ride it. Her feet don't quite reach the pedals yet, but she really enjoys being pushed and letting her feet drag. We are going to decorate it with lots of streamers and stickers to personalize it for Paprika. Fun!

Here's the back view of the bike. Notice Paprika's babydoll, "Lola" (as she's named her) in the back bucket. Mr. Mustard has named this photo: FUTURE WISEGUY...

Yesterday, Paprika went to the bathroom in the potty for the first time. She was pretty pleased with herself. She did it all on her own, with no prompting from us. We are definitely not pushing potty training, but she is very interested in everything having to do with the potty.

We have been going to the park usually two times/day. Paprika loves being outside, in her car, on her bike, and running around outside. We're only indoors to eat and sleep. That's the nice thing about the weather here in Southern California.

Today, we took Paprika to the zoo. She loved seeing the animals and petting the goats at the Children's Petting Zoo. Paprika remembered the roaring lion from our last trip to the zoo. When we got close to the lion exhibit, she got really excited and started to exclaim, "Lion! Lion! Lion!" even though we couldn't yet see the lions. She remembered the exhibit very vividly, which was interesting to me. Mr. Mustard commented that of course she remembered the lions- it's hard to forget a lion roaring at top volume for five minutes.

Here is Paprika checking out the animals at the zoo:

Fun Times!

We have been having the BEST time since Mr. Mustard came home on Friday. He's working from home all next week, and we are loving having him here. Being apart so much really makes us appreciate our time together. It's so wonderful having him home.

I had a nice break yesterday. I took a sewing class, which was great fun! While I was there, Mr. Mustard and Paprika had some father/daughter bonding time. They went to the park and Mr. Mustard took Paprika for a drive in her little red car. She had a wonderful time and barely even noticed that I was gone. I made a tote bag in the class, and then last night when Paprika was napping, I hemmed a pair of Paprika's pants. Today during her naptime, I made a nursing cover. I'm having a lot of fun with sewing and I am so proud of my little projects!

We have SO many things planned for this week while Mr. Mustard is home. Luckily, working from home, he can be pretty flexible about when he works. Paprika's 18 month check-up is on Thursday! I'm excited for Mr. Mustard to see the pediatrician's office, since he hasn't been yet. Today Paprika turned 19 months, so I guess we are a little behind on our 18th month check-up! I'm curious to see what the pediatrician says about her massive vocabulary. She gets more talkative by the day, and some of the things she says blow my mind! She speaks in full sentences, and oftentimes I'll hear her on the baby monitor talking to her dolls and stuffed animals. I'm actually a little glad that we never got very far with baby sign language. She has been talking for so long, and says so much that I really don't know what we would be signing. She can tell me exactly what she wants with her words. She even has a very keen sense of humor. I am just loving everything about being Paprika's mom. It is pure joy.


On a different note, it looks like it may be time for us to say goodbye to the Saturn. She has served us VERY well. She is thirteen (maybe fourteen) years old, and I have had her for ten years! She was a graduation gift from my dad, and I have a strong sentimental attachment to her because of that. My first car was a Cadillac from my grandparents, and I still miss that car so much! I have been a very blessed girl over the years. The Saturn is not doing well. Mr. Mustard has been driving the Saturn because Paprika's carseat won't fit inside of it (it's a 2 door). Anyway, a few weeks ago, it wouldn't start, and that has been a pretty persistent problem. He'll go somewhere and then get stranded. No fun! So, we're going to go car shopping this week and see what we find. We're hoping to get a station wagon, since that will give us more room for things like Paprika's tricycle!

Sign...What Sign?

Click on the picture to see what the sign says! :-)

A Nice Weekend

The weekend came and went too quickly! Mr. Mustard's family was in Los Angeles this weekend, and we got to spend some quality time with them while they were here. Mr. Mustard's mom spent the whole weekend with us, and on Sunday we caught up with Mr. Mustard's family from the East Coast: Michael, Diane, Chelsea and her fiance Matt.

On Sunday, we went to Descanso Gardens in La Canada, a beautiful botanical garden with a nice cafe. The weather was splendid and the gardens were so lush and green. We had a wonderful lunch at the cafe, and it was great catching up with the East Coast Urths.

Mr. Mustard and I were able to sneak away on Saturday night for a nice dinner at the Yard House. I got the six beer sampler- which was way more than I could handle, so Mr. Mustard was a gentleman and drank half. It was nice to get out just the two of us and have some quality alone time. Sunday night we snuck out to Jamba Juice while Mr. Mustard's mom watched Paprika. While sipping our Jambas, we took a nice walk along Colorado Blvd. and stopped in at Barnes & Noble to thumb through some books. It was great fun. When we got home, Mr. Mustard's mom told us that Paprika had counted to ten! Pretty impressive!

A Little Sniffly

It looks like Paprika picked up some sort of cold on one of our many social outings this week. Last night she was miserable- very congested and stuffy- and had a hard time sleeping. We stayed close to home today- walked up to our neighborhood park, drove her car around the neighborhood, and spent some time cruising in the jogging stroller- all in the hopes that Paprika would feel better sooner rather than later. Already she's feeling much better, I think.

We have a big weekend planned. Mr. Mustard is coming down with his mom, and we are meeting up with Mr. Mustard's aunt, uncle, and cousin from the East Coast. I really hope Paprika is back to her healthy, smiley self by then!