Chicago...BURR...here we come

This is a story about two southern girls braving the cold and wind of Chicago so that one can fulfill her overwhelming need to see James Blunt in person.

Who is the one that MUST see James Blunt...Katie of course...okay, not true...me, it's me. I admit, I am a James Blunt fan freak, not in a stalking way people. I just love his sound, lyrics, etc...it really speaks to me. Yes, I know I am cheesy!

So Katie and I set off this afternoon and I am so excited and ready to get out of Dallas for the weekend. I am taking my camera so I hope to have tons of pictures. It will feel sort of vain to have pictures of myself or pictures of Katie in front of something in Chicago. It's just the two of us and unless we are brave enough to ask some bystander off the street to take our pictures together, there will be lots of individual shots I think.

Things to remember to bring:
1. Camera
2. Cash
3. Coat
4. Scarf
5. THE TICKETS to the concert!!

Bye ya'll...

North Carolina...

Makena and I left for North Carolina Friday morning and her first plane trip was a success. She didn't seem bothered by the change in air pressure...nothing at all. She was pretty happy go lucky...she was VERY figgity though. Constantly moving and my thighs have bruises to prove it. However she didn't throw a fit and that was what I was most worried about. From Dallas to Charlotte, NC she was awake the entire time and played with the girl we sat next to most of the time...it really made the 2-1/2 hour flight go by pretty fast. The last leg of our trip was to Jacksonville, NC. This was the smallest airport I have ever seen...only three gates and they only used one of them. Only US Airway flights from Charlotte fly into this airport. Anyway, it was tiny! We rented our car and we set off on a 1-1/2 hour car ride. Mak finally slept.

It was great to see my family again. I haven't seen most of them since my grandmother passed away almost two years ago. Everyone fell in love with Makena. I am so glad she got to meet them all. Of course she was offering up kisses most of the time and it was all just too sweet.

Mak with her Great-Grandpa

Mak with Great-Aunt Cindy

Mak with her second cousin - Leah

On Saturday we had to be up at the church for family pictures at 2:00. Well, Mak really hadn't slept too well Friday and she hardly napped at all Saturday. I was really in for it...she wasn't not happy unless she got to run all over the church building and wouldn't let me hold her. Her newest word??? "NO". She has said it before, but it seemed she was saying no all dang weekend. Throwing mini fits and I had no idea how to handle it. She has never acted out this way before. Nothing made her happy and I just felt so flustered. I am sure most of it was because she was tired. We ended up leaving the ceremony because she started being a bit disruptive so I missed a lot of it. We got to the reception and 30 minutes into it, we had to leave. I couldn't sit, eat or talk to anyone because she was throwing her mini fits. So as sad as I was, I had to tell Greg and Jessica bye and off we went...back to our room and straight to bed.

Sunday morning rolled around and Makena was really crabby and I think she is teething so I ended up changing our flight and flew home Sunday instead of Monday. She has been pretty sleepy most of today and has slept quiet a bit. Catching up I suppose.

All in all it was definitely an experience I will never forget...I won't say it was terrible, just challenging. She is very strong-willed and has a very independent streak and it really shines when she is tired...

Mommy loves you so much Mak Mak.



As for the wedding...Greg and Jessica looked so beautiful together. Jessica was a gorgeous bride and there wasn't a dry eye in the house! I wish the both of them much happiness. Come visit us in Texas soon!! Love you both!

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!

So here I bought a plane ticket, booked a hotel and bidded on the tickets on eBay and I find out yesterday that James Blunt is coming to Dallas! He just added 3 more US concerts at the end of his Japan tour. So he will sail through the US in March and part of April and then come back in May to Texas, Florida and Ohio! Well, I am still excited about Chicago though...it will be a girls weekend and the concert is on Saturday...so staying out late won't be a problem. The Dallas concert is on a Monday...ugh! I think I want to go to the Dallas show too...may as well since the tickets are still priced pretty well. Once he becomes ubber famous those tickets will probably be pretty expensive.

We'll see...

In other news...North Carolina here we come. Makena and I fly out tomorrow to my cousin Greg's wedding. This should be interesting...I have never flown with her before. I hope she will sleep on the plane. We will have to wake her at about 5:30am so she should be plenty exhausted.

Makena's new words are..
1. Hot
2. No
3. boo (she tries to say peek-a-boo)

James Blunt or Bust!!!

WOOHOO!! I would like to give a shout out to my hubby and Katie's hubby. Without you two...Chicago just wouldn't be possible!

In case you all didn't get my subtle hint...

WE ARE GOING TO CHI-CA-GO

James Blunt

Alright...the man pictured above is James Blunt...I am totally digging his music at the moment and unfortunately the closes concert to Texas is Chicago next month. Justin wants to send me there for the concert as a VERY early birthday present. My only dilemma?? She is pictured below...

Justin thought it would be great for me to go with one of my best friends...so Katie, the pressure is on now. It'll be a great chance for us to get away from our duties as mommies and let loose. I promise we will have a good time. Of course, I understand if you can't...I just don't want to hear the excuses ok??

In other news...

Makena is a ball of energy lately...she is learning to manipulate oh so well. She will tug at my pant leg and cry until I look at her. The minute our eyes lock..she smiles real big and says "MAMA!" and does her little sign language for "more" also the sign for cookie if you ask her. Then if I don't respond immediately she tugs on my pant leg again and cries. When we lock eyes again, she signs "more" and then signs "please" Oh I am so proud!

...and she speaks!

Makena has words! I mean easily understood spoken words. Aside from mama...mama...mama, she says:

1. Thank You
2. Shoes
3. Juice
4. Hey..sounds more like Ehhh
5. Bye (this started today!)
6. Dada (when she remembers that mama is not what you call fathers)
7. uh-oh

I am so proud of her. She went to the ENT this last Wed. and he told us her ears looked fabulous and he didn't think she needed anothe hearing test. He said it was normal for kids who had chronic ear infections as infants to be vocabulary delayed until they are nearing 18 months old. He expect her to be speaking 30+ words by 18 months old. He will see her again at 21 months and will refer her to a speech/language therapist if she isn't at the 30+ words level.

Yeah for Mak-a-doodle!

On another note...got an A on my first Psych test...VERY unexpected as I didn't feel as prepared as I should have been. It was a fantastic surprise and just enough to boost my confidence in this whole going back to school business. Yeah for Mommy!

So that's that...we are nearing our trip to North Carolina, just Mak and I...EKK! My cousin is getting married and Mak and I will make the trip, lets hope all goes well. Not sure what to expect with the airplane ride...this will be the first for her.

Playing at the Mall

Katie and I took the kiddos to the mall the other day. Makena has just grown leaps and bounds....we took them to the play area and I was going to "teach" her how to go down the slide. By the time I helped her up the steps and then ran over to the other side to catch her, she was already on her belly feet first sliding down. I am so proud of her!!

She had her 15 month appointment this past Monday and she did very well. Had 3 shots though and was not happy on Tuesday. She has an appointment on the 15th with the ENT to check her tubes and have another hearing screening done. Her vocabulary development may be a little behind due to hearing loss from all the ear infections...her pediatrician said at this point it is nothing to worry about as she does say at least 5 words (this is about average for most 15 month olds)...most are only recognizable to me though. He said it is very normal at this stage for mommy and daddy to be the translator, but the hearing screening will help confirm if there is any hearing loss.

The other night she woke up at about 3:30am and was in bed with us...guess she wasn't tired as she wouldn't go back to sleep. Justin had her and I sort of fell back to sleep. Next thing I hear is "momma". I look up and I see her little head bobbing up and down as she walks over to my side of the bed..."momma". Hello...didn't she know all she had to do was roll over in bed and there I was...it was VERY cute though and Justin and I cracked up laughing.

Animal House Fun!!

We were invited to Baby Aydan's 1st Birthday Party at Animal House...it's a huge facility with all kinds of bounce houses. Makena loved it! As you can see from a couple of the pictures, Conan LOVES Makena...he is always wanting to hug her...1st boyfriend?? Don't tell her daddy!! She passed out within 2 min of being in the car and held her balloon the entire way home.

First Haircut!

Makena had her first haircut this past Saturday. She was a trooper...my mom cut her bangs a little, then I realized we didn't have enough hair to keep, so we had to cut it off the back to have a substantial amount to save. She looks like she has a little bob in the back now. It is all even up and it doesn't look stringy anymore. This may have been her first and last haircut for awhile since we are wanting her hair to grow out long.

Thank You Ba Ngoai (grandma) for cutting my hair!

A Day at the Park Part 2