Birthday Pictures

Lollipop lollipop
Oh lolli lolli lolli
Lollipop lollipop.....

Most people probably don't remember the Chordettes' famous Lollipop song from the late 1950s. You can still find the video on YouTube. But this picture brings that particular catchy tune to mind. Of course, the other song is the Shirley Temple "The Good Ship Lollipop," which Tracie hates because I butcher it everytime I sing it. Being that it was her birthday, I let Sydney indulge in a few licks of the lollipops that were intended only to weigh down her birthday balloons. Talking about the quickest way to get in trouble with Tracie, this was it. Tracie has fought so hard to keep Sydney's teeth in good shape with fighting to brush her teeth every morning and every night. And Sydney knew she was getting away with it this day. She savored every minute with the lollipop in her birthday dress with Daddy keeping a vigilant eye out for Mommy. I don't think I spoil Sydney at all. Nahhhhh, not a bit. Of course, the lollipop didn't stay in Sydney's hand long after Tracie came into the room. Luckily, Sydney was not much into sweets anyway. She only took a few licks and was already ready to move on to bigger and better things. She did not put up a fuss at all when Mommy demanded that she handed the lollipop over.


We had a blast. These pictures were just downloaded tonight so I wasted no time posting them. I spent part of today viewing some videotapes to see what was on them since none were labeled. They were of Sydney from September 2006 through recent days. My, how she has changed. I can't imagine how much more I can love my precious daughter. She is nothing short of phenomenal in my eyes.


Sydney was beaming with her birthday cake and her gifts. We didn't do anything but to celebrate privately with our busy schedule. But apparently, it was enough for Sydney.


She loved her Little Mermaid birthday card with the voice of Sebastian (the crab) singing "Under the Sea" when it was opened. Sydney took time to study the card and opening it over and over again to hear the music.


Then she got dressed in her new fairy outfit. Was she ever so proud. She could not wait to get into the purple sandals. But I have to say, I don't think she was too crazy about the tiara. It was just a big loop on her head, which was too big and kept sliding down to her neck. But she was a good sport and wore it for awhile.


She made a beautiful fairy. But even fairies had their limits. She was getting quite tired from all the excitement, and her lips were getting chapped. The blue item in her hands was the Lipmedex, which was her favorite lip balm.


Sydney offered a bit of Lipmedex to her daddy before fluttering off to take a nap.


Oh, did I mention that before she turned into a beautiful little fairy, she actually was a biker? She zipped around the house on her new tricycle first. It came equipped with a horn and a basket to store her favorite stuffed animal, Nemo.

She's TWO!!

Has it been over 3 months since I last updated the blog? I guess it's way overdue. Sorry, everyone. It's been a busy 2008, to say the least. Never fear, I'll try to catch up as best as I can.

Let's start with today and go backward for a bit. It's Easter Sunday and also Sydney's birthday. She's two. Since I've been away on business for most of the last month, Tracie has been taking care of Sydney and bought all the presents for this special day. She did good. Sydney got a tricycle with the usual theme - Cinderella. She took to it immediately but was too little to know how to pedal and was too independent to let me push her too often. She still was cute as a button.

Nothing spectacular happened during the last 3 months. We managed to spend a week on vacation in the Caribbean. The first 4 days or so were spent in Barbados. We were at an all-inclusive resort called Turtle Beach Resort.


Sydney was in heaven. She couldn't wait to hit the pool. Poolside, she was stylish in her little Hawaiian outfit. The temperature was a cozy 82 degrees but the water was a bit on the cool side for my taste. That didn't stop Sydney. She was hesitant at first but then after a few minutes, she was in waist deep.


Sydney had a little new hippopotamus float. She knew exactly what to do with it. She slips inside and carefully waded in. At first, she meandered on the first step of the pool which was about a couple inches of water above her ankles. After she got a feel for the water, she eased down the next step above waist deep. Then she went for it. She took another step into the kiddie pool and was up to her chest in water. She was loving it. She carefully made her way around the edge of the pool while hanging on to the float, even posing now and then for the camera.


She splashed and strolled in the pool until she resembled a little prune. Despite the warm weather, the water was somewhat on the chilly side especially with the wind blowing hard now and then. Sydney was shivering and turning a bit purplish around the gills but still refused to find dry land. Only after we bribed her with some ice cream that she relented. At first she refused to have anything to do with the ice cream. That's one thing I discovered about her. She was stubborn and not terribly adventurous. Unless she knew what was in the cup or on the plate, she wouldn't even bother with it. I had to smother a bit of the melted ice cream on her lips. She frowned but soon discovered that the sweetness was irresistible. She grabbed the cup and didn't stop slurping one spoonful after another until it was almost all gone. Sydney discovered vanilla ice cream in Barbados.


A couple of days later, we were off to Jamaica. Tracie booked a couple of nights at the Rose Hall Resort, which used to be the Wyndham Hotel in Montego Bay. What a great find. Sydney again had a blast. This time, we went down the waterslide together. Not once, not twice but what felt like a billion times until my behind was chapped. As soon as we splashed into the big pool, Sydney was ready to go again, pointing to the top and yelling "More. More." We were sneaking up to the top each time, since the minimum height requirement was 48 inches to go down the waterslide. She was ALMOST there. :-) She sat on my lap as we slid down the slide. It was great fun. When she was finally bored, she took me by the hand and headed for the playset nearby. She enjoyed the swing.


Sydney especially enjoyed forcing me to walk up to the top of the kiddie playset and slide down with her. With a chapped behind and a slide that is way too small for me, it was not an easy feat to hold her in lap and sliding down the circular slide without feeling like I was about to fly right off. Nonetheless, we made it down a few times until the hotel staff made us stop. They even roped off the playground, citing the it was not ready for the kids to play yet. We'll never know the truth. I think they were nervous that I would sue them if I had flown off the slide. What a rush!!


Regardless of being thrown out of the playground, we had a blast. We came home with a tan even without trying. Sydney had to wear a hat almost the entire time to protect her scalp from the sun. She didn't protest too much. It was a good thing.