20 Months

 Time must sloooooow down!  Within a matter of days, you have gone from saying, "Mommy" to "Mom" and, "Thanks!" instead of "Thank You."  I don't like this one bit.  Don't get me wrong, I'm so excited and happy to see you thriving and growing, but not ready for all these changes.  Just last weekend, I put you down for your nap, which you were very mad at me about.  And as I closed your door, I heard a thud and intense screaming.  Yup, you did a complete front flip out of your crib and was on your floor.  Nap time took a back seat while Daddy and I transformed your bed from crib, to toddler bed with these really cute, but don't really do anything, bed rails.  I was nervous that you wouldn't know what do with the change, but ta-da you did!  You still tell Daddy every single night that you're ready to go, "night night" and after hugs and kisses, you roll over and is done for the night.  The first day that you took a nap, you did wind up waking up and we found you standing and crying in the middle of your room, so either you were sleep walking, or just got really confused.  And we can't forget yesterday morning.  I went to wake Sleeping Beauty up, after all it was 9 a.m. and you were nowhere to be found.  I found you on your tummy with your legs tucked underneath you sleeping up against your closet door!  I took a picture from my phone, but it's too dark to see...bummer!  Your memory is out of this world and only getting better, which I'm not sure how I feel about that one either!  We were driving down Dallas Hwy. on Sunday night and as we passed Kroger, you said, "Koger" in a very matter of fact way.  Daddy and I just looked at each other and started cracking up laughing.  That same night, we were on our way to Zaxby's and when we pulled into the parking lot, you shouted, "Elbow!"=AnnaBelle.  Ok, the last time you and I ate there with Kelly and "Elbow" was in early March when I was on my spring break.  You refer to Publix as the cookie store many thanks to me for getting you a cookie while we shop and every morning and afternoon on our way to and from Nanny and Papa's we pass a pasture with coooooooooowwwwws!  And every morning and afternoon, you go nuts screaming for the cows and then proceed to moo at them.  If the cows aren't out, you will then tell me that they are "seeping"=sleeping.  One morning when as I was dropping you off and your Nanny and Papa's so I could go to school, I told you that I loved you and said I would see you later, without skipping a beat, you replied back with, "I love you, mommy."  I thought I was going to loose it right then and there.  No one prompted you to say it and you said it in the cutest voice ever.  Of course, I've only gotten you to say it one other time to your Daddy, but I know you can say it now.  Your favorite color right now is GREEEEEEEN, but you do know pink, yellow, blue, purple, orange, and red and you know what a triangle, square, and circle are many thanks to the 2 shape sorters that you have and love playing with.  You finally got into playing with puzzles and name all the animals that go with the puzzle you are working on.  You love to count too, and every time I get the video camera out you get shy and won't perform for me.  :( But you will count to 9 by yourself and then if we say 10, you will go on every other number to 15.  Again, this is many thanks to Dora.  Grayma was visiting last weekend and she sneezed, and you said, "Bess you." and after we tell you thank you, you will tell us that you're welcome.  I just hope that we can continue to teach you how to be polite and be respectful.  You love to ask for help and say it in the most pathetic voice ever and when don't like something or want something we have, you will continuously tell us, "here".  You went from having 7 teeth last month to getting 3 more teeth this month which includes your eye teeth and we're not sure if it's the teeth or a slight speech impediment, but when you say chips, it sounds like ships and your little tongue drags across your lips.  It's so crazy to think that in 4 short months, you will be 2 years old, but it truly has been the best 20 months of mine and Daddy's lives thus far.

Your don't mess with me expression.  I'm not sure why you were so grouchy looking.

May 4, 2010

Colors

You absolutely loves to play with your "colors"=crayons.  Santa left fun Crayola ones, and paint stamps for you on Christmas, but we've held out on using them, because as we all know, painting with a toddler can become very messy very quickly!  When we are out at restaurants, you almost always get colors, but because they're the cheap ones, they usually wind up broken within minutes or they get dropped on the floor and there they stay.  Well, I decided one night to break out the colors so you could create your first master piece.  I even gave you the paint ones, but lovebug, you did not like those ones one bit!  You were so excited about your colors when I showed you how to use them and then for the rest of the night you would point to your picture and name off all of the colors in the picture. 

Not sure what to do with the colors.

Oh, ok now I get it!  This is so much fun!!!

Lefty?

Righty?  Only time will tell.

Very focused, you couldn't be disturbed by the camera.

April 28, 2010

Abby's 1st Communion

Right now, Aaaaabbbby is your favorite person.  You walk around our home on random days calling out for her and you will take us through every room looking for her.  You point at Abby's picture on our refrigerator and will scream her name.  When we visit with the family, all you want to do is play with her, and I give it to Abby, she is so patient with you and let's you tell her what to do.  On April 24th, Abby made her first communion at her church.  We've been to her two older siblings communions, and although it's a pretty quick service, I was worried about you acting up.  We packed plenty of quiet things to keep you occupied, but you still managed to talk through pretty much the entire service.  As everyone was walking passed us after they took communion, you would wave, say, "HI!" and then say, "Thank You!"  You had everyone laughing in a matter of moments.  After the service was over, you were fascinated by all the girls in pretty white dresses and even managed to make it into a few family pictures that were not ours!! 

Here, you were shouting for Abby after the service was over.

And now pouting, because we had to explain to you that you can't shout.

April 24, 2010

Pool Fun

Because it was so stinkin' hot one day, Daddy took your baby pool from last year and filled it up before we went out for the afternoon.  When we got home, the water was perfect for you and we all enjoyed some family time outside.

Sun hat...check, lotion...check, pink rubber ducky...check!  Ok guys, I'm ready to go!

Not too sure what to think at first.

Uh, what do I do now?

Splish splashin' with Stetson.

You're either going to the bathroom, or thinking really hard about something.

April 18, 2010

Spring!

 Finally, the warm weather has arrived and it was very welcomed.  We took full advantage of the beautiful weekend we had.  The Taste of West Cobb was on a Saturday that we actually didn't have any plans, so after Daddy's ball game, we headed over to check it out.  You're so funny...you love pizza crust, but not the actual pizza.  You saw that there were several places that were serving pizza and was literally begging Daddy for Peeeeezzzzaaaaa.  How can you resist?  While syou chowed down on pizza, Daddy and I enjoyed wings, wraps, and a slew of other yummy foods.  The Hillgrove band was performing and provided the perfect entertainment for you.

Loving on that pizza crust.

That same weekend, we tried a new restaurant in Kennesaw, Paddy's.  It's an Irish Pub and it was so good!  Daddy and I split a sandwich while you enjoyed the "ships"=chips.

Totaling up our lunch...it was a cheap one.

April 17-18, 2010

Yo Ho, Ho, it's a Pirates Life for Me!

When we got home from our road trip, we spent several days recuperating and luckily, it rained on several of those days.  Since I'm in my first part of student teaching, I was lucky enough to have college spring break and county schools spring break!  Woohoo!  Once the laundry was caught up on, and the house was back in order, you and I went and checked out the coolest indoor playground around!  We've driven by DAC Kids a number of times, but I was always too afraid to take you, especially by myself.  You are such an explorer (many thanks to Dora!) and I don't do well with huge crowds, so I've always said I would take you when you were a bit older.  I'm so glad I bit the bullet and took you!  We had so much fun!

Not sure what to think of all the sand.

My little monkey climber.  It was funny watching all the other mom's literally sitting on the edge of their seats watching you climb over and over again.  And I actually had several mom's ask me how I haven't had a heart attack yet!  Thankfully, you're extremely well balanced (I have no idea where you get that from, I'm so clumsy!) and you're very careful when you climb.  Don't get me wrong, I stay right behind you for the just in case moments, and I don't let you know that you're making me a nervous wreck!

Easy does it across the bridge.

Hi Mommy!

Breaking the rules, dumping the sand out of the barriers.

So excited!

Man, oh, man, this thing was amazing!  It was a bouncy house for little people!  You pretty much had that smile and was giggling the entire time you were in there.

Driving the pirate ship.

April 8, 2010

A 5 Day Tour...

Within a five day period, you traveled from Georgia, to North Carolina, northward to New York and back again.  We logged over 2,000 miles on Grayma's car and spent at least 5 hours a day traveling.  Was I nervous about this idea at first?  Absolutely.  Am I ever so thankful of the creator of the portable DVD player?  You bet!  I have no idea how mommy's parents traveled with Uncle Matt and me when we were younger without having some form of entertainment to keep us occupied.  You were able to go on about a 4 hour period before getting rather restless, but all it took was getting you out of the car and letting you blow some much needed steam off.  We figured out that if we got up at 8 a.m. (which wasn't hard at all.  You were the perfect alarm clock and woke up between 8 and 8:07 every single morning we were traveling.) packed up, ate breakfast and then were on the road at 10 a.m, you would fall back asleep by 10:30 a.m. for a nap that usually lasted about an hour in half to 2 hours.  Instead of packing and hauling your pack n' play all over the east coast, you just slept with me, which was a huge treat for me, I mean you.  ;)  I did wake up a few times a night to your sweet little foot being lodged in my collarbone, but every morning, you would wake me up by rubbing my face with your little hand saying, "Mommy?" over and over again...can't beat that.

It's amazing how a simple box will keep a toddler entertained for long periods of time.

I'm pretty sure you were calling daddy at this point to tell him to come and save you from the driving madness.

Hmmm, who should I call now?

 

Not the safest way to tote a toddler, but you were having fun.

April 5, 2010