She may hate me for this if she ever sees it but...

No, no silly pictures just a huge step in development.

About a month ago, one of Miss C's teachers suggested we get her a potty chair because she hates a wet butt. Well, I followed her recommendation and bought one. Since then, Miss C has used it to sit with us in the living room and to play with her animals on. On occasion, she would bring it with her to the bathroom with me. Lately she has even been taking her pants down but today she told Daddy she had to go potty. Figuring it was more playtime, I let them be. A few minutes later, DH called me in to "help."

Yep, Miss C went #1 in her potty! She earned a sticker for it and was so proud of herself she told me that she had pottied more than once. Aww, my little girl is growing up so fast! I mean, geez, she is maybe 18 and 1/2 months old for crying out loud.

Thoughts?

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Its snooowwwwwwinnnngggg! Not just a dusting either. Seriously!

We got up this morning and had about 4 inches just waiting for us and it hasn't slowed down yet. We think we have gotten another 2 or 3 inches since we got up!

When it snowed on Sunday, Miss C refused to even consider it. Today? Well, we managed to get her to stomp the snow and boy does she like it!

Above are a few photos from our adventures so far today!

Miss C is 18 months old today!

Can you believe it?

Ok, check this out, first stats:

1. Miss C maintains her position on the growth charts. She measured in at a whopping 35 1/8 inches! Yep, again >97th percentile. Wow! She weighed in at 27 lb 14 oz, 90-95th percentile and her head remains small, not sure the number but its 25-50th percentile. She hasn't changed her progression but holy moly, I didn't think she grew 2 inches in the past 3 months!

2. Teeth, teeth, teeth. Miss C is getting in her eye teeth. She already has 12 teeth in and these two make her total 14, whoa! Not a fun adventure let me assure you. We continue to go through wash clothes at an alarming rate but hey, what's a wash cloth when it makes her happy?

3. Words, words, words! Holy moly! Miss C's vocabulary and ability to not only repeat but understand what you say is incredible. We have to be careful about what we say because, for example, if you tell her grandma that you had to talk to Miss C about not coloring on the floor, well, of course all Miss C hears is "color on the floor." She actually repeats your words then proceeds to act them out. Too funny except when you are trying to avoid multicolored hardwood! Miss C speaks primarily in sentences although sometimes they don't include all of the parts we normally associate. For example, when she wants more of something, Miss C signs and says "More (whatever, water, peas, etc) please" but then there are times when she is done so she just says "all done, down, wash hands" with no subject or noun present. We think she is doing pretty well though!

4. Balance and running. Miss C has discovered racing! Yep, racing. It started when DH was gone and we had all of the chores. One of the biggest chores is taking the trash cans to the curb and bringing them back in the next day after they have been emptied. While it is a weekly requirement, it requires some timing and coordination. Miss C likes to help me "carry" the cans so to avoid running her over, she walks on the opposite side of the can as me and pushes her hands against it (it looks like she is carrying it). Ok, so the racing, well, once we get the cans to the curb, we have to get back to the house because it is getting late, dinner needs to be made etc. In an attempt to encourage her, I told Miss C she could race me. I then said "ready, set.." and wouldn't you know it? On set, she takes off and looks back at me, laughing the whole way! By the time I get "go" out, she is at least 6 feet ahead of me, running and giggling. It’s too much fun!

5. Dexterity. Miss C helped make bread at Thanksgiving. I discovered that she rolls better to herself than away from herself so that's how I showed her. We didn't make much bread but she got to roll every piece herself. She loves to make bread! She reminds me daily by showing me how to roll her crayons.

6. Colors and shapes. Part of the words I mentioned before includes colors. She can regularly differentiate red and blue but for some reason green and yellow get confused. Miss C can differentiate basic shapes like stars, triangles, squares and circles. She can also identify cats, bunnies, elephants, etc by my horrible drawings. Whenever we color, she demands I make pictures for her to color. Coloring books are cool but apparently she likes my pictures better (for now, right? :) )!

That's pretty much it for now. I know there is a ton of stuff that I am forgetting (like talking on the phone, she totally makes her grandparents phone calls by giving hugs and kisses over the phone) but I have to cut this off somewhere! Hope you all enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving

Hey ya'll!
From our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving.
We're thankful that we are able to spend this time together, all of us healthy and happy. We are thankful for our family and friends who enrich our lives constantly.
What are you thankful for?

Busy, busy, busy

We have been super busy over the past week. Work was crazy busy for no real reason and Miss C is just so involved in everything!

On Tuesday, we had a Toddler Dinner at Miss C's school. DH is still out of town so he missed it but Miss C had fun. I did find out that she is very territorial when it comes to Mama. One of the other little girls in her class (Kenzie) tried to sit in my lap a few times when we were reading (all of the kids gathered 'round when Miss C brought me a book to read to her) and later on when I was playing with Miss C while she climbed through the tunnel. When Miss C saw her little friend try to get some Mama time, she came over and shoved her off my lap! I kid you not, she sat down and pushed this little girl. Now, Miss C is pretty gentle in most situations but apparently this was not the time to be gentle.

On Friday, I had to go to a work function so Miss C played with her favorite sitter (Annie) for about an hour then went to bed. Annie is a savior for us when DH is on travel. Mrs J is no longer available for sitting as she works at Miss C's school now so I had to find someone new. Annie has made herself available whenever I need including weekend days when i had to work and the occasional evening function. Its nice to be able to have someone come over so I don't have to drag Miss C around in the evenings and Miss C always naps and sleeps better in her own bed.

On Saturday, Miss C and I decided to pick up some decorations for the house (mainly window clings) and she has expended hours (literally, I kid you not!) decorating and redecorating the windows and the kitchen. I posted a video on our youtube site (see the link to the right of the posting section) and will put a picture here.

Today, I have duty so Miss C got to go into the office with me for a few minutes then we went out for breakfast (kind of a tradition of ours when I have duty). We also stopped by Kmart and picked up a potty chair. Now, I know Miss C is still only 17 months old but she hates having a wet butt. I talked to her teacher and she recommended getting the chair to get her comfortable with it. She wandered around the living room (the room she moved it to when she pulled it out of the bathroom) and played with it a lot. She even told me she had to "go potty" a couple of times so I had a little half-nekkid toddler wandering around with a potty chair like a turtle's shell! Too funny! She hasn't actually done anything in it yet but the goal is to make it comfortable for now.

In spite of all of the fun, Miss C certainly had her moments. She hasn't broken any new teeth in months so its my guess that she has some coming in. When she gets fussy, I try to help her explain what the problem is and she was finally able to tell me "hurt" and "teeth" while signing both so either I influenced that or she has teeth coming in. In either case, the fussiness was shortlived (thankfully) and she is asleep.

Well, hope you all have a great week!

How much difference a year makes

I was looking over some photos from last year and thought you might enjoy the comparison that I see:

These are from November 2007

These are from November 2008


Wow, what a difference a year makes! I am really looking forward to our holidays this year. Last year, Miss C was, I guess, too young to really appreciate them. This year is bound to be even more memorable than the last!

MIss C is seventeen months old! (Ok, so that was on the 9th!)

I know this is a couple of days late but here goes:

1. Miss C's verbal skills are improving by the day. She is more vocal about what she wants to do and where she wants to go. When she gets up from either bed or a nap, she tells me "dia, dia" (sounds like die, die) so I change her diaper "milk" if she wants some milk, "snack" if she is hungry, "color" if she wants to color and often "pooh" or "cat" for whichever of her animals that she wants.

2. Miss C has discovered a love of shopping. We went to the Exchange last weekend to get some more pants for her and I held up two pairs to let her decide which color to get. She looked over both pairs (with quite the discerning eye) and chose one, grabbed it out of my and and immediately put it in the cart behind her seat. When I need to go to the store, I ask her if she wants to go on a "Shopping Adventure" and she says "yes, mama, shop, shop." Too funny!

3. Miss C is even better at matching thigns than I thought. Since she got her Little People's toy, I ask her to find different animals. She loves all of them and will just grab one at random and then find the matching animal on the mat and press the button to "talk" (she says it will talk too!).

4. Miss C adores coloring. I expect this is quite common at this age (and for many years to come). I tried coloring books but Miss C isn't quite into them yet but she does love her crayons (just the regular kind, not the triangle ones or the ones that look like eggs) and a basic pad of paper. I did discover that for going out, a spiral bound set of index cards is perfect. None of the pages come loose and Miss C has plenty of paper to color on.

Well, that's a few of her latest "tricks". DH has been gone a month but if the schedule holds true, he might actually be back in a couple of weeks. Yea! Its a shame that he has to miss so much of this but it could be worse, I suppose.

Ok, I am going to close out with a few new photos:

So, any thoughts on what to expect next?

Thank you

Just a quick thank you on the blog to my BFF, Alphagal and her lovely family.

Miss C just got the cutest gift in the world from them and while we are going to send a thank you card, we agreed that a video of Miss C enjoying her gift might be a nice addition.

Hope ya'll like it too!



PS In case you are curious, the reason Miss C signs penguin by pointing to her nose is because we played with a toy penguin she has (keep in mind, this started months ago) by "bonking" her nose with the penguin's nose. Kids are so darn smart!

Halloween

Happy Halloween Everyone!

We had a great day today.

We got today off from work because we have been working a lot on the weekends so Miss C and I had an "Adventure Day." We played at home all morning then after her nap we went out. We ended up at her school (I needed to pay so we decided to stop for a visit) and two stores. Because I figured Miss C wouldn't really be up for trick or treating this year (still a wee bit young), we wore out costume out in town. I think she is just adorable!

I am including a couple of photos and a short video. What do you think?

Time off

Well, we kind of had the weekend off. Kind of because I had duty so we still had to get up earlier than a normal weekend but Miss C really seemed to enjoy visiting my work. It was the second time she had been there (the first was last Christmas so she was much younger and really wouldn't remember) and she took over the place. I joked around that she was in charge but you all know I wasn't kidding!

We enjoyed a nice breakfast out on Saturday and that afternoon went out and found some papier-mâché pumpkins to decorate. I wanted to do something for Halloween and the day care doesn't let the kids wear costumes. I considered getting a real pumpkin to color but was lucky enough to find the papier-mâché ones because they are now Miss C's newest favorite toys. We both colored them on Saturday and she continues to add markings whenever the mood strikes. Another plus of our little excursion is we found a second hat (besides the ball cap we got a week or so ago) that Miss C digs because she can put it on herself. I am relieved because the weather here doesn't get warm for a while.

Today went to work again for turnover and then came home. Miss C is becoming much more vocal about her preferences so I ask her as often as I can for her decisions. Today was all about what to eat, when to play, what to color. I didn't realize how much she liked eggs until she yet again told me that she wanted "eggs" when i offered her a choice between cereal and eggs. Its funny, i thought she preferred cereal but maybe she is just changing?

Ok, enough for now. I am posting a couple of cute pictures and a new video. Let me know what you all think, ok? I think its hilarious!

Friends?

So, a funny thing happened last week. When I was walking Miss C into her class she pointed to one of her classmates and said her name "Nomi" (its Naomie but you know). Ok, so that's pretty cool but what happened after is even better.
We had to put up our stuff in one room then move to another because we were there with the early group. They congregate in one room until there are enough kids to require more than 2 teachers. Anyway, so we walk into the other room and Miss C walks over to this other little girl and they touch hands. Are you still with me?
When I went back to pick her up, one of Miss C's teachers told me that Miss C and "Nomi "are buddies. They apparently greet each other with hand touches and hugs and play together! Isn't that just the coolest. "Nomi" is a couple of months older than Miss C but they have been classmates since we got into the day care.
Needless to say, i am a little surprised. I didn't think kids really played together at this age. I think its cool though to know that Miss C looks for her little friend every day and when she sees her, she is set!
What do you all think?

Miss C is 16 Months old!

As I seem to do every month, wow! OK, so what has changed?

1. Vocabulary. Miss C's vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds! She is working on different consonant sounds and says stuff like "silly", "banana" and "apple". She tries to say so much more. She is still signing but is happy using either. Its funny, if we can't quite understand her (not uncommon at this age, I am told), she signs it, says it then shows us! Like, hey, if you can't get it this way, how about this? She also tries to say "c"s and "k"s. When you ask her "what does a rooster say?" she replies with "cinkle, cinkle" (its always the same). What's really interesting is that she associates the same sound with my computer (she hears me type and must make some correlation because she says the same words!). Today she started to say "happy", "funny" and anything else she can figure out! It's so neat to literally watch her brain grow!

2. Hopping. DH has been working with Miss C on jumping and hopping. We all know our little angel loves to dance, heck she makes her toys dance, but now Miss C is trying to jump. While she only gets airborne on occasion (and usually on accident), when she says "hop", "jump" or "bounce" (talking about Tigger, of course) she slams a foot into the ground so she makes the same sound we do when we jump!

3. Interest in rocks. OK, so maybe we have a geologist in the making. We are apparently very lucky to have a gravel drive because Miss C loves to go outside and play with rocks. She can sit there and sort them for hours, if given the opportunity. When we go outside now we no longer spend much time rocking in our chairs, no, most of our time is spent walking up and down the driveway finding neat looking rocks.

4. Hiding stuff behind her back. OK, that one sounds a little off, so let me explain. A few weeks ago, in the car, I noticed Miss C would put stuff like a book or a pacifier under her right thigh when she drank water or ate a snack. At first I thought, whoa boy, we are in a new stage and asked myself if we were going to see her hiding stuff. Well, that turned out not to be the case. I gave it more thought and realized she hasn't quite grasped the concept of a pocket so she thinks we are just hiding stuff behind out backs when we get it! I tested this out by giving her some paper to hold. Yep, she put it under her leg when sitting and tried basically to stuff it in the back of her pants when standing. Pockets!

That's the short of it. This is a definitely interesting time. Miss C is still struggling to take naps as long as they would like at school (they have a 2 hour time blocked out) but she's such a mellow kid that she sits on her cot and reads a book to herself when she does wake up. I hope she can work through that soon!

Lots of adventures

Well, the weekend is almost over but we had a lot of fun.

Whenever we take Miss C out, we tell her we are going on an adventure because, as you all know, any outing with a little one is definitely an adventure!

On Thursday, DH picked Miss C up from school and they went on a grocery store adventure. Miss C split her time between eating an apple and talking into DH's phone. I guess she managed to snake the phone from him at some point then proceeded to impress everyone in the store by saying "hello, yes, yes" repeatedly into the phone. She's not quite at the stage where she is willing to talk to a person besides DH on the phone but she sure likes the concept.

On Friday, we all went over to our friends' B & S's house for dinner. We had some terrific pizza (thanks for making it, guys!) and Miss C was the darling of the dinner (go figure!). She discovered that there is a perfect pillow fort ready made under a built in desk and also found some finger puppets on a shelf just low enough for her to investigate each one. Before we left, B and S gave Miss C her very own bunny rabbit finger puppet. She carries it around the house and says "hop! hop!" while stomping her feet (she is really trying to hop though!).

On Saturday, we went to a nearby restaurant for lunch. Miss C enjoyed trying her lunch, my lunch and DH 's lunch as well as coloring and people watching. After we were done eating, I took Miss C on a walk through the restaurant to the bathroom to wash hands and she hammed it up the whole way, grinning at every smiling "granny" in the place and getting loads of applause for her walking and smiling.

Today we are relaxing at home (I had to work this morning but stuff happens, right?) watching some football and going outside (briefly, its chilly!) to play with rocks and flowers. DH is attempting to put Miss C down for a nap (we'll see how that goes) then it will start over again.

Have I mentioned how much I love this motherhood gig?! Hope ya'll are having fun too!

Fun with dinner

A new video. Hope you enjoy!

Photo essay

Miss C is just growing up so fast. Here are a few new photos of her so you can see what we see:

IKE, the aftermath

Well, as many of you know, we have a lot of family in the vicinity of where IKE struck. Luckily, everyone made it through fine. Some chose to stay where they were (crazy as it may seem) and some went north to find safety. After numerous phone calls were received yesterday, we count ourselves among the lucky ones. The worst damage was loss of power to my sister's place so she had to empty out her deep freezer. The loss of a few hundred dollars in food, while economically challenging, is not nearly as bad as it could have been. That sister's neighbors weren't as fortunate. Those who chose to stay lost their vehicles as any vehicle in that parking lot sustained significant flood damage. Some also lost their roofs so their valuables were drenched and some were flooded out. We count our lucky stars that everyone made it through OK and keep our fingers crossed that our friends fared as well. Our thoughts remain with our friends and family in Texas.

Miss C is 15 months old today!

Holy cow! 15 months, already?!!

Besides the standard statistics update that you already got (see last entry), Miss C is doing great.Let's see:

1. Gross motor skill development: Miss C is running and now trying to jump! She twirls when she dances (DH showed her how and boy does she love it!). It is also very cute to watch her walking backwards (she does this with an audience, of course!) and dancing while holding on to her Fisher Price Kitchen or the handle to the freezer drawer (and, no, I have no idea where she came up with that one!). She can also climb onto virtually any couch or chair she sees, something we really have to pay attention to since she forgets that she can also fall. We have avoided having her fall off but the chance is always there.

2. Fine motor skill development: Miss C brushes her teeth as well as those of her dolly, frog and us, given the opportunity. She is also very adept at getting her pants on (really surprised me on that one, but she figured that one out and showed us last night). She has almost mastered getting two of her pairs of shoes on (they are simple velcro shoes, the pair we put on her for school most days have a tongue that gets threaded through a holder so they are more of a challenge). She can also put on and take off her bib (another trick I would prefer she hold off on most days!:)).

3. Vocabulary: Talk about expansion! Miss C is putting together coherent thoughts and vocalizing them regularly. For example, when we take her into school, we usually try to carry her in from the car (avoiding the normal am rush of people and cars and all that). Sometimes she is fine with that but more often than not, she tells us "mama, down, walk" and signs it, just in case I missed it. Too cool. She does the same with DH. She can also tell you what practically any animal says (yep, she still uses her cute rbbbt for frogs!) and points out the birds on the lights in both words and signs on the way into school. DH and Miss C have been working on "who lives where?" For example, if you ask her "who lives in the trees?" she will reply "birds" and sign it too. I love that! I am eternally grateful for Alphagal's encouragement about baby sign. We were all for it from the beginning but never truly realized how much Miss C had absorbed until her teachers commented on it!

4. Fun. Miss C loves to go "out" and "play." She collects "flowers" and "walks" in the yard (the quotes represent the words and signs we see all the time!). When she wants to be cute, Miss C will try to trick you by bringing you something only to give it to the other person (when DH and I are sitting next to each other, for example). We went to a friends house for a get together recently and Miss C played that "trick" on countless folks.

Ok, so the only real concerns I have at this stage:

1. Miss C has not taken a bottle at school in about 4 months but still takes an am and pm bottle here. We are working on getting her to take all of her milk from a cup but she tends to drink about 1/2 of what we give her that way and will only drink more if we put it in a bottle. Thoughts? Suggestions?

2. Very recently (read: just the past few days), Miss C has gotten incredibly clingy with me. I mean, DH is home and if I go to the bathroom, Miss C follows me. If she looks up and I am not in her line of sight, she cries and absolutely has to find me. Is this normal? Thoughts? Suggestions?

Ok, so that's the most recent stuff. Sorry I haven't posted as many pictures as before. We are still taking them, I just have recently forgotten to charge my camera battery so I can't upload! Drr!

Hope you all enjoy these updates!

She is how tall????

So we had an early check up this month. You all know that there is a normal 15 month check up and that actual date doesn't happen for a few more days. Due to the schedule at the Dr's office, we got Miss C in to see the doctor today.

Whenever we have a Dr's visit, we try to make it a fun day. We usually go to breakfast (or lunch, time dependent of course) after the appointment so Miss C doesn't associate these trips with just getting poked an prodded.

Ok, so here's what you all have been waiting for:

Height: 33 inches (yep, still >97%)

Weight: 26 lb 4 oz (yep, still 90-95%)

I don't actually keep track of head circumference since she has consistently been around 50% and the only use that number has for me is buying hats she will refuse to wear (;))! Besides, I am not exactly sure how accurate this reading was today because she is apparently very anti-head measuring. She started to flip out when the nurse went to measure her and even disliked it when I gave it a shot. Not sure what that's about. Has anyone else had that happen? I mean, have your kid just take a severe dislike to something like that?

Other than this, Miss C is just a wonderful little girl. She is really enjoying her new class and while she is the youngest, she teaches as much as she learns. We have discovered a new"game" as a result of her new class. Apparently some of the kids get their backs patted when they go down for a nap (thankfully, Miss C puts herself to sleep so we haven't had to adjust to the change in school) so when she plays with her dolls and animals, she lays them on the floor, covers them with a blanket and pats their backs. What cracks me up is that Miss C can do this for an hour, I swear! She goes back and forth between "dolly" and whatever animal she has on hand at the time (lately that has been either her frog or her sheep) and pats their backs or readjusts them. I will have to try to catch all of this on video one of these days so you all can see what we are talking about.

Otherwise, we're doing just fine. I finished my last class and found out I made the promotion list (I won't actually put it on or see the $ until next August but those are the breaks of finding out early) so I am really trying to relax a bit. I have a stack of books I would like to read sometime but as you all know, that is only possible when Miss C is asleep. On the plus side, she is reading more of her books to me so I am getting an interesting education in the world of board and lift-a-flap books!

So, how have you all been doing? Anything new on your end?

New video

I got lucky enough to have my camera handy when Miss C did this.



What do you think?

We're still here, we swear :)

Ok, so I know its been a while since I posted. Been super busy with life and all that!

Miss C is doing great. We have been awed by her vocabulary changes of late. Today she told me "pooh bear!" Isn't that the cutest! he is her buddy and we say his name often enough but I think its so much fun to hear her work it out.

We went to the local county fair last weekend. Miss C got to see a steer up close and personal.

A few of them, to be precise. She was telling us that a cow says "moo" when the steer closest to her stood up and mooed at her! She had this look of shock and amazement on her face! It was too cute! That night, during dinner, DH told her to be careful and chew good because she had a "big piece of chicken" in her mouth. Apparently she got the idea of "big" because she signed it then said "bak, bak, baaakkk" (her cute little chicken sound). Later when we asked her about the fair she signed "big" then mooed. I guess it stuck!

Ok, other than the gushy stuff, I finished my last class! Yea! The commencement doesn't take place until the Spring (stupid consolidated graduations!) but I hope to see the diploma soon so I can send it off for work. I am not sure what exactly to do now though. DH has been after me for years to "relax" but if you know me, you know that is easier said than done. Until I figure it out, I am spending every minute I can with DH and MIss C, playing, cooking, reading, all of that fun stuff.

Well, hope you all are having a great week! Let us know what you have been up to, ok?

Miss C is Fourteen Months old today!

Super quick update!
Ok, no height and weight stuff, that will have to wait until next month. One thing, though, she is wearing size 4 shoes! I barely got her in size 3's when we realized they were too small. Ugh!
Here we go:
1. Miss C's walking is solid. She runs most of the time, actually. she really cemented her walking when her grandparents were here. She and her grandma walked around outside all the time, just walking here and there, uphill and downhill. All of that helped her figure out her balance etc, so she definitely good on her feet.
2. Miss C figured out how to walk down stairs. She still holds on to our hands but she kind of slides her bum and her feet on the way down. We have a lower banister that DH is going to install which will help her walk up and down but we still will have our gates at the top and bottom of the stairs.
3. Miss C is doing great in her new class. Although the teachers haven't quite figured her out (she talks and signs and they are still a little unsure of what she is saying even though she is signing correctly and I gave them a Miss C to English dictionary!). Oh well. She is also doing fine with the mid-day nap although she does prefer to take two naps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, over the single nap mid day. I am sure she will continue to adjust and her teachers will learn to understand her words. She is also now able to associate words with more than one context. For example, she always uses "more, please" when she wants more to eat or drink (yea, the please tickles me to death!) but now she is using it when she wants you to do something again, like pick more flowers or walk around more. Very cool!
4. Speaking of words, Miss C's vocabulary is growing exponentially! I am sure you all mentioned this would happen but wow! She even picks up on signs that aren't intentional. For example, we have a stuffed penguin from Sea World and Miss C loves it! I started to bonk her nose with the penguin's beak so now when she "says" penguin, she bonks her nose with her index finger! What a funny kid!
5. Another word issue is colors. It seems that Miss C might actually know some of her colors. We ask her for a "blue ball" or a "green duck" and she will find the appropriate one. She even said "blue" when handing us the blue ball! Too cool!
6. Miss C continues her love of song and dance. She finds music wherever she is, even on her little riding toys, and stands up and says "dance, dance, dance" (she signs it with her index finger and her thumb instead of her index finger and her middle finger but, eh, close enough for now, right?) and "dance" kind of sounds like "that" but you definitely know what she is saying (especially when she sways from side to side and cocks her head!).
7. Miss C has developed an interesting sense of humor. She likes to act like she is going to walk to me or kiss me then go to DH or kiss him instead! It cracks her up every time!

Well, that's about it for this update. I am trying to get this posted before Miss C awakens from her afternoon nap. Hope you all are doing well. If you have any insight into what to expect next, let us know! :)

Family visit

Well, we had quite an eventful time since I last posted. I warned ya'll it would be a little while so.. Anyway, DH's folks and his sister, Auntie J, came to town for a short visit. Miss C had such a great time! She adores both her Grannie and Auntie J and warmed up enough to her Grandpa that she gave him hugs goodnight the last night they were here. This was a huge shift from our Christmas visit. I am sure the length of the visit helped as did being in her house with her stuff.




It was a terrific little visit and we can't wait to see them again. We're already trying to figure out our holiday schedule. We went after the holidays last year and it was actually quite a bit easier on everyone. Heck, we even got the good karma for working around the holidays!

Miss C is getting so big! She is transitioning to her big girl class this week. The first day was a quiet one. She was very introspective and basically watched everyone to figure out what to do. Today she was more involved, a little more talkative (signing and talking but not as much as normal) but she didn't nap as long as she probably could have. We have noticed that when she gets home she is hungry and tired. I think this is becasue of the increased stress in the classroom. I think that another factor is the slight change in meal times. She eats half an hours later for each meal in her new class so I am sure that is an issue for her since Miss C isn't shy around food. I have noticed that she is a little clingy this week so far but I think that might have a but to do with the transition, being away from the teachers she has grown accustomed to. I just know that we are consistent so that makes all of this easier to handle.

Well, hope you get a change to check out the newer pictures. I tried to take a few with Miss C and her grandparents but you know how it gets! Here are a couple of the ones I thought were pretty cute!

So, how is your week going?

Work, work, work

Seems like my days lately have been filled with more work than anything else. I had to work this weekend and missed tons of fun with DH and Miss C. She has defnintely gotten her land legs! Here's a super cute video taken the week before. Just keep in mind, she gets better by the day!




When i got her from school today, the teacher mentioned a seat in the bigger kid class should be opening in August so we are preparing for Miss C's transition to the new class. I am sure she will have a blast!

Before I forget, Miss C seems to have settled back into her regular sleep routine. No more crying when we lay her down, thank goodness! And, thanks for all the words of wisdom!

Other than that, not a whole lot going on just yet. DH's folks and sister are coming in town later this week so hopefully my subtle hints of leaving the camera out will help remind us to take loads of pictures. I will do my best at least! During that delay, I have uploaded some newer photos (read: from the past couple of weeks). Hasn't she gotten big? :)

Well, have to get back to, yep, work. I have 2 more weeks in my class then I am done with my Masters, yea! Its just been a very long summer session and these last couple of weeks aren't going to be easy. I wish Poobou good luck in her upcoming move and Alphagal a safe and smooth journey with her newest news!

Sleep issues

Ok, all of you out there with toddlers, help me out here, please. Since my last string of eve watches (those are when I get Miss C until the afternoon then work until midnight so DH has to get her dinner, bath and bed), Miss C has been having some sleep issues. Specifically, she will fall asleep in your arms but when you move at all or go to lay her in her bed, she opens her eyes and starts to cry. Its heartbreaking.
She is also a little clingy right now. She is my very independent little girl but when she gets tired, she is on me like glue. Our only recourse right now is to lay her down when we know she is tired and let her cry a little. It usually only lasts a couple of minutes if that, but what i was wondering is if this is a phase they all go through and if you have any other recommendations. Please help!

Parent-Teacher Conference Recap

Who would have thought I would be going to a parent-teacher conference when Miss C was a mere 13 months old? Not me. We did have our first one today though.

It was interesting to get the teacher's perspective on how Miss C is doing. I have pretty much kept ya'll up to date on her activities. Recently she has taken a greater interest in building stuff and putting those little rings on the ring sorter (you know which ones I am talking about). She also plays with "Dolly" all the time. Miss C is also quite adept at following directions, to the point that the teachers are recommending we move on to more complex directions already.

It seems that Miss C is kind of shy around other grownups (other than Mama and Daddy and a few select relatives, that is). When she first started this school, though she signed quite a bit at home, she really didn't start signing for a couple of weeks. Getting her bearings and all that. Once she started to sign and realized they understood and would sign back, whoa nelly! You can't stop her. She also figured out the "head, shoulders, knees and toes" stuff from the song. She can find any part of the song on herself, you or even her stuffed animals.

Speaking of animals, she is getting even better at telling us "what they say." During our conference she was showing off to the teacher that she knew elephant and monkey and a few others they hadn't seen. She also tends to practice a lot at home before trying stuff out at school. Walking is a prime example of this. This weekend Miss C decided it was time to let go and just walk all over the place. I mentioned this at school since they were telling me they got asked if Miss C was ready to move up to the next class. Among other requirements such as sitting in a
chair and sleeping on a cot (things Miss C got used to upon arrival as she was deemed too tall to use the high chair or a crib), Miss C must demonstrate a mastery of walking.

Well, today she gave the teachers a taste of our weekend. They even got to see her walking backwards (on purpose, apparently you generally don't do this until around 2) and even make a 90 degree turn (she was walking to DH and decided to go to me instead).

In all, the teachers are thrilled with her progress, going so far as to state that she is developmentally at 18 or so months! Wow! We are going to give her a couple more weeks before we revisit the changing classrooms discussion.

I asked about a transition period and was assured that there is a week long transition period so Miss C isn't just thrown into a foreign environment. Needless to say, I hope all of our future parent-teacher conference go so well!

Oh, about the #2 issue we discussed last time. DH and I decided to cut her off from blueberries to see if that was the issue and wow, she is definitely doing better on that front. Apparently her body has a tough time processing blueberries. she isn't quite back to normal (we still have a Dr's appointment tomorrow anyway) but she is well on her way there. Bummer though, she really seems to like blueberries. Oh the plus side, she adores watermelon and doesn't seem to have any gastro issues with that so that's nice.

Miss C is 13 months old today!

For her 13 month day, Miss C gave herself a neat gift, extra sleep. As I type this, at nearly 8am, she is still asleep. Hard to believe since we usually get her up at 630am for school. I have eves today so i am letting her sleep in. Little angel.

Ok, quick updates on her stats: (read: Proud mama talking):

1. Walking! Miss C has decided its time to really walk. She started taking more than 2 steps at a time around Father's Day (a gift for DH?) and hasn't slowed down since. She walks to everything now. She even likes to climb the stairs, now that we let her when we are going upstairs for any reason. Don't worry, we still have the gates in place for all of our safety. She hasn't taken too many headers while walking and is getting more confident every day. In addition to walking forwards, Miss C is already walking backwards (on purpose!) and turning.

We have a parent/Teacher conference on Monday to discuss her moving up a class. Wow!

2. Talking! Miss C's vocabulary has grown by leaps and bounds. Most of her oral words are words she has been signing for a while like fan, fish, Mama, daddy (yep, Daddy not Dada), kitty, etc. Her signing has grown exponentially as well. We were teaching her "light" to explain the difference between the light over the dining room table and the fan (they both hang from the ceiling so it can be tricky) but yesterday she totally got it. She even got it to the point that when we turned on a table lamp she said and signed light! She also loves the word "car". She says "car", signs "car" with both hands moving up and down (that circular motion is tricky) and adds a "vroom, vroom" because that's how Daddy does it (look, [Miss C}, car, vroom, vroom)! She also has a couple of made up signs that I mentioned in the last post (patting her chest to mean come here and putting her index finger in the palm of her hand to mean (?) put it here).

3. Blowing her own nose! i know i mentioned this before but holy moly! She loves to blow her nose now. Unfortunately, she will do it with or without a tissue so Mama has tissue patrol now!

4. Imaginative play. I know i mentioned Miss C has a dolly but she is so cute with her! She feeds her (she comes with a bottle) and even puts her down for naps. At school, she took a rolling pin and tried to feed one of the babies! She also rocks Dolly and her bears in her pooh rocking car. so cute! She has also started building stuff with her blocks instead of just destroying stuff. Lots of fun to be able to do both.

5. Teeth. Apparently a year was the point where Miss C was going to get more teeth. At 12 months she had 3 teeth with a couple more coming in. She now has 8 teeth in and is getting in her bottom eye (?) teeth. She is taking it like a champ though and chews the heck out of her teething toys and a couple of frozen wash cloths.

6. Eating with a spoon or fork. We've been working on this for ages. It wasn't until she realized how much more food she could get in her mouth at a time did Miss C really go for the spoon. She eats her cheerios with milk using a spoon and loves to use her spoon and fork when she has rice. Yummy!

I guess that's about it. Plenty for 13 months though!

Oh, before I go, Miss C has been having a tough time with her #2s. We would give her prunes, but she refuses to touch anything remotely resembling baby food. I can get her to drink some juice but do you think that will be enough? I am worried that she is having trouble due to the fact that she is drinking milk.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Happy Anniversary DH!

Well, today is 11 years since DH and I took our vows. talk about a change.

In the past 11 years we have done at least 8 deployments, lived in no fewer than 6 states, visited no fewer than 8 counties both for work and pleasure, got a cat and had a baby. Whoa.

As a gift to ourselves we went to dinner, alone. Yes, you heard me correctly, alone.

This is the first time that we went to dinner alone. This is the first time we had a babysitter over at the house. Wow.

I found our sitter from a flyer at work, of all things. She is the daughter of one of the guys I work with, a recent college graduate who is going to teach English in Korea at the end of the summer.

I was worried. Boy, was I worried. I mean, aside from the time she spent with Mrs J and a few visits with the grandparents, Miss C has never had a sitter at night.

When our sitter got here, a half hour before I planned to leave in order to give them time to acclimate, Sammy (our cat, remember) ran over to her like she knew her. She mewed and purred and loved all over her. Once the cat was in awe of her, Miss C decided, heck, she must be alright and walked over to her.

In less than 15 minutes, Miss C got comfortable enough with the sitter, a girl, young lady, whatever, she just met, to let her carry her up and down the stairs during the quick house tour.

I was flabbergasted. It made me think about what it was like when I was baby sitting and how I could get the kids to just glom on me. It made it easier to enjoy our anniversary dinner.

We only spent a couple of hours out but by the time we got home, Miss C had already been in bed an hour (long days walking and all that!). The sitter told us she was incredibly easy and asked us to explain a couple of the signs Miss C uses that aren't on the chart (example, Miss C pats her chest when she wants someone/something to come to her. She also points to her palm when she wants you to give her something. Neither sign is on the chart so we guess she made them up).

What a relief.

Oh, and, we really did enjoy our dinner.

I love you, DH!

A Miss C tale

So life gets more interesting when you have kids, right?

That's what I was told and yea, I agree. I thought that Miss C wouldn't be able to blow my expectations away as quickly or consistently as she has and continues to do. Today is a prime example and the aforementioned tale in the title.

After a busy day at school of walking, signing, and talking at school with her teachers and little friends, Miss C came home to let her Mama and Daddy get some time with her. While waiting on milk to warm up in the kitchen, Mama gave Miss C a piece of paper towel to keep her busy because Miss C really enjoys the sound it makes when you rip it and that gives Mama a little time to put stuff away. While ripping the paper towel, Miss C realized she had to blow her nose. Rather than let her nose run or simply wipe it on Mama or Daddy like normal, she chose to put her little paper towel to her nose and (I kid you not!) blow her own nose! Sounds and all!


This should serve as a lesson to never lower your expectations of what someone can do regardless of age. I don't know when I thought Miss C would do this but it sure wasn't at 12 months!



Oh, I chose this picture because it just makes me smile. Imagine that, our little girl reading a book at snack time! (And, yes, she does say "snack", more like "nack") :)

Quick, I mean really quick, update

Hey all,

Sorry I have been so bad about updating lately. Something about Miss C becoming 1 year old caused a significant shift in what she does and what she thinks she should do so we have been busy! So busy, in fact, that someone (no, not me, sadly) took 3 1/2 hours worth of naps today (am was 2 hours!). I swear, I don't know how she does it. She is on full speed whenever she is awake. Miss C has been taking steps for over a month and is gaining confidence with each step. Before bed tonight, she played pong between DH and myself for a good 15 minutes in between building stuff with her big legos. She is an amazing little person. I have been looking over the photos and I think I am in toddlerhood.

What do you think?

Family addition update

All,

Wanted to post some photos of our little niece. She is just adorable! Miss C can't wait to meet the newest addition, Miss A!

I will be back later this week when life gets a little less hectic on our end to update ya'll on Miss C. Until then, have a great day!

Quick family update

Miss C is now officially not the youngest member of our family.
My brother, W, and his wife, L, welcomed their little girl into the world last night. She was a couple of weeks early but weighed in at a solid 9 pounds. Congrats you guys! Call if you need anything!

Happy father's day!

A quick Happy Father's Day to DH, SNG, LeBon, DH's DOD, Alphagal's DOD, my little brother W (a Dad to be) and all the other fathers and fatherly types out there.

Our weekend consists of DH coming home from another trip and me on eve watches. I get to spend half the day with DH and Miss C then I go off to work and DH gets the rest of the afternoon, dinner, bath and bedtime. It is an interesting time but we all deal with it.

Well, that's about it. Check out the video in the last post, if you haven't already. It was my father's day gift to DH while he was gone!

A NEW VIDEO POST!

I know its been a while since i posted a video and I hope this one was worth the wait. After watching Miss C color on construction paper for a while, I realized she needed a coloring book. Little did I know how much the coloring would open her up!



The video is a couple of minutes long, but please be patient and wait because there is a super cute part towards the end.

So, what did you think?

Miss C is 1 year old!

Wow. Has it been a year already? Has my little one gone from such a tiny thing to such a big girl? ***Edited to add stats: Miss C is now 23 lbs 10 oz (75-90%) and 32" (yes, really!) (>97%)! ***

I can't beleive the changes we have witnessed over the course of the last month much less the last year. Its amazing that this little girl is already talking, trying to walk, trying to read, teaching us so many things. I knew it would be a mindblowing change but this is remarkable. What kicks my butt is that this is only the beginning. I mean, there is so much more to come.

Ok, so we have our check up scheduled for the 10th so I will edit this entry afterwards to give everyone her "stats" but until then, the proud mama must start filling you in:

1. Miss C's vocabulary is growing exponentially. She recently started saying and signing "down" when she wants to get down from your lap, her chair etc. She also says "done" when she is done, even in the bath. We have a rule "bum in tub" so she knows she only gets two chances if she stands up. When she is ready to get out of the bath, usually because she is tired and ready for bed, she stands up and says "done." She has also recently added "Thank you" (it sounds like "tan koo" but you know what it means) and uses it appropriately. DH gave her something she asked for and she looked him square in the eye and said "thank you." Its like every time we think we have a handle on what she says or signs, she shows us something different. She said "bottle", "fishey" and "good" just yesterday, all in very valid situations. Mind blowing!

2. Miss C is getting 3 new teeth in at once! Yep, its an OMG situation. She is handling it quite well though. We took some advice (thank you to the Dr and to both Alphagal and Poobou) and are giving Miss C some Tylenol before bed to help her sleep. She is chewing on everything within her reach but whatever it takes to get her through this. Its also possible she has another tooth coming in on the top but since she has been going through so much pain recently, she is hesitant to open her mouth for us to check, poor baby!

3. Miss C is showing a keen interest in walking. When she started this a month or so ago and took a solo step on Mother's Day I thought that we were there but Miss C is taking her time. She does demand to walk everywhere now though. she will reach for your hands like she used to reach for you to pick her up. Now, instead of wanting to be picked up, she wants to hold your hands and walk. If she wants you to pick her up, she will let you pull her into a standing position and grab onto your legs. She lets go on occasion and just stands there but I think the recent ear infection took away some of her confidence about her balance. She did take two steps towards me yesterday while trying to take my glasses and that is one more than she took on her own before. Its only a matter of time before she decides to let go of the couches and our hands and is off and running.

4. Miss C loves the slide! We discovered this at a little park on our way to the grocery store one day. I decided we needed a little park time and put Miss C on the slide. I thought, heck, cool view. Well, she let go of my hand and pulled. It was a fast slide too! I ran to the bottom just as she started to launch off it! She now kind of grabs your hand to have you go down the big slide with her but she still has a great time!

5. Miss C got a new chair and has figured out how to climb into it! I was sitting on the floor playing with her and she decided to climb up into the chair. Its so cute! Now I just have to worry about her falling out of it or climbing further up!

Well, that's about it for today. Miss C is just growing up so fast, its not funny! I hope you all get a chance to check out the photos on our flickr page, I added some to the twelfth month from her party. It was a blast!

Someone is getting to be a big girl

Ok. So you all have followed the recent events with the ear infection so let me give you a quick update. Last night Miss C slept very poorly. Just like when we figured out she had an ear infections so of course I am stressed out. Aside from getting even less sleep than she, I am worrying that Miss C has another ear infection or her antibiotics didn't quite work as advertised. She also has a bit of a diaper rash (Alphagal warned this might happen after the antibiotics) so we decided to see the doctor regardless. We got an appointment for this morning and headed off to learn our fate.

Well, after a little umm and ahh talk while looking in her ears, the doctor announced that they look beautiful. So, huh, what is the problem? I reminded him that she had been running a low grade fever and got kind of snotty starting yesterday. We managed to get her mouth open and would you believe it?! She has not 1 but 3 new teeth coming in! Yep, the other front tooth and the two on either side of the two top front teeth. Oh boy! That surely explains her inability to sleep soundly. I got the go ahead for Tylenol (the doc actually thinks orajel is pretty bunk and recommends Tylenol and some cold stuff to chew on). We also got some more Nystasin (it is in her happy hiney cream but they don't carry the ready made stuff here so I get the ingredients separately and mix them myself. Yea.) for her bum. Thank goodness it wasn't worse.

Miss C fell asleep in the car on the way home. Poor, tuckered out little one. Hopefully I will be able to help her through this stage. I totally feel for Alphagal and SNG's pain with the molars. I can only hope that next time Miss C only gets one new tooth at a time but who knows, eh?

So, anyone have any sure fire advice on how else to help Miss C?