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Bath and blanket stories

Yes, I'm having a slow day... but it's almost time to go home when I remembered this really cute bath time story!

It was time to get out of bath, which she doesn't generally like, and she decided she would get out of the tub on the condition that she could take her bath toys with her (squeeky toys that squirt water). We, of course, wanted those squeeky toys to stay in the tub so we could drain them and put them away. After getting several mad sounding grunts when I asked her to leave the toys in the tub, I got a really bright idea. Being the smart mommy that I am, I said, "Do you want Duck Duck and Bullup?" (previous post: that's her duck that quacks & frog that croaks). She inhaled sharply, her eyes got big, and she literally threw the squeeky toys in the tub and was on her way to climbing out of the tub! It occurs to me right now that I'm not sure where Duck Duck and Bullup currently are... may need to find them tonight. Which leads me to the blanket story.

We thought we had a catastrophe on our hands Sunday... to the point that I was almost in tears if I stopped and thought about it. Her two favorite blankets, the one she came home in and a cloud blanket, were missing. Brian had look all over the apartment - I looked all over - we both looked all over again. No luck. We realized that we hadn't seen them since I had left for the grocery store and taken the trash out with me. Yep, you know where it's going. We were scared to death that we had thrown them away... that she had somehow managed to stuff them in the trash can (that was full, btw, and in a room that, normally, when she sees the door open to it, she closes it) and we somehow missed it. I was in another room thinking about it... Brian was watching TV with Taylor and thinking about it. I came in and was in the process of saying, "She's put it IN something and we just don't know what." When he noticed the drawer on our coffee table wasn't closed all the way. He went to close it and saw a little corner of cloth. Eureka!! She had put the blankets in the drawer. We are very thankful they were found.

And it's time to go home now. B'bye!

My two cents on previous posts

I like to sometimes go back through posts and just look at them. So I miss my baby girly and this is one thing that helps.. sue me. :) I found a couple of Brian's posts that I'd like to add to and, since it's doubtful anyone would see if I changed an old post, I'm making a new one.

Jan 17 - the pictures of her with her fingers up her nose? What he didn't tell you was that she had one finger up her nose. We told her, "Get your finger out of your nose!" She giggled and put BOTH her fingers in her nose!

Jan 23 - milestone (peepee in the potty!). We had finished up breakfast and she squirmed, pointed at her bottom, and said, "Poop." We talked about it very quickly and decided, what the hay! We took her back. She started off clothed, then the pants came off, then the shirt came off. She spent an hour in the bathroom either sitting on her potty or running around playing with bath toys or making running leaps into my lap. I wouldn't let her out of the bathroom... we'd like our deposit back, thank you very much. Thank God it's a big bathroom.

Counting games!

They have apparently been working hard on teaching the kids to count to 10. Taylor is doing very well at it. At breakfast this morning, she was counting the tines on her fork (6, 7, 6, 7, 6, 7.. Daddy! Look! 6, 7, 6...) Okay, so she's learning.

But wait! There's more! I was in the kitchen, Brian was in the bedroom getting ready for work. I told him that she was counting. He said, "1." Taylor said, "2" He said, "3", she said, "4" - they counted all the way to 10 alternating back and forth like that. Then as a little test, Brian came in and said, "Okay Taylor, you start. Say 1." I don't know if she did or not but Brian said, "2" and she said, "3" and, again, they alternated all the way up to 10.

We were highly impressed. :)

She is in control

Dinner last night was hilarious. She's eating and Brian & I are talking. I realize she has started talking as well and then she looks at Brian, points at him and says, "Daddy. Quiet." Then turns to me, points and says, "Mommy. Quiet." While she was telling me to be quiet, Brian had said, "Yes, Ma'am." Her response was to turn to him, point and say a little more sternly, "Daddy. Quiet." So Brian & I sat in silence and she went back to eating. We start laughing (quietly) and then couldn't keep quiet and she scolded us and told us to be quiet again. By the end of it all, I had tears in my eyes from trying to hold in laughter. Brian & I couldn't look at each other because we'd both start laughing which would make Taylor tell us "Quiet" again, which would make us laugh more. She eventually joined in the laughing and all was well.

Guess she didn't care for our talking while she was trying to eat!

Cold morning

This morning, I got to take Taylor to school for once, and she makes another discovery. It was a nice brisk 19 degrees when we left, and while I'm holding her and digging for my keys, she discovers her breath is steaming up as she exhales, so for several minutes I get a repeat of exhaled steam, giggle, steam, giggle, steam, giggle.

Milestone!

After trying for an hour or so, Taylor went tee tee in her potty for the first time this morning. While we're not planning on starting serious potty training until we were settled in the new house, this is a very encouraging sign. Of course we were very excited, and Taylor knew immediately she had done something special. Now if we can just keep her from reaching in afterwards ...

Occasionally, she has been telling us "Poop" if she feels she needs to go, or come tell us "Diaper" if she needs changing. We may not have to wait until moving after all.

Taylor and the horsey

Out looking at a house on Saturday, Taylor discovered the toy horse in the basement rec room. We put an offer on this particular house, but unfortunately I don't think the horse comes with the house.

Counting

I can't believe I almost forgot this! This past Sunday, Taylor was insisting on me holding her while I fixed breakfast (she's not content to stand in a chair and watch, she wants to be held and, as long as it's safe, I'm okay with that). Anyway, I had just put sausages in the pan and was putting the remainder in a freezer bag. I counted each one as I picked it up with the tongs. 1... 2... and then she joined me (!!) 3... 4... and I let her finish (!!!) 5... 6... I was so shocked! There were only 6 sausage links so that was it. I know they work on counting to ten but I've never heard her say anything higher than 7.

What made me remember that was that this morning I was counting something else or someone was counting on TV (don't remember) and she said 3 and 4 with them.

The Most Wonderful Greeting

Okay, every parent knows how wonderful it is when their child spots them and comes running and screaming, "Mommy!!" or "Daddy!" Well, last night I got a greeting that I think was better than that. I had some errands after work and didn't get home until almost 8. She's usually about done with bath by then and I was hoping she wasn't in bed yet. I was very pleasantly surprised when I walked in and saw her lights on then heard, "Mommy!" and a screaming, naked baby came running to hug me. It was entirely too cute!

Nooooooooo!

Okay, it's been really really cute that one of the first things she wants when she gets up in the morning or gets home in the evening is Wiggles. It's really cute to see her run and literally jump onto her couch or into our chair and say, "Want Wiggles."

This morning, however, I experienced something bordering on traumatic. As we were about to leave, she reached up into her books and pulled one out and said, "Barney!" She knows who Barney is. She even got upset with me for making her leave it in the car when I dropped her off. "My Barney!" She's watched it ONCE with me so I know it's poison from the daycare! I know it! *sigh* I know, it'll be alright....I'm taking comfort in knowing that Wiggles, at least for now, are still her favorite.

Disclaimer: I'm not honestly upset at the daycare for introducing Barney. I know it's inevitable and, to be honest, as annoying as the purple dinosaur is, it's a kid's educational show. Never mind that kids learn, incorrectly, that "This Old Man" and other traditional kid songs are "Barney songs" but I digress. ;)

Taylor stories

She had her 2-year checkup this past Friday and thankfully, no shots were needed! We tried in vain to get her to talk to the doctor (so he could hear for himself that she could says words he could understand). At the end of the visit, he was heading for the door and said, "Bye bye Taylor." She waved and said, "bye bye."

I forget how much she weighs but she's 36 inches long (3 ft tall at 2!). She's in the 90th percentile on height, weight, and head circumference. That means that only 10% of kids are taller than her, weigh more than her and, um, have bigger heads than her. :) I asked the doctor if we should be concerned about her weight and the answer was an emphatic, "no." She's 90th percentile across the board - she's in proportion. If she were short and in the 90th percentile on weight, we'd have a problem.

Now for the promised Taylor stories. A few cute things that she's done that I've written down...

She's recently become attached to some of her stuffed animals. There's her Care Bear (which I can't describe a toddler voice in writing but trust me, it's cute). We also have Duck Duck and Bullup (emphasis on the first syllable, say it fast). It's a duck that quacks when you squeeze it and a frog that croaks when you squeeze it. How'd she get "bullup" you may ask? When she tries to copy the sound it makes, she says, "bullup bullup." They are a matched set - you CANNOT have one without the other.

New addition to the morning routine: brushing our teeth! I wait and brush my teeth with her so she sees how to do it. She brushes her own teeth while I'm doing mine (she has a toothpaste that's safe to swallow). When I spit she looks at me wide-eyed and says, "Goodness mama!" She has recently started leaning over into the sink to spit - nothing yet but she's trying.

And now, a bathtime story. As many of you know, we have a big cup we use to wet and rinse her hair. In bath one night last week she took great pleasure in taking a sip from the cup and then spitting it out. She laughed and squealed every time! And she did it a lot. For the record, that's when I realized it's time to start teaching her to spit after brushing teeth. :)

Last but not least, a bedtime story. Last weekend she was pooped. After a late dinner on Friday, she crawled up in my lap and put her head on my shoulder and went to sleep. After awhile (I was enjoying holding that sleeping baby!) we decided to change her clothes and put her to bed without bath. The next night was looking like a repeat. Brian & I talked about it and said that we could give her a bath in the morning. She feebly pushed up and said, "iwan baf." The she pushed her way down and ran down the hall saying, "I want bath."

Oh yeah, she can open doors now too. She's gone into our room and gotten my chapstick of my nightstand and when she wants bath she tells us and heads into the bathroom. Closed door? What closed door? It's time to break out the child proof doorknob thingies! I'm not crazy about them b/c I'm not very good at working them myself. It should be interesting.

Over the weekend

It was an exciting weekend - on Saturday morning we continued the house hunt. Having officially given up on the king of all stubborn house sellers, we met up with our agent Cynthia at Cracker Barrel again to hit the trail. While waiting in the parking lot, Taylor decided it would be fun to stick her fingers up both sides of her nose at the same time. She should know by now to not do things like that while Daddy's playing with his camera (new really big memory card, ooooo!) I warned her that if she didn't take her fingers out of her nose I'd take a picture of it and post it to the site. She giggled. I snapped the picture. And here you go.

A grueling morning of unsuccessful house hunting after a week of frustration by the King of Stubborn House Sellers, by Sunday we were pooped. Despite everything else that we really should have done ... oh the heck with it, we're taking a day off.

Finally, after dinner this evening, I was lying on the floor playing tackle dummy to Taylor's linebacker. She decides it's my naptime, and covers me up with booster seat trays.

Night night Daddy!

Next, she puts one over my face, and jumps on it. Thank you Elizabeth for your speed with the camera, so the whole world can share my pain of having my nose scraped off my face by the surprisingly sharp plastic tabs on the bottom of this tray.

I hear the hair dryer cutting off, which means little girl is ready for story time and bed. And I have to see about sewing this nose back on my face.

Birthday lunch at Cracker Barrel

On Taylor's birthday, we were out with our real estate agent looking at houses all day. We stopped by Cracker Barrel for lunch, where the wait staff came out to sing Happy Birthday to her and give her a sundae. I didn't have my camera with me, so the cameraphone stepped in and did a decent job filling in for us.

That huge dessert with 2 scoops of ice cream you see on the left side of the picture is their apple crisp dessert. I highly recommend it, but share it with a friend. There's a lot of apples in there.

Overalls and Magnadoodle

While Taylor is right behind me, fighting sleep with every bit of fight she has, I thought I'd post a couple pictures from the past few days.

Today, she wore her new overalls Grandpa bought her for her birthday. She loves them. She played with the buckles all morning, and all night. The third picture is from Tuesday evening, in her favorite position after coming home from school. She loves to grab her new Magnadoodle, climb up on the big couch and draw until dinner is ready.

She just stretched out on her Pooh couch like she wants to go to sleep. Maybe she's starting to run out of steam finally.

Words We Love to Hear!

Just this past week she has started saying, "Love you!" when we say it to her. It's so sweet! "Nighnigh, wuvoo!" and a blown kiss... *sigh* The little things in life. :)

Another fairly recent development is that she has started saying, "You're welcome" in response to "Thank you."

And, at least for now, we still find it amusing to hear, "No no daddy, stop! [something we can't make out] Sit!" While she's saying this she's shaking her finger at us and when she tells us to sit, she points off to the side. I'm sure she's picked this up from teachers saying it to other kids and not her! (Yeah, right). One of the previously unintelligible phrases turned out to be her version of, "That's enough of that." GA niece, Lecil, figured that one out for us. We are all in agreement that, once we figure out the rest of what she's saying, either we're in trouble or she is.

Grandpa's big pile of pinestraw

Nothing rewards a hard day of raking pinestraw quite like watching your granddaughters destroy it. We took advantage of the cruel, harsh Alabama winter weather on New Year's Day. OK, so it was really a balmy 72 degrees, and we set records all weekend long for high temperatures. To our Northern friends and family buried in ice and snow: we broke out shorts and T-shirts in your honor. We aren't mocking you. Really. While the weather is nice this time of year, we just can't figure out how to make good maple syrup.

Less ramble, more picture.

Taylor is the first to find the pile. Hmm. It's prickly, and difficult to climb. Not sure I like this.

Well now, Uncle Mike sure seems to like it.

Maybe one day Uncle Mike will realize he doesn't have the body of a 6-year-old anymore. Those bones are gonna hurt tomorrow.

Let the destruction begin! While Stephanie maintains a safe distance from anything that could harm her new sweater, the other girls dismantle the pile.

Abby and Amy take pinestraw showers, while Taylor and Ariel continue to acclimate to this new sensation.

Now they're all getting into the action.

This sure is fun!

Taylor watches as Abby and Amy bury themselves in straw.

The younger girls sit on the now-buried older girls.

Whew! All that playing wore Taylor out. Time for a rest.

Birthday cake

We took advantage of the weekend visit and combined Christmas and Taylor's birthday into one busy, busy day. While she's young, we can get away with this. So after Christmas dinner and present-unwrapping, out comes the Wiggles birthday cake.

After the cake, it's time for more presents.

Assorted Huntsville weekend pictures

The leftovers from the weekend - Christmas present unwrapping and Taylor's introduction to her new baby cousin.

Friday afternoon, Taylor finds a doll's glasses and realizes putting them on makes everyone laugh. So she does it again. And again. All night long. Her sense of humor is blossoming, and it's fun to see.

Taylor gets a new Crocodile piano for Christmas. It's a very nice piano, but we get tired of hearing her new favorite song, "Auld Lang Syne" (the first demo song which she loves hearing).

Michael Jr., how do you keep getting in here? You're a month old now; don't you have your own blog yet?

OK, if you can get in a picture or two with Taylor, then that's OK. Taylor loves her new baby cousin. She's very sweet with him. No Taylor, you still can't have one of your own.