Doggy Daycare

Doggy Daycare is in session. Role call please!!!

LUCY?

Present

CHIGGER?

Present

LIZZY?

Present

EMMI?

Present

HALLIE?

HERE!!!!

Being surrounded by so many canines has left her feeling a little like a dog this week. That's makes two of us because tomorrow is Thursday which means by this time of the week I'm DOG tired.

Good thing I have this chick around to keep me from giving into my narcoleptic tendencies...she's too doggone funny!

The Not So Domestic Goddess

Domesticity and I go together like oil and water...like Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump...like cats and dogs. Due to my lack of blessed ability to handle my home environment with grace, I try to be conscientious about teaching Hallie skills very early in life that I want her to know. Most of these things are traits, skills or characteristics that I want to be good at or strive to be good at. Problem is, I usually end up falling flat on my face. I would place both my mom and MIL (mother-in-law) in the "domestic goddess" category. Why I can't latch onto this is beyond me. When I cook something, it ends up burned. When I do laundry, something ends up shrinking to child size. Last week was my diaper in the washing machine issue......but today was a new one. Miss Wet Pants was in need of some clean sheets and a freshly washed mattress pad cover. Said mattress pad cover has plastic on the back. Bonehead mommy threw this right into the dryer along with the rest of her clothes. And this is what I ended up with.....

A plastic-coated dryer

....and a lovely mattress cover.

It was high time to redeem myself. Not only was I craving some no bake cookies, but I also wanted to have an activity to keep Hallie learning and occupied during our afternoon at home. She woke up a little on the fragile side today and was a bit of a challenging booger. What better time that now for her first "baking lesson?" Of course we had to start simple with something that involved no actual baking and ingredients that she could eat. She was a huge help with this endeavor. And by help I mean that she whined the entire time because I kept her in the high chair after she decided to sweep a counter full of items onto the floor. The only time she wasn't upset by the process was when it was time to lick the spoon....

Oh yeah, and also as I spooned them out on the counter...her arms transformed into Inspector Gadget appendages as she was reaching for a handful of chocolaty goodness.

Yes, that's foil. Non-domestic goddesses don't have waxed paper in their drawers

Laundry and "baking" had left me and the girl tuckered out. Ok, what really left me exhausted was a day full of holding my 22 lb child because she needed snuggle/mommy time due to her fragile state. Fragile state = teething, by the way. Exhaustion = 2 hour nap for me, 3 hour nap for her.

Does someone smell the lovely scent of redemption? Well, think again. I picked up a beautiful salmon at the grocery store the other day and have been looking forward to tasting it since Saturday. I gave it a go with the grill for the very first time tonight.....see, trying to be more domestic anyway I can. Lol. Anyway, with supervision and a few pointers I was able to grill the yummy pink goodness without it falling through the cracks, burning it or having it fall apart. So I served this yummy goodness and we sat down for a late dinner together. I guess I should add that Riley has never eaten salmon in his life. WHAT? Turns out he loved it.....ok, more like he loved to tear it apart with his fork and feed it to the dogs. Riley = not a fan of salmon. I kinda had a feeling considering he doesn't like shrimp, catfish, lobster or crab. It was worth a try though. On the bright side....more leftover for me!!!!

Do cleaning up messes and changing diapers fall in the domestic category? If so, then I have nothing to worry about. More tales of my domestic endeavors to come I'm sure.

The weekend was just peachy

I love to find a nice juicy peach.

It's like finding a nice little suprise in the produce aisle.

Somebody else now appreciates the yummy goodness of the perfect peach too....

Like a little piece of heaven

On to more peachiness......

We had a relaxing, no plans whatsoever kind of weekend. I woke up bright and early with my human alarm clock and got busy playing, eating breakfast, going for a bike ride, doing dishes, cleaning and blogging. I felt like I'd accomplished more in two hours than I had all week long. I love weekends at home!!! After our busy early morning we took off to drop Emmi at the grooming shop. She did not have a clue what we had in store for her. To say that she felt violated and betrayed when I picked her up would be an understatement.....

"I didn't know my shedding was such an inconvenience. Guess I'll go find a new home"

My dog-lovin' munchkin had a ball when we went to pick up Emmi. She went from cage to cage greeting the puppies, sticking her hands through the cage of the friendly ones and giving kisses when prompted. The owner let a few of the canines out so that Hallie could get her hands on them. She was in heaven! Once we got home there was more playing to be done. And so much sillyness in store.....

After my pint-sized playmate had played herself out, it was time for a nap which meant time for some "me time." I waited for our new refridgerator to arrive and was able to transfer the food from our lovely dwarf fridge and deep freezer. There wasn't much to move thanks to a mishap on Wednesday night. The door to the mini fridge didn't close all the way (equipment malfunction, not operator ;)). Most of our food was ruined including a new jug of milk that came out in clumps Thursday morning as I poured a cup for a very thirsty girl. After she woke up from her nap we went out for some pizza. Hallie was looking way too stylish all accessorized up wearing her "sunnies"......

It was quite a challenge just to get one pic of her before she ripped them from her face. So of course she didn't mind when her dad and I tried them out....

After lunch we parted ways with dad to go grocery shopping. Fun times. NOT! She bit through some scrubbing sponges and was spitting out green scrubby stuff for awhile. She was way too interested in grabbing for things off the shelves and just wanted to cuddle with me so we settled for hugging while she stood in the cart while I pushed it. Nap time already? I think so. Once we got home Aunt Katie was waiting there for us to drop off some bows that Carmen had borrowed for her newborn pics (can't wait to see those by the way). Hallie went back to her crib immediately for a much-needed second nap while I suited up and made a pallet on the back porch under the scorching hot sun for some tanning, or as Riley calls it "cancer baking." Just as I layed down, here came my busy husband with his air compressor. He plugged it in which made a lovely, relaxing background noise. He ended up replacing the compressor noise with some music while he got to work painting his flatbed......

Once my heartbeat had started ramping up and I felt like my brain was frying in the 107 degree weather, I came inside to find a girl who was ready to play. We grabbed some water and headed outside to play in the shade....oh yeah, and eat a snack.

"It's hotter than Hades out here mom!"

"Ahhhh, much better"

After she figured out a good way to cool off the sidewalk using daddy's drink, she decided that his choice of classic rock was not her first pick. She did a little bit of DJing for us....

"Are you kidding me?! There is no nursery rhyme station?!"

She found a new toy in the wheelbarrow....

"This would be a good place to hide"

After we realized that the ridiculous heat was for safari animals and camels only, we got dressed and headed off in search for something fun to do. The county fair it was! Except that it was no longer going on when we got there so Hal and I decided to go visit Nanny for awhile. On our way home I had a craving for some steak so we stopped by the grocery store (again) and picked up dinner. I thought we should see if Papa wanted to join and then found out Katie and Carmen were alone for the night so they joined us as well. It was nice to be grillin' again! On the menu: steak, corn on the cob and grilled potatoes...

The grill master himself

We were going to eat outside on the patio but it was still so muggy to we all scrunched into the kitchen with the two babes. Carmen was trying to be on her best behavior but the sweetheart just wanted to snuggle with her mommy.....

"Don't tell me you are going to leave me in here while you guys eat?" 

The other munchkin was happy in Papa's arms until we plopped her in the chair for dinner. After scarfing down some potatoes she was ready to get down.

Although she had had a bath before everyone came over, Hallie was in need of a dip in the sink after she had coated herself in dinner.....

"Guess I may as well do these dishes while I'm here. Well, nah..."

Nanny would've been jealous of all the time Papa was getting to spend with his grandbabies....

The girls have finally discovered one another and may have become friends.....

"Yo, what's up! My name's Carmen!"

"Nice to meet you, my name's Hal"

Woohoo!!!! We've been waiting for this moment! Miss Carmen was lookin' mighty cute and even practiced holding her head up a bit for us. She's three weeks young now and growing by the day. After everyone left it was well past bedtime so Hal went straight to her crib after some bedtime stories. It seemed like our heads had just hit the pillow when the rooster was a'crowin'.  Good morning parents! Good thing this was the day that the Lord made...otherwise it may have been a little lot more difficult to get out of bed. Breakfast, showers and off to church late as usual. Nanny stopped by unexpectedly to pick up Hal to take her to church since she was watching the nursery kiddos this morn. Even without a kid, we were still late. Chronic problem now I guess. Church was wonderful as always and Hal even got to join us in service for the last song. Funny how I miss that munchkin so much while she's in the nursery. She loves it in there...toy heaven as Nanny calls it. Back home I worked on some lunch while watching an extremely boring online therapy course. Actually was wanting to dump my enchilada mix on the computer to make the learning stop. Lol. Ok really I was just wanting to be in bed sleeping like my two sweeties. Alas, a mother's work is never done.

Let's just say that Hal wouldn't have requested seconds of her lunch that I chose. Some ground beef with a bit of cheese mixed in and green beans....

"Let's see here...how do you say...um...disgusting?"

The hot temps held up captive indoors again today. The only difference is that today daddy joined us for a lazy Sunday afternoon. We have been getting great joy out of telling Hallie to "go get a book from your room" and watching as she hurries to retrieve not one but two books each time. She comes around the corner with a big proud smile and then we all have to clap of course. I told her to go grab some new books and, in true Sunday fashion, she took the lazy route and grabbed two magazines off the side table. So ya see, she had two options......

"Either way I disappoint one of my parents. Mom wants me to pick Kim's wedding details but dad would be so proud if I were a tomboy. Decisions, decision...."

"tomboy it is!"

She must've felt like she owed me because she did something that was unprecedented today. She hopped up in the big brown chair with me and just laid there. Didn't move a muscle. Wide awake and just chillin'. I. Was. In. Heaven. Dad even tried to get in on the snuggle time and came over to join us but he must've disrupted her zen moment because she started her usual wiggling and squirming after that. Oh but for a moment......

We had the surprise of the weekend today! Gman came to see us!!!!!!!!

He called earlier in the afternoon to let me know he would be bringing two guests with him to stay with us for the week: Chigger and Lizzy. He is putting down wood floors this week and needs a dog-free house. Hallie welcomed the pups with open arms and happy smiles. I wanted to make sure and feed Gman a home-cooked meal while he was here so I ran to the store trying to hurry before he got to our house but he beat me. He and Hallie had already begun playing. They kept their sillyness going while I finished dinner. Before long I was hollering for everyone after doing the traditional spaghetti on the wall test....

"Spaghetti's ready!"

I did say "home-cooked" but I didn't say I slaved in the kitchen all day over the stove. Spaghetti it was and everyone was happy. Even Miss "I don't care for spaghetti" changed her mind tonight.....

"What was I thinking?!"

Now for the best part of the meal....dessert.......

We couldn't eat some without sharing with "Hallie Wallie", as Gman likes to call her. She was absolutely lovin' the silly truck and airplane noises he was making and faking her out with a spoon full of goodness....

"He's goofy to the max!"

"YUM!"

I kept repeating to my dad how nice it was to have him visit out this way. He promises to come soon once the temps cool off and he can ride his bike out here. We loved every minute of our visit with him! Thanks for making our Sunday spectacular Gman! After making sure that Lizzy was no longer wailing for my dad, I left for a nice long run....perfect weather with a few sprinkles, the fresh smell of rain and a coolness to the air that I have missed. What a way to renew my spirit and get ready for another week ahead. And the beautiful sky wasn't so bad to look at either....

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

13 Months Old

Dear big girl,

You may as well be thirteen YEARS old because you sure act like it sometimes. Not just your ramped up attitude but you seem well beyond your years functionally. As your babysitter said: “she climbs like a monkey and eats like a horse.” Most days I can’t keep up with you. You have a zest for life and exploration with a side of ornery. You aren’t one to sit back and take it your surroundings. Nope, you are smack dab in the middle of the action. I get an overwhelming pleasure out of watching you explore your little world. Here’s a peek at your action packed life over the past month….

Food. It’s always the way to start. You have toned down your appetite a bit. Don’t get me wrong though…your love for food is still over the top but you are now figuring out that not all foods suit your tastebuds. You are now eating dinner with us…well not necessarily with us, but you eat the same food that we eat. You aren’t ready for restaurant food yet…your belly did not agree with some Mexican rice and beans the other day. In fact, you had your first legitimate “grown up throw up.” After your first day at your new daycare I was told that you ate so fast that Paula was scared you were going to choke. I assured her that it was actually just your style of eating…shovel it in as fast as possibly style, that is. The comment we get most often while out in public is “your momma must starve you huh?” or “I bet she doesn’t miss a meal.” You want no part of being fed. In fact, you normally won't eat lunch or dinner if I'm trying to feed you something. We've had to start eating all meals that are not too messy so that you can self-feed. Come breakfast time you are usually so hungry that you don't care if someone feeds you your oatmeal. :) You want control of the spoon unless I can distract you with buzzing bee or loud truck noises as the food makes it's way to your mouth.

"I've got this mom"

No drawer is left unopened and no door left closed. You have become very curious lately. You not only want to open drawers, doors, closets and cabinets, but you are very interested in what’s inside. When you do hit the storage jackpot you tend to empty its contents faster than anyone can stop you. You love to put your cups and binkies inside of drawers, boxes and cabinets. You then close the door just to open it right back up again and then seem surprised when you find your binky sitting there. Ah hah!!! You love to open my top drawer in the bathroom and empty everything onto the floor. And sometimes you are creative enough to open the toilet lid and drop a few objects in. So nice of you sweet pea. ;) You love to hide in small spaces throughout the house. The night that we first moved into the rent house I was doing dishes and looked down and couldn't figure out where you'd disappeared to. This is where I eventually found you......

"I swear, I didn't do it and I have no idea what you are talking about"

You also can be found hiding objects and climbing in to rest in the tv cabinet.....

"Hmmm, this looks just right"

"Ah ha! That's where I left my toothpaste"

You don’t hide your favoritism when it comes to your toys. Your pink car, barn and farm animals and gumball machine get the most attention. You tend to get frustrated when we are playing and you lose your gumballs to put in the machine. We then go on a scavenger hunt together for them. You place them up in the machine and press the lever to make them come down. Each time is like the first time all over again and you look at me like “hey mom, look what I did.” One toy that is definitely a rarity in most toy boxes is the old SLR that you drowned in the pool.....

"I thought we were past this mom?!"

You love to take your puzzle pieces apart and your OCD mom loves to put them back together immediately....

You were having a very royal time in your princess castle ball pit...that is until Emmi decided to chew up each ball one by one.

Your vocabulary is expanding steadily. You now say mama on a fairly regular basis. Dada has always been a favorite and it remains the same. Anytime he leaves our sight you start asking me where he is. It’s probably one of the cutest things you do. You tilt your head and give me an inquisitive look and say “dada? dada?” We usually have to go find him and show him your big ol’ grin that you flash as if you hadn’t seen him in days. You can say “duck” when shown a duck. Of course “nana” still rolls of your tongue when you spot a banana. You love to repeat after me. Simple phrases like “yuck, yuck, yuck” and “uh, huh.” I just know there are so many words that are right there on the tip of your tongue. We’ve been practicing words and instead of making a noise you will position your lips like you are going to make the right sound. No sound comes out but instead you mouth the word. Silly girl! Use that voice that you use so often when you aren’t happy with us. You like to chatter when we are out in public and point to the items on the shelves. I can't wait til we are at the "what's that" phase!

"Just because I can't say it doesn't mean I'm not thinkin' it....what's that Mom?"

Well we’ve established that you climb like a monkey and eat like a horse…but I haven’t mentioned that you are silly as a goose. You have started making an assortment of funny noises with your tongue and lips. You are either making a tooting sound, clicking your tongue or making bird noises. This is usually your way of entertaining yourself in the car. You want to do everything momma does in the morning. We brush our teeth together, brush our hair together and put on pretend makeup. You have the right idea but still need a little bit of help getting all of the your teeth. You can talk on the phone which cracks me up everytime I see you put it up to your ear.....

"You're cutting out"

The sillyness never ends.....

Your toothy grin must be ready to get even brighter because the doc passed along word that he could see the beginnings of some new teefers. He wasn’t lying either because you have been teething on anything and everything. Random objects this time…..such a your teething gel bottle (which I find very ironic), your foot, spoons, shoes and ME. Yes, you have started using my shoulder and leg to munch on when you are hurting. That makes two of us sweetheart! No more of that please! No friends have been bitten in the process so that is my main concern. Speaking of friends, you have recently multiplied this number! We have moved you to a larger home daycare that will work better for all of us. Miss Paula watches twelve kiddos with a full-time helper. Cousin Carmen will also start going there in a month too!

Nighttime sleeping is a pretty steady thing for you these days. Naptime is a different story though. You usually hit the hay between 7:45 and 9:00 and wakeup on the dot at 6:45 every morning. There is the occasional morning when you don’t make a peep until 7:30 but that’s rare and very much appreciated when it happens. ;) These long nights of sleep may have something to do with the fact that we brought your crib to Woodward after only eight months. I have no idea why it took this long other than my thought that if we didn't leave your crib staged in the house that the room would look crazy with all of the stripes on the wall. Anyhow, I'm sorry that we've been making you sleep in this........

"Let's get this thing outta here"

It was so good to see you back in your crib with all of your matching nursery stuff....

"Now this is what I'm talkin' about"

You are not happy when bedtime arrives though because I’m sure you have other, more exciting plans like emptying cabinets and pushing your car around. We’ve regressed back to using a cuppy to fall asleep. It usually has just water in it but every now and then when you really need sleep I’ll put half milk half water to calm you down faster. What is it about milk? It’s like magic sleepy juice. Your naps vary from day to day. You sometimes choose to ditch your morning nap or sometimes even your afternoon nap in exchange for a late evening nap. Your nap nonsense usually doesn’t affect your sleeping at night. I hate to be the one to tell you but you aren’t very good at hiding the fact that you need a nap.

You climb on everything! Fireplaces, slides, ottomans, chairs, stairs and anything else that’s short enough for you to reach. How on earth you do this with those stubby legs I’ll never know! You also attempt to get down from surfaces of any height whether it be the bed or the changing table…still no idea of depth perception or how far you’ll fall. Good thing I’m always there to catch you. Much I guess I should mention the one time I wasn’t there to catch you. The other day you decided to give the two steps out into the garage a try. You ended up tumbling down them and when you got to the bottom you straightened yourself up as quick as you could and kept walking. It cracked me up after I knew that you were alright….it was as if you’d just tripped or fallen in public and tried to get back up before anyone could see you. Your walking has transitioned from an orangutan to a t-rex to a normal little girl. You now hold your arms at your side as you walk….and sometimes I swear you are running. Or I guess we can call it a jog….like when you spot something you really get excited about you tend to kick your walking into overdrive….25% of the time this ends in a faceplant. Falls have been getting fewer and fewer lately. Still no major injuries or bloodshed thank goodness (knocking of wood). Falls are more frequent first thing in the morning when your jammies are sagging and you are still a bit groggy. You usually just look plain drunk in the morning. Good entertainment for early mornings!

It's been a record hot summer baby girl. While most are worn out after a billion consecutive 100+ days, you don't seem to mind at all.....

Until we get in the car that is......

Staying hydrated is a must so you are good about stealing my drinks to help with this cause....

Sometimes I can’t believe my eyes when I see the crazy things you come up with. Like just the other day I found you shoving diapers from your basket into a tall candle holder sitting on the floor in the living room…along with the diapers were two binkies.  You love to give your stuffed animals hugs and kisses when I ask you to. You feed your food to the dogs. And after you fill their bellies we can sometimes find you kicked back lying against Lucy’s big belly. You love to give the dogs “pets” and pulls their tales. Sometimes I think you forget that I exist when you latch onto these two canines. What am I, chopped liver? They command your attention and you chase them around the patio and yard giving hugs and stealing toys from them. At the end of the day they are two of your best friends and you make sure to let them know.....

"We're buds for life Lucy"

"This girl has an attitude and doesn't like to share"

As my little girl develops an even bigger personality everyday and begins to manifest more characteristics I try to take it as much as possible. Each smile, silly face, pose and laugh…I just can’t get enough. You fill me with memories, stories to tell and more love to share. You put the sparkle in the sun, the light in my eyes and the fun in funny.

Love,
Mom

I adore that goofy grin