22 MONTHS OLD

Dear 22 month old,

Really??

Seriously??

You are going to go ahead and keep growing despite my pleas for you to stop? You are going to force me to plan your 2nd birthday party?? You are going to keep learning how to put your thoughts into words???

You have your daily routine down to a 'T' and somedays I rely on you to keep me in line when my mind is a bit off (ok, that's almost everyday but we won't go there). When I do something out of order you are sure to tell me. One example off the top of my head is teeth brushing. If I walk past your bathroom in the morning without stopping to brush your teeth first you start leaning and reaching that way. Ask me how excited I am to have a baby that loves to brush her teefers?!?! VERY EXCITED! You've been known to bop your head to some pretty ridiculous songs that yours truly makes up as we are brushing away.....I won't share my secret lyrics though! (ok, maybe it's more like I can't remember them)

"Teef! Teef!"

You are great about checking the dog bowls first thing in the morning and are diligent about keeping them full overflowing with food and water. This usually results in a mess that takes extra time to clean up but I figure you have to learn motor control at some point so I let you underestimate how much the water cup weighs and spill it each morning. You ARE getting better though. And I appreciate the "help" more than you know. ;)

"Momma! Foo! Foo!"

You get a kick out of setting Emmi's bowl in places where it doesn't go. You sit and point at the bowl and holler "MEME!!!! Eeeee!" (Emmi, eat!)

Your silly antics have reached an all-time high this month. You love to tickle me, your dad, the dogs, your baby dolls, and anyone else who will let you have access to their belly. But you insist on tickling our bare bellies....I guess it makes the tickling effect multiply. Here comes the out of this world insanely cute part....the noise you make when you tickle. O.M.G. I die. It's this sweet little angelic sounding tickle noise that you say with a mischievous grin on your face. And those little hands....your little fingers wiggle around doing their tickle motion. When you aren't tickling everyone in sight, you enjoy running around with blankets on your head testing your x-ray vision. Ok, maybe that's not what you are doing but it seems as though you are pretty confident in your ability to navigate the house without actually seeing where you are headed. This activity has led to one too many boom boom bangs and I have a very hard time figuring out its appeal. But you must see something in it because I find you ghosting around the living room with your arms out in front of you to soften the blow when you inevitably run into the coffee table....

You've been a swimming fool lately and request to jump in the pool any chance you get. Or anytime you look out on the back porch for that matter. You have learned how to open the patio door on your own so we've been having to watch you like a hawk because once you lay eyes on that pink oasis you take off running. The reassuring part is that you are afraid to hop over the side of the pool at this point. You prefer to have a swimming partner and insist on your dad or I's presence in your pool at all times. It's hard to tell you no when you look at as shaking your head with intent saying "gen! gen!" (get in). You point to the water while you call for us to hop in showing no signs that the water is 50 below zero. Holy frostbite! Your chubby little leggies must be lacking hot/cold sensation. You make the freezing cold pool seem like a nice warm bath. Splishing, splashing, and plopping your bottom down are not things I'm willing to do with you just quite yet. Give me a few more warm days and I'll be a fish with you. ;)

"aw, come on. It's no fun without ya"

You have been spending some quality time with your future husband, Tank Rogers. You two were destined to be. You both enjoy pilfering around in the kitchen for food after dinner. When you share your fruit snacks freely then it's clearly meant to be. A match made in heaven if I've ever seen one....

"He's pretty cute mom....but I really like these fruit snacks...."

My favorite part about this month?? Your ever-expanding vocab! I just can't believe it. Some days I think I'm just hearing things. It just can't be that my little baby is able to TALK! In SENTENCES!!! Granted, most of these sentences are commanding me to do something....but I can usually get you to tack a "pease" on the end sometimes. ;) You can count to three when asked. It sounds something like this: "two, two, tee." We still skip the one and in its place is a "two." It's a phenomenon that I do not understand. I'm almost convinced that you have decided not to say "one" because you know how bad we want you to. You are able to point to your colors when asked and repeat them. You can distinguish between a circle, square and star. The color book is one of your favorites and you are able to point out 90% of the pictures when asked. You can name all of your favorite foods: "gape", "app-uh", "nana", "cheeeee", beh" (bread), "gee bee" (green bean)...and so on and so on. Your sentences usually consist of a name and a command. The one most commonly heard it "mama, NO!" Great, this is awesome. Not! I wish it was that simple....I'd be screaming "Hallie, NO!" quite often if that were the case. You said your first four-word sentence this past weekend which left me with my mouth hanging open from shock. Here are some more endearing sentences that I can recall (most of which begin with the word "mama")....

-"Gen" (Get in)
-"Baby dink" (Baby drink)
-"Mine backpack" (My backpack)
-"Mama! Eeeeee!" (Momma eat!)
-"Mama, bie" (Momma, bite!)
-"More Mo!" (More Mickey Mouse)
-"Nigh nigh Mo Min" (Night night Mickey Mouse and Minny"
-"Mama! Ooooo!" (Momma open!)

You have family names down pat. And they all get commands too. But don't get me wrong, most of your bossiness is reserved for your mommy dearest. You repeat anything and everything and will give any word a good attempt no matter how difficult. I have a feeling you will be able to chat it up with all of your party guests when your birthday rolls around in a couple of months.

I'm not sure about your weight and height right now but we will find out at your two-year checkup with McDreamy in August. I can tell you that you physique has slimmed up and grown taller. You are wearing a size 5 shoe, 2T pants, pajamas and tops...and surprise surprise, your head it too big for most of your hats. What little thin hairs you do have seem to grow redder by the day. You are well on your to being a blondish ginger for life. I love the way it glimmers in the sun!

Reading is still A-okay in your book (no pun intended). You've been so interested in reading and learning lately that you've taken to ingesting the words on the pages....literally. For a couple of months now you've been taking a book to bed with you every night. One morning I opened your door to find what appeared to be the work that only a woodchuck could've accomplished on your bedroom floor and in your crib. Pieces of your book pages had been chewed up and spit out (at least I hope you didn't swallow them) and you still had a few pieces of evidence on your nose and chin. I picked the paper off of your face and asked you what had happened. You picked up your book, handed it to me and shrugged your shoulders while saying a very matter-of-factly "dunno." Well you may "dunno" but this mama does know....and wonders why eating your book is appealing. Silly goose! You are able to flip through a book and read words to me while we are in the car.

Your favorite book this month is an old favorite that has re-emerged from the book bin. And much to my delight it is a book that I'm quite fond of as well. We could sit and read nursery rhymes all day long. You get pretty silly during "Pat a Cake" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider".....

Your hat = your favorite accessory. Gone are the days of needing your purse and your scarf. We've moved on to a more summery option. Your pink Nike hat goes everywhere with us. Even on Mother's Day to church. In your pretty dress. This ball cap obsession just provides more evidence that you are well on your way to being a tomboy-in-training.....

You had a very important duty this past month being the flower girl in Aunt B's wedding. It was an adventure...one that almost gave your momma stress attack....but in the end it was perfect...well, if you consider screaming all the way down the aisle with your ridiculously expensive and HUGE tulle dress down at your waist.....ok, maybe it was more like hilarious. Yes, yes. That's the word.

You aren't afraid to get your hands dirty in order to pitch in and help out around the house. You love to mimic your dad's outdoor chores. Most of all, you love to sweep....

A growth spurt must be upon us because you have been bonified sleeping and eating expert. You had a record morning as far as sleeping in goes on Memorial Day. Your dad and I rolled over to see our clocks reading 9:50. You could just sense the shock waves traveling through the room. You must've gotten the memo about sleeping in on a holiday. Thank you to whoever gave you that bit of advice. We sure did love you a little bit extra that morning as we went in to wake you up. After you record night of sleep you seemed famished all day long and stood at your high chair and requested to "eeeee" (eat) at least four times before your naptime rolled around. You grazed your way through the morning and then topped off your energy tank with a 3+ hour nap. Add all these obvious signs to your extra crankiness lately and what do ya get??? A growth spurt, I'm almost sure of it!!

Which brings me to the unavoidable: your attitude. Boy howdy. Your last week as a 21-month-old was by far the most trying week for your parents. We put on our detective hats and searched for clues as to why you decided to make things incredibly difficult. And I mean that in the most loving way darling sugar bear. But you did....you made things undeniably, insanely and unbearably difficult. You've been asserting yourself even more this month (I didn't know this was possible) by making your own choices and decisions very clear. Tantrums galore, throwing yourself on the floor, screaming bloody murder in public just because, wandering around the house aimlessly whilst whining (when there is clearly nothing to whine about). We've done some soul searching along with some major parenting discussions about how to handle these terrible twos that you are throwing our way.....and we've come to this conclusion.....ignore the tantrums. I'm sorry to tell you that you aren't always going to get your way and you can't always have what you want. Someday you will thank me. But for now you seem to want to make me pay. ;) That's alright. That's the great thing about moms I guess....they love you no matter what. And I do. I love you so much it hurts sometimes. I miss you when the sun rises and you are still sleeping in your bed. Some mornings I lie in bed wishing that you were old enough to jump out of your own bed and come crawl in mine. T'won't be long....you've already figured out how to escape from your bed....but just once....and I think it may have been a fluke. I am getting ready to batten down the hatches (if you will) in prep for this next phase of development. But that doesn't mean I'm not equally as excited as I am slightly terrified. I'll tell you this: being your mommy means never being lazy. You keep me on the go.

Love you like you love crackers,

Momma

P.S. - Fear not: your party is in the works. I know you were super worried, right? I've got it under control baby girl.

P.S.S.- Could you take it a lil bit easier on me this next month? Pretty please?

The First Swim of the Summer

Even though Hal isn't a school-age kiddo yet we treated yesterday as the official beginning of summer since it was the last day of school here in Woodward. In prep for the sunny summer months we've been wanting to set up a pool for Hal. Last year she splashed around in a teeny tiny little blowup pool so we thought it was time for an upgrade. I'm not a big fan of characters but this Hello Kitty pool caught my eye. So Hello Kitty it will be! I think it may have just been my tendency to match things. So let me present to you my little swimmer in her Hello Kitty bikini watching her Hello Kitty pool fill up......

Matchy matchy! <3

She was having a bit of a counterproductive moment while she stood on the side of the pool holding it down while the water flowed out around her feet. But as you can see my plea for her to please step into the pool and not on top of it did not register with her....

"la la la la la la la, I can't hear you"

The water bug broke the ultimate swimming rule.......

She sure didn't wait 30 minutes to swim after sharing this pizza with her dad

The action going on inside the pool didn't last near as long as her duties outside of the pool. She felt like a big girl holding the hose as it filled up the pool with ice cold water....

Riley and I sat in the "splash zone" as she flung the hose around and giggled as the water came down on her. She was quite the sight to see as she side stepped around the pool with her bathing suit bottoms falling off....

Crack kills

Along with her pool she picked out some swimming friends that she had quite a good time hunting down in the water...

"Here ducky ducky"

She found a special seat for the lifeguards on duty....

The water was insanely cold and I have no idea how she sat down in the pool. Riley said it took her breath away and she let out an exhilarating squeal when she first jumped in. It was all I could do to put my feet in and play with her....

This next shot was just too irresistible. Total blackmail and bargaining tool for her teenage years.....

I'm looking outside right now and hoping that the sun is busy warming up the pool so that we can hop back in after Hallie's nap. Fun summer days they are ahead of us.....

A Rare Weekend at Home

It wasn't until I sat down at the end of Sunday evening that it finally dawned on me why this past weekend was so peaceful and relaxing.....NO DRIVING IN THE CAR! Well, except for a few trips here and there...and of course our twice daily Sonic drink runs. It's always nice to slow down and stop going, going, going. The first order of business: sleep in. That one didn't pan out in the end. Second order of business: make pancakes. That was a success! 

Baby girl likes berry cakes!

Riley was out the door early that morning before I even finished breakfast. He was in charge of the student athlete physicals at the high school and spent the morning making sure there were plenty of volunteers and things were running smoothly. While he was running the show up there Hal and I were running the trails. To say she was happy with my morning plan would be a downright lie. In fact she made me want to turn around and throw in the towel. The whining was not the kind of running soundtrack I was looking for. So I turned up the Pandora and had her dancing in the stroller to a little Black Eyed Peas. She was all strogged out and tired of her mom's peppy attitude by the time we made it around to the playground like I'd promised.

"Please tell me this ride is over."

She was happy to see four other little girls running around the playground. She ran from girl to girl doing her awkward but adorable side wave and hollering "Hallie!" introducing herself. My heart skipped a beat everytime she shared her name so clearly with the older girls. The way it rolls right off her tongue is awesome to me. I snapped a picture of her little chat session with her new friends while they hung out at the bottom of the slide. The little stinker was standing at the bottom of the slide after going down it on her own waiting on me to come down. She held her little arms up and gestured toward me as if to say "come on momma, I'll catch you".....

She was full of commands and just her general bossiness as we wandered every last inch of the playground. I think I heard her famous line "mama, ning" (mama, swing!) about a gazillion times.

It was a great way to start the morning both getting to burn off some energy and get plenty of exercise....

We ran a couple of errands and then stopped by Nanny's house for a quick visit which turned into a whole morning for Hal. While she had fun with Nanny, I had fun with Gracie....

Nanny was excited to show us her new camper that she'd gone to Dallas to pick up the night before. Hal seemed pretty keen on the idea of camping already after getting a tour of her soon-to-be vacation home. ;) Nanny volunteered to keep a very occupied Hal while I went home to shower and get dressed for the day. She was not missing me in the least. All she needed was her lawn chair and a little Capri Sun....

Riley had finished his work duties and was at Nanny and Papa's when I made it back over there. Katie and Carmen showed up a little later when Riley threw the hamburgers on the grill. We all sat out back chit chatting and playing with the babies....

Hallie was well past her naptime and not keeping it a secret. The whole neighborhood knew it was time for her nap I'm almost sure. But the girl toughed it out until lunch was ready.....

Oh wait, that's just Gracie on a bun!

This, my friends, is photographic evidence proving why naptime should never be delayed for Hallie Grace Fanning. I present to you Exhibit A:

The kicking foot just adds so much extra drama to the picture, dontcha think?

Once Hal woke from her nap we ( and I use the term 'we' very lightly) decided to take a trip to see what the carnival in town was all about. My enthusiasm quickly turned to boredom once we took a thirty second stroll through the entire carnival and realized there were no rides for Hallie. We also found out that Hal must've inherited her "thrill ride hater" gene from her dad because she didn't seem interested in the least at the sight of all the rides and games....

"Let's blow this joint"

Ladies and gents, may I just share a side note with you. Riley hates taking pictures. Here is a photo below of Riley's attempt (or lack there of) at getting a photo of Hal and I....

We decided to do something that we ALL love to do....EAT! We braved the thought of eating out in public with our tiny Thunder fan. To our surprise she was incredibly well-behaved and spent her time chatting with the people behind us and learning how to use crayons. I was ecstatic to see her actually coloring on the page and not eating the colorful sticks. Go, baby girl, GO!!!!

I may or may not have cried watching my baby learn to color ;)

I felt it was only appropriate to document just a peaceful trick out to eat with our favorite lady....

Faith restored

The Thunder playoff game was that night and Hal was more than willing to sport her KD gear that had been hiding in the back of her closet. Riley bought her this jersey about a year ago and at that time it was a dress on her.

But before we could leave the house I had to find the perfect way to add a feminine touch to her outfit...

"Mom, this bow never stops them from saying 'oh, what a cute little boy'."

We decided while the tot was on a good behavior streak we ought to take advantage and do a little shopping across the street. It took one look at this tricycle and that's when the streak ended....

"I want it, I need it, it's just my size."

I'm not sure if she was just offended that I called her a shorty or if she was just plain ticked off that the pretty pinks wheels weren't an option for her at this point....but either way she lost it. And we lost all desire to be in public and left promptly. ;) Hal and I spent the evening inside doing chores while Riley was outside doing this.....

All of a sudden I looked up and noticed that our backyard had turned into a forest of tree limbs. I'm tellin' ya...when that guy gets his mojo going he can't be stopped. A job that should take a couple of hours takes him about two minutes to complete. Before I knew it the three of us had the backyard cleared and the tree was loving it's new "haircut" it had just received. Ok, maybe it was just us loving it. ;) Before long it was bedtime. A time I choose to ignore. While most people look forward to bedtime I dread the crying that comes along with it. Our little bedtime fugitive somehow ended up in my lap on the couch around 11:30 as we were watching the Thunder game. I guess she figured if she was decked out in her jersey she ought to stay up and cheer them on. Ok, maybe she just wanted to snuggle. And honestly it was the sweetest moment of the entire weekend. Riley just stared at her from across the room as she nestled her head into my chest and closed her eyes. For a second I fooled myself into thinking she was a tiny baby again who wanted to be cuddly and sweet.

She loved my new version of "Mockingbird" in which I forgot what came after "momma's gonna buy you a diamond ring." My new lyrics went a lil something like this...." momma's gonna buy you a sour lime." That's just one of things I love about her...she doesn't judge on singing talent or content.

The next morning brought about church and a fun breakfast with Matt and Heather. Our Sunday school class has sort of fallen apart since the busy month of May began so we opted for a trip to Braum's instead of have a class with just the four of us. After breakfast we came home where my two sidekicks prepared for their Sunday nap ritual...

Step #: read the paper

Step #2: clean up after lunch

Step #3: sleep.

As usual I used this quiet time to run errands and workout. It felt good to finally get my running shoes back on for a long Sunday run after having run only two times since the half-marathon. Instead of motivating me to run more (which I had expected it to) that dang race has made me incredibly lazy and worthless. For real. I'm hoping that is what I needed to get out of the running rut.

The sleeping beauties were awake. One was full of energy to tackle the yardwork. The other was full of sass to wear her mother out. Hey now! So not fair, I didn't get a nap. I feel like I need superpowers like the superheros have. A power pack that I can strap on and press a button anytime I'm drained. I probably would've been smashing that button all day long. I had picked out some fun new summer toys for her during my naptime shopping trip and figured she'd be thrilled to see one of her new toys. Twas not the case....

"Hey you. Don't think you can buy my love."

Mr. Paranoid (about his new grass in the backyard) asked us to set up her new beach ball sprinkler in the driveway which apparently turns into the equivalent of a skating rink when wet. Not a great combo. If you are assuming that she fell then you would be incorrect. It was I, the mother, that fell. Ix-nay on the ater-way. She was not feeling it in the least. My next offer for fun was sure to win a few smiles though......Sonic drink and a trip to the park. All the needed was her hat. Lil read has made quite the habit out of digging for her pink Nike hat in her bottom drawer and plopping it on backwards. It gets me everytime!!

Ok, so one would think that the park would be a sure bet, right? What's there to cry about at the park?? Well at our neighborhood park there is plenty to cry about.....

As you can see she is quite the distressed little girl. I'm not sure if it was the rocks that were piled up at the bottom of each slide blocking her from going down....or if it was the bully who was throwing rocks at her who had piled the rocks on the slides. She gave him a piece of her mind and shook her finger at him. Usually I would be reprimanding her for this kind of behavior but in this case I just sat back and enjoyed every second of it. This is the boy who has been telling me that this park is in their backyard and it's not for any other kiddos in the neighborhood. He also deliberately threw a handful of rocks in Hallie's direction just to test my patience. I'm glad I had my little fireball with me to back me up! We left the bully behind at the park and made our way back home. I was thrilled when Katie called to see if her and Carmen could come over and play. YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hal and I were looking for some entertainment while Riley continued to work outside. Before the girls came over we gave her sprinkler another shot on the side of the house which turned out MUCH better. She didn't fully embrace the squirty fun but she got a good start to some summer fun.....

"Whoa! So this is what this is all about"

Tip-toeing around it

Her cutie-patootie green polka dot bikini was quite pleasing to my eyes.....

And so was her cute little self walking up the hill to greet the neighbor holding her daddy's hand...

After giving our neighbor a "hi" and smiles she was parched and found the nearest watering hole...

About the time we went inside and dried off a bit, Carmen and Katie had arrived. Miss Thing was dressed in Hal's itsy bitsy teeny weenie yellow polka dot bikini from last summer. I just couldn't believe that my little chunk fit into that at one time....

While Carmen crawled around and explored, Hal dug through her baby bag and found Hilda the Hippo and a baby rattle. When Carmen realized that she wanted Hilda my little smarty decided to do a little sneak behind the back move and hide the hippo rattle. Where do kids learn this stuff?!?! She ended up relinquishing Hilda and sharing. Oh the "s" word....what a foreign concept.

Carmen put her knee pads to good use that afternoon on the cement and showed off her newest skill for everyone.....

"clap" "clap" "clap"

I was so thankful for the company as it kept Hal happy and occupied.....

Katie and I talked all about their big Jamaica vacation that they were leaving for that following Monday morning. She was obviously very thrilled and had a smile that wasn't budging...

This girl, on the other hand, had an edge to her. Big shocker, I realize this.

Can you feel the attitude oozing out of her??

The bed of Riley's pickup is one of Hal's favorite places to sit. Or run. Or jump. Or threaten to jump from. You get the point. My other point is that I am in love with these two crazy fools....

They are two peas in a pod and more alike than Riley even realizes....

"Stick em up partner"

Steven and Rachelle walked by with the boys and stopped to say hi. Hal got yet another lesson in sharing as she watched cried and threw a fit as her future boyfriend take a drive in her convertible.....

"Is anybody gonna take my side on this one???"

This is what kept Riley occupied while us girl sat around the driveway playing and chit-chatting....

The big Memorial Day weekend car show is coming up and he was giddy about ol' blue coming out of retirement. Hal snuck a bit of time in the driver's seat until Mr. Paranoid caught her testing out the steering wheel and we were quickly ushered to the passenger seat. ;)

All that driving made for a hungry gal. She's her mother's daugther....no doubt. 

In summary......

The whining could've been a little less. 

The screaming could've been a lot less. 

We could've done without all of the two-year-old sassiness. 

But this momma didn't have to drive in a car listening to the tantrums. 

So all was well.

All in all the three of us had a nice little family weekend. 

....with no driving. ;) 

(had to throw that in one more time)