Happy Halloween!

Tonight we enjoyed another Halloween party! Our little cowgirl had lots of fun!

Thinking about playing on the playground. The bigger kids were a little rambunctious and intimidating.

Watching the clown, with two handfuls of candy.

"Dad! This guy isn't real, is he?"

Yummy! Tootsie Rolls!!!!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Munchkins for a Munchkin

I must admit that the daddy and I aren't the always the best role models when it comes to healthy eating. We don't eat junk everyday but way more than we should. We keep saying that when AC starts eating the same food we eat, we WILL do better. But that time isn't now, so we indulged this morning. I went out for an early morning errand and came home with this little surprise!


25 Munchkins (donut holes) and a large coffee. The coffee was for Daddy and the Munchkins were shared between the 4 of us. Yes, even the furry one got her share, thanks to her sister!

Giving Mama a bite.

Giving G a bite.

Yummy!

And Daddy said it best when he said, "We've really got to do better, you know?" He's right. But they were wonderful while they lasted!

We love you all!

Trick or Treat!!

AC went to her very first Halloween party tonight! On Wednesday at "Little Gym," we got invited to come back for a Halloween party. Daddy came home a little early from work and we headed on over. As I suspected, there were A LOT of kids there. It was a little overwhelming for all of us at first. However, it didn't take our little social butterfly long to jump right in on the fun.

She was a cowgirl! She had on her boots, but she wasn't allowed to wear them on the gym equipment.

(Somebody needs a haircut pronto and she isn't wearing pink.)

She loved playing inside this wheel. It was filled with bouncy balls.

She was a ball hog. Even though she could barely carry more than one ball, she had no problem swiping balls from other kids. It was mildly embarrassing.

It doesn't look like it in the picture, but she really enjoyed hanging from the bars. Daddy was a pretty good assistant!

The thing she liked most (and was the best at) was the rock wall. She climbed it about 3 times and would have gone more if we hadn't had to leave. I can't believe I didn't get a picture!!

We have more Halloween festivities ahead! Stay tuned!

A Spaghetti Kinda Day

At AC's 15 month doctor's visit, I shared with the Dr. Fang that AC was a picky eater. She will only eat a few things willingly. Dr. Fang told me to just feed her a lot of the things she will eat. So today we had spaghetti. Spaghetti is always a hit with our girl. She started out trying to feed herself with a spoon, but she quickly gave up because she was so hungry. It was quicker (and messier) to shove it in with her hands. Needless to say she needed a bath after lunch. And look what came out to see us at bath time!

Ringlets! And they are getting longer!

Tomorrow we have our first Halloween party! It should be fun really fun for Baby Girl.

We love and miss you all!

Miss Independent

It seems our girl has caught the "I can do it myself" bug. She's even doing things I wish she wouldn't, like taking her diaper off. In this picture, she has taken off her diaper and climbed into the chair all by herself.

I have my hands full with this child.

We went to our local "Little Gym" this morning for a trial class. "Little Gym" is just that, a little gym. It is basically a big room full of gymnastic mats, miniature balance beams, and swing bars. There are different classes based on age. The teachers show the kids how to use the equipment as best they can at that age. You'd have to see it to believe it, but there actually were some little 18 month olds that could walk on the balance beam and hang from the swing bars with very little help. They also play with bubbles, balls, and bells. "Little Gym" claims to help the development of coordination and social skills. My main goal was to get AC out of the house and active. I wanted her to be with other kids her age and to be able to run and play. She did just that. She really liked it, and as one of the biggest in her class, she had no trouble doing the activities. She was truly "Miss Independent"! I'm not sure we will actually join, but it was so fun to watch her play. I'm more determined now to find a place for her to go every week, even if it's not "Little Gym." I love to see her having so much fun! And the nice long nap afterwards doesn't hurt either!!

New Shoes

AC has been wearing the same pair of gold sandals almost everyday for the last 2 months. They are too little, but she can still comfortably maneuver in them. However, these gold sandals won't cut it when we come home. Not only will they be way too small by then, but it will be too darn cold to wear sandals! So, I sat out on a mission to find a cute pair of shoes. A pair that would be warm enough and still be versatile enough to wear with lots of clothes. It took a long time because I'm picky. I realize that someday I will have very little say, if any, in what her shoes look like. So I'm taking advantage of these days. The days when she will put anything I tell her to on her foot just because she actually knows what "put your shoes on" means and it makes her excited. Here are my shoe criteria for AC:
1) No pink or purple.
2) No butterflies, flowers, balloons, or other corny glittered decoration.

Exceptions could be made to these rules if the shoes were cute enough! I had a really, really tough time finding shoes that followed the rules. But I did! Here they are...And they're gold!

I ordered 2 pairs. I'm still waiting on the other pair to arrive. They are a different color and style. We are only going to keep the pair that fit the best. I'm not totally sold on these. The strap should be a little farther back. This would help them stay on better. Also, I don't think they would look so good with socks!

AC cared more about smashing the shoe box than the actual shoes!

Tantrum

Today was rough. It seems that AC has inherited a temper from someone. She threw the tantrum of all tantrums today. You know...kicking, scratching, screaming, the whole nine yards. I can't even remember what sparked it, but she was MAD. She didn't want me to touch her or come near her. If she saw me looking at her, she screamed louder. After about 10 minutes of this, I scooped her up and took her outside. She calmed down immediately. She loves to be outside. It didn't take long until she realized our neighbors had some cool Halloween decor and she wanted to get her hands on it. So, back inside we went and another tantrum started. All of this lasted about an hour. I finally got her to take a bottle. She normally doesn't get bottles midday, but I was desperate. A long nap followed. The afternoon went smoothly in comparison. However, I didn't get any pictures today. I do have one from 1 year ago though.

It's hard to imagine that this sweet thing could throw such an amazing fit!

Playground

At the end of our new street is a playground. When AC woke up from her long nap this afternoon in a very foul mood, Daddy and I decided to take her over to the swings in hopes of cheering her up. Unfortunately, the swings were not a hit. (The Band-Aid on her face is covering a big scrape. She keeps bumping it on stuff and making it bleed, so I decided to keep it covered)

"Get me outta here, Daddy!"

Not so happy after Daddy got her out of the swing.

AC running and Daddy jumping over her on the tennis court.

She was much happier just running around the track and tennis courts!

Father-Daughter Day Returns!

Father-Daughter Day made a comeback today! It has been a really hectic month here and Saturdays have been unpredictable. So Father-Daughter Day got lost in the chaos. Until today. I had a few errands to run (getting the car serviced-UGH! and finishing up AC's Halloween costume), so Daddy and Baby Girl spent most of the day together. It was nice to get out without a fully stocked diaper bag and a 25 lb. girl, but I was so happy to see them when I got home, even if Daddy put her in the same clothes she wore yesterday. "It looked clean to me," he said. That's all that matters, really. AC didn't seem to mind!

Trying to keep G from stealing all her cereal. It's a tough job.

This is our attempt at a family picture. Wow. We are a goofy bunch.

After I'd been home for a while, AC got a clean set of clothes. And my yogurt. She is getting really bad about wanting everything we are eating. I sat it down on the table outside and ran to get a napkin. When I got back, the yogurt was no longer mine. I thought I would take advantage of the opportunity and let her practice using a spoon. Being able to use a spoon was on the developmental chart for 15 mos. at the pediatrician yesterday.

I quickly regretted the spoon.

Today is one year exactly since we pulled into our rental home and started unpacking those dreadful Uhauls. It's hard to believe it's been one year. One year away from home. One year since this day...

Here's to hoping next year is easier for us all and full of just as many blessings. We love and miss you all.

An Apple and the Dr.

Sorry about missing yesterday. I'm having some sleep troubles, so by the time I washed all my dishes and cleaned up the house, I was totally spent. Too spent to even upload pictures and blog. It won't happen again, I promise! Here's what happened yesterday - nothing. We didn't go anywhere. We didn't do anything unusual. It was totally and completely normal. The only notable occurrence from yesterday was this. Not using G as a stool. That happens several times a day almost everyday. Poor dog. The new thing is the apple-eating. She is always trying to get her hands on apples. Her daddy eats lots of apples, so she thinks she can too. Yesterday, I let her have one and watched her closely, just to see what she would do. Here is what she did.

This child ate a third of the apple, peel and all. She is putting those little beaver teeth to work!

This morning, AC had her 15-month Well-Child Visit with the pediatrician. The doctor's name is Dr. Fang and we really like her. Just click on here (on the colored word), if you really want to read more about our doctor. I truly appreciate her for 'thinking outside the box' on certain topics and allowing me and Daddy to make our own choices for AC (as the ones who know her best).

Any who, she is right on track with development. Dr. Fang said she was very friendly for 15 months, which we all know, right!? She weighs 24.9 lbs. She is 31.75 inches long. Her head circumference is 18.7 inches. This puts her in the 75th percentile for weight, 90th for height, and 91st for head size. Basically, she is tall with a big head. Daddy likes to make jokes about this!! She got 2 shots - DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) and PCV (pneumococcal). She cried really hard for about 30 seconds and then forgot all about it. I'm so proud of my sweet girl. Here are some pictures of our morning.

Playing while she waits for the doctor. Thanks to Jennifer for our adorable shirt!

We got LOTS of compliments!!

The best picture I could get when we got home. Oh, and the mark over her eyebrow is a big scratch. She and Daddy were having a little too much fun playing with the clothes basket!

So, we are so very thankful for a healthy and happy child. She is more than we ever dreamed. We can't wait to see you all in a few weeks! Happy 15 months to AC!!

Halloween Sneak Peak

It seems that Halloween costumes for kids under the age of 2 are designed for warmth on a cool fall night. Cool fall nights don't exist here. Sure, the nightly lows are about 78, but this is long after AC's bedtime...even on Halloween. We can't manage fleece pants and shirts no matter how adorable that flower or pumpkin costume may be. Therefore, I've had to get creative with AC's costume. I'm trying to be practical about it in hopes that she can wear pieces of her costume again. My fear is that it won't look costume-y enough. But, we're going with it! Here is a little sneak peek (plus a little extra special blankie love since it was freshly clean). We had just tried her costume on. She refused to take off the last thing - her boots!

Pictures A La Carte

Daddy got some new headphones today. A little girl got to give them a try!

We love and miss you all!

Washing a Blankie

Everyone feels better today, so I spent the day catching up on all the household duties that had been neglected during our sick spell. AC's laundry was first on the list. This included her blankie, which was disgusting. She drags it around everywhere and it was filthy. When she wasn't looking, I put it on the washer and started treating all the stains. It didn't take long for her to realize where it was. She started begging for it right away.

"I know it's up there, Mama. You can't fool me."

"PLEASE let me have my blankie!!!!"

No worries. It was washed and dried before nap time. We spent the rest of the day just straightening up around the house. I had to post this picture that I took of AC this afternoon. She discovered a pocket on her outfit and insisted that I put my phone inside it. Look at the face on this silly girl!