Beach Trip #2

Baby Girl,

This summer we went on your second beach vacation.  It would seem more like your first, since the first time we went to the beach was in the winter and you were only 7 weeks old.  This time we actually got to visit the beach and spend a couple of days in the water.

We left at the end of June with Daddy, MiMi and Ry.  You did a great job riding down there until about the last 30 minutes.  You had had enough at that point and were ready to be there and I couldn't blame you.  The last 30 minutes of the ride should have been more like 5 minutes, but the traffic was horrible and we did a lot of sitting.

Once we got there we went down to Mommy and Daddy's favorite restaurant at the Wharf.  Not our favorite because of the food, but because of the entertainment.  It is call Rum Runners and it is a dialing piano bar.  However, we forgot that the dueling pianist don't start until after your bed time! So unfortunately we didn't get to see it, but the entertainment that was there was good and then we enjoyed walking around the village for a little more entertainment.

Your favorite thing at the Village was the carousel.

The next morning we loaded up and went to the beach.  Since the village is actually on the bay side we had to load the car and all our stuff to get there.  We got down there early and got to enjoy some time before everyone else was up.  For about the first 15 minutes you semi-enjoyed the sand.  After 15 minutes you were miserable.  You hated EVERY minute of it!!  Don't let the pictures below fool you.  We had to do a lot to make you smile.

We tried to make you like it, but you just weren't having it.  You would laugh if we carried you out into the ocean and the waves hit only your toes.  But if it got any farther up you would start crying again.  Oh well, maybe next year!  

So next we decided to go grab some lunch and try the pool at our condo.  This was much better!

You really liked the baby pool because you could walk around in it without your floaty.

After a long day in the sun we decided to head upstairs to get dressed and to nap.  Once we were dressed we went to the outlets to do a little shopping then to the Crab Trap for dinner.  You got SO MUCH SOFIA stuff at the Disney outlet.  MiMi bought you Sofia bath toys and they instantly became your favorite thing.  

We had to wait a little while on dinner, so we sat outside on the porch and of course snapped a couple of pictures.  You are such a trip!!  Look at that face...

After a delicious dinner, we headed back down to the beach to take some family pictures.  This is where it took a lot of silly voices and faces to get you to laugh.  If your feet touched the sand you came undone!

On our third day at the beach we decided to not even try the beach and just head straight to the pool.  We thought we would spend our third day much like our second day.  We started at the pool, then headed up for lunch, back down for another quick swim.  Then it was off to nap, get dressed, head to the outlets to finish a little shopping for Mommy, Daddy, MiMi and Ry, and then to eat at FudPuckers. You really liked FudPuckers because they had a play ground you could play on and an alligator pit you could look in to.

Although it was a shorter beach trip, it was a lot of fun.  I am glad we got to make these memories with you.  Hopefully next summer you will like the beach a little better and we can actually spend some time building sand castles and playing in the ocean.  You were such a good girl on this trip and made me excited to take you some where else!!  Until next time…..

Love,

Mommy

15-18 Months

Baby Girl,

I know this is the post I am going to leave so much out of and it will make me so sad.  This is probably the longest post I could write up to this point.  You are amazing each and every day and you have learned so much!!!  It is truly unbelievable.

You are talking all the time.  While a lot of it is still babbling you can say about 20 words or sounds.  You say MaMa, DaDa, Uh-oh, NaNa (banana), Go, No (when you first started saying no you would swipe your hand across your body like you were pushing something away - it is so funny - and you say it in the funniest voice), mine, cat, dog, MiMi (once or twice), ByeBye, Hey, juice, …

You can make animal sounds….Ah-Ah (dog), Moo, Roar, and cat says cat.  It is so funny I can't correct it.

When you give kisses you give them open mouth.  You will kiss us on our cheek or lips and make the AHH sound.  Most of the time with the kiss we get a good lick.  If you are in a really good mood you will continue to give them, alternating cheeks.  You think this is really funny. It is so sweet to be able to ask you for love and watch you come running with kisses and hugs.  It is one of the things I love most right now.  When we go play with friends or family, before we leave we will ask you to go give them love.  You will make your way to everyone in the room (even Lucy at MiMi's house) and give everyone a hug and say aww!!

You are a true Mommy's girl.  You do not like when Mommy walks out of the room you are in, let alone actually leave you somewhere.  You had done so good at school all year long, crying only three or four times.  The last two weeks of school you cried almost every morning I left you.  It broke my heart.  While I know you only cry for a very short amount of time and then get over it, it makes it very hard to leave you.  You even cry when I leave you with Daddy and always want Mommy.  When we get ready to go to bed at night, if we go lay down together and you won't settle down I will tell you that you have to go back in the den with Daddy.  You will normally lay down immediately, although it doesn't last long (trust me, this was never intended to be a punishment, but you view it that way).  If I call Daddy in to come get you, you will cry and cry.  While it make me feel good, it does make it hard to leave you when it does have to happen.

In March we entered you in the Purple Peanut Little Peanut Contest.  Erin Cobb took pictures of you in one of Purple Peanuts outfits.  You did an amazing job and the picture were phenomenal!  I had so many people going by and calling to vote for you.  While you didn't come in first, you were the second runner up and got a gift certificate to the store.  I don't know how you didn't win….

One night Mrs. Christen, Mr. Ben, Mary Hyatt, Mommy, Daddy, and you all went to the mall to enjoy Chinese food (one of your favorites) and the jumpy place.  You weren't sure what to think of it at first but within about 5 minutes were all into it.  Mommy even got in it with you and went down the slides.  I am enjoying getting to do things like this with you now.  After about 20 minutes you were done, but it was still a good time and something we would go do again on a rainy day.

It's hard to believe that this month was your last month at school.  It makes Mommy very sad.  We were so blessed to have such wonderful teachers your first year of school.  They made it visible daily that they truly love you.  Your first years as been such a wonderful experience and we are looking forward to taking you back again next year.  It is unbelievable all the things you have learned (half of the things we didn't even know you had learned them).  You have learned how to play with friends and share your toys (which you are really good at most of the time), you learned how to do the Itsy Bitsy Spider, The Wheels on the Bus, and If You're Happy and You Know It.  When you started you were just sitting up, not even crawling and now you are running.  Of course you didn't talk when we took you and you are now saying almost 20 words, you can color, climb on things, know how to match your shapes and colors.  It is unreal the things you can learn at such a young age.  Here is a picture of your first day and your last day.  Boy have you grown!!!

We enjoyed taking you to the Dragon Boat Races this year.  We weren't sure how you would do on the sand, since you are still unsure about grass, but you seemed to enjoy it.  You also enjoyed playing in the kiddy pools with Miss Meredith and Mary Hyatt.  You are not afraid of the water!!  You have also had fun out in the back yard now that it is warmer in the splash pad we bought you.

You have developed a temper here lately.  If Mommy or Daddy tells you "No" you will throw something.  We have gotten where we will spank you or your hand and you will cry and cry.  We don't spank you hard enough to hurt, so it just hurts feelings but it is so sad. 

You are very independent and want to do everything by yourself.  You have started using forks and spoons at dinner.  This is actually going very well.  Normally if you can't feed it to yourself, you don't want it.  Sometimes you get tired of using the fork or spoon and will just go back to using your hands - even when eating soup.

While we probably shouldn't let you watch TV as often as we do you LOVE Princess Sofia and Frozen.  We literally watch Frozen every day!!  You get very excited when we hold up the DVD box in front of you.  You also get very excited when Princess Sofia comes on Disney Jr.  You will clap and dance along to the music.  Typically when we put either of these on, it gives Mommy and Daddy about 20 minutes of time to get some stuff done around the house.

Your 2nd Easter

Baby Girl,

It's hard to believe this is the second Easter we are a family of 3.  This year was much different than last year.  You were definitely more into it and you could partially understand an egg hunt.

This year we started off by going to an Egg Hunt at the mall with Mrs. Donna and Landon.  It was small and sort of wimpy, but it worked for the two of you.  You enjoyed carrying your basket around the mall and especially chasing Landon.  However, you were very unsure about taking eggs from people.  Some stores had the eggs in baskets at the front of the store and you could just walk up and take one, while other stores you had to walk up to an employee and get it.  The eggs had things like stickers, army men, and candy in them (none of which you could have) but it was fun to be with friends and get out of the house one Saturday.

The Saturday before Easter, MiMi, Ry, Aunt Nell, Aunt Reagan, and Alex came over to celebrate.  We cooked out and played outside for a while, and of course everyone had something for you.  You playing outside was really funny because you do not like to walk on grass, especially barefoot.  It took ALOT of warming up to this to finally get to you run around on the grass.  You normally will just stand on the concrete and wait on someone to pick you up.  But you finally got the courage to get out there and have fun with everyone.  

You really enjoyed us playing cornhole.  You would wait for us to throw it and then go pick up all the bags.  You also liked to put the bags in the holes yourself.  Needless to say, this made the game extra long.  But you were having a blast and that was all that mattered.  

Daddy cooked a delicious meal and we all enjoyed spending time together.  Aunt Nell brought you a ball, baby doll (Long-legged Louise), bubbles, a bowling set, and outfit.  Aunt Reagan and Alex brought you some more wooden food.  MiMi and Ry brought you a Baby Be Blessed Doll, swimsuit cover up, pajamas, bubbles, a book, a pail and shovel, sandals, a Little People Easter Bunny swing and tractor, and a bunny.  It was like Christmas all over again!

On Easter morning we got up and got ready to go to Nanny and PawPaw's church.  But first we had to see what the Easter Bunny brought you….

You got a Little People Aerial Castle, crayons and coloring books, Olivia book, Heaven is Forreal, flip flops, Princess Sofia cup, foam bathtub letters, beach towel, socks, band-aids, pacis, and pajamas.

Once we got dressed we headed to church.  After church we went to Aunt Jamie and Uncle Craigs for a Easter egg hunt and lunch.  We enjoyed spending the day with family.  It seems like it is longer between visits because everyone has such busy schedules (especially in the spring with ball).  You loved hunting eggs and opening your Easter basket from Nanny and PawPaw.  You got the movie Frozen, Sofia pajamas, Sofia coloring pack, purse, and clothes.  You and Gracie both found 8 eggs during the hunt.  We were so sad to leave, but had had a busy, fun day!!

You looked absolutely beautiful in your white crossed smocked dress from Shrimp and Grits.  You are a lucky little girl with so many people who love you.  However, while we enjoyed the gifts and time with family, today was about Jesus taking our sins away so that we may have an eternal life in the Heavenly kingdom.  He is risen, as he said he would!!! God loves you more than Mommy or Daddy ever could (which is hard to imagine).  It is a forgiving love and a relationship I look forward to watch you develop.

Love,

Mommy

12 - 15 Months

Baby Girl,

I have decided to slow my post down now that you have turned one.  For this year I am going to update  by every three months.  I am sure I will regret this later because you do something new or say something new EVERY DAY now, but we are so busy it is hard to find time.  Even now I am several months from you actually being 12 - 15 months.

Wow!!  We are through the first year and now we are starting to repeat holidays with you and are able to compare you now from the year before.  You have grown so much and it is so hard to believe a year has passed.  You are so much fun as you are all over the place and starting to say actual words.  So much has happened since your first birthday (there are some posts between your first birthday and now on the bigger events)!  So where to start….

You are officially a walker!!  Remember at Christmas you were starting to walk short distances on your own, but now you are off and running!!  It was so funny at Christmas when you were trying to walk because you thought it was so funny.  Honestly, if you would have stopped laughing you probably would have been walking before now.  It wasn't long after Christmas that you were walking on your own.  By the time we all went back to school in January you were pretty much on your own!  It didn't take long before your walk became a run.  And now we can hardly keep up with you.  I thought I would look forward to this day, and don't get me wrong it is AWESOME, there are days I miss being able to lay you down on the floor and walk into the next room for a minute and know when I come back your still going to be laying in the same spot I left you.  Now, I can't even pee in peace because you are under our feet all the time.  While there are many good things about you walking, the sad part is now you want to walk and don't want to be held.

One of the biggest things that happened to you between 12 and 15 months was getting tubes (separate post).  However, medically you have also developed hives.  This has happened several times during the past few months.  The first time was the worst!  It started on your legs and slowly creeped up your body and onto your face.  It happened on a day that Mrs. Christen was off from school so luckily she kept you while I went to work.  When we went to see the doctor he immediately thought its as an allergic reaction.  He gave you some steroids and an antihistamine and sent us on our way.  However, within 24 hours your face was starting to swell so we went back to see him.  The nurses were shocked when they saw you and you weren't any better but were worse.  He decided you needed to go to the hospital to get an epipen injection and steroids through IV (steroids were the worst - while on them you were possessed.  I honestly thought demons were going to come out of you body.  You wouldn't sleep and you would arch your back and scream like Mommy and Daddy have never heard you do before).  When we got to the hospital the doctor there thought it was viral and sent us back home where we had to go get labs to make sure everything was ok.  Another 24-48 hours of oral steroids and antihistamine and you were finally starting to look better.  It has happened a few other times and we went to see a specialist and have just determined you have very sensitive skin.  We aren't really sure what you are allergic to or if it is an environmental reaction.  It happened once when you ran a fever and again another time with nothing.  VERY STRANGE!!

Poor Baby!!

We also had a few nicer, warmer days this winter and were able to enjoy some time at the park.  You really enjoyed being able to run around.  You have chased Landon and Mary Hyatt all over the playground.  Even Miss Meredith came to play with you one day when we were out of school!

You love to swing!

Here are a few other things about you….

* You weigh lbs.

* You are inches long.

* You wear a size 4 diaper

* You are in size 12 - 18 month clothes

* You are starting to love Princess Sofia more than Mickey Mouse.

* You can say MaMa, DaDa, BaBa, Uh-Oh, Bye-Bye (and you wave), Ah - Ah (Dog noise), and NaNa.

* You LOVE your paci and don't do much without it (which is probably why you don't say more).

* You love to play on the iPad.  We even put you on a timer when you play at home.  You like to match colors and shapes and watch Old McDonald on it.  We also learned that you know the motions to the Itsy Bitsy Spider while you were on it one day.

* You LOVE to take a bath.  At night we will tell you go to your bathroom and you take off running.  We let you play for a while before we bathe you and you are never ready to get out.

* You still sleep with Mommy and Daddy (eek!).

*  You have 6 teeth.

*  You like to throw the ball and catch it.

*  You love to play with your blocks, baby doll, purse, and shopping cart.

*  You still like for us to read to you (MiMi bought you a Winnie the Pooh book for Christmas that we read every day.  It has honey pots and you like for us to count the honeypots together and find Winnie the Pooh on every page - I can honestly read you the book without having the book).

* Most of the time when we leave the house you will go find your purse and baby doll to take with us.  People love to see you coming with your purse on your arm.  You have to hold your arm upright to keep your purse from sliding down.

                                           You love the bath!!                    Family time!!

You are growing and learning each day.  You are my special blessing Baby Girl and every day with you I cherish.  You are growing too fast and I know time is my enemy.

Love,

Mommy