Sunday, November 28, 2010

One and a Half

Here is what our 18 month old is up to these days…

Weight:  22 lbs, 14 ounces, 35th percentile

Height: 32 3/4 inches, 90th percentile

Head Circumference: 48 1/2 cm, 95th percentile

That white paper on the table at the doctor’s office was just ASKING to be colored on.CIMG6775 CIMG6776IMG_0609 IMG_0625IMG_0637 IMG_0650

  • She is finally starting to say some words that we can figure out what she is saying (ball, no, tree, book, kitty, baba, and a ton of animal sounds). She has put together phrases like “I want baba” or “What’s that?” She will parrot most anything we ask her to repeat…and so far she hasn’t come out with any words that we would not like her to repeat. :) When you are reading a book with her, she can point out almost any object on the page.
  • I believe our days of two naps are coming to an end. For the last few days, she has been sleeping until 7:30-8:00, dropping her morning nap, and finally passing out around 1:00 or 2:00 for a 2+ hour nap.
  • She loves to sing, dance, and color. Barney, Olivia, Wonder Pets, Caillou are among her favorite shows. She can be entertained for hours with crayons and paper. When she sings “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” she twists her fingers in her cheek at the “your face will surely show it” part. She also enjoys puzzles with shapes and letters. Her new thing is to twirl and will spin on command. Check out the video below.
  • She gives great big hugs and kisses, and I can’t get enough of her pats on the back. When she falls asleep in the car and I put her on my shoulder to carry her inside, she never fails to give me a little sleepy pat on the back. So sweet!
  • She is a nut for the outdoors and would prefer to stay outside all day. Every time we get out of the car in the garage, she fights to get down and play. I’m worried about how we are going to keep her warm (or entertained) this winter!
  • Mocha has gotten really good at letting her pet him, and she has been very sweet to him. She rubs her face on him, gives him kisses, and touches his nose. Rebel on the other hand runs the other direction when he sees her!
  • She hasn’t crawled out of her bed again, although I have taken out all but the back bumper pad. I have thrown in some toys, books, and stuffed animals too, so that seems to entertain her a little and distract her from throwing herself over the side.
  • She can finally drink out of any kind of sippy cup- straw sippy, plastic sippy, or even a regular straw. This makes eating out so much easier.
  • When you ask her how old she is, she holds out one (and sometimes half of another) little finger.
  • She still loves to play in the Tupperware cabinet. I normally stack the little bowls inside each other with the lids grouped together and stacked on top. When she was playing with them the other day, I noticed she had laid out each bowl and put a lid on each one. When I told my mom this story, she laughed and said, “You’ve got another one on your hands!” I guess she’s inherited some of her mom’s Type A personality. :\
  • She wants to do everything by herself and will shoo you away from helping her. She will say no and shake her head and sometimes nod yes. This week, I had my first experience of asking her if she wanted something and she nodded her head yes. Now that’s a nice feeling!
  • And the best of all…she has started reaching for my hand- and not just when going down stairs. :) We were walking through Target this weekend, and she just reached up and grabbed my hand. Lately, she’s been grabbing my hand and dragging me to whatever it is that she wants, but now she just reaches up to hold your hand because she wants to. Love it!

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Here is the twirl captured…

And some video from William on Thanksgiving of HG coloring…

And just in case you ever thought she was a quiet child and an example of, “I’m one!”

Oh, Christmas Tree!

When Helen Grace and I got home on Friday night, John had put up the Christmas tree. When HG saw it, she gasped and sat down in her little chair and just stared at it. (Another reminder that although she doesn’t look a lot like me, she IS my baby!) She has been walking around pointing at it and saying, "Tee! Tee!," grinning from ear to ear. Since she got so excited about the big tree, I decided to put a little Christmas tree in her room yesterday. She didn’t really get the concept of hanging the ornaments by the hook, but she loved playing with all the balls. Mocha had to help of course, but after he knocked it over once, he got the boot. After she went to bed last night, I was finally able to decorate our big tree, so we’ve made some progress on decorating for Christmas! This morning I put up the Snow Village houses, and she had to knock on each door before I put them in their places. Cute!CIMG6793 CIMG6796 CIMG6797tree

Chick-fil-A Date with Rylie

Our sweet friends, Rylie and Elizabeth Nance, came through town Friday on their way from Meridian to their grandparents’ house in Missouri, and we met them at Chick-fil-A for a quick lunch date. Last time we saw them in Philadelphia in June, the girls sat quietly in their high chairs and shared snacks. While they again shared their chicken and fruit, still they did not stay. When they saw balloons, it was all over! And HG REALLY wanted Rylie’s Barney. I think I know something to put on Helen Grace’s Santa list! We had a great time catching up over chicken nuggets, and it’s fun to see the girls playing together. CIMG6779 CIMG6782 CIMG6785 CIMG6789 CIMG6790

Egg Bowl

While some of our family thought it would be fun to go to Oxford to watch the Egg Bowl in temps in the 30’s, the smart members of the family thought it would be better to watch from the warmth and comfort of the couch and eat chili!  Although the game was AWFUL, we had a great time cheering on the Rebels. Better luck next year, Rebs…or the next…or maybe in a few years?

Begging as usualCIMG6798 CIMG6799 Cuddling with MamaCIMG6801 She loves the megaphone but thinks it’s funny to poke you in the mouth when you’re cheering through it…CIMG6804 photo CIMG6808 Aunt Sharon has found the key to HG’s heart. SAM_1053 SAM_1057CIMG6809 

Leaves

Helen Grace spent a beautiful fall afternoon over at Granddaddy and Spif’s a week or two ago, and they snapped some really cute pics. Here’s a sneak peek of what goes on at Helen Grace’s grandparents’ house when her parents aren’t around…

Sonic milkshakes are key to a fun afternoon.SAM_1003 Gotta do some swinging too.SAM_1005 And you have to lug around each and every pumpkin.SAM_1009 SAM_1011 Granddaddy tried to show her how to toss the leaves up in the air.SAM_1012 SAM_1013 Finally got the hang of throwing leaves.SAM_1018

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Gobble, Gobble

Wow, we have so many things to be thankful for…one of the biggest being our sweet baby girl! As always, with Helen Grace being a year older, this holiday was so much fun. I’m enjoying starting traditions with her and watching her experience new things. And she definitely makes family gatherings more exciting/loud/crazy/messy! Here’s a peak at  Thanksgiving 2010…

I saw this recipe for hand print turkey cookies that I wanted to try, so we hit the kitchen on Thanksgiving Eve.CIMG6725 She was really into it at first and loved the stirring.CIMG6728 But then I lost her when I tried to trace her hand. All she wanted to do was draw, so I had to freehand her hand print.CIMG6729 Those were the only four hands I could get cut out before a hissy fit ensued (because I took away the blue pen she was drawing with/coloring on her shirt).CIMG6730 Thanksgiving morning…breakfast on the couch…hey, it’s a holiday!CIMG6731We tried icing the turkey cookies this morning, and I thought she would love that part.CIMG6732 But all she wanted to do was eat the turkey’s candy corn beak, so we went through quite a few ‘beaks.’CIMG6734 Our little turkeyCIMG6736 CIMG6739 After a bath, she was glued to the Macy's parade. She’s definitely my girl! Watching the parade with her is such a fun tradition.CIMG6740 CIMG6744 She got so excited about the floats, especially Mickey and the Sesame Street crew. Very cute!CIMG6749 Having tea with Daddy at Bubba’sCIMG6751 CIMG6752 CIMG6754 CIMG6755 The kids’ table at Bubba’s…although all us grandchildren are now over 21 and I have a child of my own… :)SAM_1026 She was digging into Mama’s plate.SAM_1027 Grandkids- Ryves, me, Amy, Meredith, WilliamCIMG6758 Let’s just say that William doesn’t have a way with kids.CIMG6759 CIMG6760 This is blurry, but it’s a cute moment captured with HG actually laughing while William is holding her- that doesn’t happen often!CIMG6763 CIMG6766SAM_1028 Aunt Sharon and Meredith were sweet and really got into coloring with HG.SAM_1043 Having fun with Grandma at the BrownsCIMG6769 CIMG6770 John was sitting in this chair, but Helen Grace insisted that he get out so that she could sit in it and was not willing to share it with him. So he was nice  and moved, and she climbed in. Then he pretended to sit on her lap, and she thought it was HILARIOUS. Total giggle fit!CIMG6774