I've realized that what I formerly described as Raegan's pronunciation of "Os" (cheerios) was just downright wrong. It's not "Oz". Oz is where Dorothy visited.
There's definitely an 'L' in there. So, it ends up being more like "Olz".
They are heaven in Raegan's world. A crutch in mine.
This, my friends, is the only way I can get ANY grocery shopping done:
Is this normal? A bad compromise? A terrible habit to get into?
Dear Da Da, Today is Father's Day. Mommy says that Da Das are the same things as Fathers. That means that this is YOUR day. Mommy also says that we should tell the people in our lives how much they mean to us.
You mean a lot to me. You take such good care of me.
Thank you for working so hard so mommy can stay home with me a lot. Thank you for playing with me so much and for making me giggle. I don't fully understand all of your 'one liners' yet but I still think you are so funny. Thank you for making bath time so much fun too. When someone else gives me a bath, I look for you. I miss you when you aren't around. I ask mommy where you are by holding my arm up and saying "huh?"
I like being with you so much. You make me happy.
Oh! And, I love looking for Mr and Mrs Rabbit with you too.
I also like that I look JUST like you.
You are so nice to other people. I am learning that from you. I am also learning to work hard, have manners, be polite, and to enjoy the simple things in life.
You are my favorite boy in the world and you always will be. I can't imagine ever not being this excited about you getting home from work:
Happy Father's Day, Da Da. I'm so glad you are mine.
Pat Pat (Awwwwwww), your little Bitsy
And, to MY dad - Thank you for everything....everything. You are, and always have been, such a wonderful father.
I’m getting behind. We are already waaay into the next month...What can I say? I spend the majority of my time chasing after this little monkey as opposed to hanging by the computer. :)
14th month! It's been a great one. I can’t tell you how many times the following has come out of Chuck's mouth, “She is so much fun right now!” This, by far, has been Chuck’s favorite month. I have to say, it tops my list too.
Ok, straight to it-
First things first, she’s walking. Everywhere. In a matter of 3 weeks, she went from 15 steps (max) to the mummy walk (you know the one) to lapping the house 40 times a day (at least). You other mothers out there now what I’m feeling. The day of being able to plop her in the floor to play is NO more.
The progression:
Annnnddd…she’s talking. All the time. I mean, she’s always been super vocal (has been saying ma ma, da da, bye bye, and hi for MONTHS) but words are becoming clearer and clearer. She definitely understands more than she says. I feel like “sponge time” has officially started. Before now, she was saying several words, but for the most part, she spent a lot of time making her favorite sounds like “gobba gobba gobba”.
But, now, she’s really talking. She’s also learning and repeating like crazy. (Gasp!) Here’s the majority of her vocab repertoire: da da, ma ma, bye bye, hiiiii (hi), light, uh oh, buuh (book), oz (cheerios), paa paa (pat pat), lo (hello), ish (fish), bowwwl (bowl), haaaa (hot), nana (banana), wooo (woof…when she sees a dog), eez (cheese), de de, pop pop, bee (B-O-B), nan nan nan nan (nan-nan), and the newest: hebo (hippo).
Here she is when things weren't so clear, aka: "Gobba Gobba" stage:
Hates having her teeth brushed. Hates it. We’ve done everything but put on a clown suit and juggled. Suggestions? I’m begging. Also still hates the diaper change. We’re in for a long year or 2. Actually, potty training might just have to start earlier than expected. :)
New favorite activities are: -sitting outside watching squirrels, birds, bunnies, and her favorite: AIRPLANES! -Playing with her new, plastic golf clubs from daddy -Taking things out of a bag/bowl/plastic container…and putting them back in…one by one -Sweeping the floor like mommy -Playing anything with her daddy -And her all-time favorite: playing with a bowl and a spoon. Loves! As soon as she gets in the car, she's leaning over the edge looking for her “Bowwwl! Bowwwl!”
"Do you hear that plane, De De?"
"This isn't a spoon, mommy. I need my spoon."
She also has some new favorite things at school! She loves looking at the “ish” in the aquarium on our way out. Also, her new favorite toy in her classroom is the green frog puppet. She shows it to Chuck and me when either of us picks her up. So sweet. And, of course, she still loves stuffed animals. Her teacher, Ms Cynthia, says that she hoards all of them and then lays ontop of them…like she is claiming her territory. Like Gabby, like Raegan.
A not-so-fun-addition? I guess you could call them temper tantrums. She doesn’t lie on the floor and bang her fists (as of yet, anyway). What she does do is cry (obviously) and roughly rubs her feet together. If we ever wonder if she’s really frustrated or mad, we simply get a good view of her little feet. Believe me, you want to witness no videos or pics of this.
She is soooo nosy. We have started adopting the nickname that my Grandma Carol used to call me when I was little. “Nosy Rosy”. That’s her, for sure. She loves “nosying” around in Daddy’s bathroom drawers.
"Nosy" in action
Pretty sure this was at least 4 seconds before the handful of dogfood sent mom into cardiac arrest
Loves cheerios (points to them), cheese, and bananas. And, don’t even think about spoon feeding her ANYTHING. Trips to the grocery store used to be a breeze. Now that she has come to love food, it’s a bit more challenging. There’s no scurrying through the cereal, produce, or dairy aisles without lots of pointing and: “Oz! Oz! Oz!”...”Nana! Nana! Nana!”…“Eez! Eez! Eez!”
Will not keep a bow in. She wants them out. I oblige. So, the “he’s so cute” comments ensue. :)
Nighttime routine now includes reading, at least, 3 books. She refuses to even close her eyes during our prayers until we read. This is after she leans over the arm of the chair, points to her basket, and begs "buuh!? buuh!?"
Has the biggest, little gut. I know what you’re thinking. Complete oxymoron. But, it’s not. She’s like that skinny girl with a serious belly. Chuck believes that this created an extra handicap when trying to learn to walk. Hilarious. I don’t know about that, but it definitely requires some additional balance.
Note how much higher the skirt is in the back.
The sweetest thing-she does this thing (warning: this is going to sound odd) where she scrunches up her little bottom a few times when she’s cuddling. Whether it’s when she’s lying her head on someone’s shoulder or on one of her stuffed animals in her floor, she inevitabley scrunches her little bottom up in the air a few times and then adds an “awwwwww”. It’s sweet. Trust me.
Along the same lines, she has started saying “paa paa” (pat pat) when she is patting someone or something. (This is her version of a love pat.) Even cuter is what she says afterwards. Before she was really talking, we would say “pat pat” when she was giving us her love pats. Then, we’d follow it up with an “awwwwwwwww”. So, now, she narrates it herself by saying this during her love pats “paa paa….awwwwww….paa paa…awwwww”. It’s precious.
Stat-wise: -20.9 lbs
-9 teeth (the 9th tooth is a bottom 1st molar… on the left side. That one REALLY hurt her coming in. Not looking forward to the remaining molars...)
-12-18 mo clothes, but not for much longer
-Size 2 shoes (Is this strange? Seems so small!)
So, that's it for now! My apologies to the grandparents for this being posted so late. I now really understand the term for babies “being into everything”! I thought I knew before...I was wrong. I don't sit. Ever. Welcome back, pre-pregnancy weight.
14 months has been super fun!
I’m thinking Chuck is going to love the 15th month even more! Since we are already half way into it, I feel safe making this comment.
We took the plunge. Bits got tubes. Last Thursday. 7am.
If I were one to brag on my child...which, I'm not...clearly...I NEVER talk about her...But if I did, I would share with you that the medical staff bragged and bragged about how she was the perfect, little patient. Me, being such the humble, non-overly proud mother I am, responded with a smile and some sort of comment like, "oh, that's what you say to all the babies' parents."
"NO! We are serious! We rarely, if ever, have patients (especially babies) that we don't want to 'give back' to the parents right after a procedure."
Aww, shucks
"Really, she didn't make a peep before, during, or after. If we had a camera, we'd take a picture of her to prove that a baby like her DOES exist."
*Sniff*
Ok, so perfect, she is not. However, she IS a precious little pumpkin. And, as minor as the procedure was, it was still hard on mommy and daddy to hand her over.
BUT-5 minutes later, it was over!
Aside from the sickness from the anesthesia, she was back to her old self in no time! It might have helped that we spoiled her like crazy for the rest of the day.
Rotten!
She got to take a rare nap with mommy!
AND have her very first popsicle!
Then, of course, she screamed at the highest pitch ever when we attempted to take the stick away when she was done.
I'm sorry. Did they say, "perfect, little patient"?
