E's Gonna Own 2010

What a year!
My little girl has grown so much!
It is a little bitter sweet. She is such a big girl!

I took a few minutes to review last year's New Year's goals.
We are not going to talk about the parents' goals, or lack there of...
but E blew her goals out of the water.
Sleeping ~11 hours every night...check
Drinking out of sippy cup, straws, and even water bottles...check
Rhodes Scholar...check plus! ;)

2010 is going to be a HUGE year for Miss Emily!
E's goals:
1. Sleep in a big girl bed
2. Ditch the bink. (half way there!)
3. Use the potty?!
4. Be a great big sister

Happy New Years! We hope 2010 is full of smiles!

Merry Christmas

Make a Smilebox slideshow

School Christmas Party

Last Friday at school, they had a Polar Express Christmas Party for the munchkins.
They got to wear their jammies to school!

Emily LOVED the train!

A precious grin from my sweet pumpkin.

Then, after their train ride, they enjoyed chocolate milk and chocolate chip cookies!
Notice the location of the Queen Bee.

MMMM! Chocolate milk through a crazy straw!
Could it get any better??

Santa even stopped by!
E was not too sure about him.
I think she was concerned that he was going to steal her cookie!

Mama's Getting Old

Yesterday was The Mommy's birthday.
Unfortunately, because I am a weekend nurse, I had to work on my super fantastic day.
Bummer.
But, I had a few special surprises along the way.
First, I found an extra special card in my lunch from the E :)
Then, I had two lovely visitors bring me a card and a gift at work
(The Daddy and E!) I was so happy to see them!
And, before I left, my awesome co-workers had the most delicious cake for me.
When I got home, Emily had one more surprise for me...some beautiful smelling perfume!

Today The Daddy took the day off to celebrate with me!
I slept in late while he took Emmaline to school.
We had a wonderful lunch at Papadeaux, complete with fried gator tail. Just the two of us!
And we both went to pick up our girl from school.

It was a great day, or two!
Thank you for all the birthday wishes :)

Badness, Part II

Santa, why does the threat that you are watching not work with this one??
So, the climbing continues.
I totally get it. She wants to explore and use her new found mobility.
Fine, don't climb on things 3 feet off the HARD ground.
The coffee table has been pushed over in front of the fireplace to make way for our "in home" aerobics studio a few times a week.
Miss Emily thinks this is her new stage.
While adorable, it is very dangerous. I can see her falling and us rushing to the Children's Hospital for a baby craniotomy. Not cool.
So, we have to fuss.
Below is a picture enhanced recap of our conversation.

The Mommy: Oh Emily, I see you up there. You need to get down before you hurt yourself.

Emily: Laughs, waves then shakes head and says "MAKE ME".
(seriously, this is her new thing, MAKE ME?! Where did this come from??)

The Mommy: What did you say?! You have five seconds to get down before you get booty spanks.

Pouting, but not listening.
Booty spanks ensued later that day. So much for the whole "no spanks". :(

Cuddly!!

Winter still hasn't "officially" started, but it sure is cold in Texas!
Thank goodness Meme sent a super sweet, super warm, cuddly coat to keep precious cargo warm!!

Christmas Pics Sneak Peek

Check out a little preview of our Christmas pictures!!
Click here

You Make Me Happy When Skies Are Grey

What a day to venture out to the grocery store!
LOW 40's and pouring.
Alas, we were out of everything.

Just as I was cursing the always missing umbrella

"Mulk! Mulk!"
Emily has popped a squat and is splashing in the water, aka mulk (milk).

...
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
...

Picture Day

This afternoon, we went to visit Ms. Robin for our Christmas Pictures!
Poor E, she was well overdue for her nap.
Maybe I should say poor Robin?

Here is a sneak peak...

Badness

This child...
I am way too young for grey hair, but she sure is trying!
We brag that she is developmentally advanced all the time; but, I guess we never realized that there could be a downside to it.
I am 100% sure that my soon to be 17th month old is in "The Terrible Two's".
Dear God!
She is into everything.
On everything.
Screaming and whining.
And that was just today.

She decided that she wanted to check out the view from the coffee table...

And then terrorized us sitting on the couch
(it is cute, I have to admit)

Then she decided to take a page out of Max's book, and check out what was so great about the back of the couch while Mommy was running the bath water.

And the piece de resistance, she peed on the floor as she was enjoying her nakey time before splishy fish.

She surely gets all these busy body characteristics from her father...

Wordless (I Still Can't Believe it is Only) Wednesday--Fun at the Park

Early Thanksgiving

We are back from our Thanksgiving dinner.

Yum!

Even though this was not Emily's first Thanksgiving, it was the first time she got to try most of the traditional Thanksgiving foods.

On her can't get enough list:

1. Nana's sweet potatoes

2. Cranberries

3. Pecan Pie!!

She thought the turkey was pretty good and nibbled on the stuffing, but when The Mommy tried to sneak in some creamed spinach, forget it!!

I don't know what I was thinking, but I forgot the camera.

We took a couple of pics with the new iPhone, but I am not impressed with the picture quality.

If anyone has any secrets, let me know!

A close up of my beautiful turkey in her Thanksgiving dress.

Pawpoo is leaving Sunday for New Delhi.

:(

But, he will be back for a couple of weeks at Christmas!

:)

E put her request in for a monkey!

Tuesday Travels

This afternoon we are picking The Daddy up from work and heading down to San Antonio for an early Thanksgiving.
Pawpo (aka GD) is leaving for India in a few days, and won't be here on the "real" Thanksgiving.
So, we are going to celebrate just a bit early.
Check back for pictures.

Happy Halloween!

What's all this fuss about Halloween?
Why do I have to dress up in a silly costume and go door to door...

FOR CANDY!!!
Let's go!!

Our little pirate popping a squat on the lawn and checking out her loot!

Being sneaky...

I bet there is more candy in here!!

Exhausted from trick or treating, or sugar crash?

Halloween was so much fun this year!
We went to a few houses and E loved getting to pick out her candy and pet our neighbors dogs.
And, she really enjoyed helping answer our door and greet all the trick or treat-ers.
One young one in a doggie costume got an extra treat...a sweet hug from Emily.
Happy Halloween!

Mini-Me

A Mini-Daddy:
1. Daredevil
2. Outgoing and personable
3. Fan of spicy food
4. Loves to talk on the phone
5. Thinks redneck humor is funny

A Mini-Mommy:
1. Sudden screeching outbursts
2. Delightfully mischievous
3. Bossy and sassy
4. Big fan of sweets
5. Loves to go shopping

It's a tie:
1. Stubborn
2. Smart
3. Super cute
4. Uber lovable

All E:
1. Passion for dance and literature
2. Busybody
3. Early bird and happy morning person
4. Loves babies and kitties
5. Major Ham

Pirate Raid

The most swashbuckling, fearsome lady pirate raided the Leander Methodist Pumpkin Patch.

The lady pirate thinks the pumpkin is a football.

Making her get-a-way with her booty!

PS: Can you believe this was the same little ghoul last year??

Worldless Wednesday:Moustache

Halloween That Could Have Been

Emily was to be a garden gnome for Halloween.
How awesome is that?!
We are taking advantage of these first few years when she really doesn't care what she'll dress up as. We are dressing her up in the most ridiculous disguises now, knowing that it will be all fairies and princesses to come.
BTW, last year's runner up was a whoopie cushion and this year, had she been a boy, she would have been the UPS man.

So, the gnome costume came in yesterday and I couldn't wait to try it on.

E doing her gnome gig.

Checking out her nifty flower pocket.
Whoa! That is a lot of leg!

Costume minus the hat and booties...because they were too small!!
Sadly, this dress barely passes dress code, and the pies de resistance accessories don't fit...we had to go to the non-existent Plan B for Halloween.

After almost an hour in the spooky Halloween store, we finally settled on a costume.
It's ok, but no gnome.
But, the truth is she will be frighteningly adorable no matter what she is.

Horses, Dolphins and Whales! Oh My!

In the spirit of Columbus Day, we decided to discover a whole new world...
Sea World!!
Here are some of our pics!

We all had a blast!
Feeding and petting the dolphins was fun!
The Shamu show was awesome!
But, I think E's favorite part of the day was getting to run up by the stage and dance to
"The Monster Mash" with all of her Sesame Street Pals!!

So Much for Chinese Water Torture

I am not a big fan of spanking.
Not that I judge those parents that use it as a discipline method; it is just not for me.
Time out and stern explanations have been very effective up until recently.
Emily's new hobby: torturing the Max Cat.
Not torturing in the "early signs of a serial killer" way, but by pulling his tail, ripping out his fur and yanking on his whiskers.
This cat has the patience of Job with E.
He takes it, barely fighting back.
Oh believe me, he takes it out on the adults around, but knows not to hurt the baby.

Removing her from the situation and telling her "no" was not working.
Enter the spray bottle.
I had read that spraying water can be an effective form of discipline, especially during temper tantrums.
It seemed like a good non-violent method to try.
And it worked wonders with the cat.
I tried it twice and it worked.
E ceased the torture and quickly got involved doing something else.
No crying, no fussing, no hurt feelings.
(Well, The Mommy's feelings were a little hurt. It is one thing to spray the cat, but the baby?!)

Then E got a hold of the spray bottle and started spraying herself and laughing with glee.
I think she likes the slicked back look.

What am I going to do with this little cat assassin?

15 Month Check Up

Weight: 22.4 lbs (40th%)

Height: 33.75"

She is beyond the 100th percentile here, thus making her the tallest baby in the United States.

Miss Emily was so awesome during her assessment.

She didn't flinch when the doctor checked her ears,

and didn't make a peep when she listened to her heart and lungs.

Dr. M was very impressed with E's developing genius, too!

We did leave on a slightly sour note, receiving 3 shots.

But, I am happy to report that the "post vaccine freak out" time has lessened to less than two minutes!

You go E!

Her Father's Sense of Style

Halloween bib, turned cape
Stained shirt
No pants
Ladybug rain boots
Oh, and don't forget the cookie fangs

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Halloween

The pumpkin

My Pumpkin and the pumpkin...she's not so sure about it

The resident black cat checks it out

She's a hoss, what can I say?

Putting on the finishing touches

A pumpkin trio

Dinosaur Breakfast

Rawr!