Monday, February 28, 2011

Minnie: 15 Months

Sweet Girl,

I haven't done a REAL Minnie update for yah babe since your one year birthday... I think it is due time. I don't want to forget these fleeting moments... The past three months you have taken OFF with what you are learning, your language and recognition skills. You also got a nasty sicky bug, cut molars that caused some serious digestion issues and have pretty much given up eating. Great.
Your language has just taken off. You can use sign language to say: All Done, Milk, More, Please, Thank You, Eat, "Dawson" (which you use for pretty much EVERYONE in that family) and most recently Help. It is supposed to be one fist in another hand and then you raise the fist up in the air. You pretty much throw both arms up in the air, stick out your belly and smile because we both know what you are TRYING to say.
You speak: Dada, BrrrmmmPa-Pa, Mama, Nana, "nack" aka snack, yep, no, and "no,no,no" when we ask you what Mama says. Hee hee hee. You can tell us what sound a Dog, Elephant, Horse, Monkey, Chicken and an Owl make. If we ask you about the owl you immediately run for the book that has a picture of one, flip to the page and point to it smiling. Smart Girl. :)
At your 15 month appointment your stats were:
Weight: 22.7 lbs 40%
Height: 32 1/2 in 95%
Head Cir. 45cm 25%
A typical day at home around here is wake up sometime between 6:15-7AM but we RARELY get you out of your bed before 7AM. You and I have breakfast while we listen to music on the TV ~ you still love Chris Tomlin, Mercy Me, Jeremy Camp and Philips, Craig and Dean. You make Uncle L proud :) Whom, by the way, you have a VERY special relationship with. Or is it his iPhone? We aren't really sure :) but you LOVE to sit in his lap and listen to the music on his phone. It is quite possibly one of your FAVORITE things to do :)
After breakfast which is a combo of the following, baby food fruit, oatmeal, yogurt, bananas, Daddy's homemade pancakes, toast with MiMi's jam, or an English muffin ~ you play with your toys while Mom picks up the kitchen, vacuums, dusts or starts any laundry or empties the dishwasher. Then we get you dressed and you typically hang out in either your pack 'n play in our bedroom while I shower and get ready for the day or in your crib in your room. You LOVE to play in your room.
Then we come back downstairs and it's typically about the time you are looking for a 4-6 oz bottle. You know when you are getting sleepy and if I ask if you want "a bink and a bear" you head for the stairs. The past 3-4 mornings you have cried a bit (60-90 seconds)when I put you down for your nap and then you end up sleeping for 2+ hours.
When you get up we have lunch of WHATEVER I can get you to eat, sometimes baby food, pasta with red sauce, plain pasta, mac 'n cheese, cheese, blueberries, a piece of bread toasted with cheese on it or a couple bites of scrambled egg. You really eat barely ANYTHING nowadays Minnie girl... you're a tough one :)
Sometimes you end up having another little rest in the afternoon and sometimes you have slept so much in the AM that you are all set. Makes for a long afternoon and by about 4:30 we are ALL feeling it. You have dinner with us around 5:15-5:30, a tubby on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, a 5-6 oz bottle around 6:15 and you are ready for your bed between 6:30-7.
Because we've been experiencing the same nasty sickies that have hit what seems to be EVERY home in our area we haven't been out much. We are missing our play dates and I know you love to socialize with your friends and family. You are SO anxious to get outside that the other day I just put your coat and boots over your sleeper jammies and let you go outside and play in the mud. You had a BLAST :) I treated all the mud stains and your jammies are no worse for the wear. Your boots need to be hosed off but all part of living on a dirt road and being a kid. :)
I hope you continue to have FUN in this house Minnie and that it is filled with much laughter, friends, family, and fellowship. I pray you understand the meaning of spending time together, hanging out and that you are having as much fun with us as we are with you. We both want you to grow up in a home where you know beyond a shadow of a doubt you are loved, you are fun, and you are special.
WE love you baby (big) girl,
Mama and Dada

Sunday, February 27, 2011

day 23 something you crave a lot

How could I pick just one?

*pics courtesy of G00gle images

Saturday, February 26, 2011

day 22 what makes you different from anyone else

well... physically... most def. my hair... as evidence in this post :) and of course my diabetes. Not that I don't know anyone else that has it just that in my immediate circle... I am the only one.

those were the first two things that came to mind...

When I asked Husband... "you're married to me?" :) yes... yes that is true. That does make me different from everyone else :)


Thursday, February 24, 2011

day 21 a picture of something that makes you happy

that on a random Tuesday afternoon, mere moments before Daddy gets home... that this is what my home looks like....
in real life, and LIVED in. I'm so thankful Minnie is able to play in her own home everyday and that I get to pick up her messes 349 times a day. I am blessed. :)

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Minnie: For my own records...

Went to the doctor yesterday for the first time because she was "sick". I needed peace of mind that it wasn't settling in her lungs or ears since she started out with a fever and nasty cold on Friday and by Sunday was feeling better.... Monday she started to go downhill again and by Monday afternoon the fever was back...and she had a coughing fit so bad she yiffed... she spent Monday night hacking up a lung and Tuesday I thought it was time to have her checked out...

She does "just have a cold" for which I am thankful :) Best $15 I spent this week. No need for stronger meds. Phew.

She weighed 23.3 lbs with all her clothes on and a wet dipe. Her 15 month appt is next week so it will be interesting to see how much she REALLY weighs and if she lost weight since getting her to eat ANYTHING for the past 4 days has been an act of congress...

So happy my little girl woke up this AM clearly on the mend and actually got out some TOYS to play with.... HALLELUJAH

day 20 write a letter to someone

Dear Aunt Audrey,

Spring is in the air down here in the "south" even if we are headed back into the teens :) You can tell that the natives are getting restless since we ordered our Fedco seeds and are talking about planting potatoes :)

Too bad you guys up there are still months away :) hee hee hee... You know I joke because I love your town more than even my OWN :) Has it been quiet up there? How was "Snow-de-o"?

I can't wait to look at the calendar and make plans to come up this summer. Let me know ahead of time if we need to haul up Dad's tractor and the brush hog to take care of that field of yours. He's retired now you know so I like to book things for him to do :)

Minnie (I know how you love it that we call her that hee hee hee) is growing like a weed though I'm pretty sure she's lost some weight. She got the nasty fever/cold thing over the weekend and it is really causing a ruckus for her. She's still sleeping pretty good at night but she doesn't have any appetite or energy. We know our girl doesn't feel good when she just wants to sit and snuggle with us... I'm hoping she bounces back since it is school vacation week and we have some fun things planned if she's feeling up to it.

Well, you keep us posted on "ice out" and we'll get up there to see you very soon! Hope all is well, the sickies are staying far away from you, and that you are cozied up in your home!

Love,

CountryMouse

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

day 19 write about a sweet memory from your past

I'm going to blog about the first one that came to my mind... I'm actually especially proud that I HAD one come to mind... not so much because I didn't have many to choose from, only that I eat a LOT of Sweet 'n Low and artificial sweeteners and have for YEARS and I have NO memory. Often times JJ will tell a story from our childhood and I will look at him across a table in confusion and ask "Was I there? Are you sure that was us??" :) I remember NOTHING.

ANYWAY....BACK to the sweet memory... when I was little... I'm guessing 6-8-11ish? my Dad took me into our local country store that he used to work at (and later I worked at as WELL as JJ... family thing I guess) and he bought me a chocolate covered cherry. He specifically told me not to open it until later. He continued to chat with his old boss behind the counter and I.... well... I opened it. I'm guessing this was the first chocolate covered cherry I had ever enjoyed so when I bit into it I was surprised at the center and I LOST the jellied cherry out the other side of my candy. Fell right onto the floor in the store that I was NOT.SUPPOSED. TO.OPEN.IT.IN.

gone. lost the chocolate covered cherry and as most parents I'm sure would... my Dad used that opportunity as a practical lesson of obedience and there was no buying another one. Sad.

Fast forward a few 10-15 years... this story came up at the dinner table. CountryDad did not remember it and certainly had no idea how much it had effected me.
Flash forward a few months... Christmas morning... opening presents at the CountryRents and there tucked into the tree was a small white paper bag. Inside were SUGAR-FREE (because at this point I was a diabetic) and not ONE....but TWO chocolate covered cherries... just in case I ended up losing the first one...
Broke this girl into tears and even as I type it I get a little misty-eyed. Moral of the story I guess...

I was often a VERY disobedient girl but my Daddy loves me anyway and gave me LOTS of 2nd chances.

Monday, February 21, 2011

The Weekend Report

The weekend started out a bit rough for the girl... she came down with a fever/cold on Friday when she woke up from her nap and we KNOW our girl is sick when she "cuddles"...or in this case, practically passes out on her Daddy's lap... but who can sleep when one of her favorite shows is on? :) The girl does love her ESPN :)
On Saturday she laid low at home with Daddy while I went to Bread-Making 101 and Cookie Decorating for amatuers :) MIL was the resident expert, "training up the younger women"...
and some of us sure needed that training... turn the mixer on LOOOWWWW when you add the flour...
a special time spent with special girls... Liz was the cookie expert, sharing her knowledge of royal icing and technique. What a GREAT time!
and the bread didn't come out 1/2 bad either! :)
On Sunday we were priviledge with cousin T's arrival and gotta say, I think CountryDad was a little disappointed he wasn't in the vicinty... so they had to chat via the phone...
Minnie was feeling a bit better (key word being was) but she turned up her game to hang with her big cousin...
he didn't mind :) He was a great sport about wiping boogery noses for more than 24 hours...
plus he got his seeds ordered so it was a good, productive weekend all around... :)

Minnie is still really under the weather... considering I'm blogging on the couch right next to her and she can't be bothered to climb out of her Daddy's lap to come over and poke the keyboard... sad.

A Post for CountryDad







or rather CountryMum so she can steal the pics OFF for CountryDad :)

day 18 plans/dreams/goals you have

uh... I revert to two prior posts... please see day 8 and day 11

haven't we already been there... done that?

Sunday, February 20, 2011

The Children's Museum

On Thursday we headed to the "big city" to experience the Children's Museum for the FIRST time!!! Minnie was PSYCHED... well, as psyched as a 14 month old can be when you say words she doesn't understand like "museum"? :) We picked up J.T. and Dani, met up with Pheebs, her Mom, Lily and her mom and our new friend Abby who is Pheebs big 2nd cousin!!! Minnie took right off for the "Vet" area... of course seeing all the wooden cut-outs of the "Woof woof" on the wall may have enticed her in that direction :)

she spent some time in "Whole Paycheck" ... for those of you chuckling... thank you.
she and Lily did some shoppin' together.
we met up with Dani and J.T. in the "Toddler Park" where most things were padded and soft... didn't seem to matter when Minnie did a somersault down some small stairs and she was NOT a fan of the padding :)
good thing she got over it... :)

our new friend Abby :)
Dani and Minnie both enjoyed a small room that was showing a video of some tribal dancing and had some drums for them to play...
headed into the "Mt. Kid-ah-din" :) and the sea creature touch tank there on the left. Minnie touched a starfish for the first time and got to man handle some seaweed :)
checking out the stuffed creatures....
awwww.... my friends, their babes and can we all please note that J.T. is holding BOTH her babies?? :) THAT'S RIGHT :)
Sweet girls...
tired girls....who both zonked on the way home...
great time spent at the C.M. with great friends... can't wait to do it again!!! :)

Saturday, February 19, 2011

When you look good... you look good...

pretty sure she's working on her Uncle D's "sprinkler" move :)

day 17 ~ someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why

No one.

Seriously.

I have been thinking about this for a couple of days... sure who WOULDN'T want a day in the life of the rich and famous? Someone who's biggest concern is which pair of $700 shoes to wear to the BEACH?

But honestly... I have an AMAZING life. I have the world's BEST, Husband, cutest baby girl, warm home, food on my table, an AWD car that is PAID for, a little PT job I get to do FROM HOME, "stay-cations" with my honey and babe ALL YEAR ROUND (Summer anyone? :) awesome friends, AND a family that I wouldn't trade for ANYTHING.

So really. Sorry. No one. I'll keep mine thank.you.very.much.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Wednesday: Fun with Pheebs!

On Wednesday it was our turn to return the "haircut" favor to Pheebs and her Mama... we were up and at 'em bright and early... oh wait... Minnie seems to be getting EARLIER AND EARLIER regardless of what we are doing.... I digress... anyway... up and at 'em and dressed for the day!! Wearning... nonetheless... an outfit Pheebs, Grammie made for her but will be a bit big yet so she shared with Minnie... (yes CJ that IS your car that you left here at Minnie's house and yes we WILL get it back to you :)
Minnie wastes NO time checking things out at Pheebs house and making herself RIGHT at home with the toys

It was so neat to hang out with the girl one on one :) she snuggled with me, she smiled and laughed and spent much of our time together wondering where Minnie was (as Minnie raced around the circle of her home) and giving me this response to "Where is she?" :)


"ooooo THERE she IS!!!" :)
Playing TOGETHER...
It was a great time spent with the little ladies and word on the street was that we played so hard, Pheebs took a 2 HOUR nap when we left. Wish I could have said the same for my girl :)