Magic :)

So I'm STILL working on all our pictures from Disney World, but I just had to post this one.  I didn't even mean for it to come out looking like the wand was glowing a bit.  It was a combo of K moving it and the lighting...or just the Disney magic that I swear is there!  ;)

I don't ever want to forget how amazing lunch at Cinderella's castle was for K and for us as her parents. Seeing it all through her eyes was so special.  Every single time a princess came out she was so excited.  I love that she just knew they were the REAL ones.  :)  Oh if I only I knew what that sweet little girl wished for during the wishing ceremony!  Of course I can't know because then it won't come true.  ;)  

I love love love this little girl so much and I just wish she could keep her sweet innocence her whole life.

I'm packed and ready!

Tonight before bed, K came to me with a pillowcase.* 

*Sidenote: We don't use it as a pillowcase - it was a gift from someone at Cody's work and we don't have sheets to match it, so she just uses it as a bag because I'm weird about the sheets matching.

She had filled the pillowcase with toys.  She looked up at me very seriously and said, "Okay Mom.  I'm packed and ready for Disney World again!"

Love her!!!

Beds, Pictures, and Decor...AKA Random :)

Lately K has been wanting to take on more tasks, "All by myself!"  I think she's at the perfect age to take on more responsibility as well.  For a long time she has been expected to take her dishes to the sink, get water from the fridge when she wants it, clean up her toys, and put her shoes and dirty clothes up at night.

Making her bed has always been my thing because I love the pillows and animals all to be lined up neatly.  But let's be honest here - I don't make her bed, or my bed for that matter, every day.

It's actually a goal I have for myself.  Making beds is so simple and quick, but it makes you feel better than you think.  It's just down right more relaxing to walk into a room with a made bed than it is to see an unmade bed.  Which is sort of weird if you think about because it takes more effort to unmake it and actually relax.

So this summer I've been better than I am in the school year about making beds.  Still not batting 1000, but I've been much better.

Well, Kaitlyn decided she wanted to be the one to make her own bed.  At first I was hesitant, but come on - the kid should be making her own bed now.  I just need to let it go.

So, I decided to document this morning's attempt making.

Is it perfect?  Nope.  But she was so stinking proud of herself and that's worth more than nice and neat.

In other news....

I was talking to two sweet friends last night (look for a post soon about that!) and we brought up the fact that most kids today don't get the super embarrassing and awkward photos that we had as kids because everything is digital now.  We just take and take pictures until we get the right shot.  So one of my goals is to keep more awkward photos.  Sounds odd right?  I have to have some ammo for high school graduation slide shows right?  Also, I want to take more pictures and videos of everyday life - not just the cute, "perfect" moments.

So I snapped this picture with my phone this morning.  This is what she chose to do this morning - take her night gown off, leaving only her panties, but adding the beads, socks, and headband.  She said the beads were her pretend backpack.  ;)

In other, other news....(This post is super random!)

I've been trying to decorate our new home this summer as well.  There are big projects I want to do - look at the wallpaper in my last post that is in K's bathroom.  And look at that awesome tile in the foyer in the above picture.   Eek!  But I've been wanting to add more art/decor pieces to the house as well.

I wanted to put up some of K's art in her playroom, but the pieces I picked were bigger than most frames I found.  I finally found some floater frames at Hobby Lobby (at half price!) that worked perfectly.  I love the way it turned out!

I also wanted to start adding a color in the playroom other than pink, so I picked up this yellow frame too, and K picked out what picture she wanted.  She LOVES her cousin Cadie!  I took several pictures of them last Spring for Cody's mom's Mother's Day gift and this one is her favorite.

I also wanted to redo my office.  I do call it my office, because when Cody does have to do work at home, he uses his laptop in the living room.  He never goes to the office.  Plus he has a man cave in the works, so I deserve the office right?  ;)  My office in our old house was also K's playroom...you can imagine how well that worked.  Now she has a playroom (which I still use part of for my craft stuff) and I have an office all to my own....well, actually I don't.  We put K's library in there too and it currently has her reading tent, but I'm okay with that.

So when I went to Hobby Lobby for the frames and ribbon for Disney bows I randomly found two pieces that immediately inspired me for my office.  I love yellow and gray together, but I don't want to redo my entire living room or bedroom right now.  Yellow and gray office - duh!!!  I LOVE these two pieces (both were also 50% off!), but it's only a small start.

So I hung them in the office....

But it still looks too blah...especially when you see the other side...

There's that reading tent!  ;)

I'm not sure if I want a couch, chair, nothing....I guess I'll know when I see it.  I LOVE having my grandmother's old roll top desk in there so whatever I get has to work with it.  I also want a rug to add some more pop.

Guess this means I need to do more shopping right??  ;)

If she only knew...

We leave for Disney on Sunday and I am seriously about to burst!  We have decided not to tell Kaitlyn.  This girl loves countdowns, but also loves to constantly ask or remind us how many days are left until something.  So, if a friend has a birthday party and it's in 4 days, she will remind us over and over that in 4 days it's so-and-so's party.  All.  Day.  Long.  It's cute about the first 5 times she does it, then about the 2,018th - not so much.  If you ask her not to mention it again she will wait a little while and then say something like, "In 4 days something is going to happen, but I can't talk about it."  Over and over.  

It's a vicious cycle my friends.

And this girl LOVES all things Disney.  So I can only imagine how often we would have to hear about going to Disney World if she knew.  Honestly though, it's been very fun for me to know this huge secret that I know will send her over the moon.  I'm actually very proud of how I've been able to keep it from her.  I've had to spell things if I'm talking to someone in front of her, sneak things back to my room after a shopping trip, and my mom and I have been working on outfits for each day.  And by working on them, I mean I look on Etsy, tweak a design to my liking, and then my amazingly talented mom creates it.  I did buy two really cute skirts to go with some of the shirts.  That counts for something too right??  ;)  I also made the bows that she'll be wearing, but honestly my mom has done all the hard stuff.  She's awesome.  Some might think all that is a bit over the top, but this is her first big vacation and I'm going to do it up big.  Judge if you will, but I'm loving every second of it.

My excitement is so hard to contain lately.  I'm thinking back to trips to Disney World with my family when I was little.  We were blessed to be able to go three times as a family - once when I was 4, then again in 6th grade and when I was a senior in high school.  I also went once in high school with choir.  Cody and I went to Disney World for our honeymoon.  Sounds weird, but trust me, there is a whole other side to Disney that can be very romantic and grown up.  We had a blast and Cody even mentioned going again before we had Kaitlyn, but we never did.

Now I'm getting excited about seeing Disney World through Kaitlyn's eyes.  Just last week when we went and saw Monster's University, she was amazed at seeing the picture version of Cinderella's castle come up on the movie screen before the movie started.  Her eyes were opened so widely and she just whispered, "Wow."  I had no choice but to tear up at that very moment.  Just the thought of the amazement she will have when she sees the real castle overwhelmed me.  I can hardly wait!

I've decided to post some evidence of her love for Disney.  :)

Last week she begged me to roll her hair so that she could have curls like Aurora.  (Please excuse the rocking 90s wallpaper in her bathroom.  I have yet to tackle that project in our new house.)

In the morning, after I took the rollers out, she decided to dress herself.  Of course she picks the Aurora dress and crown.  :)

Then yesterday, she was playing and I caught this gem.

Have I mentioned I'm excited about Sunday??? :)


Our plan is to wake her up that morning and surprise her with the news.  Without fail, every night Kaitlyn asks us as we are putting her to bed, "What's tomorrow?"  She is very particular about knowing what is going in her life the next day.  So we have to go over what we'll do.  Normally on Saturdays we say, "Church, lunch and then home."  So that's what she'll go to bed thinking on Saturday night.  Then we will wake her up (super early) on Sunday and somehow tell her. (I haven't thought that one all the way through just yet.)  But it will involve showing her the adorable shirt my mom made her that says, "I'm Going to Disney World."

I found that skirt yesterday after I decided that the plain black one she already had wasn't Disney enough.  Yep.  I'm a dork.  It was actually a Hello Kitty one, but I love everything else about it, so I bought it (on sale from Macy's with an extra coupon - score!) and just cut the Hello Kitty charm off.  Simple fix.


My fear is that I've been building up this moment in my mind for months now and she'll react with a simple, "Okay."  I guess we'll see...

IN.  FOUR.  DAYS.  :)  :)  :)

Elf on the Shelf

We became one of those families this year.  One of those families that has an elf - an elf on the shelf.  Someone at K's school mentioned having an elf at their house and she told me how much she wished Santa would send an elf to her house.

What's a mom to do?

Go to Target and get one - that's what.  And then to Barnes and Noble because Target was out of the skirts and we wanted a girl one.  Yes, I am THAT mom.

Thus began the daily routine of moving the elf, dubbed Sparkle, into a new spot.  Some spots are goofy, some sweet, and some that are kind of "normal" ones because this mama was running out of ideas.  Now, don't get me wrong - the elf totally creeps me out.  I was the girl that made my parents bag up my Raggedy Ann doll and put it in the attic when I was little after I saw an episode of Unsolved Mysteries where a Raggedy Ann doll was supposedly possessed.  After I saw that, I was scarred for life and still want nothing to do with those dolls.

But my daughter doesn't think her elf is creepy, so I'm doing it.  Each and every day until Christmas comes.  And guess what?  I'm actually putting effort into it.  I am so tired of people on Facebook telling me in a not so subtle way that what I'm doing is stupid.  Yes, in a way I'm lying to my kid.  Yes, the doll is creepy.  Yes, the elf does bad things. 

If you don't like it, well, don't look at it.  Or you know what?  Go ahead and unfriend me.  I don't do it for your approval, I promise.  I do it for my daughter and to share those moments with my family and close friends that LOVE to talk to K about it.   

Let me elaborate:

Lying to my kid - I get it.  Not everyone wants to do Santa, the elf, etc.  But I do and I hate the judgement for it.  My daughter gets SO VERY excited every morning when she gets to go find Sparkle.  If you could see her face you would do it in a heartbeat too.  K believes in Santa, but she knows about Jesus too.  She can tell you the entire Christmas story if you'll take the time to listen.  She knows where to find it in her bible too.  Am I bragging?  No.  I'm just putting it out there that we do instill in her the true meaning of Christmas while also celebrating the "Santay" part.  I love that she still has her innocence.  Trust me - my being a teacher for this long has let me see too many children that lose that way too early.  Our culture is making kids grow up way too fast and I'm tired of it.  I'm not pushing my daughter into having adult conversations with us, to dress older than her age, or to not have an imagination.  I want her to be 4.  If your family chooses not to have Santa, I'm okay with that too.  Everyone knows what is best for their family, but please don't tell me what I'm doing with mine is wrong - every. single. day. on. Facebook.  We get it - you don't like it.  Point made.

Our elf does do some "bad" things.  Sparkle hasn't done anything too crazy, but she does do some things that I would hope K would never do.  But guess what?  I do things each day that I wish I wouldn't do.  That's the point I'm trying to make with K and her elf.  We all mess up, but there is grace.  If only the truly good people got presents for Christmas there would be no Black Friday and no crowded parking lots right now.  We all get second chances (and third, fourth, etc.) and thank God for that!  My first graders learn about grace when it's time for their first folder sign.  I pull each of them aside and tell them that I should sign their folder because of their actions, but we all deserve grace and this is your one grace when it comes to me signing your folder.  The next time you break our class promises I will sign your folder.  And guess what I see?  They begin to grace each other.  When Sparkle does bad things we talk to K about grace and how God forgives us.  Now guess who is talking about grace - and not just because it's her middle name?  ;)

Does it take me a little extra time to make Sparkle do some silly things? Yep, but nothing has taken longer than five minutes.  And each minute that I've used is worth it to me when I hear my daughter say, "Sparkle!  You have to try harder to be good, but I still love you!"

Yep - I love that elf.

Mama/Daughter Outing

Last Friday I took K to get her haircut.  Now, some might think I'm crazy, but I take her to Southlake to get her haircut.  There is a place there called Sweet and Sassy and it is beyond awesome!  I took her there for her first haircut - they do a big hoopla for the first haircut and I loved the way the treated K.  Their haircuts are still only $14 for 3 year olds and they add spray glitter, a little heart glitter thing for her face, curl her hair a bit, and give her a sucker after.  To me, K feeling that girly and special is worth the little extra drive.  Plus it gives me a reason to shop in Southlake.  :)

One of my favorite places in Southlake is the Vera Bradley store.  (Angels singing!!!)  Now, I wasn't introduced to Vera until college.  It just wasn't as big in Texas as it was in Louisiana back then.  Girl meet bag.  Girl fall in love with bag.  Girl has been hooked ever since.  :)  

So K and I headed in pre-haircut to kill some time.  I honestly had no intention of buying her anything until I saw the sweetest little purse design called Caitlyn.  Now, how do you pass that up when your daughter is named Kaitlyn and loves all things girly?  I lost all willpower, hence K getting her first Vera bag.  She loves it and has been taking it everywhere we go.  

Something tells me I have quite the shopping partner in my future!  :)  

"Young lady!"

It happens to me all the time as a teacher. I hate it more and more each time someone does it. I have even sent group emails out about it and stood up at a faculty meeting and expressed my opinion on the matter. Yet it still happens. Every teacher knows what it feels like. You finally get "that kid" to get in line and walk quietly in the hallway which is a miracle in itself. You continue to walk down the hall feeling quite proud of the fact that "that kid" isn't screaming, tearing something down off the wall, hitting, etc. and then it happens. Out of nowhere you hear another teacher's voice, "(Insert "that kid's" name here), your hands need to be behind your back!" or "Tuck that shirt in!" You cringe and know it's going to set "that kid" off in 3...2...1....boom. There it is. You give that other teacher a slight smile that has the "please next time mind your own business look" behind it as you try to calm "that kid" back down. But it will happen again because there are just those teachers who feel the need to correct every child in the school. They do not always know or think about all the work it took just for the baby steps to occur. It is my biggest pet peeve regarding a faculty. DON'T DISCIPLINE MY STUDENTS!!! I'm right there and believe it or not, this is not my first pony ride and I can control my class. Thanks. :)

But now with my own kid it's a whole other ballgame. There are lots of people who can "discipline" my kid. Meaning, if you're my child's teacher at preschool, Sunday school, dance, or any other similar setting - by all means, ask/tell her to do whatever you want. As far as I'm concerned, you're the boss. If she is over at either set of grandparents' houses she'd better listen to whatever they say as well. I have also told certain friends that they are allowed to correct my kid if they see her actin' a fool. My wonderful sis-in-law, Candace, and amazing friend, Jamie, that's you in case you both forgot. :) This came after I saw a few kids at a softball game taking toys away from my kid as their mother watched and did nothing. As a mother, I didn't want to correct this woman's kids when she was right there, but it finally got to the point where K was very bothered by it so I just removed her from the situation. Was I a Mama wimp? If that's what you want to call it so be it, but I am not going to discipline someone else's kids when they are standing less than two feet away from me. Not my job.

But on Sunday something happened that hasn't happened before (which really surprises me once I stop and think about it) but it rubbed me the wrong way and I just wasn't expecting it.

Cody wanted to go to Colter's...not my favorite, but it was Father's Day and he called the shots....but I digress.

So there the three of us were after church at Colter's. I was in the front with my tray because my husband is one of those awesome guys who still believes in ladies first. He was behind me with his tray and K was a little bit between us. K was not being bad at all in my eyes. She was walking when we were walking, not screaming, not running. She was however, touching the floor with her hands. Gross I know. No telling what was on that floor, but that's also why we wash hands right? Unless someone has made some kind of magic force field I'm unaware of I'm still under the impression that kids get dirty. But last time I checked, kids are also washable. So the mother in me said, "Let it go, I'm not going to fight that battle right now because she's not bothering anybody and we'll simply wash her hands before she eats." No biggie right? But then it happened - I hear, "Young lady, get your hands off that dirty floor - especially when you're in that pretty dress." HOLD UP! I turned around to see an older lady who was a total stranger with her face in my daughter's face and she was scolding her. Simmer down Mama, simmer down. I took a deep breath and went to grab K's hand and walked her up to stand by me. My heart was pumping. Who did this lady think she was? I was shocked that she felt the need to get on to my child. I know, I know, it takes a village - blah, blah, blah. But it's not like she was touching this lady's food, hurting anyone, or anything along those lines. And both of her parents were right there. I was furious and wasn't quite sure why. But I did notice that I flashed my new friend one of those teacher smiles that had the "please next time mind your own business look" behind it. Luckily the whole thing didn't set K off into a screaming, crying fit or anything like that. But it did embarrass her and she was visibly sad for a small bit. Do I think she'll be scarred for life? Absolutely not, but the fact that this lady felt the need to say anything to her about it irritates me. Cody and I are trying so very hard to do the Love and Logic approach when it comes to discipline and so far it's worked wonders. I want to stick to that, but scolding her for touching the floor isn't part of it.

Am I making a mountain out of a molehill - probably. But like I said, it rubbed me the wrong way and I hope it doesn't happen again anytime soon. What do you other mamas think???

Youth Camp Mini Lesson

Cody and I went to our church's youth camp this past week. We've been sitting in with high school seniors since January so we can be prepared to work with the group next year. To say they are awesome would be an understatement. But in order for us to go to camp we had to bring Miss K with us. :) That wasn't always an easy task - the rec time was during her nap time (which was also the hottest part of the day) so Mama and K didn't get to participate in that...too bad those kids didn't see my mad skills huh? ;) And a lot of the fun stuff at night was WAY after her bedtime so I would have to leave early. The messages were of course way over her head, but when I would take her back for nap time or bedtime I would try to read some of the same scripture to her or talk about the same thing, but on a more basic-I'm-two-years-old-level. :P I was so excited when the guest pastor referenced Zacchaeus because I knew Kaitlyn knew a song about him. That's where the below video is from. :) My favorite thing from camp though was when we were walking to breakfast one day and Kaitlyn saw all the youth walking and she threw up her hands and said, "All these people praying to God." Love it! :)

*Reminder to myself to repost the video since I moved this entry from my old blog*

So Lucky!

What a great St. Patrick's Day I had this year! I'm on Spring Break and have been with K all week. Being a teacher is the perfect mom job! Each day K begged me to go to school, which I guess it's a good thing that she loves it so very much, but I wanted her to myself this week. But I did need to make a major grocery store run and those are sometimes better solo, so I took K to school for a little bit - long enough to see her friends and discover that a pesky leprechaun had been there. :) (Have I mentioned I LOVE her school?)

So I ran some errands - which also consisted of hitting up the grand opening of Nordstrom's Rack in Arlington that just happens to be two doors down from DSW...dangerous territory I tell you, dangerous. I walked away with not one pair, not two pairs, but FIVE pairs of shoes.

I may have a slight problem.

After my errand running I picked up K and we headed for Ulta. Ever since she figured out Mama has painted toenails she's wanted her's painted. I wanted her to pick out the color she wanted. All day long she told me she wanted red and she stayed true to herself and picked out a classic red color that I loved painting on her toes later that night. We turned on Mickey Mouse so that she was still while they dried and it worked like a charm. Before the nail painting occurred K and I went to walk around the park. The weather was beautiful and just called for it. :)

Daddy took us both out to dinner later and then we did a little more shopping. At the end of the day I was beat, but in such a blessed and thankful way. After K was in bed Cody and I put in a movie and I decided to go through some more of K's clothes that are too small to give away. I always get a little weepy when I do that because I can remember certain things we did when she was wearing certain things and I know that she is growing up way too fast. It's hard to believe that she'll be three this year. Three - no way.

Call it luck if you want, but I'm going to call it a blessing. I am so very thankful for my sweet family and my heart is so very full of love!

Christmas Time

Being a teacher is the best job ever. I cannot even go into all the benefits it has to my heart, but one of the things I love most about it is that it's perfect for moms. I get to have summers off, spring break, and two weeks at Christmas time. Of course I've enjoyed the last two Christmas breaks with Kaitlyn, but this year it's so very different. She's beginning to know more of what is going on now. I'm not quite sure she understands the whole Santa thing, but she can recognize him and we keep telling her he's bringing her presents on Christmas. I love how when we drive by houses at night she'll scream for joy and say, "Oh! Look Mama! Lights!" Or how she'll point out a snowman or reindeer in someone's yard. She loves the song "Jingle Bells" and will sing it to you over and over. She's still a bit mixed up with parts of Christmas though. In nativity scenes she can name baby Jesus and Mary, but as of now Jonah is with Mary - not Joseph. And she doesn't call Christmas trees, Christmas trees - instead they are "trick or trees." :)
Christmas is always such a fun and exciting time, but there is nothing like experiencing it as a parent. I am always counting my blessings, and this year more so than ever. I can only imagine the joy that will come next year as K is even more aware of what Christmas means, and then one day the joy of knowing she has learned the true meaning of what God did for us all and why we celebrate Christmas each year.

My Little Family

Cody took this picture with his phone as we were walking into Best Buy back in July. I just love it. I found it on my computer and just had to post it.

School

So I've been beyond bad at updating this blog since school started back up, but in my defense I switched grade levels and am learning all new curriculum....so there. Don't judge me.

Kaitlyn has been loving her "school" and I'm loving all the benefits!!! She is coming home with so much more vocabulary now and talks about her friends (that's my favorite part!) She is having a blast and the teachers there are just beyond amazing! My sweet little girl is even picking up a little bit of Spanish which I'm thrilled about!

The other bit of assurance I needed came last week. I've been so worried I'm not doing enough for Kaitlyn at home. I know how to teach five and six year olds, but I wasn't sure I was teaching Kaitlyn enough when it came to the basics. Well, one of her teachers said that she has to teach Kaitlyn things other than the normal curriculum for the class because she is ahead of the other kids. (Insert sigh of relief here please) I know, I know, I'm the crazy teacher mom. But somewhere deep inside me is the fear of moms saying, "Well, she should know more - her mom IS a teacher and all." Well, no worries. I'm feeling pretty darn proud of my little goober right about now. Now if we could just get her to not dump dirt on her head each day at the playground.... :)

Her "gear" for school the first day. I LOVE shopping for Kaitlyn!!!

Getting ready to leave on the first day of school.

She walked right in and was ready to play - and that's my girl going straight for the books! :)


I think every single mom out there should buy these dishwasher safe name labels. They are awesome! I've already washed them SO MANY times and they are showing no signs of coming off. Love them!

Where Does the Time Go?

Today my daughter is 23 months old.

23 months.

That means she's only not two for a month. Um...how did this happen so quickly?? There is no way that it's almost been two years since we had her. Seriously - time must slow down.

But time won't slow down, and I'm actually afraid it's only going to keep getting faster from here. K will be starting a real preschool in two weeks as well. My baby - at a school. She will be having a set curriculum and even a chapel time - which I know will just be beyond cuteness.

But there's a part of my heart that hurts so much. My baby is no longer a baby. She's turning into a little girl. Gone are the days of being able to rock her (not that she was ever really big on that anyway...but just go with me on this) Gone are the days of cooing and those cute little baby giggles. My baby is almost two.

Now, don't get me wrong - this time has been so much fun. Seeing her discover the world is like nothing else. But man, going out is so much harder. I thought it was hard with a baby. Nope - I'd take baby any day over toddler. Just today at lunch she is screaming out, "Hi purple!" "Hi green!" "Hi red!" over and over. Yeah - you probably just smiled at the thought of that right? So cute right? Maybe the first ten times. Then it gets old - oh and usually a bit louder. And let's not even talk about what happens when she's not happy. I try to block those times out of my mind.

While it is heartbreaking to think of my baby as no longer a baby, I know what lies ahead will be so much fun. I can't wait until we can truly talk about her day together. I can't wait until she can tell me exactly what is making her so upset. I can't wait for her to ask me to go shopping. :) I know this is just the beginning of lots of mommy/daughter days ahead, but I sure am going to miss my baby days.

And here's a little preview for her upcoming birthday. We decided to do a fish/ocean theme since K loves fish right now. I already made her bow because I know my free time will get pretty scarce once I start teaching again. Plus, I'm really on a bow making kick right now - not like she doesn't have enough already. But big girls need bigger bows right? ;)

Bow Helper

Kaitlyn has been on this helping kick lately and I must say - it's adorable. Just yesterday I brought home some things from school that were laminated and I was cutting them out in the living room. K picked up a piece that I had cut off and said, "Trash?" I told her that it was and she preceded to take that piece into the kitchen and throw it away for me. We have one of those trash cans that opens when it senses motion, which is part of the reason why I think she likes to throw trash away so much, but it makes me feel better about her doing so because I know she's not getting her hands all dirty. :)

So today I got out my bow making "stuff" (for lack of a better term) and she literally sat down on the mat and said, "Kaitlyn help." Oh I love her little heart right now. Makes me proud. :) So, she "helped" me as much as she could. I can't wait until she's a little older and we can start doing more craft projects together. Hmmm....maybe she needs some basic craft supplies that are just right for her age. Santa better get on that.

So here are some pictures of our progress.Helping measure.

She saw me put a pin in my mouth while I was working with ribbon, so when she did it I couldn't really tell her no. Way to go mom. Do as I say not as I do right? ;) But it sure makes for a cute picture. (And for all the gasping mothers out there - relax. I took it away and all of the clips, pins, etc. are oh so out of reach)

She was pretty much disinterested towards the end. Her tiger was much more entertaining. And please know that the tiger in NO WAY means she will like LSU. If she does she can hang out at Grandma and Granddaddy's house during college football season and not ours.

The finished product!

Word Explosion!

I was getting really worried about Kaitlyn's lack of words a few months ago. She was always gabbering and making up her own words. She had lots of inflection and could copy our's, but the real words weren't coming as much as I thought they should be. I even asked our school's speech teacher if I should be worried. She said at that point her receptive language was more important - did she understand me and do simple tasks that I asked her to and could she point to pictures when I asked her what they were. Kaitlyn was fine in that department so I was a little less worried, but I still thought she needed more words. Our speech teacher told me not to worry about it until she was two. She told me that's when there is supposed to be a "word explosion." Well, a few weeks into the summer I noticed a small boom of sorts. :) Now it seems as if every day Kaitlyn picks up several new words and I am no longer a nervous mama! Now, she still has her fair share of "Kaitlynese" words as we call it, but as I said, I'm not worried anymore. I thought it might be a good idea to try and make a list of some of the words that she is using right now. I'm sure I'll forget some, but it will be nice to look back at this a few months from now and see how far she's come. :)

Kaitlyn's current words: Mama, Daddy, Darcy, Nonnie, Papaw, Memaw (which should be Grandma...we're working on that one!), Granddaddy, yum-yum, cheese, milk, pizza, pancake, fruit, nana (for banana), apple, fish, turtle, puppy, elephant, monkey, cow, pig, horse, sheep, cat, octopus, crab, zebra, up, down, off, no, yes, poop, pee-pee, bye-bye, Casey, baby, book, bug-a-bug, purple, green, pink, Foofa, Toodie, Brobie, Plex, Muno, Elmo, Minnie Mouse, frog, clock, outside, shoes, cracker, phone, potty, hi, you okay, what's that, funny, oh no, bird, where "daddy" go (insert ANYTHING she wants to know where is for "daddy"), let's go, nose, eyes, tummy, feet, ears, head, teeth, mouth, hat, ball, tree, bus, spoon, fork, cup, this, please, bite, thank you, pretty, church, shake, stop

I'm sure I've left off some and I might add more later as it comes to me or I hear it! :) I just know that the list will be more than doubled in a few months!