I can't believe it's already April. I didn't purposefully delay this issue, I just didn't realize it was already a new month! When did that happen?!?
This post includes pictures taken by my friend Jackie of our cute little family in our Easter best. I'll let you all know when her business opens up this summer so you can take advantage of her wonderful artistic eye!
3/2
Shaelyn has gotten really good at "hiding things". She loves to pile and group things, and lately she's been placing these piles in very well concealed places. I don't know if she's trying to play hide and seek with me (because she never approaches me about finding the things she's hidden) or if she's just hiding them for herself (like a dog burying a bone in the backyard), hoping that she'll find them later, or what. Either way, it's super cute. Today she found a stack of Post-It notes, took them apart one by one, and hid them under the area rug in the living room. After hiding all the Post-Its, she put one of her "play" Tupperware containers under there for good measure.
3/5:
Shaelyn LOVES washing her hands in the sink with soap like a big girl. It amazes me how much she understands what I'm saying, especially when it's something I haven't even worked on teaching her. Today when she was done eating lunch, I said something about going to wash her hands, and she rubbed both her hands together like she does when we're washing them. Now that's the way she lets me know she's done eating and wants out of her high chair -- rubbing her hands together means "Mom, I'm done. Time to wash my hands!"
Shaelyn LOVES washing her hands in the sink with soap like a big girl. It amazes me how much she understands what I'm saying, especially when it's something I haven't even worked on teaching her. Today when she was done eating lunch, I said something about going to wash her hands, and she rubbed both her hands together like she does when we're washing them. Now that's the way she lets me know she's done eating and wants out of her high chair -- rubbing her hands together means "Mom, I'm done. Time to wash my hands!"
3/6:
Again under the category of knowing things I don't even know she knows... Today Shaelyn started lifting up her shirt to poke or slap or pinch her belly. I would always make a comment about her belly when she did this. By the end of the day, I could say "Where's your belly?" and Shaelyn would immediately lift up her shirt and point to her tummy. Now I just have to teach her modesty, since she thinks EVERYONE wants to see her belly, including the general public.
3/9:
Tonight we went to a church meeting and Shaelyn was the only baby there. All the adults were sitting in a circle, and Shaelyn was standing in the middle of the circle. Because the meeting hadn't officially started yet, everyone was staring at Shaelyn. Normally an extrovert, Shaelyn noticed all the eyes on her and immediately burst into tears.
3/10:
Well, our modesty lessons are obviously not working. Tonight while getting ready for bed, I had Shaelyn's pajama bottoms on, but not her top. She was running around and trying to prevent me from putting her shirt on.
Me: Shaelyn, you can't go to bed without a shirt on.
Shaelyn (Sticking her chest out): Woo Hoo!
3/12:
Today while I was flossing my teeth, Shaelyn pointed to her own teeth and said "teee". Now when you ask her where her teeth are, she points to them with her finger and pretends like she's brushing them with her finger while saying "teeeeeth". (She just figured out how to say the "th" at the end.)
3/15:
I went to a function tonight at the church, and Michael told me that while I was gone, Shaelyn went upstairs to my room and patted my side of the bed, saying "Mommy, Mommy". Evidently, if she can't find me, it means I'm sleeping. What does that say about my parenting?
3/18:
Shaelyn loves playing with Maggie, and is always finding new ways to play with her (read: antagonize her). Today I caught Shaelyn pressing her stuffed dog up against her repeatedly while making kissy noises. I'm sure Maggie appreciated it, especially since it was a dog.
Tonight Shaelyn and I went over to Addie's to play (and I was there for an enrichment activity). While we were there, Tom made some popcorn in the microwave. While the bag was popping, Shaelyn kept saying "pop pop pop".
3/22:
3/22:
This afternoon Michael did some work in the back yard and Shaelyn went out to accompany him. She has her own little rake and shovel, and did a great job mimicking Daddy and digging up dirt. It was adorable (and great Daddy/Daughter bonding time).
Shaelyn went through a stage of being very difficult when we would take her out to eat. She was very impatient, didn't want to sit in the high chair, wasn't big enough to eat the restaurant food, and needed to be held by either myself or Michael about 10 minutes into the outing. As a result, Michael and I haven't gone out to in a LOOOONG time. Tonight, after a long day of shopping and chores, we decided to try it again and headed to Panera Bread. Shaelyn is now old enough to appreciate "big girl" events, and had a BLAST!!! She loved sitting in the high chair at the table, looking around at all the other diners. Since she now eats regular, meal-type foods, we ordered her something off the kids' menu -- a grilled cheese sandwich, a squeezable yogurt, and an apple juice box. She felt like such a big girl eating a whole sandwich (which I did NOT cut up) off of a real plate (which she did NOT throw on the floor), drinking from a juice box with a straw, and slurping up yogurt out of a squeezable tube. She stayed occupied the whole time and didn't pitch a fit once. She squealed and laughed and had a huge smile plastered on her face the entire time we were out. And since I didn't feel like making an Easter dinner this year (or ever), it was a great pre-Easter treat for us.
3/24:
My friend Kelly donated a Little Tykes plastic slide to our "searching for fun outdoor toys" cause. Shaelyn LOVES it and has mastered going down it all by herself. She now runs to the door that leads to the backyard and says "whee", which means she wants to go out and go down the slide 500 times.
3/26:
Clara came over today to play in the back yard, and Nicolle and I witnessed the girls' first "fight". They both wanted to play with the same toy, and while both tugging on it with all their might, both girls were saying "No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" to each other. Nicolle and I couldn't help but laugh as we broke it up.
3/28:
Since Michael has been traveling a ridiculous amount lately, he took the day off today and we all went to the zoo. It was a perfect day for it - 78 degrees and sunny. Shaelyn had a blast and loved seeing all the animals, and more especially, seeing all the people (it was the last day of spring break and the first warm, sunny day we've had, so the place was packed). She's learned a lot of new animals and animal noises, so she had fun identifying all the animals she knows. All birds, of any variety, are ducks to her (pronounced "guck"). And any animal that she can't identify roars like a lion.
After the zoo, I interviewed her about her experience.
Me: Shaelyn, did you have fun at the zoo today?
Shaelyn: (very enthusiastically) Yay.
Me: Did you see some elephants?
Shaelyn: (lifting her right arm in the air like an elephant trunk) BBBBPPPPPPP! (sounding like an elephant - I'm not sure how to spell it)
Me: Did you see some ducks?
Shaelyn: GUCK!
Me: Did you see some lions?
Shaelyn: ROAR!
3/30:
After our beautiful day on Friday, it's been miserably cold and rainy. Shaelyn's also been sick, so we've been trapped in the house. She's been totally bored and getting stir crazy. Tonight I changed over her little 5-in-1 gym that was once her "keyboard" into a an art desk with a bench, clipped a paper to the easel, and handed her some crayons. The girl went crazy, absolutely loved it, and created her first piece of art that I could hang on the fridge.
