Baby Talk is getting more fun for me to record because Shaelyn is actually talking and saying funny things! So this one is a long one... (aren't they all long?!?) Since I didn't do a "Christmas post", I've included Christmas morning pictures throughout. Enjoy!
Shaelyn listens to music every night to go to sleep. She now knows how to turn on her CD player herself, adjust the volume, and has also recently learned how to change the CD (to go from "sleeping music" to "dancing music"). But the best part: she calls "music" "mucus". Gets Michael and I giggling every time!
One night Michael decided to "manipulate" Shaelyn into giving him hugs and kisses by singing "I'm really good at kissing Daddy" or "I'm really good at hugging Daddy" (sung to a Signing Time song tune). Now Shaelyn can't go to bed without hugging and kissing us at least 25 times. She says "hug", "gweeze" (squeeze), and "tiss" (kiss) over and over again. But knowing there will come a day when we won't get hugs, gweezes, or tisses on demand, we don't mind.
Why can't I sit in the baby doll stroller?One morning, Shaelyn asked for a banana. I got one down for her, and when I handed it to her, she looked up at me and said "kank you, Mommy." I don't know where she got it from - it wasn't anything we had been teaching her or working on. I think I got tears in my eyes.
While Paw Paw (my dad) was visiting, he was constantly trying to get Shaelyn to say "ready, set, go!". He must have repeated it 100 times while he was here. Now Shaelyn walks around the house saying "ready, set, go! Paw Paw!". Hey, at least she knows who brainwashed her!
Ready, set, go! George is in on it...
We've been practicing counting anywhere, anytime we can. One morning Shaelyn found 2 pacis in her bed (which is a feat in and of itself as I can never find them in the dark when she wakes up and needs one), brought them to me, and said "one, two. Two pacis." Consistency pays off!
Shaelyn loves french fries, especially french fries at McDonald's. Since I'm desperately trying to get this child to eat anything, she gets treated to McD's french fries a lot more often than other kids (especially while her Grammy and Paw Paw were here...). My dad and I had just taken Shaelyn too McD's for some "ff's" as we call them, and then headed to Wal-Mart to pick up some groceries. There is a McD's in our Wal-Mart. Shaelyn was getting antsy standing in the long check-out line, so I told my dad we'd walk around while he waited and paid. Upon her new-found freedom, Shaelyn took off running for the McD's counter, ran up to it, put her hands up on it and stood on her tip toes, looked the girl right in the eye, and said very clearly "french fries!". Ha ha ha! I had to control my laughter as I explained to the girl that we had just been to McD's and didn't need any more french fries.
Shaelyn still loves "pretend licking" my face. She always does it and then says "eww!". She has now added to it, without any prompting from me. "Eww! Sick!" Makes me laugh every time.
During a Relief Society dinner, the Daddys decided to get Clara and Shaelyn together for some girl fun of their own. The girls had a good time tickling their own and each other's Daddys. Of course the Daddys did a great job of selling how ticklish they were. The girls were giggling too and having a great time. Then they decided to tickle each other. They soon realized that everyone is lying to them about how good they are at tickling. As neither girl was laughing from the other's tickling efforts, they both looked at their Daddys as if to say, "you think this is funny?".
Shaelyn loves all things Rudolph. She loves the clay-mation movie. (Michael had never seen it as a child - blasphemous, I know - and so had no emotional attachments to it and thought it was the stupidest thing on the planet. The rest of us all know it's stupid, but we love it just the same.) She got a Rudolph book from Grandma and reads it constantly. In fact, most nights she has to fall asleep with it. She calls Rudolph "ood-olf" and requests us to sing the song by saying "again nose." She also for some reason thinks that the abominable snowman is Mommy. My dad says it's because "abominable" and "mommy" sound so similar. Here's hoping, because I'd hate to think she thinks I look like that!
Another night playing with Clara, Clara was showing off her new talent of bowing and saying "thank you" after a rousing piano solo. (Click here to see an adorable video.) Soon both girls were playing the piano and running into the kitchen for applause. Both girls were bowing, but Clara was saying "thank you" while Shaelyn was saying "Ah-choo!".
Shaelyn usually tells us about her day in a "Shaelyn stream of consciousness" while she falls asleep. One night she had the following story playing out in her head:
"Knock knock. Come in. Hi Maggie, kitty cat. Hi friend. Knock knock. Come in. Kitty cat. Maggie. Friend. Max. Clara. Maggie. Mommy Daddy Mommy Daddy."
As already established, Shaelyn loves all things Cars. She got a giant Cars book (above) complete with magnetic Cars cutouts that drive around a little Carburetor County scene for Christmas, and some small Matchbox Cars figurines from her Aunt Eileen for her birthday. She knows all the characters' names and spends the day saying "Wuv Cars. Wuv Mater. Wuv Queen. Wuv Doc-uh-Sally." For some reason, Doc and Sally are always one entity - "Doc-uh-Sally." Spend a day with her and you'll find yourself walking around saying "Doc-uh-Sally" too.
While watching t.v. with Daddy, "The Three Amigos" came on during the "My Little Buttercup" song. Shaelyn saw Steve Martin and immediately said "Paw Paw." Oops. Paw Paw has always been in denial about his gray hair (dubbed "crystal hair" by himself), but I guess he can't deny it anymore.
Shaelyn loves to do anything "big girl", which includes washing her face like Mommy, talking on the phone like Mommy, and wearing Mommy's shoes. Adorable, and yet, I never know where my shoes are anymore. And I always find them one at a time - they are never in a pair anymore.
The other day a friend asked Shaelyn where baby sister Rachelle was. She immediately lifted up her shirt and pointed to her belly. Believe me, little girl, you don't want that! (At least not now...)
Shaelyn nightly requests to be sung "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" and "Silent Night." She calls "Silent Night" "peace" and could hear it 100 times and never be sick of it. But the real funny comes from Rudolph. Michael and I always end the song by singing "cha cha cha." Shaelyn has started randomly tacking on "cha cha cha" to anything in a sing-song voice. "Dad-dy, cha cha cha." "Kit-ty, cha cha cha." "Shay-nin, cha cha cha."
