Sleepless in the South

Cheerio has hit another milestone month....she's now 15 months old! Wow - were does the time go? So, I thought I would write an update post...just to remember what she is doing these days!

• 31 inches tall, 27 pounds 8 ounces
  
  

• size 5 diapers, although I think you'll be potty trained soon :) Obviously I'm just kidding...however I do have a cute story about Cheerio and Cocoa Puff's panties. I was getting the girls dressed but I forgot to get panties for Cocoa Puff. Cocoa Puff went to get some and brought them to me. Then it was Cheerios turn to get dressed. She walked away and before I could go get her...here she comes walking down the hall with a pair of Cocoa Puffs panties! I handed them to me and insisted, well maybe demanded, I put them on her. She is very persuasive, so without further ado, I present Cheerio in "big girl panties."





• You are starting to talk more and more everyday! Words you say everyday are:
• Mama - Mommy when you're upset
• Dada
• E-Ah - for your sister
• up...very handy since you want to be "up" all the time
• Uh-Oh...so cute!
• Apple- you don't really mean apple-we're not sure what you mean yet...maybe food?
• Words you have said, but maybe only once or twice:
• Cat
• Thank you
• More
• No!
• Walking is getter easier and easier...and you're getting faster and faster! When Mommy came home from tutoring today you started running and smiling as soon as you saw me. You almost startled yourself because I don't think you realized you could move that fast. It was the best!


• You are Miss Independent! Well, at least until you need something or want to cuddle. But for the most part you love to do it yourself especially with food.
  

• You are a problem solver! At least that's what the doctor says...I say you make-it-work! For example: You love to climb and be UP. When you can't get UP you get the closest object that will help you get UP! You have gotten a box of wipes, your sister's stool from the bathroom, toys...you name it, you have tried it :) And this is the reason Mommy doesn't allow anything in your bed! hee hee
  
  

• And the reason for the post title "Sleepless in the South" is...you don't like to sleep at night! I have come to the conclusion that it's something I'm doing...because your sister didn't like to sleep either...Oh, I'm leaving out one little bit of information. You both like to sleep and you both will sleep through the night IF you're in Mommy's and Daddy's bed. So, we've been having baby sleep boot camp at our house the last few weeks. Yes, I said weeks. I am a sucker and my girls have my digits! Truth be told, I love having them sleep next to me...SOMETIMES....ON A RARE OCCASION...NOT EVERY NIGHT. So, boot camp continues :) And considering Cocoa Puff is closer to four than three...I predict it will continue for years to come!



• Teeth....maybe one reason you can't sleep in your own bed. You have nine teeth now! Eight front and center and one molar on top...and THREE more coming out very soon.



• You idolize your sister. You try to do everything she does and when you can't, a temper tantrum follows. Yes, the temper tantrums have started and Mommy is not happy about it. When you don't get what you want or someone tells you "no"...watch out! You ball your hands into fists, throw them straight down by your sides, and scream/grunt. More of a grunt than a scream, but definitely loud. Which leads me to "time-outs." Yes, I have put you in time out. It's pretty cute actually. I have to try really hard not to laugh and even harder not to get the camera to document how cute you are when I put you in time-out. One day I'm going to break down and snap a picture. But seriously you are very stubborn.



• You like to eat cat food, play in the trash can, stick your head in the litter box (although you have never actually done this, I see the wheels turning...you are very curious as to where Wes goes), lick your shoes, and many other unsanitary things!

Cheerio - I love you so much!

Surprise, surprise!

I posted several weeks ago that my goal was to have my Christmas cards out on time this year(with a fabulous photo)...so I thought I would update you on how that worked out for me. Do you wanna guess first? Yes, I got them out on time...or No, I did not get them out on time?

Drum roll please...........and the answer is: "No, I did not get them out on time," says me, in a very small, ashamed voice. I'm not ashamed because they were late...I actually look forward to stragglers in my mailbox. Don't you think it's fun to get cards throughout January as well as December? I really have accepted the fact that I AM A PROCRASTINATOR! but, this year, I really wanted to have everything done and shipped out on time. Oh, well, I will get over it..."Maybe next year?!!" says the crazy delusional Fruit Loop.

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December was a little bit of a blur to me this year. It seemed like there was so much to do and no one to do it....what? I should have been the one doing it all? Oh! Now it makes sense :) Every year, I have this riduculously long list of things I want to do before Christmas...you know, to make it special for the girls and my husband and I. This year was no different...really long list - maybe even longer because Cocoa Puff is getting older and understanding more. I accepted the fact it wasn't all going to get done early in the month, but it was still hard to let go. I always want everything to be perfect, but rarely do I live up to my standards.

So, this year, I did enjoy everything we did get to do....numerous trips to see Christmas lights (that I actually posted about), hot chocolate by the fire, cookies made for my favorite girls with my favorite 3 year old, hours spent reading fun Christmas books - some new, some old, and some classics! And I actually paid attention to the girls' reactions to everything we did. Sure we missed out on some of the fun things I wanted to do (going down to the River walk to see all of the lights and Christmas decorations the city put up, go to the "North Pole" to see Santa and all of the fun activities they had for the kiddos, etc), but I appreciated what we did more than I would have if we had done it all! Maybe next year we'll do the things we didn't get to do this year. Here are a few photos from the season! We hope you had a wonderful holiday season...Happy New Year!

Lights!

One of the things I love most about this season is LIGHTS! Cap'N Crunch and I have been making it a point to look at lights every few nights with our girls....they love it and so do we. Cheerio gabs the whole time :)

Here are a few of the spectacular displays we've seen this year:


This is ONE home - just so you know!

The next three pictures are a business - can you guess what business? Okay, I'll tell you. The Electric Company...I really don't know which one specifically. My cereal bunch and I were driving home from a day trip when we saw these brillantly illuminated trees. Cap'N Crunch turned the car around. Both girls were sleeping. We were thinking about waking them up to see. I decided to take picutres instead to show them when we got home. They woke up anyway-at least for a few moments. After we were back on the boring road, they fell asleep again.


We've seen many more light displays, but these two are by far our favorites this year!

Happy Holidays :)

Bah Hum Bug!

Okay, no not really, but...

I have been having a really hard time being festive this year! "Really?" you ask. Well, yes really. And shame on me! I know. I have two amazing excited girlies...well, one is excited about Christmas and the other one is just excited about everything :)

I had originally planned the month of December to be one BIG party for us. Maybe party isn't the right word - but I had something fun and festive planned everyday. I had planned on blogging about our activity everyday. Now, it's almost the middle of December and I haven't blogged once. We also haven't done everything I set out for us to do, but my cereal bunch and I have done a few festive things. I will try to keep it short, but no promises...here goes!

On the first day of December our family got a tree (think 12 Days of Christmas in your head!). It was the first time in eleven years that Captain Crunch and I have been getting a Christmas tree that we bought the FIRST one we looked at. Maybe we should have looked a few more up and down, but it was cold (you know, for the South) and we all really did like the first tree. So, here it is.

We took the tree home, put it up, strung the lights all around, then while Captain Crunch was untangling the red beads I love so much, I decided that our tree would be fabulous and simple this year...just lights and three strands of red beads and no ornaments. GASP! No ornaments?!!? Well, no. You see Cheerio is a very curious little gal and she doesn't listen very well, so instead of constant frustration on both our parts, I decided no ornaments. Brilliant, right? Okay, maybe not brilliant, but it did save a little of my sanity.

I intended on typing more...but it might not get posted until February. So...I'm going to post this and see what happens tomorrow! I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season! Enjoy it. Kiss you kiddos :)

Thankful

Today I was saying good-bye to my students. I told them to have a great Thanksgiving and to remember to be thankful for all that we have. One girl looked at me and said, "I never think about that part at Thanksgiving." So, I challenged all of them to think about what they're most thankful for and tell someone.

That got me to thinking...What am I most thankful for? I have so much. And I take it for granted everyday...so today, when Captain Crunch got home, we talked about being thankful. We are thankful for our healthy, smart, beautiful (inside and out), funny, silly girls. We are, of course, thankful for each other and our health. We are thankful for all of the wonderful things God does for us. We are thankful for our cozy home and green backyard. We are thankful!

We recently went to story time with Corduroy. Cheerio was fascinated!

I am thankful for you....all of you that care about us and read about our silly lives! I started the blog to record our memories, but it sure is nice to know that our friends and family are reading!


What are you thankful for? Think about it and tell someone! And have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Look at this cutie! Cheerio loves to back-up to this fun Elmo chair and sit and read books from the basket next to the chair.

Cocoa Puff on a "school bus" ride at a local kid's amusement park.

And it's that time again....

Obsession - I am obsessed with the library! Did you know all the books that you can "rent" for FREE! Books about anything you could imagine! I'm tutoring a little boy...I checked out books to help me! Captain Crunch and I like to read Cocoa Puff a new story or two every night before bed...I check out more books! I'm teaching a writing and reading class...I check out books for that too! WOW! Now, don't think, 'Oh, this poor girl! She is thirty-something and didn't know about the library?!!' I did...I just never have taken advantage of it like I'm doing now. I have books scattered in every nook and cranny in our house! (Our library lets me check out FIFTY books at a time!!! Okay, so they let everyone else check out fifty also...but I like to feel special :) Hey - whatever works right?)

Confession - This is a hard confession for me..no, seriously. I. AM. NOT. KIDDING. I have gained two pounds since the last time I was on the scale...gasp! Okay, I'll tell you the truth...it's actually three. ARGH! So, I'm getting out my tennis shoes, dusting them off, and putting them on in the morning! I. AM. GOING. TO. CHANGE! Wish me luck!

Not Me Monday!

I usually can't think of anything (or maybe don't want to admit) that I haven't done to blog about for MckMama's Not Me! Monday blog carnival. But this week is different. On a trip to the zoo, which was supposed to be a trip to the park, with our friends A & D, I most certainly did not leave Cocoa Puff's shoes at home. How would it even be possible to leave a 3 year old's shoes at home especially when you're on the way to play at a park?!?!? Really!




And since I did not leave Cocoa Puff's shoes at home, I did not let her run around the zoo with a cute boy with no shoes on...who would do such a thing?



And I certainly did not think for a brief minute if I could squeeze Cocoa Puff's feet into Cheerio's shoes...I am not that crazy and silly!

Five Questions Friday Time!!!!

I did a Five Question Friday a few weeks ago. It was fun and easy, so I thought I'd do another one :) If you'd like to do one or just read Mama M's answers click here.

1. Are you a black Friday shopper?

I always want to go out and get the good deals, but I never do. I think the deal breaker for me is that no one I know goes, so I don't go because it's no fun to go alone....or at least that's how I think.

2. What was your favorite childhood toy? (think: Easy Bake Oven, Cabbage Patch Kids, Shrinky Dinks, etc)

What is a Shrinky Dink? I looked it up and I'm still not sure what they are...a braclet maybe? Whatever they are I didn't have them.

I had Cabbage Patch Kids....Cocoa Puff now plays with them. I had an Easy Bake Oven. But those weren't my favs.

My favorite thing growing up was a plain ol' tape recorder! I was a drama queen...I liked to sing into the recorder for hours. I would have conversations with my recorder. No laughing :) Well, okay, you can laugh, because I laugh about it too! I used to drive everyone nuts with that thing...what I wouldn't do to have some of the tapes from those days.

3. Favorite Christmas movie?

Family Man with Nicholas Cage. Captain Crunch and I watch it every year! We love reciting the lines from the movie to each other throughout the year at appropriate times. If you haven't seen it...rent it.

4. What is the "must have" item on your Christmas list this year?

I would like my girlies to have a wonderful Christmas complete with the memories that will last a lifetime....baking cookies, pictures with Santa, driving around the neighborhood to see everyone's lights, going to fun holiday events and being with friends and family!

In a fantasy world where money was no object, I would like a digital SLR camera with a variety of lenses, photoshop so I could edit all of the photos, a television for our blueberry room, a laptop, Flip mino video camera, a vacation to see my girls, you know, if money were no object, but it is.

5. Do you go all out with decorations or do you keep it simple and classy?

A little of both I guess....I used to like my tree to be pretty and stay with the same color scheme. But then we were blessed with kiddos. My cherished collection of snowglobes are set a little higher and can the munchkins can only have supervised visits with them. The tree is only decorated from the top to about halfway down where curious little fingers cannot reach.

I try to decorate everyroom in the house...at least a touch. Growing up my mom decorated the whole house and I always loved it. It made every room feel so special...so I try to give that to my sweeties!

SO - that's it! I had fun...hope you enjoyed finding out more about me and my dorky recorder habit from way back when. See you next time.

Fruit Loop