15 Months Old!

Our sweet baby is 15 months old. I can't believe how fast time flies. I suppose we must have been having fun. She had her check-up and didn't cry at all. She even obliged with the ahhh to have her mouth checked out. She was thrilled with herself. Too funny. Her stats are as follows:

Weight: 21 lbs 13 oz - 20th percentile

Height: 31.5 inches - 76th percentile (I think she is actually half an inch shorter than that)

Head: 18.75 inches - 90th percentile - still a big headed kiddo

She is starting to head into the age of tantrums. She will throw herself on the ground, in very dramatic fashion, and scream if she is told no to something she wants. It is hilarious. I have to turn my back so she won't see me laughing (we definitely don't want to encourage this behavior!). She is a good communicator. She will bring us the remote if she wants to watch tv. She will bring us whatever food she wants to eat from the pantry. She loves having her hair brushed. She even had her first haircut today (Mommy trimmed up the back). She is getting really fast. She is close to running. She loves applause. All in all she is developing well and we are really enjoying watching her grow.

Fun trips for Mommy!

I have been one busy mommy. Not that life is ever very quiet, but lately I have been partying with friends. It has been great.
I went to Austin with my old roommies - Lindsay, Kristin and Gretchen. We had a great time. We shopped, we ate, we drank, and we watched UFC cage fighting. We had a great time.
I got to take a cooking class the following week - Indian grilling. I am still finding all the necessary spices, but look out. Lamb kabobs are on the horizon!

I went to Santa Fe this past weekend with my sweet friend Lynn. We were there from Thursday night until Sunday around lunch. We loved it. The architecture is unique. The weather was mild. The natural setting is beautiful. The art was imaginative. And then there is the food. Oh, the food. Needless to say, it was amazing. We ate things like duck quesadillas, marinated pork, homemade guacamole and mango margaritas. Yum.

Loretto Chapel

St. Francis Cathedral

Courtyard at the fine art museum

Outside the fine art museum

A Day at the Beach

This morning we took a risk. We decided to head south to Galveston. While a fun trip to the beach does not sound risky, it is in fact fraught with pitfalls. First, Savannah hated the beach the last time we took her. We have been so wary, it has been two years since we last attempted to enjoy the beach. Second, in order to go early, before all the holiday weekend people arrived, Annabeth had to skip her morning nap. That child is in love with the morning nap. She is sometimes dropping her afternoon nap, but not her morning slumber. I had hoped she would sleep in. Not only was Annabeth up at 6:45, she was cranky. I don't mean a little whiny. I mean it was an oh-my-gosh-what-possessed-my-sweet-toddler kind of morning. The trip looked as if it would be doomed before we even left the house.

We finally got on the road and we prayed Annabeth would nap in the van. No. Not only did she not nap, she fussed off and on the whole way to Galveston. At this point, I am thinking the trip will be a success if we stay long enough to say "Hello, we've got to go" to the Miles family. And they were only 10 minutes behind us. We unload everything and walk toward the almost vacant East Beach. At least it wasn't crowded yet - that gave me a glimmer of hope. We got the girls ready for the water and a miracle happened. Annabeth looked toward the gently rolling waves, grinned happily and met her first love, the beach. She loves the sand. She loves the waves. She loves walking up and down the shoreline. She even decided to love watermelon - which she has totally disdained in the past.

Savannah had been to the beach before, with very different results. She had disliked the sand. She disliked the waves. I don't know if she would have enjoyed walking along the shoreline since she refused to get out of the tiny toy wagon we had brought along. Thankfully, this time she loved it. We all had a fantastic time. Not only was it a success, we want to go again. Soon. I love being pleasantly surprised. What a great day.

Power

Savannah, my sweet little three year old button pusher, has been boycotting naps. She is exhausted - she can hardly stay awake in the car. She throws tantrums over using the potty that she successfully mastered months ago. The power struggle is such that rather than sit on the potty she would rather wet her pants. I think my plan of taking her toys and using time out has failed. She just does not care. She wants to be in control. So, my new plan is to send her to her room (and away from us) when she is in one of these power struggle moods. That way she gets no attention for the poor behavior and I can relax enough to allow her to live another day. Because let me tell you, she almost didn't survive the outing to chick-fil-a today. It was one of those times where I was tempted to walk away from her and ask someone, "Whose kid is that, she sure is poorly behaved?". Right now Savannah is having "quiet time" since there is no napping to be had today. Should I be worried that I am hearing loud thuds and running water? Oh well, I guess I need to go release her from her preschool heaven, I mean her room.

Annabeth on the other hand is so sweet and fun right now I just want to hang out with her all day. She is happy. She sleeps well. She eats well. This may be why Savannah is being difficult. Annabeth is cutting into her attention. So today, Annabeth thank you for being my sweet, sweet baby.