themcalisters.net

Two two-word phrases!

Taylor has two 2-word phrases now and her daddy's not happy. Well, let me tell you what they are. One is, "Bye Daddy!" and she waves. The other is, "Daddy, stop!"

He doesn't like "bye daddy" because that means she's used to him leaving. He's not really upset about the "daddy, stop!" - it just sounds bad. The first time I remember hearing it was this past weekend. She wanted her cup. He wasn't giving it to her until she said, "cup" - he was sounding out the word for her, she was copying him for a bit but never really put the sounds together. She got tired of that game, was getting upset and then said, "Daddy, stop!" He gave her the cup.

The next time she said it, they were playing in the living room. You know the original peek-a-book type game.. put the blanket over your head, baby pulls it off and you yelll, "Boo!" or something like that. He would put the blanket over his head then quickly pull his shirt up over his head underneath. When Taylor pulled the blanket off, daddy still had no head! After 2-3 times of this, she said, "Daddy, stop!"

Getting to know our neighbors

This past weekend was exciting for us. We had a storm pop up Saturday that put on a spectacular lightning show (some of them were much closer than I cared for). Sunday afternoon was a repeat plus a little. Brian, being a storm freak, went outside in the breezeway to watch it. He and a neighbor started talking and watched as branches flew, siding was ripped off buildings, and a light cover from a 2nd floor light flew by. Somewhere in there, we lost power.

After the storm died down, he and our neighbor sat outside watching things calm down. Taylor finished lunch and we let her go outside. Remember - this was on a 3rd floor breezeway: She thoroughly enjoyed jumping in and running thru the puddles. I'm kicking myself for not taking pictures. Her jeans were soaked to her knees.

A little bit later, another neighbor came out and joined us. We all realized it was about dinner time and, without power, dinner wasn't looking too good. I'm not sure who suggested it but we all decided to go eat dinner together! On our way down, we ran into a 1st floor neighbor and said, "Come on!" And they did. 13 of us descended on a Mexican restaurant down the road. I told the hostess we were expecting another family. When she asked me their name I realized I didn't know their names and wasn't sure they knew ours! I described them and they found us and, well, we now know names. :)

So, scary scary storm gets neighbors together. I'd say, overall, it was a very good weekend!

Update & some meanderings

Update on early intervention - she's officially out of the program! Last week was 1 year that she'd been in it and so we had our 1 year evaluation. On speech she was right on track, the other therapist who was testing all the other areas said there were "no significant delays." Taylor surprised me and was able to stack 4 little bitty blocks.. all her blocks are huge and I knew she could stack those but I wasn't sure about these little bitty ones. All I kept praying was that, of course, she'd be able to do it and, "Please don't put them in your mouth.. please don't put them in your mouth!" She didn't (Thank you!). One part of the test I didn't really agree with.. there were four objects: a dog, shoe, car, and bottle.. all little toys. The therapist told her to show her the dog. Okay, it's been about 2 months since she's even SEEN a dog and all four of these toys were unfamiliar to her except that she'd been playing with the bottle earlier. So, of course, she went for the bottle. They asked me if I thought she'd be able to do it and I said that if it were four familiar things (i.e. her own things), yes. I'm not really worried about that but it bugged me a little.. obviously. :)

Other updates: We've lowered her high chair so she can climb into it herself and she does a mighty fine job! Although, we're planning on moving her to a booster seat at the table soon. We've also rearranged her room so that when she climbs out of the crib, she won't hit her head on the guest bed. She's tried climbing into the tub (fully clothed.. that was fun!) so I know it's coming soon. In preparation, we've bought a bedrail and stool so she can get into the big bed herself. She is now climbing into both our recliners, the couch and the loveseat with almost no problem. We have to watch her especially at the recliners. She likes to climb from the chair onto the coffee table. Granted, she's just putting coasters away but still.. it's not the best place for a baby, ya know? :)

And some short meanderings.. it's just so much fun to read to her at night. The ritual is bath, story (stories) then bed. I've finally gotten to where I can tell when she's had enough of the story and is basically telling me, "Just put me in the crib so I can go to sleep already!" Thankfully, she'll let me reposition her so she's lying in my arms and I can at least watch her fight sleep. She rarely falls asleep in our arms anymore (mixed feelings on that one). Anyway, it's been fun because she'll lay there and look in my eyes and I'm looking in hers and she grins and starts giggling. I rub noses.. she giggles more. (I didn't say this was condusive to sleep.. just said it was fun!). I can't really describe the emotions there but I'm sure all you parents out there know what I'm talking about. :) I reluctantly go lay her down, she rolls over and is usually asleep shortly after I close her door. It's sweet and reminds me of how much of a miracle she is.

Implements of destruction

When it comes to Taylor and her oatmeal, the spoon is definitely her weapon. Victims? The tray, her face, her clothes, her hair, the floor -- anything within reach. Here she is this morning, actually getting the spoon (occasionally with oatmeal on it) in her mouth.

Old-school pajamas & a jam session

Couple pictures from the weekend of the 4th in Huntsville - Taylor and her cousins playing a new avant-garde piece, and Taylor wearing a T-shirt from Daddy's past. It's still a little big on her, but it made a great nightshirt.

Funnies from the weekend

And it all happened yesterday (Sunday). Our church has a tradition.. at the procession out, all the kids join Maggie, bow and leave with her. Taylor has done this once but an older kid was nice enough to take her hand on the way up and out. No older kid nearby this time... I let her go. I thanked God when she stopped with the other kids up front, they bowed, turned and started walking out. Taylor, however, decided to run to the altar. I got to her before she could get past the communion rail. A very nice choir member said she'd get one of her kids to watch for Taylor next time. :)

Later that day, Brian took her to the pool. When they were getting ready to leave, she walked over to a group of people lounging by the pool, grabbed a cell phone that looked like mine and started to run off. Daddy grabbed her quickly - she didn't even get a chance to hold it to her ear and say, "Hey!" Thankfully, the phone's owner and friends thought it was hilarious.

Taylor's 1st fireworks and more!

Taylor saw her first fireworks this past weekend. We were parked where we had a wonderful view of some after game fireworks in Huntsville this past weekend. We kept the poor baby up WAY past her bedtime - she couldn't hold her head up even! She had her head on my shoulder (daddy's shoulder, grandpa's shoulder.. we swapped) and would muster the strength to point at the sky and say, "ooooo."

Another biggy that night needs a little background story first. When Brian picks her up in the afternoon, he has been letting her climb into the car. She'll climb in and sit in the seat next to her carseat. After dinner Saturday evening, she decided to climb into the front seat of the car. After sitting there for a bit, she climbed between the seats and into her carseat in the backseat. Then she looked at us as if to say, "Okay, let's go."

She had a fun weekend with family in Huntsville. She is also learning that if she offers something to someone, she needs to be able to handle them accepting it. (What??) She offered her sippy cup to her almost 2 yo cousin, Ariel. Well, Ariel accepted it and took a couple sips. Taylor cried. Okay, so we're still working on the concept of sharing...

One particularly sweet moment: Taylor was sitting on the step going down into the den. Cousin Amy was sitting on the floor in front of her. Ariel walked up and Amy & Ariel hugged. Taylor then leaned down and gave Ariel a kiss. It was so sweet!! And then the episode with the offered sippy cup happened. Oh well!

I think Brian has pictures to post later. That's all I have for now.

Then & Now

Just for fun, a few Then & Now comparisons

Taylor's highchair, today and at 4 months:

Changing table, today and at 4 months:

Her towels, today and at 3 months:

Mimi & Papa visit

"Hello? Anyone home?" Taylor practices talking on the phone. Everything's a telephone to her, including her new thermometer.

Taylor loves her Mimi and Papa very much.

Too much fun! Taylor takes after Daddy with a little Sunday afternoon downtime on the couch.