Picture Post

Delaney has been nurturing her shoe fetish by modeling some of my more fun options around the house!  She loves these teal, sparkle numbers from my "O" Street, college days!

We started swimming again a couple weeks ago!  Delaney had a little 4 week period when she wasn't into the swimming thing so much, but thankfully that has subsided and she's had a lot of fun that last couple weeks.  She is really, really close to back floating all by herself...like "Look, Mom, no hands--by herself!"

 

 

We celebrated Delaney's boyfriend, Reed's 2nd Birthday Party!  It's so hard to believe that these little babies are all of a sudden TWO!  Oh, my!

We also celebrated our niece, Sydney's, 9th birthday!  We still can't get over the fact that she's 9...when did that happen!  Delaney also got some quality time in with her family that day!

 

Do you know what this pile of stuff means?  We are going to attempt potty-training starting Saturday morning?!?  Delaney is showing some of the "Signs of Readiness", and our daycare is closed next week so I thought I'd give it a whirl!  We will see what happens, wish us luck...and PATIENCE!

Delaney-isms

I realize that in all the holiday craziness and illnesses, I haven't told you much about Delaney lately.  It seems as thought our tiny, little baby is long gone.  Delaney is a full-blown toddler now with a mind of her own and enough personality to keep us on our toes.  As we are inching closer to her birthday, I fear the "Terrible Twos" are here to stay.  Her language development has been amazing lately.  Some of the things this girl says is absolutely hilarious! 

We do contact "checks" of where everyone is and what they are doing. Such as:
Delaney "Mommy?"
me "Yes, D?"
Delaney "Izzy?"
me "Izzy is taking a nap."
Delaney "Izzy nap."
Delaney "Mommy?"
me "Yes, D?"
Delaney "Daddy?"
me "Daddy went buh-bye.  Daddy's at work."
Delaney "Daddy buh-bye."
me "Yep."
Rinse, Repeat 600 times consecutively before 8:30 a.m. EVERY.SINGLE.MORNING.
Once in a while, she branch out to get reports on the whereabouts of her papas, grandmas, chase, etc.  It's a fun game we play ALOT!

Her latest trick has been to take her little potty step stool, that's supposed to help her get on and off the big-girl potty, all over the house.  She has discovered this amazing tool can give her access to the whole new world of kitchen counters and bathroom drawers.  Delaney has always been exceptionally tall for her age, but add another 6 inches with the stool and there's really nothing off limits for that kid.  Case in point, yesterday morning I was in the bathroom getting ready for work, while Delaney was running around.  I had forgotten she had taken her stool out to the kitchen while I was getting her milk & Cheerios for her.  Next thing I know, I hear the contents of a treat bag from Reed's birthday party being dumped all over my coffee table.  She had used her little stool to get up and reach the bag off the counter.  I peak out the door to see pretty little D, shoveling fistfuls of candy and treats into her smiling face.  Candy for breakfast=mom of the year, right here!

Mealtime has also become a chore lately.   She used to be such a good eater, but now not so much.  She eat what she wants, when she wants, and that's it.  One day she'll love something, and the next she won't even touch it.  She has started this  new thing where she thinks she needs assistance with her silverware.  She will ask for help, and when we tell her she's a big girl and can do it by herself...she throws the spoon or fork on the ground and laughs.  She also gets rather amused with throwing food on the ground (which of course makes her Izzy's best friend.)  I try to feed her good, healthy, well-rounded meals, but these days it's like pulling teeth.  I really hope this is just a stage.

The potty training introduction phase is still going well.  She consistently goes in the potty before bath each and every night, and multiple times a day when we are home on the weekends.  We have still never had any success with #2, but we haven't pushed it yet.  Other than before bath every night, we haven't pushed the potty on her.  She is very interested in the potty and when everyone else is using it, so I think we are on the right track.  I'm seriously considering full-on potty training her in a couple weeks when daycare is closed for a week.  I don't know if she's quite ready yet, but I think she's pretty close. 

My little diva is also starting to have a little more preference in what she is wearing.  Some days she doesn't say a word, and others she'll throw a fit until she I put on one of her "kitty" shirts.  She also almost always selects her own shoes for the day.  I can see the shoe fetish I created isn't going away any time soon...sorry Craig!  She also demands to wear her stocking hat every day when I put on her coat.  Even if it's 60 degrees outside, she'll say "hat, too, Mommy?" and take a lot of convincing that she doesn't need it.  I can only imagine this clothes struggle is only going to get worse.

Well, that's the latest and greatest on Miss D for now.  I know it's totally random, but I wanted to have this down so that six months from now when the real "Terrible Twos" are in full-swing I can look back to a calmer time in our house.  Ha!

So much for getting healthy...

Delaney came down with a nasty cold last week, and I spent Thursday & Friday home with a sick little girl.  She had a runny nose and stuff like that since before Christmas.  But when she woke up with a fever Thursday morning, I thought for sure she had an ear infection or strep or something like that, but alas it was "just a combination of viruses".  Awesome!  My little girl had a low fever from Thursday until Saturday, snot everywhere, a smoker's cough, and was extremely clingy.  Since it was a virus there wasn't much I could do for her...fluids, ibuprofen/Tylenol, humidifier, etc.  Obviously, I enjoyed all the extra cuddles and snuggles, but of course those have now come back to bite me in the butt! 

I'm sick.  Craig's sick.  We are a big, snotty, miserable family.  No fevers since Saturday, so we have all gone back to our normal day-to-day happenings.  All I want to do is go home to my sweat pants and DVR.  I haven't made it back to the gym since Thursday thanks to this lovely sickness.  I toyed with the idea of going tonight, but the way my head is pounding right now and the fact that I can't breath all that well, I'd say that's highly unlikely at this point. Here's to hoping this doesn't stick around too long! 

Happy New Year!

Ok, so I'm a few days late!  Oops!  We were pretty lame over the New Year's weekend, but I honestly loved every minute!  We have been going non stop, on the road, away from home for the last six weekends.  We needed some time to stay put and relax.  The long weekend was long overdue and so needed!  We stayed home just the 3 (plus Izzy) of us for a majority of the entire weekend.  We played lots, watched a lot of football, grocery shopped, ate yummy food, read lots of books, and had lots of quality family time!  It was awesome!  These type of days/weekends are few and far between, so I try to really soak them up when they happen!  It was so low-key, I didn't even take any pictures...

So, with the new year of course that means resolution time.  Mine isn't terribly original, but for sake of accountability here it is.  I hope to get healthy in 2012.  Mentally, physically, and financially.  All of these areas could definitely use some TLC, so in 2012 I'm making the effort to do something about it. 

The physical aspect is already in progress.  We finally joined the YMCA over the weekend (Monday to be exact), and Craig and I have already made one successful trip each for a workout.  I haven't done anything active short of housework and chasing a crazy toddler around since September when I landed myself in that glorious walking boot.  Craig hasn't done anything (aside from yardwork and occasional labor intensive days at work) since Delaney was born.  To say that we were both a little overdue for some exercise is an understatement. 

I think the additional of regular work outs in my life will help with my mental health.  I know that my mind was in a really good place last summer when I was running, and I hope to get back there soon.  I was a better mother, wife, sister, daughter and friend.  Between the stress of the holidays and the wonderful economy, it's been a little rough lately.  Not to mention that I think I suffer slightly from the "winter blues", it's a tough time of year.  The weather has been amazing lately so that should be helping, but I still feel that gloomy feeling a lot.  I'm optimistic that will change very soon! 

I don't need to get into the nitty-gritty of our finances, but I'm make a conscience effort more than ever to cut back and lower our expenses this year!  This will also help lower my stress level and improve my mental health!  Wish me luck and wisdom!

Here's to a brighter & healthier 2012!  Happy New Year!