Crafty Mama

So I bought this little stool for Shae and, when it arrived, it just seemed really boring.  I thought it needed some personalized touches.  Now Shae has a one-of-a-kind stool, and I feel pretty proud of myself.

 When Christine and I were little, our Grandpa made us this adorable doll crib.  I found it packaged up in my garage a few weeks ago and decided to refinish it for Shae.  I wish I had taken a 'before' picture so you could  see the transformation, but either way, it came out great.  Shae's becoming very maternal by feeding her dolly some milk, powdering her bottom, and now loves to put her 'night-night' before she goes to bed.

No! Mine!

Shae has learned to say 'No' and 'Mine' and uses them liberally.  She tells kids at the park the slide is hers and even bosses the dog and cats around.  Picture her saying "No Duke!", to a 110 lb. dog, while pointing her finger at him (and he actually listens sometimes).  And yes, he's 110 lbs... but it's glandular, I swear.  He's on thyriod medication and a diet, so we hope to get him back down to 80-something.  It's also tough with the smorgasbord of food he gets when he lays under Shae's highchair at mealtimes.  He's almost completely blind now, so she's learning how to tell him where things are by patting them so he can hear it.

She says 'beep beep' when she wants something out of her way, and has also started hitting.  Not many things can humble you quite as quickly as being smacked in the face by a one year old.  When she's strapped in her car seat and mad, she'll hit her own leg since there's no one else she can reach. 

She is still a Mommy's girl, and I love to watch her grow and learn.  It seems every day she knows another word or how to do something she didn't before. It really is amazing, and I constantly hope that I'm doing things 'right'.  I have no idea what 'right' is but, for the most part, it feels very natural.  I've never felt better suited to anything.

She makes very dramatic and expressive faces, maybe she'll be an actress.  She likes to dress-up and look at herself in the mirror.

check out those long legs!

Shae is now blogging

Shae loves the computer, and looking at herself.  I was trying to update the blog, but she wanted to check it out...I just had to share.

Cutest Easter Bunny ever...

 Last year, Shae was too young to do anything for Easter, and I was exhausted anyway.  This year, we colored eggs, made a bunny cake, had an egg hunt in the backyard, and the Easter Bunny delivered a basket of goodies.  We had such beautiful weather, and I think I had more fun than she did.  One thing I forgot was mimosas. That would have made it perfect... mental note for next year.

Making our tye-dyed eggs.  Note:  Not a good idea to wear a white shirt while doing this.

She doesn't look so impressed with how they turned out

Surveying the many eggs.  She quickly decided the hard boiled eggs weren't worth the effort, since they didn't have any goodies hidden inside.  

Taking a break to play in the water.

Under construction

Ok, so I forgot to get the rope licorice for the whiskers and paws,
but Shae didn't notice and it still turned out kinda cute.
She ate an entire paw the first day.

Spring Fever

Spring is here!  We're loving the nice weather and Shae wants to get out of the house every chance she gets.  She has learned the joy of slides and swings at the park, and loves going for walks, especially when we take Duke with us.  We're trying to enjoy it before it gets too hot and we're stuck inside for the summer.

Yes, she's in her PJs at the park.  Don't judge me.

Cleaning is overrated

When I was pregnant, I received a great piece of advice.  My friend Kristin's mother-in-law, Saundra, told me "Don't worry about cleaning, just enjoy the baby".  She explained when her kids were small, she was always worried about keeping the house clean and constantly picked up after them.  One thing that drove her crazy was the fingerprints on the glass door.  She wished she could get that time back to just sit down and spend it with them.  I took that to heart and I really try to spend as much of my free time as I can enjoying Shae.

Whether we are playing, eating, or reading, I try not to worry about the mess until she's asleep.  I don't always succeed, but when I see my glass door looking like this, I smile and think I might just have my priorities right.

14 months and counting...

I am loving everything about motherhood, except the lack of time.  I have so much admiration for those moms with more than one child.  How do you find time to play with, feed, bathe, and love more than one?  I hope to find out...but am totally stressing about it.

Shae is so much fun now, learning lots of words, especially body parts, and will poke you in the eye to tell you those are eyes.  She hates having her diaper on and will take it off if you give her a chance.  Hopefully this means she'll potty train easily (let me dream please).  She loves to wave and blows kisses.  As soon as I get to daycare to pick her up, she starts blowing kisses as in 'I'm leaving!'.  So cute.

She is already an emotional girl who goes from happy, to sad, to angry, back to happy in about a minutes time.  Some days she loves her Daddy, other days she will hit him if he tries to kiss her (he puts his hand up and says they are playing the 'high five game').

She is getting into everything and her favorite place is the pantry.  She will empty cereal boxes (they apparently make great toys), and anything else she can get her hands on.  As you can see, she was not happy I was telling her the box of ziploc bags was not a toy.  I've now cleared out the bottom shelf and made it things she can play with.. but she's now getting tall enough to reach the next.  It's like a high water mark and everything needs to be above it.

Grandma and Grandpa S. visited in February, Shae loved having them here, I think she likes an audience: