18 months going on 18

18 months already!?!  My baby has turned into an opinionated, funny, stubborn, fantastic little person.  I honestly cannot remember what life was like without her.  Our life may be hectic and exhausting, but it's amazingly rewarding and I love her more than I ever imagined.

She's such a happy girl and has this great belly laugh.  She loves to be tickled and will say 'more' if you stop.  She's learning to say 'please' and 'thank you' and says some of her words along with sign language, which I find just adorable.  I can't say no when she says please.  Instead of saying 'uh oh', she says 'uh ho'.  I will miss all of these things so much and wish she could stay this age a little longer.

It is difficult to get smiling pictures now because she insists on saying 'cheese' when I take them... and it looks like she's saying cheese.

The other day I pulled her hair back and this picture gave me an immediate glimpse of her ten years from now.  Doesn't she look so old?

She likes to wear her sunglasses to the park.

I know everyone thinks their kid is cute...

but mine really is.  :)
I've turned into one of those obnoxious people, who talks about my kid and shows pictures even when no one asks.  I am well aware of how annoying I am, but I can't stop.  Ah, all the things you understand once you have a baby.

Mmmm, tomatoes

We have this great garden in our backyard, and Shae has learned the joy of eating a ripe, warm, tomato that she has picked herself.  The first few she would just bite and throw away... but she kept trying them and will now happily pick and munch.  One thing she has yet to understand is seasonality.  Starting in the Spring, we had these yummy little strawberries ripen every day, and she loved picking and eating those.  She still goes out to the garden, every day, saying 'berries?'.  Soooo, I started buying strawberries at the store and putting them in the plants for her to 'pick'.  Nevermind that they are cold from the refrigerator and it's 105 outside, she thinks she's picking them and she's happy.

In the Spring helping to plant the garden.

Tomato seeds dripping everywhere.  Mmmmmm.

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.