2011 in review

January

We started 2011 with Jacie in her DOC band for her 1st full month

February

Snow/ice week= missed 5 days of work!

We ended the month with Jacie graduating from the DOC band. I look at her head all the time and am very thankful for making the choice to go through with it. Although it was a hard (harder on me of course) 9 weeks it was so worth it.

March

Spent more time outside enjoying the nicer weather including her 1st trip to the zoo.

April

Celebrated her 1st Easter. She loved the Easter Bunny and shaking all the plastic eggs.

May

Celebrated her 1st birthday

Spent her days looking more like a big girl!

June

Summer time fun!

July

Painting a picture for daddy's birthday

August

Jacie helping me get my classroom ready for the new school year!

September

Trip to New York for our family reunion.

October

Was a kitty cat for Halloween

November

Thanksgiving

December

It was a wonderful Christmas with a 18 month old running around =)

It has been a great 2011 and I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store!

19 months old

Are the months just getting shorter?? I feel like I just did the 18 month post!!!

She is slowly growing into those 18 month pants. Depending on the brand some are still way to to big/long and some fit good. My favorite are her skinny jeans!! Some of her 12 months jeans still fit.. they aren't quite high waters yet. She is wearing 18 month tops, with just a few exceptions.

She has grown out of a few pairs of her shoes this month. She still has some good fitting 4's but depending on the brand she can wear a size 5 now... She is really at that in between size right now.

New words: ball, backpack, map, more, ear, egg, book, bird, bug, star, cookie, toes, door, spoon, bowl, blue.

Said "No mama" which is the 1st time we have heard her say 2 words together. She was not telling me no. I was walking out of the room and she didn't want me to leave.

Her new signs are: clothes, sleepy, bicycle, water, star, grass, diaper, potty

She can now "oink", make an elephant noise while making her hand a trunk, and howl like a wolf

She loves to make people laugh. She will do something she knows is silly just to get a laugh.

Loves to play with buckles.

Decided she does not always like diaper changes so we have to sing the diaper dance to get her excited =)

Still giving us random hugs and kisses all the time which is the best!

Celebrated her 2nd Christmas and loves all her new toys.

Finally has a playroom!!! I thought about doing it forever and finally did it and we all love it especially after Christmas ;)

Merry Christmas

It has been such a great Christmas! I loved seeing it through the eyes of my child. The little gasps and squeals as she opened new toys was priceless. I was so excited to truly start our family traditions. Christmas Eve after we got home from my parents we quickly did our "star" present which is our new pj's and we all got onto the couch to read The Night Before Christmas. It was already way past bedtime so this year it has to be done really fast. Next year we are going to begin an advent calendar with different Christmas activities we will do daily, Elf on the Shelf (which was 1 of my gifts this year) and of course really do Santa cookies and milk.

She is a very blessed little girl who got some really awesome new toys including her 1st American girl bitty baby, stroller and high chair, little people house and bus, Dora Lil' Quad power wheels, a trampoline, an easel, Rock-n-Roll Elmo, Counting Cookie Monster, Mega blocks and a bunch of other things. She definitely will not have a shortage of fun and engaging toys this year :)

Dora love

If I haven't stated it enough on here then I let me say it again Jacie is in love with Dora the Explorer!!! I don't remember exactly when her obsession started but it was somewhere around 8 months old. She would squeal and shake around as soon as she would hear the theme song. Now that she is older she interacts with the show so much. She answers their questions, points to the screen and does what they say to do. She can say Dora, Boots and her newest word is Backpack. Her Christmas presents are going to consist of LOTS of Dora related things... including her very own backpack with map!! I already know her 2nd birthday WILL BE a Dora theme. At her photo session last weekend she even got pictures taken with Dora and Boots dolls. Well, last week one of my very talented friends made Jacie a Boots hat and we got it in the mail yesterday. He is truly adorable and she did such an awesome job for this being her 1st Boots she ever made =)

When Jacie met Mr. and Mrs. Claus

Merry Christmas!

Watching Santa Claus

So I heard about Portable North Pole last year and created some movies for my nieces but this year I decided to make one for Jacie!! I know she is still too young to fully understand what is going on but she is IN LOVE with Christmas already! She has been since October when they first started putting Christmas items into stores. She gasps and claps when she sees anything Christmas related.

The 1st time she watched it I was recording from behind so I missed all her ohhhh and ahhhs and showing Santa her sing language "please" and "thank you" ! So we had to watch it again so I could get a better recording. She wasn't as interested the 2nd time around but she stayed for a little bit.

We plan on visiting the real Santa on Thursday afternoon. Part of our daily Christmas gifts from my principals is an early release day for the teachers! I am hoping the line won't be too busy at that time.

Also we are still waiting to get her 18 month pictures taken. The weather has not been kind so we have been rescheduling for the past 3 weeks! So far we have next Saturday scheduled. Mother nature better be at her best so we can get these pictures done!

She knows the routine...

So I got smart a while back and started putting the monthly sticker on the shirt BEFORE I put it on her that way she wouldn't watch me as I stick that sticker in the middle of her shirt so this month wasn't any different...

It took her a few minutes to notice it but once she did she ran to her chair, tried to pick it up to move (like we normally do). I helped her move it in the right location and she got right into the chair and smiled real big! and TA DA! Easiest photo session ever!!!!

We have a 1 1/2 year old!!

Well it happened!! As much as I tried.... I just can't stop her from becoming a little girl!! Now she is officially closer to 2 than 1.

She weighs 21lbs 12oz and is 30.5 inches long (falling in the 10-25% percentile)

We started watching Baby Signing Time last month and she is really starting to sign SOOOOOOOOO MUCH more and learning so fast! All of her signs consist of: baby, time, drink, hat, please, thank you, I'm sorry, eat, milk, cracker, cereal, banana, dog, cat, shoes, socks, wash hands, bath, brush teeth, car, plane, boat, train, owwie (she learned this one after her shot), diaper, more (already knew),and all done (already knew). She is also starting to use 2 at a time, like "more please" "drink please"

Her new words this month are: bye bye, cheese "essssss", eyes, nose, mouth, baby, plane, bee, Boots"booooo"( as in Dora's friend monkey), me (points to self) and night night "ni ni"

Added to her list of animal sounds are donkey and chicken.

She can now change her "dance moves" up. She can wiggle, shake, and bounce

Ring around the rosy is a new favorite game although it needs to be played with lots of room around her ;)

She tries to do "head shoulders knees and toes" but she is too slow =)

She can FINALLY shake her head "yes" She is saying only "no" but at least now we can get both answers! It really looks like she shakes her whole upper body when she does it! It is pretty funny to watch.

Since she can say "no" whenever Sophie our dog gets one of Jacie's toys she chases after her and say "no no"

She can now point to her knees, back, and fingers

She can identify the shapes: circle, square, triangle, oval, star

Eats almost every meal with utensils now. She is doing great with them but depending on what we are eating she might need a little bit of help getting the food.

She has become more snugly! She will sit in our lap and let us hold her for long periods of time =)

She got 2 of her bottom molars , so the total is up to 12... I didn't realize the 2 on top she got a few months ago were also molars until i just looked up a baby teeth chart =) Teething has honestly never been an issue with her so I never know when she pops a new one.

She can blow her nose and it has really helped this month since she got a cold twice.

She celebrated her 2nd Halloween dressed as a kitty cat.

She celebrated her 2nd Thanksgiving!! Too bad she wasn't a fan of the food but did love the pumpkin pie

Thanksgiving Week overview

Let me start by saying I was soooooooo looking forward to this break! This school year has not been kind so this was MUCH needed!! I go back and then in 3 weeks I get another one!!! That makes me very happy =)

Saturday- November 19: Did some errands and cleaned house... nothing too exciting :/

Sunday- November 20: Got to celebrate baby Elizabeths 1st birthday!!

Monday- November 21: Spent the morning at Chuck E. Cheese with my friend and her 2 year old twins! Then we went on a hair accessory and leggings hunt for pictures this weekend. I was 1/2 successful. Oh and momma's 1st day home with her totally messed up her perfect schedule so it made afternoon a little "grumpy" with a 4pm nap!! UGH

Tuesday- November 22: Back on normal schedule ;) Spent the morning at a few stores. We went to Ladybugs to continue our search for some hair things and found 2 super cute headbands!!! SCORE! Then we went to the grocery store so mama could get ingredients for her Thanksgiving creation. Then after nap time we went to Old Navy to use my cash bucks, and to DSW to find momma some boots!!! For dinner I went out with some co-workers/ good friends to celebrate a birthday :)

Wednesday- November 23: Jacie had her 18 month appointment in the morning. She is doing great and everything was good. She only had to get 1 shot but yet Jacie HATES being made to lay down or sit down on any surface in the doctor office so the tears start coming as soon as I put her down to undress her to get her weight checked. In the afternoon my mom came over to play and we checked out the new Marketplace Kroger in my neighborhood and I got some Moon Pop (a very tasty bread/cracker blend they prepare in store and bag up) Jacie loves that stuff!! I love it because it is not messy at all =)

Thursday- November 24: Full day of Thanksgiving festivities with both families... Good thing we could fit a nap in between them ;)

Friday- FAMILY DAY! We decorated for Christmas, watched Mickey Christmas Carol and I ordered some customized stockings for us on Etsy!! Our little Christmas tree looks pretty empty this year but it only has non-breakable ornaments. Glass ornaments around a toddler is probably asking for trouble so we aren't going to even deal with it! She is already wanting to touch everything we already have out.

So sad this week is over!!! I love spending every second possible with my girl!

On Sunday we have Jacie's Christmas and 18 month pictures with KT Photography =) I can't wait!!!!

Thanksgiving

So many things to be thankful for including this little one...

Pumpkin Patch

And for a comparison picture!! Here is Jacie at 4 months old and her at 17 months old standing in front of the same sign

...she wanted nothing to do with this sign so this is the best we got

17 months old

She learned lots of new things this month!!

choo choo (train)

buzz (uzzz) for bee

ssssss (snake)

quack quack (ack ack) for duck

hoo hoo for owl

when asked what a fish says she squeezes her cheeks together and makes the smacking noise

neigh (neeeeee) horse

no (nooooooooooooo)

Dora

eww ( whenever she finds trash on the ground)

ah choo (pretend sneezes) or after she really sneezes she will "ah choo"

burr (rrrrr) when she touches something cold

moon (mooo) and points to the sky

Body parts she can/has named: eye, ear and mouth. Although she can point to eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, ears, chin, hair, tummy, belly button, feet, and toes.

So in all she knows around 15 animals sounds, uses about 15-20 words consistently and knows a handful of sounds for other objects (vmmm =car, choo choo=train, etc)

Loves the wheels on the bus- knows the motions for the wheels, swippers, doors, windows, seat belts, babies, and mamas.

Interacts while watching Dora so much. When Dora/ Boots or Backpack ask a questions she responds "no", even if she is wrong it is still very cute to listen to. She claps and stomps if Dora tells her too, she reaches up to catch stars when told to and she puts her hand out when Swiper comes out like they do when they say "Swiper no swipping", if they sing a song she knows she will do the motions and she LOVES to dance when they dance!

Her dancing now consists of head banging and twirling! She get dizzy right away and usually loses her balance but she thinks its hilarious

She is a little daredevil. She loves to play rough and fall off things on purpose. I don't know where she got it from.

Will line up her bath animals on the rim of the tub then knock them all off.

Can climb up her slide and started going down on her belly

After this month we officially have to say we have a 1 1/2 year old!!! UGHHHHH Why is time going by so fast!!

Dinner time talk

This is what we did at dinner time tonight! We sang the Itsy Bitsy Spider and said some of the animal sounds she knows =)

shhhhhhh

Jacie has been doing "shhhh" for a while now but lately she has been doing it a lot! It's super adorable when she does it because she has been saying "shhhhh" whenever she sees anything asleep or anything that pretends to be asleep. Today as we were out and about she did it to baby jesus on a Christmas ornament and then we went down the diaper aisle at Target and she went "shhh" overload at all the sleeping babies on the boxes. Just thought I would share the cuteness =)

Same chair/Same baby legs... 1 year later!

Hello October

My favorite time of year has finally arrived!!!

Jacie can wear her Halloween Dora shirt =)

Dada love

Mama love

16 months old

Well Jacie has only 2 more months until she is officially a 1 1/2 year old!!! I love watching her become such a little girl.

She is...

21lbs 3oz

Still holding strong on those spring/summer outfits in sizes 6-9 to 12 months. Once Fall FINALLY comes though (high 90's tomorrow!!!) she will be retiring those outfits!!! Then she should only be in 12-18 month clothes but only 12 month pants which are now just at the perfect length.. some are still even too long!

Wearing 4 or 4.5 shoes with room to grow (she does have a few very cute size 5 shoes waiting including a pair of Dora shoes waiting ;)

up to 10 teeth now. It is very dangerous to put your finger in her mouth nowadays but I decided I wanted to check it out and sure enough found that 2 had popped through on top.

Verbal Skills

meow

baa

moo

panting or does hmm hmm hmm for the bark (dog)

roar (for lion, tigers and bears)

growls

ooh ooh (monkey)

tick tock ("ic ok")- clock

mama (for her mommy)

ma ma (she calls her babies mama too (but in a higher tone) because they cry for their mama

dada

mamaw

dog ( she only says it for dogs in books... sometimes)

up

down

uh oh

yay ("ey" while clapping when we finish singing a song)

shhh ( whenever she sees something sleeping, or her babies are sleeping)

yum ( says it while rubbing her tummy)

no (and shakes her head)

done (and signs all done)

mine (when you take something away from her)

hello ( "eh oh"- when she holds a phone up to her ear)

ouch (when she pinches toes)

Has learned...

where her belly button is

if you say something is stinky, she will grab her nose and hold it. She loves the stinky feet game

she can stomp her feet- loves to do it during "when you're happy and you know" or Dora songs

also has started to stomp her feet during a tantrum

to put her babies to bed- She lays them in their crib, gives them a bottle, and rocks them to sleep and says "shhhhh" and then lays down next to them.

cover her mouth when coughing... or pretend coughing

scrunches her nose for what bunnies do

Experiences

First ear infection (3 days before we got on a plane)

First plane ride to New York. Actually 4 plane rides to be exact and she was awesome through all of them.

First hotel stay which she also did amazing with sleeping for naps and night time in the hotel crib.

What mama has learned...

Taking a "good" picture of a 15 month old is nearly impossible!

2 pieces pajamas are much easier to put on a toddler

Little girl shoes are addicting!

** picture post to follow

The beginning of a toddler room

Well this weekend I got busssssssssy! I know what I have wanted to do for months now but said I could wait until Christmas break to do it but I have begun. I am nowhere near done but so far I love how it is looking and how everything is beginning to have a place.

Since school has started back all 3 of us get about an hour to night to be together before her bedtime, and for the past few weeks that hour has been spent in her bedroom playing. So I wanted to move more things in for playtime, and plus de-clutter the living room a bit.

So here are some updated pictures of her nursery transformation (tear)

I am standing at the door looking in. I moved the dresser into the closet and now the ball pit/diaper storage green bin is there now.

Her "pretend play" area.

Her library

Toys inside the canvas bins and her bigger toys on top and beside the crib

Next room update will be when the glidder goes away. I am thinking a art area =)

*** Next house will have a playroom ;)

Can you say cute?!?!

I love this picture of her for many reasons!

1- she is just too dang cute =)

2- it is showing her funny personality! Seriously, this girl cracks me up all the time. She is hilarious!

3- This is the 1st picture in 15 months that Ben has ever said she looks like me in!!!! =) yes yes... everyone says she looks like her daddy but I am okay with that!!

4- This is a Fall outfit that I sooooo badly wanted to put on her! I can't wait for pants and long sleeve shirts.

5- She is looking so much like a little girl and not a baby... I love watching her grow up into such a wonderful little person!! Although I do miss my little baby every now and then ;)

15 months old

I never knew how much fun a 15 month old could be!!! I love every second we are together. She is so full of life and does something cute about every minute. I am consistency going "did you see her just do that" "ahh that was so cute" "she did _____ today and it was adorable" It is so crazy to continue to see her learn daily. She is just growing into a great little girl that is loved by many!!

• 20.8 lbs (10-25%)
• 29 inches (10-25%)- We have a petite little girl =)
• 45cm head circumference (25%)
• walking MUCH faster!
• Can walk backwards
• Can walk in circles
• She loves to be chased around. She will squeal so loud when we run after her.
• Can follow multi- steps.
• Is able to use a spoon and fork correct now and loves to use them when she can.
• Enjoys dipping food into ketchup, didn't like ranch or bbq
• Is a good sharer! Loves to share her sippy cups with her babies, stuffed animals, our real animals and her mama and dada and whenever she shares she always makes the smacking sound.
• Say "vmmmmmm" when she is playing with her car or train.
• Hugs on our legs when we are standing and always does the "mmmmmmmm" sound and squeezes.
• If we put our arms out and get down to her level and say "give me a hug" she will walk really fast and open up her arms and give us a great big hug!!
• Still loves balls and babies best of all out of all her toys.
• She loves to "cook" with a bowl and spoon and feed herself and everyone/everything around her and say "yumyumyumyum"
• Holds all her toy phones up to her ears
• Will walk backwards and sit in our lap when we are on the floor with her.
• Will put things back where she got them
• Is still really good at giving us objects that she finds that she is not suppose to have even if we don't see her get it she brings it to us anyways.
• Her bangs have grown so much this summer they cover her eyes, but we are not cutting it yet so she wears it up most days or we try to keep it to the sides. Clips do not work because she will rip them out.
• She now claps her hands as soon as she hears "When you're happy and you know it"
• Wants all doors closed all the time. Whenever she sees one open she has to go close it
• Is pretty much into anything and everything she can find
• Worked on her puzzles for the 1st time this month and actually got the concept. She will take them out and put them back and even sometimes get the pieces in the right spot on her own.
• If she is looking for something or we ask her to find something that she can't find she does the "I don't know" hands/arm.
• She put her finger to her lip and goes "hhhhhhhhh" for "shhhhhh"
• Has always loved books but this month has REALLY loved books. She is always bringing them to us and wants us to read to her and she is even "reading" with us if she sees something she knows.
• Got tooth #8
• Has adjusted very well to mommy going to back to work!

1 year ago picture difference =)

Waking up & Going to bed

In the morning she wakes up happy and playing (like usual). I go in to get her. She hands me her baby doll which I give a good morning kiss to, she then stands up and gives me a good morning kiss too!! I take her out and put her on the ground. She knows to walk over to her changing mat, she climbs up on it. I pull her down to the end and she lays down. She gets her diaper changed then its time to breakfast!

At night all we have to say is "it's night night time" She then walks into her bedroom and over to her rocker. I pick her up and rock her while she drinks her sippy cup of milk. We read some stories. She then will sign "all done" We get up, get night night kisses. I hand her her baby doll and lay her down. She then rolls over and falls asleep snuggling her baby =)

Picture post