18 months

Gwenivere,
Happy Half Birthday!

This year is flying by so quickly, and you are changing so much. I can't believe that in just 6 short months, you are going to be 2 years old!!

Everyday you are becoming less and less of a baby, and more and more of a little girl. You are funny, silly, smart, stubborn, loving... a veritable whirlwind of emotions and constant movement. When you don't want to do something, heaven help us!! But when you are feeling snuggly, there is nothing better then your huge grin as you shower us with hugs and kisses.

You are still my string bean... 19 lb 4 oz (<5%), and 32 in (60%)!! Long and lean. Its probably because you never stop moving! Climbing on chairs, opening cabinets, running after the dog; you are always going.

In the younger toddler room at school, you are the only girl right now. But you love it! You love all the attention the boys give you, and have no problem getting your way! There is no pushing you around. You are my tomboy, in a beautiful dress.  :-)

This past month has been a stressful one for us. We went on vacation, thinking we'd be home in a week, and instead, we ended up out of our house for a month now!! It was hard for you at first, I know you were confused about what was going on, but you adjusted and made it work. I hope that you can always do that, take what life throws at you and just work it out.

On the plus side, you now absolutely adore Willy, your Pappy, and love running over to him and throwing your hands in the air so he'll scoop you up! You guys have a great time together, going for little walks, or just sitting together. 

You are adding a ton of new words everyday: shoe, please, thank you, love you, water, up, Pappy, excuse me, duck, boo-boo, Emily (your daycare teacher), Riley (a classmate). And those are just a few. You repeat so much of what we say now... we really have to be careful!! You love to brush your teeth (12 of them now!), flush the toilet, bring everyone their shoes, and take off your diaper (oh boy.). You like balls, trucks/cars, and the little dogs and cats that come with a play vet shop that you got for your birthday. One of your favorite books is a cloth one that your Nana got you, all about getting ready for bed (it has a small cloth bear that moves from page to page doing things).

You are still a boob-girl, 18 months and counting! I can't imagine you wanting to stop anytime soon, but we'll see how things play out! Its a source of nutrients, of course, but it is such a comfort to you as well, and a way to center yourself when things are going too fast. I'm glad that I can give that to you, and I hope that I can be that for you long after our breastfeeding relationship ends. 

Gwen, you can be so trying sometimes... since you want to do everything your way, and are still learning about boundaries. But you are also the most rewarding part of my life. I never could have imagined feeling this way about someone, and I am so lucky to be your Mama. If time won't slow down, I'll just have to do my best to savor every moment before it passes.

I love you forever,
Mama

6 months

12 months

18 months

you say its your birthday...

My birthday celebration started on Saturday, when we headed to Ro & Pat's place for some lunch (Ro made chicken and dumplings, mmmm....), Brew.sters ice cream cake (mint ice cream, vanilla cake, a thin layer of marshmallow between... double mmmm), and pedicures for Ro & I.

Gwen was loving on GG's sunglasses...

So Ro & I got them each another pair while we were at the mall.  :-)

Sunday morning we went to the Pop Shop to use my birthday coupon. I chose the most amazing omelet ever!

Goat cheese, pesto, caramelized onions, and bacon.
Trav got an omelet too... and Gwen had some PB&J Bettys  (pancakes with peanut butter chips in them, and jelly on top. very tasty!).

Monday, my actual birthday, was wonderful too. I woke up, peeked at my iPhone and wondered why the hell I had so many emails. (Duh!)  I'm a lucky and loved girl.

Lunch was out with some coworkers.

Dinner was a big sushi platter, followed by this:

(Amazing cookie cake!)

All-in-all, it was a wonderful birthday. I can't believe I'm 29 now, my last birthday in my 20s! Time flies.

on its way to me...

I swear this was all needed and not retail therapy!! ;-)

Our new ceiling fan for the kitchen:

Flush-mount, light colored, energy star, with light.

Gwen's new swimmi diaper, since she's outgrown the last one:

I'm really, really bad about washing my face before bed each night (I know, I know), so I thought I would give these a try:

I love Burts stuff... so I thought it was worth a shot. I've been using their acne treatment face lotion and spot treatment in the mornings and I'm LOVING what its doing for my skin!

And I bought this to try, since I'm almost out of my Burt's shampoo (I like the Burts, but it doesn't hurt to try some other kinds too!):

Also sulfate and paraban free.

There we go! Little things to put a smile on my face.

I wanted to come here and write a post that wasn't related to all this house stuff, but its like a drumbeat in my brain right now.      house::house::house::house::house     After some better days of being less distracted, I'm back to being unable to concentrate.

I stopped by the house last night to pick up the mail and because I just wanted to see it. It was a bit dark to tell, but it looked like there was priming done on the hall and stairs, and maybe the living room. Definitely not the kitchen or dining room. I'm hoping they make some good progress today, because otherwise getting back into our house this weekend is looking less and less likely.

I guess we'll see.