Haircut

Today B got her 2nd haircut. Well, not counting the other day when I snipped some dried ice cream out of a clump of hair. :-) This was her first haircut at about 14 months.

Look at that sweet little baby and those CURLS!!!

Today we went to Cookie Cutters here in town and she had lots of fun and did a great job. In fact, it was just a good day all around. She really didn't have any fits, a few starts but she pulled it together pretty quickly. She was lots of fun and we got her hair all done! I know that rhymed. :-)

Before

During

After

Snow Ice Cream Recipe

I should have posted this yesterday! Here's the recipe...

Snow Ice Cream Recipe

INGREDIENTS
1 gallon snow
1 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups milk

When it starts to snow, place a large, clean bowl outside to collect the flakes. When full, stir in sugar and vanilla to taste, then stir in just enough milk for the desired consistency. Serve at once.

Snow Ice Cream

I can remember making Snow Ice Cream as a kid. My mom sent the recipe to us recently so we had a go at it today. She LOVED making it and even liked eating it. I have to admit, I like it too. But I can't figure out if it tastes good or its the nostalgia. Here's our little venture today. Don't worry all you grandma types, she has on like 5 layers and we were only out in the cold for a couple of minutes. Her gloves, well she hates them and we couldn't find them anyway and its hard to scoop ice cream into a bowl with big mittens. Her coat was in the car which Ryan took to get us a few things. She hates wearing it in the car seat... anyway, I digress. Here are some fun Snow Ice Cream pictures!

FIRST STEP, RIGHT INTO A DRIFT OF COURSE, SPIRIT DOES NOT

ALLOW FOR GRADUAL BEHAVIOR--LET'S GET IT ON!

UMM, HAD TO MOVE HER AWAY FROM SNOW BY THE CAR, GROSS...

OK, THIS LOOKS CLEAN...SCOOPING...

OOPS! SNOW IS HEAVY APPARENTLY!

HELPING WITH THE SUGAR. MY FLOOR IS STILL STICKY, 3 WASHES LATER.

HERE COMES THE TASTE TEST...

HMMM, THE VERDICT IS STILL OUT...

SHE LIKES IT!!! SHE LIKES IT!!!

SOME SERIOUS VIDEO FOOTAGE. WELL, NOT REALLY BUT HERE'S SOME VIDEO.

Blizzard 08

Sooooo much snow. What to do with it all!? We decided to make snow ice cream with it! But that's the next post... These pics are around 11am on Sat, the 8th of March. I think we got a few more inches after these were taken. I've seen worseand am just glad it will be over. I guess I need to change my In like a Lamb, out like a Lion... post to be in like a Lion, out like a Lamb because we had 2 Spring like days and then BAM! Here we are, in the worst winter we've had yet this year. Which is fine with me! Let's get it over with and on to Spring!

You So Sited Momma!

I ran downstairs before R left this morning and switched the laundry over. B had been hanging out with Daddy for a few min and was sitting in the hall upstairs when I came back up. She saw me and said, "You so sited momma!" I said, "I am, why?" She said, "You so sited (excited) because I wuv ew! (because I love you)." Awwww, I am so excited about that. Then R told me she had just asked him, "You going to work Daddy?" He told her he was. She said, "Oh, be a good girl." :-)

A New Day

Today was a new day. I do believe B is getting some more of her molars through and that may have been the temper tantrums root cause from yesterday. I kept her loaded up with Ibuprophrin today and it was a much better day. We went to a rec center where they have a play time for Preschoolers on Thursdays this morning with the mom's from our small group at church. Its very fun to have a group of people with little kids to hang around with. Plus they are a fun group of people! Here's some pics from today. A fun time was had by all.

Addendum to Today's Post

And the temper tantrums. This evening I took her to the YMCA with me where she played in the childcare room. She likes this once she is in there for 30 seconds and really enjoys it. We left and I told her we were going to get ice cream for a special treat on the way home (you know because I worked out, so why not have ice cream?--I was going to get a low cal one for real, Cold Stone has a great Sorbet.) Anyway, we stopped in Children's Orchard for a minute because they have a sale going on. B likes going in there because there are some toys she can play with. However, after her having 2 temper tantrums in the store for no particular reason, I picked her up and we left. I informed her as I strapped her in that we were not stopping for ice cream on the way home because of how she had acted in the store and gave her specific details on what behaviors were not acceptable. The shrillness of her voice screaming for ice cream was uncanny. Never have I heard her scream words this loud and in this pitch. It was a great one. I just kept calmly reminding her what the problem was as she got louder and more shrill. Then at one point she very, very pitifully saying to me, "That make me so happy momma." Refering to her special treat of ice cream. Oh my goodness that broke my heart. Not enough to change my mind but it pulled at my heart strings for sure. So the tantrum lasted about 15 minutes by the time I finally made her get in the bathtub. Water seems to soothe her. Oh yeah, and she also peed her pants in her carseat on the way home as well--which she does from time to time when she is sooooo mad. Nice, very nice. I did put a sweet girl to bed so all's well that ends well. Night!

A day in the life of spirit

Well, we are back to normal around here. B seems to be feeling just fine. She was extra chatty and extra active all day. I've recently had people ask me what is so hard about B and why I would consider her "Spirited". Now I have a suspicion these people may have a Spirited child of their own--and maybe even more so than mine! Or, remember, I only have this one kid! People who have four with one or-oh-my-goodness-more than one Spirited child in their group will surely be wondering why I think my girl is a little harder than the normal to raise. Now don't get me wrong here people, I don't think she does anything out of the realm of ordinary, I don't think she has special needs or anything like that. I just think on a scale of normal for things like activity or frustration level, she is always going to score on the high, high end. Not so high that she's "diagnosable" as I like to say but so high that parents who have different personality types of children think, whoa, glad that's not my kid! But I always have loved a challenge and have a suspicion that I may have been this same way as a kid so I'm so thankful God saw fit to let me be the one to raise her. It takes all kinds of people to make the world go round, right?! But let me give you just a few examples of what I think makes her "spirited"....

You may want to read a past post: Top 10 ways to know your life is filled with Spirit! to get a good start on what it all involves.

For one thing, as a parent of a Spirited Toddler you notice that naps get harder and harder to make your child take. And sleep for that matter just does not seem that important to your child. In fact, the less sleep B gets the worse she sleeps, but does that bother her? Not enough to actually sleep! She would rather be grumpy, rubbing her eyes, throwing fits that she gets in trouble for then to just finally settle down and sleep.

I also notice that she notices EVERYTHING. We can be in the grocery store and she will see a Shrek on a cereal box that is literally 2 inches tall and no kidding, 20 feet away from us and be pointing out Shrek and insisting on seeing it. I on the other hand have no idea what she is talking about because who in the world notices those kinds of things even if they are looking for them!

Here's one....

What do Yo Gabba Gabba Toys have in common with the little touching statue of the Father with his baby? She broke them! In a nano-second. Poor Foofa lost her Flower top hair and Plex had his arm amputated and lost the handle on his door. This is just the most recent pile of items that I saved to take a picture of. She is forever trying to figure out how things work and what buttons do and that sort of thing, therefore she is always prying, turning, twisting, etc. And well, this sort of thing happens. And she is extremely quick about it. (We are wondering if she will be an engineer someday.)

I wish I could put into words all the times things go a little haywire around here with her. Its so often and normal now, I think I just go through the motions and don't even think about it being odd. When I talk to my friends who don't have a spirited child I am quickly reminded. Let me just sum it up in my next pictures...

This was lunch. She got down so quickly to check something out on the floor (because she notices everything remember) that she pulled her place mat with her entire meal and cup of milk (which poured over her head on the way down, notice the plastered down part in her hair) onto the floor and all over the sides of the chairs and table. So whether there is a mess like this clean up during the day or not, this is pretty much how it feels a lot of the time to raise her... Like one big chaotic moment. Is she stinking cute in the middle of it? Absolutely. Is it a bit overwhelming to think about the job ahead? Well sure. Does it take extra effort you weren't planning on? I can't lie, it does. Would you trade it? Not with that cheesy grin staring back at you, not for anything in the world.

Ear Woes

Its our first ear infection since moving. B has gotten her share of ear infections, though not so many that we have had any need to worry. Its been about 6 months since the last one. This one seemed pretty bad last night. None of us slept and she just kept crying and thrashing around. It was so sad, poor baby. Thank goodness the office here in town that I had wanted to get her into had a cancelation and we got in first thing. So now rotations of Ibuprophrin and Tylenol and 10 days of antibiotics. Luckily she enjoys how all her meds taste. I didn't take a picture of her sick so far but have some old ones I posted. I have to admit, as much as I don't want her to hurt, when she's sick, she is so much more subdued and cuddly and well, easy. That would get old after more than a few days though. Pray she gets better soon!

This is the day before she came down with her first one. Her Aunt Katie was there to visit. She also cut her first tooth that next day. Of course cold and ear infections and cutting teeth never go together according to the doctors. I'm pretty sure every single ear infection she's had she has also gotten teeth.
Here at 10 months




Here she is looking sooooo hot after a nap. Take that "hot" however you want. :-) (18 months?)



Aww, look at those flushed cheeks. (15 months?)



Fevers just knock her out. Any place, anytime. (13 months?)




Not sure if she's sick here but wow, that is some hair, and she sure looks it!






And this has got to be the cutest sick picture. Look closely at the glistening upper lip.

In like a Lamb, out like a Lion...

In like a Lion, out like a Lamb...In like a Lamb, out like a Lion. We will see if this saying holds true which I gotta say, I feel like it usually does. I hope Spring has come to your neck of the woods. It certainly has here and ahh, it just feels and even smells so good. I even let my girl have some bare legs today in her skirt which is always fun. Well, maybe you don't look forward to that when your kids are 10 but I sure have loved her cute little thighs "coming out" the past few years. Of course her first summer she was such a scrawny little baby it wasn't quite as fun but just about. Now I just can't get over how cute she is! I know I'm biased but thought I'd share some cute pics from this morning. In case you're wondering, I sell her clothes on eBay so I always try to get pics of her really cute outfits so I can put them on eBay when I sell them. That's why I have all these random, on the stairs, pics. I tried to take her pic elsewhere today but she likes the steps. She is such a creature of habit. Not sure who she got that from!

Happy Birthday!

Today is R's birthday. We don't have any big plans. He is of course getting a pair of shoes. :-) Our music minister and his wife spend the night on Saturday's because they go to CCU and it saves them the extra drive. And one of our girls from the group home that we love is going to stay with us as well. So I'll prob. go buy a cake. I know, I'm such the celebrator!

R left for a soccer game this morning in Cinci for one of his Brown County players. We missed him by a few minutes so we called him to say Happy Birthday. I asked B if she wanted to tell him and she said, "No, I already told him in bed!" Which is funny because she was dead asleep when he left. It could have been that she was insisting on going to watch "Cifford" (Clifford) on TV and could not be bothered with such things as telling her Daddy Happy Birthday. She used to HATE watching TV and we would have LOVED for her to like it at least some to get an extra moment of relaxing but noooooo we were left to chasing her around in 7500 sqft of space at the group home. Now that we live in a boring 1500sqft she is content to watch an hour or so of TV at a time. She still gets bored compared to other kids I know but she has entered the realm of vegging out in front of the TV...We are so proud. :-) Hope all is well in your world!