For Blair's memory book

Pottied in the "big" girl potty (both. Like it was nothing.).

Some horsey love

We celebrated Christmas with Gramma Ancy and Granpa Robert today. Blair LOVES Hank (Nancy's horse) and had a blast feeding him today!!

New tricycle!

Gammy and GranDad got Blair a big girl tricycle! How big does she look????

10!

Blair counted to 10 ALL BY HERSELF tonight!!

Princess Blair

Blair received an adorable Belle doll (from Disney's Beauty and the Beast) and matching dress from Uncle Mark and Aunt Sara. Blair loved it and we couldn't open the package fast enough! She loves her babies and loves to dress up!

Santa 2012.

Despite constantly pointing out Santa (both prior and post Santa visit), Blair was not a fan. Which led to an impromptu Mom & B picture. Better luck next year!

Enjoying some cool weather

Thanksgiving and a 20 month Bug

What a wonderful Thanksgiving we had – with so much to be grateful for! Things weren’t the same this year without my Dad, but I am glad that we got to do a Thanksgiving with him before he left the States.

This year, we celebrated on Thursday with Travis’ mother and family in Hempstead.  We arrived as the Texans were going into OT (their second in about 4 days) and the last minute touches were put on the Thanksgiving lunch. Blair did awesome. She ate up the attention, didn’t throw any fits and got to meet Gramma Ancy’s new horse, Hank. Hank loved Blair and she was fearless feeding him hay. She is an animal lover – through and through – just like her Aunt Loren.  She ran and played and loved on her family. Such a sweet, sweet girl. To our surprise, she stayed awake the whole way home, then after her milk and stories – she crashed!

Friday was spent at Travis’ Dad’s house. We had a wonderful late breakfast and spent the afternoon napping (me and Blair!), swinging, watching football and visiting. It was cozy and wonderful!

To finish out the family celebrating, we had my family over on Saturday. We did a more non-traditional Thanksgiving with pizza and wings – but had a great time (and missed Conner and my Dad!). Uncle Chris got a big kick out of watching the busy girls run around and act so “big.”

We are so unbelievably thankful for all of the blessings in our life – and those to come.

So, 20 months. Life with a 20 month old is hysterical / tiring / goofy / fun. That little bear wears me out – but she is so much fun. Watching her little personality develop is so interesting. She is so feisty – but undeniably sweet. She is going through this stage where she grabs and hugs the back of your legs / knees. It is that much sweeter when she is saying, “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!” My life = complete.

We recently bought Blair a little person table. She had begun to really dislike her high chair and since she sits a little table (to eat) at school, I figured it was time. She usually has Walter or a baby sitting in the other seat. The first night we got the table, she ate her whole dinner at the table. It’s been a week and she hasn’t sat through a complete meal since. If I can just keep her off of the top of the table and from standing on chairs, I think we’ll figure the rest out.

Her favorite things to do these days are to cook in her kitchen (FOOD!), watch the Mummets, brush her teeth, receive a sticker (or multiple if you are handing them out), read books (still working books other than picture / sight words), play outside (see: swing) and go on walks, going “bye-bye” (as long as the trip isn’t too far), any kind of sensory play, playing with Raleigh and attempting to catch Kingsley.

She heavily dislikes bedtime (I think her school buds can sympathize), being redirected, her high chair, and of course being told no. This is usually meant with a mischievious grin and another attempt.

We are still struggling with eating (or there lack of). Everything is hit or miss and what may be her favorite one week – is refused the next. Her teacher says that she eats most of the school’s lunches, which I think I can solely thank her classmates. At least she still drinks whole milk. I think that helps keep a little weight on her. She does like applesauce / pureed fruit pouches, Greek yogurt, crackers, pancakes and chicken nuggets.

I have to apologize for my lack of taking pictures. It seems the only ones I get these days are of the quick, iphone variety – but I have to remind myself: I am MAKING memories – and that is important part. Being 100% present & in the moment is more important than getting that perfect shot.

I read the most HONEST blog today about a mother and her  the truth about motherhood. I have felt her pain, cried her tears, laughed and celebrated with joy - the small “wins” in life. It is the best job in the whole world and one that will bring you to your knees more than you ever expected. Now if Obama could just get Mothers on the payroll…

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Our tree is up and decorated, most of the gifts purchased (still waiting to be wrapped) and it is 80°. Ahhhh, only in Houston!

Pictures!

Just some pictures of Blair!

Excited to celebrate Thanksgiving with our family!

Tuesday Ramble

Just some random thoughts for today...

Blair chooses not to wear shirts (and sometimes pants) when we are hanging around the house. She’ll come up to T and I and say “Off!” while tugging at her shirt. I don’t know where she gets it, but it is pretty funny.

My favorite part of the day is when my sweet love bug grabs my hand, and leads me somewhere (usually the playroom where she LOVES to cook with her food). I have to say, I am very impressed with her interest in cooking. We make all kinds of fun stuff (most would say it was inedible) and will even help me clean it all up. Usually.

B’s cough is still ever present and wakes her up in the middle of the night. At least once. She has done really well with her inhaler, as well as her Mucinex and Zyrtec. She gets a sticker when she takes her meds – and boy does that work like a charm! A-ma-zing. I wish the medicines were working faster, but she hasn’t had any fever or other serious symptom, so we are thankful.

On Saturday morning we got the opportunity to visit with Travis’ grandparents in Tyler. It has been over a year since our last visit and we were LONG overdue. We all basically watched Blair run around and be her busy self. They couldn’t believe how grown up she is (me either!) and how ACTIVE she is. I think that just watching her wore them out. Aunt Lori even scored Bug a bunch of lovies, so Blair was in hog-heaven. We love our Tyler – Wrights and miss them so much. It was a wonderful and much needed visit.

Tomorrow is Blair’s school picture day - stay tuned for how those turn out. Last year she wanted absolutely no part of it – so we will see how this year goes. I may have to try and get her picture before we leave for school – just so we have a picture.

Wish us luck!

Halloween 2012

Well, the Wrights are 0 / 2 on Halloween and trick or treating. Last year, Blair got her first ear infection and was asleep by 6pm. This year, I had everything planned out. We had some family come over for dinner and were planning on getting both Zoey and Blair ready at our house so we could go trick-or-treating. As we were beginning to get Blair dressed, her left ear began to swell. The teacher at school had told Travis that Blair had gotten a mosquito bite on her ear while they were outside. As the afternoon wore on, her ear got more red and swollen and uncomfortable. Naturally, she was pulling and scratching at the bite, so it got really bad and we began to wonder if it was something more serious like a spider bite. So we gave her some Benadryl and hopped into the car and head to Texas Children’s. Bad idea. It was a full moon and we were not the only non-trick-or-treaters.

By the time we arrived in the ER, it was 7:30pm (past Blair’s bedtime and she had only had a one hour nap that day at school). The ER was packed. Long story short – we were there for almost three hours before we decided to leave. We had seen the triage nurse already, and her ear wasn’t getting any worse, so we figured we’d take her home and see how it looked in the morning.

Good news – we all survived, even little Miss! She has missed yet another Halloween – but she was none the wiser. She really has no clue about what sugar and candy is, so it was just another day to her. I finally managed to dress her up in her “costume” this past weekend so I could have some pictures. I made the black tutu and added a tail, painted her cute little nose and whiskers, and put on her kitty ears (which she proceeded to snap the headband in half after about 5 pictures). She was adorable! I am bummed that we didn’t even get to visit our neighbors – but we’ll try it again next year.

Look at all of this hair!!

Sweet baby curls!

19 Months

Blair Melisse is now 19 months old! She is a busy little bug and likes what she likes. I have no idea where she gets that! :)

Lately, Blair has been saying the following phrases and has us cracking up:

            “Hey guys!”

            “I see you!”

            “Oh my!”

We are working on “Zoot Alors” – but we aren’t there quite yet.

B continues to show & tell us what she is thinking. The other day I gave her a vitamin, and she told me, “Two!” And I told her that no, we only got one vitamin per day. She shook her head and said, “no, two!” Those gummy Flintstone vitamins are like a treat!

Blair’s eating is about the same. She loves her applesauce and fruit packets, and other snack type things. She still loves Craisins and mandarins, and can eat some cheese like no one’s business. Luckily we still have her on plenty of milk / yogurt – and have done our best to stay away from juices and super sweet things. In fact, B just had her first real bowl of ice cream about 2 weeks ago. Not a surprise – she’s a fan.

The Mummets are still holding our Blu-Ray player captive. We watched it more times than I care to divulge yesterday. The good news is, she stays pretty still while watching, so I was able to shower and do some cleaning while she watched the movie. T and I found a “Walter” plush doll today – so rest assured that missy will have that to open at Christmas! Possibly a Kermit doll, too.

Fashion. Blair is in mostly 4T clothes (per Carter’s sizing) and is still in Size 5 diapers. I have her in the socks that are for 2 – 4 year olds and her shoe size is about a 6 or 7. She’s a long, lean little bear that loves her jewelry and bows. On Saturday, I was able (she let me + her hair was finally long enough) to put her hair in her first official ponytail. It sticks straight up – but is so darn cute (when it isn’t making her look about 2 years older). Blair has lately preferred to be “au natural” (though with a diaper!). It is pretty funny, but I don’t suspect it will last long since the temperature has been dropping.

Speaking of looking older – Blair will be transitioning into the next class in the next two weeks. This will be the final price reduction that this day care does. A little change is always nice! I do expect her to get sick with the change of classes / germs, but hopefully she wont get too sick.

Lastly, we had a little milestone last night. After Blair’s bath, she used the potty for the first time! We have had her own little potty out for the last month or so – just so she could “get acquainted” with it. Usually she would sit on it without doing anything – but last night – we had success. I don’t plan on diving right in – but at least now she knows what she is doing.

It is all passing so quick! She is growing into my sweet, yet feisty little girl. Her kisses and hugs are so real and loving… it is an indescribable feeling to have her little arms wrapped around you. I am so proud of the little girl she is becoming and love watching her learn and grow. My heart melts when I watch her take such good care of her babies. That nurturing side of her is definitely like both Travis and me. She is going to make a great big sister one day!

Every day there seems to be something new – a new word, a new face, new skill. Life is never dull with this sweet B!

We are headed to Tyler this weekend to sneak in a visit with Blair’s Great-GranDad and Great-Granny and Great Aunt Lori! It has been too long since our last visit and we are looking forward to a great visit!

Look at those curls!

 

 



 

First ponytail!

Enjoying the neighbor's yard decorations

 

 



Her pony is coming out - but I love this picture of her!

 

 



 

Sweet, sleeping girl!