Signing Time cont.

So here are the pictures. I know, finally. :-) I forgot to tell you that at the Signing Time booth I bought the music cds for the first two Baby Signing Time. One of her Signing Time dvds has a clip from Baby Signing Time, with this song Diaper Dance. Aeryn loves it, and does the dance, too cute! So I bought the cds so she could listen to it on her radio. It's all that's on. We actually just got our first Baby Signing Time dvds last month. I didn't think about getting them, because they cover what she already has learned from the regular Signing Time. But last month I had a post on my blog from a worker for Signing Time. And it was for a preview of the new Baby Signing Time volumes 3 and 4. We are definitely going to get the first two. Aeryn is in love with it! She prefers them to others. When we first watched it, there were some shots of Rachel sitting down, and she's always standing. Aeryn noticed right away. She said "Rachel," pointed to the screen, "Shoes." It's amazing at how creative the Signing Time videos are. All of the music is different. And the songs are pretty catchy, and really not annoying.

Signing Time

I cannot believe it's taken me this long and get my act together so I can blog about this.
Sept. 20th, Aeryn's dreams came true. She met Rachel Coleman from Signing Time. Rachel was in OKC appearing at the Down Syndrome Association of Central Oklahoma Buddy Walk. Unfortunately Tim had to work that day. It was at the OKC Bricktown Ballpark, so that was neat to see where the OKC RedHawks AAA team plays. It was a beautiful field. But you just don't get the awesome feeling you have when you walk into a major league field. The whole day Aeryn was "Rachel. Rachel. Rachel." We got there and went to watch Rachel do a Signing Time performance. Aeryn and I, also some other audience members, got to go up and sing/sign the Silly Pizza Song. Too bad Tim wasn't there to tape it. After the performance, we were able to meet Rachel. They had a backdrop set up with a picture of the treehouse from the videos. Aeryn was pretty tired by this time. So she was really shy with Rachel. But she was okay with Rachel holding her. She wrapped her arms around her and kept a sullen face the whole time. However, her face when Rachel gave her back to me, was one I will never forget. Probably second to the first time I saw her when she was born. This look on her face was utter euphoria and amazement and excitement. Her eyes were so bright. I took some pictures and we got her autograph. I made a little collage of pictures of the day and framed it, and it's hanging in her room.

Here's something funny. While we were waiting to meet Rachel, the mascot for the
baseball team walks by. It's a big red bird with a baseball uniform. But much more to Aeryn apparently. She completely forgot about seeing Rachel. Started following the bird around. It was great because she wasn't shy with him at all. Even let the bird hold her for a picture. I was startled because most kids her age, I think, are usually scared of mascots at first. After a while the bird man had to go to down on the field for some promo shots. Aeryn wanted to follow him. I told her that she couldn't bother him because he had to work. The rest of the day, she randomly said, "Bird. Work."
What an exciting day. On the way home I stopped at a gas station to get something to drink. When we got back in the car, Aeryn wanted to play with my keys. So I gave them to her, all except the ignition key of course. My car requires two keys, one for the doors, and one to start him. When we got home, I'd forgotten the door key was in the backseat somewhere with Aeryn. But I didn't forget to lock my door when I got out. Oh NO!!! I locked my kid in the car. Seriously. The house key was inside with her too. Luckily I have a great brother who put an automatic starter on my car, and was able to start it and get the air going for her. A neighbor across the street is a locksmith, but he wasn't home. So I called my mom. Isn't that what everyone does when they're in trouble? She suggested I call the fire dept. Which I did, and they came. Superheroes. Aeryn and I took them some cookies that Monday.





PS I am just publishing this to get it out, but more will be done to it tonight or tomorrow.

More Stuff

A lot has been going on, and will be going on. I am just going to do things off the top of my head until I get tired.

Aeryn is in soccer now. She loves it! And she's the best at it. I am so proud to be her mom, all the time of course, but when she's doing what the coach is asking and the other kids are running around, so nice. I should mention that the other kids in her class are boys. It's a little Mommy and Me class. They kick the balls around, play games like Red Light/Green Light, pop some bubbles, play with a little parachute, ect. I kind of wanted to put her in dance again, but she really loves soccer. So that was that.
Weather has been great, we've been outside a lot. Aeryn is growing up so fast. Sometimes it seems like she's passed the toddler stage and is approaching adulthood. *sigh I know it will be here before I am ready. Time flies when you're having fun.
I got a new car today. Well not actually new, not even new to me. My Kia, aka DJ, hasn't been driving very well. It's been loud and shaky. I took DJ to Pep Boys, I have a wheel waranty with them, and wanted them to check it out. I told the desk kid that it's loud on the road, and asked if there was anything they could do, he said no. He didn't know what he was talking about. So I just had them rotate my tires because my oil guys told me it needed to be done. I told my dad the story, and he said maybe it was my shocks, and he'd help fix them. But when he hopped on my car, he said it might not be and I should take it in to get looked at. That was last week, but I was so busy I didn't get it in until yesterday. I took it to Firestone on Wednesday, and had them do a wheel alignment. I hate Firestone, the only reason I took it there was because I have a lifetime wheel alignment thingie with them I got before I knew any better. It took 2 1/2 hours. But luckily there is a great place called Incredible Pizza across the parking lot. So I loaded Aeryn up in her stoller and we had a fun time. The first game we played, was a simple one where you hit a button to start and stop the wheel, and each piece on it has a # of tickets you can win. Aeryn's first time she hit the jackpot! 130 tickets! After we played games, there was a line at the ticket counter, so we looked around at some of the other games, and the guy running the go carts let us come ride for free. She was so cute. When she didn't know I was looking at her, she had a look of boredom, like she was a secret agent and has driven much fast cars. But when I'd say something to her about it, she'd light up. The car guys called me and said that I needed new wheel bearings on the back. They could have done it then, but it'd take another 2+ hours. I don't think so. Even after the alignment, DJ drove better. But after I took it in today. WOW!

I can't believe she will be 2 yrs old in one month! No Way!

Planning her party now. Just keeping an eye open for things to get. It's going to be a Pretty Pink Princess Party. The only kids coming are her cousins, all girls( :-( missing the cous' in MI). So why not. The amount of pink I'd like to use would make even Mary Kay blush. But I am not crazy enough to actually do it all. So I am settling for just making the men in the room uncomfortable. hehehe I am so excited for the cake I am thinking about doing. I am for sure going to do a trail run, to make sure I can make it. But that's going to be after I find/make some cute invites.

Some of the things Aeryn is doing. Swinging between two chairs. Doing the "Diaper Dance" from Baby Signing Time. Making a funny face. She pulls her mouth wide with her fingers. Thank you Yo Gabba Gabba for these wonderful laughs. Yes, she still LOVES Yo Gabba Gabba. I think Wonder Pets would give it a run if they were on at the same time. My Friends Tigger and Pooh, naturally. She does the "Think Think Think" with them. But I think she likes Handy Manny more. I find myself watching it sometimes when she's not up yet.

Okay, I am kaput. TTFN

Video Try

I have this video I am just testing. It was taken 08-30, my birthday morning. Krispy Kreme's for breakfast. Hope it works! If so, enjoy! (ps I hate my recorded voice. sorry if it's annoying to you as it is to me.)

Tid Bits

Okay, I am still working on the pictures. But for a bonus, I am going to try to get some videos up too. This entry is because Tim and I have such a smart beautiful girl, and I wanted to get these stories in before I forget them. Lately when it's bedtime and we are reading to Aeryn, she picks up on certain words in the story and remembers them. The next time we read the book, she is right there with it, saying the words. There is a book we read to her called Friendly Fish, and there is a page with a red rock lobster, and when we read it we say rock lobster they way it's sang/said in the B-52's Rock Lobster. There are two other words, rock and seaweed, that we say funky like that. Just to be silly. It's been almost a week since we read it to her and tonight she was on with those words, exactly the way Tim and I read them to her! Her new favorite book is The Monster at the End of the Book(w/ furry, old, lovable Grover). And she knows it so well. My mom said that I was the same way. She thought she had a super genius child who could read at an early age. Turns out, I just a genius child with good memory.

We have a little digital clock that lights up, and her monitor next to her bed. She's a button pusher, and will play with them before bed sometimes. Sometimes we'd forget to turn it back on if she'd turned it off. But tonight, for the first time... she played with it, and then stopped to listen to stories. When we told her it was time to go to sleep, she walked over and turned it on! She knew it was off, and that it needed to be on. We'd never told her to turn it back on the other times she played with it. Catches on quick this one.

The three of us were in the car this evening and Tim was joking around, and made up a little rap. I forget about what. When he finished Aeryn started rapping! She kept a good beat, even though we couldn't understand her(who can understand rap songs anyway). Rock out!

Aeryn is so in love with our dogs. She helps me let them outside, feed and water them, give them treats, and even yell at them. Well, at Puppy anyway. If he's outside and starts barking, she'll yell through the window. If he's in his dog pen making too much noise, she will tell him to be quiet. She really is a grown up in a toddlers world it seems.

She's in the toddler independence stage. Has to try to do everything by herself. Right now she is working to put her shoes on by herself. It's tough. But she'll do it.

The Just Between Friends sale was last week. I love it! Made some money and spent perhaps a little more that I made. But the clothes were so cute! A lot of people over priced them in my opinion. But I suppose everything is going up in price, even consignments.

My attention span is done. I hope you enjoyed this. Don't know when I will get back to it. Love Ya!

Potty

I just wanted to let everyone know Aeryn went peepee in the potty just a few minutes ago. It was the smallest of tinkles. But it was still great none the less. She's been interested, and has been sitting on it without her diaper to no avail. Well not any more. It's a good start on the long road of potty training.

Updates Coming!

I didn't realize how many more pictures I had on the camera. So just now I finished downloading them to my computer, and hopefully tomorrow, no perhaps this weekend, I will have a nice updated post for your enjoyment. It's Tim's birthday tomorrow, and I have so much to do! Don't worry about how long it will be. Yes there's a lot, a novels worth at least. Never fear for those light readers, it will mostly be in slide form. That's what I will go off of; my memory by itself is pitiful. There may be some stories in between that I might not have snapped any photos of. Some of the pics will be of: first time in our backyard pool, last day of swim class, painted toenails(yes, I painted my toddlers toenails, easily).

While I am here, here's what went on today. Aeryn and I went shopping for Tim's b-day present as soon as we finished breakfast. Funny story about what I almost got him. Tim and I both love the new Batman movie, Dark Knight. He had mentioned that a poster from the movie would be cool to have. So I was on eBay (aka SchmeeBay), looking at some posters, and found a nice lot of them in Germany. I bid, and was outbid. I kept bidding. I was bothered that someone else seemed to have set a high outbid price, and was curious to know how much it was. I found out, too much. Luckily I was outbid later by $1. Whew. That's the reason I don't like shopping on there, unless I am looking for a steal. So anyway, we bought Tim's present then went to the park in downtown BA. Melisa's friend Erin showed up a little while after we did. It's a small world. We also sometimes see her at the Library, and her kids' swim class was right before Aeryns. I am starting to feel more confident in Aeryns ability to climb around the playground. She still loves swinging the most. It's so sweet, she always fusses that I swing with her(if there is an adult swing next to hers). Unfortunately, she also wants me to play with her, won't let me sit down and enjoy the weather. After the park we came home for lunch, and then Aeryn went down for her nap. Tim came home while she was sleeping. Later, I took Aeryn to the store with me, she really wanted a cookie. We bought some stuff for Tim's birthday meals. I am making his favorite, salmon, for dinner. He asked for a lemon cake, and that's just what he's getting. Lots of layers of lemon flavored yumminess. When we got home, I started dinner, Goat Cheese Chicken and mashed potatoes. It was too good, so of course we ate too much. A little after dinner we gave Aeryn a bath and put her to bed. That's it.

4th

What a 4th! We finally took out a toy Brad and Melisa left us, so that Aeryn, our little water baby, could play. Loves it! We bought colored sand at Wal-Mart. One blue, one pink and one purple bag. It's so pretty all mixed together. We also put some crystals in the sand for Aeryn to dig up. It was nice because I was able to read my book while she played. We had decided to go to Riverparks to see a fireworks show. Tim and I haven't been since we were kids. We went to Reasor's for some picnic food to easily pack and take with us. There were three different areas set up. We went to Veteran's Park. There were free jupiter jump toys to play on. Aeryn and I went down the smallest slide, which also had the shortest line. Then we rejoined Tim on the blanket and ate our yummy picnic dinner. There was a stage set up in the area, the Mid Life Crisis band were playing. We were there for less than an hour before the fireworks started. Good timing. It was so cool to see a big fireworks show. Aeryn was not scared at all. At times she even got bored and would play with her glow necklaces.
Hans and Sirry came over that Sunday for some burgers. I make good burgers. We ate out in the back yard. Earlier Tim set up the pool for Aeryn to play in, and when she walked out and saw him filling up the pool, she signed "I Love You" to the pool. Water baby. :-) After they left, I had to hurry to play softball. Yucky heat.

the rest of the story...and more

For Father's day, Aeryn and I just got Tim cards and showered him with love all day. I also made him a chocolate chip cookie cake.

I had bought some artichokes to make for Tim on Father's day, but it didn't happen. So I made them for him when he got home from work on Wednesday. Aeryn had some too. She loved it. I was surprised to see how fast she learned how to eat them. That evening we used an air pump to blow up a pool we bought for Aeryn. We'd tried to use a hand pump that came with my yoga ball. Fun. Luckily my mom had an extra pump from an air mattress. We put the pool in the shade and filled it up. The water was really cold, and the sun wasn't able to warm it up. So we TRIED to move it. Then we gave up and splashed around. Before the pool, Aeryn would not lay down in the bathtub. Now she doesn't mind. I guess it was all the slippin and slidin she did.

Thursday we packed a little lunch and went to the zoo. The more we go, the more she loves it. She was really excited to feed the birds this time. She was so great holding the stick up so they could eat. Until one of them would try to stand on her hand to eat. Since the exhibit has been open for a while the birds are really used to people and were not shy at all about sitting on your fingers. We also rode the train for the second time. She loves trains. She even makes chugga chugga woo woo sounds.

Friday morning, I took Aeryn in her stroller and walked across the main street to get donuts. That afternoon I took Aeryn to a splash park for the first time. I should have brought my camera. We've played with a sprinkler once in our backyard. Aeryn wasn't too into that. So it took her a could of trips to check out the water, then barely touch it with her hand, then her arm, and then her whole body. But she was laughing and loving it the whole time. There was also a regular park next to it, we went over to and played at. That night was supposed to be my Bunco night with the girls. Instead Aeryn and I went to my Moms for a little birthday party. It was Chloe, the daughter of someone my Mom works with. Kynlee and Hailea, two of Aeryn's cousins, were there as well. We had some cake and ice cream, and Chloe opened some presents. Aeryn had so much fun playing with the girls. Kynlee is 3 months older than Aeryn, Hailea is 4 and Chloe turned 5.

Tim worked on Saturday and so Aeryn and I just hung out.

Sunday I had softball games at 3 and 4. We lost both, but I did well. It is too hot here! But it's good exercise to get out there and have some fun, maybe get a little tanner. My skin tone is suffering because I am all about sunscreen now. Can't afford to get melonoma(know it's spelled wrong).

So it's Monday now and I can't wait until Friday. I have a hair appointment with my mistress of style. It's been close to a year since my last cut and color. I don't think I will get it colored this time. a) I will probably have Aeryn with me. b) the cost. c) I kind of like the shades it has now.
In the end, who knows. Right now, I am just going to post this. I will try to get some new slides up soon.

Oh, I also finished The Host. In the end I changed my mind about it. I like it for the most part. Had I read this one first, I don't think I would have read the Twilight series. The book caught me off guard. Although I knew it would be different that Twilight, I wasn't aware this was really science fiction. Basically I was expecting another vampire book, but got one about aliens instead. That's what I get for not reading the book jacket.

Nap time is a good time...

to get things done. (this was originally typed on the 16th. i meant to come back and finish.)

What a great weekend it was! Tim finished his job by lunch on Friday. We had some little home to do's, so we went to Lowe's. The main reason was to look at tile for the upstairs bathroom. Tim tore the old stuff out, and it's been waiting for tile. We only saw one tile we liked, but it was way too nice for our house.($$$) Our toilet handle has been broken for a couple of weeks; kept forgetting to get one when I was somewhere they sold them. We also needed a new doorbell. Our little button pusher was in danger of a shock if we didn't replace it. A new door knob for the downstairs bathroom, because the lock didn't work on the current one.

Saturday was our 6/5 anniversary. We have been together 6 years, and married for 5. When I woke up, Tim was already awake and downstairs, there was a present for me left on my pillow. A little box wrapped in silver paper and a bow. Which was so romantic. I took it downstairs to open it in front of him. It was beautiful silver heart shaped locket. The front has a heart of mother of pearl with a little silver heart in the middle. Luckily I had some little photos from a portrait sessions I was able to cut down and use.
Later we went to the Promenade Mall to go shoe shopping for Tim. Poor guy. We've been to all the shoe stores just about, and have only found two pair he likes, neither were available in his size. On our way to the mall my dad called and said he was on his way up. He met us at the mall. We didn't find him any shoes. We did go into Borders, and I got the Stephanie Meyer book The Host, and Tim got a book called Moneyball about the managing of the Oakland A's. So far I am not too impressed with my book. At this point my motivation for reading it is to try to find out why people love it. Cause I am not getting it at all. Crazy story. After the mall we went to Johnny Carino's Italian Restaurant. Yummy! They put these little crusty crumbs in the oil for the bread. Doesn't sound very appetizing when I put it that way, but it is.

Then it was Father's Day. I made him a chocolate chip cookie cake instead of a gift. Aeryn and I each got him a card. I am not much on barbeque, so I told him we could go wherever he wanted for some for dinner. I also started summer co-ed softball. Tim and I are done with having our own team. It's amazing how many 30somethings aren't responsible enough to show up. And with Aeryn now, it's easier if only one of us plays. Tim and Aeryn came to cheer me on. We headed home afterwards, so tired.

More

Thought I would hop on and add some stuff while Tim and Aeryn watch Signing Time.

In May we went to Rooster Days in downtown BA. It was nice. We mostly walked around inside the Community Center gym where all the sellers booths were. They had a petting farm/zoo, outside of course. I didn't like the way the animals looked. All of them had matted hair, and I could tell they don't get any exercise, they ride around in a semi trailer and then are shoved into pins with wood shavings.

We went to the Renaissance Faire in Muskogee last month. My dad, brother Byron and his fiance Kryston met up with us there. It was a nice family outing. Tim and Byron tried some haggis. It looked a lot like tapioca. I don't think it's looks had any effect on it's taste though. I love the food at the fair, any fair really. I would say that fair food is my comfort food. Who likes unfair food anyway? :-)

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I love that someone thought to automatically save the blogs as you are typing, so if something distracts you, like your sweet baby girl, you can come back at a later time and finish.

Tim and I just put Aeryn to bed. I cannot express the happiness I have because my kid doesn't, at least not yet, fight us at bedtime. We read some books to her before, and we have one that we read at the very end. She started to notice that when that particular book was read, she was going down for the night. Now when she hears us start to read the book, she tries to take off.

I wish I had a video camera. Not that it would work out in the end... Tim was juggling some balls(the little plastic ones for ball pits). Aeryn was very impressed, enjoying the entertainment, and she wanted to try too. Tim gave her a two balls, she held one in each hand, and moved her arms in the same way Tim was, only without letting go of the balls. Too cute! I wished I had a video cam, remembered out digi cam could record small vids, so I went and grabbed it. But I didn't get any video because Aeryn decided she didn't want to be a juggler anymore, she wanted to be a photographer. Which is why it probably doesn't matter that we don't have a vid.

Things Aeryn has been doing... I am sure if she could talk, she would easily be able to say the ABCs. It's hard for her to sign the letters, but she does at least half in her own way. She is working on her numbers right now. When we stroll around the neighborhood, she stops and points to the house numbers painted on driveways. I would say right now her favorite toy to play with is her Hot Wheels car. I came across some cars in a box of mine, no doubt they belonged to one of my brothers at some point. Aeryn started playing with them and hasn't stopped. She has her own car, and even selected a car for Tim and one for me. A side story... During the day, while Tim is working, and she comes across his car, she will pick it up and sign 'work'. She has also done that when one of us is in the bathroom, but she signs 'potty' instead. Trains have begun to catch her eye. I am not surprised. All of her older cousins have been into Thomas. She's started to recognize him, like at the store or on tv. I took her on her first train ride at the zoo. She loved it! There's a traveling Thomas train that I hopes comes through again this year.
I can't believe I was so nervous when we found out Aeryn was a girl. I wanted a boy first. Despite certain traumas, I love having big brothers. :-) And I have leaned with the stipulation that boys are easier because they are more "durable." I love having a little girl! Aeryn's hair is long enough that I can pull her ponytail on the back of her head, instead of Pebbles' style, on top. My mom was great enough to save some old toys that Aeryn is now big enough to play with. She loves my Bo Bear; he was my teddy growing up. There are some toy dishes in her play kitchen that used to be in mine. She even sits in the same little yellow chair. It's so nice.

Well, it's my bedtime.
I did some new slides a week or two ago, so check them out if you haven't already. More to come!

To the birds

I was tempted to wait another week, just now. Make you guys wait a whole 2 months before a new entry. I know I always have excuses, this time is no different. I was introduced to a great to book series. For now I shall allow that person to remain nameless, in case of retaliation from other readers. :-) It's the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. For those of you unfamiliar, currently there are 3 books out and the 4th will be out in August. I just finished the three for a second time. It took me less than 48 hours from each purchase to read. While I am impressed with my dedication to the reading, I was not so impressed with my dedication to housework. It is nice to read again. I stopped reading so much after the last Harry Potter book. That is the one thing I wish I had done more in my younger days, read. I hated it, like spinach. Oh well.
This is only my most recent distraction. The other, baseball. While I can't say I am as enthused as much as Tim is, it's still exciting. On with the sweet stuff...

And by sweet stuff I mean Aeryn. Her dance class ended last month. We aren't enrolled in anything yet. This Saturday we are going to the birthday party for one of the girls in her dance class. The party will be at The Little Gym. I took Aeryn to a class there a year ago, but I wasn't able to swallow the cost. And she was too little to enjoy to the fullest extent. So hopefully at the party we will see if it's worth it again. I don't think she will do dance this summer. She did good in the class, but I think she will like it better later. I am for sure going to take a swim class with her. There is one starting at the BA pool next week. I hope it doesn't fill up before we get there. Aeryn had a new two piece swimsuit. Personally I don't think they should make one pieces for toddler girls. First of all, I would hate to have to take it off to change her diaper. But mostly, they are so cute with their little bellys hanging out!
Aeryn and I have been spending more time with Stephanie and Annika too. Aeryn adores her big cuz, and covets her big girl bed. Last month while waiting for S and A at the zoo, we signed up to be zoo friends. We have already gone enough to pay for it. Aeryn LOVES the zoo. They have a exhibit now where you can feed birds. Previous years it's been a butterfly house. This year it's gone to the birds. If you haven't been, it's like one of those half tube greenhouse tents. They give you a popsicle stick with some sticky stuff and seeds on the end. The birds on the inside are just like the ones you can get at the pet store. I have never had anything against birds. I have never been in the way of a dropping, knock on wood. But Hitchcock was on to something. I don't remember the last time I was so scared. All of a sudden a flock of birds will decide to take off and fly across the tent. Even though I reassured myself that they were in control and wouldn't hit me... I still cover my face and duck(no pun intended). Terrifying. It probably didn't help that I kept picturing Fabio's face after one broke his nose.
Signing Time has become a constant in our house. She has her favorites, but knows all of them by heart. The only thing she likes more is being outside. Which I can't complain because we both get exercise and fresh air. So I will complain about the stupid humidity. Yuck! I hate to sweat. Okay, well I can hear a crabby kid, and it's bath night.

"hungry...eat...bird"

The title is a direct quote from Aeryn. What she signed, anyway. With the signs, we never really emphasized 'drink', only 'milk' 'juice' and 'water'. Tim had some soda in a glass with roosters on it. Aeryn wanted a drink, so she signed 'hungry' 'eat' 'bird'. Right then we taught her 'drink'.

I am also about to post some more recipes on my recipe page. So check them out! Yummy!

Sweet Girl

Tim and I just put Aeryn to bed, and as we were walking out of the room, we hear *smooch. Our sweet girl blew us a kiss goodnight. WOW!
She's still so into Signing Time. When she gets really excited about it, she starts to sign the song. She knows the first few for it. So amazing. It's seems so easy for her to pick up on things. Our little Spongebob-ette. Soaking up everything around her.

I Am Not A Monkey

When it rains it pours. Lots of blogs lately for your reading pleasure.

So tonight for dinner Tim wanted to take us out. We decided on Fox and Hound because they have big screen TVs and there was a baseball game on. About the time we were eating our last few bites, the waitress comes over to chit chat. Of course she goes on and on about how cute and sweet Aeryn is. She asked if she was a very talkative; which led to us telling her about Signing Time. She had never seen a baby sign, so we tried to get Aeryn to show her some. If you don't already know, Aeryn is modest and doesn't like to show off. In other words, she gets shy sometimes. Tim and I are each trying to get her attention, "Aeryn, look at me," "Look at me Aeryn." Then we try signing to see if she will go along. Not gonna happen. When we've tried to showcase her before, she either does her best to ignore us or give us a stare that seems to say "I am not a monkey." We gave up, and the waitress takes 3 or 4 steps away and Aeryn looks at us and signs 'all done.' That was one of the signs we were trying to get her to do. Luckily the waitress saw it out of the corner of her eye and turned around just in time to see. Aeryn stopped when she saw the waitress paying attention. Then when the waitress turned the corner, Aeryn starts signing, practically in order, the ones we wanted her to do. What a joker she is!

Today Eileen and I went for pedicures. Even though I miss Melisa, their moving has given me opportunity to spend more time with Tims family. It's so nice to get out and have some girl time. We go to a place at the Promenade Mall, by Macy's. I like it best out of all the ones I have been to. But in the end, as long as the chair has a massager.

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Okay so I just posted this, and then went to look at my comments. I discovered that I haven't read any comments since last summer. So thanks everyone for leaving your thoughts. I am about to go through and erase some advert posts.

Good Night

Whew, what a night. Poor baby girl is having a lot of trouble with a tooth that's coming in. I think it's been the most painful. It's her lower right cuspid(third from the middle). She took an early nap, around noon. And she usually only takes an hour nap, around 2pm; or two naps if she's up from the first one around noon, like today. But she never took a second nap. So she's tired, her tooth is hurting, and she's fighting off a runny nose/congestion. All it took was one little thing not to go her way, and it happened just after 7. She cried for most the hour. We gave her some Tylenol then some Orajel. The only thing that is a sure thing to stop the crying is to take her outside. It was too cold for her to be out for more than a couple minutes. And of course when we came in, she started crying again. Thinking that she just needs a nice rest, we took her upstairs to get her ready for bed, at 8. What a challenge that was. After we changed her diaper and put on the pj's, we decided to see if a bath would help. At first she wanted to get in with her pj's still on. But Tim was able to convince her it was okay to go in sans clothes. What a guy. She loved it! Playing, laughing, happy splashing kid. She was in there for about 45 minutes, her longest. We didn't even think of washing her; plus she'd just had a bath last night. After the bath it was a regular night. She went to bed, after some stories, without a fuss. Whew. It wasn't the screaming and crying that was getting to us. It was the frustration of not being able to console her. Even though you know better, you still feel rejected when your kid doesn't want to be held by you, or anything to do with you. Just one of those things. I guess it's supposed to prepare me for her adolescent years.

Now for some good. Aeryn is doing so well with her signing. She's even picked up on some just from the video, one's that we haven't worked on with her. One that really surprised us was 'laughing.' It's in the theme song that plays when every video starts.
I have also noticed that she knows which way is up with people/dolls and animals. When she plays with her baby dolls, she never has them head down. Today she was playing with a felt cut out of a horse the right way. She knows which keys go to the car and which goes to the house; and how to put them in. She's amazing.

Slide

Whew. I am caught up on posting slides. There are too many to post, so just look for the link in my links. So here's the goings on. Easter was fun. Tim and I dyed some eggs. Tim had the great idea of letting Aeryn cheat this year on the hunt. While was out front hiding the eggs, Aeryn and I "peeked" out the front window and watched. She got the hint alright. Immediately when Tim came inside, she stole the basket, and was out the door before we could get her shoes on. She really enjoyed the experience, and was good about picking up dropped eggs. We didn't go anywhere else to hunt eggs. Maybe next year.
Aeryn is still doing great with her sign language. What a fit she throws if we turn it off, or don't get turn it in fast enough.
We also found a great playground. It's a bit far, about 15-20min, in Jenks. It's worth the drive though. I enjoy playing on it. There are two structures. A great big one, for big kids, duh. And there is one perfect for toddlers. The bars around it are too close together for any heads to pop through. We have been to it twice. The first was just Aeryn and I, we met up with Stephanie and Annika. And the second time was with the three of us today. What great weather. I am going to be so bummed when the humidity strikes.
Our decor has changed a little as well. We have a new kitchen table...



We are going to have the chairs reupholstered soon.
The other items, are a new to us TV and entertainment center. Thank you Dad. You can see them in one of the new slides.

When you have a moment, and by moment I mean hours, and check out the awesome putt putt game in my links. Thank you to my step dad Lee. Enjoy! And now all that is left for me to do is add some more recipes to my other page. Lots of yummy goodness!

Aeryn's Achievements and such

Just wanted to quickly get on and do a short update. Aeryn is in love with Signing Time. We check out a dvd or two about each week from the library. She is very good at signing. She signs: milk, juice, eat, hungry, water, apple, cookie, cracker, banana, cheese, shoes, socks, ball, please, want, car, cat, dog, bird(for Melisa, she did it the correct way from the start!), laugh, play, baby. I think that's everything so far, I may be forgetting one or two. She can say a few words: juice, ball, baby, bye bye, daddy, puppy, please. There are also some songs with hand movements, like Itsy Bitsy Spider, that she can do. On Tuesdays we go to My First Storytime at the Hardesty library in Tulsa. It's free, and there are kids her age to socialize, and kids my age I can socialize with. We do the same on Wednesdays, but we go to one in Broken Arrow. And on Saturdays we go to dance class. Yes, dance class. It's great. There are only two other girls in the class, so it's not overwhelming, and the teacher is really great with the girls. At this age, it's a mommy and me class, and it's mostly about following directions and movement. Her fave tv shows are: Yo Gabba Gabba, Sesame Street, and the Doodlebops. Fave food is Mac and Cheese. Fave toy: big pink ball. She is always helping me out. Throwing away her dirty diapers, helping me with laundry, grocery shopping(pushes the basket and puts things in). She loves the dogs. But she also loves birds. Whenever she sees one, she tells us. So I bought some bird feeders for the backyard to attract more birds. It's going well, and no increase in the need to wash the car so far either.
Don't worry I have some more cute pics to put up. Just gotta get around to it, you know. TTFN

Big Girl Chair

Yesterday we went to Wal-Mart and bought a booster seat for Aeryn to sit in at the table. Which led to the first dinner that just the three of us had at the table. Before last night, we'd only eaten at the table when we had guests. Usually we eat off of TV trays. But the past week Aeryn has been reluctant to sit in the high chair, most of the time. Which is why we got the booster. She loves it! What a success. I had been stressing out about her diet lately. I had only been making her food that she could eat without making a mess, in case she didn't want to eat in the high chair. So there was a lot of sandwiches and crackers.
Another recent problem, getting her to let us brush her teeth. After her bath Monday night, she stood up on Tim's legs, to see on top the bathroom counter. And she grabbed her toothbrush and stuck it under the sink, waited for us to turn on the water, then brushed her teeth. When she was done, she let me brush her teeth. So we also bought a stool for her yesterday. It worked good last night, but not this morning. The stool isn't as tall as we wanted, but it's safe. We'll see if she gets used to it.
I take Aeryn to Baby Story Time at our libraries. On Tuesday I take her to Hardesty Library in Tulsa(about 10-15 min from our house to the library), and Wednesdays I was taking her to Broken Arrow South(about 2 miles from my house). But the teacher at Broken Arrow we had last year moved. I don't think that the new lady is very good with Aeryn's age group(birth- 2yrs). So today we went to the Broken Arrow library close to down town(about 3-4 miles from my house). I like it a lot better there. The other mothers seem really nice, and there are few more kids, and closer to Aeryn's age, at the new one.
Story Time is fun. Just a few stories and play songs. It's great to get out of the house and make contact with other moms and Aeryn gets to socialize. Not to mention, it's free! I am looking at enrolling Aeryn in a dance, music, or gym class. The cheapest enrollment fee, I found at a ballet studio. I can't remember the name, I think South Tulsa something. It's at a new shopping center at 101st and Memorial, next to the movie theater. We went to observe a class last Saturday, but none of the kids had shown up. They said that had never happened before. I asked how many kids there were, only 3. So we are going to go back this Saturday and hope they make it. If it's worth it, I am hardly going to be able to contain myself. I took dance when I was little. I don't think I was as young as Aeryn is now. It's just so neat to see your kids enjoying the same things you did.

Salsa Baby

Last night, Tim, Aeryn, and I took my dad out to dinner for his birthday. We went to a Mexican restaurant here in BA, Compadres(sp?). We love the chicken fajitas there! You get so much yummy chicken for your buck than other places. You get free salsa and chips. I gave Aeryn a chip and she saw me dip mine in salsa and wanted some for her chip. I dipped it a little, thinking it'd be too spicy for her to like. But it was the total opposite, she loved it. And was good about not knocking over the bowl when she dipped her chips herself. Even later in the meal she stopped using a chip at all, just her fingers. I was worried about the consequences of allowing her to partake of the yummy salsaness. But so far, nothing outrageous. After dinner, my dad went home and we went to Blockbuster to rent a movie. Our Aeryn made a new friend. There was this other little girl, about a month older, there and Aeryn walked right up to her and babbled a hello. She was very interested in the movie the girl was holding but not once tried to take it away. She also tried to giver her a kiss and hug. Aeryn is too sweet! She even said "bye bye" to her.

Today Aeryn and I went to the Tulsa Women's Expo at the QT Center(formerly Expo Square). It was a last minute thing. I wish I would have tried to find someone to come with. Tim wasn't very interested for some reason. :-) It would have been better to go with someone. It had been going on since Friday, but I only found out about it last night on tv. It said there was a cute baby contest, and I wanted to enter Aeryn, even if it was to cause self esteem problems for the other babies. We all know how awesomely cute she is. I looked it up online, and the entry acceptance date had passed. Maybe next year. We walked around all the booths, avoiding sign ups for "fabulous prizes...not for a mailing list" like they're the plague. You know what I'm talkin bout. But some had some cool freebies we nabbed. Aeryn went through two helium balloons popping on her. It didn't startle, scare or upset her at all, she had almost no reaction to it. We shared some Blue Bell ice cream. I hogged the chocolate covered strawberry. I planned on sharing with Aeryn but I guess my bite was bigger than I realized. :-) I also grabbed some free magazines from a Food Pyramid(bought out the Albertson's in Tulsa) area. And I couldn't resist, I bought three awesome necklaces and a pair of earrings from a booth Dazzle Me Jewels. They are based out of Minnesota, they don't sell online unfortunately, only travel around expos. So if you are ever at one, keep an eye peeled. Their wholesale, the jewelry is sterling silver with Australian crystals. Three necklaces and a pair of earrings, only $33.48. My earrings dangle a little and have a light purplish round crystal. And my necklace charms are a monkey, wine glass, and a star. I love them. I can wear them with anything!

That's all I am up to. I will eventually have a ton more recipes on my other page and new picture slides on slide.com. I will keep you updated...and yes I still have some postdating for you.

Time Flies! ... FAST!

Okay, so it's been a while. But I have been keeping some notes, so there will be some re-caps. Just some POI's to catch you up. And I will go into more details later.

What a trip to Michigan we had! My dad flew us up to MI to spend Thanksgiving with Brad's family. It was great to spend time with everyone. We played games, went to a planetarium, saw some movies, watched Law & Order tapes I brought, and enjoyed watching the kids play. Thanksgiving dinner was great! I will get more into the trip another time. Took up so much already with the flights.
There was a big ice storm in December. Power went out Monday morning, before the sun was up, and we didn't get ours back until Thursday after dinner. What an experience. I know that I can't really sympathize with people living in war torn countries, but I think I got a taste. It's so surreal to drive on a city street in total darkness. And there are branches falling everywhere, sounds like explosions. Roads are completely blocked off by trees and power line poles. We were lucky because my dad was out of town, so we stayed at his house at night. We had to come back during the day to take care of the dogs. And it's just more comfortable for us at home.
Christmas Eve, I made dinner for Byron, his girlfriend Kryston, my dad, and his date. It was so good. I will be posting it on my recipe blog. Christmas day we went to my moms in the morning, then to Lee's mom, Regina, for lunch. We had Christmas with the Danzigers later that week, at Ian and Stephanie's.
For New Year, Aeryn stayed the night at my moms. It was her first night away from us. I should say us from her, I think the separation was harder on us than her. :-) It was nice to have a night out together.
I think that's all I am up for today. There will be more soon... I hope.