Fifteen Months

Adelie continues to grow and change and develop into her own little person.  As of her 15 month check-up this morning, she weighs 21.5 lbs (54th percentile) and is 31.5" (80th percentile).  Adelie wears her 12-18 month clothes and size 3 diapers.  She has 10 teeth.  She takes one nap (for about 2 hours) and sleeps for around 11-12 hours at night (usually 7:30ish to 7:00ish).

Likes:  Adelie remains my busy, busy, busy little girl.  Her favorite activity is climbing.  On and off, in and out.  She can do this for hours.  She also loves carrying things around--usually the bigger the better.  Step stools, heavy books, little chairs, big stuffed animals.  But if something big isn't available, a figurine, stuffed animal, book, or DVD works well too.  (Adelie wants to be so much like Staley that she can find the 'Frozen' DVD wherever it is on the shelf.  It's her favorite one to carry around.)

One of Adelie's fun vacation activities was climbing into the suitcase, removing pairs of socks, and depositing them around the house.

Adelie will look at books for brief periods of time, with her favorites remaining those with flaps (which she sometimes likes to tear off.)  She also enjoys 'Duck and Goose' books.  It's hard to list favorite toys because nothing really holds Adelie's attention for long, but she does enjoy little figurines, the Little People Princess Castle, coloring, Staley's beauty shop, the play kitchen, the doctor's kit, and her Barbie sized mermaids. Adelie also loves our water table, although she always comes away drenched.  Adelie is a great eater and eats almost everything that is put in front of her, so it's hard to list favorites, but fruit, cheese, fish, tortillini, and anything sweet are things that she will never say 'no' to.

Always happy to be eating

Adelie remains social and happy.  She loves outings, being around people, and other kids.  But her big sister remains Adelie's favorite thing EVER.  She wants to be where Staley is, do what Staley is doing, sing what Staley is singing, and will do whatever necessary to make Staley laugh.  Luckily, Staley loves her right back!!

Always following in big sister's footsteps

Dislikes:  Adelie is generally easy going, but has the shrillest scream when she is not happy or when she just wants to be noticed.  Her unhappiness is generally related to when she doesn't get something she wants, when something she has is taken away from her, or when she is removed from a fun (often dangerous) activity.  Being stuck too long in her high chair without food or in her car seat without something to play with can also result in some ear piercing shrieks.  Luckily for us and our eardrums, her screaming (thus far) is relatively limited and short-lived.

Skills:  Adelie is a mover.  She is very coordinated, and can climb on and off almost anything.  She walks quickly and crawls up stairs (quickly).  She loves to take things in and out of containers, push buttons, activate levers, and figure out how things work.  If we don't fully latch the baby gates, she has figured out how to lift the latch to open them.

Always moving

 Adelie has a handful of words that she uses spontaneously (momma, dadda, sissy, dog, duck, Dora, yessss, thank you, up, down, Elliott, Hunter, all done) and several signs (more, eat, drink, please, thank you, help, book, music, all done).  She will also try to imitate much of what we say.  Adelie understands most of what we say, and is pretty good about following one-step directions (put that away, give it to me, take that out of your mouth, sit down,...)  She is a great sharer--with us, her sister, and other kids.  Adelie can identify body parts (hair, nose, eyes, ears, mouth, feet, hands) and is starting to identify objects in books.  She can make various animals sounds, dances, sings, folds her hands for grace, blows kisses, and gives hugs. She consistently says/signs 'please' and 'thank you' appropriately.

Adelie loves to point out family members in her picture album.

Everything that Adelie does, whether it's sharing a toy with her sister, climbing onto the couch, or throwing her food on the floor, she does with a smile.  Yes, sometimes it's a mischevious smile.  But it's a smile that lights up my life.

This girl always makes me smile.

Vacation

There are moments, like when my over-tired/over-stimulated daughter throws a 30 minute fit about taking a bath or when I discover that my 15 month old has an in-the-car napping threshold of 30 minutes or when I check the forecast to see that we are going to have yet another cold, foggy, misty day on the beach that I wonder if it's worth it.  But then the tears subside, the clouds lift, and you remember why you pack up half the house, drive for 6 hours, and temporarily set up residence in a house that will become your home for one week out of the year.  Because, no matter the circumstances, Pentwater makes me happy.

There may have been limited napping in the car, but there was no shortage of coloring, reading books, playing with figurines, listening to music, and watching movies.

Both Staley and Adelie LOVED coloring with the magic ink pens.

And I loved that they only mark on the paper and are non-toxic if someone decides they want a taste.

Both Staley and Adelie spent long periods of time playing with figurines.

It was the first time I'd seen/heard Adelie actually pretending with the little people.  She always wants to be just like her big sister.

One of the greatest parts of Pentwater is that there is no shortage of family.  We stay in a house with my brothers and their families.  We spend time each day (and some evenings) with my extended family.  And Grammie and Grandpa are always around.  There is ALWAYS someone to play with.

Cousin Elliott reading to Staley (and her Barbie mermaid)

Bedtime stories with Grandpa

Beach fun with Grammie

Uncle Ethan is GREAT at playing princess figurines.

Of course spending our days at the beach is what Pentwater tradition is all about.  And the cold weather and occasional rain couldn't keep us away.  It just meant that we had the beach all to ourselves for several days.  (Luckily, it did warm up for a sunny, blue-skied, ideal beach day on Friday.)

As this was Adelie's first true beach experience, we wondered how she would like it.  She LOVED it!!  Her first moment on the beach, she headed straight into frigid Lake Michigan, then got covered in sand, and didn't bat an eye.  And, in true Adelie form, she loved climbing on and off everyone's beach chairs, was always covered head to toe in sand, and had to reminded a few times every day not to eat the sand.

There were days when our beach wear was more sweatshirt and towel, less bathing suit.  You know it's bad when I didn't even put sunscreen on the girls one of our days at the beach.

One of Adelie's favorite beach games was destroying sand castles.  The look of pure joy on her face says it all!!

Apart from beach days, there are other Pentwater traditions.  Spaghetti night, walking into town for ice cream, playing games after the kids have gone to bed, plenty of reading, s'mores night, breakfast at the Old Hamlin.  We also checked out a local Children's Museum on one rainy morning.

Yard games are always fun.  And Adelie is surprisingly good.  :)

Adelie checking out some of the books I brought to read.

A little cooking with Daddy

Pentwater never changes.  But the memories are new and fresh and fill me with happiness.

Good-bye Pentwater.  Until next year.

Being a Grown-up

Staley:  "Today at rest time, I was pretending to be a grown up."

Me:  "That's fun.  What were you pretending to do that grown ups do?"

Staley:  "I was putting people in time out."

I guess when you are 3, there is something appealing about being the time out-er instead of the time out-ee.

As Important as Sleep?

When Staley naps (which doesn't happen very often), she has difficulty falling asleep at night.  So although she'll still go to bed at her normal time, it can sometimes take her up to 2 hours to actually fall asleep.  She stays in bed, talking and singing to herself.  But with all that time on her hands in a dark room, she can also get needy.  There are often frequent requests for drinks of water, extra hugs, kisses, another stuffed animal, another blanket, help finding a Yellow Bear lost under the covers, or simply a desire to tell us something.  Sometimes she'll call us up there and then try to think up a reason once we're there.

Tonight (since Staley fell asleep during rest time today), she has been happily talking and singing to herself for the past 40 minutes.  A little while ago, we had this conversation:

Staley:  "Mommy.  Mommy.  Mommy.  Mommy."  (calling me from her bed)
Me:  "What is it, Staley?"
Staley:  "I just said 'supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' all by myself."

In the grand scheme of things, it may not be quite as beneficial as a good night's sleep, but it's something.

Things I Love: June Edition

1.  The beginning of summer--summer weather, summer clothes, summer activities, summer fun.

2.  Swimming!!

Whether at State Farm pool or in our yard, the girls love swimming.

3.  Carnivals and festivals

The rides are ridiculously expensive, but Staley LOVES them.

4.  Summer reading

Staley is participating in the summer reading program for our local library.  She gets prizes for keeping track of the books we read during the week.  She LOVES the weekly story time that she attends.  And she can't wait for July when I am going to be a guest reader for story time.  She is already giving me plenty of suggestions on which books to read, but has also told me that she is going to write a story about Jake and Elwood (our cats) for me to read to the other kids.  I'm sure that will be a hit.  :)

5.  Trips to the zoo, Farm Park, and playgrounds

Fun time at the zoo with cousin Liam

And yes, I consider this a successful photo of the 3 of them.

6.  Spending most of our day outdoors

Taking a break on the porch swing

7.  Kids running for fun

Staley was SO excited about her running outfit (that I found at a garage sale).  After completing her run, she got a medal of participation.  She wore it the entire day (and part of the next day too), being sure to tell everyone that she got it for winning.  We won't mention that she was actually one of the last kids to cross the finish line.  

8.  Baseball season

Daddy and Adelie soaking in the action at the ballpark

9.  Vacation Bible School

This is the first summer that Staley is old enough for Bible School.  I took her to a Bible School program at the church we used to attend for 2 mornings this week.  She walked right in, sat with her class, and happily waved good-bye to me.  She had a great time, made new friends, and wasn't the least bit worried about being dropped off alone in a new place with new people.  I had a harder time with it than she did.

10. Spending time with my girls!

Happy Father's Day

Some dads work too much.  Some dads don't get involved.  Some dads are never around.  Some dads would rather let mom do the dirty work.  Some dads would rather do their own thing.  Some dads don't care.  Some dads can't handle it.  Luckily, my dad wasn't one of those dads.  Zach's dad wasn't one of those dads.  And my girls hit the jackpot because they have two grandfathers who love them so much and who have set an amazing example for Zach of what a father should be.  Zach is devoted to his girls.  He's present.  He's fun.  He's involved.  He's loving.  And he would do anything for his girls.  I feel so blessed that I grew up with a wonderful father, married into an incredible father-in-law, and get to witness my amazing husband become an amazing father.

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers in my life!!

Question of the Day

Why is it that my daughter's favorite thing about the zoo has little to do with the actual animals?

This morning on our way to the zoo, Staley asked, "Are we going to the zoo with the carousel or the zoo with the animals I can ride on?"  

Since we went to the zoo with the 'animals they can ride on', we made our way through the zoo from one animal statue to another, stopping briefly to see the real animals along the way.  Apparently seeing the majestic lions, the awkward giraffes, and the playful tigers loses its thrill.  But the old, paint peeling, never moving, never changing animal statues that you can sit on?  I guess that never gets old.

Family Pictures

 We had family pictures (and Adelie's one year pictures/Staley's three year pictures) taken in May.  Here are some of my favorites...

My goal was at least one good picture of each of the girls, one good picture of the girls together, and one good family picture.  Success!!!

Yesssss!

Adelie is adding more words to her vocabulary.  She tries to imitate many of the things we say, and has added several words like 'up, down, des (for Desitin), zip, and Hunter (her babysitters son).  But my favorite of her new words is 'yessss' with an emphasis on the 's'.  She says it in such a cute way, and it is a helpful word to have in her vocabulary.  But don't worry.  Although she is not yet saying 'no', she is definitely still able to communicate it effectively.

Yessssss!  I'm happily playing with a remote.

Looking for a Loophole

This morning while playing, Staley and I had this conversation:

Staley:  "I'm going to find the bad guys and hurt them."
Me:  "We don't hurt people.  That's not nice.  We are not going to play that way."
Staley:  "I will put the bad guys in jail.  Then I will go in the jail and hurt them."
Me:  "Staley!  We do not hurt people, even the bad guys."
Staley:  "I'm just pretending to hurt them."
Me:  "I don't care.  We don't even pretend to hurt people."
Staley:  "Okay.  I will just put a piece of wood in the jail so the bad guys get a splinter."

My little negotiator is bound and determined to find a loophole.  I don't know if I should be proud of how quickly her mind works or worried about how she just can't take 'no' for an answer...and the fact that she is really set on making the bad guys suffer.  Do I sense a future federal prosecutor??

State Farm Play Day

Liam has been staying with us the past few days since, as mentioned in the post below, his parents are otherwise occupied.  He and Staley have been having a blast.  Sleep-overs and bath time, princesses and superheroes, Play-Doh and stickers, books and movies.  It's been super-fun!!  But today was extra special.  Today was State Farm Play Day!

So excited about riding an actual school bus to play day.

There were inflatables,

games (with awesome prizes like tiaras and parachute men),

Feeding the pig

Catching fish

a petting zoo,

treats,

 like corn dogs, hotdogs, and ice cream

and, of course, rides.

Everything from jeeps...

to ladybugs.

Before getting on each ride, Staley would ask me if it had a seatbelt.  She was pretty concerned that the little train ride did not have any seatbelts.  I'm not trying to raise a neurotic safety freak, but if I'm going to raise a child to be neurotic about something, I guess I'm okay with it being safety.  :)

They rode the roller coaster 6 times!

After their first time, Liam got off, threw both arms in the air, and exlaimed, "That.was.awesome!!"

Staley's favorite activity (which comes as no surprise) was...

...the pony rides.  (They rode 5 times!)

And Liam's favorite was...

...the ferris wheel.

Hooray for State Farm Play Day!!!!