RANDOM TIDBITS

Since June 16th, Jaina has been sleeping through the night more often than not. It's awesome. She just turned one and someone flipped the switch. :) 8 pm to 6:30 am. I can live with that!

This morning, Jaina crawled up to say good morning to Daddy and she said, "Hi Dada!" Two words together....think she'll be a talker like her sissy?

"Daddy, tell me a story."

"Once upon a time, there was a little girl who wore a snow suit and a huge fluffy hat to school so that she wouldn't freeze to death. One day, she got really old and moved away from where it snows all the time to a place where it rains all the time. Then she met a handsome prince and they got married. It rained for forty days and forty nights and then Ava was born. The End."

Just a little story about how hot it gets down here...

While my sister was here, we went to a petting zoo and spent a couple of hours outside. At lunch time we went to Chick-fil-A. When we walked in the door, there was an lady there with a little girl. Danielle overheard the lady say to the girl, "Oh look! Those kids have all been swimming!" (We all were wishing we had been swimming!!!)

I just can't get enough of her cuteness. Her little personality is more evident every day.

"Mommy, if we didn't have bones could we wiggle better?"

I found a stack of educational books as Goodwill the other day. Ava loves them. Her little letters are precious. :)

I THINK I FOUND THE PERFECT SIPPY

Jaina is a sippy cup beast. I don't know how many different brands/types of cups we've gone through, only to have them end up in the trash because they leak like crazy and only lend to lots of awesome play time in lakes of milk on the high chair tray.
Always on the hunt for something new and improved, I found myself once again in the baby aisle at Target searching for the "new and improved." I think I found it. It's been two whole days without leaks (other than the time I didn't screw the lid on right) and I'm ecstatic. It's the little things right? :)

It's called the "Truly Spill Proof Sporty Bottle." A pair of them will cost you $7.99 but so far it's been worth the money. 

Tommee Tippee has a lot of other products like plates, utensils and bottle gear but I can only speak for this cup. My sister hasn't had the best of luck with the "Truly Spill Proof Spout Cup" after it's been dropped a couple of times. :) 

I love the simple design of this one...no straws, no lids and no leaks (so far). :)

*Tommee Tippee did not pay me to post this. These are my opinions and mine alone.  

RANT

Just so this post doesn't sound completely horrible and negative, I'll tell you some things that I like about this place. :)

• warm winters
• having a tan all year

Now, to be totally honest, this place is nuts. Maybe I'm having a bad day but today I feel like we need to get out of here. We're barely into the summer months and when I got in the car at Target with the girls today, the thermometer said 121 degrees outside. Obviously it wasn't that hot out but still....the girls were dripping sweat back there in their seats. I do love the mild winters here but I'm asking myself if it's really worth it when the summers are unbearable. I burnt my fingers on the car door today! 

Have I mentioned the fire ants? Or the snakes? Humans are just not safe here. :) 

I apologize for offending anyone who loves Texas. :)

Hopefully tomorrow is a better day.

#longingforthenorthland

10 DAYS WITH THE ROSS COUSINS

Danielle and the kids were here for 10 days. It takes someone tough to fly alone with four young kids! We had lots of fun.

We went to the Children's Museum and 7 Acre Wood...did some kayaking...a couple trips to Chick-fil-A...and did lots and lots of swimming. Thanks for coming to see us!!!

NOISE

I love this picture of her. I love her sense of humor. She's fierce. She's tenacious. She's curious. She loves peekaboo. I say, "Aaaaa boo!" and she says, "Aaaaaaa BA!!!" 

On the other hand, she's soft. She loves to lay on pillows and any other soft thing she can find. She loves babies. She loves her bed. She loves hugs and kisses. She loves Tap. She loves her Daddy and her sissy.

I love her. 

LIFE IS NEVER DULL

"Mom, can we go to a different village and plant a really, really, really, really, really, really big apple tree? That would be awesome!"

"That's not cool, Dad. That's not cool."

"You know what a bad dream is? It's when you dream about a really mean bull."

"If I cut my finger off, that would be bad, but I simply know what to do."

We had a restless night. Donald spent half the night in Ava's bed. Ava woke up and came to me and was bugging me to go downstairs. I told her to go tell Daddy to go downstairs.
"But you're tired and Daddy has drool all over his face and I wanna go downstairs!!!"

I love watching them love each other. 

FIRST BIRTHDAYS

JAINA MAE: 1 YEAR

Sweet Jaina Mae...You turned 1 today! When you're in a good mood, we can get you to tell us that you're 1 by pointing your little finger. Today was a good day. We celebrated with our friends and ended the day with a swim in the pool. 
I love your hugs and kisses and the moments that you lay completely still on my shoulder. You love to give everyone big smacks. "Mmmmmmmaa!" Babies, dogs, sissy, Mommy and Daddy. 
Adventure is your middle name. You love everything that's not a toy and the stairs are your new conquest. You're afraid of nothing.
Either I didn't hear you last night or you slept the whole night through. Either way it was awesome and it's a step in the right direction. I do love our quiet times together in the middle of the night but I may love a whole nights sleep better. It's a toss-up. :)
For some reason, it's impossible for you to be quiet during meeting. We've tried lots of things but it just doesn't happen. 
I love your laugh. It's infectious.
I'm pretty sure that walking is your favorite way to move now...you still crawl but it's not very often. 
The weaning is going pretty good. We're down to just before bedtime at night, once during the night if you wake up and sometimes in the morning. 
The screaming is much better but once in while you let it rip. When your mad, no will pay attention to you or when you're really crying.
Your getting pretty good at imitating sounds...especially the weird ones that sissy makes. I'm amazed at the things that you understand. Like when I ask you where your baby is, you look around until you find it. 

You are a beautiful little girl and I look forward to watching you grow up. Mommy and Daddy love you very, very much. Happy Birthday.

Stats:

• 23.6 lbs (85%)
• 30.5 inches tall (92%)
• head:18.5 inches (95%)
• 18-24 month clothes
• size 4-5 diapers