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Monday, December 31

Your Own Terms

Mommy and Daddy have diligently been trying to convince you to wear a hat since the day you were born. This morning you brought me this hat to put on you and have refused to take it off since.


You even sat still long enough to let Mommy take a picture of you.

You and I will be going to Wal-Mart soon, and I have a feeling the hat is going with us. Had you chosen a hat that actually fit you, Mommy would be fine with this, afterall, it is cold and windy out today. But Mommy must admit, this is not your best look, and I don't think it's gonna do much to keep your ears warm either.

Oh, and you had to show off your dare-devil side once you noticed Mommy had the camera out.

Tuesday, December 25

Merry Christmas!

I woke up in such a great mood and was very excited on Christmas Eve!!! Here I am posing by the Christmas Tree!


And again...


And again...


It didn't take me long to figure out this opening gifts thing!


Daddy woke me up very early Christmas morning. I was very tired, but never too tired for presents!!!


I LOVE my farm set that Santa brought me!!!

I had a wonderful Christmas and hope you did, too!!!

Friday, December 14

Sixteen Months Old


I'm gonna go ahead and start coming to terms with the fact that you inherited Mommy's attitude. Sigh...

Wednesday, November 14

Quarterly Report: Y1Q1


Dear Monkey,

You are one and one quarter today, and busily dancing around me and singling “la-la-la-la-la” as I write this. That is your new thing…singing along with anyone or anything that even slightly resembles singing. And dancing around in circles until your equilibrium is broken just enough to cause you to tumble to the ground. At which point, you laugh.

I can already tell this letter is going to be the most difficult I have ever written. Not only because you are growing and learning and changing in so many ways, but also, because you keep Mommy so darn busy, I have not been able to sit down and write you one of these letters in quite some time. Mommy has a lot of catching up to do.

You turned one! About three months ago, in fact. A very, very bittersweet day, in Mommy’s eyes. It was so rewarding to watch you on your first birthday and to think back to the day you were born. It was amazing to think of how much you have grown and developed and learned, and also how much you have taught Mommy and how much you have changed our lives. Daddy and I are so very proud of you and feel so lucky to have you in our lives. It was also very heartbreaking to think of how quickly that first year went by. It truly seems like only days ago that Daddy and I first brought you home from the hospital. It is terrifying to think that the next twelve months may go by as quickly as the last did.

Mommy and Daddy threw a party for you at the bath house at the park. Everybody was there, including Grammy, Grampy, Nana, Papa, Mima, Grandpa, Aunt Nikke, Aunt Crystal, cousin Audrey, Aunt Betty, and Uncle Tom. Even Uncle Casey came home from Ohio to be here for the big day! Aunt Pam, Uncle Gary, and cousins Audrey and Bethany came, too. And of course, your friends Emma, Audri, Brynton, and Kelyn were there! You had a wonderful time at your party! You pigged out on cupcakes and tried to stay focused while we opened all of your presents. You really couldn’t wait to get your hands on your new four-wheeler and ride around in your new wagon with your friends!

You have a new bedroom! And a new house, for that matter. We made the big move only a few weeks after your first birthday. Mommy and Daddy decided that a little brother or sister is in your future a little sooner than we had originally planned when we bought our first house. We needed a third bedroom! So we moved across town to a nice and quiet neighborhood where you’re sure to have lots of friends! You’ve already made a few, in fact. Your good friend Tyler lives a couple of houses down and your friend Mariah lives just a block away. I can only imagine the trouble the three of you will get yourselves into in a couple of years! You love the new house! It is much bigger than the last house and has plenty of room for you to play and run and dance!

You had your first trick-or-treating experience! You were a little Indian for Halloween. The cutest little Indian I’ve ever seen, in fact! We dressed you up and took you downtown where everyone oohed and ahhed over you! It was very cold and windy, though, so we didn’t stay long. Then we took you to Mima and Grandpa’s house, where they showered you with lots of candy! Then we took you to Nana’s house where you got even more candy! I’d say your first real Halloween was a success! (Mommy is still munching on your candy!)

Mommy took you to the doctor yesterday for your 15 month checkup. You weighed in at 23 ½ lbs and measured 33 inches long. You are at 50% for your weight and 97% for your height. You had to get three shots and of course you cried and had that pitiful look of deceit and betrayal on your face. It breaks Mommy’s heart every time!

You have actually been to the doctor quite a few times in the past month or so. You seem to have a pesky little ear infection that will not go away. You just started your third round of antibiotics, with no luck so far. Mommy has to take you to an ear, nose, and throat doctor on December 11th. I know that getting ear tubes is a possibility, and as much as I want your ear infections to stop, Mommy hopes you won’t have to get tubes. Your ear infections are very hard to diagnose, though, which does worry Mommy. You rarely run a fever with your ear infections, and rarely act as though you don’t feel well. The majority of your ear infections have been diagnosed during regular checkups. Hopefully, this round of antibiotics will get rid of this one and maybe it will be your last for a while!

You already have twelve teeth! You cut all four of your molars at the same time and before your first birthday! It was surprisingly painless (for Mommy anyway) and you were a real champ through the entire endeavor! I had heard horror stories of sleepless nights and temper tantrums, but we managed to get through it without either! I really do know how lucky I am, honestly!

You are walking like a champ now, even running at times! You love to open doors and drawers and lids and bags. You went through a phase where no door was allowed to be left open. You were right behind Daddy and me all the time, closing the door every time we left one open. You love to take clothes out of laundry baskets, and only after every piece of clothing is out, you begin the task of putting each item back in. You nearly jump into the refrigerator every time the door is opened. You like to crawl up on the dishwasher every time it’s door is open.
You love, love, love books! Any kind of book! You love to be read to, and just recently you discovered your love for reading to Mommy and Daddy. You have an amazing sense of humor! Every time you read us a story, it appears to be a comedy. You love to talk on the phone and you always seem to be engaged in a humorous conversation. You like to tell Mommy and Daddy stories and they always seem to have a happy ending. It continues to amaze me how happy you are. You wake up from your naps smiling and waving. You play alone with your toys and laugh as though you are being tickled. You are so funny and so happy!

Daddy teaches you a lot of movements. He has taught you how to “put ‘em up” and you put your fists up as though you are ready to fight. He has taught you to kick and you love to show off your kicking skills. He has taught you how to “smack your booty” although I’m still not completely sure how that came about. But, it is funny to see you smack your booty with that proud little smile on your face.

You have begun identifying lots of things. You have many picture books and your favorite thing to do is to point out all of the animals when you ask you to. You have gotten very good at it and can even distinguish the lion from the tiger, the panda from the koala, and the parrot from the owl. You like to point out facial features. You love to point at your eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, ears, hair, and of course, your belly button. When you’re in a room full of people, you love to point everybody out. You point at Mommy and Daddy and Nana, etc. and of course, “Baby”.

The last three months have been a whirlwind. We have all been so busy with work and the move and now the holidays approaching. Thank you for reminding us to slow down! Thank you for crying when you are alone in the living room when Mommy is busy doing laundry and Daddy is taking out the trash. Thank you for reminding us that you want our attention. Thank you for following me around and laughing when I see the heaps of laundry and feel like crying. Thank you for seeing the humor in Mommy dropping a newly opened gallon of milk. Thank you for helping Mommy unload the dishwasher. And most importantly, thank you for enjoying every second of every day!

Love Always,
Mommy

Thursday, November 1

Sunday, October 14

Friday, September 14

Thirteen Months Old

I know, I'm a horrible Mommy. Actually, no, I'm not. If I didn't spend so much time spoiling my daughter, I'd have more time to work on this site!!!


Tuesday, August 14

Tuesday, August 7

Early Birthday Present...

Mommy and Daddy bought me a cool new wagon for my birthday...




Being the huge nerds that they are, they just couldn't wait until my party on Sunday to give it to me. But, that's fine with me...I love this thing!!! I hope I get lots of other cool toys Sunday!!!

Saturday, July 14

Wednesday, July 11

Wednesday, July 4

Happy 4th!!


Wednesday, June 20

Fun In The Sun!

Me, Mommy and Daddy took our first trip to the lake a couple of weekends ago. I had so much fun!




See my cute little swimming pool?


Did you know sunblock makes great hair gel?? Check out the 'hawk!

Sunday, June 17

Thursday, June 14

Ten Months Old!

Teagan Camille,

I am struggling to write your letter this month, so I decided to write a list instead.

Fifty things about you:
1) You love to dance.
2) You love to sing.
3) You often do both at the same time.
4) You often do both at the same time while naked.
5) You love bath time.
6) You love when bath time is over and Mommy pulls the plug on the drain which creates the totally cool ‘water tornado’ which you are so determined to grab with your forefinger and thumb.
7) You still think you are so funny when you squat down in front of the couch and spring up to scare Mommy and Daddy.
8) You love telephones or anything that resembles a telephone.
9) You love to give kisses.
10) You love to eat.
11) You still do that adorable panting thing you do so well.
12) Sometimes you wrinkle up your nose when you do that adorable panting thing you do so well.
13) You always follow me to the front door when I go outside.
14) You stand up at the door and slap the glass until I come back.
15) When I turn the doorknob you sit down and wait for me to come in.
16) You get very, very cranky very, very quickly when you are ready for bed.
17) You throw a ball like a 3-year old.
18) You say baby.
19) You say bye-bye.
20) You say Bubba.
21) You say puppy.
22) You say Mama.
23) You occasionally say Dada.
24) You are determined to make your way into the refrigerator.
25) You have already made your way into the dishwasher.
26) You love to see yourself—whether in a mirror or in a picture.
27) You love to eat avocado with Mommy.
28) You finally use your sippy cup.
29) You are extremely ticklish.
30) You get so excited when Daddy holds Mommy down so you can tickle her back.
31) You don’t know how to tickle yet, so you make-do by repeatedly slapping Mommy in the face.
32) You are very proud of yourself and applaud your accomplishments several times a day.
33) You are so, so happy.
34) You have your Daddy’s eyelashes.
35) You love to eat cottage cheese with Daddy.
36) You get so excited when you see Mommy or Daddy first thing in the morning.
37) You have six teeth.
38) You still have very little hair.
39) You love to watch TV but insist on standing no more than 6 inches away from the screen.
40) Nothing grabs and holds your attention like the voice of Bruce Buffer.
41) You have to touch hair to go to sleep.
42) If you can’t have head hair, you will use eyelashes.
43) You grunt proudly when you poop.
44) You have a fake cough.
45) You have a fake laugh.
46) Sometimes you do your fake cough and then when Mommy looks concerned you wow her with your fake laugh.
47) You have been trying to snap your fingers since you were four months old.
48) You sometimes cry when Mommy takes you to daycare in the morning.
49) You always laugh when Mommy picks you up from daycare.
50) Your smile makes every day wonderful.

Wednesday, June 13

I Scream

My big cousin Bethany gave me my first bite of ice cream a couple of weeks ago. She pretty much had to fight me off after that.






That's pretty much the best thing ever invented!

Tuesday, June 12

Hey, Unc! Pick Up!


Hello? Can you hear me now? Hello? Holla back, Unc!

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

Minus the tigers and bears, that is. We had our first trip to the zoo!! See...









Monday, May 14

Nine Months Old


Dear Teagan,

Happy ninth month, sweetheart! Once again, I can hardly believe it has been a whole month since I wrote your last letter. What’s more amazing is how much you have learned since then. Crawling is no longer a new activity. You are a pro now. You crawl all over the house; under, over, or around anything that gets in your way. You even crawl up and down the step that separates the living room and the den. There’s no stopping you now. You love to be chased by Mommy and Daddy, and have found that the only thing more fun than that is chasing Mommy and Daddy. When Daddy and I get down on all fours and scream as you chase us, it causes you to laugh so hard you can barely crawl. We obviously love this game and have hairless and skinless knees to prove it. You have also gotten very good at pulling up. You pull up on everything and have made a game of peek-a-boo out of it. You crawl over to the couch and pull up to surprise who or what ever is there to be amazed by you. Then you squat down, wait, and spring back up to thrill the person or thing playing along, flashing that toothy grin, of course. You also cruise along quite nicely now. You walk across the front of the couch, chair and entertainment center. You stand up at the pesky gate that separates you and Keiser and walk from one end to the other, determined to figure out which end allows for a better reach to the poor dog’s ears. You have even been splashed with a few waves of courage and let go of what you are holding on to. You stand there with that look of shock and smile proudly until your legs begin to quiver under the weight. You crash to the ground, and usually give yourself a small, humble round of applause. I am confident and afraid that the next letter I write you will be filled with my bragging about your outstanding abilities as a walker.
You continue to point out to me what a lousy housekeeper I am. I expect you to begin refusing your bottles any day now, as I don’t see how you can still be hungry after eating half the lawn that is dragged in on our shoes. I was absolutely horrified to walk into the kitchen a few mornings ago and find you playing happily with the remains of a dead june bug. My favorite thing is when I find you seriously studying an object on the floor, watch you patiently push it around with your finger and thumb, get the darn thing lined up just right so that you are able to pick it up, and just as your sweaty little hand makes it way towards your eager little mouth, I say your name and you jump and straighten your arm out swiftly to offer your treasure to me. You usually have a disgusted look on your face, as if to say I so was not going to put that in my mouth.
You have mastered the wave, and spend a large percentage of your day waving and chanting “bye-bye”. Sometimes you offer a graspy clinching wave and a very sincere “Bye Bye”. Other times you offer an open handed wave and a short and sweet “Bye!” I haven’t yet decided which one is my favorite. We are still working on the ‘hi’, as it still comes out as a squeaky, high-pitched scream. You have started saying Mama, but it is usually in the evening when you are about ready for bed, and it usually comes out as a very whiny “Maaamaaaa”. But, I’ll take it any way I can get it.
You have become so much more generous with your kisses, which I originally thought was impossible. You will kiss pretty much anything that stays still for more than two seconds. I can pull you into my lap and be showered with sometimes ten kisses. This is the best part of everyday. You still love to kiss the baby in the mirror, and have also moved on to any picture of any baby, including and especially one of yourself. You kiss on all of your toys, and yesterday I caught you sitting in the living room floor with your legs spread out in front of you and your GloWorm in between them. You were completely bent over kissing your glowing friend. You are a very loving and affectionate little girl. You have also begun giving hugs and will occasionally pat my back as I squeeze you tightly.
You have started eating some table foods and continue to like or tolerate nearly everything your lips have touched so far. You have accepted cottage cheese, ice cream, graham crackers, bananas, strawberries, French fries, pineapple, and rice Chex. You have finally started drinking juice again, but will only take apple juice if it includes banana or grape juice. You have a very strong fondness for strawberry banana juice. You have taken a little more interest in your sippy cups, but only for chewing purposes. You seem to get annoyed if any liquid comes out of it.
You went and saw Dr. Stacy for your nine-month checkup. You have grown to a whopping 19 lbs and 7 ounces, and a lean 29 inches long. You are an average weight, above average length, perfect little angel. And luckily, no shots this time! You’ll agree that doctor visits are much more fun when they leave the daggers out of the equation.
Teagan, I know I sound like a broken record by now, but as each month goes by, I am completely amazed by how much my love for you grows. I cannot imagine my life without you and don’t ever want to. You are my love, my life, my purpose.

Love, Mommy

Sunday, May 13