Christmas & the day after (off to the Zoo!)

Christmas morning was lots of fun with Oooing & Awwwing over toys and goodies! Then the day after Christmas we all went to the San Antonio Zoo! Clementine ran around looking at everything, pointing, and having a great time!!

Santa's Big Gift


Spot Steam cleaner from Peaches & Darby!


Running around at the Zoo!!



Hippos!!

Birds & Fish!

Monkeys!

Elephants!

Petting Zoo!!!

Yay!!!!!

Pomegranates!

We had a pomegranate today and Clementine LOVES, LOVES, LOVES them! She kept asking for more and when Daddy asked her to share she gave him two seeds. :)

Click below for my favorite way to peel a pomegranate (Yum).
How to eat a pomegranate

Progress

It's amazing how Clementine changes everyday. About two weeks ago she, out of the blue, just started talking in sentences! I mean she still talks in partial sentences also, but full sentences with pronouns & adjectives. She asks questions about things and wants to know what things are for and where they go and so on.

It sure makes you watch a little closer to what you say & do!

And now for a cute picture.

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving holidays have come and gone and lots of fun was had! David & Carol came down to Beeville the weekend before Thanksgiving. Chris got to go fishing with his dad and Carol, Clementine & I got to put up the Christmas tree! We had Thanksgiving meatloaf because I've been needing a change from the traditional turkey and ham. (I'm thinking about lasagna for Christmas.) Clementine got to play on a play scape before heading out to Fredricksburg. It sure made for a quiet drive out there. :)






We went to visit Clementine's grandfather in on "the farm" and got to see lots of horses, donkeys and chickens. Clementine was talking about it for days & how much fun she had!





We also went into the town of Fredricksburg and got to see the huge tree and pyramid they put up for the holidays. Clementine also got to play to exhaustion on holiday play decorations and a super big play scape!








I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Trick or Treat!

We had a very eventful last few days, visiting family & friends and going Trick or Treating with her Daycare. We went to our good friend's birthday party (which happens to be the day before Halloween!) and got to dress up! Clementine had a great time running around and playing with Oliver who dressed up as a turtle.


Contemplating

Jumping the fence

Erin showing Clementine how to hoola-hoop!

Yesterday her daycare class walked over to the college and went through every building trick or treating. She had a great time opening the bag and letting people drop in all sorts of goodies! She never said "trick or treat" but luckily was more than willing to say "thank you!". She dressed up in her Dorothy dress from the Wizard of Oz and even had little basket with 'Toto'.

Scarlet Fever

Yes, it still exists and Clementine has it. It turns out that Scarlet Fever is just strep throat with a rash. Who knew? Well, I guess doctors knew, but I didn't.

Luckily we live in the age of penicillin and it turns out to be easy to treat. Unfortunately her rash looks terrible and it is super itchy, so we have to keep telling her not to scratch it and she pretty much ignores us. We have tried benadryl and cortaid which help only a tiny bit. Today we are trying calamine and aloe vera. Hopefully it will just go away quickly, because we only have so many leggings and pants in her wardrobe!

Here she is sitting on the floor watching "Annie" (again).

Annie

Did you ever have a favorite movie while you were growing up? One that you watched over and over and over and never ever wanted the movie to end? Me too. I can remember several that I loved to watch and one of them was "Annie".

Well, low and behold, it is (at this point in time) Clementine's favorite movie! She LOVES watching it, singing to it, singing the songs when it is not on, asking us to sing the songs, etc... Her favorite song, of course, is "Tomorrow" and she has a good portion of it down. Yes, she can't say all the words yet, but is working very hard on that. I have pretty much every song memorized and can entertain her for quite a while if we are out and about and don't have the movie available. And despite seeing it about 9 thousand times already, I still enjoy watching it. Maybe I'm really just enjoying watching Clementine watch it and see how happy she is, but either way it brings a smile to my face when she says, "Watch, Annie!".

And on that note:
Hey, Dapper Dan, Hey, Hobo Man
You've both got your style
But, brother you're never fully dressed
Without a SMILE!!!

Long overdue update & a sick little girl

Everything has been going along pretty well. We have unpacked almost every room in the new house and started putting up pictures, etc... Clementine had a great time visiting grandparents this last weekend and got to stay all day with Grandma Shirley while Chris & I went up to Georgetown to check on the 4-plex. Grandma said she was an angel all day!

We picked up a new (used) breakfast table with chairs and a couch Grandma gave us. The table fits perfect in the breakfast area and the couch is already a favorite place for everyone to curl up on with a blanket.

We had planned a big trip to the coast with some friends and have been working overtime to get the house in order for their visit, then on Tuesday Clementine got a fever and a rash. It has been pretty persistent since then with her temperature getting as high as 103.6. So we took her to the doctor this afternoon and found out she has strep throat and an ear infection in each ear. So, sadly no coast visit for us. :( And we are hoping that we don't get sick ourselves. She has been very generous with her kisses since getting sick.

Chris & Clementine were working on cleaning up her room today and she crawled into her giant pile of stuffed animals and covered herself up!

How to be fit like a child

Love this article! It has lots of good advice (mainly for me).

How to Be Fit Like a Child
September 1, 2010
By Dawn

http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif Click here for the link

“Adults are always asking little kids what they want to be when they grow up because they’re looking for ideas” -Paula Poundstone
Children have what we want- they are fit, energetic, happy, and full of life. What can children teach us about being healthier and stronger?
1. Children run. The minute they’re done crawling they’re zipping around, jumping and skipping, as any ragged mom can attest. We need spring in our step, a quick pace and to be light on our toes.
2. They stop eating when full.
3. They eat small frequent meals.
4. They drink often.
5. Because of their hydration and mini-meals, they go potty frequently. We should do the same- this cleans out our system, expels toxin build-up, and keeps us light and in good humor.
6. They will especially eat food they prepare on their own- try new recipes.
7. They like to eat outside, and they eat heartily, with passion. Enjoy your food!
8. Kids get 8-10 hours of sleep. Adults need the same for peak performance.
9. They play with others well. Surround yourself with other happy, healthy people.
10. They are happy, rarely negative or harboring grudges. Let it go.
11. They find joy in doing new tasks with their bodies; they are not ashamed they don’t know how to do something already. Translate: try the Zumba, yoga, rock climbing or speed skating class you’ve been dreaming of.
13.Children are limber. This gives them their speed and grace.
14.They love being outside- connect with nature, even in your backyard.
Once a neighbor told me she watched my two year eat an apple. My little girl relished in the fruit, and with her squirrel-like little paws ate the whole darn thing, core and all. My friend (over 50 years old) then went out and did the same, trying to appreciate and experience the apple like a child. It took my neighbor appreciating my child to open my eyes to the possibility that I could learn as much, if not more, from my children than they learn from me. Result? I’m a happier, healthier, younger mommy.

Repurposing a crib

We aren't ready to do this yet at all, but I thought it was such a neat idea I had to post it somewhere.

They have turned their old drop-side crib into an activity center for their kids who are now older and don't need a crib anymore. Genius!



Link: a little learning for two

They also have other ideas that are really neat.

The Big "2"

Clementine is now 'officially' a toddler, even though she has been 'toddling' since she was 10 months old! Her 2nd birthday party was wonderful! Everyone had a great time playing at the Austin Children's Museum. I'd like to give a BIG hug and 'Thank You' to everyone who accommodated and helped us this weekend. Now here is what you really want, pictures!!!

Update

It has been a while since we've updated so here goes.

We have successfully moved to Beeville, TX. It is a lot different, but I love having my family here with me where I work. I love being able to come home and see my dear husband and sweet girl in the evening, even if we are still walking around boxes. Our new yard was badly neglected by the previous owners (for about 4 years) so we usually take a stroll around the yard moving sprinklers and deciding where we will saturate the grass next. We discovered two holes in the ground, which we originally thought might house armadillos or even a snake, but we flooded them with water and discovered frogs living in them! Clementine thought this was the neatest thing and for 10 minutes after they showed up was hopping around the yard saying "Frog, ribbit, ribbit"! Yes, it was as cute as it sounds!

Our A/C is not cooling very well and this last Friday the compressor stopped working. The home warranty people finally got someone out here (Sunday evening, ugh) and it was the thingy that works like a starter on the compressor. You know, whatever that thing is called. It was 105 degrees outside and 95 inside. Luckily we had a window A/C unit from the last house and put it in the bedroom window. We shut the door, brought in the TV and some movies and pretty much just had family time all weekend. Our original plans were to unpack and organize, but as you can imagine that didn't really happen. We did unpack some bedroom items and that was pretty much it. Despite all that, we had a great time bonding as a family and Clementine's new favorite movie is 'Rio'. She loves the birds! I have to agree with her, it is a pretty good movie with a good story.

Clementine is slowing adjusting to her new daycare. We decided on the Coastal Bend Jr. College daycare, because the students at the college who study child development attend their labs there and they have more of a focus on learning activities, not just a babysitter atmosphere. And they are really close to our house. Not that this is a very big town anyway, but I literally drop her off on my way out of town and pick her up right when I come back in. It's a really nice location.

We do have some sad news. Our beloved truck that we have had and loved for the last 13 years has passed away. The heat was just too much for her engine and she overheated and had a heart attack. Considering she was going on 21 years old, I think she had a pretty good run. But I will admit that I was pretty attached to her. She was my grandfather's truck and Chris and I scraped together the money to buy her as our first joint vehicle. Sweet blue truck, rest in peace. And may your parts be used to help other trucks like you. (She was an organ parts donor)

We love when friends have birthdays!

We went to the Austin Children's Museum on Saturday to celebrate the birthday of one of Clementine's classmates birthday. She had a great time & played until they closed the doors!

The "Magic" word

Clementine is really good at saying "Please" and "Thank you" & usually signs it too, just for good measure, but we have not really told her that they are "magic" words. So today when she wanted some more biscuit I asked her "What's the magic word?" she thought about if for a second and then said..."More".

Baa, Baa, Black Sheep

I sang "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep" to Clementine the other night (actually it was 4 am Saturday morning when she woke up & wouldn't go back to sleep). She loved it & kept saying (and signing), "again". I think I sang it about 40 times.

Now she sings it to herself along with the "ABC" song. Although she can sing all the way through the "ABC" song.

Yup, this is me bragging about how smart my kid is!! :)

Mixing Bowl a.k.a. "Hat"

"Excuse me, Do you have anything I can play with?"

"Nevermind, I found something!"

We went over to our best friends (Sam & Erin's) house for the 4th of July. We ate, swam & had a great time!! Clementine had a great time turning Erin's mixing bowls into hats & banging them together. She also fell in love with their dog, Oliver. She thought it was so fun to throw his toy for him!! I wish I had some pictures of her playing with him, but I guess I'll have to get some the next time!

Double V

Clementine got some little sewn letters that we have been playing with recently learning our alphabet. And when we get to "W" she says "double V"!

I actually agree with her. It does look more like a "double V" than a "double U". :)

Also, whenever she sees a picture of herself she yells out, "YOU!"