18 months...

 

It has been a whirlwind of life happenings since you have been in our lives these last 18 months… I can’t believe how you seem to grow right before our eyes in the course of a one hour nap or overnight! It’s as if we can see the learning and growing process in everything you do. You are constantly trying to mimic and learn new tasks… you love to try things yourself before asking for help (stubborn). You are one of the most social butterflies of a baby we know (even though you are technically a toddler, you’ll always be our baby girl)… You have such a sweet demeanor that quickly turns into a passionate sassy little girl when you don’t get your way (sometimes I think there is a 16 yr old inside you!), and back to sweet again when we’ve distracted you. I know I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… your laugh and giggles are infectious and bring so much joy to your daddy and I. I hope that spark of pure joy and laughter never fades in you as you grow. I don’t even know where to begin with your milestones, so here we go:

~You have a beautiful set of teeth (lucky for us they all came in pretty quick- teething is no fun for anyone!)

~You are a monkey who likes to climb anything and everything, including the kitchen table!

~You make the cutest sounds for a monkey, puppy/dog, kitty, cow, duck (qua-qua), sheep, monster… and let’s not forget Ariel (ahhh-ahhh-AHHH)

~You FINALLY started saying momma!

~You are a total girly-girl who insists on wearing shoes (preferably your pink crocs) right when you get out of bed, until bath or bedtime… same goes for your headbands. However, you take falls, spills and slams into the furniture with such grace (you typically get up laughing or say “uh-oh” when most kids would be crying!)

~You prefer to be a vegetarian (unless its steak or fish – go figure)… Lima beans are your absolute favorite (we’ve used them to bribe you to finish the rest of your meal)

~You are learning to pronounce words (still complete baby babble, but we semi-understand your dialect), even though you depend on your sign language to communicate for the most part

~signs you use regularly- please, thank you, eat, more, all done, help,  book, yogurt, ball, baby, play, shoes, bink (one you created on your own), on/off, friend, home, and daddy

~your favorite words to say (with such emphasis it cracks us up): hi, bye, shoes, gampa, bebba, taycie, baby, bath (you LOVE bath time almost as much as you love your shoes)

~you’re an entertainer… the words “happy feet” tell you its time to dance wherever and whenever… you are a total ham when you see a camera (on your terms of course)

~you’re a fantastic hugger (your hugs and kisses brighten up any mood)… your daddy especially loves your hugs

I love that you love to read your books, you love to laugh, you love to dance and act silly with your mommy, you give great bear hugs and kisses, you love to be outside, you love Barney and The Wiggles (even though I can’t stand either)… I love every moment we have had you in our lives these past 18 months, and I can only imagine how much you will grow in the next several months to come… we are both so proud of the little girl you are blossoming into.

Love, Daddy and Momma

Better late than never!

I'm not a huge Halloween fan, so when it came time to pick a costume, I looked to Pinterest  (the new Google for inspiration on all things crafty, tasty, pretty, genius, and fabulous!) for some crafty cute inspiration... Instantly, I decided I was going to make Jayme this adorable peacock ... until I started doing the math on the feathers and accessories ($50+ for a toddler to take a cute picture was out of our budget and insane)! Since we weren't planning on taking her trick r' treating this year, I decided to go with a Costco (affordable) costume that she could help us hand out candy in. I picked out the last of the 18month costumes for her to choose from (cow, chick, lady bug, monkey)... and OF COURSE my child picks the one costume that is the furthest thing from girly! What does one do when their child is excited to be a gender neutral monkey (I still think boyish) costume for Halloween????? Add some bows and pink of course!!! I had grand plans for the pink additions, and when it cam time to get it done or let her be a boy monkey... I ended up just throwing a headband around the tail, some bows we already had on the ears, and of course no outfit (even Halloween) is complete without her absolute favorite shoes- pink crocs (seriously- she can't be without them: getting out of bed- crocs, getting out of the bath- crocs, Sunday best- crocs, pajamas-crocs... the list goes on and its hilarious and ridiculous all in the same)! Halloween came, and when we realized our only trick r' treater was her friend down the street, we decided to go show the neighbors our costume and stall time waiting for Aunt Tay... so the monkey got to go trick r' treating after all!

counting the candy to be handed out

she decided to take the pass out candy with her trick r' treating

"come on mom!"

note ugly pink (dirty) crocs

Happy Halloween!

96 years and still a character...

 We all got together on Sunday to celebrate our Gramps' 96th birthday... only 4 more years until triple digits and a massive party (and Lord willing I believe we will get to have a big 100th bash to celebrate)! How many 96 year-olds do you know that still bowl (in a league and WELL... better than me), drive (although this is up for debate if driving past 85-90 should even be permitted... but he still does and has a clean accident/ticket record), and use a cell phone?! After taking care of Grams for several years as she became bed-ridden (which is daunting enough for anyone of any age, let alone a 90 year old)... he still has a spring in his step (a clumsy step sometimes- apparently where I get my klutziness from), a standard Smith family goof-ball sense of humor, and a sharp as a tack noggin to boot! I can only hope I have his genes :-) 

from the top: love the faces on all three (left to right-anticipation, concern, and pure joy)... spoiled with ice cream... aunt tay feeding her split pea soup... the birthday boy in becca's hat... bebba having a bad influence on my child

the table next to us decided to sing happy birthday after the entire restaurant sang their version

post lunch family time

time for more birthday celebration (note the same blue candle from the restaurant... we forgot our own candles)

pumpkin patch round 2....

 This time we went to Irvine Regional Park with our girlfriends Kristi and Riley and new girlfriends (and 3 new baby boyfriends)... after a looooonnnnng weekend of being strapped into a seat, carrier, stroller, or being held, Jayme thoroughly enjoyed being able to run around with the girls.

her face is priceless... enter caption here"....."

greeting her friend Kyren (we <3 her boots!)

Jayme coaching Riley as she attempts to lift a giant pumpkin

"you can dooooooo it Kyren!!!"

the girls exploring the pumpkin pile

the boys strapped onto their mamas

measuring up

double checking

Jaymestein

clearly she's not having any fun...

if only we knew what they were talking about

"what do you mean 'no'?!?!"

train ride

she was super excited to be riding the train

San Francisco Road Trip Weekend

The weekend I have been training for semi-training for finally arrived! Our morning was supposed to start @ 4am with breakfast and loading the car so we could be on the road before traffic and daylight... Jayme had other plans... we started our morning @ 1am, Bebba joined us by 3:30... and yet somehow we still didn't get on the road until 5:10! Our plan was for Jayme to sleep most of the way, and since she was up @ 1am we figured a long nap would be guaranteed.... turns out nothing is guaranteed with a 1 1/2 yr old... she slept from 6-6:45 and a half hour before we arrived at our final destination, which made for an exhausting first day in San Francisco... BUT despite the lack of sleep we had a weekend full of memories made!

breakfast @ 3:45am, cartoons with Bebba, car loaded and on the road by 5:10am... Sunrise pit stop

overly tired nugget who must have a tapeworm... she never stopped eating! Oakland bridge and camera crew shooting along side us... and wouldn't be California without traffic!

experiencing the sights and streets of SF with her aunties... ice cream @ Pier 39, Powell street for pizza, sea lions, and walking 10 blocks through the ghetto to get back to the house in Alamo Square (using Bebba's phone to talk to her "friend")

The Austin Gals

Carb-loading dinner for 20 the night before the big race

Jayme's new friend she discovered in SF (video courtesy of Auntie Bebba)

her "friend" came with us to the hotel... she spent more time entertaining herself @ the mirror than with her toys

NWM race morning... sisters @ the start line... along with 22,500 others.... 2 hours 33 minutes later I actually was able to run across the finish line (I assumed I might be crawling towards my finisher necklace)

enjoying the scenery and people wanting to take her picture (kinda creepy- yet flattering???)

loooooonnnng road trip home... Jayme's first Happy Meal, Bebba's blown knee being iced courtesy McD's emptied out ice machine, "Happy Meals" for the grown ups, footsies with Bebba's post-marathon feet, monkey neck support for a 2 hour nap (finally!)

Assuming I'm not pregnant or a new mom of 2 by this time next year... I would like to stay in Union square (convenience well worth the cost), leave the lil' gal with a sitter, and actually train for next years race...

pumpkin patch play date...

100 degree weather in California calls for a beach day (even if it is the middle of October)... our beach play date quickly turned into a pumpkin patch and Panera Bread lunch play date when we realized the Seal Beach PD had a good portion of accessible routes closed down (figures we'd pick the one time when the quiet community of Seal Beach is full of media and police after a mass murder @ a local hair salon took place the day before)... we joined all the other stroller pushing mommy-and-me goers at the local Pa's Pumpkin Patch and the girls didn't seem to mind. Things we learned/experienced/realized- a) you can never apply too much sunblock; b) mamarazzi will stop at nothing (including making obscene noises gestures) to get their lil' ones' attention for the perfect pumpkin backdrop photo opp; 3) ALWAYS wear close-toed shoes when trekking through a petting zoo... and while I'm at it- always have wipes/hand sanitizer ready; z) if you buy the bulk ticket package to save a buck, you won't use them all, on the other hand if you only buy a few pricier tickets you'll wish you splurged on the money-saver ticket pack; and 5) pumpkins are way cheaper at the grocery store. 

After our pumpkin patch venture, we headed to Panera where the girls looked like a couple of old-lady birds enjoying an afternoon of catching up on important life happenings such as who had what for breakfast, whose headband stayed on longer, and which book they are going to fight over on the car ride home... all in all it was a fantastic day with good girlfriends!

"I'll take this one! $50 isn't too much right mom?"

of course I had the wrong angle when they finally both looked at a camera simultaneously!

my lil' bug liked chasing the animals... and trying to grab their tails

just a few of the million shots when one or both weren't looking... action shots are all the rage anyway (so I keep telling myself)

people thought they were twins/sisters/cousins

broccoli cheese soup... tasty annnnd  messy- fantastic!

can't decide which is better... hand or spoon... either way she polished off her soup and asked for more

Weekend wrap-up....

Highlights of this beautiful first October weekend.... seeing childhood friends... seeing 2nd generation friendships beginning... seeing my child's social butterfly personality blossom... church with just the 3 of us (first time by ourselves)... uninterrupted power nap... all 4 siblings reunited... Aunt Tay is back (for good we hope?!)

 

pint sized ice-cream cone for my pint-sized chocoholic

round 2 on day 2... giving mom the "don't you even take away my ice cream" glare

party highlights... jayme heisting the birthday girl's shiny new vacuum... annnnnd her birthday cake!

the girls made it home safe from their adventure road-trip home from Austin.... lovin' on the nugget

nutella fix.... as if the ice cream wasn't enough she suckered them into spoon feeding her nutella straight from the jar!