I take it back

As soon as I write a post about how great my kid is and how much I love hanging out with her - she starts this awesome new habit of trying to stick her whole hand in her mouth, which makes her gag, which she thinks is funny, so she does it again and again and again - until she makes herself throw up. She has now enjoyed three doses self-induced vomiting in the bath, in the carseat, and right in the middle of the living room floor. Absolutely disgusting.  

Just some thoughts!

I love looking at everybody else's blogs but I feel completely unmotivated to update my own! Since I finished up my Spring classes at the beginning of May - there hasn't been a lot of blog worthy activities going on around here. Mary and I have been hanging out in our pajamas for about a month now and we are seriously enjoying it. I could post picture of that . . . but I won't. We are totally enjoying the summer together and I am remembering how fun it is to stay at home with Mary without having to worry about classes, studying, writing papers, etc. 

I can't get over how much I love Mary's age right now. I would freeze her at 18 months if I could and just keep her this way forever. She is such a happy kid - completely laid back and so independent. She plays and plays by herself most of the day, usually coming to me if she wants something to eat or needs help getting into something, and I just have to cherish those moments when she stops what she's doing just to come over and give me a hug. It's amazing how much I love taking care of her and just spending my days with her. Everyday is a new surprise with what new words she's going to say or how she's going to make me laugh. It's completely cheesy, but I absolutely love it!  

 

Favorite Things

A few of my favorite pictures from the past month . . . and plenty of evidence for why I love this kid. 

After a morning of picking strawberry's. 

Trying on Mr. Potato Head's glasses. 

She told me "night-night" and went and took a nap on her own.     

Some precious cargo in her shopping cart.

A baby doll and a big fake owl. 

Her very own work of abstract art - Potato Head style. 

This one is all nutella. 

High Heels

Happy Birthday Cory

I forgot to mention that my brother Cory turned THIRTY this month. He spent the weekend of his birthday getting his behind kicked doing a Navy Seal training simulation. He spent the weekend after his birthday proving to all of us that you're never too old to get a little cuddle time with an Elmo doll. 

We love you Cory! Happy Birthday! 

A Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day this year just couldn't have been any better! Since Paul had to help with a camp out this weekend, we started celebrating early (which I am ready to make a new tradition every year!). Paul got off work early one night this week and took Mary and me out to an amazing dinner! Since he wasn't sure about what to get me for a gift, he took me shopping Saturday afternoon and shopped WITH me the entire time (that's seriously a first!). I felt quite loved - and we had a ton of fun together. Paul made breakfast Sunday morning and Mary brought me a homemade card (with plenty of help from her Daddy). It was so fun to be pampered and taken care of just for the sake of celebrating =).  

Mary's Mother's Day gift to me was the three hour nap we took together after lunch. Ohmygoodness, that was so nice! (This picture was taken pre-nap and Mary wasn't really feeling the photo shoot -- making our sleep time that much better)

We got to spend Mother's Day with my Mom for the first time in three years - and although she says that Mother's Day is a day created by Hallmark to get more money from selling greeting cards, we loved spending the day with her anyway =). She always says "don't just show me how much you love me on Mother's Day, show me how much you love me ALL year." So today is the day AFTER Mother's Day and hey Mom - we still love you just as much as we did yesterday! 

Mary's First Prayer

We were at Krista and Evan's house a few weeks ago for Evan's birthday and Mary comes walking in the living room with a jar of Ragu from their pantry. She puts it on the floor in the middle of the room, folds her arms and goes around the room to make sure everybody else has their arms folded. When we're all ready, Mary looks down at the jar and says "Waaaater . . . . Amen." We died laughing. She said her first blessing on the food all by herself completely unprompted! We now hear that prayer about 20 times a day before we eat, while we eat, after we eat. She's so proud of herself. I love this girl!