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Monday, April 30, 2007

All Grown Up...but not really...

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/30/2007 11:55:00 PM
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Jillian has really taken a liking to a Clinique "gift with purchase" bag I got recently. Yesterday and this morning, she would come up to me, holing the bag out, making her "signature sound" that so many of you are familiar with, basically asking me to put it over her shoulder. Finally, this morning, I asked her if she could do it, saying, "put your arm through...," and the rest is history:









A Beautiful Sunday!

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/30/2007 11:38:00 PM
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Playing with The Little People before going to church...






Daddy and Jillian in our future dining room!






Jillian is clearly thrilled over the fact that our house now has brick and sheet rock!







Seems church and a new look at the house (and a reading or two of her Elmo book) can really wear a little angel out!






Unfortunately, aside from a 20-30 minute catnap later on that day, Jillian didn't sleep again until bedtime! She must have been more excited about the progress of the house than we thought!

LET'S GO!

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/30/2007 11:30:00 PM
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Jillian definitely understands when we're about to go somewhere. She heads toward the door, says "cah," (car) "beep beep," and today, she did her best to say, "Let's go" (sounded like "es oh"). This past Saturday, she was very ready to get our family errands done:





Come on! Move outta the way!




BTW, this adorable Children's Place dress is another great find at Divine Consign! :)

Interest in the camera...

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/30/2007 11:22:00 PM
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Jillian has recently become fascinated by the screen on the camera, thereby making it a little more challenging to get pictures of her where she's not on her way to come see what I see on the screen...


Examples:





Friday, April 27, 2007

Stairway to Fun :)

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/27/2007 11:06:00 PM
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Before heading out to the park yesterday, Jillian put on her Razorback windbreaker as it was a little windy/chilly...





When we got to the park, Jillian figured out how to go up stairs!...

Thanks, "Aunt" Tanya!

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/27/2007 10:58:00 PM
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Lately, Jillian has had such a blast with her Little People Airplane that "Aunt" Tanya gave her for her first birthday. She really enjoys putting multiple Little People in there, and then stuffing Winnie the Pooh characters and her babydoll in there:

Dora Diapers

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/27/2007 10:34:00 PM
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Ever since Richard's mom got Jillian a Dora book, she has been crazy for Dora anything...and, admittedly, I have been, too...I swore I would never give in to the Dora craze (honestly, Dora just seems a little annoying, but I guess most any children's character has that potential, right?), but it's so hard to NOT when your child is so happy to see or have anything Dora. The funny thing is that she doesn't watch TV, so she's missing on the show that has created this whole craze!


Anyway, we got these Pampers Easy Ups Diapers, just to kind of see what she thought about the whole concept of diapers working that way. Truthfully, normal diapers are easier for me, but she's much more enthusiastic about her new diapers. Not because of the pull up aspect, but because of DORA being on there! Now, instead of Jillian running off (actually, she's not really running yet - just walking really fast) at the mere mentioning of changing her diaper - or even going toward the changing supplies - she gladly goes to her room after I say anything regarding a "Dora Diaper" - she'll hand me one...or five...and continue to do so even after changing her!



Here's Jillian, modeling her awesome Dora Diapers!


Changing Baby's Diaper

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/27/2007 09:48:00 AM
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Jillian recently tried to change her baby's diaper:







Aftger little success with Stage 5 diapers, Jillian and I tied a baby washcloth on as a diaper:





Here's video that captures Jillian saying the word, "baby"!!! Up until now, she always said, "DADA!" - sometimes she even pluralized it when there was more than one "dada"! It's funny, because I've noticed that she will pluralize baby as well! What a smart cookie!



Our new "pet"

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/27/2007 09:40:00 AM
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There are always bunnies running around the neighborhood, our front yard, and especially our backyard. Earlier this week, Jillian was completely fascinated by our resident bunny in the backyard:




The Many Faces of Money Magazine...

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/27/2007 09:25:00 AM
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It happened just like the Redbook incident. Jillian has such curiosity.







Here's some video (not that exciting, but as always, very fascinating for both Richard and me):


Wednesday, April 25, 2007

A Wonderful Date Night with my Amazing Hubby!

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/25/2007 01:00:00 PM
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Sunday afternoon, my Dad and Cathy came over to play with Jillian while Richard and I went on a fun date! It was a little scary for Jillian when they showed up - she immediately looked panicked and walked to Daddy's leg and cried. It was so sad, but I know that Richard secretly loved, it - feeling for the first time (he claims) that she wanted him instead of me - to protect her. Anyway, after trying to calm her and help her feel more comfortable with them, nothing really worked until she had some Cheerio's. At that point, we tiptoed out of the house to go see the movie, "Fracture." It was SO good! I LOVE stories with twists and turns (but that aren't too violent or scary). I would definitely recommend it!


After that, we headed back home to feed Jillian while Dad and Cathy grabbed a bite to eat. We figured that since Jillian had been a little more temperamental than usual at dinnertime, it would be easier if we just handled it. So we fed her, read to her, and put her to bed.


Then, off to the place I had been craving since our last date night - Blue Mesa Grill! But, just as luck would have it, there was a sign on the door that said that they would be closing at 8:30 due to repairs. We showed up almost right at 8:30 :( So, we moved on to the next choice: Mi Cocina! We hadn't been to the one on Legacy yet, so we figured this was a perfect opportunity to try it out...and it was wonderful! We even got the waiter to take this picture of us:





After dinner, we were trying to think of somewhere or something we could do that would normally not be an option with a child in tow. I suggested that we go to an empty parking lot for me to learn to drive standard. I had only had a little experience on a 1960s bug that Richard and I purchased off of ebay early in our relationship. We bought it for the sole reason of teaching me standard, and it just wasn't in that great of shape (not surprisingly), so we ended up reselling it and abandoning my driving practice. Until Sunday night. Richard agreed to let me practice on his beloved Jeep that we usually take on date nights. All in all, I think I did pretty okay and seemed to have a few good runs with it. I still have to really concentrate on what I'm doing, but one of these days...Anyway, Richard let me drive home from the parking lot (wow, that sounds like something a teenager would say, right?), and it was probably a little more stressful than he would've liked, but not so much that he didn't agree to let me try again sometime soon! :)



Thank you again for the amazing date, Richard! I love you and can't wait for the next one (when we'll finally go to Blue Mesa)!!!

Jillian Meets Farm Animals for the First Time

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/25/2007 12:48:00 PM
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Last Friday, Richard and I took Jillian to Owen's Spring Creek Farm to show her all of the neat farm animals...she seemed to really like them until the sheep "baa-d" - in her defense, it was a scary "baa" that sounded more like a really deep and bassy "moo."

Here are some of the highlights of the trip:











Jillian's First Time at Chick Fil-A

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/25/2007 12:32:00 PM
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Last week, Meg and Travis invited us to meet them at Chick Fil-A, and since Jillian had never been before, I figured this was as good of a time as any! I still brought her usual lunch - deli turkey, an orange, and yogurt...and Cheerios for backup. She had a great time and seems to really know Travis these days! :)





These were all taken as Travis' Aunt Katie and I were having fun rolling Jillian's high chair back and forth - she thought that was pretty entertaining :)


Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/24/2007 07:54:00 PM
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Last Tuesday, we drove out to the house and got some cute pictures of Jillian en route:







Daddy and Jillian in the front "yard":






Richard is planning on posting pics of that trip on the house blog sometime very soon... :)

Someone's in the kitchen...

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/24/2007 07:28:00 PM
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After seeing how much Jillian enjoyed Travis' cool new kitchen, I realized it was time to get Jillian one as well. It was something I had been planning on getting, but I really didn't know when she would appreciate/play with it. Anyway, we looked at several different types of kitchens, but ultimately, we decided to go with the girly version of Travis' more manly/gender neutral kitchen.



Of course, there was no way I was going to buy the kitchen at the normal price (I should've just hit the sale that Meg got their kitchen at!), so I checked craigslist.com and found one there for half of what many places charge! Already assembled, brand new!





Anyway, here's Jillian VERY excited as she gets acquainted with the new kitchen (this was a couple of weekends ago):






The next day - introducing her toys to the kitchen oven. We quickly realized that this kitchen would house many random toys...Grover seems to have taken a particular liking to the dishwasher. Especially after Jillian figured out how to remove the sink and drop him in from the top! :)






I'm going to try to upload some video of Jillian and her kitchen, so stay tuned!

Pump It Up (a couple of weeks ago)...

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/24/2007 06:43:00 PM
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Richard was off this past Friday and the Friday before...the first of those two Friday's we met up with some friends at Pump It Up...




Jillian managed to climb up the big slide with some help from Mommy and then we both slid down:







She tried mastering the slide on her own, but ultimately decided to go back to her favorite part about this place...the Cozy Coupe:


It was hilarious because before I could even get my shoes off, upon entering the room, Jillian had already found the car and gotten in it. She monopolized it for a long, long time, and when Mommy encouraged her to let another child play in it, she would walk away and find the other cozy coupe! She's obsessed with it, but I know the second we get one for her to have at our house, she won't care! So we're not getting one anytime soon...






Daddy took a picture of Jillian inside one of the inflatable areas!






Mommy and Munchkin have so much fun at this place!





See? Here's Mommy after she slid down the smaller slide - SO MUCH FUN!!!






...and here's Munchkin about to go down the slide by herself!




Yay for fun family time!

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

I LOVE this Gymboree Outfit that I got at Divine Consign!

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/17/2007 10:21:00 PM
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And it's already a little too small in the top, so I figured I should go ahead and post a whole bunch of pictures now! (Yes, I know that I already have a tendency to post too many pictures, but I can't help it - she's ADORABLY CUTE!!!)







Pointing at a leaf blowing by...













She LOVES her Mini-MagnaDoodle!






But Grover is still her #1 favorite thing to carry around :)





Just thought this one was interesting - she looks older/different in this picture or something...

A Strong Desire to Play (and Sing!)

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/17/2007 09:34:00 PM
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A few days ago, Jillian stood at the piano bench looking up at the piano, and then back at me, so I sat her down, and boy, does she LOVE to play! You wouldn't know it from these pictures, but trust me! Everytime I thought she might be done at the piano and tried to lift her up, she was not happy...she has a ball playing on all the keys, and also pushing the special buttons (specifically the "demo" button, b/c then she can play along AND dance, too!). I must admit that after seeing her happily sit there for about 5 minutes, I thought, "Now I can get some stuff done around here!" And everyday, for the last few days (around 3pm), she goes over to the piano bench requesting her "practice time" by saying, "nano!" So much dedication already! Richard admitted that he knew it sounded silly, but that he thought she was actually improving. I agreed, saying that I had been thinking it, but thought it would sound dumb to say it. Anyway, here she is, enjoying sitting at the piano:







Saturday, April 14, 2007

A Cute Twosome

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/14/2007 10:44:00 AM
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A few days ago, Travis came over to play while his mommy got her hair trimmed (thank goodness for mommy-maintenance time!). Travis and Jillian are both such cuties, so I couldn't resist taking a few (or 70) pictures of them...here are some of the highlights (okay, I guess that given the huge quantity of pictures that follow, I can't really call them "highlights," but who could resist sharing all these cute pictures?!:






I wouldn't say Travis was exactly thrilled about his mommy needing to leave him...(sorry Meg, it was just too cute - please don't be mad!)








I guess they're deciding who will play with the ball first???





I heard you like to color, too, Travis - here's a crayon!


Hmmm...if you're not going to color, I will!!!


Would you like a Cheerio, Travis?


Let me make this easy and just feed you...


So Travis, how was your day?


Hmmm...you really should read this book. The pictures are fantastic!


Here is my beloved Mini-Magna Doodle if you would like to use it...


Let me show you how it works...


Wanna wear my firehouse hat?


I promise, it'll look GREAT...wait up!






Alright, let's try this again...








There. I now deem you "Firechief." Now keep it on!









Playing with Peek-a-Boo Elmo...and a confused looking Travis (probably by the fact that no matter where he goes, someone is taking pictures of himn!)










Playing together nicely :)






Thanks for a fun afternoon, Travis! We can't wait to see you soon!!!



Love,

Jillian and her mama

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

MNO!

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/11/2007 09:43:00 PM
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Last night, we had our monthly Mom's Night Out and we went to Olive Garden - mmmmmm...



We're a bunch of nuts, but I love these gals! They are so down to earth and fun! We're all wearing nametags because we thought that with some new people to our group, it might help...




Starting from the bottom left, going clockwise: me, Crystal, Tina, Sharon, Jamie, Patricia, Amberly, Jennifer, Elissa, Vickie, Melanie, and Kim.


Thanks for a fantastic night, ladies!!!






Evidence that they're nuts: The bartender sitting in Jennifer's lap!

Encouragym

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/11/2007 09:33:00 PM
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Yesterday, we met up with some friends at Encouragym, where Jillian was able to climb on things, slide, sit, and just do whatever. However, given all the cool stuff she could've done there, here were the highlights for Jillian:





Different chair to sit in; rocking boat-thing






However, nothing compared to The Dora Ball. This thing definitely took the cake! Mental note: get Jillian a Dora Ball sometime in the near future...so funny since she doesn't even watch TV - the only way she knows Dora is from a book that Richard's parents got her.



Speaking of TV, they had one on in the front room of this place. Well, as I just mentioned, Jillian doesn't watch TV, so when she saw Dora up on the screen...whew! It was hilarious! DORA! DORA! DORA! (Okay, it doesn't actually come out sounding like "Dora," but more of a variation on "Dada" if that makes sense - almost rolling the second "d" sound...)

Monday, April 09, 2007

Happy Easter! One Day Late...

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/09/2007 11:03:00 PM
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The White Family had a nice Easter yesterday. We woke up at 9:20am to our normal alarm clock (Jillian), panicking because we realized that 9:45 Sunday School wasn't going to happen. So, we got ready for the 11am service and headed over to the church. As expected, it was super packed. We were practically sitting in each other's laps (and the church isn't that small!). My mom joined us (though wasn't able to sit with us), and we all enjoyed Gary's wonderful sermon (as usual). I was so thrilled to see that so many people brought so much food to donate, too! It felt really good to bring a bag of groceries for those in need, and Richard and I intend to continue to do that regularly. The church has also been promoting the "Nothing but Nets" campaign, and it was so exciting to give to that, knowing that a generous family in the church was matching each donation, as well as Bill & Melinda Gates!!! Each donation of $10 saves one child's life, so to know that that number was going to be increased automatically with each donation was just incredible.



Anyhoo, after church, we drove out to the new house and gave my mom a tour of the inside! It was so exciting to show it off! After doing that, we decided it would be best to go with a quick lunch, so that we could get Jillian home for a nap. So we went to Arby's. Yep, that was our big Easter meal. Arby's. But it was really yummy! There isn't one close to us now, so it was nice. Plus, we never eat fast food, so I guess one could consider it a "treat" (though we still got grilled chicken sandwiches and no fries...). Though we ordered deli turkey on a bun for Jillian, all she would eat was the bun. And after that, all she wanted were Cheerios! Argh. Oh well.

Before we left, we had a little Easter Photo Shoot in the Arby's:




Richard and Me on the left (Richard thinks it's cute how my Jeep is "peeking" into the picture...he's weird, but I love him); the 3 of us on the right






Grandmommy and Munchkin on the left; 3 generations of girls on the right :)




It was a wonderful day spent with the family - we even got to see Richard's mom that evening! We are thankful for the amazing friends and family we have in our lives, but more importantly - especially on Easter - we celebrate and give thanks for Jesus' love for us and the fact that he is risen.

"Oof-oof!"

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/09/2007 09:47:00 PM
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This past Saturday, we went to go check on the progress of the house (none, b/c they're still waiting on inspections) and while we were out, we stopped by Amberly's, where Jillian thoroughly enjoyed admiring their dog, Dallas, from the back door...I have a cute video of it, but Videoegg seems to be acting strange.








Amberly and Me :)

Last Week...

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/09/2007 12:47:00 AM
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Even though Jillian was still a bit snotty-nosed last week (btw, the doctor gave us a prescription for amoxicillin at her 18 month appt. b/c her nose had been icky for a bit too long and he thought it had probably turned into a sinus infection), we still had some fun times:






You can sorta see how yucky her nose was in the pic on the left; playing with a new toy her Grandmommy gave her on the right...





Lately, she's been very fond of her mini-magna doodle (left); and I just found the pose on the right interesting...





Most kiddos play in the backyard, but last week, we played in the front yard so that Jillian could alternate between her Radio Flyer car and...






Her new (well, not really - I found it on craigslist for $40) Swing Along Castle (she's too tall for the swing portion, so it's in the garage)!!!





She loves to go down it backwards, on her tummy :)





Usually, she likes to climb back up the slide, but on occasion, I can get her to walk around to the back!





Hi, Mama!

Easter/18 Month Pictures

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/09/2007 12:26:00 AM
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Tuesday, April 03, 2007

18 Months!

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/03/2007 08:03:00 PM
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Jillian,





It's April 3rd, 2007 and you're 18 months old! A year and a half! A year and a half ago, my precious angel entered this world and changed the way I view everything in my life - for the better. You're such a blessing to both your Daddy and me, and I know I've said it many times before, but this is definitely my favorite age so far! You're truly a little girl! Daddy laughs at me everytime I say that, but what I mean is that you're past the point of being a baby girl - you're a little girl now! You copy everything we do - actions, sounds, movements, the list goes on and on.




You're such a joy to see every morning - I open your bedroom door and you say, "MAMAAAAAAA!!!" I look forward to it every night when I go to bed! And when I wear a Winnie the Pooh nightshirt, you follow up "MAMAAAAAAAAA!!!" with "dada," as you point to whatever Pooh character is on my shirt. It's adorable.




Yesterday, you tried to put your hair bow on your babydoll, and tonight, you apparently succeeded in putting your bow in daddy's hair!




You're very affectionate with all of your toys - you kiss them, feed them, hug them, and will even pretend to change a diaper if asked! Speaking of diapers, since you're getting bigger, I often change your diaper on the floor. I'll lay a lap pad down, and then you just lay down for me, as if you already know the drill! Actually, that's changed a little bit in the last few days, because now, since you really do know the drill, you run off and play when you see the lap pad! Stinker!!!




This past week, Daddy asked you for a kiss, and we both swear we heard you say, "No, no, Daba-doo!" It was hilarious! Any other parent knows how miraculously joyous it is to experience the new personality that grows exponentially everyday - the more I try to put it into words, the more difficult it seems, but I just can't wait for you to witness these same things in your child many, many, many years down the road!






You love to rock on your rocking elephant, ride on your Radio Flyer car, and walk while holding mommy or daddy's hand/finger. You still love to swing at the park, but now, you also love to slide, and when asked what the slide says, you do something that sounds somewhat like "weeeee..." You'll also do this sound if you see something in a book that resembles a slide. Like nearly everything else you do, it's adorable.



This past month has also brought a new "accomplishment" - your first scraped knee:











This past weekend, we went to check on our new house that's being built, and while we were out there, we visited our friend, Amberly and her kiddos. You were walking in their driveway when, OOPS! - you fell down! But you got right back up and didn't even skip a beat! Anyway, the end result was your first scraped knee. Something only I would document. Oh well.






Daddy and I took you to your 18 month checkup with Dr. "Al" today, and you were not a happy camper. I merely tried to touch your cell phone and you had a little tantrum right there at the beginning of the appointment. Daddy held you and calmed you down, though. You also looked at the doctor with uncertain looks. Dr. Al was so sweet - you were holding Grover (Daddy was still holding you), and first, Al listened to Grover's chest with the stethoscope. Then, he listened to yours and you were so good! Al pointed out that he purposefully didn't make eye contact with you because that would've made you cry. Interesting. I love that you get to go to the man that took such wonderful care of your Mommy and Uncle Brian as we were growing up!




Anyway, you weighed 24 pounds, 10 ounces - a little less than what you weighed a few weeks ago when we brought you in for allergies. However, you're still at about the 50th percentile in weight. You measured 33 inches long - in the 90th percentile for height! Daddy's still keeping his fingers crossed for some basketball scholarships! Anyway, Dr. Al's charts showed that you'll probably be about 5'7" 3/4 inches when you grow up...he estimated your Uncle Brian to be 6'3" or 6'4" when he was a baby, and he was right - Brian's 6'3"! Your head circumference is 18 1/2 - above the 50th percentile, so that's good as well. So, in the last 6 months, you've gained 2 pounds and 2 ounces and grown 2 1/2 inches! Dr. Al says that in considering your height, we can definitely feed you more, but don't get too excited - we're still going the super healthy route!!! :)





You were very excited to see the fish and immediately made your fish sounds/face!






You look a little betrayed here. I suppose that makes sense, considering you had just gotten two shots...






But sitting with Mommy makes everything better!







Marilyn was so nice to bring you a couple of treats after your shots, but you decided to chew on them! Oh well.




Tonight, after dinner, you had a really big belly. After many attempts to get a picture of it, this is the best we could do:







Mama reading Curious George to you...






Mama in wonder over how much you're growing up...






You're a blessing and a joy and I love, love, love you so much, punkin'!





Kisses,



Mama

Elmo Juice

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/03/2007 07:47:00 PM
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I may have mentioned this before, but Jillian LOVES Elmo. And Grover. And Dora. And Winnie the Pooh. Which is kinda strange, considering the fact that the child watches absolutely no tv. Anyway, Elmo and Grover are at the top of her list, so when we found these sippy cups, we thought maybe they would help in our quest to get her to drink more water (no problem with drinking milk, but I guess water is boring or something - even with a little bit of prune juice in it - who wouldn't love that?!)



Anyway, whenever I put water in there, I call it "Elmo Juice," and just constantly ask her where her Elmo Juice is. She seems to carry it around more and drink from it more - maybe because it's Elmo, maybe because it's insulated, or maybe because it's not see-through and she can't tell that it's just boring water...





Holding on to her Elmo Juice as she finds out that we're about to go on a walk outside.






Mama, here's your sock - LET'S GO!!!






This is what happens when Mommy doesn't move fast enough




Notice that the Elmo Juice was with her throughout this entire mini-tantrum!

"Get yo' hair did..."

Posted by Dana Lynne at 4/03/2007 07:37:00 PM
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Last week, Jillian tried to put my hair clippy in her own hair. Check out the new hairstyle that resulted from our experimentation: