Gratitude List

7 Things i am thankful for:

1. Chandler's naps--when i have been putting her down for her naps lately, she has been quitely playing in her crib for up to an hour before falling asleep. And then she has still been taking a 2 hr nap. Love it!
2. Jake--I love my dog Jake, but he sheds enough to knit a sweater from his fur. I have to vacuum everyday, but i gladly do it as he is so worth it!
3. Heat--With all these crazy ice storms and people losing power i am so thankful that we have ours and can have the heater on.
4. Clean Sheets--there is nothing quite like crawling into your bed knowing your sheets have just come out of the dryer and are clean and warm.
5. Mickey Mouse--he is Chandler's new obsession. She loves him and calls him Mimi. But she gets so excited to watch him on tv or listen to him in the car.
6. The library--We have been going to the library a lot lately. We go for story time or to check out new books. Chandler loves to read so it has been a huge money saver.
7. Facebook--Lots of my friends live far away and facebook makes me feel like i still know what is going on in their lives.

More Eating Like a Big Girl

Here is the 2nd video of her practicing eating like a big girl.

Eating Like a Big Girl

We have been working with Chandler for about 2 or 3 weeks on how to eat with a fork and spoon. She has the hand/mouth coordination down but can not stab the food with the fork too well yet. These videos of her are from last week. She has gotten better since then, but i thought they were too cute not to share. Also you can tell from the video that one of her favorite words is "no." Gotta love it!

My Dad & the Gators

Today my dad and I went to Nashville to watch the Florida Gators play Vanderbilt in basketball. My dad knows how much i love the Gators so he surprised me with tickets. It was an entertaining game even though Florida beat Vandy by almost 30 points!! Afterwards we went to a hole in the wall diner for burgers and beers. Even though my dad lives close by I don't get to hang out a lot with him on a 1 to 1 basis. So it was nice that we had a father/daughter day. And a big thank you to Jeremy who spent his Sunday watching Chandler!

Ring Around the Rosie

This morning Chandler and I went to a playdate with our moms group. The mom that hosted it is Joanne and lives on the street behind me and we have become good friends. Her daughter, Mia, is 1 week younger than Chandler. Joanne and I hang out a lot so Mia and Chandler are use to playing together. This morning Joanne and Mia were singing and dancing to Ring Around the Rosie. Well Chandler wanted to play too. So Joanne danced with Chandler for a minute and then we let the girls do it. These are the sweet photos we captured.

Mia and Chandler singing "Ring Around the Rosie"

Having so much fun

This other girl named Mia also wanted to spin with Chandler & Mia. Too cute!

The funniest thing about this is that Chandler can not stand to hold hands! Everytime i try to hold her hand she says no and pulls it away. So i think it is funny that she would want to play like this. But she loves it. In fact when we were done singing the song she refused to let go of Mia's hands.

Brag on Chandler

Since Chandler is growing and learning so much everyday, i thought i would take a moment to brag on her and her accomplishments,

Chandler can...
* name and point to the following body parts--her head, shoulders, belly, knees, toes, feet, hands, mouth, eyes, nose, tongue, hair and bottom.
* identify a dog, cat, duck, pig, horse, goat, sheep, elephant, giraffe, gorilla, monkey, lion, alligator and bird
* make the animal sounds of a sheep, pig, horse, cat, dog, bird and lion
* say--momma, dada, Jake, eye, mouth, nose, dog, cup, socks, shoes, elephant, hi, bye, thank you, no, Elmo, more, Pops, what's this, banana, keys, moon, car, boat and truck
* do sign language for--more, milk and thank you. We are working on please and i love you.

Chandler loves--
* her puzzles. She will do the same ones over and over. If you give her a new one, she master it the first day.
* her books. The girls loves to read. Every night she brings Jeremy a book and they read it together and learn the characters in the book.
* her dog. Chandler is CRAZY about Jake. She loves to give him kisses and hugs. She also likes to pet him on the head and try to grab his tail. She loves to throw his ball for him and she loves to give him his chew bone. She loves to sit right next to him or lean against him. She has this deep belly laugh she does when she is playing with him. It always makes me smile to watch them together.
* to swing. We try to go to the park whenever we can. She runs right for the swings every time. She usually cries when we have to leave.
* her paci. I don't even want to begin thinking about how we will break this habit!

Chandler is a very friendly baby. She loves to smile and wave at everyone. She is an easy baby that can play contently by herself or with a friend.

Chandler is such a blessing and miracle to Jeremy and I. We are so proud and blessed to be her mom and dad.

Photos from the Week

Some random photos from last week that i thought i would share.

The girl LOVES to read:

Kissing Jake:

Got Grandpa's nose:


Happy, clean baby:

On Sunday evening my dad came over and watched the Steelers play the Ravens. We are so happy that the Steeelers won and will be heading to the Superbowl. Jeremy is so excited. One of his friends lives in Tampa and has a box at the stadium. He has invited Jeremy to come down for the Superbowl. Now let's hope Jeremy can find an affordable flight. Way to go Steelers!

Hugging Cousins

On Saturday night we went to Jeremy's Uncle and Aunt's house. They have 2 boys. Once is 10 and 1 is 15 months. I guess technically they are Jeremy's cousins but we call them Chandler's to make things easier. We had dinner and then let the kiddo play. The 15 month old, Ethan is a real hugger. Chandler is not to fond of hugging unless it is from me or Jeremy. Needless to say, Ethan spent most of the evening chasing Chandler and trying to hug her.

Daniel being sweet to Chandler:

Cousin Hug:

Ethan trying to hug on Chandler. Chandler not too keen on it:

Friday Night Play date

On Friday evening we went over to Uncle Brett's, Aunt Mel's and Cousin Hannah's. We fed the kids and then the adults had a yummy dinner of steak and crab legs! After everyone had eaten we took the girls up to the playroom and let them have at it. It was so cute to watch them play together. Hannah just wanted to pose for the camera and all Chandler wanted to do was play at the leggo table. We didn't get home until after 9:00 which is way past Chandler's bedtime. But she was an angel and went right to sleep as soon as we got home.

Hannah cheesing for the camera:

Hannah and Chandler working at the leggo table:

Gratitude List

You know the drill... here is my list of 7:

1. Mom group play dates--we had 1 at our house today and Chandler and i both had so much fun. We love having our mom friends and their babies over to play and socialize.
2. Our Vet--Yesterday Jake was running outside and somehow tore back 1 of his nails and proceeded to bleed for over 30 minutes. Luckily the vet could see us right away and they were able to clean him up and make his boo boo all better.
3. Chandler being a good sleeper--lately she has been sleeping at night for 13 hrs. AND THEN still taking a 2 hour nap during the day.
4. Uncle Brett, Aunt Mel and Cousin Hannah--we are so thankful they live close to us. We thank them for the yummy dinner of steak and crab legs tonight!
5. New snacks for Chandler--my friend Joanne told me about a new healthy snack for Chandler. Veggie Stix. They are so good that both Chandler and I love to eat them.
6. Sales--Target is having a huge sale on their winter clothing right now. We were able to get a few Christmasy things for next yr for only a buck or 2.
7. McDonald's--love their Hot Fudge Sundaes. So cheap and so good.

18 Month Check Up

Chandler turned 18 months on the 11th. I can hardly believe that she is one and a half! The time is flying by. Today we went to her 18 month check up. The dr said that she was doing great and she is a smart baby. We liked those compliments. Her stats were:

Weight 23 lbs 3 oz. (30th %) She gained 1 lb 3oz since last checkup. That is really good as she has been really sick twice since then.

Height 31 1/2 in. (50th %). She grew 1 inch since last check up . Even though the percentages are lower then we would like, the dr said that she was fine as it is good to be tall and skinny.

She is all up to date on her shots, so none for her today. Yipee! That made both momma and Chandler happy.

Working a puzzle while waiting for Dr. Carr

After the check up we met some friends at the mall and had lunch and played in the play area for a bit. Before we left i let Chandler ride on the toy taxi. Her friend, Alex joined her. They both loved it and were squealing the whole time!

Here we go Steelers

Today we went to my friend Karyn's house to watch the Steelers play the Chargers. It was fun as we are Steeler fans and Karyn and her hubby are Chargers fans. Of course everyone was decked out in the team gear. We left in the 3rd quarter as the Steelers were winning and i know Jeremy was getting excited. Karyn has a daughter Hailey who is 13 months old. So during the game, Chandler and Hailey had a grand time playing with each other.

Taking a break from cheering the on the Steelers:

Such a cute cheerleader:

We were so happy that the Steelers won and now look forward to their next big game Sunday. Let's go Steelers!!

Vacation in Telluride

Jeremy and i returned from our vacation in Telluride, CO this evening. We had such a good time. We were there for 5 days. We arrived on Tuesday afternoon and spent the rest of the day walking around, swimming in the outdoor heated pool and eating good food. On Wednesday we got up early for our big day of skiing. I had not been skiing since i was 17 so i was a bit nervous. After a handful of helpful tips from Jeremy we were on our way up the lifts and down the slopes. We took a break for lunch and then in the afternoon tackled an intermediate slope. BAD IDEA!! The slope was the highest on the mountain. We were up at 12,000 ft. When i got off the lift and saw how high up we were i about had a panic attack. It took us over an hour to get down the slope. And it was a long hour filled with plenty of falls and tears from me. Once we got all the way down, i told Jeremy i was done with skiing for the day and that was the end of that. On Thursday evening we met Jeremy's 3rd cousin and his wife at a local tavern to watch the BCS National game and we helped cheer our Gators to victory! Then on Friday we went snowmobiling with the cousin and his wife. It was such a neat experience. And today we came home. We had so much fun and it was so nice to have alone time with Jeremy, but i was also very happy to be back home.
We took lots of photos but i can not locate the adapter to upload my photos. So as soon as i find that i will post some of our favorite photos of the trip.

Photos from vacation

Just a few of my favorite photos from our vacation---

Me and Jeremy and Linda and Neil on our snowmobiles:

The 4 of us out in the wilderness:

Me at the top of one of the slopes:


Taking it all in before we skied down:

My "7" Grateful List

This is my grateful list for the week:

1. Chandler's peditrician being open on the weekends and fitting us in on short notice.
2. Chandler not having the flu or strep.
3. Getting all my laundry done.
4. Taking a 3 hr nap today.
5. Jeremy helping me clean the house.
6. Sparky coming to TN tomorrow to watch Chandler for 1 week so Jeremy and i can have a vacation with just the 2 of us!
7. Jeremy's cooking. He makes me the best meals.

Teeth, teeth and more teeth

When we moved to TN in mid Septmeber, Chandler had a total of 4 teeth. By Christmas morning she had a grand total of 13 teeth! Can we say that someone has been teething non-stop for 3 months? To make it even crazier 4 of those teeth are molars. She has been pretty good, but we did have a few nights of waking up at 1:00am in pain and not being able to go back to sleep until around 4:00am. Thank god those nights are few and far between.