Lemonhead!

She insisted.

Meet Ginger; Makaela's New BFF

Ginger is the newest addition to our family. She is a sweet 3-5 year old Chocolate Lab mix, weighing in at 43 pounds.

We got her from another family who was possibly moving and didn't have a yard for her. They were kind of like "foster parents" to her. She was with them for about a year.

They had gotten her from a shelter and prior to that our sweet Ging had a rough life. She was rescued from a house that had OVER ONE-HUNDRED DOGS. They used bark collars, so we have yet to hear Ginger bark and assume we probably never will. She also is terrified of any kind of sound (no matter the volume) that comes out of speakers. She can be timid but also playful. She also knows commands like "sit" "lay down" "stay" and "shake." Tim enjoys going running with her.

She is wonderful and we love her.

The greatest part is that she is excellent with Makaela. This was obviously our #1 criteria when looking for a new pup-pup.

And now I have three shadows. This little peanut pack follows me everywhere. Rock and Ging get along too. I wouldn't say they are BFFs but they do just fine....that is until Mr. Horn-dog, Rocky, tries to hump Ginger. He really never figured that whole thing out. When he stands up on his hind legs he's about eye level with Ginger's pooper... one swift wag of her tail and he goes flying. 

 Ginger is the perfect height for Makaela right now. They see eye-to-eye. Makaela loves to use Ginger as support to stand up. Not sure Ginger loves it, but she is awfully sweet about it.

Occasionally, Ginger's crazy strong tail gets a littttttle out of control and whacks Makaela right in the head....the downside of them being the same height. Sometimes there are tears, sometimes a frowny face and sometimes she just pats the "ouch." Tough girl that MikMak is ;-)

My favorite moments of the day are when the whole posse is napping. If only I could join them!

Playdate at our house and a trip to the park

A couple weekends ago, we babysat a friend's kiddo so they could go enjoy a mommy-daddy date before baby #2 arrives. We lucked out and had nice weather, so we decided to spend some time at the park across the street.

The swings were a big hit. Swinging started with lots of laughter and big smiles, and ended with two munchkins nearly asleep.

It was Makaela's first time having a little person over to HER house. Her little buddy loved driving her car, and she loved carrying around his stuffed animal. They did a pretty good job playing together. No bumps, bruises or tears.

Lunch was rather interesting, and these two had to be separated because they were having a little TOO much fun sharing and flinging spaghetti around. I have no pictures of that escapade because, oh yeah that's right, my hands were covered in spaghetti sauce...yummmm.

It's always fun to spend time with a toddler...gives us a slight glimpse of what the future has in store for us. We better start stocking up on coffee now. Oh, and we better watch our mouths ;-)

Because we had so much fun swinging, I decided to take Mak back to the park one day while Tim was at work. It was a bit colder, so we had to bundle up. 

And someone had to rock her shades because it was darn sunny...

There were a couple little boys, probably about 5 years old, at the park with their mom. The second they saw Makaela swinging, they begged their mom to push them on the swings. Poor lady was enjoying her quiet time on the bench, haha. She said "Why don't you guys run around and get some energy out?" Nope, they wanted to swing. Man, oh, man, did she give me the stink eye.

My friend said it best, mama shoulda taught those kids how to pump. LOL.

A swinging baby should brighten anyone's day, no?

Daddy's Girl

I mean...does it get any cuter than that? These two have an unbreakable bond; the can't-wipe-that-smile-off-your-face, makes your heart feel like it might explode kind of bond.

Pictures like these deserve their own post, so they don't get swallowed up by my ramblings :) I love these two punks, and that is all. 

Dear Makaela,

Dear Makaela aka No-Nap-Nancy,

I'm flattered that you think mama is so cool that you want to spend ALL day with me, but here's the thing...you need to nap. I know I tell you all the time that you are a big girl, however, you are technically still a baby, and babies nap. I know, I know. You've got a long to-do list that involves  throwing food at the dogs, smearing snot on the windows and pulling books off the shelves, but I assure you there are still plenty enough hours in the day to terrorize the house.

When you don't nap you turn into a bit of a crank-a-saurus. I try to kiss and cuddle the crankies out, but you, sassy-pants, have other plans. See those horns?

And instead of being your usually happy, smiley, hyper-waving self at the grocery store, you mean-mug everybody...

And mama? Yeah, I go a little crazy, to put things mildly.

Take it from someone older and (presumably) wiser....naps are heaven on earth. Snuggling up in the middle of the day with a soft blankey and stuffed animal? Come on. That's the life. 

Give me an hour and I will pay you in crackers. I find no shame in bribery. 

So please, please, please for the love of you mother's sanity, rest those beautiful baby blues. 

Love you always (even when you're a whine-o-ceros),

Mom

Go, baby, go!

And that's how she rolls. Who knew pacing up and down the hallway and all around the house for hours could be SO MUCH fun?!

This little chica always has places to go and things to check out. Ooooh the energy!

....and she's off! 

Makaela's not the only one that has been on the go. On top of Tim starting the more intense portion of his training,  I started a new (dream) job and we took in a dog! 

Go big or go home, right?

Baby Signing and Baby Talk with Baby Mak

Our beautiful, intelligent, friendly, happy baby is hardly a baby anymore. My oh my is she growing up. It amazes me each day and brings the biggest smile to my face watching her every move. This
little lady has got it goin' on.

Be forewarned, there is a whole lotta bragging going down in this post.

Back around the time that Makaela turned 7 months old, we went to the library and checked out Sign with your Baby by Joseph Garcia. It came with a book, instructional DVD and quick reference guide. I had read some articles online about signing with your baby and knew it was something I wanted to try. I learned that speech lags behind cognitive ability in infants. Babies want to communicate but the gap between desire and ability often leaves them frustrated (ain't nobody got time for a hissy fit). Since hand-eye coordination develops sooner, I liked the idea of signing with baby Mak so that she could communicate with us. 

We started by signing "more" and "milk." Anytime Makaela was eating we'd ask if she wanted more and would sign "more." Anytime she was drinking milk we'd ask her if she needed milk and would tell her she was drinking milk, while also signing. The book suggested that it could take a couple months before the baby would start signing but it was important to be consistent with your approach and not give up. 

We stuck with it and I'm excited to report that Makaela signs "milk" and "more" now! I can't begin to tell you how thrilling it is each time we see her sign. We haven't achieved perfection, but dang are we proud and we're ready to introduce more signs. 

She is just blossoming into a little lady and letting us know more and more that she understands what we are saying to her or asking of her. 

In addition to signing "milk" and "more" she also waves "hi" (she is seriously the friendliest little thing. She insists on making friends every where we go...as in she will stare a person down until they acknowledge her smiles and waves, haha). She also points at what she wants or is interested in, claps her hands for a "good job" or a "yay," shakes her head no-no (usually in a hilarious fashion that involves rotating her whole upper torso, and hanging her head down while swinging it back and forth), gives kisses, will hand you something if you ask her to, will "come here" when asked to and reaches her arms up when she wants to be picked up. 

Just today I asked her to please not share her crackers with Rocky (and told Rocky to stop frickin' grabbing them out of her hand). She looked at her cracker, then looked at Rocky and shook her head no. It was THE CUTEST and I'm sure Rocky totally understood ;-)

The video below is her shaking her head no-no in a more controlled manner, haha. 

I feel so blessed to watch her grow and learn. I wish that everyone could experience it with me first-hand, or see her through my eyes....it is uplifting and exciting and wonderful. 

Some days it feels as though my heart could explode [and other days I feel exhausted, drained, and frustrated...but that's not what this post is about ;-) ] 

Sensory Sunday Funday: Sensory Board/Activity Station!

Finally! After months of nagging (seriously the better half of Makaela's life) my wonderful husband, whom I absolutely adore, helped me to complete MikMak's sensory activity station earlier this week.

It was inspired by a lot of online research, and although it took Tim a little while to get on board (see what I did there...har har har) he now thinks it is the coolest thing since sliced bread and is proud of his work. And I'm obsessed with it. Oh, and the kid likes it too. And double oh, Makaela had a 2 year old friend over that loved it even more...yay!

What's that you say? You want details and close up images? Oh alright, fine. 

The hardest part of this project was narrowing down our options and choosing what to mount on the board. The possibilities really are endless and boards can be tailored to all sorts of skills or ages.

When it came to the carpet remnants (free from Lowe's), Tim had the awesome idea to mount them behind light switch covers. Just enough touchy-feel, and a clean appearance....

We also snagged a chain lock. Makaela likes to play with the chain and bang it against the drawer handle that is mounted below it. Her 2 year old friend, was able to "lock" and "unlock it."

A sensory board just isn't complete without a mirror or two, especially when your child loves to kiss the baby in the mirror. We also have another drawer handle mounted on this side at a different angle. Makaela likes to pull herself up with it. 

Toilet paper holders are tons of fun and super versatile. We mounted this one and then covered a roll with fun felt that we got at Hobby Lobby for 50 cents. 

Below the roll is curling ribbon, and below that is a small block of backsplash. The backsplash makes a cool noise if you ting it with your fingernails.

Makaela has been playing with this push-light for awhile, and now it lives happily on her activity board. Below that are some colorful strips of velcro. They are fun to pull apart and stick back together. 

The last "column" has a plush, scrubby pad that we folded in half so it can "open and close." We covered a cardboard "M" with more felt from Hobby Lobby and stuck that on there. Lastly, we hung a door knocker. Every time Makaela plays with that one she blinks as it slams down. It's adorbs. 

Tim securely attached all of the items to a pine board he also got at Lowe's and then mounted it to the wall. We tossed a fun, super-cushy rug in front of it and bada-bing-bada-bang the little lady has a cool new hang out spot. 

TGIF!

Around here we are pretty happy that it is Friday. Bring on the weekend, yay!

9 month photos!

Alright, alright I'm late....MikMak has been 9 months for almost a week now. As of the first day of 2014, she has officially been on the outside longer than she was on the inside (and the girl thinks she has mastered this whole "life" business, trust me).

She is overflowing with piss and vinegar and of course continues to be into everything...like the spice rack...

And Daddy's wallet....

And let's not forget the day when she miraculously found the tooth that Rocky lost...

Sadly yes, that is Rocky's rotten tooth (I know it looks like a nail)

Oh, and if Princess MakMak doesn't get her way, whoa buddy, you better watch OUT.

Today was her 9 month well baby check. See that's why I waited to do this post, yeahhhh, I'll go with that ;-)

Our little monster weighed in at 20.2 lbs (71st percentile), measured 28 in. (63rd percentile) and has a head measurement of 18 in. (90th percentile). According to her doctor, she is perfect! Good heart, good lungs (we knew that, haha), good ears...good good good.

She does have a little bit of baby eczema which caused me to freak out mildly. When I think eczema I think bad news bears for life, but the doctor assured me that she did not think that would be the case and that Makaela is just more or less victim of the very dry and cold weather we are having. She isn't itchy (or at least hasn't acted bothered) and the irritation is mild, so we are just give her a lil grape seed oil massage lately, and lather her up with some lotion (sans alcohol).

Royal treatment for the Princess Girl.

So let's talk about how getting her official 9 month photo was near impossible this month. The girl does not lay down. You put her on her back and she rolls over and is GONE in .2 seconds.

Yep, you can probably imagine how fun diaper changes are. Picture a wrestling match. Not sure how she is stronger than me, but she is.

During my attempt to get the photo above, which clearly wasn't super successful, I also caught a couple other funny ones. Like when she posed for Sports Illustrated Onesie Edition...

And when she crawled off her chair and of course was drawn right to the outlets...

And because these are just too funny not to share, all the ones where I had the flash on. Takes after her mama....eyes.closed.all.the.time.

This little nugget is such a bundle of fun. I love her curiosity and her ambition. XoXo