Mak went to her first gymnastics class on Wednesday! The first class is free, so I figured we'd give it a try. This particular session is for ages 1-3. I really didn't know what to expect, but I sort of envisioned her clinging to my leg the whole time.
I couldn't have been more wrong. She immediately spotted the slide and went at it.
The videos don't even capture the pure joy and excitement she showed. Omg, it was the cutest thing ever. She ran all around, went on the trampoline, climbed on mats and in tunnels, and of course frequented the slide.
The only time she was a little hesitant was when her teacher was helping her on the balance beam. SO ADORABLE.
At the end of class we played the parachute game. Do you remember that from elementary school? Everyone grabs a corner, flings it up and down and then you run under it. Makaela thought this was the GREATEST. Again, surprising me. I see lots of fort-making in this little lady's future.
Soon I hope to post on everything that has happened over the past month that I haven't blogged, and actually even before that because I was behind back then, haha. Time to play catch up!
Last week before bath time, someone decided she wanted to run around naked. Be free little one, be free.
She thought it was the best thing ever, especially when she peed on the kitchen floor. And of course, she slipped and fell in her pee pile while trying to run away. Oh but don't worry, she grabbed herself a wipe and cleaned up her lady parts. My god, the things she picks up, lol.
Too bad she wiped back to front, we'll work on that, oh and then used the same wipe to clean up the table.
SUCH a helper!!
And after all that excitement, someone decided to swipe an empty McDonald's cup and kick back. #talkdirtytome
It was between her and ScarJo for the big Soda Stream Superbowl commercial.
And T.Swift just BARELY beat her out for that diet soda ad.
Get ready for cuteness overload. Turn your imagination on and picture each of these ADORABLE things Makaela has been doing lately. Your heart just may melt...
- Lately, when Mak plays peek-a-boo a majority of the time she covers her ears instead of her eyes. She still seems equally surprised and excited even when she can still see the whole time, haha. I about die when I see those adorable little pudgy hands actually cover her peepers though - usually she pokes her eyeball or pulls down on her eyelid. It is fantastic.
- Lately, when I'm cleaning off the glass table or the sliding glass doors, my little shadow, aka quality control, is two feet behind me pointing to each spot I missed and following up with an "uh oh uh oh." Did I mention when she points, she usually smears her little fingerprints even more on the area I just cleaned? :)
- Lately, Mak loves to push her "be-be" around in her toy stroller. She even plays music for her baby, and kisses her after she drops her on the ground. Such a sweet girl. "Be-be" is definitely a favorite word right now, and refers to anyone that looks younger than 12. In fact, at the grocery store today as we passed a young boy, probably 9 years old, Mak said "be-be!" I heard the boy quietly say to his mom as we walked away "Mom, I think that baby called you a baby."
- Lately, Mak likes to dig through the diaper bag, particularly when we are at restaurants. She loves taking stuff in and out, in and out. The other day when we were at a little Italian place, I had forgotten that I stuck some feminine hygiene products in my bag. I was quickly reminded when she flung one into the restaurant aisle. I locked eyes with a nice, young 22 year old man when this happened. Sweet!
- Lately, Lady M is obsessed with playing outside. Okay, that's not really new. What is new is that she now brings you her shoes when she's ready to go. Sometimes it's the right pair, sometimes it's one flip flop and one Tom. This is an improvement from a short spell of head banging on the door to signal wanting to play outside.
Also, related to outdoor play...someone likes to sneak around to the backside of the house to poop. Red face, grunts and all. Ironically, the backside of the house is ALSO the dog's favorite potty spot. The similarities, just keep coming.
- Lately, our little lady is digging toy cars and helicopters. She pushes them on the ground (and along Ginger's back...) and makes them fly through the air, complete with "vroom vroom" and raspberry sound effects.
Man oh man, this girl is growing up. Who replaced our Baby Mak with a Big Mak? <3 <3
WTF. I apparently did not hit "publish" when I wrote this Monday. Sigh. Here it is now.
A few weeks ago the mini and I got to go on a girls weekend where we met up with Miss Mel and her mom!
Destination: Fort Walton Beach/Destin/Miramar Beach...I'm not sure I know the difference :)
Mel and her mom were down for a Florida getaway (much needed break from the horrible winter weather they endured!) and they were kind (and brave) enough to invite me and Mak to stay with them for a few nights!
They even tolerated my craziness and allowed me to do THIS to my room to ensure that Makaela would nap. Florida sun is NO JOKE, haha.
Yes, I'm really that crazy. I brought tacks and extra blankets for this reason. Mama loves when baby naps.
Gosh, it was so nice to see those lovely ladies. We enjoyed lots of girl talk, movies (along with drinks, chocolate and kettle corn, of course), tasty meals, REAL STARBUCKS, shopping, and the AMAZING pool and gorgeous beach. Sounds perfect, right? It was.
Mak warmed right up to Mel and her mom (who wouldn't?!). Makaela loved having tea parties (especially when British accents were involved), playing on the balcony with her buddies, splashing them in the pool (when not fixated on that darn abandoned football) and haming it up at restaurants - anything for a laugh.
The beach was perfect and it was the first time Makaela truly warmed up to the whole walking-in-the-sand thing. By the end of the day she was unstoppable - she practically inserted herself into some drunkin' yuppies game of frisbie. I believe they slurred an offer to build sandcastles with her. She threw a tantrum when I made her pick different friends to hang with ;-)
Although we missed Daddy, it was just the girls getaway that we needed. Thank you so much Mel and Mrs. D - can we do it again soon?!
In fact, we loved the beach SO much we decided to drag Daddy down there the following weekend. It's a pretty fantastic day trip!
She was so excited to play at the beach and chase "duck duck duck"s (birds actually) she skipped her nap. That was okay though because she got to kick back in her stroller when we roamed the outlet mall.
Daddy probably could have used a nap though after all the running around he did chasing Makaela up and down the beach. She would have liked to walk directly into the Gulf if we let her. No fear of the waves, none at all. Also, no fear of strangers - she sat right down to a nice lady reading a book. She was ready for story time ;-)
We hit up a yummy pizza spot (I think our pizza weighed 10 pounds) before hitting the road. Mikmak rocked some awesome beach hair. The telltale sign of a successful beach trip, no?
Makaela is thirteen months old! What a lil old lady! Don't worry girlfriend, we can't believe it either.
It's hard to keep up with all the new things she is learning and doing each day. She's on the fast track and it is so fun.
The thing is, I never posted her "official" 12 month update! You know, the one with the photo of her in a too small onesie and info on her latest doctor appointment etc. I realized this after posting all of her fun birthday details, but never got around to it...so without further ado, haha...
I have to say, I'll be glad to retire that onesie. While I enjoyed doing the monthly updates, I won't be doing them the same way for the months moving forward - I'm going to post "real time" a lot more often and do round-ups here and there when they feel right.
I was pleasantly surprised with how smoothly her 12 month well baby check went. Considering it included her basic check up, then a trip to the lab (for standard tests) and then to immunizations for her age-appropriate shots - I'm just thankful that neither of us had a meltdown!
She really was a trooper. After FOUR shots, and a blood draw from the arm (just like adults! crazy to me!) she got to have her very first sucker. Well deserved, little lady.
The doctor also prescribed her some benedryl to help with her allergies. From what I'm told, "everyone has allergies in southern Alabama." The pollen did get pretty nasty for awhile, and we tried the benadryl for a couple days but didn't seem to notice a difference. It didn't make her sleepy, it didn't make her hyper, it just sort of did...nothing. Oh well, things cleared up on their own a few days later and we got to say buh-bye to the puffy eyes plaguing us all in the pictures below...
And now here we are at 13 MONTHS. Seems like Mak has had a major growth spurt during the past few weeks. Our baby is looking more and more like a toddler. Her legs are getting longer, and thinning out (I'm not ready to say bye to those chunkin' thighs!!) - those oh-so-squeezable cheeks better not go anywhere!
Makaela is starting to make more choices - she lets you know what she likes and what her preferences are, just like a big kid. I can't get over it!
She (seems to) understand everything we say and is turning into quite the helper. She is very good about putting something back or away when you ask her to, or getting a specific toy or book and bringing it to you when asked. She listens (almost always) when told not to touch something. Gosh, the list goes on. It is just crazy because I got so used to her not talking and not being able to precisely communicate her wants/needs etc. that everything she does now amazes me. She is SO smart and observant.
My favorite thing she is doing right now is throwing her hands up when you ask her something and she doesn't know, she also does this for "where did XYZ go?" It is TOO adorable. I haven't been able to catch a good video of it, but in this one she sort of does it, so you'll get the idea...
I also love how she is starting to enjoy cuddling again. Of course it has to be HER idea, but there is nothing sweeter than when she comes over to you and rests her head on you.
And she is growing more and more attached to Ginger. Thank goodness we have such a patient, dog. Love you Ginge!
I LOVE that I get to watch this little girl grow every day. Of course, there are days that are challenging but most days I wish I could share each and every moment because it is so exciting - thank goodness I can capture at least some of the moments on film :)
