From The Mouth of a Babe

Bath time tonight was just like any other night. Paige frolicked in the bubbles, meticulously washed and had a few gulps of bath water (yuck - I'm convinced she does this to make me wacko). As I was off in la-la land she blurts out, "God is great, Amen!" I just about fell off the stool I was perched on. It was so adorable. When I asked her where she learned that she proudly said, "School" then proceeded to list all of her friends and teachers. I can't believe the things that come out of her mouth...it seems that she is paying attention in Chapel. What a good little girl! :)

A Christmas To Remember

Twas three nights before New Year's Eve and I finally have gotten back to blog land and this post is long over due. It's been a busy, busy Christmas. We survived FOUR Christmas' - yes FOUR! 

We had a house full of family and spent lots of time with Auntie May, Uncle Gil, Aunt Pam and Cousin Trisha who were here visiting from out of town. Paige was very lucky to spend her second Christmas with all of them. 

We shared Christmas Eve with Mimi, Papa and the gang. Christmas Day was filled with presents and visits from family at our house. We shared Christmas Night with Nana, Uncle Matt and the gang. On Saturday we had the Howard Family Christmas at Auntie Janet and Uncle Scott's house. Needless to say Paige made out like a bandit and is currently working hard on her thank you notes to everyone including dear Santa.

Although our family tree has many branches, we were blessed this Christmas to be surrounded by many of those branches. We missed Uncle Preston, Nana and Papa Ken...maybe next year! :)

Child Morphing: Someone Call The CIA

Is it just me or is Paige morphing into Buster Brown? Not too long ago, she was a close resemblance to Animal from The Muppets, but since her haircut from daddy she looks like she could be modeling footware from the early 1900's.

And a few more pictures for good measure..."Gator Love"A Lunch Break At The Mall A Chilly Afternoon At The Zoo

At The Christmas Parade With Mom

Better Luck Next Year

Somehow I knew that Paige's photo with Santa would turn into a photo of us, so I'm not sure why I didn't put on a little make up to look less like the ghost of Christmas Past and a little more like the ghost of Christmas Present. As we waited for our turn, Paige pointed to Santa calling out his name. He waved to her, she waved back and I even saw a slight smile. I thought we had this photo op in the bag. A glue-like substance magically appeared between Paige and I and there was no way I was getting her on Santa's lap. Like a good sport I joined in the fun and alas, we have documented our first attempt at a photo with Santa - sorry for the fat pasty lady beside him! Despite the drama, Paige brought out the cuteness upon our departure by saying, "See you later Santa, Thank you!". We may not smile, but at least we have some manners.

Exhbit A

Exhibit B

Thanksgiving Weekend

Enjoying a little "gobble, gobble".

Buying our Christmas treeNot impressed with the Seminole fans! :)

And This My Friends Is Why You Need A Professional!

We couldn't have asked for a better morning at the beach. Amber (http://www.amberfrederiksen.com/) catches amazing shots no matter the circumstance...even when working with a difficult subject.

"Houston, We Have A Pee-er"

After dropping my dear friend Becky and her beautiful daughter "Madewin" as Paige calls her, off at the airport today, I took a little "deek" into Babies-R-Us. Paige was spending quality time with her Nana, Papa and Uncle Preston who are down visiting from Canada. This allowed me some time alone for my great potty debate.

Anywho... we've been working on the whole potty thing, reading potty books, sitting on the potty 'sans' clothing, sitting on the potty with clothing, putting toys in the potty, reading books on the potty, pushing the potty - essentially doing everything with the potty but what it's meant for. This my friends was the reason for my trip to Babies-R-Us in search of a "big girl" potty seat to install on top of the real toilet seat. Do I get a hot pink potty seat, a Dora The Explorer potty seat, a singing potty seat??? AHH!! Nope, I kept it clean and simple and went for the good ole white potty seat with the matching step stool - plus it matches the "other" potty that roams around the house.

After a quick installation and a little sales pitch, Paige was all about her big girl potty. As she got settled, I called daddy in for moral support and encouragement. I sat on the edge of the tub, while daddy stood in the doorway. Much to our surprise the flood gates opened!

I never thought we'd get so excited about such a thing! High five's all around, a few squares of toilet paper, a hand washing and one very satisfying flush later we had a very proud piddler! But that's not it...

After playing in her new "undies" on our bed with dad for a while, she wiggled her way off of the bed and stood above daddy's favorite flip flops. OOPS... I suspect daddy's flip flops have smelt worse - I like to think of it as a little puddle of love.

The Christmas Prep Begins

It's been a while since Paige has seen her Great Uncle Gil, Great Auntie Pam and Auntie May. Being the thoughtful 21 month old that she is, she's made it a priority to practice their names for her warmest greetings upon their arrival for their Christmas visit. Here's a little sample.

A little Footnote:

After this video Paige spent about two hours walking around the house saying, "Uncle Gil, Gil, Gil, Gil, Uncle Gil".

One other thing... is it wrong that she knows how to "cheers", elicits the phrases "Happy Hour" and "shake your booty" at random?? Just wondering....

Rare Snapshot

I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes...Paige willingly held her cousin Blake's hand today at the park. Thank goodness I had my camera to document this rare snapshot! I think I may even see a hint of a smile.

I know it's not very nice to laugh at people, especially your own child, but there is an exception to every rule. Right? Anyhow, earlier in the week, Paige awoke from her afternoon nap in a rather interesting mood. When I went to retrieve her she was standing in her crib, wild hair , and looked as though she had suddenly developed a bad case of lock jaw. The hair, the under bite and general demeanor brought me back to my childhood and memories of The Muppets quickly surfaced. Even though as a little girl, he scared the socks off of me, my little girl reminded me of one of Jim Henson's creations...

A Pagent Queen She's Not

Today was a big day at school for Paige. There was a costume parade and a Halloween party to boot! The whole costume thing didn't turn out so well. Her teacher's told me that she fussed about putting on her lady bug costume, but they somehow convinced her to put it on. She did about one lap around, noticed me and made a B-line straight for me. Tugging away at her cute little lady bug outfit, she let out a few of her blood curdling screams and refused to walk around again. So... I ever so quietly removed the ladybug with little fuss. I don't think we'll ever have to worry about her wanting to be the next Sarah Palin earning scholarship money for college (hee! hee!).

Papa and Kiki came over from work to see her two minute performance. Papa peeked into Paige's classroom before the parade and she wanted nothing to do with him... guess she's too cool for school! The little Halloween party went off without a hitch. It's quite funny to watch 6 little toddlers "party" with twice as many adults in the room. Paige was so grateful, she even said thank you to her teachers, told them she loved them and kissed and hugged her friend Wren goodbye and slipped in a little push for the finale!

Daddy's Little Girl

Howard Family Trip To Disney

Paige & Noah at Animal Kingdom
Paige & Gramps at "It's a Small World"... looking totally impressed!
Paige waving up a storm on the merry-go-round
Uncle Scott, Blake and Paige

Fun Times At The Park

Lately Paige has become obsessed with going to the park. She wanders around looking for other kids to play with most of the time. Thankfully Gramps, Noah and Blake come and join us!

A Love Note of Sorts

I'm not quite sure why I got so excited about the apple shaped sticky note inside Paige's lunch box today, but I did! Paige got her first "love note" from her teacher Mrs. Hunter today.

When I picked her up from pre-school today, she was lying down on the carpet quietly playing with some sort of plastic thing-a-ma-jig. Once she saw me, she slowly rolled over and went to the drawer where the above mentioned plastic item belonged. Very responsible I thought... her teacher told me she was very mellow and sweet today (I'm sure it had nothing to do with her late night, but I took it as a compliment anyway).

Once I had her buckled into her car seat, I checked her lunch box to see what she had eaten and there it was, the cutest apple sticky note I'd ever seen. In true teacher penmanship it said, "Paige is such an angel"! It made me feel so very proud of our little girl. At least she's got the right people convinced! :)

A Big Day of Firsts

1st First: First day of pre-school AND she loved it. Walked out of school with lunch box in hand just like she was in Jr. High.

2nd First: Finally... the first time I've been able to catch Paige singing her favorite Barenaked Ladies song, "Pollywog in a Bog".

3rd First: Made it in and out of Oakes Market in about 10 minutes without any screaming - woohoo!

4th First: Had apples and carmel dip for a snack - YUM.

5th First: Walking around the house with no diaper, socks, shirt and a minature sticky note stuck where the diaper should be. Who does this kid belong to anyway?

A Morning At The Beach

Paige and I spent a morning last week at the beach for a little R&R. We saw lots of birdies and even had a visit from Kiki on her way to work to make the morning complete.