Likes

Things I like to eat:

Lotion

Cat food

Sticks

Things I like to do:

Build

Snuggle

Listen to Pandora

Catch up on my reading

It's a busy life for a baby.

District Bee

Preparing for a district spelling bee is H-A-R-D.

It's time consuming, it's stressful, the list is longer than the Great Wall of China, and you start randomly spelling words during regular conversation because your brain is zonked.  

We were relieved when finally the big day arrived. It was Michael's turn to be the sweaty parent in the audience. He dutifully geeked out and printed a custom sticker for the event.

I thought staying home would be less stressful, but it certainly was not. I nervously waited for updates from Mykey and STILL sweated through my shirt. 

Anxious much?

Well, Sissy didn't win but she did great regardless. The 2 finalists were kids with parents from India. They went nearly 50 rounds! When I asked Sissy if she was disappointed that she didn't win she replied, "Nah, when I saw the Indian kids sitting there, I knew I wouldn't win."

It's not racist, it's a compliment. They really were amazing spellers.

It was a long day for Sissy. Once she was eliminated and went to sit with Michael in the audience, she immediately fell asleep. Poor little lamb and all that adrenaline.

We celebrated with balloons and a trip to Barnes and Noble a few days later to spend the gift card she received for being in the spelling bee. It went towards a compilation of Lord of the Rings books. Money well spent.

Sissy had her name in the local newspaper and will soon be attending a school board meeting to be recognized there. What an achievement.

I'm incredibly p-r-o-u-d!

Snow Day!

Baby, it's cold outside.

The obvious choice is to cancel school.

Just look...it's up to your knees out there. (If you're an ant)

So we stayed inside and listened to the fireplace roar.

Sissy thought ahead and gathered some essentials for the freezer. You never know when you'll need a spare icicle.

The snow was gone by noon but we enjoyed our snowy morning. I'm sure relieved we stayed safe in that blizzard!

It Be 2025

After all the revelry of inviting in the New Year, one must take some time to recover - a day to relax, reflect, and devour the holiday leftovers.

I'm particularly talented at that last one.

In the spirit of New Year's Day relaxation, we filled our time playing card games, fiddling with camera filters, and Mykey and Sissy tinkered in their nerd labs. Mykey took requests from my sisters and 3D printed some piggy banks and resin printed new handles for a pressure cooker. And Sissy worked on building her Nintendo Lego set that she finally saved up enough money to purchase. That baby was es-pen-sive. But it's looking pretty sweet. 

I think 2025 is off to a good start! Now if you'll excuse me, those leftovers ain't gonna devour themselves...

New Year's Eve

As the eve of the New Year approached, Sissy began hassling her dear old parents about what our plans were for celebrating. She hasn't forgiven us for watching Field of Dreams last year and was finagling for something extra exciting. (Side note: Sissy pronounces 'finagle' with a short A sound. She thinks it's funny. I happen to agree and have started doing it to fit in with the cool kids.) ANYWAY, Sissy was being a hassler about my ancient rituals.

Ok, ok. I get it. I'm old. You don't want to do something boring.

I got it! We'll watch a documentary!

Sissy spent the majority of the day like this:

And then the remainder of the nighttime hours like this:

Mykey and I indulged in what is our now traditional New Year's Eve feast: bacon jam dip, meatballs, deviled eggs, and Muddy Buddies for dessert while we watched our black and white silent movie.

Oh, and Sissy had chicken nuggies because she didn't like my menu. Psssh.

So there we were, enjoying a delightful documentary about Christopher Reeve while Sissy played Nintendo and Baby slept like a baby. I managed to only be slightly tired by midnight thanks to the 17 Diet Pepsis I gurgled down. 

At midnight we watched the ball drop, blew our horns, Sissy danced her special dance, and away we soared to sleepy town. Perfection.

Happy New Year!

Christmas Break Style

Christmas may have vanished, but there's still some time left on the clock before the school bell calls Sissy back. 

Sounds to me like we can't just sit around watching our toenails grow. (Which is what we usually do).

Instead, we'll have adventures galore!

Really exciting adventures!

Like moving all of our crap out of an expensive storage unit into a less expensive storage unit. 

And making and gobbling up dozens of donuts.

And going for a stroll through the trees.

Baby tried to gather all of the sticks in the forest. She good cavebaby.

And having sandwiches at our favorite country store.

And meticulously painting a figurine. Sissy did this one. It's a shame that Baby snapped the staff off with her grabby hands.

And making time for conversation and really listening to Jeff.

I love when school is out and we have time for adventures galore. If only it happened more often.

Happy Christmas break!

18 Months

The day after Christmas landed us at the doctor's office for Baby's 18-month checkup. Do you know when you should go to the doctor?

The day after Christmas. 

That place was dead as a doornail, Smalls. The waiting room was empty, the service was prompt, and I found myself a new date to conduct all of my doctorly business. 

Unfortunately, Baby wasn't hyped about being there. 

She cried. She screamed. She didn't want anyone to touch her or conduct their doctorly business. You can't really blame her...theys were giving her them shots. AND she had some blood drawn. It was traumatic for everyone. 

So here's how Baby stacks up at 18-months old:

Height: 2' 10'': 95th percentile

Weight: 25.6 lbs: 81st percentile

Head circumference: 32nd percentile

Baby is such a delight at this age. She is curious, curious, curious. She loves to dance, suck on every lotion bottle, soap dispenser, and cleaning product she can get her grubby little hands on, she loves to read, snuggle, carries around the toilet plunger, and will pat me on the back as her way of saying she loves me. Baby is starting to say words and it is fun to hear her little voice. She says thank you, Sissy, heavy, awesome, stinky, and bless you just to name a few.

My heart rejoices when I look at my beautiful girl!

I can't believe she is already 18-months. They have been wonderful months indeed!