Lesson 4,589 in parenting....

If your child is EXTREMELY quiet while you are taking a shower, and you think it's because she listened to your direction of "sit in your recliner and watch Dora until mommy is done". THINK.AGAIN. It is more likely that she has done something like the following. GUTTED her stuffed zebra. Poor thing didn't have a chance. I have no clue how she even opened it - but he had a hole leading from his neck to his butt.

This is what I saw when I got out of the shower:

 This poor zebra didn't have a chance:

I guess we won't be using him as part of the decor in her new room when we move! He was nothing but a flat carcass when she was don't with him. He is now in the garbage, waiting for his pickup from the garbage men tomorrow. Sorry mister zebra!

Birthday Palooza & My Smart Cookie

Saturday started off our first of many birthday parties to come!!!! We went to lunch with Antoines sister, as she turned 11 (YIKES 11!! I remember the day she learned to walk!). Although Noelani always enjoys a good meal, it wasn't a big party. The next day, Sunday, was our first real birthday party. This was for Antoines friends daughter who turned 2. 

She had a BLAST....

Enjoying her cookie from her friends birthday party....

Noelani LOVES Elmo...and as soon as she saw the birthday girls balloon, she wanted to grab it!

Every time she eats snacks she wants to share them with Mommy

She looks SO old here!!! My baby is growing up

Antoine took her in the gym to "play" basketball

While we were there, Noelani kept grabbing all of the kids hands saying "come on....watch this....hand". All of the other little kids kept staring at her like "huh? what do you want?!" Finally...this little girl who must have been around 4 years old, walked up and said "hey little girl, want to play with me?" and they ran away hand in hand.

My baby <3

My mom got her this little pumpkin. Noelani is LOVING her pumpkins lately. We have 4 of them in front of our fireplace so far. We are going to *attempt* to carve one tomorrow I think. Wish us luck.

Today, I called Noelani from work, and heard her saying "Turrrrrrrkey, gobble, gobble, gobble" She cracks me up!!! Her favorite thing in the world now is to ask for "High pives" aka high fives and "pounds" (fist pounds). 

Noelani's vocabulary is so extensive now that I don't even think I can make up a list! I pulled out her flash cards last night and I'd say she knew 90% of them - even I was shocked!! She can count to 10 on her own, and with a little help gets to 20. We are working on her knowing to tell people she is "2" (can't believe my baby will be 2 in 3 months). She is in LOVE with Minnie and Mickey Mouse. She also loves Princess Tiana and dressing up with jewelry. EVERY morning she asks for bracelets and a necklace - haha!! I just love her soooooooo much. Someday I know she will get sick of my squeezes I constantly give her, so for now, I overload her!

Reciting her flashcards and counting

Oink Oink....The tale of a TOO full piggy!

Hello new piggy - bye bye little baby piggy
(We have to go to the bank this weekend and deposit her actual dollars!!)

Well on the left you see Noelani's new piggy bank! Her little guy on the right was almost busting at the seams. As I said before, I always try to do special things with Noey since I have to work. SO, today we went to Target. She loves shopping. When we pull up to the mall or stores she always yells "shopping!!!!".

I had been eyeing this polka dot piggy you see above for quite some time. I couldn't bring myself to spend nearly $20 on it, even though it matched her big girl room. We frequent Target quite often and I had seen it on clearance for $13.98....then $9 something....then $6 something. Well, I told myself - she really doesn't need it....and TODAY, it was $3.48. I couldn't pass that up. SO, I told Noey "when we get home we can fill this piggy with alllllll the money from your baby piggy". She smiled and got all excited. I thought she would get a kick out of it and she did.

She must have sat on that floor with me for at least 30 minutes putting all of those pennies in the new piggy. She had so much fun (amazing how us adults forget the joy in such small things). 

She kept picking up the little piggy and shaking him out making sure there wasn't anything left in there HAHA! Once she felt confident she got them all out....she had to give it one last look:

She was so into this that when Dada came home she ran and said "Dadaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" and ran right back to putting her money away. THAT is a rarity!

Side note:

Yesterday we went to my sisters house and my mom brought muffins. Noelani thought they were cupcakes and was so very excited when she saw them. She began clapping and jumping saying "yayyyy". I sat her in her little chair there and cut up her muffin and as SOON as she grabbed them, she shoveled it in her mouth. She was playing around and licked her hands really fast and screamed "MMMMMM BUTTCAKES" LOL! All of us cracked up and I pointed to the muffins and said "what are these?!"....She responded and said "BUTTcakes". That girl cracks me up!!!! 

My TALL girl

Here's a picture of Noelani....she had JUST turned 20 months. She looks so much older than that. Sigh.

People always think she's around 3 years old. I feel a little sad about this because I feel like people expect much more out of her without realizing her age! 

At gymnastics, she's just as tall as the 3 year olds in her class. She's wearing a size 2T pants (a little long) and 3T shirts!!! She was just playing with my dads tape measure yesterday and I tried to measure her height and she's in the 35-36" vicinity!!!!! She's already wearing a size NINE in shoes. UNBELIEVABLE. She is the average size of a 3 year old and she's not even 2 yet. However, today I got the first 2 year old question = "WHY" LOL!

I don't honestly know where her height is coming from. Her birth-mom was 5'3" and birth-dad was 5'10". Neither of those heights are very tall, so I just cannot believe why she's so extremely tall! 

She's also a very smart cookie. She can count to 10 on her own. She can say all of her ABC's and recognize a few shapes. She thinks every color is yellow though, and every letter she sees is "B" hahaha! She has started singing songs randomly. I always catch her singing "twinkle twinkle little star" and the end of the "abc's". She sings all of the jingles on Blues Clues. Also, she loves the Fresh Beat Band (a group on Nick Jr.) - she yells during the opening credits all of the names of the singers. She also loves Yo Gabba Gabba still and Brobee has clearly become her favorite on the show.

No matter how smart or big she gets though, she will always be my baby.

When I least expect it.....

My little smarty pants always amazes me. The things she picks up and says crack me up sometimes!
Just yesterday, she decided she had enough of me trying to get her to nap. As I was trying to get her to sleep (at my parents house on the couch) - she kept grabbing a blanket off of the back of the couch so I said "no no you cannot keep grabbing that" and moved her arm. As I said that she replied quietly from behind her binky "SHTOP.IT" (stop.it)  - Bad parenting moment: All I could do was laugh!
Today, I tried to once again get her to take a nap this morning and when I finally gave in to her laughs and giggles in her bed - I walked in and she said her FIRST complete sentence/question!....I was amazed. I asked her a good 3-4 times..."What did you say baby?!".....and she pointed at her nightlight and said:
"Do you see dat???"

This is a paw print from the TV show "Blues Clues"

Noelani is BIG on the tv show Blues Clues right now. I happen to really like it for her because they do a lot of sign language on it (which she has been using since she was about 9 months) and it is very educational in the aspect that you get "clues" to find out the answer to the question posed in the beginning of the show. Whenever there is a "clue" you will see the above image on t.v. When the host sees the "clue", he opens both of his hands and closes them really fast as he says "BLUES CLUES...BLUES CLUES". Noelani loves this show and whenever there's an ad for it on t.v. she does this motion I spoke about with her hands and screams "CUES CUES" aka Blues Clues.

Today, we were getting ready to go shopping and for YEARS I've had the below magnet. When we moved into our current place, we just so happened to have a metal door, so I placed this magnet on the door in case I have to write myself a "don't forget me note" (which I tend to write a lot of these days lol!).

As my sister and I were putting on our shoes, we hear Noelani screaming "CUES CUES CUES CUES". I stopped and saw her doing the open/shut hand motion with it as well. I looked around and thought maybe she figured the man on the dog treat bag looked like the host haha!! Then I noticed.....my baby thought she was seeing a "Blues Clues" paw print!!!!!!

She was so darn excited she had found a "Clue" so I had to play along. I told her to hurry up and get Dada so she could show him. She RAN like the wind into the living room and said "Dada Dada" screeching. When he came into the kitchen I said "Noey! What is Blues Clues trying to tell us? We are going bye bye....what do you think we need?"....(The keys were on the hook next to the door) - so I said...."Ohhhh we need our keys to go bye bye!!!!".....

I grabbed the keys for her and she just grinned ear to ear! The simple yet such exciting things that make her happy, make my day. I love the little things that make her smile xoxo

Love/Hate relationship

I've said before, Noelani and Jazmin have a love/hate relationship! My guess is, if they both could chill out a little  bit, they would be best friends.

Yesterday, Jazmin had to go to the vet because she was itching her neck open (for the 2nd time in 2 months). She apparently is a delicate flower and has allergies - only I would have a dog with allergies - c'mon!!

When we were there, Noey thought it was the most hysterical moment when they were clipping Jazmins nails. EVERY single clip made her laugh into hysterics. I don't know what was soooo funny to her, but it sure made us laugh!!

Alot of the times, I catch Noelani telling Jazmin "Sit Down" in the back seat of the truck. (I guess I must tell Jazmin that too much LOL!) Jazmin typically responds by growling or running away with the hair down the middle of her back standing straight up! The two of them battle over who gets to sit with me like siblings. If Jazmin is sitting in my lap, Noey will push her and say "GO". If Noey is in my lap, Jazmin will scoot her way next to me.

Tonight - the cutest thing happened. Noelani is really into giving "high fives" - she will say to any stranger she meets "high pives high pives" pives = fives. If they don't respond to that she will say "pound" (meaning she wants to pound fists - guess who taught her that one - not mama!!). So tonight she ran up to Dada requesting a high pive....then to myself....then she runs after Jazmin yelling "high pives high pives" with her hand out. Poor baby doesn't understand - but it was super cute watching her run after her little enemy asking for a high five.

Tomorrow we will be going to Noelani's FIRST amusement park.....this should be interesting!!

Please slow down....

Dear Baby Girl,

Tonight I was watching videos of you on the computer. Just a year ago, you were learning how to crawl!!! It's hard to believe that a year has gone by since you learned how to crawl and now you are running all around. I prayed and wished for you so hard for so many years....and now time is flying by so fast.

You are so independent these days. You try to put your socks and shoes on all by yourself. You want to "comb" your hair all alone & at night after bath you rub your lotion on. You always remind me you take TWO vitamins and you have to brush your teeth all alone. Two nights ago I asked you if you were ready for "night night" and you grabbed your blanket and walked yourself right into bed - it made me a little sad to see what a big girl you are now!!! I am so proud of you that you can do these things, but I want to be able to snuggle you FOREVER!!!

As you get older, I hope you never forget that you will never be too old for me to snuggle you. I hope you always know that you can talk to me no matter what.

Yesterday was my birthday, and I was so happy to enjoy the evening with you and Dada. We went out to dinner and then we went to the mall. I wish I could be with you every moment of the day - but you have amazing people who love you! Your Auntie Amanda brought you to work to see me. You brought me a cute little card and a picture of a doggie you colored for me. It is hanging up on my desk and I am so proud of the little woman you are becoming!

You truly are an incredibly happy little girl....you have been since day 1! You are so loving and rarely ever complain about anything. Please my lovey, don't let the world change you. Don't let peoples ignorance make you jaded. Always stand up for what you believe in - even if it isn't what everyone else believes is the "popular" thing to think. I hope I can raise you with the confidence of this. There will be times where people will say mean things - but just know that words CANNOT change the amazing person you are inside. There will be many experiences in life that test your faith in God and even the person who you know you are - but always remember that the most important people in your life - your family - love you for who you are!

My Smart Girl....

Those who Noelani, know she had a frenectomy back in March of 2010. If you don't know what that is, basically, if you look under your tongue, you will see a "string" of skin that connects the bottom of your mouth to your tongue. When Noelani was born, her skin was attached completely to the tip of her tongue. She was able to suck a pacifier and bottle, so she never had the surgery to release this "tongue-tie" right away. As time went on and her first birthday passed, we started to notice she couldn't use some of her sippy cups properly. The biggest thing we noticed is that her speech really had not taken off the way we thought it should. The only sound she could make was "ti ti ti ti" and her tongue could not pass over her teeth.
Needless to say, we decided to have this fixed. I think it was the BEST decision so far we have made as parents!!! I would say almost 3 days later, she was already making all new kinds of sounds we had never heard! We were advised to have early intervention evaluate her to see how she evaluated for speech. Once that evaluation was done (she was 14 months old) - she was right on target. We don't know yet if she will have speech issues or not...but so far she is really a chatter box!!!!!
I wanted to use this post just to share that she knows her ABC's and LOVES her flashcards that we do each night. She can get through ALL of them and repeat almost every single picture you tell her now. Of course, when I take the camera out she gets shy, so this is the best I could get:

Here are some words/things she says now:
Mommy
Dada
Papa
Nana
Riley (Nana & Papa's dog)
Lawry (this is how she says her uncle larrys name)
Ol-ver (my friends dog oliver)
Up (quite frequently it's Up Pwease)
Pwease (Please)
More
Eyes
Eat
Drink
Milk
Juice
"Was dat?" (Whats that?)
"I see you"
Duck
Baby
Alright
Apple
Doggy
Pool
Hungry
Home
Help
Sit.down (which she seems to always tell the dog - wonder where she gets that one - haha)
No
Teeth
Cheese
Queeeeze (squeeze when she runs up to hug you)
**Edited to ADD the following**:
Auntie
Hi
Hello
Bye Bye
Alright
Pound (dada taught her how to "pound" with her fist lol)
O-Phie (Sophie - my sisters dog)
Alty (One of our cats Salty)



*There's SO many I am sure I'm missing some!!!* She NON stop chatters all day!!

She can count to 5 on her own....up to 7 if I help her. She is CONSTANTLY counting around the house. Counting things in her books...counting as she walks up and down the stairs.
She can do ALL of her ABC's....she does need to repeat us, however she can always tell you what comes next (if we say "A" she says "B"....we say "C" she says "D" and so on). It is really cute because she thinks "C" is "C's" (I suppose I understand that since we DO say ABC's in her defense LOL). And when we get to "I" she always says "EYES" and points to her eyes.
She knows how to point to the following body parts:
Chin
Feet
Head
Eyes
Ears
Nose
Mouth

She knows almost all of the following animal sounds:
Cow
Cat
Dog
Lion
Bear
Horse
Elephant
Alligator (she snaps her hands closed)
Bird
Duck

Well - I think thats all for now...I wanted to make sure I kept track of as much as I can! And I can't forget my lovey girls best thing she does which is when she says "MOMMY" and I ask her..."What baby?" and she goes "MMMMMMMMMMWA!" and puckers up for a kiss.
My oh my how I love my little girl!!!!