15 Month Check Up

Once Delaney gets up in the morning SHE'S EVERYWHERE (and yes, I realize the toys are piled a mile high----we're going to be working on that!)

Apparently, Delaney played a bit too hard this morning because by lunchtime she was doing this!
Had to show it again it's so darn cute! (She went straight to her crib for her nap--which lasted over THREE hours)!!!! While she napped I thought I would soak up some sun (except for the fact when I got on my raft in the pool I immediately heard "ppppssssssttttt" and off the float I went! Wouldn't you know, after all that work to "pump it up" it had a hole in it! So I decided to sit and read my book (The Help) and then I thought "why hasn't our phone rang??"---as you can imagine, it typically rings "off the hook". I looked at the phone and it said "Do Not Disturb". I came inside to discover the base had been knocked off the end table and the "DND" button was on. I guess a certain someone didn't want to be "disturbed" while she napped!!!!
And then, it was time for more fun!



All in a day in the life of Delaney.........
I also wanted to blog about her 15 month check up yesterday. I think that Delaney and I are the only ones who can be late for a 10:45 a.m. doctor appointment (I think I better start looking into homeschooling since it's quite clear Delaney will never make it to school on time) ! Delaney had a great visit (minus her two shots) and is 20 lbs 10 oz. and is 30 inches tall. I knew that her appointments would get harder "for me of course" as she got older and had to get shots. I pulled out my cell phone to distract Delaney and that didn't go as well as I hoped, there were still tears (from both of us!) and crying. Fortunately, it didn't last long and as soon as I turned around to grab our diaper bag, THE GIRL WAS LAUGHING AGAIN!!!

Wordless Wednesday

15 Months....

Did I really get to spend the last 15 months waking up each morning to this??? And by "this" I am NOT referring to Delaney's "bad hair".....I don't have a clue what this little girl does in her crib to get such wild and crazy hair but it almost makes me want to go buy the video monitors so I could spy on her!It's like she's clueless as to why I ran and grabbed my camera!!!
And then she decided after her nap (which she woke up from at 4:30) it was play time!!! So she decided she needed to sit down and really think about what to play with first...................
And then decided it would be more fun to play with mommy's camera case......
We've all heard the phrase "when it rains it pours".....well, IT'S TRUE. On Friday, (which was SUPPOSE to be the start of "fashion Friday"), I had an "incident" with 1. a flip flop, 2. rain, 3. concrete garage floor. I am not going to go into the details (since this is after all, Delaney's blog) and will just let the picture speak for itself. Oh, and if you're wondering, YES, I was holding Delaney. I went "down", she went "down" it was UGLY. I wanted to call CPS ON MYSELF!!! Instead of going to the zoo as planned, I ended up here.... (after I got done running all of my errands of course!)...............
After 2 hours and 10 x-rays, it was "just" a sprain. My discharge instructions say I should 1. Rest, 2. Ice, 3. Compress, 4. Elevate, also known as "RICE". However, I HAVE A 15 MONTH OLD NOW------THERE IS NO TIME FOR REST. So, I decided I"d just shorten it to "ICE". I can handle Ice, Compress, Elevate!!!!!

You can probably just imagine all of the things Delaney has been up to:

• she has REALLY continued to develop quite the personality
• if she continues her sleep schedule then she really is going to sleep her life away (I am already worried how she will get up and make it to school on time some day)
• when you tell her "no no" she has started doing the cutest thing, she makes a face and then turns her head like she's putting her ear on her shoulder-CUTEST THING EVER!
• she stands up on the arm of her upholstered chair and takes all of the things off the end table and tries to grab the lamp shade. She does this 100 times a day.
• she goes to the doctor on the 29th so I don't know her height/weight but will update it
• she loves being outside, swing, stroller, wagon, pool you name it!
• she has her morning and bedtime bottles but during the day she has a sippy cup but still won't drink her milk out of it but is doing better. I recently read in a magazine that kids need to be weaned from the bottle by 12 months (clearly, I should have subscribed sooner)
• she FINALLY sits down in the bathtub now
• she still won't keep her shoes on
• she has started saying "mom" which I am NOT happy about---what about "mommy"??
• she has gotten TONS of teeth
• the other day I asked her if she "pooped" (sorry, can't think of a "cuter" name for it) and she walked down the hallway to the bathroom and stood by the toilet and put her hand on the lid!
• oh and just recently, she has started putting her finger in her nose (and mine)! I know, not so cute but I can't just blog about all of the "cuteness" now can I????
• she constantly says "hi" all day long
• the other day Delaney walked into her room, went right over to her diaper bag (I really need to keep it in the closet) and pulled out her box of cookies and brought them out into the living room, sat on the rug and ate them while she watched t.v.
• she has FINALLY started giving kisses BUT ONLY WHEN SHE WANTS---she will go a few days without giving them and when she does they don't look like a kiss because she sticks out her bottom lip, it is SOOO cute!

Dear Delaney Catherine,

Each month I write to you and think how can 30 days have gone by already? 15 months has felt like 15 minutes. I love every single second of every single day I get to spend with you. You are so much fun. I love your personality, you are just like your daddy and the easiest going person who just goes with the flow! I don't ever worry about taking you anywhere because you are such a good girl. You attract attention EVERYWHERE we go. I just have to laugh because everyone pays attention to you. We were just at the grocery store and you said "hi" to every single person there including grown men. One man stopped talking on his cell phone to say hi to you!!! You are such a social bug and it's so darn cute!

I love you forever my sweet cheeks!

Look What Delaney Found................

While I am getting ready in the bathroom, I either put Delaney in her pack n play or in with me. She can really entertain herself in there! Specifically, with the toilet paper now that she's "found" it!!! It was almost gone so I thought "why not".................

On Second Thought.........

Remember how I told you that Delaney got a scratch on her forehead from her little game of "up and down" on the plane? Well, here is a picture of it........And here is a better picture of it (this is the day it happened, so I guess you're seeing it at its worst). I "thought" it was completely gone but I noticed a very faint resemblance of it and now I'm thinking.....maybe we do need a pediatric plastic surgeon after all!!! I would post a picture of it but I"m sure you'd look at it and think I've lost my mind and that it's healed. Or maybe you think I lost my mind a long time ago! But be honest, if your daughter did this on a plane wouldn't your first thought be to run to the front of the plane, pick up the phone and ask "is there a pediatric plastic surgeon on the plane"??? Really---No, it wouldn't be???? Look again...........
Oh, and if you think we've forgotten about doing Fashion Friday---You're Wrong! Now that it's officially summer (although it's felt like it for quite sometime now) we'll be starting tomorrow. After finally going through Delaney's closet last week and purging her clothes and adding her summer stuff, we may have to take Fashion Friday into the next decade!! Where does this girl get so much stuff???? On second thought, don't answer that.......................

Wordless Wednesday

REALLY????

That's the best title I could come up with for this post. I bought Delaney this wagon for her birthday (March) but got it delivered in February. I remember thinking..."there is no way Delaney is going to be big enough for this come summer"....but see for yourself (but please disregard her "bad hair")!This is Delaney's version of "peek-a-boo"...she likes to put her hands on her head instead of covering her eyes.
On Sunday someone wished me "Happy Father's Day" and I'll admit---I didn't see that coming! But then I realized, I play a lot of roles as a parent and yes, I guess "father" could be one of them. BUT, a role I don't plan on playing is............

MAID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Florida...Part 6 (Final Post)

So have you felt like you've been in Florida these last 5 days? Did you almost feel the sand between your toes, that hot Florida sun on your back???? We hope so! But, like all good things, our trip had to come to an end.......Here we are at the Fort Myers airport waiting on our plane (recall, we didn't have a "wait" on our outbound flight seeing how I almost missed the flight)!!! But more on that later...I thought you would enjoy these last few pictures we took. I always have to really think about getting Delaney out of the stroller for fear she won't go back in it. But, she hopped out and ran right over to..............this..................................
I know right, she really is the cutest thing EVER.........
I wanted to recap some fun things that happened on our trip so Delaney would have a record of her first trip to the beach. Here are some highlights:

• Have you been wondering how we (ok I) almost missed the flight? Well, here's why: The last time we flew (Texas--February) Delaney was still taking bottles and I took our own bottled water for her bottles (what?? you thought I gave her "tap" water?? surely not, this kid has NEVER had tap water!) Anyway, we got "stuck" at security while they "tested" the water---it was a MAJOR pain in the you know what! So, you would THINK I would have remembered that from February but nope, SURE DIDN'T!! Oh and no, she's not still taking bottles but she does like her juice--organic of course! I took EIGHT bottles with us and well, you can just imagine how long that took! Each cap had to be broken and the seal removed, EIGHT TIMES PEOPLE!!! So I was patient (while listening to the elderly man behind me telling security how it was "just" Old Spice and he couldn't believe they wouldn't just let him take it on the plane (the bottle was too big)....so, Angie offered to go ahead and take Delaney to our gate (I think it was gate 26)....I stayed behind (still listening to why he needed his Old Spice) and waited for the guy checking to make sure I didn't bring explosives in my kid's juice bottles.......FINALLY----I made it through the inspection!! Now it was off to my gate but wait, I'm getting a text......you know, the one that said "RUN, GATE CLOSING"....well who can run in sandals carrying a heavy diaper bag and purse, certainly not me! So I walked fast and when I squinted my eyes I see Angie with her hands waiving in the air giving me the "HURRY UP YOU IDIOT YOU'RE GOING TO MISS THE FLIGHT waive!!!" Ok so NO ONE is in line, NO ONE is still in the waiting area (just Angie with Delaney) and I realize "oh no, what the heck did I do with my boarding pass" so I drop the diaper bag AND the big, heavy purse and start searching for it when the airline employee looks at me and says "Don't worry about it---JUST GO"!!!!! I thought Angie was going to have a full fledge heart attack right there in gate 26! I will NEVER forget her saying "I didn't know what to do, should I stay or should I go" to which I replied "always go"!!! Now, most of you know who Kate Gosselin is and you know how she trusts VERY FEW people with her kids right??? Well, I may not be exactly like Kate Gosselin in many ways (specifically the fact I have 7 less kids than she does) but I have very few people who know my "systems" and who I trust to take care of Delaney....but, Angie is one of them. I just wanted to clarify how I could let my daughter get on a plane without me! ha Oh and don't worry, I wouldn't have been far behind them, there was another flight that left an hour later!!
• Ok, if you're still with us in reading this post then I will try to keep the rest of my bullet points short and sweet. Delaney did FABULOUS on the flight (and if you're wondering, yes, she did a #2 on the flight). If you'll recall, when we went to Texas a certain mom didn't know about the diaper changers that fold down above the toilets in the restroom but a certain mom did remember this time!
• Before going to Florida I made sure I scheduled a taxi that provided a car seat so I wouldn't have to take Delaney's (we weren't renting a car). What I did not know is that our "taxi" ended up being a blue limousine maybe from 1982!!! It was the funniest thing EVER!! I was SOOO mad at myself for not asking him to install the car seat in the middle (again I know that can't surprise you!) Delaney would not sleep ONE SECOND on the plane but as soon as we got in that "taxi" she went right to sleep......
• When we got to our condo, we immediately met a lady (and later her husband) who owned one of the condos. They sort of "adopted us" and told us way too much about them, their kids and anything else we wanted (or didn't) want to know! I like talking to taxi drivers and "locals" to find all the best spots to eat!
• We had a 2 bedroom condo (Delaney and I shared) and our room always seemed really HOT! So we called maintenance and told them we didn't think air was coming out of the vent.....it was!
• We came back one day and the t.v. in our bedroom was on. Now, I've heard of a timer shutting off a t.v. but I've never heard of one turning on a t.v.!!! It was a little creepy.....
• Then, one day, I came inside from the balcony to check on Delaney (she was taking a FOUR hour nap) and standing outside the bedroom door I heard the t.v. was on! I was thinking "not again".....when she woke up from her nap, guess what was in her crib!!??!?! Yep, housekeeping left the remote on my bed which was in arm's reach of her crib. She was watching an old western!!!
• Something I wanted to document is that our pool (we didn't last long in the baby pool it was too "babyish") was the kind where it started off at 0 feet and got deeper and deeper. Delaney would walk right into it with no fear whatsoever!! She would walk until her face went under water. It was crazy. So this fearless child of mine quickly became the proud owner of a floaty. We had to find a way to contain her. One mom asked if Delaney was a second child when I told her she is fearless (apparently it's more common for a subsequent child to behave this way!) She was all smiles in the pool and as usual every said "what a happy baby, is she always this happy, is she always smiling so much, oh my goodness look at all of those teeth"---I hear this all the time from people. She really is an attention seeker!
• We ate breakfast every morning at the resort, came in for lunch, and then ate dinner out every night. So, it really wasn't that big of a deal that on our last day there we discovered our oven didn't work!!!
• Ok so maybe I've peeked your interest on how Delaney did on the flight home.....well let's just say NOTHING like she did on the way there. I guess I should have known from experience she will NOT sleep on a plane...and, she didn't! She was SO squirmy I felt like the flight was seriously returning from Australia!!! I could not wait for that bird to land! Oh and yes, she needed another diaper change (but luckily just a #1 this time). I grabbed a diaper, grabbed the wipes and her changing pad. When I laid her down on the changer she got a hold of the new diaper and threw it in the sink. Which would have been fine had there not been standing water in it! So, I had a momentary panic attack and thought "now what do I do"???? So, I pulled her pants back on her (please scroll up if you forgot what color they were) and ran back to our aisle for a quick diaper change IN MY SEAT!! We went the whole week without incident but on the flight home a certain squirmy baby kept wanting "up and down up and down" and if you've ever been on a plane you know there's not much room for this. So at one point we decided to put our purses and diaper bag stowed above us (which by the way, I have NEVER stowed my carry on bags above me and wouldn't you know the first time I do, I lose something----more on that in a minute) anyway, Delaney kept sitting on the floor between my feet and at one point, came up with a long scratch on her forehead from the metal trim work on the seat in front of us. I wanted to get on the intercom and page "excuse me but is there a pediatric plastic surgeon on the flight by chance"????? Luckily, it is almost gone (and luckily she has long bangs that covered it up!)
• And sadly, a couple of days after we got home, I discovered I left my changing pad on the plane. I think in my panic of getting her changed quickly since she wasn't wearing a diaper, I just threw it up where the diaper bag was stowed and it fell out during landing. So, for the last week I have been stalking ebay to replace it! And yes, I know perfectly well, I can go to Buy Buy Baby and buy one but "it won't match"!!! I will be calling Juicy Couture as soon as they open tomorrow morning (which by the way is 9:00 a.m.)!!!! I may even set my alarm clock----oh, who am I kidding!!!
• I hate to admit this (in writing too) but taking Delaney to Florida was a real "eye opener" for me. I completely underestimated how much she would enjoy it (if you can't tell from all of the pictures). She is such a "go with the flow" baby and is SO adaptable!!! Paris here we come!!!!!
• And lastly, as you can imagine, within less than an hour of our plane landing, ALL of Delaney's grandparents visited! She really is like a 2 foot tall celebrity!!!!

Florida...Part 5

I"ll just let this post speak for itself!!!!!

Florida...Part 4

Sandy feet......or

Pruned feet????

Yes, I managed to save space in our (we had to share) suitcase to bring Delaney's tutu with us. I just knew we could get some great shots of her in it down at the beach.......


Delaney didn't seem to care about......This sign...........
Does it look like you have to be 5 to have this much fun??????
She didn't think so either!

Florida...Part 3

"Delaney Catherine, this is NOT a topless beach, you need to get your bathing suit back on!!!! Oh, and give mommy back her sunglasses please"...................

See, she listens....(well, sometimes) Remember how I told you she holds her bottles and sippy cups by the bottom?????
Did you wonder if Delaney had fun in Florida??? A picture's worth a thousand words.......
So since we couldn't be in the water ALL DAY, we had to find something else to do at night. So, we waited for the trolley (that we "missed" most of the time and ended up having to walk the mile walk to Times Square---where the "action was"). The walk wasn't so bad especially since we got ice cream at night (remember I said vacations are for splurging when it comes to eating)!

Eat.Her.Up.

I could not resist this picture, we were sitting practically "on the beach" down at Times Square at Nemo's and this one man band was the entertainment. Well, that is, until little Delaney Cat started watching him AND STARTED DANCING IN HER STROLLER!!!!! I should have video taped it!
It's a bit hard to see, but there is sand all over her mouth---and, she could have cared less!!!

Cutest feet EVER........