NINETEEN MONTHS!

...and apparently the "bib stage" was only on a hiatus!

Saela, as always, continues to grow and amaze us! She repeats many words now and her vocabulary is expanding rapidly. She sings her "abc" song - but it sounds more like e-e-e-e-e-e - but the tune is definitely right! She's also starting to take off her clothes - especially her shoes and socks by herself. She knows her shapes and gave me a "proud mommy moment" when one of her daycare providers asked, "does she have a shape sorter at home - because she knows how to put all of the shapes in ours?!"

Feeling Better

Saela has had a virus over the last week called herpangina. It is a very common virus which is very contagious. (It is not related to herpes despite the name.) This virus causes a very high fever (which began last Sunday) followed by very painful mouth ulcers. Imagine having about FIFTEEN CANKER SORES AT ONE TIME and this is what she had to deal with all week. She was a little more clingy and whiny - but for the amount of pain she must have been in - she handled it like a trooper. Yesterday and today her spirits are better and she's acting more like her happy little self. Today, finally, it looks like the sores in her mouth and on her tongue are starting to heal. Motrin and Tylenol helped us through the worst - especially when Steve and I felt helpless. A special thanks, also, to Grandma Green for watching her on Wednesday and Thursday while we worked.

Outside at Last

Steve took Saela outside yesterday to shoot some hoops. She was more interested, however, in "cleaning" the driveway. In the first picture she is picking up rocks and in the third she is cleaning the drops from blowing bubbles. We have had a really nice weekend weather wise and it has been so nice to be able to get outside. We took walks yesterday and today. The dogs are glad to get out and stretch their legs as well. At least Jax is - Jilly would still rather take a nap in the sun - unless she can find some rabbit poop to eat. Gross, I know.

Eating Like a Big Girl

Saela loves to use her silverware and always has to have a utensil in one hand. Invariably, however, she ends up holding a spoon/fork in one hand and eating with the other.

This is probably not the most appropriate "advancement" to pair with a "food" post...you've been warned. When Saela poops - I always say - "you've made stinkies in your diaper" and I pinch my nose when I say stinkies. Yesterday, she walked out from behind the couch pinching her nose. I asked her if she had made stinkies and she said "yep" and sure enough she had. I have quite the little smartypants on my hands. :) Now, if I could just get her to tell me in ADVANCE that she was going to "make stinkies" we could have avoided the poop in the shower incident.

Bibs

As mentioned previously - Saela went through a "bib" phase - here she is with one of her favorites. The most hilarious picture was of her wearing her frog bib in the bathtub - but that picture is unfortunately on my phone. The "bib" phase seems to be coming to an end - time has yet to tell what kind of smiles and laughs the next phase will induce.