Happy 18 Month Birthday

Is she really 18 months old now? Holy cow. That seems so crazy to me. But then I watch her and see how much she has grown and know she is definitely a year and a half. So what's new in Inara's world you ask. Lots! We've got quite the active schedule lately now that I'm doing StrollerFit Mon & Wed. Then we have My Gym on Thursdays and tumbling class on Fridays. I'm glad I enrolled her in tumbling again because she really loves it. I'm bummed that we don't have any of the kids from the previous class because we seemed to have had a great group of kids and parents. Hopefully, this class will get better. Here's a pic of Inara bouncing on the trampoline. It's hard to believe she once hated this apparatus. She still hasn't figured out how to bounce or jump but is getting better at bending her knees. She does love to fall though, which is what she's doing in this picture.


She sure loves mommy! My new psychology to help me through those days that I can't go anywhere without her glued to my side is "I guess I'm just awesome!" She can't stand to be without me for long periods of time. I'm beginning to forget what it's like to go pee without an audience. I attended a MOPS meeting (Mothers of Preschoolers), and she actually did pretty well in the nursery considering it was her first time in such a setting. I stayed with her for the first 15 min. Then got called in about 15 min later. She was in the nursery for about an hour all together when one of the teachers brought her to me because she wouldn't stop crying. Needless to say, I had to sit with her on my lap for the last 45 min or so. Again, guess I'm just that awesome. I've started looking into preschools for the fall. We're considering putting her in a class for one day a week. Figure that will help her socialize more with kids and learn it's OK if mommy isn't right by her side. Plus, it would give me a few hours a week to get some things done without my shadow in tow. Oh how I wish my parents were here to help with Inara more. I'm so jealous of Lisa's cushy situation with mom & pop living down the street. Here's a pic of Inara giving me a kiss. I got her to start holding my cheeks when she gives me a kiss. It's so cute!

Given how much she loves me, it's no real surprise she's starting to follow in my footsteps. She is quite the little helper. I can give her some junk mail and ask her to throw it in the trash, and she's happy to help out. She loves to put her sippy cups in her cupboard after I take them out of the dishwasher. She has also been known to get a towel and sweep her crubs onto the floor after snack time. She also LOVES helping mommy with laundry. Whenever I'm in the laundry room, she comes running in and begs to help out. So I'll hand her wet clothes, and she puts them in the dryer. Then when they're done drying, she loves to help pull them out and put them in the laundry basket. I can't wait til she can start doing the chores all on her own. Here is a picture of her helping mommy dust. She loves to watch me clean, and with this little cavegirl in the house, I've got messes to clean up all day long. (Note the shaggy do she's got going on. I'm trying to let her hair grow to one length without bangs. Not sure how long I'll be able to take the shaggy look though.)

This does not mean she dislikes daddy. Quite the contrary. As soon as daddy is home, she frequently blurts out hide, hide, hide. She and daddy play hide and seek every night, most often in the basement. She thinks this is the greatest game in the world. She also loves to hide in the hall closet or better yet, to close the door on mommy or daddy so we have to hide. We also hide in the tent that has become a permanent fixture in the front living room. Shawn has also starting a row, row, row your boat game with her. She sits on his lap and they sway side to side as he sings row, row, row your boat. Then the boat crashes and Inara falls to daddy's side. Laughter erupts. And the game starts again. I love that daddy is teaching her how to crash boats.

Another song and game Inara loves is Wheels on the Bus. She never tires of this song. We sing it throughout the day, and daddy now sings it when he gives her a bath. She's gotten good at doing a lot of the hand motions to accompany the song, such as pointing to her nose for the horn on the bus part, moving her hands side to side for the wipers go swish, swish, swish part, etc. She also likes I'm a little teapot and puts one hand on her side for the handle and leans over for the tip me over part. I really love teaching her such songs because they allow her to be interactive. Plus, it's so cute watching her do the motions.

A big way Inara has blossomed lately is with language. She's really starting to try to say a ton of new words. She calls out daddy a lot during the day, so I'll ask her where's daddy and she'll respond, "Daddy work." Yes, a 2 word sentence! Another word game we play is where is NeeNee and Pop. I'll ask her where's NeeNee and Pop, and I'm teaching her to respond with OC. I figured California may be too tough for her right now. However, she does say avocado pretty well. When we're in the car, she loves to point things out like bicycle, truck, dog, cow...Yes, we have been known to see a cow grazing on the side of the road once in awhile. She also calls out for crackers and wawa when we're in the car. She sure does love her snacks, which is what crackers refers to. Throughout the day, she frequently whines for me to pick her up, so I've taught her to say, "Up please." What's so cute about this is whenever she says please she points to herself and smiles. It's so funny. I thought it was time to start teaching her manners too. We're working on saying please and thank you, but more importantly, since she's such a gassy girl and toots all day long, I'm working on getting her to say excuse me after she toots. I figured since we're out and about so much, it's only polite for her to start excusing herself after letting one rip. I know she'll hate me when she gets older for sharing this one with the world. Just remember Inara, mommy is awesome!