The horror, the horror

This was Sunday afternoon. It doesn't look as bad now as I thought it looked at the time. We live in a small house, so any toys on the floor are usually too many toys on the floor. On Sunday I felt like the toys had taken over. Oh well. We had fun.

From the 4th of July

Taken by a kind stranger

Mine!

Mary Lawton is going through a serious "Mine!" phase complete with grabbing, snatching, hoarding, etc. (Lord, please let this be a phase.) If you even come near her when she is holding something, she starts screaming "MINE!" She was screaming in the bathtub the other night while Sweet LJ was bathing her, I looked in, and she was crouching over a bath toy so he couldn't get it.

I've read this is normal for her age and that we should model sharing and encourage sharing and taking turns. We do, but it really doesn't seem to be helping.

Today when I dropped her off at daycare (and lately she walks into the room yelling "MINE!" and making a beeline for the first kid she sees with a toy), it popped into my head that this seems to be causing her some anxiety. She is so happy and cheerful at home, but at school she seems distressed and anxious. She can't enjoy what she has because she's so worried about what she doesn't have.

Maybe I'm over-analyzing this, but moms out there, please weigh in if you have any suggestions.

First fortune cookie

"You have a friendly heart and are well admired."

I thought that was pretty appropriate.

July 16, 2010

Me and my little buddy

June 30, 2010

Sick

Last weekend Mary Lawton was a mess. She was a fussy, whiny, crying, irritable, tantrum-throwing, not-eating, sad mess. I thought she was teething. Sweet LJ suggested taking her to the doctor, but I was convinced she was cutting some teeth. Skip to Tuesday.

Daycare called me at 3:30 on Tuesday afternoon to come pick up Mary Lawton, whom they suspected had Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. (Another child in her class had come down with it the day before.) I took her to the doctor the next day, and not only did she have Hand, Foot, and Mouth, she also had strep throat. Poor kid. Our sassy, funny girl is back after a couple days on the pink medicine.

My maternal instinct failed me last weekend. It wasn't teeth--it was a mouth full of sores and a sore throat. I guess we'd better rely on the paternal instinct from now on.

Independence Day!

We had a fun 4th of July weekend. Biffy and Granddaddy hung out with us on Saturday and treated us to a delicious dinner at Farmstead 303. On Sunday I ran the Peachtree Road Race and finished in a respectable 55:53. My biggest fans were there cheering for me.

Alas, I missed them and this fabulous sign.

They were near the finish on the right side of the street. I was on the left. Oops.

But I did get to see it afterward.

That afternoon we headed to Jan and Bruce's for family fun, bbq, and fireworks. Mary Lawton didn't make it through the fireworks, so we took her back to Bruce and Jan's house, put her to bed, and watched the fireworks from their backyard. There were lots of people there--cousins, aunts, uncles, friends--but this seems to be the only picture I took. How embarrassing!

I made her this outfit just for the 4th of July.

17 months old

Time flies when you're as busy as Mary Lawton! This girl is busy, busy, busy, and I can't believe she's 17 months old already.

What she's up to: Saying please and thank you. We still have to prompt her most of the time, unless she really wants something. Then she usually remembers to say please. For awhile she was confusing the sign for thank you with blowing a kiss, and she would blow a kiss when we told her to say thank you. What better way to say thank you than to blow a kiss? Now she can say the words "thank you" (but needs a reminder).

Climbing into chairs and sitting by herself

Picking up a bag, putting it on her arm, and saying, "bye-bye!" We ask her where she's going, but she won't tell us.

Drinking from an open cup and feeding herself with a fork

She's been enjoying watching the Tour de France with her daddy, and she loves to spot bikes on our drive to and from school each day.

New words over the past 3 months:
banana (balala)
Daddy instead of Dada
Mommy instead of Mama
keys
tree
open
bike
Elmo (must have learned this at daycare, since we're not into Sesame Street at home)
train
truck (shuck)
beep-beep (said when she needs to get by and something is blocking her way. Must have learned this at daycare)
knock-knock (said while knocking on something. Daycare.)
my/mine
help (hep)
no
neigh (What does the horse say?)
bok bok (What does the chicken say?)
bok bok (What does the duck say?)
Mike (our neighbor)

And she's putting things together:
All done, Mommy! (ah dah, Mommy!)
Daddy bike
Daddy hat
open this (ahpee dah)
I want mine. [sigh]
no

She secretly grew 2 more teeth between 14 months and 16 months. I'm not really sure when, because I didn't notice them until one was fully in and the other was about half in. They're molars on her left side--one top and one bottom. Her 7th tooth came in between 16 and 17 months--a molar on her lower right side. So, she has the 4 very front teeth and 3 molars.

She's getting quite sassy and stubborn. (See "I want mine" above.) It can be frustrating, but I think I prefer that she is questioning things and using some reasoning skills. She's realizing that no, she doesn't have to do it because we told her to, and what would happen if she didn't do it?

But, for every trying moment, she gives us a thousand loving ones. She gives lots of hugs and kisses. I especially love when she comes up behind me when I'm sitting on the floor and hugs me. She crawls into laps to read books. She gives leg hugs as she's walking by. We have a sweet girl and are over-the-moon in love.

June 16, 2010 - 16 months old

July 16, 2010 - 17 months old