Two and a Half!

Two and a half!

On April 3rd, Paige celebrated her half birthday. Seems like yesterday we were hosting her 2nd birthday party and for that matter, bringing her home from the hospital. We spent the day going to church, out to lunch, planting flowers, and capping it off with a trip to TCBY. My parents had given her garden tools and belt for Valentine's Day and we added a watering can so she was anxious to get out and dig in the dirt. She did a great job watering the flowers and learned quickly that gardening can be a messy job. I've included some photos that we took that day but first here's what she's up to these days...

• Paige is a happy, sweet little girl that loves to be silly and laugh.
• I'm not sure of her weight or height, but I know she's still very small. She's wearing 18-24 month clothes and some 2T.
• Complete Daddy's girl. Sometimes this is to the point of not liking her Mommy, which can be a little hurtful but I love watching the two of them together. Her world revolves around him!
• Testing her boundaries lately. She wants to do things on her own terms and loves to say no. Makes getting out of the house a long process!
• She loves to play with her babies, her kitchen, and read books. She loves to wake up from her naps (or even in the middle of the night, for that matter) and read books in her room. She also enjoys playing outside on her playset and is able to use most of the toys on it. Going to be a fun summer!
• Attends Mother's Day Out on Wednesdays and a Busy Beavers class at a local church while I exercise on Tuesdays. She's always a little apprehensive about going but has a blast while she's there. It's so fun to hear her talk about her teachers, her friends, and sing songs she learns there.
• Knows her colors, ABC's, can count to 15, speaks in full sentences consistently, introduces herself as Paigey (our nickname for her), and can navigate the iPad and my iPhone better than I can.
• Here are a few of the funny/grown up things she's saying lately...

"I'm not silly, I'm Paigey."
"How about..."
"Have you seen..."
"Sure!"
"Daddy/Mrs. Alex/Miss Nycole will be so happy to see Paigey."

• Sleeping is still an issue with Paige. She's in her toddler bed but, as I mentioned, likes to get out in the middle of the night to read books and most recently, snuck out through her bathroom and playroom doors to make her way into our room. As a rule, she gets up at least twice a night. Feels like we're still in the newborn stage. Just about the time that we think we've got her figured out, she throws us a curve ball. She's a stubborn and smart little girl, a dangerous combination!

Outside of the sleepless nights that she causes, Paige is a true joy and we're so blessed to have her. We can't wait to see what surprises she brings next!

See all of the photos at our gallery...http://gallery.me.com/jessicaleeham#100210

Paige and Little Bear

Planting flowers

Watering the tulips

Gardening with Daddy

Wild Wilderness Safari (Yet Again)

So, just a couple days after the Maxey's left, Paige and I took yet another trip to the Wild Wilderness Safari, this time with Jodee, Addie, Tyler, and some other moms and kids from the neighborhood. I think Paige was on safari overload because she wasn't too interested in it this time around. She wanted to see Kirby, the performing chimp, but that seemed to be her main reason for being there. It was a little more chaotic this time around, with a larger group of people but each time we visit, we see something new, which is what makes it so much fun.

See the rest of the photos at... http://gallery.me.com/jessicaleeham#100198

The zebras keeping a close eye on us.

A camel peeing. How often do you get to see that?!

Kirby snacking on an apple.

Paige sporting Tyler's Batman sunglasses.

The neighbor kids. Paige refused to be in the photo. Typical.

The Maxeys Visit

I'm a little behind on posts but on St. Patty's Day, the Maxeys came to visit us for the weekend. We had some warmer weather so we took advantage of it by taking a trip to the Wild Wilderness Safari (our staple for out of town visitors). As you'll see, we got up close and very personal with the camels and many other animals.

Paige had a great time playing with Lucy and was so excited that her cousin had come to visit. What a welcome change from a year ago, when Paige wanted to only play by herself. I'm sure Lucy will be begging for her space from Paige soon enough but right now, we're enjoying their love for each other. We had a great time with them all look forward to the next time.

You can see pictures from the rest of the weekend at our gallery...

http://gallery.me.com/jessicaleeham#100182

Lucy loved pushing Paige on the swing and Paige loved to be pushed!

Daddy and his silly girl.

Why, hello there Camel!

Watching a show before bed.

Photo Shoot with Friends

I mentioned in my last post that we had a photo shoot with the kids while the Baileys were in town. We just received the pictures and while we were only able to get one of them all together (Paige was not cooperating and even this one had to be photoshopped), there are some great ones of each of the kids. Here are a few of my favorites. The rest can be found in our gallery.

http://gallery.me.com/jessicaleeham

Paige giving the evil eye to the photographer. Pretty much sums up her mood that morning.

Sisterly love.

Best friends.

Tyler, the lone boy in the mix.

The only group shot.

Sweet Menzie.

Love this one of Molly. She was such a trooper, considering it was freezing!

Addie and Menzie.

Trying to keep Paige warm (and happy) for a few more photos.

The Bailey's Visit

Last week we were lucky enough to have the Bailey's visit us from Charlotte. We had been planning the visit for months and were all very excited to see them again. It felt like old times; we had a great time together. We kept busy with a trip tothe Wild Wilderness Safari, a photo shoot with the kids, Chuck E. Cheeses, a consignment sale, moreshopping, and plenty of eating! Kirby the chimp at the safari was one of the highlights of the trip. He must have been a performer prior to retirement because he put on quite a show, dancing, clapping, and spitting (to which all of the kids spit back at him). He made us all laugh! The kids also really loved Chuck E. Cheeses and to my delight, it was pretty clean and not busy on a rainy Tuesday morning. Might even warrant a trip back sometime. The kids played very well together and it was fun to watch Paige with Addie and McKenzie. She loved playing with the "big girls." We even attempted a sleepover with the girls and Paige enjoyed it until it came time for the sleeping part. At that point she was "all done." No surprise there!

We loved falling right back into our old routines and picking up conversations with the Baileys and Itens. It makes us miss Ryan, Meridith, Menzie, and Molly even more. Here's to the next time!

See the rest of the (hundreds) of photos at our gallery... http://gallery.me.com/jessicaleeham#100118

Valentine's Day 2011

Happy Valentine's Day! Today was a great day, with the sun shining (finally) and warm temps. The 22" of snow we got last week is slowly but surely melting away. We spent the day as usual but enjoyed a homemade candlelight dinner together, just the three of us. Paige received lots of Valentine's this year and loved opening all of the mail and packages from friends and family. Here she is sporting the hat and socks that Aunt Julianne sent and rocking out on the new keyboard from Mommy and Daddy. We love you Paige!

Poor Paige

Paige has had a bit of a rough week. She came down with a cold, which turned into a terrible cough. After being up all night last week, I took her to the doctor, who decided to treat her for bronchitis and pneumonia with antibiotics and breathing treatments. She wasn't a huge fan of the breathing treatments at first but became quite the "big girl" and took them like a champ. Unfortunately, this medication made her extremely hyper on the first night. She sat in her crib for over an hour that night, just talking and apparently working on a method for climbing out of her bed. Drew and I were quite surprised when she walked into our room at 10pm and asked for a bite of the ice cream we were eating! The nerve! So, we've moved to the toddler bed, yet again. She's enjoying her new-found freedom and has crawled out of her bed often. One night she just read books until 4am. I still can't believe how long she can stay awake! Last night was much better. She went to sleep and stayed there all night. It definitely earned her a sticker (five stickers=new toy or trip to get ice cream). Maybe we're making progress.

Unfortunately, this eventful week was capped off by Paige developing a rash and all of the sudden, knee pain. The knee pain really concerned me so I took her into the doctor (again), who said she had developed an allergy to the amoxicillin that they had prescribed the week prior. Really?! Does it ever end?! Guess that's life with a toddler!