Happy Birthday, Sir Alex!

Sizing eachother up.
Thinking about a kiss.
Moving in for the kiss.
Rats, foiled again!
We gave Alex a "bobble hat". I think he'll like it better on days that aren't 75 degrees.

Miss Mouse attended a birthday party for one of her boyfriends today. There was food a-plenty, and it was good stuff. Unfortunately we didn't get to stay for the demolition of the turtle-shapd-cake or the devouring of the homemade ice cream (Daddy Mouse has 1 baptism and 2 weddings today). Sir Alex looked dashing, of course, in a cute little denim outfit, and he was happy, friendly, and smiley to all his "subjects". He even tried to kiss Miss Mouse (he tried on Valentine's Day, too - what a little romantic!); you can see by the pictures how well that went. Keep tryin'. Better luck next time, bud!

Is there anything sweeter than a load of pint-sized laundry hanging on the line?!

On a Lighter Note

Fashion bug.
She loves her bike - especially the bell!
It may be hard to see, but she is hugging the neighbors' bird decoration. We walk over several times a day to do give the birds pats and hugs.
Self-portrait.
Getting ready to put the Spiderman ball (also belongs to the neighbors) into the basketball hoop (also the neighbors').
This is a chronicle of my mornings. I love my job!

Bittersweet

15-month check up

Today was Miss Mouse's 15-month check up. I waited two weeks after her first birthday for that one, so I thought I'd stay right on schedule by waiting two weeks after she turned 15 months for this one. It was better than last time as far as we felt we had more time and were given more patience and respect. Unfortunately, last time must have been pretty horrible for Miss Mouse because she screamed from the minute the nurse took her temperature in her ear (which I emphatically suggested be done to the "Purple Bear" first - they humored me, but it didn't seem to help the poor Mouse) until we left pretty much. She had her Purple Bear and her little satin blanket, but I didn't let her have her pacifier until after we left. Last time I was told that I had to take away her pacifier, so I didn't want to have an argument about the fact that I have not. Unfortunately, that made Miss Mouse quite sad because she wanted it. Let me tell you, she got it the minute we left the building. I've let her keep it on the advice of her chiropractor who suggested that the sucking motion helps her ears drain, and since she has some issues with them draining anyway, I'm not taking it away until most of the 'drooling' teething is done. Anyway, the appointment basically went well, but I'm glad her Daddy Mouse was able to come along. That much screaming (after a night of being up from 2:40-5:40 with tooth pain and after a nearly 13-hour day alone yesterday) would have been harder to take without him. He's very calm, and that is really helpful! It's no wonder I miss having him around on long days like that!

Miss Mouse's stats: her head is 17.5. I don't know what percentile this puts her in, though probably still a low one (look at her mom's head). Her height is 32 inches which is the 88th percentile (she's come down from 93rd percentile at one year). Her weight is 20 pounds 4 ounces which is the 9th percentile (she's also down on that from 11th percentile at one year). Here we thought she had really chunked up a bit and was looking really great! When our doctor heard the things I'm feeding her such as avacadoes, eggs, cheese, sandwiches, full-fat yogurt, full-fat milk, fruits, vegetables, whole grains (for the most part - brown rice, oatmeal, etc. - but not whole wheat since it makes her tummy sad when eaten in large quantities), she said she is sure it is just a hereditary thing that she is built very slightly, and that is not a problem. She's pleased that I monitor everything that Miss Mouse eats to make sure whatever she's eating is something that will be healthy for her; since she is such a tiny girl and light eater, everything that goes in has to count as something good. So, overall she is not worried about the Mouse. However, she does want to have us back at 18-months to re-check her weight and height to make sure that she is not falling too much more with the weight percentile (i.e., she doesn't want her to go from 11th at one year to 9th at 15 months to 5th at 18 months; she wants her to hold about steady). That should be a fun appointment, though, because there won't be any shots involved. In fact, it sounds like after we get through another round at 2 years, that we'll be done until she's around 5 years old. Whoo-hoo!

Miss Mouse is taking a nap now. Hopefully it will be a nice long one. I could use one, too. Daddy Mouse has premarital counseling meetings again tonight, so it'll be a long day for all of us again. Tomorrow night is off, though, so we're all three looking very much forward to that!!!

Miss Mouse loves you!

Run, Mommy, Run!

Yesterday dawned with an impromptu marathon-relay entry for Mommy Mouse. A friend of mine called Friday night asking me to run the relay with their team which had lost a member to a family crisis. I had initially entered the half marathon, but I switched to the 5K when Daddy Mouse's schedule got too crazy for him to watch Miss Mouse (and the weather was not conducive to Miss Mouse being out in the stroller training with me). As race day neared and the hype picked up in town, I was feeling equally sad to not be "truly" involved in the marathon and excited to see how fast I could do the 5K. Needless to say, I was unprepared to do a marathon relay, but there was no way I'd pass up the chance, either! So, I got to see twice the amount of marathon course from what I expected and ran with two other fun runners. Miss Mouse stayed home with her grandparents and slept until 9:00. I was actually done running before she woke up - she slept right through my excitement! I was happy about this fact, to tell the truth. After finishing my run, getting my traditional "pick up" from Daddy Mouse (he actually picks me up at the end of a race and throws me over his shoulder for a few paces), and making our way back to our house, Grandma Kathy, Grandpa Dick, Daddy Mouse, I, and Miss Mouse all cheered on the marathon runners as they worked on mile 24 (approx. 3 blocks from our place). We stayed out until 1:40 and had a great time. Later in the day we went to our friends' house for a post-race celebration - lots of food and fun, even though we didn't stay long. All in all, it was a great day!

Child Labor Laws??

I began to wonder this morning, as I watched my 15-month old pick dandelion heads off the "flowers" in the front yard, whether child labor laws applied to this process. She's awfully helpful with the task, picking them from the plant diligently, missing none, and smooshing them into a tight wad in her left hand, leaving a telltale, yellow smudge. It was beautiful to watch and just reminded me of what a wonderful job I have, teaching this little child about the world! Saved me a lot of work, too :)

We also did a lot of planting at our garden spots today. The carrots, peas, green beans, purple beans (yes, really, truly), lettuce, beets, and watermelon are seeded. I have yet to plant the onions, cucumbers, and squash. We're supposed to have a few small showers in the next couples of days, so I was eager to get as much planted as possible. We did all that Miss Mouse could handle as she supervised from her play-yard. She's developing into quite the little outdoors adventurer!

What have we been up to?

Being a goofball!

Ready for a run even in the wind!

My model.

Miss Mouse loves drinking out of a glass!

She'll stand in Daddy's boots for several minutes at a time.

She sometimes eats breakfast best if she has a hat and her special jacket on.

Ready for church a couple weeks ago.

So stylish. Those are her glasses from last summer. Look for pictures of this summer's glasses soon.

Up and Running Again

Well, after quite a hiatus from blogging, we're up and running again. My digital camera battery needs charging, so look for pictures in the near future. What have we been up to? Working on that last molar has taken up several of our nights (teething tablets, clove oil, and Tylenol did not help us those nights). However, we've also had several nice nights of sleep, too, so it is hard to complain too much.

Miss Mouse has been enjoying our jogging stroller rides. She loves it especially now that the park trails are clear again (they were minorly flooded for a short while). Usually that means she gets to stop at the park and play after our run. Yesterday, though, she fell asleep during the run, so there was no playing at the park. Today is cloudy and windy again which I think means we are going to limit our time outside to the backyard where we can be a bit protected from the howling wind.

Yesterday, Miss Mouse became another in the long line of gardeners on each side of her family. She joined the tradition by planting tulips with me. I continue to underestimate her. I gave her a tulip bulb and pointed to a hole I had dug thinking that perhaps she would run off with the bulb. I thought it was worth a try, though, right? Well, the little Mouse surprised me and plopped the bulb right into the hole! Now, I can't say that happened with each bulb she "helped" with, but she did a darn good job for a 15 month old gal! She loves getting her hands down in the dirt. I'm so proud!

Check back for pictures soon.