Self Portrait

She said she was very happy and she has a big smile.

A Blue Unicorn

LP has been doing a lot of riding lately. She gallops and flies around the house on a blue unicorn with a white tail. Today as she was going down for a nap she asked me to get the unicorn.

Me: Would you like me to feed your unicorn while you sleep?
LP: Yes.

So I called the unicorn to me, the same way I take the ghosts out with me at night.

LP: No mommy, not the pretend one. I want you to buy a real unicorn so I can ride him everywhere. He can run and fly. A blue one with a white tail.

Does anyone know where I can find a blue unicorn with wings and a white tail?

Touchdown, Score!

LP and her friend Alessandro went bowling for the first time this week. We went to the local bowling alley and had the entire place to ourselves. We took over 2 lanes, one for the adults and one with the bumpers for the kids. Some brand new red and blue shoes, a special lightweight ball and we were ready to go.


She is definitely mommy's girl, she has the Crossman tongue.




There's the tongue again. She's concentrating hard on the pins.

LP and Alessandro loved it. The ball would be pushed down the alley, then they would run up the steps, have some crunch, play with the chairs, then run back down to watch it hit the pins. Yes, it did take 2-4 minutes for the ball to make it all the way down. I was amazed that the ball could actually still be moving when it was that slow. Every time a pin was hit they would yell something sports related, including "Touchdown!", "Score!" or "I Win!"


Touchdown!


I win!

Not bad for a couple of first time bowlers. In fact, LP scored better than her Daddy in the first game!

High Flying

LP: I wish I had a rocketship.
me: Why a rocketship?
LP: I could go to Nana and PopPop's house.
me: Is there room on your rocketship for me? Mommy could use some 60 degree weather right now.

Races

Ever since watching Lola attempt an egg and spoon race, LP has spent days trying to master the skill. One morning she raided the utensil drawer trying to find the perfect spoon. I managed to stop her before she climbed the fridge shelves to get to the eggs and luckily her play egg was an acceptable substitute. After about half an hour of drop after drop, she disappeared for a couple of minutes then came back with the scotch tape. She taped her egg to the spoon, then went in search of daddy to show him that she could do it.

It's My Eka.

She's your grandma. - said by LP as she handed me her newest drawing.

A Little Look Back

LP and I have spent the weekend with Grandpa and Nannie. I have photos and stories from this weekend to post once we get home, but in the meantime here are a couple of old photos I helped Nannie download from her camera today.

Another Olive Kids Giveaway!

Olive Kids is holding another giveaway to keep the holidays going through the month of January. This month they are giving away a set of 5 holiday placemats. What a great way to celebrate Easter, the Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

LP has been using her placemats for just about a year now. She still gets excited about choosing a different one from the drawer to set her place, and they are still in great condition despite the constant washing.

Head on over to the Olive Kids site to enter.

3 Years, 2 Months, 6 Days

3 years, 2 months, and 6 days, that is how long LP breastfed for.

Before she was born I was hopeful that we would be able to make it to a year. For some reason it was the one thing I was most afraid of, not being able to successfully breastfeed. I actually had nightmares that we couldn't make it work the last month before she was born. Then she was born and from the start she was a champion nurser. In the beginning she could be done in 6 minutes flat. She thrived, breastmilk alone kept her between the 90th and 100th percentiles for the first 6 months and 3 weeks of her life. As she got older, it became a source of comfort for her, and our sessions became longer and more relaxed. Year one passed and she showed no signs of slowing down, never mind stopping.

She was never a quiet nurser, there was no being discrete when she was hungry. Yet we nursed everywhere. In the mall, in classes, at the park, on an airplane, if we were there she probably nursed. She never had a nursing strike, I think I was more likely to have one than she was. There was no replacement for her, she flat out refused to ever take a bottle.

LP is a ball of constant motion. She doesn't like to sit still, expect for when she would breastfeed. It was our quiet time together, she curled up in my lap, quietly looking up me. Our last nursing session was almost exactly the same as the first, me in the chair, LP in my lap. Only she was now 38 inches long instead of 21.5 inches and her legs hung over the arm of the chair.

I didn't know it would be our last session. Having gone as long as we did, I really wanted her to be the one to decide when we were done. Unfortunately that didn't happen, I had to take medication that wasn't safe for her. My doctor helped to explain it, and while she didn't look too happy, she said she understood. For the first week should ask if my foot was still hurt and if she could nurse. After the first week she stopped asking. We started a new bedtime routine and I finally came to terms with the fact that this very special relationship between us was finally at the end.

I never imagined it lasting this long, but I will always treasure every moment of that special time that was just for the two of us.

Pigtail Hat

It took LP awhile to grow hair. I think her hair has grown more in the last year than in the two years before that combined. Now that she has enough for pigtails, she asks to have them all the time. Once the weather started getting colder we ran into an issue, how to wear a hat with her pigtails.

Nana to the rescue again! She knitted LP a hat with special pigtail holes, so she can look cute and stay warm at the same time. Thank you Nana, it is perfect!

Round and Round We Go

December was such a busy month that it passed without LP getting to see most of her friends. The other day she got desperate enough to leave a message for her friend Gavin on his mom's phone asking him to come play. We ended up going to their house for a playdate in the afternoon. A good portion of the day was taken up by the sit and spin and the cameras, which ended up being combined into one activity. I was surprised that both kids were able to fit on the sit and spin, LP just plopped her legs up onto Gavin's and round and round they went (and over as well!) But I think the most fun they had was taking pictures of each other taking pictures.


Taken by LP


Taken by Gavin

Butterflies

Uncle Dave and Uncle Michael gave LP a wonderful Christmas gift, butterflies to watch over her while she sleeps. Uncle Michael found these beautiful butterflies made out of feathers and decided that they had to go in LP's room. Uncle Dave made a perfectly balanced mobile out of them, it is delicate enough that just breathing is enough to set them in flight. LP decided they needed to hang directly over her head, we both love laying in her bed watching them fly.

4 Visits With Santa

A Visit With Santa

Our visit to Santa was a big hit this year. LP was like the paparazzi, hanging over the fence, waving her letter to get Santa to look at her. She patiently waited her turn, then ran into his arms giving him a long hug. When she finally let go Santa patted the bench next to him for her to climb up, but LP climbed right into his lap instead. She laid her head down on his shoulder and got comfortable.

When Santa asked her what she wanted for Christmas there was no surprise, a music box with a ballerina, just like she had been telling us for months. She did surprise mommy with one addition, shoes with pink bows on them that fit. This is what she is telling Santa about in the picture, she's showing Santa just what size her foot is.