A lot of nothing much

Not much has been going on in our house.  Winter is still hanging around, which means very little outside play time, so we've been making the most of indoor activities.  Navy still goes to the 4C Play and Learn two times a week, plus Toddler Storytime twice a week.  On Thursdays she started attending Kinderfun at Mesker Park Zoo.  It's a 13 week program where the kids learn about a letter of the alphabet and then get to see an animal up close and personal. 

Coloring at Kinderfun

Navy's therapy with First Steps is going well.  Jonathan says he can't tell if her talking is improving, but I have noticed improvement in some words that she used to have difficulty with.  She is definitely talking more and sometimes says the funniest things.  She continues to love to sing songs.   Her favorites are "Old McDonald," "Wheels on the Bus" and the theme song to "Max and Ruby."  Sometimes she asks Jonathan or me to sing the song with her.  Other times she sings all by herself. 

She loves her "paa" and prefers to have two at a time.  We haven't tried to take her pacifiers away yet....

Navy also has become obsessed with her "babies."  She likes to feed them, change their clothes, brush their teeth and trim their fingernails. 

 

 

Navy loves playing with her cousins, even though they fight over toys sometimes.

 

 

 





This past Sunday the weather was very nice, so we headed to the zoo.  Grandpa Greg, Grandma Wendy and Aunt Michele came too. 

Grandpa and Navy running fast

Aunt Michele and Navy

Daddy and Navy

Navy is obsessed with cleaning.  One of her favorite phrases to say is "Navy help Momma."  She insists on dusting and sweeping the floor anytime I attempt to.  She does a pretty good job too.  She tries to help me fold clothes, but that usually consists of waving them around the room and then leaving them in a pile on the couch.  We will continue to work on that :)

 

 



 

 

Snowballs

 

We woke up the morning after Christmas to find a lot of snow on the ground! Navy has never really been able to play in a significant amount of snow (last year we didn't have that much) and she was really excited to go out and play in it. 

 

Navy and Jonathan built a snowman, or as Navy called it "a snowball."  Navy's snowball stayed in our front yard for a couple of days and then fell to its death.  Navy was quite upset about her "snowball" falling over and tells us everyday about how her "snowball" fell down. 

 

 

 

We had another round of snow on Friday to top off the previous snowfall.  This snow was prettier in my opinion because it was a little icy to begin with, which made the trees beautiful.  We went to my great-aunt's house the next day and Navy was able to play in the snow for a little bit. 

 

 

 

 

Navy built another "snowball" with her daddy and my cousins, and this one looked a little like Cookie Monster.  Navy also got upset with my cousin Isaac when he threw a snowball at her daddy and was scolding Isaac, telling him "no!"

 

 

 

Navy is really talking a lot now.  She says many four word phrases, such as "Navy do it too, go in Momma's car."  She is still hard to understand , though.  This is quite frustrating for her (and us) and since she talks all the time, I finally called First Steps and set up an evaluation for her.  She did qualify for services with First Steps and she started her first session of therapy the week before Christmas.  They found a delay in her speech (dropping consonant sounds and syllables) so she will be receiving services for the next several months.  She seemed to get along well with her therapist, and I am looking forward to her making progress.     

 

 

Christmas 2012

Well Christmas is over for 2012 and we had a great holiday! We started out the Christmas celebrations with brunch at my mom's house on Christmas Eve. Navy was really into opening her presents this year and eagerly begged to open her presents at every stop we made.

 



My brothers and sister-in-law were able to join us as well.  It was so nice to be able to spend time with them since they live in New York and Florida. 

Anne Marie and Michael

Navy and Uncle Stephen

Santa stopped by our house later that evening and when Navy woke up early the next day, she had a few surprises waiting for her. 

Later on Christmas Day we went to my aunt and uncle's house to celebrate with my extended family on my mom's side.  Navy got a pink tricycle and a bunch of other fun toys! 



We ended Christmas Day with the Helm Family. Navy and her cousins always have a lot of fun together. 



It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

December is finally here!  I enjoy all holidays, but Christmas is my favorite.  Our house was fully decorated before Thanksgiving (although I did wait until Thanksgiving night to turn the Christmas lights on outside).

Yesterday I took Navy to Henderson to play in Central Park.  Their Christmas Parade was today, so they had all of their Christmas decorations up in the park.  Navy enjoyed running through the park, climbing on the different props they had-----a train, sleigh, school bus, fire truck, etc.  Santa is there on Saturdays and Sundays from 1-3pm, so we will definitely be going back again soon to pay him a visit. 

 

I failed to mention that before we left for the park, Navy insisted I put a pink tutu on her.  Luckily I was able to convince her to leave it in the car before we headed out to play. 

 

This morning the FOP had their annual Breakfast with Santa.  Last year Navy didn't like Santa at all.  Unfortunately, not much has changed this year.  I tried to prep her as much as possible-----we looked at pictures of Santa and talked about how nice and fun he is and how she was going to meet him and sit on his lap.  She seemed like she was excited to see him.....until she actually saw him.  She clung to me so tightly and would not let go!

 

 

 

Later on, a little girl walked Navy up to see Santa and she went with her, but kept pulling back on the girl's hand, trying to get away.  She never sat on his lap, but when he left the breakfast she waved at him and blew him a kiss.  I think she was relieved he was finally leaving the building!  I can't wait for her to see Santa again later this month! :)

 

 

 



Fall Fun

We've been busy these past few weeks enjoying the weather and all the fun events around the area. Navy went to Mayse's Farm with her friend Jalal early in October. I think she was a little too young to enjoy all the activities, especially because it was very crowded, but she had a good time doing what she was able to do.  

 

Navy and I headed over to Owensboro to attend the Apple Festival this year as well.  I liked this a lot.  They had craft booths, tons of food and a lot of activities for the kids.  Navy really liked climbing in the wooden train and sliding down the slide. 

Our church has a Preview Day for their annual Trunk-or-Treat after church the Sunday before Halloween.  Navy loved the inflatables and slid down the slide with Jonathan tons of times! 

 

 

For Halloween this year, Navy was a cow grl.  She loves to say "yee-haw" so we thought this would be a perfect costume for her.  Another plus was she could wear fairly normal things instead of an uncomfortable costume that is itchy and cumbersome.  She wouldn't wear her hat and boots for me when we went to Boo at the Zoo last weekend, but she did wear her entire outfit for Halloween and the days leading up to it when she went to Storytime at the Library. 

 

Navy went trick-or-treating at my office down in Juvenile Court, our local DCS Office and with her cousins.  Navy was shy at first, but got the hang of it pretty quickly.  She got so much candy in just those few places and I am so glad she has no desire to eat any of it.  The only things she wanted to open were the goldfish crackers, pretzels and fruit snacks. 

 

 

Easton, Kenan, Navy and Langston