Some recent pictures...
She loves to try on my bracelets and watches. Thankfully, she's quite careful with them, too. She gently puts them on and takes them off, and many times she'll put them away in the drawer of the jewelry armoire.
lovin' the accessories
And, of course, she loves trying on "shoes" and "doots" (boots). I'll ask her to bring me my shoes for the day and 9 out of 10 times she brings me my running shoes! Sadly, I can't wear those comfortable shoes everywhere. I wish!
This is the one Christmas "ornament" that she is allowed to touch. We try to encourage her to just say "hi" to the all the other ones (doesn't always work). This little reindeer is actually a finger puppet, but it rests on one of the branches of our tree. Every day tells him "hi" and brings him to me so we can play with him for a minute. She loves to point out the ornaments on the tree and say their names (if she can). Her favorites are the apples, the picture of Reagan, the doggy bone in a stocking, Santa, Elmo, the snowmen, the shoe, the Longhorn baseball hat with Bevo on it, the reindeer, and of course her "Baby's First Christmas" ornament. She also likes to point out "Elf" - our Elf on the Shelf that Lainey so appropriately named "Elf". He hangs out in our tree from time to time. :)
A few other things about Lainey...
- I don't think time outs are going to work for her...at least not yet. She happily goes to put herself in time out, so I don't think it's very effective. We've been using the upstairs bathroom for the time out spot and she'll willingly go in there (even if we're downstairs) if we even say the words "time out". Once she went in there after we said "no" (she was throwing something). So hmm. Maybe time outs will work better in the future?
- Lainey has told us a couple of times (and I do mean only a couple) when she has needed to go to the bathroom by saying "doo doo, doo doo". Sometimes she'll let us know when she has a dirty diaper. I still think we're very far away from potty training. She tries to be helpful by checking other kids' diapers to see if they are dirty, and she's been known to occasionally check an adult's pants, too! Thank you, Lainey. Such a concerned girl.
- We used to rock Lainey and read her books at naptime and bedtime. Lately, however, she has started requesting alone time in her chair with her baby and sleep sack. She has demoted us to the floor. I think this must be because my stomach is too big for us to get comfortable. SO, she rocks and rocks while we read to her from the floor. As I've posted before, she likes having a book in her crib to read during naptime. We often find her reading it just before falling asleep or right after she awakens.
- Goodnight Moon is one of her favorite books at the moment. She loves trying to find the little mouse in each picture.
- I think that Lainey likes to learn new things (at this point in her life, anyway). She likes letters, especially O, I, E, T, and A. Not sure why those are the ones she has attached herself to, but she has! :)
- She's becoming more of a chatterbox, although we don't know what she's saying. She contorts her mouth in a funny "o" shape and is clearly trying to communicate with us by using inflection and statements and questions in her own language. She still doesn't say words very clearly (well, she says some words clearly but not a lot) and still just gives us one word at a time. You can tell that she's trying to say more things, but she's not quite there yet! I feel like we definitely have more conversations these days, and she generally answers me with a "yes" or a "no" or some words that I can't quite understand.
- Play-Doh ("da-doh") is a daily activity for us! She loves it! She especially likes putting a chunk on/under her nose and saying "nose" or she'll put a circle or a ring up to her eye and say "eye". She also likes to pretend to eat it, and sometimes she gets the occasional bit in her mouth...pretty sure she does that on purpose. Silly girl.
- Lainey also loves stickers (or address labels, the sticky seal from a baby wipes package, etc.). She puts them all over her clothes and then on her face, also. :)
- Recently, we've really seen a very sweet side of her personality emerge. She's very loving and kind and really doles out the hugs when she wants to. This isn't to say that she doesn't have her moments, but overall, I think she is a very sweet, caring little girl.
- She adores her older cousins and sometimes cries when she has to leave them. It's so sad but so sweet that she loves them so. She is probably Ella's biggest fan, and when they play together she frequently yells "Ella, Ella, Ella" over and over, commanding Ella to make an appearance or give her attention. She'll frequently get the picture of her cousins and point to Ella's picture and repeat her name over and over. She also enjoys playing with and being around her grandparents, other family members, and friends and has been known to cry a time or two upon leaving them as well. I think it's a good thing that she'll have a little brother!
- When she wants to, Lainey can be quite orderly when putting away her toys or things she's played with. She especially likes to put away her books neatly in her sling bookshelf. She does this with the new baby's books as well. She also likes to push in chairs that have been left out. Believe me, she's not Miss Perfect all the time, but it cracks me up when she is particular about how things are put away. Wonder where she gets that from?
- She's a great little helper. She likes taking the clothes from the washer and putting them in the dryer, and then she'll help me take them out of the dryer when I'm ready to fold them. Also, Lainey helps me make the bed. She really likes handing me the pillows - most of which are too heavy for her to lift but she tries to anyway, grunting with effort! She tries to be helpful by giving people things that are theirs. Example: I say, "Lainey, that's Daddy's pillow." She thinks, "OK, I'll take it to him (even though he's taking a shower)." And she does. :) Once she gave Ben his shoes while he was still lounging in bed; she just put them next to his pillow. It was cute!
- Lainey does like to pick up teensy, tiny little things off the floor and bring them to me. It's either trash or something that she probably shouldn't have anyway, so I'm glad that she does this!
- We are still working on sharing and taking turns. She gets particularly protective of her babies and their strollers; those are very, very hard for her to share. :)
- She loves taking Reagan on walks. I still don't take the two of them on a walk by myself (without putting Lainey in the stroller) but if Ben's with me, it's manageable. Lainey does well holding the leash and Reagan doesn't seem to mind. I think she's just happy to be out walking!
- She can throw a pretty good tantrum. Usually, she'll get mad or frustrated and then has to throw or hit something...then it's done. We try to stop it before the throwing/hitting takes place, but of course that doesn't always happen.
- Lainey still doesn't enjoy getting dressed, brushing her hair or teeth (teeth are becoming easier...hair is always a battle), getting her little nails done, getting her diaper changed (unless she's ready for that) or really anything that requires her to be still. SO, as you can probably guess, I do as much as I can while she is occupied watching Elmo or strapped into her high chair. :)
Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! It is snowing like crazy in Plano right now. It is actually sticking to the ground! I would love for it to stick around until tomorrow. How fun to have a white Christmas! In Plano! Yesterday it was 70 and we even turned on the A/C unit upstairs. Today, we have snow. Oh Texas weather, how we thank you for constantly keeping us on our toes! May each of you have a wonderful Christmas filled with loved ones, happiness, joy, and SNOW!
