Christmas Day 2007
JoElle so sweetly asked me "Mommy, when is the baby going to get out of your belly?? I want to play with her NOW!"
She is very excited about having a little sister and can't wait! She tells me all the time she is going to take care of her, not me. She is going to feed her at night, change her diapers, and hold her. We have explained that she has to do it with us, but she doesn't like that idea, after all, she is a big girl and can do it herself...
Christmas 2007
We had a wonderful Christmas holiday; JoElle is at a great age to really enjoy all of the sights and sounds. She loved looking at Christmas lights and plugging / unplugging our Christmas tree. JoElle doesn't like Santa Claus and she doesn't "believe" in Santa. One night she was asking me if Santa is in her heart, like Jesus, and I had to tell her no, he is not real, he is just for fun. She is ok with that because she didn't want him to come visit us anyways (I never mentioned the part about coming down the chimney, I figured it would terrify her and we are already having problems with her vivid imagination at night!)
She opened presents for what seemed like forever on Christmas; we were all exhausted by the time we were done! Then Granny and Grandad came by, she was so tired we had to open presents for her. Then Nana came over...it was crazy busy!
We visited cousins Peyton and Madison later on Christmas. As soon as we got there, Peyton started telling us how Santa brough him a truck and ate all of his cookies an milk! They had a blast playing together as always.
Thanksgiving 2007
We had a lovely time at Peyton's house, where we ate lunch and played with Peyton and Madison. After Aunt Ana put Madison down for a nap around 2:30, JoElle turned to me and told me "OK, I'm ready to go to Carrie's house now." I guess she was bored with Madison down for a nap!
JoElle was feeding Madison chips; Madison loves to eat like JoElle. Peyton and JoElle were funny interacting with Madison, they kept telling her she couldn't have things and when Madison was headed for Tim, they both ran to him and got on him! They didn't even care before Madison wanted him.
We ate dinner at Unlce Billy and Aunt Carrie's house, Elena was already asleep, she was tired from the day. But JoElle got to play with Isaiah. They have fun playing together.
November 24, 2007
Baby Alexa was kicking a lot, and I normally tell JoElle "your sister is kicking a lot!"This time she looked at me, paused, and the asked me, "Does she want out?"
Aaron, Tim and I were cracking up, but she was serious :)
JoElle was singing a new song she learned at school, 5 little monkeys swinging in the tree, along came the alligator, teasing the alligator you can't catch me, no you can't catch me, the alligator snapped him right out of the tree; complete with hand motions and everything! It was very cute. She is learning so much in her new class.
Oh yeah, can't forget that she came home this week telling me Sandra is not her best friend anymore. When I asked her why, she told me because Sandra put leaves in her hair. Her new best friend is now Bubba.
November 25, 2007
JoElle and I were driving to the store when she told me, "Jesus was born for me."
She is very excited about Christmas this year! She loves the Christmas lights and decorations, but doesn't like Santa. She tells me she is scared of him. Yesterday, she asked me if Santa was in her heart (like Jesus), and I was forced to tell her he was just pretend. I have found it very hard to lead her to believe in Santa Claus, since she is asking so many questions about Jesus and God. I want her to believe in Jesus, not Santa!
JoElle has been wanting to go to "Big Church" every Sunday, so I have been taking her when Tim is singing in the choir, so she can see him and enjoy the music. She loves to sing to God, she has a kids praise CD that she knows just about every word to!
After our Advent service, we met Nana and Uncle Aaron at Campo Verde, where they have thousands of Christmas lights up inside and really great Mexican food :) We had a great time, then Nana came to the house and we put together a gingerbread house; we got really messy and it was fun.
We put up our Christmas tree today and JoElle was able to put the ornaments on, even the glass balls with hooks. She told me "I will be carfeul, Mommy" and she was!
Tonight, she also asked me why my belly button was so little, guess it is shrinking, wonder if it is about to pop out on me??
October 30, 2007 Fall Festival at School
Today JoElle had a Fall Festival at school that I went to. They had a ton of games set up in Fellowship Hall and they won candy and prizes. Walking out, JoElle walked with Kylie with her arm around her little friend.
I stayed for a little while in her room and she and Elena were fighting over me. JoElle was saying "MY mommy" and Elena was saying "My Megan!" JoElle wanted me to take her with me to eat and wanted to go nap at home, she really didn't want me to leave. But, she loves her afternoon teacher, Ms. Shanessa, so she stayed with her.
At the Little Gym tonight, JoElle told them her name and my name like usual at circle time, but then when Mr. Jeremy asked her to give him high fives, she told him "No, I'm a princess!" She is doing awesome at gymnastics. She can do a backwards roll all by herself and can pull herself up on the bar and hang upside like a monkey! She is very good at hanging upside down by her knees and she gets into this position all by herself. JoElle can swing really well and walk the balance beam (when she has enough confidence!).
October 18th Art Frenzy
JoElle is in an art frenzy right now, she spent all of last Saturday doing art at the table, gluing things, cutting paper, and coloring. Every night she goes straight to her art supplies and goes to town. It's great! She went through two glue sticks, a bottle of glue, and an entire package of construction paper in one week.
October 15th, 2007
JoElle told me that Landon C. in her class is her "baby and I take care of him so nobody hits him!" She is the leader in her class and feels like the protector of the little ones. She loves to tell on her cousin when she is not doing something right!
Landon and her have been in the same classes for over a year and they have become really close. They hang out, play with each other, and are very silly together, like her and Gavin were when he was at her school.
Logan (the red head) loves to tickle JoElle and she giggles like crazy. He also likes to swing her ponytail. She thinks that is funny, too.
JoElle also told me she put Landon R. in time out for hitting :)
August 2007 Some of the cute things she says...
JoElle talks up a storm, but here are some of the things she says that I love so much. It is mostly the WAY she says it, she has great emphasis and intonations....
"Wait to me, Mommy!!" ---she means wait for me
"No, I'm a big KID" ---rather than a big girl, can't call her that anymore!
"I want some tan tan lotion" --sun tan lotion...
"This is my pack pack" -- backpack
"I need to take a bath, my tummy hurts, it makes my tummy feel better" --- she thinks your tummy has to hurt to take a bath, my fault, my tummy hurts all the time these days!!
"I don't know, I can't tell" ---if I ask her a question that she doesn't know
"I want to go higher!" --when somebody is throwing her up in the air
"Do it again!" -- same as above!
"I want some more chocolate milk please!" --enough said...all the time....
The one that drives me insane- "WHY MOMMY?" and it never ends!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhh
August 8th, 2007 Sickness strikes
After being out in the sun, I got a fever blister/cold sore on my lip. Then, about a week later, JoElle starting running a really high fever, so I had to keep her home from school. The next day, she was sent home from school with a fever and that afternoon, she ran into the living room after brushing her teeth with a look of horror. Her gums were gushing blood all over her shirt. It took two washclothes to make it stop bleeding. Needless to say, we were worried about her and she couldn't eat for over a week. All she could consume was chocolate milk. Even applesauce made her gums bleed.
She finally showed me that she had sores inside her mouth on her gums and lip. So, we finally figured out it was from my fever blister. Aaron looked it up online and found that the first time you are exposed to the virus that causes fever blisters, you run a fever, have bleeding gums, and no appetite. We confirmed this with her pediatrician over the weekend via telephone call. The only thing you can do is give Tylenol for the pain and fever. It lasted about the full 10 days, then she came down with a nasty cough.
A little cough medicine and mucinex did the trick after 5 days or so. She is feeling better, but her 18 month old shorts are now falling off of her... I can't keep shorts on her, she is so skinny! This sickness didn't help any. She is 2 and 1/2 and is still wearing 12 month to 18 month old shorts. She can even fit into a 9 month old skirt still! It's crazy because when she was a baby she was huge and was ahead on clothing sizes. Once she started walking (around 9-10 months) she slimmed down a lot!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
Several posts...
August 20, 2007 13 weeks (just over 3 months)
I had my second Dr. visit today, routine stuff, no weight gain for me over the past 4 weeks due to all the sickness I am having. Blood pressure is great, plus I got to hear the baby's heartbeat again (we heard it 4 weeks ago at our first appt when they did the sonogram). It was great, 175 beats per minute, which is good. My belly doesn't seem to be growing very fast, so it's kinda weird!!! I think I felt a kick last night, but it is so hard to tell this early on.
JoElle was hugging Tim and me a lot last night and giving prolific kisses to Daddy! She also hugged the baby (my belly!) and gave the baby kisses. She is such a sweet child!
She got into my prenatal vitamins today and poured them all over the counter. She didn't swallow any...she knew they were mine.
JoElle loved the clouds tonight. She was talking about the different colors the clouds are at sunset and she exclaimed "The clouds are beautiful!"
Besides princesses, JoElle loves the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She has most of the intro memorized. She walks around saying "Coming up next on Playhouse Disney!" It's funny! She loves "Toodles" which gives Mickey his tools when he calls for them.
JoElle's cousin Elena will be attending JoElle's school starting next week and JoElle is really excited! She told me Aunt Carrie was at school today (she went up there to enroll Elena). She kept smiling when I told her Elena was going to her school next week. They will be in the same class together. It will be lots of fun for them!!
One of JoElle's best friends since she was 8 weeks old (Trinity) is no longer at her school. Her parents had to take her out. JoElle looks forward to seeing her every day; they share things with each other, like little trinkets and treasures they bring to school to show each other! I hope Trinity comes back soon, it's sad to lose such a dear friend.
Hmmm, what else? Cousins Peyton and Madison came over on Saturday and Peyton wanted to spend the night!! He went to a b-day party first and kept talking about going to "Jojo's house." JoElle is real interested in Madison, who is almost walking now. JoElle tried to hold her in her lap, but Madison moves so much now, it didn't really work! Peyton wanted JoElle to play with her in the playroom, but she wouldn't go, so I told her she was going to make Peyton sad. So, from then on out, he kept telling her "You're going to make me sad, Jojo, come with me!" And then she would!
June 14th, 2007 Happy 3rd Birthday Peyton!
We hope you had a wonderful birthday! You are special to JoElle, she loves you dearly.
Love you!
Aunt Megan, Uncle Tim, and Jojo
June 14th, 2007 Staying in her bed, finally!!
JoElle finally is staying in her bed again at night! For the past 6 months, since she turned 2, JoElle has not slept in her bed all night. She always ends up in our bed, scared. Last night she stayed in her bed. She is so proud of herself, she will tell me in the morning "I stayed in my bed ALL night!" and she is just beaming with excitement! Even when we have to put her back in her bed, I praise her.
Other quirky things about JoElle: she loves lipgloss, princesses and painting her toenails and fingernails. She loves having friends come over, especially new friends! She loves parties and loves to sing Happy Birthday. JoElle keeps asking for Christmas to come back and for the Easter Bunny. She constantly reminds me that the Christmas tree is in the attic. She LOVES to pick mint! JoElle likes to shop, she will not hesitate to tell me she wants to go shopping at either a)Target b)Walgreens (she likes to buy medicine for hersel!)
JoElle likes to water the plants outside and pick out new flowers to plant. She is now reading books to herself, making up the words, oh yeah she LOVES to dance, her dancing is more "grownup" if you will because she likes to watch "So You Think You Can Dance" on t.v. and she imitates the dancers. She still loves gymnastics and is great at forward rolls/ flips. She can now do the balance beam all by herself and can ALMOST flip by herself on the bars. She is really strong, really skinny too! But has an endleess supply of energy. We had to ask her teachers to wake her up from naptime an hour earlier than the other kids just so that she can go to bed at her normal bedtime, 9 p.m. She was starting to have trouble going to sleep and was staying up to 10 or 11 p.m., even with a busy day at school or at home with us/ being out and about. It is working right now, but I imagine she will be a night owl like me sometime soon.......
Her best friends at school are Trinity and Sandra. Sandra loves JoElle!
JoElle tells her teachers that she can't drink milk at school, she tells them "No, I need water, I can't drink milk" and she will ask them if they try to give her pudding, "Does that have lactose in it? It hurts my tummy" and if they tell her yes, she will tell them what she can have instead. I like to tell her that she is a smart cookie, she likes that!
JoElle loves to go to Starbucks with me, she gets iced water (she can't drink anything there, she can't have soy milk either) She loves to hang out inside Starbucks with me and at home, she makes me iced mochats (this is how she says it!) out of water.
Sometimes, if I am stressed out, she will tell me to go to Starbucks! What a wonderful daughter :)
June 7th, 2007 Interesting prayers: out of the mouth of babes!
JoElle is offering some intersesting prayers! One night, she prayed for mommy, daddy, like normal, and also for her baby sister! Keep it mind, she doesn't have a baby sister! She is really wanting a baby sister or brother. She calls her baby dolls her baby sister!
Also, she started to pray "to not be scared" her words. She is scared of monkeys, bears, dinosaurs, and monsters outside. So, she runs into our room nightly. Sometimes more than once a night. But, now she is telling herself, out loud, "I'm safe in the house"
Daddy and JoElle will banish the monsters and other animals and this seems to make her feel better. She will also do this for her babies so that they are not scared!
May 28, 2007 JoElle plays with Trinity
JoElle was excited to have so many people over for Memorial Day. She got to see Trinity again, it has been a long time since we got together! Her parents, Natalie and Anthony, brought her. Tandi and Fred came over, my brother and also Nana. We had a full house and she loved it!
Trinity and JoElle played with bubbles, JoElle's coins, her shoes, and they jumped off the recliner over and over. Oh yeah, can't forget how they ran around the living room shouting "Tiptoe, tiptoe!"
May 27, 2007 Peyton's house
JoElle woke up this morning and asked Daddy, "Can I go to Peyton's house?"
When we got to Peyton's house, Peyton was so excited, he ran around the house! They had fun playing and yelling. They completely destroyed his play room, too. It was so much fun watching them have fun together.
May 17th, 2007 God made the sun
The sun was setting and it was one of those orange and purple sunsets. JoElle pointed to the setting sun and exclaimed, "Look at the sun! It's beautiful! God made it."
She expressed such an awe for God's hand in creation that it brought tears to Tim's and my own eyes.
Isn't it wondeful to see God's creation through the eyes of a little one? Just remember how special little children are to Jesus. In fact, He instructed us to be like little children in order to inherit the kingdom of God!
The next day, we saw birds flying around as we drove to school. This time JoElle pointed to the birds and explained to me, "The birds are looking for food." I asked her, "Who feeds the birds?" and she replied, "God feeds the birds."
May 26, 2007 Visit to the cemetery
JoElle, Uncle Aaron, and I visited Grandpa's grave. It has been 5 years somce JoElle's Grandpa (my dad) went to be with the Lord. I showed JoElle where he is buried and also explained that he is in heaven with Jesus.
I also showed her my brother, Travis', grave right next to Grandpa's and my grandparents. JoElle helped me to pick up flowers to leave. She ran around barefoot in the beautiful St. Augustine grass. She likes all the statues and walls with relief scenes from the Bible. She liked the Last Supper and a statue of Mary holding baby Jesus. She told me "Mommy, I want to give Jesus a flower" so she left a flower at his feet.
May 5th, 2007 Mayfest
We had fun at Mayfest today! JoElle painted a house (with real paint!), decorated some musical instrument with glitter, made spin art, ate a corny dog, and danced!!! She liked dancing to all the music.
JoElle has developed a fear of a bear in our backyard. She has a HUGE imagination like her Daddy. She thinks there is a bear outside. Sometimes she is just kidding, sometimes she really believes it!
She tells me she got bit by an alligator, too.
The other day in the car, I was laughing out loud, and JoElle asked me, "Mommy, what are you laughing about?" which made me laugh harder :)
April 7 and 8th Easter 2007
WOW! It was freezing today, literally. We had snow flurries all day Saturday. I couldn't believe it! JoElle, Uncle Aaron, Daddy, and I enjoyed Eggfest at our church to celebrate Easter, and it was quite cold. JoElle still had fun picking up Easter eggs, riding a train, and seeing animals (she doesn't like touching them).
I had my second Dr. visit today, routine stuff, no weight gain for me over the past 4 weeks due to all the sickness I am having. Blood pressure is great, plus I got to hear the baby's heartbeat again (we heard it 4 weeks ago at our first appt when they did the sonogram). It was great, 175 beats per minute, which is good. My belly doesn't seem to be growing very fast, so it's kinda weird!!! I think I felt a kick last night, but it is so hard to tell this early on.
JoElle was hugging Tim and me a lot last night and giving prolific kisses to Daddy! She also hugged the baby (my belly!) and gave the baby kisses. She is such a sweet child!
She got into my prenatal vitamins today and poured them all over the counter. She didn't swallow any...she knew they were mine.
JoElle loved the clouds tonight. She was talking about the different colors the clouds are at sunset and she exclaimed "The clouds are beautiful!"
Besides princesses, JoElle loves the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She has most of the intro memorized. She walks around saying "Coming up next on Playhouse Disney!" It's funny! She loves "Toodles" which gives Mickey his tools when he calls for them.
JoElle's cousin Elena will be attending JoElle's school starting next week and JoElle is really excited! She told me Aunt Carrie was at school today (she went up there to enroll Elena). She kept smiling when I told her Elena was going to her school next week. They will be in the same class together. It will be lots of fun for them!!
One of JoElle's best friends since she was 8 weeks old (Trinity) is no longer at her school. Her parents had to take her out. JoElle looks forward to seeing her every day; they share things with each other, like little trinkets and treasures they bring to school to show each other! I hope Trinity comes back soon, it's sad to lose such a dear friend.
Hmmm, what else? Cousins Peyton and Madison came over on Saturday and Peyton wanted to spend the night!! He went to a b-day party first and kept talking about going to "Jojo's house." JoElle is real interested in Madison, who is almost walking now. JoElle tried to hold her in her lap, but Madison moves so much now, it didn't really work! Peyton wanted JoElle to play with her in the playroom, but she wouldn't go, so I told her she was going to make Peyton sad. So, from then on out, he kept telling her "You're going to make me sad, Jojo, come with me!" And then she would!
June 14th, 2007 Happy 3rd Birthday Peyton!
We hope you had a wonderful birthday! You are special to JoElle, she loves you dearly.
Love you!
Aunt Megan, Uncle Tim, and Jojo
June 14th, 2007 Staying in her bed, finally!!
JoElle finally is staying in her bed again at night! For the past 6 months, since she turned 2, JoElle has not slept in her bed all night. She always ends up in our bed, scared. Last night she stayed in her bed. She is so proud of herself, she will tell me in the morning "I stayed in my bed ALL night!" and she is just beaming with excitement! Even when we have to put her back in her bed, I praise her.
Other quirky things about JoElle: she loves lipgloss, princesses and painting her toenails and fingernails. She loves having friends come over, especially new friends! She loves parties and loves to sing Happy Birthday. JoElle keeps asking for Christmas to come back and for the Easter Bunny. She constantly reminds me that the Christmas tree is in the attic. She LOVES to pick mint! JoElle likes to shop, she will not hesitate to tell me she wants to go shopping at either a)Target b)Walgreens (she likes to buy medicine for hersel!)
JoElle likes to water the plants outside and pick out new flowers to plant. She is now reading books to herself, making up the words, oh yeah she LOVES to dance, her dancing is more "grownup" if you will because she likes to watch "So You Think You Can Dance" on t.v. and she imitates the dancers. She still loves gymnastics and is great at forward rolls/ flips. She can now do the balance beam all by herself and can ALMOST flip by herself on the bars. She is really strong, really skinny too! But has an endleess supply of energy. We had to ask her teachers to wake her up from naptime an hour earlier than the other kids just so that she can go to bed at her normal bedtime, 9 p.m. She was starting to have trouble going to sleep and was staying up to 10 or 11 p.m., even with a busy day at school or at home with us/ being out and about. It is working right now, but I imagine she will be a night owl like me sometime soon.......
Her best friends at school are Trinity and Sandra. Sandra loves JoElle!
JoElle tells her teachers that she can't drink milk at school, she tells them "No, I need water, I can't drink milk" and she will ask them if they try to give her pudding, "Does that have lactose in it? It hurts my tummy" and if they tell her yes, she will tell them what she can have instead. I like to tell her that she is a smart cookie, she likes that!
JoElle loves to go to Starbucks with me, she gets iced water (she can't drink anything there, she can't have soy milk either) She loves to hang out inside Starbucks with me and at home, she makes me iced mochats (this is how she says it!) out of water.
Sometimes, if I am stressed out, she will tell me to go to Starbucks! What a wonderful daughter :)
June 7th, 2007 Interesting prayers: out of the mouth of babes!
JoElle is offering some intersesting prayers! One night, she prayed for mommy, daddy, like normal, and also for her baby sister! Keep it mind, she doesn't have a baby sister! She is really wanting a baby sister or brother. She calls her baby dolls her baby sister!
Also, she started to pray "to not be scared" her words. She is scared of monkeys, bears, dinosaurs, and monsters outside. So, she runs into our room nightly. Sometimes more than once a night. But, now she is telling herself, out loud, "I'm safe in the house"
Daddy and JoElle will banish the monsters and other animals and this seems to make her feel better. She will also do this for her babies so that they are not scared!
May 28, 2007 JoElle plays with Trinity
JoElle was excited to have so many people over for Memorial Day. She got to see Trinity again, it has been a long time since we got together! Her parents, Natalie and Anthony, brought her. Tandi and Fred came over, my brother and also Nana. We had a full house and she loved it!
Trinity and JoElle played with bubbles, JoElle's coins, her shoes, and they jumped off the recliner over and over. Oh yeah, can't forget how they ran around the living room shouting "Tiptoe, tiptoe!"
May 27, 2007 Peyton's house
JoElle woke up this morning and asked Daddy, "Can I go to Peyton's house?"
When we got to Peyton's house, Peyton was so excited, he ran around the house! They had fun playing and yelling. They completely destroyed his play room, too. It was so much fun watching them have fun together.
May 17th, 2007 God made the sun
The sun was setting and it was one of those orange and purple sunsets. JoElle pointed to the setting sun and exclaimed, "Look at the sun! It's beautiful! God made it."
She expressed such an awe for God's hand in creation that it brought tears to Tim's and my own eyes.
Isn't it wondeful to see God's creation through the eyes of a little one? Just remember how special little children are to Jesus. In fact, He instructed us to be like little children in order to inherit the kingdom of God!
The next day, we saw birds flying around as we drove to school. This time JoElle pointed to the birds and explained to me, "The birds are looking for food." I asked her, "Who feeds the birds?" and she replied, "God feeds the birds."
May 26, 2007 Visit to the cemetery
JoElle, Uncle Aaron, and I visited Grandpa's grave. It has been 5 years somce JoElle's Grandpa (my dad) went to be with the Lord. I showed JoElle where he is buried and also explained that he is in heaven with Jesus.
I also showed her my brother, Travis', grave right next to Grandpa's and my grandparents. JoElle helped me to pick up flowers to leave. She ran around barefoot in the beautiful St. Augustine grass. She likes all the statues and walls with relief scenes from the Bible. She liked the Last Supper and a statue of Mary holding baby Jesus. She told me "Mommy, I want to give Jesus a flower" so she left a flower at his feet.
May 5th, 2007 Mayfest
We had fun at Mayfest today! JoElle painted a house (with real paint!), decorated some musical instrument with glitter, made spin art, ate a corny dog, and danced!!! She liked dancing to all the music.
JoElle has developed a fear of a bear in our backyard. She has a HUGE imagination like her Daddy. She thinks there is a bear outside. Sometimes she is just kidding, sometimes she really believes it!
She tells me she got bit by an alligator, too.
The other day in the car, I was laughing out loud, and JoElle asked me, "Mommy, what are you laughing about?" which made me laugh harder :)
April 7 and 8th Easter 2007
WOW! It was freezing today, literally. We had snow flurries all day Saturday. I couldn't believe it! JoElle, Uncle Aaron, Daddy, and I enjoyed Eggfest at our church to celebrate Easter, and it was quite cold. JoElle still had fun picking up Easter eggs, riding a train, and seeing animals (she doesn't like touching them).
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Several posts...
March 2007
JoElle is still doing so great without pullups (except nighttime, I really don't feel like taking her to the potty in the middle of the night right now...)
She has developed a few fears; she is scared of thunder, seems to be a little scared of the dark, sometimes is scared of being alone in her room at night, she was scared to swing at Aunt Ana's house, scared that dogs will bight her....
JoElle's ability to formulate thoughts is amazing to me! I love to ask her why when she tells me things, and a lot of the time she will tell me "because.......(fill in the blank).
I can't even begin to describe the things she tells me, but she uses complex sentences of 6 or more words, uses verb tenses very well and personal prounouns correctly, too.
The other night, she was scared by thunder, but she still prayed for thunder, rain, and the frogs. (We have toads in our pond, it's mating season and they croak all night long...)
JoElle counts to 10 (usually skipping 6) and then counts past to 13, skips over 14,15,16 and picks up again at 17, all the way to 20! It's funny listening to this. She recites the entire alphabet, she can carry a tune very well. She loves to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle," she knows every word and has the note right :) Some other fave songs to sing are "Halle Halle" (you know, "you're love is amazing, steady and unchanging..."
The word "NO" resonates from JoElle's mouth daily. It drives me nuts, so she does it even more...I finally put her in time out a week or so ago for saying "no" to me in such a nasty manner, over something really simple I asked her to do. She cried hard in time out, especially when I saw that she had her purse and I asked her to give it to me. But she is being nicer.
Tim tells JoElle all the time to "be nice to Mommy" and I hear her telling herself this out loud all the time! I am also working on "listening AND obeying Mommy," which is working quite well actually.
The past few weeks, JoElle and I have been enjoying Saturday morning breakfast together. So far, we have visited I-Hop and La Madeline. The other day in the car, she told me she wants to go to Madeline, and I couldn't figure out what she was telling me, finally it dawned on my she was talking about La Madeline. She has a great memory for details.
JoElle likes to pretend that Peyton is here with her, he is kinda her imaginary friend, even though he is real!
We visited the Water Gardens in Ft. Worth this month, she loved it there.
JoElle still attends the Little Gym. She is learning so much there; she is very athletic (from Daddy), she can do the splits, she runs fast (I can't run fast enough to catch her sometimes), she can do the balance beam by herself, but she doesn't have the confidence in her ability yet, she is great on the bars, she pulls her toes to the bars by herself and loves to swing. She can almost flip while hanging from the bar. She is still working on forward rolls.
JoElle enjoys having Daddy read the Bible to her at bedtime. She loves praying for her friends and family every night and loves to go to church. JoElle loves to sing worship songs.
She knows the words to so many books by heart and is begining to identify letters and words in writing.
The other day, JoElle told me Grandpa (my dad) was in the car with her, when I asked her what was he doing she told me "Sitting in my chair!" I love her imagination, and I can't help but smile because I really don't talk to her much about my dad unless we are looking at a picture of him, so I know he is here with us, some way some how (you'll have to ask God about this kind of stuff when you meet Him one day, since, as a human, I can't explain these things and I don't try to either!)
Februray 27th No More Pullups!!!!
So, JoElle was dry all night two nights ago, then she wore panties to school and had NO ACCIDENTS all day! She went to the potty whenever she needed, and also held it at Chick-Fil-A (she demanded to go there before we went to work out at the Y) and then at the YMCA she also held it.
She finally had an accident after bath because she was too busy washing her hands (which she does for hours on end, probably 25-50 times a day) and didn't want to stop.
Today she played at the Little Gym with no accidents there either.
JoElle has been in panties for two days straight and tonight chose to go to bed in them, we'll see what happens! But at least in the day, she is out of pull-ups!! I am excited!!! FINALLY ! She has been potty training for about 7 months now.
February 25th, 2007 Happy Birthday, Daddy!
We surprised Tim for his birthday by telling him Nana's car broke down and she had Peyton, so we went to pick her up and everybody was there to surprise Tim at Texas Land & Cattle. It was fun!
JoElle got to play with all her cousins; the three of them (Elena, Peyton and JoElle) were playing outside while we waited for the food. They got up on the bench outside and JoElle started telling everybody walking in "Hi!" so then Peyton started to chime in and they harrassed everyone as they walked in! Then Elena helped by waving hello to everybody.
Some little girl was leaving in the parking lot and JoElle yelled to her "Happy Birhday!"
In the middle of dinner, JoElle started singing "Happy Birthday to Daddy!" It was so precious!
That night when we got home, JoElle helped me make brownies for Daddy, she likes to mix up the brownies. Then she licked the bowl clean and had brownie mix all over her face and arms. We sang Happy Birthday to Daddy and then JoElle blew out his candles for him!
JoElle couldn't fall asleep, so I gave her a book to read in her bed, her face just lit up! She fell asleep reading; when I checked back on her, she had put the book back in the basket and fell asleep with her feet hanging off her bed, she couldn't quite make it into bed all the way without falling asleep!
Feb 24th JoElle has a new room!
JoElle moved to the front bedroom today, she wanted to move her bed in there, so she helped Aaron and me move her old toys into her old room and move her bed into the "purple" room. It is much bigger and she now has a walk in closet where she can reach her clothes hanging up. She loves her new room!
February 13th, 2007 The Little Gym
JoElle is loving her Little Gym class on Tuesday nights and so are we! She is learning so much, tonight, for the first night, she actually stayed on the red mat during group time instead of running to the equipment; I am so proud of her!
She really likes her teacher, Mr. Jeremy. He is great with the kids and teaches them so much. She is getting even better at the bars, she can pull her toes up to the bar and hang. She can't quit flip on the bars yet, but she is close. JoElle is almost brave enough to walk on the balance beams alone, but she still insists on having Daddy's hand (or mine!)
Tonight JoElle prayed and thanked God for the Little Gym and Mr. Jeremy! So sweet! On the weekends, she asks to go to the Little Gym, a few Sundays ago, she wanted to go and when I told her they were closed, she said "People, go open the doors!" hehe
February 13, 2007 Something to make you smile.....
Her new teachers like to write on her daily sheet: Something to make you smile.....
Here are some of the recent ones:
2/13/07 JoElle singing Happy Birthday to her biscuit. (this one is very funny because JoElle loves to sing Happy Birthday to everything and everyone!!!)
2/12/07 JoElle keeping her pullup dry (all morning, all the way until after naptime at 2!!!)
2/1/07 JoElle playing with the new boys.
1/31/07 JoElle doing flips on the carpet.
1/29/07 JoElle with shaving cream in her hari :)
1/29/07 JoElle playing in the mud and NOT getting dirty :)
February 12, 2007 "I love you mommy!"
After school/work and working out at the Y, JoElle and I were both starving, so we stopped at Chick-Fil-A. While we were standing in line, JoElle hugs me, looks me in the eyes and tells me "I love you, Mommy!"
Doesn't that just melt your heart???
February 12, 2007 Stats: 24.5 lbs and 33.5 inches tall
JoElle went to the Dr for her 2 year old checkup, she is in the 25th percentile for weight and 50 percentil for heighth.
2 new teeth, her 2 year old molars FINALLY broke through on the bottom, they have been budding since she was 18 months old, and they seemed to have been bothering her for longer than that!
Her doctor asked me if she throws tantrums and I told her no, she never does, she just starts crying; her dr. said she isn't sure what to make of that, thanks JoElle for throwing in something different on us....
Her doctor also asked me if she says at least 20-30 words, and I looked at her and told her, "yeah, she can say that many in about 1 minute!"
All JoElle could talk about was wanting a sticker since she knows she will get a sticker at the end... only one shot when they are two, for Hep A. They also take blood, everything is good. She doesn't have to go back to the Dr. until she is 3!
Feburary 8th, 2007 Her friend, Bubba is looking for her
Bubba's mom, Yvonne, told me this morning that last night, Bubba was asking her "Where's JoElle? Is she at church?"
He was really concerned about where she was :)
Bubba and her have been friends since JoElle was about 11 months old, they are finally back in the same room together, he is almost 3 (I think in March) so he will probably move up again soon!
February 5th, 2007 Ft. Worth Stockshow and Mommy's Birthday
We took JoElle, Peyton and Madison to the Ft. Worth Stock Show on Saturday. My sister, brother and I grew up going to it every year to ride the rides, since we grew up in Ft. Worth and got a day off from school to go.
JoElle and Peyton were so excited to be there together. As soon as we got out of the car, JoElle was asking "Where's Peyton???" Then we walked into the cattle barn and she kept exclaiming "It's stinky in here!" Oh yeah, she was in panties ALL DAY there, from 7:30 in the morning until we got to Aunt Ana's house around 4:30, with NO ACCIDENTS!!! Wow, I am impressed.
Back to the Stock Show, they were holding hands, making silly noises, dancing to the country music, and saying "poo poo" over and over, since it was all over the ground!
In the horse barn, JoElle told the horses "No more accidents, horses". I was cracking up!!!
They kinda liked the petting zoo, Peyton fed the goats and giggled. JoElle made me hold her because they were "hurting me!" They really weren't, but she insisted that they were.
JoElle wanted to ride an adult ride, but she isn't even tall enough for the kids rides!!
As for my birthday (on Friday Feb 2nd) Nana offered to babysite JoElle, she fell asleep in Nana's arms watching the Good Night Show on Sprout network, right at 8:45 p.m.!
JoElle sang Happy Bithday to me! It was very precious. Daddy made a card for me and gave me beautiful pink roses and a whistling monkey. Very cute!
JoElle is still doing so great without pullups (except nighttime, I really don't feel like taking her to the potty in the middle of the night right now...)
She has developed a few fears; she is scared of thunder, seems to be a little scared of the dark, sometimes is scared of being alone in her room at night, she was scared to swing at Aunt Ana's house, scared that dogs will bight her....
JoElle's ability to formulate thoughts is amazing to me! I love to ask her why when she tells me things, and a lot of the time she will tell me "because.......(fill in the blank).
I can't even begin to describe the things she tells me, but she uses complex sentences of 6 or more words, uses verb tenses very well and personal prounouns correctly, too.
The other night, she was scared by thunder, but she still prayed for thunder, rain, and the frogs. (We have toads in our pond, it's mating season and they croak all night long...)
JoElle counts to 10 (usually skipping 6) and then counts past to 13, skips over 14,15,16 and picks up again at 17, all the way to 20! It's funny listening to this. She recites the entire alphabet, she can carry a tune very well. She loves to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle," she knows every word and has the note right :) Some other fave songs to sing are "Halle Halle" (you know, "you're love is amazing, steady and unchanging..."
The word "NO" resonates from JoElle's mouth daily. It drives me nuts, so she does it even more...I finally put her in time out a week or so ago for saying "no" to me in such a nasty manner, over something really simple I asked her to do. She cried hard in time out, especially when I saw that she had her purse and I asked her to give it to me. But she is being nicer.
Tim tells JoElle all the time to "be nice to Mommy" and I hear her telling herself this out loud all the time! I am also working on "listening AND obeying Mommy," which is working quite well actually.
The past few weeks, JoElle and I have been enjoying Saturday morning breakfast together. So far, we have visited I-Hop and La Madeline. The other day in the car, she told me she wants to go to Madeline, and I couldn't figure out what she was telling me, finally it dawned on my she was talking about La Madeline. She has a great memory for details.
JoElle likes to pretend that Peyton is here with her, he is kinda her imaginary friend, even though he is real!
We visited the Water Gardens in Ft. Worth this month, she loved it there.
JoElle still attends the Little Gym. She is learning so much there; she is very athletic (from Daddy), she can do the splits, she runs fast (I can't run fast enough to catch her sometimes), she can do the balance beam by herself, but she doesn't have the confidence in her ability yet, she is great on the bars, she pulls her toes to the bars by herself and loves to swing. She can almost flip while hanging from the bar. She is still working on forward rolls.
JoElle enjoys having Daddy read the Bible to her at bedtime. She loves praying for her friends and family every night and loves to go to church. JoElle loves to sing worship songs.
She knows the words to so many books by heart and is begining to identify letters and words in writing.
The other day, JoElle told me Grandpa (my dad) was in the car with her, when I asked her what was he doing she told me "Sitting in my chair!" I love her imagination, and I can't help but smile because I really don't talk to her much about my dad unless we are looking at a picture of him, so I know he is here with us, some way some how (you'll have to ask God about this kind of stuff when you meet Him one day, since, as a human, I can't explain these things and I don't try to either!)
Februray 27th No More Pullups!!!!
So, JoElle was dry all night two nights ago, then she wore panties to school and had NO ACCIDENTS all day! She went to the potty whenever she needed, and also held it at Chick-Fil-A (she demanded to go there before we went to work out at the Y) and then at the YMCA she also held it.
She finally had an accident after bath because she was too busy washing her hands (which she does for hours on end, probably 25-50 times a day) and didn't want to stop.
Today she played at the Little Gym with no accidents there either.
JoElle has been in panties for two days straight and tonight chose to go to bed in them, we'll see what happens! But at least in the day, she is out of pull-ups!! I am excited!!! FINALLY ! She has been potty training for about 7 months now.
February 25th, 2007 Happy Birthday, Daddy!
We surprised Tim for his birthday by telling him Nana's car broke down and she had Peyton, so we went to pick her up and everybody was there to surprise Tim at Texas Land & Cattle. It was fun!
JoElle got to play with all her cousins; the three of them (Elena, Peyton and JoElle) were playing outside while we waited for the food. They got up on the bench outside and JoElle started telling everybody walking in "Hi!" so then Peyton started to chime in and they harrassed everyone as they walked in! Then Elena helped by waving hello to everybody.
Some little girl was leaving in the parking lot and JoElle yelled to her "Happy Birhday!"
In the middle of dinner, JoElle started singing "Happy Birthday to Daddy!" It was so precious!
That night when we got home, JoElle helped me make brownies for Daddy, she likes to mix up the brownies. Then she licked the bowl clean and had brownie mix all over her face and arms. We sang Happy Birthday to Daddy and then JoElle blew out his candles for him!
JoElle couldn't fall asleep, so I gave her a book to read in her bed, her face just lit up! She fell asleep reading; when I checked back on her, she had put the book back in the basket and fell asleep with her feet hanging off her bed, she couldn't quite make it into bed all the way without falling asleep!
Feb 24th JoElle has a new room!
JoElle moved to the front bedroom today, she wanted to move her bed in there, so she helped Aaron and me move her old toys into her old room and move her bed into the "purple" room. It is much bigger and she now has a walk in closet where she can reach her clothes hanging up. She loves her new room!
February 13th, 2007 The Little Gym
JoElle is loving her Little Gym class on Tuesday nights and so are we! She is learning so much, tonight, for the first night, she actually stayed on the red mat during group time instead of running to the equipment; I am so proud of her!
She really likes her teacher, Mr. Jeremy. He is great with the kids and teaches them so much. She is getting even better at the bars, she can pull her toes up to the bar and hang. She can't quit flip on the bars yet, but she is close. JoElle is almost brave enough to walk on the balance beams alone, but she still insists on having Daddy's hand (or mine!)
Tonight JoElle prayed and thanked God for the Little Gym and Mr. Jeremy! So sweet! On the weekends, she asks to go to the Little Gym, a few Sundays ago, she wanted to go and when I told her they were closed, she said "People, go open the doors!" hehe
February 13, 2007 Something to make you smile.....
Her new teachers like to write on her daily sheet: Something to make you smile.....
Here are some of the recent ones:
2/13/07 JoElle singing Happy Birthday to her biscuit. (this one is very funny because JoElle loves to sing Happy Birthday to everything and everyone!!!)
2/12/07 JoElle keeping her pullup dry (all morning, all the way until after naptime at 2!!!)
2/1/07 JoElle playing with the new boys.
1/31/07 JoElle doing flips on the carpet.
1/29/07 JoElle with shaving cream in her hari :)
1/29/07 JoElle playing in the mud and NOT getting dirty :)
February 12, 2007 "I love you mommy!"
After school/work and working out at the Y, JoElle and I were both starving, so we stopped at Chick-Fil-A. While we were standing in line, JoElle hugs me, looks me in the eyes and tells me "I love you, Mommy!"
Doesn't that just melt your heart???
February 12, 2007 Stats: 24.5 lbs and 33.5 inches tall
JoElle went to the Dr for her 2 year old checkup, she is in the 25th percentile for weight and 50 percentil for heighth.
2 new teeth, her 2 year old molars FINALLY broke through on the bottom, they have been budding since she was 18 months old, and they seemed to have been bothering her for longer than that!
Her doctor asked me if she throws tantrums and I told her no, she never does, she just starts crying; her dr. said she isn't sure what to make of that, thanks JoElle for throwing in something different on us....
Her doctor also asked me if she says at least 20-30 words, and I looked at her and told her, "yeah, she can say that many in about 1 minute!"
All JoElle could talk about was wanting a sticker since she knows she will get a sticker at the end... only one shot when they are two, for Hep A. They also take blood, everything is good. She doesn't have to go back to the Dr. until she is 3!
Feburary 8th, 2007 Her friend, Bubba is looking for her
Bubba's mom, Yvonne, told me this morning that last night, Bubba was asking her "Where's JoElle? Is she at church?"
He was really concerned about where she was :)
Bubba and her have been friends since JoElle was about 11 months old, they are finally back in the same room together, he is almost 3 (I think in March) so he will probably move up again soon!
February 5th, 2007 Ft. Worth Stockshow and Mommy's Birthday
We took JoElle, Peyton and Madison to the Ft. Worth Stock Show on Saturday. My sister, brother and I grew up going to it every year to ride the rides, since we grew up in Ft. Worth and got a day off from school to go.
JoElle and Peyton were so excited to be there together. As soon as we got out of the car, JoElle was asking "Where's Peyton???" Then we walked into the cattle barn and she kept exclaiming "It's stinky in here!" Oh yeah, she was in panties ALL DAY there, from 7:30 in the morning until we got to Aunt Ana's house around 4:30, with NO ACCIDENTS!!! Wow, I am impressed.
Back to the Stock Show, they were holding hands, making silly noises, dancing to the country music, and saying "poo poo" over and over, since it was all over the ground!
In the horse barn, JoElle told the horses "No more accidents, horses". I was cracking up!!!
They kinda liked the petting zoo, Peyton fed the goats and giggled. JoElle made me hold her because they were "hurting me!" They really weren't, but she insisted that they were.
JoElle wanted to ride an adult ride, but she isn't even tall enough for the kids rides!!
As for my birthday (on Friday Feb 2nd) Nana offered to babysite JoElle, she fell asleep in Nana's arms watching the Good Night Show on Sprout network, right at 8:45 p.m.!
JoElle sang Happy Bithday to me! It was very precious. Daddy made a card for me and gave me beautiful pink roses and a whistling monkey. Very cute!
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Several posts...
February 3rd, 2007 A new question...
JoElle started asking us "What is that for?" about various items in our house and out and about.
Sometimes, it is hard to answer her questions........this parenting thing is getting harder and harder!!! But it is still fun! (frustrating at times, but fun nonetheless)
January 17, 2007 JoElle is Two Years Old!!
Happy Birthday, JoElle!
She loved it that we both stayed home with her for her birthday, AND we had a wonderful suprise; it snowed!!! JoElle loved playing in the snow. She especially loved eating it off Daddy's car, what can a little snow hurt? We all ate it as kids!
We didn't get to visit the Dallas World Aquarium like I had planned due to the inclement weather, but we still had fun. We ate at a little breakfast place in Arlington and Grandad stopped in to eat with us. JoElle loved it! She loves the waitresses there, she says hi to them all the time we are eating, and of course she says hi to the other customers the whole time, too!
We gave her one of her presents, a Little People School set. She loves it! She lines the Little People up to get on the slide, then she said "I'm standing in line, too!" and she stood up behind them, then said "I'm too big!" She had us cracking up, as always.
That night, we sang Happy Birthday, she blew out her candles without any prompting, she sang right along with us, she loved her cupcakes and opening her presents. Granny was there with us, JoElle loved having her come over.
January 12th, 2007 Lately, JoElle liks to open and close doors. She is finally tall enough to reach the doorknob to open the doors.
This has resulted in her opening her bedroom door early in the morning and coming into our room. She will just stand in front of me (our bed is too high for her to climb in by herself)and wait for me to wake up and see her! Usually Tim has to tell me "JoElle is standing there..." because I am a heavy sleeper...
She very patiently waits for me to see her, then I put her in the bed. She normally kicks Daddy until she drives him nuts, sometimes she scoots him off the bed. After a little while, we put her back in her bed and she stays there for a while.
January 9, 2007 First Visit to the Library
JoElle and I visited the library by her school and she got a library card. She was so excited to be there surrounding by all those books!
She picked out several Maisy books (she loves Maisy!) and two Little Brown Bear books that she found. We read through them a few times and then checked them out. I told her she could read them to Daddy when we got home. Later that night, she remembered and wanted to read them with Daddy!
We also painted, what fun! I gave her a paintbrush and some canvases; she loves painting. JoElle loves art, she expresses so much joy when she is painting or coloring. She loves to giggle as she paints. She learned that she could drop paint onto the canvas if she gets a lot on her brush and shakes it. JoElle was painting "squiggly lines". I didn't know how she knew this, but Tim and her color squiggly lines in the tub, I found out!
She can also draw a straight line, a circle and an oval if you ask her too. Oh yeah, also a big circle and a little circle. She know little and big quite well from reading "It's Not Easy Being Big" with Big Bird and Elmo (it's not easy being little, either!).
January 5, 2007 Happy Birthday Cousin Isaiah (9 years old today)
We wish you a Happy Birthday.
It breaks my heart that we are not invited to celebrate with him.
I really don't know if I or we did something to insult or hurt Billy and Carrie, but we are never included on birthday or holiday plans. I really don't understand; maybe there is nothing to understand.
All I can really do is pray over the situation, that we will be at peace with this. I am sad for Isaiah and Elena because they will never have a relationship with us or with their ONLY cousin. JoElle is their only 1st cousin. I am also sad for JoElle because when she gets older, she will be wondering why they never come around, why they never invite us over, why we don't spend special days with them, why they never come to her school activities. It's ultimately up to both Billy and Carrie to decide they want to involve us and be involved with our lives, you know?
I asked JoElle if she wants them to come to her birthday party and she told me "Yes!" so I hope they come. Carrie didn't bring Elena to JoElle's 1st birthday party, so who knows?
Please pray over this broken relationship.
Week of January 1st, 2007
JoElle has been off and on in the 2 year old classroom this week. We were going to wait until the week of her birthday, but Ms. Judy (daycare director) decided to start the transition. So, she has some adjusting to do, but it's not bad. Just a little crying, a little bit of longing for her old teacher and old friends. JoElle loves Ms. Stacy so much!
She likes to say by to her friends before we leave, she tells them "bye friends!" then she has to tell her old classmates goodbye, too. The first day in her new class she got to play with Play-Do and when Ms. Stacy came in there with her old classmates, JoElle came to her and told her "turtle!" since she made one out of Play-Do.
We also started working out at the YMCA, JoElle knows when we drive up it is the "Y" and she can play with Thomas, since they have a Thomas train set. She cries when I drop her off, but only for a brief moment, what a rough week!
The other day, JoElle was standing up on our bed and she told us "Careful, don't hurt yourself!" hehe, it is too funny when she repeats stuff we tell her all the time. Sometimes I don't even realize what I tell her until I hear her saying it!
December 30, 2006
I am amazed at the sentences JoElle is now constructing, she was using sentence before, but they are more complex now. I can't even think of many examples, but JoElle has great articulation, too. Oh yeah, last night told me "I'm tired!" so that I could say "I'm tired, too!"
Usually I am the one who says, "I'm tired" then she responds with "I'm tired, too!" She will do this with just about anything, but mainly when I say things, not anybody else!
Whenever she has a messy diaper, she says "What did you eat today?" because we ask her that all the time, since she is always being given stuff that makes her tummy hurt!!
I'll try to remember to pay attention to some of them :)
Also, JoElle loves to take her medication; she nows takes her medication out of the cup that comes with the kids medicine. She is so good with it, she takes the cups and drinks it herself. She is pretty much off a sippy cup now. We still give her one in the morning since she is drowsy and clumsy that early, but the rest of the day I just give her cups. Pretty soon she will be in her new room (2 year old room) and they don't use sippy cups at all. She is ready for it!
Dec 29, 2006
I was terrified today as I was leaving my house to pick up JoElle from school, the tornado sirens were sounding, so I rushed back inside to find out that a possible tornado was within a mile from our house, but the terrifying thing was that it was heading north to 30, right by JoElle's daycare. I attempted to rush to pick her up, but of course visibility was horrible from the rain. I prayed for God's protection over her. When I got to her school, they were all huddled in the bathrooms! JoElle thought it was exciting that they were all in there!
We stopped by to try to open JoElle's savings account at Wamu with my friend Leigh Anne, but their power was out! We played inside the branch for a while. This was JoElle's first time to meet Leigh Anne! So she was shy at first. But Leigh Anne gave her a lollipop and she soon started talking. She was telling us "It's dark in here!" but she loved running around in the dark branch! When we were leaving, Leigh Anne told us, "Bye girls!" and as soon as the door closed JoElle shouted back "BYE GIRLS!!" Too cute!
Then we stopped by Aunt Tandi's house; Shannon and Jonathon were also there. JoElle was a little apprehensive at first, but soon her and Jonathon were playing together. He is huge compared to her!! He turned 4 yesterday. They were cute together, she loved giggling at him. Tandi's friend Fred dropped in and brought them those little poppers that we play with on the 4th of July, so they had fun popping those outside the door. They both kept saying "My turn!" and "I got it!"
December 25, 2006
Wow, I think we are all relieved that this Holiday season is wrapped up... What a busy week!
One of my best memories of this Christmas is JoElle singing "Happy Birthday Jesus" just about anywhere, anytime. Like in the middle of the hustle and bustle at Wal-Mart two days before Christmas, as she sees a Christmas tree, as she sees a manger, or when we get home and she sees the green cupcakes left over from her Christmas party at school!
This year, JoElle also loved singing carols. She will bust out with "Jingle Bells", "Rudolph", or "Noel" - but she thinks they are singing her name!! It's precious to hear her sing it!!
JoElle and Peyton had a great time this year unwrapping presents. This year, we got together on Christmas Eve since Aunt Ana was on call on Christmas. The two of them kept saying, next present...every once in a while, they would stop and ask us to open the box.
JoElle especially liked her Little People Farm and Dollhouse. Peyton liked it, too, he played with her. He probably liked his Little People Car Garage and his huge dump truck the best.
Aunt Ana, Peyton, Madison, Uncle Aaron, and Nana came with us to our candlelight service at church on Christmas Eve. JoElle was so excited they were at our church with her! She kept telling Peyton hi during the service and he would tell her "NO!" so she kept telling him hi over and over, just to get under his skin :)
We tried to visit Santa at Santa Land by my job. We waited an hour, JoElle colored and watched the other kids go up and talk to Santa, but when it was her turn, she cried! She told us she didn't want to sit on his lap...so we didn't make her. When we left, we asked her why not and she told us because she was "coloring", 'tis true, we shouldn't have let her color all the way up until it was time to sit on Santa's lap! She also didn't want Santa to come to our house....
JoElle got a ton of stuff this year, way more than last year! I haven't bought her many toys this year, she needed to stock up! She loves her different ways to color: she has a Fisher Price Desk to color at that helps her with letters, numbers and shapes, then converts to a piano, also she has a dry erase board and chalkboard, a MagnaDoodle lookalike, and of course plenty of crayons, coloring books and blank paper!
She loves her baby stuff: Santa brought her a stroller, highchair and baby bed for her Baby Alive doll that Nana gave her. As soon as JoElle opened her Baby Alive doll, she exclaimed "Another Dora!!" because the baby is "hispanic" I guess that is what everyone tells me the baby dolls with brown hair, brown eyes, and brown skin are. To me, they look kinds like JoElle with straight hair! She does resemble Dora! JoElle took all this into her room with her new Dora bed from Granny and Grandad, which she loves! She also has sheets and a comforter to match now from them. Nana got her a Dora lamp, too.
JoElle got lots of dress up items, Nana bought her a collection of dress up shoes, which she loves and a cute pink Flapper dress. Aunt Tandi bought her a tiara, necklaces, earrings, shoes, and some other cute dress up items!! Also, Nana gave her a backback full of makeup, which she loves and has already used. Oh yeah, not to mention Backpack from Dora and a purse full of candy necklaces (courtesy of Granny).
We still need to explore her Dora book with the movie projector and the Elephun game that spits out butterflies, which you catch (sounds like fun!!) We gave her a few scratch and sniff books and Peyton's Grandma gave her the 10 Ladybugs book.
She probably got some more stuff...I just don't remember right now!!!
Oh yeah, another fun thing today: JoElle counted Daddy's fingers, correctly!!! From 1 all the way to 5 by herself! I am so proud of her!
Dec. 9th, 2006
We ate at Campo Verde today. We took Peyton and JoElle there last year. There are thousands of Christmas lights and a train above all the tables. It's fun and helps get you in the holiday spirit!
We took our family pictures tonigh at J.C. Penney's. The photographer did a great job. JoElle did a great job, she smiled a lot and was cute for the lady. I can't wait to get our pics back, if you are reading this and don't get your card until after Christmas, I am sorry..... :) BUT they are coming!
We also went to the dress rehearsal of Fielder Road's Christmas Around the World, our church's Christmas celebration/play/choir concert. It was lots of fun. JoElle loved it! She was dancing to the music and singing to Feliz Navidad. I think she is learning this song at school. They are having a Christmas program this week and she is in it. JoElle liked the giraffes during the African part of the show. Then....when it got quiet, JoElle was extremely loud; she got a ton of laughs, the choir was sitting behind us (we are both in the choir) and they love JoElle. She was cheering for the songs before anybody else had time to start clapping!
JoElle started asking us "What is that for?" about various items in our house and out and about.
Sometimes, it is hard to answer her questions........this parenting thing is getting harder and harder!!! But it is still fun! (frustrating at times, but fun nonetheless)
January 17, 2007 JoElle is Two Years Old!!
Happy Birthday, JoElle!
She loved it that we both stayed home with her for her birthday, AND we had a wonderful suprise; it snowed!!! JoElle loved playing in the snow. She especially loved eating it off Daddy's car, what can a little snow hurt? We all ate it as kids!
We didn't get to visit the Dallas World Aquarium like I had planned due to the inclement weather, but we still had fun. We ate at a little breakfast place in Arlington and Grandad stopped in to eat with us. JoElle loved it! She loves the waitresses there, she says hi to them all the time we are eating, and of course she says hi to the other customers the whole time, too!
We gave her one of her presents, a Little People School set. She loves it! She lines the Little People up to get on the slide, then she said "I'm standing in line, too!" and she stood up behind them, then said "I'm too big!" She had us cracking up, as always.
That night, we sang Happy Birthday, she blew out her candles without any prompting, she sang right along with us, she loved her cupcakes and opening her presents. Granny was there with us, JoElle loved having her come over.
January 12th, 2007 Lately, JoElle liks to open and close doors. She is finally tall enough to reach the doorknob to open the doors.
This has resulted in her opening her bedroom door early in the morning and coming into our room. She will just stand in front of me (our bed is too high for her to climb in by herself)and wait for me to wake up and see her! Usually Tim has to tell me "JoElle is standing there..." because I am a heavy sleeper...
She very patiently waits for me to see her, then I put her in the bed. She normally kicks Daddy until she drives him nuts, sometimes she scoots him off the bed. After a little while, we put her back in her bed and she stays there for a while.
January 9, 2007 First Visit to the Library
JoElle and I visited the library by her school and she got a library card. She was so excited to be there surrounding by all those books!
She picked out several Maisy books (she loves Maisy!) and two Little Brown Bear books that she found. We read through them a few times and then checked them out. I told her she could read them to Daddy when we got home. Later that night, she remembered and wanted to read them with Daddy!
We also painted, what fun! I gave her a paintbrush and some canvases; she loves painting. JoElle loves art, she expresses so much joy when she is painting or coloring. She loves to giggle as she paints. She learned that she could drop paint onto the canvas if she gets a lot on her brush and shakes it. JoElle was painting "squiggly lines". I didn't know how she knew this, but Tim and her color squiggly lines in the tub, I found out!
She can also draw a straight line, a circle and an oval if you ask her too. Oh yeah, also a big circle and a little circle. She know little and big quite well from reading "It's Not Easy Being Big" with Big Bird and Elmo (it's not easy being little, either!).
January 5, 2007 Happy Birthday Cousin Isaiah (9 years old today)
We wish you a Happy Birthday.
It breaks my heart that we are not invited to celebrate with him.
I really don't know if I or we did something to insult or hurt Billy and Carrie, but we are never included on birthday or holiday plans. I really don't understand; maybe there is nothing to understand.
All I can really do is pray over the situation, that we will be at peace with this. I am sad for Isaiah and Elena because they will never have a relationship with us or with their ONLY cousin. JoElle is their only 1st cousin. I am also sad for JoElle because when she gets older, she will be wondering why they never come around, why they never invite us over, why we don't spend special days with them, why they never come to her school activities. It's ultimately up to both Billy and Carrie to decide they want to involve us and be involved with our lives, you know?
I asked JoElle if she wants them to come to her birthday party and she told me "Yes!" so I hope they come. Carrie didn't bring Elena to JoElle's 1st birthday party, so who knows?
Please pray over this broken relationship.
Week of January 1st, 2007
JoElle has been off and on in the 2 year old classroom this week. We were going to wait until the week of her birthday, but Ms. Judy (daycare director) decided to start the transition. So, she has some adjusting to do, but it's not bad. Just a little crying, a little bit of longing for her old teacher and old friends. JoElle loves Ms. Stacy so much!
She likes to say by to her friends before we leave, she tells them "bye friends!" then she has to tell her old classmates goodbye, too. The first day in her new class she got to play with Play-Do and when Ms. Stacy came in there with her old classmates, JoElle came to her and told her "turtle!" since she made one out of Play-Do.
We also started working out at the YMCA, JoElle knows when we drive up it is the "Y" and she can play with Thomas, since they have a Thomas train set. She cries when I drop her off, but only for a brief moment, what a rough week!
The other day, JoElle was standing up on our bed and she told us "Careful, don't hurt yourself!" hehe, it is too funny when she repeats stuff we tell her all the time. Sometimes I don't even realize what I tell her until I hear her saying it!
December 30, 2006
I am amazed at the sentences JoElle is now constructing, she was using sentence before, but they are more complex now. I can't even think of many examples, but JoElle has great articulation, too. Oh yeah, last night told me "I'm tired!" so that I could say "I'm tired, too!"
Usually I am the one who says, "I'm tired" then she responds with "I'm tired, too!" She will do this with just about anything, but mainly when I say things, not anybody else!
Whenever she has a messy diaper, she says "What did you eat today?" because we ask her that all the time, since she is always being given stuff that makes her tummy hurt!!
I'll try to remember to pay attention to some of them :)
Also, JoElle loves to take her medication; she nows takes her medication out of the cup that comes with the kids medicine. She is so good with it, she takes the cups and drinks it herself. She is pretty much off a sippy cup now. We still give her one in the morning since she is drowsy and clumsy that early, but the rest of the day I just give her cups. Pretty soon she will be in her new room (2 year old room) and they don't use sippy cups at all. She is ready for it!
Dec 29, 2006
I was terrified today as I was leaving my house to pick up JoElle from school, the tornado sirens were sounding, so I rushed back inside to find out that a possible tornado was within a mile from our house, but the terrifying thing was that it was heading north to 30, right by JoElle's daycare. I attempted to rush to pick her up, but of course visibility was horrible from the rain. I prayed for God's protection over her. When I got to her school, they were all huddled in the bathrooms! JoElle thought it was exciting that they were all in there!
We stopped by to try to open JoElle's savings account at Wamu with my friend Leigh Anne, but their power was out! We played inside the branch for a while. This was JoElle's first time to meet Leigh Anne! So she was shy at first. But Leigh Anne gave her a lollipop and she soon started talking. She was telling us "It's dark in here!" but she loved running around in the dark branch! When we were leaving, Leigh Anne told us, "Bye girls!" and as soon as the door closed JoElle shouted back "BYE GIRLS!!" Too cute!
Then we stopped by Aunt Tandi's house; Shannon and Jonathon were also there. JoElle was a little apprehensive at first, but soon her and Jonathon were playing together. He is huge compared to her!! He turned 4 yesterday. They were cute together, she loved giggling at him. Tandi's friend Fred dropped in and brought them those little poppers that we play with on the 4th of July, so they had fun popping those outside the door. They both kept saying "My turn!" and "I got it!"
December 25, 2006
Wow, I think we are all relieved that this Holiday season is wrapped up... What a busy week!
One of my best memories of this Christmas is JoElle singing "Happy Birthday Jesus" just about anywhere, anytime. Like in the middle of the hustle and bustle at Wal-Mart two days before Christmas, as she sees a Christmas tree, as she sees a manger, or when we get home and she sees the green cupcakes left over from her Christmas party at school!
This year, JoElle also loved singing carols. She will bust out with "Jingle Bells", "Rudolph", or "Noel" - but she thinks they are singing her name!! It's precious to hear her sing it!!
JoElle and Peyton had a great time this year unwrapping presents. This year, we got together on Christmas Eve since Aunt Ana was on call on Christmas. The two of them kept saying, next present...every once in a while, they would stop and ask us to open the box.
JoElle especially liked her Little People Farm and Dollhouse. Peyton liked it, too, he played with her. He probably liked his Little People Car Garage and his huge dump truck the best.
Aunt Ana, Peyton, Madison, Uncle Aaron, and Nana came with us to our candlelight service at church on Christmas Eve. JoElle was so excited they were at our church with her! She kept telling Peyton hi during the service and he would tell her "NO!" so she kept telling him hi over and over, just to get under his skin :)
We tried to visit Santa at Santa Land by my job. We waited an hour, JoElle colored and watched the other kids go up and talk to Santa, but when it was her turn, she cried! She told us she didn't want to sit on his lap...so we didn't make her. When we left, we asked her why not and she told us because she was "coloring", 'tis true, we shouldn't have let her color all the way up until it was time to sit on Santa's lap! She also didn't want Santa to come to our house....
JoElle got a ton of stuff this year, way more than last year! I haven't bought her many toys this year, she needed to stock up! She loves her different ways to color: she has a Fisher Price Desk to color at that helps her with letters, numbers and shapes, then converts to a piano, also she has a dry erase board and chalkboard, a MagnaDoodle lookalike, and of course plenty of crayons, coloring books and blank paper!
She loves her baby stuff: Santa brought her a stroller, highchair and baby bed for her Baby Alive doll that Nana gave her. As soon as JoElle opened her Baby Alive doll, she exclaimed "Another Dora!!" because the baby is "hispanic" I guess that is what everyone tells me the baby dolls with brown hair, brown eyes, and brown skin are. To me, they look kinds like JoElle with straight hair! She does resemble Dora! JoElle took all this into her room with her new Dora bed from Granny and Grandad, which she loves! She also has sheets and a comforter to match now from them. Nana got her a Dora lamp, too.
JoElle got lots of dress up items, Nana bought her a collection of dress up shoes, which she loves and a cute pink Flapper dress. Aunt Tandi bought her a tiara, necklaces, earrings, shoes, and some other cute dress up items!! Also, Nana gave her a backback full of makeup, which she loves and has already used. Oh yeah, not to mention Backpack from Dora and a purse full of candy necklaces (courtesy of Granny).
We still need to explore her Dora book with the movie projector and the Elephun game that spits out butterflies, which you catch (sounds like fun!!) We gave her a few scratch and sniff books and Peyton's Grandma gave her the 10 Ladybugs book.
She probably got some more stuff...I just don't remember right now!!!
Oh yeah, another fun thing today: JoElle counted Daddy's fingers, correctly!!! From 1 all the way to 5 by herself! I am so proud of her!
Dec. 9th, 2006
We ate at Campo Verde today. We took Peyton and JoElle there last year. There are thousands of Christmas lights and a train above all the tables. It's fun and helps get you in the holiday spirit!
We took our family pictures tonigh at J.C. Penney's. The photographer did a great job. JoElle did a great job, she smiled a lot and was cute for the lady. I can't wait to get our pics back, if you are reading this and don't get your card until after Christmas, I am sorry..... :) BUT they are coming!
We also went to the dress rehearsal of Fielder Road's Christmas Around the World, our church's Christmas celebration/play/choir concert. It was lots of fun. JoElle loved it! She was dancing to the music and singing to Feliz Navidad. I think she is learning this song at school. They are having a Christmas program this week and she is in it. JoElle liked the giraffes during the African part of the show. Then....when it got quiet, JoElle was extremely loud; she got a ton of laughs, the choir was sitting behind us (we are both in the choir) and they love JoElle. She was cheering for the songs before anybody else had time to start clapping!
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Several posts...
Nov. 30, 2006
We had ice today! It sleeted from about 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. When I picked JoElle up from school at around 12:00, there was some ice on my car and she told me "I want to touch" so we played with it for a bit before going home.
After a LONG nap (I love how great she sleeps!) we got bundled up in her coat and played outside with the sleet on the ground. She liked it but told me how cold it was. What a great experience for her! Especially since we don't get much ice or snow here....... or even rain for that matter. I think we can count on our hands how many times it has rained since she was born :)
Thanksgiving 2006
We spent Thanksgiving Day with family; for lunch we visited Aunt Ana and Uncle Dan. JoElle ate a ton of food! She liked the turkey and ham and she ate the cranberry sauce when I called it jelly! Peyton didn't really want to eat, but he did want some of Nana's chocolate pudding. Madison slept and slept until it was almost time to leave. She is very sweet and has a peaceful demeanor! JoElle and Peyton played with "snow." Aunt Ana had this powder that you added water to and it made snow! They both liked it. We were pretending it was snowing.
That evening we visited Granny and Grandad for Thanksgiving dinner. JoElle enjoyed the Cajun turkey and the green beans. She couldn't eat any of the other food, it all had lactose in it. She had fun playing and showing off for them. Even after we got home, she was too excited to sleep!
The next day, we put up our Christmas tree after Daddy got home from work. JoElle loved it! We also put up Christmas lights outside. JoElle helped with that, too. While we were driving, she kept pointing and saying "Christmas lights!" and she was asking for more. She loves the lights and Santa's everywhere. The next day (Saturday) when we woke up, she had to check to make sure that the Christmas tree and the stockings are still up!
On Saturday, JoElle and I slept in until noon, then we took a bath in my big tub. She loves to take baths in there. Her favorite thing right now is to color in the tub with her bathtub crayons.
November 19th, 2006
JoElle has been telling me "My teeth hurt" and "I need medicine on my teeth"
Can you believe her two year old molars STILL have not broken through? They have been trying to come in since her 18 month checkup......
The great thing is that she can tell me what hurts.
Nov. 18th, 2006
We went to the Shriner's circus in Ft. Worth, it was JoElle's first circus! She enjoyed it! Her fave part were the elephants. She kept asking for "more ephelants"
Then we ate at Galligaskin's (subway sandwiches) where JoElle licked all the peanut butter and jelly off her sandwich before eating the bread......
When we got home, Aunt Ana, Uncle Dan, Peyton and Madison were ate our house! JoElle wanted to hold Madison again and got upset that it was time for her to go to bed. Later, when Tim and I were out, JoElle and Peyton were squabbling over who would get to take the baby out of the swing. Peyton is becoming protective over his baby!
Nov. 17, 2006
We ate out with Granny and Grandad at Bobby V's. JoElle liked munching on my salad; she kept dipping her croutons in my French dressing. Around bedtime (8:45 p.m.), she got really sleepy and quiet, she laid down with her head on the booth for a few minutes, I thought she was going to fall asleep!
But then....she springs up and is more hyper than ever! She kept waving at Tim's cousin, Reba and her husband Robby. Then she would hide behind me and say "Where's JoElle?" "Here I am!" too cute, I love the way she mimics my intonations.
She also gave me hugs around my neck and Daddy got hugs too! She was teasing Granny because Granny wanted to hug her....
Nov. 16th, 2006
Nana, Daddy and I enjoyed Thanksgiving lunch provided by JoElle's school, as always, Ms. Carol cooked a great meal!
When I picked her up, I asked her "Who ate lunch with you today?" I told her "Mommy and Daddy." then she told me "Nana" and I replied "Yes, Nana ate lunch with you."
Then.....she told me "Grandpa!" How sweet! My dad was there with us, too!
I never say Nana with Grandpa since they were divorced when he passed away, so it touched my heart for her to tell me this! It is amazing how many times I could tell she was seeing my dad or someone else that has gone before us. Now she has the words to tell me who she is seeing!
Sometimes she will pick up a picture of me, my sister and our dad, and she will lovingly say "Grandpa....!" How comforting it is to me that our family members in heaven still make an impression on our little ones here! Thank you Dad for looking out for me and your granddaughter. I know you are chuckling at all the funny things she does. Does she remind you of me when I was little?
Nov. 15th, 2006
JoElle is asking to wear panties lately, so we let her. About 30 minutes later, I hear "Uh oh" and find JoElle peeing in her panties, she is looking down thinking "oops!" Then we tried to make a big deal that she had an accident in her panties, again she wanted to wear them (she loves Dora on her panties!) and then she had another accident 30 minutes or so later....
Oh well, at least she wants to get out of pull ups!
November 10, 2006
JoElle couldn't keep her milk down in the morning, so I asked her "Does your tummy hurt?"
She told me, "My tummy hurts!" so I asked her, "Why does your tummy hurt?" and she answered, "Need coffee!"
So ever since then she has been telling me she is drinking coffee or she needs coffee. That day at school she also was pretending to make coffee with a tea pot while saying "I'm making coffee!"
Nov 9, 2006 For the first time, JoElle got out of her bed and came out of her room to find us! Up until today, she would always sleep until the last possible minute!
It was so cute seeing her pitter patter down the hallway to our room and into our bathroom looking for me!
Nov 10, 2006 JoElle had an upset tummy in the morning, she told me "My tummy hurts" so I asked her why? And she told me "Need coffee!" and then as school she was walking around with a play teapot saying "I'm making coffee!"
She doesn't actually drink coffee, but she knows I drink it everyday!
October 28, 2006
Did I ever say how much JoElle amazes me? She is constructing her sentences really well now. Tonight, in the bath tub, JoElle put a washcloth on her stomach, looked at me, and told me "The towel is on my tummy!" Plain as day, every word enunciated perfectly.
We had ice today! It sleeted from about 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. When I picked JoElle up from school at around 12:00, there was some ice on my car and she told me "I want to touch" so we played with it for a bit before going home.
After a LONG nap (I love how great she sleeps!) we got bundled up in her coat and played outside with the sleet on the ground. She liked it but told me how cold it was. What a great experience for her! Especially since we don't get much ice or snow here....... or even rain for that matter. I think we can count on our hands how many times it has rained since she was born :)
Thanksgiving 2006
We spent Thanksgiving Day with family; for lunch we visited Aunt Ana and Uncle Dan. JoElle ate a ton of food! She liked the turkey and ham and she ate the cranberry sauce when I called it jelly! Peyton didn't really want to eat, but he did want some of Nana's chocolate pudding. Madison slept and slept until it was almost time to leave. She is very sweet and has a peaceful demeanor! JoElle and Peyton played with "snow." Aunt Ana had this powder that you added water to and it made snow! They both liked it. We were pretending it was snowing.
That evening we visited Granny and Grandad for Thanksgiving dinner. JoElle enjoyed the Cajun turkey and the green beans. She couldn't eat any of the other food, it all had lactose in it. She had fun playing and showing off for them. Even after we got home, she was too excited to sleep!
The next day, we put up our Christmas tree after Daddy got home from work. JoElle loved it! We also put up Christmas lights outside. JoElle helped with that, too. While we were driving, she kept pointing and saying "Christmas lights!" and she was asking for more. She loves the lights and Santa's everywhere. The next day (Saturday) when we woke up, she had to check to make sure that the Christmas tree and the stockings are still up!
On Saturday, JoElle and I slept in until noon, then we took a bath in my big tub. She loves to take baths in there. Her favorite thing right now is to color in the tub with her bathtub crayons.
November 19th, 2006
JoElle has been telling me "My teeth hurt" and "I need medicine on my teeth"
Can you believe her two year old molars STILL have not broken through? They have been trying to come in since her 18 month checkup......
The great thing is that she can tell me what hurts.
Nov. 18th, 2006
We went to the Shriner's circus in Ft. Worth, it was JoElle's first circus! She enjoyed it! Her fave part were the elephants. She kept asking for "more ephelants"
Then we ate at Galligaskin's (subway sandwiches) where JoElle licked all the peanut butter and jelly off her sandwich before eating the bread......
When we got home, Aunt Ana, Uncle Dan, Peyton and Madison were ate our house! JoElle wanted to hold Madison again and got upset that it was time for her to go to bed. Later, when Tim and I were out, JoElle and Peyton were squabbling over who would get to take the baby out of the swing. Peyton is becoming protective over his baby!
Nov. 17, 2006
We ate out with Granny and Grandad at Bobby V's. JoElle liked munching on my salad; she kept dipping her croutons in my French dressing. Around bedtime (8:45 p.m.), she got really sleepy and quiet, she laid down with her head on the booth for a few minutes, I thought she was going to fall asleep!
But then....she springs up and is more hyper than ever! She kept waving at Tim's cousin, Reba and her husband Robby. Then she would hide behind me and say "Where's JoElle?" "Here I am!" too cute, I love the way she mimics my intonations.
She also gave me hugs around my neck and Daddy got hugs too! She was teasing Granny because Granny wanted to hug her....
Nov. 16th, 2006
Nana, Daddy and I enjoyed Thanksgiving lunch provided by JoElle's school, as always, Ms. Carol cooked a great meal!
When I picked her up, I asked her "Who ate lunch with you today?" I told her "Mommy and Daddy." then she told me "Nana" and I replied "Yes, Nana ate lunch with you."
Then.....she told me "Grandpa!" How sweet! My dad was there with us, too!
I never say Nana with Grandpa since they were divorced when he passed away, so it touched my heart for her to tell me this! It is amazing how many times I could tell she was seeing my dad or someone else that has gone before us. Now she has the words to tell me who she is seeing!
Sometimes she will pick up a picture of me, my sister and our dad, and she will lovingly say "Grandpa....!" How comforting it is to me that our family members in heaven still make an impression on our little ones here! Thank you Dad for looking out for me and your granddaughter. I know you are chuckling at all the funny things she does. Does she remind you of me when I was little?
Nov. 15th, 2006
JoElle is asking to wear panties lately, so we let her. About 30 minutes later, I hear "Uh oh" and find JoElle peeing in her panties, she is looking down thinking "oops!" Then we tried to make a big deal that she had an accident in her panties, again she wanted to wear them (she loves Dora on her panties!) and then she had another accident 30 minutes or so later....
Oh well, at least she wants to get out of pull ups!
November 10, 2006
JoElle couldn't keep her milk down in the morning, so I asked her "Does your tummy hurt?"
She told me, "My tummy hurts!" so I asked her, "Why does your tummy hurt?" and she answered, "Need coffee!"
So ever since then she has been telling me she is drinking coffee or she needs coffee. That day at school she also was pretending to make coffee with a tea pot while saying "I'm making coffee!"
Nov 9, 2006 For the first time, JoElle got out of her bed and came out of her room to find us! Up until today, she would always sleep until the last possible minute!
It was so cute seeing her pitter patter down the hallway to our room and into our bathroom looking for me!
Nov 10, 2006 JoElle had an upset tummy in the morning, she told me "My tummy hurts" so I asked her why? And she told me "Need coffee!" and then as school she was walking around with a play teapot saying "I'm making coffee!"
She doesn't actually drink coffee, but she knows I drink it everyday!
October 28, 2006
Did I ever say how much JoElle amazes me? She is constructing her sentences really well now. Tonight, in the bath tub, JoElle put a washcloth on her stomach, looked at me, and told me "The towel is on my tummy!" Plain as day, every word enunciated perfectly.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Several posts...
October 28, 2006
What fun we had today at our Sunday School's Pumpkin Party! JoElle bounced in the bounce house for little ones, she got a butterfly painted on her face, she devoured a hot dog, we got our picture take as a family, hunted for Halloween candy in the park across the street, she made a new friend, and a little baby dressed up as a pink angel. JoElle laughed at her, sat down with her, gently touched her costume and handed her candy. She was very excited to play with the baby! We can't wait to meet little Madison, JoElle's soon to be born cousin! She will be arriving shortly, on November 9, 2006!
Tuesday October 24, 2006
Tonight at dinner, JoElle prayed out loud for us, in fact it was very loud! I guess she thinks God is deaf :)
How precious it is to hear her pray. She loves to pray for everybody, Tandi you have been getting LOTS of prayers lately from JoElle at night before she goes to bed!
JoElle likes to give hugs. She loves to hang from neck in the morning when I wake her up and she also will plant a kiss on me because Daddy always hugs and then kisses her. She is such a sweet child. I am so blessed to have her!
Sunday October 22, 2006
Fall Festival at a Methodist Church not far from the house-
After eating at Ton's Mongolian Grill (JoElle loves the eggdrop soup there, she can eat it with a spoon like a pro by herself!) we stopped in at the Fall Festival going on down the street at St. Andrews United Methodist Church.
Almost as soon as we got there, JoElle was pointing at the bouncing apparatus saying "I want to bounce," so of course we bought her tickets to bounce, this one wasn't actually a bounce "house" as it was flat with dinosaurs, trees and a bridge, with no roof. She had fun while the choir sang outside on stage. Then her and Daddy shared a watermelon snowcone, even though it was a little cool outside that day!
She also loved the dogs everyone had; she kept saying "I want to touch"
Did I mention how great her speech is now? She speaks very clearly most of the time and uses 3 to 6 word sentences consistently.
We are working on names, she is learning her full name- It is very cute when she says Alexandria! She is learning my name, Daddy's name, Nana's, Granny's, Grandad, Grandpa (my dad) and all her cousins and aunts and uncles's names.
In fact, when we got home that next day, JoElle starting calling out "Tim, Tim!" I was cracking up so hard when I realized that this is what I say when I get home!
She also is learning how to use I, me, you, your's, etc. in sentences. Daddy and JoElle were opening up a play bottle and he was telling her I opened it, so then she would say "I opened it" and "You opened it" and the "I closed it" and "You closed it".
JoElle also cracks me up when she walks around saying "Where are you (fill in the blank)?" with her hands in the air,then she answers, "Right there!"
Oh yeah, at dinner she wanted something, so she pointed at it and said "I want that!"
She also likes to drop things so that she can say " I dropped it" and then "I'm going to pick it up"
After Aunt Ana's baby shower, JoElle was taking out Baby Madison's clothes, holding them up and saying "Cute!" then she was say "Madison's" She is going to love her new cousin!!
Her manners are coming along great! When she burps, she says "excuse me" most of the time, she is starting to say "thank you" quite a bit without prompting, she says "sorry" when she hurts something/someone. She was telling her doll "I'm sorry" tonight because she accidentally hit her on the head! Then she kissed her head. Oh yeah, she loves to help with putting the dishes up from the dishwasher and she dropped the fork and told the fork "Sorry!" JoElle definitely knows how to use please!! She says please all the time.I am very proud of her!
October 12, 2006
At school, JoElle was carrying her baby around saying "the baby farted"!I don't know where she picked up this word because we say "toot" instead of fart.
Also, there are scarecrows all over due to Halloween, she calls them monsters and she has her class calling them monsters, I finally figured out how she knows what a monster is; her potty Elmo pick at the end says "I'm a BIG monster now!" She can also say scarecrow, too. She loves pumpkins; everytime we see one in the car or walking somewhere she points them all out.
JoElle had her first open hous at school. The entire time the other kids were singing for us, she was with all her teacheres instead of me and Tim! She loves them so much, it is very sweet and they love it!
October 1, 2006
We rode the Tarantula train from the Stockyards in Ft. Worth to 8th Street and back again! We went with cousin Peyton, Uncle Dan, Aunt Ana (baby Madison!) and Uncle Aaron.
The kids loved it! They were both so excited. They pointed at everything and told us what everything was. JoElle told us this one area was stinky - it was really stinky, she must have Daddy's nose. They LOVED when the steam engine went "CHOO CHOO" real loud, they both joined in! They have so much fun together; it's great watching them.
Aftwerwards we walked around the Stockyards a bit and they held hands until Peyton decided he was done holding hands. JoElle got upset that he didn't want to hold her hand anymore, so instead she ran to Uncle Aaron to hold his hand!
We at at Risky's BBQ and Daddy tore up a bunch of ribs while JoElle gulped down a ton of fries!
September 3rd, 2006 New Sunday School Class
We moved up in Sunday School at Church, now I am in a new class with some new friends and some old friends, new teachers, and a former teacher, too. My teachers sent me a postcard last week... I loved opening my own mail!
This is what is says,
"Dear Joelle,
Welcome to our class at Fielder Road Baptist church!
We look forward to teaching you about Jesus' love. Our 1st lesson will be about how important the BIBLE is: It is our "How-to" book for living each day.
We'll see you Sunday.
Mrs. Wilson, Ms. Debbie, Ms. Jana and Brittany"
How special for my teachers to send a special note before even meeting me! This is only one of the reasons why my Mommy and Daddy love Fielder Road's Childrens' ministry.
Daddy checked in on me before he left church (after service) to go to a football game with Uncle Aaron. When he peeked in on me, I was sitting in a big rocking chair (for the teachers) rocking back and forth watching the other kids.
Some of my new friends seem a bit younger than me.Mommy and Daddy say that I act older than 1 1/2 years old. I love to be with slightly younger children so that I can help take care of them.I will be a great a big sister be one day! But for now, I love being the center of attention at home!
August 30th- We are still working on potty training, she is going quite well at school, but at times falls off at home because she is too busy playing or we don't listen well enough to her saying she needs to go. The other day, I decided to try her in training pants, which are thick, padded panties. After she used the potty, I asked her to look me in the eyes so I could talk to her. I explained that she gets to wear panties because she is a big girl and that we don't go tee tee or pooh pooh in the panties, we do that in the potty. I repeated this a few times, but she was looking at me as if thinking "Ok Mommy, I'll try to remember that, but it sure is a lot to remember!"
Not more than 10 minutes go by and she has poo pooed in them...oh my, this is messy to clean up, you can't just throw it away like a diaper or pull up...! So we went through the explanation again, the whole time she is saying "sticky" "messy" and "nasty" with respect to the mess that was made on her, the potty and in her panties.
Another 30 minutes go by......she has one foot in her red bowl, the other foot in another red bowl in the living room, she walks with these bowls on her feet to locate the third red bowl, when she pauses, and then pees directly into the third bowl! She barely got a single drop outside the bowl!
I told her "You had an accident" with my hands up gesturing and shrugging. She did the same gesture and said "accident!" So after cleaning her up (and putting her back into a pull up!) she ran back into the living room and exclaimed, with her hands up and shoulders shrugged "Accident!" She was reading a story at school about a boy that is learning to use the potty and he has several accidents, so this word was just introduced to her and she was excited to really learn what it means. I hope she doesn't LIKE to have accidents!!
We'll continue on our potty training journey.....
August 30th~ Tonight while we were saying bedtime prayers, I prayed for our day, then I left it open for her to finish, I prayed, "Thank you Jesus for...." and JoElle offered "Daddy," then "Thank you Jesus for...." "Mommy!" and then I prayed, "Thank you Jesus for..." and JoElle excitedly prayed "JoElle!!" I love it when she says her name, it sound so cute!!!
These past two nights, she has been kneeling with me at her bed and clasping her hands together. Do you know how beautiful this is to witness? It makes my heart smile and overflow with love and joy!
August 29th~ Tonight while we were saying bedtime prayers, we prayed for Aunt Ana and her baby (she's pregnant), then JoElle chimed in "D" for Uncle Dan, so we prayed a blessing for him. Then she chimed in "Peyton" so we also prayed a blessing for cousin Peyton. I am so proud of her kind spirit; she is already reflecting God's love, she thinks of others even at such a young age!
August 28th~ Tonight while we were saying bedtime prayers, JoElle told me to pray for Daddy and pray for Mommy. Her thoughtfulness and sweet innocence really touched my heart!
What fun we had today at our Sunday School's Pumpkin Party! JoElle bounced in the bounce house for little ones, she got a butterfly painted on her face, she devoured a hot dog, we got our picture take as a family, hunted for Halloween candy in the park across the street, she made a new friend, and a little baby dressed up as a pink angel. JoElle laughed at her, sat down with her, gently touched her costume and handed her candy. She was very excited to play with the baby! We can't wait to meet little Madison, JoElle's soon to be born cousin! She will be arriving shortly, on November 9, 2006!
Tuesday October 24, 2006
Tonight at dinner, JoElle prayed out loud for us, in fact it was very loud! I guess she thinks God is deaf :)
How precious it is to hear her pray. She loves to pray for everybody, Tandi you have been getting LOTS of prayers lately from JoElle at night before she goes to bed!
JoElle likes to give hugs. She loves to hang from neck in the morning when I wake her up and she also will plant a kiss on me because Daddy always hugs and then kisses her. She is such a sweet child. I am so blessed to have her!
Sunday October 22, 2006
Fall Festival at a Methodist Church not far from the house-
After eating at Ton's Mongolian Grill (JoElle loves the eggdrop soup there, she can eat it with a spoon like a pro by herself!) we stopped in at the Fall Festival going on down the street at St. Andrews United Methodist Church.
Almost as soon as we got there, JoElle was pointing at the bouncing apparatus saying "I want to bounce," so of course we bought her tickets to bounce, this one wasn't actually a bounce "house" as it was flat with dinosaurs, trees and a bridge, with no roof. She had fun while the choir sang outside on stage. Then her and Daddy shared a watermelon snowcone, even though it was a little cool outside that day!
She also loved the dogs everyone had; she kept saying "I want to touch"
Did I mention how great her speech is now? She speaks very clearly most of the time and uses 3 to 6 word sentences consistently.
We are working on names, she is learning her full name- It is very cute when she says Alexandria! She is learning my name, Daddy's name, Nana's, Granny's, Grandad, Grandpa (my dad) and all her cousins and aunts and uncles's names.
In fact, when we got home that next day, JoElle starting calling out "Tim, Tim!" I was cracking up so hard when I realized that this is what I say when I get home!
She also is learning how to use I, me, you, your's, etc. in sentences. Daddy and JoElle were opening up a play bottle and he was telling her I opened it, so then she would say "I opened it" and "You opened it" and the "I closed it" and "You closed it".
JoElle also cracks me up when she walks around saying "Where are you (fill in the blank)?" with her hands in the air,then she answers, "Right there!"
Oh yeah, at dinner she wanted something, so she pointed at it and said "I want that!"
She also likes to drop things so that she can say " I dropped it" and then "I'm going to pick it up"
After Aunt Ana's baby shower, JoElle was taking out Baby Madison's clothes, holding them up and saying "Cute!" then she was say "Madison's" She is going to love her new cousin!!
Her manners are coming along great! When she burps, she says "excuse me" most of the time, she is starting to say "thank you" quite a bit without prompting, she says "sorry" when she hurts something/someone. She was telling her doll "I'm sorry" tonight because she accidentally hit her on the head! Then she kissed her head. Oh yeah, she loves to help with putting the dishes up from the dishwasher and she dropped the fork and told the fork "Sorry!" JoElle definitely knows how to use please!! She says please all the time.I am very proud of her!
October 12, 2006
At school, JoElle was carrying her baby around saying "the baby farted"!I don't know where she picked up this word because we say "toot" instead of fart.
Also, there are scarecrows all over due to Halloween, she calls them monsters and she has her class calling them monsters, I finally figured out how she knows what a monster is; her potty Elmo pick at the end says "I'm a BIG monster now!" She can also say scarecrow, too. She loves pumpkins; everytime we see one in the car or walking somewhere she points them all out.
JoElle had her first open hous at school. The entire time the other kids were singing for us, she was with all her teacheres instead of me and Tim! She loves them so much, it is very sweet and they love it!
October 1, 2006
We rode the Tarantula train from the Stockyards in Ft. Worth to 8th Street and back again! We went with cousin Peyton, Uncle Dan, Aunt Ana (baby Madison!) and Uncle Aaron.
The kids loved it! They were both so excited. They pointed at everything and told us what everything was. JoElle told us this one area was stinky - it was really stinky, she must have Daddy's nose. They LOVED when the steam engine went "CHOO CHOO" real loud, they both joined in! They have so much fun together; it's great watching them.
Aftwerwards we walked around the Stockyards a bit and they held hands until Peyton decided he was done holding hands. JoElle got upset that he didn't want to hold her hand anymore, so instead she ran to Uncle Aaron to hold his hand!
We at at Risky's BBQ and Daddy tore up a bunch of ribs while JoElle gulped down a ton of fries!
September 3rd, 2006 New Sunday School Class
We moved up in Sunday School at Church, now I am in a new class with some new friends and some old friends, new teachers, and a former teacher, too. My teachers sent me a postcard last week... I loved opening my own mail!
This is what is says,
"Dear Joelle,
Welcome to our class at Fielder Road Baptist church!
We look forward to teaching you about Jesus' love. Our 1st lesson will be about how important the BIBLE is: It is our "How-to" book for living each day.
We'll see you Sunday.
Mrs. Wilson, Ms. Debbie, Ms. Jana and Brittany"
How special for my teachers to send a special note before even meeting me! This is only one of the reasons why my Mommy and Daddy love Fielder Road's Childrens' ministry.
Daddy checked in on me before he left church (after service) to go to a football game with Uncle Aaron. When he peeked in on me, I was sitting in a big rocking chair (for the teachers) rocking back and forth watching the other kids.
Some of my new friends seem a bit younger than me.Mommy and Daddy say that I act older than 1 1/2 years old. I love to be with slightly younger children so that I can help take care of them.I will be a great a big sister be one day! But for now, I love being the center of attention at home!
August 30th- We are still working on potty training, she is going quite well at school, but at times falls off at home because she is too busy playing or we don't listen well enough to her saying she needs to go. The other day, I decided to try her in training pants, which are thick, padded panties. After she used the potty, I asked her to look me in the eyes so I could talk to her. I explained that she gets to wear panties because she is a big girl and that we don't go tee tee or pooh pooh in the panties, we do that in the potty. I repeated this a few times, but she was looking at me as if thinking "Ok Mommy, I'll try to remember that, but it sure is a lot to remember!"
Not more than 10 minutes go by and she has poo pooed in them...oh my, this is messy to clean up, you can't just throw it away like a diaper or pull up...! So we went through the explanation again, the whole time she is saying "sticky" "messy" and "nasty" with respect to the mess that was made on her, the potty and in her panties.
Another 30 minutes go by......she has one foot in her red bowl, the other foot in another red bowl in the living room, she walks with these bowls on her feet to locate the third red bowl, when she pauses, and then pees directly into the third bowl! She barely got a single drop outside the bowl!
I told her "You had an accident" with my hands up gesturing and shrugging. She did the same gesture and said "accident!" So after cleaning her up (and putting her back into a pull up!) she ran back into the living room and exclaimed, with her hands up and shoulders shrugged "Accident!" She was reading a story at school about a boy that is learning to use the potty and he has several accidents, so this word was just introduced to her and she was excited to really learn what it means. I hope she doesn't LIKE to have accidents!!
We'll continue on our potty training journey.....
August 30th~ Tonight while we were saying bedtime prayers, I prayed for our day, then I left it open for her to finish, I prayed, "Thank you Jesus for...." and JoElle offered "Daddy," then "Thank you Jesus for...." "Mommy!" and then I prayed, "Thank you Jesus for..." and JoElle excitedly prayed "JoElle!!" I love it when she says her name, it sound so cute!!!
These past two nights, she has been kneeling with me at her bed and clasping her hands together. Do you know how beautiful this is to witness? It makes my heart smile and overflow with love and joy!
August 29th~ Tonight while we were saying bedtime prayers, we prayed for Aunt Ana and her baby (she's pregnant), then JoElle chimed in "D" for Uncle Dan, so we prayed a blessing for him. Then she chimed in "Peyton" so we also prayed a blessing for cousin Peyton. I am so proud of her kind spirit; she is already reflecting God's love, she thinks of others even at such a young age!
August 28th~ Tonight while we were saying bedtime prayers, JoElle told me to pray for Daddy and pray for Mommy. Her thoughtfulness and sweet innocence really touched my heart!
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Several posts...
Last week in August: JoElle loves to sing a new fave song. Last Sunday she started to sing "I love you, I love you" and I thought she was making up her own song...but I found out she is singing the Barney song from school. Oh you really have to her her sweet voice singing "I love you...." over and over!!!!! She sang it to Nana on the phone, too. She also sings some of the other words, but she mainly repeats this over and over! I love it!!
August 17, 2006 19 months old today!
JoElle used the potty twice today at school all by herself! Her teacher, Ms. Staci, has to put her on the potty by herself while she watches the other kids in the class, so JoElle holds herself up there all by herself on the big potty. Then when she is done, she jumps down and says "I flush" and she loves to flush it.
Yesterday, JoElle told her teacher "potty, potty" and Ms. Staci was talking to a parent, so by the time she was done talking, JoElle told her "pooh pooh" and she couldn't hold it; but she told her teacher BEFORE this time! She is picking it up, but some nights she wears us out because we have to go back and forth to the potty.....
Ms. Staci is impressed that JoElle is using 3 word sentences. In fact, on Sunday, JoElle told me and Tandi " I need a new diaper" She said all five words, it was crazy, but Tandi heard her too, I swear!
JoElle always says "please" now; she is starting to say "thanks" without any prompting at all. She also says "I'm sorry" without prompting, too. Also, she puts her hands together to pray at the table and in bed before we even get a chance to tell her it's time to pray! She is a very sweet girl.
Tonight JoElle pointed and Daddy's belly and said "belly" then she said "nice!" hehe she is silly. She is also saying "yucky" and "yuck", "stinky" "oooweee" for a smelly diaper, "messy" and "mess" and "nasty". I told her "Daddy will be back" when he went outside to turn the water off, so she said "be back, Daddy, be back"
Last night, JoElle was sweeping the living room floor but she came to me and asked me "up?" I told her to first go put up her broom then she can come up with me. So, she walked over to the wall, propped her broom in the corner, and came back to me! Then she sang "The Wheels on the Bus" to herself and fell asleep on me. I taught her a new part, we made up "the Daddies on the bus say I love you...I love you...." so when we got out of the car, she saw Daddy and said "I love you" How sweet
August 11th, 2006 Trip to visit Nana and Aunt Carol
JoElle and I stopped by Aunt Carol's and Nana's house tonight after work and she went swimming with Nana and cousin Emily. At first I just held her over the side of the above-ground pool and she kicked and kicked and laughed heartily. Then, Nana got in with her. At first she reached out to me to hold her and cried "mommy mommy" but then she decided she liked it and she was kicking her little feet trying to swim. This is only her second time this summer to go swimming and the first time, at Uncle Aaron's apartment, she wasn't so thrilled that the water was so cold. After watching Emily float on her back, JoElle decided to try floating on her back too, and she was not afraid to lean back and get her head wet. I was really surprised!
Another little girl named Carly was over and Carly had JoElle cracking up like I have never seen before; it was hilarious. JoElle just keeps going and going; we didn't leave until 10:00 and she was still going strong. Oh yeah, did I mention that she ate half of my steak? She wolfed it down.
August 10, 2006 Potty times
We are having great successes with potty training! Today at school she used the potty; her teacher asks the 2 year olds if they are ready to go potty, and JoElle tells them "ready, ready" and runs into the bathroom.
Then at home, she used it again just as soon as we got home and twice more with Daddy that night. We are putting her in Dora pullups and she is really starting to act like a big girl. Daddy helped out the potty training by helping JoElle take her doll to use the potty, sitting her on the potty and putting her in one of JoElle's pullups. Great idea Daddy!
When I was leaving to go to a meeting to learn about writing opportunities at church, JoElle bawled and bawled; she has never cried this much for me, it was very sweet! I cherish these moments because all too soon she will be grown and I will long for the days she cried for me with those beautiful brown eyes and reached her arms to me to hold her.
It is quite amazing the unconditional love that little ones give to you. I know that we are all born sinners, yet watching her and interacting with her, JoElle is such a reflection of God's love. She loves her Bible, she calls Jesus "daddy" at times and He is, her heavenly Daddy. She loves to pray and sing about Jesus.
August 9, 2006 Happy Birthday Aunt Carol! We love you!
August 8, 2006 - 18 months old
Today JoElle accidentally hit me and she turned to me and told me "sorry" with a sad, inoccent look. She was so sweet! Plus, her sorry sounded like "sowwy" so it was that much cuter! Then she also told me "thank you!" without prompting - she is great at telling us "please" when she wants something and also "help me."
Also tonight Granny taught JoElle how to blow bubbles and to put the little stick into the bubble container to get more soap in order to blow more. She was really excited that she could blow them by herself! She kept saying "Wow!" and chasing them around, trying to eat them!
JoElle also finally jumped OFF the ground! Before she would try to jump and would get really low with her knees bent and bounce up, but she never actually left the floor. So, when Granny came home from work, JoElle jumped up in the air and landed on her bottom. She thought it was hilarious, so she repeated it at least 20 times.
JoElle is starting to tell Daddy "I love you" when he tells her he loves her. It just melts my heart to hear her say this!
Our bedtime routine is very precious to me, after we give everyone who is here hugs and kisses, I carry JoElle to her room, look into her beautiful brown eyes and put her in her bed. At this point, she gets really excited. Then she clasps her hands together and looks at me, waiting to say bedtime prayers. After we pray to God, she pounds on the bed with her hands, like when she it at the table, then she says amen and puts her hands over her hand, kinds like "hooray!" Then we give kisses, I tell her I love her and as I am leaving, I blow more kisses, tell her I love her some more, and sometimes she waves, sometimes she says "Bye bye" really loudly. She watches me shut the door, then she is out cold.
Yesterday for the first time, JoElle got out of her bed and came out of her door without us getting her up. I guess she was wondering what was taking me so long to come get her up (I was running late!) She was standing at her bedroom door, with wild hair, one hand in her hair and one rubbing her eyes, she looked a little confused!
On the mornings when Daddy is already gone before us, we always tell Daddy bye bye anyways - to our bedroom, she thinks he is the room. She gets upset if we don't tell him bye.
Oh yeah also tonight she tried to go swimming in her bathtub. She kicked her little legs out and tried to swim.
She started gymnastics last Saturday; the class is for 18 months to 3 years. JoElle loved to jump on the trampoline and fall down. As soon as her coach said "Let's move to the next rotation" JoElle was marching off in front of everyone, leading the way (but I don't know how she knew where we were going?). She loved the music circle and dancing, of course, she always loves to boogie down. Also, she likes hanging from the bar, she pulls her legs up really high, almost to the bar, all by herself. Her coach was surprised at how strong her stomach is. She likes to do barrel rolls down the mats, and she can almost do a forward roll (i.e. flip) all by herself!
July 31, 2006 18 months
JoElle has become pretty attached to her Elmo doll. She doesn't HAVE to have him, but she likes to have him with her in the car, she asks for him as soon as we get in the car, and she loves to give him big hugs! She also likes to put shoes on him and her other doll and make them walk around the house. She tells them "walk, walk", oh yeah there are two babies in her class part of the day, who are still learning to walk, so she tells them "walk, baby, walk!" Her teacher, Ms. Sharon, tells her to leave them alone, not everyone is walking when they are 11 months old.
She is quite the pro at putting her shoes on (sandals); she loves her sandals and her dress up shoes. She can even put my shoes on really well. She walks around in my sandals all the time. It is amazing how many words JoElle is repeating. This past week, she picked up on "messy" as one of her faveorite words, along with "towel" "napkin" and "medicine" She will remind me to give her medicine by telling me "medicine!" Hehe great kid, huh?
JoElle can name so many things now, she loves the bus at church- she points and shouts bus, then starts motioning bus with her hands from the song "The Wheels on the Bus", speaking of which, the other day we were driving to a friend's house to drop off a meal and she saw a big 18 wheeler, she calls them buses. So she started singing this song by herself, she was doing the baby part- the babies on the bus go "wah wah wah", she is so cute when she does this, she says wah wah wah in a real whiny voice with her hands rubbing her eyes like she is crying, then she sang "all...town" (she couldn't quite remember "through the")
At times we can get her to tell us her name, it sounds so precious coming out of her mouth! She loves to read, she points to letters and says "O" "E" because we spell her name with her all the time!
The potty training is still going pretty well, she tells us potty all the time, sometimes she goes, sometimes not, but she loves toilet paper, I have to ration out the toilet paper with her, one day I walked out of the bathroom to get her clothes and I came back and she had stuffed a ton of toilet paper in there as she sat on the potty. Another time, I turned around to throw her diaper away and she was on our potty without her little potty on top, and she fell in!! It was funny, she didn't cry but for 3 seconds, then she was ok with it.
The other night we were at Tim's bosses house and JoElle actually used the potty over there! I was very proud of her! She got so much attention over there from everybody! She wasn't shy at all, sometimes she starts out a little shy, but it never lasts. She didn't get into anything at their house and she didn't cry at all, even though we stayed until 10:30, way past her bedtime. Tim's boss and her husband kept telling us, she is such a great kid, she doesn't get into trouble! OK so we know THAT is not true, but she really is sweet. She loved wiping her mouth, hands and tongue on their kitchen towel that they had hanging up. She also called her glass glasses, she is really stargting to apply words to new objects.
The other night she was scratching her leg and she told us "itch" One of her favorite colors is blue, she definitely knows what is blue and loves to tell us "boo"
One of her favorite games is still "This little piggy" she loves the "wee wee wee" part because I tickle her up to her chin. If you pause at this last part, she will say "wee wee wee" in her cute little voice and then giggle.
I love the way she shares, she loves to share with everyone, even her dolls. She always gives them blankets, her milk, her water, her shoes, etc. Sometimes she can be selfish, like all of us, but most of the time she is very sharing. She will step back and let other kids play first, then she will play when they get tired of it in a few seconds. Sometimes, when she knows they want something that she has, she will tease them with it and laugh. She can be a little sly. Every once in a while she gets tired of trying to be nice and will say "mine" and sometimes hit if the other kids won't share with her, but then she gets sad because she knows she wasn't supposed to do that. She hates to let anybody down.
I know I say this all the time, but she is such a joy to us and everyone else she meets. We love her so much!
July 13, 2006
Tonight before choir practice, JoElle and I stopped at McDonald's. She sat next to me on the bench like a big girl, swinging her legs, eating fries!I looked at her and was thinking about how I used to have to hold her, make sure she didn't fall, hand her food, but now she does this all on her own, she evens grabs the ketchup from me and dips her fries....
I can't believe how old she is now. She acts so grown up, did you see the pics of her in her dress up shoes with her phone? She looks like a little teenager! She also loves Mommy's shoes. She can put her shoes and my shoes on all by herself.
Oh yeah, on the 4th, she picked up calling me Mommy again instead of Mama, I think this time it's going to stick. She started calling me Mommy back on June 2, then went back to Mama....she has her own mind!
This week at day care, she wrestled a little boy in her class who is twice her size, he didn't know what to do, he started yelling help me!! Her teacher was laughing because JoElle is so little and he is so big, but he couldn't even move! She was playing with him like Daddy plays with her, he "pins" her down and starts counting....
She also finally had enough with one of her friends, Becca, and hit her when Becca wouldn't let her play under the table strapping in the baby seats. This is the first time she has done this, usually she justs walks away and finds something else to do...
My friend Robyn told me that when she was dropping her daughter off at their daycare, and JoElle was sitting on their little kid's couch in her classroom and all the other kids were gathered around her! I think she is already exerting her leadership qualities!
She is also very social, she loves the other kids and teachers. Monday when I picked her up, she didn't want to go home, she started crying because she wanted to stay and play! I thought she was supposed to cry when I leave her and not when I pick her up!!!???
JoElle loves her Elmo doll that knows her name and her little Dora chair, she also loves to ride around on her "bike" (I call it her bike...it's really a trike/ rocking trike). She propels herself around the kitchen, she can't quite reach the pedals yet.
Yesterday, she used the potty at school in the big potty. Is it really time for her to learn to use the potty already? How crazy....
July 1st, 2006
JoElle's favorite words this week are Ana, ice-she loves to eat ice- water, and march--she loves to march around the house.
June 21, 2006
JoElle learned to say "shower" (in reference to water, she was talking about the water sprinkler at day care for use in case of a fire, I'm not sure how she knows water comes out of there??
June 20, 2006
JoElle learned to say "purple" Oh yeah she used her potty again, she was excited too that she used it!
June 19, 2006
JoElle said "Katelyn, Bubba" (friends at school) and something else...can't remember...
Over the weekend she started saying "I want Mama, I want Daddy, I want Ana" very cute!Oh yeah, she loves to say Ana...over and over. Aunt Ana, she was saying your name again tonight!!! On Father's Day, JoElle was loving on her Aunt Ana, she kept leaving me to lay on Aunt Ana; how sweet!
August 17, 2006 19 months old today!
JoElle used the potty twice today at school all by herself! Her teacher, Ms. Staci, has to put her on the potty by herself while she watches the other kids in the class, so JoElle holds herself up there all by herself on the big potty. Then when she is done, she jumps down and says "I flush" and she loves to flush it.
Yesterday, JoElle told her teacher "potty, potty" and Ms. Staci was talking to a parent, so by the time she was done talking, JoElle told her "pooh pooh" and she couldn't hold it; but she told her teacher BEFORE this time! She is picking it up, but some nights she wears us out because we have to go back and forth to the potty.....
Ms. Staci is impressed that JoElle is using 3 word sentences. In fact, on Sunday, JoElle told me and Tandi " I need a new diaper" She said all five words, it was crazy, but Tandi heard her too, I swear!
JoElle always says "please" now; she is starting to say "thanks" without any prompting at all. She also says "I'm sorry" without prompting, too. Also, she puts her hands together to pray at the table and in bed before we even get a chance to tell her it's time to pray! She is a very sweet girl.
Tonight JoElle pointed and Daddy's belly and said "belly" then she said "nice!" hehe she is silly. She is also saying "yucky" and "yuck", "stinky" "oooweee" for a smelly diaper, "messy" and "mess" and "nasty". I told her "Daddy will be back" when he went outside to turn the water off, so she said "be back, Daddy, be back"
Last night, JoElle was sweeping the living room floor but she came to me and asked me "up?" I told her to first go put up her broom then she can come up with me. So, she walked over to the wall, propped her broom in the corner, and came back to me! Then she sang "The Wheels on the Bus" to herself and fell asleep on me. I taught her a new part, we made up "the Daddies on the bus say I love you...I love you...." so when we got out of the car, she saw Daddy and said "I love you" How sweet
August 11th, 2006 Trip to visit Nana and Aunt Carol
JoElle and I stopped by Aunt Carol's and Nana's house tonight after work and she went swimming with Nana and cousin Emily. At first I just held her over the side of the above-ground pool and she kicked and kicked and laughed heartily. Then, Nana got in with her. At first she reached out to me to hold her and cried "mommy mommy" but then she decided she liked it and she was kicking her little feet trying to swim. This is only her second time this summer to go swimming and the first time, at Uncle Aaron's apartment, she wasn't so thrilled that the water was so cold. After watching Emily float on her back, JoElle decided to try floating on her back too, and she was not afraid to lean back and get her head wet. I was really surprised!
Another little girl named Carly was over and Carly had JoElle cracking up like I have never seen before; it was hilarious. JoElle just keeps going and going; we didn't leave until 10:00 and she was still going strong. Oh yeah, did I mention that she ate half of my steak? She wolfed it down.
August 10, 2006 Potty times
We are having great successes with potty training! Today at school she used the potty; her teacher asks the 2 year olds if they are ready to go potty, and JoElle tells them "ready, ready" and runs into the bathroom.
Then at home, she used it again just as soon as we got home and twice more with Daddy that night. We are putting her in Dora pullups and she is really starting to act like a big girl. Daddy helped out the potty training by helping JoElle take her doll to use the potty, sitting her on the potty and putting her in one of JoElle's pullups. Great idea Daddy!
When I was leaving to go to a meeting to learn about writing opportunities at church, JoElle bawled and bawled; she has never cried this much for me, it was very sweet! I cherish these moments because all too soon she will be grown and I will long for the days she cried for me with those beautiful brown eyes and reached her arms to me to hold her.
It is quite amazing the unconditional love that little ones give to you. I know that we are all born sinners, yet watching her and interacting with her, JoElle is such a reflection of God's love. She loves her Bible, she calls Jesus "daddy" at times and He is, her heavenly Daddy. She loves to pray and sing about Jesus.
August 9, 2006 Happy Birthday Aunt Carol! We love you!
August 8, 2006 - 18 months old
Today JoElle accidentally hit me and she turned to me and told me "sorry" with a sad, inoccent look. She was so sweet! Plus, her sorry sounded like "sowwy" so it was that much cuter! Then she also told me "thank you!" without prompting - she is great at telling us "please" when she wants something and also "help me."
Also tonight Granny taught JoElle how to blow bubbles and to put the little stick into the bubble container to get more soap in order to blow more. She was really excited that she could blow them by herself! She kept saying "Wow!" and chasing them around, trying to eat them!
JoElle also finally jumped OFF the ground! Before she would try to jump and would get really low with her knees bent and bounce up, but she never actually left the floor. So, when Granny came home from work, JoElle jumped up in the air and landed on her bottom. She thought it was hilarious, so she repeated it at least 20 times.
JoElle is starting to tell Daddy "I love you" when he tells her he loves her. It just melts my heart to hear her say this!
Our bedtime routine is very precious to me, after we give everyone who is here hugs and kisses, I carry JoElle to her room, look into her beautiful brown eyes and put her in her bed. At this point, she gets really excited. Then she clasps her hands together and looks at me, waiting to say bedtime prayers. After we pray to God, she pounds on the bed with her hands, like when she it at the table, then she says amen and puts her hands over her hand, kinds like "hooray!" Then we give kisses, I tell her I love her and as I am leaving, I blow more kisses, tell her I love her some more, and sometimes she waves, sometimes she says "Bye bye" really loudly. She watches me shut the door, then she is out cold.
Yesterday for the first time, JoElle got out of her bed and came out of her door without us getting her up. I guess she was wondering what was taking me so long to come get her up (I was running late!) She was standing at her bedroom door, with wild hair, one hand in her hair and one rubbing her eyes, she looked a little confused!
On the mornings when Daddy is already gone before us, we always tell Daddy bye bye anyways - to our bedroom, she thinks he is the room. She gets upset if we don't tell him bye.
Oh yeah also tonight she tried to go swimming in her bathtub. She kicked her little legs out and tried to swim.
She started gymnastics last Saturday; the class is for 18 months to 3 years. JoElle loved to jump on the trampoline and fall down. As soon as her coach said "Let's move to the next rotation" JoElle was marching off in front of everyone, leading the way (but I don't know how she knew where we were going?). She loved the music circle and dancing, of course, she always loves to boogie down. Also, she likes hanging from the bar, she pulls her legs up really high, almost to the bar, all by herself. Her coach was surprised at how strong her stomach is. She likes to do barrel rolls down the mats, and she can almost do a forward roll (i.e. flip) all by herself!
July 31, 2006 18 months
JoElle has become pretty attached to her Elmo doll. She doesn't HAVE to have him, but she likes to have him with her in the car, she asks for him as soon as we get in the car, and she loves to give him big hugs! She also likes to put shoes on him and her other doll and make them walk around the house. She tells them "walk, walk", oh yeah there are two babies in her class part of the day, who are still learning to walk, so she tells them "walk, baby, walk!" Her teacher, Ms. Sharon, tells her to leave them alone, not everyone is walking when they are 11 months old.
She is quite the pro at putting her shoes on (sandals); she loves her sandals and her dress up shoes. She can even put my shoes on really well. She walks around in my sandals all the time. It is amazing how many words JoElle is repeating. This past week, she picked up on "messy" as one of her faveorite words, along with "towel" "napkin" and "medicine" She will remind me to give her medicine by telling me "medicine!" Hehe great kid, huh?
JoElle can name so many things now, she loves the bus at church- she points and shouts bus, then starts motioning bus with her hands from the song "The Wheels on the Bus", speaking of which, the other day we were driving to a friend's house to drop off a meal and she saw a big 18 wheeler, she calls them buses. So she started singing this song by herself, she was doing the baby part- the babies on the bus go "wah wah wah", she is so cute when she does this, she says wah wah wah in a real whiny voice with her hands rubbing her eyes like she is crying, then she sang "all...town" (she couldn't quite remember "through the")
At times we can get her to tell us her name, it sounds so precious coming out of her mouth! She loves to read, she points to letters and says "O" "E" because we spell her name with her all the time!
The potty training is still going pretty well, she tells us potty all the time, sometimes she goes, sometimes not, but she loves toilet paper, I have to ration out the toilet paper with her, one day I walked out of the bathroom to get her clothes and I came back and she had stuffed a ton of toilet paper in there as she sat on the potty. Another time, I turned around to throw her diaper away and she was on our potty without her little potty on top, and she fell in!! It was funny, she didn't cry but for 3 seconds, then she was ok with it.
The other night we were at Tim's bosses house and JoElle actually used the potty over there! I was very proud of her! She got so much attention over there from everybody! She wasn't shy at all, sometimes she starts out a little shy, but it never lasts. She didn't get into anything at their house and she didn't cry at all, even though we stayed until 10:30, way past her bedtime. Tim's boss and her husband kept telling us, she is such a great kid, she doesn't get into trouble! OK so we know THAT is not true, but she really is sweet. She loved wiping her mouth, hands and tongue on their kitchen towel that they had hanging up. She also called her glass glasses, she is really stargting to apply words to new objects.
The other night she was scratching her leg and she told us "itch" One of her favorite colors is blue, she definitely knows what is blue and loves to tell us "boo"
One of her favorite games is still "This little piggy" she loves the "wee wee wee" part because I tickle her up to her chin. If you pause at this last part, she will say "wee wee wee" in her cute little voice and then giggle.
I love the way she shares, she loves to share with everyone, even her dolls. She always gives them blankets, her milk, her water, her shoes, etc. Sometimes she can be selfish, like all of us, but most of the time she is very sharing. She will step back and let other kids play first, then she will play when they get tired of it in a few seconds. Sometimes, when she knows they want something that she has, she will tease them with it and laugh. She can be a little sly. Every once in a while she gets tired of trying to be nice and will say "mine" and sometimes hit if the other kids won't share with her, but then she gets sad because she knows she wasn't supposed to do that. She hates to let anybody down.
I know I say this all the time, but she is such a joy to us and everyone else she meets. We love her so much!
July 13, 2006
Tonight before choir practice, JoElle and I stopped at McDonald's. She sat next to me on the bench like a big girl, swinging her legs, eating fries!I looked at her and was thinking about how I used to have to hold her, make sure she didn't fall, hand her food, but now she does this all on her own, she evens grabs the ketchup from me and dips her fries....
I can't believe how old she is now. She acts so grown up, did you see the pics of her in her dress up shoes with her phone? She looks like a little teenager! She also loves Mommy's shoes. She can put her shoes and my shoes on all by herself.
Oh yeah, on the 4th, she picked up calling me Mommy again instead of Mama, I think this time it's going to stick. She started calling me Mommy back on June 2, then went back to Mama....she has her own mind!
This week at day care, she wrestled a little boy in her class who is twice her size, he didn't know what to do, he started yelling help me!! Her teacher was laughing because JoElle is so little and he is so big, but he couldn't even move! She was playing with him like Daddy plays with her, he "pins" her down and starts counting....
She also finally had enough with one of her friends, Becca, and hit her when Becca wouldn't let her play under the table strapping in the baby seats. This is the first time she has done this, usually she justs walks away and finds something else to do...
My friend Robyn told me that when she was dropping her daughter off at their daycare, and JoElle was sitting on their little kid's couch in her classroom and all the other kids were gathered around her! I think she is already exerting her leadership qualities!
She is also very social, she loves the other kids and teachers. Monday when I picked her up, she didn't want to go home, she started crying because she wanted to stay and play! I thought she was supposed to cry when I leave her and not when I pick her up!!!???
JoElle loves her Elmo doll that knows her name and her little Dora chair, she also loves to ride around on her "bike" (I call it her bike...it's really a trike/ rocking trike). She propels herself around the kitchen, she can't quite reach the pedals yet.
Yesterday, she used the potty at school in the big potty. Is it really time for her to learn to use the potty already? How crazy....
July 1st, 2006
JoElle's favorite words this week are Ana, ice-she loves to eat ice- water, and march--she loves to march around the house.
June 21, 2006
JoElle learned to say "shower" (in reference to water, she was talking about the water sprinkler at day care for use in case of a fire, I'm not sure how she knows water comes out of there??
June 20, 2006
JoElle learned to say "purple" Oh yeah she used her potty again, she was excited too that she used it!
June 19, 2006
JoElle said "Katelyn, Bubba" (friends at school) and something else...can't remember...
Over the weekend she started saying "I want Mama, I want Daddy, I want Ana" very cute!Oh yeah, she loves to say Ana...over and over. Aunt Ana, she was saying your name again tonight!!! On Father's Day, JoElle was loving on her Aunt Ana, she kept leaving me to lay on Aunt Ana; how sweet!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)