22 Months: Palmer's Life

I know I say this every. single. time. but, I truly cannot believe that in 2 months, Palmer will be 2. Time is going by just as quickly as ever and it truly is the most amazing thing to watch her grow. 

So much has happened since this last monthly update post.

Palmer really is a loving little girl. She doesn't hesitate to give out a big hug or kisses, which completely melt my heart every time. Her sweet little personality shines though in everything she does and I truly hope that she carries this with her always. 

Palmer's words have exploded. She will now make sentences and tell you (almost always) exactly what she wants. "Mo juice peese" or "no soot (soup)" and this list can go on and on and on. She will even say things that I didn't even know she knew. We were reading a book one day and she lifted up the flap and said "hot dog." WHAT? I didn't even know she knew that. 

She can play the matching games like nobody's business. She can match the cards up like a boss. Or she will find all the look and find items in her book in the blink of an eye.  Little smarty pants can put her puzzles together in all of 12 seconds. Seriously, how does she know all this stuff?

I could really go on and on with all the amazing things Palmer is doing and saying. I cannot even put into words how blown away I am with Palmer and all the things she can do. This little girl has taught me so much in such a short amount of time. She has given us so much love that words can't even describe. I cannot wait to watch her grow even more and surprise us daily with all the new things she can do. 

We love you, sweet Palmer. 

XOXO

15 Month Update: Palmer's Life

I'm trying to figure out exactly where the past 15 months have gone. When did my baby turn into such an independent little girl?

Everyday, I see Palmer's little brain just soaking up the world around her. Every day she gets smarter and smarter. Everyday, she amazes me more. Although she doesn't talk much yet, she understand a lot of things we say and is able to communicate with her actions, signs, and what little noises she does make. A full on little person!

Since Palmer turned one (and my last post dedicated to her growing), we've seen more huge changes in her. She's went from a wobbly walker to a full on running twister who can turn the entire house upside down in 3.7 seconds flat! We have to make sure we have the baby gates up or she is up the stairs is seconds, all the way to the top, giggling at her accomplishment! I think pretty soon we are going to have to keep a key hidden outside because this little girl can reach the locks on the doors and is quickly learning how to turn them! Today, my mom told me Palmer even escaped out the front door when she went to put something in her truck. She turned around and there was little Palmer standing on the front step!
Note to us: Keep deadbolt locked at all times!

Palmer sleeping patterns have returned to (mostly) normal with the exception of the odd night. I thought after coming back from Mexico, her sleep would be off as we didn't have much of a routine down there, but she settled back in to normal life very quickly.  Naps are usually a couple hours in the afternoon, followed by bed around 8pm. Bed time is great now too in that she often times isn't sleeping when we put her down, but lays down nicely, cuddles up Mr. Elephant, and falls asleep on her own within a few minutes, although there are times when I just hold her and rock her because its the only time she will sit still long enough for me to get good cuddles in.

Now that Spring is finally here (hopefully to stay), we have been getting outside more. Palmer loves being outside. She loves the park and she especially loves playing in the backyard with Leaf (I think Leaf is a little indifferent to this sometimes. I don't think he likes it when she plays with his toys)

Palmer, our sweet little 15 month old girl. You amaze us every day. Your beautiful personality shines through more and more every day, and we are so excited to see watch the little person you are becoming unfold a little more each day.

We love you sweet girl! xxoo

Life Lately

Wow.

Where have I been over the last 2 months? Best I can come up with is life. Real life took over.

Working full-time then coming home to spend time with my family and getting mom and wife things done in the evening before heading to bed at 9pm is what my life has been lately, which I am more than happy with, especially the bed at 9pm part!

What else has been going on you ask? Well, since I haven't blogged since Palmer's 1st Birthday party, there has been a whirlwind of things happening.

Lets start with Palmer:

She has been walking now for about 2 months, which has now turned into occasional running with numerous tumbles, trips, and falls so keeping my eye out on her has been a fulltime job alone! It's really amazing to see her moving all over the place now though. Palmer really has turned into an independent little person. I used to think of her as a baby (obviously, she was, and will always be my baby), but now she is a little person. Her personality is shining though (tantrums and all).

She is very smart. She understands a lot of things you say. Although her verbal vocabulary consists of "da da" "ma ma" "na" and her favourite (and her words for almost everything) "ba ba", her understanding is there for sure. We can ask her "Where are your socks" or "do you need a drink" and she will go find her socks that she hid somewhere or go find her cup and have a drink. So cute! We have even started to teach her some sign language and she is able to communicate to us that way. It only takes her a day or two to learn a new sign! She knows please, thank you, and eat (I think there are others, but I'm typing on night-shift wake up mode right now). I'm going to start working on a few more pretty soon!

She is still going to her day home, usually about 3-4 days a week depending on my schedule. I have to say, I think she really loves it there. There are days when she has a tantrum because we have to get her coat on to leave. I think she enjoys playing with the other kids!

For a few weeks last month, we were having HORRIBLE teething sleep (or lack there of). There were a couple of nights where Palmer was up ALL. NIGHT. LONG. no kidding. up the entire night! We have actually never had that before these damn molars started to cause her problems. I even went so far as to driving around at 2am in hopes that we should fall asleep in the vehicle - which she did! The thought even crossed my mind to sleep in the escape that night after she was sleeping...only lasted 3 minutes before she woke up again! UGH!  I am very happy to report now though that we are back to our regular, sleeping through the night selves! YAY!

Palmer LOVES the park. We have skipped out on the park for the past few days though with this snow we've been getting! Palmer loves going down the slide. She does it all by herself and has the biggest smile on her face! Its priceless! Now, if only spring would get here so we can make daily trips without worrying about being cold and wet!

As for me, I really don't have too much exciting news going on. I work. A lot (or so it seems).

A couple weeks ago, I held a wedding shower for my sister-in-law so that was stressing me out for a bit. I handmade all the decorations and her gift, so that certainly kept me busy for a while too. In the end, I think it all turned out really well! Lots of people, lots of food, and lots of showering the bride-to-be in gifts!

The same day I hosted the shower, I also had a race. The Moonlight Run 6km, from what I remember from the last times I ran it, is suppose to be a fun race. Let me tell you. This one was not. It had just melted after having been snowing and -30 all week, and it got up to +10-15 or so, so the coulees and river bottom were a big sloppy mess. There were times when I was running through ankle-deep puddles for more than just a couple steps. YUCK! Water sloshing around in my shoes - not my idea of a fun race. To top it off, the race ends with this nasty 1km long hill. My only goal for this race was to beat my previous time, especially since I hadn't ran in about 3 weeks due to the cold, snow, and maybe a bit of laziness?? Anyways, I had the exact same time! What are the odds? 36:21. Either way, I'll take it. Especially since I hadn't been training or preparing in any way. I have another 8km race scheduled for June. I'm sure I will be more prepared for this one as I will be able to get outside to run more, that is is Spring ever decides to show up!!

I have been trying to prepare for our trip to Mexico coming up in a week. We leave next Saturday. I'm all about making lists, so I have had lists of what needs to be done for awhile and what needs to be packed - the usual to do before a trip: arrange care for the dog, laundry, clean the house, pack for Palmer and I, and then there is trying to figure out things to do on the airplane with a 14 month old! If anyone has any suggestions on this, they are much appreciated!!!! This is the part I worry about most! The 4+ hour plane ride. I'm hoping we can get lucky and she will sleep because it will be around nap time! Fingers crossed!!!

And that's been our life in a nutshell over the past couple months! I'm going to try to keep up with the blog a little better again! Hopefully it's not 2 months between this and my next post.

Palmer's Life: One Year Old!

 (I willI can't believe our precious, sweet baby Palmer is one year old today! It's amazing what a year can do to change your life. It's hard to remember what life was like before Palmer, yet is seems like just a few short weeks ago we had a tiny, almost 6 pound baby with us. 

Sleep:
Sleep this past month has been on and off. Just after 11 months old, Palmer began waking in the middle of the night, and just wanted to be held. There were a handful of sleepless nights, nights where she slept in our bed, mornings when we were up before the sun, and days where the whole family napped. At the time, it was hard to deal with and I kept trying to tell myself that it was just a phase. And now that it has nearly passed, I can look back on it and say, it wasn't that bad. (I will just update this as I wrote it a week ago, last night poor Palmer was up all night with a cough, and therefore, so was mommy. I think we got a grand total of 3 hours sleep).

What's happened this month:
Palmer is non-stop moving. Nearly a toddler, she is just go, go, go! Palmer can stand on her own and I know it will be just a short while longer before she takes those first steps, then we really need to watch out!

We officially transitioned to one, longer afternoon nap, which is great! On the days we are home, it gives us time to get things done around the house. On the days she goes to her day home, she is rested and happy when we pick her up.

Palmer now has 7 teeth, and that 7th one didn't come without any grief at nighttime!!!

Palmer has recently chosen a favourite stuffy, a little elephant. She's began carrying it around with her all over. He usually follows her to bed, and often when she wakes up, she needs it our of the crib too.

I attempted my usual monthy photo with Palmer's giraffe, but Palmer has become much too busy and has too many things to do that sit for mommy to take her photo!,!

Palmer has become a great little eater! She'll eat most anything we put in front of her. Her favourites are: any type of fruit, most recently blueberries. Noodles, crackers, cheese. I really could continue on and on!!

We can't believe you're one year old already, Palmer! You've brought so much joy to our livesin such a short time. We cannot wait tosee what's next!

We love you! Xoxo