A daily conversation with an almost 2 year old

Me = M
Shaylah = S

M: I like your headband sweetie.
S: No, MY headband!
M: Is that YOUR headband?
S: No, MY headband.
M: Oh, it's MY headband.
S: No, MY headband.
M: Is it Mommy's headband?
S: No, Shaylah's.
M: Oh, it's YOUR headband.
S: No, MY headband!

And so on, and so forth. I think you get the idea.

Big girl bed

We have finally transitioned Shaylah into a big girl's bed by taking the front off her crib (with her help of course!). She is so excited that she can get in and out of bed by herself that she looks forward to going "night. night". She is quite proud of her new set-up.

Little Miss Sunshine!

Learning to color...thanks to Auntie Carole for the new crayons and coloring book!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Robeez model

Last summer I had heard that Robeez was looking for baby models. On a whim, I submitted Shaylah's photo and she was chosen. Here are 2 pictures from their website http://www.robeez.com/ of her modeling their new line of shoes.

Accessories

Shaylah has discovered accessories. Headbands and sunglasses are a favorite these days, but so are necklaces and bracelets. She is becoming such a big girl so quickly!

Winter Wonderland

Shaylah has become a big fan of the snow. We decided to take advantage of a beautiful Sunday afternoon at the dog park before the big storm hit.

New phrases

New phrases heard frequently from Shaylah:

"I love it!" - usually in reference to food.

"Momma's turn" - when trying to engage in a game of follow the leader.

"Watch Dora?" - which would happen all day, everyday if I let her.

"Oh, baby Ashlyn/Caelan" - said in an attempt to comfort either baby when they are crying. This is also accompanied by a kiss and a hug or a stroke on the head.

"Jump!" - a new skill she is learning and loves to practice.

"C" is for Caelan

Shaylah is becoming very interested in learning her letters. She knows the lletters that symbolize people she loves and will often give them to their respective people.

C - Caelan

A - Ashlyn

S - Shaylah

M - Mommy

D - Daddy

J - Jacky

G - Grandpa

H - Heather (although Heather lives in Nova Scotia, she made quite an impression on Shaylah during her visit here last fall. Shaylah still talks about her!)

T - Taylor (who will be visiting in a couple of weeks)

R - Rayanne (we are still working on this one)

Colors are also becoming a favorite naming game. She is consistent with blue, green, red, purple and pink. We are still working on yellow and orange.

Sick

Poor Shaylah woke up vomiting this morning. She went through 4 pairs of PJ's and several blankets and towels before it was even lunchtime. She spent most of the day snuggling with Daddy on the couch...but I think he needed to naps too. I think the hardest part about the day for her though was the fact that I wouldn't let her kiss her babies!

Christmas Eve

It is pretty hard to get a good picture of 3 little ones. This is the best we could do before the Christmas Eve service on Monday night.

Santa's little helper

Christmas Morning!

Saturday

We started off the weekend with our traditional Saturday morning pancake breakfast. We have discoverd in the past couple of weeks though, that the meal is more about the Maple syrup than it is about eating the pancakes. :) Shaylah could not wait to get out into the first snowfall of the year. Good thing the snowsuit that Great Gran gave her last year still fit!

Stanley Park Christmas Train and Petting Zoo

We enjoyed a fun Sunday evening at Stanley Park with Grammy and Grampy. Grandpa wanted to come too, but he got snowed in at home. We missed you Grandpa!

Stall tactics

Shaylah has learned to art of stalling. She has discovered that yelling "potty" will get her out of going to bed for an extra few minutes. She has also been hearding yelling "kiss", "water", "book" and "stuck", all of which get some extra parent time. It has been very hard on her the past week because she has not seen her parents nearly as much as she would like.

Grandma

Once again we have come to another significant date in our journey of life without Grandma Marlyn. Today is her birthday and it is yet another day that we wish we could celebrate with her. Thoughts of her still bring many tears, not just because we are sad that she is gone, but because we remember the many wonderful moments that occurred while she was still with us. We will always love her and wish that life was different.

"No, Shaylah's hand!"

Shaylah is into the stage where she likes to do everything herself, including holding her own hand for help. It makes going up the stairs very difficult, but she does quite well walking down the hallway in the hospital.

Our little queen!

Even if the crown is upside-down!

Trick or Treat

Shaylah had so much fun handing out candy this year. She would eagerly watch for the next group of kids to arrive, grab some candy and then run to give it to them. It was quite fun to watch her.