Spring Cleaning in Summer Weather

Callie is quickly leaving her baby year behind her as she streaks into toddlerdom.  She is a complete ball of giggly, squealing energy.  She had her one year check-up and, even though she has barely grown, dropping to 50% in height and 40% in weight (29-1/4 inches and 19.8 lbs) since her last visit, she has grown by leaps and bounds in her motor skills and intellect.  She is now saying "Dad -dee" and has called me "mumma" a few times.  Usually I am "baabaa" which I am not suspecting is her way of saying "booba".  She is weened now to nursing just at night so hopefully I will get a new identity soon!  She has done so many new things, it is hard to recall them all.  Matt is proud of how she will walk herself to her crib when it is nap time and I love how she runs "nakey" to the tub at night for a bath.  She loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and giggles with glee when she hears it come on.  We have some footage of her doing the "hot dog: dance that I will post soon.  I am finding it increasingly difficult to keep the house even close to clean because she is runs right behind me and messes up everything I just straightened.  And when I have painting deadlines to meet, I might as well just give up.  Our little house can barely contain our little monster.  The other day, Matt found some of her toys in the garage making the cat door just another place she likes to stash things.  We have been taking the fun and destruction outside whenever possible.  It has been very hot already and so we introduced Callie to what Matt calls the "redneck pool" - running through the sprinkler in just a diaper.  She is a huge fan of this new activity and wasn't fazed by the cold water.  We have pictures and video and I hope to get the videos posted soon.  Here is a sampling of our little princess' not so lady-like adventures.

One last Sunday in a winter outfit that I love.  We had to take her tights off so she wouldn't burn up in the corduroy jumper.  Rarely is she this still in her chair.  It has become a jungle gym.

She has the run of the house now and she surprised me one day by walking into the art room wearing this hat backwards and carrying my yellow shoe--a treasure she found in our closet, one of her favorite places to "tear it up!"

I think she will eventually become a great helper.  She got this floor mop out completely on her own and when I came to check on her, she met me in the hall like this.  She loves watching me clean, so I guess she is learning what to do from watching!

This is her new toy that Daddy picked out for her.  It connects to the TV and is like a little video game for babies.  She loves riding it, even when it is not hooked up.  It plays music when she bounces on it.  She thinks it is a good place to just sit and watch Mickey Mouse too!

 Another great way to beat the heat is to take a trip to Tropical Smoothie for lunch.  Callie got to experience her first Mango Magic and she loved it!  Look how cold her little nose is from slurping it so fast!


And finally, our pastey-white princess in her finest bloomers: