Manda Mumbo Jumbo: Long and Lean Little Big Girl

Well, there hasn't been much activity to blog about since Halloween. Callie came down with her second cold that day and stayed sick for another two weeks. She shared that one with me and so we were both out of commission for a while. Along with the colds came sleep problems that we still haven't gotten over. We are now in a phase where she screams for about two hours in the middle of the night. We aren't sure why she does this. It could be her two year molars are working their way to the surface but just aren't visible to the doctor. Or, it could be that something is just waking her up and she wants to get out and play then. Hopefully, it will be a short phase and our Thanksgiving plans this week will not cause it to get any worse. At least we will be at Grammie and Grampie's for two nights and I can toss her into their bed and go back to sleep! We finally went to the doctor today for Callie's 18 month appointment. The doctor described her as "long and lean" but said it wasn't a bad thing. She has grown 2-1/2 inches since her 15 month appointment but has only gained about 3/4 of a pound. She is 33 inches long (75th percentile) and 23 lbs (25th percentile). I told the doctor about how picky of an eater she is now, but she said it was normal and asked me about what she DOES eat and said that she was actually eating well for her age. She said that a big part of the drop in weight is from her being totally weened the last four months. She was very impressed with Callie's language skills and especially her physical abilities. She was surprised at how much she jumps and said that was more like a 2 year old. And, as always, she was completely enamored with Callie's smile and willing amusement at all her "Elmo in the Ear" doctor tricks. Callie doesn't cry until shot time and that definitely puts her in the minority.

The only pictures I have to share are some of Callie "helping" Daddy and Poe get into the attic for Christmas decorations. I have been busy decorating since last week, trying hard to get it all done before Thanksgiving so that we can come home to a Christmas house. The other pictures are of Callie showing off her artwork. She and I paint several times a week together and she is definitely advanced at it for her age. We hang her paintings in the best spot in the house -- over the sofa. I love seeing them there. And speaking of artwork, I have made the decision to pull out of the Artists Gallery after the end of the year. I am now putting work up for sale on Etsy. If you want to check that out you can go to my website and see a link at the bottom of my home page. (www.catinthelapstudio.com) Click on the words "cainthelapstudio" to go directly to my etsy store. Becky is helping me with the venture by writing many of my descriptions for me. Hopefully I will have everything from the gallery up for sale in January. Right now it is mostly my children's art.