Now We're Cookin'!

My gift to (myself) Shelby arrived today! I got her this little kitchen because I am hoping she might prefer to play with it instead of my pots and pans and casseroles and bowls and graters and towels and aprons and anything else she can get to. She was a little hesitant at first, but after a couple minutes she was having a great time. We are still learning how to twist the knobs on the stove to make the noises, but I am sure she will figure that out in no time.

Shelby had her 15 month appointment a couple days ago and she is still busy growing, teeth and otherwise.

Current Stats

12 months height 29 3/4 inches 48th percentile
15 months height 30 1/2 inches 53rd percentile

12 months weight 20 lbs 1 oz 28th percentile
15 months weight 20 lbs 11 oz 18th percentile

12 months head circ 43.9 cm 15th percentile
15 months head circ 44.9 cm 25th percentile

She is still not walking and got a demerit from the doctor. I liked how he was telling me that she needed to start walking. Like he was the one that had to haul her around all the time. Oh well, we can't be good at everything right? I am sure she will walk when she is good and ready and not a moment sooner. That is exactly when she does everything - as if I have any say in it. She is cutting molars right now and I am hoping that we both survive. She is really quite fun when her mouth doesn't hurt. She has some serious skill as a dancer right now and everytime my phone rings she starts dancing. In case you are wondering why I am laughing when I answer the phone - that's why.

Impromptu

Shelby and I were playing with her set of eggs the other day and when we were cleaning up for the night we couldn't find the top of one of the eggs. I thought I would find it the next day and didn't really worry about it. The next day, I still couldn't find the egg. I then decided that the next day we would have to get serious.
So, I dismantled the couch and still couldn't find it. I figured that while all of the cushions were off I may as well vacuum out the cracks. Then, I decided that I may as well go ahead and rearrange the furniture since most of the work was already done.

By the way, Shelby thought that the couch with the cushions off was the funnest thing we have ever done. It was much lower to the ground and she could easily and safely get on and off the couch by herself. Plus, its bouncy. Oh yeah, and we still hadn't found the egg.

It wasn't until I actually pushed the whole couch up on the back that I was able to locate the egg. I have no idea how it got so far under there. There isn't much room between the floor and the couch, so unless things get pushed under by feet they usually don't go under. I am glad that we found the egg so that we now have a complete set again. I am also glad that Shelby had such a good time playing on the couch. The only scary part is that now there is a lot more potential for her to crack her head open "climbing" off the couch. Maybe I should just move it back....

Big Plans

So I had these big plans for all of the things I was going to get done while Kelly was gone. I have not made as much progress on this list as I was hoping too. I did however get a couple things done in the last week or so. I got this picture almost a month ago and I just now got it hung up. The good news is that it is hung up. The bad news is that I did have a small situation that left me with a broken drill bit and a big hole in the wall. Although, with the picture hung up you can't see the hole, so that will just go on Kelly's list of things to do.
Also, I cleaned out my closet. I still have some work to do in there, but I am liking the progress so far. I still have to go through a few of the small cubby holes and throw some stuff away, but this is definitely some good progress. As there is no before shot, you can't really appreciate the difference unless you knew what it looked like before.

Plus, my neighbor Vili came over and fixed the lights in my kitchen. They haven't really been working for a long time. He was so fast and super nice. I have the best neighbors ever. Hopefully, I can get a few more things done around the house. The pressure is on - we'll see what I can get done.

What Is Fair?

Here is another project to cross off my list. I heard the saying "Fair is a place where pigs win ribbons" a while ago and I really liked it. I guess one of my personal pet peeves is when people complain because "life isn't fair". Here's a news flash - it isn't supposed to be. Anyway, I had a pillow form in my craft supply pile and decided to display this saying on said pillow. I really liked this project because I was able to learn a few new things on my sewing machine and it incorporated a few different types of sewing. This was my first time piecing together and I definitely got better at it as I went. The important thing is that I like the pillow and I have completed another project from my list.

The Stair Master

Shelby LOVES to climb the stairs. I think it is her personal goal to climb the stairs at least 10 times a day. We are still working on safely coming back down the stairs. It doesn't seem like she has too much interest in coming down for now, just going up.
The other day we were getting ready to run to the grocery store to pick up a few things and I decided to double check a recipe to see how much of something I needed. I set her down by the door to the garage and went over to the pantry to check the recipe. I was busy for maybe 20 seconds and I turn around to head over to the garage door and Shelby is no where to be seen. I look up and there she is about 2 stairs from the top of the staircase. I hustled up the stairs to grab her and when I picked her up she was panting like a dog. I guess she knew that if she didn't make it quick she wouldn't get to have her fun. The most surprising part to me was that she managed to do it all so quietly - I didn't hear a sound (which should have been my first clue that she was up to something).

My House Stinks

Yesterday I decided to do something that I would not normally do. I cooked with fresh garlic. I don't like to cook with garlic period. I think it stinks. I know there are some foods that it can really taste good in and that is why my house reeked last night. I made pasta alfredo for dinner. Shelby and I enjoyed it immensely, I think it was my best batch of alfredo sauce thus far. I really should measure when I make it so that I can duplicate the results in the future. Of course, we had to have something else to go along with our pasta. I decided that Shelby was mature enough to try a real delicacy. We had mozzarella sticks with our pasta and, let me just say, she hoovered them. You can tell when she really likes something because she says yum really loud while eating it. I think she said it every time she took a bite.
In order to have a balanced meal, we needed to have some fruit. I made strawberry pretzel salad for our fruit/dessert. If there is anyone out there who has never had this - you definitely should. It is sweet and salty and really good.

Due to the overwhelming smell in my house from yesterday's meal, I decided to go ahead and clean the oven today. What have I got to lose? In a few short hours the house will still stink, but I will have a clean oven Ü

Going Private

Don't worry, it's not what you think. The only thing that will be private around here is what I chose to do in my basement. We FINALLY got blinds in the basement!!! Don't worry it has only been like 2 1/2 years since we finished the basement. Now, I can sew, craft, exercise (this is theoretical), balance my checkbook, or whatever else and no one will be the wiser.

I am loving the blinds. We have had temporary blinds on some of the windows, so you couldn't see out of them at all. It is quite a nice change to be able to see out and adjust the amount of light coming in. Now, on to some of my other home improvement projects Ü