James Blunt or Bust!!!

WOOHOO!! I would like to give a shout out to my hubby and Katie's hubby. Without you two...Chicago just wouldn't be possible!

In case you all didn't get my subtle hint...

WE ARE GOING TO CHI-CA-GO

James Blunt

Alright...the man pictured above is James Blunt...I am totally digging his music at the moment and unfortunately the closes concert to Texas is Chicago next month. Justin wants to send me there for the concert as a VERY early birthday present. My only dilemma?? She is pictured below...

Justin thought it would be great for me to go with one of my best friends...so Katie, the pressure is on now. It'll be a great chance for us to get away from our duties as mommies and let loose. I promise we will have a good time. Of course, I understand if you can't...I just don't want to hear the excuses ok??

In other news...

Makena is a ball of energy lately...she is learning to manipulate oh so well. She will tug at my pant leg and cry until I look at her. The minute our eyes lock..she smiles real big and says "MAMA!" and does her little sign language for "more" also the sign for cookie if you ask her. Then if I don't respond immediately she tugs on my pant leg again and cries. When we lock eyes again, she signs "more" and then signs "please" Oh I am so proud!

...and she speaks!

Makena has words! I mean easily understood spoken words. Aside from mama...mama...mama, she says:

1. Thank You
2. Shoes
3. Juice
4. Hey..sounds more like Ehhh
5. Bye (this started today!)
6. Dada (when she remembers that mama is not what you call fathers)
7. uh-oh

I am so proud of her. She went to the ENT this last Wed. and he told us her ears looked fabulous and he didn't think she needed anothe hearing test. He said it was normal for kids who had chronic ear infections as infants to be vocabulary delayed until they are nearing 18 months old. He expect her to be speaking 30+ words by 18 months old. He will see her again at 21 months and will refer her to a speech/language therapist if she isn't at the 30+ words level.

Yeah for Mak-a-doodle!

On another note...got an A on my first Psych test...VERY unexpected as I didn't feel as prepared as I should have been. It was a fantastic surprise and just enough to boost my confidence in this whole going back to school business. Yeah for Mommy!

So that's that...we are nearing our trip to North Carolina, just Mak and I...EKK! My cousin is getting married and Mak and I will make the trip, lets hope all goes well. Not sure what to expect with the airplane ride...this will be the first for her.

Playing at the Mall

Katie and I took the kiddos to the mall the other day. Makena has just grown leaps and bounds....we took them to the play area and I was going to "teach" her how to go down the slide. By the time I helped her up the steps and then ran over to the other side to catch her, she was already on her belly feet first sliding down. I am so proud of her!!

She had her 15 month appointment this past Monday and she did very well. Had 3 shots though and was not happy on Tuesday. She has an appointment on the 15th with the ENT to check her tubes and have another hearing screening done. Her vocabulary development may be a little behind due to hearing loss from all the ear infections...her pediatrician said at this point it is nothing to worry about as she does say at least 5 words (this is about average for most 15 month olds)...most are only recognizable to me though. He said it is very normal at this stage for mommy and daddy to be the translator, but the hearing screening will help confirm if there is any hearing loss.

The other night she woke up at about 3:30am and was in bed with us...guess she wasn't tired as she wouldn't go back to sleep. Justin had her and I sort of fell back to sleep. Next thing I hear is "momma". I look up and I see her little head bobbing up and down as she walks over to my side of the bed..."momma". Hello...didn't she know all she had to do was roll over in bed and there I was...it was VERY cute though and Justin and I cracked up laughing.

Animal House Fun!!

We were invited to Baby Aydan's 1st Birthday Party at Animal House...it's a huge facility with all kinds of bounce houses. Makena loved it! As you can see from a couple of the pictures, Conan LOVES Makena...he is always wanting to hug her...1st boyfriend?? Don't tell her daddy!! She passed out within 2 min of being in the car and held her balloon the entire way home.

First Haircut!

Makena had her first haircut this past Saturday. She was a trooper...my mom cut her bangs a little, then I realized we didn't have enough hair to keep, so we had to cut it off the back to have a substantial amount to save. She looks like she has a little bob in the back now. It is all even up and it doesn't look stringy anymore. This may have been her first and last haircut for awhile since we are wanting her hair to grow out long.

Thank You Ba Ngoai (grandma) for cutting my hair!

A Day at the Park Part 2

A Day at the Park

What have we been up to??

Well, things have been a bit crazy in the last couple of weeks. I started school (YIPPEE) and Makena has gone stir crazy...oh and I got a new camera. So where to start...

I start school a couple of weeks ago and I already have a test in one of my classes! What was I thinking taking two survey classes in one semester...all you do is READ!! First of all, if it isn't a "how to" book on toddlerhood, I am not too interested, but whatever. Why hasn't anyone thought of putting textbooks on audio? Actually, I am enjoying my classes, just very intense. I meet once a week for my psychology class for 3 hours and that is a beating in itself, but I have a pretty interesting and funny teacher. Great psychology stories...she talks a lot about studies done with children and my ears always perk up as I am listening for anything I can try on my tasmanian devil I affectionately call daughter. Humanities, this is a good class too...I never have to leave home for it. It is all web-based and I basically am never late to class...there is assigned reading and assignments due every week via the web and a discussion board. Again, a lot of reading and nothing that pertains to toddlerhood! I really can't wait to start RN classes...unfortunately I have 4 pre-requisites before I can start them. One of them being statistics and unfortunately I failed my first round of the math placement test. I have one more chance to pass it otherwise we are talking about 3 remedial algebra classes (no credit by the way) before I can take stats. I got a refresher book called Forgotten Algebra per the nursing advisors suggestion and I will study up and take it again before the fall semester. I WILL PASS! I refuse to pay for 3 freakin' math classes and not earn credits for any of them!

Ok, on to my baby girl, sweet angel of mine (aka booger bear)! Since Faith has moved to OKC, it seems Makena has had a hard time adjusting to her daily schedule...she isn't taking her usual morning nap and her afternoon nap is all screwy. I think she may be weaning away from her morning nap and that's okay, but I need a break in the afternoon! She MUST take an afternoon nap. Today actually was the first day she has actually napped well....WHEW! I had a test to study for so it was much appreciated. She turns 15 months tomorrow! GOSH! Time just flies...everyday she amazes me. She learned how to sign "please" finally. She has a hard time with patience...she has none. One day, Justin and I decided if she wanted something, she would have to sign please otherwise, she didn't get it. It took a good part of the day, but she finally got it. I am so proud of her! We are going to North Carolina for my cousins wedding in March and Justin won't be coming with us...I hope I can manage on my own...I know I can do it, I just hope I don't come home frazzled. LOVE LOVE LOVE MY BABY GIRL!

My new camera...Panasonic Lumix 12X optical zoom! It is awesome and I love it (thank goodness for credit card reward points...I wouldn't have been able to get this otherwise). I am still messing around with it and trying to get the hang of it. I hope the percentage of user error will drop as I become better accustomed to the beast!

Here are some photos taken with the camera...Katie took the first two pics. Also, Makena has wild woman hair because she pulled her bow out of her hair.