Presley Turns 1!

The baby girl had her first birthday last week! She paraded around like the queen in her castle, but she was surprisingly uninterested in her birthday cake. She did, however, seem to enjoy bossing her sister and cousin around as they cleaned up the wrapping paper and trash as she opened her gifts. As her personality emerges, we are realizing that we certainly won't have to worry about her holding her own against the big girls.

Today, however, she's not feeling well. Two nights ago, she woke us up at around 2 a.m. and stayed awake until after 5. I should have seen it coming, since that seems to be her illness pattern: a sleepless night means a fever the next day. She seemed fine most of yesterday, but last night her temperature was 101.5. Today it's a little lower (just over 100), but she's definitely not her happy, active self. We'll give it a day or so, but we might be making another visit to Dr. Lee's office.

For the record, at her 1-year well visit, Presley weighed 21 lbs. 5.5 oz. (not as big as we thought), and was 30.25 in. tall. She's in the 85th percentile of height and around the 55th in weight.

Talking Like a Grown-Up

Reagan is starting to expand her vocabulary. Every now and then, I catch her trying to use a new word that she either hasn't fully grasped the meaning of or doesn't quite know how to pronounce. The result is pretty humorous, and I wish I could remember a good example to share here!

New phrases are also making their way into Reagan's vocabulary. This week, her favorite is "ya know." For example, she might say, "I'm playing dress-up, ya know," or "I just need to sit down, ya know." And yesterday at lunch, when I offered her some grapes, she said, "I'm not a big fan of grapes." Yep, that one was totally me. I say that a lot.

The final example, I'm ashamed to admit, is also from me. See, I get frustrated when Presley falls asleep in the car when we are only going to be in it for a few minutes. (She falls asleep and then wakes back up as I'm taking her out of the car seat--postponing the nap I was hoping she would take.) A week or so ago, we drove about five minutes away to our library. When we arrived, Reagan said, "Ugh...Presley is asleep. Crap!" Only, she still doesn't say her Rs very well, so it came out like, "cwap!" I had to explain to her that it's not a very nice word and we really shouldn't say it. Of course, she has said it about half a dozen more times since then. (I don't think it helps that I have recounted the story to several people while she was within earshot. It just fuels the fire.)

Still, despite the bumps in the road, it's exciting to hear Reagan experimenting with language. Maybe she'll decide to be a writer someday--or, better yet, a public speaker!

Already the Boys Are Calling!

Reagan got her first phone call from a boy today. Seriously. Her little boyfriend from church and preschool, Curry, called and asked for her. Sadly, she was away at her Nana and Gran's house, but we returned the call this afternoon.

A conversation with 3- and 4-year olds is pretty entertaining. They don't have much to say, so they just sit there and giggle a lot. (Well, at least that's what it sounded like from our end. Maybe boys don't giggle as much as girls.) And then when they say good-bye, you're never quite sure if the other parent is going to get on the line to talk or not. Dena did, and we had a brief exchange of "Aren't they cute?" and "Let's plan a playdate" and the like.

I'm glad that Reagan has a sweet friend like Curry. I'm glad...for now. Ask me again when she's 13.

10 Things I've Learned Since Becoming a Mom...in no particular order

1. There is no such thing as an"extra" napkin.
2. Knock-knock jokes don't have to make sense to be funny.
3. When a 3-year-old says she "hid" something, it doesn't imply that she knows where.
4. After listening to you and your spouse talk for thirty minutes on the ride to Grandma's, your preschooler will remember the one questionable thing either of you said and repeat it--out of context--to Grandma upon arrival.
5. The laundry basket is never empty.
6. The dishwasher is always full.
7. A toddler will eat anything not meant for human consumption, but she will, without fail, spit the pureed peaches back at you.
8. Stuffed animals multiply in the night.
9. A preschooler who cannot remember her own phone number can easily recall all the words to "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off." And she will sing it to her Sunday school teacher.

And, finally...
10. There's nothing better than a toothless grin, a sloppy wet kiss, or a sincere, "I wuv you, Mama!"