16 Months Old

It's that time again...

Mara is 16 months old today! Had a hard time getting a photo of her by herself this month...hence the book in one photo, and the lotion in the other. But I got some great ones with her giraffe and bear! Hard to believe another month has passed. And this sure doesn't look like a picture taken in August - long sleeves and jeans! But it's a nice crisp fall-like day, and we had been outside earlier. I certainly don't mind the cooler weather!

Blast From the Past

Same baby, same outfit...

But, yeah - it's a different size. Mara wore this outfit last July for her 3 month photo, and my friend Andrea handed down the same outfit in a bigger size that her daughter wore - so Mara wore it recently. It's so funny to compare these pictures and really see how much she's grown and changed since last summer! But luckily...she still has the little rolls on her legs!

More Success

I am so happy to report that Mara had a great day at daycare again on Wednesday! She cried a bit when I dropped her off, but apparently was fine soon after. She ate at all three meals (breakfast, lunch, snack) and had lot of fun playing. When I went to pick her up, she was playing outside. She saw me and smiled...and then just kept playing! I'm amazed at how well she is doing!

This morning when I dropped her off, I was ready for the usual tears. Instead, she started flapping her arms around when we got inside - her sign for being excited. I was a little surprised. We went to the toddler room, and she couldn't wait for me to put her down! She immediately took off to go grab a book, and didn't even notice me leave! Wow. It's only the 4th day! I couldn't believe it! They are having a water day today, so I'm sure Mara will love playing in the water tables outside!

I'm sure there will be some bumps along the way, but we are thrilled she has adjusted so well so far. Today is her last day there for the week (she will be home with Jay on Fridays). So Monday might be a challenge again, but at least we know that she enjoys her time there. She will probably be bored with just us over the weekend!

In other news, Jays classes are going well. He's been pretty busy all week since he's worked a couple evenings too. I've come down with a cold, so I'm not thrilled about that, and hoping it will not last too long!

Daycare, Day 2

As I drove up to the daycare center to pick up Mara yesterday, I saw her outside...stealing a ball from another (bigger) girl. Ahh yep...that's my girl!

I was so pleased to find out that she had a pretty good day! SHE ATE AND DRANK!! And even slept a little bit again. She brought a monkey to daycare to have for her naps, and I wonder if that is helping. She has a favorite monkey at home, but we wanted to keep him at home, so we went and bought the same one, but it's blue. As soon as she saw it in the store she started to make her monkey noises, so we figured it would do the trick. So, hopefully she is enjoying that at her naps. It sounds like she only cried a few times during the day, but otherwise did pretty well. One of the teachers said she has found a couple of favorite books that she carried around the room during the day too.

We're so proud! I know there will be ups and downs, but after last week, we really weren't expecting a very smooth transition. She was playing outside pretty happily when I got there, and it was just great to see! I can handle some crying when I drop her off if I know she'll be having fun during the day. Hopefully today will go ok too, my fingers are crossed!

What We've Been Up To

I've been slacking on the blog again, and hoping to find more time in my day to start keeping up better.

It's a very busy time in our household right now. Today Jay started back to school, and Mara started at a new daycare. We had a bit of a daycare 'situation' last week, but are hoping that the place we're at now will be a good match for us. I wasn't thrilled to leave Mara this morning while she was sobbing, but we're happy to report that she made it through the day and didn't do half bad. It sounds like she even managed a little bit of sleep, and some quiet resting time. Hopefully she'll add eating and drinking to her day at some point too! But overall, we are pleased and hoping tomorrow goes ok too. I know it is a huge adjustment, so we are trying to not expect too much from our stubborn little girl all at once!

Jay will be in class full time during the days, Monday through Thursday every week. On Fridays he will be home with Mara. I'm still working Monday through Friday. Jay is also still working part time, and got scheduled for quite a few hours this week and the upcoming weekend. So, we will definitely be keeping busy with all these new schedules to work around!

Thanks for checking in on us, hopefully there will be more blog entries to keep up with soon!

15 Months Old

Mara turned 15 months old on July 29th. I can't believe it! My baby is growing up! She looks so much more grown up now - I can't ignore the fact that she's a toddler now!

I was surprised she actually sat still long enough for me to get a couple good shots this month. It's hit or miss every month, but it's fun to see how much she has changed.

We're going to try to get some outdoor 15 month professional photos taken tomorrow, so hopefully she'll be on her best behavior for those!

Water Table Fun

Mara loves her water table. We've had a couple chances to get it out this summer so far. It works well on our patio, which is nice since we don't have much of a yard! She loves filling up cups and then dumping them out (usually on herself). Jay and I usually end up with our feet in the water, so it's nice way for us to cool down too! Definitely a good investment, I think she'll have a lot of fun with this for many summers to come!

Dad's Grand Re-Opening

In mid-July my Dad had a Grand Re-Opening party for his new shop. There were refreshments, and drawing for prizes. A lot of people came out to show their support and see the new shop, which was really great! It's so exciting to see him back in business after several months. In December his original shop was destroyed by fire, and it has been a long process, but with help from family and friends, the new shop is now built. I know there are a lot of people that are really happy he's back to work - he's already very busy!

The picture of Mara with my Dad is one of my favorite pictures! My dad very rarely smiles for pictures, but I guess Mara just brings it out in him! She even wore her tractor overalls in honor of the special day!