The Ivory 411

Ivory…

• is getting to know her little brother by…

patting mommy’s tummy saying “baby”

saying hi & waving to baby

kissing baby in mommy’s tummy repetitively

blowing on mommy’s belly

sharing her milk cup by feeding mommy’s tummy

• runs away when mommy says come…we’re working on this
• is learning to sit in church during our created “church” time (…again) in the sanctuary while mom watches sermons & instructional videos a couple times a week
• is practicing staying on a blanket for 15-20 minutes at a time during blanket time
• is learning “come, sit, stay” from daddy…hoping it will transfer to mom soon
• “helps” at the grocery store by pushing the cart & pulling off the shelf what mom points to…of course some times we get carried away and decide we need everything in that aisle
• “reads” voraciously
• *loves* books of all kinds—she is more entertained by her books then all her toys
• has a list of signs now including: orange, mouse, fish (sort of), ball (a little sloppy), open, thank you, shoes, yes, no, go
• asks for “hel(-p)” all the time now…we’re working on the ending of that word…and also wants to "hel(-p) nearly as often
• blows kisses, says bye-bye & thank you quite politely
• tests, tries, and whines often
• smiles, laughs & entertains enough to make up for all the above
• doesn’t like to eat vegetables…most of the time…there was that one time she wanted four helpings of green beans
• will eat vegetables hidden within smoothies
• enjoys snacking…all day
• likes to act starved when visiting other people as she begs for food
• thoroughly enjoys talking…and we understand approximately 70% of it. These words are most commonly used: hel(-p), more, bite (a bite of our food), mama, dada, up, down, pease (please), open (sounds more like uh-o-uh-o), eat, stop, ball
• loves her babysitters Eeya (Aliya) & Ca (Cassie)
• shouts “DADA!!” every time she hears the door open or sees her daddy
• adores her dada more everyday
• looks for dada throughout the day when he hasn’t come home in a while
• asks where dada is and is usually pretty content once I explain where he is at—just has to check up on him
• randomly breaks out in choruses of e-i-e-i-o & will even add animals & their sounds at times
• said Grandaddy & Nana for the first time at Christmas
• counts 1-2-5 verbally & enjoys counting objects 1-2, 1-2…
• will at times happily entertain herself in her crib for up to and hour and half…and not take a nap
• MUST read at least 1 book before going to bed and after reading time starts to "sing" to remind Mom that's what comes next. And she's finally learned to say "Jesus"...sorta.
• Likes to say her friend Addie's name and repeats it with a big smile every time she hears it in conversation
• is completely addicted to watching Elmo in the car on Grandma’s loaner portable DVD player…we might give it back ;-) Did I mention mom & dad are just as addicted to the lack of screaming created by said DVD player? Thanks Grandma! Our 45 minute trips to town (yes, it’s about that far just to Wal*Mart) are no longer painful.
• takes only 1 nap now. But, it's several hours & she goes to bed a little later so now wakes up a little later! (Hallelujah Chorus cued)
• wants to “hel(-p)” mommy with nearly everything she does & is quite distraught when she can’t
• “helps” take laundry out of the basket & shakes it out “just like mommy”…then promptly throws it on the floor
• loves the alphabet—reading, hearing, singing, etc. She often “reads” it herself. She seems to especially like A and O.
• asks to put bows in her hair…then takes them out…and tries putting them back in, thus goes the cycle.
• likes brushing her teeth & hair, puts on make-up with her own empty compact and pretty much loves imitating all mom does
• had her first manicure & pedicure combo with mommy
• still doesn’t have hair long enough to curl. Yes, I tried, and it was basically all frizz & no curl.
• still loves to cheese it up for the camera…though she often won’t sit still long enough for me to actually catch her on camera.
• enjoys dancing to music. Though, she promptly quits as soon as I try catching her on camera. She boogies up & down on cue as of this morning's boogie session with mommy & daddy.
• has a future in drumming.
• loves to “go” & runs for the door trying to open it whenever the word “go” is mentioned. She also likes to say, “bye-bye” and head for the door when she’s ready to leave somewhere (i.e. mom’s midwife appointment).
• interacts with songs and movies more often
• enjoys naming body parts, eyes, ears, mouth, nose, teeth, cheek, chin, knees, legs, toes, feet, hands, shoulders…
• repeats words more often and pronounces them more clearly every day…yes, we have to be more careful with what we say!

And to explain the lack of blogging, besides life being hectic we’ve had internet issues since arriving back at home—hopefully they will be resolved soon (and yes, they are now resovled thanks to my adorable man, which is why you are now seeing this post!). Until then, hope you enjoyed the 411 on Ivory Rae & we’ll soon have videos & pictures of Ivory Rae as well as photos of recent sewing projects for baby brother posted for your viewing pleasure.