yee haw

That's right. She's a native Texan.

she's not picking favorites or anything...

Now I understand why people blog less as their children get older. It's impossible to get time to sit down and do it! I just downloaded a TON of photos from my camera (making room for the camping trip later this week!) and have some cute ones.

Mary Beth is taking swim lessons every week. She LOVES the water and smiles non-stop. Except when she's leaning over and trying to drink the water. This will come to no surprise to Rob and Kim. Like mother like daughter.

And apparently last week when I was at a going away party, Mary Beth entertained Bob by running through the living room giggling. She's hours of entertainment, people.

Last, on Sunday morning when Bob and I went in her room to get her up, Mary Beth proceeded to point and grab her "Tugga." That's Tigger, for those of you who don't speak Mary Beth-ese. Only thing is, she's got THREE Tuggas. One was my mom's, that I gave her back in the 80s, eventually went to me, and then I gave MB; a baby Tugga that I just couldn't resist when she was a few months old; and then Bob's mom sent a third one. Because you can never have enough Tuggas. Anyway, she wanted ALL of them. At once. And tried to carry all of them. I may be biased, but this picture and video are adorable.

playing catch-up

Auntie Kim shows MB the picture of her as her computer background. "That's me!"

So, we've been sooooooooo busy here lately that I just haven't had time to post. I know, I know. Bad Mommy. So we'll play a little catch-up over the next week or so.

Auntie Kim flew in to hang out with us for the weekend (2 weekends ago now), see Mary Beth running around (literally) and look at wedding dresses. For Kim that is - Mary Beth isn't allowed to go on a date until she's 30.

Auntie Kim played hairdresser for MB.

Oh crud. She likes my cell phone.

I also said that I'd post videos from every month/birthday. On the 12th, Auntie Kim, Rhonda and I were trying to get MB to dance. So she did. To Barry Manilow. Kim danced/sang, too. Posted below. Oh I can hear Mom clapping from heaven... 

nana time

Nana came to visit and Mary Beth loved every minute of it. After hearing how cute it was when MB kept climbing into other toddler's camping chairs last weekend in Galveston, she bought her a hot pink one to enjoy on the patio. And we've been meaning to get her a pool to splash around in. Nana to the rescue. So yesterday and today (after a too-hot trip to the playground), all 4 of us hung out on the patio in the Texas heat, getting cooled down by MB's splashes. She really is adorable, don't you think?

day at the park

A few weekends ago we went to the park to play. Mary Beth LOVES the swing and the slide. Looks like we'll have to get a playset in the backyard pretty soon! So we took some pictures and a few videos - a special one for Nana even! Enjoy!

devil child

Yes, Rob. We redheads do have horns. But Mary Beth wears them well, don't you think?

happy 14 months!

Well, it's a good thing I decided to post videos on her monthly birthdays this year instead of photos. Because I can't get her to sit still! Seriously. I couldn't decide between two cute videos so you get both. One shows why Mary Beth is a momma's girl instead of daddy's (and why Bob gets called "Mean Daddy"), and the other shows our exercise from last night. She was all out of breath and everything. So cute...

go mb go!

It's been crazy busy here. Both Bob and I have been swamped at work. Mary Beth has been running around (literally) and waving/saying "bye bye". Oh, and the Spurs have been in the playoffs. Mary Beth is a HUGE fan. She's snagged herself a silver Ginobil jersey and even tonight she stole my Tony jersey for a while. Never seen a cuter thief.

She's mastered the dance and clap to "Ya'll ready for this," the song that would start the Spurs player introductions. Enjoy some pictures and video from tonight and last game...

BIG day for mary beth

So, she's been a little cranky lately. But who would blame her -- she had 3, count 'em, 3 teeth coming in at the same time. Poor little bugger. And she's been drooling like it's going out of style. I have to keep bringing 2 or 3 outfits to daycare for her to wear throughout the day. Yukky. Or as she has been saying lately, "UH OH."

This afternoon when I went to go pick her up, they said she's been really "clingy" and getting mad whenever anyone put her down. She snuggled up to me in my arms and we started playing around. Know how she likes to be dipped upside down? Guess what you can see when she's upside down? TWO TEETH THAT BROKE THROUGH TODAY!! No wonder she was clingy. One on the top and one joining the first tooth on the bottom. The other top tooth is RIGHT there. We celebrated by dancing around and I asked for a high five.

Ya'll, she gave me a high five.

I don't think Bob really believed me when I told him. But we showed him. Enjoy this video of her having a fantastic time in the bath tonight... and high fivin'. My baby girl is a rock star.

Next trick to teach: beer retrieving.

13 months

I think we've decided that our signs are done. Quite frankly, I can't get her to sit still anymore long enough to take a picture of her holding onto anything.

So instead you get this video of her ruling the house. It is her world after all - we just live in it.

happy birthday, grandma!!

I just had a conversation in my head of what is going on in Heaven today:


Dad: Happy Birthday, Mary!

Mom: Thanks, Phil. The roses are beautiful.

Dad: Well, I thought you could use something pretty to keep your mind off the fact that you’re getting old. You’re 65 now – so you’re eligible for Social Security, senior citizen discounts, etc.

Mom: Three things for you, old man. First of all, I think getting money sent to me up here in Heaven just really isn’t going to happen. And next, you will always be older than me. Heck, I’m immortally aged 48 anyway since that’s how old I was in 1993. But you were much older than me when you died. So pipe down.

Dad: I thought you said there were 3 things.

Mom: Yes, you forgot my birthday one year. So technically I’m only 64…

Dad: Good Lord, you’re never going to let that one go, are you?

Mom: Nope. It was a pretty big miss there.

Dad: Can’t argue with that. Well OK then. Happy 64th-ish birthday. What would you like to do today?

Mom: Let’s go peek in on that beautiful granddaughter of ours.

Dad: Beautiful granddaughter? We just have that redheaded one. We can look in on her instead.

(CRUNCH!!!!!)

(That’s Mom smacking Dad across the head)

 
Sounds about right. Happy Birthday, Mom!

yum yum yum

The only thing Mary Beth may like as much as walking right now is eating. Boy does she like to eat! Her favorites? Avocado. Ham. Black beans. Banana yogurt. Peaches. And graham crackers. As you can see from the photo above, we had spaghetti tonight. Apparently she has some of her grandma's Italian blood in her and has now added that to her list of favorites.

She's a HUGE fan of the kids meal at Chipotle - cheese quesadilla and black beans. As you can see from the two videos below, she enjoyed her dinner both nights. And I promise, she ate the avocado right after we stopped taping. Yes, she ate avocado and spaghetti at the same time. What, you don't?

Easter and walking like crazy...

Mary Beth sat still for about three minutes on Sunday -- just long enough for us to put on the Easter dress that Kim bought for her birthday. Even during Mass, she simply did not want to sit still. Both Bob and I took her to the back of the church so she could walk laps. Literally. And while she was delicately walking in her cute, plaid dress, she was smiling and waiving at everyone. She met more people at church in one morning than Bob and I have. But then again, she is a lot cute than us.

We  came back home and tried to take some photos, but she was plum tuckered out from her new excercise regimen. So we just got a few.

It's close to impossible to get Mary Beth on video walking right now because she's so darn quick that she's already out of the room by the time you get the camera. But here's a quick attempt on a short video for you:

three nights of freak-sleepin'

She's cute, but she sleeps in the weirdest positions. Just look at the last three nights!

Thursday night

Friday night

Saturday night

This last one is my favorite. She's even wearing her new Big Girl pjs that Auntie Kim gave her. She loves sleeping along the bumpers, but just a bit too big now.

**OOPS! THE PJ'S WERE PICKED OUT BY UNCY MATT!!! THANKS UNCY MATT!!!**

dear uncle rob,

dear uncle rob,

when i woke up this morning, mommy moved my new chair in front of the window so i could see the snow. there wasn't as much as last time, and i didn't get to make any snow angels. but it was still pretty to look at. mommy said that where you live it snows more. sounds cold. i think i'll just stay here in my chair and look out at it.

come visit soon.

love, mary beth

she's walking!!!!

See, there's just something magical about St. Patrick's Day. Especially if you're a 100%, pure bred redhead like Mary Beth. So we dressed up in our green, and then practiced walking after our days at work and daycare. Of course she took 4 or 5 steps when we weren't taping. So we tried again. And again. We even gave up for a bit and just tickled and giggled. Then after her bath (hence the wardrobe change - there's still green on her!), she was a little cranky because she wanted her bottle but she still walked to mama. Atta girl. Geimps would be proud.

There are a few videos and pics here - the walk and a few cute outtakes.

who's one year old?

Mary Beth had quite a birthday weekend. She started her birthday with a visit to Dr. Z for her one-year Well Check. She checked well. :-)  All good on the height and weight front, and everyone agreed that Princess Mary Beth, who visited the office with her crown, is the cutest redhead ever. Saturday Auntie Kim flew into town and was greeted by MB and an awesome sign. A bunch of people came over to the house for an informal gathering/party where MB giggled, laughed and had cupcake icing for the first time. Sunday we went to the park to swing, and then played soccer in the back yard. That's right, MB is ready for her Rowdiettes jersey and soccer cleats. There's a TON of photos, so have fun!!

a night of firsts...

...first cup of juice...

...first taste of black beans...

...first cheese quesadilla...

Chipotle rocks. Mary Beth agrees.

 

seriously...

...do you think anyone could say no to her if she was selling cookies? I think not.

11 months!!

(As most new parents will understand, we've been swamped these last few days with the snow and haven't posted this. She turned 11 months on the 12th, so we're just 2 days late!)

Dear Mary Beth,

How is it possible that you're 11 months old?? A year ago today my friends/coworkers at Regent threw us a shower and we received some great presents for you. You even still use some of them today - like your blankets, bottles and steamer. The next day we were packing up our home in Florida and moving to Texas. Well, the packers were packing. I was working and your dad was supervising. We then spent the night at the Westin Diplomat and your dad kissed me Happy Valentine's Day at 430 in the morning and took off for the drive to Texas. You and I spent our first Valentine's Day together - me feeling quite fat and lonely, and you enjoying the chocolate and raspberry sorbet dessert I had.

In this past month, you've really started trucking along on the walking front. You LOVE your little car/walker that my boss Andy gave you. And you walk along the tables, couch, mirror -- anything you can as long as you can hold on to something. Speaking of the mirror, boy do you love the mirror! We learned that a long time ago, but we bought a huge mirror for the entry way and it's not even worth trying to clean your fingerprints off.

You old daycare is closing down at the end of the month, so we were forced to find you a  new one. Actually, we were looking for a new one anyway because we felt you needed something more as you got closer to "toddler status." You've been at the new one for just a week, and you're doing well. You're not a fan of when we leave you in the morning, but they say you're making friends, practicing your walking and even trying new foods. You're fearless.

You also enjoyed your first snowstorm. It snowed in early December but it didn't really stick to the ground. And then we had already gone to San Antonio when the Christmas Eve snowstorm hit. But this was a HUGE storm. Record-setting for the amount of snow in 24 hours here in the DFW area. So we made your first baby snow angels, and you had your first taste of snow. Literally. You loved it. But don't get used to it...

Last, you're getting cuter every day, which I'm not sure how that is possible. But it is. You love to smile, laugh, and now you're talking, saying "Ah-tah" to us. We have to repeat it back and forth a few times or you get mad at us. Very cute.

We love you, Baby Love

Love,

Mom and Dad