Everyday there are so many precious moments with Summer.  Today we sat on the porch and had a snack.  She tried to get some of my granola bar, but was not successful even though she did say please.  I know she was just trying to eat mine before she ate hers so she could have more.  She did eat her own and it was cute to watch her take a big bite and then not really be able to chew it up since she does not have back teeth (although her 1st molar did pop through yesterday).  So, she would suck on it and try to backwash into, I mean drink my tomato juice to wash it down.  LOL  Her upper lip had a mustache from the juice which I, sadly, did not get a picture of.  We were both sitting in our own chairs at the patio table, and she tried to prop her feet up on the table which she must have seen me do before....TOO CUTE!!!  Her legs barely reached the table.  Then she decided to show me what a big girl she is, so she stood in her chair.  It made me a little nervous, but I try to let her be herself unless I know she is in direct danger.  I don't want to constantly be telling her NO, so I pick my battles.  But, I do tell her NO when she needs to hear it.  Thankfully, she still has not learned to say the word no yet.  Maybe it is because I say "No Ma'am" and that 2nd word is a little tricky....maybe she's just good like that.  She did shake her head at me the other day for the 1st time.  She has only done it the one time so I am not bothered by that.  It was just another cute thing I can add to my list that she has done. 

She seems to do cute things all the time.  Clint and I are so lucky to have her to brighten our day.  Even when he is not feeling good, she can bring a smile to his face.  When I am frustrated, she can change my mood completely with just a little silliness.  Of course, sometimes she is the one frustrating me....LOL.  But, I guess that is just part of being a mom.  As your child grows up, they will test you and see what they can and cannot do around you.  They will see if you really mean what you say or not.  They will try to get their way with whining and sometimes clever tricks.  It is so important to be consistent, and that is my goal with Summer.  I want her to know I mean what I say.  I want her to obey and respect me and Clint and other people.  I hope I am going about it the right way, but it is hard to know.  It is hard to always do what you know it best, but I try.  Only time will tell how good of a job I am doing.

Summer likes to go on walks and/or outside.  Sometimes Clint and I take her out together, sometimes we do it separately.  My mom and Tre also like to take Summer for walks at times.  We will live in a nice place for walking.  Pretty much everything is within walking distance so we can go to the park, playground, aquarium, ice cream shop, or wading pools on a whim.  Summer and I go strolling some mornings when I feel like I need some exercise.  We walk up the hills and run down them which is fun for us both.  On the way down the hills, I will yell "Wheee" and Summer will kick her feet and laugh.  She is usually eating some breakfast and drinking milk during our morning trips. 

She is still eating good.  About the only baby food she still really likes is Delmonte Spaghetti.  Today she had a half a plum and pop-tart with milk for breakfast.  We had our snack of granola bar and tomato juice a little later.  Then she had green beans (one of her favorite foods), diced tomatoes (also favorite), corn, part of a porcupine (Nona's special recipe w/ ground beef and rice) and a little of a broccoli/carrots/cheese jar wiashed down with strawberry milk.  One food she still will not eat is mashed potatoes.  Other favorite foods are cantaloupe, cheese,  and cookies/cake/ice cream -- of course -- she does take after me.

I think she is looking more like me...at least every one keeps saying so.  Her hair is about 5 different shades of blonde and it is getting longer so I can pull it up into little pony tails or waterfalls.  She usually pulls the ponytail holders out shortly after I put them in if I don't distract her right away with something more interesting.  But, if I do, she still discovers they are there before too long and pulls them out.  She is just too cute to get mad at, so I just try and try again. 

Oh, I hope I never forget all these precious moments, but I'm sure I will forget at least a few. 

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This would not update yesterday when I tried, so I have more to add now.

Swimming in the pool with Summer is always fun.  Well, maybe not always.  We have made some good memories though.  She is not afraid of the water which is good and bad.  She likes to stand on my aunts steps and go up and down them, but she gets brave and sometimes tries to go a little too deep.  If I don't keep my eye on her constantly, she will be under the water in seconds.  The funny thing is she isn't really scared when you pull her up out of the water...I guess it's not that funny.  She likes to jump off the side of the pool, I just have to make sure I am there to catch her.  Sometimes she likes to play on the float, but ONLY when SHE wants to!  She is still not too fond of floating on her back, but she likes to "swim" around with my hands supporting her.  She's a little fish!

I might have mentioned this before, but I can't remember.  We have a membership at the aquarium which is about a block away from our condo, so we go there a lot.  She likes to run through it now that she is a big girl.  No more stroller dwelling for her there.  She wants to be able to go look at what she wants, when she wants.  She especially likes the tank where you can pet the sharks & rays.  She doesn't pet them though.  Probably because she scares them off with all the splashing she does...LOL.  Last Sunday we went with Willow and her parents which was fun.  The girls held hands through parts of it....it was TOO CUTE!  Summer also got to hold a butterfly which was neat and a first for her.

Her latest thing is shoes...the girl MUST have her shoes.  She tries to put them on herself and is even successful with one at times.  It is really cute.  SOMETIMES.  She gets frustrated if she can't get her shoes (or mine) on her foot.  Then the whining starts, but if I don't buy into it she will stop.  The shoe thing is cute though.  I'm glad she is like that now especially since the cooler weather is on its way and we won't be able to go outside barefoot much longer.

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"I wanna talk"

That is Summer's first sentence.  Everytime she sees a phone, she says "I wanna talk."  It is really cute except for when I am talking and she does not need to talk to the person I am talking to.  She does get to talk to her Memaw or Auntie sometimes.  They are about the only people who have enough patience to talk to her since she really doesn't talk back to them.  She does babble, but it is impossible to make out what she is saying except for a few words. 

She is attached to my hip today so I gotta get off here.  She wants me to hold her and will scream until I pick her up...I need a glass of wine!  The sad thing is I felt that way at 9:00 this morning.  I don't know why I can't deal with her whining, but I guess I better learn how.  It doesn't seem to stop when I want it to.  Oh well....

Catching up

I have a lot of catching up to do picture wise.  I have not been organizing them when I upload them so now I have a bunch to do.  It is amazing to look back over the pictures from the last few weeks.  Clint was caught several times not taking it as easy as he should've been, but that's a man for you.  When you want them to rest, they gotta play basketball with their little girl.  When you want them to take out the trash, they want to watch TV (he did take out the trash once since he's been home - bad boy!).  Of course he did plenty of resting in between so I guess he did follow those orders from the doctor.  He has also been caught picking up his little girl numerous times which is a no-no for at least 3 more weeks.  He is not supposed to lift anything heavier than a phone book, but sometimes he just can't help himself.  Not that I blame him, she is a little doll and I can't imagine not picking her up for one day let alone 6 weeks.  She has been climbing on him which is not very comfortable for him, but I think he enjoys it despite the pain.  She really does bring so much happiness to our lives.  I is almost impossible not to smile when you are around her unless it is one of those whiny days.... 

Well, my little angel just got home from her Memaw's.  Clint's dad had surgery yesterday, so Summer and I went to the hospital to sit with her Nona.  My mom called around 1:00 and said she was coming through town if I wanted her to pick her up.  It was perfect timing because she was just about to be ready for her nap and hadn't gotten whiny yet.  So, I grabbed her stuff and met my mom outside.  It was nice not to have to sit in the waiting room with her getting upset and having the whole room giving me dirty looks.  She left on a good note, and I think the other people in the waiting room might have actually missed her a little.  She was putting on a good show for them, reading her books, coloring, rolling around on the floor (gross I know), pushing her stroller, climbing on the chairs...she is very entertaining! 

I better go change her diaper.  I think I smell something...

My pride and joy

We have had a pretty good week except for the whining that Summer has started doing.  It is frustrating sometimes because she can't tell me what she wants and I can't figure it out.  So, we have to go from one thing to the next until I can correctly guess what she wants or distract her by finding something even better than what she wanted in the first place.  Either is fine with me as long as the whining STOPS -- which it does not usually when I want it to.  I still haven't figured out how to stop the whining, but maybe it is just a phase and she'll move onto something else soon.  If she gets too whiny and won't stop, I will just put her in her bed until she calms down.  Sometimes she is just tired and needs a nap, but other times she will just calm down in a few minutes and play in her bed.  It has music and a light she can cut on.  She really likes that I think.  Sometimes she will hum the songs if I start singing.  I don't even know the words to some of the songs, but it doesn't matter to her.  She likes music a lot. 

Today we were dropping her sister off at the hospital, and Summer was dancing to the music when we pulled up.  The kids were telling her good-bye and trying to get her to say their names, and she just said "Bye" and started moving her head to the beat.  It was cute.  She did say her sister's name for the first time today.  It is probably only the 4th or 5th time she has seen her in the past 4 months so she does not really know her.  Amanda does seem to enjoy Summer's company more now that Summer has a personality and can talk.  I did not hear her say one mean thing to her this morning which was nice.  Amanda used to get very frustrated with Summer when she would make any noise at all in the car.  It will be interesting to see how they interact in the coming years since there is such a big age difference (16 years).

Summer is such cutie.  I guess she gets it from me...LOL.  She got her 8th tooth last week...12 more to go!  I think her molars will be coming in soon.  I felt some knots on her gums a couple of weeks ago, but she hasn't let me back in in a while.  She is very much in control of her body and mind and will not do anything she does not want to.  For example, if I want to feed her some yogurt, she will not let me unless it my yogurt and wants a bite.  She often clamps her mouth closed when I try to feed her because she is a big girl now and wants to do it herself (very rarely does she not actually want the food).  If I try to put my finger in her mouth, clamp down and head turns to avoid my finger.  If she does not want me to do something or a I suggest something she doesn't like, she does not say no.  She shakes her head and makes this noise that starts with a "M."  It is very apparent she means no when she does this.  I don't mind it when she does this since I really do not want her saying no yet.  Plus, the fact that she does communicate with me and others is something I am very grateful for.  I am so lucky to have such a healthy, smart and beautiful little girl.  I love her so much!