18 months! Really??!!

My sweet little baby is growing up so fast. No matter how old she is, she will always be my precious baby. Time continues to fly by, with no signs of slowing down. Well... I will say that when Callie decides to "wake up for the day" at 2am.... time seems a little slow. Haha, but other than that its going by way too fast.

My sweet baby is now a cute toddler, wanting more and more independence by the minute! Callie does not take well to things that are not according to her plan. Simply put, there are lots of tantrums in the Rowan household right now. The girl can scream. Slowly but surely we are learning how to use our words when situations are just soooooo frustrating. Her word of choice when something is awry is "uh-oh", and occasionally "help". I would say that little Miss Callie is still screaming the majority of the time as her first instinct, but with a helpful reminder she remembers that she can talk instead.

Speaking of talking, Callie is learning new words everyday! Its nearly impossible to keep track of them now. She did say a new word tonight though and it was so cute. She said bubble! I was reading to her before bed and the book had bubbles in it and she repeated what I said! Love it! Another cute thing that Callie says is "istuck" (which means its stuck or im stuck). She loves to purposefully get stuck in something just so that she can say that. I then tell her oh no, you're stuck? Well you better get out of there... and then she does, and claps for herself. Hahah!

At 18 months Callie Michelle:

~wears size 2T!! I can't believe it!!! ~ still has beautiful blue eyes with that light hair! (And more hair now yay!)

~ has over 30 words ~can identify 9 letters and 2 numbers

~loves to scream... (had to put that in there haha)

~sleeps very well most nights

~colors well without eating the crayons about half of the time...

~identifies a circle, triangle, star and square. ~loves to give hugs and kisses.

~has some pretty snazzy dance moves.

~loves Elmo and Dora.

~eats like a champ. Loves just about EVERYTHING...

~loves to pretend sleep and make an adorable snoring sound. ~almost never eats Chile's dog food anymore... (knock on wood)

~can crawl up and down the stairs with supervision of course!

~is very picky about her bedtime stories.

~learned the word no..... BOO!!!!

~is just the sweetest most beautiful daughter in the world!!!

I know I say it a lot, but I feel so blessed to be her Mommy. She is just so much fun. There is nothing sweeter than when she comes over to me gives me a hug and pats me on the back while saying "mama". Hope you enjoy a few pics of my sweetie! We will be going to see Santa tomorrow, so that should make for an interesting picture.... my guess is that she wont be happy, but who knows! Blessings to all and Merry Christmas!!!!

Erin

Callie didnt like Santa this year... poor thing. Its cute anyway! :)

After pictures with Santa back at the house! Much happier! :) Callie wearing Mommy's shoes! :)

Our Christmas Tree! Sweetie pie!

Callie and Daddy playing! So sweet!

Thanksgiving!

Well we had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! It was so awesome that everyone came here to celebrate the holiday. My mom, Memaw, and three uncles drove all the way from Texas! Yikes! But it was great because they got to stop and see the Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forrest, and also Hoover Dam! It was Memaw's first really long road trip outside of Oklahoma and Texas. Lindsey and Ryan also came to Vegas! It was so awesome that we were all together. We stayed pretty busy around here during their visit. We went to Mt. Charleston one morning, and then went down on the strip during the evening. It was a neat experience watching Memaw experience the Las Vegas night life. Haha! We went and saw the garden display at the Bellagio and then watched the water show. I always love watching that... and its free... even better! Matt and I had to leave the strip when it was close to Callie's bedtime, but they stayed down there for several more hours. The next day was Thanksgiving Day! We spent most of the day cooking, eating and watching football of course! The Cowboys got a win, but sadly the Aggies did not... boo! It was a great day and we all had such a good time together! Later on Thanksgiving Day, Mom, Memaw and my Uncles all went to a nearby casino. They all had a great time, but sadly nobody won big! The next day they started on their way back home. We were sad to see them go, but were so thankful that they were able to make it out here. It may have been a little crowded in the house, but I don't think anyone cared! We have so much to be thankful for, and it was great to be surrounded by family. I missed my Dad. A lot. But I just have to remind myself how thankful I am that he is restored, whole and in no pain. I like to think that he was looking down at us... well I guess he would be cracking jokes and laughing at us... haha. We sure missed him, and its definitely not the same without him, but I guess things can't always be the same. And even though its different, it was still good. Callie was spoiled rotten of course! She loved every minute of all of the attention that she got. My little sweetie loved having all of her family to play with. Callie was just running around all over the place this Thanksgiving. She is pretty much non stop these days. I wont lie, it was nice to have some reinforcements for a few days! Ha! My baby is growing up so fast. Its starting to make me a little sad that shes already a toddler! She is talking more and more each day. She has started saying please (more like "peas") and all done in the last few days. I should write it down when she says new words, but she is just copying so many things that its hard to keep track. Oh, another word she says is "help". This is the word that I encourage the most right now. I'm trying to replace her very loud, shrill scream, with a simple "help" when she is frustrated about something that she is trying to do. Haha! Can't blame me for trying! She's getting it though. I'm starting to her a little less screaming, and more words! Yay! Well I have been slacking on pictures lately, but I am charging my camera up tonight so that I can get some pictures of my sweet girl. Oh and Callie now wears a 2T in clothes. (Tear....) Makes me a little sad, but on the bright side the toddler section has many more options! :) I cant believe my baby is a toddler. It's going too fast. We are just so blessed to be her parents. Even when her sweet little tantrums aren't so sweet, I just cant help but think about how lucky I am to have her! God is soo good. I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Ill post some new pictures soon!

What? A picture of us? haha. I love him!

Aw! Sisters! My child... eating a stick....

Mom, Memaw and the Uncles!

Poor Callie. She had lots of layers on and felt like a marshmallow... she kept toppling over haha!

Callie's first snow! :)

Grandma and Grandpa visit/Halloween!

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit and we had a blast! Callie really enjoyed being spoiled for a few days. In fact, it took a few days to get used to plain old Mom and Dad... haha! Callie really loved spending time with her Grandparents! We picked them up from the airport on Thursday and they stayed until early Monday morning. Right when we got home Grandma and Grandpa gave Callie her Halloween presents. She got her cute Halloween costume, a Dora doll that sings, Dora crocs, a new outfit and new Dora Pjs. She also got some Halloween books and a bingo game that she and Grandma played. She was happy to say the least. While they were here we went to the park, The Rainforest Cafe, saw the Lion exhibit at the MGM casino, had a picnic up at Mt. Charleston, went to a Trunk or Treat Halloween Carnival at our church and shopping of course! Callie's favorite activities were all of the outside ones. She LOVES to be outside. Callie started saying "okay" while her Grandparents were here! Its too cute! It sounds more like "ah-tay". Callie dressed up at a leopard kitty cat for Halloween. She looked too cute! I did let her have some M&M's from her Halloween candy and she liked them very much! While Callie was sad to see Grandma and Grandpa go, it will only be 3 months until we see them in Texas for Lindsey's wedding!

My sweet little girl is growing up fast and I am having a blast watching her! She is so much fun, and gives the sweetest voluntary hugs and kisses now. Another sweet thing is that she says "amen" after we pray! Its really sweet. Callie is also starting to show interest in letters and sounds. She knows the letter C, P, and T. If I point to the letter she will say the sound! She almost has D down as well! I can't believe it! I thank God for my family everyday and I truly feel blessed! Well here are the pictures from Grandma and Grandpa's visit! Hope you enjoy, much love!

-Erin

Callie and Grandpa at the Rainforest Cafe!

This girl loves to swing can you tell? Callie getting her face painted for the very first time!!

Patiently waiting for some candy!

We took this pic in front of the Candy Land display because Matt used to love the game Candy Land... well... he loved cheating by folding the cards so that he could win... haha.

Finished product from face painting... shes starting to get tired!

This candy is all for me?!

Grandma and Grandpa at the Halloween Carnival!

My sweet family.

Beautiful.

Grandma and Callie throwing the Frisbee.

A stick!

:)

Grandma and Callie at Mt. Charleston.

So pretty up there.

See-saw fun!

Cutie pie!

Look Grandpa!

Aw! Great picture at the Rainforest Cafe!

Callie LOVES apple juice.

My growing girl!

Callie is getting SO big! Stop growing little girl! Or at least stop growing so fast! :) I just thought I would post a few pictures of my sweetie!

Callie LOVES playing with Daddy!

Callie loves to swiffer!

Such a sweet little helper. Look how much older she looks!

Callie and Chile are best friends... and this is why. Callie loves to feed Chile...

Climb on the counter? Why not... hahah.

Callie is 15 months!

I am a little late on posting this... but Callie is 15 (more like 15 and 1/2) months old! I can't believe that its been 3 months since her first birthday. She is really changing sooo much right now. Some of the changes are fun... the others not so much. Haha. Temper tantrums are a part of our day, everyday, multiple times a day. Callie is really starting to get "frustrated" when she doesn't get her way. We are in the process of learning that very hard lesson. :) Even though 2-3 minute tantrums are the norm around here, it is so much fun to watch how much Callie is growing. I took her to her 15 month well check up and she looked great. Callie weighed 23 pounds and 8 oz and was in the 75th percentile for weight and height! Callie is a big girl. I love her squishy thighs. Those adorable squishy thighs have demanded 18 month clothes now... and her tummy, and length. Callie has made huge leaps with her vocabulary. Ive decided that she can say more than she actually does, she just doesn't want to. The other day she was VERY ready for snack time, so I asked her, Callie do you want some yogurt? She quickly replies "yes"! Callie has never said yes before... so Matt and I were excited to hear her say that. Then I kept trying to get her to say it again... and she just shook her head no. I asked her if she could say yes, and she nodded yes. Then I asked her if she would say it, and she nodded no. Haha! She's funny like that. Callie likes to say: hi, bye bye, mama, dada, up, apple, baby, Pap, Grandpa, eyebrow (haha I know... who says eyebrow as one of their first words....), bible, bath, ball, kitty cat, dog, fish and milk. I'm sure I've forgotten a few, but those are the main ones. She is really trying to attempt many words that she hears. We have been working like CRAZY on Grammie and Grandma... she attempted Grammie, so I think we are getting close. Oh that reminds me... cutest story. We were looking through a picture album yesterday and she was very fascinated with my Papa's picture. So I told her he was her Great Papa, and now she points to him and says Papa! So precious! (We will have to work on Great Granny too)! I love hearing her voice! Most of the time its such a sweet sound... :). She is walking around so well now. She prefers it actually. I have let her start walking more when we are out (for VERY short distances). She can climb on and off of the couch without any problems now. She is also very close to using her spoon successfully at meal times. I took her to the splash park the other day and she loved it so much. She ran through the water and loved it. The first time... she looked slightly concerned, but the second time it was pure joy. Not so much pure joy when I had to carry her away from it to go home... haha. The only other thing I can think of is that Callie can now open and close doors. Boo. I guess it had to happen eventually. We are so happy that Fall is here, and we can't wait until the weather acts like its Fall. Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Oh and here are a few pictures of Callie from this week when I babysat for a friend. Callie was not too sure what to think about having to share me. She got used to it, but wasn't a fan. Haha!

Callie wants to get into her bumbo again... even if she doesn't fit.

Look how strong she is! So proud of herself!

Callie is putting her baby in the car seat!

Hah!

My little climber!

Callie gets a chair!

Callie and I went shopping this morning and found her a chair that she can call her own. All she wants to do lately is climb on the couch, stand on the couch and laugh. Laugh because she knows she shouldn't do it. So I go over and take her off of the couch many times a day. So I figured it might be worth it to get Callie her own chair. She was so excited when we got home. She loved climbing it, and eventually she sat in it. We will see if she likes it as much as the big couch.... (I'm keeping my fingers crossed but not holding my breath...). She sure is getting big!

Oh here is a cute story. A few mornings ago I walked into her room to get her up and she was standing up in her crib, pointing to a picture of her Pap holding her when she was born and was saying "pop" (it sounded like a mix between Pap and Pop. It was precious! I know he's smiling down on her... and I'm sure he's a bit proud that she said his name first... haha! But Callie also attempted the word Grandpa today! It sounded like ampa with a major emphasis on the p sound. I cant believe it! Her vocabulary is really taking off. In the past week she has been saying Hi Mama, and Hi Dada! :) She also says up now! It's so much fun to hear her new words. Well here is a picture of Callie climbing into her new chair. These are the first pictures after I cut her bangs... she didn't want to hold very still, and i got them a bit short, but they will grow to the length I was going for in a week or so. Hope you have a wonderful rest of the week!

" I think I'll get in my chair this way"!

"Almost got it"! Silly girl.

Yep, already standing on it... but at least she sat down when I asked her to!

:)

Callie loves her new big girl chair!