Happy Birthday Daddy!

A Baby Shower

Last Saturday, I helped host a baby shower for my sweet college friend, Julie. We had a lot of fun, and it was good to catch up with her since she lives in Montgomery now. She'll be moving back soon and I can't wait to have another mommy friend in Birmingham (I'm seriously lacking here). Julie got lots of great gifts. The gift from the hostesses was a BOB stroller. I think we were just as excited to give it to her as she was to receive it! It's so fun to give someone a gift you know they are going to LOVE! Julie does not know if she is having a boy or a girl, so we had lots of discussions about what we all thought she is having. I had a dream it was a girl and I hope I'm right!

Julie and me

Julie, her sister and her mom

The spread

The diaper cake compliments of me!

Sewing machine suggestions

My birthday is tomorrow (Happy Birthday to me!) and I want a sewing machine. That's right, I'm turning domestic. I didn't think I'd have time to sew but now that I'm graduating in May, I see much more free time in my future! So I need suggestions for an easy-to-use, yet not too elementary sewing machine. I have absolutely NO sewing experience. The closest I have ever come to a sewing machine is when I drop my clothes off at the alterations shop! But I'm a fast learner, and I think I'll really enjoy it. I'm actually sick and tired of the hem coming out of my pants and out of Sipsey's shirts. It drives me crazy and I make up sewing techniques to fix them (by hand). I think the main thing I would use it for in the beginning is to fix stuff like that and then I'd love to make cute little outfits for Sipsey. So tell me what you like or don't like and if you live in the B'ham area, do you know of any good sewing classes? Thanks y'all!

And because no blog would be complete without pictures, here they are:

Sipsey on her nap mat in the middle of our dining room. She loves it!

Sipsey trying to escape Ben Barron taking mucho pictures of her while testing out our camera!

Easter in pictures

A Hunting We Will Go

The Saturday before Easter, we took Sipsey to an Easter Egg Hunt at Crestline Cumberland Presbyterian Church. We were invited by friends whose daughter goes to school with Sipsey. We almost didn't go because I have had a terrible sinus infection, but at the last minute, I threw on some clothes and we made it just in time! Sipsey had a blast running around picking up eggs and shaking them to hear what was inside. It was a great way to keep her awake in the morning so she would take one long afternoon nap. Unfortunately we had to leave a little before the festivities were over because Sipsey's eye started to look like Sloth from the Goonies! Ok it wasn't really that bad, but it was bad enough for us to have to leave. Long story short, Sipsey had pinkeye, and we spent our Saturday afternoon at the After Hours clinic confirming that and getting a prescription for some drops. The good news is that it was better by Monday and Ben and I didn't get it from Sipsey! I never know what to expect with this child. She'll go months without so much as a cough, and then all of a sudden, she'll have everything wrong with her at once. I guess that's the best way to do it though!

No Easter eggs yet!

Sipsey loves acorns and rocks.

Sipsey found some eggs.

Look how small Sipsey is compared to Ben!

Once she got her hands on these two, she barely cared about finding more.

Sipsey and her friend Anna June. This is the best picture I got of both of them! They were busy bees!

15 month checkup

Sipsey's 15 month checkup went pretty well, minus the tantrum she threw when the doc put her on the floor to watch her walk. Our regular doc is on maternity leave, so I'm hoping she only acted like that because it was a new face! The good news is that we no longer have to give her the iron supplement! The doctor said that her blood count is well back into the normal range and we can discontinue the drops when we finish the bottle we have. That stuff is so nasty, we haven't given her one more drop since the doctor's appointment! They didn't write down her stats for me, but I can remember about what they were and I looked up the percentiles myself: 21.5 lbs (~25th percentile) and 31.5 inches long (~75th percentile).

Here are few things about Sipsey at 15 months that I don't want to forget:

• She LOVES outside. She wants to be outside every waking moment of the day. She goes to the front and the back door and tries to turn the doorknob.
  
• She naps on a cot at daycare in her new room and surprisingly loves it. She even lies on her new nap mat at home when I have it out in the den.
  
• She loves giving kisses. Big puckered up, loud smacking kisses. On the lips and the cheeks are her specialty.
• She loves Banjo and chases him around and tries to pick him up and carry him around with her.
  
• She loves to wave and say "hey" to everyone, including strangers at restaurants. We say she is "working the crowd." She tries to share her food with the nearest tables too.
  
• She can say hey, bye, mama, dada, night night, kitty, and Sipsey, just to name a few (the last two are not clear at all but she is actually trying).
• When airplanes fly over our house, she points to the sky and makes the noise of the airplane, whether we are inside or outside.
• She blows on her food when I tell her it's hot.
• She takes her shoes and socks off the second she is in her carseat.
• She hates being confined in her carseat and whines and tugs at the straps.
  
• She still won't wear bows, but we are working on it.
• She wears a size 4 shoe and wears 12 month clothes. 18 month fits too, but some 18 month pieces are huge!
  

This is how happy Sipsey is when she goes outside. She RUNS across our back deck. I'm terrified she won't stop in time before she gets to the stairs.

This was at 8:00 am right before leaving for daycare. It's WAY too early for me to be that happy!

Sipsey loves Banjo. He is so nice to let her love on him.

Can you see what's wrong with this picture?

Happy Easter! I got tired of wreaths.

Sipsey's First {Professional} Haircut

While we were in Dothan last month on my Spring Break, Sipsey got her first professional haircut. Cassandra at Hemisphere's, who has been cutting our hair for years, set aside a little time to give Sipsey a shape up. Sipsey sat in my mom's lap while I was the photographer. Sipsey was not too sure about it at first, but after she had a clip to chew on, she was great! Cassandra did a great job, especially with Sipsey's "bangs," which I did NOT want to go halfway up her forehead! Maybe when Sipsey lets me put a bow in her hair, we can grow out the bangs and just pull them back with a bow!