I think I like this one better in black & white:

OK Chris, your turn.

Chris did a little shopping yesterday for a few daddy-daughter presents for Daphne’s birthday. Here’s one of them, the First Act Musical Parade:

So I guess we can have our own version of Dr. Funke’s 100% Natural Good Time Family Band Solution. As long as I get some Teamocil, or was it Euphorazine or Zanotab?

We have been discussing 12 month photos of Daphne for a while now. Of course, I have no idea when Chris is actually going to have time to take them. So today I took some test shots in the outfit I think I want her to wear. It’s hard to tell from the pictures, but the color of the top is great on her. She definitely can pull off darker colors. And the matching shoes? A happy accident. I actually bought the outfit last year in Rogers, AR when I was 6 months pregnant. The shoes were purchased a few months ago from Amazon. They match exactly.

The whole ensemble (including matching sunglasses):

Such a silly girl:

And a just a few days shy of a year old:

I’m beginning to think that all Daphne really wants for her birthday is her own laptop and remote control. And not the kiddie versions either, she sees right through all that V-tech infant laptop, Leapfrog fake remote crap. If we took away all her toys and left her with just the TV remote and my laptop she’d still be a very happy little girl. She might get her own cheapie replacement remote (without batteries of course), but she’s out of luck on a laptop.

So what is Daphne getting for her birthday? Well, from us she’s getting a toddler chair, counting maracas, a tub toy set and a bead roller coaster (which we got from IKEA for such a good price!!). I was really tempted to get her a baby doll, but I think I’m going to wait and get her a Corolle doll (the Calin 12″, not the bigger $80 doll you see all the celeb-babies toting) with all the accessories (stroller, feeding set, bed, clothes) for Christmas. She’s still just a bit too young for that, I think. And lest you think that Daphne’s life is all pink, lace, poodles and flowers- my mom got her the Radio Flyer sport coupe and these really great cars from Viking Toys. They are softer plastic and just the right size for her little hands. And they clean up in the dishwasher.

I’m excited to see how she reacts to all the new things. I can tell she’s really starting to enjoy her toys. She had a blast at Grow With Me Toys in Sugar Land on Saturday and wanted to play with everything, or at least take everything off the shelves and out of their buckets. Which is pretty much just what she does at home in her room. I need to start teaching her how to put things away!

Splashing (aka Disposable Water Cameras are the Suck)

Originally uploaded by eagerlittlemind

But they don’t suck enough to justify a waterproof casing for the Nikons.

Just a few fun things that Daphne has started doing:

-She started kicking around a soccer ball. We bought this huge plush soccer ball at IKEA a few weeks ago and Daphne will kick it around like she’s really playing soccer. At first I thought she was just accidentally kicking it because it was in her path as she was walking. Nope, she actually follows it and continues kicking it when the ball moves a different direction. Her father couldn’t be more proud. And her momma is just glad because if she’s going to be a little sports prodigy she’d much rather the sport be soccer than softball. I’ve made it no secret that I hate watching softball/baseball. Anyway, we are still trying to get this on tape so we can share it with friends/family.

-Daphne just loves other little kids and is totally fascinated with them. I’m going to look into a toddler program at the library and a mom’s group at church so Daphne can interact more with others her age. Oh, and she’s a little flirt. A week after getting hit on at Whole Foods, she went up to the minister’s 4 year old son at church and started smiling, batting her eyes and rubbing his shoe. I wasn’t there, but my mom said he told one of his parents that there was a cute baby that came up to him and “I think she likes me!!” Oh, Daphne.

-Daphne has learned to purse her lips and make a kissing sound. Now when you say “Give me a kiss” or “Blow me a kiss” she does it. Still hasn’t quite figured out how to make contact with your cheek while puckering up, but I’m sure that will come soon. But on second thought maybe we should hold off. I don’t want her kissing on the preacher’s kid. Hmmm.

-Daphne has gained 2 pounds since her last well baby visit at 9.5 months. She is so much taller and her feet have almost grown a size since we’ve been in Texas. It’s amazing how much harder it is to lift a 19 lb kid as opposed to a 17 pounder.

-She’s completely off baby food, unless you count her Yo Baby yogurt. It’s all table food, all the time.

Stay tuned for her 12 month photo shoot (which we didn’t get a chance to do this weekend) and some pool fun pics.

I love these hats. Unfortunately, it’s totally not practical to buy any of these for Daphne because it just doesn’t get cold enough. In fact, I don’t even think she needs a heavy winter coat this year. So, for those of you with little ones and snowy winters, here are some darn cute hats:

Newsgirl Beanie from The Portland Beanie Company:

Crochet Baby Hat from Adrienne Kinsella:


Little Bear Baby Mohawk from Infantile:

Goldfishin Bag Hat from knitschmidt (how hilarious!):

Cotton Mini Monkey from citefuzz:

I think I might need that monkey hat as a photo prop. Precious.

Let’s see, what is wrong with this photo? Could it be that I’m up working on Daphne’s banner at 1 am? Especially since I didn’t sleep at all last night. Really, not even a wink. Or that I’m drinking a margarita (because I can’t find any fricking Tylenol PM) while using an ice pick, scissors and staples? If my husband knew I was doing this I’m sure he’d tell me to come to bed because I’m a total klutz and will probably end up stabbing myself. When did I become nocturnal? I was always such a good sleeper.

Last night I was up lovingly cutting, gluing, bedazzling and glittering (ok, I know that’s probably not a word) the banner and just as I was going to bed around 1 am, Daphne woke up. And for some reason (teething maybe, she has a top tooth coming in) she never went back to sleep. I finally got to take a nap at 6:30 this morning. I’m so messed up. Anyway, at least the banner is done. Here’s a close-up:

This party is going to be so over the top. And as my mom told a friend recently about our party planning, “We are so over the top, we can’t even SEE the top!” Yep.

The Snow White Halloween costume arrived today and I couldn’t help but try it on Daphne. I’m about to explode from cuteness overload. Here’s just a glimpse (as she’s running away from me, remote in hand, pretty typical):

I’ve mentioned before that Daphne isn’t a big talker. She’s been saying mama, dada for a while now, although there have been weeks when she was so obsessed with walking that she barely talked or even babbled. Currently she can say mama, dada, hi and Ginger (my parent’s dog, although she’s only said it a few times and it comes out Gin-Gin) and I swear she almost said “pat cake” when we were playing pat-a-cake earlier in the week.

I’ve been trying to encourage her to talk more by coaching, being very clear with my speech and reading to her. Until recently, reading was not something she really enjoyed. I’d pull out a book and start reading, then she’d sit for about 5 seconds, pull up on me and start cruising around the room. I’d keep reading, but would soon find myself alone with her stuffed animals as she cruised out of the room, down the hall. She’s better now and will sit in my lap, as long as I let her turn the pages.

So a day with us is pretty much like “My Fair Lady- the Toddler Years”, but instead of “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain” it’s “Say bye bye, say hi to Grammy, do you want more/say more, say Poppa, say hi dada, hi dada (while waving).” And this morning we had a breakthrough. Chris came into the room and Daphne got all excited, stood up and clear as day said, “Hi, Dada Dada!!” By george, I think she’s got it! And I guess that counts as her first two word sentence. She’s said hi and dada before, but never together. Go Daph!