18 months!

Our sweet Teagan Leigh, the past 18 months have been full of excitement. While each new stage brings its own set of challenges, they each continue to get more and more exciting. seriously. You are talking so much now! Some of your words are not the clearest, but you know exactly what you are saying and work hard to let us know too. And when we guess it, you will tell us YETHS!! Oh my goodness, that continues to be one of my favorite words. You've now started to also say, yeaaahhh (said with such expression) instead of yeths (said with such certainty). Both are pretty stinkin' cute if you ask me.

Here you are with your ABC blocks telling us what A is for...

You can follow directions so well that it amazes us sometimes how much you understand {emphasis can...more about that later}. 

Your go-to conversation starter when you meet someone new is your shoes. You'll say shoes! as you point, over and over until they have ooohed and ahhed over them. You then point to everyone else in the room that also has on shoes. Sometimes you change it up a bit by saying boots!! Oh, it is pretty funny and you are pretty persistent on the conversation going there. 

You love to label things around the room and let us know when certain objects belong to someone. I was emptying the dishwasher the other day and each time I pulled out a coffee cup you'd say Mama, plastic Master's cup Dada!, Tervis cups Mama!. Ha, I was a little amazed at how much you realized we always drink out of the same cups.  You do this with cups, phones, and honestly just about anything else that belongs to us. And will continue to tell us until we acknowledge that we've heard you. 

You still totally love Mickey and instead of just calling them both Mouf they have also both become Mimmie. Your friend EllaKate was asked today Who does the hot dog dance? thinking that she'd respond with one of the characters from the show. Nope. Her response...Teagan!  You do love that hot dog dance.

You love music and will often ask me to play some for you. Your mood instantly changes. Oh, the power of that Raffi CD in the car. Some of the best $10 I've ever spent. You're little singing voice is pretty sweet too. Here you are singing and playing a little song on your guitar, wearing a tutu (that you LOVE! and will demand to wear it if you spot it.)

Our current challenge: disciplining. And I'm sure if we asked other parents, we'd hear that this challenge is here to stay for a while. It's a learning process...for all of us. Our normal go-to after correcting your behavior and you still don't listen is time out. But recently that hasn't been working. {i.e. you just get up from time out, are happy while in time out, respond yeths! that you want time out, or put yourself in time out once you're out.} So the other day I popped your hand after you were tearing something up and wouldn't quit after I corrected you. I turned to only see you popping your own hand twice after that. Guess that didn't work...and I had to try hard not to laugh too. And probably not the best decision on my part to begin with...but it is like trial and error with you sweet one. Stern voice, quiet voice...doesn't matter. You are certainly expressing your independence. Most of the time it is because you either aren't listening to us or occasionally because you've hit me. {Luckily that has not happened at Mrs. Stacey's again...I seem to be your favorite victim.} Most the time the second after you hit me you realize your misbehavior because you then give me a flirty look and put your head on my shoulder like oops Mom, I still love you. You know how to work your charm too. Another time after not listening to me asking you to come into the kitchen for dinner, I came and took your hand to bring you into the kitchen. I wasn't even really that upset, but the whole way into the kitchen you were blowing me kisses and saying I! {what you say for I love you-with your hand to your heart}. Blow kiss, I, blow kiss, I, blow kiss, I...the entire way into the kitchen. Charmer. Because of course how could I not smile at that. 

Here you are putting yourself in time out after I let you out. 

My favorite new trick of yours is when you jump. Oh my awkwardness. and cuteness. Good grief, I could watch that all day long. Here you are jumping with Caroline...

...and some more fun with Caroline on New Years. You two thought Ring Around the Rosies was hilarious. 

We also took you to the park the other day. It is crazy the difference between what you are able to do since the last time you were there. It was like you were a pro and going around the little course that would lead you to the slide. You had the best time! 

You've also become so interested in your baby dolls. It is so sweet. You will rock them, feed them a bottle, change their diaper, and even brush their teeth. 

...and for some other sweet moments this month

Shoping at the Forum with mom :) 

You loved the giant Christmas tree! You wouldn't stop spinning and 'dancing'. 

Mrs. Stacey had a week of fun activities before break! I think this one is a Christmas outfit day and you made cookies. ...maybe?! 

Somehow the DVD player was accidentally left in the car for you to see. So you demanded asked if you could watch the Grinch with Santa. Oh my goodness. You love that movie. And the Jim Carey one too...not the cartoon one. I tried. Mom of the year award for your first movie including Jim Carey. 

We had a wedding one weekend and you stayed with Papa Jack and Marmy (my aunt and uncle). 

We transitioned you to one nap, so some afternoons home from Mrs. Stacey's look like this. This from the girl that RARELY fell asleep in the car.  

...and again. 

PJ day at Mrs. Stacey's wore you out. 

You love painting and all the Christmas crafts we did. Here is one of my faves. 

Oh you know, just reading the Bible with your sweet cousin. I melt.

Playing in the basement with Caroline at Papa G's. 

Hanging out on New Years at Grammy Pam and Papa G's. We love this tradition every year...and Papa G's delicious cooking. Nothing better. 

We love you to pieces Teagan Leigh. Life is so much fun with you! 

Our Christmas Morning

After a week of fun with our families, we came back to have our own Christmas morning at our house. As we were planning our traveling over the break, it was really important to me to have a Christmas morning at our house, even if it wasn't actually Christmas day. I am so glad that we did. It was so much fun and just made me giddy at the thought of all the Christmas mornings with our little family to come. Patrick woke up before everyone else and made breakfast. This isn't something that normally happens, so it made it extra special.

Christmas just continues to get more and more exciting...and the past 5 have been some pretty exciting ones. We are so thankful for our family and look forward to all the many more memories to come! 

Merry, Merry!

Well today was back to reality/work, so what better way to spend the afternoon that reminiscing on the wonderful break that we just had. Even though last year was Teagan's 1st Christmas, this one was even more fun! She got so excited about Santa, opening up all her presents, and my favorite finding baby Jesus in all of her Christmas books. Oh my goodness. We absolutely loved being able to see Christmas through her eyes...and to know that things will continue to get more exciting with her just makes me giddy. Here are the million of pics from our break with an attempt to remember everything that happened.

We'll start with the man she was so excited to see...that is, until Patrick set her on his lap. 

Santa is thinking "oh boy, another crier"

This was about the calmest things got. 

We then headed to North Augusta for Christmas with my family! Teagan loved getting to see everyone. It makes me happy how excited she gets to see family even though we don't live in town. We celebrated by going to a Christmas Eve service together, having our family Christmas party that always follows...and then Christmas with my family. And that was all in one night. :) 

Tickle fight with Cayden...she loves him!! 

Our house just got a lot louder :) 

giving Caroline a turn

We woke up Christmas morning and headed straight to Columbia to spend time with the McGuires. Teagan got to open up even more presents and go on her first Christmas scavenger hunt that her Pappy does every year. 

First things first...Pappy's pancakes! 

And then it didn't take her long to spot this fun little toy under the tree! 

very helpful :) 

Her very first tennis racket So exciting! 

This year's scavenger hunt included even more little presents for T along the way...Girl is spoiled. :) 

One of the things that Mammy was most looking forward to was making cookies with Teagan. She always made them with the boys growing up. Teagan had a blast! And thanks to her Aunt Kristen and Uncle Daniel, she was stylin' with the perfect apron and chef's hat! 

The most "sprinkliest" cookies I've ever seen. And yummy too! 

The hardest part about making cookies. 

And the best :)  

blowing them off to get to eat them faster.  

We ended our break with a tennis tournament that Pappy hosted to help benefit the Ronald McDonald House. Patrick played in the tournament, and the girls enjoyed the pancakes that a close friend of the family made. And luckily Teagan had her new racket for when the courts were empty. 

Patrick and his were able to play one of the rounds together. 

I'm not sure if he is her coach or her assistant. See who has the racket. I think I know who is in charge. :)  

taking a break between sets

Next stop was back to Augusta to visit my mom in the hospital after her second knee replacement. Then we headed back to Atlanta that night and had our own little family's Christmas morning the next morning. More on that in the next post.