Sixteen Months Old! (May 21, 2011)

Scarlett is sixteen months old! She had a doctor's appointment a few weeks back, and our big girl remains at the top of the charts. She weighed in at 27 pounds 10 ounces (96%), is 32 1/2 inches long (95%), and her head is 19 1/2 inches (greater than 97%).

5 new teeth sprouted this month, almost doubling her overall number of teeth to 11! A few new words this month include Winnie and "moooo" (in response to "What does a cow say?"). Scarlett has quite the repertoire of hand gestures, including hands in front of her palms up, as if to say, "How am I supposed to know??"; pointing; fist bumping; and dramatic waving back and forth of her hands in front of her as if to say not just no, but "NO WAY."

She went to her first Little Gym class last weekend with Chris (the "Birds" class, 10-19 months). He reports that she took balls out of a bucket and handed one to each of the other little kids. She was also a pro at dunking the basketball (on some poor unsuspecting little boy, no less).

She's figured out that when someone opens an exterior door and comes inside, the alarm beeps twice, and she usually drops whatever she's doing to head for the back door when she hears that noise to go see who it is.

Here are some photos of sixteen-month-old Scarlett!





Scarlett and her Daddy check out the new sand and water table. Winnie does her best to look completely disinterested.





Scarlett says "moooooo"!

Girls Trip to Boerne and Feeding the Deer with Grandpa

Scarlett spent a fun-filled afternoon with her Grandma, BB, and my Godmother Cherry in Boerne, just outside of San Antonio.



We had a delicious lunch at the Peach Cafe followed by shopping. Scarlett needed to apply some "lipstick" (chapstick) before heading out to shop.



Checking out the pretty flowers.



The highlight for Scarlett was playing in a fountain in a little park where we stopped to take a break.



After we got back to New Braunfels, it was time for Scarlett to feed the deer with Grandpa.



Notice the deer in the background getting the heck out of Dodge when Scarlett started to head in her direction. (Smart deer. That, or Winnie must have tipped her off.)

Scarlett Meets Pockets, Glyn, and the Tiger

Scarlett traveled to Fredericksburg for an afternoon with her great-grandfather (my Dad's Dad) and his lovely wife Glyn. I call my grandfather Pockets (as the story goes, my older cousin was always interested in the things he had in his pockets when she was a toddler, and the name stuck). Pockets and Glyn have a home in Fredericksburg where they like to spend time when they are not in Albuquerque, where they live full-time.

When we got to the house, Pockets and Glyn had a surprise for Scarlett -- a big stuffed tiger! Background on the significance of the tiger: For most of my grandmother's (Gammy) pregnancy with my Dad back in 1945, Pockets was on a destroyer -- the U.S.S. Kidd -- in the Pacific during the final year of World War II. The other sailors referred to my Dad as "the little Tiger" and would ask Pockets every time he got mail, "is the little Tiger here yet?" After my Dad was born, Tiger evolved into Tig, which my Dad's family still calls him to this day (and he is Papa Tig to Scarlett and my nieces).

Scarlett likes stuffed animals, but she's never gotten really attached to any one in particular. Much to my surprise, she LOVED the tiger. Not just liked, but LOVED. Hugs and kisses galore.

Scarlett meets the tiger, and it's love at first sight.





Tiger cuddling and back scratching from Pockets -- what could be better?







With Memorial Day around the corner, we'd like to thank Pockets and all other veterans and active military for the incredible sacrifices you have made for us, and especially the 38 men who lost their lives on April 11, 1945 when the Kidd was struck by a Japanese suicide plane off the coast of Okinawa.

Funny Bunny

As I mentioned, Scarlett officially began walking on Easter Sunday. The Kovac family's egg hunt was the day before. Not surprisingly, hunting eggs when you can't walk is a bit of a challenge. Note Scarlett holding my hand while the rest of the kids take off at the beginning of the hunt. Fortunately, there were so many eggs that even a crab-crawling Scarlett had no problem snagging a few.









On Easter Sunday Scarlett went for a golf cart ride and spent some quality time with her laughing duck, which was a gift to Scarlett from my Godmother, Cherry (you tickle him under his arms and he giggles like crazy -- Scarlett loves him, as evidenced by the big kiss in the picture below).







We hope everyone had a Happy Easter!

Fifteen Months Old! (April 21, 2011)

Scarlett turned 15 months old, and the big news? Houston, we have a walker! She was slow to get started (not one of those babies you hear about that takes off running the same day she takes her first steps). She cruised while holding onto furniture for several weeks, then took a few baby steps on her own, then liked walking around holding someone's hand for a week or so, and finally, she's officially walking on her own as of Easter Sunday. In fact, she's so "walking on her own" that she does NOT want you holding her hand. You know, because she's a big girl and can do it all by herself and holding someone's hand for support is for babies. This is her feeling even on hard or uneven surfaces, which is nerve-wracking, but all part of the process, I suppose.

Scarlett has become much more opinionated this month, and is becoming well acquainted with the word "no." When you ask for a kiss, you often get a "no" these days, but then are usually blessed with an unsolicited one a few minutes later on her terms (accompanied by a dramatic "muah!" sound effect). She continues to love to read, but again expresses an opinion about what she wants to read. She usually rejects Pajama Time at night until she's good and tired because she's figured out that is usually the last one we read before lights out. She has started "reading" to herself -- turning the pages, babbling, nodding her head -- often with the book upside down.

Scarlett helps clean herself off in the bath. She dips her hand in the water and wipes her mouth and scrubs her hair, and when it's time to drain the tub, she says "bye bye" to the water. Scarlett discovered the sprinklers this month and wants to play in them the minute she sees them, which can be a problem when it's not a good time (read: toddler fit). We had the same problem during a rainstorm a few weeks ago. Instead of thinking heading for cover was a good idea, Scarlett wanted to hang out in it. She generally loves to be outside, but the bugs seem to love her even more, so we're trying an organic insect repellent to see if that helps.

Scarlett can identify lots of her body parts, pointing to her eyes, ears, toes, teeth, and of course the ever-popular belly button. When you ask where her tongue is, she sticks it out and waves it around. When you ask where her nose is, she points to it, and unfortunately sometimes ... well ... investigates it, if you know what I mean. So, we're working on that one.

Here are some shots of Scarlett on her fifteen-month birthday. Enjoy!

Reflecting on turning another month older ...



"Wait, how old am I again?"



"Fifteen months!?!? Oh my good gracious!"





(Sorry for the lack of posts ... we've been without internet service at the house for over a month, but we're back up and running now.)