FASHION FRIDAY

 

 

A little Toddler glamour, Tate style.  Fairy princess Rose bud dress, multi colored striped leggings and sparkly (noisy) princess shoes.  The crowning glory is the mess of a unkempt hair.  This was a day I picked my battle put a clip in and let her have messy hair.

This is my “GO TO” meal….

I am loving the fresh veggie frittata.  What is not to love?  Fresh veggies which are plentiful right now, eggs and a dash of milk.  Within 30 minutes we are eating a healthy veggie full meal.  Tate is totally all about eating this.  She loves veggies and eggs.  I am back in the classroom this week and having a little leftover is perfect to eat on the run.  Sorry McD, I will no longer be joining the long breakfast line on the way to class.

FASHION FRIDAY

Ever since Tate turned two she has definite opinions on what she likes to wear. This is what happens when mommy lets her dress herself. Starting at the top, polka dot nightie, ruffled skirt, the ever present blue tutu, turquoise leggings and the final touch, straw cowboy hat. Oh my little stylin’ fashionista!!!

Pee Pee!!!

It was bound to happen… and so it did.  While getting ready for bed tonight Tate announces she needs to go pee pee so off she heads to her potty, sat down and pee peed.  Not sure if I am ready for this but I guess Tate thinks it is about time. 

Every day there are new and exciting fun times with a two year old and I LOVE IT!

Do you recognize theses shoes????  Take a guess…. Mostly too cute not to post sorry it has nothing to do with the subject.

CORN!!!!

My girl just LOVES herself FRESH corn.

The aftermath

Three Cutest Cow poke EVER!!!

All dressed up for the big RODEO for Alpine days!!!

I am the proud Auntie of all three of them… Twinkle Toes, Smiley and Sparkle.

AND NOW SHE IS TWO!!!

Just a few pictures of Tate's little friend party... four little kids and two mommies.


Tate is so into dressing herself in tutu's and princess shoes.... even if they are way too big, she wears them with true princess attitude.

I thought it would be fun for all the kids to get to blow out candles... I think I lite candles and let them blow them out until there was hardly a candle showing above the mound of butter cream frosting.

Tate had such great help from one of her China sisters, Eliza... look at the faces on these two.

This little fire craker cute stuff is another China sister Charlee.... Tate just LOVES playing with the big girls and Charlee and Eliza are so sweet to make her feel part of their four year old play.

A bed full of PJ happy children... a perfect ending to a fun 2nd birthday for Tate!!!

l to r front row...Charlee with baby sister Natalee... Tate. Back row.... Eliza and baby brother Sollie. I think Tate needs a baby sister too.

TATE'S SECOND BIRTHDAY EVE....

It is the eve before Tate's second birthday and my heart is heavy with the thoughts of Tate's birth family but especially her birth mother. I will never know the circumstances that would cause a mother to give away such a beautiful angel, I can only imagine how much she must grieve. Oh how I wish she could be comforted knowing how much Tate is loved. She is my heart.

TATE 22 months

Her first "bear paws"... quite an accomplishment since she will not sit still for me to fix her hair often.

Tate has gotten into taking "pisures" using this little McDonald toy. She will hold it up and say "cheeeeeeeeese"....

There has become a love affair between Tate and these boots... She has quite proudly accomplished putting on these boots "self, mommy" and will want to wear them everywhere. Let me just say, I pick my battles with her and these boots are not one of the ones I choose to pick. She has been wearing them in hot HOT weather everywhere.

My girls is a FISH... we try to hit a pool as often as possible.

It is so much fun showing Tate the world and all the wonders to be discovered in it.... this day we discovered the aquarium... she stood in awe at all the jelly fish and penguins.

One more view of her boots. Get a load of those dimples knees...

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

Tate's second year as an American citizen......

She loves flags! Loves them enough that by her request we drove around the neighborhood looking for flags until I put a stop to it after 30 minutes.

21 months of DELIGHTFULness

I love this age! Tate does have the typical terrible twos going on but between the "terrible two" days, she is a delight! Her imagination has taken off.... she pretends constantly... dolls, cooking, pretend food.... TOO adorable not to sit back and just watch with wonder.

She is talking (at least I understand most of it) up a storm. LOVES talking on the phone to her Nana and Gramps. It is so nice Nana and Gramps will indulge her in this... nightly.

She is fascinated with the process of washing her hands, water, soap and teeth brushing. The other day I gave Tate her toothbrush with kid toothpaste. She said "Thanks mommie, good job!" I guess I made the toothbrush with paste to her liking.

As always, Mesa is her constant companion. She will climb and love on her "snuggle puppy". Mesa seems to enjoy this relationship, too.

Everyday is a joy.... such a joy, I wonder if I am in a dream. If it is a dream, please do not wake me!

ONE YEAR A FAMILY!!!

Bittersweet....

One year ago today Tate was placed in my arms turning my world upside down with amazement and joy. That same day Tate's world was turned upside down with shock. Today I cradle my sweet sleepy Tate in my arms and remember both of our emotions for the day we became a family.

FIRST MOTHER'S DAY....

MY TWO GIRLS...

(tate 21 mos, mesa 5 yrs)

What more can a mommie ask except for a little TWIRLING action from Tate!

A day I have been waiting for FOREVER.... and one that will be cherished.

LAST AND FINAL HOMESTUDY!!!

First off, I cannot believe it has almost been a years since Tate filled my arms and heart. ONE YEAR! More to come about....

FINALLY my last homestudy!

The house needs cleaning. I almost called to have it cleaned. Then it hit me.... Are they going to take Tate away because the hardwoods need some cleaning and clutter put away? The clutter is mostly toys... TOYS that are Tate's.

Strange thing about this homestudy.... They are coming after Tate is in bed. They really do not need to see the most beautiful child that has ever walked this world. I am kind of bugged because really why am I getting this final homestudy? Once again I have to roll my eyes at my agency (and homestudy S.W.) and thank my lucky stars that this is the LAST HOMESTUDY!

HELLO GUAM....

Guess who made a call to GUAM with a bill of $46.00 attached to it??!!!!

Well, it was Little Miss Tater !!!

P*E*E*P*S!!!!

Ah, nothing like a taste of your first PEEP on your first Easter!

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY.....

I saw the face of this angel....

(tate is now 19 mos old)

Life has never been happier or the same. Momma loves you, Tate YuZhu!

CALLING ALL MOMS WHO HAVE TRAVELED WITH A WILD LAPCHILD...

I am pleading for some advise from the moms out there who have traveled successfully with a 19 month old lap child. My flight is a 5 hour non-stop on a packed late afternoon flight. What started as a sweet easy baby has now morphed into a wild toddler.

I am still re-living the nightmare of dinner the other night with three spilled drinks... two on me, and a wild child strutting all over the restaurant eating ice cubes from the spilled drinks off the floor.

Oh how I wished I would have followed my motherly intuition and bought Tate her own seat. I guess the cheap inter-voice spoke louder.

TATE-ISM

Tate's language acquisition is bursting... she is saying and doing the funniest things. Here are a few that happen within the past day.

• When Tate sneezes she follows it up with a "bwess you" (bless you)



• Tate was left alone in a room with a Kleenex box. A box that proved too much of a temptation for one busy smart toddler. When I walked into the room I discovered tissues everywhere. One glance at me and Tate grabs a tissue and start fake coughing and wiping her nose. How can I not bust a gut at my clever girl?



• Tate sings along to most everything. With all seriousness, she tried opera the other day. There is nothing cuter than a sweet little voice speaking the language of a toddler singing opera.



• Tate and her Gramps have quite an act going. Gramps will sing the song How much is that doggie in the window and Tate provides the dog barking part of woof woof woof.



• Favorite word right now is "mine".... She will say this about everything around the house. Truth be told, everything is hers. Poor Mesa has just a few balls that are Mesa's. I have had to remind Tate that the balls are Mesa's and she has to ask Mesa if she will share them with Tate. Tate will now pick up the ball and got to Mesa with a one word question SHARE??? Of course, Mesa always shares with her Tate.

BUG BITES AND BENTOS

OUCH!!! Tate was attacked by unseasonably early mosquitoes. I think she must be allergic to them because of her strong reaction to the bites. So strong it had me rushing to the doctor just in case it was something more than a bug bite.



Tate loves to get little morsels of food on toothpicks... Being the smart momma that I am, I zoned in on this fact pretty fast and cracked open our Bento supplies to find these animals picks. She loves them! Notice the bug bite on her sweet finger....

This is Tate's posed smile. I am hoping this "smile" thing will be over soon. Although I love this mug of a smile, I miss Tate's natural smile.

ZOO TIME.....

Tate has started to pose for her smiles. This is what we get when we ask her to smile, including the clenched hands.


Tatie's Auntie Kelly is here from Tampa for a quick visit! The sun was out and spring was truly in the air.... How can we resists taking Nana and Aunt Kelly to the Zoo. We live only 10 minutes from the Zoo and have a season Zoo pass.

Since visiting the Zoo really is all about Tate and her enjoyment, we actually only saw a few animals but spent A LOT of time watching the baby elephant, Zuri and her momma. Zuri was so playful and adorable!

I posed her on this bronze statue. She looks like she is not too sure about this, however, she did not want to be taken off

Auntie Kelly is trying to teach Tatie how to say Rhinoceros... she is very thoughtful when she is being taught this... I think one day this hard word will leave her lips.

ONE OF "THOSE" MOMS!!!

Pre-Tate, I would go to the grocery store and scoff at the moms with kids in sleepers. Well, today I joined the ranks of these moms. Yep, I grabbed Tate in her ever so cute sleeper and headed to the local market for milk and chocolate. Necessities that are needed around Tate's kingdom. Thankfully it was early enough that the store was almost empty. Whew!

FLORIDA BOUND... a few readers have asked where in Florida Tate and I will be going... TAMPA and Orlando area!!! I cannot wait to relax (ha!) in the sun with my toes in the sand. No we are not doing the Disney World this trip.

PINK POLKA DOT TOT

We will be heading off to Florida at the end of March so I thought I better see if Tate had swimming suits that still fit. I have to pinch myself just to make sure that I am not dreaming and this bundle of loving beauty is truly part of my life. I love her so!

SWINGING INTO SPRING!