Little Mergirl

What is the best remedy for awful Kansas heat? Cool water and cuteness of course! In between thunderstorms and days so windy we would've blown away my princess of fang and glitter got to try her very first swimsuit on, in her very first pool!

 

She loveeeed it. After a brief 'OMGosh this water is not warm, I am going to cry!' moment she was overtaken by her primal need to splash. We did get rained on with tree seeds, but it was mostly perfect weather for a nice, cool dip.... in a giant frog with a rainbow roof.


     
90% of her pool time, she refused to play with anything but a red plastic cup. Which she dumped all over herself, whined about for a minute, then did it again and decided it was fun... and then dumped on poor, unsuspecting me! Sharing is caring, don't ya' know?

 

Like always I took enough photos to line the walls of my house with, but I shared some of  my very, very favorites and more H E R E in my Picasa gallery if you really need your daily cuteness boost today!

P.S.

Happy Memorial Day!

Steps of a Sugar Plum Faerie

On Thursday the 27th of May, at 13 months and 6 days old, Illusia took her first unassisted steps!! That's right, my little pixie is walking! I did a quick (and kinda not-so-great) video to commemorate --- her cuteness makes up for my poor editing though, really! You might have to turn your volume up as the music and talking is pretty quiet. Also included for your viewing pleasure is some bonus doll kissing. 

Baby Steps from S a r a h ♥ on Vimeo.

I am currently in the process of switching over all my videos to vimeo which has better quality and youtube is driving me nuts and squishing all my vids. Urgh! video squishing bastards err.. big dummies!!

Anyone else use Vimeo or another youtube alternative? Let me know if you have any experience with a good one!

Nature Blues, Nature Hues

Playing along:

Wordful Wednesday @ Seven Clown Circus

Wordless Wednesday @ lots of places (thanks to Hobo Mama)

& Wednesday of Few Words @ A Lot Of Loves

****

Just in case you did not get enough the first time:

BUNNY FACE

Bad Days

Woke up in the middle of the night and cannot get back to sleep, have to get some of these yucky day feelings away so bare with me...Today (now yesterday) did not start out bad. We (my mother, Illusia and I) left later in the afternoon (to avoid some of the heat) for a Andover Library visit and a few minutes at the park. After we got some great books and kiddie movies checked out and Illusia crawled around the floor, played with toys and insisted on pushing her stroller around in circles for 5 minutes before getting too dizzy to walk (adorable, but odd---oh well she is my child after all) we decided to head over to the park, which was nice for the most part until the end and Illusia got to swing and play with grass for a while.

It was a hot, lazy day and we were in no hurry and with no prerogative other than to relax and enjoy being together. So, of course something went wrong. First as we were getting ready to leave we saw a man and woman running around frantically looking for their boy. I was so afraid for them and upset because the park was right by a huge lake and I knew what they were dreading. I had to bite my tongue to keep from crying because the whole time I was thinking how I would be feeling if it were my child....scary stuff!

It was okay, just as I was getting Illusia around to go help they found him! Turns out (from what I could piece together from the father's breathless pant and some other eyewitnesses) that the boy went to hide in a tree because he did not want to go home...which makes me go WTH kid!?!? You had a perfect stranger ready to have a panic attack that you were laying face down in the lake somewhere, let alone your poor parents... and secondly WHEW!!

So after a few minutes of relief, we go to the car and it wont start. Sit there for a half hour before a very nice policeman comes and gives us a jump, spends several minutes retrying and finally on the sixth try or so, works. Drive home and let it charge for an extra few minutes, just-in-case-fingers-crossed-oh-please-oh-please-please-please-be-okay and it wont start again.

Things were just starting to get better. Bills caught up, ready to decorate our new home, got a lawnmower from the nice lady at my mom's work to cut down the jungle grass in the back yard, got a little swimming pool and bathing suit for Illusia so she could splash around (that I now have to feel guilty about buying!), signed us up for a great mommy and me storybook time once a week, had (still have?), a nice van with plenty of room for her stuff and space for her to kick her legs and look out the window. A van that has run almost perfect from day one.

And I can feel it all come crumbling down, again.....

EDIT

Got the van fixed and for once it was not as bad as expected! Just  a dead battery and it did set us back a bit but not tooooo awful much. I am really happy over all that the cost was about 1/4 as much as I thought it would be and it is working great again. Thanks for the people that posted to cheer me up, it means a lot! :)

Summer's Standing Still

Summer's standing still,
a smile on her face.
 *
The quiet is like thunder
when there is nothing left to say.
*
Weeds might tell the wind,
to whisper and to blow.
*
So hold tightly to your string
or just give in and let it go.
*
Summer's hands are empty,
streets stick heavy with the heat.
*
The Sun lies in the shade
in the valley, behind the trees.
*
The ground will choke with seeds
as limbs will laugh for joy.
*
Spreading out their leaves
in the rays to feel the blow.
*
Storms are looming over,
ready for the chance to quake.
*
Blue skies will crack open
as white clouds are soaked in gray.
*
But Summer is quite smitten with
the game that they will play.
*
Hiding in the little girl
with a smile on her face.

These Are a Few of Her Favorite Things

My little munchkin, the sweet love of my life, will be 13 months tomorrow. This month has flown by with park visits, car rides, festivals, crafts, baby laughs and messes everywhere. I have documented some of that here, some of it will just be a box of photos and a scramble of half formed memories years from now. But that does not erase the effect, the imprint she makes on me and me on her.

I post a lot about what I love about her, but today I decided to go all Julie Andrews and post a few of Illusia's favorite things. ---Pretend that last sentence was sung all dramatic like, okay. It is privy to the plot.

Favorite Games:

Peekaboo Cutie from S a r a h ♥ on Vimeo.

♥ Peekaboo! --- She loves this like there is no tomorrow. I started playing it with her when she was about 2 months old but she can totally operate on her own now. She will put anything in front of her face to pull it down,.She has not learned to say peekaboo yet but she loves when I, or grandma say it to her.

*

♥ Shark Attack --- This is basically where I hum the Jaws theme and then 'attack' her with my hand, or her pink fish. She now starts giggling and squealing when I start humming that first 'da dum.'
*

♥ Kiss War --- She loves to give kisses, all the time, to everyone. So this is a recent addition to her favorite games. The objective is to kiss the other person before they kiss you. As soon as the words 'kiss war' are spoken, it's on!

Favorite Books:

♥ Funny Bunnies --- She makes me read this at least five times a day. It is only 5 pages long. It is driving me nuts...but I keep reading it anyway.
*

♥ Find the Kitten --- A little kitten that likes to hide. We find her in the garden, behind the shed and in a tree among other places. Illusia loves to point to where she is at. She is right about half the time ^_^.
*

♥ I Play--- A cute little book feature none other than baby 'loony toons' playing with blocks, instruments and more. I have read it only slightly less than Funny Bunnies.

Favorite Naughty Activites

I am not talking about Hollywood Actress goes to rehab naughty. But Illusia has her fair share of tricks and tantrums.

♥ Dirty Clothes Makeover --- She loves to take the dirty clothes out of the hamper and put them...everywhere but the hamper. In the bottom dresser drawer, in her megablocks box, on the bed, all over the floor. It is basically a dirty clothes playground around here everyday but laundry day. What she does with the clean clothes before I can put them away is another story. 
* 

♥ The Whine of Doom --- It starts like a low nasal whimper, soon it has all your hair on end and your head feeling like it is in a vice. Then, it escalates to a high pitched whine somewhere between a hurt puppy and a firetruck siren, full with jumping and hysterics.. Maybe you wouldn't share (let her tear up) your magazine, maybe she is tired and refusing to nap. Either way my friend you are screwed when the whine of doom comes to town.
*

♥ Little Miss Pickpocket --- Yes that is right, she already has kleptomania. She loves to reach into my pockets and steal things. Mostly my cellphone but sometimes she will take Kleenex, the grocery list or even cold, hard cash.

Favorite Words and Phrases

No! from S a r a h ♥ on Vimeo.

♥ "No." --- Okay, so she does not speak this that often. But, she does shake her head no all the time. She also shows her sense of humor this way by shaking her head no when I say certain things.
*
♥ "Hi." --- She loves to say hi, complete with hand wave to everyone she sees. Even strangers walking down the street. And she is quite persistent and will keep waving for several minutes if no one waves or says 'hi' back.

*

♥ "I like!" --- Illusia loves to let others know when she likes something, just in case the glee, screaming and happy smile might not give it away. This is especially funny with food when she says something akin to "Num-num-num-I-like." with her mouth half full.

Favorite Places to Visit

♥ The Park--- She loves most parks, but there is one in particular she likes because they have a lot of rides for little kids that the other ones do not. A favorite is the ladybug ride and the spinny green thing. Also there is a sandbox to play in and plenty of  grass and trails to walk on.

*

♥ Sedgwick Co. Zoo--- Now as a vegetarian and huge animal lover, I have a lot of mixed feelings about zoos, They can help preserve rare species but also I believe wild animals should be kept in the wild if at all possible, not on display. All I know at this point is that the couple times we went there Illusia loved going and seeing all the critters.

*

♥ Target---Red is her favorite color, so the big red carts at Target are a bit hit! They also match her red and green picnic shopping cart cover which goes everywhere with us. Her favorite section in Target is the clothing section because she loves to pull pretty items off the racks.

Favorite Other Stuff:

Boy, I am sooo articulate today aren't I? These are just a final few misc. things that Illusia really loves to do.

♥ Playing With The Kitties --- Illusia loves her kitties. Esp. our buff (in color, not physique) Blaze because he is kind of strange and does not mind being abused by a 1 year old. He does not mind if she sits on him, kisses him and gives him a great big (suffocating) hug or 'pats' him with gusto. In fact he purrs louder the rougher she is. He is just a bit messed up in the head that way....(fyi this in no way means I let her beat my cats, lol. She is usually very gentle.)

*

♥ Climbing Up the Walls --- Okay, not really up the walls, but if she could she would. She does climb all over the furniture now though. Refuses to walk still but climbs and cruises to her heart's delight.

*

♥ Dancing --- Last but not least by any means. Illusia loves, loves, loves to dance. She loves to listen to music, sing along and bounce, jump, kick her feet, shake a leg (or two) & get down.

***

This was fun, maybe I will post more of her favorites another day as she has plenty more! Right now it is time for some stinkyhead to have a bath (hey quit looking at me like that, I meant her.)

 

Good Things, Small Packages

After complaining on my last post about never winning anything, I forgot that I totally did win something cool a couple weeks ago from redshoearts.com and it just came in the mail yesterday. Okay, it was not $120.00 but it was still full of fun! Unfortunately, the fun that I saw in the little pink bucket was a bit harder to find than I thought...

I tried to take a good picture with Illusia as we were trying to make a little (unrealistic) construction paper and paint image of ourselves, but it just would not happen. In fact the project we were trying to do just would not happen. I tried to involve her, explaining what we were doing, having her help pick out colors, etc. However my dear, loveable daughter was intent only on throwing colored pencils on the floor, tearing up the paper I was trying to use, taking my cellphone out of my pocket and calling strange numbers, trying to steal the scissors and eat everything non-edible in sight. In other words, acting like a 1 year old.

   

When I got her something appropriate to eat (yobaby yogurt) she refused by shaking her head 'no' vigorously and doing the whine of doom. So I put it up in case she changed her mind later. Only to try our project again. When no more than 20 seconds later I noticed things being a bit too quiet and looked back to the area I put the yogurt at to see her standing on tippy toes knocking it down, and smearing it on the dresser, the walls and piling it in her mouth. I then exclaimed something like 'WHA-WHY-AHHH!!' before collecting myself.

I tried to be as calm and non-annoyed as possible while picking her up and taking her into the bathroom for a good hand and face washing (somehow she missed her clothes) but she must have sensed I was still secretly yelling 'WHA-WHY-AHHH!' inside because she started crying when I picked her up and all through her washing. :( Obviously, I am the worst mommy ever for not letting her play with scissors, tear up paper and smear yogurt on the wall. After her mini-bath, she came in and took a nap (I was then secretly singing hallelujah) and I get a little more done.

Look at that angelic face! How can I stay even slightly annoyed at her? Darn baby superpowers! The image is about half finished. I used painted, glued on coffee filter for the hair and wings, construction paper for the face & body and the extra coffee filter dabbed in paint for the dirt and what might turn out to be a tree, if I can manage to make it not look too craptastic. I might just decide to scrap it and start over----While Illusia naps, lol.

P.S. Thanks redshoearts.com, I am sure we will get a lot of use out of this :)!

Take Me to the River

I know two posts in two days, what is going on? Well, last Saturday we went to Riverfest, which is a huge event here in Wichita. I was waiting until I had all the images to post and now I do! Illusia had a lot of fun making a 'hurt' teddy bear well at the teddy bear clinic, getting a beary cool tattoo, meeting Clifford: the big red dog, playing with an ever-fascinating balloon, buying some goodies like a cardboard fairy tales book and pink cat puppet and getting our picture taken all professional like together, for free!!

Kindred Reflections - Most Popular Mom Contest

I look so horrible and makeupless, blah! But, Illusia is such a cutie so I still love the picture to pieces despite my horrid-ness. If you could find it in your hearts to please vote for us in Kindred Reflections - Most Popular Mom Contest it would mean a lot, as the winner gets $120.00 dollars and we could SO use that right now! Plus it would be awesome to win something cool, ever, in my life. lol. The image or link under it take you to the correct page and all you have to do is comment on the photo on facebook and it counts as a vote!

More fun we had that day:

     

More image of Riverfest fun can be seen in this gallery here: Rivery Fun

Sense of Touch

Sense of touch: grass, woodchips & sand.
These are from a park visit a couple weeks ago.
Illusia loved feeling all the textures with her little fingers.

__________________________________

wordful wednesday @

For the Kisses

 I don't have much to add today. Only a silly, corny poem I just made up this second:

For the Kisses

I do it for the kisses, 

I do it for the hugs.

I even do it for the messes

you make upon my rug.

I do it for the hand to hold

and the eyes that gaze so true.

I love being a mommy

and I do it for you.

I do it for your messy hair

when you first wake up.

I do it for the food you pretend to eat

...only to spit up.

I do it for your sleeping face

and the laugh that gets me through.

I love being a mommy

and I do it for you.

Very Faerie Birdhouse

 

After Illusia's nap, we finished decorating our birdhouse. Well, I might add another thing or two to it, but it is mostly complete. We now just have to get some hooks and it will be up and ready for our feathered friends.

I must've lost all of my paintbrushes during the move, so it kind of put a damper on the decorating. I also seemed to loose the tinkerbell stickers I was going to put on it ;(. So, I improvised with an assortment of q-tips, fingers and colored pencils dipper in paint. And I used a mini hot glue gun to glue on the little faeries. I think it could have been a lot better looking than it is, if I had found the proper painting supplies but, I still am proud for finishing it and I doubt Illusia minds my sloppy decorating.

I really hope the birdies like it!

Crafty, for Nature

Earlier today we went to a local 'O.K. Kids Day' hosted by the Great Plains Nature Center here in Wichita. It featured a lot of cool crafts and information on the local wildlife. Illusia got to help in the making of simple wood bird house (which we plan to decorate and post the finished results later!) 

We made a great bird treat with a pine cone and some vegetable shortening covered in birdseed. We got a free pouch of wildflower seed and a wonderful little Burr Oak Tree sapling to plant. Lastly, Illusia got to practice her artistic skills on a pair of toilet paper roll binoculars! She got to see a lot of other kiddies and seemed to have a great time being crafty, for nature!

Here are some pictures of the event: