Fourteen Months

I'm not sure what Cassandra is up to here but I'm not sure I'll like it.

 Cassandra likes board books in general but there are a couple that she really likes.  Aside from "the Monster at the end of this Book" that I mentioned previously, Cassandra likes the Oscar the Grouch book "Yucchy! Yucchy!" as well as "A Picnic with Monet" and "Little Polar Bear."  However, her favorite new book is one Uncle Greg got her to help Mommy and Daddy, "The Going to Bed Book."  I caught her hunting for it before dinner.

She puts her book down temporarily to smile for the camera and then play a little peekaboo with her zebra.

 OK, time to get back to the book.  It is really funny to see her sit down in her chair and thumb through a book on her own.

Wild Child

I just had to post this series of photos.  It looks like Cassandra reads her shirt "Wild Child", contemplates the meaning of the words, gets an ornery idea, and then proceeds to implement it with abandon.  In this case, she seems intent on rocking the rocker until it goes completely over. 

   

Mommy has suggested removing the rocker part for Cassandra's safety but I'm not keen on doing so because of how she might react.  Also, wrapping a child in cotton doesn't do them any good in the long run because they need to learn.  On the flip side, reason just isn't very effective on a toddler.  Perhaps enough saying "No" with her hurting herself will teach her some caution.  I can already hear some of the snickers from the peanut gallery.  "But Andy, it didn't teach you caution."  I'm pretty sure Janice is one of those laughing the hardest.

Your Spoon Is Not Too Big!

Well, we've decided to try and see how Cassandra does with a spoon.  We got a bending spoon so that we can teach her how to use utensils without it being too awkward.  Since she really likes strawberry yogurt, that seemed like a good place to start...

Not all of it stays in the mouth but she is trying.  We still have to work with her to see the spoon as a spoon, not a stick that you put in your food.  She seemed really excited about the whole thing, almost as if she knew she was doing something that only big girls can do.

New Skills And New Toys

We were able to catch the Empress unwinding after a tough week.  Part of the reason she is so happy is that she is done with the antibiotics for her ear.

She has become really good about smiling for the camera.  We don't really have to do anything other than point the camera in her general direction and we get a smile.

Smiling for the camera.

What does this button do?

High five!

Cassandra was basically overloaded on her birthday, especially as it was only a few days after Christmas.  We opened a lot of her toys but kept a few items back.  Well, today Cassandra got her first workbench.  After all, Daddy will have an easier time working on the house if his helper knows how to pound a nail or run a drill press.

Look At Me!

Cassandra has become more of a dare devil of late.  She has been trying to climb into the chairs but was having trouble getting her leg up high enough.  Well, it seems that her growth spurt has finally given her the vertical reach she needs.  She climbed up into my chair today.  Of course, this means she can continue to climb if no one is around to stop her.  That means the family room is no longer as safe as it used to be.

Cassandra is very proud of herself.

She needs to rest after the effort expended to climb the chair.

Happy Valentine's Day

Cassandra wants to celebrate in her Valentine's Day outfit.  I'm not sure what she is happier with, the holiday cookies or her ear infection starting to let up thanks to a new course of antibiotics.  She is a real trooper.  The biggest outward sign from her is hitting her head like she has fluid in her ear.. 

Valentine's Day Cookies

Mommy decided to make sugar coolies for Valentine's day.  It is not something we normally do but we had a heart shaped cookie cutter, a bunch of sprinkles/colored sugar/balls to decorate with and thought Cassandra might enjoy decorating cookies.

  

 Of course, after all that hard work, one needs to rest...and what better way to rest than to try one of the cookies.  After all, you don't want to offer any to other people if they taste like soap!

I Love Rides

I mentioned yesterday that Cassandra like rocking.  Here are a few pictures of her rocker at home.

Not exactly sure why but she has been making this face a lot lately.  For some reason, when I see this face I begin to wonder if she really is plotting to take over the world.

Nursery Night

We had a "Family Night" at church tonight.  All the kids in the nursery (2 years and under plus siblings) were invited to come to the church and use fellowship hall as a big play room after a provided dinner.  (For those who attended our wedding, that is where all the tables were setup for the reception.)  You could bring your own rides and some from the nursery toys would be available.  Cassandra had fun test driving several other toys besides her tricycle.  And yes, she is in pajamas.  Her daycare had a pajama day called "PJs and Plushibles" that Cassandra wore her pajamas to and took a stuffed dog to show off.

She loves rocking.  Oddly, she doesn't like swings.

"This is not the trouble maker you are looking for.  Move along."

A couple more of the toys she played with after dinner.  It was almost 8:00 when both these pictures were taken and she was still playing strong.  She did have a bit of bother trying to get on the tricycle below.  The trailer kind of threw her off.

Bed Time Is Hard

We still have a hard time getting Cassandra to bed without holding her.  She doesn't like being left alone in her room and will wake all the way up if sleepy and start crying if we leave her.  As a result, we have been putting her to sleep in our arms in the family room.  Naturally, this is something that will need to stop but for now, we give her the plug after she finishes her bottle, pull the blanket over her, and let her pass out.

She is down to one bottle a day but we are not looking forward to taking it away.  We've tried giving her milk in a sippy cup at bed time but that is not good enough.  It must be in a bottle.  Still, it is hard to be too upset about it because the way she complains about it, you feel like you should be guilty.  She acts like not having the bottle is causing physical pain.

My New Wheels (For Outside)

Cassandra received a lot of presents at the end of last year...something to do with her birthday being three days after Christmas I suppose.  Anyway, we've finally started to get some of the last few items out of boxes...usually the items that have "some [read as lots] assembly required."  Uncle Greg and Uncle Doug went in together and got some tricked out wheels for Cassandra.  Here are pictures of her on the tricycle, in our living room, not going anywhere.  Look at how big she is smiling!  And this is just sitting there!

  

 How do you like the sunshade in the background?  With that thing, we will never get rid of the pasty white skin.  There is also a handle that allows us to control the direction of the front wheel, regardless of what Cassandra does.  I'm sure I'll want one of those again when Cassandra turns sixteen.