Mama's Helper

You would think it would be a little easier to keep up with the house as Teagan gets older, but it's not! Seems like the only way I can get anything done around the house is to put Teagan on my back. Luckily, she loves it. She often comes to me saying "back, back" or will go get the Mei Tai that I use to put her on my back. She loves to "help" vacuum, and will immediately start saying "back, back" if she hears any mention of vacuuming.

In other news, Teagan has started saying her first 2 syllable word . . . "elbow." It's pretty cute.

Having fun

Teagan is still really enjoying her playhouse. Especially now that she has figured out how to do the slide all on her own. She also loves to squeak the doorbell and roll her toys down the slide. She's not very sure about sharing it with other kids though! We had 5 other kiddos over today for a playgroup, and when another child climbed in the playhouse with her, she burst into tears.

ND trip

Teagan and I recently got back from spending a week in North Dakota. My nephew Owen was born on Sunday 8/9 and Teagan and I arrived on Wednesday 8/12. Teagan did really well on the two flights each direction. I was a little nervous about traveling alone with her, but really, everything went pretty smoothly.

Teagan seemed to enjoy her time with her cousins. She liked it when her older cousins Will (5) and Ethan (3) quizzed her on animal noises, and impressed her daddy when we got home with a new one they taught her. What does a wolf say? Aaawooo! Teagan's version of a howl. She was a little intimidated by Aaron who is only a few months older than her, but did enjoy his toys! And of course, like all of us, she was fascinated with her newest baby cousin Owen. She asked to hold him a few times, and tried to "tell" April and I what to do as far as putting him in a swing or giving him his paci. Teagan also really enjoyed the stairs at April's house. We don't have any at home, so she wanted to go up and down the stairs nonstop!

Overall, we had a fun trip. If only we could get there on a direct flight. I'd love to go more often.

Climbing

Teagan has been practicing her climbing skills a lot lately. The playground and the couch are her current challenges, but she discovered last night that she can climb in and out of her wagon all by herself. She seemed quite proud of that and has been having a lot of fun with it.

Teagan also had us laughing last night when she was trying to imitate some Bollywood moves she saw on TV. We tried to videotape it, but she was more interested in the camera and didn't want to perform.

All grown up

Teagan is learning how to do so many things on her own and loves to practice all her new skills. She says "off" to tell us when she wants her clothes, shoes, or a bow off, but has recently started practicing putting her own clothes on. She can do pretty well with getting a shirt on, or more often, 2 or 3 shirts on! She hasn't managed to get pants on yet, but she certainly tries. She has also decided that baby sized silverware is, well, for babies, and insists on using regular adult sized silverware. And I guess she thinks she has the potty thing all figured out because sometimes I catch her showing her stuffed animals how to use the potty.

Mischief

No box of anything is safe in this house anymore! Teagan has become quite skilled at opening sealed boxes and then quickly emptying out all the contents. She likes to help me unload grocery bags and sometimes she will take off with a box. Before I know it, she is pulling out every bag or kleenex. At least she has a lot of fun doing it!

In other news.... Teagan said her first sentence today, sort of. She was looking out the window at the broom on the patio and said "Dada, bu, swee". Translation: Dada sweeps the bugs.

Cookie Monster!

I made chocolate chip cookies this afternoon, and Teagan really liked them! I've made cookies in the past and she's only been sort of half-interested. Today though, she wouldn't let me offer her bites, she wanted her own cookie! I knew this was bound to be messy, so I put her in her seat with a bib and let her go at it. She decided to use her finger to first dig out the chocolate chips and eat those. When I was cleaning her up, she even had chocolate under her fingernails. Oh my. And now, whenever she walks through the kitchen she points to the cookie jar saying "more, more!" I guess she's a little cookie monster now!

Froggy Friend

Teagan's absolute favorite toy is her stuffed frog. She carries the frog all around the house and loves to give her frog hugs and kisses. I have seen her try to give the frog a drink from her sippy cup on several occasions and the other day while we were eating yogurt, she was quite upset with me when I wouldn't let her give the frog a bite. One night when I was cooking dinner, she was upset that I wouldn't give her "nuh nuh", her word for nursing. I suggested that she give her froggy nuh nuh and she actually pulled up her shirt and tried. So cute.

She also has several other stuffed animals that she loves. They include a dog, a cow, and a penguin.

4th of July

We had a very busy, but fun, 4th of July. We started the day bright and early by going to the parade in Plano. My dad got there early and saved us a spot in the shade. Amazingly, the shade and the breeze made it very comfortable outside. Teagan did great at the parade and was most interested in any dogs that she saw (both spectators and parade participants). While playing with some lollipops, Teagan managed to get one open. Before we even noticed, she already had it in her mouth! So she got her first taste of lollipop and seemed to like it. After the parade we went to Allen to have lunch at Beth's house.

After leaving Allen, we drove to Duncanville to spend the afternoon with Paul's family. The first two times we tried to take Teagan swimming, she was not interested. Today was different. She had so much fun splashing and kicking in the pool.

Thank goodness for Daddies!

Teagan sure loves hanging out with her Daddy. Every day when she wakes up from her nap, she walks out to the living room looking for him saying "Daddy?" as she looks around. On Father's day she woke up and then leaned over and gave her daddy, and only her daddy, a big kiss! She is also a little preoccupied with bugs and I am teaching her that Dad is the one who takes care of that. Tonight when she thought she saw a bug in the kitchen, she went over to Paul in the living room saying "bug" and pulled on him to get him to follow her to take care of the bug.