16 months!

Reading books with Grandpa

Is this a look of fear or what!?!

GO Magic!

Kissing her cute self in the mirror!

Not wanting to sit in the car seat...

Fascia board installation this weekend.

Last week Karmann turned 16 months old! We've had such a busy last few weeks, that I almost forgot! Since I can't remember last week, I'll fill you in on our busy weekend this past week. Friday night a co-worker of mine had a house warming party. Karmann was invited, so she and I let Daddy work on the house, and we went to hang out at the party. Karmann was a gem, and had a blast chasing their kitty around and around the house until the cat settled under the bed. It was entertaining to say the least. Also, Karmann (I think) had her first experience eating strawberries! And she loved them!! I think she ate between 7-10 while at the party! She didn't know how to eat them exactly, and started to lick it, and then shoved the whole strawberry in her mouth and drooled all over herself. She liked it so much, she went back for more! It was pretty cute. No allergic reaction, thank goodness.

Saturday we had another party to go to. It was a cook-out at a former coworker's house. There were lots of kids, and they even had a bouncy house! Karmann was curious, so I let her climb in when there weren't many kids inside. She was having fun, but as you can see from the photo above, she wasn't so sure about it either. Luckily, she didn't fight when I went in to rescue her from more kids. We didn't spend too much time there, as it was in the 90's here this weekend, and she was pretty worn out with all the kids. She also lost her shoe on the way out, which luckily our friends Alberto and Bianca retrieved on their way out. It was a crazy day!

Sunday, a coworker of mine, Karl, graciously offered to help Kris with the house for a few hours. You can see Kris on the ladder and Karl on the future deck in the photo above. While the guys were working, my dad came down to hang out with Karmann and me. We went to get the guys lunch, and Karmann fell asleep in the car. She ended up sleeping for 2.5 hours, so we didn't get much done yesterday. Dad left early, as there were bad storms blowing in starting in the mid afternoon. So Karmann and I went to Target alone later. Luckily, our Target has structured parking on the roof, so there was no issue with rain. It actually didn't get bad till later that night. We ended up loosing power for about an hour around 9 pm. Luckily, there wasn't any damage at the house from the storm.

Today, Karmann was back at daycare. I miss her during the day after a fun weekend! Around 4:50 I got an email that she had gotten her knee and leg stuck between the slats in her crib. She thought it was funny the first time, so she did it again! No boo-boos, so she was fine. They also told me they were pretty sure she was counting to three today. I don't doubt it!! She's pretty smart!! I can't wait till I hear it, though. She didn't get a good nap today, so she ate a good dinner and took a quick bath and went right to sleep. I only hope she sleeps through the night!

Also, I noticed today that she is getting more teeth! The upper left tooth, between her molar and front teeth, has broken through! It also looks like the lower left is coming in, too! No wonder she's been cranky! Poor baby! Growing up is so rough!

Cuteness and Stubbornness

Every time Karmann wakes up in the morning or when I pick her up from daycare, I get such a feeling of happiness just to see her face. What makes me even more happy is when I see her adorable smile and her face light up when she sees me! I am so lucky to have such an amazing little daughter! This phase (as I am assuming it is a phase) is so fun, yet so testing at the same time. Pretend I am writing all of this down so I don't forget...

When Karmann is in a good happy mood, she is so cute!! Her happy little smile and her big blue eyes can light up a room - or a whole house for that matter! She holds her arms out with her hands facing up when she sees you or wants you to give her a big hug! She will run toward you when she sees you at the end of the day at daycare and put her hands up in the air so you will pick her up and give her a big squeeze! She is also a little cuttle bug and loves to bury her face into your neck when she is being shy or just plain silly!

Speaking of silly, she loves to have her belly tickled! And she will roll and giggle and laugh and scream until she can't stand it any longer, then she gets up and buries her head in your lap, while usually sucking her thumb. This is a tell tale sign that she is tired and loves you, but is done with the tickles! She's also started to act like she is going to stand on her head, and she fully expects you to grab her feet and flip her over into a summer salt!! And she will again giggle and get up and want you to do it again and again!

Her cuteness sometimes quickly turns into stubbornness, too! Lately, she has very strongly objected to having her toes and finger nails clipped. This used to be an easy job, as you would usually do it while she was nursing. But now, she will not keep her feet or hands still long enough to even try to get the clippers close to her overgrown nails! And, if she wants to be held, don't even think about trying to put her down, because she will turn into a monkey and give all of her strength to do anything but let her feet touch the floor!! This is usually accompanied by a high-pitched scream, and you can do nothing but carry her for just a little while longer. And you won't be able to forget about her stubborn fits when she is NOT going to sit down in her car seat. She will flat out tell you to your face that there is no way in heck that she is going to do it. The best way you deal with this is to look away, and speak clearly and bluntly and tell her to sit down, and eventually, with a little fuss, she will give in - the little smarty!

When she is otherwise her easy-going self, she is usually reading her books to herself, playing with her toys, or jibber-jabbering away while following you around the house. Though her vocabulary is fairly limited right now, she has a fondness to singing the alphabet song. She definitely has the pitch and the rhythm correct and usually sings six or seven "letters" at a time. At the end of a few phrases she emphasizes the beat and then claps and says "yeah!" just like mommy does at the end of the song. It is so cute! Her other song that is clearly recognizable is "ring around the rosy" in which she says "all fall down" and then also claps. She does like to actually walk in circles and play the game, too. She will get dizzy, but then again, so do you!

She also always has to have something in her hand. Whether it is carrying her little black cat by the tail, or her toothbrush, or a bristle block, or hair brush - she is never empty handed. Many pieces and parts have migrated into the car, since you will have no luck getting her to let go of them until she is in her car seat and distracted by something else.

She is what she is and there's no way I would ever change it! Cute or stubborn, I love her just as much!!

Growing girl!

Taking a walk to get the mail today (before the rain).

Running in the "back yard"

Helping herself to a few graham crackers during the YAF house tour

Dressed so cute for school!

Showing off her belly

Holly's "reserved" hybrid parking space at work.

Mom cut Karmann's bangs again...Miss Tori put it up in a pony tail at daycare today.

Being silly at dinner!

This past weekend was a lot of fun. Though, I should title this blog "How many things can a mom do with a child attached to her hip" because Karmann did not want me to let her go all weekend! So we did laundry, made dinner, got the mail, among other things, while Karmann was hanging on to my hip. We also took a walk to the post office (to mail our taxes) and Grandpa Hare came down and ran errands to Ikea and the mall. Karmann also has started the terrible twos a little early and has started to throw fits when getting into her car seat or just randomly if she doesn't want to be doing what ever we are doing - such as eating at a restaurant. So I have to keep that in mind when planning an outing to anywhere. Overall she is a good baby, but she also has a mind of her own and has a will to survive!!

Also last week, Kris and I hosted the Young Architect's Forum meeting at the house. It was (obviously) an in-progress construction meeting. Karmann came along and had a great time with all the people. In all we had about 20 people, mostly Kris' students, but a couple of our co-workers and other architects joined to see how things were going. It was also during Karmann's dinner time, so it was a little challenging getting her to eat. She decided that she wanted her graham cracker, so by golly, she just went and grabbed the bag and popped a squat down in the middle of the floor and pigged out! She was content and I didn't have to chase her around, so I let her eat as much as she wanted. She was a good girl the whole time, so why not "reward" her!

Last weekend, my good friend Kimmi and I were lucky to leave the men and kids at her home and we got to go to a movie - Alice in Wonderland. We had a good time, and Karmann, Oskar, and Ben kept the guys on their toes. It sounded like Karmann had fun with their jack russel, Marley, as they got to be good friends! To our surprise, the kids were still awake when we got home, and the guys were both almost asleep on the couch! Karmann slept most of that night, so I didn't complain.

On a random work note...the City recently dedicated 3 "prime" 3rd floor spots to Hybrid vehicles. The funny thing is, is that that's the "reserved" floor for all the upper management and CEO's of the businesses in CNL towers. So the other night, I was actually walking out with our director, who is used to his employee's parking up stairs, so when I walked to my car, which was parked next to his, he was kind of confused, though, after he saw I had a hybrid vehicle, he was happy to see that I was taking advantage of the spot. The other ironic thing about it is that now that I'm parked on the floor level that is connected to the pedestrian bridge, I don't have to take the stairs - so if I start gaining weight, I'm blaming it on that! Anyway...

Quick house update - Kris is working over there every spare minute, but things are not moving too fast right now. We do have the "peel and stick" layer on the roof and are waiting for the metal standing seam to be delivered and installed. We are also waiting on the doors and windows to be manufactured and delivered, so we are kind of in a holding pattern. Once things get moving again, I'll be sure to take more photos, etc. Have a good week!

Spending Easter at the Beach!

Watching the seagulls run around

Mom and Karmann

Stop taking pictures and lets get in the water Mom!

I'm getting so big!!

Let me down Dad!

Cousin Amara and Karmann - both Florida beach bums!

Ready to go!!

Cousin Amara's "puppies"

Karmann knows how to make a barking noise - kinda!

We had a great day today! It wasn't your traditional Easter Sunday, but great non the less! We went to visit Keri, Choy, and Amara in Tampa today - and we went to the beach! It was pretty packed, and it seemed to take for ever to get there due to the traffic, but once we were there, it was the PERFECT beach day!! Sunny, breezy, and not too hot. The breeze was still cool enough that you did not get hot. We all had crazy sunscreen on, so I don't think any of us got burnt, thank goodness, though a little sun would be good for me!!

It was a long fun day, so I must get some sleep myself. Let's hope Karmann will sleep all night after this busy day!

Happy Easter!

Karmann giving hugs to her Easter piggy from Aunt Sarah

Picking out paint colors for the exterior of the house with Mom and Grandpa at the paint store Friday

Back roof cantilever - there will be a deck off the back here.

Kris has one fascia board up on this side in this picture.

Kris is installing his "scaffolding" to give him access to the fascia and soffits. I guess this is one good reason not to have the sheathing on the east and west walls yet.

Happy Easter! Sorry its been a week (already) since I've updated the blog. Not too much happened this week on the house from a visual perspective. We are planning on the roofers to work this week and hopefully get the roof done. Kris is trying to get the fascia boards up before they come, but it is going slow, so not sure if it'll get done before. Also, we are giving our first "tour" of the house on Thursday for the Young Architect's group, so there's a lot of "cleaning up" to do.

We are in the height of the spring allergy season here in Orlando, and I have gotten a taste of what its going to be like living under two massive oak trees. Honestly, I will have a ban on opening any window, no matter how nice it is out side due to the amount of pollen that falls!! It is crazy. But, we'll get used to it. I think Kris is thankful that I made him change the roof from a flat roof to a pitch now! There's no way getting away from the pollen anywhere, so we'll be fine.

On a different note, Karmann is growing up so fast. She is the sweetest little soul! I know I've said that a lot already, but I'll keep doing it because its true! I was happy to take Good Friday off with her, since the daycare was closed. Grandpa came down to hang out with her too! We had a fun day and even took a trip to the paint store for Daddy. The photo of her playing with the paint samples cracks me up, because with her gibber-jabber, it was as if she was picking out the colors. Too cute! We also had lunch with my work friends at the new Greek restaurant just up from our condo, and she loved the falafel and gyro bread! She should, since I ate at the previous Greek restaurant on a weekly basis when I was prego with her! By the way, the fries are really good too!

Karmann's latest words are "cracker" "up" and "shoes". She also tries to repeat a rhythm or song as close to you as possible, and she's pretty good! Today we were sorting out our laundry, and I was saying "darks" and "lights" when I would pull out the clothes from the hamper, and she would repeat, "daa" and "laa" and play with the clothes. It was adorable. We also have this thing we do when we take her socks off - we pull them off, then she smells them and we say "stinky socks", well, she was grabbing Kris' really stinky socks and doing the same thing - poor little thing - this would be the only good thing about having a stuffy nose! So she played along.

We are heading to Tampa tomorrow to visit Kris' sister Keri and the family. We aren't sure if we are going to go to the beach or not - as it has been perfect beach weather these last few days!! Why not go to the beach on Easter Sunday, eh? What ever we do, I'll be sure to take pictures.

Also, we would like to congratulate Kris' brother Brian on the birth of his baby girl! Abigale "Abby" Reese Stenger was born April 2nd! Welcome to the club B!! Can't wait to meet her in a few weeks!

Have a great holiday everyone!