Another one bites the dust

O lost ANOTHER tooth tonight. That makes 3 teeth in 8 days. This last one grossed me out the most though. That wiggly dangly little guy just hung out, hung on for days. Poor O wouldn't bite anything and EVERYTHING had to be cut up in teeny tiny bites. And, it had to be soft. Feeding her was tough.

The thought of her playing with it in her bedroom for the next hour, until it came out was just too much. She's a determined little gal and I knew she wouldn't sleep until it was out. So, tonight, I helped her yank it out. LT tried and said it wasn't ready. Pshaw!! I wouldn't even try to help her with her other ones because it made me too woozy, but I sucked it up and we yanked it out. She was thrilled and she had me text the tooth fairy to make sure she stops by tonight.

"A BISON"

Smile!

HEYYYYY!!

This was a special pose. 

She even practiced it in the mirror before the shot.

The tooth.

Wuggle Pets

Grandpa gave O wuggle pets for Christmas. Oh boy, was she happy. She has brought them to life over and over again. Each time she loses a little more of the stuffing and stars that belong inside. Anyway, we were heading out the door to church this morning and she had one in each hand. We were telling her to come a long and she held them up and said "They want to praise the Lord!"

We thought that was pretty cute.

Basketball

I love basketball.

The Naval Academy is nearby and occasionally there are good deals on tickets. O and I have been to 3 games this season and we are loving it. This past Saturday night we had a "girls night". Two of my other basketball loving friends joined us. It was a lot of fun to banter with them and watch O entertain herself. She brought a variety of lip balms/lipsticks and glitter gel. Her cheeks were glittery and her lips were very shiny. Anyway, here are some of the pictures from our Navy game night.

The beginning of the game.

(I'm sure K will really appreciate me sharing this pic.)

The 14th application of lip balm. It's good luck.

This player was frustrating to watch. 

She hesitated every play and gave up a lot of good shots because of it.

See the nice shiny ring around the lips???

O ended up with a ball that was tossed into the stands. 

As you can tell, she's thrilled that I'm taking her picture, again.

Life with O

While listening to Coldplay,
Me - Hey, this guy who is singing has a daughter and her name is Apple.
O - *giggle giggle* Does she have a brother named bumble bee? *giggle giggle*

We were on our way home from a long errand. O was talking to her daddy on the phone and out of nowhere she says, "Hey, will you please do me a favor? Will you cook dinner for me?"

Last night O lost a tooth. She's been working on this one for a while. We were driving home from a basketball game and since there really isn't much for a 5 year old to do in the back seat of a car, she went to work on the tooth. At bedtime she said she wanted to put herself to bed. We were THRILLED she wanted to do it, and at the same time a bit suspicious. We were hoping she really was going to go to sleep, but 10 minutes later she came out of her room with a bloody tooth in her hand. We, of course, did all of the fun stuff and celebrated with her and took pictures. She told me I needed to text the tooth fairy. It was late and she didn't want the fairy to pass her by. I sent a text to one of my friends, she texted back and I was able to tell O the tooth fairy would be by that night. We have a little pink box we got from the dentist when they took her first tooth. We cleaned up the tooth, put it in the box and put it under her pillow. I tried to talk her into putting it in the little cubby at the top of her bed, but she was determined it had to be under the pillow. She was so jazzed about her tooth that it took a little while for her to settle down and go to sleep.

Fortunately we remembered to do the tooth fairy thing before we went to bed. However, I encountered a slight problem when trying to make the swap. When I put my hand under her pillow, I couldn't find the box. WHAT?!?!? Did she hide it somewhere? She's a sneaky thing like that, I think she gets it from her dad, but that is besides the point. She was lying on her stomach, head to one side and BOTH of her hands were under the pillow. I tried to lift the pillow and she moved her head. I tried to slip my hand in on either side and she moved her head. Each time I tried, she rolled over and grunted or something. I was terrified I would wake her up and ruin the fun or traumatize her for life. I mean, who can sleep soundly when you wake up and find someone hovering over you in the middle of the night? How do you recover from that? Anyway, I gave up and went back to my room.

This morning she ran into our room elated that the fairy gave her "tons" of money AND let her keep her tooth. Now, here's a small confession about the "tons" of money. We took a bunch of coins out of her piggy bank and used them for the tooth fairy money. Is that wrong?

Our adventure may continue tonight. O has been working like mad on another tooth that LT and I didn't even know was loose. It may or may not make it tonight.

One other thing, last night I sprinkled glitter on our sidewalk and driveway and this morning when we left the house I pointed it out to O. We told her it was fairy dust. She said, "I'm flying, wait, no I'm not". Funny kid. Anyway, that prompted a lot of questions about how the fairy gets into our house. Tonight O wants to set a "sticky trap" to catch the fairy. I asked her what she would do with the fairy and she said, "I would ask her, How do you get into houses? " And then she would keep her for 5 more days.

O the joy. She is so much fun.

2011 in Review, Pictures

Nothing special happened in January, so we'll skip it.

Here's February. O is keen on dental health.

March

O and her first bike. She's all ready to go for a ride. She ends up hating it for a couple of month.

O cuts her hair.

April

Gardening really means playing in the dirt for a 4 year old.

O graduated from NB preschool.

Easter dress. Ya, that hat lasted all of 5 minutes.

May

O discovered t-ball and wants to play in 2012. Here she is sharing oranges with her friend after his game.

We bought chicks.

10 years baby!!

3 weeks later, we gave the chicks away.

June

Swimming

O performing during the talent portion of our co-op preschool graduation.

I went to girls camp. 

Yep, an oreo and fuzzball facial is the standard here in MD. 

July

Baseball games

LT's gma passed away. 

The 7 siblings were together for a couple of hours.

August

A trip to FL to visit LT

September

O batting down her birthday pinata.

Grandpa and Nana came for a visit. We took them to Annapolis.

And Lancaster. O is not quite so sure about the horse.

National Book Festival.

O and Angelina Ballerina.

October

O lost her first tooth.

My brother married the love of his life.

O and her fabulous preschool teachers on Halloween.

November

O playing in leaves.

BJ stopped by on his way to the White House.

(I have a post dedicated to BJ coming soon.)

December

Festival of Lights at the DC Temple. O managed to give me bunny ears in this picture.

Farewell 2011 and Happy New Year.

I can't wait to see what is in store for us in 2012.

2011 in Review, words

2011 was a great year for our family. Amidst the chaos and peril in the world, our little family was blessed with peace and happiness.

Highlights
O lost 2 teeth
I had my first ever pedicure. Yep, I survived 36 years without ever having one. It was a bit torture and a bit fun.
LT went to a concert with me. Now, my friends, THAT is true love.
We celebrated 10 years of marriage. Wa-hoo!!!
I visited ID in October to celebrate my brothers wedding. I love seeing him happy.
We discovered Bowie Baysox Baseball theme nights. O and I ventured out for Star Wars, Super Hero and Navy night. Her favorite part is the fireworks and running the bases at the end of the game.
O and I visited LT when he was in FL in August.
Mr. Blanchard visited us during LT's birthday. There are a few things as satisfying as being with dear friends.
LT surprised me with a party for my birthday.
We experienced an earthquake and a few days later a hurricane.
O had a Star Wars themed birthday party.
My mum and dad visited for a week in September.

Accomplishments
O graduated from pre-school in April. It was more of a dress rehearsal though, because she really graduates in 2012.
I canned chicken. Actually, it is the first thing I have EVER canned. I plan to do more canning of fresh foods for our food storage. Watch out farmers markets, here in I come in 2012.
LT completed 2 grad level, intensive computer classes. He has 2 wall plaques to prove his utter geekyness.
We finally found a good spot for our kitchen table. (HUGE accomplishment. We've been here over a year and a half, it's about time.)
O overcame most of her concerns about water and became a fish. We had fun at the pool and beaches.
I passed the MD Jurisprudence exam and received my MD Massage license. I'm excited to be legal to do what I love.
I went to girls camp, LT went to scout camp and we both survived.

O completed 2 dance classes and wants MORE.

In 2012 we are looking forward to;

O and I are making a 3 week visit to ID to see my family, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. (LT will even join us for a portion of it)

LT has 2 more computer courses on his schedule.

O will really graduate from pre school this year and start Kindergarten in the fall. (I'm still not sure I'm ready for that.)

In the fall, I will either do massage part time or take a class. I'm exited for either one.