One and Fun !!

*** Just for the record, this photo was not prompted in any way ... the girl loves her books and her sofa ! If there isn't a cozy lap making room for her rump, this is her second favorite spot.

Doesn't our Little Sweetness look just like an angel ? Sitting on her mini - sofa, reading her "Jesus Loves Me" book. What a good girl !!

The first thing that you have to know is that this photo was taken on Friday. Let's just fast forward a little to this morning .... that would be when Elaina got 2 little spankings. The first one was to get her attention and the second swat was to make sure that she didn't forget. Please keep in mind that we hardly ever spank our child, nor is there reason to. Also, this mornings' "spanks" were really more of a swat. As far as I'm concerned, there is a difference. (you never know who's reading and making their own inferences) So when I was cleaning up the dishes from breakfast and Elaina was sitting on a chair at the table (4 feet from me) playing happily with her sippy cup and scattering the newspaper around the table, I felt secure that by turning around every minute to see her was okay. NOPE. The last time I turned around, she was standing on top of the table !!! Little stinker ! It's amazing that a one year old can make such quick and stealth moves - like a cat ! I don't even have to be reminded that it's only going to get worse. No wonder you hear so many accident stories begin with, " I only turned around just for a minute ... "

And so, Elaina recovered after brief tears and a sobbing cry after only a few minutes. I think that I hurt her feelings more by quickly plucking her from the table and scaring her than I did by swatting her rear. I have to admit that I'm okay with that - I would rather scare her into never doing that again than having her fall on her head. Oh, and did I mention that our table top is granite ? Not especially bounce- friendly. It looks like the next thing on the baby-teaching agenda will be " no climbing on chairs OR TABLES ! " I'm beginning to agree with great-grandma when she says that we need to tie an anchor to Elaina's legs to keep her from climbing. Now, where do I go about getting an anchor ?

After the the excitement of our new centerpiece for our table and Mommy's heart palpitations wore off, Elaina and I went shopping. She was so well behaved all day until the very last store, which even then, I knew I was pressing my luck. We had been out for nearly 6 hours and had a good time together. We stopped for lunch at Wendy's and shared our meal as Elaina bounced in her highchair with french fries in both hands. It was so cool eating out with just my daughter and myself. I go out to lunch plenty with my friends, my husband, and often in my car as I shop, but it was so special just to sit in the restaurant and enjoy a quick meal with my favorite girlfriend of all. We had a no-rush, no-agenda kind of day. A successful day at that - I even found a fall/winter coat for her.

** Editor's note : we weren't really shopping for a winter coat yet, it's just that her summer wardrobe is jam packed and her fall/winter wardrobe is ridiculous already. I just really needed a legitimate item to buy that she would need. Did I mention that she is fun to shop for ? I really have a problem.