Hi Freak

Roger runs every Saturday with his friend Frank. A couple of Saturdays ago, Frank stopped by the house after the morning run. When he left, Teagan ran to the door and called out multiple times "Bye Freak!"
Then a few days ago the phone rang. Rog looked at the caller id and said "It's Frank" before answering it. Teagan ran up to Rog, looked up and said "Hi Freak!"
She's also adding to her musical repertoire. She kind of knows a verse to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. We'll sing "Up above the world so high", and she'll sing "Up a ba ba ba ba high" over and over again.
She's repeating words constantly, she knows some of her animal sounds and colors (because we've read Brown Bear, Brown Bear 500 times) and we're also working on letters and numbers.
She's also learning a lot about time out. We've been dealing with some hitting, pinching and biting which hasn't been so fun. Daycare definitely has its pros and cons.
This past Saturday we tried and failed twice to have Teagan's two year pictures professionally taken. She was fine until we walked into the actual studio where she quickly became clingy and disagreeable. We probably should have just purchased the photos of her with her lower lip out, since that seems to accurately capture some of her more frequent moods. There was no acting out in the studio, she just didn't want to cooperate so we packed up and headed home. Twice. It seems as though we are face to face with the terrible twos.

Below are some recent pictures. The last one is after we got her all dressed up to have her picture taken. That's the best shot I got of her in that dress. The rest are of Teagan playing dress up again. She has adopted Rog's old Woody Woodpecker hat and loves it.

A Potty, A Song & A Bumblebee

Ok, I've been a major slacker lately. Well, on the blog anyway. Though this is usually fun for me, it's not a high priority.
We've had some pretty fun developments in the past few weeks. Teagan is still obsessed with Elmo, but now she's chiming in when I find myself absentmindedly humming "Elmo's Song" because it's CONSTANTLY in my head. But her little "ya ya ya's" and the grinning head-bob that go with them make me laugh every time.
We took her out trick or treating on Halloween. She was our little bumblebee.


She wasn't quite sure what to think at first, but she quickly got the hang of it. Each time a homeowner held out a bowl of candy, she reached in and scooped up the biggest handful she could manage. (I made her put back all but one piece each time!) She was sound asleep in her carseat by the time we got home that night.
In other very exciting news, the potty training process has begun! We bought a seat a couple of months ago and have had it in the bathroom ever since. We haven't pressured her to use it, but we talk about it and read a book to her about it. This weekend she came to us and let us know that she needed to go, and so she did! She has done it once again since, and we know there's a lot more work involved in perfecting the process, but we're excited that we've reached the starting point. Stickers and applause are amazing incentives!

Eight Years

Rog and I recently reached 8 years of marriage. Having very successfully made it past the "Seven Year Itch", we decided it called for a little extra celebration. Roger had the idea to go down to Memphis, and his parents graciously offered to watch Teagan for a night. It was a great plan and it all worked out very well. Teagan had a great time performing for Grandma and Grandpa, dressing up (of course), playing with sidewalk chalk and Misty the dog.

I'm not sure she even really missed us. We of course missed her, but had our own fun by eating a relaxed dinner at an unbelievably delicious Brazilian Steakhouse and spending some time people watching on Beale Street. A fun time was had by all. Teagan also completed her first somersaults this weekend, one of which we managed to catch on video.

Sunny Days, Sweepin' the Clouds Away

We kept ourselves busy this weekend and had a really good time. Saturday afternoon we got a special visit from Cape Grandma and Grandpa for a few hours, so we went to lunch and Teagan made sure to properly entertain them before she went down for her nap and they headed back to Cape. After her nap we had an Elmo-themed birthday party to attend for her friend Nora. Teagan's latest obsession is Elmo, so as we were driving down the street toward their house, she spotted the balloons and started yelling "Melmo! Melmo!" The party was a lot of fun, and all of the kids got to decorate their own little pumpkins outside on the driveway, which was a very fun and very messy activity.
When finished with their pumpkins, they headed inside covered in various splotches of blue, red, yellow and green to sing happy birthday and partake in some bright red Elmo cupcakes. After the cupcakes, it was funny to see a bunch of little toddlers running around with red dye smeared all over their mouths. They looked like little mini Ronald McDonalds...or Draculas, take your pick! Sunday we took an unplanned trip to the zoo to take advantage of the gorgeous weather. It was fun to see Teagan actually watching and getting excited about some of the animals. She seemed to especially enjoy watching the monkeys and the penguins. I'll close this with a few pictures of the zoo and a mini video of Teagan watching her new friend "Melmo".

Victorious Secret

That's the name of the new softball team that Rog and I joined. Last night was our first game, a double header. One game started at 9:15 and the second game started at 10:15. Ouch. This is a sad thing to say, but I got more exercise last night than I have in months, and I am hurting today. Having used muscles that we don't normally use, Rog and I have both been limping around the house. I bent down this morning and wasn't sure I'd be able to get back up. The good news is that we actually won one of the games! And of course we had a lot of fun, which is the important part.
In other news, Teagan seems to be getting her 2 year molars in. This past week and a half her nose and mouth have been like fountains. I think we're averaging about 3-4 shirt changes per day. Of course she won't wear a bib anymore, she just pulls it off, so we have our work cut out for us trying to keep her dry. I hope it passes soon.
Her new favorite phrases are "dopit" (stop it) and "mere" (come here, which she says as she grabs our hands and pulls). She has also started figuring out how best to get what and/or where she wants. We have a kitchen cabinet that is mostly dedicated to Teagan's food and dishes. She likes to look inside and pull stuff out, but it's out of her reach. If I'm standing in the kitchen, she'll come up and gently push me toward her cabinet. Then she'll tug on my pants to swivel me around so that I'm facing the cabinet, and hold her arms up for me to pick her up. She did this yesterday with the light switch, too. It really makes me laugh.
Last weekend we went to a parade. I was really excited that it didn't rain because I knew that Teagan would enjoy it more this year than last. She loved waving to people, catching candy so she could put it in the bag, and dancing to the music. I think she had a pretty good time.

Butterfly Kisses

This weekend we took advantage of the beautiful weather by taking a trip to Faust Park. We took this same trip about a year ago, (see first picture), but Teagan was able to enjoy it a bit more this time around.
First, we hit the carousel. Teagan got to ride it twice, once with Daddy and once with Mommy. Before it started up the first time, she was getting a little anxious and nervous. She kept trying to squirm off of Rog's lap. But once the music started up and the horses started moving, her eyes widened and her face lit up. I know I looked like a crazy person on the sidelines taking a picture and waving like a maniac each time they came around, but hey, I got some decent pictures. After the carousel we walked out to a nearby playground. I think we probably could have saved gas money and admission fees because this is the part that Teagan liked the best. She LOVES playgrounds. And not the little kid ones, but the tall big kid ones, as my mom found out for herself one day. So we spent a good amount of time mostly chasing Teagan around the playground and trying to keep her from running into others' legs (stationary or swinging), falling through any holes, or somersaulting down any slides. When Rog and I decided that we were worn out, we dragged her (kicking and screaming) from the playground and into the Butterfly House. It was getting close to naptime, so she did mellow out a bit while we were inside. We had forgotten that they simulate a tropical setting, so it was rather hot and uncomfortable inside, but we saw some beautiful butterflies, and Teagan was very good about looking and not trying to touch. Overall, it was a fun day. When we walked out, Teagan's hair had curled significantly due to the humidity inside. (See below!)

Where is the "Good" in Goodbye?

Yesterday we said our final goodbye to our pastor and his family. It was a bittersweet day filled with laughter and a lot of tears. Brian lead our church for 14 years, and Rog and I were with him for 10 of those years. He and his family have become personal friends and have made a permanent imprint on our hearts. We will never forget them.
How lucky we are to have known these people that have been so hard to say goodbye to.