Do-Over?

I'm always late. I hate it. I really have the best of intentions, but especially since my little one was born, I'm late for just about everything. DKG and I have a joke that whatever it is that needed to be done, we should have started sooner.

Apparently photography contests are no different for me. Last week, the subject of the I ♥ Faces contest was "eyes." I dug through all of my pics and had a hard time finding one of my child that I loved and I was feeling a little too lazy to ask some other mamas if I could use pics of their kiddos. (Sad, I know.) So, I found a picture I liked, but didn't love, just because I wanted to do something.

Today, after church and brunch, my Kumquat wanted to run around for a bit. I happened to have my camera with me and took this shoot.

Could I please have a do-over on that whole contest thing? Not that I would have won (not by a LOOOONG shot), but it would have been nice to enter a photo of her eyes that I really did love. At least now I'm ready the next time that topic comes around!

Beautiful Girl

I'm trying a little something new today and entering an I Heart Faces contest. I used to check out the site often but I always seemed to be just a bit too late to enter anything. So, this week's topic is Beautiful Eyes. I figured right away that I should have some photo in here somewhere that would be good for this category, since I do think K's eyes are just gorgeous. I've realized I have a hard time getting her to hold still long enough to get a good picture of them. But, I'm entering a photo anyway.

I took this one in our backyard on an unusually sunny and warm day this past winter. I love the mischievous little look on her face and in those big brown eyes. :)

Ipsy, Ipsy Spider & other Izzieisms

So, I'm breaking my personal rule here about using my girl's name, but I'm finding it harder & harder to call her my Kumquat as she grows older. I should have picked a fruit with an easier nickname! :)

Here's a quick stream-of-consciousness post about some of the precious things my precious girl has been saying and doing lately...

• "Ipsy Ipsy Spider Water Out" = Itsy Bitsy Spider
• "Hosiple" = Hospital (where Daddy works)
• "Zizzerz" = Scissors
• "A up in bed" instead of just a bed
• Dancing Mouse = Angelina Ballerina, which is a current FAVE show
• Dancing People = Dancing with the Stars, another current FAVE
• She would love to watch episodes of DWTS ALL DAY if I'd let her. She dances along with them and is getting to know the routines surprisingly well. Unfortunately, she also knows everything they say disturbingly well. ("Oh my God, the difference!" is a favorite thing to shout, as is "Match it!" from a Wal-Mart commercial in the middle of one episode.)
• We have about 5 DWTS episodes on the DVR. She identifies each one by the color of Brooke Burke's dresses.
• I've been trying to wean her from DWTS to something slightly more age-appropriate - The Fresh Beat Band. It's her new addiction.
• If you can't tell, she has become quite the little dancer. She's even started taking a little dance class for 2-year-olds. It's so chaotic - and adorable!!
  
• She is quite opinionated about her wardrobe...and has her own style. :) Mostly, she has no interest in wearing anything that isn't a dress...the twirlier the better. She is a ballerina, after all.
  
• She LOVES to wear sunglasses. She actually often will throw an all-out fit if I try to get her to leave a building before she can get her sunglasses on her face. Can you say "diva?" Unfortunately, she can.
  
• She continually surprises us with random words she can read.
• She can find Texas, Tennessee, Kansas, Florida and Arizona on a map (well, at least on her map). We're still working on South Dakota and Missouri. She also knows all the family members who live in each state. That might have something to do with the fact that she asks me "Mommy, where is (family member's name)?" about 49,823 times each day. I actually got a little Melissa & Doug map so I could give her something to look at and - hopefully - help me give her a helpful answer about 20,000 of those times. :)
• She also is quite a little fish. We've tried to go to the pool as much as possible this summer. It's gotten harder lately, since the weeks of 100+ temps have turned our neighborhood pool into a bath. She does love to be in the water!

She's growing so fast! It's hard to keep up with her. She really is growing into the sweetest girl. She gives awesome hugs right now and (overall) is so polite. It kinda cracks me up. We went to a neighbor's for ice cream last weekend and she thanked their dog for the ice cream. :)

Love that girl!