Sweet Penny Jane

I'm going to start writing here, somewhat regularly to document parenting and life with my sweet Penny Jane.  A friend of mine has been doing this regularly since her son was born and it has motivated me to try as well.  I am really looking forward to being able to go back and read posts when she is older

Penny turns 16 months old tomorrow, holy crap! Where does time go?  She had her 15 month well child check a few weeks ago...after almost 2 months of what seemed a never ending ear infection.  Poor baby!  She is all better now though.  Her stats were: Weight: 24lbs.6oz (65%), head (65%) and length (95%) she is super tall for her age and almost catching up with little Molly Bakker who is 8 months older than Penny!  She is now walking with ease and is quite a little monkey.  She is very limber and tries to climb everything, she is also really good at going up and down the stairs on her own (on her bottom, or "boomper" as Ryan calls it). However, I have recently caught her trying to use the railings and walk up and down so we're going to have to be more careful with the stairs now!  She goes to daycare 1 day every week where she enjoys playing with the other kids and going up down the play stairs there! This girl loves to climb!

Penelope seemed to slow down a bit in developing language while she was sick, the doctor explained this is common from ear infections since children have a hard time hearing others or themselves trying to speak when their ears are infected.  Since she has been feeling better she has started talking and trying to say new words at such a quick pace.  She now says: Momma, Dadda & Daddy, Doggy, Kitty Cat, Cheese, toes, belly button, knee, shoes, Ball, Up, MaaaMaaaa (which I think was her attempt at Grandma), wawa (anything to drink), Yuk, Uh-Oh. I'm sure there is more that I'm not thinking of right now.   She is also learning body parts and her favorite song is "Head, Shoulders, knees and toes" as well as "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Patty Cake".  She loves to make people smile and recently started dancing A LOT when she hears music.  She will stop what she's doing, look at you with a big smile and then start bopping up & down.  Penny also enjoys reading books, of which she has many, thanks to all the birthday books from family and friends.  We read a few books every night before bed but sometimes throughout the day she will go to her books and grab one and back her self up to my lap & sit down, wanting me to read to her.  Her favorite books right now are a disney ABC book (also one of her fav. songs I forgot about earlier), That's not my Pirate, "A is for Apple" slider book (thanks Darren & Abbie!),  "I love you Stinky Face" (thank you Aunt Alison & cousin Madyson).  We just finished reading her "The BFG", one of my favorite childhood books.  We started it soon after moving and would read a little before bed every night.  Penny's favorite toys right now are her new kitchen set & play food (Thanks aunt Amy & cousin Ella!) and getting into her drawer of cups and plates etc. in the kitchen (all plastic of course) as well as her shoes.  She also loves trying to put on our shoes and trying to walk in them already!  I try to keep the closet doors shut so she doesn't get them but I think she has a 6th sense for this and is always in there if it is ever left open.  I also recently set up a low cupboard in our kitchen with all of her food and snacks, thanks for the suggestion Amanda!  Now she regularly goes to her cupboard when she wants something to eat, grabs it & brings it to me.  SO much easier than holding her in the pantry and trying to figure out what it is she is saying she wants :)
I'll try to upload some pictures of what we have been doing lately and update with another post soon!

Memory #7: Penelope The Prelude

When I was sixteen I was SO excited to get my license and a little bit of freedom that seemed like SO much more back then.  I was all set to get my sister Katie's old car but then unfortunately I was rear ended in this car while driving with my dad when I still had my permit.  Not surprisingly that small accident totalled her car and she needed to get a new one and then subsequently I needed a car too.
 
My parent's turned to my Grandpa who was then working at The Little Nickel.  He was the family's "go-to-person" for many things one of which was cars.  He was so knowledgeable at finding good used cars, through the adds in the Little Nickel.  I'm pretty sure that is where my parent's found the Corolla in the first place :) 

My Grandpa was good at finding good deals on used cars but it was not a quick process as he patiently waited for a good deal to come a long.  I was anxious for a car and finally the day came...I was almost 17 years old by this time :) I remember my dad telling me that him & my mom were going to meet my Grandpa to go look at a car for me that afternoon while I was in school.  I was beyond excited.  It was all I could think about that day at school and I couldn't wait to get home to see if they had bought it.  I had no idea what kind of car it even was!  ...and was a little nervous it would be a big old boat of a car.

When I got home I was so happy to see that they had picked out a cute little 2 door Honda Prelude WITH A SUNROOF!  I was in heaven.  I remember going to Bath & Body Works with my sister Katie and buying some air freshener and wipes especially for the car (even though it smelled fine).  Sometimes I have smelled the same scent at B&B works and it takes me right back to that time, driving through Edgewood to my best friend's house with the windows down and the sunroof open :)   I named her Penelope

Penelope was a great first car,  thank you Grandpa!

Memory #6: Beard

The last time I visited with my Grandpa at his house I remember he was holding Penelope (and she actually let him!)  She had been experiencing some "separation anxiety" and would usually cry whenever someone else would hold her for more than a minute or two.  On this day however, she was happily content in her Great Grandpa's arms.  It was such a sweet moment because she seemed to be in awe of his beard. She was just staring up at him and gently touching his beard with her little hands.  My Grandma and I were both surprised at how content she was in his arms and how she seemed to like his beard because she doesn't normally like people with beards.  My Grandpa offered the explanation that it was because his was so long it was probably softer than most so Grandma and I joined in with Penny in touching Grandpa's beard and it was indeed very soft :)

Memory #5: The Movies

When I was in elementary school, I think maybe 3rd or 4th grade? My parents took a trip to New Orleans and my sister, Katie, & I stayed with my grandparent's.  During this time my Grandpa & Grandma took us to go see a movie, The Beverly Hill Billies :)  This was a special occasion for us because our parents rarely spent money on the movies and I remember Katie & I were so excited to see this.  Now, if I ever see this movie again it will bring back those fond memories of that time I went to the movies with my Grandpa & Grandpa.

Memory #4: Suspenders

My Grandpa is the only man I know to wear suspenders on a regular basis.  I'm not sure how many pairs he had, probably not too many because he was a pretty frugal man.   It would be a rare occurrence to see him without his suspenders on and if you did, chances were he just had a jacket on covering them up :) 
Love you Grandpa

Grandpa Memory #3: Accent

With a last name like Schmidt, no one ever asks you what your family origin is.  It is a very common German name.  When I was younger my mom would tell me that back in Germany our ancestors were known as Von Schmidt and were actually royalty.  So, if we ever moved to Germany I would be a princess :)  I have realized this is a "Big Fish".

However, when I was a kid, I believed it.  I also thought my Grandpa moved to the US from Germany as a child.  I thought this because when I was younger I had a hard time understanding my Grandpa.  He had a uniqueness in his voice that made it sometimes hard for me to understand him when I was a kid.  Because of this I thought he had a thick German accent.  I actually grew up thinking this and would tell teachers and friends that my mom was a second generation American, her father coming to the US as a child from Germany.  I will forever remember my Grandpa's sincere and unique voice.

Thursday 8.8.12

Grandpa "Smitty" Memory #2: "Gotch'ya"

Ever since I can remember my Grandpa & I had this special thing we would do whenever we saw each other.  He would inevitably at some point casually point to my shirt and say "I think you got something right there Sally" when I was younger I would immediately and naively look down at myself but before I could say "where?" He would tap me on the nose with his finger, smile and say "gotch'ya".  It always made me laugh :) 
As I got older I knew what was coming but would continue to act surprised because I liked having our own  "thing".  Sometimes I would even beat him to the punch and be the one to point out something on his shirt before he had a chance to try to get me.  At some point we stopped doing this.  I'm not sure when, maybe it was when I graduated high school or moved away for college or maybe sometime after I got married...I'm not sure.  And I actually forgot about this familiar ritual we used to share until a couple of days ago when I walked into his hospital room and saw him laying on the bed.  I instantly tried to make light of the situation and did the first thing that popped into my head...
"I think you have a little something...right there Grandpa".