Mommy's been COOKING!

Oh yes.  It's a miracle.  I cooked dinner two times last week!

I've been inspired to cook more.  Tony's been working later in the evening (not getting home until 6:30 or 7PM or later!) and I just can't wait that long to feed Zoe dinner ... Oh and myself.  I take my lunch break at work at 11 AM since I'm there at 6:30 AM.  My afternoon snack wears off quickly!)

My favorite big sister sent me this AMAZING cookbook "Veganomicon" for my birthday.  And I LOVE it.  The first thing I made was broiled tofu.  The braising sauce was so good and so easy.  It had garlic, the juice of one lemon, water, and a little soy sauce.  The tofu came out great.  And the recipe didn't require me to press the tofu.  I just squeezed out some of the water and was good to go.  I had brown rice and veggies already so I just made a little stir fry type thing.  Tony really enjoyed it too.

I can't wait to make more things! 

Fun Saturday!

The weather has finally decided to cooperate!  It feels a bit like summer!

With this gorgeous weather comes AWFUL (in fact the worse in the country) allergies.  Our pollen and other allergens are at nation highs.  If you don't have allergies, you will if you come here!  It's pretty awful!

The sun was out and the temps were perfect (71 degrees) so I couldn't imagine staying home today.  We did have a lazy morning but we got up and spent most of the afternoon outdoors.

First we went to the park (Alton Baker Park).  We parked at one end and walked to a different area.  Very pretty walk.

Zoe had lots of fun watching all the people riding their bikes and walking their dogs.  In fact every time she saw a dog she yelled "DOGGY!"  She played in the grass a little, but she had a hard time navigating the uneven, grassy, terrain.  (Which was okay because there were a lot of doggy poo and it was like waiting for a bomb to go off-her landing in something disgusting!).  So we moved along to less dangerous territory.















Zoe had a great time until mean mommy wouldn't let her go swimming with the ducks!  She tried so hard to get into that water!  She was not afraid of the birds or the ducks.  She wanted to PLAY!!

After the park, we went downtown (the park is REALLY close to downtown).  Downtown is fun, especially on Saturdays because from April-October Saturday Market is going on.  Saturday Market is always fun and I always find interesting and great things I want!  Plus, there's nothing better then fresh fruits and veggies!  I also discovered this great little store that I think my Auntie Dee would just LOVE.  They have all these girly, antiquey, little treasures.  They really have an assortment of things.  Little nick-knacks, stationary, jewelry, clothes, PJ's, home decor, bedding ... baby things!  Just lots of fun stuff!  I'll definitely be back!

Then after we bummed around a bit, we went to the library!  (Also downtown!)  I love our library (the main branch).  It's always really clean and it's big!  I found a DVD for Zoe and a book involving counting and doggies.  Then I picked up "Wide Sargasso Sea" by Jean Rhys (a friend of mine is doing a long distance book club with this book) and for a little light reading-"The Lucky One" by Nicholas Sparks!  Hehe!  I'm a sucker for his books.  I can read them in like a couple days ... I'm a sucker for his romance novels!  I've read almost every single one of his books and seen all the movie versions of his books.  :)

Anyway after that, we were tired and decided to come home. 

Zoe's had a runny nose all day (I'm pretty sure it's just allergies .. Or at least I hope!) and I've had a headache and burning, itchy, eyes.  It might rain on Tuesday which will help.

Tomorrow will be laundry, cleaning, and grocery shopping day before the new work week begins!

Hope you have a great weekend too!

CATCH UP!

WOW!  SO much has happened in the last 5 days!  Let's recap shall we?

First and foremost, I need to ask for prayers.

Many of you, if not all of you know I'm adopted.  Before I was adopted, I was taken care of and loved by Ted and Carol Wilkinson and their daughter Debbie.  They are actually the ones who found me my adopted family.  Ted has recently suffered a stroke.

Here is the note from Carol that she posted on Facebook.

Dear Praying Friends, 

This is a letter that no one ever wants to write, but Ted is in the hospital as of this evening with a stroke. The doctors looked at the x-rays and say that there is no hope. However, the doctors haven't asked the Lord what He is going to do. We are asking you to pray with us that God will perform a miracle, but if He doesn't we will still trust Him. Our trip to American next month is going to be cancelled and we are waiting for God's next step for us. Right now Ted is in the ICU (emergency) room with constant surveillance. Thank you in advance for your prayers for Ted. Gratefully yours, Carol

Ted, Carol, and Debbie mean more to me then words can say.  They have done so much for the people in Kurume-building a Bible Church and bringing God into their lives.  

So, now onto the new job and Zoe's new day care!

Well, I was very nervous about going back to work.  Being at home for basically the last 8 months has been great.  Some days were hard, but we had gotten into a fairly good routine and I was really adjusting to being a stay at home mom.  Financially, we just needed a little extra push, and quite honestly, I needed to get out of the house a little and have something of my own, accomplishing things and socializing with other people.

I must say, I love my new job.  It's a great schedule-Mon-Fri, 6:30 AM-3:30 PM.  It is quite early in the morning but there's nothing better then getting off at 3:30 PM!  It's a small sized company and EVERYONE is so friendly.  The company sells training materials to various companies/schools/fire departments, etc for CPR, AED, First Aid, etc.  There's a lot to know-mostly product knowledge.  I place orders for people, help them figure out what they need to do for updates and their instructors, etc.  I am on the phone a lot but we all know I love to talk so really it's no problem!

But I think Zoe is the one that loves me being at work the most! HA!

Tony drops Zoe off at daycare since I have to be at work so early and then I pick her up.  She didn't freak out when he dropped her off.  The teachers said she just kind of observed for a while (which she does when we got to someone's house-she just kind of stands in one spot and watches everyone and everything) but she warmed up rather quickly.  I went to pick her up and when I walked in I was expecting her to run up to me and hug me.  Nope.  I walked in, she goes "HI!" and resumed playing.  I literally had to coax her to leave.  Tony dropped her off the next day and said she smiled when they got to the daycare.  The teachers commented on how sweet she is.  :)  She's been eating great there (they provide snacks and lunch).  And she's started napping on a mat, like a big girl!  They don't have her napping in a crib/play-pen!  I'm not sure what their trick is, but she just lays there and goes to sleep for them!  (She does not do that for us!)

There is one girl in particular who is a month older then she is but she is very shy and not totally adjusted to Zoe being there.  But her teacher says Zoe is very sweet to her and tries to share food and tries to play with her but the other little girl just isn't so sure yet.  But I have a feeling eventually they'll become very good friends!

Zoe is only at day care 3 days a week.  They are 3 full days, but still only 3 days.  Tony is home with her on Mondays and Tuesdays and I'm obviously home with her on Saturdays and Sundays.  


It is a temporary job, but they expect it to be long-term temporary if not permanent later on.  But I'm open to whatever.  The temp agency I work for is GREAT.  They are really nice and really on top of things and market you like crazy.  They found me this job within  a week of me meeting with them.  So I'm very confident that if this current job did end, they would place me in another position rather quickly.


Well, I think that's about it.  I better go .. We've had a lazy morning and I'd like to go do something fun since the weather is nice!  Maybe go to the park?!  We'll see.


Love and hugs,
Courtney

 

Well ...

... it's official.

I got the job!

I start tomorrow.  6:30 AM-3:30 PM.  That's a HUGE change in schedules for us!  So, it might be a rough week!

I'm obviously a little nervous and a part of me is sad to leave Zoe, but I know it's the right decision. 

You can uncross those fingers now!  I'll be sure to let you know how it goes for all of us!

15 Months!

I added a picture on the side of the blog, of Zoe that I took today ... It's not the greatest.  I tried to take away the pacifier so you could see her cute smile better, but she got kind of mad.

 

Today she said "baby" really well!  So now, everything might be "baby"!  She also says something that sounds like thank you.  I'm working very diligently to get her to say Zoe.  :)

Also I forgot to tell you something funny that she does.

Zoe's room is upstairs-it's sort of like a converted attic, but a really great space.  (Definitely need a window AC up there though this summer).  Anyway, whenever she gets tired and wants to take a nap, she goes right to where the door is and starts banging on it.  Or if I say "Let's go lay down" or "Time for bed" or "Time for a nap" she goes straight for the door (usually gets there before I do) and starts banging on the door.  It's really cute!

Well, I guess that's it.  Hopefully I can get some more pictures taken over the next couple of days when Tony's off.  Maybe one of us can keep her still long enough to take a few pictures!  She just wants to run right up to the camera as soon as she sees me trying to take a picture!!

What's New?

As you all probably know, I've been on the job hunt for a few weeks now.  I've had a couple interviews but so far nothing yet.

The interview I had on Thursday went REALLY well.  They said they were going to make a decision Friday and have whoever they chose, start Monday.  (This job was through a temp agency).  When I called the temp agency late Friday afternoon they hadn't heard anything.  Soooo, I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.  But I really felt very positive about it.  They complimented me on a few of my responses to their questions, I felt very relaxed and calm, and at the end of it the one lady said "Wow!  I really enjoyed this!"  So, I'm still hopeful I'll get a call on Monday.  Fingers and toes crossed! 

I have picked out a day care, just in case I do get a job.  It's just down the street from our house (pretty much in walking distance) at a small Church.  The staff is really great, it's state certified and licensed, and obviously Christian based.  It was a small group of kids her age ... Really it seemed like the perfect amount of kids.  There was one girl there, a month older then Zoe, who was so cute and sweet!  I think they'd make great friends!  :)

While I'm sad to not be home with Zoe, I feel like going back to work is the best for all of us.  Zoe being in a small daycare, means she'll get plenty of attention from her teachers, she'll get to socialize with other kids her age and makes friends, and she'll also learn! 

Bringing in a second income will give us a little more financial stability and breathing room ... And really that will relieve a lot of stress!

And I'm anxious to be around adults more!  Being with Zoe is great, but I do miss that adult interaction.  And it is kind of nice to not be with Zoe 24/7 ... That can be really overwhelming and tiring.

Tony's doing well at his job.  His schedule changed (a few months ago!) so he's working Wed-Sun.  During the week he works 9 AM-6:30 PM ish, and on the weekends he works 2:30 PM-11:30 PM ish.  He's reporting more and not just doing the photographer thing.  The industry is just evolving more and more to where they don't use photographers (AKA videographers) that much.  They want more of the "one man band" types, who can report and shoot their own footage.  News photogs are more in bigger markets, which let's face it, Eugene is not!

If the weather continues the way it is, I think Tony and I will be looking to move.  Well, we already kind of are looking to move.  But not until Tony's contract is up.  Not really sure where ... Not Arizona but probably more east.  A couple places mentioned: Texas (NOT Wichita Falls!  More like Dallas, Austin, or Houston) and Louisville.  Not really sure honestly.  Tony probably needs to move to a different market to really grow more in his career.

We had wanted to move to Seattle, but after the weather we've been having, and explaining to Tony it's a lot worse in Seattle, that was very quickly scratched off the list!  Plus the cost of living there is a lot.  We'd definitely have to live outside of Seattle unless one of us was making a lot more money! 

And really we're just TALKING about it.  We've still got a good year and a half or more on Tony's contract.  We LOVE it in Oregon and I'd love to move to Portland.  But the weather has definitely been a bit hard on us lately ... Very depressing ... Summer has yet to arrive!  We had 2 days in a row last week of sun and warm temps (Thursday and Friday) but the gloomy clouds and rain came back today and they're sticking around tomorrow!  I think it went back to the 50's or 60's temp wise.  It was pretty chilly!  And it's growing increasingly hard to be so far away from family.  It's hard not having them around when we could use a little help!  Plus, we really miss them!  So, we'll see.

I do hate the heat but I'm dying to see some sun!  When the weather is nice here, it's REALLY nice!  Sunny but not too hot!  It's just that those days are few and far between!


So anyway, that's about it from us here in Oregon! 

Love and blessings.

Courtney

Oh and can you believe it?!  Tony and I have been married 8 years today!   Oh and I had a birthday Wednesday ... Leaving the mid-twenties and heading quickly to 30.  Thank you for all the great birthday wishes and cards and presents too!!

Let's Vacuum!

I had just finished vacuuming the house and Zoe decided she needed to redo some spots I apparently missed!  :)

Zoe's First Haircut!

Today I finally took Zoe to get her hair cut.

Now, I know what you're thinking.  She doesn't have that much hair!  And she really doesn't.  However, what she does have, was very very uneven and just a bit crazy looking.

The place I took her was great!  They had little seats like a horse and a car for toddlers/kids, but we decided to just sit her on a booster seat.  Honestly, I thought it was going to be a disaster.  Zoe can be a bit ... Well ... Dramatic.  I thought for sure she'd scream and cry and make a big scene.

But she just sat in the little seat and watched what the girl was doing in the mirror and she did great!  The lady who did her hair did a great job.  They didn't cut off a lot, just evened it out.  (She didn't even charge us!)  All the ladies were impressed with how well behaved she was and how still she sat!  I was very proud!

I was a bit sad, because in the back her hair was getting a bit curly.  (Wonder who she gets that from!)  But in order to get it all evened out and pretty they had to cut the curly parts!  :(

I took a lot of pictures!  I felt like a nerd, but they said mommies do it all the time!






 


*They were collecting hair to give me!*







*When she turned the little buzzer thing on, Zoe looked around trying to figure out what that noise was and where it was coming from!  Amazingly enough though it didn't scare her!*



All better!!!

I got her some cute stuff at Target and Kohls this weekend (I didn't spend more then $5 a piece-for bottoms or tops!) so I'll take pictures tomorrow when she's all dressed up!

Sorry I didn't take any video of them cutting her hair but we were talking and what not so it wouldn't have been a very good video!

Who's Bobby?

Over the last couple of weeks Zoe has started saying (or yelling) "Bobby!"  And we couldn't for the life of us figure out who or what Bobby was to her.  We don't really say bottle anymore, cause she doesn't use one ... But I think I've figured it out.

I think she means, Bubby.  Our dog!  She was yelling "Bobby!" today and then pointed at the dog and ran after her.  So I think that's what she means.

So currently Zoe's vocabulary now consists mostly of: Bobby, mommy, hi, daddy, uh oh, ow, and something that sounds a lot like excuse me.  Those are things she says daily. 

Speaking of Bubby our dog, here's a funny photo of her.  We're pretty sure she thinks she's a cat.  She acts more like a cat, then a dog.



I also snapped this cute picture of Zoe the other day.  We were relaxing after dinner one night ...

Zoe Loves ...

1.  Banana Bread ... 

I have been making banana bread like weekly and she LOVES it.  She recognizes it and just freaks out when she sees you with it.  There is no hiding banana bread from her.  I think if she eats anymore, she might actually turn into a loaf of banana bread.

2.  Curious George ...

Tony got her this Curious George stuffed toy for Christmas and she quickly grew attached.  And the bond has only gotten stronger.  Poor George's left wrist came undone and Grandma Kathleen had to sew him back up.  It took us a little while to realize, so he did lose a bit of stuffing.  But he's all healed up now.

3.  Mickey Mouse Clubhouse ...

This is actually a cute show on The Disney Channel.  It's on in the morning and at the end of the show they do the "hot dog dance" and Zoe will literally drop whatever she's doing when she hears the song start up and just start dancing.  It's hilarious.  I should try and record her watching it.

4.  Just about any theme song to a TV show ...

I think it's music in general.  But she loves it.  When she's really into it, she stomps, and claps her her hands and her face gets really intense like she's really concentrating.  It kind of reminds us of Steve Martin in the beginning of "The Jerk". 

5.  Carbs ...

Zoe is not much of a meat eater.  (Tony blames me for that for some reason!  Hehe!)  But she will eat up her veggies, potatoes, bread, and pasta, like there is no tomorrow.  

6.  Sleep ... 

Sleeping she gets from Tony.  :)  She's still taking a morning nap and for a while it was her longest nap of the day, taking a shorter one in the afternoon.  Which seems just backwards to me.  Today she woke up late, so she didn't take a morning nap but took an early afternoon nap and I think that works much better.  Plus, if she goes back into daycare, that's what their schedule is like.  Just one nap after lunch.  Although they said if she needs a morning nap they'll get her to take one.  But I don't think she needs one.  :)

Oh and just a random bit of information Zoe now says "Ow" when she touches/hits you.  She hit me the other day with a block and I yelled "OW!!"  cause it did hurt so now she just says it when she touches/hits you.  We are trying to break her of the hitting thing, but I've heard/read it's pretty normal for this age.  I'm still worried about it because again, if she goes back into day care I don't need her hitting anyone!

She also says something that sounds like "excuse me" when she burps.  When we were watching Savannah and she burped, she would always say "excuse me" after.  And we always say "excuse you" after Zoe burps or toots.  So now she says something that sounds like "excuse me" and it's really cute.  I should also try to get that on video.

Under construction!

Yes, it suddenly got very boring here on Zoe's blog!  I wanted to change the design but haven't been able to find anything I like.  Soooo, it's just going to be a little boring for a while!  I also decided not to post a picture every month on the side, because now that she's a year old, she isn't changing THAT much.  So I'm going to post one every 3 months.  (That's just on the side ... I'll post pictures in posts like I normally do).

I'm trying to feel summery ... We'll have a day of sun and then a week of rain and clouds.  They said it was supposed to be sunny this afternoon, but it's raining.  :(  While we LOVE it in Oregon, we do miss the sun.   Especially when it's almost the middle of June.  But I am in no hurry for the heat ... We haven't bought an air conditioner yet!!

Hope you all are having a lovely weekend!!  Enjoy some sun for us!

We know how to play!

This is what the living room looked like after a day filled with playing ... And I did pick up a couple times throughout the day, but after a while, it just seemed pointless.  So, after bedtime I picked up again.  Should be good for 12 hours!



Here's another example of Zoe playing with a non-toy.  It's a roller for painting .. Minus the foam roller thingy.  After seeing me vacuum she picked this up and just started rolling it across the floor.  Not sure if that's what she's "pretending" it is, or what .. cause she has an actual play vacuum.  I think she just liked this thing.

Warm Weather!!

It finally sort of felt like summer today!  I think we got up to 80 degrees?  Not positive but it was warm enough for Zoe to wear a tank top and shorts!!  Yay!  It was still cloudy but at least it didn't rain and at least it was warm!

I tried to take pictures of Zoe in her super cute outfit but it's SO hard to get her to stand/sit still!  Here are a few I managed to get.

This is what happens when we don't take a nap during the day .. She plops herself down on the floor at 6 PM!



She hasn't ever really been attached to a blanket .. And even still she's not "attached" to any particular one.  But when she's sleepy she loves to snuggle with one.



Zoe is constantly doing her "Downward Facing Dog" pose. 



This one would have been great had she not moved, leaving me to cut off the left side of her body!



And finally, I managed to get her posing really cute!!! 



Loving this warm weather ... Lots of cute summer clothes to be worn!  :)

Tomorrow I think we're going to go run and play at the park.  (A different one then the one we normally go to.)  Could be interesting!  Pictures to follow!

Hope you are having a fabulous weekend!!

Toys

Well, after my last post about her playing with things that aren't toys, I decided to write about some stuff Tony and I have been discussing regarding toys/material items.

Let me preface this by saying, we aren't opposed to nor against toys. 

We realize and understand that kids love toys.  Kids love to play.  I remember having a lot of toys growing up and I especially loved playing with dolls and dress up clothes, or dishes and play food, so I could play house.  And I know Tony loved Legos, video games, GI Joes, etc.  It's just a part of being a kid.

But we're hoping we can lessen the emphasis on having toys or getting toys as presents, with Zoe.  I've seen how some kids can become very materialistic, especially in today's generation with all the high-tech items, iPods, iPads, iPhones, etc.  We just don't want Zoe to get all caught up in those things.  Again, we're not opposed to them ...

In today's economy, with so many families struggling, we want Zoe to grow up knowing there's much more to life then stuff.  We want her to know there are people out there struggling just to have food or clothes, and shelter.  We want her to know somethings are a privilege not a right and to be grateful for what she has.

When we were going to do Zoe's first birthday party (we have yet to have one-maybe we'll do a year and a half party!) we didn't want our friends to feel like they had to bring something, or couldn't come to the party if they couldn't bring something.  And that's what originally started this conversation.  So many families we know (if not all) are on SOME type of budget and of course sometimes life throws us curve balls we aren't prepared for.  So, we had decided we would do a canned food drive for our local food bank, in lieu of gifts, IF that was something people could afford or would want to do.  We really just wanted people to know it was about celebrating Zoe's life and spending quality time with our friends and loved ones while chowing down on some yummy pizza!  

All of our family lives out of state so not only are people purchasing items, they're also paying for shipping costs.  Toys alone can be quite expensive but it seems like you'd pay just as much if not more just to ship the darn thing! 

Most of the toys Zoe has have been hand-me downs which we have been so grateful for.  They have been great and Zoe really enjoys them.  But sometimes, (especially at her current age) I can't see paying $40 for one thing she may play with just a little bit.  She seems to enjoy playing with towels, laundry baskets, clothes, Tupperware, pots and pans, much more then her actual toys. 

If you save up and come visit us, that is certainly a gift.  If you enjoy scrapbooking and would like to make a scrapbook of pictures or whatever, that would certainly be a gift.  I really love those recordable books-Grandpa sent a couple to Zoe for Christmas and we read/listen to them all the time.  If you want to just write letters or keep a journal for her that is also a great gift.  Those types of things are amazing things to hand down to her that she can keep for a lifetime or even hand them down to her kids.  I've kept literally every card sent to us over the last 8 years.  I figure if you've taken the time to pick out a card, write in it, and get in the mail, it's worth me keeping. 

Toys aren't going to last forever and at some point she'll probably outgrow them. 

So again, we aren't saying we don't like toys, don't want them, etc.  We don't want to discourage anyone from doing what they would like to do.  We just want to say, there's no obligation or pressure to purchase these fancy, crazy, toys that are out on the market!  (I'm really hoping we don't have a boy because I've seen Lego sets for like $100 ... I  mean really?!  $100 for some molded pieces of plastic?!  I think not!!)

Tony and I have also agreed that for the most part (but especially if bigger toy items are involved) we'd like to save those for her birthday and Christmas.  And keep toy buying to a very minimal amount during the rest of the year.

So just to reiterate-we're not trying to tell you you can't buy toys for Zoe if you want but we're also saying there's no pressure or obligation to, and we feel we'd like to focus more on other things.  Books and apparently art (today we discovered she loves to scribble-I mentioned it in my previous post) are going to be a big thing for us oh and of course MUSIC!!!

Hopefully I didn't offend anyone-but I just wanted to throw that out there.  If you have any questions or issues, you know how to reach me!  :)

Who Needs Toys When You Have a Laundry Basket!!

Zoe loves to play with my laundry basket.  Especially when it has clothes in it!  She always helps me take out the clothes.  If it's not being used for laundry, she'll take it and throw toys in it and then take them out and then throw them back in.  She also loves pushing and dragging the basket around which you'll see in the video below!



Zoe definitely doesn't need toys to have a good time.  She also enjoys playing with the sales ads (the ones I don't need or am done looking at!), and unfortunately the dog's toys.  But luckily she doesn't put those in her mouth!  (Anymore!  Haha!  EWWWW!)  Zoe has more recently been able to put the blocks together ... She used to just chew on them or throw them or hand them to us.  But now she actually 'builds' things with them.

A family friend gave us some puzzles which she loves!  She loves taking the pieces out of the puzzle but doesn't care that much for putting them back.  (They're those beginner puzzles with animals-putting the animals in the right spots).

She's a very lovey dovey baby ... Hugs all her stuffed animals and her baby doll.  She has especially grown fond of her Curious George stuffed monkey.  The left hand has come undone around the wrist area so we've lost quite a bit of stuffing...I haven't had a chance to take him over to Grandma Kathleen's house to see if she can sew him back up!  Hopefully she can-otherwise we'll have to get a new one!  Tony jokingly suggested duct tape last night.

She loves blueberry waffles, eggs, pancakes, milk (especially chocolate milk but we only give that to her every now and then if we're out at a restaurant), cereal (both cold cereal and oatmeal), and yogurt among many other things!  We haven't mastered keeping food on a plate or using any kind of utensil like a spoon.  But I've been giving her a spoon at meals and she kind of plays with it so we'll get there.

We also fear she may be trying to climb out of her crib .. Tony went up to get her from her nap and her crib bumper was all smashed down like she had been stepping on it.  So we'll just see.  Wouldn't be surprised though .. She's quite the active, don't-hold-me-back, kind of girl. 

Zoe is also very observant.  The other night I was putting lotion on her and she watched me for a bit.  Then she stuck her little hand under the pump part of the bottle, just like I had, 'pushed' down (of course not hard enough to get anything out) and then clapped her hands together like she had lotion in them!  Super cute!  She also mimicked Tony last night when he was eating dinner.  Yes, she's quite the riot!

I've tried a couple times to get Zoe to do some scribbling with crayons (it was suggested by our pediatrician as an activity to do with her) but she always just wanted to EAT the crayons.  So I tried again tonight and this time she LOVED it.  I scribbled on some paper, she scribbled on some paper.  She did not like it when I tried to take one crayon out of her hand to give her another one.  Nor did she like it when I tried to help her draw.  She wanted to pick out the crayons and do it ALL herself!  Yup that's my girl.  Ms. Independent.  She especially loved taking crayons out of the crayon box!  I had to 'hide' it a couple times to avoid having 64 crayons all over the table.  I let her have like 5 at a time and then we'd switch them up. 

So, we colored for about 45 minutes before bed and finally I HAD to give her some milk, change her diaper, and get her to bed.  She DID NOT want to stop drawing.  I finally had to pry the crayons out of her hand and she threw a big fit.  Oops.  So we found something new that she loves!