Toddlers, Tiaras, Swings, and Plans.

Good Morning! This post may be all of over the place, as I'm not quite awake today, and for the first time in a long time, it has nothing to do with the Eli. I'm actually embarrassed to admit it had to do with a little show called Toddlers and Tiaras...have y'all seen this show? Well, I now have...twice last night--which is why I stayed up until MIDNIGHT. It's really quite pitiful. First I saw a young "lady", four years old, who was the snottiest child I've ever seen. Her mother allowed her to. I pray that I always correct Eli when he's disrespectful and not just allow him to act however he wants to please him. This child threw the biggest tantrums. Another girl, who was 8, loved herself, which is good. But I mean, she REALLY loved herself. She voiced multiple times how beautiful she was, how she was the best, how she would win of course, how she was better and prettier than all the rest, etc. Then last but not least, a mother with twin one year old girls, who she spent a minimum of $250,000 on to "get them started" in pageants. They were ONE! She dressed them in elaborate dresses, paraded them on stage, and claimed that Bella didn't have her best day when she fussed a little. I don't know, pageants for babies just aren't for me. And I truly think they are just fine if your child wants to do them, really...but I guess what is NOT for me is the attitudes and egos many of these girls seem to get. If we ever have a daughter, I pray we teach her her HEART is what is beautiful. Anyway, I have vowed never to stay up late wasting my time on that again. :)

On another not, we (I) and busy planning a certain stinker's first birthday. We aren't doing anything too crazy, but it does have a theme. Themes help me figure out how to decorate. I'm spending nap times working on some decorations, and keeping tabs on my receipts. I am not a spender--do y'all know that about me? My husband literally thinks I have a problem. I tell him most husbands would be thrilled if they had a frugal wife, but he says I am TOO frugal. and to that I say, "Baby, I was born this way." (Lady Gaga, anyone? Prob not. :) I would much rather attempt to make something myself than buy it already done. Sometimes I am successful, sometimes not.

Let's move on to how I like to plan. I get these ideas in my head all the time about how things SHOULD go, and then more often than not, they don't go that way. Then I get disappointed. Sometimes I plan how my husband should do something, but I don't tell him. I expect him to figure out how to do it the right way. Then he doesn't. Then I'm disappointed. THEN I tell him how I thought it should have gone. He knows I do this. He doesn't like it very much. :) I've learned with babies that you shouldn't really expect anything, but learn to ACCEPT. So, I had this great idea of a family park day. We were going to enjoy the sunny warm weather, and Eli was going to love his first swing.

 What happened instead is that the clouds rolled in, and it got a little windy and chilly, and the swing was NOT Eli's idea of a good time. Not one smile. Instead, he cried for us to take him right out of that thing. It was a little scary for him I guess.

So next we attempted sliding. He liked this a little better since he got to sit in our laps to do so.

 Here's where I slid with him and my feet didn't stop me AT ALL, and I landed right flat on the ground. Eli thought it was fun though.

 One more thing on my mind lately. I need a tan. I think. Would that take away the problem of me always looking so tired in pictures? I'm getting more sleep lately. Sort of. I wake up a lot throught the night. But either way, a lot more sleep than I was getting when Eli woke up all the time. Yet, I still look tired.

 Even in black and white, I look tired. Maybe I need to invest in some good under-eye concealer? I don't have any. Or, maybe I need a week at the beach in the sun resting. See? There's a plan being made right there for a vacation this summer, and I know it won't go that way with a toddler. The best laid plans...

Embrace YOUR camera with your little one. Get in the picture with them and make some good memories. I got the idea from here: andersonfamilycrew.blogspot.com

Your turn!