Grateful Nov 10

I'm grateful for Shelby. (Bet you didn't see that coming.) She is a spicy little spitfire and keeps me on my toes. She's funny, smart, strong-willed, defiant, cuddly, and the most lovable 18-month old. Most of the time, anyway! Her vocabulary is increasing every day. She says dog, mama, dada, bird, bread, i stuck, keys, uh oh, bapple (apple), and a bunch of other words I can't remember. She is your typical 18-month old because she thinks everything belongs to her. She wants her way all the time. She is defiant when I tell her no, especially if Ben wants something she has or has something she wants. She's a climber. She is most happy with a crayon in her hand and something to color on. She's colored on my fridge, mirror, kitchen table, screen on my front door, and a myriad of other places. She loves Cars 2 and Tangled and Bolt. She loves giving hugs and kisses and makes most cashiers extremely happy when she waves Bye and smiles at them. She still gets mistaken for a boy even though she's usually wearing pink or purple. She love love loves John. She loves her cousins, especially Chrystal and her aunt Nikki. She loves her grandma. She screams a lot when she's tired. Her favorite food is McDonald's cheeseburgers (it's quite funny watching her eat one). She loves cookie dough. It's been an interesting test of parenting having kids this age because Ben has a tendency to be in control and Shelby is too young to understand a lot of things so we try not to let her have her way out of keeping her from screaming or yelling. But it's pretty hard, especially at the end of a long day. But she is amazing. She still loves to cuddle when she's tired. She loves sitting on laps and coloring or reading. She is just a wonderful little girl and I can't wait to see what kind of kid she'll turn into in the years to come.