40 straws, $200, 200 Q-tips, and 20 pairs of socks

What in the world do these things have in common you ask?

They have all been strewn on the floor in various rooms of my house in the past 2 days! Of course, these are only a few examples of the hundreds of things strewn on the floor everyday. Whatever the 13 month old can get her hands on will be emptied, examined, and tossed aside. She is very into taking things out and putting them back in (and especially into other things) right now. So this money was tucked into the wet bag (where dirty diapers go) and other nooks and crannies. My wallet is emptied several times a day, so that was nothing new.

The little thing got her hands on the box of straws and carried it around the house with her randomly throwing straws throughout the whole first floor. The Q-tips were my favorite, though. We have a huge bathroom upstairs with shower with glass door. Yesterday while I was showering, she managed to pull the box of 750 Q-tips (biggest box I've ever bought) down from a high shelf. She then pulled q-tips out by the handful until I quickly wrapped up my shower and jumped out to get the box from her. Of course, I didn't want to waste all of the ones she had already gotten, so I leaned over, picked one up, and used it on my ears. She watches EVERYTHING I do VERY carefully and copies immediately these days. So, she then started picking one up, putting it in (or around) her ear and tossing it, on to the next one, in the ear, toss, etc.... She is now obsessed with Q-tips (even more than before) and has been putting them in her ear (only the right one) all day.

Not all things that she throws on the floor (and herself) can be quantified or else the list would be MUCH longer...

Oh, and I almost forgot the dog food. How could I forget that one (all the time!)? Instead of eating the dog food herself or merely dumping the bowl all over the floor, she's getting more creative in her old age. SOUP! And they ate it too.

P.S. I still plan to update a bit for the last few months that are lacking. I just know that I will never be able to keep up with backlogging if I don't at least add a few recent things as they happen.

Completing the Story

Well, I sure left you hanging, didn't I? If you are still checking in with us, then you deserve some updating. My plan was to get all caught up during my break between semesters, and now I have one week left, so hopefully I will be all caught up by the end of the week! ;)

To finish the story from the last post...

The plan for Michael's return with that aircraft changed again...he was supposed to fly to Greenland then Iceland, sleep there, and then continue. On Feb. 14, they attempted to carry out the plan. However, he was about 45-50 min. out from Greenland airport en route to Iceland when the entire cockpit quickly filled with smoke and he saw foot-long flames from the engine on his side. By the grace of God (and all your prayers, thank you), my Valentine survived an engine failure and made it safely back to the airport in Greenland. He then got to fly commercially back to us a few days later (just like I had wanted a few days prior). So, that trip ended up being 3.5 weeks instead of one, but he made it back in one piece and we praise God for that!

Yay! I finally finished that story. Now tomorrow I can give you some updates on Michaela and finally post a recent photo like EVERYONE has been asking for! :)