Social Butterfly

This morning I had a playdate with Grace and Becca. Fun times!



Here I am this evening modeling my butterfly outfit (compliments of Grace).



And here I am at the mall. We met up with Bruce, and we had lots of fun. I was a little squirrely about standing still to have my picture taken. It was all so exciting. Walking, pushing my stroller, getting free candy for Mommy and Daddy, socializing. Literally - I said "hi" to everyone I could.









Here's my favorite picture from the evening.

Halloween

Tonight I'm going trick or treating at the mall with Mommy and Daddy. Mommy has a LOT of mixed feelings about Halloween grossness, and is not sure what to expect. In any event, there will be lots of pictures to come of me in my borrowed costume (hopefully it fits, Mommy hasn't tried it on me yet). Please remember my blog is not a forum for your personal takes on Halloween. :) Mommy has given this a lot of thought, and is taking this one year at a time.

So...we'll see how it goes! I'm excited about being a butterfly though.

Pictures

I've just woken up from a nap. I'm happy and rested!



Here I am telling Mommy that I've got a poop diaper. She's not happy.



Grin :)



I love working with buckles/clasps like these.



Here's my new baby stroller (on sale AND had a coupon).



I'm putting the baby in the stroller.



And once again with the interesting fasteners.

Eek!

Last night, I was playing and generally enjoying life. All of a sudden, my foot slipped, and I hit my mouth on the edge of the rocking footstool. Mommy was right there, and as soon as I started crying, she was there to hold me and comfort me. After my crying settled down a bit, she asked if she could look at my mouth. I sat up a little, and lo and behold, there was blood all over her shirt! Mommy was very worried. Daddy came to the rescue with a paper towel to wipe away some of the blood so he could try to see what was actually bleeding. I thought that was funny, and took the paper towel from him, and started wiping my own face. They didn't figure out for awhile what it was, but later discovered I was bleeding around the gum line of my front teeth.

All seems to be well today, really no swelling or bruising, and my teeth didn't fall out in the night.

*Mommy had a fake tooth for awhile as a small child for knocking out her front tooth on a barber's chair. She had visions of little fake baby teeth last night.

So we survived, and I actually got over it very quickly, all things considered. It was the most blood Mommy had ever seen me produce. Ugh.

Sweet Sweet Love

I got to hang out with Bruce for quite a while today - mainly b/c I didn't want to nap. (by the by, Cora was here too, but sleeping the whole time, so no pictures)

I love loving on Bruce.

Pictures

These aren't the greatest pictures. Mommy found some old batteries that still had juice in them. So here you go Paka. It's the best we could do. Didn't want the viewing audience to go into too bad of a withdrawl.

Fork Master

This morning I'm mastering a new technique - picking up my cheerios with a fork. I'm doing very well at this. My new title shall henceforth be (in the tradition of English royalty of course)...

Queen Willow, Princess of Pooping, Duchess of Tantrums, Marquess of Walking, Master of the Fork



and Rock On! I'm 20 months old now. Woohoo!

I'm No Dog!

This morning, Daddy taught me how to shake hands. I picked it up right away, and had fun practicing with Mommy and Daddy. "Hi, how are you?" *shake shake*

Later this morning, we went to Babies R' Us so I could get an upgrade on my sippy cup. I've really been digging Grace's, and Mommy found one like it. Even though it's for ages 2 and up, I mastered it right away. Go me.

They also got me a baby harness and leash. (this is not the exact one, but the closest likeness I could find) What fun. After Babies R' Us, we went over to Home Depot to pick up a couple of things. We gave the harness/leash a test run. I actually enjoyed it. It allowed me greater freedom from Mommy and Daddy while letting them keep tabs on me. Everyone thought I was very cute (or they were sympathetic to me for having crazy parents who put me on a leash). I was the belle of Home Depot.

Thrift Store Score

Today Mommy got me a barn at the thrift store. It's not the Little People brand, but it's that scale - and it's pretty big. It closes up and has a handle to carry it. Came with three animals and some barn paraphernalia. Mommy disinfected it and cleaned it up with magic eraser, and it's like new.

And she paid 90 cents for it.

Woohoo!

It was finally ready for me to play with this evening, and I had a lot of fun.

Pictures

Still having some battery issues... but Mommy got a few pics of me before they "died" again.

Here I am in my snazzy Old Navy striped shirt that Mommy got at the thrift store for 45 cents.







and enjoying my Trader Joe cat-shaped ginger cookies.





*thank goodness for pictures - now Paka can relax

Diligence

Almost every time Mommy and I go out to walk errands :) we stop at the thrift store, just to see.

It pays off.

Today we scored an Old Navy white turtleneck in my size (looks like new) for 45 cents.

Score! Mommy's been scouting for this specfically, so this find was extra rewarding.

Ugh continues

I still have my cold/allergies. Life would be much easier if I could blow my nose. Mommy hopes this doesn't evolve into an ear infection. Our camera batteries are dead, so we have to wait while they recharge. Hopefully, new pictures will be coming soon.

Thrift Store

Mommy has scored several items for me the last couple of days from the thrift store around the corner. My favorite? A snazzy jean jacket that fits me perfectly. Score!

Ugh

I've got a bit of the uckiness. My nose is stuffy, snot, etc... We're not sure if it's a full blown cold, or just allergies. Time will tell I suppose. In the meantime,this state of affairs doesn't exactly help my attitude.

More on the Potty

Mommy's the one who spends ALL day EVERY day with me, but when I develop new skills, I prefer to share them with Daddy.

Case in point...

Last night, while Mommy was at orchestra practice, I went over to Daddy. I started pulling on the pockets on my jeans. He asked me if I wanted my diaper changed. I started nodding, and giving him the please sign. So he changed my diaper. I was soaked.

How awesome is that!

We're not quite to the running around naked stage for potty training, but we're getting closer.

My Saturday

Saturday, I went to IKEA with Mommy and Daddy. I really enjoyed walking around. Sometimes I would push the cart myself. I did not enjoy sitting in the cart, or having to hold their hand at any given time. I enjoyed exploring, and sometimes going in the opposite direction I should have been. I kept them on their toes.

I got two little stuffed animal puppies. I was very excited by this. (see Mommy's blog for explanation of store credit) Mommy was pushing for the giant whale, but Daddy wasn't into that. I also got some snazzy IKEA toddler cups and flatware. I'm really growing up.

Friends

Grace is my buddy. Up until recently, that was more a wish of our parents. But today, in church, we were so cute together. I was standing in front of Grace, who was sitting on a pew. She was swinging her legs, and accidentally kicked me down (I was fine, didn't cry). Mommy asked Grace to apologize, and she told me she was sorry, and gave me a hug. I hugged her back, and we lost our balance and fell over. I was fine (again), but Grace hit her head and was crying, so I gave her a kiss so she would feel better.

How CUTE is that!!!

We also spent time running around after each other, and exchanged more hugs.