Life

Life is good. I've got my little playhouse, and I spend a lot of time "cooking". I speak in complete sentences a lot, and the occurrence of being understood is increasing dramatically.

Here I am with Granny and Grandpa and Rose...

Christmas

Christmas eve, we went to church - mommy played - and I was super well-behaved.

Christmas morning, I woke up and came downstairs to this...

Behold!


I also got other "special treats" - I am a very lucky little girl!


I've been having a great time with Grandpa and Granny. Today, I was SUPER surprised when Paka and Grammy showed up too (just for a couple of hours)! see Rose's blog for the grandfather picture...


I'm having a lot of fun making the grown-ups get in my house with me... they are maybe not enjoying it quite so much, but for now, I'm being humored...

waiting for the trolley...



on the subway - playing with Granny's musical socks...



sitting on the floor in Macy's, waiting for the light show...


The grand finale of the lights show...

Cookin' Pork Chops

I helped Granny make pork chops...like, I actually really helped her. It was a lot of fun.

I also helped her make deviled eggs, but we didn't get any pictures of that.

Gingerbread House

Don't be too impressed..it came fully assembled in a box from Wal-Mart...all we did was apply the icing and decorate it...but given mommy's lack of baking desire, and the fact that I'm two, it was a great project to do.

More Sibling Bonding

Pics

We're in to doing pigtails right now for my hair...





some silliness with Rose...

Mmmmm

Last night, in a rare occurrence, Mommy let me have the entire york peppermint patty. Holy smokes!

Just to Clarify

"So mommy, just to clarify, you would prefer I not give these lead filled toys to rose for her to choke on? ok. Just wanted to make sure. And that was a no, right?"

:(

I have an ear infection. Mommy took me to the dr. this morning. I was super good for the dr and he was very impressed with me. I've got my medicine now, and am already feeling better...but I was pretty punky for awhile there this morning!

Hair Cut

Finally, mommy trimmed my bangs. This was probably her best effort to date.


And here's a pic from this morning - we hung out with Stephanie today (who I adore!) - and these are my new 50 cent wal-mart gloves. Cute! On a side note, the senior citizen ladies that I encountered today were particularly taken with my attire.

My Nativity

Here's the nativity that Mommy found for me. I'm enjoying playing with the figurines, and talking about who they are. Tomorrow (or sunday?) we start talking about advent. I'm looking forward to that. Mommy has some "holy" and "non-holy" fun things planned to celebrate the advent season and to count down the days to christmas. I get to play with the set, but to distinguish it from my regular toys, it has to stay on this shelf... so far, so good.

Attack of the Paka-razzi

Chopsticks!

I love using chopsticks. Here I am at Pei Wei with Paka. Paka and Grammy even got me my own special wooden pair of chopsticks at the craft show. Sweet!

Thanksgiving

Here I am at Thanksgiving dinner. As usual, I was pretty well behaved for the meal...but then I like to eat, so it's not really a challenge. The food was SO good! My favorite dish was Jenny's homemade cranberry relish. MMMM.





After dinner, I enjoyed walking on Paka. That's what grandpa's are for. Then, I had some QT and reading with grammy. That's what grandma's are for. I sure do miss them :(

Conversations

(willow will be W and mommy will be M...)

W: daddy belly button eww
M: daddy's belly button isn't "eww", it's just hairy.
W: wawa belly button hairy?
M: no, willow's belly button isn't hairy - only daddy's have hairy belly buttons.
W: wawa no belly button hairy. wawa hair head.
M: that's right. willow has hair on her head, not on her belly button.
W: that's right.

(willow will be W and daddy will be D)

W: wawa mopples.
D: yes, willow has nipples.
W: daddy mopples?
D: yes, daddy has nipples.
W: mommy mopples?
D: yes, mommy has nipples.
W: rose mopples?
D: yes, Rose has nipples. Everyone has nipples.
W: people nipples?
D: yes, all the people have nipples.

(so if willow asks you about your nipples, you'll know why! Lord help us)

A Couple of Pics

Paka's sending a cd with the pics from their visit, so when I get that, I'll post some for you to see.

Here am I in front of the tree...


and outside on a cold fall day...

Thanksgiving

I really enjoyed my time with Paka and Grammy. They spent a lot of time with me and gave me a lot of attention. When it was time for them to go to the airport yesterday, Paka and I both got very pouty.

This morning, after breakfast, I told Mommy I wanted to do crayons (my favorite activity with Paka). I brought my chair in to sit next to Mommy, and then acted all pouty. It's just not the same to do crayons without Paka. I'm acting a little depressed because Mommy isn't doing it like Paka does.

*sigh*

Paka and Grammy got me my own pair of beautiful wooden chopsticks! I'm super excited to use them.... for some reason, this is a skill I have. Not other things that might actually prove useful to helping Mommy...but chopsticks I can do.

Other good news is that my time with Paka and Grammy really gave a boost to my verbal skills. Mommy and Daddy can understand me a little better now. Yay!

Pictures to come later.

Christmas!

I was super excited to see the Christmas decorations this morning...



really, i was...

Hey

Well, I'm still dealing with the green boogers, but generally I'm doing a little better.

This morning, I got out all my "church papers" (the handouts we get to take home) and was looking at one of them. I started telling mommy a story about a boy and a lion. Mommy thought "hmmm..that's an elaborate story...i wonder", so she looked at my handout, and sure enough, I was telling her the story from it about David killing the lion.

Mommy was impressed...it's been a week and a half since I was in church (due to the cold), but what my teacher taught me really stuck!

Please Touch Museum

I was very disappointed to learn, upon arriving at the Please Touch Museum this morning, that they have taken down the Kids Construct exhibit (or "house" to me). Alas. I enjoyed the other activies, though, and look forward to the seasonal exhibit going up after Thanksgiving.

Mommy even convinced me to put the PTM baby back to bed and give other kids a chance with it (without whining!).

Typing

I enjoy sitting at what i call my computer and typing away.

Christmas Pic

Here are the out-takes for my Christmas card pic...







And the winner is...

Wow!

I'm a super big girl!

Today I went to the "teeth doctor". Mommy and I talked about this yesterday... that I would be going to the the teeth doctor - aka the dentist - that stephanie would be going with us, and that if i was a really good girl, I would get a special surprise afterwards.

We got to the dentist (which is in the city), and were pleased to see that it was housed in the same building (but different entrance) as the Philadelphia Board of Parole and Probation (or something like that). Great! Mommy did figure that if ne'er do wells were going there to check in, that they were less likely to accost us if they were on their way to meet with the parole officer. Don't worry Paka - we really did feel safe. It was just a little weird.

We got up to the dentists' office, and it was a wonderland of fantasticness. There were toys, things to climb, even a slide in the waiting room! The walls were painted like we were under the sea. I quickly made friends with 2 very cute little girls, and we had fun playing while we waited for our appointments.

Soon enough, it was my turn. Rose waited with Stephanie, and Mommy and I headed back. There was one big exam room with several dentist chairs in it (and more toys...).They had Mommy sit on the chair, and I sat on her lap facing her. Then I leaned back until my head was in the dentist's lap (a very nice lady). She got out her "teeth counter" and I opened wide while she "counted my teeth" (mommy note - they were checking for cavities with the sharp poking thing). I was a super good girl during the whole exam.

and drumroll please...

No Cavities! Yay!

That's all they did this time was "count" my teeth. Next time, they might give them a cleaning too....

I got a toothbrush, a special straw, AND a sticker. Sweet motherload!

When we were done there, we went to Target where I got to pick out a special treat - a baby of course - within Mommy's approved price range. :) Her name is baby Alexis.

THEN - to further the specialness of the day, we went to eat at Pei Wei - and I used chopsticks!!! (they had a little plastic connector helper thing, but I totally did it on my own).

I know I won't get a baby every time I go to the dentist :) but Mommy was super proud of me for being such a big girl - no crying, no whining, nothing!

Pic