My Baby is Getting Bigger!

You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing.  What!  Is it nothing to be happy?  Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long?  Never in his life will he be so busy again.  ~Jean-Jacques Rousseau

My sweet, darling baby is turning into a curious, opinionated (but still sweet) toddler.  I called Greg yesterday and whined to him that my baby is looking so big!  It's been the past few days that I've noticed.  She not only looks bigger to me, but she's started talking so much more and understanding even more than that.  She tries repeating everything we say, and she just starts jabbering sentences like we know what she's talking about.  She brings me diapers and says, "Pooh, pooh" when she's ready for a change.  Tonight, she got out some stuffed animals and tried to put diapers on them.  Then, she put them on the floor and said, "Night-night" and kissed them.  Sweet Girl!

She's hilarious.  She walks around on her tip-toes, and since she learned to say "Hello" from the British parrot, every time the phone rings, she says, "Hello" over and over again in her own British accent (leaving the "H" off completely).  She adores my dad, and often asks for Nana and Papa throughout the day.  She wakes up in the morning calling for "Dad-dy," and as soon as Greg picks her up (can he really resist his little girl's calls?!?), she points to the open door and says, "Mommy."  She loves us so unconditionally.  We are her entire world, and it just isn't going to last much longer!  That's the blessing of being the third child: We now know how quickly babies grow up, so we cherish these moments so much more deeply!  

She is still my best eater, and she will take my finger and lead me into the kitchen when she is hungry, or she'll stand next to the counter where we keep the fruit bowl and point and ask for "Na-na" (banana).  She also brings me empty cups begging for "ba-ba" (which means milk).  I swear she has a sixth sense for chocolate.  She instinctively knows when it is in the house.  She often brings me the Costco-size bag of trail mix because she knows there are M&Ms inside.  

She does this hilarous thing ever since we taught her "If You Chance to Meet a Frown."  She makes a grumpy face and then opens her eyes really wide and smiles.  It is so funny!  She sings (at least attempts) ABCs, Twinkle Little Star, Row Your Boat, Wheels on the Bus (the crying baby and "shhh-shing" mom are her favorites), Old McDonald, and Popcorn Popping.  She also loves the Popcorn song from the Barenaked Ladies album.  She squeals with delight when she hears the beginning and makes her popcorn hands and says "Pop" over and over again.  Every bird says "quack," but cats "meow" and dogs "bark."  Whenever she sees a dog, she gets excited and says "Mo" (for Molly, my sister's dog).  

 

She has truly turned into a climber.  She climbs on everything - the couch, the table, the piano, up to the computer, etc.  If she can't reach it, she'll go get a stool and put it next to the edge, and then climb up.  She's no dummy!  She colors on everything!  She can hunt down a pencil, pen, crayon, colored pencil, etc. and finds any type of paper to color on (music books, sticky-notes, checks that haven't been cashed).  Oh well...At least it's generally some sort of paper.  

She is just getting so curious!  The girl can empty a cupboard or a shelf like nobody's business.  I love her so much!  She is the joy of my day!  Sometimes I don't do her hair because I love the long, rag-a-muffin hair with her deep, chocolate eyes.  I could just eat her up!