Strike a Pose (18 months, 3 wks)

Hello my blog followers!

We got the rest of my 18 month pictures back this week. Mommy is going to put together a little slide show of them because there are so many cute ones that I want to post. But here is another sneak preview of me showing some love for my duckie!

This week it was time to get cleaning in our house. Mommy was really slacking in the cleaning department since we've moved, so I had to take matters into my own hands! I opened the closet, took out the broom and dustpan and went to town. I even threw out the "dust" out into the garbage. I'm a very good helper!

This is me wearing an outfit that I got from a nice lady from Grandma and Grandpa D's church when I was a tiny baby. It was too big last year, and this year it is a little snug, but it worked. Unfortunately to change my diaper you have to take the whole thing off, so by noon Mommy got tired of this and I wore something more convenient for her the rest of the day. No one ever said being fashionable was easy Mom!

I got up from my nap one day and immediately started doing calculations. Daddy was really happy that I'm showing such a strong interest in mathematics. I hate to break it to you Dad but it's more about the button pushing than equations.

Mommy and I went to see the Teddy Bear Band at a local park on Friday. Here I am showing a lot of enthusiasm for this experience. It was a bit lame. You see, it was pretty hot and sunny on Friday and the area near the band wasn't in the shade. So after awhile we had to move to the shade which was pretty far away from the stage. Once I was far away from the stage, I lost a lot of interest in the music and wanted to just run all over. This would be fine if Mommy wasn't trying to keep tabs on our stroller, her purse, the camera, etc. It wasn't just me either that got bored. Apparently a 45 minute concert is wayyy too long for all kids as by the end there was barely anyone watching the concert and most of the kids headed to the play equipment. There is video of my half-hearted dancing at the end of the blog.

Mommy and I still do a lot of reading.

This was an especially gripping part of "Mama's Right Here". I wasn't ready for the surprise ending at all.

This is me and our new "whimsical" chair. I borrowed the "whimsical" throw pillow from the couch and tried to blend in like camouflage. I learned all about camouflage on Sesame Street this week. Speaking of, I've become a huge Street fan. Mommy waits to get ready now until 10, because I'll actually sit and watch Sesame Street for a bit and don't bug her as much while she's trying to put makeup on or do her hair. Then when she's done, I like to climb into Mommy and Daddy's bed, pull up the blankets, and lay back on the pillows and finish watching.

Last night we had guests over for a BBQ. My friend Bella and her parents came over. Mommy said I wasn't being very hospitable to my little guest. I really didn't want her to play with any of my toys. I think this whole "sharing" thing is way overrated. Mommy reminded me that when we went to Lilly's house that she shared her toys with me all weekend without crying and that I would have been sad if I didn't get to play with toys all weekend. So next time I'm going to try to be a better sharer. This is my public apology to Bella.

This is Mommy, me, Bella, and Bella's mommy. The mommies were laughing at our daddies because they were being really silly trying to get us kids to look and smile. Guess they were only funny to the mommies as we clearly are not impressed!

We had "one of those mornings" this morning. First we had to get up early because it's Sunday and we had church. Daddy would like to mention that he actually got to sleep in today compared to work days, but Mommy and I just ignore that. Mommy and I sleep until 8 most days (a couple days last week I slept until 9!) Anyway back to our morning, first I wouldn't go in my high chair or my booster seat to eat breakfast. I would only eat breakfast if I could sit on Mommy's lap. Normally this wouldn't fly with Mommy but since we were on a time crunch to get to church, I got my way. Then on the way to church, the exit that we usually take was closed. Daddy and Mommy thought that we would just go a different way, but it turned out the road they thought they would take didn't exist. So then they had to go way past church and turn around to come back. So we were late getting to church. Again wouldn't be a big deal but both Mommy and Daddy had nursery duty so you're supposed to be there early. Then when we got there, I had an um...messy diaper, so Mommy had to go change that before dropping me off. While dealing with a particularly unpleasant diaper, I had to "go" and started to tinkle a bit. This would be no big deal but at the time, I didn't have a diaper on and so I went all over my dress. I haven't had an accident like this in a long time so Mommy panicked that she didn't have an emergency outfit in my diaper bag. Luckily she did! Although it was pants so I got a bit hot in nursery..but anyway. In the middle of changing my clothes, the lights went off in the bathroom because they are on a timer, and no one had come in or out in such a long time. We were in the basement so it was pitch dark. Mommy picked me up and fumbled her way to the doorway and the lights came back on, and she finished dressing me. Then she dropped me off at nursery and I freaked out as usual (despite lots of discussions about how fun nursery is, and how I get to play with toys, and how Mommy and Daddy always come back to get me, etc etc). Mommy went to her nursery to take care of the kids. Five minutes later the nursery coordinator asked Mommy to move to a different nursery. On the way there, the other coordinator said Mommy should come to my nursery as I was inconsolable. So Mommy joined me in nursery and we had a grand time together. Well, until I decided all the nursery toys were mine and didn't want kids playing with any of the "cool" toys. Again that whole sharing thing! It's everywhere!! Share share share! Whew! If that wasn't enough, Mommy was at the grocery story and Daddy called saying that it was going to start storming really soon and to hurry up to avoid getting soaked. Mommy had 2 things she was trying to find in the new grocery store and was having a hard time. Finally she found them, paid for groceries, and subsequently got drenched taking the groceries to the car. Mommy says she isn't going to go grocery shopping on Sunday afternoons as this is two weeks in a row that there has been an absolute downpour. The rest of our day went relatively smoothly and we hope we have a better day tomorrow!

What else is new with me?

• I'm talking more and more. Uh Oh is still a big favorite. I'm also getting better at repeating words that people say to me. Like tonight I said, "blue" when we were working on colors.

• I'm getting better at doing my animal noises. I hear this is a really important skill to learn (at least you'd think so with all the asking my parents do about what sound animals make!)

• I understand everything that is going on around me. My parents must be working on their spelling skills or something as they are constantly spelling out words to each other. They spell out C-H-E-E-S-E a lot as well as J-U-I-C-E

Below are some fun videos. The first is me in the tub. I like to read "Just for You" and I was inspired by the porcupine in the bathtub. He says, "I wanted to not splash in the tub, just for you.... but there was a storm." I decided to make a storm and it is SO FUN!

The 2nd and 3rd videos are of Mommy and me reading "Hop on Pop" I like to act out certain parts of the book. My parents think it is really cute so they always want to read that book.

The last video is me at the Teddy Bear Band concert with a little dancing.

Enjoy!