20 Months of Loveliness

This little girl is growing up faster than I can count to ten.  Which is how we get down right now.  She caught on so fast to this counting thing and now she just can't stop.  This is the only video we have of her sort-of showing off those mean number skills:



No time for going up to ten in that video as you can see.

She's got the alphabet going pretty good, too.  Her favorite letter seems to be "W."  It is so cute hearing her say the letters-- I could listen to her sing the alphabet all day!  She has her colors down pat.  Purple is still the frontrunner, with red in a close second since that's Nonna's favorite.

Check her out in the Father's Day headwear we created for Daddy:

It was a fabulous weekend of celebration, with her first taste of brownies.  She even helped make them!  "More" was a frequent word at the table that evening.  I think she's inherited Daddy's preference for all things deeply chocolate.

This past Thursday we took a trip to the nearby Frying Pan Farm, a working farm which is free to visit and great for kids.  We had a blast!
She got to see so many animals-- turkeys, chickens, rabbits, goats, cows, ducks, pigs, sheep, and even peacocks (her favorite):

(Her first sandwich!)

We even got to have a picnic at the end and watch some horse riders!  They were taking jumps and all.  She was amazed.  

She loves riding March Madness, her rocking horse, that much more now!

Can you see all of those teeth?  Sixteen and counting!!  

I can't believe she is already 20 months.  I say that every new birthday month, but it is always true.  I also say she gets more and more amazing as time passes, and that's always true as well.  She surprises us with new things she's learned every single day.  I love this and everything about her.  Especially the way she puckers her lips when she wants to give you a kiss, and how she says "I love you," and how she loves to run everywhere, and how she now loves all things golf, and how she can't get enough of the park or the swings, and how she wants to sing "Happy Birthday" before she goes to bed to each and every person she knows (yes, that includes you).  

She is the best friend we could ever ask for!

19 Months and Counting...

Little Miss O is now 19 months, going on 19 years.
She is so lovely:

Who couldn't dig this "smile" face?

Making a bouquet for Aunt Anne:

Two gal pals just hanging around with their amici:

Meet Abby, our newest addition to the family:

It was love at first sight, and now she goes pretty much everywhere with us.  The Girlie likes to push her on the swings, give her little bites of food, and sing her to sleep of course.  "Happy Birthday" is currently topping our charts as the most requested song.

Here she is all wrapped up just like Abby with Nanny holding her:

Rockin' it carrier-style:

Check out the balloons Aunt Anne and Uncle Mark sent for her 19 month birthday!

That monkey was cracking us up!

Right after that kiss the monkey turned to me and said, "She digs me."  Spoken just like Uncle Mark.

Current Favorites of the Girlie

   Food: Couscous

   Color: Purple

   Drink: Seltzer water

   Game: Running off after the potty with no pants on

Life with this little girl just keeps getting better and better!

Obama Air Force Ones

We opened up her newest addition to the collection-- the Obama Air Force One.  Oh, yeah!  She calls him "Bama."  Now we are rocking the runway in more ways than one.

Move over Brangelina-- the newest celebrity couple nickname made its debut recently week:  Mada.  This is a combination of Mamma and Dadda, her two favorite words.  Now she can say them all at once!  We've also heard, Nonno, Nanno, Padda, and Amma.  She's going to start a language revolution, this kid.  I'm in!

Nonna and Paddy are visiting and the Girlie is having a blast as hostess.  We always sit in the same seats for meals and she pointed this out to me this morning.  She started going around the chairs pointing to them and saying each of our names-- "Dada, Mamma, Nonna, Baba (Paddy)."  She is so clever!

This One Goes Out to Our Peeps in Cary, NC

Just a few highlights from our trip last week down to visit Aunt Anne (alias: Anna) and Uncle Mark (alias: Umma).

(Some playground equipment has age suggestions for good reason-- see above)

The Girlie turned her sweet sixteen (months!) while we were there.  Anna and Umma got her a sweet surprise of balloons!  Or, as the Girlie would say, "Blalalala."

Uptown Girl

In case you haven't noticed yet, O likes to dress up.  All the time.  She usually accessorizes herself as well. A scarf here, a headband there, a ring link bracelet or five, and voila!  Off to check herself out in the mirror.  After she's modeled her attire for Mommy/Daddy/Moseby (her stuffed dog) of course.  Lately, we've got a Star Wars/Lord of the Rings thing going:

(She knows how to open doors now, too-- look out!)

The new spring line of slings (handmade by Daddy-- using a pillowcase no less!)

But don't be fooled, there are some major fashion mishaps when Daddy gets involved.  Look closely:

 Yes, those are two little feet popping out of one pant leg, a la the Little Mermaid.

Speaking of Daddy, we celebrated his birthday recently!  There was food, dancing, and silliness all around.

Then we got to celebrate all over again with the grandparents on the weekend.

I knew it was only a matter of time after the Girlie got her kitchen-- the two iron chefs unite in the kitchen!  She was cooking up a storm with none other than her Nonna:

After all the excitement, we ended the weekend with a sunny trip to the park.  The Girlie went down the slide all by herself!



Put your hands up, yo!