Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

Well, not exactly, but...


So, Jo and Erv, our really nice neighbors from around the corner, grew us this tree from a cutting of their Confederate Rose. But then Mom and Dad didn't get it into dirt for a few days. All the leaves fell off. The poor thing was a very sad little stick. That they planted...

Then wouldn't you know: it bloomed.


And then 10 days later it started growing leaves like crazy. It was funny.
Mom, 8 am: Hmm, honey, I think the tree might be getting some leaves. It has little buds.
Dad: Mmm hmm. That's nice dear. Have you seen my Blackberry?
Mom, 12 pm: What the? Dost my eyes deceive? I don't think the tree looked like this earlier... I'm going to call Dad.
...
Mom, 5 pm: Geezy petes. Where the h-e-double hockey sticks did all these leaves come from? Yeah, yeah, she might have not spelled that last one... I mean really, is it necessary? All this c-o-o-k-i-e and c-r-a-c-k-e-r nonsense. I know what you're saying. Or spelling. I'm just waiting until I can say supercalafragilisticexpiallodocious. Or maybe spell it.

But I digress. The tree is all kinds of growing up now. It's very neat and a very good thing because Mom really didn't want to go tell Erv and Jo that they accidentally killed the tree cutting. You dodged a bullet on that one, Mom. I suppose the tree will be asking for the car keys soon...

Gramma and Grampa

Gramma and Grampa came for a little visit a couple weekends ago. I hadn't seen them since August and am waaay cooler now, with that whole walking thing and copious teeth. Not to mention my mad peeing-on-the-potty skillz*.

We had a lot of fun in a little time!

Limited not just to reading and my feeding Grampa Cheerios.

We started with a little house tour -- here's the deck:

And here's my room:


Not too much later we had bath time -- which always presents hairstyling and bubble blowing opportunities.
hmm, still dry...

this is mo betta:

All done? Nuh-uh!

there's still time to flirt -- I do love a photo op!


Then on Saturday we went to the playground where I showed off my sliding (and swinging, climbing, hanging, running, dog petting, kid following, ...):


We came home for a little while so Gramma could supervise our contractor. He was finally installing the beautiful stained glass windows she made for our house. We really like looking at them -- it makes the journey upstairs/downstairs much more exciting.


After a little rest and a spot of lunch, we headed to the aquarium to visit some of my relatives:
Note the similarity in smiles. The sharks actually have fewer teeth, though.


And the piranhas

And the frog prince


It was a lot of fun. No pictures of our trip to get frozen yogurt afterwards, though that may have been the best part :)

Alas, all good things must come to an end...
But I want to see you next!



* I have actually pooped on the potty twice now, too! Go me. It's a party in the potty!

A new chapter

So many firsts last week, it's hard to even keep up...

1. Turned 17 months old!
   
2. Peed in the potty -- multiple times on multiple days*
3. Developed seasonal allergies that turned me into the affectionately coined Fountain of Snot
4. Used my spoon to eat soup. Then promptly decided that soup is not something I'll be eating anymore (at least until next week).
5. Went on the wagon (from Mom Juice) -- that whole breathing thing is really necessary
   
6. Let Dad put me down for a nap
   

Mom is very sad about #4, though she puts on a good face for me. Rumor has it that she's been crying after I go to sleep. And at other random times. Maybe she has leaky tear ducts? I hope she understands that "every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." Like Olivia says, "I love [her] anyway, too."

Plus, I can't actually read the WHO guidelines to nurse to "two years and beyond." Really, I feel pretty good about it and totally like cuddling with her while she sings to me. Plus now we can play the labeling game better -- I have her label all her face parts. Nose and tongue are my favorites right now. And clavicle (which isn't on her face, or we'd have serious problems).

Dad is very excited about #5. I pretended to mind for about 10 minutes after he put me into my crib.


* also peed on mom twice, the floor 3 times. Maybe the cat, too.
(just kidding about the cat)

Soup

I'm really enjoying doing things for myself these days. Which doesn't always go that well, but never seems to deter me. Today I insisted on feeding myself my soup. I know, you're thinking to yourself, "Soup? Isn't it like 80+ degrees there?" Or possibly, "You're only 17 months old, why soup?"
To which I might answer, "Every day is a good day for soup," and "Myself!" or "Why not?"

Ok, I might not actually say any of those, but talking is overrated when you can feed yourself soup and climb all the furniture. The cats really aren't safe now.



We won't talk about that soup shower I gave Mom, which subsequently resulted in a time out , about 3 minutes later...
Ah well, live and learn... I've been working on this soup thing for like a week -- believe me, most of it was not going in my mouth before.

Really, all I can say is GO ME!

Utah: The posts will never end

You may have been wondering about the rest of our fun Utah trip. Between trying to find those cool boots I tried on and waxing nostalgic for these super cool glasses (yes, they are pink with flowers for the arms) and the fun babysitter, I lost track of time.


And then when we got home I had nasty teeth to deal with. Why, oh why, must they come in 4 at a time?
And then Mom got Strep throat. Which was a total bummer. She was not in a good place... But she's mo' betta now.
So, without further ado, here's all the photos in a slideshow.

Utah Vol. 2

Here's a few more pics from our ski trip. I had never seen so much snow, look at how high the snow bank is in this picture from "downtown" Park City:


On Ash Wednesday, Dad decided to take a break from skiing so we could go to town for some ice cream. Here's a picture of me and Mom on Main Street. Java Cows ice cream parlor is just up the hill (no pictures because we were too busy eating).



Park City rocks! Not only is there a ski lift right in the center of town, but it hosts the Sundance Film Fest every year. Can't wait to go back when I am old enough to watch movies.

Utah Vol. 1

We took a ski vacation during Mardi Gras to Park City, but I only got to ride the gondola.

Here are some pics of me & Mom and me & Dad riding the lifts: