bug, 15.5 months

my sweet bugaboo...

today you went for your first car ride in your big girl car seat. you squealed and laughed as you saw cars, trees, buildings and people that you never even knew existed! your car seat is pink and has yellow and orange flowers on it...it is definitely a princess seat if there ever was one.

this weekend, we had a cookout to celebrate memorial day. your friends molly and maddie r. and lucy t. came over and played. you were a little shy around the other girls at first...preferring to stay close to momma or daddy and watch. but as you saw those girls throwing sand onto the ground and into the baby pool, you must've realized that there is much more fun to life than holding mommy's leg, and off you went. by the end of the night, you and the other girls were sandy, dirty, and popsicle-covered messes...and you had so much fun. i loved watching you follow the big girls, share your popsicle with maddie once yours was finished, and dance to the music playing in daddy's garage. you discovered crayons and sidewalk chalk, and how to climb up cornhole boards to drop the beanbags in.

it's an overcast and humid day today...you are lying in your crib playing with jojo the kitty and watching your aquarium lullaby machine. you are supposed to be napping, but you fell asleep in the car while we ran errands, and are having a hard time getting back to sleep. if the rain blows over, we will go for a long walk after your nap...if it doesn't, we will read books and play in the house. who knows?! maybe we'll put on your raincoat and play in the rain...crazier things have happened!

these are some of the things you know, my sweet baby girl:

WORDS YOU SAY:
uhoh, all done, bye bye, baby, doggie, daddy, momma, night night, outside, airplane, keys, this, kiss, fish, trish, teeth, brush, drink, yes, no, cracker, cookie, banana, berries, milk, paci, elmo, max, flowers, wagon, water, car, vroom vroom, jojo, cat, bird, cow, book, more, help, up, down, bath, duck, eyes, nose, hat, shoes, pixie (big-sby), soxie (dog-sby)...and how could i forget, poo poo

SIGNS YOU USE:
all done, more, eat, drink, berry, doggie, uh oh, cracker, banana, elephant

ANIMAL SOUNDS YOU SAY:
woof, baa, ooh ooh aah aah (monkey), tweet tweet, quack quack, bwaaah (elephant!), moo, hissss, meow, roar (tiger and lion),

BODY PARTS YOU POINT TO:
head, hair, eyes, nose, teeth, belly, feet, ear, tongue, belly button, hands

you are growing more and more into a little girl every day. you are finding your voice, although whenever we are around other people, it still takes at least a half hour for you to warm up and begin talking! you have learned to express yourself when you don't want to do something..."no" is a frequent word you use! you call for "daddy" or "pixie" every morning when you wake up (usually 8 or 8:30 am)...it is so funny to hear you play in your crib after you've woken up. it's by far the BEST sound i've ever heard. you love playing outside, and you love your outings to gymboree and to storytime. max h. has the coolest toys, so you love going next door to play with him...you guys tend to steal one another's things, but you're learning to share! you watched sesame street last week while laying on top of soxie...who you love SO MUCH. you've also melted cranky pixie's heart, too, and she now lets you pull her ears (in hopes that she may catch a stray goldfish cracker that you might drop for her) and boss her in and out of her room.

in short, you are a wonderful and amazing little girl, and every day, i am more and more proud to call myself your mommy.

love,
momma and daddy