Week 9

Sorry for the delay in posting. While I have lots to tell you, I have little in the way of photos. You have no idea how hard it is to get a photo of a toddler. In the event that you've forgotten what a toddler is, the definition is "a little human in constant motion." Blurred pictures are the norm, and forget about trying to get her to smile or even look at the camera. So posted are our best attempts--don't laugh.

The words are coming fast and furious. Though I haven't counted I would say we're up to 20+ words. Some of her newer words are airplane, puppy, kitty, ice, nose, ear, eye, elbow, cracker, car, oh-oh (as in woops, mommy made a mistake), banana, bird, duck, quack quack---mostly nouns. No verbs yet.

She has mastered the art of saying no and shaking her head no, to everything we say, albeit to her benefit or not. And she's in constant motion--did I mention that? On a daily basis she empties the tupperware cupboard, napkin cupboard, towel drawer, spoon drawer, utensil drawer, pen drawer, and garbage. And I pretty much let her because usually during these times I'm trying to prepare some new nutritious, tasty meal that she most likely won't eat. Eating has become less important to her and though I wouldn't call her a picky eater, she definitely has her preferences--sweet or salty carbs. So unless it's graham crackers, cake, chips, pasta, or bread, I'll probably only get a bite or two down her bird mouth (hence her learning the word bird). In all fairness, I would add that she loves dairy products--milk, cheese, and oh yeah, YOGURT!! When all else fails, pull out the yogurt--any brand, any flavor, she's not choosey.

The big news for the week is that she got caught up on her immunizations (5 shots--ouch), and, drumroll, she used the potty for Grandma Schryver and myself--twice with a deposit. Not sure I'm ready to potty train her, but she seems interested so I thought I'd give it a try. We've had a lot of false alarms, but the little bit of progress she made was fun.

We also picked out a daycare---might I add, the Taj Mahal of daycare. A brand new Kinderberry Care was built near our home and we toured it last week. It's a beautiful center and Gia seemed to be okay with it. Her teachers seemed very calm and friendly, and the curriculum (what? she's not even 2 years old!) is awesome. So we think we'll be signing up soon, though if you see Rob and I in a soupline, donating plasma, or recycling an unusually large amount of aluminum cans, you'll know it's all meant for the new "curriculum." Feel free to donate to the cause.

That's all for now.