Drawing, and I'm learning new words

My vocabulary continues to improve, and really amazes Mommy and Daddy. Today I came out with "I'm sorry Mommy". And I picked up a new one from Daddy, too - "Hubba Hubba!" I think he was talking to Mommy, but I heard it and sure repeated it. Better be careful Daddy!

Ever since my 2nd birthday party where I learned to draw on the ground with chalk, I really like doing it. So pretty much every evening, Daddy and I go outside and I'll either draw, blow bubbles, or just run around. When I'm drawing, I even demand that Daddy sits next to me! (Thankfully, he usually does, and helps out.)

Quite a busy day!

Today was just a nice day around the house. But boy was it busy, full of play!

I started off by getting comfortable on the coffee table, reading a book. Mommy and Daddy always tell me not to climb on furniture, so I had to wait until they weren't looking to hop on up here! Needless to say, I was not up here much longer...



So I went over to sit at my table. This is a great table for drawing, playing with Play-doh, and all kinds of other stuff. But who likes to play alone? I called Daddy over by saying "Daddy, sit" and pointing to his chair. He always grumbles something about it being to small for him, but secretly I think he likes joining me. Plus he fits perfectly!



After a little bit of play with Daddy, Mommy and I made cookies! I'm getting to be such a big girl and Mommy always asks if I want to help. With cookies? You bet!



I may have snuck in a little taste. Cookie dough is yummy!



Another big happening today - I decided I am too big for my booster seat. Big girls don't use booster seats, right? I asked Daddy to take it off of my chair, so he did, and put it on the floor. Of course, then I had to go sit in it on the floor and buckle myself in. But I don't need it any more at the table, I'm tall enough I can eat sitting in the big chair!

Would you believe all of this happened before noon? After that we had some of the missionaries from church over for lunch. They were very nice, but I was shy as always around strangers. The rest of the day I got to just play, play, play with Mommy and Daddy. It was nice!

I like our fish

I've always liked our fish tank, and I get excited when Daddy and I feed them. But today I realized I could pull my stool over, sit down, and watch them up close! Usually I stand on my stool and watch them, but now that I'm getting bigger, I can sit down and see them just fine.

My first time on a "Moonbounce"!

At our local park today there was a fundraiser being held. They had something called a "Moonbounce" there that I got to try out!

I don't think I've mentioned yet how one of my new favorite things to do outside in the grass (since Grandma Roslewski showed me) is to jump a little and fall down onto my bottom. I think it's great fun and I giggle every time I fall down! Well this "Moonbounce" is perfect for me!

Here I am getting ready to jump!



Daddy even recorded a video clip of me having a great time. Notice how I study the older boy for a while, then try it myself!

I can't wait until my next moonbounce!

Wow my language skills are really improving!

Mommy and Daddy think it's really amazing how quickly my language skills are coming along. I can now repeat lots of phrases after them, and come out with new words (and even phrases) almost every day!

Mommy's been singing the "ABC's" to me too, and sometimes I'll just start singing them by myself. I may not get all the letters, or in the right order yet, but they definitely sound like letters.

I'm growing up so fast!

Time to head on home...

It has been a great visit, but we needed to head home today. I helped pack (a little)!



It was sad to leave friends and family and all the nice people I met. I really had a fun time, especially with Aunt Nicole and Uncle Stan. They were wonderful hosts and completely opened up their house to us. Thanks!

I was pretty good for most of the flight back, but again got a little fussy in the middle of it. I really didn't want to put on my seatbelt once we started descending to land, but Daddy made me do it anyway. I calmed down and was really good for the rest of the flight.

Of course, I wanted to walk all through the airport, only wanting to get into my stroller while we were waiting for the parking lot shuttle!

I hope we can go out to Phoenix again soon!

Visiting "Auntie" Erica and Aunt Jennifer

Yesterday I spent most of the day with Daddy, so today I spent almost the whole day with Mommy! While Daddy went to see Uncle Randy and catch up with him, Mommy and I went to see "Auntie" Erica and later, Aunt Jennifer. So it was a busy day!

Here "Pepe" is giving me a kiss. Auntie Erika says he's not used to having company who's the same height he is.






After chasing Pepe and Taz for a while, they decided to get me back. (I can't tell if this is a picture of Pepe or Taz.) We had so much fun running around!






Auntie Jennifer has dogs, too. Paris and Patsy hadn't met me before and weren't too sure they wanted to let me inside.





For some odd reason, Paris decided to hide from me. Auntie Jennifer and Patsy were helping me coax Paris out from under the bed.



Our coaxing didn't work very well, so I had to find something else to keep me entertained. Fortunately, Auntie Jennifer had some balloons for me to play with.



Overall, it was a great day! I hope Mommy and Daddy will get me a doggy of my very own soon. Daddy said "maybe" we will. Oh boy!

We then headed home because Mommy had to get ready for her high school reunion. (Daddy says I'd better not say which one!) Daddy got home soon after us, and so he took care of me the rest of the night.

More fun in Phoenix

This morning I slept in much better. Until about 5:30, that is. Hey, it was an hour later than yesterday! But today Daddy and I didn't have any real big plans, although Mommy was going to have her high school "pre-reunion party" tonight. So Daddy and I got to play most of the day.

Daddy showed me what fun fans can be!



He also showed me that when you talk into it, your voice sounds really funny. I thought this was neat, so I did it a lot!

I also got some practice playing with my Mister Potato Head that I got last night as a gift. I really liked it and played with it for a long time! I had fun pulling the parts off when Daddy would put them in the wrong places. I knew where they went better than him!



Later we went to visit Grandma and Grandpa Stoller, to see their house, meet some of their pets, and borrow one of their cars. I got to pet 4 doggies and lots of kitties, and they were all very friendly to me. Some of the dogs were maybe a little too friendly at first, wanting to lick my face. I got a little scared, but when they calmed down so did I and I got to pet them too.

Once we got back, Mommy and Aunt Nicole were going to go shopping, but we got in this cute picture before they went.



Then it was Daddy's turn to try to feed me lunch. I wasn't eating very much, and he went into the kitchen to find something else for me to eat. When he looked back, he got to watch me just plop my head right down on the table. I was tired! It had been quite a busy day so far. So Daddy picked me up and we both laid down to take a nap. I slept for almost 2 hours, but I've got more planned tonight, so I had to be well rested!




(In case you're wondering, we had just come in from playing in the pool. That's why I've just got my diaper on. Plus it is hot here! I'm really liking playing in the pool, and want to go in the water every chance I get.)

Mommy and Aunt Nicole got back sometime while I was napping. But once I woke up, Mommy, Daddy and I went on a tour of Mommy's old high school. Mommy says that the building behind us (the old library building) is the only remaining original structure from when she went there!




After the tour, some of Mommy's classmates were going to have an informal get-together at a local restaurant/bar. So Daddy and I dropped her off and went back to play some more at the house. In a few hours (she really had a good time catching up with old friends), Mommy called and we went back to pick her up. We're glad she had fun!

Party Time!

As you saw in my earlier post, I was all dressed up and ready to party! All that was missing was the guests. As Uncle Randy had the longest drive, he showed up first. (Rush hour wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.) So to make him feel welcomed, I showed him my mini beach ball. You can see how impressed he was with this.




I just don't understand why Daddy says Uncle Randy is his "little" brother!



Daddy sure knows how to get me to giggle! Whee!!!!!!!!



Mommy heard somewhere that a person's adult height is twice the height an individual was when he/she was 2 years old. So Aunt Nicole decided to get the tape measure out as Mommy thought the doctor's office was a little bit off on my measurement this past Monday. Aunt Nicole and Daddy say I'm a little more than 35" tall. Does that mean I'll be 5'10" when I'm grown up?



I'd never met Samantha (19 months) and Olivia (3 years) Hizme before, but Mommy went to high school with their Daddy (Adam). So she's known him more than 20 years! We had lots of fun playing with Playdoh and balloons waiting for the other guests to arrive.



Mr. and Mrs. Massey (Ed and Sandy) also came to visit. (They're some of Grandma and Grandpa Roslewski's oldest friends from Phoenix and even before in Pennsylvania.) They helped me overcome my initial shyness to them and had me smiling in no time.



I don't think I mentioned how much fun it is to take a beach ball and toss it into the water. Somehow Daddy always seems to be able to get the ball back!

As we had an early birthday celebration with Grandma and Grandpa Roslewski, I've had some recent practice in blowing out candles. Here I blew out my candle on my first try!

Everyone seemed very excited by how well I blew out the candle. (Or do you think they were just eager to get some chocolate cake?)

Mommy had lots and lots of food for us all to eat. But with so many visitors and so many things to do, I just wasn't interested in eating any of it. Now that I'm a wise 2-year old, I learned there are some foods I just shouldn't pass up -- chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream are delicious!

Daddy and Uncle Stan spent a long time filling up water balloons for us to play with. Here you can see Emerson Elliston (Mishell's daughter) testing out her launching skills. (For some strange reason, most of our balloons took nose dives straight into the lawn. I'm sure Daddy will help me figure out proper trajectories by my next birthday.)

Sadly, the water balloons didn't last long. (We had a lot of fun though!) I'm glad Mommy was able to blow up some more air balloons for us to play with. You can also see some of our artwork we created on the sidewalk with chalk.

Here I am trying to show Mackenzie Massey the skills I've acquired in bubble blowing. Look at me all puckered up! (Of course, as she's a whole 10 months older than me, she already knew all about bubble blowing.)

Blowing bubbles and sculpting with playdoh takes some serious concentration. Here Morgan Massey (Mackenzie's twin), Emerson and I are each very focused on important play.

It turns out Aunt Jennifer (Mommy's sister) can't wait to give someone a present she's picked out. (Mommy has the same difficulty. She gets so excited when she's going to give someone a present that she wants them to open it as soon as possible.) She bought me this patriotic outfit that I'm already wearing in this photo. (She gave me a few more outfits, so I'm sure I'll have some pictures of those to share with you in the near future.)

It was pretty late by the time this picture was taken, so I wasn't too cheerful. But this was the first time Mommy has been with Uncle Matthew, Uncle Scotty, Aunt Jennifer and Grandma Bunny and Grandpa Mitch since she and Daddy were married. So she definitely wanted to get a family photo.

Who ever knew turning 2 years old could be so tiring?

I am 2!

Today I finally turned two years old! I'm getting to be such a big girl, although Daddy tells me I'll always be his little girl. It's been quite a year, hasn't it? I couldn't even really walk last year this time. Now I'm running all around, talking up a storm, coming up with new words every day and learning all kinds of new stuff!

Well, this morning I slept in all the way until 4:30 AM, Phoenix time! It's that 2 hour jet lag that got me. Of course, this meant Mommy and Daddy were up at 4:30 also. (I even woke Aunt Nicole up, who's usually a very sound sleeper.) Sorry, everyone! But that just gave us a lot of time to get ready for my party tonight.

Mommy wanted to make an apple dessert for tonight (in addition to the cake of course), so I got to go out and help Uncle Stan pick apples right from the trees in their yard. This was fun!



Uncle Stan and Aunt Nicole have a pool in their backyard, which apparently is normal for Phoenix. You remember I learned to love playing at the beach, but I'd never been in a pool before. So this was new to me, too. Their pool has a long first step along one side, and I spent a lot of time walking up and down that step, getting used to the water. Here Aunt Nicole's trying to get me to splash my feet in the water. That was fun!



A rare photo of the three of us! Daddy had jumped in and I got very concerned until he came back over to me.



Here I am in my party dress. While waiting for our guests to arrive, I found this little beach ball that I decided was perfectly Piper-sized and held on to it for a long time (except when I'd throw it into the water and immediately ask Daddy to get it for me).



Mommy had bought little bottles of bubble water for the party tonight, but I got to play with them first, all by myself. Look how well I'm doing!

Next up - my birthday party!

We're in Phoenix!

After I had breakfast and a little play time with Mommy, she went ahead and took me in to day care so she could get the rest of the packing done. Daddy had gone in to work. Since he works just on the other side of the airport, it's very convenient. This afternoon, Mommy picked me up and we headed over to meet Daddy. When we got parked at the airport, it was raining! We got pretty wet getting to the parking shuttle, but we dried off pretty quick once inside.

The flight itself went pretty well. I was mostly a good girl, and fortunately I still got my own seat even though I'm under 2 years old and therefore we didn't have to buy me a ticket. We lucked out once again! I got a little bored midway through the flight, but eventually calmed down.

When we landed, Uncle Scott was there to pick us up. We then went out to eat and met up with Grandma and Grandpa, cousin Jake, and Deborah, a friend of Grandma and Grandpa's. It was nice to see everyone again! I was pretty tired, though and didn't eat anything. I was pretty jet lagged.

Of course, I managed to fall asleep at the very end of the drive back to where we were staying, with "Aunt" Nicole and "Uncle" Stan. Mommy and Daddy tried to put me right to bed, but I was tired and cranky, it being something like 10:00PM Oklahoma time (8 local), way past my bed time. So it took me a while to fall asleep and I fussed a lot. But tomorrow is the big day - 2 years old!

Packing for the flight

We're traveling to Phoenix today to celebrate my 2nd birthday with our friends and family out that way. It's very exciting, some of them I've never met! We've got a lot of packing to do, but you can see that I'm all set with my important items.



So since I was done packing (Mommy wasn't quite so ready), I decided to go organize my animal friends. I sure do seem to have a knack for organization!

Storage Bins

Mommy bought me a couple of new storage bins for my toys. I thought they'd be fun to play in with my friends! Notice they even have wheels so I can pull my friends around too.

2-year old checkup

On Monday was my two-year old checkup at the doctor's office. I'm not quite two yet, but almost! My measurements were:


Height: 36" , 95th percentile (we think that was a bad measurement, Mommy and Daddy later measured me at around 35" or a little more, making it the 85th percentile)

Weight: 29lbs 5 oz, about the 80th percentile

Head: don't remember the measurement, but it was the 50th percentile

I was even a real brave girl and didn't cry when I was given my shots! Mommy was very proud of me. But then the nurse put a band-aid over where I got the shot, and about 30 seconds later I started getting really concerned! I guess I realized that if I had a band-aid, I must have a boo-boo. So I kept telling Mommy about the "boo-boo" and pointing to it with a worried look on my face.

So we get done at the doctor, head out to the car, and it won't start! Not even a click from the battery. Uh-oh! Mommy quickly got on the phone to our ace mechanic, also known as Daddy. He drove down to meet us and see what he could do. We waited at the Braum's restaurant across the street and had lunch. When Daddy showed up, I was pretty excited to see him and gave him a big smile and hug! He went ahead and had lunch and then got to work on the car. Turns out it was just a loose and corroded cable, which he fixed in just a couple of minutes and we were on our way!

What a day!

Three word phrases??

Wow, have I ever been getting good at using my words recently. It's only been a couple weeks since I started stringing two words together, now I've got a couple of phrases with three words!

My most common so far are "I want it" (of course) and "I do it" for when I don't want help doing something. I used this one a lot in the bath tonight!

I'm learning so quickly that Daddy and Mommy are amazed every day at how fast I'm growing up.

Bartlesville Biplane Expo!

Today Daddy and I headed up to pick up Grandma and Grandpa so we could all go to the Bartlesville Biplane Expo. This is the last year they’re going to do it, so we had to make it. There were supposed to be over 100 biplanes, both antique and most recent, there along with lots of other neat airplanes. And knowing how much I love airplanes, we couldn’t miss it!

When we got there, there were rows and rows of biplanes. I couldn't help but point them out!



When the planes would roar down the runway, I'd giggle at each one as it flew by!

Look at this neat one. It was actually used in passenger service back in the 20's and 30's. The pilot sat up top in the open cockpit, while the passengers sat in the inside compartment. Luxury in its day! (Daddy mumbled something about these being all the rage when Grandpa was young, but I don't think he heard him!)



Daddy let me touch the propeller of this one! Yes, you may notice it's not a biplane, but it was still pretty nice!



Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa all thought this one, a one-seat kitbuilt aircraft, was pretty tiny. But what do they know? It's Piper-sized!



I was able to take a look in the cockpit of this one. If I could just reach a little further...




It was a great day and I'm glad we went. I was getting REALLY tired toward the end, though, what with the warm sun and all the walking around. I fell asleep right away on the way back!

Cute kid of the month

I’m famous! Mommy and Daddy entered me in the monthly "Cute Kid" contest on the base. And I won! Daddy says that now, people will have to believe him when he says his daughter is the cutest. Because we’ve got proof.

My picture was even in the base paper!