I had a great time at Grandma and Papa's!

I really had a great time the last few days with Grandma and Papa!  We went to church on Sunday (I wore a really pretty new dress Grandma bought me), went to the zoo on Monday (and saw a giraffe and elephants and lots more), and on Tuesday even went with Grandma to get a haircut.

Grandma read to me in bed every night before I fell asleep, and I think they had a lot of fun spoiling me too!

Daddy came and picked me up tonight.  He really missed me and said that the house seemed really empty without Mommy and me around.  He was very glad to pick me up!

Staying over and Grandma and Papa's house - by myself!

On Wednesday I surprised Daddy by asking him "This weekend, can we go to Grandma and Papa's house?"  This is the first time I've actually asked, so he called them up, and we headed up there today.  But this trip was going to be a little different - Daddy was going to go home by himself and leave me with Grandma and Papa for the first time ever.  He asked me if I wanted to, and I didn't mind at all!  In fact, when Daddy left, I said goodbye and gave him a big kiss and big hug, but then gave him big cheerful waves!  I was very excited to spend time with Grandma and Papa like a big girl.

Daddy did get a few cute pictures while he was there.  Here I am sitting on their upstairs window sill with my doll Snoozy.

Once I realized Daddy was taking pictures, of course I wanted to hide!

They were all having hamburgers for dinner.  I wanted one, too.  Well, sort of.  I wanted a hamburger without the burger.  I just wanted the bun!  They did make me eat a few other things besides the bread, though.

After Daddy left, I stayed up for a while with Grandma and Papa.  Then Grandma read to me in bed, and after a little while, I fell right asleep and slept soundly through the night.  So far, so good!

Two new states, circles, and "I want Mommy"

Daddy was quizzing me on states today, and found out I know two new ones - Wisconsin and Kentucky.  That brings me up to 22!

I also have become very interested in circles recently, since learning that shape.  Now I point out every circle I see, either saying "that's a circle!" or asking "Is that a circle?"  I do this over and over with wheels, stickers, pictures, whatever might have a circle in it!

Also, I have started telling Daddy "I want Mommy!"  But he's noticed that I only seem to say that when he's trying to get me to do something I don't want to do (like take a shower or get dressed), or brushing my hair (She does a much better job getting the tangles out.  I remind Daddy that he's a boy, and has short hair, so what does he know?)

Fun day at home and the Omniplex

The weather forecasters called for a blizzard today (yes, March 20th), but it didn't quite turn out like that.  It did snow some, and was cold and windy all day, though, so we stayed inside.  Nothing like yesterday's 70 degrees!

After breakfast (pancakes!) while Daddy was out of the room, I got out some plates and spoons because I wanted to have a Play-doh "tea" party.  When Daddy came back, I told him I even saved a place for Mommy.  He told me that was very nice and Mommy would love to know it.  We had quite the meal, "pancakes" and "bean burritos"!

Daddy made a little tiny pancake for me and then I asked him to put it on my nose!  Of course then I asked him to do the same.  We're being silly!

After we were done with our "snack", I wanted to do some puzzles.  I'm getting really good at the U.S. states puzzle.  I showed Daddy I now know the names of 4 more states - Georgia, Missouri, Arkansas, and Alabama, which brings me up to 20!  Daddy's very happy I like maps.  Since I did the puzzle so easily, Daddy decided it was time for a bigger challenge and brought out a puzzle Grandma and Papa had brought over that was Daddy's as a kid.  This one is also a map of the U.S., but unlike my other one isn't a board puzzle and so doesn't have the outlines of the states behind them!  That's okay, I took right to it, and even got a lot of states in without any help.  I still remembered what most of the ones I knew were, even without the little picture on each one.  Daddy was impressed!

Since it was so cold, windy, and snowy today, we decided to go to the Omniplex.  I had a great time, and Daddy was just hoping I'd get worn out and take a nap.  Here are a couple of silly pictures of me from today.

Well, Daddy's plan worked!  On the way home, several times I told him "I'm tired"  I also told him I wanted to take a nap with him on the big bed!  It's very rare that I actually tell Mommy or Daddy that I'm tired, so he knew this was for real.  He told me to stay awake until we got home, and when we did I sat on the bed, quickly took my shoes and jacket off, and laid down ready to nap.  I took a good hour-long nap on Daddy, it was very nice.

That night I wanted to do my map puzzles again.  This time Daddy let me do my "easy" one all by myself.  He didn't say anything, help me or give any hints, and I got all the states in!  He thought it was neat how I'd be thinking out loud - "Where's Georgia?  I need Georgia."  "California goes there, apparently."  (Yes, I have picked up the word "apparently" from somewhere.)  We then did the harder map puzzle again, and I did even better than last time.  Daddy is amazed at how fast I learn!

Some cute things this week

Daddy thinks I did some really cute and funny things this week.  I like to have fun with Daddy!

On Tuesday I learned another state, Illinois, "where Mommy was born", and I sometimes remember Colorado, "where Daddy went to school".  That's 16 states now!

On Wednesday I came up with my own song!  Along the lines of my "8 silly monkeys jumping on the bed" type of books.  We were sitting on the porch swing and I saw 2 birdies sitting on our neighbor's roof.  Then one flew away!  So I made up a song:

"There were lots on the tree and one flew away,
There were lots on the tree and one flew away,
There were lots on the tree and one flew away,
(looking down at my fingers now and holding up 3)
There were three on the tree and one flew away,
There were two on the tree and one flew away,
There was one on the tree and he flew away,
There was nothing on the tree..."

That's as far as I have come up with.  Daddy hopes to get a recording of it real soon!

A couple of times this week I have asked Daddy to "button the top button" of his dress shirts.  When he asks "Why?" I quickly respond "so you'll look like a dork!"

Tonight it was raining really hard before bedtime, so Daddy and I went outside to watch.  There was a bright flash of lightning, loud thunder, so what did I do?  I cheered and clapped just like Daddy had taught me last spring!  Much better than being scared.

After we went back in, Daddy asked me if I wanted some cough medicine before bedtime to help me sleep.  I hadn't coughed in a while, but all of a sudden I felt a need to show that I was still coughing.  So I said "yes", then let out two of the most fake-sounding coughs ever!  Daddy wasn't fooled and I started giggling when he let me know he wasn't!

Daddy and I went to "Area 51"

We went to the infamous top-secret "Area 51" today, and I can prove it.  Here's the gate!

"Area 51" is actually a restaurant on the airport in Sherman/Denison, TX.  Daddy and some friends decided they'd like to try it out as it's only been open a few months.  So we flew on down and met them there.  I was a great girl on the way down, just quietly munching on the Chex Daddy brought.  I did start to cry at one point though.  Daddy finally figured out that I thought he said "eat the cloud" instead of "see the cloud", and I started bawling, saying "I don't WANT to eat the cloud" over and over again until he figured it out!  Clouds are big Daddy, I can't eat a whole one!  Once he told me that no, I didn't have to eat the cloud, I calmed right down and was great the rest of the flight.

"Area 51" turned out to be an aviation-themed restaurant.  It was a small place, and they were still trying to decorate it, but had some neat stuff up.  Like a big cockpit photo!

And some model airplanes hanging on the wall.  I kept telling Daddy I wanted to go in this one.  He let me touch it with one finger.

They had a pinball game I could play for free (and did, although not too well).

We weren't sure what the story was with the motorcycle in the corner next to a DJ table, but when I saw it I took off running and climbed right up before Daddy could stop me.  Of course, before pulling me off of it, he took a moment to get some pictures of me making motorcycle sounds.  I did tell him he could sit on the seat behind me!

I had some chicken nuggets and ate them all.  I sure was having fun there!

When we left we headed up the road to a small museum they have.  The airport was a WWII training base, so they had a few display items that were neat.  I ran most of the way to the museum, which Daddy later measured was 4/10 of a mile down the road.  I had a lot of energy!  Of course I stopped every so often to pick flowers.

Daddy, this looks like a perfect "first jet" for me!

"Daddy, can I stick my face into a jet engine?"  "Only if you don't tell your mother."

When we were done, we headed back down the road to the planes.  As Daddy expected, I didn't want to run back!  "Daddy, can I have uppa please?"  So he carried me most of the way back.  His plan was working though, I was pretty worn out.  Look what happened just five minutes into the flight back!

And that's how I stayed, for about an hour, until right before landing, when I woke up, started fussing, then instantly got distracted when I noticed planes parked on the ground.  Daddy said I was a really great girl all day and he had a lot of fun with me!

First full week without Mommy

This was Daddy's and my first full week without Mommy, and so far we've made it okay.  We really miss Mommy though, today I set her a place at my table when Daddy and I were having Play-doh snacks, and told him we would save some for Mommy.

Earlier in the week, I changed my nighttime routine a little bit by having Minnie turn out the light in my room and close the door.  I used to do it, of course, but now I tell Minnie "you can do it, you're a big girl".  I talk her through it and even tell her good job at the end to be nice. 

Also, I am really learning my U.S. states.  We have a wooden map puzzle and I'm getting really good at it.  I can put the states in all by myself, so Daddy has been teaching me their names, and why they're significant.  I know now 14 of them, and I learn more each day! 

California
Arizona - "where Grandma Bunny and Papa Mitch live"
Utah - "where Zoe and Mia live"
Wyoming
Texas - "where Mommy is, like Texas Roadhouse!"
Oklahoma - "where I was born"
Kansas
Louisiana - "where Alex will live"
Mississippi - "where Mommy was"
Florida - "where Minnie and Woody and Buzz live"
Pennsylvania - "where Daddy was born"
Maine
Hawaii - "where the Humu-humu-a'a for my shirt comes from" (the Hawaiian state fish)
Alaska - "where the polar bear lives"

I'm learning math too - I saw two throat lozenges on the counter, and said "there are 2, if I take 1 away, there will be 1!"  It's a start!

I have an incredible memory

Mommy and Daddy continue to be amazed by the things I can remember, even more than the things they're teaching me, like the U.S. states I've been working on lately.  I often tell them something that I remember happened a couple of weeks ago.  Recently I saw one of my new placemats which has the solar system on it.  I quickly pointed out that "It was dark so Mommy and Piper went out and had Figgie Newtons and watched the balls!"  Which is exactly what had happened at the Omniplex a week or so before when we started to watch the planetarium show.  (It was dark and I got a little scared, so Mommy and I went out of the room, ate a snack, and watched the "Gravitram" balls which fascinate Daddy and me.)

Well, today Daddy and I were driving home and passed by the street that goes to my friend Iliana's house.  So I said, "that way's Iliana's house", which wasn't surprising, I do that a lot.  But next I said "there are two babies in there, and I pushed them on the strollers!"  Daddy had to think about that one for a minute, but then remembered that when Mommy was out of town in September, I went in to school with Iliana, and one day at their house played with some baby dolls of hers and pushed them in toy strollers.  Daddy was pretty amazed - that was 6 months ago, and I had only done it once as far as he remembers!

I really continue to amaze Mommy and Daddy.  They think it's pretty neat.

Paul's Valley Fly-in

Today was Saturday, which meant that finally I was going to teach Daddy how to make pancakes!  I was pretty excited.  We got out all the supplies, and I showed him just how to mix everything up.  And you know what?  They turned out pretty good!

At the airport down in Paul's Valley, OK, they have a fly-in lunch every month.  Daddy and I went a lot last year, but it's been so cold and rainy/snowy this year we haven't had a chance to go.  Well, today was nice enough so we headed on down!

Now, Mommy and Daddy have told me about the "one finger" rule many times before, but Daddy thought it important to reiterate that I could touch anything I wanted, but only with one finger.  So I sure did!  I think I touched just about every airplane there.

See how I've got one finger on each hand ready to go?

We met lots of Daddy's friends there - Mr. Steve was there too (who has the bright yellow plane I like to sit in - I kept asking if he was going to be there, and could I sit in his plane the whole way down).  There were a couple other kids my age too, so I had fun playing, running around making airplane noises.  I was most excited about playing on a bright yellow golf cart that was there, and took turns "driving" it with a boy my age.  We were having great fun.  When one of the planes started its engine and taxied close by, Daddy caught me with this look on my face!  Wow!

I had so much fun, that pretty much as predicted, guess what happened on the way back home?

OKC Auto Show

I've known we were going to the OKC Auto Show tonight all week, and I've been very excited about it!  Last year I loved sitting in all the cars, and this year it was even better (since I could get around a lot better).  When Daddy picked me up from school, even the Director told me to have fun at the car show.  So obviously I'd been telling everybody all day!

When we got there, as expected, the first car I ran to was the first bright red one I saw.  Just like last year!

But I wasn't too partial.  I sat in lots of different cars.  And big trucks too!

I couldn't figure out why some cars were locked!

In every car, I'd open the door myself, crawl in, and put on the seatbelt, making sure to tell Daddy "I need my seatbelt so I be safe".  If he or someone else asked where I driving to, the answer was always the same - "the Omniplex!"

The ones with navigation systems were especially interesting.

As you may have figured, Daddy got to sit in a lot of cars too - in the passenger seat! 

There was even a company there with this strange-looking "motorcycles".  I of course took right to the yellow one, my other favorite car color.

We were there for a couple of hours, and I really didn't want to leave.  I thought for sure I could hide from Daddy in the back of this Honda.  I was wrong, and sure started giggling when he found me (I kept trying to hide from the camera, but he caught me when I looked up).

It sure was a lot of fun and I can't wait until next year.

"Daddy I can show you how to make pancakes"

Since Mommy left, I've been telling Daddy that I can show him how to make pancakes.  He says he has no idea how to do it, but since I help Mommy every time, I can show him.  I'm very excited about this, and he said on Satruday morning I can show him how.  A couple of times a day I tell him something like this:

"Daddy I can show you how to make pancakes.  Two eggs, milk, pancake batter, and a whisk to stir the eggs - STIR STIR STIR!"

I get really animated with the STIR STIR STIR part.  I can't wait until Saturday!

Bye-bye Mommy

Today we had to go to the airport to send Mommy on her way to Mister-sippi.  Daddy and I were able to get special passes so that we could go through security and spend more time with her!  After we got through security, we had to put our shoes back on.  I decided I'd rather try to put my mitten on my foot.  Hey, it fit!

We then found out that Mommy's flight was delayed an hour and a half.  So we had a lot of time to spend together walking around the airport.  I did get to look out the window and see a lot of planes!

At our gate was a very nice and friendly dog who was going to go flying too.  He's a service/assistance dog and was really a sweetheart.  He gave Mommy and me both some big doggy kisses, which made us feel much better!

I showed what a big help I was by pushing Mommy's suitcase around.  I'm getting pretty strong!

I handled saying goodbye to Mommy much differently than in the past.  The last time she went away, I was super sad and gave her lots of hugs.  This time, I was sad too, but I handled it by being very very quiet and even unresponsive to Mommy and Daddy's questions.  I didn't even want to give Mommy hugs at all for a while.  It's like I didn't want to accept that she was leaving again.

Finally, before Mommy had to board, she hugged me close and I hugged back.  Daddy wanted to get a picture, but I kept turning away from the side he was on.  So he'd go to the other side, and I'd turn back.  We went back and forth a few times until I thought it was really funny and started laughing!  It felt good to laugh.  And of course Daddy got a picture right then!

We were very sad as we watched Mommy walk down the jetway.  Daddy carried me most of the way back through the terminal and we gave each other big hugs.  We hope we can go see Mommy really soon!

Giving Mommy my "friends"

As Mommy was packing tonight for her trip, Daddy called me away saying he needed my help.  We went into my room, and he said that when Mommy goes to Mississippi, it would be really nice if I gave her one of my stuffed animal friends to take with her, to keep her company and remind her of home.  I thought this sounded like a great idea.  He of course suggested I pick a small one, but I decided on two small ones - my Froggie and Hippo!  The plan was to sneak them into one of Mommy's suitcases when she wasn't looking.  But when we got to the only bag in the other room, it was SO full that Daddy told me he'd sneak it in another one later.  He told me not to tell Mommy, because it was a secret, and I told him I understood.  So we went out into the hallway (me still holding my Froggie and Hippo) and we saw Mommy.  Of course, what's the first thing I said to Mommy?  I held out my friends and said,

"Mommy, here you can have Froggy and Hippo for you go to Mister-sippi!"

Needless to say, Mommy was very very touched by this and gave me some really big hugs.  She thought it was one of the nicest things I've ever said or done.  Daddy, of course, wasn't exactly surprised that I spilled the beans - I think he may have even expected it!

Mommy then told me how she always loved taking her friend "Pookie" with her when she went on trips in the past.  Well, guess what, I've got Pookie now, so I decided it would be even better if Mommy would take Pookie with her instead!

(Do you see how I'm holding my Froggie?  I've been holding my friends like this a lot recently, holding them like they're my babies!)

Bouncy-bounce place with Mommy

Mommy took the day off work just to spend with me, and what better place than the "bouncy-bounce place" I first went to a couple of weeks ago.  (I have started to show I have a really good memory for weird things.  On the way there, I told Mommy that there's a frog on the door.  As far as we know, I hadn't even mentioned this the last time we were there.  Sure enough, Mommy found out there is!)

And the best part was that we practically had the whole place to ourselves, since it was during the week and during school hours!  There were about 5 other kids there with me, instead of the many, many more last time when it was a holiday.  So I had free reign!

One of the bouncy-bounces is like a basketball court.  I ran back and forth, back and forth with one of the balls, and even tried to shoot a basket.  I need a little practice!

Wow, I'm high up there!

But it's so fun coming down!

This next slide was super fast.  But also super fun!  Mommy went down it too.  She wouldn't let me go down head first on this one!

Thanks Mommy!