"Auntie" Charlie is here!

Today Mommy and I went to the airport to pick up "Auntie" Charlie.  She just got back from Afghanistan and we watched her cats while she was gone.  Her mom drove out here from New Mexico and they'll drive back to Maryland together with Pitch.  Auntie Charlie is one of Mommy's best friends, but we haven't actually met, so I was excited to finally get the chance.

Of course you know how I love airports, so we didn't just pick her up at the curb.  No, there is too much fun to be had inside like going up and down escalators and seeing the big jets!

We got home and had a good time with Auntie Charlie and her mom, Miss Sharon.  I always like meeting new people, and this was no different.  Poor Daddy, when he came home from work, he found he was outnumbered 4 girls to 1! 

I was really excited when Auntie Charlie said she brought me some gifts from Afghanistan.  These were little tiny "Piper-sized" jewelry boxes.  I started to think about what I might be able to put in them.  M & M's maybe?

She also got us some really nice cashmere scarves.  Daddy thinks this is pretty cool, since Afghanistan borders the Kashmir region of Pakistan and India, that's pretty authentic!  And since it's also a great Led Zeppelin song, even better!  (I have no idea what Daddy is talking about, but he's having fun anyway...) 

At dinner, I had everybody else rolling with laughter.  I'm pretty sneaky sometimes!  I had eaten a lot for dinner, and so I got to have a treat.  I wanted a mini Kit Kat bar.  Daddy, of course, felt he deserved a treat too, and opened up a mini Hershey's bar.  Of course I needed help opening mine, so I asked him for help.  He set his down and started working on mine.  How surprised was he when he went to hand mine back and realized I had snuck in and grabbed his when he wasn't looking!!  I'm pretty sneaky!  They really had a good laugh at me, but I got an extra bite of treat!

Auntie Charlie and Miss Sharon are going to stay with us until Saturday, when they'll head on home, so I'm sure we'll have lots of fun together.

To the vet with Little Girl

As I already mentioned, Mommy has been spending the whole week with me. It’s been great getting all this “Mommy and Me” time. With all the extra time Mommy has been spending at home, she noticed that Little Girl wasn’t eating much and was moving much more slowly than usual. So Mommy and I went to the veterinarian’s office to have Little Girl checked out.

I had a great time at the office. There was a kitty there named Simone who climbed right on my lap and let me pet her a lot. I even got to pet several doggies, but not all of them. For some reason, every dog seemed to be really nervous to be there. I had the most fun “helping” the receptionist while Mommy was in the exam room with Little Girl. I drew several pictures for her, among many important tasks she gave me like tearing people's credit card receipts off the printer.  That was really fun!

Mommy even called Daddy and he came to see us at the vet's office. Apparently, Little Girl was extremely sick. Mommy explained that Little Girl wouldn’t be coming home with us. The “kitty doctor” was going to help Little Girl feel better, but she wouldn’t be able to come home with us.  I didn't understand what exactly that meant, but I could tell that Mommy was very sad so I tried my best to comfort her and gave her lots of big hugs.

We went home and had lunch, and Daddy and I had a very silly time.  I had called to him from the table when he was in the kitchen, and he called me back with his hands cupped around his mouth.  I thought this was pretty funny, and tried to do it myself!  I couldn't quite get the "cupped hands" right, but Daddy tried to help me out.  Then we ended up just yelling to one another for at least 5 minutes.  It was great fun, and we were both giggling a lot!

Mommy is home with me all week!

Since Mommy's going to be leaving soon, she's staying home all week with me - just me and her!  Today we went and had lunch with her friend Mr. Duaine Ross, and after that we went grocery shopping.  I was a lot of help, and had my own ideas of what should be on Mommy's list - like lots of marshmallows!  I also helped put lots of things in the cart, some that Mommy asked for, and some that she didn't.  We were there quite a long time, about two hours, since we were moving at Piper speed.  But I was having a great time!

The "bouncy-bounce" place!

I’ve been talking about it for days, and today we finally went to the bouncy-bounce place! It’s called the “Jump Zone”, and it’s full of those big air-filled “Moon bounce”-type things. I was so excited. Mommy and Daddy were too! And I was NOT disappointed. I had so much fun I actually wore myself out and told Mommy and Daddy I was ready to leave after about 2 hours.

Playing is hard work!

A lot of the bouncy-bounces had slides too!

Sometimes it was hard to decide where to go next!

They had these things all over the place, too, and every time I came upon one, I had to ride it.

"Yee-ha!  Ride like the wind, Bulls-eye!"

Daddy couldn't believe it when he saw me doing this and burst out laughing.  I've had a recent fascination with sock fuzz on my toes, but he didn't think it would override my playing on the bouncy-bounce!  Needless to say, this was near the end when I was getting pretty tired.  Just taking a little break!

Daddy got a couple of video clips too.  I sure showed no fear on the slides!



And I'm already learning how to charm boys into pushing me on the swing!



I hope we go again real soon.

While we were there, Mommy went next door to the kids' used clothing store and bought me lots of nice clothes for the summer.  When we got home, I got to try them on.  I didn't want to do it like normal, one at a time, I just started putting on each outfit Mommy handed me!  Here I have three shirts and three pairs of pants on.

The most surprising part about the day, to Mommy and Daddy, is even after all this play, I didn't take a nap.  I guess I was just having too much fun!

I like M & Ms!

I got into some Valentine M & Ms on the way home today.  Can you tell?

I got a Valentine from Grandma and Pa-pa!

I got some mail today!  It was from Grandma and Pa-pa and was a Valentine's Day card - with chocolate in it!  So needless to say, I liked it a lot.  Thanks Grandma and Pa-pa!

Going away gift from "School"

Since Mommy's going to be going away for a while, we started looking for a new day care for me to attend.  Mommy and Daddy are very sad about it, because the one I'm in now (at Tinker Air Force Base) is very nice and we like it a lot.  I've really been learning a lot there.  But since it's on the other side of town from where Daddy works, he'd spend a hour on the road each way taking me there and picking me up - time that he'd rather spend with me than driving in the car!  Sounds good to me too.

So this is my last week at Tinker until Mommy returns.  Next week Mommy is taking the whole week off just to spend a lot of time with me.  I can't wait, it's going to be a lot of fun!  She even mentioned a place with a "bouncy-bounce", and it's been all I've talked about since she did.  After that I'll be in the new day care.

When Mommy came to pick me up today, she was very surprised to see that the teachers had put together a going-away gift bag for me.  It was really a nice thing to do, and completely unexpected!  Of course, I was really excited to be able to open some presents!  I really liked the horsey but there were also some books too, all things I like!

They made a really great card for me, too.

Of course, this made the decision to change day care programs even harder for Mommy and Daddy, but I'll be back!

Big (silly) argument with Daddy!

Tonight at dinner Daddy and I had a big argument.  He started it, by saying "I love you".  To which I responded "You love me!" 

He said, "Yes, I love you!"
I argued, "No, you love me!"
Daddy: "I love you!"
Me: "NO, YOU LOVE ME!"

I started getting pretty adamant!  We went back and forth for a few minutes.  It was very silly, and then Daddy tricked me by responsing "You love me!"  I got a little confused and we started laughing.  It was good silly fun!

I've learned 4 states now!

I have two placemats with the U.S. map on them, and I started noticing that the states on each one match!  (As I've mentioned, I'm really big on telling when things match now - like when my shirt matches Mommy's and things like that.)  So Daddy decided I might as well start learning the state names.  First I learned that we live in Oklahoma, but then I moved on to knowing that my friend Alex is moving to Louisiana, my friends Mia and Zoe live in Utah, and Grandma Bunny and Granpa Mitch live in Arizona.  I like pointing to them and saying the state names.  Daddy and Mommy are very proud of me (especially Daddy, the big map freak)!

Mommy's going to be leaving us for a while

Mommy has been lucky and avoided it for a long time, but the Air Force deployment system finally caught up with her.  The bad news is that Mommy will be "deploying" in early March for about 6 months.  The good news is that "deploying" is in quotes since she'll be staying in the U.S.!  So at least that's a lot better than going overseas.  She doesn't know exactly where she'll be going, but we sure hope it's relatively close to Oklahoma!  More to come as we find out more.

Super Bowl party!

Today we all headed down to Daddy's friend Steve's house for a Super Bowl party.  Mr. Steve and his wife Brittany are really nice, and best of all, they have a doggie!  Named Piper!  Daddy told me this was going to get confusing, and he was right.  But more about that later.

First I had to get ready.  I picked out my own colorful shirt!  And when Mommy asked what color scrunchies I wanted in my hair, I grabbed a handful of them.  She asked "which of them do you want?"  To which I quickly answered "ALL of them!" 

Don't forget this one on my wrist Mommy!

So that's how I ended up with 7 scrunchies in my hair at once.  Daddy really laughed hard when he came in and saw me.  I was being funny!

So we went to Mr. Steve's house, and I got to meet their doggie Piper.  I took a liking to her right away, and chased her around the house trying to pet her.  Eventually she let me.  Then after a while, once she got comfortable with me, she started wanting to give me licks.  Which means that then she started chasing ME around the house.  It was silly fun!

Whenever Daddy is holding me, I like to tell him "I'm going to go upside down", at which point I flop backwards and hang there until he pulls me back up.  It scares Mommy a little, which is why Daddy and I like it so much.  I really like being upside down!  Well, tonight each time I did it, Piper saw her chance and moved in for the big lick.  I couldn't get away, Daddy held me right there! 

We had a great time, but at halftime it was my bedtime so we had to leave.  I hope I get to see Piper again, she was really a fun doggie.

Playing around with my duck tub and helping Daddy

I haven't used my old duck tub since October when I started taking showers, but Daddy hadn't actually deflated it yet.  So I got to play with it one last time today before he did.  I ended up carrying it all over the house and sitting in it.  Yes, I think I'm a little too big for it now!

Later Daddy needed to fix the dishwasher, and of course that meant he needed my help.  I got to hold one of his tools for him.  But when he needed to use it, I decided it was no fun anymore and went and read with Mommy!  (By the way, yes he did fix the dishwasher.)

Caught in the act!

Normally, Pitch and Little Girl aren't allowed on the bed.  So when Daddy came in and saw Mommy and me reading with them at our feet, we knew we were caught!  (We're reading one of my favorite books, "Ella Takes the Cake")

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today was Daddy's birthday, so Mommy and I met him for dinner at Texas Roadhouse.  He really likes the ribs there.  I was all excited about having some mashed potatos, but after I saw (and tasted) the rolls they served, I didn't want anything else!  I'm having trouble with the concept of having more than one type of food at a sitting, but I'm working on it.

When we got home, we had some "engagement brownies" (as Mommy and Daddy call them because that's what Mommy was getting ready when Daddy proposed).  They're tiny, but they're really good!  Notice how I've got one in my hand but am hungrily eyeballing Daddy's.  I did help him blow out the candle, I'm getting really good at it.

I've got a silly hat!

When Mommy gets out of the shower, she wraps a towel around her hair to help it dry.  I thought this was funny and started referring to it as a "silly hat".  So now, pretty much every time Mommy's drying me off after my shower, I tell her I want a "silly hat".  She did a really good job on this one tonight!

Reading "Silly Monkeys" to myself!

Mommy was reading "8 Silly Monkeys" to me today, and I was filling in the "No more monkeys jumping on the bed" parts all by myself. When she got up to take care of something else for a minute, I kept on "reading" all by myself! I kept going for so long that Daddy heard me from the other room and was able to grab the camera and get a little video. Notice that I catch Daddy videoing me but I keep right on going. I really like reading!

Playing dress-up

For Christmas, Santa brought me a big "princess" dress-up trunk.  Today I finally figured out what to do with it!  I had worn the tiara, put on the shoes, and played with the wands before, but today I was playing by myself and decided to actually put some of the clothes on. 

I think I did pretty well!

Mommy fixed me up a little.  I was having a lot of fun!

Snow play again!

The last time I got to play in the snow was on Christmas day, and it being my first time, I didn't really know what to do.  But with all the snow yesterday, I was excited to go out today!

Daddy started off by shoveling the driveway as Mommy and I got ready.  It took a long time because I had a little "accident".  Oops!  By the time we got outside, Daddy had already finished the driveway and the walkway to the door!  But now I was ready to play!

This time, I only hesitated a little before venturing off into the frozen tundra.

Mommy came out to play too!

Before they could mention it, I told Daddy he should "get the sled from the attic"!  I remembered it from last time and couldn't wait to ride it again.  Daddy towed me all over the field next to our house.

I wanted to pull Daddy!

After the sledding we both snuck up on Mommy and Daddy introduced me to the fun of snowballs!  We got Mommy good.  Then she got us back (especially Daddy).  I got both Mommy AND Daddy!  It was a lot of fun and I got a big smile each time I threw a snowball.  After a while, though, my hands were getting pretty cold through my gloves and we went inside.

Later, we went out to eat.  I was really tired by this time and was starting to fall asleep on the way there.  Mommy and Daddy were able to keep me awake for a while, but after a few bites, I laid my head down on Daddy's lap and fell right asleep  See, I was being nice and letting Mommy and Daddy have a quiet meal together!

When we got back, I took another short little nap on Daddy's shoulder, but then I was wide awake again.  Daddy went outside to try to take care of the layer of ice still on the driveway.  He wanted to show Mommy and I his progress, so Mommy wrapped me in a blanket.  When we got back inside, I didn't want to take it off.  I said it was nice and cozy, and asked Daddy to make me a hood!

What a day!  I bet I'll sleep well tonight.

Happy Anniversary Mommy and Daddy!

Today is Mommy and Daddy's 5th anniversary.  They "planned" to take the day off from work, take me in to day care, and have a big date to celebrate.  But the weather had different plans!  Yesterday it started with the rain, then the freezing rain, then the sleet, and then the snow.  It snowed almost all day today too.  So needless to say, their offices were closed and we spent the whole day at home.  Mommy and Daddy hope they get a "date" someday, but we had fun today anyway!

We did a lot of playing today.  I got to dance with Daddy, which I really like.  I tell him I "don't want to touch the ground", so he has to hold me up and swing me around a lot!  We perfected this one move where he flips me from standing to upside down to on his shoulder in one motion.  I think it's great fun!  Mommy just looks the other way!

Notice we are in matching wardrobes, as all good dance partners are!

Daddy was in his closet looking for something and saw his trumpet.  I've never seen it before, so I was very excited.  He let me play it a little!  At first I couldn't get any noise to come out, but then I found out if I hummed into it, it sounded almost like Daddy playing!

We sure had a lot of fun even though we couldn't go outside!

I made another funny!

Mommy and I were looking at pictures on her computer, which is one of my favorite things to do.  She brought up an old picture of Daddy (one taken over 7 years ago after he had been deployed to a tropical island for almost 6 months, exercised a lot, and as was very tan).  She asked "Piper, who is that?"

"I don't know!"

Mommy laughed.  Daddy didn't think it was quite so funny!

(This is the same picture that, when Mommy first saw it, she said "Wow!")

Noticing when things "match"

My big thing recently is telling Mommy and Daddy when things "match", like two pictures, or two socks, or two stickers, anything really.  I really get excited when I notice they match!

Spending a lot of time with Mommy

Since Mommy got home on Friday, we've been spending a lot of time together, making up for lost time!  (And giving Daddy a little break too.)  Yesterday we went to the library and then to the grocery store.  This was very exciting because it's the first time I've been there since I was about 6 months old.  Mommy usually stops there after work, then picks me up, but since it was Saturday, and Daddy had only bought "essentials" while she was gone, she really needed to do some shopping.  I liked to help!  I got to push the cart through most of the store, I got to help Mommy put things in the cart, and even put some things in the cart that Mommy didn't notice until later!  Important things, like Nilla Wafers and marshmallows.

Today we also spent a lot of time together while Daddy went out with some friends.  When Daddy got back we finished unpacking Mommy's suitcases.  Daddy started wheeling the big suitcase down the hall.  He noticed it was a little heavier than usual!

  

Surprise, I was hiding in it!

Later I got to help Mommy make dinner by picking the leaves off of some cilantro.  We've found out that if I help make dinner, I'm much more likely to eat it, so they've been letting me help any way I can!

I'm glad we got to spend so much time together!

She's home! She's home!

Mommy came home today!  She got in around 3 PM so Daddy picked her up from the airport (he works on the other side of the runway) and they both came and got me from day care.  I showed Mommy how much I missed her by dropping what I was doing, running right over to her and giving her a big hug.  I really really missed Mommy!

We headed home, but since it was so nice outside (especially for January) and 65 degrees, we headed to the park instead.  After I played for a while, we all went out to dinner.  It was great fun and I am so glad Mommy's back.  Daddy is too!

Flying with Daddy!

It's been a long time since I went flying with Daddy.  But since it was a beautiful day and he has the day off work, we decided to fly up to Ponca City to have lunch at the Mexican restaurant on the field there.

I was a great girl and kept my headset on the whole time.  I mostly read books and sang my favorite songs.  Sometimes REALLY loudly over the headset (Daddy had to turn me off a few times so he could talk to ATC).

I saw him looking at a map and told him I wanted to see it.  So he handed me another one he had.  I was his little navigator (with my scrunchy smile)!

I wanted to get a really good look at the map.  Where's Piper?

I ate some of my lunch, and we walked around looking at other airplanes for a while.  Then we took off to come back.  I did fine for the first half, but then got fussy, which usually means I'm getting tired and am about to fall asleep.  Sure enough, I did!  Of course it happened on final approach to our home airport!  I slept the whole time Daddy was putting things away and when I woke up, we were ready to get in the truck and go home.

Our route home takes us right by the local park, and we saw a lot of kids there, as it was about 65 degrees in January, and right after a really cold few weeks.  So we stopped and played for a while!

It was a great day!

Left Grandma and Papa's house

We left to head home this morning.  It was a pretty cloudy and dreary day, so when Daddy realized that our drive home took us right by the Omniplex, he figured we might as well stop there!  I sure didn't complain!

We were there for a couple of hours, and then went to have a late lunch. 

When we got home, Daddy said he needed my help putting together a storage shelf for my room.  I love helping!

First I carefully arranged the storage bins while Daddy started assembling the shelf.

I got to help him tighten the shelves.

I put the bins in very carefully.

All done!  Daddy told me I could put the bins in any order, but I thought they looked best nice and orderly!

I haven't yet put my toys in them, but I did take all of the bins completely off and put them all back on!

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa (and Shadow)

I knew this was going to be a fun day, so started it off bright and early at about 6 AM (much to Daddy's chagrin).  But once Grandma and Papa got up, we had a great time!  I can sum up the day in one word - BOOKS!  You know I love reading, and they've got a lot of books I haven't read.  So we got right to work!

In this book, Grover tries to hide from the "monster" at the end of the book.  I tried to hide too!

They also got me a "Dora" book.  I REALLY liked this book and wanted them to read it to me over and over.  Between Grandma, Papa, and Daddy, we probably read the book 5 or 6 times.  Eventually they just had to say we'd read it enough and I had to pick something else.

I also got to do some puzzles.  I did this 25-piece puzzle of Winnie the Pooh and friends all by myself!  I'm getting really good at puzzles.

I had been having so much fun, that on the way back from seeing the model home of one they're going to move into this summer, I fell asleep!  Daddy got me inside and I took a little nap on his shoulder.  But then it was back to playing!

We stayed overnight too, so I got to stay up extra late again.  But I had a great time.

Up to Owasso!

Daddy picked me up early from school today and we headed on up to Grandma and Papa Roslewski's house to stay overnight.  I was a pretty good girl on the way up, and I was excited to see them (and Shadow too)!

Grandma said she needed help with the icing for a cake.  I was ready to help!  I helped her mix it up, and we even got to lick the beaters.  Fun!

I like baking!

I got to read with both Grandma and Papa a LOT.  A few times, I licked my finger to turn the pages.  None of us are quite sure where I picked that up, they hadn't seen me do it before.  But Daddy thought it was pretty funny and got a good laugh.

I was a real good girl eating dinner (for me anyway).  I think I was motivated by the cake we just made for dessert.

I stayed up super late playing, and didn't get to bed until about 9:30!  I was really tired, and Daddy was sure I'd sleep in late because of it.

He was wrong!

Quite a bowl of fruit!

Daddy let me help myself to some cantaloupe and honeydew.  I was doing a good job spooning them into my bowl, so he looked away for a minute.  Look what he saw when he looked back again!  I was hungry (and ate it all too)!

We both miss Mommy very much.  We're getting into a new routine and I've been a really good girl for Daddy, which he appreciates very much.  I even slept completely through the night last night (Daddy was very happy, I've been having problems with that lately).

We love you Mommy!

New sayings

My grammar and vocabulary are really coming along!  And I've got some new sayings as well.

The other day, Daddy and I were in the bathroom brushing teeth.  Pitch the cat wanted to get in the door, so I said "I'll let Pitch in".  But when I opened the door, he changed his mind, to which I replied "or not!"  I did this a couple more times.  It seems I have picked up the "or not!" from Mommy!  It's pretty funny the sayings I pick up.

I've also started, in the last week or two, using personal pronouns, like "she" and "he".  I don't yet know "her" and "him", so I might say when picking up my Minnie doll, "I pick she up", but I'm learning!

Daddy also says I've started sounding like Yoda.  I've started coming out with phrases like "pick she up I will", which he gets a kick out of.  Silly Daddy!

Rough night last night

Last night was a rough night for Daddy and me. It started out well - I was a really good girl in the shower, getting ready for bed, and went to bed with no problems. But at about 9:30 I woke up crying, and was sitting up in my bed when Daddy came. I was pretty out of it, and he was able to lay me down on my side, curled me up with my Minnie and Panda, and I went back to sleep pretty easily.


At about 11:30 I woke up crying again. When Daddy came out of his room I was standing in the hallway crying. He picked me up, gave me a big hug as usual, and asked what was wrong. I cried, "I peed my pants!", at which point he noticed that it was now all over him, of course! Oops. So he took me in the bathroom, got my old clothes off, we went back in the bedroom, got new pajamas on, and then he noticed that I hadn't wet the bed, it was dry.  Yay!  We then headed out to sit on the couch and have some milk to calm me down. On the way there, I started crying again, and said "my feet wet!" It was then that Daddy noticed the big puddle I had left in the hallway, that he had now tracked into the bathroom, into my bedroom, and into the living room! Oh no! So he sat me down on the couch while he cleaned up (and cleaned himself up too). But I did go back to sleep after having some milk.

And then about 2:00 I woke up again, walking down the hallway. Daddy got smart and made a point of "checking" before he picked me up this time! But everything was okay, so he rocked me a little and I went back to bed.

I woke up happily when he came to get me in the morning, and he told me to get dressed while he showered (which I'm getting very good at doing by myself). While he was in there I decided I had to go potty, but when he got done with his shower and heard me calling for him, he found me on my potty chair, legs spread wide, feet hovering a few inches off the ground, and a big puddle next to the potty chair. I missed! He's not sure how. Needless to say, he cleaned that up as I finished getting dressed.

So like I said, it was a rough night and morning. And Mommy's only been gone a few hours!