I'm 18 months old!

I can't believe I've already been around for a year and a half.  I've already learned so much in such a short time that I can't imagine what will be next!  Here are some pictures from my special day. I wasn't too excited about taking pictures earlier in the day, but Mom got some good ones this evening.  I now say lots of words including: Mom, Dad, Sis, puppy, duck, quack, shoes, juice, book, giraffe, deer, roar, moo, arf, meow, whoo, bock, vroom, choo choo, (I currently identify most animals and moving objects by their sound rather than their names) bear, yes, but more often NO, nose, eyes, ear, hair, teeth, mouth, ball, ouch, hat and grass.  I'm sure there are more Mom is leaving out, but it seems like I've been saying at least one new word a day over the last few days.  I've also said my first official sentence which is "Sis says arf".  My puppy Sophie is such an important part of my life I thought I would give her the honor of saying my first sentence about her.  Thanks to all of you for being such a special part of my life so far!

New Shoes!

Mom has known for a while that I would be needing new shoes soon, but none of us new how quickly that would be.  I woke up Sunday morning and all of a sudden my shoes wouldn't fit anymore!  Dad made me wear sandals that my toes hung out of to church, but after my nap the first thing we did was go to get new shoes for the fall.  I was a big help pointing out all the ones I liked, but Mom and Dad decided on these Stride Rites.  I really like wearing them because they make me even faster than I was before!

I Love Elmo!

Chicken dance Elmo is officially my favorite stuffed animal.  He's not soft or cuddly, but he does sing a song and flap his arms.  I like to play him over and over again and sing along with him. Mom says it's the worst five dollars she's ever spent at a garage sale, but she doesn't have the heart to turn him off.

New Exhibit

There is a new exhibit at the Children's Museum that is really awesome!  It is a room filled with giant shapes of all sizes and colors.  I think my favorite was the one that looked like Sis's (Sophie's) "bed".  I had lots of fun playing peek-a-boo and climbing in and out of it.  There was also one shaped like a pool that was fun.  They have smaller shapes with velcro so you can put them on and take them off the wall.  I have a feeling we will be visiting this exhibit quite a bit to help me learn my shapes and colors.  I also did some dancing while we were there.  I have to say that my moves are pretty impressive.  Before we left I had to fly the airplane.  I thought if Rusty can do it, surely I can.  I don't see what the fuss is all about - I think it's a piece of cake!

Rainy Day Fun

It was pretty rainy towards the end of the week and Mom and I were going stir crazy in the house.  Dad had a great idea that I should go out and play in the rain.  It was pretty warm and there wasn't any lightning so we decided to go for it.  I couldn't believe how much fun it was!  The best part was splashing by the side of the street where there were puddles and putting my hands under the gutters to "catch" the water.  Great idea Dad!

Mom's Birthday

Mom's birthday was Wednesday (only one more year until the big 3-0!).  Dad surprised Mom by taking the day off and my gift was to sleep in until 8:30!  We spent the morning at the zoo with our friends the Ivey's and then we took Mom out to eat.  Since her favorite food is Mexican, and she especially loves salsa, I had to see what all the fuss was about.  I decided to skip the chips and just use a straw to eat the salsa.  I must already like hot things like Mom and Rusty because it didn't seem to bother me too bad.  We spent the rest of the day just hanging out around the house and playing outside.  Mom said it was a great day!

More Visitors!!!

Rusty and Nanni were here last weekend visiting us.  Rusty shared some corn on the cob with me and I thought it was DELICIOUS!  He also shared his sweet tea with me.  I think it's the best thing I ever tasted.  Guess that means I really am part Southern Girl.  (Although I have been doing a much better job of wearing my shoes lately.)  They took me on lots of wagon rides which are my favorite.  I think Mom liked them as much as I did because that meant she got a break!  I hope they get to come back real soon!

P.S.  Happy Birthday Nanni!  I was so excited it was your birthday I couldn't take a nap today!

The Youngs came to Lincoln!

Grammy, Grandpa Doug, Uncle Shane, Aunt Tricia and Uncle Dan all came to see us last weekend.  They all went with Dad to see the Husker's season opener and I had to stay home with boring Mom while they all went to have fun.  However, it was probably a good thing I didn't go - I was worn out that evening from playing all day!  Uncle Dan was teaching me how to play Mom and Dad's Wii.  I always wondered what they do for fun once I'm in bed and now I know!  Aunt Tricia gave me her old kitchen set so we decided to get that out to play with.  I had fun dumping out the boxes and digging through everything with Uncle Dan.  Sophie stuck by my side in case any of the food turned out to be real.  Grammy must have been pretty tired the next day because she fell asleep on the job (good thing Uncle Dan was out there with me!)  We found a baby frog and put it in a bucket of water.  I wanted to hold it, but Mom and Dad wouldn't let me since I almost killed the last one I got my hands on.  After we were done watching it for a while we took it to the creek across the street and let it go.  It's always fun to see everyone and I hate when they leave.  Hopefully Aunt Tricia will make it to State Volleyball so we can see them again soon!

Behind again!

Well, Mom is getting behind again on my blog.  I don't know what she's going to do once there are two of us!  These pictures are from a couple of weeks ago at the Children's Museum.  We met some of our friends, but Mom only got a picture with me and Kate because none of us would ever stand still!  We got to go eat lunch with Dad at Yia Yia's Pizza after I worked up an appetite playing.  It's always special to see him during the week!

Update on my sister

Mom went to the doctor last week and everything looks great!  Her tummy is measuring right on schedule and my sister's heart rate was 170 beats per minute.  It was probably higher than normal because Mom had to drink that really gross sweet stuff to test for gestational diabetes. Unfortunately, Mom didn't pass this test the first time like she did with me so she has to go back Friday and drink double the icky stuff and stay for three hours.  I sure hope she passes this time!