Easter

April 27- E got these pop bugs for Christmas, she hasn't been too interested in them until lately.  She used to just chew on them, but now she tries to pop them together.  The only problem is that the bugs are too hard for her to pop or un-pop without help.  Bed time has become a challenge again, its taking E longer to fall asleep and she wants several stories.

April 26- E is now a stair climber, I think she learned how at daycare because in the past few days she constantly wants to climb up and down the stairs.  Grandpa M spent some time with her last week teaching her how to go down backwards, and now she knows to go backwards without anyone telling her.  She's working on learning how to carry things up with her while she crawls, which is pretty funny looking, but makes her so happy when she accomplishes it.

April 25- The weather was beautiful so E spent lots of time outdoors.  She and I went for a long walk and playtime outside. E didn't want to swing, so we spent time crawling up the steps of our neighbors.  When her dad came home she was back outside and even got to meet the mailman.

April 24- Easter Sunday.  The bunny came to our house and hid eggs for E to find.  They were filled with goldfish crackers and puffs.  E liked finding and opening the eggs.  We thought she'd love having a basket and putting the eggs in it, but it wasn't too high on her list of things to do.  We had brunch with Grandma and Grandpa N, where E tried an organic pancake and loved it, she wouldn't try the strawberries though.  Grandma N also introduced E to sugar cookies, which she was happy to eat.  We had dinner with Great Grandma, where E impressed everyone with her running and her ability to say by-bye.

Spring!

April 23- Uncle N is in town visiting for a few days for Easter, he last saw E at her birthday party, and a lot has changed since then, she can run faster and talks a whole lot more.  In fact, she told her uncle bye many, many times tonight.  She and her uncle played with her Easter Eggs, she throws them or carries them around.  She dropped them plenty and said uh-oh every time.  E also got tooth number 8 today, it sure took its time, so we were glad to see it. 

April 22- The Easter bunny came a little early to Grandma and Grandpa M's house.  The bunny brought E some socks, goldfish crackers, and new shoes.  E didn't notice her basket right away, and even when she did, she didn't seem to enjoy taking things out of it as much as I expected.  However, she did enjoy carrying the eggs around.  She also enjoyed running the loop at Grandma and Grandpa's in her new shoes.

April 21- We took E on her second road trip today.  We went to the Milwaukee Public Museum where E got to see the dinosaurs and other animals on display.  She liked the dinosaurs and her dad loved showing them to her and telling her about them.  She also liked the stuffed animals on display, and told many of them bye bye when we moved to the next exhibit.  She also really enjoyed the butterfly garden, although she was too excited for any of them to land on her.

After the Museum we headed to Brookfield to visit with her dad's uncle and cousin.  It was the first time her cousin had met her, and her uncle hadn't seen E since her baptism.  We went out to eat, and E had a hard time holding still at the restaurant. She made several attempts at escape, but we kept up with her.  She made it most of the way home without crying, about a half hour from home was her limit, but her CD saved the day.

April 20- E has taken to playing with her boppy, this is the first in a series of pictures, first she drags it to the floor, then she sits and/or stands on it, then she rolls over and lays on it, then she crawls around a little.  Then she starts the whole process over again. 

April 19- E is in the process of transitioning to the 1-2 year old room at daycare.  As part of the preparation, they are moving her nap to 11:30 and only having her take one nap.  Some days it works, other days, like this one, she slept for 40 minutes all day.  She was utterly exhausted when she got home.  We had a little snuggle time, but just for a bit since we still wanted her to sleep at night.

April 18- We are always so proud of E when she plays with this toy.  When she first got it, the noise was too loud for her and she was scared.  She's gradually warmed to it, and this day got it out for herself.  She pushed it around the house for a while, with a smile on her face.

April 17- We spent a good deal of the evening playing like this.  E would put her blanket over her head and then walk back and forth between her dad and I, giggling and laughing the whole time.  We had to cut the game a little short when she stared walking around the room and we had to chase her so she didn't fall.  E also at at IHOP today and tried scrambled eggs for the first time.  They were a hit!

April 16- I thought I had a few more years until E started borrowing my stuff, turns out I was wrong.  We already share a cell phone, and  now a purse.  E even put it on herself.  She is good at getting things like purses and hats on her head, but she hasn't figured out how o dress (or undress) herself yet.

April 15- E has recently started ripping more things.  She used to try and chew paper or tissues,  but now, she tears them into little pieces.  She got pretty far with this one.  The funniest part, is what she is doing above, she take a little piece and wipes up the floor with it.  No idea how she learned to clean, but hopefully she'll still think its fun in a few years.

April 14- E loves her legos this week.  She builds tall towers and then takes them apart.  Her favorite ones are these little single legos, I think because they are easier to manipulate.  Her record is a tower of four. 

Button, Uh-Oh, and All done

E has been practicing a few new words.  She learned Button during the budget repair bill protests.  Her dad wore a union pin on his jacket, and she was fascinated by it. She can now identify pins, buttons on clothes, and snaps on jackets.  Day care taught her uh-oh and she knows to use it when she drops her cup, or can’t find what she wants.  All done was the first thing we taught her to sign, and now she’s got the word!

 April 13- E didn't want to get up this morning, probably because she was awake from 12 to 3 am.  We thought we had figured out the sleeping thing, and for a few weeks she mostly slept through the night, but for the last two nights she's been up.  The lack of sleep has been making her cranky, she's been getting frustrated when she can't get her legos apart, which isn't something that usually bothers her.

April 12- Tonight E only wanted to play with her two cups, one of water and another of milk.  This evening was notable because she actually finished a cup of milk.  Usually she has a few sips and then spits it out. 

Duck Duck

The big change in E these past few days has been her attachment to Duck Duck, its a soft yellow duck lovie, which she named Duck Duck.  We don't know why she says the name twice, that's just the way it is.  Duck Duck hasn't replaced elephant blankie as the lovie of choice, now there are two.  Along with the addition of Duck Duck, the blankie and duck now accompany E more places. 

April 11-  We waved bye bye to da-da this morning as he went to work, I think E got a little confused about it and spent a good deal of time looking out the window and saying "da-da."  I took E to play at the library today, she was a big fan of the puzzles and spent her time running and laughing while carrying a few puzzle pieces. 

April 10- the first swinging of the season.  Last summer, E and her dad went swinging every night before bed to give E a chance to calm down.  The swing set got to be a meeting place for the dads in the neighborhood, since several other little kids went swinging at the same time.  Today was one of E's first times swinging on her own.  E also had breakfast out with Grandma and Grandpa M, and after breakfast went to her first McDonald's playland.  The playland was too intimidating, so we'll have to try again another time. 

April 9- Here is E in front our garden, things are just starting to pop up, but hopefully we can have an "after" picture in a few months with some flowers.  This was E's last walk of the day, she and her dad went on several, and then she and I took one, it was unseasonably warm, so we had to take advantage.  Soon, E will want to walk by herself on our walks which will be a big change, we'll have to start walking to the park, instead of just around.

April 8- E has never been a kid who laughs a lot.  She smiles, but getting her to laugh has been hard, she laughs when tickled, but not much when she is acting on her own.  This is one of her favorite games he plays with her dad, she gets tummy blows and then to go upsidedown, she just laughs and laughs

Bye-Bye

E has a new favorite phrase "bye bye" she says it constantly, and with no regard to whether or not someone or something is leaving.  She says "bye-bye" when she drops her spoon or cup on the floor, when she rides in the car, and to everyone she passes at any time.  

April 7- Here is the wave that accompanies the "bye-bye" sometimes she blows a kiss too

April 6- We took E to Pizza Hut for dinner, she loved the pasta.  E had a great time at dinner and was a hit at the restaurant with people stopping by to say what a good girl was.  She also impressed the waitress, who had a eleven month old.  We weren't even home to play very much, so most of our play time was in the tub.

We Voted!

E has become increasingly verbal, she chatters most of the time and is adding words.  Today day care told me she can say “tree.”  So far, she can say ball, bottle, and box (although they all are “ba”), button, bye (accompanied by a wave, and sometimes a blown kiss), diaper,  cup, all done, mama, dada, and a few others.  She can sign more (which she does all the time), milk (which she does every time she sees her mama), and all done.

April 5- E helped me vote today, so it was only fair that she got to wear the "I voted" sticker.  She had a much better time playing with the sticker then she did voting.  When we voted, she got mad that I wouldn't let her hold the pen, and she let everyone know it!

April 4- E went back to the doctor's office today to get the last two of her one year shots.  She found the keyboard right away and got busy pushing buttons.  She was a great trooper during her shots and only cried a little bit.  I had her weighed and measured and she weighed in at 17 lbs and 8 oz, putting her back in the 5th percentile.  I guess all the youget we've been feeding her has paid off. 

April 3- E has been learning to climb, she can almost get into this chair.  She's been practicing lately, climbing on other chairs, climbing on her bike, and trying to climb up her high chair.  We are in trouble once she figures this out!

Big Girl Car Seats and More

April 2- Today was a busy day for Miss E, she spent the morning at the Regent Invite track meet and watched some races.  She and I also went shopping at Kohls, and she played with Grandma and Grandpa N while her dad and I went out for dinner.  That is a lot of activity for E in one day.  Tonight, we read one of E's new (and her absolute favorite book, Ten Little Dinosaurs.  She loves the google eyes, and turning the pages.

April 1- No April fools here, E is learning to ride her musical bike, in her big girl shoes her feet finally reach the ground, and she is getting the hang of it, although she is better at going backwards, which frustrates her.  She also prefers to play music with this toy rather then ride it, and its funny to watch her lean over the front to try and reach the keys.

March 31- E in one of our two new car seats.  We had this one out sitting on the floor before it was installed, and she wanted to sit on it and climb in it, she was so proud of herself when she got into it on her own, now we just have to hope that she likes it in the car.  Tonight, for the first time, she let us know when she was ready for bed.  She walked over to me, and gave the sign for milk, and when we asked her if she wanted to go nite nite, she indicated she did.  Hopefully this is a trend that continues.

March 30- Playing in the car seat box, she loved drumming on it, and climbing in it, she also chewed on it, and pulled the stickers off!  For this night, the box was almost as fun as pulling tupperware out of the kitchen cabinets.