Happ-EEE!!

A few times a day the Nugget will say "Happ-eee" and laugh or give us a big smile. We think she really knows what it means and is telling us she is happy, but who really knows. She is still loving her "ants go marching" and "3 little ducks" songs ... asking us repeatedly by saying "ma!" (march) or making quacking noises to get us to play "3 little ducks". She says "achoo" to hear Ring around the Rosie (in this version they say "achoo, achoo, we all fall down" instead of "ashes, ashes". She loves to hold hands and watch daddy and mama fall down when it is time - she usually stays standing and laughs at us. Now we notice she sings certain words - the "yes sir" as in "yes sir, yes sir, three bags full" and "happy" when the lady comes on and asks "IS Everybody Happy?" right before singing "if you're happy and you know it". At breakfast today when the waitress brought a tea kettle for mama she said "Hot tea" as soon as she saw the steam coming out of the pot. Nothing is getting past her now! This includes anything to do with owl's - I would have to say it is quite an obsession. She has a shirt with an owl on it, socks with owl's, pictures of owl's in books, and now she has some tiny owl's on the bath/shower curtain. When she sees any of these she proudly proclaims "hoo hoo!" We took a visit to PA last week to visit some friends - Liana got to see her buddies Aaron Oberholser and TJ Hillery. She did really well in the car but like all other trips her sleep was disrupted and nighttime was challenging for mom and dad. Now she keeps saying "car" because of all the hours she logged watching Sesame Street and Elmo on a portable DVD player - she now thinks Elmo is in the car! As I sit and write I am trying to remember all the fun things she says and does and I can't recall them all - it would take more time and space than there is in this world to document the number of times the Nugget amazes me, makes me proud, makes me laugh, makes me feel special, makes me reflect or makes me so grateful for her love, her health and safety and her unique personality. I'm so glad she is in our lives! Look for an update next week with some photo's from our recent visit to the Roger Williams Park Zoo Jack-O-Lantern Spectaular (pretty awesome) and Halloween pics. Liana is going to be a little duck!

They Grow Up So Fast

I have heard this from so many parents, whether neighbors, friends, co-workers, etc., and always kind of agreed but without much conviction and now I think about it all the time.

The Nugget is growing up right before our eyes and at this stage in her life (16 months old) everyday she says or does something new and surprising. She attempts almost any word and does a good job remembering them from day to day.

Liana is getting comfortable with routines and goes over to the door after her breakfast and lunch reaches for the doorknob and says “walk” or “ah-side” (outside).

When she does get to go outside she heads for friends Shane and Christian’s house – she says “Shay” (Shane) and walks down the street with her mama sometimes to discover the boys are playing and other times finding they are not at home. It is at this point she throws up her hands in wonderment or tilts her head to the side insinuating that they boys must be sleeping.

We read books at night and sometimes over and over again as she signs and says “more, more” until she is satisfied with our renditions of “Mr. Brown Can Moo” or “The Foot Book”.

Other words of note: Towel, shower, tail, Shane, Mimi (Maria, Shane’s mom), Papa, daddy, mommy, paste (for toothpaste), ketchup, elo (elephant), Elmo, pease (please), “more, more”, “Ana” (Liana), va-va (vaccum), wa-wa (wagon), apple, bee-bee (means baby or bee depending on the situation).

Today she pointed at the word “Harpoon” on my shirt and correctly identified the letter A without prompting – conincidence? Maybe.

When reprimanding The Nugget for hitting (like me with a spatula) she will lean in for a kiss before you can finish saying “do nice nice”.

Favorite toys seem to be the busy ball popper, stuffed elephant, glow worm (she pushes the glow worm and rocks back and forth in the morning when we get her out of her crib), kiss-me elmo, and the princess mobile.

Oh, yeah, for some reason The Nugget takes a binky now – we don’t mind because it soothes her in the morning and we get more sleep but it is funny to see her with it since she never liked them before.

Notable words in addition to those above: Shake, boo, uh-oh, nack (snack), towel, puppy, tail, pane (plane), duck. There are many others, I just forget them all while typing!

All of this information about her learning and cognitive ability is great but the special times are running around the house or yard and having her “get me” or chasing the Nugget and listening to her laugh and cackle until she can’t take it anymore. Seeing her break out in a bobbing style dance to the radio or Sesame street is hilarious and because she truly dances like no one is watching. The most precious thing, however is an unsolicited kiss from Liana. Sometimes she just leans in and gives me one right on the lips and my heart melts. It makes me feel special and important and I know she won’t always want to give me kisses. Now, I am not the only special one - she regularly gives kisses to every animal in “Brown Bear, Brown Bear” and blows kisses to many of our neighbors and family but I like to think she has a special place in her heart for daddy. Either way, I’m going to enjoy every one of those smooches - they grow up so fast!