Happy New Year!

Life is a whirlwind when you are 21 months.

I take classes now - music, art, soccer... aren't I the sophisticated one? OK, you got me: my music class consists of wiggling to nursery rhymes, my art class consists of fingerpainting more on my face than on the paper, and soccer consists of wearing a uniform and stomping on bubbles on a soccer field. Winter has also brought sledding, which I cannot get enough of.

I am in a bit of a bossy stage... but Mom and Dad have taught me to be polite about it. Instead of pushing Dad and screaming "MOVE;" instead of yelling at Mom to "TURN LIGHT ON;" I scream "MOVE PEASE" and yell "TURN LIGHT ON PEASE."

Halloween and Christmas were both wonderful adventures. I went trick or treating with all of the neighborhood kids and learned of my now-favorite treat --- suckers. Christmas was all the magic it is supposed to be for a little one. A tall Christmas tree with soft ornaments at the bottom that I could take off and put back on myself; the smell of cookies and cider mulling; and, most of all, all of my family around me. And, of course, Santa brought me wonderful presents for Jesus' birthday :)

Happy Half-Birthday to me!

Dad, Mom and I are pretty much all settled into our La Grange house... and I am loving it. The Brookfield Zoo is less than 10 minutes away and Dad takes me there at least once a week. I love to brush the goats in the petting zoo, watch the Bears, and dig up veggies and get my face painted at the family play zoo. I also have started some classes - a music class with Mom and a storytime class with Dad. At my music class, my favorite game is freeze... the teacher plays the music but then it stops and we all have to freeze; I throw my arms out, fingers spread, and yell "FRIS" every time this happens.

I am talking so much now - I can repeat almost any word that you ask me to and I've even started putting some words together. I have a hard time with some of the longer words, but I improvise by saying the first syllable and then sort of babbling. Like "blueberry" is "bloo-brababuh." My favorite word is "hi" (shouted incessantly at the neighbors until they respond), with "no" coming in as a close second. My other favorite activity is animal sounds - next time you see me, ask me how the lion goes!

Halloween is coming up; I am going to be a cowgirl. The neighbor kids want to pull me around in their wagon, converted to a covered wagon. Can't wait to try this "candy" everyone is raving about!

Thanks again for checking in with me - talk to you in a couple months.

Growing Up Fast!

In the past 3 months, I have gone from a baby to a little kid. I run like a kid, play like a kid, talk like a kid, eat like a kid, (whine like a kid)...

There was a major change in my life over the past 3 months. Mom and Dad moved out of our Bucktown palace to... THE SUBURBS! I think this might have been my fault because they didn't have enough space for all of the new toys I got for my birthday. We live in a house in downtown LaGrange now. The house is right by the train tracks, and I love to watch the trains with Dad and wave bye-bye to them as they fly past. I have lots of great neighbors that are kids - the neighbors next door share their kiddie pool, balls, and sandbox.

Speaking of play... my favorite 2 places in the world right now are the park and the beach. Mom showed me how to push the waves back into Lake Michigan as they come splashing up my legs. As for parks, I love any of them as long as they have a slide.

I am still quite the little eater - not much has changed there. My favorite food is crackers (pronounced "Kah-kuh"). I had pizza for the first time about a week ago and that was quite a hit.

I have become a book and music lover; just like Mom and Dad. I will sit with my books for a long time flipping the pages and naming the animals that I know the words for. My favorite song is Itsy-bitsy Spider. My Grandma Barb taught me all the signs.

I hope the past 3 months have been good for everyone. Thanks again for keeping up with me!

Happy Birthday To Me!

Friday was my first birthday. It was an exciting day. I went out for tacos at Arturo's for lunch, which was really just an excuse to go out for the greatest thing I have ever eaten - ICE CREAM. I had my first ever ice cream sundae - a vanilla sundae with sprinkles at Margies Candies. At first, I took a few polite bites off the spoon, but when I realized how good it was, there was no stopping me from shoving my little hands right in. After ice cream, we went to the Shedd Aquarium. This was my first time going to the Shedd after learning to walk, which made it tons more fun. I spent at least a half hour walking back and forth between the sharks and stingrays.

It's amazing how quickly a year goes by. One year ago, I was a 7.5 pound baby that couldn't do much of anything. Now, I am a 22 pound toddler walking around, saying words (especially DOG lately), giving hugs, reading books, waving hi and bye, dancing to my favorite tunes, splashing in the bath, eating huge meals, and lots more things that I can't even think of right now. Thanks for keeping updated on this amazing year in my life... I can't wait to show you what's coming up next for me!

First Steps

I had taken a few steps here and there, but my first official "walk" was on March 15, 2008, which is when Mom shot this video. Since then, I've gotten much better at walking and I am ALL over the place. I should be able to sign up for the marathon this year, don't you think?

First Easter

Washer woman