Mommy's Baby Picture

This is a picture of me at Christmas (16 1/2 months)

This is a picture of Mommy during Christmas 1975 (11 months)

Do you see any family resemblance?

It Snowed!

I can't believe all of the snow! It is so white and cold and fluffy.

I've fallen and I can't get up!

Several inches of snow fell yesterday afternoon. Mommy (which I pronounce "mum") and I went outside and played in the snow. It was a winter wonderland. The snow and the ice clung to the trees and bushes. Later, daddy took me outside and I had a ride on a sled. I got bored sitting there, so then I pushed the sled through the snow. I am so happy that we have snow for Christmas.

Christmas Cookies

Daddy and mommy thought it would be fun to make Christmas cookies and have me help decorate them. Isn't that funny? Hello!?! I am only 16 months old! I cannot DECORATE cookies. I can only EAT cookies. I never knew that a cookie could taste so good. The sprinkles and the colored frosting made the cookies beautiful AND delicious.

On another note, I continue to learn more and more words. It is pretty exciting. I can say "teacher" (pronounced "tee-true); "barbie" (pronounced "boppy"); and "peek-a-boo" (pronounced "mee-a-moo").

Oh Happy Day!

I rarely smile or laugh for pictures, but this was one of those rare occasions. I actually smile and laugh a lot. I just refuse to do so when a camera is around. I just could not contain my excitement over the delicious meal that I had eaten. I have quite the refined palate for a toddler. For dinner, I had salmon, squash and beets. Yummy.

Play Time

Now that it is cold, we are spending a lot more time playing inside. I love drawing with daddy, which I pronouce "da-deeee." We can spend a long time drawing and listening to music. Sometimes, I will stop drawing to shake my butt if a good beat comes on. I also like playing in my toy car. Bun often comes along for the ride, too. I beep the horn and turn the keys and mommy or daddy will sometimes push me around the house really fast.

I am really trying to talk these days. Mommy and daddy are getting better at understanding me, too. When I want to see something, I say "see, see, see" until they give it to me. I can also scream really, really loud when things are not going my way. That gets their attention fast! I am trying out new sounds. I am trying to say "seal," but it sounds like "see-ohh." I have come-up with a few things that are uniquely my own. For example, when I want to go downstairs I say, "dah-do." I say "dah-do" because it is really hard to say "downstairs" when you are just learning to talk.

Snow

I am the queen of making funny faces! This one is a classic. I think that I started making it when I was about six months old. I have now added a new version of it at 16 months old. I make this face when I say the word, "Snow." First, I crunch up my nose, then I blow out of my nose, and finally I say "snow" in a very nasally sort of way. There has not been too much snow yet this winter, so I have had limited opportunities to say "snow." I am hoping for a big blizzard soon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love to read.

I am super cool.

Green Bay Grandma and me at the Wildlife sanctuary.

The light show at the botancial gardens.

Feeding the geese with mommy---notice the kernel of corn I am dropping for the geese.

Thanksgiving was busy, but a lot of fun. On thanksgiving day, we went to White Bear Lake Grandma's and Grandpa's house for dinner. The food looked delicious, but I pretty much just ate the pie. Holidays are great! I spent the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house in my pack 'n' play. I DID NOT want to go to bed. Mommy stayed in the bedroom to help me fall asleep. She watched me do all of my fun night-time things: talk to Bun, jump in my crib, hold the crib rail and lean back as far as I can, etc.

The next day, we had the long car ride to Green Bay. But, it was worth it. We had a lot of super yummy food. We fed the geese at the Wildlife sanctuary, went to a Christmas light show at the botanical gardens, and read a lot of books. Also, everyone got to hear my latest word, "wooh." I like to say it all time, particularly when I fall or something else falls.

Thanksgiving was great. I cannot wait until Christmas!

Getting Ready for the Holidays

Mommy and me in the sky-way downtown Mpls.

Bun and me (in my pretty red dress) drawing a picture

I am getting excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I was a little baby last year during the holidays, and I can hardly remember the great times that I had!

On Sunday, we went downtown to see the Mary Poppins show at Macy's. There were a lot of people waiting in line, but it was worth it. On Saturday, we had our Christmas picture taken. I got dressed-up in my pretty red dress. Usually, I do not like having my picture professionally taken, but this time I enjoyed it. The photographer was really nice, and she even got me to smile a little bit. I bet you are excited to get your Christmas card with a picture of me on it!

Having Fun at Home

I posted a few pictures of me having fun after my bath and before bedtime. In one of the pictures, I put mommy's necklace on my head and it looks like I am wearing a crown.

I am having a lot of fun learning to talk these days. Mommy and daddy do not always understand what I am saying, but they are getting pretty good. Here is a short list of my words:

eat, ball, shoe, outside, baby, bubble, mama, dada, (a whole ton of animal noises), dog, cheese, down, bow, moon, spoon, Bun (who I sometimes call "beebee"), uh oh, no, and other words that I cannot remember right now.

If I try to say a word and mommy and daddy do not understand, I just whine and point a lot. That usually does the trick. I will let you know when I learn some more words.

No Snow in Minneapolis

We were supposed to drive to Green Bay this weekend, but a big snow storm hit Wisconsin a few hours before we were going to leave. I was really sad about it. I wanted to see Grandma and Grandpa and eat all of their yummy food. To make matters worse, no snow fell in Minneapolis. I have been trying on my boots for the last several weeks, just waiting for the snow to come. Alas, I must wait a little longer. But, I am getting pretty good at walking in my clunky boots.

This weekend, we went to the Minnesota Children's Museum. I ran around this thing called "the Ant Hill," which was a series of crazy tunnels. Daddy crawled in it with me. I still do not know how he fit inside of it! Mommy and daddy purchased a membership, so we can go whenever we want to. I am so lucky.

Nighty-night

Every night, mommy or daddy read me books in the rocking chair as I drink milk. It is our little snuggle-time and bed-time routine.

Happy Halloween

Halloween is great! As you can see, I was a duck for Halloween. Here is what we did. First, I got all dressed-up in my duckie suit. Then, we went outside, even though it was cold and dark. Then, we went from house to house and knocked all of the doors in the neighborhood! I babbled to everyone that opened the door. The nice people then let me reach into a big bowl of candy, and I put a piece of candy into my little bag. My bag was full when I came home. I was so excited about the candy that I started to eat it with the wrappers still on. Mommy stayed home and handed out candy to the other trick or treaters. It was a great night.

Child Labor

I thought that I was earning my keep around the house simply by being cute. Apparently, that is not the case. I have to do all of the cleaning around here!

I Love Bunnies

As you already know, my favorite stuffed animal pal is my friend Bun. He sleeps with me every night and during all of naps. Lately, I love Bun even more than usual. I often insist that Bun sits with me in my highchair when I eat. Sometime, a little bit of food gets on Bun, but he does not mind. I also give Bun some of my food and a little bit of milk. I know that he does not really eat or drink, but I like to pretend. My favorite thing to do is suck on Bun's face, like I am doing in the picture above. After about a week, Bun gets a really pleasant odor and I love to smell his plush fur. On-the-other-hand, mommy and daddy are not quite as enamored with "Eau de Bun" and he is forced to take a weekly bath.

P.S. If you look closely at my shirt in the pictures, you will see that it covered in little brown bunnies, just like Bun!

Fall Fun

Suddenly it is Fall! I was having so much fun this summer and did not realize that it was going to get cold. The best part about Fall is all of the crunchy leaves on the ground. I shuffle my feet through them on the side walk. I also climb into the big leaf piles in our yard. I have also discovered pine cones, which I enjoy carrying around on our walks outside. I posted a picture of me playing in the leaves.

Now that it is getting colder, we are spending more time indoors. Mommy takes me to kids' classes and on play-dates with my friends. I am taking a music class called "Movin n Grovin." I clap my hands and dance when the teacher sings songs. Last week, the teacher sang "The Wheels on the Bus." I could not stop laughing super loud. It is such a silly song. The teacher sometimes brings out a big parachute that I can run underneath or sit on top of.

I am also going to ECFE, which is a class at the grade school near my house. The room at the school is filled with toys and I play for two hours while mommy talks with other mommies about boring things like "community issues," "child-rearing," and "appropriate discipline for a toddler." At last week's ECFE class, a little boy stole a toy vacuum cleaner that I was playing with. I tried to steal it back, but he ran super fast. I ran after him yelling, "Nooonnoonnooonnonnnooonnnoooooooooo." Pretty soon he stopped and I wrestled it away from him. I hope he learned his lesson: "Don't mess with girls."

I also posted a few pictures of my friends Harry and Dax. I usually have a play date with them once a week. In the first picture, we are having a snack on a blanket at Dax's house. In the second picture, Dax and I are modeling our nearly identical (and super cool) outfits. They are both really fun and really good friends.

Babysitting Harry

Last Thursday, we babysat my friend Harry all day. He is two months younger than me, and he is a lot of fun.



This is a picture of Harry and me having our breakfast. Harry did not like the broccoli that mommy served, but I enjoyed it. It was nice having a buddy to eat with me.

While Harry was over, I thought it would be funny to get into the basket that we use for storing my books.

Harry and I both enjoy reading. We spent a long time on Thursday reading and playing with my books.

Harry thought that it was really funny that I was in the basket. I think that he wanted to climb in with me, too.

A Packer Weekend in Green Bay

We went to Green Bay a few weekends ago. Grandma and grandpa gave mommy and daddy Packer tickets. They went to the game while grandma and grandpa babysat me. At first I wanted to go to the Packer game, too. (Don't tell daddy, but I am a big Packers fan). But, when I realized that Grandma and Grandpa were going to watch me, I was thrilled. We went to the park and played a lot of fun games. I love to swing on the swings. I can sit in the swing for an hour and still not want to get out! While we were in Green Bay, daddy put gardening gloves on my hands. I got a big kick waiving at everyone with the gloves on. It was a great weekend and I cannot wait to go back.

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WHAT?!?

Arboretum During the Fall

A few weeks ago, we went to the Minnesota arboretum. The leaves had not yet changed colors, but it was still really pretty. Lots of flowers were in bloom. I smelled so many different kinds of flowers. The dahlias looked the prettiest. I also ate an apple that is grown right at the arboretum. It was a really good day. Mommy and daddy brought the stroller, but I enjoyed walking around the gardens by myself.