At the Robbins ranch, Rancho San Antonio

You saw a plane in the sky this afternoon. “Oma, Opa” you said, as usual, pointing up at it. “Are Oma and Opa on that plane?” I asked you. “Nooope!” you replied, shaking your head.

The other day I referred to your bottom as your “hiney” and you giggled a lot repeating this funny new word, while patting your derriere. That night, rocking in your chair and softly reading you a book with animals from South Africa, I pointed at an animal and told you it was a ‘hyena’. Very sleepily, you raised your bottom and patted it, “hiney” you nodded. I held my breath not to burst out laughing.

You climb into bed with me in the morning, planting a big kiss on my cheeks or lips before my eyes are even open. Such a nice way to wake up. After about 45 seconds of cuddling, it’s “Up, mama, up!”

Favorite new song: Hokey Pokey. You ask Teacher Bonnie at Mulberry for it each week. You call it “hokey hokey”.

After witnessing Nolan’s baby sister, Natalie, breastfeeding you figured this is a good idea. You nestle into me and stick your mouth into the middle of my chest, as if you’re going to clamp down. You say “I baby” and like to crawl, or you will hold your fisted hands up to your eyes and say “Waa waa waa” with your mouth wide open like a little bird.

“Gummies” are your Yummi Bear Vitamins. You get very motivated to eat your breakfast when they come out. (And no, I’m not beyond bribing you. You’re a good eater in general, but there’s just too much you need to do these days to sit long enough to eat, it seems.) There’s Ian and Dee (Vitamin E and Vitamin D) and you play imaginatively with them before popping them into your mouth. Then you’ll look at us when we ask “Where did they go?” and you open your mouth wide and point to the back of your mouth.

We play hide and seek, still a favorite game. But now, when I come in the room looking for you, and say “Where’s Taite? Is she in the closet???” you pipe up in the littlest voice imagineable “no” from wherever you are hiding. Other times you’ll reply with a “Roarrrr”.

 We’re getting excited about a visit from your Oma, Auntie Jenn and cousins Jackie and Jamie from Toronto. They arrive late Thursday night, and you keep asking When Will They Get Here???

This is the look you do whenever one of us leaves the room, if we don’t stop and wave goodbye first. You give a little look of disbelief and raise your hands, or sometimes just one hand in the air. "Where did he go?". 

I know you’re going to have such a good time with Jackie and Jamie.  

I’ve been clearing out your closet and packing away old clothes that no longer fit. It makes me sad to put away these tiny little outfits, I can still imagine you so small and yet you’ve grown into such a big girl already. I’ve started a special collection of outfits that you have had photos taken in — from your first Christmas, first birthday, portraits with family etc, so that I may one day hand them down to you if you ever decide to have a family.  

When you see a bird, or if we say the word "bird" you flap your arms up and down at your side.

There’s a song Brittany sings to you about a turtle (words to follow… she’s promised to write it out for us!). The turtle goes in the bath, it drinks the water, it swallows the soap and it ends "bubbles, bubbles bubbles… ‘POP’". You bring your arms all the way out and then slap your hands together and burst out "Pop!".

I had to try hard not to laugh tonight, putting you to bed.  You were quite unsettled for some reason, and after I came back in to try to comfort you a bit, you stood up in your crib, and started waving  goodbye to the clock, and then turning slightly, you waved to the nightlight. We often read Goodnight Moon, and in the book, they say goodnight to the things in the room. So you cleverly decided to say good night to the things in your room!

You had a fever last night and threw up once, I was up with you until 3.30am. This morning your fever was lower, but we went to the doctor to make sure there was no ear infection. It’s some kind of virus going around. Tonight you’re sound asleep in bed, no fever and in quite a chipper mood.

You took about 5 steps completely on your own, without prompting today — I was surprised! You just turned from your stool and dashed toward your music stand. We took the fence down between the living and dining area, where the step is. You used to love sittitng at the gate and swinging it open and closed, open and closed. You sat there today and looked curiously around, like you were wondering who took your game away!

Outside, we say "bird" and you point up to the wire where the doves sit and coo. You see Butterball the neighborhood cat and point and say "aack". Sometimes you also call him ‘cccckk’. Today you were feeding him some leftover hamburger meat and held it in your hand for him. He took it gingerly, and put it on the ground to eat. After he licked at it a few times you reached out to get it back, you decided you wanted it for yourself.

We went to Martin Ranch, a client of mommy’s, for a winetasting event. You were very well-behaved, as usual, and received lots of praise. I think for the first time someone said you look like me even with daddy holding you (you’re spitting image of your daddy, in fact), and that made me happy! Afterwards we went to Grandma and Grandpa’s for dinner. You slept en route, exhausted, but were awake and ready for more play when we arrived for dinner.
We were In the living room, you tooted, and immediately turned around and pointed at your daddy!
Here is a composition of a wonderful Sunday together.

 Want more? See uploaded photos where you can order prints too if you like!

I purchased a doll kit for your baby dolls, which includes a small baby bottle with milk that seems to disappear as the baby drinks. As soon as you saw it, you thought this was for you and you promptly inserted it in your mouth and started sucking. I showed you how we feed it to the baby doll, and still several times you try to suck on it yourself.

At the stoplights, mommy was looking the other direction when the light turned from red to green. Immediately you pipe up "Aaaagh?" with an intonation and a raised eyebrow, pointing your finger toward the lights.

It was a fairly social weekend, having play dates with Nolan on Saturday and Dimitri on Sunday night. You are now doing what I’ve read is called "parallel play" and while you are happy to interact and engage with adults, other toddlers are of little interest to you right now. As we leave, you put both fists in the air and wave goodbye, with your queen wave. You also now like to blow kisses as we say goodbye.

Our latest acquisition is a Little Tikes castle, with many doors and windows and a slide. While inside the house, at any opportunity you will scramble toward one of the back doors and point excitedly outside the window at the castle. You LOVE playing outside. Another favorite outdoor activity is playing in your ladybug sandbox.

When I brought you a small bucket of water from the pool you seemed to think sand cakes would be interesting to eat. You are not walking yet, although you will walk with one hand supported, but you sure can crawl fast. You love crawling around the castle, peaking in the doors or windows, your daddy or I will pretend to be a dragon outside and poke our head in one of the windows and you laugh and giggle hilariously. You go down the slide on your own, with a look of glee.

Current milestones:

• You have eight teeth, four on top and four on bottom.
• you are now able to go to sleep without a bottle, although sometimes we still cave and give you one. We are rocking you to sleep still, and I have just started getting you into the crib occasionally and letting you self sooth.
• You can stand unsupported on your own for a couple of seconds.
• You go down the slide at the park and on your castle on your own.
• You turn around on the step to go downfeet-first, as you have been taught.