Quotable Quotes

My girl is somewhat of an early talker. She speaks so clearly, and lately, she's starting to put together more thoughts of her own. Here are a few of my recent favorites:

[from her crib, which refusing to go down for a nap]
Mommy! Mommy, I'm awake! Mommy, I'm awake and I'm crying! Mommy, I'm awake and I have an idea!

[after bumping her head, she pleaded to Brian for some help]
I bonked. I think I need the penguin (the icy penguin that we keep in the freezer). And I think I need the iPad. The iPad will make me feel better.

[after waking up from a nap]
Mommy, I have a question for you: Can we go play at the park?

[out of the blue comments; I can't get her to do this on command, but it is one of my favorite things she does right now]
(cocking head to the side and gesturing with her palm up)
1. I like pink sometimes.
2. I like kitties sometimes.
3. I like Minnie sometimes.
4. I like Mimi sometimes.

Please feel free add any others that I've forgotten!!

Friday Night Hoedown

I've not laughed this hard in a long, long time.

For It's Root, Root, Root...

She's become quite the sports fan. And singer.

Watching Her Garden Grow

Now that I've got the seasons in Florida figured out (hey, it's only taken 9 years), one of my favorite parts about living here is that we get two true gardening seasons. I always rush the fall one a little bit, but then withering plants will be a small price to pay for the fun that Mary Ellen and I had last weekend. Notice the excitement?

My choice of seed were beans (because they sprout and grow so quickly) and her choice was, of course, pickles (cucumbers). 

 Patience isn't always a virtue that my darling possesses. Hope you like that water, seeds.

A brand-new tool for my brand-new gardener.

Back to School

Big Girl Mary Ellen and Daddy on her first day at her "new school." She's going 2 days a week in the mornings, and she could not love anything more.

Just for fun, I had to include the same photo from last year's first day of school (Jan. 2012). Notice a difference? And of course I notice that I need a haircut in both photos. It's a constant problem around here.

All ready to go inside that big door!!

One of the things I love about this school is that the first thing they have the kids do when they go in the door is wash their hands. What a great habit to start. And now she tells me that she washes her hands to "wash off the germs." Brilliant!

Mary Ellen had no problem watching me go out the door. She has things to learn, you know.

Moving ahead

The following was just said by my two-year old:

Time for snack. Eat a banana. Mama get a banana too. Take the snack to my little table. No open the banana. Gotta say our prayer first.

My daughter is speaking in paragraphs.

Thanks to some gentle nudging from my dear friend Maria, I promise to get back to blogging. We miss you all and I wonder if you've missed us...

Leaps and Bounds

Now this is just sad. It's been well over a month since my last post. Everyone says that the days, months, and (gulp) years fly by, and sadly, I am starting to see what they mean.

I've tried to cherish the little moments. To take note when we we're snuggling on the couch and Mary Ellen says "I love you" without me having said it first. To stare in awe when she identifies B as the first letter in ball. To laugh when she wants me to gallop and then does her own bouncy version of a trot. And these are just the things that happened today!

But it's still going too fast. Way too fast.

We've been on the road for the last 10 days or so, a visit to Barry and St. Louis and then a quick getaway for Brian and me while Mary Ellen stayed with Nana and Papa. We had a fantastic time, but this trip, more than any before, has rocked Mary Ellen's world. Maybe it's the time change, or the fact that she was sick for a good part of the trip, or maybe it's the fact that neither Brian nor I were around for the last few days, but she has been off. Way off.

Mary Ellen was up until 10:30 last night and used every trick in her very little book to try and convince us to rescue her from the crib. I was determined today to get back in the routine full-force. Good breakfast. Lots and lots of play. Good lunch. After nearly an hour of fussing, she settled herself in for a 3 1/2 hour nap. Good dinner. Lovely long walk after dinner. More play. And then bedtime...

With my new-found conviction, I decided to ramp things up a bit for the bedtime routine. We've not been very good teeth brushers up to this point, so if I'm getting serious about routines, why not improve on this one, right? Since water, or more accurately "juice," was the most popular cry last night, I decided to add a cup of water to the bedtime routine, too, just to cut that one off at the pass. And while we were at it, why not try sitting on that little potty before bath time, right? Maybe start slowly on that little endeavor.

Mary Ellen was all for it. She's sat on the potty before (though usually with diaper and pants on). It's no big thing, right?

She did it. She peed on the potty. First time. You could have knocked me over with a feather.

My little girl is growing up.