Dog Poop and Car Water - Keep Guessing

We decided to do a little something different last week and had our playgroup at a place called Catch Air just down the road, and it was awesome! I've been to Monkey Joe's a couple of times, but there isn't much to do for someone of my wonderful age, and I constantly get run over by bigger kids at Monkey Joe's. However, Catch Air was a 19-month-old's dream come true. I could play on and with almost everything. They even have a balloon room with a fan that blows the balloons around as you chase after them! That is genius! Since playgroup was in the evening instead of the morning last week, only Selina, Boris, Lucas, and I were able to make it. We missed everyone else, but we had a blast nonetheless. We played in the ball pit, in the balloon room - of course, on the jump jumps, on the play set, with the video games, with the wagon, and even in a little us-sized gym complete with kiddie treadmills, elliptical trainers, bikes, and weight benches. Catch Air wasn't nearly as crowded as Monkey Joe's usually is, and instead of trying to run us over, one of the big kids, coincidentally named Lucas as well, took each of us on a wagon ride. How sweet is that! Even the older kids are nicer at Catch Air. I really had so much fun, and it was a nice break before dinner. In fact, we had such a fabulous time that we again had playgroup there today; most of the gang - Parker, Tyler, Lucas, Boris, Selina, and I - was able to make it this time since we met earlier. Overall, I had a blast chasing the boys around, dancing in the dark, climbing, playing in the ball pit, and running with the balloons; although, I did have a few mishaps, which included timeout for hitting Boris and Lucas, after which I had to say sorry and give each boy a kiss; a meltdown when I was torn away from the water fountain since all I really wanted to do was play in the water; and a fall under the picnic table during snack, which knocked the wind out of me and scared me; however, half of Lucas' yogurt bar and a hug from Mom made it all better. Catch Air gets two of the most enthusiastic thumbs up I've given in awhile!

On Wednesday, Mom and I tried out the pool for the first time this summer. Our pool isn't open until this weekend, so Mal invited us to Chris' pool. I was super excited about wearing my new bathing suit, hat, and cover up; however, I wasn't terribly excited about the pool itself. I mean, I liked it last summer, but I need a little time to get into it this summer. That's A LOT of COLD water! I whined consistently when Aunt Mal and Mom tried to take me in, and I refused to even let my feet skim the surface. Instead, I preferred to layout with Aunt Mal and her friends on my very own lounge chair. Mom even brought my lunch to have poolside, and I was nice enough to share one of my crackers with Aunt Mal: "Eat the dang cracker, Aunt Mal!" After a little sun bathing, a little lunch, and a little abuse waged on Aunt Mal, the boys got out a football, and my negative feelings towards the pool changed, a little bit. Chris let me throw the ball several times, so I held out my hands and willingly got into the water with him. What can I say; I'm just one of the guys. It didn't last long, but at least I got in up to my waist. After that, I did a little booty shaking poolside to the music before heading to lunch with Mom and Aunt Mal. Not a bad Wednesday, in my opinion, and Mom promises that I will like our pool even better because there is a kiddie park. We'll see about that.

Thursday was Gymboree, and like always, it was tons of fun. The new concept is side by side, so Luke and I walked on the balance beams side by side, went down the slides side by side, played in the inner tubes side by side, climbed side by side, and sat side by side. I'm not quite sure I get this concept, but maybe, it will become clearer next week. As per usual, I was beyond excited about the bubbles and the parachute, and like always, Lucas tried to sit in my lap while we were on the mat, which Mom finally captured on video. Everyone in class is starting to find our little tradition quite humorous. I also really enjoyed finding every ball in the room and taking each one to throw through the hoop; again, Dad would be so proud. I am definitely going to be a sporty gal. I was sure to get my kisses from Baby Gymbo after we all called him out of hiding, and I even found a little cubbyhole at the end of class where all of the beach balls were stashed. I decided to make it my own personal fort. Gymboree is the bomb!

Thursday got even better after dinner when Mom let me have chocolate pudding. I made sure to express my delight after each bite. As you all know, I LOVE chocolate anything!


This past weekend was so much fun! I got to play outside a lot since the weather was beautiful. On Saturday, Dad let Mom sleep in, and when Mom woke up, she found me playing in the bird bath with my diaper almost on the ground. Apparently, I had sat in my little red car, which was full of rain water, and my diaper absorbed it all, which made the diaper sag until my butt crack was in full view. I didn't seem to care, and Dad, being Dad, let me run around like that. Dads definitely let more slide! I spent most of Saturday playing outside, and later that evening, I brought Mom and Dad a little present, dog poop. I saw Dad picking it up earlier, and I was just trying to help by picking it up and carrying it over to them. Mom rushed me inside to wash my hands while I kept repeating, "Dog poop" followed by, "Ewww!" over and over. I don't know what all the fuss was about; Opie shouldn't leave it in the yard if I'm not supposed to play with it.

On Sunday, I played outside with Mom until Dad woke up. Mom filled up my water table, and I had no trouble soaking my entire body. I actually thought that my diaper had leaked, so I kept telling Mom, "Leak, leak", and she kept reminding me that it was not a leak and that I had poured about a gallon of water down the front of my body. Once Dad finally joined the realm of the living, the whole fam went to Catch Air so that Dad could see it since that is probably where I will be having my 2nd birthday party. Again, I had so much fun. I got to ride a burro, destroy some super sized Legos, jump inside of a castle, dance with a big green dinosaur, of whom I was surprisingly not afraid, and ride the spinner until I was so dizzy that I walked around like someone had put Dad-juice in my cup before falling over. I met a nice little girl, 2 months younger than me, who was named Presley, after her daddy's favorite actress Jaime Presley - a little wierd if you ask me. Mom did have to kick some much older boys out of the 4 and under balloon room for being really rough, and she also got mad at a girl, a few years older than me, who intentionally slammed me with a balloon and knocked me down; Mom told her that she is not allowed to throw things at people and that she needs to be nice to the younger kids; although, I was there, and it didn't sound quite that nice. Good thing Dad didn't see it. Where are the parents!? Even with a few older kid run-ins, we were able to make a Catch Air believer out of Dad. After playing for a couple of hours, we headed to lunch where I drew my first freehand picture, which I kept telling Dad and Mom was a portrait of Opie. On Sunday night, I also took my first shower. No one thought that I was going to like it; however, I surprised both the rents and myself. I kept walking right under the water and drenching my face, even when Mom was shampooing my hair. When asked if I wanted to get out, I kept saying, "Nooooo". I am such a big girl.





A few other firsts this weekend included counting to 11 unprompted. I have been counting higher and higher lately, and on Sunday, I simply counted to 11 without skipping any numbers; Mom and Dad were thoroughly impressed. They count with me all of the time, and I've also gotta give a little credit to my pals on Sesame Street. Speaking of pals, this weekend was the first time that Mickey Mouse made it in to my inner circle of trust. Whenever I grab Baby and Pooh, I also now grab Mickey Mouse. The three of them go everywhere with me, and I also love to arrange all three on the couch while I sit in the middle and have Mom put a blanket over us. You've got to be good to your friends. I also learned to skip, which I do all around the house when I'm not making Dad take walks around the bedroom, bathroom, laundry room circle while I hold his fingers. As soon as I see Dad, I say, "Walk, walk"; I have no idea where I get these ideas, but Dad must have been forced to take about 100 circular walks this weekend. One other lovely first this weekend happened when Mom told me no about something; I looked right at her, rolled my eyes, wagged my finger, and said, "None of that!", which is the phrase that Mom uses in the car when I start yawning. Oh, teenage years, here we come. You can witness my using the phrase appropriately in the video below, as well as my stretching and getting excited about Gymboree.


You've gotta check out my huge muscles! Be afraid; be very afraid! (Yes, I do know that my showing off the muscles looks a lot like my stretching, but it is still hilarious.)


For the last two nights, I have insisted on sleeping with a new friend: Rosie, the plastic choo-choo train. I was playing with Rosie before bed on Sunday night; when I went to lay down, Mom tried to put Rosie away, and I started crying pathetically. Mom thought that she would be able to take her once I laid down, but again, my face fell as I started crying. In the end, Rosie got to sit in the corner of the bed while I slept. Mom and Dad thought it would be a one time deal, but on Monday night, right before bed, I actively went in search of Rosie and, again, insisted that she sleep in the corner. Don't worry; Duck hasn't gone anywhere; he is still my number 1 sleep buddy. As Grandma says, I definitely have a mind of my own, and when I get something in my head, I don't easily let it go.


Yesterday we got to go and visit Mom's old friends at Roswell High School since it was a post-planning day with no students. I was a little overwhelmed by everyone who wanted to hold me and talk to me, so I stayed very quiet. I did, however, enjoy closing the big classroom doors and sitting in the desks as if I were in high school. I also got in some practice with locker combinations; I will not be the one who forgets my locker combo. Everyone was excited to see me; I even stopped by the luncheon to make sure and catch anyone I may have missed. I got a little grumpy after about 30 minutes of stopping and talking, and I took out some of my annoyance on Mrs. Steph - sorry, Mrs. Steph. I then picked up a cracker in the hallway and stuck it in my mouth as Mom ran towards me screaming, "Nooooo"; it seemed to almost happen in slow motion. Mrs. Amanda got to witness that one. I really took to Ms. Heidi, and I held her hand as we walked into the cafeteria, and I even let her pick me up: You should feel super special, Ms. Heidi, because I paid little to no attention to anyone all day. In fact, I wouldn't even look at most of the guys. All in all, it was good to see everyone but even better to run up and down the hallways. Congrats, RHS teachers, on the beginning of summer vacation; we're looking forward to many of you joining us at the pool in the new couple of weeks.














The countdown to the 3 day weekend and Grandma Purnell's birthday has officially begun!