lullaby

Our bedtime routine has been, more or less, the same for quite some time now. Squirt runs out to give daddy a giant hug and kiss, saying "ni-ni, daddy," and *tries* to do the same with the cats. She marches into the bedroom, closes the door (firmly, I might add), spritzes her hippopotamus spray around the bed, and "blows" out the light. The evening always ends with me singing her special song (made up by yours truly one very tired night when she was very tiny). Within the last few weeks, though, she has added something to the routine. Before, we would snuggle as I sing, she'd drowsily crawl away and get comfortable, and, sooner or later, she'd fall asleep. Done. I had a little time to read or whatnot before my own bedtime. Now, she crawls away, finds a comfy spot, lays down, and relaxes. Right around the time, though, that I think she may have drifted off to sleep, she starts to sing. Loudly. For a long time (last night was an hour straight, I kid you not). From the few "real" words I can make out, it sounds like she's singing about her day - her friends, her activities, her toys... She usually just lays in her bed, singing, but sometimes she crawls over to me and pats my back as she sings, presumably trying to soothe me to sleep. While it's a bit annoying when her little lullaby starts encroaching on my own bedtime, it's the sweetest thing. How many other adults get a one-of-a-kind lullaby every night?

Sleeping beauty.

one and three-quarters

How did that happen?! Squirt is already one and three-quarters old, meaning there's only a quarter of a year left to go to the terrific twos! These last few months, since her half-birthday in October, have been very exciting (read: hair-raising). Her language continues to boom, as has her non-verbal self expression. Her sense of self is growing stronger, as has her independence and will. That can sometimes make things a little hard on momma, but are the exact traits I hope to encourage in the long run.

She continues to want to "help" around the house, and has come up with ways to participate, whether we like it or not. She pushes chairs around the house to get to tall objects - like the counter top - and happily climbs up to do whatever important task it was she had her mind set on. I have turned my back on her for mere moments, only to turn around and find her sitting in the sink trying to wash some piece of cutlery, or on the counter trying to put a scoop of coffee beans in the grinder. She's figured out how to balance on the edge of the toilet in the bathroom so she can reach the sink. She'll turn on the water and wash her own hands, which is pretty neat.

As I mentioned, language is booming. She's starting to use phrases like "thank you" and "please," which is both unexpected and nice. She sometimes says she loves us and is always eager to give giant, noisy kisses (especially to the cats).

With only three months to go (!!!), I'm starting to wonder what special thing we should do to celebrate her second year on this planet. Definitely another hike! But a party? A trip to the zoo? I don't know. Good thing I have three months to figure it out...

Trying to surprise Momma with some freshly ground coffee.

godt nytår

Once again, the final months of the year flew by! From October on, our calendar was packed: anniversary, half-birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Jul... not to mention myriad local events, like Balloon Fiesta (pictures of that will be in a separate post) and Dia de los Muertos. Here are some snapshots of a few of Squirt's recent adventures.

Fall fun!
This fall has been especially fun for us. Squirt has mastered the art of the silly face, though still sports her classic serious face when she is not amused with your antics. Her smiles and giggles certainly light up the room, though! She is increasingly curious and eager to explore everything and anything (amazingly, my hair is not yet grey). She loves to read, loves to draw, and loves to sing quietly (and sometimes not so quietly) to herself as she plays. She is all about her babies right now - which vary from her baby doll, to Teddy, to momma's old set of Minni and Mickey Mouse to a gorilla to... well, you get the idea; it's almost impossible to leave the house without one or two of them. She feeds them, kisses them, lovingly tucks them in, and sometimes even tries to potty train them. Her language development right now is exploding. Despite her wicked "toddler" accent, we often carry on conversations, talking about what we're doing or where we've going or what she's done. And she continues to love "helping" around the house. She recently started dragging a dining room chair around to get to counter tops so she can help us with whatever we may be doing, whether we like it or not! Her favorite chores right now include the dishes (we'll see how long that lasts!), making coffee, and "sweeping" the kitchen floor.

Brisk early morning trip to the park.

 

Smiles while tormenting Radar.

 

What she does when you ask her to show you her teeth :D

 

At the Marigolds y Muretos parade (note the black nose; that's all the face paint she'd sit still for).

Picking out books and finding new friends at the library after helping momma vote on Election Day.

"Helping" with the laundry.

 

"Reading" in her Fortress of Solitude.

Saying "cheeeeese" while "helping" momma do the dishes.

 Feeding the ducks with dad-O on an afternoon trip to the zoo. 

 

 

It's bigger than she is! *nom*

 

 

Squeezing in with her babies in her newly repurposed Fortress of Not-Solitude.

  

 She loves the park, even when it's freezing.

Halloween
This year, we continued our (new-ish) tradition of carving pumpkins (and eating their brains). This time Squirt tried to help out a little more. She also got a lot of use out of her Halloween costume (she was an original series Star Trek science officer) - she wore it to the Zoo Boo the weekend before, to daycare on the day, and then again that night for her first Trick-or-Treating adventure with friends!

Punkin' with pumpkins.

Carving her pumpkin alongside daddy.

 

Supervising.

Poking her finger in Jack's eye and giving daddy some sugar.

 "But... what's IN there?"

Live long and prosper (sans pants).

 

 

At the Zoo Boo - cutest science officer ever (sorry Spock).

Trick or treat!

 

Thanksgiving
We had a small family feast (just the three of us) on Thanksgiving (delicious, delicious cranberry roast - a stray from the typical turkey). The next day, Squirt's great-grandparents popped in for a visit. For once, Squirt was actually pretty sociable with them.

<3

 

Jul

As always, the Wendt-family Jul feast was fantastic. This year, in addition to the traditional (to us) roast duck, baked brie, and gløgg, daddy whipped up some fantastic candied potatoes. It's a good thing this meal comes around only once a year... Squirt had fun unwrapping her Christmas presents (a change from last year, when she seemed to think momma's wrapping skills could use a little help) and actually enjoys playing with her new presents more than the packaging (a gold-standard in developmental milestones, I'm sure).

 

"Oooooh!"

 

Trying to co-sleep with her baby in her new nursery set.

*kiss*

Feeding Teddy.

 

New Year

Wow. I just can't believe 2012 has already passed and I survived the dreaded Mayan Apocalypse relatively unscathed! I have a feeling the years will continue to fly as Squirt continues to grow. What a fun, exciting year it's been! On New Year's Eve, we woke to a sparkly dusting of snow, which Squirt was eager to experience. When she first noticed it through the window, she asked me "what's that?" When I told her it was snow, she responded with an awed, "Neeeat," and promptly began to ask (overandoverandover) to go outside. Later that afternoon, to celebrate the closing of the year, we walked through the aquarium - it seemed fitting since we would be gorging on seafood (specifically crab) later that evening and again the next day at a friend's hous (best seafood stew ever)!

 

"What's that?"

Chuckling as momma throws mini-snowballs.

 

Watching the fish and reflecting on her year.