I'm Gonna Bless You

It's official. I have entered The Terrible Twos.

Mom and Dad understand that this "spirited" phase is just me trying out my new independence and testing boundaries. Mom picked these sweet pictures for the post, because she knows I'm still a good girl. She tries to focus on our happy times, like when I told her "I'm gonna bless you" right before I sneezed.

Who would believe that this sweet face could be capable of such drama?

• Nap Time has become my favorite battle. I scream and throw my books, yelling, "I don't want to go to sleep!". Then I either fall asleep on the couch at 4:00 and ruin my bedtime (see picture above), or act like a raging banshee for the entire afternoon because I am over-tired.
  


• Potty Training is on hold. It's fun to pee pee in the potty at school with all of my friends, but at home I prefer to pee in the car seat, on the front porch, and on the carpet. Mom said she might as well put down newspaper and call me Puppy.
  


• Getting dressed by my parents is the perfect time to wiggle and run. I can either jump up and down while they try to wrestle my feet into pull-ups and shorts, or collapse into a pile of tears when they offer clothes that I don't want to wear that day.



• Time Out is my least favorite place. It makes me very mad when Mom puts me there, and I let her know by saying: "Not good choices, Mama! Not nice! Not okay!".

I keep finding Mom in the kitchen, chanting "This too shall pass". She said I am like Olivia The Pig- that I really wear her out, but she loves me anyway.

Empty Nest

This was the last time we saw our feathered friends. We still hear them chirping when the Mama Bird brings worms and treats, but now they have abandoned the nest to live hidden in the bushes where we can't visit them any more. Mom worries about them as if they were her children, constantly shoo-ing the sneaky cat away from our porch. Dad keeps offering to release Maggie to find a permanent solution to The Cat Situation. This picture is me scaring away The Predator (and sternly warning her not to touch my baby doll!). Truth is, I've never really forgiven that cat for stealing all of my binkies.

Concrete

Mom said we are replacing the back yard with foam cushions. Today I was running out the back door to play with Maggie and Moxie when I tripped and fell, forehead first, onto the concrete landing. It was so sad! Mom almost cried, too. We made a good bubble bath to clean all the little pieces of sand and gravel off my head, hands, and knees. I was very proud once we put the band-aid on it, and spent several minutes admiring my new boo boo in the mirror. The experience has inspired my nurturing side. I've been obsessed with putting band-aids on my shells, starfish, and even my rocks!

Baby Birds Growing

My babies are growing up so fast! Now they look like real birds, with wings and feathers. The Mama bird is constantly bringing them worms and grubs (Mom says it's the bird version of chicken nuggets). There is one that we call The Kraken. He stares at us while the other 2 hide down in the nest. Today he tried to intimidate me by lunging and flapping... He obviously doesn't know who he's dealing with.

Night Night Froggie

This video is me teaching Froggie to stay in his bed for nap time the way Mom and Dad try to help me stay in my Big Girl Bed. They tell me "Don't get out.", and I added my own touch at the end.
Night Night Froggie

Jakob and Joli

My cousins, Jakob and Joli, came to visit this weekend. To say it was an awesome time would be the understatement of the year! Joli and I are a perfect match- we both like to hit each other, fight over toys, and ignore our parents' repeated attempts at discipline. I couldn't wait to show them my Big Girl Pants...and my baby birds. I was thrilled to see Jakob again, but sad when we found out he was sick with a fever. We gave him lots of TLC, Motrin, and personal space. Maggie and Moxie were happy to have a couple of new playmates.And our parents had just as much fun hanging out as we did! We drove to our favorite beach... and spent the morning having fun in the sun.
Sweet Jakob was such a trooper- he rallied all day to play with us, even though he felt yucky.The perfect ending to a perfect day! I am going to miss them so much!

Baby Birds

The eggs hatched! And now we have 3 tiny baby birds to watch!We go see them lots of times every day (mainly to tell the cat who sleeps on our porch not to eat them). Mom thinks they are so cute, but they look pretty weird to me.