Muffins

Why does Mamma hide chocolate in muffins? It just takes me that much longer to pick out all the chocolate goodness and toss the muffin bits.

Two

Because I'm Two, I'm Two-
Come On (Two Two-Really, Really Two)
You Know I'm Two, I'm Two-
You Know It (Two Two-Really, Really Two)
You Know I'm Two, I'm Two-
Come On, You Know (Two Two-Really, Really Two)
And The Whole World Has To Answer Right Now
Just To Tell You Once Again,
Who's Two . . .

Logic

Of course cameras can smell. See. It's smelling my flower.

Hitting the bottle

The other consequence of skipping a nap is hitting the bottle. Mamma and Daddy showed me how it's done.

I told you so

What the article doesn't mention is that when you skip an afternoon nap (like today), the symptoms get exacerbated. Told you.

Back seat driver

I love Daddy soooo much, I tell him where to go when he's driving. It must be genetic. Because Mamma does it too.

Hard day

M: What did you do today?
n: Play the blues.

Assistant

I can't wait for Skully to arrive so he can help me keep up with the blog. Do you think he'll fetch me coffee too?

Pretty flowers

Ooooh, flowers are pretty. You can smell them. You can hold them. You can break the stems and pull off the petals. But you can't eat them. Not when Mamma and Daddy are watching.

Family unit

One week until Skully is term. Two weeks until my birthday. Four weeks until Skully is due. HE COULD BE HERE ANY DAY NOW!!! So I'm enjoying every last second I have being the baby of the family.

Today's quotes

n: Mamma too big. Mamma elephant.

Still obsessed

Happy furry monsters when I wake up. Happy furry monsters in the morning. Happy furry monsters in the car. More happy furry monsters.

I'm calling it now

It's light out when I go to bed. Daddy's sneezing. Spring is officially here.

Lots and lots and lots

Sleep

Mamma and Daddy have been preparing me that Skully may interrupt all of our sleep. To see how I do on less sleep, I've been dropping my afternoon nap every now and then. Too bad Daddy's not ready to drop his afternoon nap yet.

Skully

I think Skully's excited to meet me. He's growing big and fast, so big that the doctor thinks he may come early! He's already 1oz shy of my birth weight (7lbs 2oz). But I think he should stop using the tanning bed, he's getting a little too orange.

Miss Independent

See that speck of pink? Yup. That's me.

Mountains

I wonder if Cincinnati will have mountains to climb like they do here.

Countdown

I think I have my Big Sister Celebration Dance almost perfected! Smile, twirl, knee slap.

Two-faced

Me at daycare:
- I hold Sharon's hand or the stroller when we walk.
- I put on my own boots.
- I eat lentil soup.
- I nap for 2 hours.
- I walk up and down steps (not stairs) by myself.
- I walk.

Me at home:
- I try to avoid holding hands (unless I'm crossing a street).
- I run away from Mamma/Daddy when it's time to put boots on.
- I'm indecisive about what I want to eat. And will variably pig out or eat like a bird.
- I sometimes nap for 2 hours. Sometimes I talk to myself for 2 hours.
- I pretend I need Mamma's/Daddy's hand to help me walk up/down a step (although they recently caught me doing it on my own, darn it).
- I run, run, run!

Bobo

Who knew bandaids could be fashion accessories?

Protection

I'm a little worried about my brother's nickname. Skully is short for Skull-splitter. But that's not literal, is it? I mean, I don't have to wear head-protection do I?

Friday the 13th

Mamma and Daddy are all superstitious that today is supposed to be a bad day. Sure, the dishwasher didn't run properly, and Mamma broke a bowl and cut her finger, and the hot water ran out for Daddy's shower, and Mamma discovered her first stretch mark. But I got to go to the library. And it was sunny and warmer out. And I watched/listened to Furry Happy Monsters. And I got lifted up in a big box. I think Friday the 13ths are great days and that every day should be a Friday the 13th. Maybe we can make a movie about how awesome Friday the 13th is. Or 10!

Meta

Stickers on stickers on clothing.

My general desire to eat all of Daddy's food

(Daddy has soup bowl on table, in which he normally eats ramen, not rice as shown above)
n: Up, up, up, up, up, up.
D: The food is hot.
n: Blow.

n: Up, up, up, up, up, UP.
D: Daddy's not eating pasta.
n: No. Daddy's soup.

Q: What's the difference between being almost 2 and having bipolar disorder?

A: Nothing.

Furry happy monsters

More monsters. More furry happy monsters. No phone. No car. More furry monsters. If you want me to do anything today but watch the video on the TV, listen to the song on the stereo, watch the video on YouTube or listen to the song in the car, I will not be involved in your shenanigans. More monsters! All day!

Refinement

When Skully arrives, I'll no longer be the baby of the family. But I'm not really partial to the title "little girl". It sounds too common. So I'm going for "little lady".

Cereal

Cheerios. Not Kix. Not Shreddies. Cheerios. Preferably for breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and dinner. It's a great diet food. Or is that because half of my bowl ends up on the floor?

Mirthday request

As this is my last mirthday, I'd very much appreciate if everyone who reads this would say hello. It'll be a good record of all the people that love me and want to know more about me before I have to share the limelight with Skully.

Mormor and NeeNee, you just have to say hello once, not each time you read this.

(Just click comments below, and follow the directions on the next page. If that's too hard, email my Mamma or Daddy and they'll do it for you.)

Thanks!!!

23 months!

Time is flying by way too fast. It felt like just yesterday I was 22 months. Next thing I know, you'll tell me I'm turning 2!

I just started going to bed with my Bedstebear. And I take him all over the house to show him pictures, read him books, and feed him. If silly Mamma and Daddy forget to bring him to me for bedtime, I kindly remind them.

Learning colors was so last month, and I can easily count to 10. I'm working on counting to 15, but that darn 11 keeps giving me problems. Who made up the silly ordering anyways. And I can read the numbers 0 to 9. But when I see 10, I say 1, 0. I know the letters in my name, but if you ask me, all words spell "Nina".

I'm having a go at seeing if I can get my way with whining. Using my words is getting so exhausting. Especially now that Mamma and Daddy expect me to use sentences. "I do," "bye-bye library," "Daddy read" "I walking". I think it's much more efficient to whine, especially as Mamma and Daddy are so good at reading my mind. We'll see who's more stubborn. Me with my whining or them with their silly "use your words please".

I still love my books. And Elmo. And that's pretty much all I'll sit down for. I've got places to be, things to do, and a girlish figure to maintain. So I'm constantly doing laps around the house, climbing on anything I can find and throwing myself on Daddy (not so much Mamma, something about her fat belly she doesn't want me jumping on - I call it extra cushioning!).

I love my music. I'll say "different song" or "nonononononono" if I don't like what I hear. My current favorite is REM's "furry happy monsters".

Food? I'll pretty much eat anything. I'm getting over my blueberry and waffles obsessions. Now, I love my morning cereal, will ask for strawberry yogurt, and only drink juice when I'm blowing bubbles. But my favorite? Anything Daddy cooks. Please cook more!

These last couple weeks I've started to wake up earlier (6:20am instead of 7:00am), and these last couple of days I've started to go to bed earlier (6:30pm instead of 7:00pm). Mamma and Daddy have a lot to learn about toddlers, so I thought it would be nice of me if I helped them get me adjusted to Springing Forward with Daylight Savings Time.

I turn on and off the lights. I climb in and out of Mamma and Daddy's bed. I run away from Mamma or Daddy when they're trying to get me ready to go outside, but once ready I am knocking on the door waiting for them to hurry up and get outside.

New word for the day - through

I go through. Over and over and over again.

Spring is here!

When I can get to the park and swing, I know spring is finally here. And because I said so, so shall it be.

Smile

Don't get me wrong. I love Elmo too. I just don't understand how he can be so darn chipper all the gosh darn time.

Presents

When Skully arrives, I want to get him a present. I'm thinking a pet. He'll need a pet. And I'll help him feed it!

Family portrait

I don't do posed shots. At least not posed shots where I'm not the center of attention.

Big Sister Dance moves

I'm going to be a big sister next month! So I'm practicing and honing my Big Sister Dance.

Because no one asked

I pooped 5 times yesterday. And another 5 times today.

Professional wrestling

Splash.

Splash.

Diving knee drop.

Pin.

Take it Daddy. Take it like a man.

My record

1 year, 10 months, 22 days. I finally pooped in the tub.