Olivia

Chris and I are anti-character (cartoon/TV/corporation variety, that is), but we are inexplicably drawn to Olivia. She would tempt us to throw a birthday party in black, white and red. It would be hard to say no if Amelie begged for a playroom decked out with this charming pig. Olivia is somehow different than the others. We love love love her.

The books are basic counting and opposites books, but with illustrations from the other "big kid" Olivia books. I like the simple lines and colors of the series, and Ian can't-remember-his-last-name's subtle sense of humor is a refreshing change. Check them out.

And by the way, you get 2 books at a time now. There are too many, and at this pace, it will take for. ev. er. to finish them.

Ketchup

Once again, I feel like there is so much that has happened recently, and yet... no idea what it actually was. And what's up with NOT blogging? No idea. I feel like such a jerk, I think I've only taken like 5 photos of Amelie this month. Time flies.

About a week and a half ago, Amelie started walking for real. One Saturday night we had some intensive practicing, which built up her confidence, and now she's on a roll. She's to the point where she will try walking to wherever she wants to go, and if she falls, will crawl the rest of the way because it's easier and faster. But she tries. She can even change direction halfway if she decides. My baby is gone. Enter TODDLER.

Amelie started signing "F" out of the blue last week. We're working on "help" (which will put an end to the occasional whining, I'm sure), "water", and "bath". "Milk" has changed from the American Sign Language sign (mimicing milking a cow) to pulling my shirt open for all to see what it is she wants.

MSP (Miss Smarty Pants) has learned some of her books so well that all I have to do is start quoting one of them (WHO'S learned them well?!), and she goes directly to the right one and starts reading. She also climbs the stairs well, and is learning to go down backwards.

And since I have no recent pics, here are some from... a month ago? Two?




Enjoying her favorite food: cucumber. Ages and ages ago, Chris and I saw an episode of "A Baby Story", featuring a family with a toddler who begged for a cucumber as a treat while visiting the midwife. We thought that was hilarious, and said we hoped our kids would be like that. Woo-hoo!






Sick of eating pureed foods, Amelie is relishing eating "real" food from a bowl.






Favorite field trip #1: Barnes & Noble. We sit in the kids' area and read while she reads, pulls books and toys off the shelf, and occasionally plays "trains" with other visiting kids. More often than not, though, we get there after most kids are at home and in bed.






Favorite field trip #2: Caribou Coffee. OK, I doubt she actually likes going there at all; it's really my favorite place. I have to tell you, though, that after taking this picture (and a series of similarily hilarious pics), I cried from laughing so hard at her face for at least 5 minutes. I couldn't stop looking at it, and when I did... waterworks.

Brought to you by the letter B

Amelie learned to sign, and say, "B" this week. We have done "Pat-a-cake" so much, it makes my head spin. That's life with a baby, though, huh?

One Bear, One Dog by Paul Stickland

This is a very simple and adorable book (the title gives away the first 2 pages). The colored pencil illustrations look cuddly, if that makes any sense... and the last page is a cute suprise for the kiddies...

ABC by Alison Jay

This is the best ABC book I've seen. It's slightly oversized, which I always like, and the illustrations are so charming. They are fun and folk-art-y, complete with crackle-paint effect. Each picture has several things that begin with the letter, and each letter leads into the next somehow, so there's a fun way to make this into a story book. It's great for all ages, as it's been one of Amelie's faves for a long time, and I'm sure we'll be telling each other stories from the pictures for a few years, at least.

Judge a book

I have a few minutes to cram in some book reviews... I was going to start with the "Breasts in Art" book, since a couple people asked about it, but I don't have a photo of the cover yet, and the camera doesn't have batteries at the moment. Soon, I hope...

#7

...has arrived. We noticed the new pearly white today while we were at the apple orchard.

Language: I discovered that every bird is actually a duck, and therefore says, "quack".

Another new development: Amelie will grab a book, and open it up to read to herself. If it is upside-down, she immediately turns it right side up. Smarty pants. Speaking of books: I promised (or "threatened", depending on your view) book reviews awhile back, and have since put them on the way back burner. I'm thinking this week I will go nuts and bombard you with them all. And there are a ton, she's built up the collection considerably since I last mentioned them...

I was going to give you a photo, but the option has disappeared from my screen. :( Maybe next time...

Another 2 weeks...

since I've posted! I guess life is getting in the way of blogging, but I suppose that's a good thing. Funny... I check other people's blogs, and think, "what the heck? it's been 4 days! BLOG already!" I am really going to try to keep up on this...

There's not much to say, no new developments. Amelie still has 5 teeth, is still crawling, and is still saying a whole slew of "b" words. So, since there isn't anything to tell, have a look: