Tuesday was a pretty unevntful day at school. I’m definitely enjoying it more, making friends, and letting Mom leave with much less drama and fanfare.
Wednesday was a great day from the very beginning. I woke up in a great mood and greeted Nana very enthusiasitcally. After breakfast, we walked (on foot!) around the block and then changed into my swimsuit for fun in the yard! We had a lot of fun playing all kinds of new games together. We came in tried off, played some more, and then it was already nap time.
When I got up, instead of crying, I called “nana, nana!” I had a good lunch and then it was time for more fun. We did a lot of finger painting and reading until snack time. I ate, napped, and before I knew it, Mom was home. I had a pretty bad dinner — I kept requesting “burger!”
I got up this morning with Mom, who made sure to be very quiet so as not to wake up Dad, who was sleeping in a bit. Finally I jumped in bed with him and hung out upstairs while he got ready. We played downstairs until breakfast time. I ate spinach oatmeal (!), prunes, and blueberries. Nana got home and we got right to playing. It was a rainy, gloomy morning, so we couldn’t make our usual trip to the park.I ate a banana for my snack and then took a nap. I had a great lunch and I think officially transitioned to my booster chair at the table. I heard Nana tell Dad that she agreed I didn’t need the high chair any more! Nana has even taken the bolder step of allowing me to eat without a bib (!). I had a great lunch — salmon & Nana’s cauliflower and…then we walked (!) to the park.
By 3:30 I was in my crib and I slept all the way until 6:00 pm, when I woke up to see Rachel! I ate and Rachel let me stay up until 7:45!
I woke up around 6:00 this morning and Dad came to get me. We played in my room for a while before heading downstairs for breakfast. Dad made me wait until 7:30 to eat, but we kept ourselves busy by unloading and loading the dishwasher. After I ate Mom came down and hung out with us. We went to the park and had a pretty good time, though Dad lost the case to our camera!
We walked through the farmers’ market on our way home. When we got in, I ate a huge banana for my snack and then went to bed. I woke up when I heard Mom screaming on the phone to Great-Grandma Droste! Mom “fixed” my hair (was it broken?) and then we walked up to Hot Chocolate. I ate okay, but spent most of my time entertaining Charu and Jui. The waiter was also really, really nice! He kept giving me high-fives every time he walked by — and then I would clap for myself, joined by him and everyone at our table!
After we were done eating, I showed everyone my dance moves (sorry for the poor lighting, but it’s worth it!):
It rained “on our heads” (as Mom would say) all the way home. Actually, because I was in my stroller, my head stayed totally dry! We got home and Dad became obsessed with teaching me to count to ten. So far, I only really know 1 and 2 and then 6, 8, and 9. Poor 7! Then the three of us went downstairs and cleaned up a bit in preparation for a special visitor we’re having on Tuesday.
After a quick snack of banana-sweet potato (!) yogurt, I took my nap. When I woke up from my nap I was in a great mood, which was perfect for a pretty new kind of dinner experience. Last night was cool because we had a family dinner (cooked by Nana) where we all ate together and ate the same food. Today we did the same thing, except I got to help Dad cook dinner! We had salmon, mashed potatoes, and dilled carrots. I had a lot of fun helping Dad (I even got to touch the raw salmon!). When it was finally time to eat, Mom, Dad, and I all had the exact same food on our plates. My favorite was the salmon. I finished my serving and then another serving and then another serving! The carrots were good but I didn’t care for the mashed potatoes. Will I still be welcome at Droste family events?!
After dinner, Dad and I had a really, really fun time reading books. I sat in my comfy chair and Dad read my stories and made funny voices and attacked me with kisses. I laughed a lot. I was especially excited when Mom came and joined us! Finally it was bed time. I fussed a bit more than usual, but was happy to have such a fun day.
Today was a really exciting day, with a lot to blog about!
First, I’m so excited that Aunt Sarah is back from her trip to Thailand. Check out her blog to see all the details!
I got up pretty early today — no sleeping in just because it’s a Saturday. Dad was up with me at 6:00 and after playing around inmy room for a while, we headed straight to Dominick’s for our weekly grocery trip. All the usuals were there and very happy to see me. Dad let me roam around on foot most of the time — except for when I got my hands on a plum and took a big bite out of it!
We got back home and ate breakfast. Mom came downstairs and joined the fun. A little after 9:00, the three of us hopped in our car and drove off to meet a new friend, Thomas. Thomas is 22 months old and his mom works with Mom. We played for about two hours at the park near his house and even had a picnic snack:
At his park, instead of a soft rubber ground, there are wood chips! That just means I got a whole lot dirtier than usual. We headed open and I fell asleep — snoring for about 10 minutes.
When I got home it was lunch time. I ate pretty well. Mom and Dad assumed I would fall asleep right since I had only cat-napped. Wrong! I fussed for a while because I had a dirty diaper. Then I fussed for a while because I had…another dirty diaper. Then I fussed and Mom took me in to her bed so we could nap together. That didn’t work either!
Finally, Mom and Dad took me up on to the roof so that we could see the Air & Water Show. Now that I think about it, I’ve never really spent any time up on the roof! It’s really fun (especially with a hose!):
After being up there for about half an hour, we came back in and I had a new kind of yogurt for snack. It’s strawberry-carrot flavored! And I thought Dad was the only one who put vegetables in weird things. Finally, took a nap. When I got up, I was surprised to see that Nana was visiting! She had brought over dinner (a yummy cauliflower dish) and we all ate together — the same food at the same table at the same time. I ate better than the last few dinners, but not great. I made up for it by giving Dad a lot of hugs and kisses — and he didn’t even have to ask for them!
After dinner, Nana and I made a quick visit to the park, but instead of taking the stroller, I walked there and back holding her hand! Dad gave me a much-needed bath and I fell right asleep.
I woke up with Dad this morning and we played until breakfast. To make up for the last two batches of oatmeal I’ve endured (one with peas, the other with spinach), he whipped up a delicious new recipe with blueberries, strawberries, and bananas! It was so good. Nana came just as I was finishing up. Mom and Dad left because Mom had to go back to the hospital I was born in for an operative hysteroscopy.
I had a great lunch (meatball with hidden veggie sauce) and a fun afternoon of playing with Nana. Mom and Dad got back around 3:00. Nana went home, Mom went to take a nap, and Dad and I went down to the office and played until my naptime.
When I got up it was dinner time. I fought Dad as he put me in my high chair, so Mom suggested that I try using my own big girl’s chair. We have a big girl’s chair that’s just like the one I use at Nana’s and Grandpa’s, but this time instead of the tray, I ate off the table. I didn’t eat that much better, but at least I was cooperative:
After dinner Dad and I read a book and I went to bed.
I was in a great mood Wednesday morning. Nana brought me a whole-wheat waffle for breakfast. It was definitely adult food, which I liked. As soon as I finished eating we went to the park for a really long time (two hours!). I came back very happy and very tired. I ate a full banana and some spinach oatmeal (DAD!?!). I napped for over two hours and then rejected most of my lunch options. Luckily Nana pulled out my new favorite (kibbeh), so I ate plenty.
After my evening nap, a crazy thing happened: I saw Dad on television! Now, I’m rarely allowed to watch TV, so this was definitely exciting. I kept saying “work, work!” Who knew that Dad worked in our television!?
I fussed over dinner and refused to help Mom put away my toys. I’m definitely getting difficult.
Thursday was a good day at school. I was very excited about the Elmo dolls and books. I even tried making silly faces and watching myself in the mirror. After dinner, Mom was especially slow with my bath — because Dad was on his way home. He was so excited to see me and gave me a hundred kisses before getting my pj’s on and reading me a good-night story.
Monday got off to a great start getting ready with Mom and then seeing Nana when I got downstairs. We had a great morning in the park –we had the whole park to ourselves when we got there. Finally a few other sleepyheads joined us.
I took a good nap and then ate most of my lunch (no root vegetables, thank you very much). I helped Nana water the plants in the yard and in a new little quirk, I objected to washing my hands today. It’s never been a thing before, but today I just wasn’t in the mood!
When Mom got home I was still in a great mood. I absolutely rejected my chicken curry (formerly a favorite) but was happy when Mom shared her empanada with me.
Tuesday morning was good. Our rides to and from school are getting more and more interesting as I learn to identify more things: busses, trucks, trains, and balloons. Yes, we pass balloons every single day! One the way home we stopped at the grocery store (Dad, we missed you!). I was very picky (again) for dinner and even reverted to some food throwing to make my point!
I helped Dad out a bit by sleeping in until 7:00. We did a bunch of work upstairs (taking out the garbage, getting my laundry together, changing my sheets, etc.) and then Dad took a shower in my bathroom. We went downstairs and I had a terrible breakfast — I refused to eat anything! Dad was so frustrated. I did eat some blueberries, though!We watered the plants for quite a while and then we headed to the park with our neighbors (who just had a small baby). I had fun despite the oppressive heat and humidity:
I got home, ate a banana, and took a long nap. As soon as I got up we headed over to Nana’s house. I felt as comfortable as I ever have there – I totally run the place! Nana had made some delicious linguini which I scarfed down in lieu of the beef stew that Dad brought for me to eat. The peanut butter smoothie he had was really good, though.
After a few hours of fun, we headed home. Dad replaced the screens in my room before putting me to bed for a nap, though I didn’t fall asleep for quite a while. But when I did, I slept well past 6:00, so Dad came into my room and started putting my laundry away rather loudly.
We took a quick trip to the park before getting back to the house in time for dinner. I ate a little bit better, but still worse than usual. I fussed a lot before going to sleep and I could tell that Dad was getting frustrated with me, but he still read me mybedtime story and gave me a huge kiss before putting me in my crib.
I’m a bit short on pictures this week, as our nice camera is suffering from a broken LCD screen. We took into the shop last weekend and we haven’t been as excited to use our point-and-shoot.
Tuesday was a good day at school. I really loved playing with the kitchen toys and I had fun entertaining the babies in the infant room before breakfast. I hardly cried when Mom left me! Dad was home when Mom and I got in, but he took off for the airport before I went to bed. I got to practice the stairs and loved the lentil burger I had for dinner!
Nana was here bright and early on Wednesday. I had a good breakfast and we had fun out in the park and in the yard watering the plants. I ate a huge lunch, played and read in the afternoon, and took a nice long nap. When Mom got here I ate a good dinner and then went to bed.
I was up early (5:15) on Thursday morning but hung out in bed until 5:35. I was in a good mood getting ready with Mom and I devoured some O’s before we left home and again before I got out of the car. Again, I didn’t cry much when Mom left. I really enjoyed playing with the babies in the infant room. I also found a mirror in the toddler room — and you know I love looking at myself (ok, kissing myself!) in the mirror. Mom and I played a game on the way home where we identified trucks, buses, and trains!
On Friday morning, I woke up and saw Mom before she left for work. Dad fed me breakfast and then when Nana got home we pretty much went right outside to the park because it was supposed to rain in the afternoon. After my nap, Dad and I took a trip to Menard’s to pick up a few replacement screens that he had ordered (two of them go in my room!). The people at Menard’s were really nice and Dad let me run around in the receiving area. The trip took longer than he expected, so by the time we got home, we didn’t have much time to do anything other than eat a quick dinner and go to sleep!
On Saturday morning, I woke up a bit after 6:00, but Dad didn’t come to get me until about 6:45. We played in my room for a while and then I walked down the stairs (with Dad’s help!) and ate breakfast. After I finished, we made our weekly trip to the grocery store and noticed that it was a really gloomy day. It was nice to see all the usual people at Dominick’s. One of them even gave me some career advice: “Don’t ever work for Dominick’s!”
We got home and played together until nap time. I had a pre-nap snack (a banana, as usual) and then walked up the stairs and went to sleep. When I got up, I helped Dad cook, and in the process ate some raw onion (eww!) and some raw red pepper (yummy!).
Lunch was a bit of an ordeal. I was really fussy depsite repeated requests from Dad: “no shouting” and “no crying.” I didn’t eat especially well, until dessert (of course). Dad has turned my blueberries in to a math lesson! For weeks, I’ve always said “one more” when I wanted more of something and I always got more than one of it. Today, Dad made me choose between “one more” blueberry and “two” blueberries. You won’t be surprised to learn than I alway chose two — what a great concept! I wonder if there could be anything cooler than 2!
So, I had calmed down a bit and Dad was really happy that I was learning about 2. We were going to play on my mat and he brought his lunch (a bowl of pasta) with him. I immediately attacked his food and ate his entire adult portion! We were both really happy about it!
After he changed my diaper we decided to go outside. It had stopped raining but it was very hot and humid! We stopped by Starbucks (where I even got my own beverage!) and then went to the park.
I spent for the first part of the visit on the playground equipment — I’m so good at the stairs now! Then Dad changed me into something lighter and he let me get wet playing in the fountain. By the time we left I was hot, wet, and tired!
As soon as we got inside, I devored some peach yogurt but I was too hot to fall asleep right away. It took me about half an hour to fall asleep, but it was a good, deep sleep when it finally came. When I got up, we pertty much went right back out to the park. I made two new friends, Eleni and Lydia. They were a lot older than me, but they were so nice! They played with me, pushed me in the swing, and even shared their toys with me. I was having so much fun that Dad let me stay out much later than usual.
Just as we were walking up to our house, our neighbor walked by with her dog. Dad talked to her while I played with the dog — Dad even let me kiss the dog (or maybe he didn’t notice it happening?)! We got inside and I ate pretty quickly and took the fastest bath ever before going to bed right at 8:00.
I got up this morning and was excited to spend some QT with Dad in the morning until Nana got here. As soon as she got settled in, we went out the park. I had a good nap and was in a great mood all afternoon.
Dad’s been letting me climb the stairs on my own (well, holding the rail with one hand and his hand with the other). It takes a lot longer to walk up the stairs than to be carried, but I really like the independence. And I’m getting a lot better at it. I’ve also started climbing into my stroller all by myself:
margaretyagan 
