Catch-up

Every day Marla does something new and/or funny and/or cute and I think that I need to document it on the blog... and it doesn't happen. My only excuse is that this has been the busiest summer in recent memory. Here's an attempt at catching up on the last couple months.

She has a great appetite, especially for cheese, hot dogs, sandwiches, yogurt, ketchup, eggs, mac and cheese, spaghetti, and pizza. But her favorite is always fruit, making me feel better about all the other processed stuff. Here she is eating some watermelon on Memorial Day.

She's very social, especially with other kids. Lately she's more likely to hug, kiss, and high five than she is to hit or bite, which I count as major progress. Here she is giggling with her cousin Brennan.

Taking a stroll with some very protective "big girls" at Grandma Susie's house.

Giving her cousin Bailey some love.

Speaking of friends, she said goodbye to a few last month when we switched to a new daycare. Tanner was her first real friend. Marla calls him "Tee-tee" and though we haven't seen him for almost two months, his name still comes up every once in a while.

As much as she misses Tanner and her teacher, I think what she misses the most about her old daycare is a toy clock music box. The staff kept it locked up most of the time to prevent too many fights between her and the other kids.

She still loves to read more than anything and seems to have most of her books memorized. I'm also continually amazed at her language development. She tries to say almost any word she encounters, and it's so much fun to communicate with her more and more. There are too many words/phrases to capture in a single post, but here are some of my current favorites:

"Foffer" = flower

"Up dee-dee" = upsie-daisy

"Namma" = Grandma

"Bumpa" = Grandpa

"I no-no" = I don't know

"Ho-ho" = uh-oh

"Ebbow" = elbow

"Bee-bee" = belly button

"Umbebba" = umbrella

"Tee-pee" = toothbrush (or toothpaste)

"Anenna" = antenna

"Hal" = help

"Pee?" = please

"Fuf um" = I love you (I know that one's a stretch, but it's an honest attempt!)

I spent a week in Madison for a training in June and Jeff and Marla came to stay for a few days. We took her swimming in the hotel pool and ever since she calls any large body of water a "poo."

We also got her a water table and kiddie pool for the back patio. This has made some of the summer's excessively hot days a little more tolerable.

She's been mimicking lots of adult behaviors lately. She'll put phones to her ear and say "Ho?", apply pretend lipstick, and feed just about anything (baby dolls, stuffed animals, pictures in books, you name it). Here she is trying on Daddy's shoes and sweeping the floor. 

She LOVES to swing. If I ask her what she wants to do, she almost always responds, "Par. Wing!" (park, swing). 

She continues to climb and stand on everything. She has heard me warn her so many times that she now beats me to the punch: "cay-pul!" (careful). She likes to drag this shape sorter over to the couch and use it as a step stool. On the bright side, at least she's resourceful.