Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Shit hair peas

My darling little daughter is turning 1 1/2 in a couple weeks. As I reflect back on what has happened over the past 18 months, I am amazed, overjoyed, exhausted, and impressed. Here's a recap...

Boarding Pass:
Josie's frequent flier miles are a little nuts. Maine many times, Baltimore & DC once, Hawaii twice (again next week), Arizona twice, California several times, and then all the places here in the Pacific Northwest. People always comment to me after the flight is over by saying, "Wow, she did REALLY good". I reply, "Thank you, I work really hard to make it enjoyable". As most of you know, travel is our hobby and passion. If we aren't getting out of town every month, then we aren't having any fun.


The wonderful world of words:
In the matter of 3 months, Josie has exponentially exploded her vocabulary. She repeats almost every word we say and is practicing putting the words together. Her most recent sentence is "Mamma, sit chair please" as she points to the chair she wants me to sit in. But to the untrained ear, it sounds like "Mamma, shit hair peas". My favorite word that she says is CHEESE, because she scrunches up her face and says it through a big toothy grin with lots of spit. She can say almost all the character names on Sesame Street and she has a funny habit of pointing to any teenage boy and shouting JACE!


A few of her favorite things:
This little girls LOVEs fun and LOVEs to move her body. Her favorite activities are walking up and down stairs, swimming, digging in the sand, dancing to her favorite song (The Wheels on the Bus), and bouncing on the bed. She gets her kicks from fish and animals, reading books, putting on her own shoes, washing her hands, and helping Daddy with whatever he is doing. She has attached herself to her stuffed Elmo, stuffed Kermit, and a big yellow school bus. She still hates wearing any clothes, including her diaper...but who can blame her for that!


A Day in the Life:
When we aren't traveling, a typical day at home is up around 7 with lots of morning cuddle time. Sesame street and some breakfast. Wash and dressed. Morning activity may be music class, pool, playground, childcare, library storytime or just kickin' it at a coffee shop. A late morning snack, followed by a hearty nap around noon. She wakes up to a post-nap meal, then afternoon activity which is outdoors or a playdate with friends. We return home to have dinner, take a tub, read some books, and finally fall asleep around 8 (me included sometimes). A pretty sweet life for a toddler, if I might say so. I am so happy I don't work, so I can be a part of this.



The next 6 months:
Before Josie's 2nd birthday, she will have gone to Hawaii two more times, Maine again, and California. She will finally get her own bedroom as her big brother heads off to college this summer. She will be able to verbalize what she wants and I imagine she won't need my hands to help her up and down the stairs anymore. Maybe, if we are lucky, she will be potty trained.