Alex has decided that she likes to be covered in pillows. We heaped them on her last night while we were playing on the bed, and she actually wiggled herself back under them when they fell off her. This was pretty tough work - those pillows are pretty big for someone as tiny as Alex - so after a while, she settled under one pillow and just stared at the ceiling thinking for a bit. She had her arms draped over the pillow and was so still I wasn't sure she hadn't fallen asleep. When she finished zoning out, it was again time for the alphabet and counting.

Alex can now officially say the alphabet up to S. Well, there's a bit of variation in the letters that she remembers, but she got through that much last night with only pronunciation errors, and I think that's truly amazing. And she can count to ten with only one hitch. Seven = salmon. Oh well, also pretty impressive if you ask me. So what if she associates her favorite fish with the number seven?

Anyway, Alex is half-packed for Grammy and Grampy's house, and hopefully she'll be up soon enough to get a bath before she goes since she seems to like jelly in her hair for breakfast.

We're very excited to report that Alex can now say her f's and l's (mostly). So now instead of sogs, we have frogs, and very soon Alex should be calling Auntie Lu, well, Auntie Lu!

Words of the Day

Kowawa (koala) and fwog (frog).

Fun at Ikea

So, I won't go into great detail about our shopping trip with Grammy and Grampy today, as they were there, and I'm not entirely sure anyone follows this blog as closely as they do. Let's just say that Alex has a fabulously sassulous time, especially being followed around by Grampy. (Or is it Gumpy? Sounds more like that.) But Gumpy and Gummy will be happy to know that she talked about her trip for the rest, and I do mean the rest, of the day. Every single excruciating hour that she was awake today was peppered with random mentions of Gumpy and Gummy.

Excruciating hours because the shopping trip was the highlight of our day, and the rest of the day was very stressful - more house stuff not going well. But no need to hash over that for the millionth time. Alex had a better day than Mommy, if you count chewing on bits of burnt wood from the fireplace and getting water blasted into your mouth to clean out the black, sticky-yet-crunchy debris better. Oh yes, it was burnt wood, potting soil (the daily ritual) shoe bottoms (Mommy's and her own) cat litter, keys, more potting soil (it's not a ritual if you don't do it -all- the time) and gee, what else is in the house and completely inedible? She probably at least gave it a lick today. And no nap to break up the fun.

But she's asleep (one would assume anyway) and I'm finally enjoying some time not spent digging in a tiny mouth for impossibly big and disgusting chunks of what-the-heck?!?!?!?! Jeff kindly took over for a few hours tonight, actually, which was good since a loooooong day with Alex coupled with other annoyances proved to be enough to drive me straight out of the house. I bought a couple Christopher Moore books, and Owl Babies ( http://www.amazon.com/Owl-Babies-Martin-Waddell/dp/1564029654 ) for Alex. (Incidentally, someday I have to learn how to embed links without actually plopping the whole link. I know there's a graceful way to do it so you could just, say, click on Owl Babies and get to the link, but heck if I know how or care to figure it out.)

So, fortified with books, I'm going to curl up, no doubt with Tippy looking at me accusingly unless I pet her with my free hand. And hope that Alex doesn't choose tonight to be restless and needy. But that would never happen, would it?

Busy day - more plumber stuff that we forgot yesterday. But Alex now refers to her eyes as either eyes or eyeballs, the second being much funnier, so I hope she sticks with it.

She tried to eat her hair clip today, so I think I'll give those a bit of a break.

She had flounder and peas for dinner, emphasis on.....the flounder! She loves her fishies, especially the fried ones. She also pointed out the fishies on the fan we have hanging up in the dining room.

We read Knuffle Bunny and Knuffle Bunny Too approximately one million times today. She is currently being chased and "scared" by Daddy upstairs. He's hiding and jumping out at her right now.

Taking a Break

We're in the midst of house-selling drama these days. Lots of inspections, repairs (who knew we lived in a third world hovel?) and drama. So I'm exercising my right to not blog unless something truly amazing happens.

A little tidbit to keep the Alex fans happy before I declare that I am way too stressed out to sit down and blog - Yesterday, I was quizzing Alex on her relatives' names. We tried Auntie Lulu, and when I prompted her to say it, she paused and looked very seriously at me and said A-dum. So, she knows one of the two, anyway...and she was calling Lu Auntie "Orange". Close, so close.

Running Out of Options

As the house inspections continue at our house - why oh why can't they all do them at the same time??????!!!!!????? - I've been wondering where to take Alex today. We went to Marshall's/the mall for two excruciating hours yesterday, and I'm fairly certain we need to at least give the mall a break today. Alex made her presence very known yesterday, screaming like a banshee because she needed a nap much more than mushroom pizza (even though she enjoyed most of the pizza, or should I say PIZZA!!! very much) so seriously, I can't even walk in there again today. I'm certain everyone there thinks I torture babies for a living after that fiasco, so until they forget, the mall's out.

Perhaps we can go plant shopping. Yes, the nearest greenhouse that I know would be great. Oh, except for all the pottery and assorted other breakables they stash all over the place to make it less child-friendly. I think they actually do that on purpose. So maybe that's a no. Hmm, the library? Oh, that's right, Washington's birthday - no library today. Perhaps I should send them a list of all the birthdays I know so they can close every day for a birthday. Think of the savings to their budget! I could bring New Castle County back into the black for sure.

The playground? Well, it's kind of cold and windy, and Alex has declared a no-go on "glubs", mittens and/or hats.......perhaps not a good idea for a whole hour. So that eliminates all outdoor venues for today.

Well, gee, um, I can't really think of any place, so this afternoon should be interesting. Mall here we come?

Banana and What the Rooster Says

Finally, for the very first time tonight, Alex has said the word banana correctly instead of calling them ba's. And not just correctly, but perfectly. As in, anyone could understand it. She then said bandanna and bonanza as she was playing around with the word, so I think that adds three words to her vocabulary, doesn't it? Technically?

She also is perfecting her cock-a-doodle-doos. Very important to be able to say that. It comes up in conversation numerous times daily, after all. And she spent her entire bath tonight saying magical, a brand new word for her that she learned just minutes before her bath. It was extra magical when said with a bubble beard.

Alex stayed up late last night so we could show the house. We're signing the paperwork today to sell it, so apparently the late night was a sacrifice worth making. Anyway, she's been her usual bouncy, jumpy self today, but suddenly, in the middle of the adored alphabet book, I noticed she was very warm, and also somewhat limp. Turns out the late night caught up with her and she was nodding off. That's the first time she's nodded off without being in the crib (or the car) since, geez, I seriously have no idea! It's been months.

Anyway, I'm off to enjoy the silence for a few more minutes - she's bound to wake up soon.

Big Girl Walk

Alex and I took her first big girl walk this morning when we discovered that we had forgotten to get the car seat out of daddy's car, making it impossible to go to the library. We decided it was a nice day outside, and a walk would be fun. And what could be more fun than walking with Alex without a stroller?

Lots of things, actually.

But we still had a good time. She stuck mostly to the side of the street, choosing to walk in the concrete drainage areas. Which means we had many mishaps with sticks that grabbed her and pulled her down, and many adventures with not picking up trash. Who knew there was so much tempting debris along our streets? It's so tiny you don't notice it unless you're a toddler looking for trouble.

So, we "held" hands, or should I say I had a death grip on her hand and she let me. She resisted crossing the street at one point and tried to cross back over, and multiple times wanted to turn around and go back where we just walked. Not because there was something there, she just gets bored with going in one direction for two long.

She was very excited to see cars go by. So much so that she cried every time they drove past. She finally ended the walk for us by melting down and cried most of the two blocks home. I carried her, needless to say. In fact, there was a lot of carrying going on.

But we got home relatively unscathed - one road-rashy knee after a particularly spectacular fall- and then we went out back to play in the yard. She ate or attempted to eat:

Countless tiny pebbles.
One small stick.
Mud, lots of mud.
Some really old snow that turned into an ice chunk.
Bigger rocks, probably three. None were eaten, all were gnawed. Great for sharpening her teeth.
A very small part of the concrete lion statue. Yes, that was probably mostly eaten. You have no idea how difficult it is to pry open a toddler's mouth to retrieve concrete that's turned into a sticky goo and already mostly been swallowed. We should find that sometime tomorrow, I'm guessing.

After her culinary adventures and much soaking up of mud into her pants, Alex was placed in the kitchen sink and hosed down (mouth and all) with the sprayer. This should have knocked any and all concrete/pebble particles out of her mouth. Which direction they went I can't say, but again, tomorrow will tell.

Lots of MommyDaddy's today too. It's the new favorite catch phrase.

The whole day today - which was a very busy one, I might add - Alex almost exclusively said one thing. Mommydaddydaddymommy. Or some iteration of that. I think we've officially become the center of her universe. Well, maybe mac and cheese in still the center, but we're the off-center of her universe.

Shrill

Alex has been practicing her shrill attention cry. Here's a sample. Don't turn the volume up too loud, you will go deaf. Dogs will hear this from miles away. Glasses will break.

Alex's new favorite thing to do - lick the phone. She usually announces that she is going to or already has done it, but either way, our phones are a bit sticky lately. And for some reason, Jeff gets the most licks. Lucky him. Or should I say lucky me, since I'm the one on the wrong end of the phone. :(

She has also discovered where her burpies live, and now asks for them while standing under their drawer. I think I should make a self-serve burpie station, but that would just mean burpies everywhere....

She ate a pink and a blue crayon today. Equal opportunity crayon devourer.

Alex Puts on Her Own Hat

Need I say more? She's figured out how to put on hats, but not always the exact correct way. Close enough, though. It's now the best way to get a hat on her. Like everything else, much better if she does it herself....

Experimenting With Two Words

Alex has been experimenting with stringing words together. Here are a few examples:

dishes done - our musical dishwasher is the inspiration for this phrase. She knows when it sings that, well, the dishes are done.

big truck - Today, we were surrounded by big trucks on the road. I commented on it, Alex repeated it all the way home.

bad cat - She's saying it again after a long hiatus of not saying it, but now she says it right.

big sigh - Daddy taught her this one. It is sometimes accompanied with a sigh before or after.

mac and cheese - Yes, three words. I know. It's the only meal she knows how to request. Good thing she actually likes it too. And no, it's not boxed mac and cheese, though she adores that more than home-made, of course.

silly baby - No idea why she says this all the time. But she says actually says "Silly bee.". Close enough, we know what she means.

goodbye Gerry - Yes, she has fallen in love with our realtor, and loves to tell him goodbye, usually hours after she's seen him.

teddy bear - Pretty self-explanatory. Sounds like "tay beah".

brown bear - Also self-explanatory if you know what a typical toddler's reading materials are.

That's the best I can come up with for now. As always, I'm never thoroughly convinced she actually knows what she's saying, but, like everything, she says a lot, and that's still very exciting for us.

ABC's and 2,6,7's

Alex has countless toys and books that attempt to teach her the alphabet and her numbers, and of course we count and say the abc's all the time, so it's no surprise that she likes to count and say her letters. She's been counting for a while now, only with a few quirks. She has never said one, and the rest goes something like this, " two, six, salmon, eight, nineten." We're desperately trying to get her to say one, but when we prompt her to, " Say one!" she says "Two.". Every time.

The alphabet is a new development. She's been saying "Aybeecee." for a while now, but it turns out she knows way more than we thought. It seems that when we say/sing the alphabet and pause at just about any letter, she can supply us with at least the next letter. She won't, however, say "E" under any circumstances. Other letters - G, P, Z....hmm, I'm sensing a trend here....are announced in a very Alex sort of way. She pauses a second, tilts her head to the side, and says the letter, her voice swinging up as if to say "Is it -insert letter here-?" Then she busts out her best smart-girl smile when we tell her she's right. And she waits for the applause. Like she does all the time, so that's no different than, well, the rest of her life really.

She also has been reciting, mostly just today though maybe we didn't notice it before today, chunks of the alphabet out of the blue. Her favorite chunk? Why, everyone's favorite. Elemenopee. Cuearess is a close second. Oh, of course she still says Aybeecee all the time, but I really think Elemenopee has eclipsed that for the top alphabet spot. And no, we don't ever say the alphabet at lightning speed so that she's thinking Elemenopee is just one letter, we always say it slowly and deliberately, as do all her alphabet-spouting toys. She just hears it like all kids do.

Alex and I also had a fabulous time at Ikea today. We browsed the kid section for a long time, picking out all they toys that would only be played with at the store and never again at home, and finding the most rickety kiddy chairs in the display area. Then we (she closely followed by me) ran off to try out kiddy beds. Then, there was much impatience as she was placed into the stroller, strapped mercilessly in, and rolled about the rest of the store. We had lunch, and Alex inhaled her chicken Marsala like it was her last meal. (Fear not, she had left-over pizza tonight.) And then it was off to browse a bit more and try out a few sofas. We did the very necessary can Alex get on the couch? testing, and decided to make decisions later with daddy - only he can truly do the how high does Alex bounce off the couch? testing.

We left for home with exactly no purchases except that chicken lunch, but with many ideas on how to spend all her college savings, I mean, tax returns. She took a ten minute nap in the car on the ride home, succumbing just as we got close to home only because there weren't trucks exciting enough to keep her attention.

Helping Out

Yesterday Alex found the watering can in the sun room, and like any good junior horticulturist, she decided to water a plant. I'm guessing that she was not pretending to water the passion vine but watering it for real. At least, in her mind she was. There wasn't actually any water. But if I had to guess, she's not going to want to pretend in such an unrealistic fashion in the future.

Well, when she was done "watering" she came over to my chair and dumped the contents of the watering can on the floor. There were gloopy bits of old, soggy Miracle Gro at the bottom of the can, and they all oozed out right next to me. As you can certainly imagine, she tried ever so hard to swish that nasty stuff around, but for once I was fast enough and mopped everything up before she could even get close. She was disappointed, but life goes on, and teaches us lessons like how you should always make sure the watering can is rinsed out after every plant feeding...

She has also abandoned clementines for the time being and has moved on to her favorite fruit of the next few days - raisins. Oh, the excitement. For her.

And we had the additional excitement yesterday of going to the library for story time only to realize that it was closed for Lincoln's birthday. :l And then we went home, with much protesting, to play in the back yard where it was slightly less muddy than the playground. Alex ate lots of snow, ice, and dirt, so all was forgiven about the whole library fiasco. (By the way, the post office was delivering mail yesterday, is New Castle County's budget sooo bad that they're closed on story time day? Come on.)

New Game

So everyone knows that sooner or later, babies like to be chased around the house. It's thrilling and exciting for them, and almost exercise for the one chasing them. Almost. With Alex, she can actually pick up some serious speed on the straight parts, and we almost have to speed walk to catch up. And the tickling after the catch, well, she likes hard tickles, so it at least gives our tickling fingers a workout.

Anyway, I have taken the chase-and-tickle to a whole new level, and she's a big fan of our improved game. It still consists of her running and giggling, and me "running" after her. Only now, to ramp up the giggle factor by about a million, I put my hand on her head while she's running. That's all. She goes insane with laughter every time, swatting at my hand and cackling. She routinely almost falls over whenever she meets an obstacle like the landing or her baby kitchen, or a ball, or a cat......but somehow soldiers on in the upright position, practically in tears with laughter because I've got one hand on her at all times.

She's so hard to please.

Alex Decides

So today I was in the kitchen getting ready to make lunch when Alex came in to inspect the contents of the fridge. I explained to her that she needed to go talk to Daddy while I made lunch, and she replied "Mac and cheese, mac and cheese, mac and cheese." So I shrewdly determined that she wanted mac and cheese for lunch. Daddy was disappointed, but Alex was pleased as punch to get what she asked for. It's good to be the queen.

I also found her about a half hour ago dancing on the couch in the sun room. In the dark. She's very strange some days, and much stranger lately. But in a very amusing sort of way.

She also honed her skills with the diaper pail. She's getting good at throwing away her diapers, and also pretty good at sneaking shoes in there....

Hoot

Alex is currently in the living room hooting. I have no idea why - she's playing with her tractor....