This Week

More stripping:

And subsequent dressing up as Tinkerbell. You know the scene where she tries on her work clothes and cuts them to fit? We do. And yes, that's her favorite pair of Rich's underwear.

We got the idea for this stamping game from TeachMama, and it was GREAT! The monkey really got into counting and stamping.

Saturday morning we went to the Mulberry Tea House on Main Street. Rebecca chose her dress, and they supplied the hat. (We had a nice time, but I can't exactly recommend the place. Next time we'll eat before we go so we don't have to swing by Burger King on the way home.)

That night I pulled out her "baby costume" (footy jamies) in an effort to keep Rebecca clothed, but only lasted about 30 minutes.

Moments Ago

"Get my Elmo couch."

"You can get it."

"Help me. Help me. I two years old. I too little pick up my Elmo couch."

But I did just see her push up her yogurt by herself, and yesterday she discovered she could strip herself completely on her own.

A Few Firsts

On the 12th Becca (finally!) wore her Murray and Associates T-shirt, a gift from her first Christmas party. She was just a few weeks old at the time, so it's taken a bit for her to grow into it.

On the 17th we took a painfully long ride to Ikea to get more toy shelves for Becca's play corner. (The Philadelphia Ikea store was out of the ones we needed.) Rebecca had her first ice cream cone (we do cups, usually) to celebrate.

On the 18th it got warm enough for the first obsessive stick collecting walk of the season.

That night we had our first Corian plate "fall" off Becca's tray. Serious shattering!

And Rebecca discovered a new way to wear Dad's undershirts.

Here's my least favorite first--on the 19th. Yep, a whole new batch of trouble.

We had our new playgroup over, for the first time, this last week. Becca had a bit of a rough time sharing her toys, and we went to her room twice to talk about it, but I think she did okay overall. It's always easier to share other people's toys, I think.

And the little genius has started making crazy connections lately; here's a couple I can think of:

1. Her poop looks like Maleficent's horns. Seriously?

2. Her tubby crayons are "kinda like Sponge Bob yogurt." "Push it up!" (They click up, and I push up her frozen go-gurt for her.)

3. When she's pretending to be a dog she can't talk, just pant and point.

I'm sure there's tons more, but now she's chanting, "Let me play Eli-fun!" so I've got to set it up.

And one more charming thing--she's started telling people her name is Ariel. Or Parker.

Oh, and here's a cute shot for the road (she kept trying to use the crackers as chopsticks).

More Pictures

Big wings, tiny shirt, big pants. Classic combo.

I was cleaning out her closet and Rebecca decided she needed to be a baby again.

Hiding like Parker (friends' cat) and Hop-Hop (our frog).

More baby stuff from the closet.

Friday night at Mikado--Becca loves loves loves miso soup, California rolls, and udon noodles.

Sunday was cold enough for ice skating with the neighbors. Sometimes I can't believe this is my backyard.

Fairy Tales

There's been a lot of role play around here lately. Rebecca's mostly Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella, or Tinkerbell; Rich is typically assigned Prince Phillip or Peter Pan; and lucky me rotates between Ursula, Maleficent, and occasionally, Wendy. Today, though, I'm "Beauty and the Beast." For some reason Belle's the only one with such a long full name. Still, at least I'm not a "Mean, mean, no, no" (villian) for once.

Purple Yogurt, Snot, and Cashmere

Yep, I made the mistake of putting on a nice sweater today. (And I spent the first two hours of the day with my underwear on backwards, but that's another story.)

I've moved Becca's naps from our room to hers recently, and she's fighting it. She goes down okay, but wakes up crying EVERY time. Not a little crying, either. So it's at least fifteen minutes of cuddling when she wakes up, then I try to get her to eat something. Unfortunately for me, today she wanted purple Sponge Bob yogurt, which we have, but she wanted a different character on the tube. That's right---the wrong character was on the exact flavor of yogurt she wanted.

Twenty-five minutes later, after alternately crying, spitting it out (at me), hitting, and hugging me while running snotty, yogurt-covered hands through my hair, the little monkey was ready to eat the stuff. As long as she sat in my lap and I held it for her. Now we're watching Tinkerbell and the Lost Treasure. And she couldn't be any sweeter--she's being a "Helper Snow White." And my sweater smells delicious. Can't wait 'til she turns 13.

Here are some classic Becca pictures that have nothing to do with any of this, but made me smile. And yes, that's Dad's underwear.

Happy New Year!

Here's our own little Mummer:

One of Becca's gifts was a roll of princess pictures to color. The problem? She's dying to see all the princesses, all at once.

I stripped Rebecca's bed the other day, and left her alone to go start the load. She was playing so well by herself I was thrilled, but even more surprised to find this on her pillow when I went to put the sheets back on. I think we have a little artist in the family (or a little OCD organizer--notice they go light to dark).

There's been a LOT of flying around here.

And reading our "Rebecca's Second Year" book. Here she is, reenacting the kitty milk. She even HAD to have it in the same place as the original pictures.

Saturday morning we went to the aquarium to see the holiday decorations before they came down.

Rebecca would not go near the cardboard cut-out of Bumble,

so I could not have been more surprised to see her give the big guy a high five after he lit up the Christmas tree.

Here's Santa, right before the hammerhead shark buzzed his head. Yikes!

And Rebecca and Daddy with Rudolph.

Thanks to some free tickets one of our play-group friends scored, we spent Sunday morning at Disney on Ice. Rebecca loves her souvenir wings, though they were more than a little annoying for Dad, since she spent most of the show on his lap.

She knew just when to clap.

And had been wearing the wings ever since.