I'm an Iowa girl at heart!

Ever since I was introduced to corn on the cob at Nana and Papa's house, I have been talking about it, and asking for it! I was really excited when Mommy got some at the store!

I told you I was excited, and I ate the whole ear! Mommy and Daddy thought I was super cute, eating away at the corn. (I'm a little random with my bites, one here, one there, not a row across like Mommy and Daddy do.)

I kept asking about the corn, so Mommy and Daddy took me to the Farmer's Market this morning to get some more, and I got to help Daddy peel it!

(I'm even pretty good at getting the silks off, but most of them ended up on the floor. Oh well, that is what the vacuum is for!)

Mommy Daddy beach!

That's right. Last week, Mommy and Daddy went to the beach, without me. But that was just fine with me, because I got to stay with Nana and Papa!

Daddy got off work early on Wednesday and we drove all the way to Nana and Papa's house, stopping a few times so that I could go potty (I didn't have any accidents!) We made it there in time to have dinner, and Uncle Boo (Philip) and Aunt Lindsay came too! When Mommy put me to bed that night, she told me that she and Daddy wouldn't be there in the morning, because they we going to the beach (Mommy had been telling me that all week, and I kept repeating it!) I was going to stay with Nana and Papa for a few days, and then Mommy and Daddy would be back. I was so excited!

Mommy was right, when I woke up the next morning, she and Daddy were gone, but Nana and Papa were there! Nana even made me my favorite breakfast (an egg with cheese and blueberries)!

I had such a good time while Mommy and Daddy were gone! I got to play with Rudy, the dog, plus all of Nana's really fun toys! I even got to go swimming with Aunt Anna in a special pool that they got for me!



I had a little trouble getting the slide figured out, but it was fun!


Playing with Aunt Anna!


Another really fun thing I got to do was eat corn on the cob for the first time! Once I watched what everyone else was doing, I decided to try it. I like it so much, I had two!


I also got to play with Uncle Bryson, and that was really fun!

I even got to go see Uncle Bryson at work, and see his fire truck! (I was a little confused, because I thought fire trucks were supposed to be red, but in Chapel Hill, everything is Carolina Blue, even the fire trucks!)

I didn't realize just how big they are, and I wasn't too sure about them. That tire is bigger than me!

I did get a sticker, so that made my day! (And I still have it in my room!)

After a few days, Mommy and Daddy came back from the beach. (They went to Hilton Head, SC, because Daddy had a work meeting to go to.) This was the view from their room (it wasn't hazy, that's just the humidity!)

In the lobby of their hotel, someone built a sand castle, and it was as tall as Daddy!

Mommy and Daddy said that they missed me, but that they really enjoyed a few days by themselves. I missed them too, but I had a lot of fun staying with Nana and Papa. I wonder when they are going back to the beach?

I'm ready!

Daddy wants to take me to a race. A stock car race. And here in Hagerstown, that means a dirt race. Mommy has always said that I can go when I am old enough to wear earmuffs.

Guess what Mommy, I'm old enough now!

Note: when Daddy put these on me, I thought they were great, and I wore them around the house for half an hour!

Typical Sunday Evening

For many years, Mommy's family has talked on Sunday nights, to catch up on the weeks events. Usually, this meant that Gma and Gpa would talk to each of their four kids at some point during the evening. In the last year or so, it started to be a bit of a competition between Mommy and Uncle Nick, who got to talk to Gma and Gpa first. (Of course, with Uncle Nick, just about everything is a competition!)

Now, thanks to technology, web cams, and a program called Vsee, we can all talk and see each other at the same time!

L-R, T-B: Me, Uncle Nick and Aunt Becky and Baby Max, Gma, Gpa, Uncle Drew and Uncle Bubba.

Yes, even when Gma and Gpa are in the same house, they use two different computers in two different rooms to talk. (It actually works better that way.) And some times, we even get Gigi on and we get to talk to her too!

This has been a really fun way for me to get to see and talk to my family on a regular basis. Plus I get to show off all the new things that I am learning, for a very encouraging audience!

2 years old!

So Mommy finally got around to taking my picture with my zebra. I really am growing, and so is my hair! It gets really curly when it is wet or when it is really humid outside. Mommy loves that I have curls, she just isn't sure what to do with them all the time. As you can see, Mommy is starting to put pretty things in my hair, but I'm not sure I like them. They don't usually stay in very long!

I'm getting to be a big girl. Mommy says that soon she and Daddy are going to make my bed into a big girl bed. I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I think it will be a good thing.

My personality is definitely shining through. When I am in a comfortable environment, with people I am comfortable with, I am pretty loud and rambunctious. But when things or people are unfamiliar, I tend to be a little more reserved and observe what is going on around me. What can I say, I'm a people-watcher, just like my daddy!

I'm now talking a mile-a-minute (also just like Daddy), and I'm learning new words faster then Mommy can even count! And speaking of counting, I can count to 10 in three languages when I repeat after Mommy! (And my friend Sarah's mommy is going to teach me a fourth language!) I know all of my colors, and I love to call them out when I see them, especially when we are driving! I'm really good at pointing out what color the big trucks are, and I love to point out all the yellow and orange cars!

A couple of phrases that Mommy and Daddy hear all the time:

Ucky trash.

I fall down.

Ut-oh, stuck.

Elmo's nose orange.

Eat it all up.

I do it.

No touch.

Mommy and Daddy still have a hard time understanding me sometimes. I guess it is a little difficult when I have three words that kind of sound the same.

Pa-to = potato

Pi-to = pillow

Pa-do = Play-doh

It doesn't help now that I have a Mrs. Potato Head, so I ask for my potato and my Play-doh when I am standing next to my toys.

This afternoon I was being silly and decided I need my shades and my hat. I put them on and started running around the house. Mommy was trying to take my picture, but I wouldn't be still long enough...got to get my groove on!

Cheese Mommy!

I know, I'm the cutest thing you have seen all day!

New presents!

This is the baby doll bed that I got from Nana and Papa. I thought that I should try it out first, to make sure that my babies will like it. I think they will!

This is a picture of Mommy, at Christmas, when she was two years old. Gma and Gpa made this cradle for her to use with her dolls.

Gma and Gpa surprised me and Mommy, when they had Uncle Bubba send me the cradle for my birthday! (Uncle Bubba sent it because it was back in Iowa, where Uncle Bubba lives.)

Here I have my doll Violet, as well as my new Elmo, trying out the cradle. They both really liked it!


It sure is fun to get lots of neat birthday presents. I must be the most loved little girl in the whole world!

Happy 4th of July!

Yesterday morning we had to take Gma and Gpa to the airport so they could go home. Gma had to take one more picture of us, so here we are in our patriotic apparel!

After we got back home, and I had another good, long nap, we went over to my friend Lexi's house. I got to go swimming for a little while, which was really fun!


After we ate, we went to some friends of Lexi's family to watch fireworks. (The friend's house was really close to the park where the fireworks were being held.) It was really fun playing with the other kids, especially since I got to stay up way past my bedtime.

Here I am with Lexi (the one on the right) and one of her cousins. We were trying to wait patiently for the fireworks, but it was hard.

Mommy's attempt at a night shot of me with my glow stick jewelry!

At 9:40pm, Mommy and Daddy decided that I should put my pj's on, so that I would be ready for bed when we got home (and they knew it would be a good distraction until the fireworks started). Just as I finished getting my pj's on, they started! I didn't know what was going on, but it was really loud and I got scared. It was a good thing Mommy was holding me!

Then I saw the pretty colors in the sky, and realized that no one else was scared, so I calmed down. Mommy had me call out the colors that I saw with every burst, and that became a fun game, trying to keep up with all the bursts. After a few minutes, I realized that fireworks, although loud, are really fun to watch. By the time the finale came, I was clapping and cheering with everyone else!

Once the fireworks were over, we quickly packed up our stuff and headed home. There was a lot of traffic, so it was slow going in the beginning. I only lasted about 5 minutes in the car before I fell asleep. It was two and a half hours past my bedtime, and I was exhausted. I woke up when we got home just enough to realize that Mommy was carrying me into the house, and that she put me in my bed. What a great day!

A new day

So yesterday was fun, but today is a new day. I got to show Gma how I ride my trike, while sporting some of my new presents, a shirt Aunt Becky made for me, and some shorts from Gma!

(Practicing my pageant/parade wave. You never know when you might need it!)


Since I was being a bit of a stinker, and Mommy didn't have time to get it all wrapped before the party, I got to open my presents from Mommy and Daddy today. Check out my purple chair and my big purple ball!

The ball is really fun to roll across the floor!

I think we are just going to have a quiet day today. Uncle Nick, Aunt Becky, and Baby Max left really early this morning to fly home. Nana, Papa, and Aunt Anna left a little while ago to drive back to NC. Gma and Gpa are leaving tomorrow. It's been a lot of fun having so much family here, but I think I'm ready for a long nap!

It's party time!

Yesterday was a very busy day! We spent the day getting ready for my party! I got to play most of the day, and there were plenty of people to play with. Papa went outside with me and pushed me on the swing for a long time, and that was really fun.



Nana and Aunt Anna worked together to paint my nails, so now I have pretty purple fingers and toes! (Yes, it took two people, because I don't like to be still, remember!)




I got to help with Baby Max, which meant I got to hold him. That was really fun!


Mommy and Gma spent a good portion of the day decorating my cake. Uncle Nick put in his two cents a few times, but that was the extent of his help with the cake (which is probably a good thing!)

My cake!

The weather has been perfect all day, and as everyone was arriving, I was already playing outside.

Gma came and blew bubbles with me! I really like blowing bubbles!

I got to eat at my table with my buddies from play group, Landen and Sarah!

And here I am, with my beautiful cake!

Here I am with the Eckardt kids. (They were our neighbors when we first moved to Maryland last fall.)

Me with Sarah and Landen!

Mommy, Daddy, and me!

First of what I'm sure will be many pictures of the cousins with the cake. (We had to have Uncle Nick and Aunt Becky, and Mommy and Daddy in the picture too, because they wouldn't let me hold Baby Max by myself.)

Everyone was singing to me, and I was ready to blow out my candles! (Mommy had helped me practice last week!)

I bent over a little too far, and almost burned my forehead! Daddy helped me blow the candles out.

Me and my buddies eating our cake and ice cream...well, I ate the cake, Sarah just licked off the icing, and Landen ate it all!

I was having a really good time playing with my friends, so I was not happy when Mommy and Daddy told me it was time to open my presents. I wanted to keep playing! However, even after much protesting, they told me I couldn't play until I had opened my presents, so I got my buddies to help me!

They did a really good job getting all the paper off and opening the box...

but once I saw what was inside, I didn't need any more help!

I was sad when it was time for Sarah to leave, so I gave her a really big hug!

And at the very end, a quick family picture, even though Baby Max wasn't too excited about it.

And then it was time for me to go to bed!

I had a really good time at my party. I got a lot of neat gifts and it was fun to see so many of my friends, all at my house, for my special day!