The Dancer

Michael and I are nerds. We know it. We accept it. We are turning our child into one, and she's accepting it, too. Here's what I mean: we TiVo Jeopardy, and have for as long as we've had the ability to. We watch Jeopardy almost daily, and well, it has a catchy theme song, to say the least. Bitty seems to think so, too. She has never really danced much, but to the Jeopardy theme song she gets DOWN!

(BTW -- while I was previewing the video before uploading it to the blog, she heard the music through the computer and started dancing to her own dancing video!)

The Beautiful Day

Last Sunday was the first pretty day of Spring. Bitty wasn't feeling great, but we took the opportunity to get out and get some fresh air. We played in the front yard with sidewalk chalk and bubbles for a little while; Bitty beat Daddy in Tic-Tac-Toe. She's just that good. After having fun in the front yard, we moved on to the park. We went down the very staticky slide and crawled through all the tunnels. However, her favorite part of the park was swinging on the swings. She just giggled the whole time despite feeling icky. I look forward to so many more fun Spring days!

The Walker

It is so funny how quickly Bitty learns and adapts to new things. The Saturday after her birthday (at her party), I remember saying that she could only take a few steps, probably no more than three or four at a time. I was kind of disappointed, because I really wanted her to be able to walk by her first birthday. Not for any particular reason, we just thought it would be cool to have such a huge milestone and event fall together. However, we really didn't have to wait long at all for her to pull through! In the week following her party, it was just like she took off! That was three weeks ago. Now she is practically running! Oh my...the things she is going to get into now!!

The Vocabulary Words

As a teacher, I am so excited at the thought of helping Bitty learn new words and learn to read, something that I obviously have a passion for. In the last few days, it just seems that she is blooming with new knowledge. Not only is she flat out walking around our house, she is starting to repeat words, and repeat them in the appropriate places. For a few weeks she's been saying baby, ball, and thank you, and recently, night night, shoe, and bath. Also, in addition to these words, she is starting to point to things in her First Words book, with a little prompting. :) I am so excited, and I can't wait to start taking her to the library and letting her pick out her own books!

Translation Guide:
baby = baybeeee
ball = bah or baw (depending)
thank you = tuh ta
night night = nigh nigh
shoe = oo
bath = baa

Our next challenge? Body parts!!

The Big Brother

I have a big brother, and I wish I were talking about him, right now. He's less scary and doesn't lurk outside my door or in my classes...He doesn't take notes on how bad I suck and deliver the news via broad faculty meeting generalizations. He doesn't (at least not since I was 5) set me up for failure by snatching the rug (of support) right out from under me and expecting me to continue on as if nothing has changed. Just because he is walking the halls does not mean that he is supporting us. He is not helping us; he is scaring us. We want support and assistance from our friends, not criticism and judgment from ones who don't even know our names. What do we have to do right to gain support and a shred of credibility among our fellow schools?
I just want to feel supported, backed up, and most of all, appreciated by those who are so quick to judge.

The Secret Sharer

Well, it's not really secret more than it is my desperate attempt to coin a corny name for the post that is spun from a droll Josef Conrad classic.

In other words, this is what goes on while Daddy is in charge. When seeing these pictures for the first time through the camera, it looked like a flip book! Although these pictures look eerily similar, I promise they are just taken quickly and consecutively. She is such a good sharer, and Sadie LOVES to be shared with!

The Snow Day

I always have mixed emotions about weather days. On the one hand, I am SO thankful for not having to be in school on a cold dreary day, but on the other, I want to save those off days for when the weather is pretty in April! Not to mention that the typical weather day isn't necessary anyway. Unlike the day in January though, this day produced actual snow! I got up around 6:30 to nothing. Not even a flurry. I was just about to post a sarcastic remark online when I looked out the door to see big, fat snowflakes! This is how it started:In just a few hours, this is what we got. But sadly, it soon died. Only an hour or so after this picture, the snow on the ground was completely melted.

And, because Bitty has been battling a cold all week long, I didn't feel right about taking her outside, especially since there wasn't much of anything to play in. We walked outside twice, and neither time was she too sure about the white stuff. So, instead, we enjoyed our rare weekday time together curled up with a good book. She randomly brings me books to read to her.

After reading almost every book we own, twice, she decided to entertain herself. In the video below, after she pulled several of the laundry pieces out, she climbed in. This is not the only time she did this tonight, it's just the only time I caught it on tape.