It's The Simple Things

Last night we had tacos for dinner. The whole thing just really amazed me. There sat Laina at the dining room table, in her big girl seat, chatting away with us, taco in hand, piling it with shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, cheese and taco sauce, and then chomping down on it, and just loving every minute of it.

Two years ago, she was barely eating baby sweet potatoes (see photo above taken February 28, 2006), not quite able to hold herself sitting up, and having to sit in a high chair.

It's fascinating to watch her grow, become a big girl, talk in full sentences, have opinions (lots of them), give me hugs, tell me she loves me, have her run to me when she gets a boo boo or when her zipper is stuck, count from 1 to 15 (adorably sometimes calling 11 "eleventeen", play hide and seek, sing the ABC's and The Wheels on the Bus, memorize and recite back almost all the words to "There's a Wocket In Your Pocket" and do something as simple as build her very own taco and chomp down.

Every day she amazes me. What a gift!

Happy Birthday To Tess!

Yesterday we had a fun time at Tess' 1st Birthday Party. Laina really enjoyed playing with Olivia (who she calls Liv-A). But this morning when we asked her who she played with yesterday, she told us Rosita, Cookie Monster, Ernie and Elmo....not sure what party she was at! Hard to believe Tess has turned 1 already. Time for Rachel and Matt to start again! And as always, great to see the Sweet Posse Girls!

She's Planning For The Future

There are certain things that this Mommy won't let her two year old do....like eat nuts....or hold medicine....call me crazy but that's just the way I am! So I think Laina has definitely gotten the message from me telling her, at times, "Laina, you're too little for that".

Tonight while I was putting her medicine away, she told me, adamantly... "Mommy, Laina hold dat when I'm big...when I'm gwown up (aka grown up)... when I'm tall"!

The girl knows what she wants!

No Waaaant To, Mommy!

You'd never know it by looking at this sweet face, but sometimes I think we're raising a teenager. This is the new phrase of the week. It goes something like this:

Mommy: It's time to wash your hands for dinner.
Laina: No Waaaaant To, Mommy!

Mommy: Please pick up your toys so no one trips.
Laina: No Waaaant To, Mommy!

Mommy: Please get your coat on so we can leave for school.
Laina: No Waaaaaant To, Mommy!

And of course, its said with just the right amount of "tude" as in, attitude!!!

I never thought I'd long for the days when she used to just say "NO".

Ahhhhhh, toddlers! Gotta love 'em!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Laina had a super Valentine's Day. In the morning when she woke up she opened my Valentine's gift, a felt bag (the girl LOVES bags) filled with a musical recorder, foamie stickers, valentines stickers, the movie "The Aristocats" and some wind up ladybugs & butterflies. She had a party at school and the night before we made heart shaped frosted cut out cookies to bring to her party. The party started at 3:30p.m. and all the parents were invited. Only myself and one other mom attended and that's one of the things I love about our new work schedule...that I can easily partake in fun little things like that with Laina. Laing got a mailbox full of Valentine's from her little friends. Even though I get to see all these kids at drop off and pick up, hanging out with them for an hour or so was really such a riot. As we all know, Antonio is her all time favorite, and he ran around making a tea party and filling up everyone's cup. Natayah just adores all the parents and so she sat herself right down next to me and started bringing me books to read to her (which then lead Laina to grab my leg and say "my mommy"--funny). We played a very fun game of colored hearts BINGO which Laina won! And the kids played "pin the heart on cupid". At home, Daddy brought Laina her first bouquet of flowers and a heart shaped mylar balloon which I think was her favorite gift of the day. She also opened gifts from both Auntie Di, Uncle Tommy & Cuzzie Nik (as Laina calls her) and from Auntie Renee, Uncle Mike & Archie that arrived in the mail. So all in all a VERY sweet day for Laina. Here are a few pictures to capture the love...

On a totally different subject, Laina likes walking around the house with various remote controls pretending they are telephones. She often holds full conversations with Daddy when he's not home, which are just adorable to listen too....things like "Hi Daddy....courthouse daddy? I'm eating banana daddy", etc. Well tonight she decided she was talking to Uncle Tommy on the phone. She just kept going on and on discussing "things" with Uncle Tommy and then gave the phone (aka remote control) over to both Joe and I so that we could talk to Uncle Tommy too. Very cute.

Then...and Now...

Laina and Colby were born 3 days apart. They were born in the same hospital and Karla (Colby's mom) and I had rooms right next door to each other. The two babies had their first play date at Maine Med. Check out these pics of Laina and Colby then...and now at a recent play date.





In other exciting news, our friend Cassie just had her second baby, a little girl named Asa Quinn. Cassie, Karla and I were all pregnant together during the first go-round and Cassie's first baby, Max was born 10 days after Laina. Congrats to Cassie, Matt and big brother Max on the new addition!

It's amazing that two and a half years ago these little beings weren't even a part of this world and now they are everything to us.

We Welcome Gus

We had yet another snowstorm over the past few days. It was perfect snowman making snow though so we went outside and had fun creating Gus! He's just adorable. The cutest thing is you can see him out our bedroom windows. After we made Gus, Laina and Daddy did some shoveling. I guess if you're going to live in Maine you have to just enjoy the snow now and again.

Polka Dots

Laina will pretty much only wear one set of PJ's these days, her polka dot footies from Auntie Renee & Uncle Mike. When she wakes up in the morning she tells me that after her diaper change, she wants her polka dots back on. Every day she tells me she wants to wear them to "Evan's House" (her term for daycare). When I tell her we have to take them off because they are dirty, her response is "mommy wash it?" I'm not sure how we'll handle things when she outgrows them!

Happy Chinese New Year!

LAINA is the year of the rooster - You are a hard worker; shrewd and definite in decision making often speaking your mind. Because of this, you tend to seem boastful to others. You are a dreamer, flashy dresser, and extravagant to an extreme. Born under this sign you should be happy as a restaurant owner, publicist, soldier or world traveler.

JOE is the year of the rabbit - You are the kind of person that people like to be around affectionate, obliging, always pleasant. You have a tendency, though, to get too sentimental and seem superficial. Being cautious and conservative, you are successful in business but would also make a good lawyer, diplomat, or actor.

SANDY is the year of the rat - You are imaginative, charming, and truly generous to the person you love. However you have a tendency to be quick-tempered and overly critical. You are also inclined to be somewhat of an opportunist. Born under this sign, you should be happy in sales or as a writer, critic, or publicist.

Gotcha!

When Laina doesn't want to do the thing you've asked her to do, she generally just runs away from you. Today was no different. I told her it was time to take a bath and she said "no mommy" and sure enough, she ran away. Well she thought she had me when she ran right into the downstairs bathroom, pushed the door shut and latched it. Until she realized she was in the pitch black. Ooopps. Then it was "MOMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYY" and low and behold, once I released her from the darkness, she was miraculously ready to take a bath. I know she was startled by the sudden darkness but I had to giggle at the whole thing and then give hugs. Silly Laina.

Voice Off!

So, this is the latest, not so endearing phrase from Laina. It started one day when we were driving in the car and Joe and I were up front chatting. From the back seat, Laina said "Mommy, Daddy, Voice Off!" We kind of looked at each other and said "did she just say what I think she said" and sure enough...she said it again, and again and again. Now she'll tell us "voice off, baby doll sleeping mommy" when she wants us to be quiet. Where does she come up with this? Needless to say, we're trying to encourage some different choice language...such as "please be quiet mommy, baby doll is sleeping". We'll see how it goes.

The Puzzler

NEW BLOGGER ALERT, NEW BLOGGER ALERT! Ok, this could be addictive - blogging about Laina every day?!?! Yikes! Good thing the new boss is pretty flexible with my time!

Laina love puzzles....no, ADORES puzzles. She recently received a new puzzle from her friend Colby and she's been having a blast playing with it every day. It's amazing to watch her put it together with pretty much no help from Joe and I. I love watching her little brain tick tick tick away.

What We've Been Up To

Here are a few shots of the fun we've been having so far in '08!

The ABCD Song

Here's Laina singing our current all time favorite little diddy (right behind "wheels on the bus" of course)!
NOTE: click the "pause" button on the song, "Daughter" before pressing play on the video to be able to hear Laina sing.

The Mommarazzi Goes Live!

As fun as Smugmug has been, its just not the perfect forum to display the true mommarazzi inside and I think we'll have much more fun with blogspot. A friend of Joe's has a wonderful blog and she's inspired me become a blogger so here I am! Look out world wide web, yet another way for me to show off beautiful Laina Nicole to the world! You may or may not be aware, but I'm somewhat addicted to taking photos of Laina. Joe dubbed me "the mommarazzi" long ago and we thought it would be a funny blogspot name. So, bookmark the site, check in often and watch Laina being Laina. It's one of our most favorite pastimes!