Website Problems

Just wanted to put a quick little something up to let ya'll know that the site that hosts all of Bug's pictures is not working right now. So, you won't be able to see any pictures in her picture folders or those that I have posted. We're working on figuring out what's up and hopefully we'll have it fixed soon. I have a bunch of fun pictures from our trip to Indy to put up so I will prolly do a mini update and then when the pictures are working again post pictures. :)

Blessed Samhain!!! <|:)

Well Halloween was a success! I asked Bug sometime around 6:15 if she wanted to put her pretty dress on and she said "Yes!!" quite enthusiastically. So we got her dressed and ready to go and she left her outfit (including the hat!) on all night!!. We didn't take it off until almost 8:30 when it was time to get ready for bed! She likes being told that she looks pretty. She gets that cute little grin on her face and she bats her eyes. She is definitely going to be a prissy girly girl I think. She shows more and more signs of having that type of personality. It's so funny. She even likes to put "makeup" (aka chapstick) on already. I whipped out the colored lipgloss last night for her costume and she was all over that!! LOL Pink is her favorite color. (ugh!) It is the one color she knows to a "T" and is able to point out without any prompting or asking. She likes to kick the ball around, so I'm sure Uncle Josh is going to make sure she learns how to play soccer correctly. But she'll be doing it with a pink soccer ball (yes they do exist....) and her hair up in pigtails with pink ribbons and sparkles, with pink shin guards and cleats. (oh and if you think they don't exist, check this out.)

But, I'm supposed to be talking about Halloween so I'll attempt to focus on that. Nanny, Papa, DeeDee, Uncle Josh, Mimi, Grandpa Terry and Logan all came to hang out last night. We had yummy food to eat, (including donuts!!!..yum!) and it was really relaxed. Nanny took over the handing out of the candy and Papa hung out on the porch watching all the cute kids go by. The best costumes that I saw were;

• a toddler dressed as a pink poodle
• 3 teenage girls dressed up as fairies (the one looked like the tree spirit from Fantasia 2000) they were very pretty
• a baby dressed up as a sunflower (OMG! her smile was soooooo cute!!!!!!!)
• and a home-made Transformers costume that was really well done.

Bug only trick-or-treated to a few of the neighbors and then hung out in the yard watching all the people go by, eating her lollipop (with wand in hand!) and playing on the swing set with DeeDee. I'm glad I attached the black elastic ribbon to her hat because it was pretty windy. She LOVES her hat and actually didn't want to take it off. Like I said, all you have to do is tell her how pretty she looks...... We had a pretty good crowd of kids this year. Last year it was pretty quiet (from what I remember) and the few years before that the subdivision was still being built. We do have quite a few kids in the neighborhood now; and you can tell by the many expectant ladies walking around with toddlers in tow, that there will be lots of kids in the coming years. :) Ok so on to the pictures. I have a few below and then more in the picture folders.

I put up two more picture folders today: one for Halloween and one for Bug's cousin Jordan's Halloween party from a few weeks ago. We had a good day that day. Bug had a blast going down the giant blow-up slides and being able to bounce on her butt and throw balls and just do everything she's not allowed to do at home in the giant "moon walk" type structures. She also discovered the joys of pizza that day. :) We had tried giving her pizza before but she wasn't all that interested in it. Now if she even sees anything that looks or smells like pizza she looks up at you expectantly "Pizza?!?!?" Anyway, Bug's due up from her nap any moment now so enjoy the pics....

Mommy's little witch. :) Wand and hat included.

Here is Carson Bug's main squeeze dressed as a pirate. Bug is constantly stealing Carson's toys from him. And Carson's pretty good about letting her too. Carson's got it good around here. He has Bug next door and Mya right next door to Bug, Kaitie on the other side, all the little grade-school girls around the neighborhood who think he's cute.....and he is. He's adorable.



This is Mya. she lives on the other side of us. Mya is 5 months old now. She's sitting in her Mommy, Jamie's lap. Mya is so adorable and I think she looks just like her daddy. Mya doesn't have any toys for Bug to steal yet.....and I stress yet...(sorry Jamie!!)

This is Drew, Tyler and Katie. They are the triplets that live on the other side of Carson. Bug likes to steal their toys too. You'd think that with all her own toys Bug wouldn't be stealing everyone else's....... Katie's Mommy introduced us to the Signing Times DVD's that Bug likes so much.



Here's our cute little witch again with wand and lollipop in hand. Bug has a unique way of eating lollipops. She uses them for lipgloss and then licks her lips. At one point though I saw her actually put the lollipop in her mouth, but it must have been a fluke.....






Happy Halloween and Blessed Samhain! <:)

OK Mini update. I took some cute pics of Bug today. The first isn't necessarily one of them it was buried in the random September pictures folder but I love it. :) It's Bug "playing" Halo 3 with her daddy. David got the xBox 360 and Halo 3 for his birthday/anniversary present. (Yes his birthday isn't exactly near the date of our anniversary but the thing is really flippin' expensive so bleh!...... :oP ......) Anyway, Bug likes to pretend she's playing the game too. It's soooo funny. David gives her a controller that isn't hooked up and she goes hog wild. :0) (Or so she thinks......)

Today for about 45 minutes Bug let me put her hair up in pigtails. I know I was shocked and she looked so damned cute. There's a couple pictures here and I also put more in a new folder too. Enjoy! :)

Pigtails!!!

Bug loves to "read" books to us. We usually go through them very quickly and wind up at the end soon after we just begin but we talk about all the animals and the sounds they make and the colors. She shocks the hell out of us with some of the things she comes up with anymore. The other day she informed my mother that "David is in the bathroom......"

Would you look at that smile?!?!?! She is so damned cute!

Wake up Cat

I had to share this with everyone. :) Some people weren't able to see it. Oh, and if you don't find it funny, I can't help you...... :oP

messing with stuff

In case anyone visits the page in the next few days or so..I'm gonna be messing with the look of it so be patient with me. :)

The House of Death and Pestilence rises yet again!!

UGH!!!!!

Well I don't have pics this time around. I have some on the camera but nothing too terribly exciting. I'm waiting for Halloween to go hog wild. :) So this will be a bit of rambling to catch ya'll up to what's been going on around here. In truth we have all been taking turns being sick. Two weeks ago I somehow wound up with Bronchitis of all things that hit me pretty hard. David caught a little bit of a cough and the stuffy nose but it never developed into the nastiness that I wound up with. Now, Bug is the one that is suffering not just from the stuffy, runny nose but she's also getting her 2 yr molars in and had another ear infection about the time I was sick. I've been told if she has another one by November, she'll have to get tubes in her ears. OH JOY!! (Hopefully you can all hear the sarcasm dripping from my voice.) I so don't want to do the tubes thing. It's all i can do to keep pretties in Bug's hair long enough to take some pretty pictures, can you imagine having to use earplugs every time she takes a bath? So yes, the House of Death and Pestilence has returned.

I must say it's nice to finally have actual Fall-like weather. It's somewhat disturbing to me that my poor trees are so confused that only half of the trees themselves have turned colors. The other half is still green and a sickly green too. It's as if they're saying; "Ok, so change the leaves' color now? You're sure? Change them now? I don't know......What if I only do half of the leaves, maybe at the top....... I mean it's 90 degrees today......what it's going to be tomorrow? 56?! You're sure?.....Ok, so you want me to change the leaves' color now?" I'm still waiting for the weather to spike back up to 90......And yes I talk to the trees on a regular basis. :oP

Bug is, well Bug. She learns more new words every day and it's easier to understand the phrases she says now and watching her pretend to talk on the phone is hysterically funny. She has had conversations with Dee Dee on the phone a few times. Most of the time she just smiles and waves at the phone but every once in awhile if she's in the mood she'll attempt to carry on a conversation. She also imitates Judy's laugh and monkey imitation perfectly. Ask her to tell you what a bunny or a fishy says sometimes. Ma said she swore nanny was gonna pee her pants when Bug showed her. She's also really good at recognizing people in pictures. Right now she has one of her Uncle Logan that she likes to carry around and say "Logan." in her little voice and she has one of David and I from a few years ago that she likes to point "Daddy" out in. (I have to prompt her to point me out.)

Ma took Bug for the weekend this past weekend while David and I celebrated our 6th anniversary. What did we do you ask? Well, David played Halo 3 and I played World of Warcraft. Then, we went to our friends' Aaron and Amy's for their Ohio State party Saturday evening. The next morning I slept in until 11:30!!!!!! 11:30!!!! WHEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!! then David watched football and I played more WoW. LOL We had a very relaxing weekend. Ma took Bug to Jen's house on Saturday to play with the Trevor and Rachel and then Judy watched her while Ma and Nanny and Papa went to church. Poor Judy. I think Bug ran her ragged. She sounded exhausted when i talked to her. She pulled all the bears and stuffed things out of nanny's sun room and then rocked in the green rocking chair and played with cat toys. And of course chased nanny's kitty Chessie. Ma said she had a ball with Madeline at her house. Madeline for the most part let bug abuse her and even try to pick her up. Since Madeline is a bit on the round side she was a little too heavy for Bug to lift. :)

I went through Bug's toys this week and put away the baby baby toys. (rattles and such) I also rotated a few others and pulled out the caterpillar. the caterpillar is a toy G'rauntie Holly got for Bug. it is a brightly colored caterpillar, about 2 and a half to 3 feet long and it actually crawls across the floor.....while it plays the song "Skip to my Lou" over and over and over again. Bug loves it and I had to convince her that we had to put the caterpillar to bed last night because it was tired. I also made sure to leave a long answering machine message on Holly's phone tonight with the caterpillar playing his song........

Our Little Changeling

OY! We are embracing our toddlerhood with wide open flailing arms. Bug is definitely a "changeling" now. It's like having someone with bipolar disorder around only about a hundred times worse. One minute she is adorable and you can't help but hug and squish her. The next minute you're wondering where the sweet little thing went and the nasty screaming flailing child on the floor came from. Bug has jumped feet first into toddlerhood. David and I are lucky we aren't both bald from the hair wrenching that's going on in our corner. But, we gear up for it and muddle through the best we can. Which I'm assuming is how you get through it. Clench your teeth and try to survive the wild ride.

On a lighter note Bug has overcome a few hurdles lately. She's not quite as shy around people anymore. She still takes a few minutes to warm up and then if she decides you're OK she'll interact with you. We also have FINALLY had fun in the pool. David filled it up one day and took her out. At first she was really mad and not liking it. And, i noticed she acted like she didn't realize that she could move around in the water. When she finally figured out that she could she loosened up quickly. She liked splashing so long as it didn't get in her face. She still wouldn't actually sit down though. She'd stand and kick her feet in the water. *Whew*

Our neighbors down the street with the triplets loaned us a few new signing videos. (They are "Signing Time" if anyone wants to know what they are.) Bug loves them and has picked up even more new signs. She can sign "colors," "rainbow," "bean," "potato" and a few more new ones on top of all the old ones she knows. It's been fun and educational for Momma and Daddy too. Oddly enough even though David and i sign it all the time she still doesn't sign "thank-you." She says it, she just doesn't sign it.

We've been working on manners and table manners lately. She's very good about asking nicely and saying thank-you. We're working on how to learn to use the fork and spoon though. she's actually pretty good at it we just need to get her to figure out that you don't turn the fork sideways when you eat. I tried a cup the other day and while she knows how to use it, she hasn't mastered the technique slowly tipping the cup so that she doesn't pour the water in her lap all the time. It'll come with time and as her coordination gets better.

Bug loves to dance. She boogies to all sorts of tunes but seems to prefer the old eighties hits and daddy's jazz tapes. Although she also busts a move every time the "Backyardigans" starts. She has some pretty cute little dance moves. her favorite one is the "happy feet" move that she does. She basically runs in place. it's really cute. We've also been working on jumping. We aren't quite there yet. her feet don't quite make it off the floor. Her favorite shows are "The Wonder Pets" and still the "Backyardigans" She can sing "The Wonder Pets" theme song. (I think i mentioned about the Wonder Pets song before though.) We have also found 2 other shows that she seems to like. "Sagwa" and "James the Cat" on the Sprout channel. I think she's more excited about the fact that they are all about kitties. We talk about the "Maows" and she points and does her little happy feet dance when she sees them. Bug is really good at doing the puzzles we have for her. (They're the simple one-piece wooden peg puzzles.) she knows what all the animals are too, except the hamster one; she insists that it is a cat. And, i have to agree it does kinda look like one.

Bug has completely mastered going down the slide by herself. She stands at the top and yells "one...two..." and then you're supposed to say "three" before she slides down. it's pretty cute. She can also do one of the bigger slides at the park by herself now too. We also have fun playing with Carson next door and the triplets; Drew, Katie and Tyler who live on the other side of Carson. She plays pretty well with them and enjoys stealing Carson's red peddle-foot car. daddy bought her a pink push car for her to ride in and a "popping" mower to play with outside. We also have the little mini tricycle that she enjoys riding on now. She is definitely busy and she keeps us busy too. I've got some pictures below of a few things we did this past month. Enjoy!

We finally had a breakthrough with the pool!!! It took a few minutes but David was able to get her to actually enjoy herself playing in the pool. It almost seemed like she didn't realize you could walk in it. But then she learned about splashing and that seemed to be alright, just so long as it didn't get in her face.



We went down to Auntie Denise's recently and Jordan had a new toy. It's one of those blow up castle jumping things. Bug had an absolute ball in it!!! She literally spent most of her time bouncing in the castle. she would jump in the air and land on her butt. Here's a good action shot of her mid-jump.

This is probably one of the cutest things I have ever caught Bug doing. I came out of the shower to a very quiet bedroom. The door was shut and Bug can't open closed doors yet but she was nowhere to be found. I was stumped because I knew she couldn't have left the room. Then I heard a very quiet "Daddy" from the other side of the bed. I peeked around the bed to see her sitting on the floor with David's wallet. She had gone through and pulled somethings out but, she was holding his driver's license and saying "daddy." She was very excited at the revelation that she had daddy's picture in her hand. It was so damned cute.

David and i got bug her very own tent. (Which happens to be taking up about half of my living room at the moment.) Bug enjoys going in there. I set it up with a blanket or two and her purple chair. She goes in with her babies and books. The other night David had crawled in with her and they were reading together. Today though she decided that she was going to try and drag her riding car in until I told her that cars don't belong in the tent.

Bug has been letting me put some barrettes in her hair the last few days. She calls them her "pretties" and is pretty good about leaving them in.

Here she is signing "please." I can't for the life of me remember what she was asking for though.

Come to the Fair!

Well the most recent exciting thing has been the Ohio State Fair. I decided I wanted bug to see the cows and chickens and horses up close. So we went on Aug 9th. It was 96 degrees out and some ungodly amount of humidity. We were extremely hot and I wore an old pair of sneakers and wound up with nasty blisters.....*sigh* Anyway, we went to the fair. Dee Dee, Gr'auntie Judy, Bug and I. Generally we start with the chickens and/or bunnies if there are any. There were no chickens there! I take that back we found a small group of mating pairs (aka a hen and a rooster) in dog carriers that had been placed in the corner. (probably waiting for their owners to come and fetch them...I just hope that they got to them before they became fried chickens....... *snortle* ok lame joke....but I had to do it) So we showed Bug the chickens in the dog carriers who obliged us with some clucking and a few crows here or there. I just wished she had been able to see them not stacked in dog carriers......

We went to the Ag/Hort building next and just had to the vegetable billboard. It's practically tradition. I have pictures somewhere of Brady, Judy, Holly and I with our heads as the vegetables. It just wouldn't be the fair if you weren't a vegetable head. Luckily this building also had the baby bunnies, chickens and ducks. So, Bug was able to see them. She really liked the bunny and I tried to get some pictures but there were alot of people there and most of the time they were in the way. I did get some pics of her looking at the chicks though. They are always so cute and fluffy. Here's something, what they don't tell you is that those particular chicks and ducks are fed to the birds of prey in the Natural Resources section of the fair. Sad, but those poor birds need to eat too..... Oh we did do the natural resources section too and of course Smokey said hello to Bug and she perked up when he said her name. It was cute. She also liked the otter and the turkeys. (Well, who wouldn't like the turkeys, especially when Judy is making turkey noises at them and they respond.....)

The only cows there at the time were the beef cattle and some of those cows were HUGE. I've seen cows before but, it has been awhile and you forget just how big some of them can get! At first Bug wasn't too sure about it b/c it was very busy in the beef cattle barn. They were doing judging. But then when she realized that the cows were mooing she seemed to enjoy it more. We went to the horse barn after the cows and were lucky b/c they had the draft horses on that particular day. I'm talking Clydesdales and Belgians. (I love the draft horses....) There was a Belgian yearling (? help me out here Lara and Laura how old are they before you show 'em?) that they were getting ready to go show and boy was he a big boy. He had very long spindly looking legs and I don't think he liked his bit very much. I swear he was probably about 6ft (how many "hands" is that?) at the shoulder. He was definitely taller than me at the shoulder. Bug kept insisting at this point that the horses said "moo." It took us a little bit to get her back to "horses go neigh!"

We ate lunch after that and then went to see the arts and crafts. It was at this point in time (about 3 hours into it.....) that Bug finally decided she would ride in the wagon that Judy's friend Mamie had graciously loaned us for the day. It's a typical wagon that you sit in and ride but it also has a detachable/bendy umbrella to keep out the sun. She was so cute. One of those guys that guesses your height or weight said something about her being a little VIP. And as we passed alot of people commented on how cute she was. When we got to the arts and crafts building (which thankfully was air conditioned....) we were able to relax a bit. The quilting ladies were there and she smiled and waved to them from her wagon. They said it was like having their own private parade. :) We headed home after that. (Well, we made a quick stop back at the Bricker building for the candy.......Judy had already bought hers earlier when we stopped for lunch. I wanted to get some for David and I......) It was hot but it was fun. Next year I hope will be better, aka not so hot. Here's a couple of pictures that I took:






The veggie billboard. I thought the picture was of the whole board but I must not have aligned it correctly or something...... Judy is in the pumpkin and Dee Dee is holding Bug at the apple.

Here's Bug and Dee Dee with the baby chicks and ducks.

And here's the little VIP in her wagon. Jealous?....I know I was at one point! LOL

Hail Caesar!

Well we had our 18mo check-up last monday. Bug weighs 20 1/4 lbs. and she's 2 ft. 6in tall! (that is just shy of half her mother's height....I'm 5ft. 1in.) She was in the 10th percentile for her height and head circumference and in the 3rd percentile for her weight. All in all Dr. Kern was very pleased and quite impressed with her. I had been writing down all the words she knows how to say and I had somewhere around like 85; which i guess is quite alot for someone her age. He was also very intrigued that she gets embarrassed. (She does. It's quite humorous actually. It usually happens when she realizes you've seen her trip or fall and then she has to bury her head in one of our laps for a few minutes while she collects herself.) Dr. Kern said it was unusual for someone her age to show embarrassment because for them to feel embarrassed they have to be aware of other's feelings and that's something that usually doesn't happen until they're closer to like 3 or something. Anyway we had a really good check-up with him and she actually didn't freak out on him like she had been doing. *deep sigh of relief*

This passed weekend Phil and Carrie and the boys stopped by again on their way home to MA. It was a quick trip but as always we had fun. Unfortunately I was pretty sick (still am....I have an annoying cough that doesn't want to go away....) and initially Darren and then Matt were kinda under the weather. :( We had a nice trip to the park Saturday and for the first time Bug walked; on her own; more than 20ft away from Daddy! I think we were both quite shocked. Of course she changed her mind when Phil (poor Phil) tried to pick her up but still. It was pretty quiet otherwise and both Carrie and I were immersed in Potterville a good portion of the time and comparing notes and whatnot. (She had a head start on me since she stayed home with Matt while the rest of us went to the park) It was sad to see them go, but I'm sure they're glad to be back home. And, don't take offense guys but I think Bug is glad she doesn't have to share us anymore. LOL She's had to share us with alot of people this month! Last week it was Wyatt and the week before it was my cousin Tyler. July turned out to be very busy.......








We have been practicing with forks and spoons lately. (So long as whatever it is she's eating won't create too big of a mess or stain.) She is very proud of herself if you couldn't tell. :)






OMG! I laughed so hard when she came into the kitchen dressed in her daddy's boxers. (which were clean by the way...it was laundry day and she has a bad habit of pulling things off of the nice folded piles I make.) Anyway, she ran around dressed like a Roman Senate member and even made some proclamations from her kitchen stepstool to the cats. Here she is prepared to argue in front of the Senate that Teddy Bears should have the same rights as Dollies. And, from what I understand, argue in favor of the case of "Lambie and the golden fleece." In the July picture folder is one I like to call "Hail Caesar!"


*Relief* We finally had a decent experience in the pool. Thanks to G'rauntie Judy's friend Mamie! (Yea Mamie!) Her girls have long since outgrown this little inner tube and she gave it to us to see if it would help Bug's problem with getting in the pool. Initially she still cried but she finally was able to calm down enough, for a short period of time, to realize that the pool isn't all that bad. She even let us play with her toes and smiled at me when I went to take her picture! (well, she gave me "scrunchy face" anyway....)





Here's Bug on her new little outside play-castle that Phil and Carrie got for her. She's still slightly apprehensive about the slide but there have been a few attempts to go down on her own and she actually seemed to enjoy it! I got a big kick out of her and this telescope. I kept trying to turn it around the right way but she was insistent that she needed to look through the big end. :)





I babysat my friend Laura's little boy, Wyatt, last Tuesday and decided to play with the black and white feature on my camera. Wyatt is 16mos and the one who I think finally gave Bug the determination to walk on her own. He and Laura came over to play and Wyatt was running all over the place and it was like a light bulb went off in her head. "Oh, I can do that!!" Anyway, we had lots of fun the day I babysat him for Laura. They have always played very well together and I was able to witness, first hand, just how bossy my daughter is!! Wyatt took it all in stride though and kinda was like: "Eh, whatever babe....I've got other things to do."

I thought this was so cute. In the little garden/mail center that Bug's Auntie Denise gave her there are three vegetables; a radish, an onion and a carrot. When Bug walked over and handed Wyatt the carrot, he looked at it and it was like; "I know what this is! And, it's edible!" He proceeded to chomp down on it. :)





This picture is priceless and by far my favorite that I took of him that day. First off, you can't tell since it's a black and white, but the chair he is lounging in is Bug's purple Tinkerbell chair. Second, this is such a typical "man" thing to do. Lounging. Now, I know for a fact that Wyatt has three uncles who go out of their way to teach him all manner of "manly" habits. Give the boy a remote and a bottle of milk (....beer....) and he's all set! LMAO

The other day Bug got into the box of wipes and proceeded to go out to the kitchen, sit down and start washing my floor. I asked her if she was trying to tell me something.....

Well, there you have it. That's what's been going on so far in a nutshell. At this point I only hope that august will be much more calm. :)






*Spider pig. Spider pig. Does whatever a spider pig does.....*

A Fond Farewell......

It seems it wouldn't be right to at least say a little something about the last Harry Potter book. The Clark household, like millions of other households this weekend, joined Harry on his last adventure. (Don't worry, for those of you who have yet to read or finish the book, I promise I will reveal nothing. It wouldn't be fair to you.) It seems like it was ages ago (10 years to be exact) when I wandered into Barnes and Noble after work one night. I don't really remember why I went, other than it was Barnes and Noble and I spent alot of time in the bookstore just because. I had already purchased whatever books it was that I went in there to find; when, on my way out, I passed by the little display stand that the store had set up for the book. I remember thinking that it looked interesting so I picked it up to read the jacket cover. I realized it most likely was a young adult book, but enjoyed (and I still enjoy) reading some of those on occasion because they are generally quick, easy, entertaining reads. So I bought it and decided I'd read it first.

I believe I finished the book in one sitting. Like many others iI was hooked. And, it started a great love for Harry and all his adventures. So, now that the final book is out I find myself very sad that I won't get to join Harry, Ron and Hermione as they run off through another secret tunnel in Hogwarts toward who knows what kind of mischief at the other end. I'll miss Fred and George and the humor they brought to the stories. I must say they were probably my most favorite characters. Regardless of the situation, they always knew how to lighten the mood without being too irreverent. I'll miss Ron's fear of spiders; Hermione's constant quoting of Hogwarts a History and other books, Hagrid's love of even the most dangerous of creatures, and the wizarding world and all the wonders of it. So, a fond farewell to Harry and all who dwell within the wizarding world. It truly is an end to era. While, I may not join Harry and the others in any new adventures; I truly look forward to the day when I can join Bug as she and Harry step onto the platform at nine and three-quarters to leave for Hogwarts for the very first time.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Storming the Bastille and other great adventures.....

Wow! I hadn't realized it was a whole month since I last posted anything. I guess it's more a matter of not much has really happened in the last month until just about recently. Summer definitely brings about a more relaxed feeling, well sort of. Some of us don't exactly get that luxury (i.e. all those out there who have to go to work during the week) but still for some reason things don't exactly feel as rushed. Most likely because no major holidays that involve presents or candy in large quantities happen during the summer. Yes, some of us have birthdays and for some reason the majority of independence days fall during the summer months. (Hmmmmm apparently summer is the best time to stage a revolution.......or better yet storm the Bastille....*runs off to get pitchforks and torches*) However, not much happens. And that is the reason there haven't been as many updates to Bug's blog lately. (There's a great excuse next time you're late for something: "I was late because I was storming the Bastille.")


Bug is extremely mobile now. We are constantly on the move. Well, she is anyway. Some days I just can't keep up. Take today for instance. Bug was up from 2-4AM last night. I think she was hungry. Her little tummy was growling. I didn't go to bed until around 12:30 (thank you TBS and Friends) Of course if Bug is up, I'm up. So I was up from 2-5AM last night (that last hour was lovingly dedicated to dealing with allergies and the sinuses...damn ragweed.....) I slept in until 9:30. David says bug was up bright and early at 7:30AM. And she was go go going!! She went down for a nap from 10-12:15 and then was up and ready to go go go again!!! I am dragging my ass today. Where does her energy come from? I have absolutely none and she's practically climbing the walls!! She's a toddler, that's where it comes from.


And, she is definitely all toddler. Even her cute little body has that "toddler" look to it. You know the cute chubbiness that even the slimmest of children (aka Bug) have to them. And the constant look of having something to do or the cute little waddle they get when they are walking and running. And the climbing!!! UGH!! She wants to climb on everything!! I think she gets the most of her climbing genes from David. I know I did my fair share of climbing certain trees, but I preferred to have my feet planted on the ground most of the time. Bug likes to climb everything; boxes, tables, chairs, her new slide (more on that later), benches, rocks etc etc. So, I take in numerous exclamatory gasps of terrified air daily.


Bug's summer session music class was a blast. It was just her and Ella in the class and I think that let Bug come out of her shell a bit. She would actually participate and she now sings some of the songs while she plays at home. If you ask her she'll sing "Brown bear, Brown bear" or if you show her the book she'll sing it to you. She doesn't get much past the "Brown bear, Brown bear" part but at least we know what it is she's singing. The alphabet song is becoming more and more clear too. We also had a song in class that we sang that goes: "Oh well we walk and we walk and we walk and we stop!" She runs around the house singing "walk, walk, walk, walk" or she'll come over grab your hand and take you for a walk while she sings it. The other day I had Nick jr. on for her and the wonder pets were on. She surprised the hell out of David and I when she sang the song with them. One of the lines in the song is "What's gonna work? Teamwork!" So when they sang "What's gonna work?" she would answer "teamwork!" I nearly fell out of my chair the first time she did it. I'm trying to compile a list of all the words she can say now (we have our 18 month appointment on Monday) and it just keeps growing every day. She got the walking down so now we're going to work on our vocabulary.


This past weekend was probably the most exciting for us. Our friends Phil and Carrie and their 3 boys: Andy (11), Matt (9), and Darren (7) came in for a visit on their way to visit Carrie's family in Iowa. We haven't seen them in 4 years so it was great fun to see how big the boys got and to catch up. Bug had a blast playing with them and it was definitely a different pace in our house for a few days (namely super busy, with non-stop action) but it was great. They're stopping by on their way home in a few weeks so we'll get to see them again real soon. They bought Bug a slide and climbing castle with swing to play with. (Which was unbelievable fabulous of them to do. Thanks again guys! :) ) Bug loves it. She hasn't quite managed to go down the slide by herself yet, but I bet she figures it out by the time they get back. (It's only about 12-18 inches high.....)


We went to the zoo with everyone on Monday and for the first time Bug was excited to see the animals. It was a bit overwhelming at first for her because of all the people there. (I don't blame her, I hate large crowds, there's that claustrophobic feeling you get and at the zoo its even worse b/c I have visions of being caught in the crowd and being shoved into the tiger enclosure. Granted, I love tigers. LOVE them, they're gorgeous animals. However, I am not the tiger keeper and they would probably not be too terribly happy about someone falling into their enclosure; aka territory. I would probably be seen as lunch.....) But when we went by the Sun bear she was excited to actually see the Sun Bear. She kept pointing at it and saying "bear, bear." And, she was really excited to see Bodhi running around outside. (He's the little 3 yr old elephant.) She had the biggest grin on her face when she saw him. As usual, she really enjoyed the aquarium. She loves to watch those giant fish. The hit of the trip though, was the chipmunk that was hanging out around the picnic table when we stopped for a snack. :) We don't have any at our house because of the lack of trees. So, I can only assume that it was as exotic to her as the elephant. And, since it was no further than 2 feet away, I can see how she would be nearly tripping over herself to be able to practically step on it. The day was definitely an adventure. :)

Some pics from the past month:





Darren, Andy, Matt, David and Bug at the tiger exhibit sculpture.




Playing in the plastic bin with daddy.









*Bluebird update: Handsome and Beautiful are on their third brood. When I checked on Saturday there were 2 eggs in the nest. I need to check to see how many more there are to figure out when they should hatch. This should be the last brood of this year. :( But, as usual they were successful all 3 times and we should total at least 12 babies this year. :) *

TODDLER TOYS 101....Welcome to Class.....

I decided to make a mini "class" if you will of some of Bug's favorite toys. I mention them all the time in her Blog so to give people a visual while reading here are some of the regulars.......

This is "Mini Blah" He is only about 4 inches tall and he's supposed to be a finger puppet. He's Bug's nighttime companion along with Marco the polar bear. He got his name because he looks like a miniature version of baby Einstein's "Bard" character. (We didn't know Bard's name initially, he just came on the screen and said "BLAH!!!!" So, we just called him Blah for the longest time. David will call him Bard now but I still call him Blah.....) We have about 3 or 4 Mini Blahs but I couldn't tell you where they all are.....

This is "B" and "Bear." They participate daily in Bug's activities. (I should make a note it has been suggested that Bear arrived at our house by some very suspicious means. It is speculated that he was swiped from Nanny and Papa's house. This activity was carried out under Dee-Dee's watch so neither David nor I can take responsibility for the bear-napping; if indeed it was a bear-napping........)

This is poor innocent "Lambie" who sometimes gets more beat up than I would like to see; but I can only assume it means he is well loved.

The famous Fisher Price SUV with both Momma and Baby in their proper positions in the car. Generally she puts them in the right way. Sometimes though, she lets the baby drive.




Ah, the Infamous "FatCat" FatCat has long been an important member of Bug's posse. FatCat was Bug's first true stuffed animal love, followed closely by PinkPig, and FatHen.




This is "Baby" Bug hasn't named her Cabbage Patch Kid yet. I look forward to the day when she names all of her toys. :)



This is Bitty Baby. She's the one who usually ends up with serious headaches after playtime. And, who routinely has her eyes poked at.



Bug's ponies. Well, some of Bug's ponies. She has quite a few more but these tend to be her favorites. The blue one is Whistle Wishes and the pink one is Swirlypop. (they are both generation 3 my little ponies) next to Swirlypop is Milkweed (a generation 1 newborn my little pony) and in front of Whistle Wishes is one of the new Ponyville ponies. The other items are random generation 3 my little pony accessories that she carries around with her. The brushes in particular go everywhere.

Bug's My Little Pony Scooter Brigade. (there's one missing....I believe it is in the kitchen....)

"Maow" the pink stuffed kitty. She found this one recently upstairs in her stuffed animal basket and decided to bring it downstairs. (It could also have been dropped through the railing of the loft for all I know.......)



Larry the Cucumber. He was originally my Larry the Cucumber but I can learn to share. He's one of my favorite characters from the Veggie Tales series, along with the peas......

Ah Ha!! Fluffy Bunny!!!! This is Evil Bug's right hand, uh, fluffy thing. David got him for her for Easter. He's fluffy and rolly polly. What's not to love?

Terrance and Phillip from "South Park." Bug's Auntie Heather crocheted these for me for Christmas this past year. (We're pretty big SP fans here.) Bug stole them from me. They make occasional appearance from time to time. I included them because I wanted to show how talented Bug's Auntie Heather is. (You can also check out her own Blog in the links section now. It's a Blog about her crocheting)

Wow!!!!!! and Bye-bye!!!

Well, I realize it has been a few weeks since I last updated. Nothing too terribly exciting has occurred so there really wasn't a whole lot to report. Bug's Dee-Dee turned fifty this past weekend and we had a surprise dinner at O'Charley's for her. It was great fun and it was the first time Bug didn't shy away from all the people!! Yea!! She really liked our waitress too (who was pretty cute and bubbly to begin with) but she would smile at Bug and respond to her when she said Hi! or Bye-bye!! Some of Dee-Dee's friends who hadn't seen her in a very long time got to see her as well. As always, everyone thinks she's just "too cute!"

We had another visit to the Dr.'s last week because of a double ear infection. She had been super cranky ran a temp of 103.4 last monday and wasn't sleeping well, but as always didn't really show that it was her ears that were bugging her. I'm not exactly sure we're over it yet but we'll see what happens over the next few days. The person who invented the ear numbing drops should be crowned ruler of the free world as far as I'm concerned. It's amazing what a few little drops can do to make it feel all better. Even I can vouch for how wonderful they are! I used them when I had an ear infection. It's like when they give you the happy drugs to feel better. It's a blissful feeling..... LOL And, somehow I've mastered putting them in her ear when she's sleeping!!! Helps us get through the night better.

Lately her favorite word has been either "WOW!!!!" or "Bye-bye!" Anything that remotely looks or sounds like a present, elicits a very excited "WOW!!!!!" She's been slightly spoiled a little over the past few weeks. she has a new monkey toy, a new vacuum toy and a new doll stroller. She's reached that point where opening toys is a very exciting prospect and she has to be involved in the process which includes throwing temper tantrums when you don't open it fast enough!!!

The monkey toy is unbelievably adorable, (you can see it here ) major snaps to Fisher Price for whoever invented it. We originally saw it at Auntie Ashley's house when we visited her before she had her baby. While we were shopping at meijer's (like I said people we have to eat!!) She noticed it as we went down the toy aisle and got very excited. So, mama decided to get it for her. She particularly likes it when Gr'Auntie Judy mimics the mama monkey. Fits of giggles abound. And of course we all know how funny Judy is so I'm sure you can appreciate why Bug thinks she's funny. :)

She isn't too terribly sure about the vacuum toy. We got it for her because she was continually trying to steal Carson's. (Carson is the little guy next door. He's going to be 2 in September.) So, we thought it would also be a good idea to have one to help her get used to the vacuum noise. As of this moment she hates the vacuum which makes it somewhat difficult for mama to vacuum. (It's hard to calm a hysterical toddler and vacuum at the same time.) So, we were like "cool this will help that fear." I took her with me to find one and she seemed very excited about it when we picked it out. She didn't even mind the vacuum noise it made! I was like, "Sweet!" and we took it home with us. We were all "Wow!!!!!!"'s when daddy struggled to get it out of the packaging, which we all know getting toys out of packaging anymore is like trying to get into Fort Knox. She played with it for a moment but then we had to eat lunch. So, after lunch she came back to it. Went over to touch it and it made the vacuum noise. She didn't like it very much. So, *sigh* we'll continue to work on it......

The doll stroller was an immediate hit. We liked driving our little car-walker toy around and the doll stroller is just as exciting. Plus, she can take stuff with her!!! I decided to get the doll stroller after she pitched a fit about not being able to put one of her pony scooters on her car-walker to take with her. I decided to look for either a doll stroller or maybe a grocery cart-type toy. Low and behold I found one that can be both!!! Sweet!! So I brought it home and got it all set up. (which included at least 2 temper tantrums because I wouldn't let her play with the unassembled pieces....) We immediately put "Bear" in it and took off!! She's been driving it in circles around the house. Somehow, even though it has caster wheels, it doesn't quite steer as well as the car-walker. It took a little bit to show her how to maneuver around objects but I think she has the hang of it now. It's really cute because she talks to "Bear" while she drives him around.

Now, for those of you who are wondering. "Bear" is different from "B." They are both teddy bears but they are different. And it's so damned cute when she says "bear." It sounds more like "Baey-wuhr" (I don't know how else to phonetically spell it.) Right now anything that is fuzzy and fluffy is either a "baby" or a "bear." Unless it is a cat, then she calls it a "Maow." (She does know the different cat's names. She just prefers to call them all Maow.)

Her other new favorite word is "Bye-bye!" She spends a good portion of her time telling me "Bye-bye!!" as she runs through the house. She tells David "Bye-bye!!" every time he goes up the stairs. She said it so much the other day that I now ask her where she's going when she says it. David put a new cover on the tower of the computer upstairs. It came in this really big box and Bug found it. It is now her little "house" and she delights in going in, closing the side flaps and saying "Bye-bye!" It's even funnier when she goes in and either pretends to talk on David's phone, or pretends to put on deodorant. (Ok long story short: Last time I bought soap it came with a sample of Dove's newest body wash. The little container is purple and kinda deodorant stick shaped. The deodorant that I use has purple packaging. Ever since she found this little sample she likes to pretend to use it as deodorant. Actually i probably should be slightly embarrassed eh?) Anyway, its really cute.

Until Sunday Bug didn't like the grass. It was all David and I could do to get her to put her feet in it or even touch it with her hands. Remember, I told you we could put a blanket out in the yard and not worry about her going far because she wouldn't leave the perimeter of the blanket? We finally got her to walk in the grass. or i should rephrase that. She suddenly decided that she wanted to walk in it. *sniff* I'll miss the blanket..... She's still a bit unsure about the grass but doesn't mind sitting in it or walking in it as much. hell, earlier in the day on Sunday she threw a fit because David tried to get her to step down in it. Go figure!!



BUG'S NEW HOUSE






Here she is in her new "house." The box is literally as big as she is.





Here she is in the box making a phone call. No joke, she knows how to make the phone work now. Generally, she calls Uncle Troy or Uncle Henry. I'm sure they both receive plenty of short 10 seconds or less calls from David on their phones on a daily basis......

The new car, Mr. "B" and the Walker....

Well, nothing too exciting has happened of late. Recently while out shopping at meijers (yes I know I said I hated the place but we need to eat.....) I came across the Fisher Price Little people SUV. (don't get me started.....) so, I bought it for Bug to play with. It comes with a Mom and baby and stroller and if you push the mom down into her seat the car either honks its horn, plays a song, or there is the sound of giggling. It was a huge hit. We drive the little car all over the place, all the while making vrrrrmmmm vrrrmmmm noises. (that she's been doing for awhile, but she was trying to drive soda cans....hence why I bought the little SUV) She also has a scooter that came with a My little Pony that she likes to drive as well. It has a big enough space for her to place and object (generally a cat toy) and drive that around the house too. She also particularly enjoys chasing the cats all over the house. The cats on the other hand don't quite find it amusing.

Recently we were sitting on the couch after our evening bottle and she grabbed her stuffed teddy bear she got from her Grandma and Grandpa Clark at her first birthday. She proceeded to set him down in front of her, pat him on the head and say "Hi, B!" So she has officially named her teddy bear "B." We also call him Mr. B. She also calls him bear and can recognize a teddy bear or picture of a bear and will tell you that it is a bear. ( I understand her love of this bear. it's one of those allergen-free bears that I would love to get for myself, I just don't know where her grandma Clark got it. My poor Barre the Bear is, ....um....... well, let's just say he's way over due for retirement.) She also has been calling all her dollies and soft fuzzy things babies. She has "Lambie" that Uncle Logan gave her for Easter that she likes to cuddle with and tote around the house. We did have a slightly frightening moment with Lambie when we were doing a bounce with him from music class. In this bounce you eventually take your child and bounce them from knee to knee saying "hobble-dee-dee, hobble-dee-dee." Bug had poor Lambie by the ears and I swear I thought his head was going to be wrenched off as she swung him from side to side during the "hobble-dee-dee" part of the song.

The other night she proceeded to make a liar out of her mother. I had been talking to my mother about finding ways to help encourage her to walk more independently. She's really funny, she CAN let go. We watch it happen all the time. She walks around the house most of the time holding onto things. And, it's not a tight grip, it's more for balance. So, we were discussing things we could do to encourage her to venture away from objects more. Ma asked me if we had tried using the walking car thing that Gr'auntie Judy got her for her first birthday. We had tried in the past but Bug never showed interest in using it. She just wanted to push it or store things in the little trunk area. So we passed that idea and went on to talk about whatever. Later that night Bug and Daddy were playing and he decided to see if she wanted to play with the car thing. it was like all it took was David suggesting she try it. She was off and practically running around the house with her new found sense of accomplishment. She uses it on almost a regular basis now. David took her out for a walk that night and she was off like a bat out of hell down the sidewalk and she was already refusing to come home!!!! It's funny to watch her with the little car. She's like a mini old lady with her walker. If stuff gets in the way she picks the car up and moves it or bowls over whatever it is in her way. We were able to get some video tape so if David has the time to show me how I'll see if I can get it uploaded onto the website here in the next few days so everyone can see it. In the meantime there are a few pics with this post and I added a new picture file to the links.

Bug and her new car. She drives it all over the house and had tons of fun when we took it outside.







Once again picking Momma's phlox...... but she's pretty damned cute so I can't get too mad.



The night we decided to use the little walker car. Surprised both Momma and Daddy.




Walking down the street with Daddy.

We Are Walking, Walking, Walking.......

Yes the title says it all. She truly has let go and is really testing the waters now. At first it was just one or two steps here or there in between the couch and the table. A few nights later we attempted to walk across the living room but were hindered by one of the many toys that lay in her path. She has no problems holding onto my hand as we walk around the house, but she refuses to do so for David. (gee, wonder why?..........) And, tonight she walked across the kitchen from the pantry to the fridge. We are in big trouble, oh yes we are......

Her main mode of transportation however is still her little scoot. If she decides she isn't in the mood or wants to get somewhere quickly she'll scoot to wherever it is. She has also discovered how much fun climbing can be. She discovered the little step stool in the kitchen (it's only one step) is great fun to:
1) climb on to reach things on the side of the fridge. magnets, articles, pictures, etc.
2) move around the floor to the island in the center of the kitchen to reach for things.
3) just play on and climb up and down and up and down.
It is almost like her private little throne. She has spent the last 3 days playing on the stool; literally. It also amuses her greatly to sit or stand on the step-stool and shout what I can only assume are demands or obscenities at the cats as they run by. Poor Lilian has taken the brunt of this abuse. (I should mention that, seeing as Lilian is in her own little world, she doesn't necessarily run away from the noise like Sammi and Shadow do. Therefore, she hangs around for the greatest amount of time and blatantly ignores Bug spurring even more shouting.....)

At the moment she is taking her little toy airplane (with a propeller that spins as the wheels spin) and driving it around the kitchen, living room and front hall. I think it helps that David is making flying airplane noises as she goes by. She too makes noises but they are car noises not airplane noises. I guess at the moment I figure the fact that she is making any kind of vehicle noise at all while she plays with the plane is a somewhat advanced skill. So, I'm not too terribly worried about correcting her on the proper noise that an airplane makes.


We have also made great strides in talking over the last week. While not everyone may be able to make out what she is saying; David and I most certainly have. For example, last thursday David and I had just finished dinner and were beginning to clean up. Earlier in the day I had trimmed my poor rose bush down (lost about half of it thanks to that cold spell) and still had a mess to clean up outside. It was also just about time for Bug to get her one and only nighttime bottle. David was loading the dishwasher and I was getting ready to go outside when Bug decided to throw an absolute fit. We were attempting to ignore the tantrum but it was beginning to get out of hand so David told her "That's Enough!" Well, she was in a very angry state and in a deep demon-possessing tone of voice she yelled clear as a bell "That's enough!" Well, of course David and I were beside ourselves and laughing hysterically. Bug on the other hand is still quite pissed off and again repeats in the same tone "That's enough!" It was quite funny and we still giggle about it.


The next morning I got up with her at *bleeping* 6 AM (I'm sorry I am NOT a morning person and I don't drink muddy water, so anything before 7 AM deserves the *bleep*) and decided to let David sleep in, he was up pretty late the night before killing god knows what with Uncle Henry and prolly Uncle Troy in Outland (unless you play WoW you won't know where that is, so don't worry about it.) I go upstairs to get the singing angel (monster) from her crib. I get up there and she's all cute and happy. We decide to leave Bink and silkie in the crib and I turn and lay her on the changing table to change her diaper. It's at this point she begins to throw a fit. I of course tell her that this is ridiculous and she needs to calm herself down. She in turn asks me in that scary demon voice "Where's Daddy?!?!?!!!" I'm taken a little aback by it and inform her that "Daddy is sleeping which is why you need to calm yourself down and Be Quiet!" Just like that all is well and we are back to happy Bug.

It seems she picks up a new word every day and stores it away for reference. I think her newest ones are "belly button," "bathroom," "ball" "What's it?" and I think there were a few others but I can't recall what they were at the moment. Most of them appear out of nowhere and then you don't hear them again for awhile. I have found that she seems to like and somewhat understand detailed explanations. Well, i think that sums it up for the week. I'm gonna post a few cute pics from the past week or so and I also have a new section up in Bug's picture links.




~*Bluebird update: Beautiful has all but finished her second nest so I expect to have another brood here very soon. I also dispatched 2 male house sparrows the other day. YES!!! And it has been amazingly peaceful and serene in the backyard ever since. No more "CHEEP! CHEEP! CHEEP! CHEEP! CHEEP! CHEEP! CHEEP!" every nanosecond. I can actually hear the other birds' melodious voices.....*~








Bug loves to play on Grampa Terry and Mimi's ottoman. We don't know why but it is one of her favorite places there. Just wait until she learns to climb up by herself.....






Picking the phlox in Momma's flower beds. She and DeeDee were having a grand old time outside on that blanket. Oddly enough she refused to go beyond the perimeter of the blanket into the grass.





One of our fun days on the porch. Bug had found my Larry the Cucumber stuffed toy. She also figured out that with his bean-bag butt he could sit upright by himself.






I think this shot is hysterical! It makes her look like she's doing some sort of weight training.





This was captured this morning. I watched as she had rummaged around the pile of ponies and dollies on the floor (after dumping them out of their bags) and grabbed Apricot here. She then made her way to this pillow, lay down and proceeded to talk and babble to Apricot. It was so damn cute I almost cried. Instead, I grabbed my camera. (Oh and by the way; Yes. That is an original "vintage" Strawberry Shortcake Apricot doll........)