Spring Picture

And our "official" spring picture of Judith:

Finally!

Or perhaps a better title would be "three months"! Obviously there's way too much to include in one blog, so this is highlights of the past few months (with the hope that I'll be inspired to keep up better in the future).

• Many, many, many new words. Judith constantly surprises me with her new vocabulary. It seems that she hears a word once and remembers it for later use. Some of my favorites: plump, chilly, blue heron, bike trailer, macaroni, blueberry, olive
  
• Talking in phrases - I think she's up to four-word phrases now, such as "Daddy, computer light off"
  
• Directing our actions quite clearly - "Mama, close book." "Stand Up." "Daddy, drive."
• Recognizing landmarks (mostly houses) by name when we drive by or to them.
• Discovering the joys of Veggie Tales - she asks for "Rack, Shack, and Benny" or "Madame Blueberry" at least once a day, and is able to sing along with the theme song and the major songs from each movie. She likes to sing "The bunny song" from "Rack, Shack, and Benny" while she eats her whole wheat bunny crackers at lunch.
• Reading - and reading - and reading. Current favorite books include Green Eggs and Ham; The Cat in the Hat; Moo, Baa, La La La; Oh My, Oh My Oh Dinosaurs; Hug; Yes; and her animal picture books. She brings these constantly to Lance or to me asking to be read to, and will also sit on the floor (or in the car) with them and read to herself.
  
• Visiting story time at the Library - the first time she was pretty shy, but now she will stand up close to listen to the books, sing along with the familiar songs, and answer questions. Unfortunately, tomorrow is the final session of story time at our Orangevale Library, and I will be looking into which other local libraries have one.
• New favorite foods: blueberries (inspired, no doubt, by Veggie Tales), olives, macaroni and cheese, and quesadillas.
• Rides in the bike trailer: I'm slowly working up the strength to go for long rides. We live in an extremely hilly area, and as I strained toward the top of each hill, I started saying "come on, Mama" hoping that Judith would echo me, and provide some ecouragement. Instead, she started saying "Come on, baby" or "Come on, Judith"! Now we go back and forth - if I say "Come on, Judith" she'll say "Come on, Mama" :-) . She also thoroughly enjoys any bumpy ground I can ride over, and is patient enough in the trailer as long as she has a full juice cup. (When she runs out, she'll say "help" over and over until I stop and put some water from my bottle into her cup.)
• A visit from Grandpa Ron and Grandma Judi in March. Judith was thrilled to have them here, and asked for them after they left. As an early birthday present, Grandpa and Grandma gave Judith some new toys for the backyard - a house and a slide - that she now spends a while each day playing in and on. We also took a family trip to the redwoods, where Judith commented "trees....BIIIIG" and had lots of fun running around. The cramped ride in the car wasn't so fun by the end, though, and Grandpa and Grandma got to witness Judith's first major meltdown.
  
• Specific event highlights: Easter at Grandma Sandy's; and Cousin Olivia's 7th birthday, at which Judith got to spend time jumping on the new trampoline with Grandma Sandy and Daddy.

And a few pictures:

hanging out with Daddy:Easter Basket
(the beautiful blue dress is from Auntie Lesli, and Cousins Cora and Olivia had matching ones)

Mama experimenting with new hairstyles...
Judith's hair is getting so long that I'm trying to get it off the back of her neck for summer. Unfortunately, she really doesn't like to sit still while I do it.

walking in the redwoods with Grandpa

Playing on the new slide from Grandma & Grandpa