happy 4th of july!

aiyana's friend zeke. we're going to be walking in the mornings with zeke and his mommy tasha. today was our first walk. aiyana saw ducks and a turtle.

no, daddy!! not the tissue!

no, daddy... i do not think that it's time to go home.

(aiyana had actually just spied an ant crawling on the branch in front of her.)

focus..focus...

no, the pastey look is not in this season, but sunscreen is.

i don't know what attracted aiyana to this particular blue bead, but today it was her favorite. she would attack other beads, but always returned to her bead of choice.

retiring the bumbo

so, the inevitable happened today. aiyana twisted and flipped herself out of her bumbo seat. she hasn't been able to use the seat unattended for a couple of months since she's been arching her back when she gets through sitting. luckily, i heard her twisting and somehow spun around and caught her just before her head hit the floor. she didn't even seem scared. she actually thought it was funny. of course, there is no picture to illustrate this new skill, nor will there be a reenactment.

love my new toy!

mommy and daddy picked up a similar aquarium at a garage sale...but the motion feature didn't work. (that's what you get for $3).
but, aiyana was so excited by the lights and sound, that we wanted to run out and get her a "real" one immediately! daddy said, "i'll buy you anything if it makes you that happy!"
unfortunately, the stores were closed, but we went the next day and aiyana kicked the toy all the way to the car.

another sad day for mommy...

well, not really a sad day, but evidence that my baby is getting bigger. daddy lowered the crib from it's original height so aiyana can't climb out (or fall out)

it was getting to be time, even though she isn't up on all fours or getting herself to a sitting position, it's going to happen soon! and given her record, she'll probably make these moves when no one is looking (like in the middle of the night).

peek-a-boo paparazzi

to nap in public, aiyana uses her paparazzi shield to block out lights, noise, curious fans....
on this particular sunday, aiyana woke from her post-church nap and raised the curtain all by herself. this was the first time she peeked out. it was "oh-so-cute" 2 weeks ago (and still is), however, her ability to unveil herself makes napping on the go much more difficult. it's as if she's figured out there's still a world of excitement on the other side of the curtain and she wants to be a part of it.

say "PRUNES"!

ode to my avery

avery, the engineer, provides lessons on "How Not to Spill While Drinking from a Big Girl Cup".
she came up with this on her own....i thought it was pretty genius.

avery endured plenty of cheek-squeezes and hair pulls (even though aiyana was always redirected and reminded to be gentle with her avery)
avery still held her head just close enough so aiyana could get a handful and never once complained. avery is going to be a great big sister!

aiyana loves her avery! avery gets to start preschool next week, so this was our last week taking care of her (regularly, at least). but we will still play with her... and that's a promise!

dinner...with a side of attitude

aiyana has a new "look"...she scrunches up her nose and sniffs repeatedly. i don't know how else to describe it. sometimes she clenches her fists, too. (but that's another look altogether.) we hope to capture this on video because it is side-splitting funny.

"you were saying?..."

CHANGE?

looks like we have another sign -- CHANGE

today when i changed her diaper, each time I signed and said "CHANGE", she nodded her right fist up and down (almost a perfect "yes" sign but we haven't taught that one)

yesterday i think we got an interesting approximation of the MILK sign. aiyana waved her closed fist at my face, occasionally boxing her self in the head, but keeping eye contact with me. she did this without seeing my sign, but the desire to communicate something was definitely there. i can see a special light in her eyes when she's "talking" to me.

buttons

aiyana has chosen another favorite toy -- a ring stacker that lights up and plays music. today, she took the rings off of the post and found the buttons that trigger the sound and lights! first she pushed the tiny buttons with her tiny finger (again and again) and then decided that slapping the button with her thumb was more effective. it was so cute to see her focus on that tiny little button and bring her finger right up to press it. perfect aim. this may sound like a small thing, but it looked like it took a lot of fine motor skill.

10:30 pm = time to party

reason for the late party? aiyana woke from her early bedtime and decided it was TIME TO PARTY!!!! she had the wiggles and couldn't stay still. this was one of her first nights home with daddy after the big "vacay" to indiana. no one was eager to return her to her crib. i laid on the couch and soaked in all in.

home sweet home

this is what jet-lag looks like

it's always a relief to be home, but if "home is where your heart is", then i'm not sure where home is. a little deep and profound for the princess diaries, but this is on my heart. wherever that may be.

back to aiyana...

we have developments to share!

aiyana is a masterful clapper -- sometimes clapping spontaneously and sometimes in response to someone else's clapping.

we have words! (or at least repetitive sounds) -- this past week we heard "bye", "hi", and "aiyana" (all were echoed after someone else spoke these words) -- but we had witnesses!

update for my daddy...

i played with this new orange bongo drum... see how i hold it with my feet?

i partied with momma...but i slept through most of the festivities.

i snuggled with great-grandmother

i had father's day lunch at the cracker barrel. see me sitting in the big girl seat?! (of course, momma sanitized it for me first!)

i did a little work at the restaurant and rearranged their sugar packets. i took them out (as usual) but this time i tried to put them back in!

i played blocks with my papa

i got my rest

i played with my cousin jenna michelle. this is us in her princess room.

I LOVE YOU, DADDY! HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

XOXOXOX

go cubbies!

an important stage of development involves choosing one's sports affiliations. for the sake of father's day, she's supporting her grandpa's team.

great-grandpa wouldn't approve, but he doesn't read the blog.

quack

aiyana's duck outfit from our friend, Jenna Rae. this was definitely worthy of a photo shoot.

a new funny face.

aiyana just started chewing on her top lip.

I SAID, "NO MORE PICTURES!"

ALL DONE!

aiyana signed ALL DONE during her breakfast this morning. her ALL DONE resembles a frantic double princess wave (visualize the wrist-twist of a parade
wave). though this motion currently holds several meanings for aiyana, today, this was a definite confirmation that she would not be having anymore peaches at this time. it went like this...

mommy: "aiyana, are you all done?" (i did not sign)

aiyana: signs ALL DONE and turns head to the side while
pursing together lips and eyelids (in case i needed clarification)

mommy: "are you ALL DONE or do you want MORE?

aiyana: (with a bit more attitude this time) repeats her
previous action

and then we clap and celebrate together. aiyana has nearly mastered clapping, as well. whenever we clap she clasps her hands together.

there we have it. we have communication!

a swimdate

aiyana enjoyed a little dip with her friend, aidan, in his new pool. this was aidan's first swim! he celebrated by munching on aiyana's foot.

mmmmm.... a tasty treat. (those are aiyana's toes in aidan's mouth)

love my daddy!