Lunch Break ...

I'm lucky and I know it. My mother (Nana) recently move into a community literally 2 minutes from my office. My typical day now includes lunch with Nana and Della which is a true blessing for us all. A break for Nana, a baby fix for mama, and some extra attention for Della.

Lately, after we've eaten, Della and I go for a quick walk. My little girl is quite the explorer ... and we now have Nana to thank for teaching her that puddles are FUN!

Thanks for the fresh air today Della!

Wet Panda Bear ...

Months ago Della dug a stuffed panda bear out of a GoodWill bin of abandoned stuffed creatures. Although Panda has been a part of our family since that day Panda's appearance in our daily activities has been increasing lately. Last night, for the very first time, Panda was included in Della's evening bath. I don't think Panda was prepared for what happened ...

It started innocently enough ... Della asked Panda to join her in the tub.

Della then offered to wash Panda's hair ...

... and then washed Panda's ever dirty nose (Della loves to chew on the nose).  

 Then Della discovered that a wet Panda is a heavy Panda and proceeded to stretch the stuffing out of poor Panda. (Please imagine lots of odd grunts and squeals as she attempts to lift Panda.)

Della assured Panda that there were still lots of cuddles in Panda's future even if Panda was now longer and skinnier ...

 And then she tried to drown Panda again ...

As justification I had planned to wash Panda that evening anyway so I consider the bath time adventure just a precursory soaking. What I wasn't able to capture was Della's distraught emotional breakdown when she saw Panda tumbling around and around in the clothes dryer. Della actually tried to open the dryer and  remove her best friend. I think we've moved into new toddler attachmentt territory and I need to study up on the rules ... and possibly find some back-up Panda's.

Lazy Sunday

Exactly ... and I do mean EXACTLY ... 13 months after Della joined the family she has started sleeping through the night. I'll say it again ...

SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!

Age appears to have also increased her fondness for cuddling.

Although I do miss my 1:30am snuggle somehow ... somehow ...  I will learn to love the 11:00am and the 3:00pm snuggle instead.

With Daddy busy with winter sports my little miss and I spent our Sunday the best way possible ... slow, lazy, and in our most stretchiest never-in-public clothes.

GOOD MORNING!

We didn't even get out of bed till 9:00am!!!!!

Breakfast started with some yummy green juice ...

There was some intermittent playing, house cleaning, laundry, cooking, napping, and eating but for 30 minutes in the afternoon Della reclined in her chair with a cookie, a bird, and a blanket and enjoyed an episode of Netflix Sesame Street.

This ... by the way ... is another FIRST as she's never simply chilled on her own like this.

We ended the day playing with Spaz the Cat, still the most baby friendly cat I've EVER met! Spaz is living proof of my belief that the pets you were meant to care for are the ones that find you.

Tacoma Children's Museum

Saturday we made an impromptu visit to the Tacoma Children's Museum. As Della's  activity level is increasing daily I've started searching for fun, energy burning, activities that Nana and Della can do during the week. Of course we absolutely must test-drive each activity first ...

Although our little miss was one of the youngest kids there she managed to hold her own and seemed to really enjoy herself. I think she'll be back often.

Watching an older by transport beanbags ...

This young lady took an interest in Della who had been watching her play with the wheel.

Isn't that the sweetest thing? It's too bad her grandmother got nervous and scooted her away ... Della really didn't mind and tried to give her a hug.

They have a room full of rocks!  Pretty exciting stuff.

If you look hard enough you can find treasure among the rocks. Della latched onto a plastic gorilla of all things ...

Bubbles ... who cares ... Della was more interested in exploring.

Her FAVORITE attraction ... the water feature! Can you spot my baby baldy?

In the end it all came down to the floating foam balls. It seems they are a favorite in general as Della was simply adding teethmarks to the collection on each ball ... luckily the water was chlorinated.

Again ... hard to capture the moments when she won't stand still but I'd rather remember that she was happy and active.

Organized Randomness ...

Seems I drafted this blog post but then forgot to publish ... So here's some more randomness from a couple weeks ago.

When you find a favorite pair of shoes, stock up on sizes for the next year ... or two.

Della has developed a facination for leaning her head back ... it must feel odd ... it sure looks odd.

Beary, beary cute long johns to cover her bear bottom. Our little lumberjack.

Helloooo down there!

Our polkadot flower fairy ... with a pot belly.

Favorite evening activity. Playing with the shopping cart cover ... it makes a great hiding place.

Still loving the ball tent.

Endless cuteness.

 

Recent Randomness

Just some randomness from the past few days ...

So years from now I can remember what a really, really, full diaper looked like ...

 Della saying hi to Auntie Ellen on the phone while wearing her new giraffe backpack(harness) ...

 Daddy thought it would be funny to put my belt on the baby! It wrapped around twice. She's our little weight lifter?

 Della thinks scooters are for pushing around and around and around the house ... not for scooting on.

Della has discovered that her floor mat comes apart!

 We find letters in all sorts of random places around the house.  

 Ball tent static hair. Still loving the ball tent!

After a whole month we're still loving on the birthday balloon.

*Della is teething again. Her first bottom molars are breaking through and making life challenging.
*She has also grown at least another inch as we've had to clear off another layer of shelving.
*And for the past two nights she's slept the whole night through! Monday night I woke up in a worried panic because it was 4am and she hadn't made a peep! It may take me the longest to settle back into a quite nightime routine.

Della the Friendly Ghost ...

Della is finally big enough (almost) to use her cutesy hooded bath towel. She loves it so much that she recently asked to wear it just-for-fun. So here she is, Della the friendly ghost, who roams our halls. She seems to find her appearance intriguing as she typically ends up in front of the mirror.

****Kisses****

Winter Playground ...

As residents of the Pacific Northwest we are well prepared for a rainy, overcast lifestyle. As such, when the sun shines we leave the house. Doesn't matter if its a sunny 70 degrees or 30 degrees, we have an uncontrollable need To Be Outside. So ...
After a long week of dreary drizzle we've been hit with a dry spell of frigid sunny days. Due to daddy's work schedule Della and I were on our own this past weekend ... and bored with being in-doors. So, we patiently played, ate, and napped thru the morning as we waited for the afternoon high of 35 degrees. Then we bundled up and headed out for Della's first playground experience!

Heading out ...

Dressed for the weather ...

Following the big kids up the hill ...

Walking, walking, walking ...

Sunshine!!!

Well deserved snack on the way home.

I love her fearless sense of adventure ... if it's outdoors, she's game!