pumpkin patch

Cooling down

Poor kid. Nothing to play with in Tucson but dirt.
Well, what's new?

Obviously Ada is not a fan of the bike helmet, but seemed to enjoy our bike ride yesterday through Winterhaven (a cute neighborhood nearby). Although this weekend was the final heatwave in Tucson (in the 90's), it's FINALLY starting to cool down enough to enjoy being outside, which we've been taking advantage of. I mean come on already, it's October!

Ada has been picking up a few more words and has recently picked up four new signs. It's interesting to us that for so long we go without any new skills, and then overnight she picks up several.

Newest words: Ow, Meow (do you see a theme here), "Dank" (Thank you).

Newest signs: Butterfly, Cat, Ball, Fish

She is working on her 8th tooth, which has made life interesting for all of us - very cranky and restless at night.

Her favorite activities include twirling around and around until she's so dizzy she falls on the floor. She ultimately starts this about an hour before she's scheduled for bedtime, which means she's so wound up that it's hard to get her down. But - she's finally off of the bottle, which is a huge feat for us. She also LOVES books. We were getting so sick and tired of reading the same books over and over that Sam recently stocked up on more board books to expand our collection. It's obvious she is learning so much from them and a lot of fun for us to see her absorbing what we read to her.

She also loves picking the keys off of Sam's laptop. We are currently missing the right arrow, Alt and Q keys. Yep.

We are gearing up for Halloween. I am excited for the Harvest Festival we going to with Ada's friend, Ellen. Can't wait to show you pics of her costume. Super-cute!!

I promise to post more pics on a regular basis!

a collection

going on our walk

trying to coax a kitty-cat her way "c'm on"

a collection

she loves her robe!
she still rides this backward
mad about something

a collection

helping dad clean the cage
the hummingbird that built a nest in our orange tree
a snack in the park

Tantrums make me tired

Ada's temperament these days has me concerned about what the "terrible two's" might bring us, and whether or not I have the patience to manage through it. She melts at the slightest hint of discipline. I'm not kidding - it's epic screaming and throwing herself on the ground. I have no choice but to step over her and leave the room when she acts this way, or put her in a time out when it doesn't stop. She melts when I give her the look (I don't think it's that scary?!). Sometimes Sam and I have fake conversations just to make a point that we're ignoring her when she acts this way.

It's not OK for her to go running out into the parking lot as soon as we open the back gate, right? Seems dangerous, right? I ask her to "come back", and when she doesn't, I walk out to get her myself to return her to the yard before some car comes barreling around the corner. She falls into a heap and starts screaming her head off. This was the scene upon my arrival home today from work. Sam reports she's been like this all afternoon.

The truth is that she's been like this off and on for several weeks now. I had plans to take her to a local event earlier this evening but scrapped that idea when she wouldn't stop screaming and flailing about. We had to put her in 2 time-outs, and I have no idea that they are even working...she's been in 3 time-outs this past week. I have moments with strong urges to crack her on the rear-end, but remind myself that Sam and I don't want to do that...oh but the urge is strong sometimes!

Patience. I need patience.

Are we doing something wrong?

our daily walk, and other updates

Ada loves walking. Every day.

She has grown 3 inches and gained 3 pounds in the last 3 months.

She has 7 teeth. 4 on the top. 3 on the bottom.

There is a red tint to her hair in the right lighting.

She says the word, "burp". Classy.