THERE AND BACK AGAIN

She was in rare form tonight, really chatty.  Spinning yarns and weaving tales about her favorite stuffed animal, Billie.  It's a wonderful window into her psyche right now: separation anxiety and Mr. Tod, her nemesis, the fox that torments her in her dreams at night.

A "JOKE"

So this is what happens when she says something funny.  She was talking about cats and dogs and then said, "Cats and dogs...don't even ask."  Which is kinda humorous.  But once she sees us laugh at something, she thinks it's Def Comedy Jam and she beats the dead horse of a joke to death.

RUNNING OF THE DOG

TIMEOUT

Because someday I'll only remember the happy moments, and this clip can remind me that living with a 3 year old was mostly like this...

CYNDI LAUPER

Because of this toy guitar, she now knows who Cyndi Lauper is.

FAMILY BAND

None of us has any musical talent.  Can you tell?

RAINBOW DANCE

We watched a Mr Rogers where a ballerina danced with a rainbow scarf.  This is the much clumsier, much louder version :)

JORLEY

I was trying so hard to catch one of those words that she says wrong before it disappears: we love that she still says "jorley" instead of "jewelry"...but soon it will be gone.  The sound quality is terrible though.  I need another jorley video.

CLUES

The new thing with these alphabet books is to give us clues about the words.  I love that game.

This video is a good example of how spontaneous she can appear, but in the end, she's as rigid as it gets.  You have to hold the book a certain distance from her face, and you have to use a certain hand to point or she gets mad, etc, and heaven help you if you don't do it the exact same way every night.  It can be maddening.

I'm glad we raised a child who thrives on routine.  We don't get too much whining about stuff like bedtime because things always happen in our house at the same time every day.  But sometimes that backfires on a smaller scale.

INSANITY

She likes to exercise with Daddy at night.  I ought to join them!

POOR DOG

I have given her the task of feeding the dog while he's wearing his cone.  She torments him.

SINCEREST FLATTERY

I love that the neighbor's little boy was trying to do everything she was doing.

TWO-WHEELER

She has been begging to ride her big girl bike, without training wheels, so tonight we gave it a shot.  This was only after 10 minutes of shorter spurts of pedaling on her own.  I'm impressed!

FAMILY PORTRAIT

THE RUNNING OF THE PUPS

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL SILLIES

THE OCD DILEMMA

An OCD nightmare: she wants the letters to be in alphabetical order, but she also wants them to line up in color matches with the letters above them.  This vexes her every time she plays with them...

SOUNDING IT OUT

DOG GROOMER

Our dog got his haircut today, so Pants decided to play along...

SO CUTE AND YET SO IRRITATING

She can be so cute and so clever and so freaking irritating, all at the same time.  And move seamlessly from sweet to sass-mouthed.  It's why I always feel exhausted.

MAKE HIM SMILE

Daddy doesn't smile for the camera, so Pants had to make him...

DRUMS

My aunt and uncle visited and brought me real drums...

FETCH

KNITTING

ALPHABET HOPSCOTCH

This is what I found when I came in her room this morning...

SPELLING WORDS

Definitely ready for preschool this fall!

DADDY'S BIRTHDAY

AT THE SPLASHPARK

W BEGINS WITH D

IT BLEEDED AND BLEEDED

The dog has an injury on his foot, so veterinary treatments are in full force in our house...

WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY?

I CAN SHARE (MAYBE)

See, this is the problem with many children's books and shows.  Kids learn the naughty behavior that the author is trying to correct.  Just tonight I heard my kid say "MY pen and MY paper" to another kid...the forceful, bossy tone of the first page is much more fun to imitate than the kind, gentle behavior that the book supposedly teaches.  Sigh.

SNUGGLE PUPPY

LITTLE BILLY DUCK

QUINTESSENTIAL PANTS

She doesn't usually act like her real self when the camera is on, but this right here, this is everyday Pants.  Non-stop narration and thinking and learning and trying and hashing everything out.  I'm glad I caught these moments.

VET SERVICES

Daddy has played nonstop veterinarian assistant this weekend.

RAISIN MATH

DADDY'S RETURN

Daddy just came home from a 3 month absence...

Daddy was blown away by how much she talks and how much she's learned since he left.

Then she wanted to show Daddy everything in the house.

FIGHTER PILOT

I love that she is so good at this game without even trying...or looking! And then when she gets bored and I try to play for real, I crash and burn.

GRRR

I have a bunch of new videos but the files are all too big to post.  I am working on a solution...

THUNDER SONG

I love this so incredibly much.  Our dog was afraid of the thunder, so she improvised a song to soothe him.  (Song starts at the 2:00 mark...)

Lyrics:

The thunder's just allright
You don't have to hide
That's just the thunder
You know the roads
It's just the rain, thunder
The clouds are nice
Everything's not worrying about you
You don't have to hide so much
We'll make sure that the rain will stop for you
In case you hide again
Just wait, and hide, and sleep
And that's why it's OK
You just have to lay down

That's just the thunder!
If you feel like you're scared just lay down on your bed
You, with Mommy, cuddle up with Mom and then you'll feel better
If I wasn't your puppy
You were mine that I had a dream
If I had a dream you wouldn't stop
And that's OK if you're done now...

BIG GIRL BED

She transitioned out of a crib last night...

EASTER MORNING

EASTER AT GRAMMIE'S

First it was an egg free-for-all...

And then she started going through her loot!

UNINTENTIONAL RACISM

We were talking about what color certain animals are...

ZOI ZOI ZOI

Basically only a diehard Backyardigans fan will recognize the song we're butchering here...

GRAMMIE'S 95th BIRTHDAY

There were presents...

...and of course, singing and cake.

DEAD LIFTS

SNAPPING

She's starting to be able to make a little noise when she snaps.

CHUCK E CHEESE BIRTHDAY

FAMILY STEAMROLLER

I think I like this nearly as much as she does.

WELCOME HOME!

I was out of town for nearly a month...

WHISTLE

DUH, MY MIAPIAS IS A KAUSH

I get a little nutty during the day because she makes up so many words right now...

ANIMAL TRAIN

JUGGLING

TAP SHOES

LEADING THE PARADE

She calls me Mom now.

DOLLHOUSE

SLEDDING