It's a SHARK ATTACK!!!

Yes, we went there:

Pumpkin Face

A Lollipop For a Pony Tail

The other day I told Ila I would give her a lollipop if she let me fix her hair. After I successfully completed her somewhat real pony tail, Ross' response was "Really? You're going to keep her hair like that?" It was an exciting moment for me though. Her hair has been coming in slowly but surely these past two years, and as much as I LOVE her feathery, carefree,  hairdo I was excited to get most of her hair back into a ponytail without it looking like a colonial mullet. Call it bribery if you want, but Ila knows mommy isn't kidding around when I pull out one of those sugary balls of glory.

More Guacanola?

Funny things Ila says:

1. I showed Ila the poison ivy I have on my arm. Her response: "sick."

2. When asking Ila if she'd like me to take her pants off for her nap, she responded with ... (pondering moment of silence . . . "probably yes." She also uses the words "actually" and "maybe" quite often. It's not all that funny until you realize she just turned two and other kids her age at the park are still grunting at best. (Ok, just this one random kid, but I like to use him as a standard comparison).

3. In the mornings we've been eating granola, which Ila repeatedly calls "guacanola" confusing it with guacamole.

Beach Bum

Sydney Has 8 Nipples

Why does Ila pick up on all the phrases I don't really want her to repeat often, and then say them in really awkward situations? I really should learn to put an even bigger filter on what I say, but sometimes I just can't help being me. For example, when Sydney threw up the last remnant of the stuffed fox my mother-in-law gave her on the yoga mat and Ila asked why I was rinsing it off (the yoga mat, not the fox), my best response was "because Sydney barfed on it." So now Ila says at least twice a day, "Sydney barfed on it. Sydney barfed on it!" We've also been doing a lot of counting in our house lately (Ila can count to 5 now btw), so why not count Sydney's nipples, right? I later realized that was not such a good idea when I was talking to a mom in the park yesterday and Ila came up to me and excitedly recited "Sydney has eight nipples." I pretended that I didn't understand what she had said, so Ila made it even more clear: "Sydney has eight NIPPLESSS!!" That was the end of that conversation.

Surf Hatteras Movie

Just watched this today and am inspired to start working on another one from this past summer's footage...

Then And Now

 Last October at Carter Mountain

This October

Smarty Pants

Ila learned this over the summer, but I finally got a good video of it this morning. You'll see how hard it is to record her doing anything without her wanting to LOOK!

You Can Pick Your Friends And You Can Pick Your Nose, But You Can't Pick Your Friends' . . . Apples.

This past Thursday, Blair and her sister Kara came to visit for the day! We went to Carter's Mountain to pick apples (and of course we brought home a little pumpkin and some of their famous doughnuts).

 Where's Kate?

 Blair and Baby Summer

 Kate's cousin Jay!

 Did someone say Christmas card?! You've never looked better Mike.
Alternate caption: "Blair's dream husband." (She reeeally likes halloween.) (weirdo).

Thanks for coming to visit us guys! Ila and I had the best day.

Introducing Hannah's Jewelry Blog

http://byrdjewelry.blogspot.com/

What She Said Today

* At the park today with Daddy when she saw a squirrel: "Ahhhaaa! Look at that squirrel (fwirrel)!"
Ross: Yes that's a squirrel
Ila: What's he doin over there?"
Ross: "What do you think he's doing?"
Ila: "He's eatin some nuts."

* When they got back from the park I told Ila that dinner was ready and she gave me a very sincere-sounding "THANKS Mommy." Throughout dinner she repeatedly thanked me for the dinner and even said "I really LIKE this Mommy. Thanks Mommy" and "Yo mama, this food ROCKS!" (Ross had taught her that one a few days ago I think). I asked him if this means she's going to be a terrible teenager because she is so sweet at age 2!

I wish I could get some of this on video because her tone is hilarious! Whenever she sees I am videoing with my phone she runs over immediately saying "look look" ... and that's always the end of the videos.

She's A Talker

It's a bit shocking to realize I can have actual conversations with our newly 2 year old. She is now speaking  mostly in complete sentences, often which take me by surprise even though I know she is a good talker. I keep meaning to write down some funny moments/ conversations so here goes...

* The other night we were sitting at dinner and Ila was being pretty cranky and not eating very well. Then she turns to me and says very enthusiastically "Sooo Mommy, how was your day?!" with a huge grin on her face. Ross and I stared at each other for a full 30 seconds before bursting in laughter. I couldn't even answer I was so shocked.

* Yesterday we were in the car at a red light and Ila was watching some kids in the skatepark and she said "Mommy what they doing?:
me: "They're skateboarding."
ila: "Ila do that too?"
me: "Not today, but maybe when you're older."
ila: "I want to do that too. Maybe nother day."
me: "Daddy can teach you when you're older."
ila: "yeah, Daddy teach me."

*When I tuck Ila in at night we pray together then lately I've been saying "No 'Mommy Mommy'" meaning  "Don't yell for mommy in the middle of the night". (She's been doing that lately). So the other day she was pretending to tuck her doll babies into their little crib and after praying "Dear Jesus, thank you mommy daddy, flowers, squirrels, amen" she said to her baby "No 'Ila Ila'" as she tucked her in! I was so amazed that she could conceptualize saying her name instead of Mommy. Or maybe that's normal - I don't know  -but i was impressed!

That's all I can think of now, but I'll try to write more down!