The Zoo at Last

It had been over 7 months since we had been to the zoo so we finally went again yesterday. We had told Nyah on Friday we would go to the zoo on Saturday so the first thing she said that morning was "zoo, go see animals". She loved it. We saw elephants, bears, monkeys, and she still liked the peacock just like the last time we went to the zoo. This time though the peacock opened up all its feathers. The elephant was also getting a drink out of a fire hose which was funny to see. We bought an annual pass to the zoo so we can go anytime. (Thanks Papa and Kaki) I've already decided there are distinct advantages because yesterday we could just leave without seeing everything since we can go back whenever we want to. :)

Plus here is a picture of her really enjoying a chocolate chip cookie from Paradise Bakery that she did not want to share with me. If any of you have tried them, you know why she didn't want to. :) I don't know where she got her love for chocolate chip cookies? It must not be me - let's blame Grandpa. :)

We were thinking about going camping this weekend but decided not to with the "sketchy" weather forecast. Camping in a tent in the rain just doesn't sound like that much fun to me. As we've watched the weather this weekend, we are glad we didn't go. We'll have to try that out another weekend.

Here are a couple of pictures of Nyah in a new dress today. Since I was sending her to nursery in a white dress, I figured I should get some pictures this morning in case the dress was never the same again. However, I'm happy to report it's still in great shape (good job to her nursery leaders) and the pictures weren't necessary before going to chuch today.

And last of all, this shows you what an adventure tub time is these days. She loves to color with her tub markers.

Kids say the cutest things!

This was last night:
Ryan - "Nyah it's time for bed."
Nyah - "Not yet"
Ryan - "When is it going to be time for bed?"
Nyah - "Tuesday"

A conversation with Nyah a few weeks ago:
Me - "Nyah are you happy?"
Nyah - "No."
Me - "Why not?"
Nyah - "I tired."
Me - "Maybe we should go home and go to bed then."
Nyah - "No, I not tired."

Amazing how quick they pick up on things!

A week ago we were going swimming and so I went upstairs to get Nyah's little innertube. She informed me the first one I picked up was "Hallie's". That must be the one Hallie used last time she was here. Then she went downstairs and told Ryan, "Hallie's coming." And Ryan said, "Oh yeah, when?" and Nyah responds with "Tuesday". I guess Tuesday is her new response to questions. What a funny girl!

Then last Friday we were having the missionaries over for dinner and I said to Nyah, "Guess who's coming over for dinner - the missionaires." Nyah said, "Aunt Jana?!" I told her I wish it was Aunt Jana but how cute that the first thing that comes to her mind when she hears the word "missionaries" is Aunt Jana. I'm sure Nyah can't remember Jana since she was only about a year old when she left but we show her pictures of Jana so she knows who she is. :)

We love hearing all the new things she has to say. What an adventure!

Water and Princess Day

They have turned on the water fountains and filled the "ponds" down at the park by our house. Now a trip to the park isn't complete without Nyah "wading" in the pond. She loves it. She sees the water and starts rolling up her pant legs. The water is still freezing cold at this point but she doesn't mind a bit. She doesn't mind when her pants end up getting wet either. She's just happy to be playing in the water. Both of us are happy for the warm weather we are having again. We'll see how long it lasts... Nyah and I went to the park again this evening and she ran a bunch of the way home so she'll sleep well tonight!

Saturday Ryan and I did a bunch of yard work and Nyah did a great job of entertaining herself. This ranged from just running around, to helping us, to sitting on the ground and throwing rocks at the garbage can. It's amazing what can be fun when you're two! Ryan and I were just grateful we were still able to get so much done.

On another topic, about a month ago at her school they had a week where every day was a different theme. Ryan told me the next day was "princess day" so I went and picked up a "costume". She loved being dressed up and her favorite part was definitely the "dress-up" shoes. Ryan took this picture when he dropped her off that day and it made me smile all day at work just thinking about it. :)


Nyah continues to use more and more sentences as she talks. It's fun to watch as she learns. Her new thing is she will tell us, "No talking". Where does that come from? She is also big into "wiping off" our kisses sometimes. What a kid. She cracks me up.

The Big 2!

I can't believe she's two. Saying that the last two years have flown by seems like a huge understatement. She brings so much happiness into our lives each day. :)

For her two-year birthday (I know that was a month ago) we decided to go to her favorite restaurant to have a hotdog for dinner. She loves going to Smashburger even though I think she ends up eating more ketchup than anything else. :) Then since the time she woke up that morning, she was telling us that she wanted to go swimming. How can you resist letting her do what she wants on her own birthday? So even though we knew it was going to make it a long night, we decided to go swimming anyway. She just loves swimming. Her favorite thing lately is to jump off the ledge to Ryan. You have to be ready at all times because she doesn't necessarily give any warning before she decides to go ahead and jump.

Then we went home and still needed to frost the cake. So Shari later gave me some pointers that will help the next time around (like freezing the cake so it's easier to frost). I had crumbs everywhere since I decided to cut it and make a square, two-layer cake. Winnie the Pooh and Tigger are some of her favorites right now so we decided they should be on the cake. By the time the cake was ready, we have pictures of her looking quite tired again this year. I see a trend... She was so exhausted last year as well. I'm going to have to do better planning next year. :) And when you see her hair and outfit in these pictures, remember we just got home from swimming....






The candies on top were her favorite part.


Then it was time to open presents and she loved that. It's funny because now whenever she sees a box, she says, "Nyah, present?" She gets so excited.

Here are some of the fun things she's doing at 2 years and 1 month old:

- Nyah is saying short sentences like "I want cake" or "Daddy, I eat bubbles".
- She loves bubble baths.
- She loves the park (especially playing in the water).
- Nyah wants to be outside as much as possible.
- She loves to read books. I can't believe how many parts of the books she has memorized these days. I can stop reading and she fills in words. The memory of a two-year can be amazing.
- We can negotiate with her (unless she's super tired). For example, she wouldn't sit in her high chair at the restaurant tonight so her and I went out to the car to have a talk and she decided she wanted to go back inside and sit in the high chair. I love when it actually works. :)
- However, she is learning the art of negotiating as well because everything these days is "one". She only wants "one".
- She is a very determined little girl and knows just what she wants.
- Nyah has a ton of energy and spends a lot of time running.
- She still loves to sleep. She is sleeping about 11-12 hours at night with a 2-3 hour nap. We're lucky, what can we say?
- She tells us "I love you" (my favorite thing in the world right now)!
- She loves to laugh and play with her daddy.
- She thinks anything elevated off the floor is meant to be jumped off of.
- The other morning she told me, "I cute". Maybe I tell her that too much but can you really be told that too much when you are two?
- She is generally a very happy little girl.
- She is 31 pounds (90th percentile) and 34 3/4 inches tall (80th percentile). She's not taking after me so far.
- She prefers not to be wearing clothes. We were in church the other day and she was telling us, "clothes off" as she tried to take off her dress. :)
- When we ask her to pick up her toys or do something else she doesn't want to do, she tells us "I'm busy". What a kid.

Well we love her so much and are so grateful she's been part of our lives for the last two years - what a blessing. She shows me each day how to find happiness in the small things in life. She is so sweet and we can't imagine our lives without her. Thank you Nyah for all of your smiles and laughter.

Tumble Time and New Sunglasses

Papa and Kaki (Dale and Kathy) give Nyah money for birthdays, Christmas, etc. for lessons or whatever we want to do. Well we decided to try out some "tumble" lessons at the rec center. She absolutely loves it. She has had 3 lessons so far, and she can't get enough. We go on Saturday mornings. Here are some of the things she does. First the rings.


And they kick balls off the balance beam as they go along. Then we put them on the ground and they do "ta-da". It's cute. They also have a trampoline, a bar, and a little vault. They do circle time and sing songs and just have a good time. Thanks for tumble time Papa and Kaki.
Then a couple of weeks ago we were at Carter's shopping for spring/summer clothes for Nyah. We don't really need them these days since it keeps snowing! Anway, this store is dangerous for me. I can spend way too much money in very little time. While I was shopping, Ryan found these sunglasses there for Nyah. Nyah is always telling us in the car that it is "bright". Plus they are too cute.
And just another cute shot of Nyah being happy. We are glad we have such a happy girl. We sure love her.