Big News

I have serious news to share.I'm going to have a little sister! I can't wait. The other blog address is going to change now that we know it's Charlotte. Be on the lookout for that. Okay, back to your regularly scheduled Mina.

An Excess of Fun

It's been a great few days. We met up with Matt and Jamie at the tot lot on Friday morning. There was a cool table with beads and a train table too.I rode around on a motorcycle for a while just like Daddy.Matt went into the bouncy house. I didn't want to go in there because there was too much other stuff to do. There are more pictures from Friday on Matthew's blog.On Saturday we went to Des Moines to see a bunch of Mommy's college friends. I made a few friends of my own. Maren and I kissed a few times.Oh baby!We hugged once I was out of my food chair.I had enough after a bit so we got into a bit of a shoving match.I learned that sometimes it's smarter to just run away.We spent all afternoon at the park.The most fun thing to play with was the fire hydrant.If you think I can climb and have no fear, then you should see Maren. She's an inspiration!She's awfully cute too.Um, I wasn't in the mood for this picture.I wasn't in the mood for this picture either. I fell off of the picnic table bench right before all the pretty ladies posed for a group picture.I recovered quickly and they were able to get a group photo without me. Mommy made these friends her first and second year of college because they all lived down the hall from each other.The last time Mommy saw these friends, it was for a baby shower. Now that baby has grown. Fleur's legs look like mine did when I was her age.I let Laura hold me. She's a special lady. Oh, and you can see my ouchy head in this picture. It's already mostly healed today.Mommy taught me how to do something really fun today - dust! I dusted lots and lots of things. Maybe I'll be a cleaning lady when I grow up. It would be so fun.
Nana and Papa are coming to see me tomorrow afternoon and the next day I'll find out if I'm having a brother or sister. My music classes start on Wednesday. Mommy has another appointment on Thursday morning and then we're taking care of Matthew on Friday. It's going to be a busy, busy week.

Night Night, Shoes!

Every woman knows the importance of cute shoes and I'm no exception. For the last few nights, I've carefully selected one pair of shoes and placed them on the bathroom counter. After some careful arranging, I wave at them and tell them night, night. My parents giggle during this process. They just don't understand.

I gave Mommy a special treat yesterday. She shared some of her pizza with me and I shared it right back. I chewed on a bite for a while and then I took it out of my mouth with my hand and shoved it into her mouth. She ate it, but I don't know that she enjoyed it.

We went to the park this morning for a play group and I tried to lose my tail. She followed me from the sand where all the other kids were before I got completely up the ladder. I don't mind if Mommy isn't within sight at all.

I'm starting to have empathy for people when they're sad. Mommy was having a hormonal pregnant moment and I whimpered and made a sad face when I looked at her. A little boy cried at the play date this morning and I made a little cry back at him. I cried when my cousin cried when we were visiting family last week.

There is a play group at the library tomorrow and Mommy is actually considering going. Maybe she'll decide to wash her hair or sort her sock drawer instead. She vowed to never return after the last debacle. I ran all over the place throwing Cheerios as if I was in a parade while she struggled to not puke.

Daddy started his month of trauma chief today. He was home for supper and was still home when I went to bed. So far, so good!

Sand in the City

I was greatly impressed by the sand "castles" as you can plainly see.Lounging, as usual.Daddy didn't let me go in the huge sand play area. He was scared. I would have held my own.We went over by the library instead and I tried to make a run for the water fountains.Daddy helped me climb the caterpillar.I thought about going down the slide.Daddy ran me under the fountains before we left and it was fun!
We walked all over downtown and ate supper at Mickey's. My parents were very pleased that there was free popcorn because that kept me civil towards the end of the meal. I also saw lots of birds while we were walking and said hello to all of them. It was about 70 degrees and sunny - the perfect afternoon.

Baby Mina

Mommy was going through some of the baby stuff she has gotten for my little brother or sister and I tried out the bottle. I approved! She got rid of all of my old bottles because she wasn't 100% sure they were BPA-free. I hope Mini doesn't have to use a bottle much just like me! Mommy milk is awesome. We're going to go to Sand in the City after my nap today. I'll remind my parents to take pictures if I play in the huge sand box.

The Nanas and the Papas

As usual, I had a fantastic time visiting family for a few days. I got to see lots of grandparents - 2 grandmas, 2 grandpas, and 2 great grandmas. I called all of them Papa. Here I am with Grams.Nana and Papa took me to the park and I got to see all sorts of animals. I also made a little friend. Can you believe that I'm moving to a place that has a kangaroo?I really liked the tortoise.Grandma went to Community Orchard with us as part of her birthday celebration. She looks way too young for 60!Grandpa showed up a little later and he took me outside to play.We're going to take a picture with this guy every year if possible. I cooperated really well! Here's last year's post that has a comparable picture.Silly goats!The apple orchard has a bunch of cute goats to feed. They're very gentle and fat!I climbed on the choo-choo and posed. Miracle of miracles.I love my grandpa!Sometimes I have to stop and contemplate life for a second.Don't you wonder what I thought of to come up with this expression?The orchard also has a huge sand pit and I had it all to myself. Give me a bucket and shovel and I'm one happy girl.I had to go back and feed the goats a little bit more before we left.I caused everyone some alarm when I showed my climbing abilities during our stay. Twirly chairs are fun!Daddy came home last night right after supper and we spent some time catching up. He got lots of attention from me and that made him very happy.

Here are some of the new words from the last couple of weeks (not comprehensive): bacon, bead, door, bounce, rock, rain, and butt (Daddy's fault). Oh, and I got my first big scrape on Monday night when I tripped on a walk. It's already healed, but my mouth looked yucky for a couple of days. Too bad I didn't get any scars because they make good stories.

Wrestle Mania

Daddy and I wrestled with Bubba this morning. He tried to eat my finger puppet so he needed some discipline!Bubba is hilarious.I sat on Daddy with no hands.Daddy was needing some discipline too. This would make a great Christmas card picture!I took a small break to try on some shoes.Daddy got some love and smiles from me as a thank you for wrestling.I even let Bubba get in some licks.
Another fun thing we did this weekend was go on bike rides. Daddy put me in the trailer and took me all over creation. One day we did a bunch of hills and the next day we did more of a flat route. Mommy stayed home and put her feet up. She told Daddy that he should take me on bike rides more often. I concur! It's super fun.