bronx zoo!

i have been eager to take daley to the zoo for a while now. things have just been so busy, not to mention uncooperative weather, so it has taken a while to get there. daley loves animals. she is so enamored with dogs, and with all of the animal puppets we have i just knew she would have a blast when we actually got to see the real giraffes! she did not disappoint...she had so much fun. she took her first carousel ride, and when it was over she did not want to get off!

totally in love with the carousel:)

she is just too cute if i do say so myself!

happy 17 months!

to my 17 month old little one...

though you can be quite demanding at times, you can also be the sweetest. i love you and am amazed by you every day.

love, mama

choo, choo, beep, beep...

looks like someone has been hanging out with a certain big brother who loves all things that have wheels! daley is like a little sponge these days. she often repeats exactly what you say right after you've said it. along with all her words, is her independence...out, down, up, done, are most often the words you'll here from her these days! she always want to do it herself, i can't even help her with things like yogurt-she pushes my hand right out of the way!

we had fun at a day out with thomas, and no need to worry about daley being shy...she walked right up to the train table and started pushing her way through the kids to get to where she wanted to be. those little boys didn't stand a chance! somehow she managed to bogart 3 thomas trains!

sitting in the fire truck-she did not want to get out!

words!

daley is exploding with words these days. just this week she started saying baby, cracker, feet, one, two, three, teeth. along with her words is her decisiveness, and let me just say she is very decisive! she will let you know if there is something she wants, and will shake her head and say yes(both of which are in an exaggerated manner). of course if you're not quick to meet her demands, she will often push, throw or throw herself on the ground in a fit of annoyance-i think i'm going to be in trouble later on! on the flip side, she can be the sweetest baby. she loves to snuggle, rock and be held.

another fun new thing is her recent discovery of books. we read a lot, but until recently, daley was not interested in the slightest. now she loves to go to her bookshelf, grab a book, come over and tell you "book?" and sit on your lap for you to read it. granted you can only get through one or two pages before she's off to get another book, but it is still so cute!

greg took these outside pics one night after dinner, and i think they are some of my favorites. thanks greg!

we should all stop to smell the flowers once in a while:)

looking at these makes me realize just how big she is getting...

this goes against all things i believe in, but when they were sick per jack's request i bought pops with jokes on them(on the popsicle stick). and since daley has to have everything jack has, the pictures will tell the story!

woe is me...

i'm not sure i've ever posted about daley's absolute loathing for the car, but after today's little excursion, it is well over due!?

i'm pretty sure i can count on one hand the number of car trips we have taken where daley has babbled happily, slept or just sat contently while we made our way to our destination.

picture pouring rain, a long trip and two *almost* healthy kids in a car with just one parent (the driver)...moments into the trip as per usual, jack passes out cold (he has always been a good traveler), and then there's daley who is growing increasingly more irritated...even trickier is the fact that i failed to bring my "go-go-gadget" arm along with me and i can barely reach her seat to hand her anything (not that she'd take it anyway-it usually gets thrown back in disgust). key soothing music, let's try avett brothers, eh she could take them or leave them, ok now this has worked a couple times in the past, but i likened it to a fluke...let's try pete yorn's "relator"-bingo! she instantly calms, and we listen to it on repeat for at least 6 times and she is finally asleep. ahh...two sleeping kids. for about 15 minutes, because then of course jack is awake and wants to talk about all the trucks and the fact that its raining so hard, oh and did i bring him a snack and a drink? all the while i'm pleading with him to use his "inside voice"-lol. sufficed to say, daley slept for a little over and hour, and then she screamed bloody murder the rest of the ride, aside from a few short moments when she was happily eating happy baby yogurt melts...i'd say our trip to hilton head this summer is going to be a good time. i might be toting a flask along with a couple sippys in my diaper bag;)