Buttoning Up: the Quick n' Dirty

Feels like it's been a while since I've simply posted what we've been up to. Ada is now 2 years and 3 months old and I gotta tell ya - the kid is smart as a whip, interested in everything, sweet as pie and insistent that she and I do everything the same way.

Preparing cantaloupe the other morning. I turned around to find that she had run into the living room, dug through her toy box, and found her little knife to bring it in and set it next to mine. She wants for her and I to do exactly the same thing. Powerful if harnessed correctly. Man, I best watch my step...

Airplanes:
She still points them out whenever she hears one (although she says, "I see an airplane" when really she means "hear" - she'll get it one of these days). Helicopters fall into a different category and I think that she may love "da-choo" even more than regular airplanes. So we went to the airport to see the planes take off. SFO is a nice airport but the best part is the little park you can visit to watch the planes. There is about 1/8 mile of bay that separates you from the planes so they are loud and big. Apparently, Ada prefers the airplanes way up in the sky...

Cool view, right? Great place for a plane-watching picnic. 

At first, she was intrigued.

Then came the slight concern.

Then came the head buried in my arm/chest and a refusal to even look no matter how enthusiastically I told her a plane was landing or taking off. We left about 2 minutes later and went to World Market instead. 

The Garden:
Well, I'll be damned. We turned into farmers after all. Ada mostly contributed by digging up the tender, young seedlings but a few survived. We grew some nice radishes and beautiful lettuce. And the daughter-unit is learning where food comes from. Goal achieved.




Autumn is Here:
More on the specifics of this later but for now just know that it turns out we only visit World Market but once a year - right around now. There is a reason. Since every single thing Ada sees is the most interesting thing she has ever seen, she is into everything. Dude, there is A LOT of glass in this store. I hadn't realized just how much until she found the super bouncy balls and proceeded to throw them toward the displays of glass crap. I am a good goalie though  - nothing broken.




Rubber Room:
The nanny takes her here when the days are cold and rainy. Today was the first time I ever went in - we will come back for sure. Ada LOVES it in here. And why shouldn't she? A mesh-enclosed room with balloons blowing around? The definition of awesome.

Each picture is more blurry than the last. I decided to include them anyway because just look at her! She is deliriously happy. 

The Playground:
We meet Kathi and Sarah here pretty much every week. Today when we came through the gate Sarah screamed with joy and Ada volleyed a scream back. Clearly, the girls were happy to hang out together.

My daughter took off running like the hounds of hell were after her. It took a few seconds because this little guy is fast, but I finally saw the chihuahua she was chasing down.

After 3 or 4 laps around the playground she finally wore him down enough for her to squat down beside him to wave and say, "hi puppy!" That was it. All that chasing for just that. 

Steeeellllllllaaaaaaa!!
Earlier today, Ada was back in her room quietly reading to herself. I heard her leap up and run to the front room crying, "Steeellllaaaa!" the whole way. It was a very 'Streetcar Named Desire' moment. I giggled and went back to what I was doing. When we got home tonight I found the scene below. This is a brand new book I bought for her this morning. It didn't even occur to me that the baby in the drawing looks just exactly like her doll, Stella. My girl is amazing.



Have a great weekend everyone!