"How many toes do you have on one foot"?............."two"

The title says it all! We count our toes and then count to three for other things and anytime you ask her how many toes she has, she says, "two"! Even though she is wrong...she is cute! You can ask her anything about numbers and she will still say "two". Her brain is working, however. She hasn't been in the best of moods this week and I think it is because she is teething again. All her canines are coming in and I think two may have broken through finally. She doesn't really let me get a good look these days. She has all sorts of new favorites lately. She likes the movies, "Tinker Bell", Toy Story's 1 & 2, Barnyard, and of course her "sooo" as she calls it....her show the Backyardigans. She has also started to really like "Dora the Explorer". It is pretty neat to see her fascination, however, she likes to get really close to the TV so we have to ask her to scoot back or sit down. This worked really well in the past, but now you have to like tap her to get her attention because she is so engrossed in her shows. We only watch TV at certain times of the day so it is a treat for her. It has been sooooooo snowy lately and cold so she has gotten to watch a little more than usual because we can't go anywhere. She also loves climbing the stairs everyday to play upstairs. She goes through all her old boxes of toys. She is getting better at drinking out of a cup without a lid, but now she likes to put her hands in it or her food....even spill it at times. She is wanting to get into everything she isn't supposed to as expected and when she can't she does get upset....as expected. Well, that is all I have time for tonight. I posted some pics below to show off that bright personality of hers!

"and one..and two...and one.."




Why are you taking my picture? Get me outta here!!!

The search for.....a snack

"Okaay", says this sweet voice from this amazing little creature that roams the vastness of what we call a living room. "Okaay", she says again. This is a new word from this sweet little creature we will call, Marlee. Marlee loves new words. "Gorilla" was last week's new word, and "keys" before that. She is a brilliant little creature that amazes all who cross her path. Somehow with that sweet, gentle smile and her beautiful eyes, she mesmerizes souls. She steals the hearts of those around her, and I am to admit...she has mine. There is one object, however, that steals her very own. Each and every day she sets out in hopes that she will have it in her grasp once more. This object makes her eyes sparkle that they would best the most precious of diamonds. The object I speak of......is yogurt. This almighty treat is hers and hers only. She shares with no one in fear that they may take it from her grasp forever. She is not partial, she likes all kinds. Some yogurts have fruit, some just fruity tasting. Other yogurts are plain, but she loves them all. Her love shows no bounds. She is generally a happy creature, but there are times her temper can get the best of her. These moments are not for the faint of heart. Although, they are usually short lived, one must be brave to endure these episodes. Her parents feel confident that they are doing their best with instilling good values and morals within her. They are excited to see what life brings her, and what it brings them through her. So far they are blown away by her spirit. Stay tuned to see what comes next.


...I know this is kind of silly. I didn't mean for it to take that direction, but it is late and I don't feel like re-writing it. Maybe in the morning if I find it absolutely dreadful it will change. Goodnight.

Our Little Monkey

Our sweet little lady has reaffirmed her monkey status as of today. Let me back up a little so that you may better understand. As a baby, we called Marlee, "Monkey". She grabbed things with her feet and held books with her hands and her feet. Loves Bananas, and was just our little monkey. A few months ago, we had to buy a gate to block our stairwell in the front hallway because she had learned to climb the stairs. The door is usually shut, but we do leave it open from time to time so she can run around so we needed to do it for safety reasons...obviously. Well, we had the gate up for so long that she forgot to how to climb the stairs when we would take it down. She would get on the first stair and then get really scared and shake and want us to get her. Over the last couple of days we have left the gate down in hopes she would get brave again...just so we could put it back up. Silly I know. She finally started to go up the stairs again, and FAST. The story doesn't end there. I was coming out of the kitchen tonight with a little dessert for us to share and she was just babbling her jargon. I came around the corner and saw this...




She then preceded to climb onto her table. She was just sitting up there playing with her cash register. I know it may not be as shocking to you, but for me it totally blew my mind. She is usually such a scared-y cat. She was just standing there like it was the usual. I was thinking...oh my goodness she could have fallen while I was in the kitchen and busted her head open, or chipped a tooth, or busted her lip again. Of course, me, looking at the worse case scenario. Anyway, I thought it was worth sharing.

Like I always say she is changing everyday. She puts her hands on her head when we sing, "Head, shoulders, knees, and toes". She loves bubbles, and her new word is "keys". She has a tamborine and a xylophone that she has now taken interest in. "Bang, Bang, Clang...Shake, Shake Shake". Those sounds are true bliss! She may just have music in her heart, after all it is in her blood. She is getting better at using her fork and is so proud of herself when she does. When we let her do something new by herself, she has this look like..."I'm awesome"! I can't have the fridge open for more than a second without her squeezing between my legs to go on her daily yogurt hunt. I put it somewhere different all the time to see if she can find it, and what do ya know? She finds it every time, and runs out of the kitchen with it before anyone can take her most prized possession. When she takes hold of something, or has in her mind she wants something...you better watch out because she will get it no matter what. If, however, she gets something she can't have she tends to get very upset and hit. It isn't a hard hit, more like a soft touch. The intention is there and then, this is what happens...


A time out! Zachary put her in a time out and she stayed there for a minute or two until zach came over when she stopped crying. She did really well for him. For me, that is a different story. I will sit her on her stool, and she will just get off. I am still working on it.

She also loves looking at herself in the mirror. In the bath, in the hallway, wherever she can. She gives herself kisses in the mirror and dances in the mirror. She does this little foot stomp and she looks like she is in the lords of the dance. It is soooo funny, I am cracking up just thinking about it. "If you're happy and you know it, stomp your feet"! Then, she stomps her little feet. Here is a picture of her checking herself out in the mirror. She is a ham!




She has her first dentist appointment tomorrow! I am so excited for her. She was supposed to have it around Christmas time, but she got sick so we had to reschedule. She is the teeth brushing meister! She does such a good job and even opens her mouth and says, "aahhh". I hope she will let the dentist look in her mouth. I have the feeling that she won't and she will be very upset. We will see! I am posting some misc. pictures at the bottom of the post. Time to go for now.
Au Revoir

Happy New Year!!

So we are now in the year 2010! Crazy, right? One of the things I am looking forward to this year is coming home. I didn't make a resolution of any sort, but there are some things I would love to do or get better at. I want to get more sleep, don't sweat the small things, have more patience, continue to take nothing for granted, get pregnant, not stay in my pj's for most of the day, go to the park with Marlee, see our family as much as possible, not get annoyed with family...I don't, but it has just been our little unit for so long... exercise more, take better care of myself, make the best out of our next duty station even if overseas again. I guess I could go on and on, but I have probably bore you enough at this point. My main goal is to continue to take care of my little family the best that I can! Our little princess is growing up each and every day. She loves us so much and that is the best feeling in the world. The way she looks at you when you she sees you in the morning, or when she is upset and she just wants to be held. Even the way she says "shit". Well, that is a new one, and is totally my fault and I will forever regret saying that out loud. It is funny to hear though. I was cooking dinner and realized I had no tomato sauce. So, out loud I said "shit, shit, shit, shit, shit". Pardon my french to those whose ears are delicate. Anyway, Marlee then pranced around playing and saying "shit" the rest of the evening. We couldn't help but to laugh. She says shoe too when she has her shoes, so I kept handing her her shoes and saying, "shoe". She would say shoe, then put them down. A few minutes would pass and again..."shit". I guess we are at that time where we REALLY must watch what we say. Not that we walk around cussing all the time, but now we for sure have to watch our tongues. Her smile will melt the hardest of hearts, and those big doe eyes will entrance the wickedest of souls. She is such a ....an amazing soul from whom I learn so much from every day. We are truly blessed. Well, I think that is enough for now, but stay tuned!


We took these before we left. I love the one with her and Zachary! She was not very happy as you can see.



We went to Beate's the other day and had a great visit. We have been trying to get there for a while now, but the weather has been bad and we were all sick. I thought Marlee would be attached to my hip the entire time because she is very bashful with strangers these days. They obviously aren't strangers, but she hasn't seen them in a while. At first she was a bit weary, but she got very comfortable. She has always taken to them really well. They seem to really like her.