Daddy and Bratty

Ali loves her daddy. I love Ali's daddy. Happy daddy's day, Daddy.

Besides national Hallmark holidays, our little family has been keeping quite busy. We've been rather enjoying the first few weeks of summer and have been going on our nightly walks to enjoy the perfect evening weather. Sometimes Alessandra even borrows mommy's shoes. :)

We still love the zoo! I love the face she makes when she feeds the goats.


The latest developmentally: She loves stacking and organizing and lining things up. Just look at the line of Little People commuters waiting for the bus!


Miss Adventure has also finally converted to climbing up the steps upright as opposed on all fours. She's a little late on this one, but we'll take the tiny setbacks considering the amazing leaps and bounds she's been making otherwise. Literally. The girl long-jumps everywhere she goes instead of walks. And she can also count to FIFTEEN now!

The other development that's not-so-pleasant is the very sassy part of her that does not abide any other ideas other than her own. If she doesn't feel like eating, the fork and plate gets smashed against the wall. All while looking you straight in the eye. Doesn't feel like letting me put her down? She goes straight for my hoop earring and pulls it out (thank God I have the quick-release kind!). If I'm not wearing earrings, then I just get a smack in my face or a bop on my head. There was one day when she got THREE time outs for hitting! Finally, we just put her to bed early. When she can't throw, pull, hit or bop, she just throws herself drastically on the ground and waaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiillllllllssssssssss!!!!!!!!!! I'm sure a big part of it has to do with her entering her Terrible Twos, but what a difference from our little angel a year ago! Time to start knocking Princess Alessandra down a peg or two! For starters, I actually have to tell Her Adorableness "NO!" on occasion. And for two, I need to start enforcing her usage of manners such as "Please" when she wants something, instead of relenting when she screams or cries. The one thing I can say about her is she's got her "thank you"s down pat.

One GOOD thing that I can say about her behavior is that she has been very good out of the stroller or cart. She holds my hand when I tell her to and is very good at not getting TOO distracted. Yesterday we walked a MILE together and she held my hand the entire way!

The other thing I can say about Alessandra is I just love to look at her. She is growing into a strong, precocious, inquisitive toddler, and I can't take my eyes off of her. I like to look at the facial expressions and wonder what is going through her little head. I enjoy her bouncy (and sometimes jumpy) gait and also listening to the mini-conversations she's starting to have with us. I also REALLY love how she looks when she cries. I hope that doesn't mean that there's something psychologically wrong with me and I would never do anything to see that facial expression on purpose, but I just love the way her little lips glisten and turn down and her perfect rows of teeth. She is one of the cutest criers I've ever seen. Plus, that's the one facial expression that looks exactly the same as it was the day she was born. I love her long legs and her little fingers. I love her toes that are shaped like mini-Ricardo toes. Her tummy and butt and wild hair are all amazing. I. Love. My. Daughter.

So, anyway. That's it for now. We are REALLY looking forward to next weekend where we will be celebrating Independence Day at our favorite locale, Lutsen, Minnesota. Angie brings Elena (Ella) out into the world for the first time longer than just a quick, face-covered errand, and Aaron will be there, and so will Liza and Joey and Ali's BFF Sawyer too!

North Shore bound!!!