Strategies for dressing a toddler in winter

Compromise. "Well, how about tights instead of pants?"




Peer pressure. "Look! The hippo is wearing a fleece. Don't you want to wear a fleece?"




Bribery. "Once you're dressed, we'll put on ALL your hair doodles."




Remember, more is more. "Do you want to wear THREE hoods?"




Appeal to vanity. "Do you want to see your THREE HOODS in the mirror?"




When all else fails, just put on all the most colorful and absurd clothes you can find. With enough layers, she'll stay warm.

I am a big girl now.

Big milestone for Juniper: this morning she peed in the potty for the first time! She was really excited about it.

We're hoping to embark on a serious potty training adventure in the next couple of weeks. Wish us luck...and send Nature's Miracle.

Saturday morning breakfast

Blow on it...make sure it's cool.





"No! Don't cut it. I want a big one." Well, yes ma'am. One big one, coming right up.

I'm gonna be a big girl.

J: [muttering a story to herself in the backseat of the car] "...sad...and the poop...cleaned it up..."
A: What did you clean up?
J: The poop.
A: Who pooped?
J: The rhinoceros pooped.
A: Where did the rhinoceros poop?
J: In the potty.
(pause)
J: I'm gonna do it someday.
(pause)
J: I'm gonna be a big girl someday. I'm gonna poop in the potty someday. I'm gonna learn to be a big girl someday, but now I'm little.

The many nicknames of Juniper Honeycutt-Dill

June Bug
Bug
Pudner
Butter
Buniper
Sweet Petite
Bonk
Shaolin Bonk

Closet + flashlight = fun

Juniper and Violet like to hang out in Juniper's closet, which they call the little room.




They recently found Sally's bike headlight, and are having lots of fun playing with it in the pitch dark closet.

Big girl puzzles

A few weeks ago we discovered that while we've been piddling around with the wooden toddler puzzles with the little peg, over at Cheryl & Jason's house, Juniper has learned how to do real puzzles. In fact, putting puzzles together is one of her very favorite activities.

It's amazing to watch her problem solve and figure out how the pieces go together. She'll look for like objects and try to fit them together. ("It's the beak. This one has some beak.") She'll try pieces from multiple sides, turning them around to see if she can make it fit. ("No, it doesn't go. [turn] I did it!") When a piece doesn't fit, she'll set it aside for later. ("We're not ready for this one yet.")




She needs a little encouragement and support to finish her advanced 24-piece duck puzzle, but she can do the 12-piece Juniper & Violet puzzle all by herself.

Sniffles

Everyone in our family has had a cold during the past week.

Dressed for snow

Juniper was well prepared for the snow this time. Too bad she didn't have these snow pants when we were in Virginia over Christmas!




"I do it by myself!" Juniper takes off her shoes, socks, grocery bags, and 2nd socks.

Sock monkey (thanks Naomi!)

Jennifer's mom recently gave Juniper this wonderful (and generous) gift - a hand knit sock monkey. Juniper was very excited and happy to show off her new monkey friend.




Note that the little red hat comes off.




Juniper explored, played, and snuggled with the monkey for a few minutes.




Then she took the monkey back to her bedroom, settled it into the rocking chair, and began reading it a bedtime story.




As an extra bonus, Naomi also sent some knitted cookies, which are a well-loved addition to the little kitchen.

Home Improvements

We have a yellow dining room!

I did it!

Reach...stretch...



...swing like a monkey!

Peanut Butter Jelly Time

I love my Cheryl.

Juniper seems to think that "Cheryl" and "Jason" are titles, like Dad or Gramma. Heading over to their house in the morning, she'll tell us, "I'm gonna see my Cheryl. I'm gonna see my Jason." If we're doing something she doesn't like, she'll often wail, "I want my Jason! I want my Cheryl!" Violet, though, is just "Violet," not "my Violet."

Pizza Fun

Juniper often (and truthfully) announces, "I'm a messy eater." Violet will tell you that Juniper is, "a big messy eater. And I'm a little messy eater."




I'm sorry, are you 2...or 12? 22 is also a little angsty, with the transition out of college and a lifetime of school. Thankfully, 32 is an easy year!




With a mom in public health and a grandmother in infection control, you'd think someone would teach this kid something about hygiene.

The next engineer in the family?

Texas City, TX

Check out Aaron's website for photos from our recent trip to Texas City - fresh oranges, enchiladas, multiple appearances of "The Texas Book," sea gulls, and lots of good family time!

We've had requests from family members who want to be able to buy prints of Juniper photos; Aaron's gallery is set up so that you can purchase prints at cost. (We've already placed an order for Fred & Wanda.)