![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixT5s2TD7xQbM3PsHKuvYrmTFsNTJryb5R7mzZnSg2tTAgFnjBm84Od-MvOfi40oIc17dcMOJBUmkrrIAHKISja7MxA88nBb4umJBCZWkKRCCnmcYBaiAU2-E6W9hBjWgkyaiePksT38Nn/s200/November,+Thanksgiving,+Snow+2008+410.jpg)
It is silly to even explain the long long absence at this point! I can't even remember the last time I posted, a mix of bad memory and because it has been so damn long! I thought about it often (I wonder if that will make Ivy feel better when she gets older and asks why I was so bad at keeping up and writing about her amazing life!) but then after it had been so long between posts I started wondering what would I even write at this point because there is SO much! And then I wondered if Blogger kicked me off for inactivity! But alas...here I am!
There have been many events, changes, firsts, hopefully lasts (like her waking up in the middle of the night for three weeks straight)and so much more to write about. Mostly I just want to write about what an amazing little 'toddler' Ivy has become! Ha Toddler! That is so funny to say that I am a mom to a toddler! Who would have thought it?!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiadyxC2tmi_4BbfY12vCvisZFeltg7c9Vkwc7QxoxARFeAiXq6uuuKJHgSmuzFOygbKDlCGwQeqIHfy6BJW8v28ifGPJc_Nij5eNKXs_SeZc0I0M_pLv3lml9YEPKv9oUIARSg-IeNH8fS/s200/November,+Thanksgiving,+Snow+2008+087.jpg)
She is speaking a ton, even said a two word sentence the other day...'bye-bye dada!' Pretty amazing. She is 17 months now going on about 28 months at least! She seems so smart to us, but of course we are a tad biased.
Her favorite activities right now include but are not at all limited to: blowing
kisses, shaking hands, giving fives to living and non-living people and animals (like our cat Lilo, and her dolls!) she loves waving to anyone she sees on the streets and then immediately blows them a kiss, and I do mean ANYONE!! she loves dancing! she learned how to hop like a frog and loves it, she even yells 'rrrrittttt' for ribbit each time she hops! She loves walking, but once you put her down do not even think about picking her back up (unless you have a cracker in your pocket!). She loves coloring but kind of like walking, do not even think of trying to stop her once you hand her a crayon! There is so much more but, unfortunately, I can't type forever!
Some firsts include:
Christmas...she was not so sure! Ok not officially 'first' but she was way to young the first year to understand or participate so we count this her first! She was overwhelmed I think because she kept disappearing into her room to play with her 'old toys!' And all the pictures were the same face with no emotion on it, just a look of utter confusion no matter how much enthusiasm daddy and I put into it! I will upload Christmas pictures soon...they are still on my camera...man how long ago was Christmas? I am so bad at this huh!?
Zoo...loved it! But like good first time parents we forgot our camera, the pictures would have looked exactly like the Christmas photos (which I will upload someday!) She was overwhelmed again, and had the same emotionless face! She did have a ton of fun and enjoyed seeing animals that can actually move not like the pictures in her books! Oh and not officially the first, but dad of Ivy was not there the first time and is a little bitter about it(just kidding!) so we don't talk about that trip to the zoo!
Swimming...hated it! Actually she started to warm up to it a little bit at the end, but if I or dad went under the water she screamed! But towards the end she was actually kind of giving very faint half smiles and splashing! So we will have to keep trying with that one. I did take the camera here, but then wondered if I could take pictures at a public pool where little kids were in their swimming suits, I thought there might be some sort of line that was crossing so....
She goes to daycare two days a week, something none of us like very much, Ivy the most! It is about to be four days a week something we are all sure to hate even more. We are currently searching for a new caregiver and none of us like that very much either, it's stressful, time consuming, depressing (seriously some of these places have no business caring for children). I am back in school.... yuck, and daddy is still working hard to provide! Which he does an amazing job of, and I think I need to let him know that more often! Thank you daddy!
Anyway....Like I said she is amazing and everyday does something new that astounds us both! We truly are so in love with that little girl we both loose our ability to breath sometimes! You know the feeling!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcGhZGhgnZC1XZJ9xhSoDaFyabgJcqBhJ_x37u9texjqKNRxzHbbXP96lbBvAzDGLPDiRJiUtS3B5nJKIkpl5pyqljuqprvQIqnTo4usU2CZ1UEii78nxl94Amp7MkQmgsoZ8yGUhZ24M8/s200/October+2008+188.jpg)