My Name Is Now Mom

TerraDactyl has discovered the joys of throwing things away.  She LOVES to throw things away.  I have to keep the toilet paper up on the counter and out of her reach or she will throw it all away, one square at a time.  She is displaying a little confusion on the difference between "trash" and "recycle" though.  She likes using both bins.  But once she decides which bin she wants to put an object into, it's hard to convince her to use the other bin.   And I definitely have to keep the wet wipes out of reach.  A couple times, she's managed to get a hold of them and empty the whole container out into the trash can.  Fortunately, it usually a fresh trash bag, so I still end up using them.  It's just a little more frustrating pulling them out of the package once they're crumpled.   As you can see from these pictures, TerraDactyl is also enamored with the compost bin.  If I leave the cabinet door un-baby-proofed, it's a toss up...

TerraDactyl has lately been showing an inordinate amount of interest in diapers lately.  She likes playing with them and pretending to put them on her dolls and stuffed animals.  I'm hoping this is step one in potty training.   She can reach the top of the changing table, so she'll just snag a diaper and go about her make-believe business.  I've been letting her because she's actually pretty reasonable about it.  Once she's got a diaper to play with, she doesn't keep going back for more.  And really, a 20 cent toy that occupies her for half an hour?  And it's not even ruined at the end?  Definitely worth it.  :) I especially like the elaborate set up in this photo.  TerraDactyl has a diaper on her right side, and wipes on her left side, and Fancy Nancy up on her "changing table" getting wiped clean.  Now WIPES, those I DO try to keep out of TerraDactyl's reach.  She LOVES emptying out an entire case of wipes.  So for ...

Lately, TerraDactyl has been loving books with interjections.  So she likes the Berenstain's B Book because there's a BAM!  And she likes the Cat in the Hat because there's a Bump!  And she REALLY likes Mother Bruce because he ROARS!  Sometimes, she'll just have me read until Bruce roars and then she'll giggle and then we'll switch books.   TerraDactyl also really likes her new water bottles.  A LOT.  She was so excited when she noticed all the cats and dogs on one of the bottles she had to go through and kiss every one of them.   But even if she loves the cats & dogs, she also loves the DJ skunk water bottle.  And she surprised the heck out of DH and I when she recognized the phrase "DJ skunks" and knew exactly what we were talking about.  We thought we were being discreet and not drawing her attention to the water bottle.  :) This amazingly intense hugging thing is something TerraDactyl does all the time now....

 Not long after Christmas we came home to an owl just hanging out on our fence.  There's no flash in this picture, so you can see it's not even that dark out.  He was a super chill owl, too.  He let DH get within like 10 feet to take this picture.  Although, his head was swiveling about the whole time. A while ago, DH and I put locks on our kitchen cabinets to keep TerraDactyl from getting into them and breaking things/making messes.  TerraDactyl has a pretty good handle on what she's allowed to do now, so sometimes I don't latch the cabinet locks immediately after opening a cabinet.  The other day, TerraDactyl took the lock off a cabinet and slipped it around her neck to wear like a necklace.  It actually took some convincing for her to let me take it off her neck. I adore this raincoat.  It's just so cute!  The other day, TerraDactyl insisted on wearing it around the house.  She didn't even ask to go outside, she just wanted to be...