Easter Egg Hunt!

While Aunt Julie was here, Naomi participated in an Easter egg hunt! (And yes, I set up a couple practice runs at home so Naomi would get the idea beforehand and be able to top all the other kids with her egg collection skills.) Unfortunately, I didn't check the camera settings and ended up with lots of pictures that were pretty washed out, but we sure had a fun time!

Mommy's taking us to the zoo tomorrow...

Actually, that was last week when Aunt Julie was here! We had a fun time at the zoo, although Naomi's clear favorite was...the water. We had to lure her away from almost every area by promising there would be water at the next place, whether it be a frog fountain spouting water or a stream running through the enclosure. I believe her other favorites were watching the polar bears swim laps and standing on one leg just like the flamingos.

Pump It Up

Naomi and I have gone to Pump It Up a few times, but yesterday Matt got to come with us for his first time there! Everything is made of inflatable material, and they have a jumping castle, an obstacle course, a huge slide, and a smaller slide with some other fun activities surrounding it. Here are some pictures of Matt and Naomi rolling out of the obstacle course, Naomi going down a slide on her tummy, and the two of them jumping together.

Headband and Silverstein

Naomi enjoys trying whatever we are doing, including checking out what we wear on our heads. Here she is sporting my headband which she had commandeered moments before.

In the second picture, she is holding one of her most recently discovered favorites in literature.

New Flip Flops/Sandals!

Here they are! (Great recommendation, Terrah. I LOVE THEM!)

For some reason, Naomi associates them with Mickey Mouse...she's completely lost me there, especially since she doesn't have much experience with Mickey Mouse!

**Note: there has been some dispute about whether or not these qualify as flip flops. Feel free to post a comment if you feel strongly about this issue.

Morning greetings

It's always fun to go into Naomi's room in the morning (or after naps). Usually she wakes up and chats to herself for a bit, so when we go in she's gotten past the blurry-eyed confused phase. She has quite a variety of ways to greet us. Her most recent greetings have been things like this:

Hi, sweetie! (this one really makes me giggle!)
Mommy, what happened? (no idea what she's talking about or where she got this phrase)
What is that? (usually talking about the humidifier)
Where is it? There it is! (she likes to ask a question and then answer it herself)
Play with toys! (self-explanatory)

Wagon ride, rock climbing, water fun, all in one trip!

There is a water fountain in the shopping area right by our house, and we often haul Naomi over there in the wagon. It's actually quite a good incentive: "once we get done with ________, we can go see the water fountain". She likes dancing around on the ledge, trying to climb the rocks, playing with the plants, watching the water splash, etc. Here are some pictures of today's outing.

Tragedy!

Tragedy has struck. My beloved flip flops have a hole.

These are the most comfortable flip flops I have ever had, and they have lasted for years. How does one part with such a trusted and loyal object? Most unfortunate...now I will have to search for very comfortable flip flops that are not expensive. This is of utmost importance since I wear them year round (and not because I live in Tucson...darn you, Mom, for giving me claustrophobic feet!).

Pigtails

Pigtails!!

Sabino Canyon

We accompanied a group of grad student recruits up Sabino Canyon a few weeks ago. Here are some pics of Matt helping Naomi dip her hands in the water, and Naomi getting a mini-lesson in various types of handholds for rock climbing.

Hat girl

Naomi enjoys having pictures taken of herself and then demands to see them. Usually that results in her not staying still long enough for a picture to be taken; usually the picture ends up being a blur running towards the camera. Here are a few that actually turned out.

Injury and Recovery

Naomi fell the other day and really hit her cheek hard on the arm of a wooden chair. If you look closely, you might be able to see some bruising on her left cheek.

Here is her recovery process:
cry
cuddle with daddy
demand grapes be placed in her mouth
manipulate parents
etc.

Oops, forgot to finish the Utah trip pictures!

Here are a few more pictures from our Utah trip. Naomi LOVED playing on Grandma's bed and practiced her somersaults there quite a bit. Unfortunately, she never quite caught onto the idea of making sure she wasn't going to fall off the edges...small detail anyway, I suppose!



















Here Grandpa Jones is reading a bedtime story to Naomi.


















Now Grandpa and Naomi are negotiating who gets how much of the Jell-O!

Budding musician

Here Naomi displays her...uh, talent...at playing the piano. Occasionally she will also sing while she plays. I've convinced her for the most part that the piano should not be played with the whole hand crashing down repeatedly, but using one or two fingers at a time to play individual notes. Now she instructs me daily on the use of just one or two fingers at a time.



And some more for your enjoyment...

Valentine's Party

Naomi and I hosted a small Valentine's party before the big day itself. Naomi had fun placing the sticky foam hearts all over (all over pretty much everything in addition to the designated spot). And she discovered Oreos...quite possibly her first time having Oreos, and she managed to sneak about 4 before I put the kabosh on having any more!

Trip to Utah: Sunday

Unfortunately, despite Grandpa Jones being home most of the afternoon, we spent our time watching the Superbowl (yah, Giants!!) instead of taking fun pictures with Naomi. Here are a couple pictures we did get, though: Naomi playing with Grandma's hat, and Naomi playing on Edward's bench. You can see the rocking horse in the background; she's had lots of fun on that, too.

The time goes so fast! We will be leaving on Tuesday. I think we'll stop by the BYU Bookstore and pick up some t-shirts for the family (go Cougs!).

Naomi meets snow!

Pretty dark - sorry!

Trip to Utah: Saturday

Here are pictures of Naomi and Grandma reading books (obtained on a library trip on Friday) and us out having fun in the snow. Naomi cried when we had to come indoors and begged to see the cats some more. She watched the cows for a few moments, but they apparently were not nearly as interesting as the cats...

Trip to Utah: Friday

Friday was pretty cold again, so we were only outside long enough to go to and from the car. Naomi spent some of her time inside cuddling up with the huge teddy bear, watching out the window while Grandma fed the cows, and playing with the dollhouse.

Trip to Utah: Day 2

Now we're in Monroe and having fun at Grandma and Grandpa Jones' house. Yesterday morning Naomi braved the snow, cold temperatures, and worst of all, the winds to accompany Grandma to the mailbox for the newspaper. Grandma carried Naomi back up the hill for the return journey - it was just too cold to dawdle!

Naomi likes seeing the big snowy mountains and talking about the snow. She doesn't mind being bundled in hats, coats, scarves and mittens. And she's made it her personal quest to see the kitty cats, even though they only make an appearance in the garage once a day or so.

Yesterday evening we took Naomi to the swimming pool. Unfortunately, we have no pictures, but she couldn't get enough of the slide that dumped her into the shallow pool and we had a fun time.

She is eagerly awaiting our opportunity to go see the cows.

Trip to Utah: Day 1

Naomi and I flew into SLC on Wednesday, and Grandpa Jones picked us up at the airport. We played at Bethany's house with Dahlia and Bobbie and Grandma Jones. Aunt Allyson came over and played, too! We had Cafe Rio, which I get about once a year, so it's worth mentioning.

It was Naomi's first time touching snow, and she loved it. That is, until her hands got so cold she cried uncontrollably.

Hieroglyphics

Yesterday Matt was watching Naomi while I was doing the glucose test at the doctor's office. She was bending over her large doodle pad drawing something very small, which is odd - normally she makes big drawings with lots of lines and circles. He asked her what she was drawing, and he had to have her repeat it a few times until he understood what she was saying. Our not-quite-2-year-old was drawing "hieroglyphics"! She pronounces it "hywogifics".

There is an episode of Little Einsteins where they visit the pyramids and talk a little about hieroglyphics. Who knew she was really absorbing that information? Plus this morning she informed me that one of her stuffed animals looks like a sphnix. Quite the terminology for a kid who hasn't figured out how to pull up her own pants! (She does pretty well with that except she can't get them over her bum.)

Highly intelligent child...

Here's an update on what our highly intelligent child can do:

1. She can count to 15
2. She has started using "I" in its proper context (I see it!)
3. She can sing a whole verse of Old McDonald by herself (and usually picks camel as the animal)
4. She heard a riddle a few times on a Dora movie and proceeded to tell me the entire riddle in the car today....about 10 times in a row. The riddle goes like this:

What is furry, swings from tree to tree (accompanied by arm motions) and goes "EEE EEE OOO OOO" (accompanied by facial expressions and arm motions)? [PAUSE] A monkey!

The excitement of sweeping

Naomi has taken a liking to the broom. As a narrow-minded adult, I tend to just use it for sweeping the kitchen floor. Naomi has exposed me to a world of uses for the broom!

Happy Birthday, Matt!

Matt had a birthday at the beginning of January! We had an all-out crazy birthday party for him..."all-out crazy" is just a little different now than it was in college! We also fed the missionaries dinner and had some friends over to play games and eat the birthday trifle.

Naomi was very involved with all of it...she picked out the balloons, helped Daddy open the presents and cards, popped one of the balloons, and commandeered the candy bar attached to the balloons. I guess it was a good warm-up for her birthday in February.

Victory! (at least temporarily...)

Yup, sure is...this is a picture of Naomi asleep in her toddler bed!! Today is the second day we've attempted naptime in the toddler bed. Yesterday was a failure; Naomi got in some "quiet time" but never slept. I need to exult in the victory today, because I don't know when it will happen again!

Arizona Sonora Desert Museum

On New Year's Eve, we took a trip to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. As before, one of my favorite areas was Cat Canyon, and here is a picture of an ocelot. Matt and Naomi enjoyed the hummingbird house and the aviary, and we took a fun trip down through the underground cavern and geologic exhibits.

Baby-sitting Fish

Our neighbors asked us to keep their fish while they are on a trip. Naomi loves to watch them, talk to them, talk about them, poke at their flowers, see them eat, etc.

We don't keep them down low where she has constant access to them. I can't imagine the havoc she would wreak in her excitement!