I can hardly believe how fast time has flown in the last year. Someone once told me that the older you get, the faster time goes by. It didn't seem possible at the time, but I am finding that to be very true. Two littles in the house keep this mama running non-stop and before I know it, another week, month, year has flown by! Before I know it we'll be talking about adding the next little to our family (we're already listening to Monkey talk about it)!
Last summer we had a baby in the house. This summer we have an independent, feisty, sassy-as-can-be DIVA! Although she's nearing 20 months now, I have yet to post pictures that I took celebrating 19 months (I know, I choose the weirdest times...I skipped one year and 18 months but I choose 19 months??? Hey - ya gotta do it sometime!)
1) Her energy level - this girl is always ready to dive into whatever we have planned, whether that be playing in the pool, building a fort, weeding the garden, or kicking a ball around the yard....she's on it! It's motivating for this mama!
2) Her cheesy smile - I know I'm behind on my blog so if you aren't also friends with me on FB you might not know what I'm talking about. But this girl has the BEST crinkle-nose, cheesy smile of anyone I know!
3) Her nurturing spirit - she may sass it up 24/7...but place a baby in the room or a dolly in her arms and she instantly turns into a little mommy. She is generous with her kissing and petting and rocking in her arms (but that part is only with the dollies).
4) Her dance moves - the signature Cocoa move is putting her hands on the floor, butt in the air and shaking her curls as fast as she can. Don't know WHERE she learned it (I promise I don't teach my children stripper moves =) but it is hilarious!!! She is known for breaking out in dance no matter where she is - stroller, car seat, grocery cart, baby carrier, you name it! Her favorites to dance to are Beyonce's "Diva" and Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair"...go figure. And yes. She can break dance too. And she did NOT learn that from her parents.
5) Her singing - repeating simple melodies or making them up on her own! It doesn't matter to this princess. If she doesn't have a song to dance to she'll make one herself! Takes after her mama in SO many ways =)
5) Her curls - I think this goes without saying. Those kinky spiral curls bouncing around bring SUCH a smile to my face! Yes, there was a learning curve and it was an added challenge to this hair stylist, but a welcome one! And now that she is becoming more patient with styling, our weekly hair sessions have become somewhat of a bonding moment for us. She even now has her own hairstyling station in her room to do her brother's hair and her dollies....she LOVES it!
6) Her love of the sun - did I tell you she took after her mama, or what? I mean, the love of sun comes of no surprise. The love of HEAT did however. This girl has never slept better than she has this summer. In her 75-80 degree room, with the sun beating in, a blanket over her, sweating. I guess she truly is Ethiopian =) (For those of you who don't know, they dress very conservatively in Ethiopia. It would be 75 outside and the special mothers would tell me to put a blanket or sweater around her bare arms. And they would wrap her in fleece blankets for naps. SERIOUSLY!) But it makes me literally giggle when I lay out a blanket and she sun bathes. For reals, folks!!!
7) Her fearlessness - we've come a long way with developing a fear of strangers, but that's not the kind of fear we're talking about. This girl climbs the wrong way up slides, goes down backwards, runs down them, climbs on the furniture, jumps off, let's daddy throw her in the air and do crazy flips and twists....and not just with a smile on her face - with a squeal of delight! She makes my heart skip a beat 10,000 times a day with her stunts. But coming from a girl who was scared of EVERYthing when she came home -- I see it as her learning to trust!
8) Her love of swings - enough said right? Whether on her tummy or her buns or leaning back with her hair hanging in the grass...swings make her one happy camper!
9) Her kisses - these come in an abundance around here and that makes my heart SMILE!!! Cocoa and daddy have a ritual now in the morning that when we're all cuddling in mama and daddy's bed, daddy and Cocoa take turns kissing mama to see who can have the longest and best kisses. I don't mind at all! =) And of course, the ritual before ANYONE leaves and EVERYONE needs TWO hugs and kisses (a certain little man bursts into tears if we forget).
10) Her love of bath time - I think a majority of kids really enjoy this nightly ritual, but I'm going to pretend for a moment that my daughter is the only one! As soon as that water is running she starts pulling off her clothes, and whether or not she's successful she kicks one leg over the edge of the tub and does her darndest to climb in! And forget giving the kid baths separately! Even if she goes first and we do her hair and put her pjs on, she runs STRAIGHT back to the bathroom and tries to climb back in.
11) Her love of water - Okay I know that this may be a little redundant, but deal with me, I've got 7 more to do here, mkay? So yes, she loves the bath water, but she also loves sprinklers, pools, hoses, watering cans, squirt guns, squirt bottles, you name it! SQUEALS of delight!
12) Her puddle-jumping maniac-ness - she can't resist. But I get it....you understand her love of water now. (Right?!?)
13) Her love of SHOES - girl after my own HEART!!! I can't keep her away. Her shoe drawer and the basket in our closet (okay FINE - cardboard box!) are both stuffed with pairs of her shoes and she has easy access to both. Continually throughout the day she will bring us shoes to put on her...sometimes they match her clothes just fine, other times they don't even match each other! But its adorable. You know, as long as I can find them later...
14) Her car noises - definitely evidence of a big brother! =) But seriously, why can every member of my family BUT me do sound effects? It's hardly fair.
15) Her love of dirt - this I don't get, but I attempt to embrace anyway. Maybe it's just more of a love of her big brother and wanting to be just like him, but this girl is a MESS in frills. Dressed like a diva she runs out to the sandbox (or, you know, the flower beds) and starts throwing dirt - in the grass, at her brother, in her HAIR (shudder)! Messiest girly girl I ever met.
16) Her love of all things sparkly! - No compl -aints here! Her daddy, however, might complain time to time about glitter in his eye. We can't help it - we're GIRLS!
17) Her love of FOOD - people tell me time and time again how they can't believe how tiny she is considering the amount of food she eats! I don't know WHERE she hides it, but I want to know the secret! I think the ONLY food I can't get her to eat is bell peppers. Other than that, nothing seems off limits! She could eat until she explodes (if only she didn't get distracted by EVERYTHING).
18) Her love of animals - one of the few ways we are VERY different, me and her. I'm kind of a scaredy cat, but I'm trying my hardest not to pass that on to my kids (another reason I admire her fearlessness). Every animal we see I have to fight my instinct to run the other direction and tell my daughter, "yes, that is a very cute puppy", "mmhmm...pretty bird", or "careful, sometimes ducks bite...you can't give it a hug hunny".
19) Her love for her family - proof our cocooning was sucessful! This girl is attached to the HIP and we LOVE it! She bawls when daddy goes back to work after the weekend and clings to mama on the rare occasions she leaves the house and yes, even gives lingering hugs and kisses to her brother before naps and bedtime. LOVE IT!
So I think that about sums up our little sweetie - and I hope you feel like you got to know our little Cocoa a bit better! But in case you didn't, pictures speak a thousand words, right?!? ;)
Last summer we had a baby in the house. This summer we have an independent, feisty, sassy-as-can-be DIVA! Although she's nearing 20 months now, I have yet to post pictures that I took celebrating 19 months (I know, I choose the weirdest times...I skipped one year and 18 months but I choose 19 months??? Hey - ya gotta do it sometime!)
19 Things I Love About Cocoa
1) Her energy level - this girl is always ready to dive into whatever we have planned, whether that be playing in the pool, building a fort, weeding the garden, or kicking a ball around the yard....she's on it! It's motivating for this mama!
2) Her cheesy smile - I know I'm behind on my blog so if you aren't also friends with me on FB you might not know what I'm talking about. But this girl has the BEST crinkle-nose, cheesy smile of anyone I know!
3) Her nurturing spirit - she may sass it up 24/7...but place a baby in the room or a dolly in her arms and she instantly turns into a little mommy. She is generous with her kissing and petting and rocking in her arms (but that part is only with the dollies).
4) Her dance moves - the signature Cocoa move is putting her hands on the floor, butt in the air and shaking her curls as fast as she can. Don't know WHERE she learned it (I promise I don't teach my children stripper moves =) but it is hilarious!!! She is known for breaking out in dance no matter where she is - stroller, car seat, grocery cart, baby carrier, you name it! Her favorites to dance to are Beyonce's "Diva" and Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair"...go figure. And yes. She can break dance too. And she did NOT learn that from her parents.
5) Her singing - repeating simple melodies or making them up on her own! It doesn't matter to this princess. If she doesn't have a song to dance to she'll make one herself! Takes after her mama in SO many ways =)
6) Her love of the sun - did I tell you she took after her mama, or what? I mean, the love of sun comes of no surprise. The love of HEAT did however. This girl has never slept better than she has this summer. In her 75-80 degree room, with the sun beating in, a blanket over her, sweating. I guess she truly is Ethiopian =) (For those of you who don't know, they dress very conservatively in Ethiopia. It would be 75 outside and the special mothers would tell me to put a blanket or sweater around her bare arms. And they would wrap her in fleece blankets for naps. SERIOUSLY!) But it makes me literally giggle when I lay out a blanket and she sun bathes. For reals, folks!!!
7) Her fearlessness - we've come a long way with developing a fear of strangers, but that's not the kind of fear we're talking about. This girl climbs the wrong way up slides, goes down backwards, runs down them, climbs on the furniture, jumps off, let's daddy throw her in the air and do crazy flips and twists....and not just with a smile on her face - with a squeal of delight! She makes my heart skip a beat 10,000 times a day with her stunts. But coming from a girl who was scared of EVERYthing when she came home -- I see it as her learning to trust!
9) Her kisses - these come in an abundance around here and that makes my heart SMILE!!! Cocoa and daddy have a ritual now in the morning that when we're all cuddling in mama and daddy's bed, daddy and Cocoa take turns kissing mama to see who can have the longest and best kisses. I don't mind at all! =) And of course, the ritual before ANYONE leaves and EVERYONE needs TWO hugs and kisses (a certain little man bursts into tears if we forget).
10) Her love of bath time - I think a majority of kids really enjoy this nightly ritual, but I'm going to pretend for a moment that my daughter is the only one! As soon as that water is running she starts pulling off her clothes, and whether or not she's successful she kicks one leg over the edge of the tub and does her darndest to climb in! And forget giving the kid baths separately! Even if she goes first and we do her hair and put her pjs on, she runs STRAIGHT back to the bathroom and tries to climb back in.
11) Her love of water - Okay I know that this may be a little redundant, but deal with me, I've got 7 more to do here, mkay? So yes, she loves the bath water, but she also loves sprinklers, pools, hoses, watering cans, squirt guns, squirt bottles, you name it! SQUEALS of delight!
12) Her puddle-jumping maniac-ness - she can't resist. But I get it....you understand her love of water now. (Right?!?)
13) Her love of SHOES - girl after my own HEART!!! I can't keep her away. Her shoe drawer and the basket in our closet (okay FINE - cardboard box!) are both stuffed with pairs of her shoes and she has easy access to both. Continually throughout the day she will bring us shoes to put on her...sometimes they match her clothes just fine, other times they don't even match each other! But its adorable. You know, as long as I can find them later...
14) Her car noises - definitely evidence of a big brother! =) But seriously, why can every member of my family BUT me do sound effects? It's hardly fair.
15) Her love of dirt - this I don't get, but I attempt to embrace anyway. Maybe it's just more of a love of her big brother and wanting to be just like him, but this girl is a MESS in frills. Dressed like a diva she runs out to the sandbox (or, you know, the flower beds) and starts throwing dirt - in the grass, at her brother, in her HAIR (shudder)! Messiest girly girl I ever met.
17) Her love of FOOD - people tell me time and time again how they can't believe how tiny she is considering the amount of food she eats! I don't know WHERE she hides it, but I want to know the secret! I think the ONLY food I can't get her to eat is bell peppers. Other than that, nothing seems off limits! She could eat until she explodes (if only she didn't get distracted by EVERYTHING).
18) Her love of animals - one of the few ways we are VERY different, me and her. I'm kind of a scaredy cat, but I'm trying my hardest not to pass that on to my kids (another reason I admire her fearlessness). Every animal we see I have to fight my instinct to run the other direction and tell my daughter, "yes, that is a very cute puppy", "mmhmm...pretty bird", or "careful, sometimes ducks bite...you can't give it a hug hunny".
19) Her love for her family - proof our cocooning was sucessful! This girl is attached to the HIP and we LOVE it! She bawls when daddy goes back to work after the weekend and clings to mama on the rare occasions she leaves the house and yes, even gives lingering hugs and kisses to her brother before naps and bedtime. LOVE IT!
So I think that about sums up our little sweetie - and I hope you feel like you got to know our little Cocoa a bit better! But in case you didn't, pictures speak a thousand words, right?!? ;)
1 comment:
SO......SO......PRECIOUS!!! The pics, your words about her.....I feel like I know her now! Ha! Beautiful babe!
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