Charlotte Digs Dirt

Literally.

And she thinks it's really, really fun. She calls it "Helping Mommy" and is happily occupied while I garden.

She also loves her water table or "bathtub," as she calls it. This is a little technique she calls, "Scoop it up. In the hair." We would like to thank our Feeding Clinic team for that--it's a variation of "Scoop it up. In the mouth" used to encourage her to open her mouth wide.

Other Charlotte-isms:

• Our little miss refuses to say "Charlotte." She prefers to call herself "you" or "yo," if she's feeling really silly. She can say "Charlotte." She chooses not to and likes to tease us.
• She likes me to sing to her. If you've heard me sing, you know that her taste is a bit off. She especially likes if I make up silly lyrics to songs she already knows.
• Other favorite things to do (I asked her) are: atch Elmo DVD (Not a typo, that's what she said. Not that she gets to do it very often.) ; playground; play Elmo-Cookie (Translation: play with her Elmo-Cookie magnadoodle. Thanks Blackketter clan!) ; paint; unning (Again, not a typo).
• Finally, she's a huge fan of the author/illustrator Jon Muth. The kid has kind of advanced taste! We read Stone Soup or Zen Shorts nearly every night. (Again, thanks to the Blackketter family!) She also really digs Mo Willems (okay, who doesn't?), but she's still a bit afraid of Leonardo the Monster. Go figure. Like every literate 2-year-old, she LOVES to tell the Pigeon that he can't drive the bus. Don't know what I'm talking about? Get thee to a bookstore or library immediately. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Go. Now. (Our friends give her the best books. Thanks to the Skopickis and Caros for Mo.)
• She likes chocolate milk and strawberry milk. Proving without a doubt that she's our kid.
• She's in the parrot phase of language acquisition. Now I really have to curb my truck-driver language. (no aspersions to truck drivers intended)

There's so much more that delights us each day, but I don't want to bore you with the details. Suffice it to say, she's kind of a regular kid these days. Hallelujah!

Stay tuned tomorrow for a Feeding Clinic update. (She drank 780 today!)