Margaret Update

Margaret's second birthday is rapidly approaching, and we can't believe how fast she is growing and changing. She is talking up a storm, and she is starting to speak in sentences. She even used a pronoun the other night ("I like it!") during dinner. Some of her "baby talk" is becoming clearer (Dada has now progressed to Daddy), but some things are still an adorable stretch (ice cream comes out "amish"). We are also very proud to say that she knows her colors, and she is learning her shapes. She knows circle, triangle, and heart pretty well, and she usually gets stars. We are working on squares.

Here are some of her current favorite things:

• the zoo
• trains, especially the train at the zoo
• the carousel at the zoo (which sometimes comes out "queso, zoo")
• Playing her favorite game, known as "No Peek". It is a combination of peek-a-boo and hide-and-go-seek. She hides in places like behind the ottoman, under the table, or under a blanket (known as a "bank"). The best part is when you pretend to look for her and say things like "I don't see her. Did she go in the kitchen?", and then you hear a little voice say "No-o".
  
• cheese, especially cheese sticks
• raspberries
• tomatoes (known as "matos" at our house)
• broccoli (which comes out "brocca"), especially when she has it with dip
• olives
  
• yogurt (which she calls "lo-gur")
• pizza
• cookies (known as "coo-coo")
  
• tea parties
• her swingset
• pools and swimming
• The Fisher-Price Little People
  
• Sesame Street (especially Elmo, Zoe, Abby, Big Bird, and Cookie Monster)
• Mickey and Minnie (and Donald, who, until recently, she called only "Duck")
  
• Winnie the Pooh
• Little Einsteins
• The book "I'm a Big Sister"
• The Little Critter book "The New Baby"