Happy (almost) Valentine’s Day to you! I hope you are ready for the big day, I sure am. Or, at least it seems like I am. Just like Christmas, I am not exactly sure what all of the excitement is about, but it sounds like fun. We have the house decorated with hearts, and Mommy and I made cookies with pink frosting to help celebrate. I was not allowed to taste the icing, even though I really wanted to. Mommy said that someday I could. I don’t know what we are going to do for the big day, maybe we will do something fun at school.

Did I tell you that my hair is getting thicker and longer? It actually looks like I have hair now! It even gets messed up when I take off my hat (a very fun trick I can do, by the way). Mommy and Daddy brush my (two) teeth every night. They say that it is never too early to develop good oral hygiene. Of course, Daddy works for Crest and Oral B brands, so I think he is trying to ensure long-term success of his products by getting me started early.

I am doing so much better at school! I always liked it, but I was not one for sleeping at school, or, as you know, drinking from a bottle. I am still not very much into the bottle, but Miss Nancy and Miss Tiesha just mix Mommy’s milk with cereal and I eat it right up. I go through lots of cereal! I also love my fruits and vegetables they give me. I eat baby number 1 and number 2 foods now. There are not many varieties of number 1 foods so we “moved up” to the number 2’s. Whenever anyone is eating, I sit there and just watch. I can’t wait until I can eat like that! Talking about sitting, I can sit up by myself now! All of my friends at school sit in a circle and I want to be just like them, so I started sitting up by myself too. I love to reach forward, grab my feet, and systematically put them into my mouth. I bet you wish you could do that. I roll over and over too. Although Mommy and Daddy are not sure how I do it, I can move myself from one end of my crib to the other in the middle of the night. Sometimes I run into trouble because I back myself into the side of the crib or to the very end and get stuck. Sometimes in my movement I lose my pacifier half-way into the bed and cannot find it! Don’t worry, though, I have pretty good lungs and am pretty convincing in the middle of the night, so Daddy or Mommy usually come to help me find it again. Mr. Fancy Pants and Bella (my kitties, of course) sleep in my room with me, I think because I have a heater for extra warmth, not because they want to be with me. But, they go down to Mommy and Daddy’s room meowing once they have “checked in” on me. I sometimes hear them “reporting back” in the middle of the night. Then I hear Mommy or Daddy scolding them for talking in the middle of the night. Don’t they understand that the kitties are just reporting back? Adults just don’t get it sometimes.

We had many fun events in January (I think I say this every update, but that’s because I lead a pretty fun life). Anyway, after I got over the croup (I would not advise catching this), and got better at sleeping at school, we got into a routine. Mommy takes me to school most mornings, then Daddy picks me up. During the day, we sit in a circle and read books or sing or just play. I have been on several buggy rides, boy do I love those! I will take a picture so you can see. I brought home my first craft in January too! I used my fingers to paint a bear. It is on the refrigerator for everyone to see. I was very proud of my art and Daddy and Mommy cheered, so it must have been good.

Mommy’s birthday was on a Sunday this year, and we had Monday off so were able to enjoy a long weekend together. It was a fun-filled time! On Saturday we went to Dayton to celebrate with Nana, Uncle Robbie and Aunt Jeannie. Then on Sunday, we went to church, where I happily sing and talk (especially when it’s quiet so everyone can hear me). Then we went to Max & Erma’s for lunch (because they sing and give a free dessert), then Daddy made his famous salmon dish for dinner. Mommy said that her birthday is much different than in the past (not sure what she meant by this, she said she would tell me when I was older). She said that it’s better because I am here, that makes me feel special.

Mommy’s friend, Kelly, was in town this month. She stayed with us a few nights and that was fun. One of the nights we met Sharon and Cherie (our friends from Dayton) at a really fancy restaurant called Jag’s. I was the only person under 21 there, but don’t worry, I am used to going out to dinner and was quiet and good. Mommy and I stopped by the bar to watch the live musician. I giggled with delight and people all around smiled at me! Then that weekend we met Guy and Zoe (Kelly’s husband and daughter). Julian, Kelly’s son, was in town too but he was with other friends. We went to the Echo, a neat diner in Hyde Park (a fun place in Cincinnati) on Sunday morning. I, of course, entertained them and had a fun time meeting them.

I saw Papaw and Great grandmother McMinn one Saturday this month. I have not seen Papaw since my baptism and Great Grandmother Betty since October. They were so surprised at how big I am. The next week I went to a happy hour with Mommy and her work friends. As you probably know by now, I really like anything that resembles a party, so this was right down my alley. All of Mommy’s friends called me “Little Miss Sunshine,” which is really fun because that is what I remember everyone calling me when I was in Mommy’s belly. I laughed and giggled for them and let them pass me from person to person without complaint. Don’t worry, I kept Mommy in my sights the whole time, but I was happy to grab at other’s people’s faces for a bit.

I went to my first Super Bowl party! We went to the Griffith’s house. Paul is a friend of Daddy’s (and works with Mommy too). Paul is married to Gale, who is a nurse. She is really nice and helped me and Mommy when we were first starting to nurse way back in July. Can you believe it has been that long? Anyway, they have two children, Lauren and Ryan. I just love them! They talk and play with me and make funny faces. We often meet the Griffith’s on Friday nights to try out new restaurants around town. We usually go to Graeters for dessert too, you know how much Mommy likes ice cream! So when the Griffith’s said they were having a party, it was on our “must do” list. I love TV, do you know this? I am just like Mommy how I get “TV face.” This is an intense focus on the TV, no matter what else is going on. And the Griffith’s have a 100 inch TV, can you imagine how much I loved it? A lot. And there were lots of other people there, especially kids. I like kids even better than adults (although I love everyone, don’t worry). And they like me too! I was the center of attention, could life be better than that? We only stayed at the party until half-time, something about my bedtime. I don’t know. It was fun, I hope to do it again.

We had sad news last weekend, my great grandmother, Pauline Connor, died. She was almost 90 years old and had a good life, but it was still sad that she died. This also means that we made a trip to Defiance, Ohio (near Toledo) for her funeral. For me, this meant that I got dressed up, drove in the car, met with many more people who seemed to love me. I had such a good time at the viewing (the day before the funeral) that I could not sleep at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. I was rather upset about not being able to sleep so I told Mommy and Daddy all about it. This means that none of us slept very much and even woke up Grandma and Grandpa at 4 in the morning. Mommy took me into the TV room and slept (sitting up) in a chair until she was a) uncomfortable and b) cold at 5 or 6 (she lost count of the time at this point). I was happily asleep by this point, until 7, when I thought I should get up to eat again. I played with Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Terry and Aunt Suzi, then took a nice nap on the way from Toledo to Defiance to the funeral. Mommy and Daddy don’t look so good today, it’s too bad they couldn’t take a nap on the way to the funeral like me. Oh well.

Talking about eating. I still nurse in the morning and at night. Mommy “pumps” two times a day at work so I have enough of her milk for each day. I have a habit I don’t think she appreciates, as sometimes I bite her with my cool new teeth when I am nursing. There was one time that I bit her, she screamed, then I laughed. Then daddy laughed because it was pretty funny that I laughed about Mommy screaming. Mommy did not appreciate the laughing, but did admit that my expression was priceless.

I don’t just bite mommy, I bite pretty much everything I can put into my mouth. When Mommy hands me to a person who has not been around me in awhile, she goes through the list of “warnings” about me; I pull hair, I scratch with my amazingly sharp nails, I bite fingers, shoulders, noses, etc; I bang objects, I grab necklaces, earrings and most shiny objects, and I put my fingers into food dishes. The list goes on and on. After hearing this list, Mommy’s long-time friend, Mollie, said “this girl comes with a warning label, doesn’t she?” That made Mommy laugh and laugh and when she got back into control, she said, “yes, you are absolutely right.” I usually laugh when Mommy laughs, so we had a good time talking about my “warning label.” I don’t really know what this means because I am just doing what is natural, but it must be funny if people are laughing about it.

My physical therapy is going well. I still think about my friend Erin (my first physical therapist), but my new therapist, Theresa is really nice too. There is one curious thing, though. At one of the sessions she put something that reminded Mommy of a “scuba suit” that Theresa said would help me stabilize my head. Hmm. Not sure why I need a scuba suit if I don’t swim yet and if you ask me, my head is much more stable that it has even been! But, Theresa seems to know what she is talking about, so I guess I am getting one of my own. It will be pink and I will wear it for three hours each day. I will get to show my friends my neat outfit, I be they will be jealous!

My nana had a birthday and we went to see her. Oh how I love my nana! Mommy and I made her a cake (a double decker carmel cake with chocolate icing in the middle and cream cheese icing on the top). Mommy let me help decorate and for my first attempt, I think it was pretty good. We did not get every word in “Happy Birthday Nana” onto the cake, it turned out to be “Happy Nana,” which, of course, Nana is happy when I am around, so it was fine. Anyway, we went to Cold Beer & Cheeseburgers, one of the family’s favorite restaurants right around the corner from Mommy and Daddy’s first house. Uncle Robbie, Aunt Jeannine, Uncle David and Katelyn were there too, they are so funny! And boy do they love me! I don’t know who entertains who but fun is always had by all. Daddy, Mommy and I drove through the old neighborhood after lunch. I was sleeping but that was okay, it did not look like our neighbors were home anyway. Maybe we will see them next time.

That’s it for today. I hope that you and your family are warm and safe on this cold winter day. I heard just last week that we have six more weeks of winter, something about a groundhog seeing his shadow. This is another curious event to me, but I guess a groundhog would not lie about such a thing.