Hot fun in the Summertime!

Girls will be girls, already busy on the "phone"

This last weekend we headed to Cheyenne to spend some time with our good buddies Jamie and Gia.  We had a blast.  Gia is a year older than Adriana but they got along pretty well.  Gia was very nice and sweet sharing her stuff with Ade.   She even shared her golf clubs which Adriana loved and now has a pair of her own!   The Spezzano's are some of our favorite people and it was great for us to get to spend time with them.    

We are Family

So this June we were able to spend a week with the Etchepare side of the family.  Rob's brother Mike and family came to visit from the Pennsylvania and his sister Janine and her family came from North Dakota.   We had a lot of fun and were so glad to get to spend some time with them.   We spent some time in Fort Collins at Grandma and Grandpas, then Cheyenne and at the end of the week the entire family came down for a day at the zoo here in Denver then we had them all over to our house.   We had about 10 stay the night with us which was so much fun.  We just spread air mattresses throughout the great room and had one big slumber party.  

It was a lot of fun and it was nice for Adriana to get to spend time with her cousins.  

18 month check up

I took Adriana to her 18 month check up on Tuesday.  I first off cannot believe she is 18 months old and secondly can't believe we got out of there without shots this time.

According to the doctor Adriana is doing excellent.  She weighed 21 lb 9 oz so we finally passed the 20 lb mark!  It was big day.  She is also still getting taller....33 inches tall.  My goodness.  She is going to be a 5 ft before we know it.   

Everything else checked out well.  Verbally, the doctor said Adriana is far above average and a very verbal child (tell me about it, I hear it all day long).  She is saying a lot of words and phrases as well at getting pretty good at singing certain songs.    She has always babbled and "talked" a lot but really in the last month or so, the words she is saying and the clarity of them as grown incredibly.   She knows almost all her body parts, colors (she can say them, she still is having some trouble keeping track of which is which but yes, she can say orange and yellow and loves to scream them), most animals (though some of them I know Rob and I might be the only ones that know what she is talking about), animal sounds, she knows her fruits and a lot of food.   The other day she told a man that held the door for us "thank you".  I was so proud.

She is getting good at sign language too.  She knows a lot of random ones (thanks to Baby Einstein).  She knows swing, more, finished, school, library, tree and flower.  She can watch the video and actually do the signs as they are showing them, but these are the ones she will do if asked, anytime, any place. 

She can also count...and I use that term loosely.  But she knows when you say 1 that 2 comes next and will let you know.  She knows how to count her fingers when you say 1 through 5, that is thanks to the infamous song "Alice the Camel". 

Now that I am done bragging... :)  

She is getting so big and though they are labeled a toddler at 1 year old, I truly feel in the last month she has transformed from a baby to a little girl.  Now if only she would get some long hair....

Oh yeah, and Clyde is doing well too. :)  Still a menace but we love him anyway.   He is still chewing up Adriana's stuff like crazy and each time she finds one and asks us why, we say "CLYDE!".  So now, when she finds something chewed, she screams Clyde.   Poor Clyde.  He gets a bad rap but well, I think it is somewhat deserved.

As always, she is so cute and makes Rob and I laugh continually each day.  We are so blessed to have her and enjoy her so much.  We are very lucky.  Life is good.   

I am big now

please don't treat me as if I am little.

So we are going through the-I must sit in the big chair, do everything on my own, swim in the pool alone (yes, in 4 feet deep water, I would not let her and we made quite a spectacle at swim class) phase.   Adriana wants to be very independent...as long as I am in reach.  She is learning to climb so no chair or couch is safe!  And we love to fall off of them as fast as we get on.  I guess it is all a part of the learning process.  She definitely knows what she wants and likes to scream when it doesn't come immediately. 

Ahhhh...if only we could skip the terrible 1's, 2's, 3's... Really for the most part Adriana is a pretty happy kid.  But we have definite moments that seem to happen much more for mommy.  Not that I am complaining of course...She just really likes to tell me how it is, very loudly.  

My Best Friend

  No explanation needed

3 little monkeys...

jumping on the bed.  This past 2 weeks we have been very lucky to be able to hang out with Rob's family, including all of Adriana's Etchepare cousins.  Last week we went up to Cheyenne and hung out with Katherine, Jack and Sofia; John and Corrina's kids.  We had a blast and well, as you can see, the girls had a great time together.  Katherine was great at teaching Adriana all sorts of things and Sofia, well, she is credited with getting Adriana interested in baby dolls.  And Jack, well, he is the only one that Ade will let give her a big ol' hug and kiss.    They are becoming the best of friends.  

More pictures to follow of the week with the Etchepare clan...

Love my mommy and daddy

As I am sure all kids do at this age, Adriana loves her mommy and daddy.  I learned this week a little more than the average toddler (or should I say more attached), but hey, I am not complaining.  Many perks come with it and one of them is constant hugs.  She loves to come up behind you and give you a big hug.  It is very sweet and well, Rob and I love it!  It can make your whole day or brighten up those tough days.  Just one more reason she makes every day so much better for both us!!