And Now For Something Completely Different!

MP. Is. Luscious.

The cheeks are plump and cannot go more than five minutes without copious smooching. The neck/chin area--oooooooooh. The belly. The tiny chipmunk voice. She is a dream of adorableness.

And sooooooooooooooo funny. A real trickster. One day, she and I will be partners in prank--Random had better watch his back. She "hides" her diapers under her head so we won't be able to find them. She loves to pretend she's a monster and will come at you going "ARRRRRR" with her hands in silly claws. She dances like a maniac. She sings medleys all the time--ABC morphs into Frere Jacques morphs into Twinkle Twinkle. She loves to sing "Poo Pals" with me to the tune of "Zoo Pals" (surely you have seen that commercial for paper plates and bowls with animals printed on them?) Poo poo poo pals, poo poo poo pals! Poo poo poo pals, poo pals make pooping fun! / First you do a dance, then you fill your pants....Poo poo poo pals, and on and on and on and on.

She's a complete nutball. She loves to show off her muscles and will hold up her arm and say "MUSHELLLLLSSS!" in this fake deep gravelly voice. She needs kisses at the slightest boo-boo--even if the dog brushes by her she'll rush to you with a "hurt" finger outstretched.

She lervvves stickers (see below) and fake tattoos (give her a tattoo and she will show the entire world. "LOOK! TATTOO!" she will proclaim). She throws tea parties for her Fisher Price People (which she calls "People," even if she's referring to one of them, as in "where did People go?"). She makes me wooden bread with "chocolate" (actually wooden sushi) and "butter" (actually wooden sushi egg) using her wooden knife and then salts and peppers the sandwich and adds a dash of milk from her baby's bottle. "BITE!" she tells me, thrusting the wooden bread in my face. (This is what I tell her to do with her peanut butter toast, because otherwise she will just pluck peanut butter from it and suck it from her fingers.)

She talks. ALL THE TIME. Sometimes she talks so much that Random and I tell her to "hush" and then she will say "NO YOU HUSH" and then we try to hide that we are laughing.

And there is the normal toddler stuff, too. Like--the whining....she whines a lot. So Random and I say "Are you whining?" to her, and she'll say "Yes." So we say "No whining!" and she says "No whining, OHHH, OK." And then she will whisper what she wants over and over in this creepy way--Ssssssssnnnaaccckkkky Mama I want Sssssssssssnaaaacccckkkky. And she will whisper it over and over again. My kid can even whine while she's whispering.

But overall she is just the best kid ever. I couldn't imagine a better kid, or for us to be happier.

MP used the ENTIRE sticker page that came with her Miss Spider coloring book. She was very proud of her creation and even put a few on her cheeks.

This is our old house (if you remember my old blog you will remember this is the house with the wonderful bathroom that I designed all by myself and the excellent, ahem, "caulk"). I am still amazed that we managed to sell this house with the carpet the way it was--you can't really tell in this picture but nasty doesn't even do it justice.

MP adjusted to the move pretty well--she hated the one night we spent in the hotel and was up all night crying for "home," but since then she's loved it and basically taken over. And the carpet is much, much nicer.

Mary Mia from SALSA IN CHINA (oh you know her link, go to it already) sent MP this shirt. It's too small for her now but who doesn't love a little babygut peeking out?

Since so many of you are asking--MP is two and a third now. J the dog is good--he's upped the humping over the past year since MP's been home, though, and gained a bit o' weight from the baby droppings. I think the humping is a need for attention. J and MP get along famously. Just the other day I was horrified to see MP with her mouth wide open and J licking her tongue. She was just standing there, letting him. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

Comments

[Ellen]

Jason and I say to Anna, "Whiner, no whining! Whiner, no whining! Whiner, NO WHINING!!!" ala Dora the Explorer. Then Anna usually says, "Oh, maaaaaan!" ala Swiper the Fox.

Guess you have to be there.

[Ellen]

Am I actually the first to comment? I am NEVER the first to comment on posts, ever. I usually come along after a thread is over and dead.

[cristy]

lol@ Ellen
My Ava loves to run around and be a monster too.
Thank you for responding to my "demands" ;)

Cristy

[Carol]

She's every bit as adorable as I imagined and then some! LOVE those chubby leggies!! Can we see a picture of her cute face soon?

Toddlers are just so charming and delightful and bratty and annoying and wonderful, all at once.

[Carol]

She's every bit as adorable as I imagined and then some! LOVE those chubby leggies!! Can we see a picture of her cute face soon?

Toddlers are just so charming and delightful and bratty and annoying and wonderful, all at once.

[Lisa]

I'm a lurker so I probably won't comment much, but I just discovered you were back and HAD to comment to tell you how glad I am you are, you are a fabulous writer and I look forward to reading!

[Lisa]

I'm a lurker so I probably won't comment much, but I just discovered you were back and HAD to comment to tell you how glad I am you are, you are a fabulous writer and I look forward to reading!

[Lisa]

I'm a lurker so I probably won't comment much, but I just discovered you were back and HAD to comment to tell you how glad I am you are, you are a fabulous writer and I look forward to reading!

[Lisa]

I'm a lurker so I probably won't comment much, but I just discovered you were back and HAD to comment to tell you how glad I am you are, you are a fabulous writer and I look forward to reading!

[AmyD]

SO glad you are back - please stay!

[Lily]

Another old lurker. I lost track of time; how old is MP now?

[vanessa]

OMG the cuteness.
SO GLAD YOU ARE BACK.
How old is MP now?
What ever happened to your dog?
More MP stories!

[Candice]

So happy to have you back!!

[Simone]

She sounds so fun and toddler-ish. Toddlers are so awesome. Thanks for filling us in on Miss MP.

And I gotta say - every once in a while, I think about your caulk story, and I laugh and laugh and laugh. I love caulk stories.

[baggage]

My little gal feeds me fake food all the time too. And does the whisper thing. It is such a cute age, isn't it?

[mellie]

Yay MP! Love the sticker art and the funny stories. Snnnackyyyy just makes me double over with laughter.

[Laura]

What a cute kid!!! I'm so happy to hear you wallowing in the glory of motherhood!!! Can't wait to hear the next installment in your story. SO happy you are back!

[jenn]

Adorable!

[Noelle]

I just discovered you are back! I am thrilled!

[Anna]

Oh, too cute! I am so glad you are enjoying motherhood. My son is nearly 20 months, and it's beyond my wildest dreams! It's so nice to read about other moms having fun, too! (as well as hearing about other kids' adoraable hijinks1)

[beth]

AWWWW!~~~~

Thanks for the update on dear MP!!! She sounds so exciting and fun!

[Sheri]

I think about your caulk, too! And floor cake... and Myrtle!

[kristylynne]

oh, the cute little baby legs! I often let my own 2-year-old run around in a diaper just so I can enjoy his chubby little legs while they are still little and chubby. MP is freakin' ADORABLE. I can see why you kiss her every five minutes.

[Erin]

Just discovered you were back and I am sooo happy!!! I followed your blog in the year before my referral and I can't tell you how much it meant to me. So, so glad your back and wishing you all the best with your pregnancy.

[tc]

Oh, wow, Karen. I have been waiting and hoping to read a post just like this, ever since Tertia promised us an update from you. And all this wonderful news to go along with it.. is AMAZING. Thank you so much for sharing it with us! (Now I'm just bouncing up and down waiting for more of the story...)

[Dianna]

What a lovely MP update! Congratulations on the pregnancy! And house move!

My son lets the dog lick his mouth/tongue. WHY do they do that?! It's so revolting. I keep telling him that I have to kiss him so I don't want to kiss dog drool and he just laughs and lets the dog lick him again.

So gross.

[Adrienne]

So, so, so cute...my heart just melted. I am so thrilled to see what a happy little girl she is!

[Jo]

You been missed so much by so many. Welcome back. I've been thinking of you daily since I heard the news.
MP is just delicious! We have all the same toddlery godness, complete with No-Whine Training, here at home.
And J! J! Lovely J! Hi J!

[Meg]

Gorgeous!!!
Meg

[Meg]

Gorgeous!!!
Meg

[Meg]

Gorgeous!!!
Meg

[Robin]

Ohhhh, she is just scrumptious.

My Maya is now four, and I STILL have to remind her to "eat with teeth" or she scrapes off the peanut butter and eats it off her fingers!

[gretchen]

Welcome Back!! You went pw protect last year while I was in China. That was an unhappy surprise ;-( So glad you're writing again.

[Sparky]

The first thing I thought of when you wrote that you moved in to a bigger home was that caulk post and your beautiful bathroom. I am so very happy to be reading you again and to feel the joy in your heart.

[graciemommy]

Thank you so much for the update on your amazing little girl - I've often wondered how you guys were doing. MP is gorgeous and sounds like so much fun!!! And welcome to the world of bathroom talk - the poop/fart/pee references will only increase during the next several years. We finally had to institute a "no potty talk at the dinner table" rule :))).

[graciemommy]

Thank you so much for the update on your amazing little girl - I've often wondered how you guys were doing. MP is gorgeous and sounds like so much fun!!! And welcome to the world of bathroom talk - the poop/fart/pee references will only increase during the next several years. We finally had to institute a "no potty talk at the dinner table" rule :))).

[Mortimer's Mom]

WELCOME BACK!!!! I missed you so much.

[Kristy]

I'm so glad you are back!!! Congratulations on the pg!!!!! That is so unbelievably awesome!!! MP is gorgeous and will make a super big sister I'm sure. Can't wait for more updates.

[Jo in Utah]

::::Clunk::: that was me, falling over from the cuteness. Oh my gosh. Beautiful and smart, MP is quite the kid.

[Sarah]

Thanks for the update on MP. I get so attached to these babies I don't know and then when meanies make their mommy's go underground, I have withdrawls.

[Andrea]

She is a delicious chunk of baby girl.

[Jana]

It is supercalafragalisticexpealadocious to have you back. Thanks for letting us know about J and what a great, humping big brother he is as well. All the best.

[Jana]

It is supercalafragalisticexpealadocious to have you back. Thanks for letting us know about J and what a great, humping big brother he is as well. All the best.

[sophie]

She's super sweet. Thanks for starting blogging again.

[Michele]

Wow! SSSoooooo glad to learn that you are back. I missed you dearly. I can't wait to let others in on the great news.

[Kellie]

I'm so so happy to see you back.

[eliz]

Welcome back, welcome, welcome! I am so happy to see you're blogging again. That girl of yours is delicious. My daughter is 2.5 (I'm an old reader; we e-mailed a few times; I live in SC and asked if MP ever wanted a playdate on the beach, blah, blah) and she does all the stuff you described. The singing! The whining!
And your news! Wow!

[jkerrigan]

So glad you are back. Loved your site before and kept it in my bookmarks hoping you'd return.

YIPPEE!!

MP is adorable. Congratulations on a wonderful family!

[Shana]

Yay! You're back! I was a lurker way back and am so happy to know that you all are doing well. And, the NEWS! WOW! Best wishes!

[Shana]

Yay! You're back! I was a lurker way back and am so happy to know that you all are doing well. And, the NEWS! WOW! Best wishes!