What I've Learned This Week:

1. what it's like to go to my very first Birthday Party!  It was my friend Jack's birthday, and we got to dress up in costumes.  We kiss each other goodbye when church nursery time is over.  My daddy is now shopping for a shot gun.  (I went as Boo from Monsters, Inc.  My Mommy kept chanting, "I'm a SUPER GENIUS" as she left me dressed in my jammies, put my hair up in pig tails, handed me my bear bear, and loaded me into the car to go to the party.)  I don't get it, but maybe other mommies can understand her utter brilliance in this moment.    
2. that I have found my one true soul mate, and his name is...ELMO!  I love him so much!  He makes me so very happy.  I even wear diapers that have his picture on them.  Now THAT'S true love!
3. how to say my first official sentence:  "What is THAT?!"  Mommy thinks it's appropriate, since I'm such a curious little monkey.  I just started saying it this week.  I think I said it, like, 14 million times today.  Mommy is already fondly recalling the days that I just babbled everything.
4. how to pick my boogers...AND eat them.  Mommy is so disgusted by this behavior, that she screams and runs all through the house when I do it.  She's thankful that it's only been a few times, but she'd like me to remind everyone that it doesn't make it any less GROSS!
5. that it's really fun to walk around in Mommy's crocks, Aunt Gloria's rain boots, and Daddy's sneakers.  Mommy says "walk" is used loosely in this sentence.  I'm not really sure what that means.
6. that toy stores of any kind are like a quadruple shot of caffeine in my system.  It accesses some hidden turbo button in my brain, and I can run without stopping while pulling everything I see off of the shelves for hours on end.  When Daddy & Mommy try to constrain me or remove me from said environments, I employ the "Melt Down" protocol.  I don't think we'll be visiting toy stores on a very regular basis.  Mommy mentioned something about doing all of her Christmas shopping online this year.
7. that I can rock a bathtub like it's a full-fledged WATER PARK.  Forget the cute little bath tub toys!  I say, bring on the naked slip 'n slide!  For reals.
8. how to cough while covering my mouth.  Okay, I'll be honest...I never do it when I actually cough, but I'll oblige Daddy and do some extra coughing while covering my mouth with my hand, just to make him happy.
9. how to say "Momma" and "I Love You".  "Daddy" came first, but Mommy says that's no big surprise.  Mommy says there's nothing like hearing her name called from another room...and Daddy can't get enough of those "3 little words".
10. how to pray at bedtime.  Daddy taught me how...and I actually have to remind Mommy some times, when he's at work.  When they finish praying for me, each other, Mazi & Gracie, and Grandma Judy & Grandma Dot, I like to say my own prayer.  No one knows what I'm really saying, but it sounds really important.
11. how to talk back to the TV when "my shows" are playing.  Dora & Diego & Sesame Street ask questions, and now I answer them back.  (It cracks Momma up every single time!)  She says I'm very smart...and that I'm already growing up so fast!
12. that I DO NOT, and I mean DO NOT like to have my hair blown dry.  I'm an au-natural kind of girl...who needs fancy schmancy electronics when the air does just fine?!  I mean, really.
13. that "Hot" and "Cold" are two different things.  I like to feel Mommy's hot coffee mug, and hold ice cubes or water bottles that have been in the fridge.
14. that my head is in the 75th percentile, which Dr. McGee says means that I will be a very smart girl, just like Mommy says.  Daddy & Aunt Gloria just think it's still super funny that my head is too big for my body, and that I tip over so easily.  One day when I'm as rich as Bill Gates, they'll wish they had treated me more kindly.  Mommy, of course...for her undying loyalty, will be well taken care of.
15. that I can use BOTH of my hands to eat with my fork and spoon, and to color and draw.  Daddy is SUPER excited because he thinks it'll make me an AMAZING drummer one day.  :)