The tables are turned

This afternoon I was lying on the floor in Hollie's room, reading her some books, thinking she might be getting sleepy...when I started feeling drowsy myself. 

So I pretended to be asleep. 

She leaned over and gave me some kisses, 

found a stuffed animal and laid it next to me,

and left the room, closing the door behind her,

...and I realized that I had just been put down for a nap.

New video

So, that was a nice little hiatus.  We haven't even been particularly busy.  Maybe just recovering from a few weeks of being really busy...is that a real excuse?  We just haven't had much going on worth talking about.  Daniel had a major hell-week (or two) at work, and things have since slowed down but he's still catching up on sleep and down-time.

Hollie is still jibber-jabbering away.  She is pronouncing "book" much better.  I love that she refers to herself, and to all her stuffed animals and dolls as "baby".  She gives them kisses and then makes me kiss them too.  She has gotten sooo loving and affectionate.

It is really tough to get good pictures of her these days.  She is always moving.  Really fast.  So I have a bunch of very cute but very blurry pictures.  Now that I've remembered that I have a blog, I might post them all together soon.

In the meantime, a new video.  One morning a few weeks ago I caught Hollie reading a book to herself, and it was so adorable I had to break out the video camera (which I know I need to do more often).  From the moment I turned the viewing window around so that we could see ourselves while filming, it quickly escalated from book-reading, to nose-picking, to camera-grabbing...and, well, you'll see.

When I played back the video for us to watch, Hollie thought it was the coolest thing ever...she signed "more" and demanded

Mo' bebe!

More "Speaking of..."

I have a few more words to add to the little bear's vocabulary:

Up
'Mote - for the tv remote (this makes me cry a little inside)
Yummy
Cat - sometimes gat! or ack! or even gack!
Nose and toes - hard to tell the difference (both are usually bows or doze)

Speaking of...

...everything.

Hollie's been a little talking machine!  It has happened very gradually, but over a fairly short time (a couple of weeks or so).  The first few were...

Baby - pronounced correctly now (as opposed to then) but with the most unbelievably cute inflection.
More - just mo.  Still accompanied by her sign language.
Bath - her most favorite activity lately, especially since we started using the shower at the end to rinse her hair (the cup of water over the head routine was just not cool).  Pronounced bah or bass.
Uh-oh - when she or anyone else drops something, also adorable (and with spot-on pronunciation)

Some others are...
Plane - she is always on the look-out for planes when we're outside, and there are plenty to see, what with a few aircraft companies plus an air force base practically in our backyard.  Pronounced bay or bane. 
Birds - always watching for birds too!  Abuelita helped figure this one out...it sounds like bus.
Bye-bye - always with a little wave.  So cute!
Ducks - quack
Eyes -  oz
Belly/belly button, Book, and Bear - all of these are generally just a "b" sound followed by a random syllable.  Hard to distinguish from baby, bath, bird, and bye-bye (I think she likes b words). 

and our favorite...
No - nonononononononono!

I love it!
And I promise to try to get some of these on video soon.

Also, Daniel and I started dating five years ago today.  <3

Feeling artsy

So, both of Daniel's parents have come and gone.  We already miss them.
:(
We miss the free babysitting.
Hollie misses Abuelita's lotion - perfect for window painting...

[whatcha think, mama?]

 In unrelated news, we got the mirror installed in our newly-themed maroon and gold bathroom in the basement.  It's not all done yet, but here's a sneak peek...

 [ps - go devils]

'Lita's here!

Geez, has it been two weeks(ish)?  Somebody better talk to the management.

We've been busy.  And sick.  But mostly busy.  Just this past week, when Hollie and I were both on the tail-end of a little viral infection, Abuelita (Daniel's mom) came to town for a visit!

It was so great to see her.  It's been a few months (with one 16-hour exception), and we've been starved for some good extended family time (not to mention a date).

Unfortunately, her week-long stay coincided with a crazy work week for Daniel, so he hardly saw her.  We did get to use an Outback gift certificate that's been burning a hole in our pockets, though.  AND we saw a movie - "Easy A".  It was actually pretty good.  I don't think I'd see it again, but it did surpass my expectations.

So yeah, we were busy.  It's finally cooled off, and the weather is gorgeous.  There was a trip to the zoo (best moment: Hollie coming nose to nose with a meerkat and nearly hyper-ventilating with excitement) and many walks to the park.

These are from Day 1 - Hollie helps Abuelita unpack...

Shortly after Abuelita left, Pepere (Daniel's dad) arrived!  These two...they both really wanted to visit, but their crazy schedules didn't allow them to be here at the same time!  So we settled for seeing one, and then the other.  Whatever works, right?     

More to come!  Stay tuned...