Rain, Rain, Go Away!

After Nap #1 today, we got all ready to go out for a ride in the wagon...a scattered storm cloud came over us right as we were about to leave, so it was back indoors. Nature Girl was very upset so we waited out the shower in the Playroom.

It only lasted for a little bit, so here we are minutes later..

Marianna loves a wagon ride! Everytime we go outside to play, it is immediately to the wagon and she says "In, In" until she gets a ride. Everyday she finds some way to make me laugh. We have gone on several walks now since getting the wagon. Today, she spent 50% of the walk laying back on the pillow looking up at the clouds until a car comes by and then she pops back up. She just looked so funny relaxing in the wagon...we got several comments from neighbors on the walk that it must have been a hard day for her :) Here is the Queen of Sheba...


DJ and I think she is definately going to be a chatterbox (shocker). She has several "words" or ways of communicating. Here is her list: This, There, Did it, and In. Also, we hear her trying to say Ball, Duck, Doggie and Kitty. Oh, and the biggest treat yet: Ma! Sometimes it is Mama, but mainly Ma! I cracked this code yesterday that Marianna refers to herself as "Na-Na". We have several pictures of her around the house and she will point and say "Na-Na". Most often, she just babbles on and on and on, especially when DJ and I are talking she will try to talk over us in her babble and we think she thinks that it one big discussion. Almost one week until the big first birthday, where has the time gone??

Here are some more random photos from the day...(I am playing around with Photoshop black and whites and other features...)

Grandpa Time

My Grandpa is the best book reader ever!

Find A Flower Pick It Up...

All the day you'll have good luck :)

Oh Deer!

What a treat..Tonight we had 2 deer in our backyard!

Here they are across the street going into the woods...

Xronia Polla Papou!

Today is Marianna's Papou's Name Day. This morning, we woke up early to make sure Papou had a special wish from Marianna on his day.

I love you, Papou!

Love, Marianna

All Done!

(Sorry for those watching that you have to hear my annoying voice on every video...i have been trying not to talk on them, but it is hard).

Here is Marianna using her first sign that she learned: "all done". I wish i could take credit for teaching her any kind of signing...but credit must be given to our awesome babysitter, Laura. Thanks, Laura!!

Little Monkey

I am quite surprised she learned how to climb up onto this thing so easily. She has a little shoe fetish...she will do anything to get a pair of shoes in her hands (and mouth). A young Carrie Bradshaw maybe?

Bouncing, Bouncing, Ball

this is currently one of Marianna's favorite things to do. When you say "bouncing, bouncing, ball" to her, she finds one of her little balls, starts from behind and rolls up on to sitting position and bounces away! I also believe at the end you hear her attempting to say "i did it" because we hear it a lot around here when she does something we ask her to.

They See Me Rollin'... In My Wagon

YiaYia bought a wagon for Marianna that we finally put together. Every child must have a red wagon that is for sure! I am not sure if words can describe the amount of fun Marianna had going up, down, and all the driveway tonight! Thanks, YiaYia...I am sure we will be spending a lot of time in it this summer and years to come :)

These Truly are The Days...

Carnival Cut

Marianna's first haircut was at 6 months, it was horrible. The experience and haircut. Coming up on a year, after having some time to grow back..the Becharas family ventured out to Carnival Cuts in Novi to give 'er a try again.
I was pretty optimistic when I read about all the distractions that could potentially make this a pretty good experience for all...the movies (Shreck was playing!), the fun horsey to sit on, all the colors and carnival theme...
Here we are getting Marianna up on the horse to get her hair sprayed down for the cut. She was ok until she saw Ms. Lulu approaching...like Jaws upon an unsuspecting victim.



Here is what happened, from bad to worse, the pictures speak for themselves...






Wasn't so bad after all... yeah, right!


Marianna did get a great cut though and Ms. Lulu was able to do a fantastic job despite the screaming, crocodile tears and flailing from Marianna.

1...2...3...Weee!

I was going to title this: Another Piece of Crap I brought Home to Clutter up the Backyard (At least I think that it what DJ thinks it should be titled). However, here is the story...Mama hit a garage sale yesterday (shocker) and picked up this Little Tikes Climber. It has the shortest slide ever but still provided a lot of fun for Marianna yesterday.

Ms. Independant quickly learned how to get down without my help.

Marianna the Entertainer

Boy, does Marianna know how to put on a show! When she gets hold of any blanket, her favorite game to play is peek-a-boo. She will do it over and over and over again. Yesterday, she realized she got a big laugh out of mommy and daddy when we put this hooded towel over her head. You will see her performance in a couple of the videos below. Marianna usually hates hats, bows, and anything put on her head. Since she was getting laughs from us...she kept this up for about 45 minutes...

Here is some video of Marianna (towel still on...) pointing out pictures in her book. Her comprehension amazes me! She loves to go over all the words and pictures like banana, duck, dog, kitty cat, car, etc. .. I think it will only be a matter of time until we hear some more words...she has been trying pretty hard lately!

Happy Mothers Day!

Marianna at 11 months... I have started hearing Ma-Ma-Ma here and there lately...it has made me so happy! She is the best present I could have ever imagined. I hope all the moms out there have had a wonderful day!

At the Playground...

Saturday was a fun filled day in Birmingham! The community house had a petting zoo for the kids. There were ducks, roosters, piglets, a pony, goats, goats and more goats!
Marianna had a ball was was very interested in the animals. After we went to the park and all the kids took turns on the swings. We even had them tandem in the swings and they so much fun!
Here are some pictures from our day...