I'm a little Goldfish....

Why is this little girl so happy??
Well, it is because she started her swimming lessons today at Goldfish swim school in downtown Birmingham. Marianna was in the water as soon as I let her loose on the pool deck. I would have love to capture the moment while I was there, and she while was outfitted in her new swimsuit, but I had a hard time containing her until the class started so maybe next time. Marianna did a great job of learning to kick, holding her breath, rolling over and swimming back to the side of the side of the pool. Marianna's loves to put the side of her face and her hair in the water....she does it all the time in the tub...(rolls onto her belly, and leans down to get her hair wet)...it is so funny to watch. I knew she would love the class!

Fall Is In the Air...

Marianna and I have been under the weather with a terrible cold this week. I have been neglecting most interneting, blogging, facebooking to instead nap on the couch when Marianna goes down for her nap.
When she woke up today, it was such a pretty fall day and since there are so few of those left, I took the camera out to capture some of Marianna's favorite outdoor activities...

Rocking the horse...She is so funny with this thing. Yes, she will get in it and rock, but she also loves to just stand and rock it. She will give it a rock and return to it every few minutes to make sure it is still going, if not, do it again!

There is, of course, the slide. Yesterday, we went to the Doll Hospital and Toy Solider shop to inquire about play structures. They have a huge one inside... Marianna had a ball! Skipping over the 12 foot rocket slide to its much steeper and longer alternative and going down without any regard...The sales lady couldn't believe it when I told her she was only 15 months and she made the comment that I get a lot from strangers: "well, she certainly has no fear..." Yes, I know... and it gets us into quite a bit of trouble too often.



The cozy coupe car is one of Marianna's favorites. What a steal at a garage sale for $3! Worth every penny. Marianna has also really been into her pull toys lately...the ducks are her favorite still...they have been since she was a baby!

YiaYia let Marianna have one of the tricycles at her house. Marianna loves it and can almost reach the peddles...she definitely knows what to do. Just a few more inches and she will be off!

Mom and Me: Date Night!

Friday night is date night for a lot of couples so why not mother and daughter? I couldn't stand another night in the house so I threw Marianna into the car for a little trip to Dairy Barn!

She had her first ice cream cone down at my sisters, but since I didn't have my camera I thought we would capture the moment again. This cone however was a lot bigger and Marianna loved every single lick!!


Opps...some fell onto her arm...she'll get that...don't want to waste any...

Better sit down to concentrate a little more...

Mmm. Mmm. Good!

Date Night Part 2: The Playground

After the trip for ice cream, we were in the neighborhood of Marianna's favorite park. As soon as she saw it out the window, I kept hearing "yeah, yeah, yeah..." from the back seat and she was rubbing her belly like crazy (I'm surprised a genie didn't pop out of her...) (Oh, belly rubbing is sign language for please.)


She knew what she wanted to do: the SLIDE! Here is one of her first trips down.


It was up and down, up and down as per usual. Just a break to admire her reflection in the mirror.


Marianna thought going under the bridge was super fun! She didn't really need to duck as you can see how much space she has from her head to the bridge in the first picture...but she would!


More trips down the slide....



Do you notice what is happening to her hair now after so many trips down the slide...


Her hair was standing on end by the end of our trip to the park. I guess this is a sign of a good time or a kid that just really loves slides!


Her other favorite thing at the park are the rocking cars...she can get moving pretty fast!


Noticing the other kids at the park are moving on to the next piece of equipment without her...


Time to go...These girls loved playing with Marianna! She was trying so hard to keep up!

Tomboy

Marianna loves her cars! Not only was it her first official "word" but she loves to ride in them, play with them, point them out in books. It is so odd to because I am NOT a car person. Here she is this morning in a fall outfit (it is cold in the morning now!) playing and chasing after her favorite red car. Oh, and yes, that is a picture of her "running". Walking has become too slow for little miss on-the-move Marianna!

Angel Kisses

Marianna is getting better and better at giving kisses! Here she is practicing on the angel in our hallway.

Stair Climbing

Marianna loves to climb up and down the basement stairs. Sometimes when i am down on the computer, she will stick her head over the railing to say "Hi, Ma!" It cracks me up!!

South Carolina Trip

On Wednesday evening, Marianna and I headed down to South Carolina to visit Jill and the kids. I cannot believe how wonderful Marianna was on the flight down. I simply strapped her into her seat and she sat like an angel the entire trip down...watched DVDs, had a snack, read books and sucked her thumb. I actually read TWO MAGAZINES!! It was one of the easiest flights ever. There and back!



When we got there, Marianna was excited to see her cousins and wanted to play most of the night. She was literally shaking with excitement, especially when she saw their playroom and the kids room. She didn't know which way to turn!

Since Shannon just started kindergarten, my sister, Jill, Jack, Marianna and I had all Thursday to hang out. The weather was a bit cool but we braved it and headed down to Falls Park to see the waterfalls, fountains, and feed the ducks!

It can take a lot out of a kid!

Her are Marianna and Jack having a snack and a smile...

She was really excited when Shannon came home from school to play with her!!

There was a lot of outside time...Marianna's favorite. My favorite times were with Jack having scooter races!! The kid is fast and shares my competitive nature!

If you couldn't find Marianna, she was probably in the back either on the swing set or picking up and counting the stones...

It was up and down the slide several times daily!!


Swinging around...

On Friday, Jack learned how to ride a bike all by himself!! Here we are cheering him on...

Go Speed racer!

Hanging out in the playroom...

Tried on a potential Halloween costume much to Marianna's dismay...i am now a little less excited about Halloween after this horrible chicken costume incident.

When it was raining in Michigan, the sun was shining down south and we got some nice pool time!

Marianna loved to climb up and down and the stairs at Jill's since there was no baby gate. I gave up on trying to stop her...never fell once!

Those were some of the good times we shared down at Jill's. Now that we are home, I think Marianna is a little lonely because she had so much fun with her cousins and we both can't wait to visit again!!