Parks and Ice Cream

Nina loves both items from the title of this blog and will demand going to the park more often than not.  She is on a counting kick these days, but often goes, 1, 2, 9, TEN!  Basically the faster she gets to ten, the happier she is about it.  

                                             chasing robins

Dora and Dory!

Nina made a trip to the Mall of America today and got to see plenty of her favorites at Underwater Adventures and Nickelodeon Universe.  We visited the sharks, jellyfish, and Nemo friends and then headed above water to see the legos, Dora the explora, and Sponge Bob.  

Kara is at week 24 of her pregnancy and Nina likes to give the baby a hug every day.  As we mentioned last post, here is a video containing many of her new words and phrases.

Words and phrases

Nina has been happy to improve her communication skills and has a few favorite phrases.  She really likes "wake up" (which sounds like 'hey bob'), "bless you, dada" (allergy season must be upon us), "Boo-yah," counting to ten (usually to 6), "Thank you, you're welcome (together)" and "Look at me!"  We will try to put together a compilation of these videos sometime soon.

"Nina Do"             ------          Matching Jackets

"Say cheese"

65 inches to 65 degrees

What a crazy difference a year can make.  Nina has been happy to be running around the lake again and spending time outside.   She occasionally gets upset about the bright days by yelling, "Sun, no no no!"  Another funny proclamation the other day resulted after a discussion about teaching, when Nina said "Dada cheacher, Nani cheacher." 

Sunbathing    ------    Looking for doggies

We made a nice trip to Owatonna last weekend and Nina got to play with Grandma, Grandpa and Annie.  We visited the reptile zoo where we got to touch a crocodile and a huge snake!  Nina's favorite part was running up and down a ramp.

20 months old AND....

...going to be a big sister!  Nina's little sister is due in early July, most likely the same week as Nina's second birthday.  It is sure to be a busy summer for the Naks, but we're excited and, when asked about her little sis, Nina often responds with "be nice."  We'll see how long she can stick to that game plan. :)

Nak Number 2 facing upwards, all curled up

No snow day here

Nina has been growing up in new and fun ways.  She is starting to sit on the toilet and talk about going "potty."  She sings every now and then, although words are hard to decipher.  She loves games and is pretty insistent about taking turns, "Dada's tur, Nani's tur, Mama's tur."  

She's always adding to her vocabulary and currently likes saying (and wearing) "headband" and "backpack."  She came home from daycare with smears on her shirt and when asked, "Did you do a project at Barb's today?," she answered, "Yeah, paint."  We look forward to seeing that art project.  

We were fairly busy enjoying the weather before the sleet-storm, participating in a family volunteer opportunity, and visiting friends.  

Como Lake and Pavillion

Zoo!

Dancing and decorating while volunteering

Dressing up with new friends

Big girl with her turtle "backpack"

Babies, boots, & bubbles

Nina was so excited to see her old friend Jimmy and his new baby sister.  Jimmy has a collection of cowboy boots, so Nina tried on some and ran around.  Nina was very gentle and nice to Baby Emma and even wanted to hold her.

Boot Party!

Holding the new baby

Happy Valentine's Day

Finding "Meno"   ----------   Protecting her eyes on the ride

We took another trip to the Rec Center Water Park for "Family Night" and Nina was much bolder this time.  She ran around, jumped in, dunked her head, went down the slides, and kicked.  She made up a few games while there. Here's how you play one of them:

    Step 1:  Bend your knees to the point where the water reaches your chin.  

    Step 2:  Flail around and yell "whoa" and "help me" while pretending to sink.

    Step 3:  Laugh hysterically when someone runs to help you.