Second Spring: Nine in, Nine out

It's official, she has been out as long as she was in...
and man do we have our hands full with this little girl.

Last night I announced we were headed upstairs to do Fifi's chair pictures and O said, "Oh wait, let me get my camera! I want to help."
and off he went to get his Fisher Price digital.

As with most things in our family dynamic, O is
the organizer and the one calling the shots.
I think he might have a future as creative director, no?

But this little sister of his, she might just give him the biggest run for his money he has ever seen.
If there is anything that I remember from this month,
it is the fact that Fifi likes to test the boundaries and push things to the limit.

She is a flirt and a joker.
If you tell her no, she is going to head right back to the forbidden fruit,
with a "Tommy gun" laugh just to touch, taste or destroy (or should I say, "srcumble"?) whatever you just asked her not to.

May was a month of new adventures. We went camping and Fifi put her feet in the ocean for the first time. She helped us celebrate Jojo's birthday, our 8th anniversary and I got to not only be recognized as a mother, but as a mother of two. (It's official since displayed on the mantel is a dried clay hand print from O and a foot print from Fifi).

We hung out with friends and family at home and away. We went on a girl's weekend to the Bay Area and listened to a LOT of Katy Perry and Miley on the way. We also took her to her first Ace-ball game. She loved all the clapping (and the hot dog bun we fed her for dinner).
Other adventures, of the more domestic kind include pulling up on things to come to a standing position AND wandering around (sometimes one handed). She uses the couch, the ottoman, the dog's back, the wall, mama or daddy's legs or what ever is handy in order to get where she wants to go.

She has mastered the stairs (so scary for me) and can hardly be left alone for a second. She loves the water and if you set her down in the bedroom she is instantly in the bathroom pulling up on the side of the tub, squealing in delight at the running water.

Fifi got her first ear infection this month and we are all trying to shake "the cold" right now. There might be two more teeth popping through on the bottom very soon , but for now she is happy to chomp away with just the two she has. Ears and teeth could explain why she has gone from drinking almost 20oz of milk a day to just 8 or 10oz and takes on average, only one nap for about 2hours each day.
Night time sleep is hit or miss as well. Last night I was in her room for most of the night trying to get her to fall asleep. Let's just say the chair in these photos has seen a lot of use lately. Despite the small amounts of food and rest, this girl is full of smiles and giggles and silly.