ακακία

This page is dedicated to Acacia 
For the joy she brings me
The laughter & endless smiles
Emotion beyond expression
And love that I never knew


02|07|13 Tonight was Acacia's first night at ballet. She was ADORABLE. I sneaked in to watch a few times and she was doing very well imitating her teacher, Miss Jennifer.

01|20|13 Acacia has quite a sense of humor. Following many bogus statements with, "I'm jus playin' with you, ahahhaha!"

12|10|12 Finally! Finally she is showing interest in really learning her letters. She can copy them very well.

11|01|12 Today Acacia stunned me by spelling her name out of the blue for the first time. A-C-A-C-A-C-I-A... ok so she was a little off but after I corrected her, she spelled it perfectly.

08|07|12 Acacia learned how to make the letters O, Q, and I

04|04|12 I can't believe my girl is three years old!!! I gave her a haircut today... all traces of my baby are gone. She is a child -- and wanting to be an adult; look at her holding my phone as she receives a "Happy Birthday" call from my sister :)



03|02|12 Acacia will NOT stop talking about her upcoming birthday. She has requested pink, purple, and blue balloons, chips, strawberries, apple juice, and to play musical chairs ("like Blue's Clues," she says)

02|13|12 It's been exactly three weeks since Acacia decided to potty train. She started making it through naptime by day three and making it through the night by day 5. She is my super star!!

02|10|12 This girl is SO funny. She runs around in her tutu, singing at the top of her lungs, "e'reybo'y (everybody)... come wif me.... never..." and a bunch of stuff I don't understand. She also tries to do dance moves and always lifts her arm and points up with her finger

01|30|12 Today Acacia wanted to wear panties.... (this is HUGE progress). She only had one accident

01|03|12 I love Acacia's word for computer -- "peter"

12|20|11 I love watching Acacia interact with Ava. She is always doing silly things to entertain her. She likes to make Ava laugh.. but I think she ends up cracking herself up more. I've never heard such long and beautiful laughs from Acacia as when she is with Ava. Love my girls!!!

08|29|11 Watching me nurse Ava, Acacia pulls her little arm out of her shirt, exposing one side of her little chest, and tells me that she wants to feed the baby. Jason and I then had to explain to her that only mommy has the milk to feed the baby.

08|13|11 Yesterday Acacia's sister was born. She absolutely adores her -- wants to hold her and calls her "tuuute" (cute).

08|10|11 Today Jason and I watched as Acacia used one foot to pick up her bracelet then exchange it between feet, all the while having her feet talk to each other and the second saying "thank you"

08|03|11 So much for boasting about Acacia's ability to count. She now insists on 1-9-10.... and says, "no 2, no 3, no 5" or any other in between... haha

07|30|11 Acacia pooped in the hot tub. It was hilarious. And disgusting -- mostly because she grabbed it and tried to hand it to me.

07|28|11 In the morning Acacia lays at the foot of her door, pressing the side of her little face against the ground to see any passer-by's and calls out, "Mommy... Daddy... I wake up!... I want out... peeez!... Where are you?...." How can that not brighten our morning with huge smiles!?

07|25|11 Appehl-gus - octopus.

07|20|11 Acacia is good about cleaning up after herself  (... well, sometimes...) and loves to put her dirty dishes in the sink.

07|15|11 I have to admit my amazement at how well Acacia is learning her colors. She'll point to the cars outside saying, "white cars, " as they drive past. Or specify black juice or pink this and orange that.

07|15|11 As the water drained from her bath, Acacia asks me to hand her "dat" - her pink bucket where we store her bath toys - and she loads all her toys into it. She even squeezed all the water out of the squirter toys, just like momma does. I find it so sweet when she reveals how observational she is of the tiniest things I do.

07|14|11 I sneezed -- Acacia tells me, "Oh, bless you, Mommy!"

07|13|11 Tonight Acacia climbed into Ava's crib, rubbed baby product everywhere - particularly her hair - fell asleep for an hour, then woke up crying to get out. It had Jason and I laughing; despite the mess.

07|12|11 For breakfast this morning Acacia asks for "cu-cake" and "iye-keem" (cupcakes and ice cream)

07|11|11 As I am getting dressed upstairs I hear Acacia talking on the phone. Mostly just jabbering and saying nonsense, but I hear a few words, "um... daddy... bye.. momma." I come down and notice she is holding my phone. I let her keep it while I start to change her diaper. But midway through I hear Jason's distant voice coming from the speaker. I realize that he is on the line! Jason tells me that he has been talking to Acacia on the phone for 10 minutes -- and that she called him.

07|08|11 Today Acacia starting singing, "tinkle 'tar, tinkle 'tar" - I rarely if ever sing to her because she hushes me.

07|05|11 "oh oh oh" - always wanting to sing and dance to Beyonce's All the Single Ladies. She puts her little hands up and she makes "Wabbip" bounce up and down to the beat.

07|03|11 "uht waz-at... noith!?" (What was that noise) she asks when she hears something funny

06|30|11 When a loud truck passes, or thunder rumbles, Acacia tells us that her "wabbip" (rabbit) is scared. And now she comforts it, "aww it's k, wabbip"

06|27|11 A few weeks ago Acacia charmed us at bedtime by saying, "I wuf mommy.... I wuf daddy"

06|25|11 As usual, I am attempting to get out the door but at a loss for finding things I need. I have everything... except the car keys which I am scrambling to locate. I tell Acacia, who is waiting patiently by the door, "I can't find the keys." Acacia then points to the lamp stand and says, "Here."

06|23|11 Acacia (as if in any need to be more bossy) has caught on to the command, "no ma'am," and now says it repeatedly.

06|22|11 This morning as Jason and I are up getting ready to send him to work we hear Acacia say "Open!" Jason looks at her door from down the stairs to see one little eye peering at him from under the crack in the door. We were cracking up.

06|21|11 Oh no - today we went from "I want that" to "I need that" -- really!??? Already?

06|20|11 Acacia surprised me speechless today by counting to ten. On her own. She barely even counts to five for me!

06|11|11 I've discovered that Acacia has the tiniest little mole on the back of her right calve. And I even found a freckle on the back of her neck...

06|06|11 At last!!! I was able to trick have Acacia tell me her age. I asked in a very nonchalant, but with the most genuine emphasis on seeking an answer that I didn't know, question, "Acacia, how old are you?" "Two" she replied simply. [[She has been quite stubborn in resisting - no, refusing - to answer this question]]

06|05|11 I have forgotten to mention a huge milestone! - Acacia has been sleeping in her own [toddler] bed the past few weeks! The transition has been beautifully smooth. She now points to her old crib (which is raised again and prepared for baby sister) and says, "Nigh nigh, Ava!"

06|04|11 "I gah-it" - means "I got it"

06|03|11 I'm glad I have someone to look after me. Since I've lost my mind with this pregnancy.... We were heading to the family room to watch a movie and Acacia keeps looking at me telling me "No keys, no keys." I'm flustered trying to understand what she is trying to tell me; but then I realize that I have grabbed the car keys to go downstairs with us. "Thank you, Acacia, I don't need these, do I?" I laughed and tossed them back upstairs.

06|01|11 Acacia can count to five. Only when I am not around, of course. She is in a counting faze, everything, one-two-three.

05|31|11 I can finally get Acacia to leave clips in her hair! This is a huge accomplishment for us.

05|30|11 Tonight Acacia rebuked the dog outside for barking because he was being loud at bedtime.

05|23|11 Acacia says, "iywandatwon" (I want that one)

05|21|11 Today Acacia told me she was "going," when I asked what she was going to do she said, "walk." Then I asked where she was going to walk and as she motioned with her arms open, she replied, " 'round"

05|16|11 Acacia's vocabulary is increasing more rapidly that I can even keep up with! New words are "wa-er" (water), "meer" (come here), "mon" (c'mon) "rock chair" (rocking chair), "sim" (swim), "moon," "peet down" (feet down)...

05|12|11 This morning when Jason went to get Acacia out of bed she pretended to be asleep. Unable to contain herself, a sly little smile spread across her face as he leaned over her crib to "wake" her.

05|01|11 "Acacia, what would you like for breakfast?" -- "Cookie"  Yeah. I bet.

04|26|11 So clever already -- we tell Acacia that she needs to finish her food before she can go play/bathe/get in the car, etc so she hands us her bowl and declares, "All done!"

04|24|11 I tell Acacia to say "A-B-C," her reply, "O-E-I"

04|20|11 Acacia loves to eat her "meat," and her "gggghh" -- which surprisingly is her word for "orange."

04|18|11 So curious - Acacia points to everything and asks, "dat?" wanting to know what it is.

04|16|11 Today Acacia got her first inflated balloon. It has become her best friend ♥

04|13|11 Tell Acacia something obvious (or not so much) and she says, "Yeah... I know"

04|09|11 We took Acacia to the Denver Aquarium today. Though she did enjoy what she saw, she practically ran through the whole thing. We left the parking lot an hour after we had arrived. She did however, LOVE splashing her hands in the sting ray water and squealed gleefully as she touched a star fish.

04|08|11 While we colored with Acacia's sidewalk chalk outside today she demanded while pointing her little finger that we, "color here, k?"

04|06|11 For Acacia's birthday we got her an alphabet puzzle; she can almost put the whole puzzle together by herself and even names quite a few of the letters.

04|05|11 I don't recall ever teaching Acacia what a bug is but today while playing outside, she points to these two little tiny ants, says, "bug... cute!" Then as she saw them walking towards her, she drew away and said, "eew!"

04|04|11 Acacia is officially two years old today. It's a happy tragedy... =) She weighs 20.5 lbs and is 31 inches tall. This equals a projected adult height of 5 ft and 2 inches. Wow. That's a bit short. Let's hope that prediction is wrong...

04|02|11 Today we threw Acacia her birthday party. She had SUCH a blast. Our intent was to just fill her day with blessing - smiles, laughter, color, excitement... I think we achieved this goal. I'm sure she went to sleep feeling supremely loved.

03|31|11 This morning Acacia was pointing to things and naming them. She then offers me her little puckered lips for a kiss. Then she opens her arms wide and says, "hug," for the first time... *sigh*

03|24|11 I'm always trying to teach Acacia new words. Sometimes she will repeat them. Other times she looks at me like I'm stupid or just "ignores" me. Well I know she is listening to me now, because today she pointed to her sippy cup and said, "milk" (a word I have been trying to get her to repeat forever)... an hour later, showed me her "bok" (box).

03|23|11 Tonight in the bath there was a little fuzzy floating under the water. For some reason Acacia thought that it was gross, "eeew," crawled in the opposite direction quickly with a scared look on her face, and tried to blow it away from her.

03|21|11 Acacia can snap herself into her high chair. I didn't teach her how.

03|19|11 All of a sudden Acacia has started to repeat words that I say and reveal how many words she has been cataloging  in that brain; "book," "eat dat," "back," "head," "out," "down," "walk," "meat"

03|16|11 Last night Acacia said "beans" but with a little "th" at the end. She also says "bith" for bite. I'm hoping that lisp will get worked out... :)

03|13|11 I can't get Acacia to keep anything in her hair - I am wondering when that will ever change. She asks me to put things in, but then she runs away crying or just rips it out. Fickle miss.

03|10|11 Acacia now knows "apple," she asks for "wheat" for breakfast (cream of wheat) when I get her in the morning, and requests "chee-o" - Cheerios.

03|06|11 I've noticed Acacia trying to hide her smiles. She is so stubborn she doesn't want to satisfy me with a grin so she tries controlling it. Which is almost even more cute than her smile.

03|03|11 My girl is so sweet, sometimes. Lately she has been gently running her hands through my hair and rubbing it in her face with a big smile.

03|01|11 I'm kinda starting to feel bad for our cat. Acacia follows her around the yard the whole time we're outside. She hugs her and pets her.... she also sits on her. And pulls her tail. Poor Busty.

02|28|11 Acacia's pronunciations are improving! And so is her understanding.

02|26|11 From what I have been hearing Acacia thinks that the opposite of "Okay" is "nooo kay!"

02|25|11 Acacia says her best friend's name so perfectly -- "Abby"  [[[and she never stops asking for her]]]

02|23|11 This morning my mom and I were video chatting. She asked Acacia, "Where's the baby?" Acacia lifted up my shirt and gave my belly a kiss!!!!

02|20|11Acacia is off the bottle! Woot woot! It's been a pretty easy clean break. I am so proud of her. (And now her pediatrician will get off my back about taking her off it asap)

02|16|11 Acacia says, "Oh! Coooooool!"  "Wow," "uuuuummm.... no," "pree" (pretty)

02|14|11 This morning Jason brought Acacia into bed with me. She saw me with my head on the pillow, stretched out her hand, caressed my cheek, and said, "tuute" (cute). It melted my heart. <3

02|12|11 Today Acacia was playing so contentedly in her bedroom. After a while, I decide to check on her. When I came in, she handed me a stack of pencils... then pulled me over to the wall that she colored all over, proudly saying her word for "color." Fortunately, she tried to help me wipe it all off (which didn't work at all)

02|10|11 Acacia has loved to pretend to "talk on the phone" with her toys. Now she holds the toy up to her head with her shoulder and walks around chatting.

02|07|11 I've been astonished lately how Acacia seems to understand everything that I say to her. I will give her fairly complicated directions and watch her walk away and accomplish the mission perfectly.

02|03|11 She likes to sit in her giant basket with her toys to play.

01|30|11 Acacia watches me lick food off my fingertip sometimes; which explains why she has been sticking her whole pointer finger in her mouth, sucking it for a second, and pulling it out. Classy.

01|22|11 I've noticed that Acacia is picking up on a lot more words. Lately, I've heard her say, "coa" for "coat," "peaw" for "pear," "bow" for "bowl," "poo" for "spoon," "cheo" for "cheerios"

01|21|11 Acacia is such a goof. My favorite face is when she smiles super big, squints her eyes and tips her head backward slightly.

01|20|11 While putting things away in the kitchen I noticed a little pitter-patter behind me wherever I went. I looked back, and Acacia was following close behind me. She laughed when I saw her.

01|18|11 The turtle is "toddledoodledo" or "tu"... depending on her mood, maybe??? haha

01|15|11 Jason and I are still trying to figure out exactly what she is trying to communicate, but she demands something when she says, "Eee aahh."

01|13|11 When you ask Acacia if she wants something and she agrees she says, "kay," and nods her head.

01|10|11 "Please" has gone from, "tee," to now, "pea" =) Good girl; so proud of her. And yeah, she says, "gu gur" (for good girl).

01|07|11 "Be-uhr" is a bear

01|06|11 Acacia got a little baby doll from Jason's mom that makes sucking noises when you put her bottle in her mouth, then cries a little when you take it out. Acacia was thrilled when she received a similar doll from my mom but when she heard this doll cry she pulled it up to her chest and patted its back. She is already a little mommy.

01|05|11 Acacia calls her auntie Sheree', "wee wee" - for "ree ree"

01|04|11 Today Acacia said, "Noah." Just like that.

01|03|11 "Cuu" is her word for when she wants to "color"

01|02|11 I watched a four month old today for a few hours and Acacia was such a good little helper; bringing me her bottle, sharing her toys, making sure she had a blankey, kissing her forehead.

01|01|11 I'm not sure when Acacia picked up on this, but when she sees Dora, she says, "Doh"

12|30|10 Point to any star and she says "tar!"

12|29|10 Let me just list off all the animals Acacia knows: cat - "neoow"; dog - "grr"; bunny - wiggles her mouth while saying "mmm"; snake - "sssss"; monkey - "o-e-ah-e-e-o-ah"; lion, tiger - "rawwr"; giraffe - points to her neck; elephant - blows air in her cheeks; fish - opens and closes her lips; bee - "bzzz"; bird - "teet teet teet"; kangaroo - bounces her hand up and down; duck - "kak ka"; bear - "rawr" and she now says "buh"; gorilla - pounds her chest and says, "ooo ooo"; horse - "nay nay"; rooster - "kadooloo" squirrel - "curl"; lamb - "ba"; turtle - some jibberish word w/ a T in it

12|27|10 Jason and I just love putting the baby to bed when she knows she is ready. As soon as she is set in her crib she bounces her legs up and down repeatedly and giggles.

12|26|10 For Christmas we got Acacia a GIANT stuffed dog. She mounts him and jumps up and down like he's a horse. She even hoists him around behind her with those tiny muscles.

12|25|10 We're working on teaching Acacia to say, "I love you." So far we've got "I lo-*lots of tongue movement*"

12|24|10 What was once "oo oo... ah.. ee ee" for monkey, is now "oeaho-o-o-o-e-ah"

12|24|10 At Christmas Eve service at church tonight Acacia sang along with everyone, and when she saw some people raising a hand to worship, she did the same.

12|23|10 We got Acacia some dress shoes for the holidays and as soon as she saw them she demanded that we put them on. She has wants to wear them anytime she sees them.

12|23|10 "Biy" is what Acacia asks when she wants a bite of your food.

12|22|10 Acacia said her longest sentence, "bye bye nana"

12|20|10 Acacia is going through a peek-a-boo stage. She puts her hands over her eyes, as we ask, "where's Acacia!??" She pulls her hands away, all smiles, and says, "boop!"

12|18|10 Acacia calls crackers "gaga"

12|16|10 As Acacia was watching the squirrels out the back door saying, "cuuuurrl" and squealing with glee, I pointed out the snow that was falling. She repeated me saying, "noooow" ('snow' without the 's')

12|13|10 Acacia calls her little stuffed lamb, "baaa"

12|10|10 I tried on a hat to show to Jason and Acacia said, "tyyyuuuuuuuuuuu!" My jaw dropped and I told Jason, "Oh my gosh, she just told me, 'cuuuute!'" Later on that night we were at someone's house and when we left she pointed at all their Christmas lights outside saying, "tyuuuuuu.... tyuuuuuuuuu... tyuuuu!"

12|09|10 This morning I scrambled Acacia an egg for breakfast. A fork is so obviously inefficient, so she grabbed half the egg, shoved it in her mouth, and began to applaud herself. With chipmunk cheeks all swollen, she starts pointing down at my lap, demanding something. I looked down... and found my hands. She wanted me to clap for her as well. Well done, Acacia, on eating your food. Now it's time to work on some manners.

12|08|10 Her little mannerisms are my favorite. She is always pointing everywhere with her tiny finger. But what gets me the most is when she puts her little pointer finger up near her face and does it.

12|06|10 Tonight our little family of three decorated our Christmas tree. Yes, Acacia really did help. She sat on the snuggler chair and handed us the decorations two by two the whole way through. We had so much fun =D

12|05|10 In this frigid weather, "cold" is a perfect word to learn; though Acacia says it, "coal"

12|04|10 Acacia is figuring out little habits. When she wants to go downstairs to the family room, she point to the light switch so it's not dark for her down there.

12|03|10 Jason and I noticed tonight that Acacia has started to say "oooo kaeee" for "ok"

12|01|10 Yesterday I taught Acacia how to blow bubbles..... she sticks the wand in the bottle, pulls it out, and blows on the round end. Sometimes bubbles come out... most of the time nothing does.

11|30|10 "Teet teet" is what the birds say.

11|30|10 That bunny I told you about a while back? yeah it is still her best friend. She takes it everywhere, to bed, in the car, and it even has to sit with her while she eats.

11|27|10 I've noticed that while Acacia is sitting & waiting she will be strumming her fingers on the table. Where did she learn that???

11|20|10 Acacia officially hates it when she sees people on the computer. She screams (in the most high-pitch I have ever heard), "Nooooooooo," and turns bright red with anger. Yikes!

11|17|10 Our new favorite reading spot is sitting on the bottom stair together. She'll have it no other way.

11|15|10 Acacia's favorite toy for the past week or two has been this big stuffed bunny rabbit; as she calls it - "bu-y" (like 'buy' pronounced in two syllables)

11|11|10 As Acacia snuggled herself up to me on my lap I whispered, "I love you," and gave her a kiss her on the head. Her simply sweet reply, "dank you."

11|11|10 Sitting in the snuggler seat all by herself, Acacia beckoned me over and patted the empty spot beside her for me to come and join her.

11|10|10 Acacia wiggles her lips (since she doesn't know how to do her nose) for bunny rabbit and says "curl" for squirrel.

11|09|10 She is going to be such a good mommy some day. She already takes care of her baby dolls, wraps them in blankets, saying "nigh nigh," and gives them food & drink.

11|07|10 Acacia has started to [try to] run... it looks more like she is almost falling wherever she quickly walks.

11|05|10 Acacia can spot a baby anywhere now, whether it's small children she sees while we are out or little drawings in her books.

11|03|10 I've noticed that Acacia has started to interact more with the movies she watches; she will laugh (sometimes at the appropriate time) and she gets upset when someone gets hurt.

11|02|10 Acacia's word for potty sounds something like "pie"

11|01|10 Acacia won't 'moo' but she will say "cow" when she sees one!

10|31|10 Uh oh. Acacia loves watching movies! When the ending credits start to play, she says, "uh oh!" and then asks for more. Not to mention that she will even hand me the movie she wants to watch and point at the TV.

10|28|10 Acacia's nose has started to become runny, and now that she knows what I do for her, she will point to the tissue box then back at her nose for me to wipe it up =)

10|26|10 Momma started crying today and Acacia came, insisting to be picked up, made a concerned/confused look and just gave me a big long hug until it was finished.

10|23|10 All of a sudden Acacia is making the funniest faces at us. She's learned to really pout her bottom lip and the one that most makes us laugh is when she furrows her brows with her mouth slightly open... she looks very offended.

10|21|10 Acacia is learning how to eat by herself -- with a bowl and spoon! Though she prefers to play with her food and squish it in her fingers....

10|19|10 Have I mentioned that Acacia says "chee!" when she gets her picture taken... "tchoos" for "shoes" and "juuush" for "juice"

10|18|10 Acacia and Riley [her cousin] were eating graham crackers while sitting together on the sofa. They both shared their pieces with one another; Riley taking a bite, then Acacia, then Riley.... It was so sweet. And they played the whole night away together; laughing, chasing, sharing, screaming.

10|17|10 Finding dada's keys, Acacia tried inserting them into the door to get outside.

10|15|10 Acacia will bring us our shoes, then run to the door and point outside, saying "iye!" to get us out to play. She is so smart!

10|13|10 I must be creating an OCD monster. She will only eat banana and fruit leathers while they are still in their peel

10|12|10 Acacia said, "Hi, dada" - that's a two word sentence, people!!!

10|11|10 Today Acacia brought her blanket over to me and put it in my lap. She said, "nigh nigh!" and laid down on it.

10|10|10 Acacia eats her banana like a big girl - holding it & eating it out of the peel... and she calls it "nana"

10|08|10 They say I won't be able to shut her up once she starts saying sentences. And I believe them. Because Acacia already talks SO much... or should I say 'mumbles'? As she speaks she moves her little hands, as if in conversation... Oh how I wish I could understand what she was telling me!

10|08|10 Acacia very clearly and perfectly said "baby" today.

10|07|10 "Momma" is a word that Acacia ditched as soon as she learned it about 10 months ago or so. In the past few weeks however, she has reintroduced it into her vocabulary - much to my joy!

10|06|10 I told Acacia, "Fingers!" as I wiggled mine at her; then I did the same with my toes. She didn't seem to care too much at the time... but later that evening we were asking Acacia to show us all her little body parts she knew. I figured I would give fingers and toes a try. Jason and I were so surprised when she wiggled her little fingers and her toes when I named them!

10|05|10 I was flipping through a magazing today - not really reading, just looking through each page. I noticed that Acacia was licking her finger. (This happened for the first time about a month ago but I forgot to record it.) That time I had no idea what she was doing. But once she stuck her little pointer finger up to my lips for me to lick, I realized what it was. She had noticed me licking my finger to turn pages through the magazine. I hadn't even noticed I was doing it - but she did! I laughed out loud & hugged her. So when she did it again today it reminded me of the first time; and what I had realized -- she is watching my every move. And I need to use that for God's glory and really be a living example of Christ to her; in every single tiny, seemingly-insignificant thing I do.

10|05|10 Went to Acacia's 18 mo checkup today. She is a whopping 18 lbs 6 oz.

10|04|10 I can't believe my baby is 1½ today!!!

10|03|10 Acacia is learning to say "ball", she says "tshu" for "shoe", she points to cars and says "caaw", & her favorite words right now are "no no!" "danke yuu," and "ow"

10|03|10 I got Acacia dressed for church today with some dressy shoes. She has a hard time walking in them, but they were the only option if her outfit was going to match. After tripping, she went to her pink tennies, picked them up and brought them to me. She pointed down to her feet and motioned for me to put the pink shoes on instead. Jason and I were awe-struck.  Let's just say Acacia's intelligence is more important than a matching outfit =)

09|30|10 She is growing right before my very eyes. Today while sitting on top of the snuggler seat, staring out the window, Acacia learned from her nana both "car" -- "caww" and "tree" -- "tee."

09|29|10 My mom gave Acacia her first haircut today! It was sad to see that cute little mullet go... but now her head won't look so homely and perhaps it will grow in thicker this time =)

09|25|10 Acacia goes up to the hot oven, touches the door and says, "Ot!" ("hot") and then, "ow". Such a smart girl!

09|24|10 Acacia loves to look at Bibles. While we were at Andrew  & Janae's house (Acacia calls her "nae nae") she finds a Bible and brings it to us. I tell her that Jesus is in the Bible and ask her to say Jesus. "Jeju," she says. All our hearts melted <3

09|22|10 Acacia has been saying this for quite a while now, but I have never mentioned it on here yet. When she hands me something she says, "eyego," for "there you go".

09|21|10 I am recording this, not that I am pleased with how often and when she uses it, but because it is a new word in her vocabulary: She has learned to say a very defiant, "NO!"

09|20|10 I absolutely love this new thing Acacia does: I'll just be standing there and then she comes up from behind me, grabbing a leg in each hand and shoves her little head through my legs, either leaning there or walking through them. It's cute.

09|15|10 Acacia is NO help with folding laundry... but she is with the step before! I was putting the wet clothing from the washer into the dryer and Acacia was with me, watching. I wondered if she would like to help, so I started to hand the clothing (one piece at a time) to her. My little smartie placed the items in the dryer and when we had finished, she shut the dryer door. She is doing chores before she even realizes it! She even helps my unload the dishwasher and she puts things in the trash for me if I ask her to.

09|13|10 Since Acacia has been letting us know when she is 'poopoo' and needs a diaper change, we figured we'd give the potty a try. So we bought her a potty trainer seat, placed her on it, (turned the sink faucet on to a trickle) and tada! She went peepee!!! She went again the second time we put her on too! Wow; potty training, here we come!

09|10|10 Jason and I went shopping for Acacia and bought her clothes for the winter and fall. We showed them to her and she was really excited. When she saw the boots that we bought her, she was so thrilled, she had me put them on her feet and she walked around squealing. When I took them off, she was upset and began to cry! And for good reason -- look how CUTE they are:


09|07|10 I mentioned on 08|11|10 that Acacia has started to pray with us. Now she even says, "aam na" at the end of our prayers- her way of saying "Amen".

09|05|10 We are making headway towards pre-potty training! Acacia walked up to me and, smelling something stinky, I asked if she was "poo poo". She looked down and grabbed her diaper. And indeed - she was answering yes!

09|05|10 Today Acacia learned how to twirl around in circles. After she goes around a few times she will stomp her little feet. I think she is the best dancer I've ever seen.

09|05|10 My child is a drama queen. Her fits are ridiculous, she has a fake laugh, and just does certian things to get attention. My favorite lately is this move -- hunches over her little shoulders, letting her arms dangle in front of her, bends her knees a bit, tilts her head back, and makes a duck face (makes her lips pouty) as she meanders along.

09|04|10 Acacia has a way of finding the tiniest little thing on the ground: usually its something gross - food crumbs, dead bugs, etc. When she brings it to me, I say, "Ewww." I now notice that as she squats and points to and picks up those things she quietly says, "eeww eeewww."

09|01|10 Anytime Acacia hands me something, or does something I ask her to do, I tell her, "Thank you!" Now when she hands me something, she says, "danke youu."

08|24|10 Today we told Acacia to say "cheese" for me to take a picture to send to Jason. She said "chee!" and this is the moment caught in pic:



08|21|10 Acacia gives kisses when she knows she is in trouble.

08|19|10 Riley and Acacia were chasing each other around today- she seems to pick up on everything he does. Now Acacia will run towards you with her arms out, wiggling her little fingers, saying, "lidle lidle lidle!" Which translates to, "tickle tickle tickle."

08|17/10 While eating lunch today Acacia's grandpa, my dad, was giving her some lemonade through a straw. Nearly every sip produced a little drip down her chin. So grabbing the napkin beside her, Acacia would wipe her chin off after each drink she took. Such a tidy little girl.

08|16|10 We went to the grocery store and they have carts with plastic cars attached to the front for the kids to ride in as you shop. We buckled Riley and Acacia in together. At the checkout, we waited in line as the cashier took care of the people ahead of us and as she started scanning our order. As we waited for the total, a front end manager stood at the bagging end and asked us, "Do you know that they both have candy bars?" "No!" we exclaimed. I ran up to the front to check and there the cuties were... both had candy in their hands and had eaten through the wrappers. Riley had an Almond Joy and Acacia a pack of Rolos.


08|11|10 Acacia hears us calling the cat, Coltrane, with a "tsk tsk tsk". She has figured out how to do it and today when she saw her bottle, she said, "Baba!.... tsk tsk tsk" - calling her bottle to her. 

08|11|10 Jason and I sat down together for breakfast with Acacia between us in her high chair. We hold hands when we pray and today Acacia held out her little hands for us to hold. She sat quietly, tentatively bowing her head as Jason prayed. When Jason said, "Amen," she immediately let go of our hands and started talking again.