Hmmm...what's in that plastic bag on the back of Dad's chair? I'm going to crawl up and get it, whatever it is. Maybe Mommy won't notice. Ooohh, soft and squishy, I'll pull them all out and put them on the floor. One goes here, one goes there, this is fun! Mommy, will you put these on my feet? 
This is soft and squishy too. Um, Mommy, why are you putting that on my head? You're lucky I love you, I'll forgive, but never forget.
Today Pearl learned why it's not a good idea to grab for cups on a table. I was sitting on the sofa, heard a quickly drawn in breath, turned around, and found this...
Poor little bugaboo was dripping in milk. We got the floor and toys cleaned up, then plopped Miss Pearl into a bath. I tried so hard not to laugh at her, I failed miserably.
We're going to give the PPotD another try. Pearl does many amusing things in the course of a day, so it shouldn't be hard getting some of it on "film". We'll give you a few this first day, do we ever get sick of pictures of the monkey?
Our first photo is after breakfast. No, those aren't cold sores, jelly was the culprit. Pearl just loves her some PB&J!
Mimsy handed some jingle bells to Pearl and she thought they were fantastic. Off she toddled, shaking the hell out of them. She did try them out for taste, but quickly came to the conclusion that it was better to play with them.
One first this week was Pearl's first bandaid. She had a little sore on her leg from her one of her many tumblings on top of toys. Little Pearl kept trying to pick at it, so Mimsy fished out a Hello Kitty bandaid. I believe we'll have another Hello Kitty fan in the household now.
We will leave you with a lovely water baby. Pearl enjoys her bath time like no other. I do believe she inherited my love for the water, she doesn't want to get out. I dream of the day we'll have a bathtub here again, then she'd have a whole "ocean" at her fingertips.
It's fun to watch the neighborhood come to life with christmas lights every year. Drab, ho-hum houses spring to life with their owner's take on the holiday. Clay did a beautiful job hanging twinklers here, blue lights have always been my favorite. Nana and Bumpa sent us a little tree, all decorated, and we have placed it in the front window with a penquin topper. Sorry for the blurry photo, we all know mommy's hands shake.
Of course Pearl is already trying to pull it down, but it's managed to stay upright so far. She is fascinated by the balls and ribbons, but the best part is....
...the box it arrived in! We put her blanket and a few toys in there and she was like a pig in poop! You can't quite tell from the photo, but she was dancing to the theme song from Family Guy. Pearl likes to boogie. I then futzed around with the camera settings and got this picture of miss thing. It's a strange exposure, but I like it.
We leave you with a poor quality photo of the Queen of the Links. Pearl donned her royal jewels and strutted her stuff, at least until she got all tangled up and begged Mimsy to rescue her. Poor monkey!
Pearl, Mimsy and I had a girls afternoon out. I showed Mimsy where Clay's new restaurant is, we made a quick stop at Starbucks for a frappuccino, and then headed down to Lake Lily for some duck watching and to get a little exercise. It's high time this couch potato sprouted some limbs and got out. The lake looked lovely, the Christmas tree was floating next to the fountain.
I've been going to Lake Lily since I was a little kid. My grandmother used to live across the street and would take my brother, sister and I to the art festival they hold there every year. It's a great "duck lake", it seemed like they had a population explosion! There were quite a few babies, and we even found some eggs.
After we walked around the lake once Pearl was set free from her stroller. It was her first time coming face to face with a group of ducks. She loved them! It was amazing to see her being so fascinated with these feathered creatures. Pearl would slowly follow them around, a huge smile on her face, and started making kissing noises at them.
After the duck excitement wore off we went exploring. Pearl was finding all sorts of goodies on the ground. We found a snail shell, a tiny plastic pig, sticks and some mulch.
Our last stop at the lake was the garden club. Pearl loved the flowers, she touches them and lights up with a big smile.
We stopped by Minnehaha park on the way home to show Mimsy where Pearl usually goes. When we came home we were treated to a beautiful display of Christmas lights. Clay was a busy elf while we were gone, the house looks so festive! It was a wonderful day.
It's pretty wild to watch Pearl changing and growing. A couple of weeks ago she would pick up a stuffed animal, carry it around for a while, then toss it on the ground. Things are changing in the plushie department. Pearl now bestows heaps of love to her "babies". She will pick one up, hug it, makes her kissing noise with it up to her lips. Pearl also insists that others give the object of her affection lots of kisses too. Shoving the helpless stuffed thing into your face, she makes the kissing noise and will only take it back when you've placed smooches on it. Making two animals kiss is also a favorite past time.
Everyone run for cover, the Pearl Monster was unleashed today. Poor Pearl was grumpy and weepy, maybe some new chompers are trying to bust through. Who knew that a BPA-free plastic spoon could be a potential lethal weapon when in the hands of a 14 month old? Not me, that's for sure! The scooping untensil was flying, hitting various members of the family in the head, temper tantrums were had, just all around gloominess for most of the day.
Our little beast is asleep in her crib at the moment, we'll see how long it lasts. There are short bursts of protest that emit from her mouth, possibly when she wakes planning her next method of madness while dreaming. Boob was of little comfort, the poor overworked girls even withstood some torture.
As a result of it all I got frustrated, irritated and annoyed. The Mommy monster crawled out and reared it's ugly head! Shooting daggers out of your eyes at your offspring feels wrong, but they flew none the less. I had visions of Pearl strapped to a huge spinning disc, and I the blindfolded thrower of sharp objects.
Tears flowed from my eyes, my stomach felt sick, how could I even let such thoughts go through my head? Then Clay reminded me that all parents have bad days, all kids have bad days. The fact that I got mad and irritated doesn't make me a bad mother, it makes me a real mother. It's just sad that what makes me human can also make me feel like such a monster.
We've had quite the week here at the old Ponderosa. Pearl's Bumpa came for a visit, making the journey from cold Michigan! We spent Thanksgiving hanging out at the house eating, a day in Titusville where Bumpa swam at the beach and we went exploring, made a trip to Wekiwa Springs, and then to Pearl's favorite park.
It was great watching Pearl bond even more with her Bumpa. He taught her where her nose is, now she will point out yours if you ask her where it is. She gave him lots of kisses and smiles.
Pearl's firsts this week: kissing a boy, sipping from a straw, trip to the springs, alligator sighting, trip to ihop, coloring with crayons, hot fudge sundae tasting, seafood tasting.
