Jamaica pics from GrAllen

Just a few of the many amazing pictures taken by Grandpa Allen on our trip! Look, "Dewey," a bird!Plotting her way off the glass-bottom boat...
Buddies!
One sun-protected family:
"Boons!"
Enjoying the lazy river:
Who is cuter, Zoe or Sue? Close call!
A beautiful Jamaican sunset:
My personal favorite: Stephie cleaning up in the foot fountain. Grandpa Allen even taught her to wash off her behind, clothed or not!

Potty training

Don't worry, we will spare you any actual potty pictures! Today was day #3 of Stephie's potty training boot camp. As with almost everything we've ever asked of her, Stephie has totally rolled with this developmental milestone and taken it in stride amazingly well. Go Stephie! Here are Stephie and Mommy saying bye-bye to diapers:Big girl underpants! Wow!
Stephie's reward for the end of the first day: new shoes. Stephie's favorite thing!

22 months old today, and Happy Birthday GrAllen!

Happy 22 months Stephie! The biggest news of this month is Stephie's explosive speech development (yay!) She now combines several 2-word phrases (first official sentence: "NO Daddy!"), and she is learning at least 2-3 new words per day. Today's words: box, peas, rice, and whoa! Here is Stephie demonstrating the sign for "Potty Power!' More on that tomorrow...Also, today is Grandpa Allen's birthday. Happy birthday, Grandpa! You are loved!

Glass bottom boat

We are safely back in Chicago, but here are just a few more pictures from our vacation. Stephie took her first-ever boat ride on a glass-bottom boat to see the coral reef. Hi, Daddy!Ooooohhhh...starfish!
Stephie was more intent on trying to jump over the side. Oh well.

A birthday farewell for Mimi and GrAllen

On our LAST night in Jamaica (sniff!), we celebrated one recent birthday (Mimi) and one upcoming one (GrAllen) with a mini birthday party on the beach. "Hey, guys, I see cakes!"GrAllen deduced that since Mimi's birthday is indeed 10 days earlier than his (January 7th), she must therefore be older. The Jamaican sun has brought him great wisdom!"Mmmm...let me at it!"That's what I'm talking about, mon! A great way to end a great trip...

Sesame Street breakfast

This week has been a little light on grandparent photos, so here are a few from yesterday's Sesame Street breakfast. And yes, everyone except for Stephie is probably getting more than a little sick of the monsters!And of course a few of Stephie and the buddies. Stephie's favorite character is now Bert, probably because she can say his name the best!Also, check out Stephie's necklace (stolen from Grandma Julie). Stephie discovered jewelry this week! Pretty!

Water girl

Stephie apparently loves water in pretty much any form. Mmmm...these fountains are tasty!Stephie's favorite part of sand-castle building is transporting and dumping the water bucket. Luckily, Mimi is always game to help out.Oooofff! Water is heavy!Also, Mommy, Daddy, and Stephie hit the buffet tonight for dinner and let the grandparents finally enjoy a leisurely dinner in peace. Ahhhh!