Mommy WOW! I'm a big kid now.. dum, dum...

No, Chaselyn is not already potty trained, but she's showing some hints that she's ready to start trying soon. In any event, she's a big girl. Within the past month little Chaselyn has totally stepped into the role of BIG sister. It seems like she's aged a whole year in just the short time since Jacob was born. And as much as she's changed, it's hard for me to explain exactly what's different. It's in the way she walks, it's in the way she talks, its in the glisten in her eyes. She's just beginning to realize that she is an independent person and she can do things for herself, and even make decisions.



She fills the big sister role well. She will point and run to Jacob if he grunts or squeaks or cries. She also tries to give him his favorite toy all the time (his pacifier). She loves to hug him and give him kisses too.

She is learning new words everyday. And she's becoming more and more aware of what exactly the word "no" means. Based on our interactions, she apparently knows that when I say "uh-uh" or "no, no" I mean business. But my "no" is not clear enough for her to really grasp the full meaning. She has the absolute cutest high pitched, drawn out "no" when she really means yes.

While we were in Arkansas, she showed that she could be the social butterfly that I have never seen before. She fluttered all about the tailgating and mingled among the people. Put her in with a couple of older kids and she'll be gone laughing and playing along.

Chaselyn really is showing her personality these days...

She's strong.
She's smart.
She's fashion forward.
She's fun-loving.

She's hungry.
She's adorable.
And she knows it all.

Fun facts:
* first two word phrase "eat bean"
* has clarified that a cow does indeed say "moo", but was confused when she talked to Papa's horses and they raspberried her instead of saying "neigh".
* LOVES shoes - notice the shiny ones in the picture above in her swimsuit cover-up those are her favorites
* gives great smacking kisses and blows kisses too
* gives the stink eye if you don't pray with her at dinner time
* can jump and actually get both her feet off the floor at the same time
* learned to dance like a ballerina
* calls a Hog a "Woo" (and is ready to point out every single one in Fayetteville, including one on a flag on top of Wal-Mart)
* is a great pretender. She can make pretend phone calls on her various cell phones, cook up a whole dinner in her little pots and pans, and feeds the whole gang of babies, stuffed animals and real people just before she wraps them up and pats them to sleep (not the real people).
* knows the word "tv"
* will go outside for playtime no matter how hot, no matter how tired, she's always ready for outside.
* likes to try big people things like walking up stairs, drinking out of a cup with no lid, eating with real forks, wearing size 8 women's shoes, copying our various mannerisms while we drive (Stanton taps the steering wheel, I sing)
* is making great progress on singing E-I-E-I-O and making animal noises for Old MacDonald