Like it... No!

Niya is quite good at expressing her opinion now. When she likes something she will tell you with complete bliss and gusto... LIKE IT! :) She always says it with a huge smile and a look of total rapture on her face! It is the best thing! She does this when she likes dinner, a book, a new park, a jacket, a hug, whatever! :)

On the other hand when she doesn't like something she will tell you as well! The funny part is that she doesn't say the negative words yet, so it sounds like this: frowning "Like it... No!" (said very solemnly) shaking her head and still frowning!

Here is a conversation that really cracked me up...

Daddy: Niya, can you please use your fork to eat your dinner?

Niya: No

Daddy: Yes, Daddy is telling you that you need to use your fork when you eat your dinner. You need to listen to Daddy.

Niya: looking at her fork and thinking about it...

Daddy: Niya, You need to listen to Daddy whether you like it or not and use your fork right now!

Niya: said solemnly as if she had thought it over... Like it... No.

Mommy: had to leave the table... suddenly 'coughing' behind napkin!

Mommy has a funny feeling somebody is going to give Daddy a run for his money! :)

Halloween... out of order!! :(

Niya was a Gnome for Halloween this year, she has a book with a picture of a gnome and loves to point to the gnome and smiles every time... so it seemed the perfect costume. :)

Trick-or-Treating was so much fun this year!! Niya totally got the whole idea and loved going from house to house. We went to a great neighborhood in Naugatuck and while we were driving around waiting for things to get started... Niya started to worry that we weren't actually going to go to any houses. All is quiet in the back seat and then we hear, "Candy... houses please!" in a sad little voice. We both had a good laugh because we thought maybe she had forgotten, and then found a place to park quickly with lots of reassurance that we were really going to get out of the car! :)

Here is Niya waiting to go trick-or-treating... "Dark yet?"

I think she must be thinking how much fun this all sounds by the look on her face in this one!

Gnome kisses!

Here we are... finally out of the car! It was super cold (and thankfully dry) so the coat was essential!

And we're off...

We thought we would do about 3 houses and then Niya would be totally done... but after each one she would look up at us and say with a grin, "More?" and we would go to a few more! Finally it was too dark to see, so we called it a night and went to go get some dinner. Niya got to eat M & M's in the car... she was in heaven! :)

Cook Books

Niya takes cook books very seriously... Here she is flipping through one of my books about muffins and quick breads and telling me all about it! :)

Can't you just see the serious nature of this conversation... She is so funny! I love that we can already share my love of cooking and baking! I'm so lucky! :)

This post is long overdue... The Macy's Day Parade

Wow, I'm really out of blog practice... these pictures are all in the reverse order!!

Anyway...

We took Niya to the 84th annual Macy's day parade this year in NYC. It was awesome! We took the train into the city and Niya loved it. The entire time she was jumping up and down in her seat and saying "Thomas, Thomas the train!" She thinks all trains are Thomas the train... and she sings the music... it was so funny.

The weather was perfect... cold (as expected) but also pretty perfect (we didn't get rained on or snowed on). Niya had the perfect view on our shoulders and watched the entire parade. Toward the end she started to get a little tired and droopy... sometimes laying on one of our heads... but she was up and managed to wave at Santa at the end! It was a great day!

Niya waving to Santa

Awestruck by one of the balloons... Hello Kitty I think; that one was her favorite! Or, maybe a close second to the giant pumpkin balloons... she kept saying "Hold it?! Hold it?!" which was pretty funny because the pumpkins were like 30 ft. tall.

Waiting patiently for things to begin

Here we are... toward the end... Niya is looking sleepy!

My little "ear warmer" watching the parade!

Although not our traditional Thanksgiving, we had a wonderful time and felt like we had a "Big Adventure"!

Some Family Pictures

A few pictures of us... and a close up of "the cute one"!

Our family at Yale

Just the three of us...

of course Niya had to pick this moment to decide she didn't want her picture taken! :(

Thanks for trying Papa Sully! :)

A Great Visit With Papa Sully!

Papa Sully came to visit and we had a wonderful time sharing CT and the east coast. Niya just loved having him here, and is still talking about his visit. She often says "Papa?" holding the phone up to her ear... "Hello?". When I ask her if she wants to call him on the phone she looks at me, all serious,... "Puter (computer)?" Our little technology kid would rather Skype than talk on the phone! :)

Niya and Papa Sully in Newport RI

Sharing a favorite book

"Does a cow say boo?" No, but Niya can!! :)

Look what I found...

Can you catch me?

We had a wonderful visit! We hope you can come back soon! :)

Silly Daddy!

Niya loves to sit on Daddy and have him bounce around on the bed... she thinks it is hilarious! I just wish he could see the smiles! :)

Wee!

Mommy has to stay close so I don't fall off... these rides get a bit crazy!

Just trying to stay on!

That was great...

Thanks Dada!

What a good Daddy!!! :)