HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MINNIE!

The Wog was fussy all day today. Obviously, she misses her Minnie on her birthday. Here she is, sending Minnie birthday greetings.


And here she is, pondering how she is going to eat two crackers at one time.

A MISSING WOG

The Wog has been missing from the internet through no fault of my own. In fact, The Wog herself is to blame for her brief hiatus, having dumped a container of water on my computer--the result being a malfunctioning mouse and constantly moving curser. Typing a sentence on my laptop is now like playing a challenging video game. We're back, nevertheless.

The Wog has been up to a lot (aside from maiming computers) since our last update. She celebrated her second Thanksgiving at her paternal grandparents' house. She's a big fan of turkey. BIG fan. Here she is on the big day with her grandmother and two aunts. I like this picture because she looks like one of the girls.


She also continues her love affair with bananas and the other day downed two whole bananas in a row. She would have eaten another, I suspect, had we had any bananas left in the house to feed to her. Here she is challenging you to just try and take her banana away.


If you look closely, you can see the banana crammed into her cheek, chipmunk-style.


The Wog has also become a mimic. She can mimic words and whole sentences with surprising accuracy. She has a tendency to do so with one index finger raised, giving the appearance that she is delivering a very serious lecture.

She continues to wear her hair in pigtails and, in the spirit of the approaching holiday, someone stopped us earlier today to point out that she looks like Little CindyLou Who.

All this activity tires a growing Wog out. Here she sleeps while we rake the endless leaves at the new house.

THE WOG DOESN'T WANT TO WORK; SHE JUST WANTS TO BANG ON HER DRUM ALL DAY

A couple pictures--banging on her aforementioned drum, and getting ready to head outside on a chilly day.

WOGTORTIONIST

The Wog was eating a cracker in her stroller the other day when she discovered that she could eat with one hand and hold her foot in the other hand. AT THE SAME TIME. She amused herself this way for several minutes...a long time for The Wog, who is not known around these parts for her attention span.


The Wog looks a lot like her Pop-Pop and, I think, a little bit like her Aunt Mary Beth. But the other day at the flooring store, the clerk was enthusing over how much The Wog looks like her father. The Wog looks like everyone who loves her, which we think is pretty neat.


In this picture, The Wog ponders the meaning of life. Her conclusion? A pacifier.

COOKIE WOGSTER

We try to avoid exposing The Wog to too much television, but sometimes--if the dishes are piled up in the sink, for example--it's unavoidable. Recently I decided to try her out on Sesame Street. I taped two episodes--one heavily features Cookie Monster, who believes the moon is a giant cookie, and isn't it about snack time? The other is about Snuffleupagus, who is too big for ballet. (Or is the ballet to small for Snuffleupagus?)

The Wog could care less for Snuffy, and I don't blame her: he IS kind of whiney. But she loves her some Cookie Monster. As soon as she hears his grumbly voice, she smiles and hangs over the edge of the exersaucer waiting on his every "Um Num Num Num!"

Here she is, desperately struggling to see around Mommy, who is blocking the view.



Polly has never had a cookie, but some day she'll understand what all the fuss is about.

WHEN (1/8th) IRISH WOGS ARE SMILING

The Wog has had two itty bitty teeth on the bottom for quite so long now. These two itty bitty teeth look so cute by themselves that no other teeth want to come join them.



But she has a whole bunch of upper teeth which she refuses to let us see. Here's a once-in-a-lifetime shot.



This is one of my all-time favorite Wog pictures. She's not looking at me or her father, by the way. Those of you who know her may be able to guess what she's wooing so winsomely...



...her pacifier, of course!

The Wog had her 12 months doctor's appointment earlier this week. She weighs 19.6 pounds and is 26.5 inches long. A growing Wog!

WOG-ODILE TEARS

The Wog is a very pleasant, happy-go-lucky baby. But she's also extremely strong-willed. (Sometimes I use the word "spirited" but they both mean the same thing when I'm talking about The Wog.) About a month ago I noted that we had no pictures of The Wog in one of her most outraged moments, so I made sure to capture her mid-fit. (The Wog's father thinks this is mean, incidentally, and it may be. But the cuteness far outweighs the meanness, as far as I'm concerned.) In any case, here are some pictures of The Wog throwing down.

(You'll probably notice in these pictures that I have a thing for polka dot tights.)




I promise in the next entry she'll be back to her happy little self. As she always is--immediately--the instant she gets what she wants.

HALLOWOG II: THE RETURN OF THE WOG

Yesterday The Wog did not don a costume, but she still looked particularly cute. We have discovered that her hair is now long enough for pigtails (at least in the front--a lady at Story Time calls these "palm trees") and she'll probably never wear her hair any other way because I love it so much. (Plus, it's much more difficult for her to pull out a rubber band than a barrette.)

HAPPY HALLOWOG!

The Wog had a low-key Halloween (her second Halloween ever--hard to believe!) this year. She'd been sick, so there was neither tricking nor treating. She did have a single M&M in celebration.

(I am only posting these pictures under the presumption that viewers will agree to ignore the clothes exploding out of the dresser in the background.)