Dueling Banjos

Here is Louisa tuning her guitar (ok, so it's a ukulele) with her Dad's help, of course. I would like Louisa to learn to play the piano, and Rhett says that is fine but that her real passion will be the guitar. He definitely has a head start on this one. Not only is Louisa becoming a classical ukulele player but she has also mastered the art of choreography - Patty Cake being her debut masterpiece. Here she shows off her masterful "throw it in the pan." I always knew the Theatre Movement class I took in college would enhance my mothering skills. I should have considered some horitculture, nature appreciation or something becuase you'll notice in the pictures below that there is beautiful little posie on Louisa's headband in one picture which is being gleefully crushed in her little hand in the next one. Yes, our little one is getting a mind ofher own. It looks like I might have to give up my headband hobby for a while because she just isn't tolerating them like she used to. She is all over the place and especially delights in exploring the cupboards. As a result of this fascination, she now knows the word no-no. This last week I was sharing my drink with her and when I went to take a drink she emphatically told me no-no. It was quite surprising. I could almost see her mind working as she did it.

She has also learned to pucker her lips and make a real kissing sound. And she has learned that when she is humming she can stick out her lower lip and slide her hand down her face and that makes a really funny noise. We are definitely enjoying this phase of watching our little Louisa's personality come out more and more. She still loves books and will sit and look through them contentedly for a few minutes before she is off again. The other day she was playing and I went to check on her and I couldn't find her, I could only hear her. Well, she had squeezed through the couches and was sitting underneat the end table, content as could be in her own little house. As busy as she is, she still indulges us in a good cuddle at the end of the day when she is finally too tired out to squirm her way out of our arms.