moving toward toddlerhood

bebe has recently dropped her morning nap. this two-naps-to-one transition is a big one in the life of a little person, playing a major part in marking the change from baby to toddler, and i can't say it's gone entirely smoothly. while she is apparently no longer capable of taking two naps, she's also not quite ready to get by on less sleep. so, she's had more cranky moments over the past week or so while we try to figure out the best way to meet her needs. one benefit of dropping the first nap, though, has been that we have so much more time to do stuff! our days have just been packed with fun. part of this is because if i don't keep bebe busy and distracted all morning, she has a total meltdown -- but whatever the reason, it's been really fun getting to spend more time together.

on friday, she started off the day playing with one of her favorite birthday gifts.

to go with these, we need a picture of her playing with my wallet and credit cards -- her current obsession.

bebe, you know that whole "girls love to shop" thing is a gendered stereotype, right? not to mention that the history of the relationship between women and consumption is a long and twisted one... when you're a little bit older, i'll tell it to you for a bedtime story.

don't look so excited. jeez.

then we headed downtown to meet some family visiting from out of town. first we stopped at the library so i could pick up some parenting books (now that bebe is a toddler, i feel like i need to be more conscious about my parenting decisions).

she didn't seem that impressed with playful parenting.

unfortunately, i completely forgot to take my camera out while we were having bagels and coffee with my cousin chris and his wife laura, who we see all too infrequently on account of how they live in texas. we had a great time visiting with them.

then, in the evening, we met up with an old friend of mine and his wife and three-year-old daughter. we tried to take some pictures of bebe and ella together and, well... see for yourself. it's not easy to take any posed pictures of little miss neverstopsmoving anymore!