"OH NO WAY!"

One of Van's new phrases is really an exclamation that means, basically, Eureka! She says, "Oh, no way!" like a perfect little high school student.

Here are some photos from the past few weeks. See Nanners playing hide-and-seek in the Christmas tree "forest." That rascal (pronounced Ras-a-cal). She plays hide-and-seek with Daddy every evening at home.

Here she is, eating "Ice-a-cream." Her favorite flavor? Pumpkin.

See her here with a new sweater and hat and a new friend, Mr. Snail. You'd think she'd found a unicorn in the yard, the way she marveled at this fine little creature. It took some serious reasoning on my part to get her to leave Mr. Snail (Mister Suh Nay-oh) in the great out-of-doors.

She's been wowing the other parents at the playground. I don't even feign modesty when Vanessa scales the playground equipment. "She's a climbing freak," I admit.

This little boyfriend is a year older. His mama and I said, "Go ahead, you can do it," and he looked up at us and said, "No, I can't." His mama commented that he had noticed Vanessa from across the playground, then he had to get up the nerve to approach her. After they climbed awhile, we saw him stand right up against Vanny, hold both of her hands, then move in slowly and carefully for a kiss. I fell on my back laughing.

Today is Vanessa's second birthday! We feel this is Vanessa Season, not just her birth day. We spent the weekend with the California side of the family, celebrating, and today we're having a quiet celebration at home, which may include sitting on Santa's lap and riding the merry-go-round downtown... photos to follow.