GigiPoppyMollyJulie

Melanie seems to think GigiPoppyMollyJulie is one word - and when she sees one of them, she's eagerly asking about the rest of the pack.  Monday night, my dad stopped by after a seminar he was attending in Indy.  Tuesday night, we were pleasantly surprised by the whole gang showing up - Dad from his seminar again, Mom in town just because it was nice outside and she wanted to see Mel - and Julie/Molly/Matt in town to go to the zoo. 

I was loading Melanie into the car after daycare yesterday (Tuesday), and she was whiney.  So I told her that if she behaved, Gigi would come over (I know, not the best discipline, but whatever).  She immediatly perked up and said "Gigi?"  I confirmed; she immediately asked "MollyJuliePoppy?"  When we got home, she roamed around the house asking "Where's Gigi?"  So I told her that maybe we could find Gigi at the park.  Mel SPRINTED to the park, yelling "GIGI" the whole time.  It was a dirty trick, but I needed to get out of the house, and thought my mom would be able to meet us at the park.  Mel had NO interest in the park once she saw Gigi wasn't there, so sprinted back to the house, and was ecstatic to find Gigi in the front yard waiting for her!  That was only the beginning of the excitement, though, because shortly, the rest of the PoppyMollyJulie equation showed up!

Mel has been talking up a storm lately, and is learning new words every day.  She cracks us up with the things she comes up with, and it's a joy watching her learn!   While taking walks with her, she is eager to identify everything she sees.  At home, she loves reading books and singing songs.  When she has visitors, she likes to pull out each of her toys, one by one, and tell stories about them.

We have been enjoying the last two days of wonderful weather by playing outside, cooking on the grill (Mel joins Daddy by cooking on her new grill on the porch) - and walking to the store, one of our popular summer activities.  We are definitely ready for spring/summer at the Worzala house - including the arrival of the new baby!