Dear God...

Every night before bed, we read Ada several books and then say prayers together. Kim and I take turns each night praying for family or friends and thanking God for His blessings.

Tonight, as a total joke, I asked Ada "Why don't you pray tonight?" Immediately, she said "Dear God, thank you for Megan and for Tata [Clayton]. And thank you for Nana and Papa, and for Granny and Papa, and for Mommy and for Daddy." Then she prayed for someone who was sick (we couldn't understand who)! and closed with "and thank you Meme coming to Ada's birthday party. Amen."

Kim and I were amazed and both agreed it's the best prayer we've heard in our lives. I guess she's been paying attention during prayer time.

Hosebee listen to Boney Bear?

We don't know what "hosebee" means, but it preceeds most questions. We're guessing that it means, "how about we..." Ada loves music and asks to hear one or two songs over and over and over. So I put on Bon Iver to see if I could get her to like him. I told her that it was Bon Iver (sounds like Eever) and she said, "oh! Boney Bear!" Now she asks for him too, yay! Ada is talking all of the time now, almost always in complete sentences. She keeps up laughing and surprises us constantly with the things that she knows. The photo above was taken at Sam's favorite BBQ place in the world in Lockhart from a trip when her Nana and Papa came to visit. She still asks for them and wants to know when her Meme will be coming next. She loves her grandparents!

Pootcakes and Sunshine

Ada is talking more and more every day. She uses complete sentences a lot of times and is very good at communicating what she wants. One of her best words is "pootcakes." She normally imitates words pretty clearly but for some reason, pancakes are pootcakes. This morning, as we were sitting at the breakfast table eating pootcakes, she saw Nolan down in our roommate's living area. She said, "No Nolan! Tum outta der. Jaime and Todd's room!" She continues to amaze us.

The other day Sam used the word Republican in a conversation with me and from the back of the car Ada started yelling, "Obama!" How she knew that both of those words are political and belong in the same conversation, I have no idea. She also started yelling, "Obama presdident!" at the front of the communion line at church this week. Bad timing. She doesn't know that we don't talk about politics in church :) I think it's just a fun word to say.

I was talking with her on the phone while she was at my parent's house. I asked her what her favorite color is and she said, "orange." I said, "you're a little Longhorn, aren't you?" She said, "Papa's pen!" and ran over to grab an orange Longhorn pen of my dad's that plays the Eyes of Texas. We realize we have to be very careful with what we say at this point cause this little genius doesn't miss much.

I always tell Ada that I love her. I say, "I love you SO MUCH." A couple of weeks ago, Sam was changing her diaper and she grabbed his hand and looked up to him and said, "Daddy...so much." I thought Sam was going to eat her up.

One of our favorite things that she does now is ask us to sing to her before we put her down for a nap or bed. First, she asks us to rock her. "Mommy rock!" And then she'll look up at whoever is holding her and rocking her and say, "Daddy...sunshine." And Daddy will sing, "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy when skies are gray. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away."

We love you, sunshine! SO MUCH!

Happy Eatso!

That's how Ada says, "Happy Easter!" She has called all of her grandparents this morning to tell them, "Happy Eatso!" She first learned the phrase with her Aunt Megan (Meh) and Uncle Clayton (Ta Ta), so she has been saying, "Meh, Ta Ta, Happy Eatso!" Her daddy has been trying to teach her, "Christ is Risen," but I think that one's going to have to wait until next year. I can't believe that it's been a whole year since my baby was dedicated! Time sure does fly by when you're hanging out with a toddler.

Ada Loves Noles

Ada was watching Sesame Street the other day and Nolan jumped up there to join her. They have become best friends and he puts up with her sitting on his back because she also feeds him from the table. He never had people food until Ada came along. She talks about him all of the time. She calls him, "Noles."