DJ Lance Rock & Other Funtimes

The highlight of Veronica's year (and the rest of Team Gore, I'm sure) was the live Yo Gabba Gabba show... and because Veronica has charmed Dreas of all shapes and sizes, she even got to go backstage.



That's right, that's DJ LANCE ROCK, y'all. In the flesh! Carrying around our girl!



Veronica, of course, was nonplussed. Ain't no thang to her, she's been rocking those shades for months.



Something she can get excited about? Avocado sushi. Girl after my own heart. Also bringing on the total Amanda-style manic grins (and she does this a lot, she is one happy little beast)...



Friends & forts...



Dorky glasses & big eyebrows...



And being turned into a bunny at Alabama's awesome birthday party!



She's also capable of more pensive looks, which is fitting considering her ever growing vocabulary (and her even newer ability to process and respond to in-depth questions). Here she is pondering the meaning of life and the origin of species while staring out a train window (she hearts trains big time).



And here she is questioning gender roles and the continued existence of the glass ceiling while enjoying a lollipop. Oh, and she gets a new one of these sweaters every year as they are our favorite (and hers).



Fear not, all of that conjecture and philosophizing doesn't slow down her social skills! V loves an outing and being around the big kids, and the Hollywood Christmas Parade was a perfect place for that.



Um, this hat kills me and needs no funny-funny caption. SO EFFING CUTE.



Independence, big words, alone time, cognitive & rational thought... whatever. At the end of the day, she's still our favorite baby. COME ON! Look at this girl! Sigh 4-evah.

Drea

Regular Sayings

Talking with Amanda last night, I remembered there are several other things Veronica is regularly spouting now that I knew would amuse us to look back on later.



She loves to greet things with "hi". This is awesome, and can take many forms. "Hi gabba", "hi Chester", "hi car", "hi horses". Of course, the reverse is true and even less expected (and therefore thrilling when uttered). Nothing better than the unexpected "bye store".



With a mom like Amanda, the only way V can really rebel in the future is by becoming a straight A having varsity soccer playing cheerleader. This in turn means she'll be skipping a stoner phase, so it appeases me now to hear her regularly request "kind". She doesn't mean the bud, obvs, she means she wants a different kind... this most often comes up in concerns to juice.



My favorite word? "Hiding!" Because she yells it, which is SUPER secretive. Any ninja will tell you that. "Veronica, where are you?" you can shout. "HIDING!" she'll respond. She's totally the next James Bond.

Drea

Fall Activities

Gotta catch up on some autumnal funtimes with Lady V! I've had an especially good time of it lately, as I've been lucky enough to spend my Thursdays squiring Her Highness around.



She does this awesome thing now where she answers "sure" when you ask her things. "Veronica, can you eat another piece of eggplant before you're done?", you inquire. "Sure," she responds.



However, she's also expanding her repertoire. For instance, when I request, "hey, my little friend, can you please stay closer to me when we're playing near the street?", she will counter with a solid, "I don't want to!".



"Well, we all do things we don't want to, sister!". Which, of course, sets off, "sister? TT?!?!". (TT, clearly, is Amber. Short for "auntie". Obviously.)



Or my favorite little smarty manipulation pants move she pulls... we'll be going through the getting-ready-for-bed routine, which concludes with a book, and she'll ALWAYS request David Gets In Trouble.



Because she KNOWS that the very last word of it is "mom", and that will just set her up for the perfect, squealing, sobbing "mommyyyyyyy" breakdown post-book. And even if I don't read the word "mom", or try and skip the last page, her face (which until now has been content and sleepy) will totally crumble.



I find her sneakiness in book requests even more impressive than the fact that since she's now a real little human, she can answer questions and analyze and tell you things (which, admittedly, does blow my mind).



Anyway, the world is Veronica's (happy, busy, ever expanding) oyster and the rest of us are just grains of sand in it.



Lucky us.
Drea