Disneyland with Her Homegirls

There's actually a couple different events to put up in this post, but I LOVE the pictures of V and her buddies at Disneyland because they're all precious like collectible dolls. (But don't collect them, though, because ew.) Veronica's already been to Disneyland like 50 times or something ridiculous, so she is a master at selecting rides.



Look at them big pimpin' in that Dumbo! (No, we don't tell her what big pimpin' means...)



Staring into the dark depths of her future. Nah, it's just a tunnel!



With Mary Poppins! Veevs effing LOVES Lady Pop, she watches it all the time. And it's weird enough that a 2 year old can watch a movie all the way through, but her affinity to old school musicals generally makes it worth it.



Let those blocks be a clear indicator just how gigantor the Disneyland tree is. Yowza.



Now the pics get nice and random. Here's Veronica with her first Happy Meal, which activates her American citizenship. (I don't know if you knew that. Truth.)



This is how Ama dressed her for the Hollywood Christmas Parade. She looks thrilled. aha. AHAHAHAHAAHA.



Veronica loves to help her Dadops with morning chores. For real.



I'm pretty sure that a) this was her christmas list and b) she got every effing thing she put on that list.



Here's V with her old lady and her buddy Nico.



She taught herself how to swing!



It's so much more like flying this way!
Drea

San Diego Zoo

If you're wondering if Veronica has been to more places and done more cool things by age two than you have in your whole life - you're right. She has. Sorry, sucker.



This is her, befriending a big ape. So sweet, that girl.



This is her, befriending the photo of a lion cub on a vending machine. So confused, that girl. (She chose this photo location, for the record.)



Here she is, possibly thinking she's in a cage. Again: confused. But soooooo cute. (Which is what really matters.) Now: more video!



Cute! And confused!



All good outings should end like this, I think.

Now, in a similarly themed but separate trip to the wild animal park...



Veronica asks to have her picture taken in front of an ATM. (Fine, it was probably the gorilla that enticed her but oh my god my money is not going on her being an art director. Which is okay because she needs to concentrates on pageants, anyway.)



Maybe her pageant talent could be animal wrangling?



I loooooove this picture. And so I end on it.
Drea

Huntington Gardens Members Day

I need to do some catch up posts with pictures of V before the mom brigade (i.e. Elaine and Gidget) start sending me death threats. Settle down, women!

These pics (and video!) are from Veronica's fun time at the Huntington Gardens.



Look at that saucy little thing! As V's Ama knows, I'm partial to a Scottish tartan, and this is a nice approximation. (To be honest, I prefer mine on a pirate Highlander, but whatever.)



This was her first snowman cookie. ALLEGEDLY.



And this was her first sugar rush from a snowman cookie.



Once they wrangled her down, they made her sit on Santa. Eh. Could be worse. Now: moving picture of Veronica being chased around a tree by Auntie!



Giggles and giggles!
Drea

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

Veronica's 2nd Birthday

Hey, you guys... remember what happened two years ago today?



OH MY GAWD. Soooooooo tiny! Let's get a closer look.



Seriously, coooooo. Look at that tiny little head and that sweet little face. How in the world do you improve on so much perfection?



ACCCCCKKKK! It DOES get better with age. To Veronica on her second birthday: all the love and sweetness and fun and protection and adventure in the world. You are such a gorgeous little ball of giggles and smarts, and we are all so lucky to have you!

Love,
Zia Drea