The Orchid Child

(If you missed why we call her an orchid, here it is.)

Chanelle never ceases to make us laugh/cringe, depending on our mood and tolerance level.

Tonight for example... We are eating dinner, and she wants to be done and get down as she isn't enthralled with my menu selection, so she says with her big, oh-so-cute eyes, "I need to go to bed." This from the not-yet-2-year-old who, at this point in her life, HATES going to bed. (Tonight, thank goodness Dave's brother Mark was here getting help on his essay, because it took all three of us a turn to get her to go to sleep.)

Usually bedtime is her saying: "I need a change bum-bum," or anything else to delay the inevitable. (PS - not sure why she says bum-bum, but her owies are also "bonk-bonks.")

This girl astounds me - formulating excuses before she's 2!! If that is any indication of what is to come, I am worried...

On another note, we had family pictures taken this weekend by one of my best friend's sisters, Nicole Jensen. Chanelle only smiled when Dave and I were hiding and it was just her and Nicole. But I've accepted the fact that family pictures with an unsmiling Chanelle is an accurate representation! Now I'm making her sound like a miserable child, and really, she is sometimes, but the rest of the time she is so insanely cute that we can hardly handle it!

We've only seen a few of the photos from the shoot, and here are two.
Thanks, Nicole - that was so fun.