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If you didn’t know what a monkey does or what a dog says, or you want to hear a duet featuring about 30% of the alphabet, watch this clip.

Charlotte wanted to lend a hand with the laundry. Her idea of helping is crawling into the basket, unballing socks, then getting all defiant when you ask her to stop.

I turned on the video camera hoping Charlotte would say her new favorite phrase (“Puppy doog!”) She wanted to show off some robotic dance moves instead.

The clip was cut short by a raucous dog, who had to be removed from the set. After a few minutes, Charlotte let her back in.

Bailey’s not big on obeying commands. You wouldn’t believe her interpretation of “No! Don’t chase that cat! Especially not while we’re on this icy patch!” last night. But she really took my “Just sit there and don’t move” instructions to heart.

Charlotte was impressed.

Charlie took a break from dancing to offer Bailey a trade—a ball for a sock. I offer some variation of this transaction every day. Just like in that drug prevention ad with the mustached dad, she learned it from watching me.

Today’s dance party video has an underlying message we would all be wise to contemplate. (If you can’t make out the lyrics, it’s “Don’t, don’t, don’t bite your friends!”)

Courtesy of Yo Gabba Gabba.

I don’t know whether Charlotte’s talking to herself or a long-distance imaginary friend.

You can’t not dance when “Electric Avenue” is playing. I’m to blame for the curious outfit. (A too-close-to-bath-time diaper change put us in “anything goes” territory.)

The other day, Charlotte grabbed my gloves and did her impression of a baby who’d been equipped with robotic hands by scientists. An early prototype. They’re still working out the kinks.

Here’s a little more footage of Charlotte’s abusive relationship with Hokey Pokey Elmo.

For Christmas, Aunt Karen and Uncle Keith gave Charlotte Hokey Pokey Elmo. She’s working hard to master the dance moves.

(Not pictured: The part where she knocks over Elmo, then lies down beside him. I’ll work on getting that for tomorrow.)

Charlotte’s on a fashion kick. Here she is picking out tomorrow’s outfit.

And while I have your attention, here’s a baby/dog video I never got around to posting from March 31st, the day before we moved into our new house:

Here’s the video.

Charlotte’s school put on their holiday spectacular this afternoon, and I was a bit nervous. It’s hard to know whether a 17-month-old will be able to perform in front of a hundred strangers. But Charlie owned the room (or at least didn’t run screaming from it).

She danced festively, shook a bell, and left the stage at the appropriate time.

Yes, she did tear off her antlers moments into her performance, making her red nose look more like an injury than a costume. But she didn’t want her wardrobe to distract from her not-having-a-meltdown. Hope the reviews are glowing tomorrow.

Posing alone with Santa was out of the question this year, but Charlotte agreed to one photograph when Ellen and I joined the picture.

After we were done, Santa asked me to ask Charlotte to tell her friends to watch The Polar Express. I’ve always believed that Santa should deliver presents, not half-hearted marketing messages. Guess even Santa’s Workshop is suffering in this economy.

Here’s last year’s Santa picture, when Charlotte was plenty happy to pose.