Hi friends! So it turns out that a few people actually did read my blog from time to time, who knew!?! So since we've now completed the whole move-to-a-new-state thing, I'm thinking it's time to dust this little corner of the Internet off and start contributing again. Who's excited!?!
Anyway, I haven't really thought about what type of content I'll post yet, it'll probably be a little of everything and fairly rambly, because that's kinda how I am. I still have unpacking to do, so I may throw in some organization, definitely kid updates, maybe some pop up posts by Mike, you know, basically whatever it occurs to me to share. (I'm also up for some suggestions if there is something you want me to post about. So I guess that's it for now, I'll type at you later! Bye!
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Ch-Ch-Ch Changes
Okay, so I know I've not done a good job at. all. of even trying to blog through out this pregnancy. But let's just say that life is hard and busy right now. I'm completely out of head space to devote to things like a blog at this stage of our lives. But I did want to write down all the things going on in our lives right now, just so that when I look back I can keep perspective and not beat myself up for not writing as much (or at all).
So first things first. Pregnancy wise I am now 32 weeks. I have also been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. So starting this week I'm going to be having ultrasounds every week to check the function of the placenta, because GD is centered all around the placenta and how it is functioning. I'll also be going to a high risk doctor every other week to start having growth scans on the baby, because again, GD causes any excess sugar in me to be passed onto baby and the baby then takes that sugar and converts it into excess fat that will cause her to be bigger than she should be for her developmental age. Along with my ob and high risk doctor I've also been given a nutritionist to try to control the diabetes through diet. So far, I've been able to get things under control with diet alone, but as I've been told over and over again, that could change as I get closer to delivery. So fingers crossed that all of these upcoming scans are good and that little miss will stay in there until May. Which I should mention that if the placenta stops functioning correctly we may need to look at having her early, also if she gets too big, that may be a factor into what is the best option for baby. But for now we are just chugging along with a special diet and food log and blood sugar testing 4 times a day.
(Disclaimer: This is just my understanding of our situation, I am by no means an expert and am relaying things as I understand them)
Next big thing going on in our lives is that we are moving. Out of state. (But it's only four hours away) Mike has been offered this really great opportunity at his company that would allow for me to stay at home with the girls, which has always been the dream. So we have been working toward this goal for awhile now and it's all coming together in April. We've found a good transition house that we signed a lease on last week and will be moving the bulk of our stuff the first weekend in April. We are pushing hard to get the house set up before 36 weeks, because my doctor does not want me further than an hour away at that point. (And I don't really want to be traveling back and forth at the point either). So when we were looking at moving with a newborn versus moving pregnant, pregnant seemed way easier since she's still contained and won't need my time and attention as much right now. The basic plan is to move all the stuff down and set it up, then be back to our old area to have the baby and for a couple weeks of recovery. I'm not changing doctors at this point and we have an extensive support system here that has been generous in offering to let us stay while we wait and recover. (Also, I'm sure this goes without saying, but I am not moving all the stuff, we have men coming to do that, I'll be doing the packing/unpacking and directing of furniture)
Along the lines of us moving, I am currently working my last full week. The company I work for is amazing and the only reason I'd want to leave this job is to stay at home with the kids. So that makes leaving very bittersweet. I love my co-workers and the work that I do. I will still be working some throughout April when I'm in town to catch up any work that needs to be done and to train my replacement, but it won't be the same after this week. It's been such a joy to work for a company that values it's employees and has been a relatively low stress job. I'll be sad to leave because I know what a diamond in the rough I've been blessed with. (My job before this being horrible!)
We've also had a lot going on in our extended family lives. We were blessed with the arrival a new nephew. My brother and sister in law welcomed their second baby boy on Monday March 21st. His arrival has a been a source of celebration among everything else.
Unfortunately we also lost my Grandpa last week. He was 87 years old and had been diagnosed with cancer a short time ago. There is a lot heartache surrounding his passing, none of which I will be blogging about, but I know the heartache will take a long time to heal. So please say a prayer for my family as we start to work through the grief.
So yeah, all the many many details of Gestational Diabetes, combined with all the details of moving, combined with busy schedules and general life, my head space is gone. I'm doing good to remember to set up trash services at the new house (wait, I haven't done that yet, better write myself a note). So not to be making excuses, but life is busy busy busy!!
So I'll try to get some more posts up in the near(ish) future, but I'm not going to make any promises. Hope you are all doing well!
So first things first. Pregnancy wise I am now 32 weeks. I have also been diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes. So starting this week I'm going to be having ultrasounds every week to check the function of the placenta, because GD is centered all around the placenta and how it is functioning. I'll also be going to a high risk doctor every other week to start having growth scans on the baby, because again, GD causes any excess sugar in me to be passed onto baby and the baby then takes that sugar and converts it into excess fat that will cause her to be bigger than she should be for her developmental age. Along with my ob and high risk doctor I've also been given a nutritionist to try to control the diabetes through diet. So far, I've been able to get things under control with diet alone, but as I've been told over and over again, that could change as I get closer to delivery. So fingers crossed that all of these upcoming scans are good and that little miss will stay in there until May. Which I should mention that if the placenta stops functioning correctly we may need to look at having her early, also if she gets too big, that may be a factor into what is the best option for baby. But for now we are just chugging along with a special diet and food log and blood sugar testing 4 times a day.
(Disclaimer: This is just my understanding of our situation, I am by no means an expert and am relaying things as I understand them)
Next big thing going on in our lives is that we are moving. Out of state. (But it's only four hours away) Mike has been offered this really great opportunity at his company that would allow for me to stay at home with the girls, which has always been the dream. So we have been working toward this goal for awhile now and it's all coming together in April. We've found a good transition house that we signed a lease on last week and will be moving the bulk of our stuff the first weekend in April. We are pushing hard to get the house set up before 36 weeks, because my doctor does not want me further than an hour away at that point. (And I don't really want to be traveling back and forth at the point either). So when we were looking at moving with a newborn versus moving pregnant, pregnant seemed way easier since she's still contained and won't need my time and attention as much right now. The basic plan is to move all the stuff down and set it up, then be back to our old area to have the baby and for a couple weeks of recovery. I'm not changing doctors at this point and we have an extensive support system here that has been generous in offering to let us stay while we wait and recover. (Also, I'm sure this goes without saying, but I am not moving all the stuff, we have men coming to do that, I'll be doing the packing/unpacking and directing of furniture)
Along the lines of us moving, I am currently working my last full week. The company I work for is amazing and the only reason I'd want to leave this job is to stay at home with the kids. So that makes leaving very bittersweet. I love my co-workers and the work that I do. I will still be working some throughout April when I'm in town to catch up any work that needs to be done and to train my replacement, but it won't be the same after this week. It's been such a joy to work for a company that values it's employees and has been a relatively low stress job. I'll be sad to leave because I know what a diamond in the rough I've been blessed with. (My job before this being horrible!)
We've also had a lot going on in our extended family lives. We were blessed with the arrival a new nephew. My brother and sister in law welcomed their second baby boy on Monday March 21st. His arrival has a been a source of celebration among everything else.
Unfortunately we also lost my Grandpa last week. He was 87 years old and had been diagnosed with cancer a short time ago. There is a lot heartache surrounding his passing, none of which I will be blogging about, but I know the heartache will take a long time to heal. So please say a prayer for my family as we start to work through the grief.
So yeah, all the many many details of Gestational Diabetes, combined with all the details of moving, combined with busy schedules and general life, my head space is gone. I'm doing good to remember to set up trash services at the new house (wait, I haven't done that yet, better write myself a note). So not to be making excuses, but life is busy busy busy!!
So I'll try to get some more posts up in the near(ish) future, but I'm not going to make any promises. Hope you are all doing well!
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Quick Check In - 26 Weeks
Just wanted to do a little check in to have it down somewhere how this pregnancy has been going. So I can say that this time around, this pregnancy is going.... Great! It's actually trucking along with mostly no complications or complaints.
Right now I am 26 weeks pregnant. That makes me 6.5 months pregnant and finishing up the 2nd trimester. Wow, time is really going by fast. I can feel baby girl all the time now, and it's such a wonderful feeling! Already this little one is different from Sarah. Where Sarah preferred big movements in my womb, this one is my little tapper. She kicks her little feet at me all day long. I can tell that she likes to hang out head down and feet up. So her little heels are always at the top of my bump and her little head is usually pressing down on my bladder. My theory is that she thinks it's a nice warm pillow. (I know that sounds gross, but hey, that's what I think). And this little girl has just not had all that many big rolling movements. But I love all of her little quick little kicks. I feel like she is more subtle in a way. Bonus, she does not shy away when others try to feel her the way that Sarah did, so Mike and Sarah have been able to feel her several times.
I do feel like my bump is slightly bigger this time around, but overall I don't think I've gained as much weight elsewhere. I have been dealing with some crazy skin issues, like my face is more oily now, but the rest of my skin is way dry. So it's been interesting finding the skincare to use. But after conversations with my sister on my face, I've found the right products, and am basically putting on homemade body butter all the time to help the rest of me out. So I think I've hit a stride there. Knock on wood, I haven't had very much swelling this time around, but then I'm not in my 3rd trimester yet, so that could change.
Let's see, what else!? I have to admit that this time around I have not found myself to be mellowed out the way that I did last time. I've definitely had my moments of moodiness and crankiness. Which I really hate. I don't want to be snappish, especially at Sarah, but it has happened. It kills me really, so I try hard to keep myself in check. Hormones are no joke though, and sometimes you just can't help it.
Also I've been trying to respect my pregnant self and limitations. So I've been not lifting the heavy boxes or climbing up ladders. I also have not rearranged our furniture, even though I projects I want to finish that involve all of those things. I'm accepting and asking for help. So I feel like I've grown in that area.
Other than that what can I say? She is growing right on track. Every ultrasound I've had has been right on track to the day if not a day off. She has long fingers just like her sister and I'm getting super excited to meet her. I can't wait to see her little face and get to know who she is. I'm so excited to have a new little squishy baby in our house again.
So I'm sorry for the lack of posting, but I feel like life is just going hard all the time. We're busy. We made it through all the holiday's, and birthday season. So now I feel like I can finally focus of new baby Gill.
Also, in case you haven't picked it up yet, we're having a girl! Yay!
Right now I am 26 weeks pregnant. That makes me 6.5 months pregnant and finishing up the 2nd trimester. Wow, time is really going by fast. I can feel baby girl all the time now, and it's such a wonderful feeling! Already this little one is different from Sarah. Where Sarah preferred big movements in my womb, this one is my little tapper. She kicks her little feet at me all day long. I can tell that she likes to hang out head down and feet up. So her little heels are always at the top of my bump and her little head is usually pressing down on my bladder. My theory is that she thinks it's a nice warm pillow. (I know that sounds gross, but hey, that's what I think). And this little girl has just not had all that many big rolling movements. But I love all of her little quick little kicks. I feel like she is more subtle in a way. Bonus, she does not shy away when others try to feel her the way that Sarah did, so Mike and Sarah have been able to feel her several times.
I do feel like my bump is slightly bigger this time around, but overall I don't think I've gained as much weight elsewhere. I have been dealing with some crazy skin issues, like my face is more oily now, but the rest of my skin is way dry. So it's been interesting finding the skincare to use. But after conversations with my sister on my face, I've found the right products, and am basically putting on homemade body butter all the time to help the rest of me out. So I think I've hit a stride there. Knock on wood, I haven't had very much swelling this time around, but then I'm not in my 3rd trimester yet, so that could change.
Let's see, what else!? I have to admit that this time around I have not found myself to be mellowed out the way that I did last time. I've definitely had my moments of moodiness and crankiness. Which I really hate. I don't want to be snappish, especially at Sarah, but it has happened. It kills me really, so I try hard to keep myself in check. Hormones are no joke though, and sometimes you just can't help it.
Also I've been trying to respect my pregnant self and limitations. So I've been not lifting the heavy boxes or climbing up ladders. I also have not rearranged our furniture, even though I projects I want to finish that involve all of those things. I'm accepting and asking for help. So I feel like I've grown in that area.
Other than that what can I say? She is growing right on track. Every ultrasound I've had has been right on track to the day if not a day off. She has long fingers just like her sister and I'm getting super excited to meet her. I can't wait to see her little face and get to know who she is. I'm so excited to have a new little squishy baby in our house again.
So I'm sorry for the lack of posting, but I feel like life is just going hard all the time. We're busy. We made it through all the holiday's, and birthday season. So now I feel like I can finally focus of new baby Gill.
Also, in case you haven't picked it up yet, we're having a girl! Yay!
 |
| A family photo from Haley's sweet 16 two weeks ago |
Friday, November 13, 2015
We're Back!
Drumroll please .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- We're Pregnant! Like really and truly pregnant. I say that only because it's been a struggle to get pregnant and stay pregnant with another baby. After trying for over a year and a miscarriage back in June, I am absolutely delighted that we are back in the saddle again.
After the heartache of the miscarriage in June (which felt wrong from the start), this pregnancy has been like a beam of light. I found out the day after my expected period. I just knew I was pregnant. Usually I'd wait a few days before testing, just to be sure that I wasn't just late, but like I said, I knew I was pregnant. So I tested, and got a big, fat, undeniable, postive result! Immediately the image that came to mind was the Heaven's opening up and God winking at me. That might sound silly, but I got this overwhelming peace about this baby. I truly feel this is the child that we are meant to have. This is the missing person in our family.
So here I am again, dusting off the old blog. I mean, I need a place to record all of the thoughts and feeling of this pregnancy. I still feel like other social media sites are not really appropriate to post all things pregnancy related, and I want to be able to share my joy with those who want to know without infringing on those who are struggling to have a baby (or let's be honest, don't really care about being pregnant). Being the couple that has been trying to have another child for over a year and going through several miscarriages, we can certainly relate and be sensitive to the feelings of the those that would give anything to pregnant, and don't need reminders that they aren't.
The only other note I want to leave you with right now is, we've already been to the doctor and confirmed the viability, and it's in the uterus (always a concern after our ectopic pregnancy) And if all goes well then we'll have a cute squishy baby in May 2016. Whoo hoo! Be on the lookout for future blogs where I'll discuss some symptoms and thoughts from this time around! If you're inclined to pray for us, pray for a happy and healthy baby and pregnancy :-D .
After the heartache of the miscarriage in June (which felt wrong from the start), this pregnancy has been like a beam of light. I found out the day after my expected period. I just knew I was pregnant. Usually I'd wait a few days before testing, just to be sure that I wasn't just late, but like I said, I knew I was pregnant. So I tested, and got a big, fat, undeniable, postive result! Immediately the image that came to mind was the Heaven's opening up and God winking at me. That might sound silly, but I got this overwhelming peace about this baby. I truly feel this is the child that we are meant to have. This is the missing person in our family.
So here I am again, dusting off the old blog. I mean, I need a place to record all of the thoughts and feeling of this pregnancy. I still feel like other social media sites are not really appropriate to post all things pregnancy related, and I want to be able to share my joy with those who want to know without infringing on those who are struggling to have a baby (or let's be honest, don't really care about being pregnant). Being the couple that has been trying to have another child for over a year and going through several miscarriages, we can certainly relate and be sensitive to the feelings of the those that would give anything to pregnant, and don't need reminders that they aren't.
The only other note I want to leave you with right now is, we've already been to the doctor and confirmed the viability, and it's in the uterus (always a concern after our ectopic pregnancy) And if all goes well then we'll have a cute squishy baby in May 2016. Whoo hoo! Be on the lookout for future blogs where I'll discuss some symptoms and thoughts from this time around! If you're inclined to pray for us, pray for a happy and healthy baby and pregnancy :-D .
Friday, April 24, 2015
To Blog or Not to Blog
To Blog or Not to Blog, That is the Ever-Loving Eternal Question Here. Am I right? Who's with me?
It's been awhile, I think I've truly gone off of the whole blogging thing. It wasn't intentional, it's just that life happened. And I am possibly the world's worst at documenting anything. I don't have a bazillion pictures of our family because I don't take a bazillion pictures. I really and truely make it an effort to be present whenever we are doing fun things. I don't want to view our life through a camera lens, but then I have nothing to look back on and go, oh yeah! We did that really fun thing that one time. In fact, I usually can't even find my phone with the decent camera, if by chance I do want to snap a quick photo, so I usually just tell Mike to take the picture. But then that leaves all the pictures on his phone, and I don't have them to share or look back on because they are on some stupid icloud somewhere in cyber space. (I wish our icloud would gather enough pictures for a storm and rain some random photos down to my computer - wouldn't that be cool!? Switch on your computer to see a virtual storm of past pictures raining down on your desktop? Okay maybe not imagine trying to sort them into some searchable format, but still, at least you know where my brain went for a minute... #tangent) (Oh and I'm really into #hashtags this year, it was my New Year's Resolution on Facebook, because I don't really use #twitter)
So now I'm in this never ending circle of thinking I should blog, just to record what we did and where we were and what I was thinking. But then I think, I don't have time, it's hard enough working full time, getting in good quality time with Sarah before bed every weeknight, and catching up on all the household chores before the weekend so we can do the really fun stuff. You know life. So I think I may try to start this whole blog back up, but I'm just not going to commit. I'm just dipping a toe in a testing the water again.
If you read this blog ~ yay you! You are probably the only person left who actually expended effort to check if anything had been updated. You should get a prize. How about: A Lifetime Supply of Oxygen, A Bucket of Water, and a Stick!? (#throwback #sorryyourprizesucks #thanksforreading)
#comeback #wherehasthetimegone #jmmtb #bloggingiscool
It's been awhile, I think I've truly gone off of the whole blogging thing. It wasn't intentional, it's just that life happened. And I am possibly the world's worst at documenting anything. I don't have a bazillion pictures of our family because I don't take a bazillion pictures. I really and truely make it an effort to be present whenever we are doing fun things. I don't want to view our life through a camera lens, but then I have nothing to look back on and go, oh yeah! We did that really fun thing that one time. In fact, I usually can't even find my phone with the decent camera, if by chance I do want to snap a quick photo, so I usually just tell Mike to take the picture. But then that leaves all the pictures on his phone, and I don't have them to share or look back on because they are on some stupid icloud somewhere in cyber space. (I wish our icloud would gather enough pictures for a storm and rain some random photos down to my computer - wouldn't that be cool!? Switch on your computer to see a virtual storm of past pictures raining down on your desktop? Okay maybe not imagine trying to sort them into some searchable format, but still, at least you know where my brain went for a minute... #tangent) (Oh and I'm really into #hashtags this year, it was my New Year's Resolution on Facebook, because I don't really use #twitter)
So now I'm in this never ending circle of thinking I should blog, just to record what we did and where we were and what I was thinking. But then I think, I don't have time, it's hard enough working full time, getting in good quality time with Sarah before bed every weeknight, and catching up on all the household chores before the weekend so we can do the really fun stuff. You know life. So I think I may try to start this whole blog back up, but I'm just not going to commit. I'm just dipping a toe in a testing the water again.
If you read this blog ~ yay you! You are probably the only person left who actually expended effort to check if anything had been updated. You should get a prize. How about: A Lifetime Supply of Oxygen, A Bucket of Water, and a Stick!? (#throwback #sorryyourprizesucks #thanksforreading)
#comeback #wherehasthetimegone #jmmtb #bloggingiscool
Thursday, October 16, 2014
That's it, You're Going to Time Out
So, you know how they have that old saying "monkey see, monkey do". And you know how they say this a lot when you have children, as they are great little mimikers...
We've reached that stage, you know the one. The one where your nothing but sweet little child has decided that they need (or maybe "need" is too strong of a word, "want" might be more appropriate...) to find out exactly where the boundaries lie. Just how far they can push until something, anything changes, and how bad will it actually be? I know that this is in their tiny little heads, because I remember thinking the exact same thing.
So up until recently just the threat of some form of discipline was enough to stop our 2.5 year old right in her tracks. And she is clever enough to have figured out that a pouty lip and an "I'm sorry, mommy" was enough to get her out of trouble. Until that routine was just too boring for her, or until it dawned on her that she didn't actually know what she was sorry for. (example: I'm sorry mommy, as she is coloring directly on the table) Either way, the time out chair has been brought out and she has become acquainted with it.
I knew this day was coming. I had bought a little chair at Goodwill with every intention of it being a time out chair. I kept it out in the garage until the day we would need it (Or maybe I planned to paint it all pinterest like, and never got around to it.., potato, tomato). I thought very carefully about how I wanted to handle discipline, so I came up with all these guidelines for myself, always with this perfect senario playing out in my head that involved a screaming defiant child, and a patient loving but firm parent.... where has my mom of the year award gotten off to? But as children do, mine threw me for a loop. Our first encounter with the chair went something like this...
Me: Sarah, stop doing that or I'm going to put you in time out
Sarah: looking at me I'm sorry momma pouty lip, continues doing thing
Me: Sarah, I said stop, do you want to go in time out?
Sarah: Yes!
Me: Okay.... let me go get the chair brings in chair
Sarah: Oooo! I love my time out chair momma, it's just my size.
Me: Hang on, let me clean it first. Okay, sit in the chair and be quiet for 2.5 minutes
Sarah: Still talking about how much she loves the chair.
Me: You have to be quiet or I'll start the time over.
Sarah: Starts whispering about the lovely chair and how it's just her size, she loves the little cut out heart.
Me: That's it. I'm starting the time all over again, this time no talking.
Sarah: Staring to realize it's meant to be punishment. Shifts into pitful woe is me, child. Reaches hand symbolically out to me. Mommy hold my hand, I'm scared.
Me: Trying to remain patient firm parent and not laugh at the rapid change of tatics. No, you're in time out.
Sarah: lip out, hand outstreched, knows she almost has mommy smiling, and if she can just get a smile out of me, knows it's not really a punishment
Me: Just don't look at her, it's almost over. This sets the precedent for all future time out sessions.
TIME OUT ENDS
Me: Walks back to Sarah kneels down in front of Sarah, Sarah, Do you know why you're in time out?
Sarah: I love my time out chair mommy.
Me: Yes I know, but do you know why I made you sit in it and be quiet?
Sarah: Yes, I was doing that thing you told me not to.
Me: Why did I tell you not to do that?
Sarah: Because I made a mess, and you said "Stop doing that thing" and I kept doing it.
Me: That's right. So next time mommy tells you to stop are going to listen?
Sarah: Yes
Me: Okay, not tell me you're sorry and give me a hug
End.
So that's the set-up. Here's the almost-comical antidote.
Fast forward, a few days and time outs...
Sarah still loves the time out chair. I often hear her saying she's going to sit in the time out chair. Like she wants to go in time out to get to sit in the chair. (I may need to think of a more suitable teaching method). Anyway, I'm playing with Sarah. We're playing with her Minnie Mouse dolls, that have clip on dresses, bows, shoes, etc. So I'm dressing a Minnie doll to go to a tea party, and I don't pick the right bow to go with dress. So I explain, that I can dress her how I want, and that it's okay for our friends to have different idea's, etc. etc. You know trying to mold her into a good friend and play buddy. Well after the umteinth time of her correcting how I'm dressing these dolls, and me explaining that it's okay for me to have different ideas and we can both still play together. She looks at me and says:
Sarah: That's it mommy. You're going to time out.
Me: What did I do wrong? Why do I have to go to time out? Decides to play along, see where it goes. How does she view time out?
Sarah: pulling me toward the chair, or attempting as she does not have the kind of strength needed to actually physically move me. You need to go to time out. You need to sit in the chair.
Me: playing along, sits on chair Why am I in time out?
Sarah: Shhh. Mommy no talking, or hand holding while in time out. Sits down with pretend phone where I always sit when she's in time out
Me: Reaches hand symbolically out
Sarah: No mommy. You need to think about what you did.
Me: What'd I do? starting to laugh
Sarah: I'm going to start your time over.
Me: sits patiently
Sarah: gets up comes over and kneels in front of me, rubs my leg. Do you know what you did wrong?
Me: No, what did I do?
Sarah: Are you going to do it again?
Me: No
Sarah: Okay give me a hug and say you're sorry.
Me: Sorry gives hug
Sarah: That's better mommy
So your opinion... Am I in trouble here with this whole time out thing? Monkey see, monkey do. Is she mocking my attempts at creating a well adjusted child? What are alternatives (I'm not a spanking kind of mom). My kid loves time out, loves the time out chair, loves to pretend to be in time out, has acted out a scene with me in time out. (Which, by the way, will not happen again, as I've now realized it was a big mistake to even let her act as if she has that kind of control over me. She does not. I am mom, she is child. End of story.) So let's hear it, how do you mold your child into a non-brat. Because let's be honest, that's what all of our end goals really are right!? To raise non-brats?
We've reached that stage, you know the one. The one where your nothing but sweet little child has decided that they need (or maybe "need" is too strong of a word, "want" might be more appropriate...) to find out exactly where the boundaries lie. Just how far they can push until something, anything changes, and how bad will it actually be? I know that this is in their tiny little heads, because I remember thinking the exact same thing.
So up until recently just the threat of some form of discipline was enough to stop our 2.5 year old right in her tracks. And she is clever enough to have figured out that a pouty lip and an "I'm sorry, mommy" was enough to get her out of trouble. Until that routine was just too boring for her, or until it dawned on her that she didn't actually know what she was sorry for. (example: I'm sorry mommy, as she is coloring directly on the table) Either way, the time out chair has been brought out and she has become acquainted with it.
 |
| The Chair |
Me: Sarah, stop doing that or I'm going to put you in time out
Sarah: looking at me I'm sorry momma pouty lip, continues doing thing
Me: Sarah, I said stop, do you want to go in time out?
Sarah: Yes!
Me: Okay.... let me go get the chair brings in chair
Sarah: Oooo! I love my time out chair momma, it's just my size.
Me: Hang on, let me clean it first. Okay, sit in the chair and be quiet for 2.5 minutes
Sarah: Still talking about how much she loves the chair.
Me: You have to be quiet or I'll start the time over.
Sarah: Starts whispering about the lovely chair and how it's just her size, she loves the little cut out heart.
Me: That's it. I'm starting the time all over again, this time no talking.
Sarah: Staring to realize it's meant to be punishment. Shifts into pitful woe is me, child. Reaches hand symbolically out to me. Mommy hold my hand, I'm scared.
Me: Trying to remain patient firm parent and not laugh at the rapid change of tatics. No, you're in time out.
Sarah: lip out, hand outstreched, knows she almost has mommy smiling, and if she can just get a smile out of me, knows it's not really a punishment
Me: Just don't look at her, it's almost over. This sets the precedent for all future time out sessions.
TIME OUT ENDS
Me: Walks back to Sarah kneels down in front of Sarah, Sarah, Do you know why you're in time out?
Sarah: I love my time out chair mommy.
Me: Yes I know, but do you know why I made you sit in it and be quiet?
Sarah: Yes, I was doing that thing you told me not to.
Me: Why did I tell you not to do that?
Sarah: Because I made a mess, and you said "Stop doing that thing" and I kept doing it.
Me: That's right. So next time mommy tells you to stop are going to listen?
Sarah: Yes
Me: Okay, not tell me you're sorry and give me a hug
End.
So that's the set-up. Here's the almost-comical antidote.
Fast forward, a few days and time outs...
Sarah still loves the time out chair. I often hear her saying she's going to sit in the time out chair. Like she wants to go in time out to get to sit in the chair. (I may need to think of a more suitable teaching method). Anyway, I'm playing with Sarah. We're playing with her Minnie Mouse dolls, that have clip on dresses, bows, shoes, etc. So I'm dressing a Minnie doll to go to a tea party, and I don't pick the right bow to go with dress. So I explain, that I can dress her how I want, and that it's okay for our friends to have different idea's, etc. etc. You know trying to mold her into a good friend and play buddy. Well after the umteinth time of her correcting how I'm dressing these dolls, and me explaining that it's okay for me to have different ideas and we can both still play together. She looks at me and says:
Sarah: That's it mommy. You're going to time out.
Me: What did I do wrong? Why do I have to go to time out? Decides to play along, see where it goes. How does she view time out?
Sarah: pulling me toward the chair, or attempting as she does not have the kind of strength needed to actually physically move me. You need to go to time out. You need to sit in the chair.
Me: playing along, sits on chair Why am I in time out?
Sarah: Shhh. Mommy no talking, or hand holding while in time out. Sits down with pretend phone where I always sit when she's in time out
Me: Reaches hand symbolically out
Sarah: No mommy. You need to think about what you did.
Me: What'd I do? starting to laugh
Sarah: I'm going to start your time over.
Me: sits patiently
Sarah: gets up comes over and kneels in front of me, rubs my leg. Do you know what you did wrong?
Me: No, what did I do?
Sarah: Are you going to do it again?
Me: No
Sarah: Okay give me a hug and say you're sorry.
Me: Sorry gives hug
Sarah: That's better mommy
So your opinion... Am I in trouble here with this whole time out thing? Monkey see, monkey do. Is she mocking my attempts at creating a well adjusted child? What are alternatives (I'm not a spanking kind of mom). My kid loves time out, loves the time out chair, loves to pretend to be in time out, has acted out a scene with me in time out. (Which, by the way, will not happen again, as I've now realized it was a big mistake to even let her act as if she has that kind of control over me. She does not. I am mom, she is child. End of story.) So let's hear it, how do you mold your child into a non-brat. Because let's be honest, that's what all of our end goals really are right!? To raise non-brats?
Monday, August 25, 2014
So Many Summer 1st's (2014)
Hi! I wanted to do a quick summer wrap up, but as I was scrolling through my camera, I realized that even though Sarah is two and a half, she had quite a few "1st('s) this summer, so I think I'll focus on those and it'll naturally lend itself to a summer wrap up of sorts :D.
So starting back in May:
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| 1st Backyard Water Fun (of the season) with Brayden 5/31/14 |
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| 1st time all by herself at the "kiddy" table |
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| 1st Haircut! (Sidenote: She got "fairy dust" in her hair and it smelled like a cupcake!) 6/11/14 |
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| 1st Pedicure (Well getting her toes professionally painted) 6/13/14 |
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| 1st time being in a wedding 6/14/14 |
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| 1st night in a big girl bed 6/21/14 |
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| 1st time bowling 6/29/14 |
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| 1st face painting (It's a firework) 7/3/14 |
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| 1st pony ride 7/4/14 |
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| 1st time playing Candy Crush with Muncle Toddy |
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| 1st time helping mommy bake brownies and getting to lick the spoon and bowl 8/11/14 |
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| Fair Fun 2014 (Not a 1st, but fun none the less!) 8/23/14 |
So even though we didn't really get to travel this summer, because of the wedding, we sure did fill with it with lots of fun things to do around home!
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Oh-Two-dles, Only 6 Months Late...
Oi Ve! I just realized after my last post, that I haven't blogged at all in 2014. I'm such a slacker!
Sarah's 2nd birthday, what a struggle this little party was! Back in February when Sarah was turning 2, we had the month of sickness in our house. We literally postponed her party 3 times because Sarah was sick and we wanted her to be able to enjoy herself, and we didn't want to get any other kids sick. It was so frustrating. In the end, it ended up being just a tiny little family party because it just didn't work out any other way.
The theme for her 2nd Birthday was Oh-Two-dles or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I had so many idea's for her birthday party, and I went way overboard with all the craft projects. I made a toodles, complete with mousketools that was supposed to be a game during the party. My idea was that we would be calling for toodles throughout the party to bring us the things we needed to continue the party. I bought a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse CD and planned on using different songs from it throughout. But with Sarah being the only kid there, we didn't do this activity. Whomp whomp.
My other activity for the party was a bubble dance party. (Toodles was going to bring us the bubbles). Our dance song was Party at Mickey's House from the CD. We did do this at Sarah's little party. I still feel so bad that her party didn't happen the way it was supposed to. It was just really bad luck. Sarah battled the stomach flu, croup, and a nasty cold, back to back. Poor baby had it rough that month! You can see the effects of all the sickness in her poor little face. But anyways, after dancing in the bubbles it was time for presents. She loved opening her presents herself this year, and it was fun to watch her do it. Then we had her special ice cream cake. It took me forever to find a local place that did ice cream cakes and had Mickey Mouse themed decorations. But I worked it out, and luckily she wanted an ice cream cake, because it sat in our deep freeze for a month before we were able to eat any of it ~ haha!
So let's go through her decorations really quickly. I ordered some custom centerpieces for her party from a shop on etsy. They came disassembled and I had to put them together. They sent us multicolored tissue paper, but after doing one, I decided to just use the red and yellow. We got these huge Mickey and Minnie balloon's that were bigger than Sarah, so she had a lot of fun playing with them for a few weeks. They each received tons of hugs and were dragged around the house. Let's see, what else? I used a lot of Sarah's toys for decorations, she already had the Mickey Mouse figures around the Minnie centerpiece, as well as the Mickey and Minnie on the mantel. We had a hot-diggity-dog bar with mini corndogs, bagel dogs, and pigs in a blankets to satisfy the food requirement.
Growing up in my family, whenever anyone has a birthday or has achieved something, they get to use the "red plate". I have very fond memories of feeling really special when it was my turn. We always sat down to dinner together and it was very obvious when the red plate was set out. It just a little thing that goes so far in making you or anyone feel special. So I wanted to start the same tradition in our family. Sarah was the first one to get to use the red plate in our family. My hope is that it will mean something to my kids as it did to me.
The little hat was another purchase off of etsy. What did we do before etsy and Pinterest? She wasn't super fond of it (because of the elastic strap). But it was really cute!
So yeah, that's Sarah's birthday in a nutshell. Like I said (over and over) it didn't turn out the way I dreamed it up in my head, but I know she had a fantastic time, and she felt special, and that's all that really matters. I can't believe my little girl is growing up so fast. I mean she's nearly 2 1/2 at the time of this post. Where does the time fly? I'm so proud of my sweet little girl. I couldn't ask for a better kid and wouldn't trade her for the world!
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
A Funny Little Story
It's been forever since I've blogged! To be honest I kinda sort-of forgot about it... whoops! But I wanted to do a quick little post about a incident lately with Sarah that I just want to document so I don't forget it.
So Sarah is now almost 2 1/2. To go through a little background, we thought we had potty trained Sarah, but she regressed and is wildly inconsistent, so basically she's not potty trained and is going through a phase of near absolute refusal to use the potty. She is knows what she is supposed to do, but I think that because it's our idea and not hers, she is just refusing to do so. So that is where we are at for this story to make any kind of sense.
So the other day, she had to potty. She is has very easy to read signs for impending accidents. She was doing all of her signs so I made her go and sit on the potty. Now usually once you get her to stop playing and in the bathroom she'll go ahead and do it. Well on this particular day she decided she didn't want to do it. Just straight up refused. Now, I've always had the mindset of: you need to try. If you try and it doesn't work, fine, you can get up and we'll try again later. So I think you can see where this is headed.
Sarah likes distractions to help her go, a book, song, a little toy to play with, etc. So, she asked for a book. I got a book and read it to her, and she didn't go. Then she asked for some toys, so I got them, and she didn't go. Then she wanted to play Endless Alphabet on my phone. At this point, I am getting frustrated, so I made a deal with her. She could play it if she would go to potty. She agreed. I let her do three words before making her stop and try. Well she wouldn't try. So I took the phone away. I told her we had a deal, and she needed to try to get it back.
Enter the dreaded i-am-two-you-have-no-power-over-me-tantrum. So I did what I always do when faced with this type of reaction. I very calmly put my phone away and told her that when she is finished we can talk and I looked away from her. I corrected her when I needed to, like when she tried to kick me, I told her we don't kick, and if she did it again I was going to leave her. She stopped kicking. But she still screamed, and when she started screaming mommy. I looked at her and calmly said, "Yes honey?" but then she'd just scream again, so I said "You look really upset, when you're ready to calm down and talk I'm right here" and looked away. This went on for a little while. She threw everything into her screaming and crying. Every time she said my name, I did the same thing. I never left her, I never yelled back.
I've been teaching Sarah to take a deep breath when she's upset for as long as I can remember. So she gets to the point where she says "I need a deep breath" and bless her heart, she proceeds to try to calm herself down with her breathing. At this point, my mommy heart, while frustrated, is so proud of her for remembering how to calm down. But she looked really funny as she threw her head back and very dramatically sucked in these ragged breaths and tried to calm down. At which point I helped her calm down by rubbing her leg and soothing her. Then when she was calm I asked if she was ready to try to go potty. She said yes and really tried. So I let her down and cleaned her up from the potty and tantrum. Then we went to sit down together.
So I firmly believe in talking to my children when stuff like this happens, so I can understand how they feel and she can understand why I wasn't doing what she wanted me to do. So we are talking and she understood that I just wanted her to try, and that when we say we'll do something, we have to do it. And all that stuff. I asked her why she didn't want to go and how she felt. (I didn't get much of answer, but she's two. I know she understood everything I was saying). So she's cuddle up on my lap and I'm just holding her, she's still doing her deep breaths. When she very timidly tells me...
"Mommy I need some chocolate"
Let that sink in for a minute. "Mommy I need some chocolate". Me: "You do?" Sarah: "Yes, to make me feel better". Me: "Oh". Now what the heck am I supposed to do with that? On one hand, I don't want to reward a tantrum. On the other hand, she just threw a fit, but was able to calm herself down and did what I asked. Hmm.... (Oh! and it should be mentioned, that I have NEVER said that I need chocolate when I'm upset - I don't think anyone has around her, so this is totally 100% her idea).
So we both had a bite a chocolate and let it all go.
At least I know what to have on hand as she grows up. I think I have the girliest toddler, ever.
Oh, and here's a cute picture of her from this past weekend, just because ;)
So Sarah is now almost 2 1/2. To go through a little background, we thought we had potty trained Sarah, but she regressed and is wildly inconsistent, so basically she's not potty trained and is going through a phase of near absolute refusal to use the potty. She is knows what she is supposed to do, but I think that because it's our idea and not hers, she is just refusing to do so. So that is where we are at for this story to make any kind of sense.
So the other day, she had to potty. She is has very easy to read signs for impending accidents. She was doing all of her signs so I made her go and sit on the potty. Now usually once you get her to stop playing and in the bathroom she'll go ahead and do it. Well on this particular day she decided she didn't want to do it. Just straight up refused. Now, I've always had the mindset of: you need to try. If you try and it doesn't work, fine, you can get up and we'll try again later. So I think you can see where this is headed.
Sarah likes distractions to help her go, a book, song, a little toy to play with, etc. So, she asked for a book. I got a book and read it to her, and she didn't go. Then she asked for some toys, so I got them, and she didn't go. Then she wanted to play Endless Alphabet on my phone. At this point, I am getting frustrated, so I made a deal with her. She could play it if she would go to potty. She agreed. I let her do three words before making her stop and try. Well she wouldn't try. So I took the phone away. I told her we had a deal, and she needed to try to get it back.
Enter the dreaded i-am-two-you-have-no-power-over-me-tantrum. So I did what I always do when faced with this type of reaction. I very calmly put my phone away and told her that when she is finished we can talk and I looked away from her. I corrected her when I needed to, like when she tried to kick me, I told her we don't kick, and if she did it again I was going to leave her. She stopped kicking. But she still screamed, and when she started screaming mommy. I looked at her and calmly said, "Yes honey?" but then she'd just scream again, so I said "You look really upset, when you're ready to calm down and talk I'm right here" and looked away. This went on for a little while. She threw everything into her screaming and crying. Every time she said my name, I did the same thing. I never left her, I never yelled back.
I've been teaching Sarah to take a deep breath when she's upset for as long as I can remember. So she gets to the point where she says "I need a deep breath" and bless her heart, she proceeds to try to calm herself down with her breathing. At this point, my mommy heart, while frustrated, is so proud of her for remembering how to calm down. But she looked really funny as she threw her head back and very dramatically sucked in these ragged breaths and tried to calm down. At which point I helped her calm down by rubbing her leg and soothing her. Then when she was calm I asked if she was ready to try to go potty. She said yes and really tried. So I let her down and cleaned her up from the potty and tantrum. Then we went to sit down together.
So I firmly believe in talking to my children when stuff like this happens, so I can understand how they feel and she can understand why I wasn't doing what she wanted me to do. So we are talking and she understood that I just wanted her to try, and that when we say we'll do something, we have to do it. And all that stuff. I asked her why she didn't want to go and how she felt. (I didn't get much of answer, but she's two. I know she understood everything I was saying). So she's cuddle up on my lap and I'm just holding her, she's still doing her deep breaths. When she very timidly tells me...
"Mommy I need some chocolate"
Let that sink in for a minute. "Mommy I need some chocolate". Me: "You do?" Sarah: "Yes, to make me feel better". Me: "Oh". Now what the heck am I supposed to do with that? On one hand, I don't want to reward a tantrum. On the other hand, she just threw a fit, but was able to calm herself down and did what I asked. Hmm.... (Oh! and it should be mentioned, that I have NEVER said that I need chocolate when I'm upset - I don't think anyone has around her, so this is totally 100% her idea).
So we both had a bite a chocolate and let it all go.
At least I know what to have on hand as she grows up. I think I have the girliest toddler, ever.
Oh, and here's a cute picture of her from this past weekend, just because ;)
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Those Things That Make Her... Her (on jumping)
You know, I always have these blog idea's rolling around my brain that it seems I never take the time post about. This topic, is one that is so completely obvious if you spend anytime around my child (which I know most of you don't). I know that I have mentioned this particular Sarah thing in many other posts, but I really wanted to take the time to write about just this trait.
Sarah is a jumper, she has been a jumper for most of the past year. As far as I can remember, it was like it her mission to go through all the motions of learning gross motor skills just to get to jump. (See, this is why I need to blog more, because time frames get fuzzy) For forever Sarah has jumped all day long. You can always find Sarah is a crowd of kids, just look for the bopping head. When anyone asks about Sarah one of the first things they ask is "Is she still jumping all the time?" The answer is yes. Yes, she still jumps all the time. It's just how she shows excitement, and happiness, and joy. And she's a happy kid, so yeah, the jumping lasts all day long.
Literally almost everything can get a jumping reaction:
Sarah do you want to wear your black sparkly heart shirt today? A jumping yes reaction before grabbing it from me to "put on"
Sarah notices I filled the basket with wipes. A jumping reaction "Well looky there!" "So many!" "Wow!"
Sarah do you want to go outside and play? A jumping reaction "outside" "out there" "socks and shoes" "jacket" "hold hands!"
And always, always, always jumping!
And those are just a few normal everyday things that I mentioned. Things that she really loves the jumping last longer and is way more intense. Like say we let her watch TV and it's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, or we tell her she can have a doughnut or yogurt raisins (her all time favorite treats). She just can't contain her pure joy and it has to come out and it comes out straight through her feet in the form of jumping. It one of those things that is just... her.
As you can probably guess, her favorite thing to do at the gym is jump on the trampoline. The other parents ask me how we taught her to jump so well, but I don't have an answer. We didn't teach her to jump, she just does it. God gave her this talent, this joy. She has this incredible balance and energy. And I love it. I love it. I love seeing her jumping, I love seeing her joy. I love seeing her athleticism, I love to see her hopping at the door when I come home from work. It's just a part of what makes her... her.
I have no idea what she will end up doing with jumping, maybe be a trampoline gymnast, maybe track and field, maybe basketball, maybe karate, maybe dancing, maybe nothing. I just know that it is inherently a part of her, and it is part of all the many many wonderful things that makes her who she is.
Sarah is a jumper, she has been a jumper for most of the past year. As far as I can remember, it was like it her mission to go through all the motions of learning gross motor skills just to get to jump. (See, this is why I need to blog more, because time frames get fuzzy) For forever Sarah has jumped all day long. You can always find Sarah is a crowd of kids, just look for the bopping head. When anyone asks about Sarah one of the first things they ask is "Is she still jumping all the time?" The answer is yes. Yes, she still jumps all the time. It's just how she shows excitement, and happiness, and joy. And she's a happy kid, so yeah, the jumping lasts all day long.
Literally almost everything can get a jumping reaction:
Sarah do you want to wear your black sparkly heart shirt today? A jumping yes reaction before grabbing it from me to "put on"
Sarah notices I filled the basket with wipes. A jumping reaction "Well looky there!" "So many!" "Wow!"
Sarah do you want to go outside and play? A jumping reaction "outside" "out there" "socks and shoes" "jacket" "hold hands!"
And always, always, always jumping!
And those are just a few normal everyday things that I mentioned. Things that she really loves the jumping last longer and is way more intense. Like say we let her watch TV and it's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, or we tell her she can have a doughnut or yogurt raisins (her all time favorite treats). She just can't contain her pure joy and it has to come out and it comes out straight through her feet in the form of jumping. It one of those things that is just... her.
As you can probably guess, her favorite thing to do at the gym is jump on the trampoline. The other parents ask me how we taught her to jump so well, but I don't have an answer. We didn't teach her to jump, she just does it. God gave her this talent, this joy. She has this incredible balance and energy. And I love it. I love it. I love seeing her jumping, I love seeing her joy. I love seeing her athleticism, I love to see her hopping at the door when I come home from work. It's just a part of what makes her... her.
I have no idea what she will end up doing with jumping, maybe be a trampoline gymnast, maybe track and field, maybe basketball, maybe karate, maybe dancing, maybe nothing. I just know that it is inherently a part of her, and it is part of all the many many wonderful things that makes her who she is.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Our Top Halloween Toddler Books
In my last post, I talked about how I went out and bought a bunch of Halloween books for Sarah. It took a lot of searching to find good toddler books for a kid Sarah's age (20 months, in October, she's 21 months now). Especially since I was relying on books lots from ebay and whatever happened to be at our local thrift stores. So, I wanted to share a few of the books that Sarah seemed to really enjoy, and I'll explain why she enjoyed them.
This book was instantly a hit with Sarah, she really enjoys the interaction of slide and find. Each page presents the toddler with a new activity. Some focus on riddles to figure out what is hiding, some ask you to count how many things are on the page. Sarah loved that every page was different.
This book is a simple little board book that is basically the five little pumpkin poem, and let's face it, what kid doesn't like that poem right!? But the illustrations are super cute in this version and Sarah loved just love it.
This little book is a great transitional book that is somewhere between a board book and regular page book, so just be aware if your child is younger or is rough on books. This is another book that rhymes and is a little repetitious, which is great because the child learns to anticipate what is coming and can "help" you read. It also has a different surprise for the child on each page. For example, one is a lift the flap, one is a curved mirror. So Sarah really enjoyed reading this one!
This was one of the few books I paid more for, but we love the Stinky Face books! The original makes a regular appearance in our bedtime reading sessions. This one is a little longer, so I know that not all 20 month olds could sit through it, but it is super cute and imaginative.
This was the first Halloween book that was a big hit with Sarah. I think it had the best explanation of dressing up, trick or treating, and all that. It is a paper book, but the illustrations are adorable (a little old fashioned) and it's just plain cute.
This has got to be the simplest book ever (and it's tiny). It's literally a picture book that has a few sounds of Halloween spelled out, example picture of a witch with "cackle" written above. But Sarah thought it was so funny when I would do the noises. This is also the first book I caught Sarah "reading" to herself. It was so stinking cute! So this had to make into my top toddler Halloween books!
We had quite a few other Halloween books, some of them were good for showing actual kids with painted faces, some were cute stories, a lot were what you would expect of a toddler book on Halloween. I really think it helped to talk about all the things she was seeing when we were out and about at stores or friends homes or whatnot. We did a lot of talking about pretend and letting her feel decorations that were scary looking. She loved pointing out black cats, skeletons, pumpkins, etc. and I think the books really helped with naming those things that aren't normally around and explaining things like trick or treating and pumpkin carving. So if you have a little one, I would highly suggest throwing some good books into rotation for the month of October. I think it made a world of difference!
Now that Halloween is over, I've put up all of the Halloween specific books, but kept the fall/autumn books out and added some Thanksgiving books to the mix to get her ready for the next Holiday. I just put them out over the weekend, so I'm not sure which ones will come out as favorites. I'll try to do an update after Thanksgiving to let you know which were the front runners. Do your kids love books? Do you try to spice things up around the holiday's and add some festive books to the mix? Let me know ~ thanks for stopping by!
This book was instantly a hit with Sarah, she really enjoys the interaction of slide and find. Each page presents the toddler with a new activity. Some focus on riddles to figure out what is hiding, some ask you to count how many things are on the page. Sarah loved that every page was different.
This book is a simple little board book that is basically the five little pumpkin poem, and let's face it, what kid doesn't like that poem right!? But the illustrations are super cute in this version and Sarah loved just love it.
This little book is a great transitional book that is somewhere between a board book and regular page book, so just be aware if your child is younger or is rough on books. This is another book that rhymes and is a little repetitious, which is great because the child learns to anticipate what is coming and can "help" you read. It also has a different surprise for the child on each page. For example, one is a lift the flap, one is a curved mirror. So Sarah really enjoyed reading this one!
This was one of the few books I paid more for, but we love the Stinky Face books! The original makes a regular appearance in our bedtime reading sessions. This one is a little longer, so I know that not all 20 month olds could sit through it, but it is super cute and imaginative.
This was the first Halloween book that was a big hit with Sarah. I think it had the best explanation of dressing up, trick or treating, and all that. It is a paper book, but the illustrations are adorable (a little old fashioned) and it's just plain cute.
This has got to be the simplest book ever (and it's tiny). It's literally a picture book that has a few sounds of Halloween spelled out, example picture of a witch with "cackle" written above. But Sarah thought it was so funny when I would do the noises. This is also the first book I caught Sarah "reading" to herself. It was so stinking cute! So this had to make into my top toddler Halloween books!
We had quite a few other Halloween books, some of them were good for showing actual kids with painted faces, some were cute stories, a lot were what you would expect of a toddler book on Halloween. I really think it helped to talk about all the things she was seeing when we were out and about at stores or friends homes or whatnot. We did a lot of talking about pretend and letting her feel decorations that were scary looking. She loved pointing out black cats, skeletons, pumpkins, etc. and I think the books really helped with naming those things that aren't normally around and explaining things like trick or treating and pumpkin carving. So if you have a little one, I would highly suggest throwing some good books into rotation for the month of October. I think it made a world of difference!
Now that Halloween is over, I've put up all of the Halloween specific books, but kept the fall/autumn books out and added some Thanksgiving books to the mix to get her ready for the next Holiday. I just put them out over the weekend, so I'm not sure which ones will come out as favorites. I'll try to do an update after Thanksgiving to let you know which were the front runners. Do your kids love books? Do you try to spice things up around the holiday's and add some festive books to the mix? Let me know ~ thanks for stopping by!
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
October Recap
Hi! So I wanted to do a quick recap of our October/Halloween fun. This month has been a little crazy for us schedule wise, so we didn't get everything on my to-do list done, but we got some it accomplished. We took Sarah to the pumpkin patch and corn maze right by our house on the 12th. It was a beautiful afternoon and we all enjoyed being outside and showing Sarah the pumpkins, corn, goats, bunnies, etc. It was so much fun teaching her things now that she is getting big enough to understand a little of what is going on around us.
It's still amazing to me to see and hear just how much she has learned this past year. We've talked about farm animals for such a long time, that she was so excited to feed a goat, and to see a bunny hop. And to be able to tell me she saw pumpkins. It was super important to me to get books and talk about fall and Halloween with Sarah for the whole month of October. So I started searching for toddler books at thrift stores, Goodwill, Ebay, etc. (Hey, books are expensive!) to have a good stock built up long before the month started. Then I changed out most of her books to just be fall/Halloween so we could really talk about the changing weather and that Halloween was pretend, and give her a good understanding of trick-or-treating, pumpkin carving, changing leaves, face painting etc.
This next picture is just super cute to me, because Sarah has recently been really into sitting on things that are just the right size for her. She loves to find little places just big enough for her to sit, so when we went into the pumpkin patch, she insisted on sitting on one of those round fat pumpkins that was the perfect size for her. The only problem was that it was exactly cooperating staying upright, so Mike had to help hold her steady, but when she made it work, this was her smile.
Other than this day, Sarah go to go to her little gym's Halloween party. I kid you not, from the time we walked through the door, to when we left, Sarah did not stop jumping. She only stopped long enough to zoom from one end of the gym to the other to continue to bounce. She loved pointing out the different kids who were dressed up that she recognized, as Minnie Mouse, or pirate, monster, etc. I told myself, after that party, that if this was the only thing she got to do for Halloween it was enough, she has that much fun! (Plus she slept great that night, holla for gym time right before bed!) In this picture she was pointing out the jack-o-lantern snacks they had set out. They were little clementine oranges with faces drawn on. She loved counting them, and they were a health snack when it was all over. (I may steal this idea for next year;) )
After that experience, we took Sarah back to Grandma's to trick-or-treat with Papa. I thought this would be the one house she'd get to do traditionally, but when we got there, my mom informed me that some of the neighbors were expecting to see her, so I took her to (3) houses. Of those (3) houses, she got (1) trick and (2) treats. I can explain that in another post if anyone is interested. But of the two treat houses, they were so excited to see Sarah, I'm pretty sure she was the only spook they got all night, and were just thrilled that I took the time to bring her by. We made one last stop before bed to see Gammy (Mike's mom). And that concluded our Halloween fun! Mike and Haley were able to carve up our pumpkins one night. Which they had a blast doing, and I made roasted pumpkin seeds. I took them over Grandma and Papa's on Halloween so they could be on their porch and be viewed by the neighborhood. (Our house is just too secluded for anyone to ever see them and they deserved to be on display)So that was it for our family. Did y'all do anything fun for October!? Oh and hooray for piggy tails! Sarah's hair is finally long enough to do some cute hairdo's, which just happened in October :D
Oh! Here's a little bonus video just for my blog readers:
Monday, September 23, 2013
Sarah at 18 Months...
So it's that time when I need to do another update on Sarah. I say need because time is racing all around me. Seriously, time where to have to go that you're speeding up!? Just slow down for a minute, because I'm not getting a chance to drink in all the lovely cuteness that is my 18 month old!
(I always like to write these as though I'm talking to Sarah when she is older)
(Also, anything in "" are things that Sarah actually says)
So at 18 months, you are absolutely amazing. AH-MAZ-ING! There are times when I find myself looking at this beautiful little girl and thinking, how did you get so big? Where did all that hair come from? And how do you know what sound the letter "k" makes? (And also maybe, where did you learn how to throw a tantrum? Is there some super secret toddler club that teaches the art of a good tantrum?) I am absolutely blown away at the rate you are learning and how tall you are growing. You can already reach every door knob and can twist the locks that are in the middle, luckily you haven't figured out how to open the door itself, but you are so close (and yes, you can open doors that have a handle instead of a knob). You can reach inside of our cabinet drawers and we are having to move things higher up because you have a long reach, so center table is almost not a safe area.
You are getting really good at articulating exactly what you want. If by some chance I can't understand what you are saying or wanting, you will figure out a way to let me know. For example, one night you wanted a bath, and I hadn't offered you one yet (in my defense it was a little early). So you asked for my "cell phone", then asked for "pictures", then you scrolled through my pictures (yes, you know how to use the tough screen to scroll) till you found one of you in the bath, stopped, showed it to me, said "bath! bath!", then did the bath baby sign before running to the bathroom door. Then when we went into the bathroom, you stopped at the cabinet where your bath toys are kept, pointed and said "toys" "splish splash" "water". You have also started requesting certain activities or snacks. If I ask you if you want a snack, you'll say "snack", and run or hop to either the pantry or refrigerator and say something like "snack, yogurt" "snack, raisins" "snack, sta-berry". Or you'll say "sing song, mingo" "sing song, abc" (btw, mingo=bingo). You also like to repeat key words until someone acknowledges what you are saying, "abc, abc, abc, abc, abc, abc, abc" Me: abc. "sing song, sing song, sing song, abc" I love it! I LOVE how you are communicating with us right now.
Just as a reference point, the doctors said most 18 month old's should be able to say 5-10 words. Ha! You blew 5-10 words out a long time ago! You know the name of almost everything in your environment. You can say anything! You can count all the way to 20, you can count backwards from 10. You not only know the alphabet, but you can recognize each letter (upper and lower) and have started learning the sounds of letters. Right now, I know you know the sounds of T,K,M, & D. But you could know more. Like I said earlier, you amaze me with your ever changing knowledge! You also know all the basic shapes and colors and can recognize them in your environment. I often hear you practicing different things before you go to bed. I'll hear you whisper counting or softly say K kah kah (<--- Supposed to be "k" sound). So you not only love learning, but you love practicing the new things.
Speaking of going to bed... It breaks my mom heart, but you have started to put yourself to sleep. Now, I have to ask you if you want to cuddle or lay down in your bed. Usually you choose to "lay down bed". In fact, after I put your pj's on, you'll toss you lovies over the side of your crib and try to climb in. I know this is so important for your development and that it's good for you to gain independence, but I miss our night time snuggles. You are just proving to us over and over that you aren't a little baby anymore. But even though you want to put yourself to bed, you still want me in the room until you fall asleep. Right now, we play a little game similar to Marco Polo. You'll pop your head up and say "lay down" and I have to say "lay down" in response. I've tried not saying anything, but you'll repeat it getting stressed if I don't, so I know that you just need to know I'm still close by. It's a security thing, and I'm happy to let you know that I am there with you. But as you are getting better at going to sleep, the number of times we do this goes down...
You're still a good eater, but are eating less these days. You make really healthy choices when I give you an option. Raisins are probably your favorite sweet snack, and broccoli and peas are your favorite vegetable. You still won't drink juice, but you love loVE LOVE Chocolate Milk. It is your absolute favorite thing to drink. You only get it once a day, but man oh man do you go crazy over it. Usually following "ch-milk" you want some gold fish or Annie Bunnies crackers. It's so much fun to see what things you like and don't like. You are still not big into meat, about the only meat you'll eat consistently is ham and scrambled eggs. But you love fresh fruit and steamed veggies. You also love dairy: yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese.
Let me see what else... Hmm.. Your gross motor skill are way ahead of the game too. Your daddy used to call me a kangaroo when I was pregnant with you, and I think he was on to something, because you hop like a kangaroo, like you can hop all the way down a hallway in great big leaps, you can jump up and down all waking hours of the day (and do). You love to run and climb. You understand a lot of action words, you know how to "sit down" and "stand up". You know how to "stop", "run, run, run", "jump, jump, jump", "slow down", "lay down", "kick" and "step up/step down". But by far your favorite is jumping. We hear comments all the time about how much you jump and how amazing it is that you can first of jump with two feet, but also that you can move while jumping and that you don't stop jumping, like ever. Girl you were born with springs on feet. Are you a future Olympian? Who knows! But I know you have a passion for it already. Because when I say you don't stop jumping. You.Don't.Stop.Jumping.Ever.Not.Even.When.Watching.TV.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Okay, so I kinda got derailed when I was writing this post and now it seems so much has changed that I can't quite remember when she started doing the new stuff, so I'm going to go ahead and post this as her update, incomplete and all, and that way I can move forward with where she is now. Thanks for stopping by!!
(I always like to write these as though I'm talking to Sarah when she is older)
(Also, anything in "" are things that Sarah actually says)
So at 18 months, you are absolutely amazing. AH-MAZ-ING! There are times when I find myself looking at this beautiful little girl and thinking, how did you get so big? Where did all that hair come from? And how do you know what sound the letter "k" makes? (And also maybe, where did you learn how to throw a tantrum? Is there some super secret toddler club that teaches the art of a good tantrum?) I am absolutely blown away at the rate you are learning and how tall you are growing. You can already reach every door knob and can twist the locks that are in the middle, luckily you haven't figured out how to open the door itself, but you are so close (and yes, you can open doors that have a handle instead of a knob). You can reach inside of our cabinet drawers and we are having to move things higher up because you have a long reach, so center table is almost not a safe area.You are getting really good at articulating exactly what you want. If by some chance I can't understand what you are saying or wanting, you will figure out a way to let me know. For example, one night you wanted a bath, and I hadn't offered you one yet (in my defense it was a little early). So you asked for my "cell phone", then asked for "pictures", then you scrolled through my pictures (yes, you know how to use the tough screen to scroll) till you found one of you in the bath, stopped, showed it to me, said "bath! bath!", then did the bath baby sign before running to the bathroom door. Then when we went into the bathroom, you stopped at the cabinet where your bath toys are kept, pointed and said "toys" "splish splash" "water". You have also started requesting certain activities or snacks. If I ask you if you want a snack, you'll say "snack", and run or hop to either the pantry or refrigerator and say something like "snack, yogurt" "snack, raisins" "snack, sta-berry". Or you'll say "sing song, mingo" "sing song, abc" (btw, mingo=bingo). You also like to repeat key words until someone acknowledges what you are saying, "abc, abc, abc, abc, abc, abc, abc" Me: abc. "sing song, sing song, sing song, abc" I love it! I LOVE how you are communicating with us right now.
Speaking of going to bed... It breaks my mom heart, but you have started to put yourself to sleep. Now, I have to ask you if you want to cuddle or lay down in your bed. Usually you choose to "lay down bed". In fact, after I put your pj's on, you'll toss you lovies over the side of your crib and try to climb in. I know this is so important for your development and that it's good for you to gain independence, but I miss our night time snuggles. You are just proving to us over and over that you aren't a little baby anymore. But even though you want to put yourself to bed, you still want me in the room until you fall asleep. Right now, we play a little game similar to Marco Polo. You'll pop your head up and say "lay down" and I have to say "lay down" in response. I've tried not saying anything, but you'll repeat it getting stressed if I don't, so I know that you just need to know I'm still close by. It's a security thing, and I'm happy to let you know that I am there with you. But as you are getting better at going to sleep, the number of times we do this goes down...
You're still a good eater, but are eating less these days. You make really healthy choices when I give you an option. Raisins are probably your favorite sweet snack, and broccoli and peas are your favorite vegetable. You still won't drink juice, but you love loVE LOVE Chocolate Milk. It is your absolute favorite thing to drink. You only get it once a day, but man oh man do you go crazy over it. Usually following "ch-milk" you want some gold fish or Annie Bunnies crackers. It's so much fun to see what things you like and don't like. You are still not big into meat, about the only meat you'll eat consistently is ham and scrambled eggs. But you love fresh fruit and steamed veggies. You also love dairy: yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese.
Let me see what else... Hmm.. Your gross motor skill are way ahead of the game too. Your daddy used to call me a kangaroo when I was pregnant with you, and I think he was on to something, because you hop like a kangaroo, like you can hop all the way down a hallway in great big leaps, you can jump up and down all waking hours of the day (and do). You love to run and climb. You understand a lot of action words, you know how to "sit down" and "stand up". You know how to "stop", "run, run, run", "jump, jump, jump", "slow down", "lay down", "kick" and "step up/step down". But by far your favorite is jumping. We hear comments all the time about how much you jump and how amazing it is that you can first of jump with two feet, but also that you can move while jumping and that you don't stop jumping, like ever. Girl you were born with springs on feet. Are you a future Olympian? Who knows! But I know you have a passion for it already. Because when I say you don't stop jumping. You.Don't.Stop.Jumping.Ever.Not.Even.When.Watching.TV.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Okay, so I kinda got derailed when I was writing this post and now it seems so much has changed that I can't quite remember when she started doing the new stuff, so I'm going to go ahead and post this as her update, incomplete and all, and that way I can move forward with where she is now. Thanks for stopping by!!
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
On Today's Episode of Mommy Guilt...
I abandoned my kid last night.
I just can't do it. I can't sleep with a kid beside me in bed. I tried, really I did. But I need space and range of motion when I'm sleeping, and having a little tiny body tucked up under me or across my chest is not a situation that I'm comfortable falling asleep in. Sure we can nap together on the couch. Sure, I'll snuggle with her in the bed. But when it's time to do some real overnight heavy sleeping, nope. I just can't do it.
Sarah was having a rough night last night. She went to bed fine, but around 10:30 she started moving around and couldn't settle down. I went into her room to soothe her and let her know I'm here and everything is okay, which usually does the trick. But not last night. The second I'd take my hand off of her she'd sit up and cry for me, so I tried to stand there with my hand on her back or head while she drifted off, but my back started hurting. I had a really bad pinched nerve a couple of weeks ago, and had to go the chiropractor and get adjusted several times. It's nearly completely healed, but hunching over the side of a crib to keep my hand on her was making it twinge again. So after 30 minutes I scooped her up and said she could lay in bed with me.
So away we went to my bed. At first I thought she was just having bad dreams, because she didn't seem fully awake and would murmer things like "all done, all done" "no,no,no" "bear, bear" "all done". Mike wasn't home from work yet, so it was just the two of us, but it doesn't matter how many were in the bed because whenever Sarah is in the bed with me, she wants to be right up against me or on top of me. It reminds me a bit of how bunnies sleep if you've ever seen a group of them sleeping together, arms legs bodies everywhere. Which was fine so long as I wasn't trying to sleep. I have since come to the conclusion that it was either her two year old molars or her first ear infection, but either way it became clear that it hurt her to lay on one side of her head. So we laid there together, she tried desperately to fall asleep and to somehow become one with me, but she wasn't having any luck. She even tucked her head up under my chin the way she used to when she was a baby. Part of me was really loving all the snuggles, and another part of me was thinking, how in the world am I going to get any sleep? I can't fall asleep like this... what if I squish her, how can't I keep up with all those arms and legs and make sure they don't get caught under my arm or leg (I mean, come on, the arm of an asleep person weighs a ton)... I'm just too aware of her to allow myself to fall asleep.
Eventually Mike got home from work. He was surprised to see her in the bed with me, because I am not one to let Sarah sleep with me. She sat up when he got there and heard us whispering and said "ouch, ouch". So I offered to get her some medicine, which she seemed really excited for. So as I was getting up to get it, she panicked again and clung to me "momma momma momma", (like crawled into my lap and wrapped her arms around me) so I asked if she wanted to come with me, which she did. So the three of us went to get her some medicine. After that, she started feeling better. We took her back to our bed, put her in the middle and I sang some lullaby's to help her fall asleep. Once I could tell she was out, I snuck out of bed and slept on the couch.
Enter mommy guilt.
I know she needed me last night. I know she just wanted to be close to me and to know I am there, but I can't sleep with a kid next to me. As much as I might wish I could, I just can't. Mike slept in the bed with her, so it wasn't like I left her alone or anything, but it was clear that she wanted me, and I left her. When I went to get ready for work this morning, she was curled up right where I normally sleep, not all tucked up next daddy, which makes me think she was still looking for me. Maybe I'm over thinking this, but I felt like a bad mommy for not sticking it out all night with her. Yes she was asleep, but I still worry that she felt abandoned. Does this ever happen to you? I know in the grand scheme of things it's a little blip that she probably won't remember, but I don't ever want her to think that I'm not there when she needs me... Hmm... I don't know but I'm feeling the mommy guilt this morning...
I just can't do it. I can't sleep with a kid beside me in bed. I tried, really I did. But I need space and range of motion when I'm sleeping, and having a little tiny body tucked up under me or across my chest is not a situation that I'm comfortable falling asleep in. Sure we can nap together on the couch. Sure, I'll snuggle with her in the bed. But when it's time to do some real overnight heavy sleeping, nope. I just can't do it.
Sarah was having a rough night last night. She went to bed fine, but around 10:30 she started moving around and couldn't settle down. I went into her room to soothe her and let her know I'm here and everything is okay, which usually does the trick. But not last night. The second I'd take my hand off of her she'd sit up and cry for me, so I tried to stand there with my hand on her back or head while she drifted off, but my back started hurting. I had a really bad pinched nerve a couple of weeks ago, and had to go the chiropractor and get adjusted several times. It's nearly completely healed, but hunching over the side of a crib to keep my hand on her was making it twinge again. So after 30 minutes I scooped her up and said she could lay in bed with me.
So away we went to my bed. At first I thought she was just having bad dreams, because she didn't seem fully awake and would murmer things like "all done, all done" "no,no,no" "bear, bear" "all done". Mike wasn't home from work yet, so it was just the two of us, but it doesn't matter how many were in the bed because whenever Sarah is in the bed with me, she wants to be right up against me or on top of me. It reminds me a bit of how bunnies sleep if you've ever seen a group of them sleeping together, arms legs bodies everywhere. Which was fine so long as I wasn't trying to sleep. I have since come to the conclusion that it was either her two year old molars or her first ear infection, but either way it became clear that it hurt her to lay on one side of her head. So we laid there together, she tried desperately to fall asleep and to somehow become one with me, but she wasn't having any luck. She even tucked her head up under my chin the way she used to when she was a baby. Part of me was really loving all the snuggles, and another part of me was thinking, how in the world am I going to get any sleep? I can't fall asleep like this... what if I squish her, how can't I keep up with all those arms and legs and make sure they don't get caught under my arm or leg (I mean, come on, the arm of an asleep person weighs a ton)... I'm just too aware of her to allow myself to fall asleep.
Eventually Mike got home from work. He was surprised to see her in the bed with me, because I am not one to let Sarah sleep with me. She sat up when he got there and heard us whispering and said "ouch, ouch". So I offered to get her some medicine, which she seemed really excited for. So as I was getting up to get it, she panicked again and clung to me "momma momma momma", (like crawled into my lap and wrapped her arms around me) so I asked if she wanted to come with me, which she did. So the three of us went to get her some medicine. After that, she started feeling better. We took her back to our bed, put her in the middle and I sang some lullaby's to help her fall asleep. Once I could tell she was out, I snuck out of bed and slept on the couch.
Enter mommy guilt.
I know she needed me last night. I know she just wanted to be close to me and to know I am there, but I can't sleep with a kid next to me. As much as I might wish I could, I just can't. Mike slept in the bed with her, so it wasn't like I left her alone or anything, but it was clear that she wanted me, and I left her. When I went to get ready for work this morning, she was curled up right where I normally sleep, not all tucked up next daddy, which makes me think she was still looking for me. Maybe I'm over thinking this, but I felt like a bad mommy for not sticking it out all night with her. Yes she was asleep, but I still worry that she felt abandoned. Does this ever happen to you? I know in the grand scheme of things it's a little blip that she probably won't remember, but I don't ever want her to think that I'm not there when she needs me... Hmm... I don't know but I'm feeling the mommy guilt this morning...
Sunday, June 16, 2013
My Daddy
Happy Daddy's Day to all the daddy's out there!
I want to take a moment and share with you all some of my feelings for my dad. It's hard (really hard) to put into words just how much my dad has shaped me into the person I am. I am one of five children. In order of birth, I am number 4 and the youngest girl. As a kid, I was always desperate for my dad's attention. As the hardworking provider that my dad is, he was often away working during our childhood. He taught seminars back then and would travel all over the country teaching, often for weeks at a time. So when he was home, it was highly competitive to get his undivided attention. I was that kid running up to him "tickle me daddy, tickle me daddy", "My turn daddy, spray me with the hose", "More! Daddy". I was also that kid that would sneak into my parents closet, on my dad's side, sit on his shoes and put things in his suit pockets. Little pictures or toys, just things for him to find when he was away teaching. I can still smell the leather of his dress shoes when I think about it.
My dad's nickname for me (well one of many) has always been "baby girl". It's a name I wear with pride. During those childhood years, he always made it point to tell me just how special that title is. You are the only one who can be my baby girl. I love all of you, but you will always be MY baby girl. Even back then, I knew that name set me apart. It was just for me. It made me his, and him mine.
Now mothers and fathers both play an integral role in their children's lives. They both teach and provide for, but in different ways. My dad wasn't necessarily the nurturing type, but he was the one with the twinkle. You know, he's the one that would have a surprise destination or adventure for us. He'd pack us all up and take us for a bike to the park, not our park, the one on the other side of town with the cool fort, or take us for a walk... to the zoo! He'd also be the one to put us all in the car for a spontaneous trip to Magic Mountain or Disneyland! (Okay, as an adult I know it was spontaneous, but it was for me as a kid) He'd come up with car games to keep us entertained, like offering a FREE candy bar to whichever kid came the closet to guessing how many bridges there were on the way to wherever we were going. Oh, and don't ever think he'll tell you anything about a surprise. He's an excellent secret keeper. We were never the kids to ask "Are we there yet?" instead, we would ask "Where are we going?" and the response was always "CRAZY". I don't know where crazy is, but it always was a fun destination.
Fast forward through the awkward teenage phase (no need to dwell on those tough years) to my young adult life. That is really where my dad and I got close. It was once I was old enough or mature enough to really benefit from his wisdom that we got close as friends. He is the one who taught me work ethic, how to handle conflict, how to write a resume and cover letter, what to look for when buying a car, how to hang a bathroom mirror, how to research and compare. He's the first person I call when I don't know how to do something. It's funny, you hear stories of the day when someone realized their dad didn't know everything. Well that day hasn't come for me. He still knows everything! He's still teaching me things.
So on this very special day where we honor all the fathers and daddy's out there, I want to say THANK YOU to my dad. I want to put him at the top of the "Best Dad" list. I want to recognize the man that has been there for me my whole life. Who watched my first steps as a baby, first steps as an adult, first steps as "mommy". I want to thank him for being my support when I needed it, and my safety net when I didn't. I'm thankful that I got a good one. I'm thankful to be his "baby girl". I love you daddy! Happy Daddy's Day!
I want to take a moment and share with you all some of my feelings for my dad. It's hard (really hard) to put into words just how much my dad has shaped me into the person I am. I am one of five children. In order of birth, I am number 4 and the youngest girl. As a kid, I was always desperate for my dad's attention. As the hardworking provider that my dad is, he was often away working during our childhood. He taught seminars back then and would travel all over the country teaching, often for weeks at a time. So when he was home, it was highly competitive to get his undivided attention. I was that kid running up to him "tickle me daddy, tickle me daddy", "My turn daddy, spray me with the hose", "More! Daddy". I was also that kid that would sneak into my parents closet, on my dad's side, sit on his shoes and put things in his suit pockets. Little pictures or toys, just things for him to find when he was away teaching. I can still smell the leather of his dress shoes when I think about it.My dad's nickname for me (well one of many) has always been "baby girl". It's a name I wear with pride. During those childhood years, he always made it point to tell me just how special that title is. You are the only one who can be my baby girl. I love all of you, but you will always be MY baby girl. Even back then, I knew that name set me apart. It was just for me. It made me his, and him mine.
Now mothers and fathers both play an integral role in their children's lives. They both teach and provide for, but in different ways. My dad wasn't necessarily the nurturing type, but he was the one with the twinkle. You know, he's the one that would have a surprise destination or adventure for us. He'd pack us all up and take us for a bike to the park, not our park, the one on the other side of town with the cool fort, or take us for a walk... to the zoo! He'd also be the one to put us all in the car for a spontaneous trip to Magic Mountain or Disneyland! (Okay, as an adult I know it was spontaneous, but it was for me as a kid) He'd come up with car games to keep us entertained, like offering a FREE candy bar to whichever kid came the closet to guessing how many bridges there were on the way to wherever we were going. Oh, and don't ever think he'll tell you anything about a surprise. He's an excellent secret keeper. We were never the kids to ask "Are we there yet?" instead, we would ask "Where are we going?" and the response was always "CRAZY". I don't know where crazy is, but it always was a fun destination.
Fast forward through the awkward teenage phase (no need to dwell on those tough years) to my young adult life. That is really where my dad and I got close. It was once I was old enough or mature enough to really benefit from his wisdom that we got close as friends. He is the one who taught me work ethic, how to handle conflict, how to write a resume and cover letter, what to look for when buying a car, how to hang a bathroom mirror, how to research and compare. He's the first person I call when I don't know how to do something. It's funny, you hear stories of the day when someone realized their dad didn't know everything. Well that day hasn't come for me. He still knows everything! He's still teaching me things.So on this very special day where we honor all the fathers and daddy's out there, I want to say THANK YOU to my dad. I want to put him at the top of the "Best Dad" list. I want to recognize the man that has been there for me my whole life. Who watched my first steps as a baby, first steps as an adult, first steps as "mommy". I want to thank him for being my support when I needed it, and my safety net when I didn't. I'm thankful that I got a good one. I'm thankful to be his "baby girl". I love you daddy! Happy Daddy's Day!
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