August 2016 Quotes

its-alive

8:20 PM – 7 Aug 2016 It’s aliiiiiive!

6:22 PM – 9 Aug 2016 Where’s Michael Feps! Where’s Michael Feps! I want to see Michael Felt!
8:23 PM – 13 Aug 2016 Jet: “Wah, wah, I’m a baby!” Me: “Look how full your bath is, baby J!” Jet: “Wah, wah, this is how babies cry when they’re happy, wah wah!”
10:15 AM – 16 Aug 2016 She didn’t want to get wet while puddle jumping!

She didn't want to get wet while puddle jumping!

She didn’t want to get wet while puddle jumping!

9:06 PM – 23 Aug 2016 Get your arms out of here! I didn’t invite your arms to my party!
6:07 PM – 26 Aug 2016 I love helping, Mommy! *sings* friends help each other… Dat all I know.
10:18 AM – 27 Aug 2016 Everybody needs flowers in their hearts

2:07 PM - 27 Aug 2016 Taking a break mid-walk

2:07 PM – 27 Aug 2016 Taking a break mid-walk

12:36 PM – 29 Aug 2016 Overheard on the baby monitor: Bacon? Bacon? Baaaa-con? BACON?! Bacon! Baaaaa-con! Baconbacon! BACON!! Ba-CON! … … Wheee, splash!
7:26 PM – 29 Aug 2016 J: whatcha eating? Me: Pumpkin soup. Want some? You loved it as a baby. J: Blehhheeww! No! I not a baby anymore!

July 2016 Quotes

toe-feels

3:15 PM – 31 Jul 2016 She was being so careful until she discovered how it felt between her toes.

7:33 PM – 21 Jul 2016 Me: is there any last thing you need to do before bed? Jet: yeah. Me: what? Jet: play. Me: well I guess I asked. *sigh*
6:41 AM – 22 Jul 2016 I thought she was giving me a big kiss. Turns out she was trying to squish her nose against my cheek until the boogers came out on me.
4:25 PM – 24 Jul 2016 Jet: what’s for dinner? Me: I don’t know, what do you think’s for dinner? Jet: tomatoes and butter!

June 2016 Quotes

wonderwoman-acorn

8:08 AM – 9 Jun 2016 Wonder Woman finds an acorn

chasing-hens

8:11 AM – 17 Jun 2016 Chasing the guinea hens at her school

little-buddy

7:40 AM – 26 Jun 2016 Stay dere, don’t run away little buddy.

watching-slide

6:14 PM – 26 Jun 2016 Watching things go down the slide.

10:01 PM – 6 Jun 2016 Me: May I have one of your chips? Jet: NO! Me: Okay. Jet: You can have one MIW-yun [million]! But save them for Daddy, don’t eat them.

spinning-with-dad

1:24 PM – 16 Jun 2016 Spinning with Dad

1:40 PM – 23 Jun 2016 Brushing up on acquisition of grammatical elements and the corresponding structures in kids. #linguisticsnerd #momnerd

7:32 PM – 27 Jun 2016 J: “I BROUGHT IT! I DID!” Teacher: “M brought it, silly” J: “No *I* did!” Teacher: “Okay, you can put it away then.” J: “M brought it…”

7:34 PM - 30 Jun 2016

7:34 PM – 30 Jun 2016

May 2016 Quotes

kickboard

6:39 PM – 7 May 2016 New skill today: kickboard!

lookin-good

9:49 PM – 28 May 2016 “I lookin’ goo-OOD!”

10:19 PM – 4 May 2016 “My raindrop is still going down my cheek :(.” [she calls tears, “raindrops”]
12:45 PM – 7 May 2016 “Let’s pway cheers!”

6:56 AM – 20 May 2016 Me: “Are you going to help bring your party hats and cupcakes and raspberries to school?” Jet: “I only have two hands!”
9:05 PM – 20 May 2016 I juss sad… I not crying, I juss sad nobody telled me another story.
12:58 PM – 22 May 2016 I said, “hey birthday girl it’s about time to go to your party” and she said in her tiny sleepy little voice, “not yet!”
2:03 PM – 28 May 2016 Seeing a J: “That my first number!!” And then an O: “That my second number!”

4:06 PM – 29 May 2016 She just ate a gummy bear. From a bin labeled, “photo booth props.” At a children’s museum. No sign that there was more than one in there.
5:30 PM – 30 May 2016 She just called me a “butt fart!” #threenager
9:04 PM – 30 May 2016 “Wait daddy, wait just a second. Coocummers have seeds?” “Yes.” “No. No. They not.” In the last 12 hours she learned & perfected skepticism.

April 2016 Quotes

wedding shoes

11:47 AM – 4 Apr 2016 She found my wedding shoes

chalk

7:59 AM – 17 Apr 2016 It happened. At least it was chalk!

cleaning-up-chalk

12:00 PM – 17 Apr 2016 Better.

prom-hair

5:09 PM – 17 Apr 2016 Pro tip for prom worthy hair this season: boogers and popsicles. You’re welcome.

raining-pouring

6:25 PM – 18 Apr 2016 It’s raining, it’s pouring

backpack

3:43 PM – 25 Apr 2016 Ready to show off her backpack!

catfood

3:29 PM – 30 Apr 2016 Taking care of friends’ cats. She fed them and I got them water.

10:22 PM – 1 Apr 2016 “Go away! Go to bed and I stay here with daddy [watching tv]! Just GO to bed without me mommy!

6:08 PM – 4 Apr 2016 *Pointing to someone eating Froot Loops* “She eating g[r]een Cheerios!! Can we get g[r]een ones mommy??”
8:49 PM – 6 Apr 2016 “I want NO [electric toothbrush] buzzing, NO tooth brushing, and NO hair brushing tonight!” And she watched me to see if it would work (no).
8:46 AM – 8 Apr 2016 Jet, in a sad voice: “I can’t fly!” Me: “That’s because you don’t have wings.” Jet: “Noo, you only need a cape to fly!”
7:56 PM – 9 Apr 2016 Jet, to the cat on the counter: “Get down you lazy poopoo Fee!” (FTR, I never call people lazy. I don’t know where she got it. Nor poopoo)
9:01 PM – 9 Apr 2016 Unprompted, she thanked me for snuggles. Then she thanked me for staying home today. *melt*

8:29 AM – 22 Apr 2016 In the last 24 hours I have explained: cemeteries, ultrasounds, and the salient features of the lollipop. I need a manual.
6:46 PM – 22 Apr 2016 “You’re the best mommy in the whole world!”

2:48 PM – 29 Apr 2016 “I need some bread for my butter!”

March 2016 Quotes

– Testing posts to twitter and facebook at the same time. Quotes to follow

7:53 AM – 4 Mar 2016 – A butterfly flaps her wings. Plus bonus ladder.

– Me: Okay, well, let me know how that works out for you, J. … … J: It’s not. It’s not working out, mommy.
– Jet: I want a pet! Me: We have 4 cats! Jet: I don’t like cats. They too scratchy. I want a doggie and chicks and baby spiders!
– Jet: Peas I have a balella day? Me: A… A.. Brother? Jet: Noo. A BALELLA. It waining! I pobby have a balella at school?

7:27 PM – 9 Mar 2016 – Spinning in her “face tent”

– Me: Please don’t eat stickers. Jet: I just feeling them with my mouth!
Jet, as I’m carrying her in to daycare: You pobby be careful mommy! It really really wet! I no want you to slip! [pobby = should]

3:56 PM – 11 Mar 2016 – Hair

7:24 AM – 12 Mar 2016 – A rainbow!

– “Twinkle twinkle twilight sparkle, twinkle twinkle wh’ever you are”
– Jet: See my owie, mommy? [lifting her bandaid] Me: Wow, that’s a big one! Jet: Thanks!
– Jet, as I attempt to wipe her nose: Noooo! I want my boogers IN my nose!

10:10 AM – 16 Mar 2016 – Candy free Easter basket! (Except I’ll be adding a chocolate bunny to the left side)

10:00 AM – 17 Mar 2016 – Grandma and Grandpa brought Easter gifts!

9:55 AM – 18 Mar 2016 – “I not have time for a picture, mommy. I vewy vewy busy wight now!”

– Jet: You pretend to be my mommy! Me: I *am* your mommy! Jet: Noo! You just a daddy!
– To a doll: Shh, shh baby Dani. Don’t cry. Don’t be scared of the storm. I protect you baby Dani. I promise. It okay, I protect you, I here.
– Jet: “I’m pushing on the wall!” Me: “How is that going?” Jet: [gestures at the corner] “It’s stuck to the other wall, at the ceiling.”

 

Even Fewer Posts

The last month, and for the next month, the time I usually try to spend blogging I’ll be spending assembling the latest coffee table book. Hooray?

March 4, 2016

The other week she had her first UTI :(. She had been complaining of stomach pain for a day or two, and we assumed she was constipated again. Then she started running a fever Thursday night, so F stayed home with her on Friday. He called me Friday afternoon to tell me she was saying it hurt to go pee. So that night I took her to urgent care. We were there for about 4 hours, and when the doctor finally saw us, she was annoyed that J was refusing to pee. Eventually she did anyway, and then the doctor took it away. 45 minutes later she came back and said it was a UTI (no shit, sherlock!) and told me that J was extremely dehydrated. We had been in her clinic for hours waiting for her, and J was feeling sick earlier. I was mad. But, she gave us a prescription for chewable amoxicillin, and home we went. The symptoms were gone by late morning the next day.

Many of the mommy blogs out there tout cutting your child’s fingernails and toenails when they’re awake, even as babies, as this allows them to learn to be calm during the process. It took me all of .02 seconds of trying that when J was itty bitty to nope right out. I’ve been clipping her nails in her sleep for 2.5 years now and it’s been great. Except then my teeny flashlight died and before I had a chance to get a new one her nails were like talons. So I explained to her that I wanted to cut her nails. We have words to communicate with her now, see. And she sat patiently through the entire thing. There was no fussing, minimum wiggling, and she understood exactly what was happening to her. So I’m here to say that, in fact, cutting your child’s nails while they sleep won’t ruin them for life and they’ll end up in the guinness book of world records for longest fingernails due to unresolved childhood issues stemming from sleep clipping. Because you know, they totally have that record.

For labor day (6? 7 months ago?) we grilled out. Yes, it was the day I hurt my leg so badly. Anyway, while that event seemed to exlipse the rest of the day for me, it obviously didn’t for J. We were outside and she was telling me about how she stays away from the grill, because it’s hot. And I told her that yes it gets hot, and she started talking about “member, mommy? Member when we had the blue chairs and Amy was here?” I looked at her blankly, and F jumped in to remind me about the grill out we had, and the (blue) camp chairs we’d bought to accommodate people in the yard. J’s eyes lit up that he remembered, and it was amazing to hear her talk about something that happened so long ago. It reminded me of all the times she’s mentioned other things that I don’t believe she could possibly have remembered (riding on a bus to the airport when she was 7 months old? Really?!) but seemed to. I don’t understand quite how or when children lose their early memories, but I guess it’s not a case of being completely unable to form them early on. More that they just.. overwrite them later? I guess? Anyway. I’m grateful that I’ve always tried my hardest to treat her with respect and try to understand her even before she could talk, because seeing how much she actually remembers of the last couple years is a little intimidating.

While we were out there she picked up the lighter we use to light the grill (starter is busted). We took it away and told her it was a grown up tool. Of course, she asked why. We told her that it makes fire, and fire is hot and dangerous. We demonstrated. She asked where it kept the fire, and why wasn’t it hot? Deep breath. She just showed me that I’ve been underestimating her despite my best efforts. So we explained how lighters work. Very generally. I let her shake it to hear the butane slosh. I explained that it turned into gas and came out the tip. I let her hear the butane hissing out, and then I showed her how the lighter sparked and told her it was like when we were getting shocked on the playground earlier, but bigger. The butane is flammable, and so the fire stays lit as long as you hold down the button to keep it hissing out. She listened intently to the entire explanation. I’m definitely curious to see what she says the next time she encounters a lighter. Sometimes I swear I can see her filing away the things I say for later.

Crap, out of time!

Valentine’s Day Post

Dear J,

Last year, your teachers asked us to write you a Valentine’s Day letter. This year they didn’t, but I want to anyway. I love you so much, little girl. You’re so independent, so curious, and so smart it blows me away. It seems like you remember everything, and it’s given me a real sense of my responsibility to teach you everything I can. When you look at me, your eyes are so clear and honest. I used to always say I didn’t want a dog because I wasn’t comfortable with the level of worship that they had for their owners. But children are the same, and when you look at me I can see that you trust me fully, openly, and with everything you are. It is sometimes a frightening responsibility, but I promise you that I will always do my best by you. I will hold you safely through all your feelings, big and small, hard and easy, ugly and beautiful. I am strong enough to stand with your anger and revel in your joy. And when the inevitable day comes when you realize I am not perfect, I hope I will have shown you that it’s okay to be imperfect and given you the tools to enjoy both your own imperfection and mine. And if I haven’t, well, I will still stand firm in my love for you as you lash and howl at the unfairness of imperfection in the world. I know that being two is so hard. There is so much to learn and your emotions are so volatile and frightening. I know that sometimes all you want is the power to keep me by your side always, and that it hurts you that I leave. One day, you won’t feel this way. I’m sorry I can’t be there all the time until that day comes. But I hope you are secure knowing that I am never very far away. I’m proud of you, too. You are learning so fast and changing so much and you are facing it bravely, with nothing less than eagerness. The last two and a half years have been some of the most exhausting, exhilarating, enlightening days of my life. You’re everything I ever wanted in a daughter. And then some. I hope you always keep your face in the sun.

February 5, 2016

Rapid-fire update: The floors are done. They look great. My visit to Baltimore was great too. Lots of family time! Never enough, but still lots. And a great painting session with my mom. Then Christmas came and went and was amazing. J got lots of stuff and we had a wonderful time playing in the snow and spending time with family. F and I got to go on a few dates too, which was really nice.

Okay, onto the humblebragging and sanctimommying!

Ever since our Christmas trip to Iowa, J has been much more into imaginative play. She’s been doing lots and lots of pretending to be other people, other things, etc. She’s especially fond of being mommy :). She’s also exploring emotions in more depth. She’s started “pretend” crying or laughing. Early on I decided that if she was “fake” crying or laughing, I would look at that as an expression of the emotion she’s feeling rather than some kind of bid for attention or sympathy. So far it’s been working really well! It keeps it from being annoying to me, and I think that helps me talk to her about big feelings without waiting until she’s got huge ones. So when she sobs and boo hoos, I talk to her about why she’s sad and how she can fix it. When she shivers and says she’s scared in a normal voice, I can talk to her about what to do when she’s scared. And because she’s not really very scared/sad, she can actually digest and practice what I’m saying. I don’t know if it will work when those too big to handle emotions come roaring down on her, but it definitely makes me feel better and gives me something to do when she’s “pretending.” (I keep putting that in quotes because I’m not sure I buy that just because there is no water coming from her eyes, she’s not sad, and possibly even sad enough to cry.) She doesn’t enjoy pretending to be angry, so that one has been harder. I’ve been trying to be more honest about when I’m frustrated, annoyed, or angry. One night last week she was so exhausted and mad she was screaming and scratching at herself. I was frustrated too, so I took her into the playroom and showed her how I wanted to punch a pillow and shout about what was upsetting me. Then we took turns doing that for a while. She would generally follow my themes, but was still getting out some of her own anger. I would say I was angry at work, because someone said something mean. She would say she was angry at school, because Mommy wasn’t there. I would say I was annoyed because I was hungry and dinner wasn’t ready, she would say she was annoyed at Daddy, because he said no [he did, it was what set off the tantrum]. So she was getting there! Eventually it became a game and she was calm enough to go eat and take a bath and go to bed.

Since I’m talking about emotions and how much she’s learning there… As I am wont to do, the other day as I was settling her down for bed, I sat there holding her and breathing in the smell of her hair (apples, baby shampoo, sunlight) and whispered, “I love you no matter what.” Normally she just nods, or ignores me, or sometimes will sigh and relax a little bit more. But that night, she looked up at me. I could just barely see her eyes shining in the darkness of her room, and she whispered, “I mad sometimes.” I whispered that I loved her even when she was mad at me. She followed up with, “I cry sometimes.” and I whispered that I loved her even when she was sad and felt like crying. Then a big breath and she admitted, “I like Daddy sometimes.” And in the same tone as the other two, I told her that I loved her even when she wanted Daddy and not me. Oh, the heart melting of that conversation. After I told her I loved her even then, she snuggled down into my arms and soon after fell asleep. I guess she’s old enough now that when I tell her I love her in all the different iterations that I do, they are starting to mean something to her. Plus, having her tell me out of the blue, “Mommy, I love you SOOOO much!” is just. Well. I guess this is the kind of thing that makes it all seem worthwhile.

She’s started being able to play alone more, although she’s still incredibly social and would much prefer if I played with her (or Daddy, if I refuse). It has become a strange dynamic at the dinner table. When she’s done eating, which she always is before us, she’s welcome to go play by herself. Or she can sit at the table and wait. Just about every night she will sit, and wait pretty patiently for a two year old, for me to finish dinner. It’s so sweet. But man, I’m looking forward to her really figuring out how to play without someone. If she ever does. I never really have. She might want a playmate until she’s old enough to read. Last night she actually said she needed help playing! It was so cute but I worry that we’re directing her playtime too much, and inhibiting her. Because worrying is awesome. And I don’t have real things to worry about.

She’s started demanding we do things, too. And when she’s trying to be especially forceful, she’ll tell us to probably do something. “You pobby stay here, Mommy!”

We started her on gymnastics! We just weren’t getting enough activity on Saturdays, and I wanted to switch her to afternoon swimming lessons anyway. So we signed up for a trial month of gymnastics on Saturday mornings. The first time we went in she was completely in love. She spent the entire 45 minutes running, climbing, hopping, swinging, and grinning. It was wonderful. She’s so excited to go back, too! We’re not planning to quit swimming lessons though, because those are also going, er, swimmingly. She’s starting to really start playing with her abilities in the water. Diving, taking breaths, changing directions. It’s really incredible to watch. So for now, we’re doing both.

Out of time. More news later!

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