Whew! These last few days have absolutely flown by! On Monday, Lauren and I mostly hung aroung the house and got things cleaned up from Christmas, though we did duck out for a bit to buy her some boots. We got her some awesome butterfly boots, pictures forthcoming. Yesterday, we went to the Children's Museum in the morning, came home to "rest" (no rest to be had for her, of course), and then went to Gymboree. Today, we went to our friends' house to play and then down to Seattle to meet Jeremy at the running store and for dinner. We've been running ourselves ragged, though it's been really fun!
Some funny things she's said along the way:
- She's added a new complaint to her repertoire. We went from "Daddy's pushing" to "You hurt me" to now "Why you hurt me, Mama?" Great, kid; people are going to think I'm abusing you.
- She's started asking "Why?" questions. I knew this would be starting soon. So far, she's asked me why I was recycling a bottle, why I was cleaning the tub, and why I dumped out old milk. She seemed satisfied with my answers. For now.
- Today as we got ready for lunch at Brooke and Kailey's house, she was sitting in the high chair. Out of the blue she says, "I'm really happy, Mommy." Isn't that sweet?
- Also today: Brooke is pregnant and as she stood one time, she noticed that Lauren was looking at her. She patted her belly and said, "I have a big belly, don't I?" Lauren looked at her appraisingly and said, "And nipples." I almost died.
Finally, today we had a potty breakthrough! There have been a couple of weekends where we have tried pottytraining, but it hasn't been very successful. She can go if I take her every 15 minutes, but doesn't seem to really know when she needs to go. Today, she was lying naked on our bed after a shower. Suddenly she jumped up, said, "I have to go potty" and ran in and did her business, just like that! I was so proud of her! Maybe this is a new beginning?
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Post-Holiday Slump
Lauren has really been running on fumes these last few days post-Christmas. She's still not napping, so by 3 pm, she's pretty well done. Of course, she's a stubborn little thing, so she won't go to bed until it's been dark a while. That means she's up until at least 6 and is just ragged by then.
Today was a great example of all of this. She got up happily at 8 to go to church with her dad, all decked out in a new dress, shoes, and headband. I even managed to get a photo of her that didn't have her hand in front of her face. After church, we just hung around the house while she played and played with her new toys. Around 3, we headed out to go to the library and a couple of places down in Edmonds. We were too close to the witching hour, though, and she lost it several times while we were there. Over nothing, of course.
We got her home and she watched some Max and Ruby while leaning up against her dad, as if she was too tired to even hold her head up on her own. She had huge bags under her eyes, so that might have been part of the weight problem. I made dinner and she happily ate that, requesting candy for dessert. After that, we put her in her pj's and dressed up her skinned knee from earlier in the day with a Hello Kitty bandaid. Of course, she melted down several times while we changed her, accusing me, her dad, and one of the dogs of pushing her. It's a conspiracy!
She had a few great moments of clarity, though, as she helped us clean up the playroom. She actually did a really nice job of putting things away. Miraculous, I tell you. What was even more miraculous was how she went to bed: we got her upstairs and were saying that we were going to read a couple of books and put her to bed. Once we got in her room, I put the new pillow and blanket from her Nana on her bed. She saw that and said, "I have to go to bed!" while diving in. She snuggled in, had us cover her up with the blanket and closed her eyes. It hasn't been that easy since... well, ever! I think she was finally just done with this holiday thing.
Our daycare is closed all week, so Lauren will be home with me. I'm sure I'll have lots to report. Come to think of it, I'd better go ahead and go to bed to get rested!
Today was a great example of all of this. She got up happily at 8 to go to church with her dad, all decked out in a new dress, shoes, and headband. I even managed to get a photo of her that didn't have her hand in front of her face. After church, we just hung around the house while she played and played with her new toys. Around 3, we headed out to go to the library and a couple of places down in Edmonds. We were too close to the witching hour, though, and she lost it several times while we were there. Over nothing, of course.
We got her home and she watched some Max and Ruby while leaning up against her dad, as if she was too tired to even hold her head up on her own. She had huge bags under her eyes, so that might have been part of the weight problem. I made dinner and she happily ate that, requesting candy for dessert. After that, we put her in her pj's and dressed up her skinned knee from earlier in the day with a Hello Kitty bandaid. Of course, she melted down several times while we changed her, accusing me, her dad, and one of the dogs of pushing her. It's a conspiracy!
She had a few great moments of clarity, though, as she helped us clean up the playroom. She actually did a really nice job of putting things away. Miraculous, I tell you. What was even more miraculous was how she went to bed: we got her upstairs and were saying that we were going to read a couple of books and put her to bed. Once we got in her room, I put the new pillow and blanket from her Nana on her bed. She saw that and said, "I have to go to bed!" while diving in. She snuggled in, had us cover her up with the blanket and closed her eyes. It hasn't been that easy since... well, ever! I think she was finally just done with this holiday thing.
Our daycare is closed all week, so Lauren will be home with me. I'm sure I'll have lots to report. Come to think of it, I'd better go ahead and go to bed to get rested!
Friday, December 25, 2009
Holiday Fun
Today was Christmas, and Lauren had a pretty good time. I think she was pretty overwhelmed by it all, but she certainly enjoyed the gifts and food. And that's what's important, right? :)
She woke up about 8 this morning and was rarin' to go. Unfortunately, though, she was not at all interested in going downstairs to see what Santa brought her. Finally, she had some juice and looked outside for a while, and so we were finally able to convince her to come downstairs to see what Santa brought her. The kitchen was a definite hit; she instantly started making us cookies, which according to her was our dinner. She played with just about everything before we had to leave for Christmas dinner.
We went down to celebrate with Mary's family in Kent. Lauren had a great time playing and eating sweets; turkey and all the fixings really aren't her thing. She loves eggnog though (blech) and really loved the different pies. So, between that and the new toys and geting to play, I think the holidays were a hit!
I've put a photo slideshow below. I hope it works; I had to change up the format a bit to make it work. Let me know if it doesn't!
She woke up about 8 this morning and was rarin' to go. Unfortunately, though, she was not at all interested in going downstairs to see what Santa brought her. Finally, she had some juice and looked outside for a while, and so we were finally able to convince her to come downstairs to see what Santa brought her. The kitchen was a definite hit; she instantly started making us cookies, which according to her was our dinner. She played with just about everything before we had to leave for Christmas dinner.
We went down to celebrate with Mary's family in Kent. Lauren had a great time playing and eating sweets; turkey and all the fixings really aren't her thing. She loves eggnog though (blech) and really loved the different pies. So, between that and the new toys and geting to play, I think the holidays were a hit!
I've put a photo slideshow below. I hope it works; I had to change up the format a bit to make it work. Let me know if it doesn't!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Holiday Monkey
"Monkey" being Lauren, of course.
Tonight is Christmas Eve, and I'm feeling like it's the first one that really counts. The first year, she was just (nearly) 9 months old and had no idea what was going on. She was equally enthralled with the lights on the tree and the paper in the gifts as the gifts themselves, as is common at that age. Last year, she waas a year and a half and understood the gift thing a little more, though she remained mostly unimpressed.
This year, though, the magic has begun. We've really been working hard to sell the whole Santa mystique and I think she's getting it. We've been doing the advent calendar and while I don't think she understands the countdown bit, she sees Santa on it and gets excited. Tonight, at her Grandma and Grandpa Schumacher's, she was given quite a few gifts and (of course) really enjoyed it. She did a beautiful job of looking at each gift and going and giving the giver a hug when told. Of course, she got enamored of one of the very first things she opened and so missed a little bit of the others, but she did take her time. It was very sweet.
After leaving their house, we drove around and looked at Christmas lights. She really seemed to like that. Then we got an exhausted girl into her pj's and listened to a recording of her Papa reading "Night Before Christmas." We then set out the cookies and beer (a tradition I remember when I was little) for Santa and sent her off to bed. Jeremy and I then set up her kitchen from Santa and got everything staged for tomorrow. I'm so excited to see her face in the morning and see what she thinks of it all!
Merry Christmas!
Tonight is Christmas Eve, and I'm feeling like it's the first one that really counts. The first year, she was just (nearly) 9 months old and had no idea what was going on. She was equally enthralled with the lights on the tree and the paper in the gifts as the gifts themselves, as is common at that age. Last year, she waas a year and a half and understood the gift thing a little more, though she remained mostly unimpressed.
This year, though, the magic has begun. We've really been working hard to sell the whole Santa mystique and I think she's getting it. We've been doing the advent calendar and while I don't think she understands the countdown bit, she sees Santa on it and gets excited. Tonight, at her Grandma and Grandpa Schumacher's, she was given quite a few gifts and (of course) really enjoyed it. She did a beautiful job of looking at each gift and going and giving the giver a hug when told. Of course, she got enamored of one of the very first things she opened and so missed a little bit of the others, but she did take her time. It was very sweet.
After leaving their house, we drove around and looked at Christmas lights. She really seemed to like that. Then we got an exhausted girl into her pj's and listened to a recording of her Papa reading "Night Before Christmas." We then set out the cookies and beer (a tradition I remember when I was little) for Santa and sent her off to bed. Jeremy and I then set up her kitchen from Santa and got everything staged for tomorrow. I'm so excited to see her face in the morning and see what she thinks of it all!
Merry Christmas!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Night Moves
Lauren has been quite active these last two nights. Last night at 3:40, I heard knocking on her door. I got up and opened her door to find her standing there, holding her blanket on her outstretched hands. "I made birthday cake for Daddy!" she says brightly. I went all the way into the room and sat down while she told me that the cake had "Marshmallow Squirters" on it, which is from one of her Max and Ruby books. She kept asking where her Daddy was and thought I kept saying he was asleep, she wanted to go see him. Finally, she just started knocking on the door. That did wake him, so I just brought her into our room to sleep. Luckily, she settled in quickly and went right back to sleep, and stayed until morning. We never did get that cake, though.
Tonight, I was out at a friend's while Jeremy stayed home. We had both put Lauren to bed, but he started hearing noises coming from her room. He peeked in, and she was sitting on top of a shelf by the window, looking out. "I'm looking out the window!" She had taken everything off the shelf and gotten up there, Jeremy thinks to look at the Christmas lights. He eventually got her back into bed, though there was a little bit of a disagreement over whether or not she should wear pj's. They reached a compromise, though: evidently sweatpants and a shirt counted enough for both of them.
Here's hoping that she sleeps through the rest of the night, or else really does bring cake.
Tonight, I was out at a friend's while Jeremy stayed home. We had both put Lauren to bed, but he started hearing noises coming from her room. He peeked in, and she was sitting on top of a shelf by the window, looking out. "I'm looking out the window!" She had taken everything off the shelf and gotten up there, Jeremy thinks to look at the Christmas lights. He eventually got her back into bed, though there was a little bit of a disagreement over whether or not she should wear pj's. They reached a compromise, though: evidently sweatpants and a shirt counted enough for both of them.
Here's hoping that she sleeps through the rest of the night, or else really does bring cake.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Little Miss Layabout
This morning, since I didn't have to be at work right away, I thought I'd let Lauren sleep in and then take her to VJ's whenever she woke up. Of course, I woke up at 7:30 and puttered around the house, waiting for Lauren to wake up. And I waited. And I waited. Finally at 9:15 I had to go in and get her. Little Miss didn't even wake up immediately; she yawned and stretched like a princess being inconvenienced. She was in a great mood once she woke up, though; must have been the 14 hours she slept!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
The Weekend Report
We had quite the busy day yesterday and quite a lazy one today. Yesterday, we went to hang out with friends, came home for a very brief time, and then went out again to watch the Christmas boats from a friend's house. Today, she was too slow to get up and too grumpy to head to church, so she and her dad stayed home and watched football. That's pretty much it. Luckily, the TV is in the family room, so she could play when she got bored, which took place after about 5 minutes, of course. She's pretty good about entertaining herself, though, and pretty much played the entire day. She was so busy, in fact, that she was conked out a little early tonight and probably would have gone to bed even earlier if not for the need to eat dinner.
- Friday night, we had friends over for dinner. I was telling them that I was considering potty training Miss Lauren while I was on break. My friend Diana asked her, "Are you going to use the big girl potty?" "No!" she said with a huge grin on her face. We'll see about that!
- Yesterday, we went to lunch and then to a little children's museum/play area with Lauren and some friends of ours that have a one-year-old. She loves seeing "Baby Kailey." Lauren had a fabulous time, spending most of her time in the cab of a Mack truck that was part of the museum. Future Teamster?
- When it was time to go, it was no surprise that Lauren was unhappy about the prospect. She alternately laid flat on the floor and stood with her arms crossed as we tried to leave. At one point, she was standing in corner with her arms crossed solidly over her chest and her chin tucked down. "Lauren, it's time to go," I said. "I'm crying," she said. Close enough, I guess. I reminded her that her balloon from lunch was in the car and that eased her way considerably.
- When we went to our friend's house last night, she immediately found the binoculars by their window and walked around with them all night. She enjoyed looking at all sorts of things through both ends and encouraging others to do the same. Especially cute was when she sat and watched the Yule Log on TV through the binoculars. She had a great view!
- This morning, I ran in a race and finally got home around noon. By then, she and her dad had eaten pancakes and watched most of a football game. After a shower, I came downstairs and sat on the couch. Lauren's eyes lit up. She pushed everything off of the next cushion down and made me stretch out my legs. Then she ran over and got our quilt and with her dad's help brought it over. As he was spreading it out, she jumped up in my lap and snuggled between me and the corner. "I'm in egg!" she said. She had quite a time pretending to hide under the covers, laughing gleefully while we "looked" for her. She also snuggled quite a bit. Watching football wears you out.
- After watching some football, he played and played and got really pooped around 5. She curled up in my lap and watched The Incredibles. It was very sweet. She perked up when it was time for dinner, but wasn't too thrilled when she saw we were having a new type of pizza. She's more of a pepperoni girl, I guess. She ate about three bites and then asked for a piece of candy (from the advent calendar). I convinced her to eat half a banana, but she again asked for the candy. She drank a little milk and then got the candy. She likes this advent calendar thing!
- When it was time for bed, she found a necklace that she wears occasionally from her dress-up supply. She put it on her dad and said, "You look great!" She put it on me and said nothing. I asked if I could have a kiss to go with my necklace; she bent down and kissed the necklace. I see where I stand!
- Friday night, we had friends over for dinner. I was telling them that I was considering potty training Miss Lauren while I was on break. My friend Diana asked her, "Are you going to use the big girl potty?" "No!" she said with a huge grin on her face. We'll see about that!
- Yesterday, we went to lunch and then to a little children's museum/play area with Lauren and some friends of ours that have a one-year-old. She loves seeing "Baby Kailey." Lauren had a fabulous time, spending most of her time in the cab of a Mack truck that was part of the museum. Future Teamster?
- When it was time to go, it was no surprise that Lauren was unhappy about the prospect. She alternately laid flat on the floor and stood with her arms crossed as we tried to leave. At one point, she was standing in corner with her arms crossed solidly over her chest and her chin tucked down. "Lauren, it's time to go," I said. "I'm crying," she said. Close enough, I guess. I reminded her that her balloon from lunch was in the car and that eased her way considerably.
- When we went to our friend's house last night, she immediately found the binoculars by their window and walked around with them all night. She enjoyed looking at all sorts of things through both ends and encouraging others to do the same. Especially cute was when she sat and watched the Yule Log on TV through the binoculars. She had a great view!
- This morning, I ran in a race and finally got home around noon. By then, she and her dad had eaten pancakes and watched most of a football game. After a shower, I came downstairs and sat on the couch. Lauren's eyes lit up. She pushed everything off of the next cushion down and made me stretch out my legs. Then she ran over and got our quilt and with her dad's help brought it over. As he was spreading it out, she jumped up in my lap and snuggled between me and the corner. "I'm in egg!" she said. She had quite a time pretending to hide under the covers, laughing gleefully while we "looked" for her. She also snuggled quite a bit. Watching football wears you out.
- After watching some football, he played and played and got really pooped around 5. She curled up in my lap and watched The Incredibles. It was very sweet. She perked up when it was time for dinner, but wasn't too thrilled when she saw we were having a new type of pizza. She's more of a pepperoni girl, I guess. She ate about three bites and then asked for a piece of candy (from the advent calendar). I convinced her to eat half a banana, but she again asked for the candy. She drank a little milk and then got the candy. She likes this advent calendar thing!
- When it was time for bed, she found a necklace that she wears occasionally from her dress-up supply. She put it on her dad and said, "You look great!" She put it on me and said nothing. I asked if I could have a kiss to go with my necklace; she bent down and kissed the necklace. I see where I stand!
Friday, December 18, 2009
More Lauren-isms
Just a random collection of things she's said lately:
- Once Lauren realized that there were buttons to be pressed in the world, there was no stopping her. If you're on the computer, she's sidled right up next to you, trying to "help." If you're getting her out of the car, she's trying to click the side door lights off and on. If you're exiting a building, she's looking for the handicapped door activation. If you're in the shower, she always wants to let the water out at the end by pushing down the shower button once you've turned off the water.
The thing that makes this all very cute instead of very irritating is the way she asks to help. "Tap the bunt?" she says each time. "I tap the bunt!" It's really cute. No matter how many time I clearly enunciate 'button' it's always "bunt!"
- Last night she was reading a book in the backseat on the way home from daycare and she suddenly said, very clearly, "Somebody ripped this." I looked back, and she was right: someone had ripped the page. It was a secondhand book, so she was probably right that it was "somebody."
- She's been talking to herself a lot lately, but I only hear what she's saying about 10% of the time. The other day she was walking up the steps to the house saying something about, "So cool. So cute." Has she been watching GAP commercials?
- She loves to look for things in books and then find them. As I drive to daycare in the morning, it's a constant stream of, "Where Mommy go? There's Mommy! I found her! Where Daddy go?" and so on. Of course, she's "finding" us in her book based on the movie "Cars" so I'm not totally sure what she means. She's just awfully like Christopher Columbus in her "finding" of things.
- It's been really fun watching her play with pronouns and figure out how to construct a sentence. Just today she said, "You pushed me" when before she would have said, "Mommy pushing Lauren." It's amazing from one day to the next how her understanding of the complex rules of English grows. She still says everything is a "she" though.
- Once Lauren realized that there were buttons to be pressed in the world, there was no stopping her. If you're on the computer, she's sidled right up next to you, trying to "help." If you're getting her out of the car, she's trying to click the side door lights off and on. If you're exiting a building, she's looking for the handicapped door activation. If you're in the shower, she always wants to let the water out at the end by pushing down the shower button once you've turned off the water.
The thing that makes this all very cute instead of very irritating is the way she asks to help. "Tap the bunt?" she says each time. "I tap the bunt!" It's really cute. No matter how many time I clearly enunciate 'button' it's always "bunt!"
- Last night she was reading a book in the backseat on the way home from daycare and she suddenly said, very clearly, "Somebody ripped this." I looked back, and she was right: someone had ripped the page. It was a secondhand book, so she was probably right that it was "somebody."
- She's been talking to herself a lot lately, but I only hear what she's saying about 10% of the time. The other day she was walking up the steps to the house saying something about, "So cool. So cute." Has she been watching GAP commercials?
- She loves to look for things in books and then find them. As I drive to daycare in the morning, it's a constant stream of, "Where Mommy go? There's Mommy! I found her! Where Daddy go?" and so on. Of course, she's "finding" us in her book based on the movie "Cars" so I'm not totally sure what she means. She's just awfully like Christopher Columbus in her "finding" of things.
- It's been really fun watching her play with pronouns and figure out how to construct a sentence. Just today she said, "You pushed me" when before she would have said, "Mommy pushing Lauren." It's amazing from one day to the next how her understanding of the complex rules of English grows. She still says everything is a "she" though.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Success!
Lauren did great with Santa last night! We arrived at 6 o'clock, but the line was really crazy. We decided to go eat first, and came back after an hour. Of course, the line was even longer. I thought that going on a week night would be a sure thing!
I stood in line while Jeremy took Lauren a little ways away and played with her. There were little firetrucks you can rent for children, and she set up shop in one of those. I kept looking over and could just see her getting more and more tired and was worried that she'd absolutely lose it when the moment came.
It got to where I was just a few people back from Santa, so I called Lauren and Jeremy over. They have this fun house mirror that Lauren had a fantastic time looking in for a few minutes. Then we turned the corner and there he was! Lauren looked up at me and said, "I wanna sit on his lap." I actually had to hold her back from running up there. Once Santa made the motion for her to come up, she went running, arms outstretched. She posed well for the pictures and even smiled on cue. I was bowled over!
I'm shocked it went so well, but am glad it did. I'll be sending out photos soon!
I stood in line while Jeremy took Lauren a little ways away and played with her. There were little firetrucks you can rent for children, and she set up shop in one of those. I kept looking over and could just see her getting more and more tired and was worried that she'd absolutely lose it when the moment came.
It got to where I was just a few people back from Santa, so I called Lauren and Jeremy over. They have this fun house mirror that Lauren had a fantastic time looking in for a few minutes. Then we turned the corner and there he was! Lauren looked up at me and said, "I wanna sit on his lap." I actually had to hold her back from running up there. Once Santa made the motion for her to come up, she went running, arms outstretched. She posed well for the pictures and even smiled on cue. I was bowled over!
I'm shocked it went so well, but am glad it did. I'll be sending out photos soon!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
The Holidays: Toddler-Style
First, I had no idea it had been a week since I'd written! Time has just gone by so quickly this week; I swear, time goes faster the closer you get to the end of the year.
In the last week, there's really not been anything that's too exciting to report. Lauren's been going about her normal business, playing and being sweet and loving, but also grumpy and obstinate at times. She's been sticking to her normal language, too, so nothing too exciting there. There were just two phrases that stuck out to me:
- In the car: "I ticklish on my leg. On my knee."
- This morning, as I tried to dress her: "No! Don't take off Lauren's pj's!"
What has been really interesting is to see her interacting with the holidays in a meaningful way. Obviously, she's been too young to really understand what's going on, and it's just fascinating to see how she sees this all unfolding. She definitely likes Christmas lights and the couple of holiday musical snowglobes we have. She likes the tree, but has been surprising good about leaving it alone. Presents seem to puzzle her a bit; she's aware she shouldn't unwrap the ones under the tree, though I've seen her staring at them. We also have her big presents just in one of the rooms upstairs, unwrapped. I've seen her looking at it, but in this funny, distanced sort of way. She hasn't asked me about it or wanted to open it. Yet, anyway.
The big test tonight is going to see Santa. I have no idea what she'll think of him. Again, she knows who he is in this distant, vague sense, but not in any real way. We'll see what happens when she seems him in the flesh! She did say this morning, "No Santa!" when I told her where we're going, so I'm not expecting much.
I just can see the little gears working in her brain about all of this. She clearly understands that the holidays are something special and she seems to understand that it's important to other people. I just don't think she knows just yet what it all means to her, though I know that will all change when she sees that she gets gifts!
In the last week, there's really not been anything that's too exciting to report. Lauren's been going about her normal business, playing and being sweet and loving, but also grumpy and obstinate at times. She's been sticking to her normal language, too, so nothing too exciting there. There were just two phrases that stuck out to me:
- In the car: "I ticklish on my leg. On my knee."
- This morning, as I tried to dress her: "No! Don't take off Lauren's pj's!"
What has been really interesting is to see her interacting with the holidays in a meaningful way. Obviously, she's been too young to really understand what's going on, and it's just fascinating to see how she sees this all unfolding. She definitely likes Christmas lights and the couple of holiday musical snowglobes we have. She likes the tree, but has been surprising good about leaving it alone. Presents seem to puzzle her a bit; she's aware she shouldn't unwrap the ones under the tree, though I've seen her staring at them. We also have her big presents just in one of the rooms upstairs, unwrapped. I've seen her looking at it, but in this funny, distanced sort of way. She hasn't asked me about it or wanted to open it. Yet, anyway.
The big test tonight is going to see Santa. I have no idea what she'll think of him. Again, she knows who he is in this distant, vague sense, but not in any real way. We'll see what happens when she seems him in the flesh! She did say this morning, "No Santa!" when I told her where we're going, so I'm not expecting much.
I just can see the little gears working in her brain about all of this. She clearly understands that the holidays are something special and she seems to understand that it's important to other people. I just don't think she knows just yet what it all means to her, though I know that will all change when she sees that she gets gifts!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Getting into the Holiday Spirit
Miss Lauren did a few things today that showed her holiday spirit, or in one case, her lack thereof:
- At daycare they made these adorable little Rudolphs. It's basically a diamond of brown construction paper folded so that it makes a triangle. This is Rudolph's mouth. They then traced around her hands for the antlers and pasted on two eyes, the tongue, and, of course, the red nose. When Lauren showed this to me, she flapped the mouth a few times and said, "Raaaah Raaaah Raaaah." I don't remember that part of Rudolph's story.
Actually, I do know where it comes from. There's this great little book she loves called "Daffodil, Crocodile" and the character says, "Raaah Raaah Raaah Chomp Chomp Chomp." That's become a common refrain in our house, and evidently, Rudolph says it too.
- I was about to cook dinner and asked Lauren if she'd like to hear some Christmas music. She said, "No Christmas music!" and proceeded to roll around on the floor crying and screaming when I put it on anyway. I eventually stopped it because she was just ruining the festive atmosphere. What in the heck got into her, I wonder?
- She's really enjoyed opening all the Christmas cards with me and looking at all the pictures. We got one today that is really neat: it folds out into a little partridge in a pear tree. As I showed it to her, I sang, "And a partridge in a pear tree" in sort of a faux bass. She looked at the tree and sang in a similarly low tone, "And a bird." What a cutie!
- At daycare they made these adorable little Rudolphs. It's basically a diamond of brown construction paper folded so that it makes a triangle. This is Rudolph's mouth. They then traced around her hands for the antlers and pasted on two eyes, the tongue, and, of course, the red nose. When Lauren showed this to me, she flapped the mouth a few times and said, "Raaaah Raaaah Raaaah." I don't remember that part of Rudolph's story.
Actually, I do know where it comes from. There's this great little book she loves called "Daffodil, Crocodile" and the character says, "Raaah Raaah Raaah Chomp Chomp Chomp." That's become a common refrain in our house, and evidently, Rudolph says it too.
- I was about to cook dinner and asked Lauren if she'd like to hear some Christmas music. She said, "No Christmas music!" and proceeded to roll around on the floor crying and screaming when I put it on anyway. I eventually stopped it because she was just ruining the festive atmosphere. What in the heck got into her, I wonder?
- She's really enjoyed opening all the Christmas cards with me and looking at all the pictures. We got one today that is really neat: it folds out into a little partridge in a pear tree. As I showed it to her, I sang, "And a partridge in a pear tree" in sort of a faux bass. She looked at the tree and sang in a similarly low tone, "And a bird." What a cutie!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Mystery Solved!
As I mentioned in my last post, Lauren has continued to mention President Obama, and Jeremy seemed to think it was somehow tied to his wearing Carolina colors or emblems. Seemed plausible, not that it makes sense.
This morning, I asked Lauren what she wanted to wear. She said, "President Obama!" So, I took her back to her dresser and opened the drawers. She rifled through a bit and said, "Oh no! He's not here!" I saw the Carolina shirt in an untouched pile and uncovered it. She said, "There he is! There's President Obama!"
So strange, and yet so cute. I do wonder where she got it from!
Something cute and smart she said today: I was telling her we were going to do something "later, not now." Later, she asked about going to Miss Veejay's house and I said, "Tomorrow, babe." She said, "Tomorrow. Later." She figured that out really quickly!
This morning, I asked Lauren what she wanted to wear. She said, "President Obama!" So, I took her back to her dresser and opened the drawers. She rifled through a bit and said, "Oh no! He's not here!" I saw the Carolina shirt in an untouched pile and uncovered it. She said, "There he is! There's President Obama!"
So strange, and yet so cute. I do wonder where she got it from!
Something cute and smart she said today: I was telling her we were going to do something "later, not now." Later, she asked about going to Miss Veejay's house and I said, "Tomorrow, babe." She said, "Tomorrow. Later." She figured that out really quickly!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Aaaannnddd She's Back!
We kept Lauren home from daycare today after the episode last night. Of course, she was up before the sun and demanded extra pancakes at breakfast. Jeremy stayed home with her and reported that she played as normal all day. She did wear down a little early tonight and looked a little peaked, but she'll be fine after a good sleep.
I am going to have to keep her home tomorrow, though, since she still had a bit of an upset tummy today, not that it slowed her down. I imagine she'll spend the day flitting from activity to activity, stopping every so often to ask for juice or to watch Max and Ruby. Not much stops her.
Her randomness with President Obama continues. This morning, she was pulling up the blinds as she now does every day. Jeremy said, "Thank you, Lauren." She said, "You're welcome, President Obama!" Strange, huh? The only thing we can figure out is that Lauren only says that when Jeremy is wearing something Carolina-related, so she must have made the connection somehow. Whatever it is, it's cute.
I was proud of her the other day: I was trying to teach her to say thank you when someone gives you a compliment. I only mentioned it once, not thinking she'd pick it up. Yesterday, our friend Sandie told Lauren she liked her tights and, without any prompting, said, "Thank you." I was so proud!
One other cute story: She's really getting the hang of the different rituals at church. In particular, she's started kneeling before she enters the pew, both when they arrive at church and when coming back from communion. How cute is that?
I am going to have to keep her home tomorrow, though, since she still had a bit of an upset tummy today, not that it slowed her down. I imagine she'll spend the day flitting from activity to activity, stopping every so often to ask for juice or to watch Max and Ruby. Not much stops her.
Her randomness with President Obama continues. This morning, she was pulling up the blinds as she now does every day. Jeremy said, "Thank you, Lauren." She said, "You're welcome, President Obama!" Strange, huh? The only thing we can figure out is that Lauren only says that when Jeremy is wearing something Carolina-related, so she must have made the connection somehow. Whatever it is, it's cute.
I was proud of her the other day: I was trying to teach her to say thank you when someone gives you a compliment. I only mentioned it once, not thinking she'd pick it up. Yesterday, our friend Sandie told Lauren she liked her tights and, without any prompting, said, "Thank you." I was so proud!
One other cute story: She's really getting the hang of the different rituals at church. In particular, she's started kneeling before she enters the pew, both when they arrive at church and when coming back from communion. How cute is that?
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Sick Girl
We have an unhappy little girl. Without going into too much detail, she's sick. :( She generally seems to feel okay, but her tummy just isn't happy. She's in bed sound asleep right now, though, so hopefully it will heal her and will help it run its course. Poor kiddo!
Friday, December 4, 2009
She's Definitely 2!
Lauren has been in fine form these last few days. After being an angel for months and all the time I've spent bragging that she's not really in her terrible twos, she's suddenly possessed by toddler-ness.
Her new thing is that she wants to do everything for herself, and if you should happen to do it for her, she'll want to start all over again and do it herself. This goes from getting down from the high chair to getting out of the car to walking down steps. She definitely is wanting to be in charge of moving from place to place. Unfortunately, this isn't the most expedient way of doing things.
Everything is also hers right now and no one else's. This goes for food, clothes, her blanket, and her mommy. She's being a little bit of a terror at Gymboree and at daycare and has definitely regressed in the concept of sharing.
She's also getting a little bit of a sassy mouth. "Law-wen do it!", "My turn!", "My have it!", and "No, mine!" are all constant refrains in our house, as are, "Leave alone!", "My stuck!" and "My help-a you?" 'My' is her substitution for 'I' if you couldn't tell.
She's being really tough about getting dressed in the morning and in getting into bed at night. The conditions have to be just perfect and, of course, they're never perfect. So, she's pretty much a demon for the first hour and last hour of the day. Makes getting to work kind of a nice escape, to tell you the truth.
The silver lining in all of this is that I know that this is totally normal toddler behavior and that it's really just a phase. That's what I keep telling myself, anyway.
Her new thing is that she wants to do everything for herself, and if you should happen to do it for her, she'll want to start all over again and do it herself. This goes from getting down from the high chair to getting out of the car to walking down steps. She definitely is wanting to be in charge of moving from place to place. Unfortunately, this isn't the most expedient way of doing things.
Everything is also hers right now and no one else's. This goes for food, clothes, her blanket, and her mommy. She's being a little bit of a terror at Gymboree and at daycare and has definitely regressed in the concept of sharing.
She's also getting a little bit of a sassy mouth. "Law-wen do it!", "My turn!", "My have it!", and "No, mine!" are all constant refrains in our house, as are, "Leave alone!", "My stuck!" and "My help-a you?" 'My' is her substitution for 'I' if you couldn't tell.
She's being really tough about getting dressed in the morning and in getting into bed at night. The conditions have to be just perfect and, of course, they're never perfect. So, she's pretty much a demon for the first hour and last hour of the day. Makes getting to work kind of a nice escape, to tell you the truth.
The silver lining in all of this is that I know that this is totally normal toddler behavior and that it's really just a phase. That's what I keep telling myself, anyway.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Update on Lauren's Ears
In September, Lauren had to have a brief surgery to remove some scar tissue from her ear where her ear tubes had been. Today was the post-op appointment and they look great! There's also no sign of infection yet this year, so I'm crossing my fingers that that won't be a problem for her anymore!
She was really cute at the doctor: as soon as he walked in the door she said, "Hi, Doctor!" and waved. I then put her up on the table and she immediately laid down; I guess she remembers what to do! She was excellent while he looked in her ears and just like that we were done!
A quick Lauren-ism: As I laid her in bed tonight, I swear she said, "That's very interesting." Yep, dear, it is!
She was really cute at the doctor: as soon as he walked in the door she said, "Hi, Doctor!" and waved. I then put her up on the table and she immediately laid down; I guess she remembers what to do! She was excellent while he looked in her ears and just like that we were done!
A quick Lauren-ism: As I laid her in bed tonight, I swear she said, "That's very interesting." Yep, dear, it is!
Monday, November 30, 2009
In Her Own Words
Since I didn't blog over the Thanksgiving break, I have quite the collection of Lauren-isms:
- On Thanksgiving, we were killing a little time before dinner with her by playing air hockey. Without either of us calling it that, she said she was, "playing hockey with Mommy!"
- One of the evenings we were trying to get her into bed while she begged for another story. We refused (she'd had 3!) and had her get into bed. The entire time she was whining in her best New York accent, "Ahhhh....guys. Come on!" Has she been watching The Sopranos?
- She ran herself ragged playing at home on Saturday and was just wiped out by 6 pm. I was trying to encourage her to go upstairs and eat, which she was resisting. I don't think she knew what she wanted. I finally got her moving up the stairs, very slowly, when she suddenly stopped and laid down on one of the steps. She looked up at me and said in the clearest, most weary voice, "I think I need to go to bed." Yes, she certainly did!
- We took a walk around the block last night just to get her out of the house. A little over halfway there, she turned to her dad and said, "Pick up the little girl?"
- Last night we were putting her to bed, much to her displeasure. I started to sing, "Rockabye Baby" which normally is something she likes. Last night, though, she said, "No, Mommy! No song. Shhhh.... Quiet!" quite vehemently.
She also mentioned President Obama again when she saw Jeremy wearing his apron (and it is his apron!) to work in the kitchen, so she evidently links aprons and President Obama somehow. How strange!
She's really getting into the imaginary play, which is cute. The other day she fed Jeremy a meal several different times, telling him he had chicken nuggets, dipping sauce, peas, yogurt, and milk. She even wiped his mouth at the end. Tonight, she had me lay down, put pillows under my head and feet, covered me with a blanket and said good night. She then woke me up and offered me juice, pantomiming the action of pouring a drink and screwing the lid on a sippy cup.
On a similar note, she told me the other day as she was getting out of the car that she had a balloon. She even handed it to me as she got out so it wouldn't fly away. :) It's neat to see her developing!
- On Thanksgiving, we were killing a little time before dinner with her by playing air hockey. Without either of us calling it that, she said she was, "playing hockey with Mommy!"
- One of the evenings we were trying to get her into bed while she begged for another story. We refused (she'd had 3!) and had her get into bed. The entire time she was whining in her best New York accent, "Ahhhh....guys. Come on!" Has she been watching The Sopranos?
- She ran herself ragged playing at home on Saturday and was just wiped out by 6 pm. I was trying to encourage her to go upstairs and eat, which she was resisting. I don't think she knew what she wanted. I finally got her moving up the stairs, very slowly, when she suddenly stopped and laid down on one of the steps. She looked up at me and said in the clearest, most weary voice, "I think I need to go to bed." Yes, she certainly did!
- We took a walk around the block last night just to get her out of the house. A little over halfway there, she turned to her dad and said, "Pick up the little girl?"
- Last night we were putting her to bed, much to her displeasure. I started to sing, "Rockabye Baby" which normally is something she likes. Last night, though, she said, "No, Mommy! No song. Shhhh.... Quiet!" quite vehemently.
She also mentioned President Obama again when she saw Jeremy wearing his apron (and it is his apron!) to work in the kitchen, so she evidently links aprons and President Obama somehow. How strange!
She's really getting into the imaginary play, which is cute. The other day she fed Jeremy a meal several different times, telling him he had chicken nuggets, dipping sauce, peas, yogurt, and milk. She even wiped his mouth at the end. Tonight, she had me lay down, put pillows under my head and feet, covered me with a blanket and said good night. She then woke me up and offered me juice, pantomiming the action of pouring a drink and screwing the lid on a sippy cup.
On a similar note, she told me the other day as she was getting out of the car that she had a balloon. She even handed it to me as she got out so it wouldn't fly away. :) It's neat to see her developing!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Lauren's Most Random
Lauren said the most out-of-context, funniest thing tonight, and I just have to share it.
Jeremy was doing dishes and had put on an apron. Lauren said, "Daddy wearing a dress!" I told her it was actually an apron. She then said, in a sing-song voice, "Apron, apron, Daddy's wearing an apron! President Obama!"
Okay, then.
Jeremy was doing dishes and had put on an apron. Lauren said, "Daddy wearing a dress!" I told her it was actually an apron. She then said, in a sing-song voice, "Apron, apron, Daddy's wearing an apron! President Obama!"
Okay, then.
Monday, November 23, 2009
She found 5!
For the longest time, Lauren was skipping 5 and 6 when she was counting to 10. Whether she was counting objects or just from memory, she would always go straight through from 4 to 7 and keep on going. It was cute, but also a little strange. I mean, she could count all the way up to 20, which is pretty awesome for a 2 1/2 year old, but then would leave out those two numbers. Then, all of a sudden a couple weekends ago, Lauren magically started saying 5 and 6! I'm not sure what precipitated that, but suddenly there they were!
It's funny too, because right around that same time her colors suddenly clicked. She must have had a brain wave weekend. For the last 6 months at least we were really working with her to get her colors down and they just weren't sticking for some reason. It was almost laughable how bad she was at them; she would shout the most random color names for things. Actually, it would have been funny if we weren't so worried that she was color blind. It was that bad.
But then, just like the numbers, the colors just seemed to click. It was like one morning she woke up and totally understood the concept. She's still a little shaky with it sometimes, especially with the colors that have many different hues like blue and green, but for the most part, she's spot on. She's really accurate with red, pink, orange and brown and is hit-and-miss with yellow. Purple isn't there at all, but I'm sure it's coming. I'm just relieved she finally got it!
She was really being cute this weekend and said some funny and smart things:
- She was eating lunch in the kitchen and I was up there keeping her company. I was sitting on the counter when she looked up at me and said, "What'cha doing up there?" It was so cute.
- She suddenly has a whole bunch of new verbs. She told me this weekend that she "ripped" a piece of paper (which she in fact did) and this morning told me someone was carrying a bag. Both are things I've never heard her say.
- On that same note, she was narrating the actions of our cat, Thomas, on Sunday morning. "She's (it's a boy) sitting. She's walking. She's getting down. She's brushing. (?!?!)" He was in reality running away from her, but it was cute to hear her interpretation.
- I spent all weekend painting Jeremy's "man room" Carolina blue (hence the no posting). It really is quite blue. When I finally took her in to see what she'd been doing, she gasped, put her hands up to her eyes in a diamond shape and said, "I see it!" She looked like a photographer planning a photograph.
- Finally, the one thing Lauren has been really consistent with for a long time is shapes. She just got those really quickly, even more complex ones. This weekend I had put some short curtain rods in the family room as I moved things around. She arranged them into a perfect diamond shape and then told us what she had done. Smart girl!
It's funny too, because right around that same time her colors suddenly clicked. She must have had a brain wave weekend. For the last 6 months at least we were really working with her to get her colors down and they just weren't sticking for some reason. It was almost laughable how bad she was at them; she would shout the most random color names for things. Actually, it would have been funny if we weren't so worried that she was color blind. It was that bad.
But then, just like the numbers, the colors just seemed to click. It was like one morning she woke up and totally understood the concept. She's still a little shaky with it sometimes, especially with the colors that have many different hues like blue and green, but for the most part, she's spot on. She's really accurate with red, pink, orange and brown and is hit-and-miss with yellow. Purple isn't there at all, but I'm sure it's coming. I'm just relieved she finally got it!
She was really being cute this weekend and said some funny and smart things:
- She was eating lunch in the kitchen and I was up there keeping her company. I was sitting on the counter when she looked up at me and said, "What'cha doing up there?" It was so cute.
- She suddenly has a whole bunch of new verbs. She told me this weekend that she "ripped" a piece of paper (which she in fact did) and this morning told me someone was carrying a bag. Both are things I've never heard her say.
- On that same note, she was narrating the actions of our cat, Thomas, on Sunday morning. "She's (it's a boy) sitting. She's walking. She's getting down. She's brushing. (?!?!)" He was in reality running away from her, but it was cute to hear her interpretation.
- I spent all weekend painting Jeremy's "man room" Carolina blue (hence the no posting). It really is quite blue. When I finally took her in to see what she'd been doing, she gasped, put her hands up to her eyes in a diamond shape and said, "I see it!" She looked like a photographer planning a photograph.
- Finally, the one thing Lauren has been really consistent with for a long time is shapes. She just got those really quickly, even more complex ones. This weekend I had put some short curtain rods in the family room as I moved things around. She arranged them into a perfect diamond shape and then told us what she had done. Smart girl!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
A New Trick
Through her "preschool" work at daycare, Lauren has learned to spell her name. For a while there she was getting off track and adding random o's and e's to her spelling, but she's got it down now. Every day when I get there, she shows me her paper for the day and spells her name at the top. It's really cute, especially as she finishes each time with "Law-WEN!"
Today I was taking a package of diapers into VJ's to restock. I had written her name on it, in cursive. As it flashed past her line of vision, she said, "L-A-U-R-E-N, Law-WEN!" I knew she knew her name on sight, since that's something we've working on for a while, but being able to read it in cursive and with some letters in upper case, is pretty impressive for a two-and-a-half year old!
Today I was taking a package of diapers into VJ's to restock. I had written her name on it, in cursive. As it flashed past her line of vision, she said, "L-A-U-R-E-N, Law-WEN!" I knew she knew her name on sight, since that's something we've working on for a while, but being able to read it in cursive and with some letters in upper case, is pretty impressive for a two-and-a-half year old!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Lauren-isms
Lauren has been really funny with her one-liners lately, so I thought I'd share a few.
- Last night, she was having a tough evening. She wanted a certain Play-Doh opened that I didn't since it was new. She proceeded to cry about this for nearly 45 minutes. At one point, I went over to her and said, "Lauren, would you like dinner?" She said, "No. I crying." and turned away from me. She eventually got up in her seat when she finished with her not-so-minor tantrum.
- This afternoon, there was a school bus on our street, which she pointed out. I asked her where it was going and she said, "It going shopping." That's my kind of bus.
- The other day we were coloring together. She handed me a crayon and said, "Color inside the lines." Okay, then.
- Tonight, we were at a Mexican restaurant for dinner. There were several wooden parrots hanging from the ceiling. She kept standing up and shouting at them, "Crock-a-doodle-doo!"
- She's also been repeating several phrases from her favorite TV shows: "Silly Max. Open the door." and "Busytown Bug News!"
- Last night, she was having a tough evening. She wanted a certain Play-Doh opened that I didn't since it was new. She proceeded to cry about this for nearly 45 minutes. At one point, I went over to her and said, "Lauren, would you like dinner?" She said, "No. I crying." and turned away from me. She eventually got up in her seat when she finished with her not-so-minor tantrum.
- This afternoon, there was a school bus on our street, which she pointed out. I asked her where it was going and she said, "It going shopping." That's my kind of bus.
- The other day we were coloring together. She handed me a crayon and said, "Color inside the lines." Okay, then.
- Tonight, we were at a Mexican restaurant for dinner. There were several wooden parrots hanging from the ceiling. She kept standing up and shouting at them, "Crock-a-doodle-doo!"
- She's also been repeating several phrases from her favorite TV shows: "Silly Max. Open the door." and "Busytown Bug News!"
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Lauren's Favorite Things
One of the great things about Lauren becoming a toddler and being more vocal is that we get to know more and more about her likes and dislikes every day. I've already talked about her love of sleeping and taking baths, so I thought I'd share some more things she loves.
1. Her blanket - She has a pink blanket that someone gave us as a baby gift for her. Like so many children do, she drags it all over the place and has a difficult time going to bed without it.
2. Her baby dolls - She has two baby dolls: one that was a gift from Papa and Suzie and one that was a gift from Deena. She keeps them naked for some reason, and loves nothing more than feeding them from those bottles that seem to empty as you tip them up.
3. Babies - Lauren is enamored with babies, especially Dylan at daycare. She always points out babies in a crowd and waves and talks to them if they're near enough. She has a certain voice that she uses to talk to them; it's really high-pitched and every sentence ends with a question mark. She always wants to make sure the babies are well-cared for and will bring even the tiniest baby books or toys to play with. It's really sweet.
4. Doing puzzles - She's a girl obsessed with puzzles. She started with her 9-piece Dora puzzle and two other similar ones. Once she did them once she could complete them really, really quickly. She then moved on to the hard Melissa and Doug puzzles of the alphabet and numbers. Again, she mastered those quickly. Her latest conquest is a 25-piece puzzle that's marked 3+! It's just amazing to watch her little brain work.
5. Chicken nuggets and "dipping sauce" - Lauren could eat her Mickey Mouse chicken nuggets with Ranch dressing from now until the end of time and not get enough. I can't tell you how many times I've fixed her a great meal only to have her look up at me and say, "Chicken nuggets, Mama? Dipping sauce?" Grrrr...
6. Water - I talked in my last post about how much she loves baths, but she adores swimming as well. Even as a three-month-old baby she loved the water and took to it immediately. Future Olympian?
7. Blocks - She has this set of wooden blocks in various shapes that she just loves. It's amazing to watch her build towers and designs on the floor. She seems to understand symmetry and really takes her time with the building. She never knocks her own work down, choosing instead to destroy mine.
8. Looking at pictures of herself - We have a slide show screen saver on the laptop and she just loves sitting in front of it, watching pictures of herself and of us. She narrates them too, "Baby Lauwen. Mama and Lauwen. Daddy and Mommy. Cute little baby."
9. Busytown Mysteries and Max and Ruby - These are her TV shows of choice now, and she asks for them every day on the way home from daycare. I think Busytown Mysteries gets the slight edge over the other on this one.
10. Reading - Lauren adores both reading and being read to. She has incredible stamina and can sit for up to an hour with a couple of books, just staring at each detail on the page. She really loves Richard Scarry's books and I think they've really helped her increase her language skills. She always gets two or three books read to her at bedtime and it's a nice time of day for all of us. Right now her favorite is "Babushka's Doll" though she also loves Mother Goose and a book about a baby panda. Next month it will be something else, I'm sure.
And finally, Mom and Dad - It's tooting our horn, I know, but Lauren really does love me and her dad. She loves to try to make us happy and loves playing with us and just revels in our attention. She's a pretty reserved girl around other people, but with us she's totally affectionate and charming. I feel lucky to get to be her mom.
1. Her blanket - She has a pink blanket that someone gave us as a baby gift for her. Like so many children do, she drags it all over the place and has a difficult time going to bed without it.
2. Her baby dolls - She has two baby dolls: one that was a gift from Papa and Suzie and one that was a gift from Deena. She keeps them naked for some reason, and loves nothing more than feeding them from those bottles that seem to empty as you tip them up.
3. Babies - Lauren is enamored with babies, especially Dylan at daycare. She always points out babies in a crowd and waves and talks to them if they're near enough. She has a certain voice that she uses to talk to them; it's really high-pitched and every sentence ends with a question mark. She always wants to make sure the babies are well-cared for and will bring even the tiniest baby books or toys to play with. It's really sweet.
4. Doing puzzles - She's a girl obsessed with puzzles. She started with her 9-piece Dora puzzle and two other similar ones. Once she did them once she could complete them really, really quickly. She then moved on to the hard Melissa and Doug puzzles of the alphabet and numbers. Again, she mastered those quickly. Her latest conquest is a 25-piece puzzle that's marked 3+! It's just amazing to watch her little brain work.
5. Chicken nuggets and "dipping sauce" - Lauren could eat her Mickey Mouse chicken nuggets with Ranch dressing from now until the end of time and not get enough. I can't tell you how many times I've fixed her a great meal only to have her look up at me and say, "Chicken nuggets, Mama? Dipping sauce?" Grrrr...
6. Water - I talked in my last post about how much she loves baths, but she adores swimming as well. Even as a three-month-old baby she loved the water and took to it immediately. Future Olympian?
7. Blocks - She has this set of wooden blocks in various shapes that she just loves. It's amazing to watch her build towers and designs on the floor. She seems to understand symmetry and really takes her time with the building. She never knocks her own work down, choosing instead to destroy mine.
8. Looking at pictures of herself - We have a slide show screen saver on the laptop and she just loves sitting in front of it, watching pictures of herself and of us. She narrates them too, "Baby Lauwen. Mama and Lauwen. Daddy and Mommy. Cute little baby."
9. Busytown Mysteries and Max and Ruby - These are her TV shows of choice now, and she asks for them every day on the way home from daycare. I think Busytown Mysteries gets the slight edge over the other on this one.
10. Reading - Lauren adores both reading and being read to. She has incredible stamina and can sit for up to an hour with a couple of books, just staring at each detail on the page. She really loves Richard Scarry's books and I think they've really helped her increase her language skills. She always gets two or three books read to her at bedtime and it's a nice time of day for all of us. Right now her favorite is "Babushka's Doll" though she also loves Mother Goose and a book about a baby panda. Next month it will be something else, I'm sure.
And finally, Mom and Dad - It's tooting our horn, I know, but Lauren really does love me and her dad. She loves to try to make us happy and loves playing with us and just revels in our attention. She's a pretty reserved girl around other people, but with us she's totally affectionate and charming. I feel lucky to get to be her mom.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Bathtime!
Lauren loves bedtime and hates getting up, so comfort seems to be her thing. It's not surprising, then, that she loves bath time. She always has.
When she was first born, we just did gentle sponge baths keeping her wrapped in the towel, holding her over the sink. Once she was a little bigger, we put her in the baby tub in the kitchen. She loved the warm water and kicking her arms and legs to splash us. It was definitely her favorite time of the day.
Once she got a little older, we transitioned her to the ducky tub. It's this blow-up tub that fits in the big tub, and she looked so cute in it. The duck's bill would quack when you pressed it, which scared her the first several times she heard it. She got used to it after a while and really enjoyed staying in the tub as long as she could. We had a couple of waterproof books that she liked to read and other little toys she played with.
Now that she's a big girl, she definitely has a routine. When it's bath time, we turn on the water and she strips off her clothes. She then goes in underneath the sink and gets out the same toys every time: some spongy letters and numbers and two bottles for pouring water. Once she's in the bath, she plays and splashes and has a wonderful time. She doesn't love it so much when I try to rinse her hair, but Jeremy has taught her to put her chin up when it's time to rinse. It works sometimes, but it's definitely still not her favorite thing to do.
Once she's washed, I drain the water and she pulls up the duck stickers that are on the tub bottom. She then lines them up in various formations on the side of the tub. Before I she turns into an icicle I get her out and wrap her in her kitty towel. Lately, she loves having me hold her in my arms and call her a little baby. Sound familiar?
Before I forget, a cute moment from the other day:
She noticed in the morning that the cat had scratched my finger. She took it and gave it several sweet kisses, saying, "All better?" She's such a caring little girl!
When she was first born, we just did gentle sponge baths keeping her wrapped in the towel, holding her over the sink. Once she was a little bigger, we put her in the baby tub in the kitchen. She loved the warm water and kicking her arms and legs to splash us. It was definitely her favorite time of the day.
Once she got a little older, we transitioned her to the ducky tub. It's this blow-up tub that fits in the big tub, and she looked so cute in it. The duck's bill would quack when you pressed it, which scared her the first several times she heard it. She got used to it after a while and really enjoyed staying in the tub as long as she could. We had a couple of waterproof books that she liked to read and other little toys she played with.
Now that she's a big girl, she definitely has a routine. When it's bath time, we turn on the water and she strips off her clothes. She then goes in underneath the sink and gets out the same toys every time: some spongy letters and numbers and two bottles for pouring water. Once she's in the bath, she plays and splashes and has a wonderful time. She doesn't love it so much when I try to rinse her hair, but Jeremy has taught her to put her chin up when it's time to rinse. It works sometimes, but it's definitely still not her favorite thing to do.
Once she's washed, I drain the water and she pulls up the duck stickers that are on the tub bottom. She then lines them up in various formations on the side of the tub. Before I she turns into an icicle I get her out and wrap her in her kitty towel. Lately, she loves having me hold her in my arms and call her a little baby. Sound familiar?
Before I forget, a cute moment from the other day:
She noticed in the morning that the cat had scratched my finger. She took it and gave it several sweet kisses, saying, "All better?" She's such a caring little girl!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Our Little Charmer
We're having one of those days with Lauren where she's charming us in a million little ways. 2 1/2 really is such a cute, expressive age.
This morning, she was awake before I went in to wake her, which in and of itself is amazing. I could hear her chatting to herself, and when I opened the door, she shouted, "Mama! I awake!" I said, "You're awake?! What are you doing?" She responded, "A really good job." I'm not sure what she was doing, actually, but evidently she's really good at it.
Fast forward to this evening, and she asked for some juice, even saying please. When I handed it to her, she said, "Fanks, Mama. I appreciate it." That just melted my heart.
She was also really cute with Jeremy this evening. He was getting changed after work and she helped him put away his dress clothes. She then picked out his shorts and belt and encouraged him to put on his flip flops. She then decided that she needed flip flops and so started rummaging through her closet until she found some sparkly sandals that evidently will do in a pinch. Properly shod, she started reaching for some clothes in her closet. Jeremy picked her up and she chose a dress. She wanted to put it on immediately, so he helped her do that. Once she had on her dress and shoes, she said, "Go to church?", and, grabbing Jeremy's hand said, "Let's go!" She got him to the door and put his hand on the doorknob and then the deadbolt, trying to encourage him to take her to church. No dice this evening, but it is sweet that she wants to go.
She's just such a loving, smart, funny little girl, and I enjoy her to no end.
This morning, she was awake before I went in to wake her, which in and of itself is amazing. I could hear her chatting to herself, and when I opened the door, she shouted, "Mama! I awake!" I said, "You're awake?! What are you doing?" She responded, "A really good job." I'm not sure what she was doing, actually, but evidently she's really good at it.
Fast forward to this evening, and she asked for some juice, even saying please. When I handed it to her, she said, "Fanks, Mama. I appreciate it." That just melted my heart.
She was also really cute with Jeremy this evening. He was getting changed after work and she helped him put away his dress clothes. She then picked out his shorts and belt and encouraged him to put on his flip flops. She then decided that she needed flip flops and so started rummaging through her closet until she found some sparkly sandals that evidently will do in a pinch. Properly shod, she started reaching for some clothes in her closet. Jeremy picked her up and she chose a dress. She wanted to put it on immediately, so he helped her do that. Once she had on her dress and shoes, she said, "Go to church?", and, grabbing Jeremy's hand said, "Let's go!" She got him to the door and put his hand on the doorknob and then the deadbolt, trying to encourage him to take her to church. No dice this evening, but it is sweet that she wants to go.
She's just such a loving, smart, funny little girl, and I enjoy her to no end.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Looking at the Bright Side
Lauren seems to have been possessed by a small, energetic demon this morning, so I have nothing cute or funny to report. Nothing at all.
I will, however, share some cute or funny things from the past. Let's go way back:
- When Lauren was just a few weeks old, it quickly became apparent that she was enamored of any and all lights. She would stare blissfully at the hallway lights as we walked underneath them, sometimes with a little half-smile on her face. We became convinced that she would grow up to be an electrician. Or a house plant.
- Once she got a little older, her next obsession was the bear mobile that hung over her bed. She would scream and babble at them whenever she was near them and eventually would try to grab them. I guess I would call them her earliest friends.
- After the bears became passe, Mom and Dad took center stage. We had the faces she recognized most readily and she would smile and babble at us to earn our smiles. Of course, that wasn't hard.
- Even from the earliest days, Lauren has been fiercely independent. She enjoys being around people and likes making others happy, but it's clear that she's really quite happy when she's on her own. The earliest evidence we had of this was when she had crying fits as a baby. Carrying her around or trying to soothe her only made things worse; once you laid her in her crib you could see her visibly relax. Lauren likes other people, but she doesn't need them, and I really like that about her. It's definitely carried over into this age, where she can spend an hour or so just playing and entertaining herself. We definitely won the baby lottery on this one!
I will, however, share some cute or funny things from the past. Let's go way back:
- When Lauren was just a few weeks old, it quickly became apparent that she was enamored of any and all lights. She would stare blissfully at the hallway lights as we walked underneath them, sometimes with a little half-smile on her face. We became convinced that she would grow up to be an electrician. Or a house plant.
- Once she got a little older, her next obsession was the bear mobile that hung over her bed. She would scream and babble at them whenever she was near them and eventually would try to grab them. I guess I would call them her earliest friends.
- After the bears became passe, Mom and Dad took center stage. We had the faces she recognized most readily and she would smile and babble at us to earn our smiles. Of course, that wasn't hard.
- Even from the earliest days, Lauren has been fiercely independent. She enjoys being around people and likes making others happy, but it's clear that she's really quite happy when she's on her own. The earliest evidence we had of this was when she had crying fits as a baby. Carrying her around or trying to soothe her only made things worse; once you laid her in her crib you could see her visibly relax. Lauren likes other people, but she doesn't need them, and I really like that about her. It's definitely carried over into this age, where she can spend an hour or so just playing and entertaining herself. We definitely won the baby lottery on this one!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
I Got Scolded By A Toddler
Lauren is constantly surprising us with new words and phrases. Sometimes the things she says are really cute, some are just fun, and some just make you say, "Huh?"
The other night, Jeremy and I were talking in the living room and, I'll admit, I was raising my voice a little. After a couple of minutes, Lauren came over to me and said, "Mama, settle down." She used a tone that sounded curiously like mine when I tell her the same. Hmmm... wonder where she got that from?
Other linguistic highlights:
- Tonight she said, "I wan' juice please, Mama. I'm firsty." I had never heard her say "thirsty" before.
- Last week, she kept saying, "Silly Clipper!" and laughing hysterically. We had no idea what she was talking out, but it was so funny to see her crack up like that. I think since then that I've figured out that she was saying, "Silly Clifford!" as in the big, red dog. Still not totally sure what that's all about, but it's really cute.
- Today at Mass, she was acting up a little bit, which is actually pretty unusual. Towards the end, she was really losing it and started to kick the pew. Jeremy tried holding her legs to get her to stop. Her only response was to repeatedly say, "Sorry, Daddy!" as she continued to kick. I think she's missing the point.
- Last week, I could hear her saying, "Max... No, Max..." in the exact same tone as Ruby from "Max and Ruby." She's actually quite a mimic.
- She's been singing a ton lately. I've heard snippets of "Jingle Bells", "Old MacDonald", "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", "B-I-N-G-O" (though in her version, the dog is called B-L-A-C-K), the days of the week song, and something about being together. It's fun to hear what comes to her mind.
The other night, Jeremy and I were talking in the living room and, I'll admit, I was raising my voice a little. After a couple of minutes, Lauren came over to me and said, "Mama, settle down." She used a tone that sounded curiously like mine when I tell her the same. Hmmm... wonder where she got that from?
Other linguistic highlights:
- Tonight she said, "I wan' juice please, Mama. I'm firsty." I had never heard her say "thirsty" before.
- Last week, she kept saying, "Silly Clipper!" and laughing hysterically. We had no idea what she was talking out, but it was so funny to see her crack up like that. I think since then that I've figured out that she was saying, "Silly Clifford!" as in the big, red dog. Still not totally sure what that's all about, but it's really cute.
- Today at Mass, she was acting up a little bit, which is actually pretty unusual. Towards the end, she was really losing it and started to kick the pew. Jeremy tried holding her legs to get her to stop. Her only response was to repeatedly say, "Sorry, Daddy!" as she continued to kick. I think she's missing the point.
- Last week, I could hear her saying, "Max... No, Max..." in the exact same tone as Ruby from "Max and Ruby." She's actually quite a mimic.
- She's been singing a ton lately. I've heard snippets of "Jingle Bells", "Old MacDonald", "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", "B-I-N-G-O" (though in her version, the dog is called B-L-A-C-K), the days of the week song, and something about being together. It's fun to hear what comes to her mind.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Today Was A Good Day...
... but nothing really stood out. Lauren did her normal routine in the morning of not wanting to get dressed, but was of course pacified by being treated like a "cute little baby." She did great at VJ's, even taking a nap. On the way home she said she wanted to watch Busytown (Mysteries). When I said, "You want to watch Busytown?", she said, "Yes!" I totally walked into that one. Anyway, dinner was fine and she went to bed pretty easily, of course again using the "cute little baby" treatment she loves so much.
Since there's not much to report today, I'll share some memories.
- Lauren's first "word", aside from "da da da" was "tsss", which meant kitty. From the beginning, she always really loved the cats. Once she got a few more words, she started saying, "Killy (kitty), no barking!" I guess she was listening when I scolded the dogs. :)
- Lauren also really loved the word "no" from the moment she mastered it. The weird thing is that she usually used it to mean "Give that to me." She would pinch her pointer finger and thumb together and sort of point at the toy/cup of milk/book and say, "No. No. Nnnnnn No." Somehow we figured out that meant she was asking (demanding?) for it and it worked. Finally, she got other words and found more appropriate ways to ask for things. She even says please and "fanks" now.
- Lauren has always been fantastic about going to bed, but is a beast in the morning. Hmmm... sounds just like her mother. Anyway, you just stick her in her room and she goes to sleep in a reasonable amount of time. If it's still light out, she'll ususally read for a while or do a puzzle, but she puts herself to bed. She's always been that way, ever since she was tiny. How lucky did we get?
The flipside of that, though, is that she is absolutely awful in the morning. She just hates getting woken up and is a terrible grump for the first half hour or so. We finally have started going in and turning her light on ever so slightly just before we want her to wake up and then turning it up a notch every few minutes. Once she's awake, she needs juice or milk to get her going. Lately, she's been asking for a quick snuggle before she'll deign to be dressed, so I find myself sitting on the toilet (lid down), holding her all wrapped up in her blanket, while trying to do my hair with one hand. Whatever gets her going, I guess.
Since there's not much to report today, I'll share some memories.
- Lauren's first "word", aside from "da da da" was "tsss", which meant kitty. From the beginning, she always really loved the cats. Once she got a few more words, she started saying, "Killy (kitty), no barking!" I guess she was listening when I scolded the dogs. :)
- Lauren also really loved the word "no" from the moment she mastered it. The weird thing is that she usually used it to mean "Give that to me." She would pinch her pointer finger and thumb together and sort of point at the toy/cup of milk/book and say, "No. No. Nnnnnn No." Somehow we figured out that meant she was asking (demanding?) for it and it worked. Finally, she got other words and found more appropriate ways to ask for things. She even says please and "fanks" now.
- Lauren has always been fantastic about going to bed, but is a beast in the morning. Hmmm... sounds just like her mother. Anyway, you just stick her in her room and she goes to sleep in a reasonable amount of time. If it's still light out, she'll ususally read for a while or do a puzzle, but she puts herself to bed. She's always been that way, ever since she was tiny. How lucky did we get?
The flipside of that, though, is that she is absolutely awful in the morning. She just hates getting woken up and is a terrible grump for the first half hour or so. We finally have started going in and turning her light on ever so slightly just before we want her to wake up and then turning it up a notch every few minutes. Once she's awake, she needs juice or milk to get her going. Lately, she's been asking for a quick snuggle before she'll deign to be dressed, so I find myself sitting on the toilet (lid down), holding her all wrapped up in her blanket, while trying to do my hair with one hand. Whatever gets her going, I guess.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
I Cringe Everytime You Do That
For the last year, I've been taking Lauren to Gymboree on Wednesday afternoons for open gym. She absolutely loves running around, climbing, jumping, and playing with the other kids. It's definitely one of my favorite times of the week with her.
Well, until lately. See, for about the last three months there's this dad who's been coming with his little boy and, in the last few weeks, their brand new baby. For whatever reason, Lauren is really attached to this dad. Really, really attached. As in, she calls him "Daddy." "Daddy, watch me!" "Daddy, over here!" "Daddy, come on!" And I die a little inside every time she does it. It's so freaking embarrassing, like when you have a person over that hates cats and your cat senses this and will not get off their lap.
Luckily, this dad is just the sweetest man and takes it all in stride. He interacts with her just enough to satisfy whatever attachment she has to him without really encouraging it, which is great. His wife comes occasionally and thinks it's really funny and his son doesn't seem to mind. Now if only I could get her to stop doing it, life would be perfect.
Funny, totally unrelated memory time. I figured since Lauren is 2 1/2 now, I'd better take a little time in each posting to relate something cute/funny/sweet from the past so I have it written somewhere, before it dissolves into the recesses of my brain.
Today's memory is from this summer, when we were visiting my dad, stepmom, and two sisters at their home in Charlotte. I had really worked with Lauren before the trip on the names of everyone and kept reinforcing that with practice throughout the week. For whatever reason, once we got there, she couldn't remember my sister Rachel's name, calling her "Suzie" or nothing at all. On the last night we were visiting my sister Claire at the drugstore where she worked. Rachel was carrying Lauren around on her back. As we all stood together, my dad asked everyone's name while pointing at each of us. "Name: Papa." "Name: Daddy." "Name: Mommy." "Name: Claire." "Name: Crocodile." What?!?! We all burst out laughing at Rachel's new name. How weird was that, right?
Then one of us realized that when Dad had pointed to her, he had pointed to an ad on the back of her shirt for Crocs shoes, so of course Lauren had said "Crocodile!" So of course after that, Rachel has a new name. Since then, though, Lauren has learned her name just fine and has said it often, leaving off all references to large reptiles.
Well, until lately. See, for about the last three months there's this dad who's been coming with his little boy and, in the last few weeks, their brand new baby. For whatever reason, Lauren is really attached to this dad. Really, really attached. As in, she calls him "Daddy." "Daddy, watch me!" "Daddy, over here!" "Daddy, come on!" And I die a little inside every time she does it. It's so freaking embarrassing, like when you have a person over that hates cats and your cat senses this and will not get off their lap.
Luckily, this dad is just the sweetest man and takes it all in stride. He interacts with her just enough to satisfy whatever attachment she has to him without really encouraging it, which is great. His wife comes occasionally and thinks it's really funny and his son doesn't seem to mind. Now if only I could get her to stop doing it, life would be perfect.
Funny, totally unrelated memory time. I figured since Lauren is 2 1/2 now, I'd better take a little time in each posting to relate something cute/funny/sweet from the past so I have it written somewhere, before it dissolves into the recesses of my brain.
Today's memory is from this summer, when we were visiting my dad, stepmom, and two sisters at their home in Charlotte. I had really worked with Lauren before the trip on the names of everyone and kept reinforcing that with practice throughout the week. For whatever reason, once we got there, she couldn't remember my sister Rachel's name, calling her "Suzie" or nothing at all. On the last night we were visiting my sister Claire at the drugstore where she worked. Rachel was carrying Lauren around on her back. As we all stood together, my dad asked everyone's name while pointing at each of us. "Name: Papa." "Name: Daddy." "Name: Mommy." "Name: Claire." "Name: Crocodile." What?!?! We all burst out laughing at Rachel's new name. How weird was that, right?
Then one of us realized that when Dad had pointed to her, he had pointed to an ad on the back of her shirt for Crocs shoes, so of course Lauren had said "Crocodile!" So of course after that, Rachel has a new name. Since then, though, Lauren has learned her name just fine and has said it often, leaving off all references to large reptiles.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
I Didn't Know It Would Be This Easy
Lauren's been obsessed with babies for the last couple of months, but just in the last few weeks has she decided that she herself is a "cute little baby." She loves nothing more than a snuggle with Mom and her blanket in the morning and enjoys being carried around cradled in my arms. Luckily, this is still in the Adorable Things Toddlers Do phase and not in the Please Stop That phase.
Tonight I read her a story before bed (Are We There Yet? by Alison Lester) and she was clearly getting tired. I asked her if she wanted to get in bed, and she stood up and shuffled over to get in. As I stood up, though, she turned, blanket in hand, and said, "cute little baby?" How can you resist that? So, I picked her up and rocked her in my arms for just a moment before she said, "Put the baby in bed, Mama?" What? Okay, kid! I carefully put her in her bed with her blanket over her and covered her with her sheet. She said, "Fanks, Mom. Good night." and closed her eyes. And, with that, she was in bed and not a peep was heard out of her again!
I just wish it were always this easy!
Tonight I read her a story before bed (Are We There Yet? by Alison Lester) and she was clearly getting tired. I asked her if she wanted to get in bed, and she stood up and shuffled over to get in. As I stood up, though, she turned, blanket in hand, and said, "cute little baby?" How can you resist that? So, I picked her up and rocked her in my arms for just a moment before she said, "Put the baby in bed, Mama?" What? Okay, kid! I carefully put her in her bed with her blanket over her and covered her with her sheet. She said, "Fanks, Mom. Good night." and closed her eyes. And, with that, she was in bed and not a peep was heard out of her again!
I just wish it were always this easy!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
An Illustration of the Differences in the Lives of Those With Toddlers and Those Without
The following is true, having taken place this afternoon. I'm writing this to vent and also to ask for patience from those who don't have children. Hopefully this clarifies why parents never seem to have any time or sometimes appear to be at the edge of reason.
A Person Without a Toddler:
4:00 - Pull into library parking lot. Pick any spot. Hop out.
4:01 - Walk through front doors of library.
4:02 - Find reserved book on hold shelf.
4:04 - Checked out book in hand, walk through doors of library.
4:05 - Pull out of the library parking lot, on merry way to next activity.
A Person With a Toddler:
4:00 - Pull into library parking lot, amid shouts of "Skoo bus! Mama! See that?"
4:02 - After many false starts, find a spot. It can't just be any spot because Someone will want to walk and Someone's short legs can't carry her very far.
4:03 - Out of car. Someone decides she must walk on the wall that leads up to library. Walk slowly, holding Someone's hand while she wobbles along the wall.
4:07 - Walk up to doors of library. Pause while Someone locates the button that opens the door for the handicapped and pushes on it. Someone watches in amazement as the door opens and slowly walks through, shouting, "I did it!" Repeat process for inner door.
4:08 - Arrive, finally, inside the library and walk to the hold shelf, watching all the while for Someone who decides walking in a straight line is out of fashion. Search for book on shelf while someone checks out the New Arrival shelf. And the DVD shelf. And the Book Club shelf.
4:09 - Reserved book in hand, head towards children's section. Someone sees comfy chairs in Teen section, lets everyone in the library know this and tries out chair.
4:10 - Distract Someone by seating her at the small table piled with books. Someone reads one upside-down, allowing browsing time.
4:12 - Someone is restless. Notice that one of the computers with the Dora game is free, so install Someone there. Someone clicks around aimlessly while you browse for two more books for her. Someone occasionally shouts, "Look! I did it!"
4:17 - Browsing is done and another small child is trying to snatch the mouse from Someone's hand. Go over and explain to Someone that it's someone else's turn now. Remove headphones from ears and mouse from hand as Someone screams. Receive sympathetic look from another mother. Remove mouse from someone's hand again. Explain that we must share and that Someone had a turn already.
4:18 - Feel embarrassed as Someone sobs loudly over the loss of Dora, garnering lots of looks from other patrons. Steer Someone into the shelves to look for a book.
4:20 - Book randomly chosen, stop by Friends of the Library section to see what's on sale. Someone is remarkably well-behaved, mostly because she is distracted by holding all three of her books. Someone drops them repeatedly, picking them up each time and shouting, "Look! I did it!"
4:24 - Make way to checkout. Someone insists on climbing up on stool and "helping."
4:25 - Books checked out, walk toward inner door. Look up to see that Someone is distracted by a book display. Tap handicapped button and point it out to Someone, who immediately perks up and struts through door. Someone then locates the next button and taps it.
4:26 - Button is not working, despite several taps from Someone and from a desperate Mom. Someone begins to cry. Begin hating life.
4:27 - Stand inside door while Someone cries. Think opening door and going out might entice Someone, so try that.
4:28 - Stand holding open door while Someone cries louder. Begin to rue the day Someone was born. Several patrons pass through, giving sympathetic looks to Someone.
4:29 - Someone is finally coaxed out. When door closes, Someone decides she is unhappy with this and sits on ground crying. Stand several feet away, both trying to convince Someone that it's time to go and maybe convincing others that Someone is Someone Else's child.
4:31 - Someone deigns to walk towards the car after the most ancient lady in the world offered her a hand up. Feel cheeks redden in embarrassment. Someone decides she must walk on wall back to car.
4:35 - After many stops and starts, reach the point at which Someone must get off wall and walk to car. Someone does not like the explanation of this and begins to cry. Scoop up someone and set her on feet to walk to car. Someone decides this is not okay and sits down.
4:37 - Stand irritatedly by as Someone wails at the wall and tries unsuccessfully to vault back to the top of said wall. Calmly repeat, "It's time to go home. Let's go to the car." Someone invokes selective hearing.
4:38 - Someone decides she must sit on steps and cry. Earn a sympathetic look from teenage boy. Ponder putting books in car and coming back for Someone. Ponder putting books in car and just leaving.
4:39 - Use Love and Logic training. Explain the choice Someone has, which involves either walking to car on her own perfectly good legs or being carried to car and earning timeout.
4:40 - As a distraction technique, Someone pulls off an ivy leaf and shouts, "Look! A flowler!" Not amused, repeat "choice."
4:41 - Someone makes her choice. Pick Someone up; she immediately begins shouting, "Owie! Owie!" Stumble to car, carrying 30-pound Someone and half a dozen library books, as well as purse and keys. Absorb several kicks to the crotch from Someone. Curse under breath.
4:42 - Arrive at car. Strap crying Someone in.
4:43 - Close Someone's car door. Curse loudly, receiving evil glare from library patron.
4:44 - Pull out of library parking lot, on merry way to an evening of cooking family dinner, cleaning up, and putting Someone, mercifully, to bed.
A Person Without a Toddler:
4:00 - Pull into library parking lot. Pick any spot. Hop out.
4:01 - Walk through front doors of library.
4:02 - Find reserved book on hold shelf.
4:04 - Checked out book in hand, walk through doors of library.
4:05 - Pull out of the library parking lot, on merry way to next activity.
A Person With a Toddler:
4:00 - Pull into library parking lot, amid shouts of "Skoo bus! Mama! See that?"
4:02 - After many false starts, find a spot. It can't just be any spot because Someone will want to walk and Someone's short legs can't carry her very far.
4:03 - Out of car. Someone decides she must walk on the wall that leads up to library. Walk slowly, holding Someone's hand while she wobbles along the wall.
4:07 - Walk up to doors of library. Pause while Someone locates the button that opens the door for the handicapped and pushes on it. Someone watches in amazement as the door opens and slowly walks through, shouting, "I did it!" Repeat process for inner door.
4:08 - Arrive, finally, inside the library and walk to the hold shelf, watching all the while for Someone who decides walking in a straight line is out of fashion. Search for book on shelf while someone checks out the New Arrival shelf. And the DVD shelf. And the Book Club shelf.
4:09 - Reserved book in hand, head towards children's section. Someone sees comfy chairs in Teen section, lets everyone in the library know this and tries out chair.
4:10 - Distract Someone by seating her at the small table piled with books. Someone reads one upside-down, allowing browsing time.
4:12 - Someone is restless. Notice that one of the computers with the Dora game is free, so install Someone there. Someone clicks around aimlessly while you browse for two more books for her. Someone occasionally shouts, "Look! I did it!"
4:17 - Browsing is done and another small child is trying to snatch the mouse from Someone's hand. Go over and explain to Someone that it's someone else's turn now. Remove headphones from ears and mouse from hand as Someone screams. Receive sympathetic look from another mother. Remove mouse from someone's hand again. Explain that we must share and that Someone had a turn already.
4:18 - Feel embarrassed as Someone sobs loudly over the loss of Dora, garnering lots of looks from other patrons. Steer Someone into the shelves to look for a book.
4:20 - Book randomly chosen, stop by Friends of the Library section to see what's on sale. Someone is remarkably well-behaved, mostly because she is distracted by holding all three of her books. Someone drops them repeatedly, picking them up each time and shouting, "Look! I did it!"
4:24 - Make way to checkout. Someone insists on climbing up on stool and "helping."
4:25 - Books checked out, walk toward inner door. Look up to see that Someone is distracted by a book display. Tap handicapped button and point it out to Someone, who immediately perks up and struts through door. Someone then locates the next button and taps it.
4:26 - Button is not working, despite several taps from Someone and from a desperate Mom. Someone begins to cry. Begin hating life.
4:27 - Stand inside door while Someone cries. Think opening door and going out might entice Someone, so try that.
4:28 - Stand holding open door while Someone cries louder. Begin to rue the day Someone was born. Several patrons pass through, giving sympathetic looks to Someone.
4:29 - Someone is finally coaxed out. When door closes, Someone decides she is unhappy with this and sits on ground crying. Stand several feet away, both trying to convince Someone that it's time to go and maybe convincing others that Someone is Someone Else's child.
4:31 - Someone deigns to walk towards the car after the most ancient lady in the world offered her a hand up. Feel cheeks redden in embarrassment. Someone decides she must walk on wall back to car.
4:35 - After many stops and starts, reach the point at which Someone must get off wall and walk to car. Someone does not like the explanation of this and begins to cry. Scoop up someone and set her on feet to walk to car. Someone decides this is not okay and sits down.
4:37 - Stand irritatedly by as Someone wails at the wall and tries unsuccessfully to vault back to the top of said wall. Calmly repeat, "It's time to go home. Let's go to the car." Someone invokes selective hearing.
4:38 - Someone decides she must sit on steps and cry. Earn a sympathetic look from teenage boy. Ponder putting books in car and coming back for Someone. Ponder putting books in car and just leaving.
4:39 - Use Love and Logic training. Explain the choice Someone has, which involves either walking to car on her own perfectly good legs or being carried to car and earning timeout.
4:40 - As a distraction technique, Someone pulls off an ivy leaf and shouts, "Look! A flowler!" Not amused, repeat "choice."
4:41 - Someone makes her choice. Pick Someone up; she immediately begins shouting, "Owie! Owie!" Stumble to car, carrying 30-pound Someone and half a dozen library books, as well as purse and keys. Absorb several kicks to the crotch from Someone. Curse under breath.
4:42 - Arrive at car. Strap crying Someone in.
4:43 - Close Someone's car door. Curse loudly, receiving evil glare from library patron.
4:44 - Pull out of library parking lot, on merry way to an evening of cooking family dinner, cleaning up, and putting Someone, mercifully, to bed.
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