The Terrific and Terrible Twos

A week late, I know, but we all know my blog is anything but consistent! Our little Miss is 2 years old! My how it has gone so quickly. She's growing before our eyes and has spunk and personality galore! She catches on to things it seems like within seconds and has an awesome memory! The other day at her two year check up with the doctor, she was sitting in the chair next to me when the doctor came in he was asking me questions about her development and she sat there quietly observing. When the doctor was reviewing notes in the chart he was reading to himself out loud and M looked at me and whispered "What the doing mama?" The doctor stopped what he was doing, looked up and said with a smile "Oh come on! Four word sentences?! You're only 2!" That made me smile too and I related that we can and do have pretty good conversations together. This is one of the great things about her being two. She can talk to me, and she understands (most of the time) what I'm saying to her. She is also quite bossy and likes to make herself known! She told me the other day "Don't tell me no mama!" Yep, it has begun, the "terrible two's". She's our little handful but she's also doing great with her manners. She says thank you at the most appropriate, yet still unexpected moments. We were opening gifts on Christmas and I told her the gift was from Santa. She opened it and got all excited and said "Thank you Sanata!". It's amazing to be a part of making her this little person. I pray everyday that we receive guidance to help her become the best person she can be. Thank you for our little blessing. Every day with her in our lives is a blessing and a learning experience. Happy Birthday to our little M! And many many many many many more!

Little Miss

I can't believe sometimes how fast our little miss learns and even at her age, comprehends certain things. The things she comes out with just amaze me. This evening as we were sitting at the dinner table, I was trying to talk to Marc about something and M kept repeating that she wanted more sauce for her pizza "I want more sauce dada!" she was saying louder and louder because we weren't acknowledging her. She was almost done with dinner and had already had a bit of extra sauce and I didn't want to just be licking it off of her pizza crust as she had been doing. So I turned to her and said "No more sauce hita, finish your pizza please" and she looked straight at me and said "I talking to dad right now" I couldn't help it and burst out laughing! Her meaning was clear,  she didn't want me to say no so she wasn't asking me, she was asking daddy! What does our future hold in her teenage years?! Lord be kind!!

Last one comes so fast

Monday was like any day at my boring job but a comment from one of the bosses really gave me pause. He asked if we had taken the little one to a pumpkin patch over the weekend. First, I must point out that he only inquires into others lives if he gas something he wants to mention about his. Second, he's really not  interested in your life and you're best off giving a short answer. Otherwise, you can see his pure disinterest in his continuing of what he wanted to say. I learned this early when I first started working here. Anyway, I smiled and responded that we had. He went on to say that they had also and then he said "It was our last year. That went by quick!" and his eyes met mine and I could see a tinge of sadness in them. His daughter is 18 this year and will be graduating from high school in May. His son is a junior in college. It made me think, you only do get a certain number of these things with your kids and we've already had 2! But I will feel so very blessed if we are able to have another 16 (at least) with our little one. I hope she wants to spend time with us as she gets into her teen years and I hope she knows how much of a sap her mom is (and will always be) and will indulge me. And a note to my mom, I'm not indulging you, you know I enjoy doing those kinds of things with you and that's why I want you and dad to be there as much as you can with us too. :) If we're so lucky to have those, yes, I will be sad when it's our "last one" but I hope we'll be able to create new traditions with her as she grows and maybe even continue old ones. Although I don't know that she'll be as willing to sit on the pumpkin or wear a shirt with a pumpkin on it when she's 16, 17 or 18 :)

Pumpkin Day!

After a long absence it was a beautiful fall day for picking a pumpkin! Today we went the Harvest Festival at our local Botanic Gardens. The weather was perfect, not too hot, not too cold. The sun was shining and the pumpkins were laid out for the picking. Of course there was A LOT of people there. They had free activities for the kids including decorate your own fall cookie, make a monster hand snack (with popcorn and candy). They had bean bag toss, hoola hoops, bouncy castles, tractor rides and of course, lots of food. I was, however, quite disappointed that they didn't have any booths with pumpkin pie!! I personally think funnel cakes are over rated unless maybe your at a state fair or something, but you would think at a "harvest festival" you would have pumpkin themed dishes. Maybe I should make my own booth for next year! There wasn't even cider! There was lemonade. So other than having the summer fair food and drink on the menu, it was a fun time. Our little cutie was quite content with the pumpkin she picked and tried with all her might to pick up her own :)

A beautiful fall finished with our pups 5th birthday. A bath and a pupcake in celebration of our "first born" :)

Play

When we were kids, my brother, sister and I had fairly good imaginations and liked to create situations and sometimes other worlds to entertain ourselves. Those are many of my great memories of childhood. Like when we pretended that we walked through a portal into a new world, or that we were in the old west, or one of our favorites, pretending that the floor was hot lava and we had to stay on the furniture or melt in fiery magma! I miss that a lot. Just being able to just let your mind be free! Two of my favorite words of late are 'Mama play!' I love to play with her! She'll have all her stuffed animal friends sitting on her blankie and she says "Hi fends!" (Translation: friends).  And we'll read or color or talk to our 'fends'. I would stay and play forever if I could. Sadly that's never the case. There's always some 'grown up' thing that desires my attention. But I try to always say 'Ok! Mama will play!' before I attend to my less fun 'adult' things. Even if I'm going to be late (as was the case this morning) because who can really turn away from that little plea? Not me, nor do I want to. The work, chores and responsibilities will always be there, but M will only be little for so log and only want to play with mama for a while so I'll take it while I can get it and worry about the rest as it comes. Besides, who couldn't use a little more play time?

Parenting

I like how parenting surprises you. One minute you're sitting with your little one reading a story, the next minute you're mock nursing a stuffed animal... (True story) and yet another minute your disciplining your adventurous and bossy toddler and you hear yourself say something your mom told you as a kid an you think, holy cow, I sound like mom. And you totally understand why mom said what she said! And that's when I say, wow, Mom was on top of it and there were three of us at once!  I have the best mom ever! At least that's how I see it, and hopefully, if I play my cards right, that will be what M says one day in the distant future that inevitably comes all too soon.

Thanks mom.

19 months

I know... I know... Another month with only one post. Life is crazy. I wish I was like so many bloggers out there who are capable of posting more than once a month because its either their job or a supplement to their income because they have a successful blog. I would love to blog for a living...

Well this month M is saying so many words! And she cracks me up with some of the things that come out of her mouth. This past weekend she and I were sitting in the reclining chair where Marc usually sits and I kicked it into recline, she gets all cozied up next to me and points a the TV and says "T on" We hardly ever let her watch TV so it was too funny!! 

She's got teeth that are right under the surface, both top and bottom eye teeth on the right side and still some molars on the left that are just taking their time.

There's so much that changes in a month. I wish I was a better documentor of her little life of adventure. Her beautiful spirit just amazes me every day and I can't help but smile and tear up nearly every time I look at her. Being a parent is a beautiful thing, I wish every child could experience a parents love as it should be given.

18 months

This past weekend our little one reached the 18 month milestone. She's every bit the explorative toddler you can imagine. She's exploring language as she signs new words and also is starting to repeat the words we say (watch out daddy!). She's exploring boundaries both physical and behavioral. She's learning to run and jump. It's just so incredible to watch her every single day discovering new things! It's exciting for me too, almost like I get to rediscover things because I get to see her experience them for the first time. Now when we sing the ASL ABC song I'll sing "A" is for Apple, "B" is for Brown" and she'll repeat each of the words after me with such enthusiasm! Today was her first day in the Toddler 2 classroom at daycare. She was getting bored in Toddler 1 and it was time to learn new things. Of course she did great and loved the new room. I can't wait to see what new things she'll be learning and showing mama and daddy! At the end of the day when we're at home she'll "read" the sheet to me that says what they did at daycare. She really sounds like she's reading it too. She loves to sing to herself too. It's adorable, I'll put her down for a nap and she doesn't go down right away but she'll sing to herself or talk to herself. Maybe she'll be musically inclined. We already know she loves to dance. Anytime music with a beat comes on she shakes her little tushie and her hands go in the air. She loves to make her little stuffed animals dance when we're on our way to daycare too. "Bu-yee" (Bunny) and "Guk" (Duck) and sometimes we bring "Yamy" (Lamby) from home too.

I love to see her and Drake together. Some days he tolerates her. She'll walk over to him while he's lying down and she'll "pet" him (otherwise known as smack him) on the back, she'll grab his tail and giggle as he tries to ignore her. When he gets really annoyed he walks away. Sometimes he'll give her a lick and walk away, that's how I know he likes her (at least sometimes). Other times she'll bossily tell him "no puppa!" when she doesn't want his kisses or "move Dake" when he's in her way. And he will walk by her and ever so subtly (not) bump her with his butt "unintentionally" and act like he didn't know she was there. Or he'll give me the "What? I don't speak English, I'm a dog" look when I tell him "watch out for the baby". It's a cute little antagonistic relationship they have.

It's so hard going to work every day. I see that beautiful face smiling at me and I hate to hand her over to someone else. I know she's learning and playing and having a blast, I just wish I could share that with her more than just on the weekends. It wouldn't even have to be every day, just more than weekends. When I'm away from her at work I can't help but smile every time I think about her (which is about every other second) because I'll think of something she said or did and I can't believe how smart she is. I can't believe how quickly the last 18 months have gone and I can almost see how quickly 18 years can pass! But it doesn't do well to worry about the future, just gotta keep plugging along and making the most of it! Although, as a side note, if I had an alternate identity like superhero's, mine would be "The Worrier". Not the most thrilling alter ego. Guess I should work on that. Go for something cooler sounding like "The Forward Thinker" or "The Vexer" That one might work :)

Curiosity

This is one of those days where all the attorney's are out before the holiday weekend except one! And of course we can't leave unless he does. So, I thought I'd spend this time writing a post! An excellent use of my time, I know!

This morning M was regaling me with her extensive knowledge of the animal decals on her wall. Each animals name represents a letter of the alphabet (A - ant, B - Bird, C - Cow, etc.). I put these decals up before she was born day dreaming of the day she would be enjoying the fun and knowledge they provide. She knows a few of them and will "name" them by making their sounds, e.g. Monkey gets a "ooh ooh ooh", Cow gets a "moooo!" Owl gets a "hoo hoo" (in fact thats her name for an owl, a hoo hoo:), bird gets her sign approximation of the sign for bird (think of your thumb and pointer as the birds beak signed at your mouth, now turn it toward your mouth... that's M's sign approximation... SOOO CUTE!) But a lot of them are specific named animals like a Y - Yak, or a V - Vulture or N - Newt.... (I know what you're thinking... When I first got these decals I was thinking, "Isn't there a more well known animal that starts with an "N"?" and really, there isn't. Try and think of one... Anyway... she calls the Newt a "fog" aka a frog. Close enough for a one year old, right?!)

Anyway... the decals are on the walls that are above her changing table/dresser and so she stood up (with my help and with me standing right there so she won't fall) and she's pointing at them and just jabbering away! Of course, I didn't know what she was saying but she did and she sure had a lot to say about those animals! Then she would point up at the ones that are much higher and I would lift her up and she would continue her lecture on the now reachable animals.

I just adore these moments. Watching her learn and seeing the confidence in her describing these animals that are foreign to her and yet exciting to her. I hope she will always have that curiosity and that confidence so that she's free to explore and take on challenges without the doubt that plagues most adults. Until that time, I will do my best to continue to foster in her self-confidence and curiosity to explore the world around her!

Catching Up

It's been an entire month since I last posted! How sad of me! Every day I think to myself "I really want to blog, I'll do it when I get home, or first thing when I get to work" but alas I end up going to bed not long after putting the little one to bed or I get to work 5 minutes late and have to start working right away. But I have to try harder because it IS something I enjoy doing. Right now I've taken time out from work to type a blog on my iPhone while hiding in a bathroom stall so I can't be accused of texting :-). We do what we have to right?! I had drafted a great blog at the beginning of May about M a cute  misunderstanding...It was another time where I was composing a la bathroom stall and was interrupted. I apparently didn't save it correctly and when I returned to finish my post... poof! It was gone. I was unable to give the post the same witty description so I scrapped it....

....I had to leave my bathroom sanctuary as it seemed to be everyone's business time... if you know what I mean. Now I'm writing at my desk with a tiny minimized internet window. You see my problem! It's hard to get into the writing groove when I have to keep moving or starting and stopping. Sigh...

So England and Paris were wonderful. We walked until our legs were jello and then we sat for a few and got up and walked some more! In Paris we saw the usual beautiful tourist attractions, the Eiffel Tour, Notre Dame, The Arc de Triomphe and my favorite was the Louvre! One of the mini adventures in being in a foreign country is getting around and the Metro in Paris, just like the Tube in London were so easy to travel! There's still so much we didn't see and I'd definitely love to go back! I hope one day the rest of t family, as well as the munchkin of course, will be able to join us! So our in the last day of our European adventure we had breakfast in Paris, lunch in London and dinner over the United States (I think we were about over Nebraska at that time).

The month since I have been taking an online child nutrition and cooking class, took a break from my signing (I haven't been practicing.. Shame shame...), and generally feeling annoyed at my job. I know I'm not the only one who feels like I'm supposed to be doing something and this is definitley not it. Maybe I'm too responsible in that I have my bills and my family and I should be grateful I even have a job (which I am) but there are other people that seem to float effortlessly from one good thing to the next, never having any troubles along the way. Yes, I know that is only my outside perspective, and I'm sure they've had plenty of challenges along the way. Well, I do what I can to keep life interesting and try and figure things out as I go. Sometimes I just get so frustrated! I know, I'm not alone! Not in the slightest! So I do my best to take a breath, head up, and as my grandma always say, boobs out! Keep the adventures coming!

Jolly Ol' England

Well, we made it here! Our flight over was, at the most... Uncomfortable, and at the very least crowded! But it got us here safely so I can't complain too much. But when I return and I'm still sleep deprived I will say it started there. We arrived at London Heathrow at about 12:30 London time. From there our first two days were pretty non-stop. We found our way to the tube as the Brits call the subway. As I've never been on a subway before I can say that the tube system in London is very easy to get around on, which was a pleasant surprise. We'll see if the same can be said of the Paris metro. In a whirlwind of walking and sightseeing our first one and 1/2 days took us to Buckingham Palace, St. James Park, The Houses of Parliament/Big Ben, the outside of Westminster Abbey, The Tower of London with a viewing of the Crown Jewels, all amidst the madness of the London Marathon! It has felt like we were running our own marathon. and that would explain my sore calves, hip muscles and back (from carrying our backpack)! That and the horrible plank like English beds! I thought the bed at the first place was just a fluke but we come to Crewe Hall and its just as stiff! Crewe Hall is an historic beauty in itself. The past two days we've been in Crewe for Marc's training and it has been very laid back, although haven't really gotten to make up for lost sleep unfortunately! So tomorrow we leave early for two train rides to Paris. We should arrive there about 12:30 and our first stop after our hotel will be the Louvre! So excited! For now, I'll try to get comfortable on this dastardly bed!

I wish life was like a spy movie

Well we're getting ready for our trip across the Atlantic to Jolly Old England and the City of Lights. Me being me and always wanting to be prepared, I decided we have to have our British Pounds Sterling and Euros on hand. So I go to the bank like a good little lamb and well I'm pretty much fleeced due to conversion rates. After the fleecing they tell me to "have a nice day" Yeah thanks... me now $600 poorer with only about 400 in euros and GBS to show for it... 'preciate it! As I meander from the bank missing the $200ish dollars that somehow disappeared into the conversion void I think to myself, as I'm sure many others in the same situation have before me, if only life were like a spy movie! You know what I'm talking about. You land at an airport in a foreign country, walk stealthily to the rows of lockers. Next you take out the key that you had retrieved from the 'out of order' bathroom sink's hot water knob in the gate 26B arrivals restroom. Opening the locker you pull out a nondescript backpack. Inside the backpack are several different passports with numerous aliases as well as great big wads of currency of different countries. You grab what you need, shove the bag back into the locker, and you're off. Viola! No fuss... No muss. Well, you'll probably have to run for you life at some point, might have to knock someone off (in self defense and in the name of national security of course) but really, I think it might just be worth avoiding those blasted conversion fees!

Another month and new goals

Another month has come and gone so quickly! I can't believe we're already half way  through the third month of the new year! It goes by too quick. Like any other month, it was a busy one. We took little one on her first trip to the zoo! She did wonderful. No fussing, just pure enjoyment and a little pooped at the end. She loved looking at the animals and called most of them "woof" a.k.a. dog, which is normal for her age! She did stare at the giraffes though! Amazed at how tall they were I imagine. But goodness that place is a zoo itself of kids and strollers and parents! Hopefully we can go during the week next time. Maybe we can take a day off to take her so it's not so crowded.

She's also starting to mimic, or try to mimic everything we say. Which, at this stage in her toddlerhood, is nothing but cute! I know that it won't always be that way so I try to enjoy it while I can. One example, the other day I was looking for what I wanted her to wear and I put my finger to my lips and said "hmmmmm" and she did the same thing! So adorable! She's looking more like a little girl now than a baby. Her hair is growing and I can put it in piggie tails, she walks, she talks (toddler talk) and she laughs when she thinks somethings funny. And it is such a laugh! Her laugh is pure joy and it makes me laugh and beam. The adorable thing is that she looks so much like Marc in almost everything she does. Even her laughing smile is very much his. It's amazing how that happens. On the weekends we love going to wake daddy up. I put her on the bed and she goes to uncover him. He loves it too :) I truly do try to enjoy every minute we spend together because, like the year... it goes by too fast.

Goal Update:

Goal #1

We were doing really good on our weekly spanish, and then it got interrupted and we haven't reconvened. Hopefully that will be corrected this week. As far as ASL though, I'm going to my weekly class and enjoying learning in a classroom and my vocabulary is certainly increasing. And just when I think M's not paying attention, she'll use a sign I showed her a day or so ago without prompting! :) little smartie pants.

Goal #2

Marc was informed that he would be sent to Crewe, England to see the Bentley factory for work, so we decided to make a trip out of it. We're going to England at the end of April! We're also going to take the high speed train to Paris!! We're so excited! It'll be the first time I'm away from M for more than a night (a whole week in fact) and I'm sad about that, but I know she'll be fine with grandma and papa and auntie for the week.

Goal #3

Easter's just a two weeks away! I think next weekend we'll do some practice hunting so she knows what to do :) and then the Saturday before Easter we're going to dye eggs at grandma's house!!

Goal #4

Well, we planned to get in the backyard this weekend to get the weeds pulled or at least started and make a "plan of attack"for the yard and garden, it looks like it's going to rain today so hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for that.

New Goals:

#5 Plan our summer camping weekends. We always say we want to camp more "this year" but the weeks fly by and before we know it it's almost September, so this year I'd like to plan what weekends to set aside for camping and if our plans have to change, at least we could say we tried! :)

#6 Practice guitar with my sister. Maybe I'm being a little too ambitious trying to learn two languages and an instrument while being a full time working mom to a toddler, but gotta squeeze things in where we can!

#7 Get M into swimming lessons. I tried to do this last summer while she was still tiny so she would be better acclimated to the water but she got an ear infection right before the class started. This time I hope that doesn't happen!!

... until next time!

Resolution #2 Goals

Well, nearly two months have passed already into this new year and I'm letting you in on my second resolution. Every year I tell myself I'm going to have goals and check them off to see what I have accomplished by the end of the year. I never do and when the year is done I'm left wondering... what have I accomplished?! That's not to say that I don't accomplish things within the year it's just harder to see one's progress if you don't have it written out. So, in order to make my 2013 goals more tangible I'm going to post them here. I may need to update as I don't have them all gathered at the moment.

Goal #1 Learn a language.

I should qualify this a bit. I want to learn a language to the point where I could confidently, if not haltingly carry on a conversation. The Spanish language is a part of my heritage and I would like to know how to speak that language and pass it on to my daughter. After taking 3 years of Spanish in high school and one semester in college, I still can't speak spanish to save my life. Granted, I did fair "ok" when Marc and I were in Spain, but I'd like to do better than ok. This goal is currently in it's early stages as Mom, Sara and I are working on Rosetta Stone. It's supposed to be the best to learn from on your own so it's a start!

I'm also working to learn ASL. Teaching M baby sign language helped get me started. ASL is something I've always wanted to learn and this was the perfect opportunity. I already make faces when I talk anyway! :) Now it's just putting the right faces with the right signs!


Goal #2 Go somewhere I've never been before

This should be a goal for every year. Even if it's only one new place in the state of Colorado! We live in a big world that is continually becoming smaller through social media and new technology but if we don't get out there and experience it for ourselves it will only seem bigger!

Goal #3 Teach M how to hunt for Easter Eggs

Gotta include the smaller goals too! Easter is only a month away and this year M can walk and hunt for eggs. The other day she had her little shapes bucket and she loved tossing the shapes into it. It got me excited to see what she'll do for Easter!

Goal #4 Plant a garden

This goal also involves getting our backyard in order so that's the meat of the goal including a new deck and replanting our lawn (preferably as an environmentally friendly and sustainable to drought) so there's a lot to do on this one.



... work on more goals :)

I'll keep you updated on how these goals progress. Make a list of your own! It feels good to cross things off.

First Steps

This past Friday marked a major milestone for our little one, she started walking! She had taken her first real steps on the weekend before Christmas but was still content crawling to make her way around. She started in the toddler classroom at daycare last Tuesday and that's all it took, four days and she's a walker :) As with all milestones, it's a bittersweet for the mama. I'm so excited that she's growing and learning but these are her first real independent steps into this crazy, beautiful world. I smile at her confidence in her new found abilities and I hope that she'll always have that confidence, never doubting her ability to overcome new obstacles. For there will be many in this life as we all know. It's amazing how much my one year old can teach me as I watch her try to navigate obstacles like a toy or something in her path. She pauses, assesses what she needs to do and then takes tiny sidesteps around it. Other times she feels she can just plow over it. Sometimes she's successful and other times she trips but she keeps getting back up! She reminds me that life is the same way, sometimes you need to pause and assess, and other times you need to take the chance to just plow ahead. You may stumble but don't let it keep you from getting back up! I'm so lucky to have such a wise toddler! Wisdom beyond her year :)

Resolution 1

With the start of a new year many people try to make resolutions of things to change. Sure, there are those that will say, "don't wait until the new year, make changes as they come", but sometimes it's the ending of one thing and the start of another that may cause the pause and reevaluation. The last half of last year, I must admit, I was down about the monotony of my job and its restrictions on my ability to enjoy home life, i.e. time with my little one, my husband, the dog or visiting the fam. Weekdays and nights of rushing through routines sometimes makes a perceived rut seem deeper. But with many of the sad events that came last year I have (once again) realized that we have to make the most of every moment, no matter how busy or tired one may be. Even the moments when I'm trying to finish cleaning the bottles, the baby's in her high chair kicking and screaming because she hasn't had a nap and just wants food, the husband has the music playing in the background while he makes dinner and the dog is under heel in the kitchen hoping something will fall to the floor. So one of my resolutions for the new year is to take each day as it comes, not to stress the little things. Only 5 days into the new year, I feel like I'm doing pretty good with it. At work this week, with the attorney that drives me nuts I've been making an effort, when he starts getting on my nerves to stop rolling my eyes (hard as it may be) and look at my little girl's picture, smile and carry on with my work. Yes, it may be hard to maintain some days but the intention is there.

That's all for now. I'll be back with more resolutions this week.

2013

Another year gone! They go so fast! This year has seen much happiness with it's share of disappointment. Like every year I try to take it in stride. Our baby girl has turned 1! and with each day she adds so many smiles to our lives. My little nephew has turned 2 and is talking up a storm and learning so quickly! And there is also the long road ahead for my mother-in-law who's cancer diagnosis on 12/12/12 makes us take stock of what we have.

With many of the sad events of 2013 we must be sure to take each day as it comes and try not to worry about the trials that may be up ahead. I take a line, slightly modified, from one of my favorite movies A Knight's Tale, Hope guides us, it's what gets us through the day and especially the night. May each day be filled with hope. Hope for the coming day, week, month and year. Hope that each moment will be as happy as the next. It is with hope that I wish you a Happy New Year :)