Daddy/Daughter

Yesterday we enjoyed a wonderful family day where we drove out to see the animals at the Wild Animal Sanctuary to see the lions and tigers and bears (Oh my!)... and wolves :) They are a sanctuary for large exotic and endangered carnivores that were born into captivity. It is a very nice place for these animals to have a second chance at a happy life with room to roam. M loved seeing the animals but wanted them to "raar" as she says. She also wanted to pet them, which is something we had to explain to her the difference between teddy bears and real bears! Something we'll have to reinforce as we take her camping more often. So Marc and I took turns either pushing her in the stroller or holding her or walking with her. My favorite part was watching her with her daddy. He would point at an animal and ask her what color or what animal  it was and what noise it made and just engage her. He even had her howl to the wolfpack that were howling :) It was awesome to watch the quality interaction between them. We stopped at a restaurant for a late lunch before leaving Hudson. The service was incredibly slow and we ended up leaving later than we wanted to, past M's nap time, but the whole time we were there, M giggled and climbed on her daddy. That night, putting our little one to bed, daddy was tickling her (doing all the things to rile her up before bed...) and they were both laughing facing each other. Their profiles struck me, how much their smiles are the same, how their laughs make their eyes sparkle the same and they're light hair highlights their skin. It made me smile. I hope they forever have a daddy/daughter bond that grows as she grows. The same I hope for our second little one. Mommy/daughter bonds almost come naturally and I've been enjoying our time as just the two of us before our world is changed by daughter number 2. I also hope M and her sister will have their own close sisterly bond. I should know, that is one of the best things to have is a best friend to grow up with :)

Toddler-isms

There are some things that are so adorable you wish they'd never grow out of. I've heard some people refer to them as toddler-isms. For M, she has some really cute things she says. "Oatmilk" instead of oatmeal. "What's that making loud?" when something is loud (obviously :) "Roni cheese" for macaroni and cheese. Something that she just started saying when I tell her it's time for a nap or to eat her dinner "I just already..." For example "I just already wake up from nap" when what she means is she woke up from sleeping in the morning. Or "I just already take a bite".

Another cute one, for those of you who know her, M talks very clear for her age. The only thing I've noticed that she doesn't do clearly are her words with "st". For example she says "resaraunt" instead of restaurant. Or "Sop" for Stop. And one we really have to watch out for is "suck" for stuck. That one through me the first time she said it :)

M is also very specific when she talks as well. How this enter's into conversation as an example, she likes to remove whatever footwear she's wearing when she's in her carseat on our way to somewhere. I'll tell her "leave your shoes on!" and if she happens to be wearing sandals she'll say "No mama, these are sandals". Or we were riding in daddy's truck one day and she wanted to listen to the Spanish CD I play for her in my car. I told her "we don't have that music in this car" and she said "no mama, this is a truck". I really have no idea where she got that trait from :)

Me time, you time... baby time

I realize that M's time as an only child is quickly coming to a close. It's not a bad thing but it will be a new and different thing, for both her and I that we'll both have to get used to. Her, as a toddler who's been at the center of our household for the past 2 1/2 years! We have our little routine of story time and snuggling at bedtime and for her morning wake up I come in an nuzzle her and she tries to cover her head with her blanket :) It's intimate one on one time that will soon be divided. I know I've only been at this parenting thing for 2 1/2 years, but I can say without hesitation that sharing your time is tough! I look forward to meeting our new little miss and I can't wait until they can play and giggle together and when M starts teaching her things that she knows. I'm just hoping that my little helper still wants to be helpful when she sees the baby will be sharing the time she used to get by herself. As I said before, it will be a transition but I just hope it will be more snuggles and daddy playtime than grudge matches! Either way, I have faith that once she gets into the swing of things with our new family member, she will be the BEST big sister she can be. I can't wait to share snuggle time with both my little sweeties. Time passes too quickly... we just have to breathe in every moment, even the frustrating ones and soak in the special moments no matter how they come to us.