The Toddler Credo Friday, Feb 29 2008

MINE!!!!

Now if that doesn’t capture the reality of toddlers, I don’t know what does!!

Nadia’s cousin came over for a few hours this morning and the girls played together beautifully.

Well, for the most part anyway.

But anytime there are two opinionated toddlers in the same room, there are bound to be some “moments”….like above.

They’d been playing with that toy together quite happily when all of a sudden they both decided at the exact same moment that they were done with sharing.

Cracks me up!!!! I can’t stop laughing at their faces.

Being two sure is hard!

I’ll be back later with more pictures of them together, to offer as proof that they’re not always at each others throats. )

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Sleeping like a log Friday, Feb 29 2008

I almost titled this “sleeping like a baby”…but babies really don’t sleep so well, waking up and crying every couple hours.

And I DID sleep so well last night. The reason for that is threefold.

1) I have new sheets! And they are divine! They are soft and silky and sage green and 600 thread count Egyptian cotton, and they were a bargain. I got ‘em for $50 and now I can send in for a $20 rebate. Not bad! They were also sorely needed, considering the previous ones had a 6″ diameter hole right in the middle. Plus, the old ones wouldn’t have matched the new green bedroom theme, which of course would have been a grave sin. So, I love my new sheets. It doesn’t take a lot to make me happy. )

2) I went to bed early. I was in bed at 10:30, asleep by 10:31. I haven’t gone to bed that early in weeks…maybe months. It felt good!

3) It’s not hard to sleep solidly following a night when you didn’t sleep at ALL. And Wednesday night, I didn’t sleep at all. I did, however, run out of clean towels and jammies for a sick baby who repeatedly threw up all over herself, her Mommy and her Mommy’s bed. Poor kid. The mess bothers her more than anything, and each time it happened she’d wail, “I messy Mommy, I messy!” So we ended up doing a midnight bath. It was bizarre how it came out of nowhere and then left again just as suddenly. She was great all day Wednesday – dancing-and-singing-instead-of-napping great – and by the time the pink blush of dawn lit the sky, she was sleeping serenely with no indication that she’d ever been sick. Well, except for the mountain of laundy and memories of a fitful night. But she woke up asking for fried eggs, and she was happy and healthy as could be all day long. Weird, but I’m glad it was short lived! We really have been lucky to mostly excape the cold and flu season this year.

Okay, I’m off to start my day! Have a happy Friday!

Oh, and Happy Leap Day!

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Zoo pics Thursday, Feb 28 2008

Just a few quick snapshots from today’s trip to the zoo.

Major plumber’s butt going on there. *sigh* Those pants fall down constantly, but I love them too much for her to not wear them. So we just hike them up every 5 minutes.

Haha! His expression *kills* me!

We got to feed the birds…which freaked Nadia out just a bit, but she loved it at the same time.

And here’s Nadia and a buddy watching the chimps through the glass. Rather unclear and probably the only reason I can make sense of this image is because I was there – but oh well, I like it anyway.

P.S. I was feeling lazy today, and kept my camera on full auto. Ick! Now I know why I usually stick with manual settings. Exposure was horrible! Focus was awful! Out of about 50 images, these are the only ones that could be salvaged at all. No more pre-sets for me!

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Thursday, Feb 28 2008

We had a fabulous morning at the zoo with a big ol’ group of friends. It was probably one of the best zoo trips we’ve had – the weather was divine, so I wasn’t constantly thinking “it’s so stinkin’ hot and we’re all miserable…but we should stay a little longer to get our money’s worth.” (which is how most visits to the zoo go, seeing as this is Texas.) We visited the monkeys and lions and tigers and bears, oh my, and – Nadia’s favorite – the snakes. Yep, my little gal is fascinated by reptiles.

We left the zoo at 2:00 on the nose – Nadia’s usual nap time. As expected, she concked out almost immediately once in the car, and I thought to myself, “after all that fresh air and running around, I bet she’s going to take a looooong nap today.”

I bet you know what’s coming, huh?

She woke up the moment the wheels rolled to a stop in front of the house. But she nestled into my arms as I carried her in, and I thought she’d drift back to dream land. She didn’t think so, though. I turned on her music and told her she needed to at least have a rest time; I’d come back once the music was over. I was confident that she’d be back asleep in no time at all.

Again, I bet you know what’s coming, huh?

She didn’t sleep a wink. For the next hour, she jumped and shouted and played in her crib, in direct contrast to the soft lullaby music playing in the background. My admonitions to settle down did nothing, and when I came in as the CD ended this is what I found:

Where do kids get this kind of energy?! She was litterally bouncing off the walls (or rather, the rails of the crib). And happy, happy, happy.

She asked me to turn on the dance music, and for 20 minutes we danced together – Nadia bouncing her little heart out in the crib, me twirling around the room like a fool. And both of us laughing…and laughing…and laughing. I haven’t had so much fun in – well, I can’t remember the last things! Moments like that are such unexpected gifts.

Thank you Nadia, for bringing such joy to my life. Thank you for being you.

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Gunslinger Wednesday, Feb 27 2008

Continuing with yesterday’s “social rebel” theme…

Here is a picture of my two year old with one of her favorite things:

My gunslingin’, sharp-shootin’ 2 year old.

Yep, we start ‘em young. This is Texas, after all. And she is her Daddy’s daughter, after all. ;o)

At any rate, whether it’s the Texan blood or the Newell blood fueling her interest, she thinks that airsoft pellet gun is pretty darn cool! According to Nadia, it’s “her” gun and you need to ask permission to touch it. And I’m not getting in the way of a 2 yer old with a gun! Thankfully she does not yet know it shoots anything, and hopefully we can keep it that way for a long, long time.

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Social rebel Tuesday, Feb 26 2008

Oooh boy, I’ve got my work cut out for me with this kid. Only two years old and already a social rebel!

This morning Nadia and I were on our way to do some grocery shopping when she asked for her cup of water…and I realized we’d left it at home. So I told her I’d buy a bottle of water for her at the store.

I watched in the rearview mirror as she was quiet for a moment, but then shook her head.”No my Mommy, don’t buy water” she said.

“Oh, did you change your mind?” I asked. “You don’t want water anymore?”

“I do want water,” she explained. “I want drink water.”

“Well, we have to buy it first,” I countered, “and then you can drink it.”

She shook her head emphatically. “No, not want buy water. Just want drink water. Okay Mommy?”

Upon entering the store our first stop was the cold drinks case, where she picked out a bottle of water. The way she gulped that water down, you’d think she hadn’t drunk in a week!

When we maneuvered the full cart over to the register an hour later, she helped me load everything onto the counter…but, true to her word, she did not want to relinquish her bottle of water. “No buy water, just drink it” she said again.

And the cashier laughed.

P.S. She may be a social rebel, but at least she’s a well-behaved one. She was so good at the store today. She happily sat in the front of the cart for a good 20 minutes before asking to get down. I reminded her that she’d have to go back in the cart the first time she ran off, but I never had to follow through with that. She stayed with me the whole time. She didn’t grab anything off the shelves, unless asked. She helped me find the items on our list, helped me get them down and put them in the cart. What a great little shopping partner! I am quite proud.

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Good things come in small packages Tuesday, Feb 26 2008

Yesterday was a good mail day. We skipped out to the mailbox barefoot – yes, barefoot! – and found a wonderful pile of goodies and not a single bill.

The first thing we pulled out of the stack was adressed to Nadia: a surprise Valentine from her Great-Grandma! So we sat down right there on the front porch to tear into it. I slit the back for her, but then, with the persistance that only a toddler can have, she extracted everything herself.

Finally her hard work paid off and she got to the good stuff. An entire row of accordian-folded Tweety valentines!

She sat there examining them for quite some time, lost in her own little world.

Grandma even left her some little comments – how fun is that?! Thank you, Grandma!

She also pulled out a couple dollar bills. As soon as she saw them she said, “oh, it Daddy’s money!” and ran inside to give it to him. Huh???

But that wasn’t the end of our mail-time fun. There was another little package tantalizing us: the Funky Mama cd I won from Maggie! Nadia opened that all by herself, too.

She thought it was a movie at first, but as soon as I told her it was music she went straight inside and made a beeline for her room and the cd player. I turned it on for her and she just danced it up amongst all the junk on the floor. Gosh I love to watch her dance! So thanks Maggie, we’re enjoying it!

I guess today’s mail will probably be nothing but junk and bills, huh?

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BSM – PawPaw’s girl Monday, Feb 25 2008

On Saturday, Nadia and I joined my parents at the botanical gardens. It was a beautiful day – both in terms of the weather and the fun time we had.

We had a picnic lunch, and Nadia ate nearly the entire package of cherry tomatoes. And she poured out everyones water cups whenever they weren’t looking.

We dangled out feet into icy pools of water – and while the adults among us could only stand it for a few seconds at a time, she contentedly sat there for 10 minutes at a time. “Isn’t it cold?” we’d ask, and she’d say “no, it little bit warm.” Kids are crazy.

Every pavilian and canopy we came across, Nadia declared as her house and we had to come visit her.

And I captured this photo of Nadia and her PawPaw, walking hand in hand. Love it.

Visit Tracey for more Best Shot Mondays!

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Playmates Saturday, Feb 23 2008

Aren’t they cute together?! That’s Nadia and her buddy D. We had a little playdate yesterday, and those two were full of affection for each other – even if D’s expression here seems to say otherwise. I find it funny that all the pictures capture him looking like “what the heck do you think you’re doing!” since half the time he was the one handing out kisses like candy.

I used to nanny this little guy a couple days a week – with Nadia in tow – so it’s fun to see them togther again. When I stopped nannying about a year and a half ago, we all pledged to stay in contant – but since then we’ve gotten together only a few times. However, I think we’ll be seeing more of them now, as his Mom is a SAHM as of last week! We had a great time hanging out yesterday…and laughing at the kids snuggling up together.

BTW, those of you that manage to capture good pictures of more than one kid? You have my complete admiration. I didn’t get a single picture with both of them in focus. It’s hard enough just getting them both in the frame at once!

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Update Friday, Feb 22 2008

Sorry for shaking your faith in Amazon. It’s all good now. I tried again this morning and the order went through without a hitch. So whatever the problem was, it’s been resolved. I haven’t used Amazon very many times but I’ve always had a good experience with them in the past, and I’ve heard nothing but praise for them from others…so I was surprised by the comedy of errors that conspired against me last evening. But at any rate, Understanding Exposure is now on its way to me, along with Scott Kelby’s first Digital Photography book. Well, they will be on their way once the latter is in stock anyway.

One more update.

I finished My Sister’s Keeper a couple days ago, and still now I just can’t stop thinking about it. Such a powerful, emotional, intense book. Wednesday evening I sat down to read just a couple chapters before bed…and I didn’t put the book back down until I’d read the very last page, at nearly 1 in the morning. Wow. I had tears streaming down my face. The ending came out of left field and totally devastated me; I was so hoping for that miraculous, fairytale conclusion. I think it’s my favorite Picoult book I’ve read so far…of course, in a another couple weeks I might be saying “The Pact” is my favorite, as that’s the next one on my list. But not until after I’ve read something light and funny. I don’t know that I can handle two intense books like that back to back.

Oh, and I heard that My Sister’s Keeper is being made into a movie, for release sometime in 2009!!! Casting Alec Baldwin as Campbell is a surprising choice to me, as I haven’t seen him play many serious roles (to me, he’s the face of 30 Rock!). I’m really hoping this will be a quality movie that doens’t vary too much from the book. Well, except I might not mind too much if they give it a happily ever after ending.

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