Spring Fling

When you are a kid the world is so big and fascinating.  I enjoy seeing the world through the eyes of my kids when I take the time to pay attention.

When Morgan was little she was so fascinated by the wind.  She just loved it.  She would hold her breath and smile, she was only a few months old when the fascination began.  The girls are both currently fascinated by school buses.  They love to see them , they love to watch the kids get out, they count them on the road.  Morgan can even tell the difference between them, they all look big and yellow to me but she notices details of the buses and will tell me how they differ.  We got an air-popper popcorn machine for Christmas and the first time the girls saw the popcorn pop they squealed with excitement and their faces lit up.

Baby Talk

I love baby babble.  It is so sweet when your little one, fully engages you with their babbling noises.  We as parents respond with genuine enthusiasm and excitement.  Eventually that babble turns into words and those words still are often only interpreted by those who know them best.  Today’s post is about just that, words that only parents would understand.

Morgan had a list of words that only made sense to a few of us.  There are a number of words that she incorrectly ended with “y or ie”; (for example, blankie or bathy).  I think I am to blame.  Surely I must have tried to make cute baby talk by adding those endings, and she copied me – why I did this I’ll never know.  I guess you can equate it to adults that look at a baby and say “goo goo ga gee”; definitely not cute.  Who agrees?

Happy Birthday Dr Seuss! Love, Two Adorable Lorax

My girls love Dr Seuss books. Although the author is best known for Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat in the Hat, my girl’s favorite book is The Foot Book. It was one of the first books Morgan could “read”.

I put the word read in quotes above because she memorized it and then recited it back to me. Regardless of that detail, that book helped boost her confidence. She thought she was reading, saw how proud I was and wanted to read more. She is only four so it definitely is still a work in progress.

Transition from four wheels to two

The transition has begun, the training wheels have been moved up from firmly planted on the ground to hovering about an inch above, and I am getting a workout!

Morgan has never been in love with her bike. I can remember as a child loving mine. I was on it everyday and couldn’t wait to ride with no training wheels – I especially couldn’t wait until I graduated to an adult bike. I’m not sure that they had youth bikes when I was a kid; now, I am fairly certain it’s a ploy to convince the consumer to buy another bike.

Back to the subject, Morgan’s ambivalence about her bike. Being such a bike kid I never understood her reluctance and doubted she would ever graduate from training wheels.

Your “Lovies”

To Morgan and Emily,

Since this is your baby book and I have never mentioned them, I have to tell you girls about your “lovies” and how they entered the family.

Before I do that I must post a word of caution to all new and expecting moms. You should allow yourself two rules to “lovies”, the first being that you only allow one per child. This is vitally important if you plan on following rule number two, which is to have multiple “lovies”.

Did you read that wrong? No. Here is what I mean. If you seem to notice a particular attachment to a certain soft object go buy two more of the identical object. Wash them several times and place one in the car and one in the diaper bag. Leave the other in the house. They should never leave their respective “homes.” They should all end up showing a good amount of care and love. This also means you will not be rocking a screaming toddler to sleep because they left their item at home while on vacation. You’ll note below, I did not follow my rules.

Grandma’s House and the Conscience Develops

My husband is blessed to work for a company that takes all of its team, and their spouses, on an all expense paid trip each year. We have been to Long Beach, Washington DC, San Antonio and Orlando in the past four years he has been a part of the team. The company requires that you do not bring your children with you. At first I was taken back by this rule – not anymore. We have truly enjoyed these trips away from the kids. We love our girls, but we need a break and time alone together.

I have a secret to share, though – we actually had my mom keep our oldest (6mo old at the time) in a hotel down the street from where we were staying our first year. I snuck over to nurse several times a day; it was a pain! Every year after that Ed’s parents or sister have been able to watch the girls.

This year it was my mom’s turn. When I told Morgan that Grandma was going to watch her while we were in Orlando she asked, “By herself?” with a look of utter disbelief that I found hysterical.

February Fun at the Beach!

Today we spent a wonderful winter day at… the Beach! Yes, the beach, in February. Where we live, and with this mild winter, the beach seems to be a year round option. I love going to the beach with my girls.  I enjoy being outside all day, seeing the endless ocean and resting my feet in the sand.  For the girls it’s the best place for their expansive imaginations to soar.

Sure, we bring sand toys, kites and umbrellas but most of the fun is what they make out of it. They can build anything with the sand. They made fairy dust castles, mazes for each other to walk, swimming pools, a “witches’ brew”, slides, trampolines and that was only in the first few hours. They are mermaids in the water, they scuba dive to the depths of the sea (six inches) in search of treasure. So pure, so beautiful.

Proudest Moment

If you’re anything like me, you’ve had numerous occasions where you didn’t know weather you should intervene or stand down. I feel like I have these moments several times a day. I want my girls to explore natural consequences for their actions. I will lead them but I don’t want to control them. It’s a hard balance.

Laundry Basket Boat

I don’t think my kids like playing with toys as much as they enjoy playing with everything else. I guess it starts when they are babies and they want the crinkly wrapping paper or bag rather than the gift. They get a little older and empty boxes are the best toy ever! I think Mattel understood this and began marketing them this past Christmas.

Shoeless in the Parking Lot

My subject matter for today can be quiet controversial. Additionally, I seem to be in the minority with my way of thinking. So here it is, I actually like going to Chuck E Cheese. There, I said it. Don’t close your browser just yet, hear me out.

My girls love going to Chuck E Cheese. They will do just about anything I ask them to for two weeks if the reward is a trip to see the mouse. They love riding the little horses, cars and motorcycles. Every kids loves pizza, so that’s a no brainer. They enjoy competing and are so proud of themselves when they get a few tickets.

They also enjoy watching the little show, although they did discover today that the characters on stage must be “examples”. Examples? I had to ask: