Wordful Wednesday: Hanging by a Hair

This is my Baby.

Adorable, right? She was born with a headful of hair and I never cut it it. How could I chop away those precious little curls? And she totally idolizes Rapunzel so she was cool with letting it grow…and grow…and grow…

She complains when she sits on her hair now. And it is really two lengths, with the longest portion being the thinnest. And those adorably sweet curls that I've twined around my fingers countless times? They are gone. Even though I said I wouldn't cut it until her hair was dragging on the ground, when she asked to have it cut, I made the appointment.

Baby wasn't all that thrilled with saying goodbye, either. We both had a teary moment (the stylist was convinced we were nuts) and then it was time.

With her hair fixed like this, I can't see the changes and might just be able to convince myself that it didn't happen.

Worthwhile Moments

You know those times when your kids help renew your commitment to birth control? Like when your son jumps on the tube of Desitin, thoroughly working it into the carpet, just because it feels cool. Or when your infant daughter decides to messily expel the contents of her colon, quickly exceeds her diaper's capacity, resulting in a goopy mess down your brand new white pants. Or the first time you get a call from your kid's teacher because of his/her new vocabulary choices.

And don't even get me started on what pregnancy does to a perfectly nice figure.

Well, I have some examples of those little moments when having kids around is actually pleasant, if not downright hilarious:

With my kids running around the room, I was talking with a hair stylist friend about a perm I'd gotten that, unfortunately, turned frizzy. When I asked her what I could do about it, her advice was to "condition the hell out of it."
Moments later, I was walking with Boo and noticed she had been usually quiet. So I asked her what was on her mind.
"Mom?" Boo asked, her eyes wide. "Does hell make your hair frizzy?"
Am I evil if I told her yes, so she could be careful about sinning?

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During church, a teacher was explaining how Jesus is our shepherd and that we are His sheep. That was a bit too literal for the 3 and 4 year olds, who immediately began refuting the claim that they were wooly animals. But Baby thought for a moment.
"My dad has a hairy face and a hairy belly," she said, "so he could be a sheep."

---

As a surprise, I took the kids to McDonald's. After jumping out of the van, the Boy expressed his thanks through dance, specifically with the "Gangham Style" horse dance.
---

Baby was having a milkshake when she looked at us, completely stunned.
"Hey!" she said. "There's ice cream in this!"
As opposed to what? Broccoli?


Let's just see if they can keep it up...

Animated Animosity

The other morning Baby had a funny look on her face. When I asked her what was wrong, she replied by throwing up. So she spent the day on the couch with her favorite blanket, watching cartoons, which means I was right there with her. Here are a few observations:

• There are far too many kids' shows featuring pigs. What is it with pigs? They look weird, are smelly, aren't at all cuddly, and it's just odd to have them walking on two legs, with their knees all backwards and such. I think the cartoon executives ought to learn from the Germans and feature a loaf of bread instead.
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• The opinion I formed of Dora the Explorer years ago still holds with child #3.
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• While watching said "unsupervised child," my daughter was completely focused on helping Dora reach her destination. Toward the end of the show when it came time to climb a ladder, Baby was asked to put her hands out in front of her and help Dora climb. Baby didn't miss a beat and replied in a very stern voice "You're a big girl now, Dora. and big girls need to try all by yourself before I help you." Gee, maybe I've been saying that a lot lately or something.
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• Why is it that some cartoon characters can spend the entire show running around buck nekkid, but when it's time to go swimming, they put on swimming suits? Really, what's the point by then?
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• When I mention that I don't like Max & Ruby, other parents usually concur, stating how Ruby is just soooo bossy. But it's not Ruby; it's Max. Ruby isn't exactly mean about her instructions. Heck, their parents are nowhere to be seen (probably eaten by a wolf) so she's just doing the best she can. And Max constantly disobeys. And when he disobeys? It ends up being the right thing to do! Anyone with an annoyingly perfect little brother knows what I mean.
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• I have to remember that these shows are geared toward the preschool age-range, so I won't over-think the plots. For instance, if the three clues in Steve's handy dandy notebook are a mat, a twirling thingy, and a leotard, then don't assume that Blue wants to be Olympic gymnast. That stream of thinking is way too high level for a show that features salt and paper shakers that gave birth to paprika.

After an afternoon as a captive audience, I have to say that cartoons might have actually raised my IQ. Hey, I learned how to say "jump" in Spanish, the life stages of a caterpillar and the effects on bug friendships, and how easily a koala bear's feelings can get hurt by ants. Much more productive than cleaning a house that gets torn up every afternoon anyway.

My Baby Love

The two kids had their turn, now we get to Baby.

Baby had a birthday. When we asked her what she wanted for her birthday, her only answer was "cake." While I'm all for giving her mounds and mounds of cake, I thought she ought to have something that won't rot her teeth. Then she saw a commercial for those Lalaloopsy dolls…and became mildly obsessed. Any time she got to write a letter to Santa or meet with him, she was begging for those things. I think they're weird but hey, my baby gets what she wants. And now that she has one, she even more addicted. She asked me to make an outfit for her just like her doll's. I can't really sew that well so that's not going to happen. I'm hoping the additional outfits that Santa brought will satiate her need for more, more, MORE!

Maybe she's more like me than she seems.

Wordful Wednesday: Comparison

I like my kids. I like to watch what they do, listen to what they say (or how they say it), and take pictures of them. I've got to remember these days. How else will I be able to emotionally blackmail them years from now?

They're growing too fast as it is. Seems like just the other day, I took this picture:

Boo is not quite three in this picture. The little pie on the table in front of her was the project for the day in her toddler cooking class (as cute as it turned out, the pie was not very good). Awww…so cute.

Now, look at this:

This is Baby. She took the same cooking class during the summer and this was one of her projects. Seeing her sitting at the table, looking so proud of her efforts, I remembered the image above. Then, I re-fixed Baby's hair and found the exact same shirt for the photo.

Do you think they're sisters?

Friday Confessional: Back to School

So…seems like I've only been posting lately when there's a meme to fill out or some other obligation. Hence, the "first day of school" post. Sure, we celebrated and it was a big deal and I've been admiring everyone else's adorable, backpack-bearing children and my blog has remained silent…except for the memes. Yeah, well…maybe I need to adjust my happy pills.






I confess…
I was really looking forward to the day when school started.

I confess…
I may have counted down the days. Just a little. Especially when the advertising, sales, and stacks of notebooks started showing up everywhere. Then came the planning for the annual party at the bus stop, where the families all meet together early, bringing juice and frosted carbs to celebrate the start of another year, before loading our offspring on a large, awkward metal conveyance that lack proper restraints.

I confess…
When Boo started school, I cried a little as she climbed on that bus, her tiny legs barely able to make it up the stairs. Then I cried a little bit more back at home, when she wasn't there for what seemed like a very, very long time. I fought the tears when she came home, tired but happy. Even laying out her clothes for the next day got me a little weepy.

I confess…
Boy's first day was met with much more enthusiasm. This change wasn't because the Boy was a difficult child; he's a pretty typical boy. Mainly, I was excited because he was so excited to hop on that bus. Finally, all those mornings spent with his nose pressed to the window, watching his sister make the long walk (half a block) to wait for the bus. He probably didn't sleep much the night before. Also? It's not nearly as scary the second time around.

I confess…
When Baby starts school, I will probably be a jiggly mess of sobbing and snot. It won't be pretty, folks.

I confess…

*sigh*

I love my little family. We are very blessed. And the best part? Is how much they love each other back. I'm not the only one that's addicted to the hugs and sloppy kisses.

Mothering Moment: Little Sister Vs. Earrings

If your eldest daughter happens to like silly earrings that are made from foam or modeling clay or some other non-metal substance, be sure to keep those earrings up out of reach of your toddler. Because when she's supposed to be sleeping, the toddler will actually pull all the backs off her sister's earrings. Then she'll decided that those bright orange dinosaurs look a lot like her fruit snacks.

And just in case...super glue will put the earring back together but isn't very good at filling in the tooth marks.

Wordless Wednesday: Protege

Two Cool

Baby is very naughty. Despite my constant warnings, rules, and flat-out begging, she went and turned two years old. The kids wanted to do something very special for her birthday...

Remember our roller coaster?

It's been sitting in the basement ever since the Boy got a little too rowdy. Well, the kids haven't forgotten about their favorite indoor toy. They started pestering me about bringing the thing back out this summer. I suggested it might make a great gift for Baby, since we got it when Boo turned two. They readily agreed. I expected them to forget. They didn't. I told them they had to bring the coaster upstairs all by themselves. They did.

Dang it.


Here's the Boy teaching Baby how to push off by herself.


And here's Baby finding other methods of entertaining herself.

I think we might be in trouble.

Happy Birthday, Baby!!

Having a Bad Day

See? I'm not the only that has a bad day every now and then...

That's Baby sitting in the Time Out corner. And for the record, I did not send my 21-month-old to Time Out. She put herself there. She was frustrated and ran crying to the corner. I'm guessing she has watched her siblings go through the same thing on multiple occasions: whenever they're throwing a fit, they go to Time Out. Even Mommy has a Time Out sometimes...although mine usually involve locking myself in my room and eating chocolate.

And now I have Daniel Powter's "Bad Day" stuck in my head. I tried to embed the video here but YouTube won't let me use the real one.

Big meanies.

Maybe they need a Time Out.

What I Learned On My Summer Vacation

We've had a busy summer! I can blame my lackluster posting on the events going down amongst the heat and bugs. While soaking in the family time, I managed to actually learn a few things along the way.


Mario Kart on the Wii is really, really fun. Driving a real cart is even better! (Unless, of course, a younger cousin gets in the way...don't worry, he was fine!)

Kansas consists of sunflowers, cornfields, humidity, and bugs. Mostly the bugs.


Grandmas have magical abilities but Great-Grandma is even more beguiling, capable of soothing multiple babies at once.

Most of my cute tops require a shirt underneath (so I'm not scaring young children when I lean over). But layered shirts and high humidity are not friends. In fact, they pretty much hate each other and will make life miserable for anyone who dares to combine them.

Young boys would much rather sleep in a cave consisting of couch cushions and a table than share the pull-out sofa with their sister.

When visiting your cousins, you might discover you failed to pack an essential item: lipgloss. No worries, my Boo. Butter makes an excellent substitute. (And pay no attention to the odd looks you get from the other diners and wait staff...they're just envious that they didn't think of it first!)

(Baby + dumdum sucker)carseat = Impossibly Sticky Mess. I'm just glad she wasn't wearing white.

It's never too early to introduce your offspring to the finer things in life, like expensive cheese, trips to exotic locales, and massage chairs. Baby stayed in this chair for a solid hour, which is quite the feat when she's not asleep.

There you have it! Now you, too, can benefit from my knowledge and save yourself the two-day-one-way trip in a van with three small children. It's been a couple weeks since we've returned and I still haven't recovered...of course, it might help if I actually finished unpacking.

What did you learn this summer?

And if you haven't already done so, enter to win a $25 gift certificate!

Hostile Relations with China

My parents were out to visit us recently. We don't get to see them enough so it was a lot of fun. My mom helped Boo make one of those ridiculously difficult wooden puzzles and my dad helped me with a few projects around the house. The Boy did most of his bonding while watching movies. But Baby had a completely different experience: she met my parents' dog, China.

China is a really good dog. Very sweet and gentle, only asking that we never cease in petting her or telling her what a good dog she is. But the thing about China is that she is a Rottweiler. And thanks to any movie that features someone sneaking into a junk yard or other locale that requires late night protection but can't afford a security guard, Rottweilers have gotten a bad rap. It's not her fault that she can take down a running punk with her powerful build, or that her razor-sharp teeth are perfect for hauling delinquents off of chain-link fences.

Now, Baby didn't know all these stereotypes (because her precious little brain is only to be fried by Baby Einstein or VeggieTales). What she did know was that suddenly, there was a very large animal in the room...an animal that would, on occasion, look at Baby. Of course, Baby's reaction was to immediately do this:

Climb up Grampa (at an amazing speed, no less) and wrap herself securely around his head.

While Grampa didn't mind protecting little Baby from Big Bad Doggie, the child had to get used to seeing China every day. Screaming fits of panic and terror are only acceptable coming from me. We worked with Baby. Boo and Boy happily pet China, played with her, and even laid on her (while Baby watched from atop the tallest person in the room). Eventually, Baby stopped the screaming, then the tears, then the scaling of people.

Finally, on the second to last day of my parents' month-long visit, a miracle occurred: Baby willingly touched China. China, sensing a change in the area around her lower back, turned her head to take a look...and Baby went screaming for the nearest head.

Oh, well. Maybe next trip.

Soaking it up

Despite the fact that she's now past the one year marker, Baby had yet to have a bath in the Big Tub. As an infant, bath time in the little plastic tub that fit over my sink was not a pleasant experience once she discovered her lungs. My ears would ring for a good hour after. So instead of that torment, Baby got a shower. She was much more content in a downpour than in a puddle of water. However, as she's gotten bigger, she's gotten more wiggly.

(Baby + soapy water)wiggles = very slippery situation.

Although we decided weeks ago that she needed to upgrade to the big tub, I was still slow in implementing the process. Tonight, I bit the bullet. After Boo's shower, we filled the tub and let Boo stay in so she could help.

Once she saw the bath, Baby was very excited. I had a hard time getting her out of her diaper before she was trying to plunge head-first into the tub. I'd include pictures, but I'd rather not get arrested. She had definitely outgrown her crying fits! Maybe it was all that time at our local water park this summer...

Even though she's a strong sitter/crawler, I had Boo hold her up from behind and minimize the wiggling while I scrubbed. She wiggled, as was to be expected, and Boo lost her grip a few times. Nothing like a face full of water to help Baby learn the tub ropes. But she loved it. Actually, that might be an understatement.

Baby loved taking a bath so much that it took TWO full-grown adults to hold her back from joining her brother in the tub. I'm still worn out from that wrestling match!

But hey, at least it's no longer a screamfest.

How did your kids handle the Big Tub?

One Year Ago

It's not fair. In fact, it is down-right tragic. Why does it have to go like this?

First, I get this:

Then, just one short year later, I have this:

Where did my little infant go? What happened to the tiny lump that slept most of the time? Who is this strange person who keeps pulling herself up on the furniture and puts everything in her mouth? How did my baby get so big?

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait until tomorrow,
For babies grow quickly, we've learned to our sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs and dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Bad Hair Day?

Wanna see a recent picture of Baby?


I finally got around to putting her super-soft hair in pigtails! Be careful when you hold her...those little poofs of cuteness will tickle your nose and make you sneeze if you're not careful. Baby's not so sure she likes her new beauty routine in the mornings. I lock her into her highchair and then go to work with the comb. This is usually Baby's cue to start vigorously shaking her head. Yeah, it's funny for about five seconds...

Once I'm finished, she doesn't seem to mind them. She doesn't try to pull them out but she'd rather you didn't attempt to straighten those piggies out after her nap, either. Does NOT make her happy. And while I love seeing her like this, it has it's drawbacks. For instance, should I be in a hurry the next morning and don't get around to making pigtails, Baby's hair looks like this*:


Did you just reel back in horror, too? Combine that hair with her cackle/laugh and her penchant for growling at people, and she starts taking after someone else...


Doesn't help that she's got those razor-sharp baby fingernails!

*Sorry for the blurry picture...it was taken with the Man's phone.

The Proof

Remember how awhile ago I told you about Baby's unusual laugh? How she's practicing for her life of crime by getting the maniacal cackle down?

Well, we finally got it on camera! (And then I finally figured out how to upload it...)



And yes, her daddy is her favorite person. I, on the other hand, am chopped liver.

**For those of you having problems...the video should be working now! Sorry. Just learnin' this stuff!

(If you have the time and inclination, please help with a cake conundrum!)

Perks of the Job

Being a mom is not always fun. I get pooped on, peed on, puked on, and punched. I hear whining, complaining, naughty words, and very little by way of encouragement. But every now and then...something happens that makes it all worth while.

The circus was in town!

Before we headed into the arena, the kids know that you have to have a buddy so they immediately grabbed the hand of their favorite adult. And no, it wasn't me.


It was this nice young man who happens to be friends with the Co-ed and doesn't yet have a blogging nickname, whom they kids had literally just met about a minute before. Do you like their wizard hats and bags of gold-encrusted cotton candy? Well, it doesn't actually contain gold. It's just priced like it does.


Everyone was ready for a good time!

Baby loved all the music and lights. She was going nuts! And who wouldn't? It's the circus, people! Although I'd only been once before as a teenager, I love the circus. The animal acts are my favorite but I love a good death-defying feat of daring, too. The clowns were funny and the ringmaster was a magician so that was pretty cool. (I promise I had pictures of the others acts but they didn't come out very well...)


What did the kids think?

Awesome. Completely awesome. Can we come again tomorrow night?

And what did Baby think?


Well, we'll ask her later.

Toofs

I recently created a new label for my posts: Milestones. Some of my readers are just here for the updates on the kiddos. They don't want to hear about my failed diet or my current whining. Just the kids. Yesterday's post on the Boy's first dentist visit falls into the Milestones category. So does today's posts.

Baby is teething. Normally, she doesn't cry much at all. Lately, she's been more prone to whining and easily upset. Something is different. Sure enough, the tell-tale red bump appeared on her lower gum. It took nearly two weeks but a tooth sprouted! But before I was able to get a good picture of it...another one came through right next to it, like a ninja tooth.


Nine months old and two teeth. And a future career in yoga.

Now when she tries to eat my toes, it tickles. But once she gets teeth on the top, it's gonna hurt.

Yoga Master

Okay, we all know that Baby is a bit special...odd, even. But we love her anyway, quirks and all. Despite my usual over-share of information regarding this little person, there are a couple things I haven't told you.

Most babies have an adorable, infectious laugh that makes everyone in the room smile. Baby doesn't laugh like that. She cackles.

No, really, she does!

I've tried to record her but she's not very cooperative. (Probably knows I use it against her when she's a teenager.) And still, making her laugh never ceases to make me laugh, too. But if she ever turns to a life of crime, she's already got the required super-villain laugh down.

And one more thing...Baby seems to be some sort of yoga prodigy. See, she really likes to look at you upside-down but it's not easy for a non-crawling baby to be upside-down without someone holding her. Baby has found a way around that.


I think it's her super soft and slippery hair that makes this possible. It's rather distracting seeing her like this. She arches her back and cackles at ya. I can't get anything done around here.

Morning Glory

I have some terrible news.

It's about Baby.

Are you sitting down? This is kinda heart-breaking.

See, there's something different about Baby. I noticed it a few months ago but just chalked it up to her "baby-ness" and figured she would grow out of it. But she hasn't. In fact, it's getting worse. Pretty soon, people are going to start to notice, maybe talk a little, might even have a complete stranger point it out to me in public. So I thought I'd better come clean on my blog so there wouldn't be a lot of questions and speculation later on.

It's difficult to explain so I'll show you a picture from the other morning, before she had breakfast:


It's obvious, isn't it? I don't know how this could have happened! Really, there's no preparing yourself for something like this. I mean, I heard about from others but never thought it would happen to me.


I don't know what to do. I feel like I've failed.

Baby is a Morning Person.