Thursday, September 6, 2012

Little Miss Chatterbox

Dinner this past weekend was full of wonderful conversation with a sprinkling of pre-dinner embarrassment. We went to dinner to take advantage of Red Lobster’s endless shrimp and to celebrate a birthday. Lina and I arrived early (hard to believe, I know) and put our names on the list. Lina has been learning a lot of things lately, including big vs. small. While we were waiting near the lobster tank, a rather large woman stood near us and Lina started staring at her. As I steered her back towards the lobsters, I hoped she was just admiring the woman’s brightly colored clothing. A few seconds later she was looking at that woman again and the following conversation took place:
Lina: Big. She’s big.
Me: Lina, let’s look at the lobsters!

Thankfully I don’t think the woman heard her, but oh my goodness, how embarrassing for both me and that poor woman!

Lina’s brutal honesty continued over dinner:
Jessie: I love you Lina.
Lina: I love milk.
Jessie: I love you Lina.
Lina: I love milk.
Jessie: I love you Lina.
Lina: I love milk.

A few minutes later:
Jessie: I love you Lina.
Lina: I need a drink.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Two, Already?

On Saturday, my little peanut is going to be two years old. In just one day, my baby will be two. How can that be? I’m pretty sure that it was only a year ago that we were on our way to the hospital because my water broke. Two years later and she is still waking me up at 2 am. Two years later and she still makes me smile. And laugh, a lot.

I love it when she thinks she is having a serious conversation with me and I have no idea what she is talking about. And then she ends it with, “okay?” She won’t let me ignore the question either, but I have no idea what the answer is. I mean, what if she just told me that she was going to climb up onto the roof and see if she could fly off of it? I can’t just say okay to that. But what if she just said, I would like to start putting my toys away all by myself. I will never say no to that.

She has learned a new phrase that she loves to use whenever we tell her she can’t do something.
For instance:
“Lina, don’t climb on the curtains.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s dangerous.”

“Lina, don’t climb on me when you have your boots on.”
“Why not?”
“Because it hurts.”

“Lina, no jumping on the furniture.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s dangerous.”

You get the idea.

I can’t even tell you how excited I am about tomorrow. Or how many times this week that I was tempted to let her have her birthday early. There are a few things that I can’t wait for her to be able to play with. I already gave her one of her gifts early. It was a garage sale find, so it was really just a bonus gift anyway. And like all things I pick up from garage sales, I needed to clean the slide before I felt comfortable with her playing on it. Finding a time to clean it while Lina wasn’t around had proved to be quite difficult. And the size of it made it difficult to hide. Every time she saw it, she would say “Look, a slide!” And I had to tell her “Don’t touch, it’s not ours.” Every time, she accepted that without question. Finally I gave up and took her outside to help me clean it up. As soon as it was dry, she ran right up the steps and slid right down. As she was preparing to go down the slide for the second time, she paused at the top and said “I love this!” Best six bucks I ever spent. If all or even some of her gifts go over that well tomorrow, I will be one happy Mama.

Of course there is still tons of stuff I want to get her for her birthday, but there has to be a limit. My bank told me so. Instead I have added them to her Christmas list and I have a couple months to watch for these items to go on sale. I also know that at this age, too many gifts to open could be a little overwhelming for her. At least that’s what I’m telling myself, as it has been the case in the past. We always seem to be about 2 gifts over the limit. It doesn’t matter if there are 10 or 20, there are always about 2 left to power through. Her friends and family party is next weekend and I’m excited for all the kids to play together in our home made water park. I wasn’t worried about the weather when I stared planning the party. It has been an unbearably hot and dry summer. Until this week. While the storms and the break from the heat were much needed, I’m starting to question the chances of perfect weather for next weekend. My fingers are crossed tightly that the weather will be perfect and all the kids will have a blast!

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Melt My Heart

I’m always fascinated by the things that Lina picks up and chooses to repeat. Like when she holds one of her babies close, pats them on the back and says “Come ‘ere. It’s okay, it’s okay.” Sometimes I have to figure out where she learns these things, like where she learned what a clock was. We hadn’t talked about that yet, and she pointed to a clock on one of her toys and said, “Look Mommy, a clock!” Except all the L’s were missing… yep, that’s how she pronounces clock. Which is funny when she isn’t saying it loudly throughout the aisles of Target.

Most of the time though, I know where it’s coming from. Yesterday she stood up next to where I was sitting, cupped my face, looked into my eyes and said “You’re beautiful.” Melted me into a pool of butter. Mostly I was proud that I taught her that. And that she was able to grasp that I meant it every time I said it. But more than anything, I was just glad that she repeated “you’re beautiful” instead of the bad word I may have uttered a little too loudly as I was getting pulled over a few weeks ago.

Friday, July 27, 2012

It’s Delicious!

We are at that point where we have to pay very close attention to the word that come out of our mouths. Lina is constantly learning new words and I thoroughly enjoy teaching her the really big ones. I love to hear her attempt to say words like hippopotamus and rhinoceros. Yesterday my sister was teaching her to say dramatic and drama queen. But perhaps my favorite word of Lina’s is one that she picked up on her own, delicious. She first said it when I asked how her dinner was, she made it much more comical on Tuesday though.

Our shipment from Gymboree arrived and delivered some adorable clothes. Including this awesome swimsuit for next summer.

As I was laying out her new clothes and removing the tags from them she grabbed the swimsuit and pretended to eat the ice cream. She would take an imaginary bite, fill her cheeks with a little air and pretended to chew it. Several bites later I asked her if it tasted good and she simply replied “It’s delicious!” before taking another imaginary bite.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

The Fourth

As you know, I’m a big fan of the 4th of July celebrations, specifically the fireworks portion of the event. Last year Lina was so terrified of the big booms that she bawled her little eyes out. This year I had my fingers crossed for a less terrified child for our neighbors annual party. And then I discovered that we wouldn’t be able to attend the party after all.

So we decided to have our newest nephew and his parents over to eat some hot dogs, throw some Pop’s, light some sparklers and a few small fireworks. The incredible lack of rain we had leading up to the 4th made anything larger dangerous and I was pretty sure Lina still wouldn’t care for the loud noises.

Lina loved throwing Pop's with her Uncle Ben.


"I did it!"



For a moment, she thought I was going to let her light her own punk.

She enjoyed the colors of the smoke bombs.

The sparklers were a big hit.  She especially liked putting them in the bucket of water once they were done.


"Lina, say cheese!"

"Lina, look at me and say cheese."

"Look!"


Finally!  I got a smile and open eyes!

Perhaps her most favorite thing was helping Daddy drive the RC car.  It was definitely not the semi-loud, tiny finale box.

 I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!



Thursday, June 14, 2012

Potty Talk

If Lina could go everywhere naked, she would pretty much be potty trained. Of course I haven’t tested this theory since I won’t let her go outside without her bottoms. I did let her go outside in a dress and underwear which ended with my porch being hosed off. If she wears her diaper, she uses it. She knows what it’s there for, and she takes advantage of the simplicity of it. If she tells us that she has to go potty while wearing a diaper, it’s usually to inform us that her diaper is already wet.

Lately she has gotten so good at holding it, that she goes as soon as I convince her to sit on the potty. It’s the convincing that is the hard part. It goes something like this:

Do you want to go sit on the potty?
(Ignores the question)
Lina, let’s go sit on the potty so you can fill it up and win a prize.
(More ignoring)
Lina, do you want a prize?
Yes!
Okay, you have to go potty in the potty. (Think about changing the name of one of the potty’s to avoid confusion)
(Silence)
Hey Lina. Why don’t you go sit on the potty and I’ll paint your toenails while you sit there.
Okay! (Climbs off my lap and runs to the potty).
Okay Lina, you stay there while I go get the nail polish.
Okay!
(I walk halfway down the hall) Potty music starts playing.
Did you go potty?
Yeah!
Yea Lina!
Yea Lina!
Okay, let’s get cleaned up and go pick out a prize! (toenails are forgotten)

Friday, April 27, 2012

Yellow

Lina has decided that everyone she loves is called Mimi, including Pop and Lola. While it’s technically a compliment if she calls you Mimi, I would still prefer to be called Mommy. So I’m trying to convince her that she should call everyone by their preferred name and only Grandma is Mimi.


Our conversation this afternoon went something like this:
Lina: Look Mimi.
Me: I’m Mommy
Lina: Mommy.
Me: Can you say, I love you Mommy?
Lina: Yellow!

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

A Conversation

As my sister was leaving for work Monday morning, she knelt down by Lina to get her good bye kiss and said “I love you Lina.”

Lina looked at her and replied, “I love Mimi.”

Fortunately it was too funny for my sisters feelings to truly be hurt.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Just Like Daddy



As much as I try to deny it, Elina is very much like her father. The other day Lina and Mason were playing and they both laughed a big ole’ belly laugh. Except for the pitch, it was the same exact laugh. She has his feet, his height, his dimples, his eyes and even his cowlick.

Not that long ago, she climbed up onto the foot rest at my parents house and started chugging her milk. My sister was sitting nearby on the floor and asked Lina for a kiss. Lina held up one finger as if to say just a minute and continued to chug her milk. When she stopped to take a breath, she gave her aunt a kiss and then resumed drinking. At least she has my sass.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Shopping With Lina, Again

Target had some really great high value coupons last week and I couldn’t resist the chance to stock up on some Birthday gifts for Lina. Saturday, after the egg hunt, the three of us went to Target and tried so very hard to stick to our list. There were three coupons that I felt I needed to use and a few others that I would consider using.

Coupon #1: 25% off a Disney movie. I’ve noticed that Disney is very proud of their movies, so anytime they are on sale, I try jump on it. But which movie should we pick? We finally decided on the original Toy Story since she loved Toy Story 3 when it was on Netflix. Except they didn’t have the Blu-Ray option. They only had a 3D, Blu-Ray, DVD bundle, which I wasn’t willing to spend the extra cash to get a 3D version which will never be used. I don’t have a 3D TV, nor to I see us getting one. Anyway, since Toy Story was out, we were back to square one. We finally narrowed it down to 3 movies, so I let Lina pick. I laid Tangled, Ratatouille and Up on the floor so she could pick one up. Instead she laid down on the floor, put her hands in her chin and looked at them more closely. Eventually she chose Tangled, which wasn’t a surprise, apparently while I was looking for Toy Story, Lina found Tangled and picked it up to give it a hug. We also grabbed Shrek since it was on sale for $8.

Coupon #2: 50% off a Disney Princess item. I had been debating between the Tiana doll and dress-up dress (she got the Rapunzel combo from Santa) and the princess dress up trunk. Lina walked into the aisle, looked up and saw the Tiana doll and dress, threw her hands out and gasped. The look on her face said “Oh my God! I can’t believe they have this! I love her!” Obviously that went into the cart. I really wish I had been recording that moment. I can only hope that she does it again when she unwraps it in August.

Coupon #3: 50% off a Fisher Price item. Do you know how hard it is to get a good deal on Little People? Last time I had to wait for it to be on sale and use 2 coupons to get half off. Anyway, I knew what I wanted, I just had to grab it. I wanted to get her the Little People Wheelies Stand ‘n Play Rampway. Something a little different than the rest of her Little People stuff but still just as awesome. Except for one little issue… they were all out. We debated the barn for a second and then I decided I would just buy it online. At half off, I could afford to pay a little for shipping. When we got home, I talked to my sister and she was pretty sure she saw one at the store that she went to. So I went back out on my own and got the very last Wheelie track.

In the end, we only added a few things to the list.  Shrek, Easter candy and Mason got a new lunch bag.  While my bank account does not think I was a successful shopper, I think I rocked it!


Wednesday, March 28, 2012

More Potty Talk

Since my last update we haven't had any more incidents.  She has successfully used the potty several times.  And just as often she has sat there for awhile and given up, only to fill her diaper moments later.  She usually tells us when she wants to sit on the potty, sometimes it is our idea.  It's a long wait before anything happens, but it happens.

We are still just trying to introduce her to the idea, so I would call this a success.


Only 2 more days to vote for my picture!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

The Potty

Lina has been talking about going potty a lot lately. Mostly it’s just a fun new word to say, but we figured we might as well start practicing. Tuesday after work Lina and I went to the store and picked out her very own princess potty. We made sure to pick a multi-functioning potty so that it would grow with her. Right now, it’s just a little potty with a lid that makes music when she goes. After dinner she said that she wanted to try out the potty. She sat there for awhile reading a couple books. Then she started playing with the lid, open, close, open, close, sit down, stand up, sit down… you get the idea. And then she went potty, right on top of the lid. Into the bath she went while Mason cleaned up the chair.


Take two. Last night she tried again, this time I wouldn’t let her off the seat except to grab a new stuffed animal. Eventually, she went. Apparently she wasn’t sure what was going on because she stuck her hand in before I even knew she was going. Into the bath she and her little wet hands went.

Cross your fingers for Day 3.


Don’t forget to vote for my picture here!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Photo Contest

I recently entered a photo contest and I'm actually doing well in the contest.  Especially considering I was a late entry.  Since you can vote everyday, I have some catching up to do.

 Please follow this LINK and vote for my picture every day.  I only have until the 29th to get into the top 25.

Thanks!

Monday, February 27, 2012

Shopping With Lina

I went shopping at Kohls the last week during my lunch break for a shirt or two. In my rush to get in and out quickly I may have purchased a shirt because it was such a good deal and not so much that it was a great top. After work Lina and I went to return the $6 top and when they gave me cash back I told her she could pick out a $6 toy or book. We debated a Barbie, a small stuffed animal and Mr. Potato Head. In the end, the Mr. Potato Head box was the most fun to carry.


As we headed to checkout I remembered that she had $30 from her birthday in my purse. So we headed back to the toy department to look at some of the bigger toys she had been admiring. She went straight to the Little People Fairy Tree House and handed Mr. Potato Head to me so that she could play with the Tree House. Since it was priced at $44, we headed to the scanner to see what the sale price would be. It ended up being $31. I had already offered to pay the tax, so I agreed to spot her the extra dollar as well.

She was so excited about it and ready to play with it that she insisted on carrying it. The only problem was that the box was about the same size as Lina. She finally let me carry it as long as the opening faced her and she could play with it while we walked, very slowly, to the registers. The poor girl had to wait until we got home and had dinner before she could actually play with it. And that is exactly what she did the rest of the evening.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Take 2,465

Hello again. I know it’s been a long time since I have stopped by. Things have been a bit busy around here lately. We all managed to be sick for every single holiday, first with the never ending cold and then with a nice round of bronchitis. I tried to blog everything that was going on, but nothing I wrote went anywhere. There was a beginning and a middle, but no end in sight. The highlight of these last few months has been watching Lina’s talents multiply.


She has never had a shortage of words, but she has refused to use them to communicate. One day I can ask her if she wants chicken or apple for her next bite, and she will respond “chikn” or “appa.” The very next day she will refuse to use those same words and instead point and whine until I figure out what she wants. “No” and “thank you” were the only words she used consistently and in context. In the last couple of days she has really amped up her communication. “More” while holding her cup or standing at the fridge has replaced throwing herself at the fridge in the middle of a temper tantrum. Holding her plate and saying “All done?” has replaced picking up her food and dropping it on the floor. The puppies are sad about this one. She even has a 3 word sentence that she uses when she talks to her new cousin, “Hi sweet baby.” It sounds more like “Hi swee bebe” but it totally counts.

I think it helps that she spends so much time with Miss O, who is now 3. She has learned so much from her. Miss O always says “Hi sweet baby” to her little sister and Lina did not hesitate to repeat her. Miss O has also taught her about the great world of gymnastics. Most of the time gymnastics consists of jumping on the tiny trampoline, climbing over the arm rest of the chair, and landing face first into the chair cushions. Sometimes they walk along the balance beam (which is really a strip of masking tape on the floor), do handstands and forward rolls. Lina’s handstands tend to look more like the downward dog yoga position. Recently she has started putting her head on the floor as well. Two weekends ago she lifted her hands off the floor, so only her head and feet were touching. After I cheered for her efforts she decided that while her hands were lifted from the floor, she would go ahead and clap for herself.

This handstand quickly evolved into an attempted forward roll after watching Miss O. Her first couple attempts went towards the side and became diagonal rolls. After just a few diagonal rolls she rolled forward. She actually did a real forward roll without anyone coaching her. Needless to say I was quite impressed and couldn’t wait to get home to tell her Daddy.

Lina’s jumps on the trampoline have gotten higher and more like a jump instead of a gallop. But her newest trick, she is quite proud of. She places her arms over the safety bar and lifts up her feet straight out in front of her so she is dangling by her arm pits. Sometimes she swings, sometimes she just hangs there. When she gets tired or when she feels like it, she allows herself to fall and plop down on the trampoline. Then she’ll hop up and do it all over again.

She is definitely ready for Gymnastics class.