Tag Archives: children

Feb11

Freeze frame

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Freeze frame

I’m kneeling on the floor of my den. My feet are going numb because I’ve been in this position for so long, but I can’t move.  I’m watching my little girl shuffle away from me on her knees, “walking” behind her wooden push toy.

I feel like I’m watching myself in a movie.

When did she get so big?

She’s stopped shuffling and is now methodically pulling the books out of their bin, and she’s trying to hold them all at once.  Their glossy covers are sliding against each other; she’s spending more time trying to catch the one that got away than actually feeling satisfied with the amount of books in her lap.

She’s so happy in the corner with her pile books.

Every single day I wish I could push the “pause” button.  Or, if in some alternate reality, I could be the one whose baby stayed little for always.

I know some day I’ll wake up and she’ll be grown.

But I try not to think about it.

(Although I’m pretty sure Angus wishes she were grown now.  She climbed into his dog bed with him and is laying on top of him.  He’s completely squashed. That dog has the patience of Job.)

Feb7

Early Learning Activities: Week 3 (What Changed That Sound?)

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Early Learning Activities: Week 3 (What Changed That Sound?)

This week’s activity is super easy.  Do you have:

  • a teething baby?
  • blocks, or something like them?
  • a folding chair?
  • a cardboard box?
  • some other random object?  (we used a empty shape sorting cube)

Please be advised that it’s possible to complete this activity without a teething baby.  In fact, if you can pull that one off I’d recommend it.  (Analie’s teeth are causing us all a great amount of headache today.  Poor thing.)

OK here’s what you do.

First, take you fussy child and put it on the ground near the supplies needed for this activity.  Congratulations.   Step 1 is complete.  (This was the most difficult of the steps for Analie this afternoon.  She did not want to sit on the ground.)

Next, grab some blocks and bang them together.  Hopefully your baby will imitate you.  Analie thought this was so awesome, then we traded blocks back and forth for awhile and tested them all out to make sure they all worked.  Yay!  They did!

Then I showed Analie how to bang the blocks on the seat of the metal folding chair.  GUYS.  She thought that noise was AMAZING.  (And she made so much noise that my headache from teething baby’s whining is officially worse.  But it was better than hearing a whiny baby!)

After we banged blocks on the chair, I switched her to the cardboard box.  She thought the dull sound that it made was super funny.  I wasn’t expecting that!

We also banged the blocks on the shape sorter, which made a hollow, wooden noise.  Analie wasn’t enthralled by it, though.  Fine by me…it was a really annoying sound!

Poor little girl would need to take snuggle breaks about every 30 seconds, and it kind of cracked me up.

*bang! bang! bang!* and then she’d lay her head on me for a few moments, sit back up and start back into *bang! bang! bang!*

Good luck! I hope your teething baby is less whiny than mine.

Feb6

Radio-Flying

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Radio-Flying

For her birthday, Analie got the Cadillac of Radio-Flyer wagons.

This wagon is not messing around.  It has six different seat configurations (drawing table, snack tray, with friends, without friends, flatbed, etc…) storage caddies, cupholders, and a UV protectant shade.

And safety harnesses.

Since it was gorgeous weather, we decided to (finally) set the thing up today and go for a spin around the driveway.  Analie invited her BFF Maddie to come play wagons and ride in her swing.

First of all, let’s all just have a giggle over the size difference.  Analie and Maddie are one day apart.  On the growth charts, they’re about 80% apart.  (Analie is the bottom 10%, Maddie is top 10%.)  It hilariouses me every time I see it.

And is this child not CUTE?  I would totally give her spoonfuls of sugar but her mommy would kill me in my sleep if she found out.

Analie was munching on Bunnies (her current favorite snack – do not get between the child and her bunnies) and Cheerios as they rode around the yard.  I’m trying to get her bigger but it’s not working.

Poor Maddie looked like she was suffering the entire ride, but I think it was just too bright outside for her.  I giggle when I look at the pictures, though.

Am I a meanie?

She looks like one of those celebrities with their hands out to indicate, “Please, no pictures!”

Aaaaaaand then Maddie discovered that Analie had food.

I love Analie’s look of MOMMY, SHE IS TOUCHING MY BUNNIES!

There is no question as to what what Maddie wants.  And also no question that Analie doesn’t want to share her bunnies.  (Just look at those selfish, pursed lips.)

Poor girl.

Look at my child’s gloating face…

Maddie was ready to be done with the wagon after 15 minutes or so, and then she got to experience…THE SWING.

So cute.

I love babies in swings.  They have this look of WOAH!  LIFE IS SO AWESOME! all over their faces; I just wish I could bottle it up and store it for rainy days.

When Ana’s swinging she always looks like her head is going to pop off from all her pressurized excitement.

Wouldn’t it be awesome to stay like that forever?

Feb4

Bathing Cutie

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Bathing Cutie

Analie loves to go in the bathroom these days.  Because in the bathroom are all kinds of delightful treats like tooth brushing!  and hand washing!  and bathtime!

Oh, and there’s the washcloth drawer that I let her empty.  She loves that too, maybe more than all the other stuff combined.

While in the bath, we let her brush her teeth which, I KNOW, is probably some kind of safety hazard.  Especially since she loves to lean down to the water, submerge her face and inhale.

So then she comes up sputtering with a toothbrush in her mouth.

And she thinks it’s hilarious.

She also learned to pull up onto her knees a few weeks ago, which I think is so cute.  Her tiny little arms gripping the tub ledge, soft rolls of chunk still visible.  I hate that she’s losing her baby chunk.

I need to feed her more marshmallows or something.  (Wait, that’s the wrong kind of chunk.)

Ana got a squirty flower bath toy for Christmas, and it’s her current favorite thing in the bath.

I’ve been squirting it at her since she got it, and a few weeks ago she figured out how to refill it with water and squirt herself.

And what, you ask, is her favorite thing to squirt?

Her face.

OF COURSE!  (When I squirt it at her face she opens her mouth and tries to catch and swallow as much as possible.  It’s the most hilarious thing.)

As soon as the flower runs out of water she always looks at it, with her face dripping wet, like WOW THAT WAS SO AWESOME!

Then she fills the flower back up with water and does it all over again.

And that is why you can’t give this child a bath without full body waders on.  She takes bath time by the horns and shows it who is BOSS.

Joie de vivre. 

Jan27

Being a Mommy Counts

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Being a Mommy Counts

So, I read the “Don’t Carpe Diem” article everyone’s sharing around on Facebook.  And you know what?  I think I may be, like, the ONLY person on the whole Internet who didn’t love it.

Maybe that’s because Analie is in such a magical stage right now.  Guys, every single day I get all misty and choked up because she is so amazing and so sweet; I just wish she’d stay like this forever.

But I know she won’t.

And I hate that.

Sure, yesterday she noticed I hadn’t latched the Tupperware cabinet and emptied the entire thing on the kitchen floor within a matter of 25 seconds.  But the look on her face of utter joy in the discovery was absolutely unparalleled.  It took me probably 2 minutes to clean up and reorganize the disaster once she was down for a nap, but two minutes of my time is a drop in the bucket when it comes to filling Analie’s days with the beginnings of rich life experiences.  (Even if it IS only Tupperware.)

Sometimes I feel frustrated by the negativity that can surround being a mommy.  I feel like we mommies get so caught up in expecting our children to behave like they’re years older than they really are so it will be more convenient for us…when what they really need is for us to get on our knees with them (even though it HURTS these days, right?!) and crawl around the house, pull stuff out of drawers and bang blocks together.

Discover life on Analie’s terms.  Not mine.

And isn’t that why I chose to become a mommy?  To do life with my baby?  Even when it hurts?  Or annoys me?  Or wears me down?

Maybe this stems from the increasing panic I am feeling about losing my “baby” as she grows up.  But Analie’s earliest picture of Jesus is going to be what she sees in Joey and I.  And one of my biggest prayers these days is that what she absorbs about Him isn’t that she has to fit into the predetermined behavior box we’ve made for her based on the behavior books we’ve read by well-intentioned Christian authors, or just what makes our lives more convenient.

I want the moments to matter.  The late nights and early mornings aren’t forever.  And I know that someday, when I look back on the early years of Analie’s life, I don’t want to regret my lazy parenting choices.

(AND OH MY GOSH, doesn’t the Internet make it so easy to be a lazy mommy?  Does for me!)

I hope nobody reading this feels judged.  That’s totally not my intention.  Because I am at least 60% less awesome at being a mom than I think I am.

But I’m Analie’s mama.

And I’m the only one she’ll ever have.

I want to make it count.

Jan23

One Perk About Having A Late Crawling Baby

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One Perk About Having A Late Crawling Baby

Analie is, like, the least advanced baby when it comes to movement.  She’s all, Yeah, I know about that cool toy you have over there, but WHATEVS MOM, I’M COOL WITH THIS PIECE OF LINT I DUG OUT OF THE CARPET.

Short version, it has been difficult to entice her to crawl.

Finally, finally, FINALLY, the Wednesday before Christmas, girlfriend started crawling.  (And it’s good that she did, too, because I’m pretty sure our pediatrician was about two weeks away from firing me as a mother.)  Ana’s crawling progress has been slow but steady, but over the last week she’s really gotten if figured out.  More often than not I’ll turn around to make sure she’s still in the same room as me and catch the wobbly backside of my child as she haphazardly scootches herself along the wood floor.

It’s so hilarious.

Last week, Analie discovered Angus’s food bowl.

Several times on Wednesday I told her no and distracted her with one of my mixing bowls.  (Because she loves to alternately stir and whack Angus with the spatula.  Surprisingly he thinks this game is fun too.)

The next day as I was loading the dishwasher and she and Angus were playing on the kitchen floor, she suddenly took off for his food bowl.

I busted out my first Mama Voice and said, “Analie.  NO.”

She was leaning forward with her tiny little hand was outstretched to the food, but when she heard my voice, she JUMPED. (Then I freaked out that I’d been too firm with her.  (Did I yell???!  I need a hidden camera!))

Analie sat up and stared at the food bowl.  She didn’t move.

I continued to freak out in my mind that maybe what I had thought was my firm voice had really been a yell.  (One of my parenting goals is to be just like my mama and speak firmly but with no yelling!  EVER!)  I wished I wasn’t looking at the back of her head, because I wanted to see those little wheels turning; one thing I love about this stage is that Analie can’t keep her emotions off her face.

It seemed like forever, but was probably only about two seconds, before Analie turned around and happily crawled back to the mixing bowl and picked back up where she had left off.

Victory?

The very next day, we repeated the same situation, right down to the mixing bowl and spatula toy on the floor. But this time when I told her no, I used only a fraction of the firmness I had used the day before.  And you know what?  She immediately turned around!  AND SHE HAS IGNORED HIS FOOD BOWL EVER SINCE!

I am totally expecting her to sneak over there again. But for our first NO! crawling boundary, I am so proud of Analie.

And I’m also glad that she waited so long to start crawling.  Because I’m not worn out by saying no yet.  (That’ll probably hit next week, right mamas?)

 

 

Jan12

The Paint Can.

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The Paint Can.

First of all, I realize that I sound like The Most Unobservant Mother Ever.  I probably am.

Second of all, there is no photographic record for what I am about to tell you.   You’ll just have to take my word for it.  Because WHY WOULD I MAKE THIS UP!?

A week ago, Joey brought in a paint can from the garage to warm up so he could paint the inside of a door that he was working on.  Short version: the paint was all weird from being in the garage for so long, so we were going to have to throw it out.  He stuck the drop cloth and a couple of paint cans in the corner of the kitchen, and that was the end of the project.

Fast forward to today.  I was cleaning the kitchen counters while Analie and Angus alternately stirred and tried to climb inside my largest mixing bowls.  They’ve been playing on the kitchen floor all week and haven’t even noticed the drop cloth and cans in the corner, so I’d wipewipewipe the counter, glance back to make sure they weren’t biting each other, and then wipewipewipe the counter again.

Suddenly, I had to go to the bathroom.  (I KNOW, SORRY.  But it’s what happened next.  I’m sure you have to go to the bathroom sometimes too.)  I looked at my children, happily shoving each other as they scuffled over which one of them was going to use the spatula, and I ran out of the room.

I was gone for less than a minute.  Probably more like 30 seconds.  (Because really, who washes their hands in the bathroom when you left your kids playing on the kitchen floor by themselves?  My kitchen has a sink, and I know how to use it.)  When I returned, they were not where I left them.

NO.

THEY WERE NOT.

Suddenly, one of them had spotted the paint cans and drop cloths in the corner, so they had both crawled over and started exploring.

GUYS.  I have been staring at those stupid paint cans all week and somehow I neglected to notice that one of them didn’t even have a lid on it.

You want to know how fast they realized that?  Like 0.0001 seconds after starting to crawl over there.  And you want to know what else?  Not only did that stupid paint can not have a lid on it, but there was a stir stick in it!  STICKING UP IN THE AIR LIKE THE SEARS TOWER.  (Wait, do they even call it the Sears Tower anymore?  Whatevs.)  But you surely get my point, which was that the stick was super obvious to anyone who has eyeballs.  And it’s always a pretty good indicator that there’s no lid on a paint can if there’s a stir stick in it.

So we’ve established that I’m blind.

Back to the story.

I walk into the kitchen and there’s Analie, holding the end of a gloopy, paint-soaked, stir stick, and she’s happily sweeping it in broad swaths on the wood floor.  The grin on her face is worth a million bucks, and I can see the pure amazement that WOAH!  There’s white stuff every place I move this stick!

Where’s Angus?  Oh, he’s eating the wet paint she smears on the floor, so his face and whiskers are bright white.

What did I do?  I started screaming “WHAAAAAAT?!?!” and jumped around the kitchen floor throwing random things away.  I’m not even sure what all went into the trash can (hopefully it wasn’t anything important), but I know the paint stick was the first thing to go.

The paint on the floor was thick and oozing into the cracks between the wood on the floor, so I unrolled a bunch of paper towels and alternately tried to wipe the floor, my child’s hands, and keep Angus from eating more paint.

And did I mention that somewhere in the chaos I stepped in the paint?  I wish I had realized it when it happened, because the next thing I knew there were Jenna footprints all over the kitchen floor.

I could keep going, but I think you get the drift.  All told, it took about 20 minutes and Joey’s travel toothbrush to clean up.  Angus has since stolen that toothbrush and carried it off to who knows where.

I just hope the paint on it has dried by now.

(I feel like the takeaway in all this is that I just need to stop having to go to the bathroom.  Ever.  Because LOOK WHAT HAPPENS.)

And that is the story of how I inked my place in the record books as The Most Unobservant Mother Ever.

Jan4

Girlfriend just said purple. TRUE.

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Girlfriend just said purple. TRUE.

After lunch we were sitting on the floor in the dining room coloring Ana’s picture purple.  I bought her some chubby washable crayons, and it’s a good thing, too, because let’s just say that not all of today’s coloring was done on the paper.  And the crayon just wiped right off! (Crayola has come a long way since when The Kid was three and colored all over the wall in the hallway when Sister and The Brother locked him out of the playroom because he was being annoying.  And boy howdy, he sure gave them the What For.)

She still can’t choose purple out of a lineup of crayons, but I think that’s mostly because she just wants all of them at the same time, right now, please and thank you.

About five minutes of coloring later it was clear that Ana didn’t want to color on the paper anymore (key phrase: ON THE PAPER) so I decided to call it and switch to reading a book about colors.

I read that stupid book six times.  SIX.  (Once was backwards and once was on my  head, so if those don’t count as real read throughs then only four.)  That sixth time when I turned to the purple page, Ana screamed and said “BA-BUH!!!”  And then she looked at me like she had just singlehandedly averted Climate Change and wasn’t I super proud of her?

Now that she can SAY purple, perhaps we will be able to select the purple crayon tomorrow?

 

Jan3

Early Learning Activities: Week 1 (Look At Me!)

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Early Learning Activities: Week 1 (Look At Me!)

One of my parenting goals for the year is to be more intentional about structuring Ana’s playtime and reading more books.  I’m going to be starting an activity binder with themed activities based on seasons and ages, but I’m still thinking through how I want to lay it out. Once I get it all beautiful in my mind, I’ll go to Target and buy the tabs.  (GUYS. I just have to disclose that in my imagination this binder is tab-tastic and has at least two different sizes so I can denote sub-tabs.  I’m actually hoping for 3 sizes so I can go into sub-sub-tabs.  Is that overkill?!?!)

Anyway.  This week we’re working on colors and self-identification.

Our project was to take a big piece of paper, trace Ana, then color in her eyes, nose, mouth and hair (pausing after each to point out where it was on the picture, then on her face and mine), and clothes.  Using the main color in her outfit, I was to let color on her “clothes” and repeat the color over and over again.  Then I showed her two colors and see if she could pick that color.

Ready to make a “Look At Me!” picture with your kiddo??

Me too.

LET’S GO.

First, I assembled my supplies.  It’s all stuff you have around your house.  (Apologies in advance for these horrific photos.  Ana goes bonkers for cameras so it has to be point and shoot all the way for these kind of activities.)

I cut a Trader Joe’s sack to make a long piece of paper, and got crayons based on what I was going to dress Analie in (all purple to make it easier for her to identify the color) and a pen for tracing.

Then I realized that it’s not a good idea to trace a squirming child on carpet.  So we moved to the hardwood.

Step 1: Lay out of focus child on paper.

Step 2: Trace your child and then show the drawing (if you can call it that) to your child.

Step 3: Draw eyes, nose, mouth, hair and feet.  (I was not able to photograph this because Ana was like WHAT IS THAT AWESOME THING IN YOUR HAND MOM!?!?!?!?! and kept lunging.)

Step 4: Let your kid color their clothing. Preferably they color the clothing which is on the paper, not the clothing which is on their person.  But whatevs if they color themselves a little bit, right?  Because it will wash out.

Step 5: Allow your child to explore the crayon.  (Ana quickly determined that crayons are not tasty, but they are still fun to put in our mouths.  This use of crayons was discouraged. So was drawing on the wood floor.  Hi, Joey!)

Step 6: Admire your child’s coloring and praise them for doing a good job.  Don’t worry about coloring inside the lines, that will come later.

Step 7: Work on coloring a little bit more every day this week, emphasizing the same color (in our case, PURPLE.)  Continue to point out the facial features on the picture and on your child, encouraging them to identify their nose, mouth, eyes, etc.

Step 8: At the end of the week, allow your child to watch you cut the picture out of the bag.  Then post it on the wall in her room, or on the fridge. (Except I have OCD about things on my fridge.  I hate it.  I may make an exception for my child, though…maybe…)

YAY FOR US!  First week of intentional learning activity is in the bag.  (In this case, quite literally, it’s ON the bag…)

Nov15

Swing, swing, swing

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Swing, swing, swing

 

Yesterday was gray and gloomy and warm and weird all at the same time.  It was the craziest weather and I was loving it.  (The only thing that could have made it better was if we had gotten some more of that crazy thunder action that mostly hit southeast of us.)

Today it’s just gray and damp and kinda chilly.

And it’s laundry day.

(Which reminds me that I really need to start that load of towels.)

So instead of doing laundry, we went outside to swing.

Swinging is fun.  Even when it’s cold and the swing has to be wiped off three times because it’s covered in soggy leaves and puddles of water.

Analie loves lounging in her swing; she doesn’t even care if she’s being pushed.  She likes to bounce in it, and she also likes to sit back and watch the cars drive past.

An ambulance WITH ITS SIREN even went by.  I was pretty sure her eyes were going to bug out of her skull.

 

 

It’s fun to holler…

It’s fun to squeal…And it’s fun to be the Fun Police.  ARE YOU HAVING FUN YET?  Get to work having fun NOW!