8.30.10

After tinkling on the potty, Lilly tip-toe jogged over to her toys, dumped out her bucket of shapes, took a seat and...





tinkled again.

Oy. At least it was in the bucket?

8.29.10

Tonight while waiting for dinner to finish up, Lilly and I went outside to ride her bike. At school the kids have a great little playground with a sidewalk "track" going around the perimeter so they can ride "bikes" (tricycles, Cozy Coupes, ride-on toys, etc.) so apparently this is where Lilly learned the word "bike" because she sure says it a lot at home! "Bike? Side?" (which means "Hey, Mom, I know I've been whining incessantly, but pretttty please can we go outside in the 90 degree heat and ride this blessed bike that my dear Grandparents gave me for Christmas?"

She's just so darn cute, it's hard to resist.







Lilly and Midas know all the hot spots in the neighborhood... who gives out cookies and who doesn't! It didn't matter that dinner was ready, Betty said "It's just a little chocolate chip cookie, Mommy. She's not going to leave without one. Let Grandma go getcha cookie." How can I argue?

8.25.10

13weeks

Suddenly I look... pregnant:) I got my first belly rub yesterday. It was one of our cafeteria ladies. Last time she rubbed my belly I was NOT pregnant. Woops;)

8.24.10

I love watching Lilly sit and focus on something she's doing, whether it's figuring out how the stereo works, attempting to put on her own shoes or putting a button in a small ziploc bag--everyday, normal activities. It amazes me that she's gone from a floppy-handed infant with very little coordination, jerky movements and minimal patience to a toddler who can sit and pop open a tiny ziploc pouch and drop a small button inside. She curls her lip under runs her tongue over it, thinking so carefully. Her delicate pinkies curl up and her thumb and finger grasp whatever object she's into with such precision. It's like I can see the wheels turning in her head.

8.23.10

Over the weekend we got a glimpse into this "terrible twos" business. I took Lilly to a jewelry party where there was supposed to be another little girl for her to play with. Unfortunately that friend and her daughter weren't able to make it at the last minute, so Lil was left to the display of shiny jewelry to occupy herself with. Ay ya ya. Every parent has those public moments when they are torn between allowing their child to explore and keeping them on too short of a leash. A little exploration is a good thing-- that's how they learn. But I also worry about her bothering people-- in this instance, I didn't want her distracting the lady from her demonstration, what with all the yanking of the hangers that held pretty blouses donned with multiple necklaces, front and back! By the time she yanked one off and checked it out, the shirt, hanger and necklaces were in a big tangle and I had no idea what went where.

So I'd shorten the leash. Have her come sit back on my lap. Ask her a couple distracting, engaging questions. Until she wopped me in the face with the two pens she snatched up along the way. With everyone watching, I quietly told her that wasn't nice and she needed to be gentle with mommy. She leaned in for a hug... and bit my arm. Big ol' bruise. I wanted to cry, it hurt so bad! I was embarrassed and MAD at the same time. I blew it off and kept her at a distance until the end of the demo. No hugs necessary!!! Thankfully once we were free to mingle, she made lots of friends in the kitchen and was back to her normal self.

But this is becoming a problem-- daily. She only hits and bites me. I'm glad she's not hurting anyone else, but why me? And I'm still figuring out what works as far as punishment, but in the proccess I'm not being consistent. If I redirect, I'm ignoring the real issue, which I feel needs acknowledgement. If I react sternly and tell her "No!" she laughs and tries it again. I'm somewhere in between showing her that she's hurt mommy and that it's "Not OK" and... time outs.

Ohh, time outs. How do you even effectively time out a toddler? You spend more time getting them to sit back down that they completely forget what they're even there for. And Lilly thinks it's fun! So tonight I stuck her in her crib, which I always said I wouldn't do-- I do NOT want to ruin our great sleeper by punishing her in bed. But how else do you contain a 1.5 year old? She fake cried for about 10 seconds and then went to town draping all of her blankies over the rail. I went back in, asked her "Do we hit Mommy?" Bam. She got me again. Out I went, closed the door, fake crying ensued for 10 seconds and then back to play.

I have no idea what I'm doing or if I'm doing it right. I feel like I'm all over the place with her discipline, but does anyone really get it right on the first try? And once I figure out what works for her, will it stay that way? Probably not. So I just take a lot of deep breaths, mutter under my breath, silently beg God to give me strength and hope that the next day is better!

How do you handle this stuff???

8.21.10

Hello, there! It's been 4 months since my last post, but feels like much longer. Having a toddler, full-time job, holidays, summer vacations, and life in general just got in the way of keeping up with this, but Matt has asked me a couple times if I'll ever get back to it (he likes reading!) and I think it's time. It's nice to know he enjoys reading about our lives:) I must make it sound a lot more exciting than it really is.

There's also another reason I've had a nagging feeling in my heart to pick back up with the chronicling our lives.

We're having another baby! This little guy or girl is due at the end of Feburary/beginning of March, which makes me about 13 weeks along. It has already been a much smoother pregnancy than Lilly's. My morning sickness was shorter-lived, which makes a world of difference. But, man am I pooped! It's a lot harder to get through a work day knowing that when I get in the car to go home, it's not over yet!

But that Lilly. Oh, that Lilly. From the early months of her life, til now... what a difference. She is a sweet, easy-going, comical, charming, full-of-personality, chatterbox of a little girl. We couldn't ask for a better toddler! She makes us laugh every day, many times a day! Sometimes Matt and I lay in bed after she's been asleep for hours, laughing at the way she says or does things (like the way she points or the cute way she says "thank you" to everything-- even tonight, when I gave her medicine, she thanked me!) My heart is so full of love for this little girl. I feel like the most fortunate mom in the world. But don't we all?! (OK, no, I did not feel that way for the first 6 months!)

God has been good to our family. He always is, but sometimes it's harder to see than others! But right now we are enjoying each day and still silently (and not-so-silently) cheering as each day passes successfully! Parenting is hard stuff, but it's the most rewarding and meaningful job we could have.