A Shout Out to Daddy

Ever since we moved and Ladybug learned to walk, the girls have been all over my cabinets in our bathroom.  There is something so enthralling about lots of little bottles and containers.  The girls just can't get enough of them.  The second that Ladybug's feet hit the ground, she'd make a beeline for for them.  I'd walk into my bathroom seconds later, and the floor would be littered with bottles and jars, some with their lids nearly off.  I can't tell you how many times I've stubbed my toe on something that they've dragged out.  

I came home from a birthday party round robin with Sunshine a while ago and again tripped over something left on my bathroom floor.  I said something remarkably similar to what a sailor might have said, and bent down to put it back in the cabinet.  I couldn't pull them open.  My amazing husband had childlocked my bathroom cabinets.  And then left something out so I would be sure to trip over it, let loose some colorful vocabulary, and put it away.  But that's ok, he did it without my even asking him to.   And he's helped to ensure that our children's vocabulary is way less colorful!

Some more photos of my beautiful girls.....

Happy Birthday, Sunshine!

My Amazing Sunshine,

You're four years old now.  Four years going on fourteen.  You told some of our neighbors that you were turning four, and you had such a grownup look about you.  You were posing.  They gave me a look that said, "Oh Angela, you are in such trouble."  But that's another post.

I feel like I spent all day looking at you and thinking about that truly scary, exhilarating day that you entered this world.  We were nervous, like all new parents facing labor and delivery for the first time.  I remember just bits and pieces now.  Like how it took so long for you to cry, and that they didn't bring you to me like they were supposed to.  I remember feeling very anxious.  You were perfect; you just needed a little time.  I remember trying to nurse you that very first time.  How I had no idea if what I was doing was right, but you seemed content and busy.  I remember that very first night that we brought you home.  Silly me.  I thought you would wake me up every two hours to eat.  You didn't.  I woke up, completely engorged and terrified that you'd stopped breathing six hours later.  You were fine.  Just sleeping like a baby.

We quickly learned that you will do things when you are ready.  No amount of cajoling on our part can make you ready for something you are not.  You will do things in your own time.  You were a swaddled baby.  Couldn't sleep without it.  We tried to take it away several times, but you weren't ready.  Then, at six months old, you suddenly couldn't sleep with it.  And you told us, in no uncertain terms, that you were done with it.  Even now, you let us know when you're not ready.  Just this weekend you had your first soccer practice.  You're on a team with children you don't know, playing a game you are a little unfamiliar with.  We should have known that you wouldn't necessarily take kindly to practicing.  I wish the coach  might have let you kids have time to get to know each other.  But we don't live in a world that caters to us, and your Daddy and I are trying to teach you a little bit about that.

Your kindness and courtesy amazes me.  I love that when we go out for ice cream, you are the first to offer up your flavor to us for tastes.  You give bites of your favorite foods to Ladybug, without hesitation, if you think she might want them.  You gently help her down the stairs, and cheer her on for getting down without falling.  We've even caught glimpses of you curled up at the corner of her crib, reading her stories.  You absolutely love to hold doors open for others (thank you, Richmond Montessori!), and you know that trash belongs in a trashcan.  There are many students at the high school next to your school who still don't have a great grasp on those lessons.  

You understand so readily that there are certain things that you don't have to share; Cat, Jungley, Baby, and that everything else is up for grabs.  You're so patient with Ladybug when she wants to play with all these toys that were formerly just yours.  You even show her how to use them properly.  

You have an amazing love of all things girl:  sparkly shoes, butterflies, cool hair bands, Fancy Nancy, Barbie dolls (thanks, Mimi), and jewelry.  It never ceases to amaze me.  You need to feel put together in the morning.  Everything matches down to your accessories.  Your purse goes with you to school.  I'm so the very opposite of well put together.  I usually don't match.  My hair is usually up in a bun, and accessories con only rarely be found on my person.  It's absolutely delightful watching you.  I do feel as though I lack some girly gene though.  I know we'll butt heads, but for now I love watching you grow.

Sunshine, your laugh is absolutely infectious.  Luckily we hear you laugh so much more often than we hear you rage.  Although as you test more and more boundaries, you seem to feel more and more frustrated.  We've been working on counting to 10 lately.  When you're angry, I can ask you nicely to count to 10.  You do the same for me.  It's only fair.  Hopefully this will make for some better mornings.

I see so little of the baby that you once were.  I think I'm mourning that just a little.  On the flip side, it's incredible to see the girl you are becoming!

Happy Birthday, Sunshine!

Love, Mom

It's been a tough few weeks with Sunshine, on top of a tough few months.  She's turning 4 on Friday.  Sometimes it sounds like she's turning 14.  We try very hard to speak with kindness in our home.  I'll be the first to admit that I'm not perfect, but we try very hard.  That's why it's so hard to hear the incredibly sarcastic tone that currently comes out of my daughter's mouth.  

We give her a "do over".  She gets a chance to try saying what she wants to say another way, in another tone of voice.  She almost always gets it right the second time.  I really just wish she would say it nicely the first time.  All in all, this is not a bad problem to have.  We're working on it, and she's getting better.  I think my problem with this is that I don't know where she's picking it up.  Is it us?  We really do try to speak kindly.  I don't think she's hearing it at school.  It's not the Montessori way.  

Maybe my biggest problem with this is that it seems like a little preview of Ms. Sunshine, the Teenage Years.  And it scares the hell out of me.   

I thought I had a while before this happened...

Several days ago, Sunshine and I were waiting in line to say good morning to her teacher.  Along the way we pass a lunchbox featuring some music group.  I wasn't sure who it was.  

Sunshine:  Look Mommy, It's the Jonas Brothers.

Mommy:  Who are the Jonas Brothers?

Sunshine:  SSSHHHH, Mommy.  You're embarrassing me.  

I think I stood there with a look of shocked surprise on my face.  I still don't know who the Jonas Brothers are.  

Ahhh...The Wonders of Walmart

So it's been pretty quiet here.  On Saturday, Sunshine and I left for a bit while Daddy watched the Notre Dame game.  That's generally a safe decision, especially if it looks like the Irish might play down to their opponent.  It saves me from having to explain to Sunshine why she shouldn't yell at the TV or repeat the colorful new language that she's learned.  

We needed some groceries, and I thought we'd head to Walmart.   I'm generally not a fan of Walmart.  The stores are dirty, the help is lacking.  But the economy being what it is....Walmart is far cheaper.  Anyways, it's also a good place to kill a little time.

We had the best time together.  Ladybug was napping, so she didn't join us.  We got there, and spend almost 30 minutes swinging in the garden center.  She laid her head on my lap, and we spent that time just talking about what we were seeing.  Then we moved on to the fish.  We looked at every tank.  Then it was on to the clearance aisle.  We'd spent almost an hour there by the time we hit the toy section.  She loved it.  Just Mommy and Sunshine time.  I got a lesson on what accessories princesses need.  She showed me how almost every toy within her reach worked.  She rode a bike.  And she talked to me.   We talked about everything.

Sunshine has been fairly quiet lately.  She clams up a lot, especially since school has started.  But just walking with her in Walmart, she really opened up.  She talked about everything.  Her friends at her old school.  Her friends at her new school.  Her teacher.  Colors.  Her favorite food.  We spent 20 mintues talking about what kind of candles she'd like on her birthday cake.  She was a totally different kid.  I'm thinking that it was the one-on-one time that sparked it.  We don't get much of that lately, and it's so incredibly important.  I need to keep reminding myself of that.  We killed so much time just talking to each other at Walmart that the game was over by the time we got home.  Talk about a Win-Win situation.  

For the Love of God, Why Octopus?

So after an incredibly busy Sunday, the family sat down to dinner at one of our favorite Cuban joints.  The black bean quesadilla is out of this world, but the Hubby is crazy about the paella.  You know the dish; rice, chicken, andouille sausage, lots of squid, shrimp, and octopus.  Small, but whole, octopus.  Sunshine has been sharing this dish with her Daddy for a while now.  It's still unnerving to see her pop one of these whole octopi in her mouth.  This from the kid who won't really touch chicken.  All in all, it's kind of neat.  Until we're standing in front of the Octopus exhibit at the Aquarium and she tells everyone how good it tastes when you eat it.