Score 1 for Mommy!

The other night, we were in the car and Dan was going on about how *he* was raising the kids alone and blah blah blah (he had them for an entire half a day while I was sicker than ever on Sunday)*, when, from the backseat we hear, "Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Yeah, if he were raising the kids, it would be words relating to horsepower or megabytes or some random gaming phrase (or even better - the really awesome 4-letter words we've already had a few run-ins with from his gaming habits).

But it's not. It's Doctor Who. I love my kid.

*Do I really need to point out he wasn't being serious?

Our Odd Weekend

It's face painting season again. My sister came down and we took the kids to Draper Days for a little fun in the sun. Except it was so blasted hot, we didn't last very long at all.

We went back to the house and let the kids play in the kiddie pools and sprinklers.

We had a little barbeque, hung out for a while then we were off again to the fireworks. The kids loved that part - even though the adults were very antsy and annoyed that the show started a half an hour late.

Saturday was full of fun and then Sunday we were supposed to head out to the race track to hang out with family and watch Dan race. But instead, we made a trip to the Primary Children's Emergency Room.

Long story short - Elena was sick but was not really showing any symptoms of anything except a couple of nasty diapers (she's also teething which, yeah, leads to NOT COOL diapers). Apparently it was a bug nasty enough to dehydrate her. Severely. Without her showing any symptoms of dehydration at all until she just wouldn't really wake up on Sunday. I was sure to keep her full of water while we were out and about on Saturday, made sure she was slathered in sunscreen, kept her in the shade, everything you're supposed to do. I can do all the rationalizing and justifying and backtracking and feeling guilty I want (trust me, there's been TONS of it), but the doctors all assured me there was no way I could have known or nothing I could have done. Still doesn't make the guilt and the "I should have known!" go away.

(I should point out since I am always talking crap about how evil and what a demon Madeleine is - she was stuck in the ER with us since Dan was gone. She did amazing. She was an absolute angel and so well behaved. I never had to get after her for a thing and the ONLY time I teared up in all the chaos and uncertainty and pinning down of my screaming baby and whatnot, was when I thanked her for being SUCH a big, good girl. I cannot even imagine how scary and boring that had to have been for her. She ROCKS!)

After 4 attempts at an IV, they finally got one in - in her sucking thumb! They took x-rays of her belly. They ran a huge number of tests and they all came back normal which is not typical in someone who is dehydrated. They gave her a full bag of fluid to which she didn't respond which is not typical of a child who is just dehydrated. They decided to admit her for observation and more fluids for the night. Given she doesn't know she has two thumbs, it was a LONG night.

The next day she was much better. She had life back in her, pink in her cheeks, she was smiling and babbling and giggling and wanting to run all over the place. So much so that she was bouncing off the walls when I finally got her home.

And she was so very excited to have her sucking thumb back!

See:

 

Since the 4th Spanned the Entire Weekend Here...*

It's amazing how many pictures you don't take when you have a squirmy, grabby baby in your lap. Not one picture of fireworks this year. And given the fantastic show we saw, that's a little sad.

My work gave its employees tickets to the Stadium of Fire as our "summer party" this year. We went for the fireworks (not so much a country music fan). Madeleine was so excited for the 4th of July, she talked about it and asked about the fireworks the whole week. Five minutes into the show, she fell fast asleep. No idea how anyone could sleep through that, it was pretty noisy, but she did. So she missed all the performances but luckily did wake up about 5 minutes before the fireworks. I cannot imagine the disappointment and heartbreak that kid would have had if she'd missed the fireworks. (She talked about the fireworks and how they go "BOOM!" until Septermber last year. The kid is a fireworks NUT!)

I was a little worried about the baby's reaction - she hates loud noises and can't even stand the vacuum, let alone gigantic explosions going off in her ears. They set off a couple at the beginning of the show with the jet flyby and she didn't even flinch. However, what she did at the music was not at all expected. The kid is crazy. She flailed her arms, squealed like a madwoman and totally jammed out to the music. She had a blast and was absolute entertainment for anyone who was sitting around us. She boogied the entire show and when the fireworks came, she chilled out, cuddled up, stuck her thumb in her mouth and kept throwing my hands off her ears so she could hear the deafening boom of each and every one.

I love my no-fear kids.

Sunday was an absolute lazy day. Madeleine ended up making a day care for all her very well-dressed stuffed animals in the living room. She gave each of them one of Elena's 9-12 month dresses that I had dug out to put in her closet. She made each of them a "cot" out of her blankets and had them all take naps.

 

She gathered them all together for story time and read them stories.

She also got very annoyed with her sister when she interrupted art time and decided that if she wanted to be part of art time, she'd be the canvas. That was awesome.

 

On Monday we took them to the aquarium here. Nothing compared to the Baltimore aquarium that we're used to, but this is Utah, we weren't expecting much given how very landlocked and DESERT we are. But it wasn't bad. A little better than we expected even. The girls had a great time. Madeleine was very excited to see all the fish (and really wanted to catch one on a "catchy-thing" (her term for fishing pole) and eat them for dinner. I have no idea where that came from - she's been fishing once, has never eaten them for dinner and has certainly never caught one and then eaten it for dinner. Nor has she ever been with anyone who has. But she was very adamant about it.). She was interested in petting the stingrays until it took too long to get her close enough to one that she could actually reach it. I'm not sure if she got bored of waiting or if maybe she had time to get a little weirded out. I am kind of thinking it was the former since she was very fine with petting the snake they had out just a few minutes later. Go her!

 

Elena, of course, wanted to touch anything and everything and tried to fling herself in to the stingray pool because hey - there's WATER in there!

Like I said, I love my no-fear kids.

*Some people complain that Utah didn't celebrate the 4th ON the 4th. I say three days of fireworks??? ROCK ON!!!!!!!



A Big Obsession for a Little Girl

I accidentally, indirectly created a monster. Most people's children beg to watch cartoons - or some version of kid shows. Dora, Yo Gabba Gabba, Thomas, Backyardigans, you know *kid* shows. (I have only had exposure to one of those shows, by the way. As you're about to see, my kid's a bit of a freak.) Not my kid. No. She comes downstairs on a Saturday morning and when I say, "Hi! Do you want to watch cartoons?" She responds, "No. I want to watch Doctor Who."

No, I'm not kidding.

She walks around the house as a Dalek, repeating, "Exterminate. Exterminate." Or as a Cyberman (which she has her own name for that of course I can't remember right now) saying, "Delete. Delete." She gets so excited any time Mickey is in an episode and she knows the seasons by which companion it is - Rose Tyler ("with the yellow hair" or "the purple jacket" depending on the day), Martha, or Donna. Or, as she's been asking for lately, "the one with all of them, with everybody." She follows the stories, she knows the bad guys. She doesn't like the Ood, they freak her out (truth be told, they kinda freak me out too). She knows which episodes are kind of boring and the ones that are exciting and full of adventure. She knows how to ask for specific episodes by what happens in them and who the bad guys are. She gets very concerned for the Doctor every time he ends up losing a companion and being on his own for a bit. It breaks her heart that "he's all alone, he doesn't have a best friend." (She has this thing about best friends. She has to have one. When she is mad at you, she is no longer yours. It devastates her when someone isn't hers. So she is very empathetic with the best friend thing. So when she gets sad that The Doctor doesn't have one, it really is kind of sad.)

Oddly enough, it's not Doctor specific either. I thought she would just stick with the Doctor she knows (the David Tennant one - and who could blame her if that was the case??? He's the best, of course!). No, she'll watch the first one with Christopher Eccleston or the new one with Matt Smith. She doesn't care. It seems she actually does enjoy the stories of it. No, they're not the most kid-friendly stories but somehow they feed her imagination like the kid shows apparently don't.

I could tell these stories all day but the best one, by far, happened last night. The three-year old put a sheet on her head - like a veil - and said, "You be Doctor Who. I'll be Donna in a wedding dress." She turned her back to me and then turned her head and said, "You say, 'What?!?'" So I played the part of her Doctor and said, "What?!? What?!?" And she, channeling Catherine Tate, with the same expression and tone of Donna, turned to me and said, "What in the hell is this place??!" (It's a scene in the second season finale and third season premiere.)

No, I'm not kidding.

First - I have no idea where that came from. She hasn't seen that scene in ages. Second - she obviously pays attention for real as opposed to just watching images on a screen. Third - the good mom would have stopped her right there and explained that we don't talk like that, that's a bad word and we don't use it ever ever ever. Is that what I did? Oh hell no. I busted out laughing and told her how freaking adorable she is. Maybe not the best parenting move. But she had no idea. I felt there was no reason to correct or punish her. (After a while, so she didn't think she was in trouble for doing it, I did talk to her about it like a good mom would have done in the first place.) It was one of those unexpected times that there was no way to know or to plan for it but that you wish you would have had a video camera somewhere.

So, in a nutshell? My child is obsessed with Doctor Who. And my husband hates me for it.

No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed

Just as I was reaching for Miss Monster, as she was jumping on her bed to throw herself flat on her belly, telling her, "we don't do that because ('we can get really hurt' was how the sentence was *supposed* to end)...," she landed smack on her headboard with her cheekbone.

Lots of screams and tears and ice later, she woke up from being completely asleep on my lap mumbling something completely unintelligible. All I could understand was "mirror" - which indicated to me she wanted to go look at her face in the mirror. After confirming that's what she was asking for, we headed to the mirror. Maybe not the best idea since it was very swollen and purple, but she's weird like that. She took a look, shrugged her shoulders and headed for bed. Once under the covers and on her ice pack, she recounted the story to me a couple of times and seemed to understand jumping on the bed was dangerous. As she drifted off to sleep, I thought to myself...

I give her a week before she's back to jumping again.

Kids.

Speaking of Growing Up - Or - EIGHT Months

 

When I envisioned bedtime for two kids, I always pictured it as Madeleine throwing a fit that Elena is still up, why does SHE have to go to bed??? I never dreamed it would be the other way around. The past while, every night at bedtime for Elena, she refuses. If Madeleine is still up, she HAS to be up and she HAS to be in the same room with Madeleine. Doesn't matter how tired she is, she screams and screams and then you put her in a room with Madeleine and all is right with the world. (Hmmm sharing a room doesn't sound so bad right now.....)

HUH??

I'm just grateful she sleeps through the night most nights and is typically pretty easy to get down (for the most part. I hope it's just a phase!!). Her obsession with her sister is borderline absurd but it's completely adorable. Even Madeleine eats it up. I know I mention it in each update but it just gets more and more and stronger and crazier each month, I swear. I have a feeling that for a while, they are going to be two peas in a pod. Except that now that Elena is mostly mobile and can take what Madeleine has, that's already planting the seed of "evil sister" in Madeleine's head. And boy, does she like taking what her sister is playing with. It might be kind of nice once Madeleine figures out Elena WANTS to put the play food she makes in her kitchen in her mouth.

Just last night we were all playing on the floor and as soon as I text messaged Dan to inform him we have an army belly-crawler, she decided that was for babies and started pushing with her knees and feet. And so it begins - the end of just walking away from the baby. She hasn't quite perfected it yet, still pretty uncoordinated, but she's mobile. Especially if you put something shiny - say a phone - on the floor. When you wonder where it is, check her mouth.

For as much as she loves to put things in her mouth that don't belong in her mouth, she's not so great at putting things in her mouth that can go in her mouth. The Easter Bunny filled her eggs with puffs and while she sure loves them, they just hang out and get sticky in her hands. She gets the hand-to-mouth motion with EVERYTHING else but not the food. Glad she doesn't really get it with grass either. She loves playing in it and she pulls it so hard she knocks herself over. But at least what she pulls doesn't end up in her mouth. (Yet.)

Luckily we have a yard now and the weather is beginning to cooperate slightly. They both love being outside and it's nice to be able to just throw them out on the lawn and hang out. Yes, once she's really crawling, it will be hard to keep her on the blanket and out of the muck but chasing her around outside will be great. (I know, I say that *now*.) And I have a feeling we'll be going through a whole lot of bubbles this year...

 

What is This "Growing" Thing? And Can I Make it Slow Down?

I have been so bad at keeping up with the changes Madeleine has gone through over the past - oh I don't know TWO YEARS. And when I say "bad at it," I mean NOT doing it. There are so many things I have forgotten and know I will forget that I wish I would have documented somewhere. I think the last time I did any sort of official update or storytelling about her here was when she was just really starting to talk. Now she never shuts up and oh the things that kid comes up with! The stories are endless, the sass is unbelievable, the made up absolutely impossible can be unnerving and the pure innocence and sweetness is heart-melting. Every few weeks I take a step back and realize how much she is growing and changing and learning, and in truth, there is something new every day that I hadn't noticed or wasn't there the day before.

I'll be honest, there are days she's not an easy child (but, really, what "child" is?). She is so strong-willed and independent and stubborn and well, kind of spoiled. But she's also so caring and compassionate and sweet and kind and friendly and it blows my mind because I'm not really sure where she gets that. It breaks my heart to think that someday I am going to have to teach her to not be so friendly and fearless and trusting. That part is just not fair.

She's always talking about growing up and getting big and how she's a big girl, but a little big girl. And she's right, she's growing up so fast and getting so big (really, she still wants to be held and carried - she's not so little anymore). She understands and knows things that I never knew a 3-year old would actually get. She's clever and can be witty and funny and it's just obvious there is a little "person" in there - real logic and rationale masked behind a little kid.

We do go the rounds and she asks, "Mommy, are you mad?" and "Mommy, are you mad at me?" And really, how can you stay mad at that? Other times she cries at you and tells you, "Mommy, you made me mad!" or "Mommy, you made me sad/cry." At which point you really want to say, "Oh yeah? Well you deserve it because after what you did and that's how *I* feel!" But instead you tell her you're very sorry, as your heart breaks for upsetting a tiny little kid regardless of what's she'd done to make you mad in the first place. And she calms down and tells you, "Mommy, I want to listen now" and "Mommy, I want to be nice now." And after the scuffle, she's the sweetest, happiest, nicest little girl again. Until the next one...

And I'll keep taking them because all the bad that may come is nothing when compared to the giggles and "huggies" and kisses and squeals and help and happy that this little big girl is.

 

 

* The first photo was taken in March 2008, the second in March of this year. Yes, it is the same dress/shirt. See. I told you. She is just growing up too fast.