Allons-y!

Repeat Performance

Alice is asleep right now so I have a moment to note that yesterday's successful use of the potty was not a fluke! She requested use of the facilities again this morning and went through the whole process without a hitch. I have a book that is called "Potty Train your Child in One Day", but I confess that I never actually read the book.

Maybe Alice read it?

Banner Day

We used the potty.

Not me, or Tony, or the cat (though that would have been notable). Alice told her dad during tonight's bath that she needed to use the facilities. She hopped out and was as good as her word. Much rejoicing, the end of diapers is nigh!

Following Leanne's example

Our excellent buddy Leanne showed me how to cover unrecoverable stains on Alice's clothes with fabric paint in her great blog Kindred Design

Here is a previously blueberry stained onsie, modeled by the little lady:


Alice will point out the details:





I used a poppy pattern that I originally made for Alice's baptism announcement:


This method will salvage quite a few outfits, so my thanks go out to Leanne and her excellent crafty blog.

New Shoes

Grammy purchased some shiny shoes for a certain granddaughter who insists that Mr. Bear be fashionably attired at all times. The shoes are a little big for the kid, so this works out fine.

Alice's new favorite word: Pumpkin

Sorry to all Grandparents that I have been so long in updating the blog. It has been a crazy month of work and I am just now coming up for air.

We finally started doing seasonal kid stuff with Alice, for instance here is our first visit to a Pumpkin Patch.






Side Story: Tony lifted Alice's bum up to my nose while we were looking at the pumpkins and asked if she needed a change. Right on cue Alice...broke wind. Tony found this more than a little hilarious:

Toddler Milestone

Today was a monumental day. Alice will be 16 months old tomorrow and a whopping 2 feet 9 inches. I learned her height this afternoon, because 2'9" is how tall a toddler needs to be to reach the garage door handle, and lock Mommy out of the house.


Thank you to neighbor Charles for lending me a phone to call Tony and a pair of flip-flops as I was barefoot.

Thank you to my Father-in-law Mike for the UD windbreaker he gave me a few years ago. I was grateful to find it in the garage, as it was raining buckets.

Thank you to Alice for not pulling the laptop on her head, or setting fire to the cat, or any other disaster while I was trapped outside.

Thank you to Tony for running home to rescue us and unfortunately pulling a muscle along the way!

Alice decided to try out the Ergo

Imagine my heart melting when I saw Alice walking this bear to sleep. Erik and Nicole might recognize the bear.

Reading is fundamental

Ten erie minuets of silence had me worried. I hadn't been dragged into a game of trucks or climbed like a breathing jungle gym in ages. So I peek around the corner and see this



She just kept "reading" her magazine until I finished my work.

Thank you Leanne and Brad!

Alice and I came home from a very hot walk (102 outside today) as walking around the block is her new favorite thing, and were greeted by a "just because" package from Brad and Leanne!



The book has beautiful illustrations of foxes and frogs. We joke about Leanne wanting to go outside in nature like a weirdo but Alice seems to have the same strange compulsion. They are bonding over this outdoor fixation.



I love the ducky shirt. Just love it to bits. Leanne made that duck, which as Alice pointed out, says "Quack".

Baby Vampire

Alice has grown fond of cherries. An excellent treat but bathtime is a more common occurrence these days.

Spider monkey learns new skills

Guess what Alice can do...






Alice can also:
Open her bedroom door, at the top of our staircase.
Reach the front door handle
She figured out how to turn on the stove
She opened our childproof bathroom cabinets
Also the "childproof" cap on Tony's medication...needs to be re-named.

In a less nerve-wreaking update, Alice likes to pretend she is Daddy. This is her favorite game.

"Ry Ruff Eww"

"Mhhm." Says I to the noise coming out of Alice's mouth as I cut up an apple for our snack.

"Ry Ruff Ew." She repeats and then says, "Tank" after receiving her slice of apple.

"You're welcome", I reply automatically.

My pantleg is tugged gently and I look down. "Ry Ruff...Ew." Alice says into my blank face, then she adds to clarify: "...Mama".
I am beset by a sudden thunderous realization and a buzzing thrill behind my cheekbones.

"I love you too baby!"


Color me gobsmacked.

Alice's Sunday Crown

It is stupid crazy hot out. Thirty days over 100 degrees. So no-money family fun time outside the house is a trial, especially when your toddler has recently been running a fever.

First thing you need, is a fabulous hat:


Thank you Grammy for the new hat.

Cardboard Tube Samurai Princess

This was a "2nd Halloween" costume suggestion for Alice from friend Joe. I wanted to post this picture to show how right on this idea is for our delicate little flower. Sorry not to have responded to the actual email, will reply soon.





This little boy in these photos is sweet Josef who is Alice's second cousin. The kids were playing in the toy room at Tony's Aunt and Uncle's 50th anniversary party. Alice brandished her swords at most of the attendees who were mostly liberal arts professors. She got a lot of Homer quoted in her general direction.

Snoozers

And when the world is quiet
and the evening moon is bright
We put on our pajamas
and hug all our Mammas
and never fall asleep all night.

-Sandra Boynton ("Snoozers")

This is a bedtime story Alice hears every night but she really took it to heart this evening. It was our fault letting her fall asleep in the car after 5pm and then expecting her to be tired again at bedtime.

FYI: For most of her life we have been walking Alice to sleep in a carrier strapped to our chests and placing her in the crib when she drops off. Our pediatrician thinks that toddlers shouldn't be put to sleep this way. She wants us to put Alice in the crib and let her fall asleep on her own. So Alice has been put in the crib and stroked and sung to and loved on for hours. She has also been left to her own devices while Mommy counts to ten in the other room. We have used a million tools and tricks but never once has she fallen asleep on her own in the crib. Here is what I used tonight:

1) The transitional object:

The point of a transitional object is to give the kid a cuddly toy that can be snuggled in place of a parent when the kid is ready to learn how to fall asleep without constant attention.

Alice has chosen the stuffed lamb that I (and my sister) also loved as a toddler. Alice routinely snuggles Mr. Lamb while falling asleep...with her father. With me Alice just throws the lamb to the floor. Tonight I picked the discarded lamb up off the floor and put it in the crib.

Alice screamed like I had gently placed the lamb in an abattoir. She flung herself onto the lamb and clutched it to her chest. How could I have put this defenseless creature in the torture chamber?

To make sure this wasn't a fluke I walked Alice out of the bedroom and watched, as we passed out of sight of the crib Alice's grip on the lamb faded until he was hanging by a hoof. I inched closer to the crib and Mr. Lamb was pulled back into her desperate protective embrace. No lamb was ever going to suffer like she has suffered.

I have decided, at least for the near future to jettison the "fall asleep alone in the crib" training like an unwanted lamb.

2) Singing

An hour into the huge failure that was tonight's bedtime routine I started the first bars of "You are my Sunshine" which I have sung since Alice was a zygote. My daughter looked deep in my eyes and slowly shook her head, "No."
I burst out laughing at that unexpected critique. Alice squinted, wrinkled her nose, and gave me a wide grin. All this while still slowly shaking her head. "No Mommy."

3) Giving Up

At the two hour mark I just flopped down on our bed with a deeply overtired Alice. She proceeded to climb drunkenly all over me and fling herself into all sorts of contorted positions only to bounce up to standing again in a parody of a person covered in balloons trying to lie down for sleep. At one point she draped herself over my legs. From my perspective I could only see her chubby baby legs and rear end stuck up in the air. I thought, "This is good enough. Just fall asleep now and I promise not to move until morning."

4) Really Giving Up

At one point Alice went from a supine position to standing up and walking around crying in desperation. So I just caved and called for Tony to halt his cooking of our dinner (a lovely chicken pot pie) and to come tag me out. When Tony took Alice in his arms she started wailing and reaching for me. It broke my heart to see her so upset but Tony told me to go get a beer and take a knee.

3 minuets later. Guess what happened.

So Alice has been asleep for about three hours now and I have an early appointment. Tony suggested that since he is on vacation this week I should sleep downstairs just in case she is fussy again in the middle of the night.

It should be noted that I have not slept away from Alice since she came into being. Which is why I am up typing instead of trying to fall asleep.

Where is Mr. Lamb?

Moose and Squirrel

We have named Alice's two front teeth "Moose and Squirrel" because Alice looks like Rocky minus the Aviator cap.
We have a runner up for potential 2nd Halloween Costume.



Check out the uncanny resemblance:



Thank you to Claire for the delightful princess pajamas!

Fatten her up like a Xmas Goose

Alice is a bit of a string bean as I was at this age. So much so that at her one year check up she actually weighed less than at her nine month appointment. The pediatrician thinks that Alice's current predicament came from learning to walk early (burning calories) and developing teeth late so she was not able to eat with enough skill to pack on the pounds. Also she was exclusively breast fed and kids who have formula in their diets are fortified with slow burning calories whereas breastmilk burns up quickly. The additional Rice cereal with pureed fruits and veggies only go so far. In fact I might have some weight loss success if I switched to an all blender diet and spent my days learning to walk in circles shouting "kitty!".

Long story short the Dr. wants Alice to gain about three pounds in the next five months.

I am firmly and manically committed to this mission. I add carnation instant breakfast (plus a vitamin shot) and frozen blueberries to her morning milk. I keep a tiny box of raisins in her hand at all times. I hand feed her crackers with veggie puree on top. I slather her ricecakes (the favorite teething device) with full fat cream cheese.

Which is why I recently cleaned:

A pair of my pants covered in cream cheese handprints.
A cat covered in carnation instant breakfast, milk, and blueberries.
A diaper filled with about a half cup of undigested raisins.

Right now Alice is holding an asparagus spear (topped with a dollop of deviled egg filling) and looking at me quizzically.

The big 01

We had a Monkey theme:





We had two adorable cousins in attendance:






There was cake:






And candles to blow out:





Boy howdy were there presents for all the kids:







And a general abundance of delightful chaos:






Thank you to the whole family for helping with this party and for everyone who traveled to come and visit us. A special thank you to Michelle for carrot cupcakes so delicious that they were eaten to the last miniscule crumb. Thanks to our family and friends, Alice had a wonderful day.