Cutest Kids Ever

I am the worst mother when it comes to taking pictures of my kids.  I never have a camera and never think to make an appointment for a studio.  I took Sam in at 3 months and 8 months and then gave up.  Luckily, my dad has taken a lot of great pictures of my kids.

When Sam was two, he and I went to Colorado to visit my mom and Doug.  My mom made a photo appointment and paid all the fees and we ended up with some darling pictures of my boy.  They were so cute, in fact, that we ended up completely losing our minds and ordering WAY too many different poses.

Last week the kids and I went to Colorado for Thanksgiving.  My mom didn’t even ask this time.  “They have a photo appointment Tuesday at 10.  I’m shopping for coordinated outfits,” her terse text informed me.  I was very happy and grateful and we agreed that this time we would be keeping our cool.  We’d get ONE pose of the two of them together and MAYBE one of Matilda on her own (as she doesn’t have school pictures).

Y’all know where this is going.  We were a mess.  We were already hysterical in the car driving TO the appointment.  Sam and Matilda sat calmly in the backseat as my mom and I dissolved into manic laughing fits.  While the photo shoot was happening we literally clutched at each other every time the camera flashed because we saw how cute the pictures were going to be. 

By the end of our order we wound up ordering seven poses and 108 Christmas cards.  But people, look at these pictures.  Can you blame us?!

Freeze Frame

I have so far been unsuccessful in capturing my daughter's pretty face in a photo.  To illustrate my point, these are the first three pictures of Matilda I found on my phone.

My dear girl views the world in her own way.

 

To be fair, this IS what she looks like 99% of the time.

See her hair?

 

These pictures are why I was SO delighted to open my email yesterday and find this picture from my dad:

Face.  Just her little face.  Skin like porcelain with her hair pushed back.  One thing I noticed right away is how much she looks like Miranda at that age!  I'll have to dig through old pictures and do a side-by-side to compare.  But for now I'm content to just stare at Matilda's pretty face.

Thanks, Dad.

Daddy Hunting

The last few posts I wrote about Matilda before going AWOL mentioned her growing vocabulary.  It has been a year and there is really nothing she can't or (unfortunately) won't say.  I honestly don't know where she gets most of it.

This week Matilda and I were at the store.  A rather attractive man came down our aisle toward us.  Matilda looked up at him and said hopefully, "Mom?  Is that Daddy?"

The man chuckled and I laughed nervously.  "Matilda!  You know that isn't Dad."

I hustled Matilda out of the aisle as the man watched.  I can't let anything go, so I poked my head back around and said, "She has a father. I have not told her to say that to strange men."

Matilda appeared again by my knees. "Yeah," she added sadly. "My NEW daddy is at home."

The little stinker won again.  I had to slink away from the no-longer-amused stranger and continue my shopping in shame.

A Christmas Miracle

After Matilda was born, Lance and Gina were two of our first visitors at home. I selfishly slept through their visit - I was fiercely protective of my rest, knowing full well the insanity that comes from lack of sleep with a newborn.

They are dear, darling people, and never said a word about my rudeness. They just dropped off a huge homecooked meal and a taggie blanket for Matilda. Their friend, Katie, makes baby gifts by hand and I had admired her work when their daughter was born. They remembered and gave us a piece of our own.

It is a little blanket - 12 inches by 12 inches, with a bold animal pattern on the front and hot pink fleece on the back. Each side has strips of multi-colored ribbon for a baby to play with. I thought it was darling and put it with Matilda every chance I got. My persistence paid off when Matilda developed a major attachment to it. It was dubbed "Blanks" and I knew I'd need a backup. Gina came through again and was able to get an almost identical blanket from Katie. The animal print is the same but it is backed with bright blue fleece. Matilda instantly loved it and happily used them interchangeably. Now, one will do in a pinch, but Matilda really wants both of them with her all the time.

This morning the kids and I went to Target. Matilda left both her Blanks in the car and the kids and I did our shopping. While we were in the store some winter weather came through. There was whipping, brutal wind combined with snow and sleet. I fought my way back to my car, pushing Matilda in the cart and dragging Sam next to me, and stopped short when I saw a Blanks on the ground about five feet from my car.

I dashed to it, certain it was about to blow away, and found it partially frozen to the ground. "Ohhh...Blanks!" Matilda said. I clutched it in my hand, horrified by how close we had been to losing it. I walked to the car and was shocked to see the other Blanks stuck to my rear tire.

Obviously they had fallen out when we went into the store. How in the world were they not both lost? The wind was so strong I was having trouble steering my cart in the parking lot. They should both be gone - one of them, at least! - but both were rescued and tucked in with Matilda in her carseat. "Blanks wet," she said a bit disdainfully.

Seriously, if anyone out there is looking for baby gifts that are both beautiful and functional, you need to get in touch with Katie. They're not just blankies - they are magic!

Halloween at IBM

2010 marked our third year of trick or treating at IBM - our favorite! It's our entire Halloween celebration.

We have roughly 70 costumes in our house that I've picked up on clearance and at garage sales. Therefore, Sam chose to wear the same costume he wore last year. It just about killed me. Matilda was a very excited puppy.

Thanks, Grandpa Mark!

She Speaks

"Matilda, what kind of cake do you want for your birthday?"

"Num-num."

"Yep, it'll be good. What kind do you want? Elmo? Cat In the Hat?"

"Melmo. Go go go go go."

"Elmo AND Cat In the Hat? Which one do you want?"

"Num-num."

"Yes, but what do you want it to look like?"

"Cake."

Done.

--------------------------------------

"Mama! Mama!"

"What?"

"Oh, Mama. Oh, NO. Mama, DOWN."

"What fell?"

"Down, Mama! Down!"

I follow her into her room to find a book on the floor. I put it back in her bookshelf.

"Tain too, Mama. Nice."

I live to please.

---------------------------------------

Sam, Eric, and I sat around the dinner table and discussed our Christmas lists. Suddenly:

"No!"

We all looked at Matilda in surprise.

"No! No. Shhhhhh!"

"Wha -" Eric started.

"SHHHHHH!" Matilda hissed, covering her mouth with her finger. Stunned into silence we all stared at her for a moment.

She nodded, satisfied. "Shhhhhh," she said again, and continued eating.

-------------------------------------------

And a few translations:

"Mama, show-show and brush." (Mom, take a shower and do your hair, you filthy creature.)

"No Sam! No shut! Mine! MINE! AAAAAAHHHHH!" (Sam, please open your bedroom door. I left something of mine in there.)

"Milk an' num-num an' fork." (I would like a bowl of cereal.)

"Mama! Towel!" (I have made a huge mess and need this cleaned up.)

"Shhhhhhoooooooopppppiiiiiiiinnnnnnnggggg!" (We just dropped Sam off at school - let's hit the stores!)

"Go. Socks. Shoes. Coat. Go." (Let's get out of this house!)

"Mama brush." (Please put my hair in a ponytail and get it out of my face.)

"Tub-tub. Bubbles. Book. Down." (I'm ready to do our evening routine and go to bed.)

Deesh-deesh - TV
Bubba - friend/loved one
Butt - diaper/bathroom
Eeeeewwww - any of us, at any given time
Bee - Grandma Bay
Papa - all grandparents
Neckdice - jewelry
Pus - puzzle
Song - all music, instruments, radios

Two By Two

How, how, HOW do kids know exactly what to do to drive their parents over the edge?

Matilda's whining is out of control. Everything she does, even when she's happy, is accompanied by whining noises. We've yelled, bribed, pleaded, and ignored and nothing stops it. Her latest thing is adding a syllable to 'no.'

"Matilda, it's time to (go to bed, read a book, get dressed, etc, etc)."

"No-ah!"

"Matilda! That isn't a nice way to talk. Don't say no like that."

"No-ah."

"Matilda!"

"NO-AHHHH!"

Repeat the above 658 times and you'll have imagined my entire day.

Gah!!

Luci and Abdi's Reception

Eric's stepsister, Luci, is Grandma Susan's youngest daughter. She got married several months ago in a small ceremony. Last Saturday she and her husband, Abdi, had a reception in Plainview for all of us who didn't see the wedding.

Luci and Abdi are Muslims. Luci is the only Muslim in our family so we've been learning all we can about her faith and new traditions. That's why I was mortified to commit a faux pas within seconds of walking into the party. Luci greeted us with a hug and introduced us to Abdi. Eric shook his hand and out of habit I stuck my hand out at him, too. Ugh...of course I had forgotten that he doesn't touch any woman other than his wife. He was kind about it but wouldn't shake my hand and I ended up feeling really stupid. I felt better when I found out that Eric's sister Amy had done the same thing - ha! Leave it to me and Amy to be the big idiots of the day.

Carl, Susan, Wally, and Mike Dailey

Shannan, Luci, and Amy (I love this picture of my sisters!)

Take a good look. Matilda is the spitting image of these two (there will be pictures in an upcoming post to prove it). You're looking at my daughter in 30 years!

Here's Abdi and Luci. Abdi's family was pretty amused by the cake-cutting thing.

The littlest Dailey.

Thank goodness for balloons and an open area for the kids to play!

There aren't enough words in any language to explain how funny this is to me. I can't imagine that Wally or Mike ever imagined a day they would wear kufis.

No matter where you worship, no marriage is complete without a Crock-Pot!

Lime Springs

I'm close to giving up our house and living directly out of our car. Every day is another trip!

Today the kids and I drove down to Lime Springs, IA to see Grandma Colleen's new house. We followed Amy and Sean down and got there in time for lunch. I wasn't surprised when Colleen got home a few minutes after we arrived, blew a small tornado through her kitchen, and had us all at the table with our plates piled high ten minutes later.

It was such a nice day. Sam, Matilda, and Sean ran from room to room chasing each other with dog toys. When they finally got tired Colleen set them up at the table with paper and markers. I almost passed out when Matilda ran into the kitchen with her artwork and managed to leave a pink marker trail across the front of the refrigerator. Colleen couldn't have been less worried about it but I'm so stressed, imagining her there trying to scrub it off! She said she misses having a house full of marker swipes and grubby fingerprints. I think I'll bring her a Magic Eraser just in case.

Colleen has been like a mom to me since I was 15 years old. She gives of herself endlessly. I couldn't be happier knowing she is in such a lovely home in a safe little town. Even better, she is just under an hour and a half away - the perfect distance for a day trip. The kids and I will be able to run down to see her whenever the mood strikes.

I truly love my husband's family - what a wonderful gift!

Aiden Is Four!

I've spent the last 20 minutes trying to figure out how old Aiden was when I met him. I am really, really bad at this, but I think I've figured out that if he turned 4 in July 2010, he turned 1 in July 2007. I feel like Karen and I became friends in the fall but I've always thought I met Aid when he was 10 months old. Well, no matter if he was 10 months or 14 months old, he was a teeny tiny thing. I will never forget the little jeans and flannel shirt he was wearing when Karen came over to our house for our first playdate. He was sooooo cute!

That cute little dude is four years old now. Four! All grown up and calling me "Mrs. Mom." Sam and Aid have gone from diapers and naptimes to preschool and dinosaurs, but they have a relationship that knows no bounds. People at Aiden's birthday party were even commenting on their infatuation with each other. They LOVE each other.

(Speaking of that party...it was at 4:00 on a Sunday afternoon. Eric was on call and that is dangerously close to bedtime. I was 50% sure we would be going. Then Karen, that rat, said, "I asked Aid what he wanted for his birthday and he said, 'A bucket of dinosaurs, a bucket of dragons, and Sam.'" How could I not go to the ends of the earth to make sure Sam was at Aiden's party?!)

Karen took these pictures of my kids at the party. It was a huge backyard blowout and my kids were naked for most of it. It was awesome! Sam couldn't have been any more excited about Aiden's presents than if they were his own. What a great party!

We LOVE the Bures family!!

Bargain Victory

Matilda LOVES her babies. I've watched her cover them with a blanket and shush them, share her Cheerios with them, and pull her own Nuk out of her mouth to cram into theirs. It is truly so sweet.

I got out my old doll highchair and cradle several months ago. It was a nice set meant for older kids and Matilda destroyed it pretty quickly. She sat in the highchair and in the cradle and soon they were in pieces.

I wanted to find doll playset furniture for Matilda to play with. I've been looking online a lot trying to get an idea as to what was out there. Imagine my complete elation when I found the Graco Baby Doll Playset yesterday - at Goodwill! It was new in the box and the pieces were still in plastic. I spent $9.99 on it. That is a lot of money for one of my scavenging trips - I usually allot just a few dollars for garage sale/thrift store treasures - but this was such a good deal I couldn't pass it up.

I put it all together as soon as the kids and I got home. Sam and Matilda played with it for hours. I'm pretty sure this set will be destroyed, too, but I know they'll get more than my $9.99's worth of playtime out of it.

Corkscrew

I have moved our play kitchen, table, and chairs into Matilda's room. The kids have been in there all day playing 'tea.'

I walk in and find Matilda wearing a black velvet bodysuit with a pink tutu. Sam jumps in front of me holding a plastic pot.

"This is Dave!" he screams.

"Dave?" I say, baffled.

"Who is Dave?" asks Sam, just as confused.

"Did you say the pot is named Dave?" I asked.

"Oh, Dave," Sam says, nodding. "Yeah, this is Dave."

"Day! Day! Day!" Matilda screams and bends at the waist, resting the top of her head on her toes.

I leave them in there, bent in half and filling Dave with plastic carrots, and go look for a bottle of wine.

Open-Mouthed Enthusiasm

My dad and Tina came over on Tuesday night. As always, my dad managed to get the BEST pictures of my kids. These are just two of them.

While Matilda was babbling at Grandpa and trying to climb up on the table, he caught this:

After we all passed his camera around, laughing at that picture, he asked Sam to give him a good smile like Matilda's. So, he got this:

They're two of the most bizarre little people I've ever met!

Q: What Could Be Better...

...than Eric taking the kids to the park so I could stay home and nap?



A: Waking up from said nap with this picture on my phone.

It's impossible for me to look at it without laughing. It seems that one of my children had a better time than the other.

Eric, you are such a fun dad.

Pipsqueaks

Oh, Rochester. I'm happier here than I ever thought I would be. If it only had a library (no, I don't consider that building downtown a library) and more than one play gym. To be fair, as far as indoor gyms go, Pipsqueaks IS a good one. About a month ago I invited Dusty and Charlie to join us for a morning playdate. Dusty is the type of mom who carries a camera with her and was snapping away the whole time.

Sam and Charlie having a meeting in their cars. Poor Sam is so big.

This is the top of the huge play structure. Sam is in the opening of the spiral slide. Charlie would not go down it and Matilda was just mad she had to wait.

You can't really tell here, but Matilda the Brute started pushing one car and picked others up on her way across the gym. By the end she was pushing a pile of 10 cars.

Matilda Speaks

Mom: Matilda, are you hungry?

Matilda: Glrph.

Mom: Do you want to eat?

Matilda: unintelligible screaming

Mom: Here, have a graham cracker.

----------------------------------------

(Garage door opening)

Matilda: Da!! Dada! Dadadadada!!!

Mom: No, it's just me. Dad's not home yet.

Matilda: unintelligible screaming

----------------------------------------

Matilda: Mama! Zim!

Mom: Sam's in his room.

Matilda: Glrph?

Mom: No, you don't need to go in there.

Matilda: unintelligible screaming

----------------------------------------

Matilda: Ni-ni.

Mom: You want to go to bed?

Matilda: slaps Mom across the face

----------------------------------------

Sam: Tidda, do you want to get up on the couch?

Matilda: No! Zim no!

Sam: Honey, do you need help?

Matilda (throwing herself on the ground): No!

Sam: Okay. (Gets up on the couch alone.)

Matilda (hitting Sam for not helping her up onto the couch): unintelligible screaming

Language Boom

Matilda is realllly starting to talk a lot. She still signs please, more, and eat and says thank you every four minutes. Two days ago Eric and Sam were playing with the turtles and Sam held one up.

"Is this a good guy or a bad guy?" he asked.

Matilda, who was watching over the back of the couch, was the one who answered. "Good guy," she said confidently.

She hasn't told me to go in a long time, which is lovely. She's simply telling me no, which is terrible.

Yesterday she said all done. Two nights ago she listed our family, which was both surprising and darling. I was in her room with her and she heard Sam and Eric yelling in the living room.

"Dada," she said.

"Yep," I answered.

"Zim," she continued.

I laughed. "Sam? Yes."

"Mama," she said.

"That's me," I said.

"Tidda," she concluded.

It was so cute! I can't wait to hear what she's going to say today.

She's A Wreck

Now that Matilda is able to skip a morning nap I'm able to run errands with her while Sam is in school. It is so much easier to just have a kid in the cart!

Matilda had a pretty high fever on Sunday, Monday, and into Tuesday morning. Yesterday she woke up from her nap with a terrifying red rash all over her body. I called the doctor's office and confirmed that it was most likely roseola. She's been okay but is obviously uncomfortable.

This morning after we dropped Sam at school we went to the store. Looking back, I should have guessed she'd need a nap this morning. She hung on for a while but then started falling apart. Sitting in the front of the cart, she gazed around with bleary, puffy eyes. Her face was blotchy and red and her hair was alternately matted down and standing on end.

I put a box of Kashi Honey Sunshine cereal (free after coupon!) in the cart. Matilda perked right up. She wrenched herself around until she managed to grip the box and pull it up into the seat next to her. Honey Sunshine was her favorite cereal six months ago and we haven't had it since. The kid has a memory like a steel trap. She clung to the box through the rest of the store and screamed when I put it on the belt. The kind woman checking my groceries tried to find the treat so she could scan it and hand it back to her. She didn't believe me when I said it was the box of Kashi.

Matilda cried again when I had to take it away from her to put her in her carseat. She hung on to it the whole way home and managed to drag it upstairs with her. I thought she'd have to sleep with it but I managed to wrench it away from her. Fever, rash, and the only thing she wants is whole grains.

I've always thought Sam was a bizarre little kid and now Matilda is obsessed with boxes of healthy cereal. I'm going to have to start looking at myself.

She's the Worst

I say it a lot. "She's the worst," I mutter as I pick up pieces of torn books.

"She's the worst," I sigh when I watch her scream and cry, struggling to empty every kitchen drawer.

"She's the worst!" I wince after she throws her cup of milk on my head from the top of the stairs.

She gets into my makeup and dumps out my powder. She gets the garbage from the bathroom and pours it on a bedroom floor. She eats anything she can find on the floor. She hits. She screams. She throws a fit when she doesn't get her way.

She's the worst.

I can't help being amused by how horrible she is. I like that she has the confidence to not worry if people are mad at her. She is driven and determined. I've always known she was my little warrior.

She's even calming down a bit as she gets older. She's learning how to share. She sits quietly at her chair when we eat dinner. She gives us kisses and hugs without us asking for them. She brings me things she isn't supposed to have. She likes to sit in her room and read books. She waits in her crib in the morning, patiently paging through books, until I go in to get her. She's signing several words and saying new ones every day. She gets her own blanket and tells me when she wants to take a nap. She plays peek-a-boo and laughs, laughs, laughs!

Matilda is a monster but seems to be slowly changing into a sweet little girl. Right now she is the worst - and I am enjoying it as long as I can.

Bottomless Pits

Yesterday the kids and I were at a friend's house for lunch. She was making them chicken nuggets.

"How many will they eat?" she asked me.

"Whatever," I said.

"No, how many do they need?" she asked again.

"It doesn't matter. Five," I suggested.

"They'll be full with five?" she clarified.

"No," I said. "It doesn't matter. They are always hungry. You could give them two and they'd still be hungry. You could give them 20 and they would still be hungry. I just give them whatever."

They each ended up with much more on their plates than five chicken nuggets. Both of them ate everything on their plates and looked for more.

Today I picked Sam up at Lunch Bunch. The parent volunteer said to me, "I think Sam was very hungry today."

"He always is," I shrugged.

"No," she said, "The other kids barely ate and then ran off to play. Sam sat with his lunch and ate until all of it was gone."

"I'm sure he did," I said.

"He devoured it," she said.

Just then Sam came running with his coat and bookbag. "Mom!" he cried happily. "I am SO hungry!"

The teacher was absolutely shocked. (Seriously, he had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a little cup of diced pears in his lunchbox. Is that really that much food?)

This morning as I was cleaning the kitchen I loaded the dishwasher. Matilda watched me put her snack bowl in and shut the door.

She lost her mind. It was the worst thing that has ever happened to her.

She had already had breakfast and snack. She hadn't even been using that bowl. There was nothing in it. But my daughter was frantic with grief about being separated from her snack bowl.

GOOD GRIEF.