“Oi” and the independent toddler

Toddlers are strange creatures. They are sponges- picking up on everything. And they have an imagination unlike none other. Always making stuff up, whether it be friends, noises, etc.

Emily has decided that many words need to end with the sound “oi”. “No-oi”, “Yeah-oi”, “Shadoi”. There’s much more that she adds it to. My mind just went blank though. It’s so funny! It took me a minute to figure out what in the world she was trying to say. I don’t correct her, I just repeat the words correctly. I am sure the “no-oi”s will be gone soon!

If you haven’t guessed already, Emily is one independent toddler. She wants to do as much as she can by herself. Sometimes the hard way. She takes after her dad in many ways. There are a few of things that she has picked up on that has me shaking my head. She has figured out how to open the refrigerator. It doesn’t have handles either! Luckily she doesn’t do this trick often. She can also open the patio door. That hasn’t been a problem yet. She wants to let Shadow in and out. I think the problems might arise when the weather is warmer and she ventures outside by herself. Luckily she hasn’t figured out the lock yet!

Stephen also taught her how to turn on the light in the car next to her car seat. A feat I think he is regretting now. She turns it on all the time. Her turning it on isn’t a huge deal until she doesn’t turn it off. How long does the light have to be on before the battery dies??? That’s one question that I’d rather lick the tootsie pop for than find out firsthand!

One thing for sure, there isn’t a dull moment in my life!

Funny things toddlers say…

I have google toolbar on my computer. One of the applications I have rotates photos from the pictures on my computer. Emily loves it. If I have the laptop open when she is around, she’ll come take a look at the pictures.

One of the pictures up the other day was of me at Emily’s babyshower. This is how our conversation went:

Mommy!!!!!

Yes, that’s Mommy at Emily’s baby shower before you were born. You were in mommy’s tummy still.

Oh…..I sorry about that.

I couldn’t help but crack up. The stuff that comes out of that child’s mouth…..You do have to understand though that “I sorry about that” is the phrase du jour.

You know what I want????

It’s amazing how Emily remembers stuff and how she is able to use her language skills. She’s one funny little girl. Singing, dancing, being silly. I just love her to pieces. I just had to preserve a “conversation” that we had this morning and thought I’d share it as well.

“You know what I need Emily??”

She stops and looks at me with this sheepish grin, “a kiss.”

“What else do I need??”

Shaking her head, “a big hug.”

And then she come running over to me with her arms outstretched and knocks me over with the sheer force of her hug.

I love it!!!

Extra! Extra! Big news!!!

I have two pieces of big news in the J household to share!

First off, Emily is officially in a big girl bed! I was very, very hesitant about it. I wasn’t ready for her to move yet and I didn’t think she was ready to move yet. The funny thing is that I had JUST blogged about it. I think I jinxed myself! That little girl loved her crib more than anything. It was “her” place.

Why move her you ask? I still ask myself that occasionally. I chose to go along with Stephen’s idea with the understanding that the crib would go back IMMEDIATELY if needed. The reason behind the move is that Emily was showing signs of being ready. She had only climbed out once or twice so that wasn’t an issue. The issue was with bed time. She wasn’t wanting me to carry her to the crib anymore. She wanted to walk. That was fine until she didn’t want me to put her into the crib anymore. She wanted to climb in. And she wasn’t very good at it. She was wanting to be a big girl and Stephen thought it was time. I am still sad.

We chose to buy her a new bed because we didn’t think the converted crib with work. It was her CRIB and the railing should be ON. I think it was a wise move on our part. I personally think it would have been harder just converting.

I am happy to report that Emily has done really well with it though. She has had some night waking. I can’t say if it’s due to the bed transition or the fact that Emily is sick.  (We didn’t know she was sick when we bought her big girl bed- we probably would have waited.) We also bought a princess bedding set and I think that sealed the deal. She really seems to like her big girl bed after I named off her friends that slept in their beds. Thanks to Trinity, Kara and Chase for unknowingly making the transition a little easier!

She has not gotten out of her bed during the middle of the night when she has woken up or in the morning. She just calls for her mommy and daddy to come get her. I am sure that won’t last very long but I’ll take it while I can!  I have been sleeping on edge because of her being sick and I keep waiting to hear our door open and find her in my face!

I think she really likes her bed and is doing well for the most part. I am still sad that she making all of these transitions. Too soon if you ask me. I know she needs to grow up but she will always be my little girl.

My big girl in her bed

Snuggling in

 

The other big news!!!!

Emily went pee pee and poo poo in the potty! You know you are a mom when that’s a big deal and you make an announcement! I was planning on really laying the ground work after the first of the year with potty training. She has gone before but went on strike for quite some time. I caught her tonight before she “did her business” and asked her if she wanted to sit on the potty. Stickers and money! (pennies and pooh stickers!) Shockingly, she said YES! And even more shockingly, she ACTUALLY went! I was so very impressed!!!!! Stephen even gave her a quarter instead of a penny! I am sure it was probably a fluke but I will take what I can get. It’s just one more step toward the potty training process and my little girl growing up. I would like her to slow down a bit. Although, changing diapers I could do without!

Target or Kohl’s???

Black Friday. The early morning crazies. Deals, schmeals….There wasn’t anything in any ad that made me want to get up out of my toasty bed to hit the stores early. I had to work anyway but not until 8. So, we slept in. And we were toasty! How about you????

We did some shopping after dinner instead. Emily was in rare form as always. She was cracking me up even before we left the house. She has several cell phones that she plays with. Of course she picked out the largest one of the bunch and HAD to take it with her. The silly thing barely fit into her jeans pocket but that’s where it was supposed to be. HAD to be. After putting it in her pocket 10 times we were ready to go.

We were debating on trying to do some actual shopping at Target or heading over to Kohl’s to pick up a few things but mainly browse. The toddler said we should go to Kohl’s. Not sure why but that’s where she wanted to go. Stephen and I decided that our time out would be better spend actually knocking some items off of our list so we were going to Target. We were stopped at the stoplight when Emily stopped chatting on her phone and heard Stephen and I say that we were heading to Target.

“NO!!!!!!! NO, Target!!!!! Go Kohl’s!!!!! I go Kohl’s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

That was one determined toddler. Who knew that a two year old had an opinion on where to go shopping! So, we compromised. We told Emily that we were going to Target first and then we would head to Kohl’s. We get off of the highway, stop at the light before Target and Emily spazzes! “Kohl’s!!!!!!!!!! Go Kohl’s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Curious….Why Kohl’s? “Emily, why do you want to go to Kohl’s??” Daddy asks. “I dunno,” answers Emily.

And there you have it. The toddler’s guide to shopping. Go to Kohl’s. Stephen and I think that it has to do with Kohl’s little shopping carts but we are just grasping at straws!

Sweet Emily….

Emily is one of the sweetest little girls I know. She had a heart of gold and is full of love. I knew this already but she wanted to reinforce it on Friday.

As I was getting her out of the cart and into her car seat, she grabbed my face and turned it towards hers. I had no idea what she was going to do! She gave me a kiss!!! I get a little teary thinking about it.

Many times, when I ask for a kiss or hug she says “No. Mommy cry.” I made the error a week or two ago asking for a hug. When she told me no, I said “You are going to make mommy cry. Boo hooo.” Now she thinks it’s funny to say “Mommy/Daddy cry” when we ask for hugs or kisses.

So, as you can see, the spontaneous kiss threw me off! It was so sweet and tender hearted. That’s the girl I know and love.

Compromise and convenience

Little Miss Emily…..It’s hard to believe that she is going to be 2 soon! She’s growing so fast and is turning into a head strong little girl who knows what she wants and how to get it!

Like any child, we are working on the concept of sharing. I think she gets the concept for the most part but it is hard to execute. You want something and you want it now. It’s hard to let someone else have a turn or use what you are wanting. Except when it is to your advantage.

Yesterday morning we were sitting at the table for breakfast. Stephen and  I were having Honey Bunches of Oats and she was having Cheerios. I hadn’t sat down yet, as I was getting the milk out of the refrigerator. She said something. Half paying attention, I thought she said “Sit Mommy.” Cute, I thought. She wants me to sit and eat. No, she said “Share Mommy.” She wanted me to share my cereal with her because, obviously, everything tastes better when it’s mommy’s.

She is also learning how to negotiate and compromise. I told her that it was time to get out of the bathtub and get dressed. “Minute Mommy.” Wha???? Seriously, I shook my head as I could not believe it. She wasn’t ready to get out….I didn’t think that started until the teenage years!

The only good thing is that I can bribe her still. Not in a bad way. My bribes usually go something like this:

“Do you want to see Grandma today?” “Well, you better come and get dressed!”
“Do you want to leave the park now? “If you don’t, you better not go up those steps. If you do, we are leaving.”
“Do you want Grandma to pick you up today?” “We better get to the car quickly.”

OK, so they might not be bribes per se. But do you see a pattern in two of those examples?? Emily will do anything when it involves her Grandma. And I definitely use that to my advantage.

My little girl. Going on 2, going on 13. Grant me patience and compassion.

Sweet, sweet words…..

Church with a toddler. A busy, loud toddler? How do you handle it? Stephen and I are active in our parish so there are weeks that we have to sit in the front and we refuse to sit in the cry room with the obnoxious kids and parents who don’t care and don’t get anything out of mass. Father Ryan said that church is about family and families with small children should not have to be segregated from the masses. We took that to heart and sit with the general population. How would Emily ever learn to behave and listen?

It’s not that Emily is bad, per se. She’s just active and doesn’t know how to whisper. It’s hard to sit still for that long for an almost two year old, let alone a 30 year old! Our only saving grace is that mass lasts for an hour or less. Usually no more. Emily goes berserk if we aren’t out of there by an hour. I am trying really hard not to compare Emily to other children close to her age. I see this family that attends our church. They have two precious children that are a bit older than Emily. They are ANGELS. I have never, ever heard them utter a peep, let alone cry. Is that normal or are they just good freaks of nature?

We were standing in church this morning, listening to a prayer. I am holding Emily of course because she wouldn’t have it any other way. She looks at me and says (in a VERY loud voice) “Mommy! I happy mommy!” Those were very, very sweet words. I couldn’t pay attention to the prayer and I got tears in my eyes. My sweet daughter. Kid, you just don’t even know how happy you make me. But she doesn’t say or do anything just once! Repeat…several times “I HAPPY Mommy!” I know that everyone around us had to hear her. Heck, Father Ryan and Deacon Joe had to hear her and they were sitting up front!

I prayed. I prayed for patience. I need patience to be a good mother. To deal with such a sweet girl who drives me out of my mind sometimes. We are getting into the twos. Ah, the twos. It’s not bad, it’s just very, very challenging. Take a deep breath and count to 10!

All I want to do is pee

Let me preface this post by saying: If you know me, you know that I love my daughter more than life itself. She is the best thing that I ever did. I wouldn’t trade one bad day with her for a million good days without her. But…………..

Sometimes I just need to be by myself. I need to have 5 minutes where I am not holding her, talking to her, answering her questions. She is going through a phase. God, I hope it’s a phase. She wants her mommy and only her mommy most of the time. In church, she wants her mommy to pick her up. Emily only wants to hold mommy’s hand in parking lots or on walks. At home, she wants to sit by her mommy. She doesn’t want her daddy to sit by her mommy or hug her mommy.

The other night, Emily got mad at Stephen because he was on *her spot* on the couch. So he moved over next to me. “NO!!! NO!!! Daddy!!! MY MOMMY!!!!!” She came running over to the couch and pryed Stephen away from me.

Tonight, she was playing with her barn next to her daddy. All I wanted to do was pee in peace. I went into the bathroom in our bedroom and shut the door. I heard “Mommy???” “Mommy????” being yelled throughout the house. Seriously??? I couldn’t even get 2 minutes to pee.

I am glad Emily loves me. “Luv too mommy” is what I hear when I tell her a million times a day that I love her. I know she loves her daddy. I don’t know if it’s because I am more nurturing or what. She gets in trouble with me just the same with Stephen. Although I seem to be a little more gentle. Maybe that’s it. I ask her to give me things instead of taking them away off the bat. I give her a chance to do what I say before I get angry or forceful. I do not negotiate but I give her a chance to do things in toddler fashion. It might not always be the fastest but…. My theories are: Pick your battles. Not everything is a battle. And…..You catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Please and thank you go a long way with a toddler. They don’t want to be ordered around like a prisoner. Show them respect and you get as much respect as you can get from a two year old.

Please tell me this is a phase. Please tell me that she will become attached to her Daddy. Or half way attached to her daddy. Please tell me that one day, I will be able to pee in peace.

Vacation: Emily funnies

I thought this deserved a post of it’s own!

Emily was a real comedian on Monday. She was cracking me up! Emily was taking her sweet time eating so Stephen was trying to coax her to eat some more. Here was part of the conversation:

“Come on Emily! You need to eat. Put your hot dogs in your belly. You’re hungry” (Stephen)

Emily pulls up her shirt and trys to put the hot dogs IN her belly.

“And that’s why I work at the Crayola Cafe” (Waitress)

 

Back at the hotel later, Emily decided to take her shoes off. She pulls off her tennis shoes and then pulls off her socks. She bends down, sniffs her feet and says “PEEEE-YOU!!!”

That girl cracks me up!