That's Right, Mommy!

At lunch, I was singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" with Nora, and while I was singing, she stopped to watch and listen. At the end of the song, she goes, "That's right, Mommy! Good job!"

We were taking a walk together this morning (beautiful day, but still cold), and she says to me, "Good job walking!"

She also spoke of the mountains. (Snow drifts.) I'm not sure where she learned about those. It's not like we have mountains around here.

Last night, she sat down with me on the couch, grabbed the remote, and said, "Want to watch Phineas and Ferb, Mom?"

And, would you believe that Phineas and Ferb was on when she turned it on? It's on at the same time every day (we come downstairs and hang out/wait for Daddy to get home), so she just must remember.

I converted her crib to a toddler bed last weekend, and only one day did I have problems getting her to sleep (she kept getting up and making huge messes in her room with dirty clothes). That was Sunday that we had the issues.

She's practically potty trained when she isn't wearing any pants. When we start adding underwear, however, it becomes a bit more challenging. She's still wearing diapers at night and nap time, though. Soon, I may attempt pantsless at nap time just for kicks (I'll put her little potty in her room). She seems to enjoy going in the potty and doing the whole process of either flushing (big potty) or pouring out the "stuff" into the big potty, flushing, and then washing hands. Yesterday, I only saw her go to the bathroom twice, but I know she went several times throughout the day. I kept finding small messes in the bathrooms. I'll take those small messes over dirty diapers, though—especially since she's jumped into this bizness with both feet.

Nora loves the book Are You My Mother? by PD Eastman. I think I have the copy that my mom used to read to me (I had to tape it together the other day). Whenever the baby bird exclaims that he needs to get out of the Snort, she always goes, "Baby bird saaaaad!"

She's a bit more emotional than she used to be when she was younger. I'm thinking this might be terrible twos (I hope—and not something more permanent)? I'm not sure. Some mornings are dramalicious—much like this one. I have to calm her down and get her to talk about what it is she wants, and what I keep finding is that she doesn't really know what she wants when she's freaking out like that. Once she's forced (or, rather, strongly encouraged) to make the decision (by addressing that she needs to use words to let us know what she wants instead of screaming), she calms down—night and day. It's so maddening sometimes, and other times, it's funny (she doesn't think so, of course).

Pick Me Up

I Forgot a Couple of Kid Things

Nora

What going on here, guys?
Whenever I am making Henry laugh, Nora will come running over saying, "What going on here, guys?"

It makes me laugh every single time—and not just because of what she's saying. Her face is always inquisitive, too.

Baby Jesus and manger
Nora still keeps talking about Baby Jesus and the manger every time we eat lunch together. (I had a nativity scene in our built-in china cabinet that is in our dining room over the Christmas season.) She keeps saying, "Baby Jesus sleep, Mommy?"

"Until next year, Nora."

Sometimes, when I'm changing her diaper (which is rare now, by the way), she'll ask me to sing "Santa Town." For those of us on the home team, that means "Santa Claus is Coming to Town."

I always tell her that he's going to come next Christmas. Sheesh.

Doggy Song!
My parents sent Nora an eCard for her birthday that had a sweet, Jamaican song on it sang by some Rastafarian doggies. Her birthday was over a month ago, and would you believe that kid is still asking to hear that song nearly every day?

Here's the link to that card.

I mean: it is kind-of catchy. I know all the words now since I have to sing it on demand sometimes.

Henry

Growing out of all of his six months clothes already.
Yep. Le sigh.

Loser

I've also lost 15 pounds. If I were doing the Biggest Loser competition at work, I'd be in third place. Alas, I am not. I am still a big loser.

The Happenin's of the Chillin's

I haven't had much time to blog lately, but I've been keeping a running list of things to mention. Here's where I address all those things.

Nora

Helping Henry at nap time.
Every day, I lay Henry down for a morning nap. Every morning, Nora has to "help" him sleep. That means she needs to turn on every single noise-making device that is in the room in which he sleeps. One might think, "How many noise-making devices can there be, Jenny?"

The answer is three. Three. Some are louder than others.

Being scared, and being scared of the monster this morning.
Lately, Nora has been saying that she's scared. I'm not sure where this is coming from, but this morning, she actually said to Willis (as he pulled her out of bed), "Scared!"

He said, "Scared of what?"

She said, "Monster!"

What? Where did she get that?

Saying, "No!"
Nora has suddenly decided to start telling me "No!"

I'm not sure what that's all about. Or, maybe I do know what that's about. She's two, I guess.

Saying, "Good job, Mommy!"
She constantly says, "Good job, Mommy!" about everything I do. I rather enjoy that. It gives me a strangely awesome confidence boost (she even says this to me when we go to the bathroom together).

Saying, "Mommy . . . Mommy"
Nora's started saying my name just for the sport of saying my name. (Sometimes, she'll even throw me off by going, "Jenny!")

I'll equate that behavior with this video. Enjoy.

Potty Training
Nora's been doing great with potty training. We haven't moved to underwear yet (she tends to have accidents when underwear is involved). For now, she's just roaming about pants-less.

Brushing Teeth
She loves to brush her teeth, and she follows my every move. Even when I spit.

ABCs, Shapes, and Colors
She's doing really well with ABCs, shapes, and colors these days. I need to get some video of this.

Climbing out of her crib.
Today, she flopped out of her crib after her nap. Instead of crying (she hit the ground pretty hard), she goes, "I did it, Mom!"

Henry

Laughing
That kid has a belly laugh that could melt all the snow outside. We just don't get out there.

Coordination
He's getting good with his hand-eye coordination lately. He's also made an important, um, discovery . . . about himself.

Being Silly
He actually will make silly noises to get Nora's attention. It doesn't always work, but when it does, it's pretty funny to watch.

His Love for Daddy
He lights up when Daddy gets home. I think he loves the sound of his voice.

Both kids are kind-of on borrowed time at the moment. I've probably pushed my time on here a bit long. Gotta run!

Photos From, Like, the Whole Month of February

Reaggers, Henry, and Molly Gracie


Uncle Ken and Henry (Ken finally got to hold 'im!)


Shh. Julie doesn't know that what she's holding is a dog instead of a baby. Don't tell 'er. Look at her. She looks so happy.


Henry at lunch.


Don't mind the ever-present eye bogey.


He's serious.


Yep. She has food on her face, and that is a pajama top. What are you going to do?

Yeah. There aren't a lot of photos there. I've been rather busy.

Deeeenied and Twinkle, Twinkle

Deeeenied

Twinkle, Twinkle