Pride VS Development

Are you truthful with the doctor about your child? Don't get me wrong; I am. But, do you ever struggle with answers to your doctor's questions? I have issues with my pride and Lucy's development.

Every doctor's visit we get a check list for Lucy.

• Does she know her name?
• Does she say mommy/daddy, or some variation?
• Does she assist you with dressing her?
• Does she try to climb?

These are just a few of the questions I can remember from her last two visits (12 & 15 month).

Sometimes they are difficult to answer. The bragger mom in me wants to say, "Yes! My child is super smart and can do anything!" The paranoid mom in me wants to answer the question correctly. I hate that the only options are: Yes and No.

Where is my 'Maybe'?

Does Lucy assist me while dressing her? Well, kind of. Sometimes she puts her arm out. Sometimes when I say shoe, she'll raise her foot to me. On other occasions, I may as well be dressing a watermelon; she just lays there like a slug. Then again, on some occasions, I might as well be dressing a....well...a squirmy, unruly toddler, trying to crawl away mid pants change!

Alright, so I would check 'Yes'. I just always feel the need to follow up with an essay answer.

When the doctor goes over the questions and answers with us, I feel like my parenting skills are being tested.

"How many words does Lucy know?"

"Oh, lots.....um....."

I start counting on my fingers, while quietly whispering, "...momma, dada, Chico, thank you, please, puppy, baby.." and so on.

Finally I just blurt out, "... like ten."

Immediately, I think, "Does 'thank you' count as two words then? Lucy also says, 'Here you go.' Does that count as three? Or, since I counted the 'you' in 'thank you' already, is it just two?" - Ugh!

I just want to say, "Lucy is really smart and she amazes me with everything she knows! We try to work with her as much as possible and sometimes she says or does things I didn't even realize she knew!"

I have to remind myself that the doctor isn't questioning Lucy's intelligence and she isn't grilling me on my parenting. She is asking, so she can recognize developmental problems.

Cori - she is asking you, so she can recognize developmental problems!

At the 15 month appointment, we were asked how many body parts Lucy knows. Dang it! We haven't even been working with her on it. We didn't really even realize that she was old enough learn them. When I think about it....well, duh! Therefore, we've been working on them a lot. She already knows foot, nose, belly button, eyes, and mouth.

She's going to ace that 18 month appointment. haha.

Oh wait, this isn't about questioning her intelligence or my parenting skills...I obviously need to refer back to the underlined text above.

Do you see the issue? Am I the only one?

Doing Our Nails

Lucy has always tried to help me paint my nails.

Oh, alright, she tries to eat the emery boards. In that specific picture she even looks like she is sniffing it, haha, which is ever grosser.

She loves watching me; but, she absolutely hates me doing her nails. Her finger nails always get long enough that the cinnamon from her Maple Syrup & Cinnamon Crunchies gets underneath. Then they look dirty and it looks like we never bathe her. Finally we break down, hold her down, and cut them......It's a vicious cycle.

However, the other day, I had to postpone my pedicure. I still wanted to wear sandals though; so, I decided to re-paint my toe nails pink.

Lucy seemed very interested in what I was doing. I thought to myself, "Cori, this is your chance! It's now or never!"

I put her in my lap, peeked over her shoulder, and started painting her toes. She was mesmerized. Then, I got to toe nine and she started to wiggle. I rushed to get that last little, pinkie toe done. Whew!

Then they needed to dry before she ruined the carpet! I went to our standing fan and held her toes in front of it. Of course she wanted to touch the fan; but, I was able to distract her with my phone. Three minutes later, they were dry! :)

Aren't those just the cutest, chubbiest toes you've ever seen? Alright, so I'm biased! :)

I never thought that she would sit still long enough at just 15 months old. I was pleasantly surprised! I highly recommend pedicures with your little girl, no matter what age! 

Now, if I could just get her to go to the nail boutique with me for the whole pedicure! :) I will just have to wait...

Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! :)

I Wear Lipstick Now

Are there ever times in your life, where you just take a moment to just step back for a second? To just halt your mind and look at where you are, what you are doing, and what got you here?

I do that a lot.

The other day, I was listening to music on my iPhone and had my entire library on shuffle. It ranges from Dolly Parton, to The Beatles, Motley Crue, JaRule, New Kids on the Block, Bruno Mars, and even to Alanis Morissette (to name just a few) - pretty much a ridiculous mix. Needless to say, I wasn't shocked when "I Need You Tonight" by Backstreet Boys came on. I was, however, pleasantly surprised. It had been a while since I've heard and listened to the song. It immediately took me back to a time when life was "simple".

I had just finished 7th grade and the summer had just begun.



First, let's all take a moment to appreciate that rockin' skort, with matching butterfly top. Then, I'm going to take a moment and be sad that I was once that blonde and am not any more. :( And, finally, I will close with some thoughts about how large my head/facial features seem in regard to my body. haha. Not my best moment...

Anyway, on with the story -

It was early in the morning and I was somehow already awake and around at 7:30. (It was probably because I had stayed up half the night before!) My parents had already left for work and my sister wasn't home. So, I did what any thirteen year old girl would do. I stuck a CD in the player and cranked it. At that particular time, I chose the Millennium CD by Backstreet Boys, (before they had the cool acronym, BSB). I think it was track number 5...

"Oooopen uuuup....your heart to me...mmmm....."

I remember folding clothes, cleaning up my room, belting out lyrics alongside Nick Carter. I of course was obsessed with a boy too.  Want to know who? This punk...

This was taken while we were in high school. Yes - I was blinking.

I know you probably don't believe it; but, I was crushing on Heath back when I was 13. We even "dated" or whatever that means at that age, for like three months.

What can I say? I guess we just couldn't keep away from each other and after love and marriage, God blessed us with this bundle of beautiful, sweet, awesomeness -

Anyway, I remember thinking how boring and lame my life was. I didn't have enough 'cool' clothes and I didn't live near any of my friends. I had to help with laundry and dishes. I had it rough...

Not!   <----- Was that reminiscent of the late 1990's enough for you? haha.

I didn't worry about my weight and think about every single piece of food I put in my mouth. I didn't stress about the house not being clean or unorganized. I wasn't thinking about how important it was to spend time with the family. Money wasn't even something I considered. I took sleeping-in for granted, as I did with all of my free time. I was too busy making a "Girls I Don't Like" list on my closet wall to worry about that stuff.

Isn't it crazy? Those days are long, long gone. I have "big people" problems now. Heck, I'm an adult, a wife, a mother.....I wear lipstick now. No more Bon-Bon lip gloss for this gal...

Changes happen too fast. If you blink, you'll miss them.

Serious Side-Note: I barely made it through writing this post because of the news coverage of the tornadoes. I have such a heavy heart. I complain about the stupidest things and there are people out there who are really hurting, aching, and unsure of how to go on. My heart sinks when I think about the Hamil family from Piedmont, OK. I am so very, very blessed. I just want to hug my family and never let go. Please, God bless those affected by these storms...

Fun-Day Friday

I decided to share, on this Fun Friday, a little project that my Lucy and I did.

I read about the project on BabyCenter.com. I occasionally visit their projects/crafts section to see if there is anything fun to do, or that helps Lucy develop and learn.  Every once in a while I'll actually find one that sounds good and doesn't require a lot of work. Nevertheless, we decided to make bracelets! :) 

Lucy occasionally plays with my bracelets; therefore, I was going to make Lucy her own!

So, I sat her down.

I got some of our Fruity Cheerios (Fruit Loops, AppleJacks, or regular Cheerios would work too).

2 box tops?! :) Heck yeah!

I got some ribbon.

And, then we started stringing the Cheerios on the ribbon. 

I don't know why I have such a "sour" look on my face. I think I was concentrating too hard.  Lucy enjoyed holding the other end for me...and snacking on the Cheerios. :)

Baby Center also suggested using Twizzler ropes or Sour Punch ropes too. I thought they might be too sticky and I didn't particularly want Lucy all sugared up!

I could barely get Lucy to sit still long enough to get a few pictures of her bracelet. She immediately started chewing on it. That is probably my fault, since she was eating them before I even put them on the string!

She played with it a little too.

See the purple Cheerio on her shoulder? :)

It didn't take long before all of her "charms" we gone. She was just left with a bracelet, which I then took off.

It was a lot of fun for Lucy. I thought that she might wear her bracelet around for a while; but, she just immediately started eating it! She didn't even make it out of the highchair. haha.  Perhaps next time...

It may work a little better when she is older. Then she could even help me string the Cherrios! :)

Do you do any fun projects like this with your baby or toddler?

Note: I had a picture post yesterday, "A Box isn't a Box", and it just seemed to disappear! I posted it right before Blogger went down and now it's gone. Sorry!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm loving...

...that it is supposed to start cooling down, weather-wise. It has been too freakin' hot the last couple of days. Where is spring? It kind of showed up and then thought it was summer all of a sudden. Come on spring. Be your own person season.

...that Lucy looks like this when she is waiting for her daddy to come pick us up. :) This was a week ago, when it was still cool out (hence the jacket).


...that Lucy likes watching Dancing with the Stars. She dances along and claps at the end. She clapped the most for Hines Ward. I think I may have a little Steelers fan on my hands! :)

...kick boxing! I am feeling really good about my cardio! I now just need to work on those muscles. They get tired too easily. Thanks Katy for kickin' my butt every week!

...that my dad is coming over! Last week he read to Lucy while I cooked supper.


...tonight we are having a Tex-Mex dish, Chihuahuas! It's a tostada, pimento cheese, beef/chili thing. It originated in west Texas and it's delicious!

...Cooler Ranch Doritos. I've allowed myself to start eating them again and I just can't get enough! Now I remember why I didn't indulge in the first place.

...my new blog design! :) Thanks Justin and Heath. I even got a new button! Check it out.

...I had a wonderful Mother's Day. I got breakfast in bed two days in a row! :) And, Lucy gave me a card with her hand print inside. It was so sweet and special. Thank you hunny and Lucy. Here is a picture of my first mother' day. :)


Happy Wednesday! Hold on - there are only 2 1/2 more days of work!

Play-Date Gone Selfish

Last night we had a play date. My friend, Crystal, and her son, Ty, came over for dinner. It's been ages since we've seen them and really got to sit and talk. So, we invited them over for supper (chicken alfredo with garlic cheese bread - yum!) and to try out the new playroom.

When they were littler, they basically just tried to eat each other. Ty would try to bite on Lucy's shoulder and she would try to poke him in the eye. They were a mess. haha. Therefore, we tried to keep them at a pretty good distance, just sharing toys and/or food.

Now, I was excited! Ty and Lucy were old enough now that they could just roam the playroom. They could just go crazy. Sure, they might poke each other a little bit; but, after seeing Lucy run over by a plastic car, I thought she could handle it. Plus, Lucy is a product of Daycare! She plays with other children all the time and usually lights up around them! She would be super social.

Or, so I thought...

When Ty and Crystal first arrived, Lucy and Ty were super shy. They just looked at each other.  It only took a few seconds after I turned off Elmo's World, for them to warm up. Lucy walked up to Ty, hit him on the shoulder, he turned around, and she said, "Hi!"

I was so proud! Yay! She was being sweet and social.

When it was time for dinner, they sat across the table from each other. They didn't really "talk" to each other; but, they giggled back and forth a lot. A lot! It was like it was contagious.

Again, yay! She is being social and smiley!

Then, we went to the playroom.

She got so upset with almost everything Ty played with. She specifically clung onto a doll stroller and a blow-up ball, trying to hold onto them both at the same time. If Ty would even put his hand on them, Lucy would squeal at the top of her lungs, very high pitched. Then, she would try to pull it away or hit his hand off.

I was seriously shocked. I had never seen her do that before! Of course I have seen the familiar fit, when we take something away from her. But, I had never witnessed jealousy like this! All I could do was apologize. I just could not believe her behavior.

Then it dawned on us. Perhaps she is like that at Daycare! She just might have turned into a selfish, fit-thrower. We made sure to ask Daycare first thing this morning.

"Does Lucy share?"

"Does she take other childrens' toys away?"

Thank goodness they answered, "Yeah, she shares," and, "No, not really."

We realized that it was all about her own toys - toys that we didn't realize at all that she had an, apparently deep, affinity for! Well, she hasn't ever really had another child in her playroom. She hasn't really ever had to share her toys at home, except with us. So, I guess we wouldn't have known until now.

Who would have known Lucy was a little selfish and was in need of a lesson about sharing?

Heath told her, "Elmo wouldn't be very proud of you right now, Lucy."

Hopefully we can work on it and invite Ty over again some time, if he wants to! We'll see how it goes!

Side note:
I got a new blog design, obviously! Our friend Justin did it for us! And, my wonderful husband helped with incorporating it. Didn't they do a great job? What do you think?  

Also, I got a new button! If you have taken the previous one (the very few of you out there), please replace it with the new one! :) It's a lot cuter! Thanks for the support!

Email subscribers: You will have to stop by and see the new look!

Ignorance Really is Bliss

Lucy got run over by a plastic car.

Yep. You read correctly. I watched as Lucy was smashed by a plastic, toy car.

 Let me explain.

As you may already know, I was Banned from DayCare; therefore, I can't go visit Lucy over my lunch hour anymore (which results in more blog posts - yay?). It was pretty difficult at first; but, Heath and I were beginning to manage pretty well. It was getting easier. But now...the children are going out to the playground during our lunch hour. We can hear them outside playing.

What's the harm in peeking out the window? None. Right?

Wrong.

The window in my office looks directly over the daycare playground. Heath is the one who first looked out and called me over.

"Cori - come look. She is walking around."

Of course I took off running for the window. She was so cute, just walking around in the grass, all wobbly. We were kind of surprised that she was unaccompanied. She was just going about her own business. We would never leave her to herself in our back yard. She'd be eating grass or rocks, or something!

She was walking along the sidewalk while the bigger children played on tricycles and big-wheelers. A few even had those plastic cars - you know, the red ones, with the yellow surround? They were some like those. One kid was pushing a car down the side walk. It was like slow motion.

Lucy was standing at a sidewalk intersection, not even looking at the bigger kid charging her way. My heart was begging for Lucy to move.

Lucy turned and bam. The bigger kid hit her with the car, pretty hard I might add. It knocked her down, flat to her belly, her head only about an inch from hitting the cement, as the kid continued to push the car over top of her.

My baby girl just laid there on the sidewalk with a plastic car over half of her body.

I was instantly...pissed.

I wanted to just go running to her rescue and to scold the older child for being so mean and careless. But, I was two floors up, watching helplessly. I waited...

She didn't cry. Whew...once the kid finally realized that Lucy was too big of a speed bump and backed up, she got up. She gave him a dirty look, which I enjoyed. I was so proud that she didn't cry and was very relieved that she wasn't hurt.

Now, where in the H-E-double-hockey-sticks were the daycare people?

Oh, out of all THREE of them out there, one was with the younger babies, in the stroller (rightfully so). The other two? Talking. Talking? Yep - just chattin' it up on the other side of the playground. There weren't even any children in their view! One had a cellphone in her hand too. She wasn't using it; but, I was still annoyed.

The entire thing happened and no one saw it - but, the second floor window parents (us!).

I knew then that an awkward, passive-aggressive conversation would soon be taking place between me and the director. I wondered how I would explain what happened without being a psycho, protective mommy. I mean, the director wasn't even there at the time.  However, I have to say something. If I achieve nothing else, I just want them to know that we could be watching, always.

If they want to ignore children (which they shouldn't be), at least they will know that they should always be watching Lucy. Her momma's a bit on the crazy side.

After discussion with, the also infuriated, Heath, we decided that perhaps it is better not to watch. Ignorance really just might be bliss...

Oh, who am I kidding? Now, I'm going to be at that window like a hawk!

Fail Gate

Ahh...parents, remember those days when your child didn't move? Let your mind take you back...

Remember when they just laid there and could barely even roll over? You could put a play gym over them and get along with your chores/cooking/cleaning/etc. You could walk through door ways without having to step over gates or open and close swinging doors.

This is what our entryway looked like back in those good 'ole days.

But then...

She started rolling, then army crawling, then real crawling, then climbing, then climbing stairs...yipes. We had to do something! And, as you can see, this is an awkward area to block off.

Heath wanted to buy a long baby gate, the kind that screws into the wall. Nope. Not having it. I don't want to screw something into the wall. We'll just have to keep her away from it.

Ha!

We were so sick of going over and saving her from the stairs that we would make games of it.

"If I throw this block and it lands in the toy bin (7 feet away), then you have to go get Lucy. If I miss, I have to go get her."

Just after her first birthday, this is what had happened.

Obviously, this jimmy-rigged, trashy, fail gate wasn't going to work. It would be a temporary fix until Heath got the other one ordered online.

And, then he screwed it to the wall. :{

Again, the lighting is kind of yellowish on my phone. Sorry!

It makes going in and out of our living room kind of a nightmare. However, I have come to the realization that it will probably be there for the next five years or so, through all of our children becoming mobile (three planned, as of now).

Childproofing your home kind of takes all design out - not that those TV trays and dog bowls were adding much to my initial decor.

Here's to five plus years of gated-ness. :(

When we take it out, the room will seem huge! That's a plus I look forward to.

We Sleep...

That is just what we do. Every time Lucy and I try to have cuddle time, we fall asleep.

Our daily lives are just THAT trying on us.  Okay, okay. We are just lazy bum couch potatoes.

I love it. :)

Am I Missing a Few Teeth?

Because, if I get reverse head-butted one more time...

Oh, you don't know what the reverse head-butt is? It is when a squirmy toddler, who is experiencing either the sleepy wobbles or a major tantrum, is in your lap; they lean forward and without any warning lean back really fast, cracking their head right into your mouth.

This has resulted in some sore, and I swear almost loose, front teeth. She has even bloodied my lip! Thank goodness it seems to hurt me a lot more than it does her. The bloody lip experience is the only time she cried. I am not sure it was the pain or my moaning that made her cry. 

"So, Lucy, what did you want to watch on...oohp....son-of-a..."

No - I didn't cuss. I stuck to the Tommy Boy version.

I may have teared up too, since no one else was there to judge. The few times Heath has seen it, he just gives me one of these:

- eyebrows raised
- teeth fully in view, clenched
- nose scrunched
- head titled

Are you trying this out as you read? You should. You'll get the idea.

The expression says, "Holy crap - that looked like it hurt. Are you gonna cry?"

I am scared too. Lucy is only getting bigger. There will be a day that she pops back and breaks my nose! Nothing is worse than getting hit in the nose too. Okay, a few things. But, it is like cutting onions, water rushing up your nose, Dr. Pepper burp, and getting punched all at the same time!

Haha...did I go a bit far with the Dr. Pepper burp? Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, wish me luck in my future. I will be sure to get lots of pictures of these pearly whites, just in case they decide to exit my mouth, via Lucy's head. Good thing we have great dental insurance.

Easter 2011

Is it too late to share Easter pictures with everyone? Whoops! I am really bad at getting pictures gathered on time. Sorry! But, at least now you aren't burnt out on Easter posts. Perhaps you will welcome the Easter reminder. :)

Our weekend started with dying eggs - 36 of them. I know; we didn't need that many. But, I wanted to use several decorating kits that I bought. We had the regular kits (which I always double the color tablets, to make the color darker). And, we also had two fun kits:

Glitter kit? Difficult. Cute. Messy. Gets glitter everywhere! Continues to shed glitter days later.

Tie dye? Advanced. Messy. Cute. For older "children."

Here are the results!

Let me mention the following things:

1) Heath did Lucy's egg (top, middle).

2) The vibrant purple egg in the middle, on the far left, was the result of mixing all of the dyes together! :)

3) The pink one, on the bottom, second from the right is a pig...

Finally, I had to show you an up-close view of one of my prides:



What is it?

Anyway, enough showing off

We woke up to our baskets the Easter Bunny brought.

Lucy's, Dad's, Chico and Squirt's, and Mom......wait. Mom's? Apparently we had a biased Easter Bunny this year. He didn't bring Mom anything...

Perhaps next year he'll take it upon himself to bring her something very expensive, like diamonds. :)

Then, we got dressed and visited a lot of family.

finding the basket...

and throwing it in!

 I think she is finally getting the hang of it!



"No - that is a dandelion, honey."

Well, kind of. :)

I hope you had a wonderful Easter too. :)