The lazy, crazy world of Daisy

Barking Daisy

2011-10-15T15:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry to have to post an update after so long with a report on a pretty rotten week over here for Ms. Daisy.

No sooner had I returned from my business trip to Arizona and Missy fell sick. It began with a fever and early wake-up call on Monday night, seemed to dissipate, and then resurged on Wednesday when the school called to tell us she had a 101 temperature again. By the time Thursday morning rolled around, Daisy had a cough, continued fever, and was more lethargic and unhappy than I have ever seen her. :( As Thursday progressed, it was pretty obvious that the cough was nothing like anything we had ever heard before. Diagnosis: Croup.

A liquid steroid came to the rescue by Thursday night and, by Friday, she was 75% better. But it sure was hard to see her like this...

Thursday morning early: movies on her DVD player, pillows, and blankets...

The barking and the wheezing made it hard for her to sleep laying flat. She couldn't really eat either, since the mucus just caused her to vomit. To the rescue: Nan.

Daddy was also a favorite for comfort. He shared his favorite "sick food" with Missy: cheerios and milk.

Today (Saturday) she is a ton better already and was back out on her trike this morning, pedaling around the neighborhood.

In other news, I have been a little freaked out this week by a leaflet I saw in my Physical Therapist's office about Sensory Processing Disorder in children.

I was waiting to pay my co-pay at the last appointment for my injured knee and, right beside the counter, was a poster about symptoms of SPD. There were stick figure drawings of two kids and, next to them, a list of symptoms. What pulled me in initially was the "Overly sensitive to sun and bright light"; Daisy screams her head off like she is being poked with a hot rod when we're in the car and the sun is on her. Once I was pulled in, to my horror, I began to recognize a number of the symptoms on the leaflet:

Doesn't like having her hair brushed/touched
Sits in a "w" position
Picky eater / doesn't like to try new foods
Selective hearing
Highly sensitive to everyday loud noises like the vacuum or hair dryer
Complains about tags in clothing
Walks on tip-toes a lot
Poor coordination gross motor skills (things like running etc..)

This was about 50-60% of the items on the list, so obviously, for a few days, I was convinced Daisy had SPD.

After further research, however, I realize that this leaflet was grossly misleading and overly general in nature. The symptoms of SPD are much more complex, varied and yet specific than those on the leaflet, which mixed many different types of dysfunction. If you're interested, you can read more by clicking on this link.

Although, I have to say, Daisy has a few of the characteristics on the website checklist in multiple categories, I'm going to guess many children do? I'm not sure this means she has a problem but then I'm not sure it means she doesn't either. I mean, she's 2! She's still learning to "be", right? I'd love to hear other moms' perspectives.

The small things

2011-09-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

This morning as I was getting Daisy dressed for preschool, she asked to dance around the living room to her favorite songs. I pulled up iTunes, blasted "Jump" and "Pumped up Kicks" and rocked-out with her for as long as my back and knee could muster.

Then, when I sat down to watch her, she stopped and walked slowly over to me with this pouty little mouth. She stopped a few feet away from me, kind of sulking although she didn't say a word.

I got down on my hands and knees and went over to give her a hug. She put her arms around me and rested her head on my shoulder. I expected the moment to last a couple of blinks as most everything does with a toddler, but we stayed there for five minutes, swaying to the beat of a couple of songs, her arms wrapped around me and my head buried into her sweet-smelling, messy hair.

It was one of those moments I wish I could have bottled; when I wished I had a fellow photographer close by to freeze the moment in time or one of Dumbledore's Pensieve bowls like in Harry Potter. I suddenly saw myself twenty years from now, picking that moment out of my head randomly, and wishing I could go back to its innocence and sweetness, trying to remember the songs of the day and failing.

I don't have pictures or a pensieve but I do have words and this blog; which is why I keep it going even though I don't post as often as I used to. Some day I can print all these small moments up and remember them with clarity and fondness.

So, to the future me:

The songs were (of all things): Bow Chicka Wow Wow by Mike Posner and Last Friday Night by Katie Perry.
She was wearing her yellow school polo, some khaki shorts, and her favorite, pink and white animal print grippy socks.
Her hair smelled like vanilla and strawberries and it was a tangled mess (because she never lets us brush it, and when we do she purposefully messes it up afterward.)
She stroked my back absentmindedly as I rocked back and forth and, when her Dad came down the stairs, he came over and joined in the hug. When we parted, she kissed me square on the lips.

Motherhood heaven.

Daisy-wazy-wazeeeeeeee!

2011-09-07T21:35:00.000-07:00

They say the twos are terrible - and they sure do have their moments - but I wouldn't trade little Miss. Personality for anything right now.

Her nickname for herself is "Daisy-wazy-wazeee". This comes from her Dad creating a little song of "Daisy, Daisy, Daisy" and her completely misinterpreting it. The funny thing is that, when I picked her up from pre-school the other week, one of her little toe-head friends actually called her that. I almost died laughing. Somewhere along the line she's obviously been telling kids to call her this. DYING!

The good news of the month is that Daisy is pretty much potty trained. Although she continues to have the odd accident and is not quite adept at ensuring her panties are pulled down low enough (ahem) she's 100% diaper free except for at night and during naps. Whoooheee, you say! Except, of course, as every parent who has passed through this stage knows, this just means that we now get to be up-close-and-personal with the whole peeing and pooping process. Since she can't always make it to the restroom in time, we keep the potty local. Result: every room in our house is a stand-by bathroom. Nice.

Another surprise is that she has suddenly acquired a fear of public restrooms. Now, I'll readily admit, I'll avoid the damn places at all possible costs. If I can cork it until I get home, I will. So, I'm not expecting her to be all excited about peeing in a urine-soaked, gas-station toilet or anything. However, the reason for her fits of panic (and it's Daisy, so it is a full-body fit accompanied by high-pitched screaming) is that.... wait for it... she does not like "the flushie."

This came on suddenly, however, last weekend, after some very successful and tantrum-free public restroom visits. But there I found myself, in a restaurant bathroom after she told me she had to "go", trying to avoid dropping my writhing 2 year old on the dirty toilet floor because she didn't want to sit her ass on the toilet seat. She was so violent that other patrons actually asked if everything was ok. Yes, it sounded like I was murdering her in there.

Fortunately, I had brought the small, portable Bjorn potty with me and found a way to get around her aversion: I now carry the potty in my back-pack and take it into public restrooms with us (thanks Auntie Mala for the stellar idea.) This, apparently, is acceptable (to her). Although not always convenient. This weekend we went to an outdoor event with only porta-potties for restrooms and my mother (GOD BLESS her) had to take the potty in with her, put it on the floor (gag), have Daisy pee in the potty, dispose of it down the hell-hole, clean the potty with a wipe, and return it to the backpack. I waited outside, you know, just in case they needed anything.

Other fun potty moments included this evening at a local restaurant. Off me and Missy went with our backpack to the restroom, did our thing successfully, and emerged, running to Daddy at the table, screaming: "DADDEEEE!!! I WENT PEE-PEE IN THE POTTY!" The restaurant is not formal but it is fairly quiet (kind of a senior establishment) so this went over a treat with the dining patrons. Ahem!

Outside of bodily functions, life is ticking along pretty much as expected, doing all the stuff you'd expect from a toddler girl. Except for hair bows and ponytails. Still no luck in that direction. This is about as good as it gets.

We still LOVE our books

Although ballet lessons were a FAIL, we still love to dance. Pumped up Kicks is our favorite song right now (although none of us knows what the heck it's about and, judging by some comments on Facebook, that's probably a good thing) along with a cover of the 1980s Van Halen Classic, Jump, by English girl-group, Girls Aloud. The latter of which, of course, results in A LOT of jumping.

And finally, I leave you with the many faces of Daisy, who has become quite the camera ham (when she chooses to be.) She's the perfect photo practice: always on the move, head down, and never compliant.

Nope... NOTHING like me at all.

Parents vs. Toddler (it's a tie)

2011-08-23T20:54:00.000-07:00

This evening Daisy had a MEGA fit. A tantrum to be reckoned with. And like always, it came out of nowhere.

In the car on the way home from school:

DAISY: "What we doin' today mumma?"
ME: "We're going to go home, get changed, and go to Trader Joes."
DAISY: "Oh, I LOVE Trader Joes!!!!!!! Yay! Trader Jooooooooooes!" (Said with high-pitched excitement that could only be mustered by a two year old when presented with an opportunity to grocery shop.)

At home:

ME: "Ok Daisy, let's get changed so we can go to Trader Joes."
DAISY: "Nope."
ME: "Well, do you want to wear your school clothes instead?"
DAISY: "Nope."
ME: "So let's get changed then."
DAISY: "No. I DON'T WANT TO go to Trader Joes!"

(Repeat in some form or fashion for 15 minutes, with increasing emphasis on both sides.)

Next step: sheer force. I begin stripping her pants and diaper off. She begins bucking me like a donkey. She is now flailing her bare ass and girl bits around the floor in a full-body roll-and-jerk. I can see that, in reality, I'm not going to get very far pursuing this tactic.

ME: "Ok, well, if you won't go where we need to go, we're not going to play with you."

(This was a mistake, I realize. Bargaining and leveraging NEVER works, plus it didn't really further my goal: getting to the grocery store. Man, kids are great at sending you off track!)

Then follows about half an hour where we ignore her, I take a shower, and hubby kicks back on the couch, studiously refusing to participate in games or read books.

When I'm done with my shower, I come down the stairs and announce ever-so-boldly to Ms. Daisy's half nakedness: "Ok, so here's what's going to happen. We're going to get changed -or not - and we're going to Trader Joe's."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! I don't want to go to Trader Joooooooooooooooooe's! I don't WANT to!"

Again, repeat with multitude of rephrasing along with soothing interjections from Hubby, who still believes that if you can just find the right combination of words to ask nicely, it will get us somewhere. (He is so the optimist!)

It's now an hour later and we need food. We don't have basics like milk and eggs. We need to go to the store and as much as it would be delightful to go on my own and leave her to sulk at home, I refuse to be bested by a two year old.

This is a hill I am plainly willing to die on.

So I go in, diaper in-hand. Bucking, jerking, rolling, flinging ensues. I am completely unable to get two legs into the diaper alone. I get one in and, as I'm forcing in the other, she's pulled the first one out. I don't have enough hands, legs, knees, and elbows to simultaneously pin her down, hold the line on diaper leg #1, and get diaper leg #2 in the hole. Hubby attempts some form of gentle restraint but it's like wrestling an alligator: the only sure way of success is a sedative and we're all out.*

At some point she writhes across the living room floor, us in hot pursuit, pushes her legs against me and smacks her head hard into the legs of the entertainment center. (An effective delay tactic. Kid's smarter than I give her credit for). Now we feel bad and do indeed delay the proceedings to comfort her. We do have the diaper on, though. (Score!)

A further fifteen minutes of soothing later and we're up one diaper but still down a pair of pants and shoes. So still no closer to the front door. I make the executive decision to go as we are: school-uniform t-shirt and diaper only. (I lost my pride a long time ago. Right about the time I lost my flat stomach.)

Ms. Daisy walks willingly out the door but, when faced with the prospect of actually getting in the car, FLIPS OUT. The voracity and volume of screaming should only have been appropriate to being filleted alive. How hubby eventually pinned her into the car seat, I'll never know.

"What do you think we should do?" he asks me.

"Keep going," I say, stubbornly. "We need to go to the store."

And in the car? She sang all the way there.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And, just to prove we did, indeed, traverse TJ's in nothing but a t-shirt and diaper...

(Note: Hubby is not about to smack her, he's feeding her jerky.)

She may look like a peanut but don't be fooled, Daisy is a power house.
----------------------

* to be clear, I jest. Benadryl doesn't work fast enough.

The roller-coaster life

2011-08-20T15:45:00.000-07:00

Dang. I don't get on here enough any more. No excuses: I just have not make it a priority. I figure it's more important to spend time with Daisy than write about time spent with Daisy.

But she's napping right now, I have a glass of wine, and have just finished editing some cute photos of her. I'm feeling the warm glow of motherhood that comes from a happy child. (Oh, ok, the wine IS helping!)

Daisy is... all things right now: funny and not-amused; loving and dismissive; independent and co-dependent; observant and oblivious; good-humored and ill-tempered...I could go on-and-on but you get the picture. Having studied child development at some point in the distant past, I remember vaguely that this has something with her trying to moderate the emotions she is feeling. At this age, everything just comes out unfiltered and unfettered. (I kind of envy her that. If you know me, you know how much I hate "filters".)

So, I call life right now a roller-coaster ride. One moment I'm having THE. BEST. TIME. with her and the next minute I'm ready to drop her off at her Nan's house and never return.

Here are some photos from life with Daisy...

FUN BEFORE SCHOOL
(In case you missed it on Facebook, she's in the official "Pre-School class now. It's called "The Explorers" which pleases her no-end because it's "just like Dora!")

TRASHING THE HOUSE IN THE MORNING

TRYING NEW TREATS

PLAYING WITH HER GIRLFRIEND, KENZIE

SWIMMING WITH DADDY

Oh for the love of being 2

2011-07-10T22:27:00.000-07:00

Where taking care of a baby involves nothing more than balancing them on your head

Where your only "baggage" is a suitcase of books

Where walking around talking to yourself is not yet considered "crazy"

Where a wind-up ballerina can still inspire awe and wonder

Where "taking a bike ride" means sitting back while your Daddy does all the hard work

Where picking your nose is still considered (somewhat) funny

Where mornings start out with joy vs. trepidation

Where looking cute is as easy as standing still

Ahhhh....what's Daisy doin'?

2011-06-30T21:33:00.000-07:00

She's taking swimming lessons in a pool without Mummy and Daddy. Her teacher's name is Ms. Ariel. How appropriate, huh? She cried the first week she went because she's always done lessons with one of us in the pool with her but now she's loving it. In fact, she's progressing much further/faster without us to use as emotional crutches. She'll even float on her back now, which would induce mega-fits before.

Plus side: neither Mumma nor Daddy have to endure wearing a bathing suit or getting wet!

She's doing GREAT at school! We've moved on from screaming, crying, sulking, and bargaining. We now have... wait for it... friends! Elyse and Geegee are the two girls she talks about the most. Geegee is a doll of a kid, about a year older than Daisy, who always runs up and greets you whenever you arrive at the school. She's like the unofficial hostess. Elyse looks almost exactly like Daisy, so much so that it's sometimes hard to tell the difference from afar when they're in the playground.

Today, Daisy's report said that she is doing great following along with circle-time and that she is doing an awesome job of putting things away after she's finished with them.

Yes, we checked to make sure we picked up the right slip of paper.

Her #1 love is still books. She hasn't blinked an eyelid about half of her toy collection disappearing from the living room. Definitely the right decision there. We spend money on books. No more toys. With few exceptions, they're just five minute wonders around here.

What are the exceptions? Tambourines, maracas, and stuffed animals.

She's become a bit of a Daddy's girl. Yup, the pendulum has begun to swing. I think it has a little to do with the fact that I have been working more which has not just made me literally more unavailable but emotionally/mentally also. I feel sad about this, of course, but at the same time a little glad that it's forced Ms. Daisy to learn what a wonderful Daddy she's got.

The cutest thing they do right now is at bedtime. Daddy has a habit of saying "I love you more!" and now Daisy responds. So, as he backs out of her bedroom at night, they yell and giggle at one another: "No, I love YOU more!" It's awesome and makes my day.

She's developed a picky attitude toward clothes and shoes. Some are just off-limits. Others are favorites one day and then apparently, the next day, they hurt, are too small, or are too big. It's hard to keep track. It sure makes me glad she has a school uniform because it leaves us with a limited number of options to fight over. Not that I usually fight too hard. Meh, you gotta choose your battles and her having matching shoes isn't a hill I feel like dying on any time soon.

Things that have not changed:

She's still a nut. Running in circles, jumping up and down, and generally behaving like the Energizer Bunny. I want just a LITTLE of that, please!

She's still a Nanny's girl. Although she loves school now, by the time Thursday comes around she's asking when she'll get to see Nanny. "I WANT her!" she'll pout. On Friday mornings, she'll squeal like a nutter yelling "YAY! Nanny and Grandad day!"

And last but not least... we are nowhere even close to being potty trained, although everyone is soooo over changing those nasty diapers. But Ms. Daisy is on her own schedule and, despite Nanny's best efforts, she has no desire to even venture down this path right now. I guess this is the new battle ahead...

Time for a Daisy update

2011-05-23T21:14:00.000-07:00

I'm long overdue for a Daisy update. The delay has been two-fold: first, we went to England for two weeks (for more on those exploits, head over to Ms.Ranty Pants) and second, life is crazy busy right now. There's barely enough time to take personal pics, let alone edit them and write a blog post around them.

But I'm fitting in some time this evening. Lucky you!

What's going on with Ms. Daisy?

She's a chatterbox.

Her favorite phrases right now are questions:

"Ahhh, where we goin'?"
"What ya doin' mum-mum?"
"What ya havin'?"

We have yet to make it to the "why" phase but I'm sure it's not far off.

I can't believe it but, at just a little over two years old, you can now have a fully-fledged conversation with Daisy. I mean, real exchanges of value. It's crazy how fast they learn!

She's a ballerina.

Daisy just loves to dance. We enrolled her in a local ballet school this past week and she had a blast prancing around. The standing-on-one-spot-and-paying-attention part? Yeah, that needs work.

Of course, this means that she likes to practice at home now. This can mean we alternate between all sorts of cute (as above) or all sorts of hilarity (as seen below) when she insists that Hubby or I join in.

She's getting more adventurous.
Especially since our trip to England, she is getting less afraid of her own shadow. Which means that she had actually begun to truly enjoy her jungle-gym, just in time for summer.

She's a cooker but NOT an eater.

Missy loves a mixing bowl and a fork. She loves to whip-up eggs and pancakes. She has a blast smooshing cookie-dough shapes in the the counter top.

What she doesn't do is eat most of it. Kid is a spotty eater at best, as evidenced by her slight frame. You'd think with her being so active that she would need to chow but I swear that most days she barely eats one meal. We're trying not to obsess about it because toddlers go through stages but it would be really nice to know she's getting nutrition.

Saving grace is that she is apparently eating at school. Where she also apparently naps... without coddling. Kids!

What's in and what's out:

Sit-down restaurant meals are out. Sitting down of any kind is out. Wriggling, almost falling off chairs, laying down, kicking, running around, standing, and squealing for effect are in. We heart Chipotle, Panera, Smash Burger, and the like.
Tantrums are in. (SHOCKER!) They're usually not directed at us, though. For instance, the other day she was picking up books to read them in her room and then shouting (at nobody in particular) that she didn't want that book - as if someone forced it upon her! Crazy child.
Baths are out. They are more like wet tantrums.
Mummy is in - still. When-oh-when will this phase end, folks? Some days I swear this kind wants to share my own skin with me. And I feel so sorry for her poor dad, who tries to bestow kisses and love on her but who she frequently rejects while wailing my name.
Potty training is out. She 100% gets the concept, 100% knows what's what and when it's going to happen and 100% refuses to be any part of it. We've tried potties and now a Dora seat for the adult toilet. All to no avail.
School is in. There is now happy talk around school. Phew!

Two, as expected, is proving to be an equal mixture of joy and frustration. As Daisy's little personality develops, it's wonderful to expand and deepen our relationships with her. But the tantrums and impatience are mind-bending to be sure.

An update on the school girl

2011-04-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

Yeah, well, there's been a reason it's taken so long to get back on here.

School is no longer our favorite word.

Time was, before her birthday, that even the mere mention of her turning two would result in Daisy telling everyone proudly: "I'm going to school."

Now, you even mention the "s" word and a balls-out tantrum ensues. "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Mummy! Don't WANT to go to schoooooooooooooooooooool."

Yeah, it's like that.

School days start out in blissful ignorance, a happy toddler snuggling with us on the couch while we watch Mummy's other husband (George Stephanopolous) on GMA. But by the time we get to breakfast, the question of where everyone is going and what they'll be doing today, arises.

And then the screaming begins.

If you know Daisy, you'll know she does not whine. She does not whimper. I'm not even sure she knows how to *just* cry. (If she does, I certainly have not heard it.) There is only screaming. Screaming at a decibel high enough to warrant a noise ordinance. Bright-red-faced, mouth-wide-open, full-body-flinging, screaming.

Deep breath.

The last 3 mornings, it has escalated to protesting at the dressing process. Meaning, we cannot get her dressed.

If you have or have ever had a toddler, you'll know that I mean this literally. If you don't have children, you're wondering how the hell this can be. I mean, I'm 5'2" and 147lbs. How is it that I cannot restrain a 23lb child sufficiently to dress her? Right? Right!?

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

C'mon on over and try it for yourself. I double-dog dare you. (Tip: bring a helmet and padding.)

It's like trying to wrestle a damn alligator. Imagine 23lbs of determined strength, buckling-down to resist you and completely oblivious to any personal harm that her actions may cause her. (Like whacking her shaking head against a wall - CHECK. Or smacking it against the tile floor - CHECK.)

It's a torso whipping back and forth, a head on top doing the same, then arms and legs all moving in different and opposing directions. Now imagine trying to put pants on THAT: while you're busy doing one thing, she's undoing another. You get the left leg in a pant and, while you force in the right, the left will kick itself free.

Socks? Forget about it! Unless you want to lose an eye ball (or, if you're Daddy, another kind of ball.)

Today I had to manage this alone while my husband went to an early-morning appointment and I kid-you-not that I had to pin her torso down to the floor with my left leg, while I strong-armed her river-dancing legs into her pants.

Thank God CPS was nowhere in sight.

Once the dressing debacle is complete, Daisy moves to bargaining and delay tactics. Read one more book. Go to Nanny's first. Get a glass of milk (she never drinks milk!) Change into a different top. Wear shorts instead.

When this does not work, she begins to move forward with guilt. "Mummy doesn't want you!" she pouts.

Then, finally, she begins to come around... slowly, making sure "Mummy's coming with you," and asking to go get cupcakes and ice-cream after school.

Sigh.

While in the car, she demonstrates her astounding sales skills, utilizing the "assumptive close" in sentences like: "Going home now, yeah, yeah," while nodding her head emphatically and "Go the other way now Mummy. Go home," or "Going to Nanny's house now? Yeah."

All of this and when you walk through the classroom door?

It all stops. She walks away to her teacher and almost forgets to say goodbye. Not a sob or scream to be heard.

WTH!?

When you pick her up she's as happy as a clam. "MY Mummy and MY Daddy!" she squeals, arms up in the air and running toward us, and then reminds us to "Sign me out, Mummy!" before we leave. (She even told me I was looking for her name in the wrong binder this morning. "No Mummy, THAT one!")

On the way home she happily chatters about her day and is in THE BEST MOOD EVER.

And yet, we wake up the next morning and go through the same process.

I know it's just a period of change and adjustment but she never ceases to amaze me. Sometimes she leaves me pleasantly surprised and other times I'm left scratching my head in bemusement.

Parenthood!

Yesterday she had her very first school photo. We don't get to see them for a few weeks so I'm not sure how they came out but I'm DYING to view them. Knowing how hard it is to get her to look at MY camera or stand still, I can only imagine how difficult it would be to have her perform the archetypal "chin on hand/head-tilt" pose the photography studio advertises on their flyer.

Of course, no matter what it looks like, I'll buy it. I'm a sucker that way.

Daisy's first day of pre-school

2011-04-06T20:22:00.000-07:00

Today was Daisy's first ever day at Whispering Oak Montessori Academy.

In typical "me" fashion, I was not at all worried. In fact, I was excited. The things she would learn! The opportunities to socialize! The sense of independence she would gain!

This is what I envision my job as a mother to be: to teach her to be an independent soul.

So, while everyone else's stomach was churning, I was full of eager anticipation.

As I anticipated, she did great. Of course, she got cold-feet at the last minute and claimed that she didn't want to go but, once we got into the classroom, she walked off to play with toys and pretty much barely noticed our departure,

Hubby and I took the day off, in anticipation of overwhelming emotions. They didn't come. Instead we went for breakfast and shopped for a new DVD player.

And then it came time to pick her up.

Gawd, I was NOT ready for that.

We saw her walking around in the outside play area for toddlers. Her face was sullen, she looked up at me with sulky eyes, kicking dirt around with her feet. Her face did not light up at my arrival. She was actually mad/disappointed in me. {Gulp}

Turns out, she had been watching parents pick their 1/2 day kids up since noon and was beginning to doubt my return.

When she finally walked over to me and I picked her up, she wrapped herself around me, arms and legs squeezing tight, head resting on my shoulder, and shaking with the last ebbs of a held-back sob.

I almost lost it. I wasn't ready for the pick-up to be more emotional than the drop-off.

"Mummy came to see you!" she exclaimed, typically mixing her pronouns. God, she really thought I might not come and get her? The internal anguish set in.

And then, as we were walking with the teacher, hearing about her day and picking up her stuff, she said, ever-so-quietly to me, through shuddering breaths: "Had a great time, Mumma."

Damn, this kid is a killer. She'd had a great day but had been worried that we were not coming to get her and now was trying to hold back tears that we had arrived to pick her up.

I. LOVE. HER.

So, it turns out that she did have a pretty good day, only getting upset a couple of times, and - get this - she even napped for more than hour! Something I was convinced would never happen in a group setting.

As I said in a previous post. She continues to surprise me in new ways every day.

2 year stats

2011-04-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

Peanut!

23.4lbs | 5-10%

32" | 5-10%

Yep, we have officially stopped tracking percentiles around here. The doctor didn't even bother to talk to us about her weight at her 2 year check-up - I had to Google a percentile calculator to find out.

It was clear from her behavior in the doctor's office today that she is just fine. She ran around like a lunatic, admired herself repeatedly in the mirror on the back of the door, and generally demonstrated her "two-ness". The doctor said she is smart and healthy and crazy.

Yeah, tell me something I DIDN'T know.

Tomorrow... our first day at pre-school. Wish us luck!

A love letter to my 2 year old

2011-04-04T19:55:00.000-07:00

Dear Daisy,

Yesterday you turned two years old and, as I will do probably every year at this time until the day I die, I went back to the photos of you and I just after you were born, snuggled up together on that hospital bed. Time has flown so quickly and yet it seems impossible that there was ever a life before you.

Instead of throwing a lavish party this year, we went to Gilroy Gardens Theme Park – a theme park especially for toddlers and young children. Of course, it was my idea to make you sit in a car for three hours each way, without knowing if you would even go on any of the rides. Especially given your rather fearful streak recently – you freak out at moving cars in parking lots – the odds didn’t look good. But, as I will always try to do for you, I wanted to give you the chance to make up your own mind, not be held-back by my fear of what might happen.

Of course, I was secretly (ok, not so secretly) hoping that you would love it. You see, as you’ll learn as you start to get older, your mother LOVES theme parks and rides; in fact, the scarier the better. (I’m the same way about movies too – watch out!) So your Nan, Grandad, and Dad knew (although they never said out loud) that there was a lot riding on your big day. Would you be a companion to your mother’s thrill-seeking shenanigans or would you stand on the sidelines and roll your eyes at me?

Recently, you have been a bit clingy, so I had reason for concern. I don’t do well with clingy – sorry, I love you but it makes me want to hyperventilate (or drink wine, maybe both some days). There’s not enough time or money to psychoanalyze just why, besides I’d rather spend the $$ on you. You’ve also been a little bit of a scaredy-cat. You opened a book on the morning of your birthday and practically threw it across the room because you were scared of the snail in it. (Of course, I missed the irony in the fact that I still do the same thing with snakes.)

In all honesty, if I took recent evidence alone, going to a theme park sounded like the WORST idea EVER.

Yet, as you have done consistently since the day you popped out (a girl, not the anticipated boy) you surprised me. You ran right up to the first ride – a car ride you would need to ride on solo – let me strap you in, didn’t blink an eyelid as I walked away from you, waited patiently (yes YOU, patiently – imagine that!) for the ride to start, sat still all the way through (gasp!), and jumped off only to run right into the line for the next ride.

I’ll tell you now, I fought back tears watching you ride around in circles on that little car. It seems stupid and a little shallow, perhaps, given the many achievements in your short life already, but I was so proud of you at that moment. You were so brave and grown-up. I had to pick up my camera and start snapping or I would have bawled my eyes out.

The whole day kind of went like that. What I thought would be a 2-hour visit, max, turned into a five hour stay, with you waiting patiently in line for the next ride and jumping feet-first into every new experience we threw at you. You were fun and funny, brave and beautiful and I had THE BEST time hanging out with you. There couldn’t have been a better day to encompass everything I love about who you are.

Daisy, you are everything I ever wished for in a daughter and so much more that I didn’t know to even ask for. You are smart and inquisitive, goofy and silly, energetic and enthusiastic, loving and gentle, independent and willful, all wrapped into your small 24lbs (barely) frame. So small and yet so powerful; full of personality and potential.

As you will no-doubt read when I turn these blog entries into printed diaries some day soon, I did not exactly enter or embrace motherhood with open arms. I was scared of losing myself to the role of mother, reluctant to change a fun and selfish life, and full of determination to be as little impacted as possible by my new child.

I was an idiot.

There’s not a plane ride or happy hour in the world that could replace the feeling of watching you go in circles on that little yellow car. In fact, no trip would be perfect any more without you to share it, and no happy hour enjoyable if I couldn’t come home to kiss your peachy-cheeks.

Happy 2^nd Birthday, Daisy Margaret. I look forward to you surprising me on many more great adventures this year.

Fore more birthday fun photos, click here

23 months

2011-03-06T21:09:00.000-08:00

Daisy is now less than one month away from her second birthday.

O-M-G - where did the last two years go? This time two years ago, THIS WAS MY REALITY. All things considered, I like where we're at right now much better.

Right now, poor thing is sick. After recovering from a temperature of 102 yesterday, she paraded around the house today screaming "Uh oh, Mummy! Snot!" Which is basically a demand for me to wipe her nose.

When she is sick, we slacken our restrictions on things like watching movies - as much to give ourselves a break from the glue-like neediness as to actually provide relief for her. As you can see, Daisy is now quite adept at opening the DVD cases and even putting the movie in the player.

A lot of changes are coming down the pipeline for our little Doodle, once the "2" mark is hit. The biggest, and the catalyst, is going to preschool, of course. At which point, we get serious about potty training too. And, at some point, we really do need to take the leap and transition her into a toddler bed.

The latter scares us **itless. Daisy literally traverses the whole bed, end-to-end, corner-to-corner, throughout the duration of the night. We have absolutely no idea how she will be contained in a regular bed. For a start, I'm not even sure she will stay in bed once we leave the room. (Certainly, naps will be done forever.) Once she realizes she can get out and cruise around the room and even open the door to get out, it's all over. We've never had much trouble with her nighttime routine in the past and it's going to take a collective deep breath in this house to mess with what has been working so well for so long.

So, maybe a while before that particular transition. This is one thing I think we'll avoid forging the trail on. We're going to watch friends and see how they do with their kids first.

Daisy Doodle Dandy

2011-02-27T18:29:00.000-08:00

Hence my nickname for her right now: "Doodle" (You may remember, we have a fluid relationship with nicknames in this family.)

Doodle is currently into questions:

Was dat mum?
Who's dat mum?
Was she doin', mum?
Wassisname, mum?

... to name but a few, of course. These are the most common.

Half the time she is asking these questions about complete strangers. For instance, passing people on the street on in the news and so I am left with "I don't know, honey." She's probably thinking: some mother she is!

Of course, I'm waiting for "why". Which is right about when I finally succumb and rent a cargo van for a trip to Napa Valley. Gotta stock up.

Meanwhile, Doodle is NOT into naps.

It's been a struggle since we took the binky away but these days it's probably 75/25 stacked against me to get the kid to sleep on the weekends. She'll nap during the week for her Nan, who goes through gargantuan efforts (and amounts of time) to make it happen. But on the weekends, it's a treat if she so much as closes her eyes. When she does, she wakes up in the most awful mood: tearful, whiny, clingy, and short tempered, so it's a judgment call as to whether it's better to just skip it each time. All of this is the perfect combination to make yours truly want to run out of the house. Of course, through all of this, she only wants "Mumma" so I'm kinda stuck there too. Yes, we're in a mumma phase. Oy vey.

Yesterday we had a playdate with my friend's daughter, Katie, and Doodle discovered tutus. She has since decided she is a ballerina.

The search now begins for a ballet class for 2 year old. (Yeah, they pretty much don't exist.) In the meantime, we search YouTube for clips of favorite ballets. Today Doodle was inspired by Sleeping Beauty, which had her pointing her toes and lifting he leg in the air. Too cute.

I'm just overwhelmed with happiness to see her looking girly for once.

A day with Daisy

2011-02-12T21:36:00.000-08:00

Copying mummy

"Click!"

Downing a light refreshment.

She is still learning to drink from a regular cup and so most of this 'refreshed' her shirt.

Getting dirty.

She refused to wear shoes. I know, her Foresthill is showing.

Oh, mum, I see what you mean. Huh! You don't just talk because you like the sound of your voice!

She refuses to even attempt sliding down the slide. She is convinced it is a tall ramp to climb up.

"Flowers are for pickin', right mum?"

Giving me her orders.

"No, first swing on swings. Then blueberries. Then movie. Then nap."
Um, yeah, "Queen" is about right.

Coaxing her back into the house requires every sales strategy I have ever employed and then some.

It also requires some fibbing. Like, yeah, sure, blueberries and a movie, no nap. (Right!)

What happens when you turn your back after bath?

Your toddler dresses herself in her swimsuit.

If only her hair was as thick and luscious as her lashes.

Final piece of salesmanship for the day.

Daddy reads princess stories while Mummy wrangles the swimsuit off, in favor of PJs.

Gnight!

Puss face

2011-02-04T18:09:00.000-08:00

Puss Face

The "new thing" for Daisy right now is this face she pulls when you ask her to do something she doesn't want to do but isn't vehemently opposed to (the latter, of course, resulting in kicking, screaming, and tears... so a step before that.)

The "puss face", as we like to call it, involves squinty-eyes and pursed mouth along with tucked-in chin and raised shoulders. Man, this kid is soooo expressive!

And, no, absolutely no "drama" here at all.

And the winner is!

Whispering Oak Montessori Academy!

Yes, we picked a pre-school for Ms. Daisy. Her start date will be April 5th, just 3 days after her second birthday.

We did take Missy to her second trial morning at another local Montessori but, ultimately, this is the place that makes us feel most comfortable. We really feel like we can drop "Miss uncoordinated and spacially unaware" off there and she will be well cared for and safe. Everywhere else we went to, we admitted, at the end of the day, we'd be constantly worrying about her.

Now we've made our choice, we're super excited. Now to buy the uniforms. There's a lot to choose from - khaki pants, yellow polos, little plaid skorts (I know, little dork) and a pinafore! But ack, the pants are $25 each, so we'll be buying conservatively to start with.

Thank goodness for the new fancy washing machine with no agitator... this stuff will need to last!

Um...Random!

This evening, Daisy and I had to go to Michaels for some craft supplies (no, don't freak out, I'm not becoming crafty, it's a special project for a family thing).

While zooming around the aisles looking for 'stuff', Daisy started yelling "NO! NOOOOOOO! NOOO LADEEEEEEEEE!" at anyone else in the aisles with us. This, by the way, was accompanied by pointing and jumping up and down in the kid seat.

Of course, this was a tad embarrassing. Just a tad. Actually, more annoying. Have you noticed how all the women in those craft stores are just MISERABLE? You could tiggle their armpits with a feather and I bet they wouldn't crack a smile. WTH?

After a while of being thoroughly miffed, I realized that Daisy refused to share the aisles with anyone. Nope, it could only be me and Missy in those aisles. Everyone else needed to clear out, quick smart.

Yeah, right. Getting RIGHT on that, Daisy.

Watching TV is impossible

This is what happens when you try to watch some celebrity gossip.

Yes, we've started with the who and why already.

Yeah, you wanna sit on a 10 hour flight with THIS?

Really? No? Why?

Spinning around

I leave you with some photos of Daisy spinning around, yet another illustration of her boundless energy and an indication into the hell that will be our transatlantic flight in April.

Did I mention I love wine? Hallelujah for California grapes. Keeping mothers sane for decades.

Little miss picky

2011-01-29T22:07:00.000-08:00

Yep, this is pretty much what I am greeted with at every meal, these days.

I'm all out of ideas... and recipes... and time. The old tricks - turkey meatballs and macaroni and cheese - have stopped working. The fridge is full of things that Daisy considers "YUCK!" (her new favorite word - said with a scrunched up face.) Time to scour the internet for healthy, yummy, and FAST toddler recipes.

Yeah, I know. Kids go through fazes. And no, I'm not one of those moms who is going to obsess about this particular one. But, to be honest, our food routine has been tired for some time and I refuse to dish up overly-processed, pre-packaged Gerber crap. Plus, missy is still only 24lbs... she can't exactly afford to drop a few pounds, bless her.

At least, if I find some yummy, easy recipes for chicken, pork, turkey, and ground beef, I'll might not onlyget Daisy to eat something again but might also (a) enjoy the cooking and (b) have something I or her father would like to eat too.

Wish me luck!

In the meantime, THIS is what we do at mealtime, instead of eating.

School test 1

2011-01-20T12:53:00.000-08:00

This morning, Daisy did her first test visit to one of the two schools on our short list for pre-school when she turns two in April.

Today's school was Whispering Oak Montessori Academy. Although it sounds very formal and pompous, it is in fact a wonderful, intimate little school full of friendly, caring people. And so well maintained! Seriously, my home is not this clean... EVER.

The school has fanatstic reviews all over the internet and many of them from parents who are themselves educators - a great sign! It also won Best Sacramento Preschool from Parents Connect, although I didn't find that out until after I fell in love. But what we love best about it is its owner and Director, Sima. She is so passionate about her school, her teachers, and her kids, its almost impossible not to feel connected to that place.

Originally I was not very hot on the whole idea of Montessori. Not sure why. Just sounded newfangledangled to me and I'm a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to education to be honest. Whispering Oak turned me around, however. I love the fact that children are encouraged based upon their developmental stage not pulled-ahead or left-behind because of their age alone. I also love the fact that there is a certain amount of non-traditional structure to the students' day. Kids learn to put things away, they learn about boundaries and learning "tasks" are very tactile, practical and hands on. At the same time kids are treated as individuals.

Daisy spent about an hour in the 18 month to 2.5 year olds room and, although she took a little while to warm up, she did eventually start interacting. She even sat nicely at the table and had snacks with the other kids, all adorable little girls I could so see her becoming fast friends with. Particularly one who took a liking to Daddy and made cute, googly eyes at him the entire time we were there.

Miss Melissa was fun and friendly and willing to answer our questions, she also seemed to know when to encourage Daisy and when to step back. I liked that. And I never had the sense that we were intruding on the day or in the way.

I didn't take any photos because I'm very sensitive to taking pics around other people's children when they are not around to consent but you can go to the website (hyperlinked from the school's name above).

Next week, Country Hill Montessori.

Pet names

2011-01-14T21:14:00.000-08:00

In our house, the more pet names you have, the better. The number of pet names is directly proportionate to how much me and my Hubster love you.

Back before Ms. Daisy, my dog(s) got all the love:

Frankie: Doober. Doobie-doo. Meat-head. Kujo. Frankster. Frankers. Butthead.
Maggie: Velocaraptor.

Yeah, well, that kinda says it all right there.

(p.s. even the bad ones mean good things.)

Of course, it goes without saying that Daisy has the most pet-names of anyone around here:

Munchie
Munch-bunch
Sausage
Sausage-popper
Popper
Missy
Missy-moo
Boo
Daisers
Little Miss
Miss Muffet
Muffet Pop
Pumpkin
Pumpkin Pie
Goober
Goobie-goo
Goofball

(I'm sure I forgot some.)

I have no idea how or why we come up with most of these things. All I know is that the vocabulary we devote relates to the love.

It's amazing this kid knows her name at all!

---------

This evening, Daisy "helped" us make our favorite brunch item - our "Breakfast Strata". She was very... helpful... with the spinach.

Smiles

2011-01-08T21:18:00.000-08:00

On cue, Daisy will now smile for the camera. I love this because it means I get shots like this.

On the other hand, I look at this and I see a little girl now... no longer a baby or infant. It's quite scary how fast that happens but quite lovely also.

Daisy's Mum
=x=

Chasing bubbles

2011-01-06T21:35:00.000-08:00

Daisy is now 21 months old and hurtling fast toward her 2nd birthday in April. Although, of course, she's been "two" for some time now. All those timelines are a bunch of crap mostly. I don't know another mother with a kid her age who is not dealing with tantrums, screaming and the continual repetition of that dreaded two letter word: "NO!"

Right now we're at the "out of nowhere frustration" stage. Which means she will go from happy and content and playing to pissed and frustrated and kicking in, well, I don't know... too little of a fragment of time to calculate without some kind of special device. Toys are thrown, toys are kicked, (you are kicked, if you're in the way), and screaming and crocodile tears begin.

The poor Thomas the Tank Engine playset seems to be taking the brunt of it all. I can't tell you how many times that thing has been torn down and reconstructed since Christmas. As Daisy says after she's calmed down and is viewing the scene of her own destruction: "Pooooooor Thomasss"

What we can't do right now, however, is shop.

In fact, going anywhere where she might want to get out and walk right now results in a lose-lose power struggle. She won't sit in a cart or a stroller for long but she will only walk and hold your hand for a couple of minutes. After which time, Missy will sit on the floor, yanking her arm out of it's socket, in an attempt to get you to let go. If you do, she runs off at lightening speed, usually in the opposite direction than you want to go and always without paying the slightest bit of attention to her surroundings. If you don't let go, she moves onto throwing herself on the floor and whining.

The only good thing about this is that it really does very little for my husband and I, other than make outings twice as exhausting. Fortunately, neither of us cares if passers by think we are *those* parents. Maybe we're just too old to hold onto our pride at this point but we usually let her get on with it (when time allows), watching her with an amused expression. However, we did get a horridly dirty look from a mom in Ikea on New Year's Day, as Daisy skid to a halt and straight into a Poang chair, after escaping from her Daddy.

Of course, it's not so easy when you're on your own. Honestly, I just constrain her to the cart or the stroller if I've got a timeline and deal with the consequences. There seriously is no other way round it.

I make it sound worse than it is. The vast majority of the time she is a happy, funny little girl who certainly provides hours of entertainment for me, her dad, and my parents. What with Daisy time, blogging and taking pictures, I find I hardly ever sit down on a couch and watch TV at night any more.

Meh, I'll trade reality tv shows for bubble chasing any night.

Happy New Year, Daisy

2010-12-31T20:42:00.000-08:00

One day very soon, Mumma will make sure you get to live things in-person, not just hear about them in stories or watch them on TV.

This will be us one day very soon...

Thank you for an amazing 2010. Here's to more adventures in 2011 and beyond!

=Mumma=

NO MORE BINKY!

2010-12-29T21:19:00.000-08:00

It has been our constant companion, sanity savior, and, yes, parental crutch, for the past 20 months but this week we said goodbye to binky.

It hasn't been easy but it hasn't been as hard as we feared, either. (Although, I say this NOW while she's not sick and we're not about to embark upon a 10 hour flight to England without a plug. I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities in our future to miss it.)

The day after Christmas, we wrapped all our binkies up in tissue paper, put them in a Christmas gift bag and dropped them off for Santa to give to all the "poor babies." (In fact, my husband jumped out of the car and ran into his office, where he deposited them in the bin. But these are details Daisy can hate me for in therapy, after she reads this blog some day.) We blew kisses at the binkies and we waved goodbye.

And then, when we realized they were definitely gone, the screaming began.

Now let me be clear, in case I have not before in previous posts: my daughter does not wimper, whine, or sob, she SCREAMS. Full pelt, with every ounce of oxygen in her lungs. She is the Opera Singer of criers.

One of these days I swear I am going to get one of those decibel meters and prove in cold, hard numbers, just how loud she is.

When she is crying/screaming it is IMPOSSIBLE to think, let alone have any kind of conversation over the din. Even turning up the music doesn't work since we had to turn it up so loud we even deafened ourselves.

And so we thought the biggest issue would be car rides. Missy has never much liked being strapped in anywhere, no matter what her age, and without binky, car rides have ALWAYS been an issue. After taking some tips from other moms who have "been there", however, we've been able to mostly crack the in-car-audio. The solution, by the way, is cookies or Goldfish in a snack cup. (Judge all you want. I can't say enough how many "musn'ts" and "will nevers" I've had to be flexible on since I became a mother.)

As it turns out, naps have been the biggest fight. Although Daisy has always slept through the night without her binky (we let her have it at storytime and them whip it away as we put her down - sneaky!) she has always had it for naps. It's just one of those things where trying to stop an over-active toddler dead in her tracks bang in the middle of the day, requires an all-out effort. The kid likes her sleep for sure and getting her down WITH binky has been a breeze for some time. So I think we completely overlooked what that process might look like post-binky. (Probably for good reason.)

Day one: No nap at all. Absolutely not. She screamed until she almost choked and then sat in her crib with a few books until she got bored and started screaming again.

Day two: 30 minutes, thanks to much persistence. Again, much screaming, which I was purposefully not around for (a conveniently timed lunch break.)

Day three: One hour, thanks to "The Baby Whisperer", aka: my mother. Although I hear it was an effort. And if my mother admits it was an effort, it means it was in fact akin to climbing Everest without an oxygen tank.

Day four (today): One hour again but less fighting beforehand. Bed was harder, though - she wouldn't stop talking to me as I read stories! Eventually I just put her down, still jabbering, and lo-and-behold, the child put head to pillow and went out like a light. Go figure. Who can figure these kids out?

However, our nanny thinks that "Mummy" is the new binky, since it seems that the loss of the colored rubbery thing has coincided with a sudden mummy fixation. Not that Daisy hasn't been a mummy fan before but it's reached new levels. When hurt, when tired, when away from me, when frustrated... everyone is now subjected to the sound of my name over-and-over-and-over again.

Last night, she even whined for me over her Daddy and her Nanny, the latter of which is a first. Of course, when she's with me all I ever hear about is Nanny, Grandad, and Daddy!

It's likely just" a stage" and I'm ok with it so far but I don't do well with clingy, so we'll see.

Here are some pre-bedtime pics from this evening, as Daisy reviews her collection of books and picks which ones she wants me to read (although she frequently changes her mind half way through anyway!)

From the non-binky household, thanks for stopping by!

Daisy's Mum

=x=

The Spirit of Christmas

2010-12-25T21:45:00.000-08:00

Because it took nothing but love to begin it,

it's not really Christmas if love isn't in it.

And so then, my darling, wherever you roam,

may you always be safe,

may you always come home.

For as long as the world still spins and still hums,

wherever you are,

no matter what comes,

the best part of Christmas will always be,

you beneath my Christmas tree.

You are loved.

Excerpted from "The Spirit of Christmas" by Nancy Tillman

A little Christmas come early

2010-12-17T22:03:00.000-08:00

One of the items on Daisy's Christmas list this year was a little step-stool come kitchen-helper thingumy.

You see, every time we go into the kitchen these days, Missy becomes a little whiner, wanting to be picked up all the time so she can see and participate in what we are doing. "Pick you!" Pick you!" is repeated over and over again until you're ready to tear your hair out. (Yes, we're having pronoun issues.)

Picking, however, is not always possible when you're chopping and slicing, frying hot oil, or pulling a scalding hot baking sheet out of the oven. Well, at least, if it is possible (without injury) Hubby and I have not figured it out.

So, typically what happens is much whining, crying and occasional throwing oneself on the floor in frustration (her, not us, although I've been tempted.)

I had no idea if the kitchen-helper thingumy would work (one possibility was screaming, crying, and whining of a different sort) but it arrived a little early and, with the prospect of Christmas-cookie-making looming for the weekend, I decided to put it to work.

IT'S A MIRACLE! Daisy loves it. She even helped mix up the batter for French Toast this morning! No way!? I get to make breakfast with HAPPY SOUNDS!?

This evening, after dinner, she demanded we push the thing over to the counter-top and then used her pointy little finger to demand "food", "fowak", and "bowal" for her to work on. So I gave her a bowl full of whipped cream.

Mummy also got a little "artsy" with some shots.

So, all in all, fun was had by child and parents.

Of course, we didn't completely escape a tantrum. Daisy was having so much fun we couldn't tear her away. When we did, she kicked, screamed, and cried for a good five minutes.

Daisydotes

2010-11-29T14:22:00.000-08:00

First, before sharing a funny story, I wanted to post this pic from our family dinner-date with friends last week.

The lure of a California King bed was too great for two 19 month olds. Much fun was had jumping and climbing up and down on the master bed. (And thank God for the size since Missy fell head-first off my mother's queen bed last week.)

Couldn't you just eat them up at this age?

And now to the Daisydote.

Yesterday was Daddy's birthday

.. and in the evening we went out for a nice dinner at Zinfandel Grille in Gold River. Very nice it was too, despite the fact that Missy decided to play picaboo with the table cloth and knocked over my glass of wine. (Many thanks to the sympathetic waiter who provided a new glass on the house!)

Aaaaanyways, so we're all in the car after dinner, just buckled in and I'm in the middle of telling my parents a funny story about my husband, who, last week, left a kids carton of milk on the top of my car, which we only discovered thirty minutes later after the carton was gone but my car was dripping milk in a parking lot. Yes, my car was doing a great impressing of a cow.

Husband's absentmindedness aside... I'm sitting in the driver's seat and my parents are squished into the back seat with Daisy, so I'm twisting around, telling the story.

About 3/4 of the way through the tale, Daisy kicks her feet, points her finger past me and outside the front window and yells: "Mummy! DWIIIIIIIIIIVE!"

That kid is all action, I tell ya. I don't think I've belly laughed that hard all year.

Sharing the spirit of Christmas

2010-11-27T21:44:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things about being a mum is sharing the things I love with Daisy. My favorite food, my taste in music, clothes, travel, movies, books... you name it, it's just so fun to see how she reacts to the same things and whether she loves them too.

All of this, of course, makes Christmas a smorgasbord of opportunities to share childhood memories and traditions, especially since, in my family, Christmas is a BIG DEAL.

Last year, however, Missy was not even a year old and, while her eyes sparkled in the reflection of the Christmas tree and she ripped open gifts with gusto, she didn't understand what any of it meant. There was no context, no anticipation, no appreciation.

This year, at nearly two, all that has changed.

Daisy knows who Santa is, that he brings gifts on Christmas Eve and that naughty children don't get any. She can sing most of the words to "Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer" (sporadically) and busted out "Santa Claus is coming to town!" (in rhythm) during a diaper change last week. Of course, we've been priming her with songs and books but the point is that this year she's putting it all together and it's so cool because I can see the excitement building in her. By the time Christmas Day rolls around, I can just envision the fever pitch!

I love it. I still remember how that felt and I can't wait to see it on Daisy's face.

Which is why today was so fun. We bought Missy her own three foot Christmas tree and I took her to Target this morning to pick out her own lights and decorations.

Pink and twinkly was the theme. (Oh, with a touch of Dora and Hello Kitty, of course.)

Ok, truth be told, we bought her the tree because we wanted her to have one she could mess with. This year, due to the toddler penchant for ripping, throwing, and smashing, we decided to put our own tree (which usually graces our living room) in with the dogs in the family room. The fact that we entrust hundreds of dollars of fake-lit tree and glass ornaments to a hyperactive 3 year old Cocker Spaniel tells you just how incapable we are of controlling our hyperactive 20 month old. Ahem.

Either way, it turned out to be a great idea - whatever the motivations - because she loved every minute of the picking and the decorating. When we plugged the lights in, she sat next to the tree and started singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" which almost broke my heart. Man, I need to get the video camera up and running again. Some things a still photo just can't capture.

After a nap, it was on to setting up the big people's tree and, of course, the tree box was the highlight of the afternoon.

Daddy was not left out either. "Daddy SIT!" was repeated at least 20 times before and after this shot. Daddy had to work a little on the tree and then pause to hang out in "Daisy's" box.

Once the box was hoisted away and the tantrum of loss was over, we moved onto picking through the Christmas storage boxes to see what we could get in trouble with.

First there was the Santa hat...

Which lasted about 5 seconds after this shot.

Then we moved on to ribbons and contemplating how to tie a bow around our oldest dog, Frankie.

Anyone who knows Frankie knows that this is NOT beans idea. Even Daisy knows that "Frankie's growwwchie"

But finally, Mumma finished the tree.

And then it was off to beg Daddy to put Mary Poppins on the DVD player. While it's Mumma's favorite Disney movie, let's just say it probably doesn't rate in the top 100 for Dad. But still, it made a cute picture and Daisy happily kicking her feet to the songs for almost an hour made Mumma teary-eyed. Especially during Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Ahh... memories.

And supercalifragilisticexpialidocious kudos go to Daddy who, on the eve of his birthday, sat down and pretended to be into Julie Andrews' sing-songy antics.

Even the dogs suffered for Daisy's enjoyment. These are Daisy's feet using Maggie's back as a foot rest. Again, not advisable if the black ball of fur beneath you is Frankie.

Nope, not spoiled at all.

Daisy was well behaved all day today and we had a wonderful day, mostly at home, getting excited for Christmas. These are the wonderful memories I carry with me from my childhood. I hope she'll do the same.

Incidentally, I found a wonderful Christmas book I've been reading to Daisy before naptime. It's called "The Spirit of Christmas". I highly recommend it if you have a little one. It's beautiful.

Loon

2010-11-11T10:01:00.000-08:00

Today a friend texted me to ask if I would like her to craft a delightful, girly hat for Daisy for Christmas. She sent a sample image of the one she had made for her own daughter and it was beautiful.

Unfortunately, I had to reply that Miss Daisy will not wear hats, or pretty much anything on her head. Maybe it was my fault for not forcing her sooner or maybe it was because she didn't have very much hair for a really long time, but Daisy doesn't do bows, clips, or hats. That's why her hair is always blowing in 20 different directions in pics and falls all over her lovely little face. It's not that I don't want to pretty her up, it's that it's just not worth the tantrums.

Ok, my friend said, hows about I make her a scarf instead? Again, I had to reply that this probably wasn't a good user of her time, given Missy doesn't like anything up around her neck either. (I know, welcome to my world of random toddler limitations.)

All of this, however, does not prevent my crazy loon of a child from putting a canvas bag on her head at night and running around the house bumping into things... KIDS!

Daisy's Halloween

2010-11-01T22:32:00.000-07:00

Daisy's Halloween was really a Halloween week.

We started with a mid-week, evening pumpkin patch visit with The Tings, cousins Adah and Ezra. There's a really great pumpkin patch not far from where we live, just off a normal residential street. They have hay rides, mazes, scarecrows, bounce houses on weekends, and, of course, oodles of pumpkins.

CUTENESS OVERLOAD ON THE HAY RIDE

TRAWLING THE PUMPKIN FIELDS

HAULING OUR BOOTY

AND GENERALLY SOME GOOD-OLE ALL AMERICAN FUN

Then, kicking off the weekend, we hit Apple Hill, where Daisy went on the never ending search for a "good one." Which usually means one bigger than she can reasonably carry.

And finally, it came to Halloween itself. Given that Missy has been reluctant to wear anything I wanted her to - down to only being willing to wear her "garden shoes" for an entire week and resisting any attempt at me dressing her in some cute fall cords, it seemed unlikely it was going to go well. We were all definitely poised for a mega-sized tantrum.

But it started off great. She wore her Halloween T-Shirt and matching cord pants, making Mumma VERY happy, given they were Janie & Jack and cost a buck or two.

And then, when it came to Trick or Treat, she even donned the Ladybug outfit that Daddy and I have been swooning over for more than a month now.

The hat, though.... notsomuch...

Daisy made it about five or six houses before getting fairly bored with the process. Plus, I have to say that, once the initial excitement of dressing her up and knocking on the first couple of doors was over, I was feeling pretty ho-hum about the whole event myself. Door, "Trick or Treat!", candy... repeat. Ugggh. Although, I have to say, it was cool to turn around at one point and see our street crawling with little kids, hyped-up on candy, and scuttling from house to house in the dark.

After all this activity, Mummy and Daddy needed a date night. So we left Nan and Grandad in charge while we hot-footed it to the bar.

Daisy's 18 month stats OR How Daddy almost put her on the short bus

2010-10-22T12:38:00.000-07:00

Daisy had her 18 month check-up today with the doctor. A few weeks late because we were timing it with the second of her flu shots. (Yes, that's right, we actually GOT flu shots before they ran out this year. SCORE!)

We're pleased to report that Daisy did actually grow since her last check-up, at 15 months. We even re-gained some of our losses in the percentile department. Woot!

Daisy is now 31.5" tall and 23lbs, which means she is in the 40% for height and 25% for weight, pretty much right where she has been since about 3 months old. (Of course, as you know, she picked gestation and birth to be 75% all around. Lucky mumma!) This represents a big win (and a sigh of relief) for all of us who have been feeding her high fat foods like our life depended on it, since she showed up to her 15 month appointment having lost a couple of pounds and falling into the 10% for weight.

In other news, Mummy did a stupid thing: she let Daddy fill out the developmental disorders questionnaire.

WHY I did this, I don't know. I'm usually the one to check all the boxes but for some reason he got hold of the form and the pen and started checking. Maybe I was worrying about the shots (Daisy did NOT do well with them last time) or maybe it was a case of the Friday crazies but clearly my mind was not "on it".

As the doctor sat down and reviewed the check-list, her brow furrowed and she leaned forward to address us with concern.

Here is a play-by-play, paraphrased, of course...

Doctor: "So, how often does Daisy make abnormal hand movements?"

Me: "WHAT!???"

Daddy: (Looks at me with a moment of panic.) "Well, you know, when she comes and sits on the couch with me sometimes she does weird things with her fingers right here" (Mimes frantically moving fingers by his mouth which, granted, does look stupid on a 36 year old man.)

Me: (To Daddy) "That's not ABNORMAL, that's her being a kid!" (To Doctor and with my 'he's nuts' eye-roll) "Sorry. HE filled it out this time. He doesn't normally touch those lists. I can assure you she DOES NOT make abnormal hand movements. I don't know what he's talking about."

Daddy: "Well, they're pretty weird to me."

Me: "That's NOT what the question is asking."

Daddy: "Oh... sorry... ok."

Doctor: (Looking down the check-list.) "And what about running around without purpose and staring blankly for moments at a time. Does she do that a lot?"

Me: (Barely restraining myself from jumping out of the chair and shaking my husband by his shoulders) "WHAAAAT!? She DOES NOT do that. What are you TALKING ABOUT!!!!?"

Daddy: (Now trying to disappear down into his sweater.) "Well, you know, she runs around a lot - and it seems to be without purpose - and sometimes she just comes up to me and stares like this," mimics blank stare "and then runs away again."

Me: "Right, but that's just normal kid behavior. The questionnaire is asking if she is behaving ABnormally."

Daddy: "Yeah, I guess I was taking it a bit too literally."

Me: (To Doctor) "Honestly, she runs around a lot but she's just being a kid. She's fine."

Doctor: "Okaaaay then. Well, she passed the test with flying colors. She's doing great!"

Me: (Looking at Daddy through narrowed eyes.) "Yes, she is. Thank you."

And thus ends the story of how Daisy almost ended up on the short bus.

Equal Opportunity Kissing

2010-10-18T21:28:00.000-07:00

It may be a little too early to project her political and social affiliations but I think this gives us some insight.

TRANSLATION:
"Noah" is a Little People representation of the biblical figure.
"Fire-am" means Fire Man

I also love how talking comes out with a weird English/American accent - "tawking". Almost sounds east coast.

BTW, my goal is to get more video of Daisy moving forward. She is just so animated \and chatty these days, cute stills don't do her justice. This is just post one. Stay tuned for more of what Daisy's Doin' this week...

Daisydotes

2010-10-14T12:08:00.000-07:00

I have taught Daisy to wiggle and smack her bootie when she dances. She will also announce "Smack Daisy's bootie!" as she does it. Maybe some of you find this offensive. I don't care. It's flippin' cute.

Daisy said her first full sentence last week. At 18 months! I know! Slow down, girl! At this rate she'll be in college before I've even had a chance to save for it. Oh, and the sentence was uttered as she sat in her high chair, which is right by a big window to the back yard. The dogs were outside running around and she said "Frankie," that's my oldest dog "outside running round garden." My heart skipped a beat. Holy crap!

Daisy dances to the beat of her own drum. It used to be that we would *dance* after dinner, to her favorite pop/dance songs on iTunes. Now Daisy wants to dance ALL the time, regardless or not of whether there is music playing. We're assuming something is playing in her head, however. The other day she was at the park with her nanny and her nanny's two year old and, as they were walking along the path, she suddenly stopped and started dancing in the middle of the path. I love her.

"Daddy is a dufus. Daisy is a weirdo. Mummy is fat." Yup, I taught her all that too. Oh, c'mon, don't be so judgmental! It's funny! And true! Honesty is important, don't you think?

Daisy, the social butterfly, attended two parties this weekend

Cousin Adah's 4th Birthday
Where there was upside down fun with coustin, Ezra

And there was CAKE!

(family members note: more, edited pics to come soon!)

Madelyn's 2nd Birthday

Where Daisy wore a dress (don't worry, her hair was still messy and she played in sand and got dirty.)

And Daisy drove in a pink Caddy with her friend, Brie

And Daddy blew out pictures using Mumma's camera setttings

And now Mummy must return to one of her two jobs. Late!

Sunset at the park

2010-10-07T11:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening, Daisy, Daddy, and I went out to scope-out a new park for a little project of mine. (More on Ms. Ranty Pants later.)

We reached our destination at the magic "golden hour" and stopped to take some shots of Daisy running around. As you can see, from the fact that they're almost all from behind, I spent most of my time chasing her. Now she falls down less, it's even harder to keep up!

Being present and the point of diminishing return

2010-10-06T20:40:00.001-07:00

In reverse order, for emotional impact.

The point of diminishing return

Hubby and I had planned on eliminating the binkie from our lives at Christmas. In fact, I had an unofficial pact with two of my mommy friends, to hold a binkie donation party for our girls during the festive season – we’ll tell them the binkies are going to babies in need, wrap them up, and for each one they give up, we’ll give them a reward prezzie in return.

However we’re seriously considering saying bye-bye to binkie early.

Why would we do such a crazy thing, you ask? Well, because the benefit of having said baby-plug gets smaller and smaller every day.

It used to be that binkie instantly stopped Daisy from crying whenever she was upset. Now, notsomuch. Frequently, she’ll scream around it or even take it out and scream inbetween sucks.

It used to be that binkie made her happy and quiet in the car. Now, hahahahah… NOPE. The kid does not stop pointing out random objects ont he street at the top of her lungs and babbling some nonsense or other. She also seems to have an uncanny knack for knowing when her Daddy is on the phone and chooses that exact moment to pull binkie out of her mouth and squeal (albeit happily) like a stuck pig.

Being present

The hardest part of parenting, for me, is being present; 100% in the here and now.

It used to be that I could let my little ADD mind dart between subjects, that I could multi-task a phone-call and a household chore and the tv news, or… whatever. But you can’t do that with toddlers. Well, maybe you can do it with your toddler. Not mine.

Daisy requires your full attention. Sure, you can and must often have moments when she is not the center of your focus but the reality is that, whenever those moments come around, I find myself the most irritated, the most frustrated, the most out-of-synch.

It takes a deep breath and a surrender to clear my mind of all other things, and then I can start to enjoy spending time with her. Some days it’s easier than others.

Week days are hardest, especially after work. You’d think that, after 8 hours of adult time, coming home to switch into Mommy gear would be easier. Not. It’s like trying to go from 5th gear straight into reverse. Lots of clunking, resistance, and disorientation. The only way is slowly, down through 4th, 3rd, 2nd, 1st, to a stop, and then finally zooming backwards. Unfortunately, toddlers don’t give you time for the transition, so in the meantime it’s painful: your heart races, you sense inner panic (how will I make it through the evening!???) Eventually, you’re cruising and are quire enjoying it. But it takes time.

Some day I hope to turn these blog posts into a series of books for Daisy to read when she gets older. I hope posts like this will give her a sense of what it takes to be a mother – both the joys and the challenges. And I hope she realizes that, even though some days were less-than-perfect, I mostly “got it”, even if I didn’t always “make it” - and that I had a whole lot of fun trying.

Daisydotes

2010-10-05T21:14:00.001-07:00

Which is kind of like anecdotes but about Daisy. Obvy.

1. The Daisy Assembly

Last night, Daisy decided to assemble us all in the kitchen.

It began with me: “Mumma! Mumma! Out here! C’mon! Mumma! Mumma!” I was so curious where the fire was, I obliged.

Then she moved on to Daddy. “Daddy! Daddy! C’mon! Out!” (Unsurprising; Daddy is real popular right now.)

Finally, she demanded that the dogs be rounded-up as well. “Maggie, out! Frankie, out!”

And there we stood, in the kitchen, staring at one another. No idea why even now.

2. No Fear

As evidenced by the fact that Daisy proceeded to deliver big, smoochy kisses to the “scary” looking Halloween decorations on our front deck. Even the skull got a peck or two.

Fair enough, her daddy will be able to hide behind HER at haunted houses moving forward. I’ve been there, done that.

3. Shake, shake!

On the way home from a little shopping expedition tonight, I had the music on in the car as usual (because, you know, Daisy demanded it: “Music On!”) and a Jesse McCartney song came on. It was called “Shake” and about 2/3 of the way through, I realized there was a commotion going on in the back seat. When I peered around, I saw Daisy flailing her arms and legs around in her chair, mumbling “Shake! Shake! Shake! Shake!” to the music.

Daisy rocks out

2010-10-03T13:03:00.000-07:00

Daisy's Grandad, my dad, has played the organ and keyboard for most of his life. My Grandfather, his dad, played before him and so you could say it's sort of a family tradition.

When I was a kid, I used to take lessons on one of those big, electric, double-keyboard organs with the foot pedals. When I first started, I had to have an extension box on them just so my little feet could reach. I'm not much for lessons or being *made* to practice, though, so in my early teens I rebelled and decided no more organ lessons for me. (I still have a decent electronic keyboard but it's relegated to a cupboard for the time-being. Right now, Daisy's ball pit and kitchen are in it's spot.)

But my dad kept playing and soon his big ole organ got exchanged for a fancy keyboard, the latest of which came with him to the U.S. and sits proudly in the living room. He's pretty good, by the way, and, when he was in England, belonged to a Keyboard Club where he used to do little shows. One of these days I'll record him and post it on my other blog for y'all.

Of course, an electronic instrument with buttons, beats, and sound is just not something an 18 month old can resist, so Daisy often jumps on and does her worst. It's pretty darn cute.

We'll see if she turns out to be any more disciplined than me when it comes to the matter of actually learning to play it for real when she gets older. I won't be forcing her. Totally her choice.

Some books and a chocolate cookie

2010-09-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

After a busy weekend in the city (see previous post), Daisy came home to reeeelax with her Daddy, some chocolate cookies (which are evident around her mouth) and her new books, Skippyjon Jones and Larry Gets Lost in San Francisco.

Sometimes it IS just nice to be home.

Daisy in the City

2010-09-24T22:17:00.000-07:00

As unbelievable as it may sound (given that I am a city girl) this weekend is Daisy's first trip into a real city. (Sorry, folks, Sacramento doesn't count when you grew up in London.)

We're in San Francisco for the weekend, playing tour-guide to Aunty Janet and Uncle Grahame and we're having a blast.

This afternoon's events included marveling at the view from our 25th story hotel room

Playing with the hotel phone (and trying to avoid incurring major phone expenses to South Africa) as well as our furry friends who came along for the ride

People watching (and, yes, a little shopping) on Market Street, which we LOVED. Lots of people = fun. GOD, I love this kid.

Running around Union Square

Seriously, it was clear that Daisy is a city girl. Despite being super cranky before we left home, she rallied once we arrived and made it all the way through a late dinner. She loved the street vendors, the buskers, and even the vagrants took a harmless liking to her - I actually had civilized conversations with a couple of them as a result of her smile. I think this kid is going places.

And now I find myself in a darkened hotel room, thankful that I had the peace-of-mind to set my laptop with internet connection up before bedtime. Daisy is sleeping soundly through the car vrooms and police sirens from 25 floors below, as well as completely ignoring the folks who don't know any other way how to close their hotel room door except for letting it slam. (If this is you, hows about you close it quietly from now on? Thanks!)

Tomorrow we're down-down to Chinatown and then off to an excursion to Pier 39. I love the city.

Daisy says...

2010-09-20T14:43:00.000-07:00

Daisy is just the funniest little thing right now. She keeps me and her Daddy entertained all day long, especially now that's she's chattering away, stringing words together.

"Ladiessss Boooobies!"
Last week at the store we passed a particularly well-endowed lady, pushing her shopping cart past us. It was clear that this otherwise svelte woman had some serious fakies and, of course, Daisy thought this was cause for comment. She pointed directly at the lady and screamed "Ladiesssss Booobiessss" Meanwhile, I turned beet red and attempted as quick of a getaway as was humanly possible.

"Mummiessss Car! Brrrrm, brrrrm! Come on!"
Love her, she likes to go out and about. Sometimes we're at home and she'll go grab my keys, stand at the front door and yell "Mummmmiesss Car!" and then, when we don't respond. "Brrrrrm! Brrrrm!" and then again, when we're not moving fast enough in the direction of out the front door "Come on Mummy/Daddy!"

"Mummydaddy"
Sometimes Hubby and I are a single entity. Instead of addressing us separately when we're together as a family, she will often roll our names into one word: "Mummydaddy!"

"Eeeye Eeeye!"
Daisy is in the first throes of learning to sing. Her favorite song BY FAR is Old MacDonald. Only, she expects us to sing it for her. Frequently on car rides she will urge us on by yelling
"Eeeeeeye Eeeeeye Eeeeeeye!" She never gets to the "Ohhhhhhhh" part because she likes it when we finish that bit for her. Then she'll shout the name of some random animal (intelligible 75% of the time and a complete mystery the other 25%) at the appropriate part in the song. Her favorite animal to include in Old MacDonald is a cow, which she says as "Key-owwwww" with a dirty laugh, because she knows we're sick and tired of saying "Moo! Moo!" I wonder if she knows that just makes her too cute to resist?

"Googleit!"
Yesterday, we were driving down the Foresthill Road singing "Eeeeeye Eeeeeye" when Daisy decided, out of nowhere, to have a moose on the farm. Well, of course, I have absolutely no idea what a moose sounds like* and so, absentmindedly, I said to Hubby: "We'll have to Google it when we get home." All of a sudden Missy burst into hysterical laughter and yelled "GOOOOOOOGLE!" And so we started playing up to her, yelling "Google It!" to her in the back seat. To which she would respond with another hysterical laugh, almost as if we were tickling her under her armpits. It was entertainment for a good 30 minutes.

"Music on!" and "Marley!"
Daisy likes to dance. She likes a driving dance beat and a poppy tune (just like her mumma). Every night after dinner (and increasingly any time she feels like it throughout the day) she will point to my laptop with iTunes on it and yell "Music On!" At first, for the first couple of days she did it, we all thought she was saying "Mexico!" and so were a bit bemused but then we got it and now we're snapping to it, just as she requests. When we're in the family room/kitchen, we have a Bob Marley CD on constant standby and so she'll point to that at breakfast and dinner time and yell "Marley!" until we play some reggae. Listening to "3 Little Birds" is actually not a bad way to start your day, as it goes.

Daisy, getting down with her bad self.

Cows = milk, butter, cheese. Chickens = eggs.
This kid has got the relationship between her animals and her foodstuffs down. You ask her where milk comes from, she says cow. You ask her where eggs come from, she says chickens (and usually a "Brucck! Brucck! for good measure.) If you ask her what else cows produce, she'll often add butter and cheese to the list. Of course, we're waiting for the day when she realizes that the chicken on her plate is the same thing as the chicken in the cage. I envision tears and a poultry strike.

"Icy Bitsss!"
Daisy loves her some crushed ice, either straight-up or in her "Apple Joooooce!" She calls them "Icy Bitsss" and will run up to the fridge ice-maker asking for (sorry DEMANDING) them.

"Iwubooo"
Which means, "I love you". This morning she actually said "I love you, Daddy," as he was preparing to go to work. She said it twice and it melted her Daddy's heart. This afternoon, she said it to me as I walked up the stairs and away from her to my office. Sniff.

And here's just one more picture for the road. Daisy and her new mess-maker, I mean kitchen. See Ms. Ranty Pants for the story behind the kitchen.

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*Incidentally, I did Googleit. A moose sounds like a cross between a hump-back whale and an asthmatic cow, unless mating when the female sounds appropriately enough like a squeaky bed post. Listen here.

Vote for Lazy Crazy Daisy

2010-09-14T15:33:00.000-07:00

So, because I have a huge EGO, crave attention, like publicity, and want to be heard (hence, I have two blogs, a twitter account, and a Facebook account) I have registered this here blog on a site called Top Baby Blogs, described as a "Hip Directory Of The Most Popular Baby, Mommy, and Daddy Blogs On The Web".

Granted, our meagre following* (at least as represented by comments and Networked Blog followers) is somewhat short of "Popular" but that's what this is all about, isn't it? A big ole, online popularity contest. Yup, and having missed my cheerleader days in British secondary school (as in, there were not any cheerleaders AND I was fat and a nerd) I am determined to make Daisy and me legends in her Hello Kitty lunchbox before she even has one.

In short, what I am asking you to do is vote for us. There's a flashy little brown button over there on the right side that you need to click. I think it's actually two clicks and that's all it takes. None of that registration crap. No giving away of your identity or signing up for some stupid newsletter you'll delete every day.

Hence, since it is so freakin' easy Daisy herself could do it, and requires so little of your time, we expect you to do it. And that's that. No arguments.

Thanks!
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*BTW, if you're reading and not commenting or "Following" us, you don't exist ;o)

Daisy's first pony ride (and other adventures)

2010-09-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

This weekend Mum and I took Daisy to the Gold Country Fair in Auburn, where Hubby grew up. Unfortunately, Hubby was working and not available for the outing, so we braved the sweltering heat alone.

On this particular visit, I had been preppy Ms. Daisy for her first pony ride. We had been talking about it all morning.

Things started off well as she eagerly pointed at the ponies trotting in a circle with kids riding stoically on them. "Daisy! Try!" she said, with her characteristic bob of her head, to punctuate her words - a gesture that demonstrates how emphatic she is. (Nothing like her mother. Nothing.)

Then, as we popped her on her pony, Shorty's, back, she lost her nerve and leaned-out for mummy, who was having none of that chickening-out crap. I stuffed the binky in her about-to-scream-bloody-murder mouth and off we toodled, equally as stoic as the kids that went before us. Well, Daisy was. Meanwhile, I tried to compensate, as you can see.

Then it was time for the "official" picture, taken by the folks who run the pony-go-round, as I like to call it. In front of us was a little girl probably 10 or 11 months old and, as her momma stepped away, she looked right at the camera and gave the photographer a big smile. I did all the peer-pressure crap with Daisy, pointing at the delightful little girl but, as soon as I whipped the god-forsaken binky out of her mouth and stepped away, this happened:

Which, as it turns out, is a darn site funnier and more memorable than if she did smile. Hence, we forked-out the $15 for the pic anyway. If nothing else, it will be a great torture device later in her life. I seem to remember my parents consistently dragging out the picture of me, age 3-or-so, throwing a tantrum in a picture with a monkey at the seaside. I'll have to find that and post it. It's just as classic.

Other adventures included a puppet show, which we couldn't sit still for...

...visiting turkeys, bunnies, pigs, and cows. During our time with the latter, we met the following fun folks

A cute calf

A prize-winning cow with a sad name (which we didn't explain to Daisy)

and a cow whose name didn't match our view

Then, before we left, we couldn't resist buying Daisy one of these

She got the little pink one...

... which she promptly brought home and attempted to smash against the tile floor as if she was the lead guitarist in rock band.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention our hair-raising ride on the carousel. Again, Daisy did the "Daisy! Try!" thing (which I'm going to have to spend more time evaluating from an adult perspective in the future) and so Mum bought some tickets and I took her on. I sat her on the horsie and she was doing great, holding onto the golden pole like a big girl, while I stood beside her (there were no restraints, so they wouldn't let you ride with her - I know, red flag!) then the carousel started to move and pick-up speed and she wigged out. And quite rightly, I might add - the darn thing was moving at warp speed. Somehow, I managed to avoid her launching herself off the rising-and-falling horse, half-holding her for the duration of the ride, and without flying off myself. It was quite hairy, I can tell you, and I'm no chicken when it comes to fair rides. I guess it's a bit different when it's not just your own life you're worried about!

Not running

2010-09-06T21:45:00.000-07:00

That's what we practiced this weekend in Monterey.

Since Daisy can walk perfectly well (ok, well-enough... she falls down a lot) we refused to lug a stroller around the aquarium this weekend. Plus, we thought it would be good practice for us all - we have got into a lazy habit of carrying Daisy from place-to-place vs. having to rangle her on-foot and it seriously needs to end, for our backs as well as our sanity. Why we decided to do it one of the nation's most popular tourist attractions and on a holiday weekend, I don't know. Call us crazy or ambitious, it's up to you.

Day one went... not so well. Daisy refused to have us hold her hand. Whenever we tried she would scream and throw herself around like a rag doll, or simply growl "NO!" and dart-off at full speed, in the opposite direction. She ran everywhere, all the tine, refusing to look where she was going and refusing to go where we wanted, changed directions like a rabbit being hunted, and wriggled between people's legs to get to the front of an exhibit. Whenever Hubby tried to pick her up, he risked serious damage to the crown jewels from her feet, which continued to run mid-air, even after they were no longer touching the floor.

Day two was better and worse all at the same time. Better because Hubby and I cracked the code into the toddler "inner sanctum" and actually got her to hold our hands most of the time and worse because it took a lot of effort, removing her from the exhibits whenever she wouldn't do as she was (mid tantrum) and sitting on benches or stairs while we waited for her to calm down and agree to hold our hands. When she did eventually succumb, it was pretty pitiful: she walked at the speed of a snail on sedatives, and generally made every attempt to appear thoroughly unhappy and whipped. It made my heart sink, for sure, since I love her wild and "out there" personality - it just isn't appropriate (or safe) in all situations, so I sucked it up, realizing she'll find a balance eventually (as will we.)

Otherwise, our trip was an outstanding success. Not only did we have a walking-not-running-and-holding-hands breakthrough, Daisy was:

1. Great in the car. A complete angel, even though she looked bored as hell.

2. An awesome sleeper. She slept 12 hours both nights and had a 90 minute nap on day 2. She loved the hotel rooms, running around them like a chicken with her head cut off and, when we put her playard up, she even said "Daisy! Sleep!" and wanted to put all her toys in there. I love her adaptability.

3. A crazy-good eater. Sea air definitely agreed with her! She downed so many ham, eggs, and cheese on the second morning that we were seriously wondering if she would vomit. (And yes, she's still 20lbs. Sigh.)

Belly full.

She also has this thing about feeding us now too...

4. A somewhat willing participant in mommy's current photo-craziness

And here's my favorite. It's not the best pic, photographically, but I love this look. This is MY DAISY

Even after 16 months, mum is a little slow {ahem} on the uptake

2010-09-01T22:44:00.000-07:00

So, ya know, remember me complaining about Missy Tantrum Pants? And then, the last time I was miffed at Missy's apparent personality 180?

Well, if I had been paying better attention, I would have realized they have something in common: sickness. (Duh!)

Crusties. We've been stuck with them for some time.

Not one day after I was Oy Veying back in July, Daisy came down with a doozie of a flu virus. Well, now it seems that she still has the sinus infection that resulted from that same flu but also an ear infection - and a pretty decent one at that.

Oops.

In my (our) defense, it's not like she has been rolling around the floor, grabbing at her ears. Further, she has the vocabulary these days to communicate where her "owie" is but hasn't once said "ear" or even pointed to it. Of course, after today's pediatrician appointment, you even mention "owie" and she points to her ear (as well as her knee, which is a real piece-of-work, let me tell you, after several park visits.) Yeah, thanks for that help, pumpkin.

Doc was pretty surprised that all we've witnessed is some touchiness and lots of green snot, which seems to have been gushing now for the better part of two months (poor baby.) Turns out she has a anti-biotic resistant bacteria, so the Amoxacilyn (sp?) didn't do much to clear it out of her system. Now she's on some doozie of an anti-bac that caused diarrhea and vomiting. Super fun. Right before our Labor Day Monterey trip...

Good news is, though, there may just be a "pill" for this little pill.

Powering through. Not much stops Missy, especially no silly ear infection. Pah!

Maybe the dingo ate my baby?*

2010-08-30T11:24:00.000-07:00

Because someone definitely stole my daughter and replaced her with a monster.

Sheesh. What a weekend!

This was most definitely the weekend of testing mummy, and tantrums. Almost every activity involved some kind of full-on screaming fit of some kind. Either Daisy didn't want to do it and had to, or Daisy did want to and didn't want to be stopped. Either way, almost everything elicited either a strong love or hate relationship that forced the edges of my patience and emptied two bottles of wine.

No nappy = no happy

Let's start with the fact that Daisy does not nap on weekends now. I think I've mentioned it before but now it's gone from a temporary phenomenon to an ongoing issue. Despite my patient and repeated attempts to get her to sleep in her crib, it just doesn't happen. What does happen is that she just sits there quietly for 20-30 minutes (if I'm lucky) and plays with a stuffed toy.

This would all be fine and dandy if "quiet time" was all she needed but the reality is that, as soon as I then decide to go out somewhere, she falls asleep in the car, leaving me with the agonizing decision of either waking her up and risking bad moods later, or letting her sleep and dictate the path of my day. Either option doesn't seem stellar from my point of view but, given that I only get two precious days a week with her, I tend to (although not always) opt for the letting her sleep. Better to have the path of my day dictated with a happy toddler in-tow than forge ahead, blinkered, with my plans, dragging a kicking and screaming little girl along for the ride. Maybe you disagree with my choice? I'm not sure I'm always that happy with it either.

Here, by example, are the net results of both strategies:

Saturday afternoon I spent 45 minutes burning gas in a Target parking lot, while waiting for Missy to wake up.
Sunday, I pulled her out of the car, mid-nap, to go to BabiesRUs for diapers, but wound up carrying her around as she continued to sleep on my shoulder.

This would also be known as a lose-lose situation. I don't do well with that. I like to win.

No listen = No kissin'

It's easy to discipline a child when they do obviously naughty things like hitting or biting. What's not so easy, I have found, is trying to just get them to listen. Especially when you're dealing with a toddler who, while somewhat ahead of her age in comprehension, doesn't understand all the subtleties of what you need to tell her.

For instance, on Saturday I took Daisy to a park (see more on my other blog about this soon). There is a petting barn there, run by a local girl scout troop, and I thought it would be cool to go pet some goats or something together. Unfortunately, it's a big park and getting from the free parking lot (sorry, not paying $10 to park for a toddler's attention span of 45 minutes) to the petting barn, which was clear on the other side of the park, proved to be a problem.

I didn't want to take the stroller because I was also (at the time) planning on taking her on a train ride and didn't want to leave the stroller somewhere while we zoomed off around the park. So I decided to carry her through the parking lot and then let her walk the rest of the way.

Even while recognizing that getting a toddler to walk anywhere in a focused, straight-line fashion, requires patience and ingenuity, it was a bit of a disaster.

It started when she ran straight to the fishing lake and yelled "Swim! Kick-kick! Daddy!" because she thought it was a pool (she had been for swimming lessons with her dad that morning.) All my calm and soothing explanations did very little to dissuade her of that assumption and she literally beat me off with flailing arms, Exorcist-twisting head, and kicking feet, as I attempted to restrain her from launching herself over the edge and into the green, murky water. (Of course, there was screaming too. To save me some characters, let's just assume that, from hereon out, all of these case stories involve blood curdling screaming, ok?)

The only way out of this one was to pick her up, which I'm sure you can guess she did not like.

I suppose I could have reversed strategies at this point and told her if she didn't behave then we would go back to the car and she would miss out on the petting barn. But here's the reality: she didn't really understand why we were there and so telling her she was missing out on it would have very little (if any) impact, except to say that we would have missed out on the one part of the excursion that was fun (the petting barn itself) and I would have been forced to figure out what the hell to do with us for the rest of the afternoon.

(Here we go with that lose-lose again.)

Getting back from the barn was a little bit better, as I steered her towards some large grassy areas and literally ran ahead of her, keeping her engaged with keeping up.

Of course, there were the side-trips to grab and throw dirt, which I can totally deal with. I'm not one of those moms who doesn't let her kid get a little dirty.

The problem came when Daisy saw a clearing and flew into it ahead of me, refusing to change directions. The issue here was that there was a baseball game going on in the clearing and she was heading right for third base. Again, not amused as I retrieved her before being tagged by a baseball in the head.

Back to the car we finally got and then off to Target, where I turned around to get out and, as you already know, found her sleeping soundly. Super.

This nightmare walking issue continued yesterday as Daddy and I decided an evening walk around the neighborhood would be a nice way to gear-up for dinner. Daisy, however, had other ideas.

She arched her back and kicked her feet when we tried to put her in her stroller, refused to leave the driveway for ten minutes, would only walk on the edge of the curb which resulted in her falling and scuffing her knees repeatedly, ran up people's driveways and sat down or flung herself on the floor when I tried to pull her back to the side-walk, and wrenched her arm out of its socket when I tried to hold her hand. Finally, I picked her up and walked her back home, with her screaming at the top of her lungs.

We ended the day with her screaming bloody murder from her crib for 20 minutes before she would go to sleep and me shaking the wine bottle for those last, vital few drips.

Ahhh... we have definitely launched ourselves into full toddler-hood now. Time to buy shares in Kendall Jackson.

-----------------------------------
*If "Maybe the dingo ate my baby" means nothing to you, watch this video from a classic Seinfeld episode

What's going on down there?

2010-08-24T15:44:00.000-07:00

The title of today's post has two meanings:

1) What happens downstairs. stays downstairs

When I'm upstairs working, sometimes I hear whoops and wheals and squeals than just can't be ignored and I run downstairs to see what I'm missing.

Today it was stuff like this...

and this...

2) What's going on "down there"?

Pooping in the potty is what! We're not always in-time and successful but Missy is definitely trying to do her down-there business in the potty. No success on pee-pee yet. Good news, however, is that it's taken vert little formal planning to get this far - she's been telling us about her "movements" for some time now, it was just a matter of getting the diaper off in time to successfully depost the gift in the right location.

While I'm here, here are some other Daisy favorites from the last week...

I'm off to Costco for some froth

2010-08-12T22:02:00.000-07:00

Remember in one of my previous posts, when I said Daisy had lost enthusiasm for her nightly bath?

Yeah, well, just call me "Mother of the Year" or something because I totally turned it around. All on my own. That's right. Without help. Minus Hubby. Almost in "Single Mum" status. (You can put my gold stars in the mail.)

The magic ingredient? BUBBLES!

Sounds pretty remedial but, prior to, well, yesterday, Daisy never had bubbles in her bath. We tried it once and she got pissed, mostly because she couldn't find her toys in the froth. So, the pink bottle of bubble bath has been sitting on the sink top for some time now.

Not any more! I'm gonna have to go out and buy me a Costco-sized bottle now.

Daisy at 16 Months

2010-08-11T21:26:00.000-07:00

With all the other things stealing our attention of late, Daisy's 16-month birthday almost passed us by. We're just 2 months away from a year and a half, which is plain scary.

Since I prattle on a lot on thig blog about Daisy's fantabulous developments, I thought you might appreciate some more pictures and a few less words. So, here are my favorite Daisy photos from the last month...

Denied!

2010-08-11T15:03:00.000-07:00

It's one thing ignoring your baby's screams as they fight their naps or some other action that bothers them but, I have discovered, it's quite another when your toddler's bloodcurdling suddenly starts to wrap itself around words.

"Muuummmmmyyyy!!!!" is much harder to ignore than "Waaaaa!" for instance. It demands your attention, specifically. It says "I need you!" and refusing to come to the call is basically saying, "I know, but I'm ignoring you anyway." Ack.

Similarly, crying in the car for what would appear to be no apparent reason is not the same as "Binkieeee! Binkieee! Binkieee!" wailed at you through crocodile tears and spit-sputtering. We used to be able to ignorant and say stuff like "What's wrong, baby? What do you need?" but now we get an answer to our questions and we're forced to specifically deny the request.

There are a whole slew of examples like this recently and even my ability to detach my emotions from rational thought is challenged by some of the cries.

Sometimes, however, it's just hard to keep a straight face. When your toddler sounds like a Jewish grandmother bemoaning the state of the world ("Ohhhhdear! Ohhhhhdear! Ohhhhhdear!") you can't help but smile through their "pain".

Handful

2010-08-10T20:45:00.000-07:00

After almost 4 weeks of coughing, and a resurrection of the morning snot fountain, we had to admit that whatever Daisy had, was not going away. So, today we had a visit with the pediatrician. Ms. Daisy has a mild sinus infection that is causing her cough. She's on antibiotics and should be fine soon.

(We're doing well over here since I'm also still coughing and Hubby was diagnosed with a mild case of pneumonia this morning. Fun!)

The sickness part, however, is a walk in the park in comparison to the gut-wrenching, ear-splitting torture chamber that has become the doctor's office. No binkie can save us now from the full-on, full-body meltdown that Daisy has whenever we enter the treatment room. One look at the nurse and she goes BALLISTIC. I'm not talking crying here, I'm talking screaming bloody murder and wailing Ohhhdear! Ohhhdear! Ohhhdear! Muuuummmmyyyy! (repeat) She shakes, spits out her binkie, goes beet red in the face and uses every ounce of strength in her compact, little 20lb frame (yes, she is STILL just 20lbs... just) to fight any check-up or treatment that comes her way.

The nurses and the doctor cannot even listen to her heartbeat these days without her reacting as if they just stabbed her in the back with a serrated-edge knife. It used to be that only the ear-hole peeking thingy did this to her but now that's just the peak of the screaming crescendo, with all 3 of us - me, Hubby, and the doc - holding her down on the table (one taking legs, one taking arms, and one taking head) with every ounce of our strength. This kid can wrench herself out of the grip of all three of us, easy, I kid you not. She is 20lbs of pure fire. If I can harness this for the "beware of strangers" talk in a few years, she'll be formidable and untouchable. I defy anyone to hold her down single-handedly.

Even the doc had to admit that she is one of the strongest toddlers she has ever encountered. Based upon just these visits alone, she now has the impression that Daisy is quite the handful. (Ok, maybe she is sometimes but most of the time she is a pretty happy handful) She consoled us with the fact that Daisy will probably get out of this phase by, say, oh.... age 3. Sooooper! So, only 18 more months to go. God help us as she gets even bigger and stronger. I foresee some kind of Hannibal Lecter restraining device in our future,

In other news, Daisy has taken a sudden and intense disliking to her evening bath routine. Time was she would rush to the stairs and climb up, eagerly, whenever Hubby called down that bath was ready. Then she would play happily in the water and be almost difficult to get out. Over the last few days she has screamed "Nooooooooooooo" at us, at the mere mention of bath (see video below, at end, for a live demonstration) and then, if we proceed, she cries and cries and cries pitifully. Of course, I have absolutely no idea what brought about this sudden 180. After all, she's a toddler, I'm the parent; I don't think I'm supposed to get it. That would just suck all the fun out of guessing.

There have been other 180s too - naps, for instance. Good luck getting any of those wonderful 90 minute mommy-breaks on weekends now. Daisy has pretty much given them up for lent. I've been lucky to secure 50 minutes over the past few weeks, which barely gives me time to do the dishes. I tell myself it's because she's just so excited to spend the day with me that she doesn't want to sleep. (Hey, it could be true!)

Here is a video of Miss Muffet in all her glory, before bedtime tonight. One of her favorite activities these days is to sit in the laundry basket with her furry friends and her beloved sets of Mummy and Daddy's "keyyyssss", throw everything out, and then demand - one by one - that we give them back her. God love her. It's a good job they make these kids cute!

Chatterbox

2010-07-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

Before I had a child of my own, I always wondered how on earth you taught a kid to speak?

When I was in college, I took classes in linguistics, which included some fascinating lectures on child language acquisition or, basically, how children learn a language. A lot of really smart people have studied this, by the way, and it really is interesting to read about some of the empirical research. Questions such as how much language is innate, or pre-wired, into your brain are quite the brain puzzle because children tend to pick up language so quickly and follow the same general stages when learning a language, despite differences in the language they are learning and the amount of linguistic input they receive. (If you're interested in learning more, Google Noam Chomsky.)

Aaaanywhosit, the point of flouting my knowledge in 20th century linguistics is to underscore that it all made this child language thing seem very... overwhelming. From an intellectual perspective, I could understand what these folks were saying about the process but, from a practical "here I am with a kid who needs to learn to speak" perspective, my head would just spin with the very thought. Where to begin? What to teach first? How to communicate abstract concepts?

What I have discovered as a mother, however, is that Noam Chomsky had it right, although he made it sound much more complex in theory than it is in practice: kids learn to speak pretty much on their own.

Since March, when Daisy uttered her first non-Mommy/Daddy word - "Bubbye!" - it has been a non-stop onslaught of new words around here.

At first, it started to become obvious to us that Daisy understood an awful lot more words than her mouth could wrap itself around. You would ask her to go do something that you'd never really mentioned before, like "Lift your leg" or "Go find your shoes" and she would do it. Sure, I knew she understood "leg" and "shoes" but her ability to connect the dots within a sentence was quite astounding and it seemed it almost happened overnight.

Then, the words themselves started to accumulate. Car, shoes, no, cheese, toast, puppies, bubba, hi... once they started coming each successive one seemed to come along quicker than the next. And now, Missy is becoming quite the mimic, as Hubby are finding out to our chargrin.

Daisy uttered her first bad word in the car about a week ago, listening to Daddy on the phone. He said bullshit and, although he was too busy talking to notice it, I heard a little voice in the back repeat the last syllable ever-so-quietly. I gave him the wide-eyed "Don't cuss around the baby!" stare but he didn't quite catch-on. And, yes, my automatic response to this, by the way was almost "Shit!"

Then, this morning, Daddy was talking to Daisy, telling her something or other, when he stopped and surmised that she was probably thinking to herself "Blah, blah, blah, Daddy!" and that it wouldn't be long before that's exactly what she would be saying back to him. Well, he was right there. As she came running through the kitchen at full-pelt, Ms. Daisy yelled "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!" at the top of her voice.

Daisy's ever-growing vocabulary now includes: car, ta, hi, bubbye, bubba, binkie, Nanny, Gangan (for Grandad), Daddy, Mummy, Mimi (for Grammie), man, lady, Mickey (for Mickey Mouse), puppies, doggies, toast, please, cheese, pizza, keys, shoes, cat, no, nap, knee, nose, eyes, toes, berries, truck, digger, cat, dance, dindins, more, bowl, baby, down, back, door, juice, help, ball, and probably a bunch more I'm forgetting. Her latest little party trick is singing the first 3 words to the song "Row, row, row your boat..." Of course, they're the same 3 words repeated but she loves it when you catch-on and sing the rest of the song. When you stop, she leads you in again with "Rowwwwwww, rowwwwwwwww, rowwwwwwwww."

And yes, I'm boasting a little bit. I think she's the bees knees. Although that's not the point. My point is that this has all happened sort of on it's own. Sure, we talk to Daisy a lot but it's not like we're sitting down giving her reading or speaking lessons. It's all sort of pretty amazing really.

POPSICLES!

2010-07-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago, we had some friends over for a barbecue and they brought with them some popsicles that their kids liked to eat. Usually Daisy doesn't show much interest in such things although, with her teething, we have definitely tried. Yesterday, however, as we were putting groceries away, Daisy grabbed one out of the freezer and begged us to open it for her.

Daisy asking for us to do something for her, by the way, now goes something like this: "Huppp Meeeeeeeeeee! Hupppp Meeeeeee!" over and over again, and with desperation, until you acquiesce or she gets mad at you, screams, and you acquiesce. (I'm trying to get her to add "peaaase" to this but with only sporadic success.)

Aaaanyway, we were busy and decided to chance letting her loose with the thing. It did enter into my head that a large popsicle with a 15 month old and two dogs who stick to her side like glue, might NOT be the best idea, but I'm a firm believer that you never know until you try. (Either that or I'm just stupid. Take your pick.)

Well, we tried. And this was the result...

One t-shirt later and we conceded that the popsicle had been a hit. However, the experiment didn't prove to be the parentally-freeing distraction we had hoped for, since I had to follow her around with a dish-towel, wiping up all the drips that she left on the floor in her wake.

As for the dogs, I think they got a couple of good licks in - off Daisy as well as the popsicle!

Well, that explains it.

2010-07-21T10:31:00.000-07:00

Miss Daisy is sick. We're not exactly sure which malady is to blame: teething (those back molars are fighting for air), delayed reaction to her 15 month shots (doc said it could take 5-21 days), or some kind of virus. However, all yesterday she was lolling around with her Nan in a state of half-awakeness, her temperature creeping up throughout the day until she had a full-on fever by early evening.

At 4:30am this morning, she woke up screaming and when we went in to comfort her, realized that the Advil had worn off and her temperature had spiked again. Ack! Fortunately, a mouthful of Cherry Flavored Ibuprofen, two books, and 50 minutes later, and she was safely back down in her cool crib, where she stayed until 8:30am this morning, when she woke up fever-free. Woot!

Anyway, this explains the previous post - irritability, whining, clingy-ness. Poor munch-bunch!

Oy vey!

2010-07-19T14:01:00.000-07:00

Daisy has decided that both food and naps are optional while whining is de rigueur.

And that's all I'm going to say about that.

Parenting - does it make us happy?

2010-07-12T13:41:00.000-07:00

Today I saw an article linked via Facebook from a friend and entitled "Why Parents Hate Parenting : All Joy and No Fun". Meanwhile, yesterday, on the plane ride home from L.A., I read an article on the myth of the only child.

Strangely, the two articles, although not related in title or, you would think, in subject, do touch on some of the same basic points: namely that parenting is hard work, that having more than one child (and certainly more than two) is either perceived as too hard to even attempt by some or, in retrospect, adversely impacting the enjoyability of life, by others. The articles both also touch upon the financial difficulties that American parents face, especially in comparison with their European counterparts who are blessed with a more compassionate welfare system, and how this impacts the experience of parenting in this country.

Let me begin by saying unequivocally that, by posting these links together, I am not passing judgment on couples who choose to have more than one child. That's not the choice I've made and it's not the reality I grew up with. Yet my husband, who I love and admire very much, is one of three, and all but two or three of my good friends have siblings, so clearly I know that great people come from both multi-child as well as single-child households. As such, this is NOT an attempt to turn my nose up at people who are making different choices from our family.

Yet, reading both of these articles in such close proximity to one another made me just a little sad. What has happened to us, to our lives, that the vast majority of parents actually view bringing up children as a chore that sucks the fun out life?

Not that parenting isn't hard work. Not that there aren't times of challenge, tedium, frustration, and extreme exhaustion. (Some days I want to throw the Thomas The Tank Engine book across the room rather than read it for the 900th time!) Not that there aren't moments when I mourn for the freedoms I had before I had Daisy; the ease with which I could do as I pleased both literally and financially. (Hey, I've been on one foreign vacation in two years and have seen less than 5 movies in the same time period - I get it!) But overall, if you asked me if I was less happy after having Daisy in my life, I would say: ABSOLUTELY NOT!

This weekend I was away in Los Angeles having a great time with a single, childless friend. We had a great time "tooling around", as she likes to say: going here, going there; sitting in the car for long periods without having to fish-out the binkie from some place it had been thrown in the back seat; being out all day without having to return home for naps (or sitting in the car with the engine and AC on, waiting for one to end); having fabulous conversations without interruption; lingering over lunch without having food thrown at us or hearing "done now" screamed at us; and getting home past a toddler's bedtime, sitting on the couch and blogging without having to worry about bath time or story time.

It sounds like bliss. And it was. For 72 hours. But I was happy to come home. My heart swelled to twice it's size when I turned the corner on my street at about 6:30 last night and saw Daisy "tooling around" in the front yard with Hubby, soaking wet from playing in the sprinklers, a big smile on her face as she saw "Mummiesssssss Caaaa" pull in. I could barely contain my fountain of wet kisses on her sweet-smelling little cheeks.

Maybe we all feel like that after being away from home for a while - that's why a change is as good as a rest - but the reality is that I feel like that about my daughter almost ALL the time. Certainly more than not. Maybe I am lucky in ways I can't even fathom. Definitely I have more help than most and more disposable income than some, so some of the day-to-day challenges that many parents experience, I am able to side-step (and happily.) I also have a healthy, happy daughter with no medical or developmental issues and a generally sunny disposition. Yep, I'll cop to it - I have little to moan about.

But life is not perfect. Even when she throws tantrums (or food) I am rarely able to get frustrated or upset with her. Even when she presents Thomas The Tank Engine for the 901st read, I find it endearing and can only feel gratitude that she likes books. Even when she knocks over my shredder bin and tosses tiny pieces of paper all over my office floor, I can only laugh with her because she's so frickin' happy doing it. In fact, the most frustrating part of parenthood for me is nothing to do with Daisy at all - it's my own physical limitations with my back and hip problems.

The fact that I have to worry about picking her up too much, or a certain way, getting her in-and-out of the car, holding her hand because of the poor posture it induces, sitting on the floor and reading a book because my tailbone starts to burn, or chasing her around too much because I can't walk for too long - those are the parental experiences that make me sad, frustrated, and mad. If those issues would just disappear, I could do it all with very little irritation. Sure, I'd still sigh and roll my eyes once in a while, or whine a little dramatically at her every now and again, but as it is now, I wouldn't really mean it.

Have there been time periods where I wanted to tear my hair out? Absolutely. Whenever she's sick it is just miserable for everyone. When you're sick too, the misery is more-than doubled. Will there be times in the future when I'll want to, theoretically, "murder" her? I'm sure there will be - I can think of more than one instance when I would have murdered ME as a kid. But, like my mother before me (and now, as she watches Daisy three-days a week), I enjoy every minute of the time I spend with her and don't begrudge a moment of it. I not only LOVE my little Missy, I like her a whole lot too. She's a heck of a lot more fun to be around than most adults I know; certainly she is more joyful and more interested in wnat I have to say.

Of course, it may be beside that point, that having a child makes you happy. It does appear, at least on the surface level, to be a little selfish to only have a child (or children) to increase your own personal happiness. Maybe our Oprah-generation is over-psychoanalyzing the experience of parenthood? Maybe, as a general rule, few people were ever really that happy having kids throughout history? I would imagine that, if we asked our grandparents why they had kids, their answer would have had very little to do with making themselves happy or happier. Biologically speaking, of course, we procreate to keep our race going, which has nothing at all to do with how we rate on the happiness meter. So, maybe it's our expectation that having children will make us happy (if we were not before) or happier (as if we felt something were still missing,) that ultimately sets us up for disappointment?

I know that, for me personally, I wasn't all that sure I would like parenting at all. In fact, I'd be so bold as to say that I was all-but convinced that I was foregoing all future joy in life (at least for 18 years) the moment I peed on that stick. Once upon a time, I would even have waved these same articles in front of Hubby and my family members' faces to make my case about why having kids probably wasn't for me at all . Perhaps it's the low expectations I brought to the table that left me pleasantly surprised? Who knows?

All I know for sure is that, sacrifices and all, I like being a parent. Although that doesn't appear to be the case for the majority of people surveyed or interviewed for these articles. I don't pretend to know, at least not definitively, why this is (although the articles themselves offer up many theories) but I'm happy to say it's not me. I hope it's not you too.

BANG!

2010-07-06T09:28:00.000-07:00

Since last year Ms. Daisy was but a ball of cuteness, I'm counting this year as Daisy's first 4th of July.

Unfortunately, July 4ths don't seem to be "our" holiday these days. Last year we came home from a bbq at Grammie's in Foresthill and Daisy had the worst meltown still on record - uncontrollable and inconsolable fits of crying. We bought $75 of no-bang fireworks for the front yard but never used them. I think, what with the parade and all the people, it was stimulation overdrive for her.

Well, not so this year. In fact, it was the complete opposite for most of the day. Almost every plan we made for the holiday weekend fell through at the last minute and so we were left doing pretty much what we always do on a Sunday - vacuuming, cleaning floors, grocery shopping and the like. I know, BOOORING. It won't happen again next year, that's for sure.

Daisy began her 4th reading the Sunday paper... well, in reality it was the ads. Probably looking to see what other delights her mother can spend her money on!

And so we skip to the evening, when, after a late-afternoon/early evening nap, we decided to try and liven-up the day at least a little bit by putting to use those fireworks and sparklers from last year.

Although it was almost 9pm, and an hour after her bedtime, by the time we were done, Daisy was still hanging in there and so we decided to head to a local fireworks display.

Look at them blues!

(Wish someone - ahem - had told me my bra was on full display. Sorry for the TMI, folks!)

Missy did great, barely jumping with all the mega-banging. She even learned a new work - "bang", of course. However, her attention waned after the first ten minutes or so when the noise became old-hat. This was the point at which Daddy returned to his usual role of chasing Missy around. Even at 10pm, she is one big ball of energy! We stayed until the end but mostly because I wanted to see the finale, and returned home to a neighborhood that was still popping-off until gone midnight. Fortunately, the dogs were at Nan and Grandad's house and we were all so tired we slept through it all.

Couldn't close-out the post without a couple of other honorable mentions from the weekend, however:

1) This is the house that Grandad built.

And yes, it does say "Daisy" above the door, as well as having a postal address all it's own - 5145 "B". My parents have a flair for overdoing it... in a good way, of course!

2) Garage Sale Success

On our Saturday morning walk, we came across a great garage sale with lots of barely-used toys.

For $15 we snagged all of this!

Meh

2010-06-26T16:46:00.000-07:00

Today, at a one year old's birthday party, I got talking to a fellow mom. The subject began with Daisy's less-than-stellar weekend diets.

Although I try really hard to give her a balanced diet with all the food groups and as little pre-packaged crap as possible, the weekends are hard because we're so on the go and all schedules sort of go out of the window. For instance, we were on the road at her normal lunch time today and so we stuffed her in her car seat with a cup of Goldfish, which she demolished. Then, when she got to the party, she devoured probably a whole cup of blueberries (yay for black poop tomorrow!) while we waited for the entree-type food to be served. Of course, by the time that the chicken and salad was put out, Missy was full and having none of it.

So, we were talking about this, although I was really only half-heartedly beating myself up about it: a day or two a week where she doesn't eat fantastic isn't going to kill her, or me. The other mom nodded emphatically and sympathetically, however, and launched into a list of things that she had to have "just perfect" in order for her to feel like she was a good mom - kids clean and well-fed, house clean, beds clean... the list went on - and I looked at her and all I could think was Meh! and then Poor you!

Honestly, the pressure some people put on themselves before they'll give themselves a pat on the back!

If Missy is loved and happy and smiling and developing and learning, I feel like I'm doing my job. Am I "the best mom in the world?" Who the heck knows and who the heck cares? What's the damn yardstick anyway?

As I write this, my living room floor is a mess, my bed needs making, my office is a disaster zone, my spare room a dumping ground, my kitchen needs tidying, my tile floors need vacuuming and mopping but Daisy is smiling. We had a good morning with Daddy at swimming, we enjoyed the birthday party and we've spent the afternoon as a family, relaxing away from the sweltering heat, in the living room.

Life is good.

FEET!

2010-06-21T08:59:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has spent more than a little bit of time around our family and Daisy knows that we LOVE Daisy's feet. I'm sure every mother loves her kid's toes but Daisy's are, in my humble opinion, extra cute. (Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know. Proud mama overdrive.)

This weekend we finally got Daisy's sand box set-up and, on Sunday, she got to play in it for a an hour or so. Although I got lots of cute pics of her rummaging around in the sand, I wanted to devote this post to some scrumptious foot shots.

If you like little girls' feet... NJOY!

Oh, and a big milestone this weekend (or so we thought): we turned the car seat to forward facing! After a doctor's appointment on Friday told us that Daisy has reached 20lbs 5ozs (woot!) we were finally able to make the switch. But then, today, as I was perusing the instructions for the car seat she has, I realized that the weight minimum for forward facing is actually 23lbs. So, back we go to rear facing, I guess. Although LORD KNOWS when we'll make it to 23lbs! It took us 6 months to get from 18lbs to 20! Sigh.

Happy Father's Day Dadadad

2010-06-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

My Dadadad is the best in the world. Here Mumma and I agree.

In the morning, when I wake him up earlier than he would prefer, Dadadad comes in with a big smile on his face and lifts me out of my crib. He changes my diaper and brings me downstairs where we cuddle up on the couch while I drink warm milk and eat toast. Then, when I'm feeling more sociable, he gets right down on the floor with me and pals around with me and my Little People friends. Whenever I bring him Mr. Captain or Mr. Bus Driver, he kisses them for me, just so I know he cares about my friends as much as I do.

Then, when it's time for breakfast, Dadadad makes the BEST pancakies. They're all crispy on the rim but fluffy in the middle which makes me go "yumm!" and giggle. Later, before he goes to work, he brushes my teeth so that they stay pearly-white for my big smiles.

When Dadadad leaves for work, I run to the window to wave him bubbyes in his silver caaaar. I miss him during the day when he is gone but lots of times he forgets something and comes back right away anyway, so I get extra kisses and bubbyes. Those are the best days.

In the evening, Dadadad makes up my bath for me and puts in my favorite toys. And it doesn't matter how many times I ask him to wind-up my submarine ("Gooo! Gooo!"), he does it each and every time as if it's the first. It makes me smile as my submarine paddles past me or bumps me in the foot. Heehee!

On weekends, Dadadad takes me swimming. This is my favorite time of the week. We kick and scoop all the way across the pool, blow bubbles, and ride on the noodles while he sings "Sally the Camel" to me. When I do well he gives me big whisker kisses and dunks his head under the water to amuse me. Dadadad's funny!

When Mumma wants to go out with her girlfriends to drink wine, Dadadad is always ready and willing to hang out with me. Although I miss Mumma, I know that her girlfriends (and wine) make her happy and that puts her in a good mood. When Mumma's in a good mood, we're all in a good mood. HeeHee.

Dadadad is always telling me how pretty I am. Although I know this is true, I love to hear him tell me because it makes me feel special and loved. I personally think that Dadadad is the handsomest man I've ever met, so we are the perfect pair.

I hope I grow up and meet a guy as great as my Dadadad someday.

Happy Father's Day, Dadadad. I LOVE YOU!!!!

Daisy
xxx

Dadadad and me last year on Father's Day, when I was just a baby with hardly any hair...

Me and Dadadad this year. I was very tired from a busy weekend and barely any naps, so I apologize for the blue binky but I really needed it! On the plus side, I have more hair now!

Jerking around

2010-06-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

One of Daisy's newest tricks is climbing up into our big, red velvet armchair and snuggling into the corner to "chill" (which for Daisy means sit still for a good 30 seconds.) This weekend she decided to "chill" next to me while I was eating a pack of Teriyaki Turkey Jerky and, as usual, wanted some of whatever Mumma had. I was pretty convinced that there was no way she would like it, so I pulled off a very, small, tender piece and gave it to her, expecting her to spit it out seconds later. Of course, that is not at all what happened.

Daisy liked Turkey Jerky. Whodathunkit!?

And so she reached into the bag of jerky, pulled out a big piece and sat there for a good minute (I know, a MINUTE, a whole sixty seconds) and chewed on it. Hubby rounded the corner from the kitchen and was so amazed that he grabbed the camera and took these pics.

(I wish Daisy would pick her moments better... like when Mummy is sitting up straight (not slouching) and has some make-up on!)

Since Daisy has been eating solid foods, it has never ceased to amaze me how many different foods she is willing to try and likes. I know that I am very fortunate here because there are plenty of moms I know whose kids are picky eaters. At least right now, I'm happy to say Daisy is not one of them, although she has her food-flinging days. Mumma doesn't get it right every time, you understand ;o)

p.s. for those who are interested, I added a section to the left that shows Daisy's current word count. This morning she added "happy" to the list which, of course, made her mumma and dadda VERY happy.

14 Months: The way she do the things she do

2010-06-04T20:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Daisy turned 14 months old and if there were any lingering doubts about her initiation into toddlerhood, she has been firmly erasing them all one by one.

Although it has felt to us, oh inexperienced parents, as though she has not been a baby since she started walking five months ago, we're beginning to realize that, of course, we had no idea. Toddlerhood is a whole other world altogether: a world of developing likes, DISLIKES, frustrations, skills, fun, and challenges. So, just like infanthood, it has its share of the good and bad.

Daisy is still our fun, happy little munchkin, for the most part, but she has grown into her impatience and willfulness in new ways. This has meant that our house is much louder than it ever was. There is much more screaming and crying as Daisy experiences the disappointment of not getting what she wants when she wants it, not being able to communicate exactly what it is she does want, and not being able to fine-tune her motor skills fast enough to achieve some of the things she wants to do. We're trying to resist "fixing" every frustration with the ole parental cork (aka: Mr. Binky) but at some point in the day, it becomes the only thing standing between YOU and a parental meltdown.

Car rides have become the hardest, with Daisy steadfastly determined to spontaneously combust unless she we pass the binky. As I said, we're trying not to but it means you need a few yoga breaths before you get in the car.

A couple of weeks ago we were in BabiesRUs and we passed one of those sample CD displays, the ones where you can choose a CD and hear a clip. As we were passing, "Alice the Camel" blared out at us and, since this is one of Daisy's favorite tunes from swim lessons, we ended up buying a "Little People" CD of kids' songs. On the off-chance it would buy our ears a break, we turned it on the other day in the middle of one of her crying fits and - hey presto! - it worked almost as well as a binkie. Daisy sat in the back seat flailing her arms to the tunes of "If you're happy and you know it..." and "Incy Wincy Spider". Splendid, you might think, except Hubby made the point that he didn't know what was worse: the crying or the kids music. Amen to that.

Maybe all of this could be alleviated if we could turn Daisy to front-facing in the car. However, she has still not broken 20lbs, the legal minimum for her to turn forward and, given that she all-but gave up eating during her recent bout of flu, she appears to have lost almost half a pound since her last check-up. It's kind of laughable but our car seat allows kids to stay rear-facing up until 45lbs and they do advise you to leave your kid in the rear position for as long as the seat allows but, given her current weight trajectory, she may still be facing the rear window ten years from now! So, we're going with the 20lb limit and praying that she'll make it to the big two-o by the time she gets to her 15 month appointment.

Here are some other highlights at month 14:

BONK

Not satisfied with accidentally bumping her head on random objects, when you say "Mind your head, Daisy" she will now actively seek-out the protruding object and purposefully bonk her head lightly on it a few times, as if to test the legitimacy of our concerns. Sometimes she doesn't do so well on the "lightly" part and so tears ensue. I can tell this girl is going to be an experiential learner.

HELP ME! NO! PLEASE! DON'T! NOW!

I've been trying to teach Daisy the words "Help please", so that she can ask for assistance when she gets stuck with something. Sometimes you jump in to help her and she gets super mad and other times she looks at you like "Dude! Could use some help over here!" (closely followed by blood-curdling screams of frustration) as you diligently try to give her space to figures things out for herself. So, a little help for us would be appreciated. This past week she finally started saying "Help" (which sounds more like "Hup!" in Daisy-speak) but, unfortunately, she doesn't mean what she says. Even with the cue, she often isn't ready or willing to accept help and gets just as mad at you for stepping in, as she was at the inanimate object(s) for not bending to her will. It's a lose-lose situation, unfortunately. I've given up trying to make it better and usually settle for standing back, watching, and trying to find the humor.

THE TWO HOUR MORNING

Since she has been recovering from her flu, Daisy has been taking mega morning naps. She'll awaken at around 6:30am, gulp milk, stuff a piece of toast into her face, dash around at warp speed, maybe eat some fruit and pancakes, and then start to get fussy again around 8:30. By 9:30 SHE is the toast and we have to put her back down again for a nap, where she has been going down for anywhere from 1.5 - 3 hours. Poof goes the morning! On the plus side, this usually means she's at one nap for the day, giving you more free reign to head out and get things done without having to decide whether to come home for nap #2. On the negative side, it's noon before your day really gets started.

PEEKABOO!
THE CUTEST thing Daisy does right now is play peekaboo with you. She'll cover her eyes with her hands (although peeking through her fingers) and then ceremoniously pull them away, waiting for you to say "peekaboo". I love it. No matter what I'm doing or how I'm feeling, I'll always stop to peekaboo with Daisy.

STILL SINGING AND DANCING
Almost ANYTHING in our house can be accomplished with a select set of children's songs and nursery rhymes. Favorites are: Incy Wincy Spider, Old Macdonald, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, If You're Happy and You Know It, and The Wheels on the Bus. Most are accompanied by arm action (Incy climbing the spout, rain coming down, sun coming out, stars twinkling etc...) but the best is The Wheels on the Bus, where Daisy will bob up and down with the people on the bus as well as swish-swish-swish with the wipers. It's awesome.

Daisy has also shown a preference for dance/pop music with a driving beat. She loves my cell phone ring tone, Keisha's "Tik Tok", as well as some Black Eyes Peas, Katie Perry and some Jason Garullo to name just a few. When she hears these songs on the radio (or my phone) she leans her head from side to side, swings her arms and beams a big smile. That's my girl!

SHUUUUUUUUUUZ
Daisy has a new "thing" with trying to put on her shoes herself. She will spend literally twenty minutes trying every-which-way but the right way to put her shoes on her feet. It's hilarious to watch and the patience she shows (when she chooses to) is admirable.

SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I'M READING
Little missy loves books. Of all the thousands of dollars of toys she has laying around, it's the books that keep her most happy. The other night, Hubby and I were putting away clothes in our master bedroom and we realized that we hadn't seen or heard from her in a while. (Please, no commenting on our parenting skills.) We peeked our heads around her bedroom door and saw that she was sitting in the middle of a pile of books, flipping away. She continued for another ten or fifteen minutes and so we took it upon ourselves to lay on the bed and relax until she got bored and came in to find out what we were up to. It's a peek into the future, we hope, when we'll be able to leave her in her room sometimes to do her own thing, while we do ours.

EXPANDING VOCAB
New words recently are: shoes, up, help, and keys.

One year, so far, has been a fun time with Daisy. She is loving, funny, and full of personality. I'm really enjoying this time with her!

Daisy's back!

2010-06-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

After a killer flu virus hit her just over a week ago, we were braced for an uneventful Memorial Day weekend. However, Ms. Daisy decided that was not to be. She pulled through, recovering just enough to make it through three days of fun with Mum and Dad, which we were most grateful for.

She's not 100% yet, however, with some lingering congestion and a little cough. Plus, she's more testy than usual, meaning it only takes a milisecond for her to get frustrated when she can't do or get what she wants (as opposed to the full second we used to get before screaming and foot stamping start.) Ahhh... toddlerhood.

We had a great time with her, however, pulling out some killer morning naps (3 hours on Monday - whoooah!) Here are some highlights...

Family BBQ @ Grammie's

Playing with dirt and rocks

Getting into some sort of trouble with Daddy. (Captured!)

Memorial Day afternoon at the County Fair

Petting the animals. FEARLESS!

Her first carousel ride!

The pics are in!

2010-05-06T14:01:00.001-07:00

When I got pregnant, I contracted with one of Sacramento's most beloved photographers, Penny Silvia, to take pictures of our pregnancy, Daisy @ birth, 6 months, and then 12 months.

Back in mid April we had our last photo shoot in the series with Penny, at a park in Rocklin, CA, and I wanted to share the photos with you.

I snagged a few web-sized ones for you here but you'll have to visit her website and (yes, I'm sorry) register, in order to see them all. Let me know if you're interested and I'll send you the link and password.

It's unbelievable that more than a year has passed since we took our first shots with Penny. This photo shoot was so much more fun than the others because Daisy is more animated and mobile, although I know that also presented new challenges in trying to get her to stay in one spot for more than a few seconds!

Live and in action

2010-04-27T21:20:00.001-07:00

Since I posted my last Daisy Digest, I've been making a concerted effort to try and capture those fun or special moments on video.

Here are just couple I was able to record, although these are not her "best work". The best ones, I've found, are never when the camera is close by. Sigh...

The Daisy Digest: Week of April 19, 2010

2010-04-21T09:27:00.001-07:00

Lessons Mama has learned this week...

Don't bother dressing her nice

In a grassy space the size of a football field....

Daisy will always find the patch of dirt.

We all start off with two left feet

We won't be performing any ballet moves just yet but we're getting our groove-thang on, step by step.

Daisy is beginning to feel the beat now, marching in circles and swinging her arms until she falls over.

Yes, I know, video would be helpful here but the moment is always gone by the time I reach for the darn thing. I'll keep trying.

A little narcissism never hurt anyone

Using the bath crayons she got for her birthday, we wrote Daisy's name on the tiles around the bath about two weeks ago. And then we forgot about it.

Imagine our surprise when she pointed to the word during bath one night and said her name. Hubby and I looked at one another with that now all-too-familiar Did you just hear what I thought I heard? face and then immediately dismissed it as a fluke. Then she did it two more times. Then, just to be sure, we asked her where the word "Daisy" was and she pointed to it again.

That's either one hell of a fluke or she actually recognizes Mumma's rotten scribble as her name! Dang, this kid is smart.

We're also noticing that Daisy understands a lot more than she can say or, obviously, read. Our favorite example of this is after bath when she is running around her nursery right after we have put her PJs on. She looks down at whatever outfit I have chosen for the evening critically and then we say "Where is Daisy in the mirror?" and she will run off to the mirror behind her door to stare at herself. First she will look herself up-and-down and then she will smile a toothy grin. Then she will laugh, kiss herself and turn sideways to look at herself from all angles. Sometimes she even admires her round belly, smacking it with both hands, like a gorilla in the jungle.

Again, I need video of this. Seems I need to start moving on to moving pictures since the still ones just don't cut it sometimes.

Body parts are fun

Daisy is becoming more and more aware of her body parts. This week she became familiar with her nose, her tongue, and her belly button. This means that she will run around the living room with her tongue out and with her top lifted up to expose her belly. (I'm tempted to buy beads!)

This evening she pulled down her onesie to review her nipples, which resulted in a hilarious comparison between Daddy's hairy nipples and Daisy's. Then, of course, she noticed his belly button. Much top lifting ensued. Hopefully she won't be trying to flash everyone she meets from hereon out.

Just as she loves to pull at my big-ole nose as if it's a lever, she has now begun to do the same to herself, although she rightfully pulls faces whenever she accidentally scratches herself with those baby talons. Exactly! is my thought on that. Coupled with this, she has begun to crinkle her nose for no particular reason, resulting in amusing little faces like this...

Family time is best when you keep it simple

Although I'm typically the kind of person who likes to be off doing things, adventuring, and pushing boundaries, every now and again I like to kick-back and enjoy a weekend just palling around with my two favorite peeps - Daisy and Daddy.

Since Daddy only gets one day off a week, we have to pack all our family time into Sunday. We've found the day is usually the best whenever we don't try too hard or make too many plans.

Today we got up and went to the park, came home and tidied the bedrooms while Daisy flew around, and then went up to Grammie's for the afternoon. Mummy also fit in a baby shower while Daddy and Daisy drank milkshakes at the Little League Field.

A good Sunday.

The Daisy Digest: Week of April 12, 2010

2010-04-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

Daisy is a little girl now.

This occurred to me as I was looking at her from behind one evening this week. She was standing, looking out the front window with her hands clasped behind her back and saying "Caaa! Caaa! Caaa!" which, in Daisy speak, means any kind of automobile (trucks and SUVs included.)

Her hair has started to get longer now and there are whispy, curly bits around her ears and neckline. I think she's going to have hair like I did as a toddler - golden blonde and curly. I plan to not cut it for as long as I can. When my mum cut mind it went straight and mousy brown. Blech!

After watching her try to sit on all her toys this past week (and often falling and crying in frustration), I finally gave in and asked my mum for one of the brightly colored, leather, toddler armchairs that she has had sitting at her house since before Daisy was born. My dad took off the wooden rockers on the base of the yellow one and it now graces our living room. Of course, I love that it's yellow. Plus, Daisy can say "allow" for "yellow"... when she feels like it, of course.

In reality, like everything else, the chair is a 5 second wonder. She climbs on it, gets settled, pauses and climbs off. Then she walks away, turns back and does it all again. Sometimes the repetitive nature of child play is mind-numbing and sometimes it's plain cute. This falls into the plain cute department.

Bottles and formula are now history in our house. Hallelujah! I cut them out of her world on the Monday after she turned one and, although it hasn't been smooth sailing all the way, the transition hasn't been too tough. The hardest bottle to eliminate was the morning one, since she would wake up and guzzle down eight ounces without a break. We offer her a sippy cup of milk but, ultimately, it doesn't have the same soothing effect as her bottle: she ignores it for the first twenty minutes while she mourns the absence of what she really wants, and then finally gives in and drinks it anyway (although only about 3-4 ounces). It has nothing to do with the milk we've realized - we've done cold and warm and she does eventually drink it - it's really just about the nipple.

All of this has brought breakfast time forward. Without the extra 4 ounces of formula, she gets hungrier much earlier, so now I have to hustle pancakes at 7:15 vs. 7:30-7:45. That 15-30 minutes makes all the difference; time for the caffeine in my morning cup of Joe to register! Yet, I'll take this as a trade-off against washing, sterilizing, and drying bottles and nipples and paying the wopping $20 per can of formula (or $80-$100 a month.) This weekend I'm moving the nipple rack into the pile of items for our summer garage sale, which is sorely needed based upon all the clothes, toys, and other baby gear we've relegated to the garage in the last few months. As if our garage wasn't jam-packed enough as it was!

I was considering adding binkie elimination to our list of "big girl" transitions but I'm on the fence about that one. Although we only let her have the binkie during daytime naps and as a last resort in the car, there have been times in this last week where she was teething so bad that the only thing that would stop her from standing in the middle of the room and screaming, was the damned binkie.

It still amazes me how a baby's world can 180 based upon a piece of rubber in their mouth - I mean, nothing changed, right? - but I have come to accept that the thing has it's uses and that I'm not exactly ready to deal with the consequences of not having it as a crutch right now. Let's face it, even when we do eventually take it away, she will still get upset and cry, all that really changes is our ability to turn off the volume. So, the transition, I've come to the conclusion is really more for us adults and I'm not there yet.

I've heard good stories about moms that wait until their kids are older and can understand words, then they attach their kids' binkies to a helium balloon and have a big send-off ceremony for the binkies. I like the idea but am kind of worried about how long it will be before she will have the capacity to understand that kind of effort. When I was in Montego Bay airport recently, strolling through the zig-zaggy passport control line, I cringed at seeing a young girl, probably the age of 3 or 4, sitting in her stroller with a pacifier in her mouth. I don't want that to be Daisy. So, I'm still thinking about the timing on this one... all I know is, I don't think it's right now.

Of course, as a dose of reality, this time last year I was worrying about my breast-milk supply, how to get more than 2.5 hours of sleep at a time, TMJ, and the possibility that Daisy might be tongue-tied. So, all in all, I'm liking what this year brings much better and the decision on whether to postpone the binkie funeral is really not that big of a deal in contrast.

(As a further jolt of reality, this time in '08, I was dealing with my then-puppy, Maggie, eating everything in sight: http://britishrants.blogspot.com/2008/04/destructojaws-likes-hot-sauce.html. There goes another period in time I have no desire to re-live. Depressingly, however, I did find this post from April '07 which underscores just how much life has changed in 3 years: http://britishrants.blogspot.com/2007/04/my-weekend-dichotomy-of-days.html and makes me want to jump in the car and head off to the city this weekend - if only I had time!)

Daisy's first trip to the dentist

2010-04-12T16:05:00.000-07:00

Today was Daisy's first trip to the dentist and, of course, because it's ME/us, there was drama.

I should begin by explaining that I, too, was looking for a new dentist. In the process, I found a lady dentist about five miles from my house, that treats both adults and children. I saw some great reviews for her online so, I thought, score!, a dentist for the whole family. I called, confirmed they would take a one year old and made our appointment for this afternoon.

I should have known things were not going to go well when she was ready for a nap right as I was due to put her in the car. Of course, just as we pulled into the parking lot of the medical center, I looked back to see the binkie falling out of her mouth as she disappeared into dreamland. Awesome.

This meant I had to wake her up and pull her into the cold, wet weather, balancing the diaper bag, an umbrella and a wriggly, tired one year old on my aching hip (which doesn't like the rain either.). Then, as I was standing in front of the schematic of the facility, trying to figure out which building the surgery was in, the heavens quite literally opened. It was if someone took the top off a salt shaker and just let the salt dump out in one big avalanche. I had no other choice but to run for some kind of shelter. Just getting to a covered area, the back of my jeans, from knee to ankle, got completely drenched, as did the diaper bag and everything in it. Even my cell phone, in my coat pocket, got wet as the rain drove down into it. That left me and my wriggly one year old in a deserted atrium area, with no clue where to go, waiting for a biblical torrent of rain to pass. I was seriously expecting to see Noah and his Ark float by, it was so bad. The worst rain downpour I can remember being out in for a long, long time. Sheesh.

Finally, after several minutes, lots of nursery rhyme singing, and several attempts to save the binkie from running down the drain, the rain started to let up and I was able to locate the right suite. I reached for the door handle and... it was locked! I looked at my watch. It was 1:55pm and my appointment was at 2pm. The receptionist had asked me to arrive fifteen minutes early to complete paperwork and so I was, by her standards, ten minutes late. Which left the question of why the door was locked and where the hell was everyone!? It was still raining, of course, and so I angrily pulled and pulled on the door until someone came to open it up. WTH!? Turns out they had been at lunch from 1pm to 2pm. So why schedule a new patient at 2pm when I needed to be there early to complete paperwork? Argh!

Things seemed to get better from there. Daisy happily played with the toy box while I filled out the endless clipboard of forms asking for the same information over and over again (what is up with that and medical forms!? The redundancy is maddening!) Then, ten minutes later, after the receptionist had managed to draaaaaag herself back to her position from her food coma and look-over what I had submitted, she asked me what I planned to do with my daughter while I had my x-rays taken because she couldn't be in the room at the same time.

Um.... excuse me?

Long story short, they had booked an appointment for both of us at the same time. Yup, that's right - they actually thought it would be possible for me to hold onto a one year old while I was getting x-rays and a dental exam! And these people treat kids routinely?!

I gravely informed them that (a) I had understood over the phone that the appointment would be for my daughter, even though I myself would be registering at the same time and (b) it was a complete and utter physical impossibility for my daughter to "hang out" while I layed back and let the dentist poke around my mouth. The food-coma receptionist seemed a little miffed and put out, as if the misunderstanding was my fault (I am in no doubt that it was not) and then seemed to get quiet and even sulk a little. Wow.

Meanwhile, Daisy had emptied out an entire tupperware of magnetic numbers and letters, had strewn them across the waiting room floor and had already moved onto the magazine rack (ack - germs!) where she was ripping apart a copy of People Magazine. Thank God the waiting room was empty, although I was constantly freaking out that someone would come through the front door right as she was racing blindly toward it at full pelt.

Trying to tidy up, my nose caught wiff of the dreaded stench of poo. Great. She'd pooped. Off to the restroom we went where there were no diaper changing facilities, leaving me to wrangle Ms. Back-Arching-Kick-Boxer and a rolling poop nugget on the floor. Delightful.

Back into the waiting room we went. It was now 2:20pm. Given that there was nobody else in the waiting room and everyone had just returned from lunch, I was beginning to wonder if we were on Jamaican time. (I wish.)

At 2:25pm we got called into the room by the nurse who told me to sit on the exam chair with Daisy, which I did while she fiddled with some monitor. Then she said, "The doctor will be with you in a few minutes."

Again, I say WTH!? You took me out of a large, open waiting room with toys and plonked me in a 10x10 space with tons of large equipment, expecting me to keep a one year old happily entertained on my lap? And you treat children regularly? Seriously!?

It's times like these that I am incredibly thankful for my smart phone. Pictures of Daisy, pictures of her friend, Mackenzie, the game Bubble Burst, and texts to Daddy are a saviour when you have to entertain your kid in a confined space for a few minutes.

Fortunately, the dentist came in only thirty seconds later. She was very nice, by the way, although that didn't stop Daisy from having a full-on, back-arching, fist waving, leg kicking fit on my lap as we tried to lay back together on the table for her examination. She managed to lift the entire bottom half of her body off of me in the process and clawed at the poor dentist's mask in protest.

Despite this, the dentist was able to determine that there was no calcification on her four existing teeth and that two new teeth were on their way through on either side of her top two. Hopefully this explains the somewhat increased crankiness over the last week, although this could also be a result of us completely eliminating her bottle. (We cold-turkeyed because mama doesn't know any other way to do things. All or nothing, baby!)

And thus ended our first dental visit. Twenty minutes there, ten minutes in a torrential downpour, ten minutes completing paperwork, a further fifteen minutes of waiting idly and, perhaps, 90 seconds in the chair. I was exhausted.

In case you're wondering, I was not able to pull-off a houdini trick with my smartphone and capture a picture of any of this. Next time I will be taking Nan, who will probably sing the whole way through it but, what the heck, if it means I don't break out in a cold sweat, it will be worth it.

Grandad got his wish.

2010-04-12T09:17:00.000-07:00

Despite the dreary, rainy weather, we went for ice cream yesterday. As you can see, we didn't do it by halves. We took the pediatrician's advice quite literally - "she can eat anything you eat now!"

And no, we didn't just let her dive in, despite what this picture suggests.

Daisy's first ice cream experience was successful and fairly uneventful, although Hubby and I both left with incredibly grumbly tummies and cramps for the rest of the afternoon. The jury is still out on Daisy's reaction: she only had one short nap yesterday, which could explain yesterday evening and this morning's tiredness and crankiness OR it could be that she too had an upset stomach as a result of her first ice cream sundae.

This, by the way, was her initial reaction to her first spoonful.

She warmed up to it, however, greatly pleasing her Grandad who waited a whole year for that moment. Well, Dad, I hope you're happy. I, for one, will be returning to frozen yogurt this summer.

12 month stats

2010-04-09T13:31:00.000-07:00

When Ms. Daisy was born, she was in the 75th percentile for pretty much everything - weight, height etc... Since then, she has sat squarely in the middle of average, keeping a steady 50th percentile in both measurements.

Until she started crawling...

Since Daisy became active she has barely gained more than a pound and is now only 25th percentile for weight. She was 18lbs at her 9 month check-up and only 19.3lbs at yesterday's 12 month physical. We just can't break that 20lb mark!

She measures 29 inches, which keeps her in the 50th percentile for height - and which just makes me shake my head because everything 12 months in clothing is waaaaay too long for her. I think she's all body and no legs like her mama, poor thing! Head circumference is also 50th percentile.

Does it seem fair to you that she was her heaviest when she was INSIDE ME? I think NOT!

Her physical and verbal development is slightly ahead based upon those nebulous averages they measure her against, all with the exception of her teeth: she only has four (two top and two bottom) and most kids her age are supposed to have four up and down with some molars on their way. The doctor suspects that she will have a massive tooth-growing attack and get a bunch at once. Yup, can't wait for that. Sounds fun.

We got the all-clear to move off of formula and onto whole milk, which we did start last week but I pulled back on because we had some redness during diaper changes. Aparently this is normal - diet adjustments and reactions. Daisy is now taking whole milk from a sippy cup but the bottle in the morning and before bed is going to be hard to kick; she sucks both down at lightening speed and won't do the same with a sippy cup. I guess we've just got to push through that.

This all makes my dad ludicrously happy because it means he can share some ice cream with her. Since the day she was born he has wanted to give her ice cream. Don't ask me why but he's convinced it's going to be the most exciting culinary experience of her short life. Still stuck in "old school", he was a bit miffed when I told him that she couldn't have anything made from cows milk in the first year (kind of like how he was miffed that we had to bring her home from the hospital in a car seat. Ahem.) So, tonight the whole family will be dining at Leatherby's, an infamous family ice cream joint, where we will all no doubt eat too much ice cream and pay for it tomorrow.

Stay tuned...

Overwhelmed with joy and love and sugar and gifts!

2010-04-03T21:14:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAISY MCDAID!

Today was quite possibly one of the best (and definitely proudest) days of my life. What am I talking about? It was definitely one of the best days of my life. I can count on one hand the number of times I've had THIS MUCH FUN. And it was all at a one year old's birthday party! Whodathunkit? Well, it was MY one year old's birthday party...

Our day started early because we were on a mission to be done with our nap at a certain time. So, bad parents that we are, we didn't place Daisy's binkie in her special spot where she can get it in the morning. This meant that we all got up at 6am instead of 7am. We all suffered. I guess this makes it better. Haha!

Then the craziness began.

I showered, Hubby showered. Hubby took off for Nan and Grandads to set-up and receive vendors. Meanwhile I set about wearing out Ms. Daisy so she would happily go down for a morning nap (instead of a mid-day nap, which would have meant no birthday girl for the party - yikes!) After a thirty minute walk, dancing and singing to her favorite video, and chasing her around the house on hands and knees for almost an hour, I succeeded in getting her down at 9:45am. (I was tempted to nap myself at this point but I had make-up to put on, clothes to change, and hair to style. Oy vey!)

11am was the start of the party and it came and went. Ahem. (Maybe too good of a job in wearing her out on my behalf?) At 11:15am I had to go in and open the curtains to wake Missy up. I felt bad but, hey, you can't miss your own first birthday party, right!?

When I drew up to my parent's house at about 11:20, I almost cried. I have been planning and envisioning this day for soooo long and spent all week worrying that all manner of things would go pear-shaped. So, when I saw the cars already parked outside, the party sign in the driveway, the balloons lining the pathway, and the Happy Birthday sign on the door, the relief and excitement flooded over me.

People were there! The balloons looked great! Hubby had executed my vision to the tee! I love him. We make a GREAT TEAM.

Party party!

The birthday girl's throne

Mimosas near the door. I know my friends well! ;o)

Daisies, daisies everywhere!

Of course, the decorations only set the stage. There were still other elements to turn a good party into a great one. We already addressed the alcohol...

GOOD FOOD
(Thanks Mum & Dad!)

ENTERTAINMENT

From bounce houses to a fairy that painted faces, hosted puppet-shows and got even the grown-ups playing with a massive parachute, there was no shortage of fun to be had. Oh, and there was also a little Easter Egg hunting going on in the background!

Eh, screw the hip. (Incidentally I DID NOT pay the next day. Hmmm...)

Parachute play.

So cool to see kids having so much fun! They bring such unabandoned joy into your life!

Katie getting her face painted by our AWESOME fairy, Melody.

Hand painting for missy who isn't into having ANYONE mess with ANYTHING on her precious little head.

I LOVE this shot, just as I love Noelle. I still remember her in her mommy's tummy. Crazy!

Puppet shows! Bunnies and turtles and parrots.

GREAT FRIENDS AND FAMILY

Parties, just like just about everything else in life, are "made" by good people. We are fortunate that so many people who are so important to us, were able to make it to Daisy's special day. It was even more special because of each and every one of them. I loved hanging out with everyone, as did Daisy, Daddy, and our hosts, Nanny and Grandad! Thanks everyone for coming and having (what I hope was) a good time!

(Apologies if I did not specifically include you below - there's only so much space and 450 photos!)

The McDaids and Tings.

My favorite mamas. Great women all.

Grammie and Daisy sharing a sweet moment.

My good friend Vickie whose own son is all growed up and quite the catch!

Our swim buddy, Kate, and her mama Beth.

CJ and her precious blessing, Maclay. Aparently the finger thing he inherrited from his mother. Haha!

My friend, Joy, and her son Gabriel. They both bring so much joy into my life, if you pardon the pun!

Aunty Linh (expecting baby #2 in the summer) and Daisy.

The Waterburys. Aparently Daisy is modeling her growth and development on Micah and, aparently, I'm IN FOR IT!

My good friend, Mala, with whom I like to enjoy long walks, tall drinks and lengthy bitch sessions.

Aunty Farrah, cousin Adah (3), and cousin Ezra whose first birthday was one week before.

Precious Madelyne and her mommy, Renee, also expecting her second, Malik, in May.

LOTS OF GIFTS!
Thank you everyone for your generosity. Oh, and for the toys that sing. We really, really appreciate those. (Ahem)

CAKE!

Mama made Daisy's own personal cupcake. Not bad if I say so myself. The plate I had made by a pro and I hope to bring it out every year for her birthday.

40 people singing happy birthday are behind this camera, which may explain the dazed and confused look on the birthday girl's face!

Not her first piece of cake but definitely her first frosting. I think we paid for it later with a little bit of gas and irritability. Pah! It's only your first birthday once!

My little party animal. If this doesn't look lke a good time, I don't know what does!

... even the weather managed to behave for us. It had rained the day before and the forecast all week had not looked hopeful but the sun actually managed to grace us with it's presence on-and-off!

Never has a party I have thrown gone-off so well. Everything cooperated: birthday girl, weather, people, vendors... As someone who used to work in special events, I know that only happens once in a blue moon, so I sure appreciated it.

In fact, the only thing that didn't seem to cooperate was Daisy's size. She was just a tad too small for her birthday dress, which I purchased a couple of months ago in a size 12 months. Little miss peanut is just a hair off a 12 month dress size right now and a bit too big for a 9 month. The dress actually fit better than the sweater and, had the weather been warmer, the overall effect would have been much better but it was too cold to run around outside in a sleeveless summer dress.

More importantly than perfection or my enjoyment (or, perhaps, as a major part of it) the birthday girl had an absolute BLAST. We worried about tantrums and being overwhelmed but we needn't have bothered. Forget the Easter Bunny - this was, after all, Ms. Social Bunny herself. No sooner did we put her on the ground out in the back yard and she started running around like a crazy girl.

Daisy had no compunctions about hanging with the big kids, bouncing up-and-down in the bounce house, running under (and over) parachutes, petting hand-puppet bunnies, letting our fairy paint her hand, and generally being the life and soul of her own party. She let relative strangers pick her up and say hi, she didn't cry when fourty people gathered around her and sang Happy Birthday, and she sat happily in her high-chair thereafter, stuffing sugary frosting and cake in her mouth, while Mama and Dada saw some guests out.

I love her. She is everything this mama could possibly have hoped for in a little girl and it was so cool that we all had just as much fun as one another!

As the party started to wind down, Hubby and I got a last burst of energy and took to the bounce house in celebration.

Nothing better than a one year old and 20 other kids under the age of 5 to help you reconnect with your inner-child. I don't remember feeling that alive and full of energy in a long time.

Later, when everyone else left, I got to bounce around some more with my friend, Joy, and her two kids, Gabriel and Noelle, singing Ring-A-Ring-A-Rosie. Joy was the first non-family member to hold Daisy after she was born - she actually walked into the recovery room with our parents - and so it felt fitting that she was the last person to leave our party. In some ways we are the unlikeliest of friends and yet that only makes our connection sweeter. As an only child, my friends are my siblngs and Joy is definitely a member of my extended family.

Clearly, I could go on-and-on about everything (and everyone) I loved on this day but this post wouldn't be complete without a shout-out to my parents who hosted this mega bash.

Thanks Mum and Dad for agreeing to host so I wouldn't need to spend my week off with Daisy scrubbing floors and toilets in preparation. Thank you for letting us leave you with most of the clean-up while we went home and lounged like lizards. Thank you for not batting an eyelid when I told you than 43 adults and 28 children had RSVP'd. Thank you for coralling Daisy so Hubby and I could mingle with our guests and sip mimosas. Thank you for treating our friends and their children like family. Thank you, thank you, thank you for a perfect day. We are so lucky to have you in our lives and down the street.

And with that, we move on to year #2 of Lazy Crazy Daisy's life. The story continues...

Daisy at one year - reflections on my first year as a mother

2010-04-03T06:37:00.000-07:00

Today, Lazy Crazy Daisy turns one.

It's hard to believe but, this time last year, I was waddling around, heavily pregnant, extremely uncomfortable, and somewhat apprehensive about the journey ahead. I didn't even know if I would have a son or daughter!

As one of the last girls in my friend circle to have a baby, I had some idea about what to expect but, I think, was mostly trying to remain open to the process without too many expectations.

I don't know if the people around me would agree (I guess you can debate in comments!) but I think that attitude has mostly served me well. While there have definitely been challenging moments and times of frustration, I would say that the journey so far has been more fun and less difficult than I originally expected. Of course, I have been blessed with a healthy, happy baby and am fortunate enough to have a great husband (who is also a loving, giving father) and two devoted parents just down the street, so it's not like I haven't had help. I'm sure my perspective would have been different if I had to get through the last year without that support structure. (I use "I" here a lot because this blog is mostly about me as a mother, although I recognize I share this journey with Hubby; I don't want to speak for him.) All I can say is that I give MAD PROPS to single parents and those couples who live far from family who can help them. In short, I recognize that we - our family - is lucky to have one another to lean on.

I've spent this past week hanging out with Ms. Daisy, taking advantage of my last two weeks of Paid Family Leave (aka: Baby Bonding time), which must be used before her first birthday. I feel so fortunate to have spent this time with her, just her and I, because, through these days, I have recognized how much different the quality of the time I have with her is when I'm not worrying about work, juggling medical appointments, or getting errands and household chores done.

I'm the kind of person who can flip an "off" switch when I am on vacation and so being with her this week has been nothing short of wonderful. Kids know when you're 100% present and giving them your full attention, and they know when you're not. Their moods change correspondingly. This week I have been present, which is not to say I have abandoned all responsibility (we still unpacked suitcases, went to the store, and did laundry), but more to say that when I have been with her my mind has not been in twenty different places. I've not been feeling that nagging frustration that I should be doing something else and recognize the absence of annoyance when things don't go as expected. On a normal, working week, time is so much more precious, and when your kid isn't in-synch with your plans, it can be hard work to drag them along for the ride (or, conversely, to let go of your best-laid plans.) This past week we went with the flow, took things in our stride, and HAD FUN. Although I would say that I always have fun with Missy, I've seen this week how much more fun my daughter can be when I'm in the right frame of mind to be with her.

You're genetically programmed to love your baby when he/she is born but for me, I have found, it took some time for us to really get to know and enjoy one another.

At almost 12 months, Daisy is walking (ok, running would be more accurate) and talking. Her words include mama, dada, nana, handad (Grandad), car, bye-bye, and recently yellow (which sounds more like "allo "but you take what you can get.) She can moo like a cow, meow like a cat, woof like a dog, and pound her chest like a gorilla. (She's her own virtual zoo!) When prompted, Daisy can put her hands up, touch her head, touch her toes, stamp her feet, wave, and clap. I'm sure there are some other ones I'm missing but those are the major ones I can remember.

Almost since birth, she has a bedtime routine that includes a bath every night. In the last month or so, has taken to climbing all thirteen stairs to get there. Daisy only has to hear the sound of her Dad quacking at the top of the stairs (it used to be her baby bathtub that quacked but now it's just Dad) and she runs toward the stairway, arms flying and a big smile on her face.

Before bed at night she will bring us books to read to her, not just the short ones, but long ones with full stories for kids much older than her.. And she will sit happily on my lap while I read at least two of them before she goes to sleep. Her favorite books are The Marvelous Toy, Giraffes Can't Dance, Dinosaurs Love Underpants, and Sleeping Beauty - pretty much anything with a certain candence and rhyme, in fact. In the morning when she first stirs, she knows to stand up in her crib and grab her binky and bunny off the book case next to her, which gives us an extra 30-45 minutes of sleep. (Bliss!) Of course, one day soon this will stop because big girls don't have binkies.

Her favorite meal of the day is breakfast, which is part of our joint morning ritual while Daddy showers for work. You only have to say the word "breakfast" and she immediately stops what she's doing, breaks into a big smile and starts running for the kitchen. It's the cutest thing!

It wasn't until I had Daisy in my life that I realized how little I smiled before. Not that I wasn't happy - because I was - but it's just that I didn't go through life smiling randomly throughout the day. Since Daisy is constantly flashing big beams at me, I've found myself smiling much more. In order to keep your kid happy when you're changing diapers, putting on clothes, or doing just about anything that may irritate them, you also find yourself talking and smiling - something which I've always had a problem with. It just doesn't come naturally to do both at once; I used to feel like a peppy character at Disneyland when trying to smile and talk. Now it's something I do all the time. Of course, just watching her makes me smile, especially when she wanders off to play with her toys on her own. I love watching her explore, learn, and figure things out her own way, without me or Hubby stepping in to help or guide.

Daisy is also willful and independent, already throwing full-body temper tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants. Unlike a lot of babies I've spent time with, she is not a mimic. She pays attention and does things in her own time. She has no fear, running in the opposite direction from her mama at the park, climbing the stairs, and walking into pitch-black rooms without a care (clearly not taking after her father who is still afraid of the dark.)

Almost to the point of embarassment, Daisy is also extremely friendly. If someone won't say hello to her, she'll stare at them until she catches their eye and, when they finally show her some attention, awards them with a big, wide, toothy grin, and waving arms. Put her down in a room of kids of any age and she'll happily run off and make friends, or toodle off to do her own thing. She runs after dogs, cats, and kids without any hesitation, excited to make a connection.

Despite being very independent, Daisy has developed a very loving streak in the last month or so. Prior to month 11, it would be fair to say that she was so desperate to do things on her own that she didn't want to be held, hugged, kissed, or touched - it was almost as if she felt you were trying to hold her back. She would do that wriggly worm thing whenever you tried to show her affection. Now the tide is changing and she will run up to you and fling herself into your arms, give you kisses, or (if you're standing) wrap herself around your legs. There's nothing like kisses from your kid, is there? Daisy kisses are the BEST.

And so, here I am, now the mother of a toddler. Which is just crazy to contemplate since I've only been a mother of anything for barely a year! There are some days where I still can't quite connect with my new role, probably because I was expecting to feel something different about myself in the process. While my life is definitely changed for the better by having Daisy in it, I'm pleased to say that I still feel like me. I still like to go out for drinks with my friends, enjoy a drop of wine on a Friday night (or several pina coladas on vacation!), still have the travel bug, still enjoy working full time and still enjoy working out. So, rather than being changed, I feel expanded or enhanced even - Michelle 2.0 if you like.

I'm looking ahead towards the next twelve months which just as much uncertainty as I did this time last year but less anxiety. Having got to know my daughter this last year, I know it will be full of surprises, full of joy, and full of love. I'm so blessed.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUNCHKIN. MAMA LOVES YOU!

Now, off to the party...

Traveling Ms. Daisy

2010-03-31T11:37:00.001-07:00

I think there is a pretty good chance that Daisy will become a traveling girl, just like her Mum. As I reported in my other blog, our vacation was far from perfect but I think it's safe to say that Daisy had an AWESOME time.

First of all, the Jamaicans LOVED HER - especially the men! I can't even begin to explain in words just how much attention our little blue-eyed, blond-haired munchkin got from the locals. As usual, she responded with her best flirting skills, only further endearing herself to them.

In particular, there was our waiter, Mario, who, I think it's safe to say, became Daisy's first summer fling.

It was love at first sight for Daisy and Mario. We met at lunch as soon as we arrived and then he made sure he was our waiter for breakfast and lunch every day thereafter. At every sitting, Mario would circle around his section and back to Daisy at least ten times, stopping to see if she was ok and giving her big grins. "Ya, mon!", "No problem!" he would say to her, as he tried (without success) to get her to fist-bump him back. In response, Daisy would smile her big toothy grin, kick her legs and wave her arms. It was very amusing.

Many of the other waiters and waitresses were similarly entraced but nobody so much as Mario. He really made our vacation and was our savior when it came to finding the only high chair (pictured) that fit Daisy. (More on that debacle on my other blog.) We're planning on sending him a copy of the picture above, along with a Thank You card.

Then there were the miscellanous folks we met along the way...

At the craft market all the women fell in love with her, stopping to shake maracas at her, tiggle her toes, and sing songs. I guess, if you were cynical, you could say that it was all a tactic to get us to buy something from them, but it seemed genuine enough to me and Daisy seemed to respond favorably. Knowing how kids are pretty good at weeding out fakers instinctively, I'm going to give these friendly people the benefit of the doubt.

This one older lady, pictured below, even remembered Daisy (and her name) from seeing her at a craft show at our hotel. When saw Missy sweating in her stroller, she gave her a fan to take around the rest of the market with us to keep her cool - no charge, just return it on our way out. Of course, we bought it from her, although she tried to insist we didn't need to.

Then there was the beach musician who spotted her from across the sand and broke into song, singing "Wild World" to her as he approached. Daddy captured what was probably one of the most memorable moments of our vacation, below, as he sang and Daisy kicked her feet in approval. It really crystalized for me why I was there - I remember sitting on the beach, just me and Hubby, listening to local musicians, and thinking that I would love to share this with my son or daughter some day. And there I was, just doing that. The joy of sharing my greatest passion with Daisy - travel - is almost indescribable.

One thing we did notice right away is that Jamaicans have a different sense of personal space than we do. Both Hubby and I had to get over an initial reaction of "back up buddy!" because everyone who saw her wanted to touch her and get close-up. Out here we would pull her away if a complete stranger came up to her and started touching her but out there, for some reason, it seemed different - less threatening and more genuine. Maybe it was just us being on vacation and willing to let things slide. Who knows? All I do know is that you have to be aware that different cultures have different social rules when it comes to this kind of thing and, to a certain extent, you have to learn to go with the flow. So we did. And it paid-off. As I said, everyone loved her and she loved them!

Daisy's days in Jamaica pretty much consisted of swimming in the pool or the ocean, playing in the sand, napping, and eating. She did an awesome job of transitioning to a new climate, a new culture, new food, and a time change and, although a little more irritable than usual, clearly had a blast.

The question now is: where next?

Terrorizing Sambo

2010-03-15T16:12:00.000-07:00

Sambo is Grammie's kitty, one of about seven cats in her household and the ONLY ONE I would get within 10 feet of without a full-suit of body armor. And, Daisy LOVES him.

He is a sweet, gentle kitty, totally out of place in the house of near-feral felines and he is a very good sport whenever Daisy sets her mind on chasing him around the 1,000 square feet of Grammie's house.

Sambo does an excellent job of remaining just one arms-length in front of Daisy's curious hands.

And when the going gets tough, Sambo lets Daisy admire him from a safe place.

Although I don't think it will be long before Daisy realizes more than her arm can fit through the cat flap!

While at Grammie's, we read all sorts of interesting books that we find laying around. For instance, here Daisy is getting a jump-start on self-actualization, reading the book "Living from Within"

We also musn't forget Aunty Cheri, who appears to either know the words to every song ever written and/or be able to turn any words into a kid-friendly melody. Daisy loves having people sing to her and so she has a soft spot for Cheri, who she gave big wet, sloppy goodbye kisses to at the end of our visit.

All this socializing is thirsty work...

Daisy can now drink a juice carton through a straw (congratulate Daddy for that skill). Woot! Seriously makes drinking while out and about MUCH easier on us all.

Hope you had as great of a Sunday as we did!

p.s. Just in case you're wondering when Daisy will get her first kitty-cat, the answer is NEVER. Sorry folks, this is not a kitty household. I enjoy visiting them but don't want to own one. Plus, between Grammie and Aunty Farrah, Daisy has more than her fair-share of cats to adopt!

A visit from Lala land

2010-03-09T10:44:00.001-08:00

I've noticed that my Daisy posts have become fewer and farther inbetween in the past few months. You'd think that this was because there was less to report but it's quite the contrary: Daisy is learning and developing so fast these days, that it's literally like one new or different thing every day.

Unfortunately, by the time I get to sit down and blog anything these days, I'm exhausted and/or don't have the creative juices to turn my posts into anything other than a laundry list of "things Daisy does." And, as amazing as she is to me, I get that it's probably not a great read for you guys.

However, I didn't want this past weekend to go by without recognizing Daisy's new friend, her Aunty Elena of The Gurly Life fame. Elena is my longest-standing friend here in the U.S. We met when I was in Los Angeles for my internship back in 1995, so we have been friends now for 15 years. Whoa! Elena wrote a thorough and amusing log of her visit here to the Sacraghetto area on her blog (in 3 parts, no less!), so I'm not going to reiterate it in my own words here (I much prefer her 3rd party perspective anyway) but I did want to share a couple of pics of Elena and Daisy getting to know one another.

Elena is one of a few friends I have left who remains footloose and fancy-free, meaning she is both husband and child-less. Less sounds bad, I guess. It sounds like I am pointing out that something is missing in her life, which couldn't be farther from the truth - she is an interesting, intelligent, independent person with a great career, a ton of friends, and a full life - but our realities these days are very different. In a lot of ways I envy her freedom but, of course, I wouldn't want to give up my Hubby or Daisy. Either way, my point is that Aunty E got to experience my life in all it's crazy glory for a few days. It's full, busy, and chaotic, but not terribly exciting, unless of course you are an 11 month old. Walks, park visits, and trips to BabiesRUs are probably not things that Aunty E does regularly, so it was fun to drag her along for the ride.

This first pic was "borrowed" from The Gurly Life. As you can see, Aunty E has mad stroller skills!

Now onto pics I didn't "borrow"....

Sharing some sweet-potato fries with Aunty E, who was trying to blog

Aunty E and Daisy were great friends by the time she left!

Elena's visit marked the first time that anyone has stayed overnight in our house since Daisy was born and it was really cute to see Daisy smile with surprise and excitement as she saw someone else descend the stairs in the morning. As we well know by now, Daisy loves people and she was very happy to have someone else to pester for a few days!

Thanks for being such a good sport, Aunty E!

Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth

2010-02-25T21:29:00.000-08:00

Little Miss Daisy is getting quite a temper.

According to most sources online, temper tantrums usually start around 15 months through 2 years (aka: "the terrible twos") but, as we're learning, Daisy forgot to read the developmental manual and is on her own timeline.

When Daisy doesn't get want she wants, when she wants it (or is forced to do something she doesn't want to do, when we want her to do it), she has now developed the delightful skill of stamping her feet, marching on the spot, turning beet-red and screaming as if she was just side-swiped by that killer whale.

Ok, so, in reality she's not that different from me on a good day but still, she got there a lot faster than I expected.

So far her pink-fits are short-lived and she is easily distracted, which has made it easy to find her draaaama quite entertaining. However, the act of putting on a diaper these days requires the wrangling skills of Crocodile Dundee and the body padding of a ice-hockey goalee. (If you're a guy, you may also want to add one of those nifty baseball cups.) Legs kick, backs arch, arms flail, and tears stream. I have been kicked in the nose, Hubby's crown jewels have been threatened more than once, and poor Aunty Brandy has concluded that she has the legs of a future soccer star.

Getting this kid to lay on her back long enough to get the diaper off is a feat in itself but trying to get the diaper to stay put under her constantly writhing body while you attempt to stick the little tabs, is all-but impossible some days. If you see us in Target and it looks like she has a lopsided ass, you can safely conclude that we just went through a tough diaper change.

This week we took her to a pediatrician check-up for her ear infection (which is now clear), and Daisy threw one of her tantrums with the doctor, making it all but impossible for her to see . inside Daisy's ear. It took all three of us - Hubby, doc, and moi - to hold her down on the table, and for the doc to be able to see down her ear canal with the little ear-torch thing. We tried many other, less restrictive postures first, but all to no avail - it was brute force or the white flag. With the amount of screaming going on, you would have thought we were murdering her! She got so mad and went soooo red that her skin was blotchy for a good thirty minutes after we left.

Of course, Hubby and I felt terrible that it was so hard for the pediatrician to do such a simple check-up but the doctor simply said that it was just a "typical toddler tantrum" and to expect it through age two or three at every doctor's visit from hereon out. Honestly, I think we were less miffed by the prospect of every doctor's visit being a repeat performance, than were by the fact that she referred to Daisy as a "toddler". After that word hung in the air, there was a moment of silence as Hubby and I digested. To us she is still a baby. I guess she always will be.

This early start has got me wondering whether we're going to get this whole "terrible" stage over and done with early OR whether we've just got longer to build to a higher state of terribleness. Of course, I fool myself daily that it's the former but, in reality, I realize I am both powerless to stop it and unable to control it. The best I can do is not to feed into it and hope for the best. Fortunately, pretty much every person who takes care of her is on the same page regarding what to do when she's throwing one of her wobblies - ignore her and at all costs do not give her what she wants - so we've at least got consistency on our side.

All this said, she is still a mostly happy, funny little girl. She's an awful lot of fun to hang out with: super inquisitive, a learning sponge, and full of gusto. It could be worse. I hope it doesn't get so.

Snow Bunny

2010-02-15T12:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we took Daisy up to Tahoe and the snow for the first time. It was also a first time visit for my Dad and, with the beautiful spring-like weather we've had this weekend, it was THE PERFECT Valentines day with our new family together for the first time.

Daisy had a blast walking around the village at Heavenly, getting particularly interested in the pigeons and the gondola that takes you to the top. The line for the ride was pretty long with skiiers this time of year and we didn't really want to chance two women with hip problems in the snow, so we didn't make the trip ourselves, but we'll surely come back in the summer when all we'll have to contend with is grass.

Charting her own path around Heavenly Village. She is quite the little attention getter, let me tell you. Nobody can believe she is so small and such an accomplished walker!

Gondola watching with Daddy

After a spot of lunch and people-watching we started our way back home, stopping at a small snow park on the side of the road, to give Daisy her first taste (quite literally) of snow.

As with anything new, Daisy jumped right into this whole snow thing, smiling, laughing, and squealing with delight. She grabbed a handful of snow from her Daddy and promptly began eating it. Although we didn't have a snow-suit for her, she sat down and happily got soaked-through to her diaper as she looked around and sized-up the whole situation, providing her mummy with some great photo ops!

v

At the end of our snow adventure, we had to strip Daisy down to her onesie before we could put her back in her car seat and head home. And, although she had only one 50 minute nap all day, she yabbered and squealed with happiness all the way home, and then again throughout the evening, until she fell into bed just before 8pm; one happy little snow bunny!

It was possibly one of THE BEST days I've had as a mom yet. She is so much fun to be around and I love watching her experience things for the first time. What a GREAT Valentines Day!

Head, shoulders, knees, toes, eyes, ears (ouch), mouth, nose, arf, no!

2010-02-09T21:13:00.000-08:00

Now that she has got this walking thing down (down being the operative word, judging by the number of falls she has), Miss Daisy has been moving on to fine-tuning other new skills.

Body Parts
Daisy now knows her head, ears, mouth, tongue, and feet.

My mother spent an ungodly amount of money on a learn to read system that I was originally resistant to but, I have to hold my hands up and say that Daisy not only loves it but it has definitely helped her learn a number of words, objects, and actions. The books in the system have peekaboo windows with pictures and words so, not only do babies get to see the letters and the object, but there is a fun 'reveal' that they can get excited about.

Ask Daisy to touch her ears or head, or stick out her tongue and she will (mostly) comply. She gets so excited when she gets it right that she claps herself. It's super cute to see.

Animal Sounds
"Arf arf!" is a dog
"Mmmmmmmm" is a cat
"Muuu muuu" is a cow
"Brrrrrrrrrr" is a sheep
"OhhhOhhh" is a monkey (as in "ooooo oooo aahhh ahhh")
... you get the picture.

Again, cute.

Yes. No.
Thanks to my Dad, who dramatically shakes his head when he's telling Daisy "noooooooo!" for something or other, when you now say "no" to her, she will respond with frenetic head shaking. (And a cheeky smile, of course.) Not only does she understand that "No" equals head-shake but she has also begun to apply the head shake to things she wants to say no to. So, for instance, when she doesn't want to take her antibiotics for her current ear infection.

It has started a debate in our house about why "no" came before "yes". So, I started trying to say "yes" more, placing an emphasis on the head nodding, and found that... well, we don't really say "yes" much. There's lots of "good jobbing" and "clever girling" but the word "yes" doesn't often appear in our daily vocabulary. Is this a problem? Are we negative people? We're trying to decide...

Bang!
We've moved on from just picking up and walking objects around the house to picking them up and throwing them ceremoniously. In watching her I've figured out that she is trying to understand why the objects make different sounds landing and move/scatter differently when landing on differently textured surfaces. A baby's developing brain is fascinating!

Daisy also now loves kicking her ball-pit balls around the living room. Her new favorite activity is for us to place all of them in the middle of the room in a big sea of red, orange, green, and blue, and for her to then walk through the middle of them, kicking and scattering them all over the place. She loves to carve a path through the middle of the balls and then see how far and in how many (hard to reach) places she can kick them!

We went to the zoo, zoo, zoo

The rain cleared this past Sunday and so we grabbed our stroller, threw Daisy in the car, and then picked-up Nan and Grandad for our first ever trip to the Sacramento Zoo. None of us has ever been to that particular zoo before, so it was an adventure for all of us.

Not only was it great to show Daisy the live and in-person version of her favorite animals but it was also an opportunity to test her walking skills outside of the house. Up until now, we have kept her in the stroller or in her arms when we're out and about - walking has been reserved for the predictable surfaces of our home. But this weekend we decided to experiment a bit and have Daisy walk around with us. It was fun to have her hold my hand (despite resistence) and walk beside me but she is just so small and unstable that it's hard work bending down, leading her around, and holding her up. Plus, there's this thing that she's used to going where she wants to go (in circles) rather than where we want her to go. Put both of those elements together and it's quite comical to watch.

Until next time...

Well?

2010-01-29T15:26:00.000-08:00

Do Daisy and I look alike?

This is a baby picture of me, aged about 8 or 9 months or so - so about the same age as Daisy is right now, maybe a bit younger.

Obviously, I have more hair, which is perplexing because my mother always told me I was all-but bald for the longest time (maybe it grew in fast?)

I personally think there's definitely mouth and chin similarities but that Daisy has her Daddy's eyes.

When I was dating her Daddy, I used to think of them as "come to bed eyes" (TMI?), so maybe we're in for a roller-coaster teenage phase????