Sweetness Is

Amongst the other things I had to do tonight to prep for Thanksgiving tomorrow (we're all taking dishes to my sister's house), this morning our dog decided to add "clean the carpets" to my list. You can imagine how happy this made me. Mercifully, my husband volunteered for the job once he got home so that I could whip sweet potatoes into submission and wrestle a rather large ham in the kitchen. Eva was quite content to stay off the carpets by hanging out with me in the kitchen, and it was nice to have some company in there with me. Ever since I made Burgh Baby's 7 Layer Bars last night for the girls in the Kids Club at the gym, she had been eyeing the extras that wouldn't fit in the container. For once she actually ate well at dinner (woohoo!), so I decided to give in and let her have one. I cut her cookie into little pieces (she has a habit of shoving waaay more in her mouth than she should), and we sat on the kitchen floor and ate our treat together. She seemed to enjoy the novelty of the two of us hanging out down there together. I know she's mine because she has my sweet tooth, but tonight she did something that I'm almost certain I've never done in my life. She reached out to me with a piece of cookie in her hand and said, "Want some?". I tend to be a "Joey doesn't share food!" kind of girl when it comes to my deserts. I couldn't bring myself to take any of the solitary cookie I was allowing her to have. "No thank you, honey. That's ok. It's yours. You eat it.", I told her. She happily gobbled up all but the last piece, which she insisted I take. The last piece! I know she didn't get that idea from me. My husband claims she got it from him. He's probably right about that.

All In Her Own Time

My daughter amazes me sometimes. When it comes to things like trying to stand on a ball or propel herself through the air somehow, she's fearless. When it comes to new experiences.......usually not so much. I had put off her first hair cut for a long time because I knew the ordeal that it would be. It would involve screaming, crying, and clinging to me for dear life. I was just glad that because she's a girl, we could get away with waiting. Not too long before her second birthday I decided that it was high time this child had her hair cut.....and I was exactly right on my prediction. Actually, it was worse. Her hair never got cut because we couldn't physically get her in the chair. She flung her arms so tightly around my neck that she almost choked me. In hindsight, she probably freaked out once she saw that she would be forced to watch Sponge Bob during the experience. Can't blame her. Our house is a Sponge Bob-free zone. I think I'd rather stab myself in the eye with a pen repeatedly than watch that obnoxious yellow twit. Anywho.....

In the interest of having everyone look their best in our Christmas card picture this year, I decided that it was time to give it another try. I told her that we'd be going to the mall this afternoon for her to get a hair cut. "Hair cut!", she yelled. I explained step by step what would happen once we got there. "Hair cut!", she was ready. I asked her if she was going to let them cut her hair, and she said "Yes!". I asked her if she was excited, and again she yelled, "Hair cut!".

Still not sure that it would be so easy, we headed out to the mall, put her name on the list, and waited. And waited, and waited, and waited, and then waited some more. Anyone who's ever met my daughter would have been nothing less than shocked and amazed at how patiently this child waited for AN HOUR to be called back. I was still nervous that we'd end up with a repeat performance once it was time to get in that chair.....and I was wrong. She sat nicely while she let a MAN cut her hair. Normally the kiddo's a little skiddish around the men-folk, but apparently she decided she had waited long enough and it was time to do this thing. She even smiled a couple of times! I am so proud of her, my little munchkin acted like such a big girl!

As a reward we took her on her first little train ride around the mall afterward. She had been asking to go on it the last couple of times we had been there, but it just hadn't been the time for it yet. This evening she finally got her wish, and all 3 of us had a nice, memorable family outing.

All She Wants To Do Is Run

Another Tuesday down, which means another soccer lesson is now under our belt. Today's didn't go quite as smoothly as last week, but I've grown to accept that there's no way that a 2 1/2 year old will listen and cooperate for a full 50 minutes on any given day. Honestly, I'm not sure that I'm up to that task most of the time. (Look! Shiny object!). The notable moment of the day was when her "boyfriend" told his mother that Eva is cute and then tried to give her a hug. She paused for a moment, smiled at him, and then took off running as fast as her cute little feet would carry her. All she really wanted was for him to chase her around the soccer field. That's my girl!

Baths Aren't Just For Toddlers

Today was a whirlwind of a day. It started with the usual rush through our morning routine and the rush to the gym. Once we got home I set out on my mission to brush and bathe the puma. Yes, it is just as fun as it sounds....if you think that chasing a cat with a brush for 20 minutes and then strong-arming all 20 pounds of him with one hand and bathing him with the other sounds like tons-o-fun. I also had to keep reminding Eva to stay back and that she was NOT allowed to hop in the tub with him. He was already angry, I can only imagine his fury if a toddler had been added to the mix. She tried to be helpful and offer him one of her rubber duckies and some other tub toys, but I'm not sure that he really appreciated the gesture. I then spent another 10 minutes chasing him around the bathroom with a hair blow-dryer. The poor cat's spent the rest of the day sleeping off the experience on the couch, fluffier and much cleaner, if not a little traumatized. Hopefully one day he'll forgive me.

"Don't look at me."

Kind of blurry and hard to tell, but he had the beginnings of "Texas pageant fur", as my sister calls it.

A Day in the Life

Sometimes it's just uncanny how much my daughter's personality is like my own.....and then she goes and does something that reminds me that she is most definitely not a carbon copy of myself. First thing this morning, as soon as we made it down the stairs and into the dining room, she insisted on taking off her PJ's while I fetched her morning cup of milk. She then proceeded to run around the house wearing nothing but her diaper, flip-flops, and a headband for the entire morning. Trust me, she doesn't get that from me.

Then there's the issue that we've been struggling to get her to understand for weeks- it is never, ever safe to stand on a ball. It's against the rules. We don't do it. Apparently she doesn't think that this rule should apply to her because regardless of the punishment, I keep catching her holding onto either the couch or the ottoman and standing on that stupid ball. I always saw the Cat in the Hat as a trouble-maker. I guess she sees him as a role model. Great.....

One thing is definitely for sure, this girl has a big personality and it's all her own!

The day my daughter set out to listen.

I'm not gonna lie, there are days when I seriously consider hanging up my SAHM hat and looking for another job. This is usually prompted by a day of countless temper tantrums, a refusal to nap, and maybe even a skirmish in public. Then there are days like today that keep me hanging on. She was so good! Amazing even. On the way to her soccer lesson she kept repeating, "Kick the ball!" and then.....(wait for it)......."Listen!". She did the best she's ever done at her lesson without even a momentary attitude problem. We went to lunch with the two little boys from her class and their moms, and she was perfectly behaved. Then she ran errands with me and helped me around the house and all the while was the most pleasant little munchkin you've ever seen. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that she's always a holy terror or anything. It's just that as a spirited child with no fear, she's kind of a hand full most days. And that's why I want to celebrate and more importantly, remember days like today. I know as she gets older that we'll have more days like this, and I can't wait to see where they take us.

P.S. In other news, Eva's "boyfriend" professed his love for her as we were leaving to go home after lunch today. God help me.

I don't do 5:30 AM

I'm pretty sure that every parent of a small child will agree with me that the end of daylight savings time sucks. Or just the time change in general. I can deal with the fact that it's dark earlier in the evening- I'm not ecstatic over it, but I can deal. What I don't deal with so well is our daughter popping into our room at 5:30 in the morning, ready to start her day. (Have I mentioned that I am NOT a morning person?). The past two mornings I've been very lucky that she agreed to go back to bed after I convinced her that it was waaaay too early for her to be up. If only it ended there. Eva, just like me, thrives on routines. This means that eating and sleeping at the same times every day is very important. I'll admit that the time change is rough on me, but on a spirited toddler with virtually no impulse control? Yikes! Let's hope we both adjust soon so as to minimize the number of days that my husband comes home from work, looks at me, and tells me that I look like I got run over today. Not that that's so different from any other day, but still.....

She's Heeeeeeeere!

This past Tuesday, October 27th, I became an aunt! My sister had a beautiful little girl, Abigail Grace. She's a sweet little thing who loves to cuddle and we're all very excited that's she's entered the family! Yesterday we finally got to meet her and I got to experience what it's like to be an aunt. I don't think I'm quite able to put into words what that feels like exactly, so here are some pictures instead.....

My first official act as an aunt- getting to hold my niece.

Eva meeting her cousin for the first time.

Eva, Abby, and the proud Mamma.

All 3 Hite girls.....and our girls!

Happy family.