Prevarications, II

My daughter* hates three things in the world: 

1) other kids playing with her toys, or any object/person of which she has deemed herself temporary owner

2) having her hair washed during bathtime

3) the big-dig tunnel that takes us under Boston proper on the way to Nana’s house (“Oh no, no, no, NO… get out tunnel!”)

She also hates getting in trouble, but has hitherto seemed incapable of telling a falsehood. 

“Did you dump shampoo all over the floor?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Did you take dirt out of the plant and dump it on the floor?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Did you spread yogurt all over your hair?”

“Uh-huh.”

Etc. 

She often even fesses up to her plotted sins beforehand.  For example, she’ll ask for a bottle of ketchup.  I’ll ask if she wants to eat it, and she’ll say, “No.  I want to dump things, make a mess.”

Well… something clicked in her two-year-old-brain the other night, and she realized there was another option:  lying.  I was giving her a bath, and said, “Okay, let’s wash your hair.”  She said, “No, no, no, no, NO!”  I said it would only take a minute, and she looked me straight in the eye and said, “Daddy washed my hair.”  She emphasized the “ed” sound on the end of “washed.”

“Daddy washed your hair?”

Big smile. “Uh huh.  Daddy washed my hair.  Mommy no no wash my hair.”

“Hmmm… it looks like your hair is all dry.”

“No, Mama, my hair so, so wet.”

I hope it’s always this easy to catch her in her web of deceit.

 

*Sorry about yet another toddler post.  I don’t have much else going on for the next few weeks.  Mobility (and other forms of being a normal human) have become quite difficult due to the giant watermelon-head that has taken up residence in utero.  We found out last week that (with seven or eight weeks to go), the baby is already 6 pounds.  I’m so happy she’s healthy, but also a little terrified!

Mad skills

Last night was eventful, at least relative to the toddler-raising crowd.  Three things:

1.  I was making dinner, and Squiggles was playing with fridge magnets, jabbering to herself.  Suddenly, I heard, “One, two, free, four, five…. six, seven, eight…. nine…. six!”  My daughter can (kind of) count!  Or at least recite a sequence of sounds…

2.  Along the same vein, as we were doing dishes, Squiggles suddenly burst into song. I have never heard the girl sing a note, not one.  And what did she sing?  The entire alphabet song.  What??? She has been seriously holding out on us.  Tim informs me that he sings it to her every night, and that he has been reading counting books with her.  Well.  I did not know this.

We haven’t pushed any milestones with Squiggles (read: I have put almost no effort into her academic development other than reading to her every day) – she has plenty of time to learn how to read and count and such, and mostly I just want her to enjoy being a two-year-old.  I’m pretty sure the other kids in her preschool class all know Spanish and Chinese and are doing fractions and long division.

I’m just highly amused by my daughter’s quirky personality… she stores up information, and then proudly displays her skills once she has mastered them.  For example,

2b.  The other day we were going for our evening walk, and Squiggles declared that she was going to put on her jacket “all by myself, Mommy.”  I laughed and said, “Go ahead and try, Sweetie.”  She splayed her jacket on the ground in front of her, put her hands in the sleeve openings, and thrust it over her head while moving her arms into the sleeves.  I was all astonishment.  I did not know this trick (I assume she learned it at preschool).  She was so proud of herself and just absolutely delighted when Tim and I broke into applause.

3.  Squiggles came home from preschool yesterday all abuzz about the “chicken dance.”  Later that evening, and once again in the kitchen, I started singing the melody to the chicken dance (“da da da da da da da”).  Tim and I did the actions to the dance, and I thought my daughter was going to have an aneurism of joy.  She did the dance with us (well, kind of…), squealing and laughing constantly, and intermittently running around like a crazy head and jumping.  She ran and hugged Tim’s legs like he was the greatest hero on earth for knowing how to do the chicken dance.  There were lots of giggles… and it looks like it might become a nightly kitchen dance party.  It’s funny how two fairly serious adults will do just about anything to make a little girl smile.

All this to say… I’m completely in love with that girl of mine. 

In these walls: the nursery

In a couple weeks, we are moving in with Tim’s mom to save money on rent.  I’m really sad to leave this apartment – it has been where we’ve lived most of our daughters’ life, and where we’ve made many a fond memory.  I’m trying to take pictures of the rooms before we pack all our memories away.

First up: the nursery.  This room is my favorite.  It is full of natural light, bright colors, and baby giggles.

Tim’s mom bought us a crib when we found out we were expecting.  I love it so much.  I painted some frames from Ikea for pictures of the baby, but that’s about the extent of my contribution to this room.

We finally started letting Squiggles sleep with things in her crib (I’m a nutcase when it comes to suffocation worries… I know I’m hyper-vigilant, but it helps me sleep).  Lately she’s been sleeping with her polar bear, several books, a water bottle, and one or more blankets.  These items end up in one corner of the crib (she throws them when she’s tossing and turning to go to sleep), and Squiggles ends up crammed against the walls of the crib.  The bumpers in this crib are not just for decoration – our daughter is a rather violent sleeper. 

Tim painted this dresser white – it was his sister Jen’s when they were growing up.  I love the way it turned out.  Now if only we could get the drawers open without serious prying… (it’s kind of old).

These stickers were part of the set we bought for the crib.  I honestly didn’t know what to do with them, so I just stuck them on the wall above the dresser / changing table.  Maybe I’ll try to get more creative when we move.  I hope they come off… I’d hate to lose our security deposit on account of ladybugs.

The diapering station.  If Squiggles had her way, we would apply every one of these “otions” and “bum otions” to her body several times a day.  We don’t actually plug in the wipey warmer, but it’s a good storage box for our generic wipes.

We got this storage bench from Ikea – it holds blankets and dress-up clothes, and is an excellent perch for Squiggles’ pets.

Tim painted this small book shelf white – I love it.

I contemplated getting one of those cute glider / ottoman sets, but then I accidentally gave birth early and spent the first month of my baby’s life rocking her on my mom’s recliner.  SOOOOO much better than a glider, so we found one when we came back to Boston.  We did a lot of kangaroo care when Squiggles was a premature baby, and this was perfect for sitting for hours at a time.  We still rock in it all the time – it’s my favorite chair in the house.

My mom made this quilt for the baby.  I love all things homemade, and this is certainly no exception.

I may or may not have a small problem when it comes to collecting bows and headbands for the wee one.  But… before you judge me, you should see Karen’s collection (I dare you to post it, sis).  Mine is NOTHING in comparison. :)  I think even Cami might have more (she made half of these… love them).

Not going to lie – I love my daughter’s nursery.  But all the decorations pale in comparison to the things I love most about this room:  my baby’s laughter, snuggles, sniffles, dances, giggles, silliness, and kisses.

Where the wild things are

To observe Memorial Day, we joined the Jones clan at Great Meadow National Wildlife Refuge in Concord.

We threw rocks at this frog to try to get him to hop.  He was very, very good at staying still (we think maybe he was dead).

Squiggles sat in her “special, special pack-pack.”

Ivy wreaked of cuteness:

Nature was observed.  I was very impressed with the Jones children’s ability to spot turtles, herons, frogs, red-winged black birds, and ducklings from afar.  It’s like their mom is some kind of nature enthusiast or something.

Cami and Peter with their five beautiful children:

Tim sings Squiggles “Blackbird” every night, so she was very excited to see so many (this is the best pic I got – maybe Cami did better).

Mostly she was happy to hang out with her cousins.

The fam:

Our friend Mr. Heron.

Laura’s pregnancy affirmations

I have a perfect body, but sometimes I forget
I have a perfect body, ’cause my eyelashes catch my sweat.
Yes they do, they really, really do.
~Regina Spektor, Folding Chair

I have a few friends at work who either recently had babies or are also pregnant right now.  I enjoy chatting pregnancy / parenthood with them even though they are all much better at said activities than I am.  Yesterday, a couple of them were talking about affirmation CDs they have with kind voices telling them things like, “You are beautiful and strong… You will be an amazing mother… Your hips and abs will spring back into place minutes after delivery…” etc.  Nobody told me about these fabulous sycophants during my first pregnancy. 

Unfortunately, I can’t afford an Affirmations CD, so I’ve decided to create my own list. I got most of these off the intertubes, but have added some personal notes.  

Laura’s Pregnancy Affirmations:

• I am calm, cool, and confident throughout my pregnancy. This is the most beautiful nine months of my life!
       My A/C is set to 55 degrees.  Definitely cool.  My husband is a little hypothermic.
  
• I am strong and healthy and sailing right through this pregnancy.
       I have been sailing before.  My dad used to take us.  I think maybe he still has the sailboat.
  
• My chakras are perfectly aligned and I am full of love for mankind.
       I haven’t flipped off anybody today.  Yet.
  
• I have never had more energy.  I am vivacious and young and channeling my inner gazelle.
        I got out of bed this morning.  I’m a rockstar.
  
• Breathing in, I know I am a great mother. Breathing out, I AM a great mother!
      The fetus is pressing on my diaphragm.  Hey, Fetus - get the %#^ off my diaphragm so I can breathe!
  
• I am as nimble as a cheetah.  
       I can still reach my knees… well, kind of.
  
• My body is beautifully nourishing the child I carry. My child is perfectly healthy.
       Based on the size of my belly, my baby is most likely HUGE.  If you’re a baby, I think huge generally is synonymous with “Nourished.”
  
• This pregnancy has made me even more beautiful.  I am a sexy goddess.
      I managed to shave one of my legs this morning.  The other one will have to wait until I give birth, likely.
  
• How my child is born is MY choice and I choose natural birth!
      I will not get an epidural until I have contractions.  See, totally natural.
  
• I am committed to consciously raising this child. All the unconscious generational negativity stops with me!
       I don’t actually know what this means.
  
• Contractions help to bring my baby.
       They also kind of hurt.
  
• I accept my labor and birth.
       Because it turns out that keeping the baby inside you forever is not actually an option.  Just sayin’.
  
• I visualize my baby moving gently through the birth canal.
      I also visualize puddles of blood when my hoo-haw rips to shreds.  I watch a lot of live-birth videos on youtube.  It helps me visualize.

Tim recently told me I need to “think positive” in order to go full-term this time around.  I think I’m well on my way, don’t you?

That one time when Daddy tried to sleep in…

Squiggles had other plans.

On a warm, sunny day

I had to work this morning, so Tim and Squiggles went to the store and found us a picnic.  They picked me up after work and we had caprese sandwiches, fresh berries, and a sun bath by Jamaica Pond.  It's in my favorite area of Boston – the Emerald Necklace – where there are loads of walking / biking / running paths.  Tim and I used to jog here when we were dating.

I’m not-so-very good at running right now, so we had a lovely Sunday stroll.

It was 93 degrees out, and I have celebrated summer’s arrival by swelling like an over-filled water balloon.

They also got me flowers and cards.  It was a perfect afternoon.  Happy mother’s day to me!