I'm sure Cassie came from my genes, but I sure haven't seen them today.
First, she decided to be a morning person again...6AM anyone? This is, of course, after I had set my alarm so I could force myself to get up at that hour and have time to do some mommy-things before getting Cassie up and going. HAH!
Now, she's all about the "yuck". This is her new favorite word. She is constantly picking up the icky little things from the floor and handing them to me to put in the trash. Finally got smart and taught her how to throw them in a trash bin that's all hers. However, it gets worse...better? Not sure which one. Anyway, every time her hand gets a bit of dirt on it, or a bit of food (ever tried having a toddler feed herself without getting hands messy?), or her clothes get some miniscule "yuck" on them, she announces "YUCK"! and pleads for Mommy (that would be me) to wipe it, clean it, wash it, change it, or in some other way remove it from her person.
We have also, of late, discovered the joys of coloring. I bought Cassie some ColorWonder markers and paper, and she is loving her own "pens". We colored a good 4 or 5 times today. Of course, she has a strong sense about numbers and won't accept just 2 markers being out at a time. She's well aware that there are 10 or so markers in the set, and keeps going for them until they're all out, preferably with their caps pulled off.
How on earth did my child end up with morning tendencies, neat freakishness and number-sense? I blame it on her daddy.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Cassie moment: car goes "vroom" & shoes
Lately I've been noticing the beginnings of "pretend play" in Cassie's toy-time, but tonight I realized that pretend is something she "gets". Cassie has some squirty bath toy vehicles: a car, firetruck, airplane and boat, courtesy of Christmas from Gramma Lippert. Until tonight's bathtime, she's only taken them from me once I fill them with water and squirted. This evening, however, she took the car and "drove" it all over the bottom of the tub, making a "vroom"ing sound. Then, she took the plane and made it "fly", making the same "vroom"ing sound. My baby girl is growing up.
Speaking of growing up, we bought her first "big girl" shoes today, her first that aren't the cloth beginner shoes. Note: the cloth shoes follow a different size schedule than the soled shoes. We tried on several pairs, but she definitely made her preference known. She put the white tennies with the pink gems into the cart herself, saying "shoes", but said "off" to the white sneakers with flowers. She then carried her new butterfly-topped white sandals through the rest of our trip to Wal-Mart and showed them to our friends we encountered on the way. I'm afraid I have a bit of a girly-girl on my hands, much to Daddy's chagrin. I think he's hoping he'll have someone to play toy-soldiers with someday...since he's upstairs painting some to match the Eternian colors from He-Man. Maybe his soldiers can rescue princesses?
Speaking of growing up, we bought her first "big girl" shoes today, her first that aren't the cloth beginner shoes. Note: the cloth shoes follow a different size schedule than the soled shoes. We tried on several pairs, but she definitely made her preference known. She put the white tennies with the pink gems into the cart herself, saying "shoes", but said "off" to the white sneakers with flowers. She then carried her new butterfly-topped white sandals through the rest of our trip to Wal-Mart and showed them to our friends we encountered on the way. I'm afraid I have a bit of a girly-girl on my hands, much to Daddy's chagrin. I think he's hoping he'll have someone to play toy-soldiers with someday...since he's upstairs painting some to match the Eternian colors from He-Man. Maybe his soldiers can rescue princesses?
Mommies aren't supposed to get sick...
...right? At the very least, mommies of toddlers shouldn't be able to get sick. Just mommy-ing takes energy enough! It's well-nigh impossible to keep up with Cassie while my head threatens to explode. Yep, I've got yet another sinus infection. The ear-nose-throat specialist said that I should be having fewer of them, now that I'm on a prescription allergy medicine instead of the OTC stuff. Right now I'm feeling ill-inclined to believe her. One thing is amusing about blowing my nose and sneezing. Every time I make a nose-noise, Cassie looks up and says "Oh my!" I know it's because the noise surprises her, but I like to think it's her version of "God bless you, Mommy."
I have a new appreciation about Army-living because of the hourly care through the CDC (child development center). It's in the same building as a regular day-care center, but is only for care on a limited basis. I (finally) registered Cassie, and I just call, make a reservation, and drop her off when I need child care for a few hours. I came to the realization the other day that this hourly, as needed child care isn't usually available in non-military communities. It's really a luxury to not have to beg or borrow babysitting from my friends every time I need help with child care, yet not have to have her in day-care full time. Yesterday, when all I wanted to do was sleep, I took her in, dropped her off for about 3 1/2 hours, and picked her up after sleeping a bit. It was so much better for her than watching PBS and eating snackies out of a bowl on the coffee table, and better rest for me. With the next post and next child, I'm definitely taking less than 18 months to get registered!
I have a new appreciation about Army-living because of the hourly care through the CDC (child development center). It's in the same building as a regular day-care center, but is only for care on a limited basis. I (finally) registered Cassie, and I just call, make a reservation, and drop her off when I need child care for a few hours. I came to the realization the other day that this hourly, as needed child care isn't usually available in non-military communities. It's really a luxury to not have to beg or borrow babysitting from my friends every time I need help with child care, yet not have to have her in day-care full time. Yesterday, when all I wanted to do was sleep, I took her in, dropped her off for about 3 1/2 hours, and picked her up after sleeping a bit. It was so much better for her than watching PBS and eating snackies out of a bowl on the coffee table, and better rest for me. With the next post and next child, I'm definitely taking less than 18 months to get registered!
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Traveling with Toddlers--Take 1
This weekend we took our first really long road trip in quite a while. Fred's boss decided he wanted the unit to go do their work somewhere "away" from post, I guess it was to make it seem more like a conference than the daily grind. Still, it was the same people, just in a different locale. To make it a bit more "conference-y" families were invited along, with a semi-formal dinner in the evening. Thus, Cassie and I got to drop Fred off and then entertain ourselves for the day.
Day 1: The ride to San Diego was less than fun. Cassie didn't want to sleep, since she'd just woken from her nap, so she fussed LOUDLY all the way down Fort Irwin Road to Barstow. 31 miles of Cassie imploring, "all done", "out", "up" and banging on the seat latch. Yippee. The usual "Old McDonald Had a Farm" and "Farmer in the Dell" did nothing for her; and peek-a-boo over the seatrest lost its appeal after about 100 yards. We stopped at Wal-Mart and made a purchase we thought was years down the road: a portable DVD player (plus 2 DVDs: The Backyardigans and Thomas the Train). The remaining three hours in the car were much more tolerable, although Fred confessed later that he was mentally singing, "We're your backyard friends, the Backyardigans..." off and on through his conference the next day.
Day 2: Cassie is really, really into animals right now, so after dropping Daddy, we were off to the "World Famous" San Diego Zoo. We were too early for the zoo, so first we circled Balboa Park and found a playground with some toddler-appropriate slides and a toddler-safe swing. Cassie loves going to the playground on Post, so I knew this would be a safe bet for entertaining her for a good chunk of time. We played, and then made for the zoo as it opened at 9:00am. San Diego was chillier than I'd expected, and after the time at the park, Cassie was shivering, so the first stop was the gift shop for a sweatshirt. The smallest they had was a 2T, so we rolled the sleeves and let it hang down to her knees. She'll be wearing it for ages. Thank goodness I didn't have to pay an admission fee for her. It was $33.00 for my admission, with the tour bus option. Plus, the sweatshirt, and because we were in the gift shop that had stuffed animals, we had to buy an animal. At least I got her down to one, not the twenty she attempted to claim at first. Choosing, of course, was a 20 minute process.
Finally, we were out into the zoo. The tour had come highly recommended by my friend Jane, our Post Chaplain's wife. She suggested it in order to get the "lay of the land". I liked it because Cassie got to see a lot of animals fairly well in a short amount of time, without my having to hike up and down the hills pushing her stroller (plus gear). She really only wanted to look at them momentarily and say "hi" and "bye bye" to each. That mission was completed! She got to see a tiger, a brown bear, a polar bear, some zebra, a lioness, a wide variety of hoofed and horned creatures as well as some giraffes and elephants. The latter two were the biggest hits, scoring a "wow" and an "oh boy" along with "hi" and "bye bye". Exiting the tram, we explored the children's section, seeing a cat called a serval, some miniature marmosets, and some meerkats. The otter was the best part of the children's section though, by far. When we walked up to the enclosure, it was curled up in a corner and some adults were calling out to the otter, cajoling it to come out onto the rock where they could see it. I lifted Cassie up to look, and the otter perked up, ran out to rock and posed dramatically for us. Cassie spent a good while giggling. We left the viewing area for a diaper change and then returned to watch it more, since Cassie had gotten such a thrill out of the otter's antics. The otter had returned to his corner, until I lifted Cassie up again to see him, and out to the rock he scampered, posing and strutting again. Must be that Cassie charisma at work.
As we strolled away from the meerkats, headed toward a food vendor, Cassie decided it was naptime, and curled up for a snooze in her stroller. Considering the cost of food at the zoo, and that Cassie would likely sleep for another hour and a half, I decided we were done with the zoo...after only 3 hours. I picked up our lunch at a McDonald's and headed back to the Navy Lodge we were lucky enough to be staying at.
Lesson learned: the child doesn't need tons of toys to enjoy herself. We may be further limiting the number of toys we have out at once for her to play with at home.
Cut to Day 3: Back to home, with numerous stops for eating, stretching and attempts at shopping. Thankful again for portable DVD systems.
Day 1: The ride to San Diego was less than fun. Cassie didn't want to sleep, since she'd just woken from her nap, so she fussed LOUDLY all the way down Fort Irwin Road to Barstow. 31 miles of Cassie imploring, "all done", "out", "up" and banging on the seat latch. Yippee. The usual "Old McDonald Had a Farm" and "Farmer in the Dell" did nothing for her; and peek-a-boo over the seatrest lost its appeal after about 100 yards. We stopped at Wal-Mart and made a purchase we thought was years down the road: a portable DVD player (plus 2 DVDs: The Backyardigans and Thomas the Train). The remaining three hours in the car were much more tolerable, although Fred confessed later that he was mentally singing, "We're your backyard friends, the Backyardigans..." off and on through his conference the next day.
Day 2: Cassie is really, really into animals right now, so after dropping Daddy, we were off to the "World Famous" San Diego Zoo. We were too early for the zoo, so first we circled Balboa Park and found a playground with some toddler-appropriate slides and a toddler-safe swing. Cassie loves going to the playground on Post, so I knew this would be a safe bet for entertaining her for a good chunk of time. We played, and then made for the zoo as it opened at 9:00am. San Diego was chillier than I'd expected, and after the time at the park, Cassie was shivering, so the first stop was the gift shop for a sweatshirt. The smallest they had was a 2T, so we rolled the sleeves and let it hang down to her knees. She'll be wearing it for ages. Thank goodness I didn't have to pay an admission fee for her. It was $33.00 for my admission, with the tour bus option. Plus, the sweatshirt, and because we were in the gift shop that had stuffed animals, we had to buy an animal. At least I got her down to one, not the twenty she attempted to claim at first. Choosing, of course, was a 20 minute process.
Finally, we were out into the zoo. The tour had come highly recommended by my friend Jane, our Post Chaplain's wife. She suggested it in order to get the "lay of the land". I liked it because Cassie got to see a lot of animals fairly well in a short amount of time, without my having to hike up and down the hills pushing her stroller (plus gear). She really only wanted to look at them momentarily and say "hi" and "bye bye" to each. That mission was completed! She got to see a tiger, a brown bear, a polar bear, some zebra, a lioness, a wide variety of hoofed and horned creatures as well as some giraffes and elephants. The latter two were the biggest hits, scoring a "wow" and an "oh boy" along with "hi" and "bye bye". Exiting the tram, we explored the children's section, seeing a cat called a serval, some miniature marmosets, and some meerkats. The otter was the best part of the children's section though, by far. When we walked up to the enclosure, it was curled up in a corner and some adults were calling out to the otter, cajoling it to come out onto the rock where they could see it. I lifted Cassie up to look, and the otter perked up, ran out to rock and posed dramatically for us. Cassie spent a good while giggling. We left the viewing area for a diaper change and then returned to watch it more, since Cassie had gotten such a thrill out of the otter's antics. The otter had returned to his corner, until I lifted Cassie up again to see him, and out to the rock he scampered, posing and strutting again. Must be that Cassie charisma at work.
As we strolled away from the meerkats, headed toward a food vendor, Cassie decided it was naptime, and curled up for a snooze in her stroller. Considering the cost of food at the zoo, and that Cassie would likely sleep for another hour and a half, I decided we were done with the zoo...after only 3 hours. I picked up our lunch at a McDonald's and headed back to the Navy Lodge we were lucky enough to be staying at.
Lesson learned: the child doesn't need tons of toys to enjoy herself. We may be further limiting the number of toys we have out at once for her to play with at home.
Cut to Day 3: Back to home, with numerous stops for eating, stretching and attempts at shopping. Thankful again for portable DVD systems.
Beginnings
Greetings all...I have finally joined the ranks of the bloggers.
Only recently did I begin to understand the appeal of "the blog", but being the wife of an Army-man means a life filled with moving, and that changed things. Whether we're moving away from family and beloved friends , or our friends are moving from the post where we're the ones staying, it means that the number of those we call "friend" are not necessarily nearby. We call, we email, but I still forget to whom I've told what. Now, I can just put all the latest and greatest right here!
The bonus, and other factor that changed the appeal of "the blog" is being the mother of a toddler. Now I have the excuse (read as: "motivation") to record all of the family "doin's" since I've been (sarcasm coming) oh-so-good and reliable at it up until now. With as much as Cassie and the rest of us are up to these days, I'd really like to get the details recorded, but with as much as Cassie and the rest of us are up to these days, I don't exactly have or make the time to do so. I'd really like to scrapbook these things...someday, but until "someday" arrives, "the blog" will be a great place to store them, don't ya think?
Only recently did I begin to understand the appeal of "the blog", but being the wife of an Army-man means a life filled with moving, and that changed things. Whether we're moving away from family and beloved friends , or our friends are moving from the post where we're the ones staying, it means that the number of those we call "friend" are not necessarily nearby. We call, we email, but I still forget to whom I've told what. Now, I can just put all the latest and greatest right here!
The bonus, and other factor that changed the appeal of "the blog" is being the mother of a toddler. Now I have the excuse (read as: "motivation") to record all of the family "doin's" since I've been (sarcasm coming) oh-so-good and reliable at it up until now. With as much as Cassie and the rest of us are up to these days, I'd really like to get the details recorded, but with as much as Cassie and the rest of us are up to these days, I don't exactly have or make the time to do so. I'd really like to scrapbook these things...someday, but until "someday" arrives, "the blog" will be a great place to store them, don't ya think?
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