Chronicles of T'Ilia

Cassie Quips

2011-03-12T19:48:00.003-06:00

The understanding, or lack thereof, of a 5 year old never ceases to amaze me. This morning she discovered some "new" costume jewelry that I unearthed from the depths of our pantry while cleaning it yesterday--still in the packaging, but opened.
C: Please help me put this on. ("This" was a sparkly necklace.)
Mommy: Okay.
C: Do we have any more jewelry like this? It's beautiful.
Mommy: No, we don't.
C: Where did I get it?
Mommy: I found it in the pantry yesterday when I was cleaning.
C: Can you go find some more?

525,600 minutes and then some.

2011-02-21T15:09:00.003-06:00

Okay, okay, so it's been more than a year since I last updated this. In case anyone really is watching and reading this blog still, I'm sorry. I joined Facebook and started keeping most of my blog-worthy moments in my little status updates. Didn't tell the whole story, of course, but the general idea was there and shared. However, it seems like time to get back to the blog, get pictures of C available for viewing and the larger stories shared. I don't know yet if I'll go back through the year and post some of the more interesting events, but I am going to try to do better here on out. So, please keep reading.

Rodeo, "Radio"

2010-01-29T17:42:00.002-06:00

C had a special event at preschool today in honor of Kansas Day. She's been talking to me all day, telling me about her day. They had a rodeo (C pronounces it "radio") and all dressed as cowboys. Here are her words in the order she told me the story:

We sat on a saddle and threw a hula hoop on the cow. The play cow, not a real cow, so don't worry, the cow didn't get hurt. We put our face through a cage, a plastic cage with doors open and close and put our face in it and peeked out. We stayed in our cowboy clothes and didn't dress up in costumes. After we choosed our jobs, we went to the big room! And then we sat on a horse and threw the hula hoop. I got TWO turns! Everybody got two turns. Then we milked the cow out of a hand! It looked like a people hand, but it wasn't.

Then we did music. We sat around a fire. Not a real fire, we made a fire with paper and bags and logs chopped into pieces and lightbulbs. We made the bags look like fire and we all sat around it then they turned out the lights and the lightbulbs shined out. We didn't have snack in the classroom we had it on the floor in the big room. We got to sit on the floor. We had a meatloaf and a bread and a napkin for our mought and a cup for our chocolate milk and I ate it all! Then we threw it in the trash.

When we found all the rocks (they were "panning" for gold") we gotted a prize. We each gotted a prize for getting all the rocks. I gotted all the rocks first and I winned this ring. Actually, I remember what Mrs. Andrews told us what the stop sign on the floor was for. We sticked the stick between our legs adn we galloped to the stop sign and turned around and went back and that's how we raced the stick horses. Not real horses. I gotted to ride the pretty pony with the roses on it. Then James went on the brown one.

Thumbelina...really.

2009-11-04T18:17:00.002-06:00

Another year of trick or treating has come and gone. The days of being able to choose her costume are totally bygone. I tried my hardest to talk the young one into being a ladybug (she's fascinated by ladybugs and butterflies these days), but that was a no-go. The other "hit" in her life these days are Barbie movies. This started by being enamored with fairies, however. Daddy rented one of the fairy ones for her a few months ago, and that started a new era in our house. The Barbie era. I was pleasantly surprised by how well done the movies are, and how very tame...and content appropriate for all ages. Even though there might be a touch of romance, there's no kissing--yay! However, it now means that she wants Barbies for her birthday, wants to watch Barbie movies, and wanted to be a Barbie-related character for Halloween. In Barbie Thumbelina, the story is very different from the traditional fairy tale we adults are familiar with. It's a very cute little show, and C made a sweet little Thumbelina and she was so happy to be the little heroine. The thing that pleased me the most about her trick-or-treating experience this year though was that I only had to remind her 2 or 3 times to say "thank you" (she remembered most of the time on her own :) and most of our neighbors were more impressed by her manners than by how cute she was...even though she was very, very cute.

Preschool Halloween

2009-11-03T20:00:00.003-06:00

C had her first school Halloween party, or Harvest party. Either way, the kiddos wore their costumes (no scary ones!). When the parents arrived, the children had a little costume parade to the main gathering room. Then they sang their Halloween songs, including "Five little Pumpkins" (pictured below) and a song about all sorts of Halloween-y things and what they do, Skeletons dance, spiders crawl, cats creep, etc. Then, it was back to the classroom for snacks (mummy dogs, carrots in dip to look like a hand, and the like), and crafts. Parents helped the young ones make 1-liter bottle jack-o-lanterns, monster claws (gloves stuffed with candy corn for nails and then popcorn), and games. Good times.

Crafty Girl

2009-11-03T19:11:00.003-06:00

C loves her art. She's in an art class where she makes all sorts of wonderful creations. So many, in fact that we have to have a special basket where we put all of her completed projects. At home, she calls the room where we keep my scrapbooking supplies the "art studio" and clamors for opportunities to "make something." Quite frankly, I struggle to come up with great things to make and do. Her friend's mom, and my friend, on the other hand has great ideas for preschooler crafts. This particular craft looked easy enough for me, so I filched the idea and C and I made "Indian Corn" decorations.

Pumpkin picking

2009-11-03T18:57:00.005-06:00

Even though we didn't carve up our pumpkins this year, C is still enamored with them and wanted to pick out a pumpkin for the season. We went up to Red Barn Farm with friends this year and the girls chose pumpkins. C picked three. One big-ish, one medium, and one little mini pumpkin. She said "one for Daddy, one for Mommy and one for ME!" The girls rode the ponies, checked out the animals, played on the haystack a little, and then picked their pumpkins. It was a good afternoon.

Dashy Doctor

2009-11-03T18:45:00.003-06:00

One of C's favorite activities lately is "doctor". However, there are times when neither Mommy nor a friend are available to play with her. She has finally discovered a great alternative--doctoring her "friends". She still doesn't do much with her dolls, but last year we got a great pony baby Rainbow Dash for a dollar at the Post yard sale and she has proven to be a fantastic patient.

Firehouse

2009-11-03T18:14:00.003-06:00

The second week of October is fire safety week so that was the focus of C's preschool that week. They made several related crafts and coloring pages, learned about firefighters and not playing with matches or lighters. The week culminated with a field trip to the local firestation where they had a tour of the station, the truck and learned about getting out of their room if there is a fire, and about "stop, drop and roll". We saw a short video about it, and then the kids got to practice. Fun! Finally, one of the firemen (they were all men here), got dressed in his gear in front of them, so the children could see that underneath all the "stuff" was a real person and they didn't need to be scared of him if there is a fire in their house and someone dressed like him comes to help them. I thought it was quite amusing that once he was dressed in all his gear, the kids acted like he was one of the characters from an amusement park and wanted to hug him, give him "high fives" and have their photos taken with him. Cute!

Just try it

2009-10-18T18:20:00.003-05:00

The last few weeks have been a battle at almost every meal, as I've decided not to "short order cook" for C anymore...at least not until she's tried everything on the regular, adult menu. All I ask is one bite of each item, including all the little bits that are included in some meals, like the peppers in my hoisin beef dish, or the veggies in the chicken & biscuits that F made tonight. To her surprise, she's even discovered some new things she likes! She discovered that she liked the beef part of the hoisin beef, and said mmmm, to the cauliflower and carrots tonight. Funny thing is, she's been adamantly refusing to eat carrots for months now...in any shape or form. Tonight was the real breakthrough. She said, "Mommy, I have to try everything, right?" When I said yes, she put her fork to the broccoli and ate it. "I tried the broccoli, just like last time." Then, she ate a carrot ("mmmm") and a cauliflower, ("mmmmm") and a piece of the chicken in the sauce. I asked her if she'd tried the peas. The answer was "No, Mommy," but the significant thing was that nothing else followed. She put her fork into her peas and ate them! No argument, no hiding them, no bargaining, she just ate them! Then, she ate more of the biscuit, a bit more chicken and another carrot. Happily! A carrot!

There's more than one baby in the Bible? Get it right, Mom.

2009-10-16T13:24:00.005-05:00

C loves telling me all about her day as I drive her home from preschool. Lord, please let her continue to tell me as much when she's a preteen and teen-ager. Seriously, that's a real prayer.

Here's the scoop on today.

C: we did church at school today (she goes to a Christian preschool).
M: you did? That's wonderful. What did you do in church?
C: we singed songs
M: what did you sing? (the content of the question goes ignored)
C: we talked about a baby
M: what baby? (thinking that they're already getting ready for Christmas program and is thus, Jesus)
C: there was a mean king who didn't like babies and he wanted to hurt the baby and the baby's mommy put him in a RIVER! But don't worry, Mommy, the beautiful princess (because of course all princesses must be beautiful, right--thanks Disneyfication) found him and saved him.
M: Oh, baby Moses.
C: He didn't have a name. But the beautiful princess found him and she named him Moses.

Weird literacy

2009-10-12T22:52:00.002-05:00

C is writing. Tonight we spent an hour at her easel practicing her writing. I didn't get pictures, but ...

C: Mommy, how do you write cat?
M: why?
C: I want to write cat.
M: c. a. t.
C: come by my easel! watch me write cat
M: okay. (walk to easel)
C: how do you write cat?
M: c.
(C writes a giant c)
M: a.
(C writes a giant a, correctly placed after the c)
M: t.
(C writes a giant t, correctly placed after the a)

We sound out the word, very, very slowly. Then, she drew a cat.
Much the same scene ensued with sun, mouse, spider, frog, dog, fairy and mom.
So, she loves to write. The sounding out of words is much more like pulling teeth. I hit on something though...

M: would you like to write a special word?
C: a special word?
M: yes, special. write E.
C: E...one stick, one on top, one on bottom, one in the middle
M: now, R
C: Stick, loop, stick, R.
M: now, I.
C: Stick, and a hat, now shoes, I
M: now, N.
C: Stick, help me mommy. (I help with the slant), stick. N.
M: what word do you think that is.
(5 minutes of progressively faster sounding.)
C: ERIN! It's Erin!!! (does her excited dance). I can write Erin!

Erin would be the name of her "bestest friend in the whole world. I love her."
I think this may be the first sign of appreciating the appeal of reading words herself. Now if it would take less than five minutes to do the sounding...

Lazy Sunday

2009-10-04T13:45:00.003-05:00

Go Chiefs? Seriously, they're watching a Chiefs game.

This is lazy Sunday in our house. Our climate-control system has not been switched from air conditioning to heat yet with outside temps of 50s and 60s, so F and C are conserving their body heat by snuggling up to watch the football game. F's a 3rd generation Steeler fan, so we're usually a Steeler household, but right now we live right outside Kansas City, so we watch Chiefs games when we can't get the Steelers on TV. That would be today.

Ciderfest, year 2

2009-09-30T20:48:00.003-05:00

Last year, in an effort to keep busy on the weekends, I looked for events in the surrounding area and discovered a great resource in KCParent.com. The site lists all the festivals and other activities for children of all ages in the KC area. One of the events I discovered was a little festival in Louisburg, where they have a cidermill. Two weekends every autumn is the ciderfestival. Last year, C and I visited the vendors, she rode a pony, and we checked out the cider mill. This year, we did the same. However, last year, she tried the inflatable bounce-house, freaked out and the man gave us our money back. This year, she has embraced the inflatables and wants to bounce and climb wherever we find one. She was even quite adventurous and went through the obstacle-inflatable not once, but four times! Her agility and daring astound me some days.

Apple Orchard and Pie

2009-09-30T19:46:00.004-05:00

'Tis the season...for apples! C's preschool class went on their first field trip last week to the Alldredge Apple Orchard near Platte City. What an experience! C spent the week before the trip telling me repeatedly that she was going to pick apples at the apple orchard. By the time the morning of the trip came around, I thought she was going to burst. The burstiness just got worse when we arrived, as we were in the last group to pick apples. The whole thing was very well organized. At first, all the children were together, and they got to help feed the chickens. This was a one-shot opportunity, so all the children were together for this part. They very well didn't want 50 kids and their parents tromping through the same bunch of trees all at the same time, so the children were divided into stations. At one station, we rode on a hayrack and got a survey of the orchard property. At the next, the children listened to a story about how bees help make apples. After the bees, we got to see and feed some baby billy goats, pet some young barn kittens, and then see a pony. Finally, after every child asked "when are we going to pick apples?" around 100 times (pardon my hyperbole), we got our bags and went into the orchard to pick some quite lovely Braeburn apples. I learned something new too--the only part of a Braeburn apple to turn red is the part that gets lots of sun. Otherwise, they're green. Now, the really amusing part. I got pictures of the hay ride, the animal events and even C listening to the bee story and looking at the bees. However, I did not get photographs of the picking of the apples. We were having too much fun doing the picking, that I forgot to take my camera back out of my pocket! So, here are pictures of C making our apple pie the next day. That was her very specific request, that we make a pie with the apples. C making stars with handfuls of hay on the hayrack ride. C feeding baby billygoats very patiently.C waiting to (finally) pick apples!C with her bag of apples, straight from the tree. C putting the apple slices into the mixing bowl and trying a few slices along the way. We discovered that there is something especially tasty about apples right off the tree.
Then she mixed the apples with the seasonings for the pie. It took some doing, but I did manage to convince her not to munch on the now-seasoned apples. Now, it's ready to go into the oven, and she's so proud of it! A few hours later, we all got some tasty bites of deliciousness

First Day of Preschool

2009-09-30T16:22:00.004-05:00

Well, dear readers, I've finally reached September with my "catch up" posts. Earlier this month, C made me remember how fast time "flies." She already loves preschool, and her teacher. In the morning, we drop Daddy off at his school, and then we drive to C's. She sings her preschool song, "Yippee yippee yay, I'm going to preschool today!" When we arrive, it's all I can do to make her walk to the building, not run. Here she is on Day 1 of preschool, keeping up our family tradition of taking pictures on the first day of school each year. She was so excited.

Feeling Princessey

2009-09-30T16:11:00.002-05:00

C loves playgrounds, so that was our evening activity most nights during the summer. I was really glad that she loves playgrounds, because one night, she played with another girl who looked to be her age, and I introduced myself to the mommy. I made a new friend! Cindy and I have a lot in common, and are having a really good time just 'hanging out," as well as doing things with the girls. Turns out, Cindy scrapbooks too! Over the summer, I went to Archiver's in Kansas City on Friday nights for their ScrapMania event (dinner and scrappin!) so that I could get some social scrapbooking done. After several weeks of trying to find someone to go with me to Archiver's so I wouldn't have to drive alone, F suggested a new plan: have someone over here to scrapbook and he'd make dinner for us. It's a time-saver, gas-saver, and I still get my social scrapping done! Sounds like a winner to me. Well, Cindy was our first s&s (scrap and sup :)) guest. F made steaks for dinner, and cleaned up, and when we were pretty much scrapped out and just visiting, F brought us tea. Cindy's line summed up how I felt about my husband just then: "Wow, you make me feel just like a princess." Granted, with Cindy's hint of a Southern accent, it sounds even more charming. However, F certainly is making me feel like a princess these days. I love having him home.

A moment in time...

2009-09-30T10:58:00.003-05:00

About a month ago I left C watching one of her shows and came back a while later. During her watching time, she has a tendency to get up and play while the show runs. I walked into the room to find her dressed up, sitting on the couch with her treasures piled up next to her. I just had to take the picture.

Catching up: Another Favorite

2009-09-29T21:22:00.003-05:00

All of last year, we intended (with our friends the Cunninghams) to visit Science City in Union Station. It's one of the few outings that we failed to follow through on. However, C and I were able to forge some new memories with our new friends, the Registers, there! First off, I was impressed by how much there really was for small children to do. I had expected the facility to cater moreso to school-age children as opposed to my little preschooler. I was wrong. The first thing the girls discovered was a huge tree, with stairs so they could "climb". Then they found the music park. Amazing. They ran on the piano, checked out light-reactive chimes, banged on a giant xylophone, played trashcan drums, and activated wind chimes. I think they spent the longest time experimenting with sound out of everything they found. They played with water flow, were mystified by the illusions, monkeyed around in the indoor playground and explored tons more! I don't think they stopped moving during the 2 hours we spent there. In fact, if they hadn't gotten hungry, I don't know that our visit would have been that short! This is definitely going on our list of "repeaters", the outings we'll go on again, and again.

Eastward bound

2009-09-29T20:49:00.003-05:00

Our big trip for the summer of 2009 was back East to see Nana and Papa Wong. F, understandably, was a little nostalgic for New Jersey and the sights from his growing-up years. We got in some shopping, of course, as a trip with F is never without a trip to the local mall. Our best outings, however were to the New Jersey Children's museum and the Imagine That! children's museum in nearby (30-45 minute drives) townships. The NJ Children's museum is truly a hidden treasure. We spent the entire day in the facility, with a break to eat lunch. The museum is in a warehouse sized building and while open-concept with very smooth flow from section to section, is distinctly divided into a multitude of thematic learning areas. I was awed by the sheer number of things C got to experience and play at during our visit. She dressed up as a princess in the castle sector, a cowboy in the old west, went fishing in the oceanic, dug for dinosaur bones, flew a heliocoptor, interacted with virtual reality, took care of a house and babies, did a little ballet, went grocery shopping, made music, delivered mail, and served at her own little restaraunt! There was more, but I'm at a loss to remember just now. Imagine That! had just about as many exploration options, all divided by half-walls, so parents could look out over the whole room and observe whatever their children were involved in. That, I really liked.

Returning home to Nana's house after our outings, we had just as good a time just hanging out at home. F was impressed by all the changes Nana and Papa have made to his childhood home, improvements in flow as well as appearance. F's term, "updating" is appropriate, as the house seems much more contemporary to me. We brought along several of C's animal friends and ponies, so she entertained her Nana with them, making use of the ample space for running and dancing.

The other worst part of the Army life

2009-09-29T20:30:00.002-05:00

Okay, so deployments and the separation that results is the worst part of being an Army family. The second worst part is PCS season ("Permanent" Change of Station for non-Army readers). What that really means is saying "goodbye" (most likely "see you later") to friends as one or both move away from the post where the friendship has perhaps formed... or rooted...or grown, and likely flourished. The grownups among us know what's going on, and why, but often the children among us do not. If we, the adults don't like the moving-away, I suppose we should understand even moreso why the children don't. This is the first round of PCSing that C has really understood that her friends are leaving. This summer two of her best friends departed as their dads took on new assignments. She was quite the weepy one for several days after, until our trip to see the grandparents distracted her for a while. After we returned home, several weeks went by that required Mommy and Daddy to act as playmates, as we waited for new children to move in so we could meet them. Even now, months later, C mourns the absence of her two good friends, even though she's made some new ones. This situation then, is the proof positive that one can make new friends, but old ones are never replaced. Thank you to Kate and Erin's mommies for helping me keep the girls in touch with one another.

Catching up: Daddy's home!

2009-09-29T19:33:00.020-05:00

Due to the security-need for discretion, I refrained from mentioning in my posts from June 08 to June 09 that F was deployed to Iraq during that time. C missed Daddy very much, but we prepared well by having F record himself reading some of her favorite books on DVD, which she didn't watch as much as we expected, but did enjoy when she asked for them. We kept in touch via cards, packages (containing photos and her crafts) letters, phone calls and emails as well as Skype, using the video-call feature. C loved watching Daddy on the computer--so much so that she would sometimes ask to talk to Daddy on the computer at random times, times when he certainly wasn't available to call. We prayed for Daddy every night and she slept with her Daddy-doll from Operation Giveahug. She also made me kiss it goodnight. In May, we prepared a countdown chain in order to help me explain that Daddy was coming home and prepare her for the changes in our household. She jumped up and down with excitement when I would tell her that it was time to cut the link each morning. The day Daddy returned, the welcome-home was at 0200 (yes, in the morning) and I had prepared to get C into jammies and asleep at the hotel well before time to get him, so that I could take her sleeping. That did not work. She stayed awake the whole evening and up to the ceremony, even insisting on wearing a dress for Daddy, not the aforementioned jammies. She hugged her daddy, and once she was in the car with him, only then did she fall asleep. Such determination. We spent a few days in a hotel while F turned in all his gear and had a few final meetings, finally bringing him home 4 days later. Here they are, enjoying playing at home as our summer vacation really started.

Catching up: A favorite place in KC

2009-09-29T18:43:00.004-05:00

I've been really quite lazy over the summer about chronicling our adventures. However, now that autumn is here and we're starting our fall outings, I suppose it's time to go over some of the major events from our summer. One of the first things people told me about when we moved to Kansas was the Deanna Rose Children's Farm. We managed to get there a few times last fall, and C enjoyed the animals and activities then, but all she could really do was feed the goats, look at the animals in their pens and climb on a limited amount of the playground equipment. This last spring and summer we made it twice with our friends and the experience was so much more enjoyable. While we still fed the goats and looked at animals in their pens, C could play on more equipment, really ride the pedal tractors and was old enough to ride the ponies. She was also a bit braver about the process of feeding the baby goats and petting them. Still wonderful, these experiences brought about many more smiles than on our previous excursion. If you're ever traveling to the KC area between 1 April and 1 November with a young child, make sure you put the Deanna Rose Children's Farm on your agenda. Admission is free; you pay for the feed for feeding goats and sheep, the pony rides and for treats at the snack bar, of course.

C-isms

2009-07-29T10:16:00.003-05:00

I love the way little kids maneuver the English language to suit their understandings. Here are a few of the things we've been hearing around our house lately (along with the translation)

Twinkibird (Tweety Bird)
Elegator (Elevator)
I begive you (I forgive you)
Bgraffe (Giraffe)
Pangaroo (Kangaroo)

My favorite thing we've been hearing lately though, is not one of the words that has been reformed, rather a statement heard at meals.

"Mommy, we have to pray!"

When we had a family over for dinner a week or so ago, C and their little girl sat at their own table. While the adults prayed, the girls joined hands and C could be heard: "Dear God. Thank you for food. Thank you for good today. Thank you for thank you for. Amen."

I know, I know...

2009-07-23T17:44:00.002-05:00

Yes, I know that I need to post an update in here. There will be one soon. Maybe later tonight. For now, I'm too tired to write something interesting and insightful...even if I finally do have time to do so. So, I'm promising that an update will be forthcoming, but I'm just not sure when.

Dance Recital...Priceless

2009-05-30T21:52:00.004-05:00

C performed in her first dance recital this evening. It's been quite the undertaking, and more expensive a prospect than I truly expected. Dance lessons, costume, recital fees, DVD of the performance, t-shirt, pictures... Oh my. But tonight, it was all worth it. C's class was one of the two youngest to perform, and I thought they stole the show. The theme was "Tropical Journey" and all the groups had costumes and song choices that (sort of) fit into a water or beach idea. C's class were the Mermaids, and they were delightful. All the little girls remembered their parts, and even though I know the teachers were offstage coaching them, it wasn't obvious. Not only did the onstage portion go well, but C handled the backstage wait like a champ. They were back there for 2 hours and parents were asked not to bring any personal items...so I don't know how they were kept busy, but they were still happy when they were all done. I am so proud of her! After the recital, we followed up with a family tradition. When I was little, my sister and I took dance lessons and every year my grandparents would come from out of town to see our recital. Afterwards, they always took us for ice cream at Dairy Queen. So, we did the same. My parents came to watch the recital, and we had dinner at DQ after the show. It's neat seeing it come full circle. Here we are, getting ready and posing in her costume before the show.

You know she's a Dora addict when... (part 2)

2009-05-20T20:06:00.003-05:00

you're singing Dora songs while you walk somewhere and SHE corrects YOU when you get the words wrong. (Also, when she insists on going back so she can hear the song again because she wants to learn the words correctly.)

You know she's a Dora addict when... (part 1)

2009-05-20T20:03:00.003-05:00

your 3 year old daughter bugs you for hours to make ice cream, excitedly helps you make it, and but when it comes time to eat it, says "I can't eat my ice cream now...Dora needs me!" even though the episode is on "pause."

Such a Girl

2009-05-17T13:35:00.004-05:00

C is turning into such a "girl". She has discovered jewelry, but thankfully is still happy with the child-like and homemade pieces. In fact, she really enjoys making her own bracelets and necklaces. She even paints some of her own beads! I'm really glad the weather is finally warm enough for the summer dresses we had in the closet. For some reason, all the dresses are either for really cold weather (worn with tights) or really warm weather (tanks, worn with sandals). Nothing in between. Convincing her to wear pants and shirts every day was becoming quite tiresome. Here she is in her "totally C" getup. Mouse ears, dressup skirt, necklaces, purse (with ponies, ballet shoes and toy cell phone" inside) with dressup heels. And yes, she is trying to convince Mommy to put makeup on her when Mommy does makeup in the morning. Do I stand a chance?

Do I Get a Coin?

2009-05-15T19:06:00.004-05:00

It's a few days after the 1-year mark, but I'm celebrating one-year being soda-free. Last year at this time I decided to give up sodas, soft-drinks, colas, whatever-you-want-to-call-them. I don't really know what led to the decision, except for noticing that my then-2-year-old was trying to drink my soda and I didn't want her to start the habit yet. I'm sure there were other factors, but I don't really remember them a year later. I gave my neighbors my two 12-packs of my Coke Zero from my pantry and determined that if I was giving away that much money in soda, I was going to follow-through, by-gosh-and-by-golly! Aside from a little Ginger Ale to soothe an upset stomach, I have succeeded. I've switched to tea--both hot and iced--and drink a lot more water than I used to. I did have a sip at an event about a month ago, and ended up pouring the rest of the cup I'd been poured down the drain. The taste no longer appealed!

What's Daggy wearing?

2009-04-18T12:54:00.003-05:00

Our big one-year mark is coming up, so F is sending packages to us to lighten his return-load. Yesterday a package of extra uniforms he isn't going to require there in the meantime arrived. I had to unpack them because the box arrived in not-the-greatest condition. C had to help me, of course... Her reaction was quite amusing.

C: Mommy, is this Daggy's box?
M: Yes, this is Daggy's.
C: What's in it?
M: Daggy's uniforms.
C: What's a uniform?
M: Come see. Mommy has to unpack it.
*C "races" Mommy to the bedroom*
*M opens the box and pulls out uniforms*
C: Oh, these are Daggy's clothes!
M: That's right, Daggy sent home some of his clothes that he doesn't need at work anymore.
C: His clothes can't be at home. He needs them at work! Or he will be naked. That's so silly!
M: No, he has some clothes at work. He just doesn't need these anymore.
C: Oh good. Daggy can't be naked at work. That would be yucky.

Busy doing blogworthy things...

2009-02-27T08:27:00.011-06:00

Here it is, the end of February, and I've just realized the last things I posted all took place during Christmas! The past two months have kept us hopping...and then crashing. C and I are finally healthy again after 2 weeks of sharing a particularly annoying cold bug with stuffy head, headaches, fever, sore throat and cough. I am supremely thankful that for once the cold did not turn into an ear infection for little C. Before the bug knocked us down though, we were up and going full speed.

We've started going to the library for story time once a week. C sits still through the stories, but doesn't participate much (even though some of the stories are interactive; the librarian does an amazing job picking stories) until we get to the craft time. She runs to the table and claims her space, grabbing up the markers and materials, raring to go. She's also usually the last one to leave, taking as much time to "make things" as she can. "Making things" is the new theme at home as well. The last package we sent to "Daggy"

was pretty much just her artwork. I wonder what I'm going to do with it all when he's back here and I don't have anywhere to send it. Actually, I saw a great display idea at a friend's house the other day, and I might have to borrow her brilliance. C does, however, participate very well when watching PBS

or Disney and they have the characters or "teacher" ask the kids to do things. It's something I plan to mention to her preschool teachers next year. That's right folks, C is starting preschool in the fall. I've heard simply fantastic things from friends whose opinions I respect about the school we've chosen.

She's learning plenty at home as well. Lately, she's mommy's little helper--wants to help mommy clean, do laundry and even cook. She knows all her capital letters and their sounds, she can count to 12 in the correct order, and even recognizes some of the numbers visually. She's also making progress in holding a writing instrument, drawing recognizable shapes lines, and coloring purposefully. Her coloring pages are less scribble-all-over and more scribble-a-specific-spot. It's really fun to watch her skills emerge.

Speaking of lessons, C's also been taking swimming lessons this spring "semester". She's already passed the Red Cross level 1 and the teachers have passed her through level 2, but her mommy hasn't. I'm not as confident in her skills in the water as her instructor seems to be, so I'm keeping her in level 2 one more month, just to give her a bit more practice with some of the skills before we go to level 3, where there are going to be some "big kids". Apparently, level 3 takes some time, and physical development to get through, and some kids don't pass it until they're 8 or 9. Call me overprotective if you want, but I'm a bit hesitant about putting my little 3 year old in with school-kids. She'll be going that route in April, but for March, I'll let her practice a bit more.

Dance lessons seem to be following a water theme as well. C's now in an actual class for dance and will be participating in the recital in May. The recital's concept is "Under the Sea," and the costumes all follow suit. C's class will be mermaids, and while I'm quite frankly unimpressed with the costume, the girls are enjoying the idea of being Princess Ariel. I'm hopeful that the costume will look better on the girls than in the picture.

We've also been on several outings lately. Playhouse Disney Live! came to Topeka and we had the good fortune to get some great seats. C, however, didn't sit down for much of it, she was so excited. I actually got out of the house for a ladies' outing or two. I even went to the Chris Tomlin concert with a friend. We also got fantastic seats for that one. For Valentine's day, I treated C to lunch in a restaurant (one of her favorite treats, as well as mommy's), then went to see Bob the Builder, Live! where again she didn't sit for most of the show because of the excitement, and then we built another "friend" at Build-a-Bear. Very exciting. In a great show of responsibility, when we got home she gave me three of her stuffed animals for our give-away box, saying "I don't have time to play with these anymore, Mommy." Such an aware little girl. With the unseasonably warm weather, we've also gotten to go to the park a bit and I'm impressed by how much she can do on the equipment compared to last year about this time.

Then, we got sick. I just have to say, she's been a trooper, but I'm really glad we're both healthy again and we can get back to the library, swimming, dance class, outings and "making things". .

Snow Girl

2009-01-06T21:07:00.003-06:00

Unlike this year, Fort Irwin did not get snow during the time we lived there, so C didn't see snow until we moved to Kansas. When we moved to Kansas and she first saw snow, C was less than impressed with that cold, wet, stuff. This year, however, the snow excited our little one. When she realized that if it was warm-ish and still snowy, then one could go out and play in it...and build a snowman! That was the biggest draw, building a snowman. Over Christmas, we were blessed enough to have a good snow, followed by a day warm enough to play in it. C's Papa Lippert took her outside to build her first snowman (more like Papa's snowman...but we'll let her believe it's hers). She especially enjoyed putting the chunks on the face, the sticks on as arms, and the foundling carrot for a nose. The biggest issue was the hat though. She kept saying "he needs a hat", "where's his hat?" After the snowman was finished, C started noticing the other fun things about the snow. First, her "pawprints" left by her boots. Then, she learned how to make "snow butterflies". Finally, she just buckled down to dig in it!

Have yourself...!

2009-01-01T20:31:00.005-06:00

a Merry little Christmas!

For the Christmas day celebration, C and I joined my sister and parents at the Lippert house in Columbus. C enjoyed with her "Auntie Miss Rachel" (guess I've trained her well about calling adults Miss___ and Mr.____) and Grammy and Papa L enjoyed watching them. I, on the other hand, enjoyed a few days of relaxation while having six extra hands to give C all the attention she craved. Of course, the presents were a plus, and C is still having a grand time with all her goodies--especially her Word World friends. I think Sheep is the reigning favorite. She even loves her new clothes and does it surprise anyone that she had just as much fun with the packaging as she did with the gifts themselves?

"Pop goes the C..."

Opening each package, ever so attentively.
C at church wearing her new "satin dress" (her words!) from Nana. Lovely girl.

Build-a-Friend

2008-12-17T10:29:00.002-06:00

Okay, our last Orlando post. One of our "breaks" from the parks was a trip to a local mall that has a Build-a-Bear Workshop. F misses so many of our family outings with being a soldier and all, that I wanted him to come along for this special moment for our girl. So, even though we have a B-a-B Wksp locally, we went to the one in Orlando. C picked out a kitty instead of a bear (after I talked her out of the turkey...just couldn't see the appeal of that lasting). At first she couldn't figure out why the kitty was so flat, then she got to the point in the line where she could see another child's bear being filled with stuffing and she felt much better about it. Her little face was so concerned as she stepped on the pump that pushed the stuffing into the animal, and so awed to see the kitty plumping up.

It took her a minute or two to figure out what the clerk was telling her to do with the heart, but eventually she smiled and enjoyed it, but was solemn again when she put it into her kitty.

Then, of course, C had to kiss her kitty when the clerk finally handed her back.

The next stop was the fluff-bath. This was possibly C's favorite part of assembling her kitty. She kept wanting to go back and brush her again and again. We've gotten her a brush (shhh) like this for Christmas.

Dressing kitty was quite an event as well. First she picked out the sparkly red shoes and then found a dress to go with them...big surprise, a Snow White costume. C put it on mostly by herself, with minimal help from Mommy. Now that we're home, the Snow White outfit has taken up with C's basket of costumes, labeled a "costume" by C. Apparently kitties don't wear clothes, just costumes. However, she's been named "Snow Kitty."

"Seaing" the World (SeaWorld)

2008-12-16T19:21:00.006-06:00

Talk about a company that shows its support to the military--Anheuser-Busch, who owns SeaWorld. Because we're a military family, we got one day of free admission to the park. One day of admission may not seem like a lot, but when we looked at the price guide at the admission gate, we were impressed at the show of financial support that one day's admission really is. Neither F nor I drink beer, but for those who do have an occasional pint, you might want to think about supporting Busch and their support of the troops.

We did spend one day in Orlando at SeaWorld, and again C proved that she just likes to take pictures with characters--this time with a dolphin, whale and (while not a character persay) one of the clydesdales. We didn't intend to skip the shows, but the one we wanted to see first was full by the time we got there, so we went instead to "Shamu's Happy Harbor" to play for a little while. It was far more robust in the rides area than I expected, and we spent the majority of our day there. As we surveyed the rides, it seemed C was going to be too short to ride anything, then we found one that she was tall enough for, and we rode on it. The line was non-existent, so I had a chance to visit with the very personable young lady who was operating the ride. She said that most people didn't see that the heights are for unaccompanied riders, and that C could ride on all but one ride there, as long as she had a parent with her. Much encouraged, we were off! C wanted to make all the spinning rides spin (she had a great time making Mommy sick to her stomach) and at this park she was finally re-interested in the carousel. Her favorite was probably the miniature "space shot" ride that goes straight up and bounces up and down until finally it reaches "down". F tried to take her up on a very high (3 stories!) climbing net structure, but C (to put it mildly) freaked out and pulled on his watch, breaking it. I only mention this because after they climbed down from the thing, F managed to find all the pieces and put it back together! We probably had the most ride-time at SeaWorld, even though that wasn't necessarily the original intent in visiting the park. We did see a few marine animals though, the baby dolphins and the penguins. These days C is finding it delightful to show mommy how a penguin walks.

Up...and down...Up...and down...
Spin Mommy, spin!
If a character whale is this much bigger than C, I hate to imagine her next to the real thing!
You decide, who's more enamored with whom--the "dolphin" with C or C with the "dolphin?"

Universal Appeal

2008-12-15T11:03:00.006-06:00

On of our other stops in Orlando was Universal Studios: both the original and Islands of Adventure. We spent two days at Islands of Adventure, mostly at Suess Landing. This led to the discovery that it didn't so much matter which characters C was posing with, as the fact that she was posing with characters. Prior to our visit, I'd read a few Dr. Suess stories to C, with something of limited interest from her. However, she wanted to get pictures with the Grinch, the Cat in the Hat, Thing 1 and Thing 2 as well as Sam-I-am and the lead from Green Eggs and Ham. I pointed them out and she eagerly climbed out of her stroller to stand in line for pictures. I expected her to be very excited about the Caro-Suessel (A Dr. Suess style carousel), but that was not the big hit. She enjoyed the Cat in the Hat storybook ride, and the train that went around the whole "island" (that she was just barely tall enough to ride). The popular attraction though, the one she clamored to ride again and again, was the One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue fish ride...probably because it had fish that sprayed water at the riders and she got to get wet. During her naps I got to ride on a few grown-up rides: the Hulk, Spiderman, and the Dueling Dragons. Fortunately for us, the days we went were light on the crowd factor, so I didn't spend the whole naptime in a line, but riding! Whee! We also wandered through the other "islands" looking at the shops and finding something for C here and there. In Toon Lagoon she spent a good hour on "Me Ship, the Olive," a playground of sorts, and in the Marvel area, she met and posed with Spiderman, who was astonished that she knew who he was.

On our last day in Orlando, we didn't have to be at the airport until 3:00 pm, so we were able to spend the morning at the regular Universal Studios. It was a good amount of time, as there was little to appeal to C there. When we arrived, we were fortunate enough to see her favorite character as we were walking in, heading for the Nickelodeon kidzone. That's right, Curious George was right there on the "main street." Again, she proved that the appeal was in posing with a character, any character and not just ones she knew, as she also posed eagerly with Woody and Winny Woodpecker, Bullwinkle and Scooby Doo. We spent an hour in Feivel's playground, filled with oversize objects that help you imagine you're the size of a mouse. She had her first experience with a ball-pit there. Then, we rode her first real roller coaster, which once again she was barely tall enough to ride: Woody Woodpecker's Funhouse Coaster. Unlike the "coaster" at Worlds of Fun, this one actually had a steep drop or two, and several rushing, sharp turns. She loved it. From there we visited another playground-style area, this one themed on Curious George. Most of this was water-play, so we weren't able to enjoy it as much as I'm sure she would have liked, but since we were flying back to Kansas that night, I told her we couldn't play in anything that would get us wet, and she obeyed my request. She did really enjoy pushing the buttons in the circus tent that made the sounds of the other animals we see on Curious George.

Ooh, ooh, what does this button do?
Did you know I'm small enough to ride a spoon?
Up fish, up fish, up, up, up! Down fish, down fish, down, down, down!
C and Daddy on the Caro-Suessel.
Now she recognizes the Cat in the Hat on books, on souvenirs, and we read Dr. Suess a whole lot more!

Disney Delight

2008-12-15T09:38:00.002-06:00

In November, we got to take a little vacation. We met up with F's parents (Hi Nana and Papa!) in Orlando and visited DisneyWorld. If you ask C where we went, she'll tell you we went to Disneytown. She'll also tell you all about the characters we saw and the rides and seeing Playhouse Disney Live! (twice). We didn't tell her where we were going until we were actually headed to the park in the morning. She was so excited when she saw the Minnie and Mickey on the sides of the entrance gate. If she could have bounced in her carseat, I'm pretty sure she would have. She enjoyed the rides, but she was truly delighted to meet the characters. Her favorite rides were It's a Small World and the Magic Carpets from Aladdin. I was really impressed that C stood in line so well to see the characters (50 minutes for Tigger and Pooh). Mostly she just wanted to hug them, feeling like they were her friends; she knew them so well from the shows she watches. Of course, we didn't spend all our time meeting characters. I think she played for an hour in the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" playground and another hour in the "Hundred Acre Wood" playground. We spent three days visiting Disney parks, and at the end, when when we were leaving to go to the airport, of course she said she didn't want to go home. She "wanted to ride more rides!" (specifically Dumbo.)

Posing (so grown up) with Tigger and Pooh.

I know she's tiny, but this is ridiculous...(at the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground).
Meeting the Little Einsteins, so excited to see her "favorites!" (Everything is her favorite.)
Such amazement, seeing her Playhouse Disney characters Live! on stage.
Who's got the goofier grin? She was so happy to see Goofy.

Christmas Trees

2008-12-13T22:38:00.003-06:00

C loves Christmas trees. She's been excitedly proclaiming "It's a Christmas tree!" every time we see one around town. I had been contemplating not putting ours up in the house this year, but when she specifically asked, "Mommy, can we have a Christmas tree in our house too?" I couldn't see how we could not put it up. Our friends "Miss Danielle" and Erin came over to help us assemble and decorate it. The girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves, putting up the ornaments, especially the Dr. Suess and other contemporary pop culture ones that they recognized. I am glad, however, that I didn't try to do it on my own with C "helping." The whole business really needed two adult sets of hands. Daily, C announces with a sigh, "Our Christmas tree is so beautiful." It should be interesting when it comes time to take it down.

Fittingly, our gifts for C's teachers are Christmas trees this year. We made enough for all the watchcare workers at the chapel, her room teachers in Hourly care at the Child Development Center and her dance teacher. That's a lot of trees. I covered wooden trees with Christmas paper from Close to My Heart and attached them to brown paper-covered blocks using hot glue. Then C decorated them with Christmas-y buttons and then I attached a miniature clothespin to the back. I'm going to clip a card that says "Merry Christmas from the Wongs" to it with the clothespin. When they get it home, they can attach a picture or a card or whatever. C thought it was fun helping Mommy "make something." (Her term for anytime I'm working on a papercraft.) She even got to wear an apron to wipe her glue-y fingers on. Dress up and making something--what a combination. Here's the final product.

Can I really be the mother of a 3 year old?

2008-12-12T20:22:00.004-06:00

C's birthday was a month ago. That month has gone by like lightning. Then I think of the last three years, and I'm trying to figure out where the time went. It's all a blur, punctuated by moments of clear memories in vivid detail. Suddenly, instead of a tiny baby that admittedly was born with her own Personality but otherwise simply a baby with basically physical needs, I have a little girl with ideas, opinions and an attitude. How does so much happen in just three years--or 6 months, for that matter? Since we moved, she's learned so much, and developed so many new interests. Her latest "thing" is ballet. She's been interested since catching a snippet on a show I'd recorded. After that, coupled with her dance classes, she asked to have a ballet birthday. I asked our guests to wear their ballet gear and I made ribbon wands for C and her friends to dance with and for the girls to take home. They turned out beautifully and the girls boogied down to music from the Imagination Movers and some other Disney favorites. The preparations for the party were nothing but a labor of love. I spent several hours making ballet slipper candies and decorating a ballerina bear birthday cake. The moment she saw the cake, those hours were worth it to see her face. The girls went home with Angelina Ballerina books and ballerina coloring pages I printed from the internet. I'm pretty sure everyone had fun, not just the birthday girl, and that's my goal for her birthday celebrations.

Snow and Winter

2008-12-03T11:35:00.004-06:00

Heard at Grammy and Papa's house:

P: C, do you want to see snow?

C: Yes! (pitter pat of running feet to see the snow out the front window)

*** 45 minutes pass ***

C: Grammy, I want to see the snow again.

G: There's no snow out there.

C: Yes there is. It's winter.

G: It didn't snow yet,C.

C: Yes it did.

G: (finally looks out the window) You're right...there is snow! How'd you know that?

C: (giggles)

Today, leaving the gym:

C: It's cold out here.

Mommy: yes, it is

C: It's cold and it's blowing and there's snow and...and...it's winter!

I guess snow = winter for the little miss.

Nutcracker

2008-12-03T08:39:00.002-06:00

The pictures and stories from vacation will have to wait until I have time to post them. For right now though, a brief story about C's first trip to the ballet. Last night we went to see the Nutcracker by the Russian/Moscow ballet company that's on tour. They performed right here on post. The storyline was perhaps a bit less clear than I recall from previous versions of the ballet, but the dancing itself was enchanting. C's enamored with ballet and ballerinas in general right now, and she sat, watching intently for 90 percent of the performance. For most of the segments, she simply watched with a captivated look on her face, but when the male dancers began their leaps and jumps, she gasped, looked at me and pointed (not that I'm encouraging pointing, but it shows how impressed she was).

Cutting Hair

2008-11-05T16:39:00.003-06:00

I decided it was time for C's first haircut. Lately, her hair has been something of a tangled mess, getting in her eyes, and generally all over the place. It's been uneven, and crazy looking unless I comb three or four times a day. She refuses to have a ponytail and the barrette only lasts about 10 minutes before she takes it out. So, we called my friend Tracy, who cuts hair in her home, and scheduled our first trim. She was SOOO good with C. She explained what the clothes cover was, and (it has a cute monkey applique on it) that the monkey would keep her company while Tracy trimmed. Tracy also gave C a special comb to hold and showed her the squirt bottle and what it did before she sprayed on her hair. C sat very still for the entire trim and independently too! I got to take pictures. C was so proud of her beautiful haircut at the end. How cute!

My One Political Statement

2008-11-05T16:21:00.003-06:00

Like it, or not...there is a winner in this election, and Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States in January. And it's not really him that I want to discuss, but the "like it or not". I've been browsing the news articles that address the reaction to Obama's election. I'm reading statements from McCain supporters that read as "I'm afraid for our country" and "I dread this Obama presidency." Mr. Obama has been demonized and vilified in a variety of advertising throughout this campaign, leading to these very emotional and negative responses. What good did it do to make some of our American people fearful when it comes to Mr. Obama? He's the President-elect that we have, and the President that we will be living with, and _all_ of the American people need to be prepared for him to represent us. He will be my husband's next commander-in-chief, and I, for one, have to place my trust in him to do what is best with our military. It serves no purpose to have instilled fear. Perhaps when the next election comes 'round, the candidates will consider what impressions of one another that will best serve the people, rather than what impressions will provide a "win at all costs." From here on out though, only time will tell, and we must go forward in faith, not fear. Perhaps candidates will consider that we need to be able to do that with either of them, regardless of who wins the election. (On a more humorous note, maybe we're all winners today: no more election ads!)

Footnote: I read a similar commentary on a reaction site, and this prompted the above thoughts. I can't find the site again, or I'd credit it.

My little Minnie Mouse

2008-10-31T21:06:00.005-05:00

I love Halloween on a military post! I love that everyone gets in on the act--parents and kids--it's a family affair. I love that everyone in a neighborhood sits out on their front porch (weather allowing) and passes out candy together. Most of all, I love that trick-or-treating has a time limit--no starting in the morning, and no doorbells ringing at 11:00pm. I also love that I know so many of my neighbors and they all got to see my sweet Minnie Mouse. This year, I saw Halloween through my daughter's eyes, and I wouldn't have missed this for the world. We'd talked about dressing up as Minnie Mouse for a few weeks, but I didn't let her see the costume until tonight because dress-up is her favorite thing to do these days and I didn't want to ruin the costume or have it lose it's appeal before t-or-t-ing. While we ate dinner, I told her we were going to dress up and go get treats and she wasn't too sure she wanted to dress up, but when I got out the costume, she saw it and started peeling off her regular clothes. Her eyes widened with serious disbelief when I got out my makeup box and told her she was going to get to wear Mommy's makeup (mascara on her nose and cheeks).

We started out with our neighbors, Pammie and Maddie, who ran from door to door boldly, but C wasn't so sure about going up to strangers and talking to them (not necessarily a bad trait!) and we were left lagging behind. After the first house, she came back to Mommy and Grammy and said, "I got a treat!" with some surprise. The expression on her face when I said we could go get more treats made me giggle. I'm not sure she believed me right away. I was so impressed with C's politeness tonight. At some stops she forgot to say "trick or treat," but only once did she fail to say "thank you" (and that was toward the end and I think she was just tired.) Most of the time the order got confused and she'd say "thank you," and then "trick or treat." But everyone thought that was just the cutest thing. A few people didn't believe she was (just a week shy of) three years old. She spoke up loud and boldly after she got used to the whole ritual. Such a grown up girl! Everyone thought she was adorable as Minnie Mouse (the only one I saw all night). At one house, the treat-giver must have said, "you're so cute." three or four times. When she came back down the steps to Mommy and Grammy, she quipped, "I'm cute." A few houses later she started announcing, "Minnie Mouse is here!" as we climbed the steps of the porch. We laughed so hard.

As far as her treats go...she was very proprietary over her pillowcase, wouldn't even let Grammy or Mommy carry it for her when her arms were really drooping. She wouldn't let the givers put the treat directly in the bag, she carried the bag up, took the treat, and then brought the treat and bag back to G & M to put hold the bag open for her and she would place it in. When she received more than one treat at a house, she would meticulously place one treat in the bag at a time.

I was also really impressed by her responsibility. She got a piece of gum open and was chewing it for a while before I realized she had her first piece of gum in her mouth. She didn't swallow it, just chewed it for a while. When she was done, she pulled it out, held it up and said "Mommy throw this away." She didn't swallow it, throw it on the ground, but gave it to me to toss. What an awesome kid!

By the time it was all over and we headed back home, she was so tired, but she still told us all about the evening: "being Minnie Mouse in the dark, and say trick-or-treat and thank you, and get treats! It's so much fun! Go home, show Grammy and Papa my treats. I share with them. I share with you." (So sweet--she was willing to share treats with us, without being asked!) I guess the challenge tomorrow will be explaining to her that just because she dresses up as Minnie Mouse again, she doesn't necessarily get treats! Then again, I think the dressing up part was the bigger hit of the night.

In more detail #5: Red Barn Farm

2008-10-28T21:03:00.006-05:00

Earlier this month we went to the Weston Red Barn Farm, north of Leavenworth. When I told C we were going to the farm, she got so excited. "We're going to see pumpkins?" yes. "We're going to see goats?" yes. "We're going to see cows?" yes. "We're going to the farm!" She was ready to go and at the door in seconds, no dawdling. She is fascinated with farms and all the animals on them, and enamored with pumpkins. She shouts and points at any pumpkin or jack-o-lantern she sees. All the way to the farm C babbled about all the things that would be at the farm. When we got to the ponies, it was all I could do to keep her waiting in line and not shoving forward. She held her own tickets and was so grown up when she handed her ride pass to the pony handlers. When we went to pick our pumpkin, I thought I'd have to talk her out of a big giant one. Not so. She went straight to the bins of small pumpkins and went through them, obviously searching for her ideal. It turns out she was hunting for the smallest one. Too cute. Outside the pony corral, a small haystack pile was set up for children to climb, slide and jump on. C joined in with the other children who were playing. We left, to get a snack, and C kept wanting to go back for more jumping and sliding on they hay pile.

In more detail #4: Renaissance Festival

2008-10-27T21:32:00.011-05:00

South of Leavenworth in Bonner Springs, technically a suburb of Kansas City, is the site of theKansas City Renaissance Festival . This is an incredibly huge event with vendors, crafters, games, performers and experiences all set in the renaissance period. I've been to a renaissance festival before, and I was impressed that this one didn't just use "Renaissance (generic) Europe" as its setting. There was a bandit's den, a more "orient" area and the other areas each had a different geography from Europe as its theme. C got to feed some goats, which were quite feisty about getting to their treats, getting a tad intimidating for her (they tried to nibble a bit on her dress!) We also got to ride on a giant swinging boat that was literally man-powered...by two men pushing it. Unfortunately I didn't get pictures of that. C played one of the games, in which she had to try to throw rings on bottles. Now, they didn't have pony rides available, but we took advantage of another option--a camel and elephant! C giggled as both of them began. I found out that the elephant's backbone was surprisingly prominent. Oh, and we also had to get her a princess outfit. Not exactly authentic, but she oohed and ahed over it, so I indulged. Check us out!

In more detail #3: AppleFest

2008-10-27T21:20:00.006-05:00

Honestly, I wrote the most interesting thing about Applefest on my previous post: that C was chugging the apple cider. I mean, seriously, I asked her if she wanted a sip of mine, and she took the cup and handed it back to me, empty, about a minute later! However, we also got to go on another pony ride. Here's the pix.

In more detail #2: Ciderfest

2008-10-27T20:41:00.005-05:00

South of Kansas City is a little town called Louisburg, "famous" for it's apple cider and the mill that makes it. During apple season they offer tours of the mill. There's also a quaint little country store where they make quite tasty cider donuts. The first weekend in October it's the site for the Louisburg Ciderfest; we went on Saturday, the 4th. There's a corn maze, and a big ol' pile of pumpkins to choose from. The crowd was crazy that day, and the craft vendors were plentiful. Along with the craft fair, a vendor offered pony rides. Of course, that was something C had to do. She sat that little pony so confidently that the man running it asked if she'd ridden before. Maybe horseback riding is in her future? (Every time I think something like that, I imagine all the number of things that could be in her future...how wonderful to have so many possibilities!) We got to taste the Louisburg Cider on Sunday at the Weston Applefest. C loved it. She guzzled down a full cup and a half of it. I'm thinking that sometime soon we'll have to get down there and buy some.

in more detail #1: Raggs

2008-10-25T22:50:00.009-05:00

Now that things have begun to slow again, I wanted to share about some of our adventures in more detail and post some pictures.

Relatively recently C discovered the Raggs show on PBS, as it was on when I turned on the television one day. Shortly thereafter, my friend Kimberly told us about taking her daughter Sophie to a Raggs concert out in Virginia--so I knew that a live-show/concert existed. The last

weekend in September, I was reading the newspaper and came across a very small blurb about a Raggs concert in Liberty, Missouri...not too far for us to go. I don't know that I would have noticed it if I hadn't known the event existed. On the 3rd of October then, I skipped the gym and we were off to the concert. We got a third row seat and bought a paw for C to

wear during the concert (imagine one of those big foam fingers that fits over your hand at a football game, only shaped like a pawprint). We also picked up a new "friend" at the concert, a beanie-baby sized version of Trilbie, one of the Raggs band members. C bopped and wiggled through the concert. She did a pretty good job of following the storyline of the performance, and she tried to do the dance moves that the dogs did. Her face lit up when they threw the bucket of "water" confetti on the audience; they got us! Of course, that meant she asked (excuse the hyperbole) another 42 times when they were going to do it again. Here she is, rockin' it out.

slowing down

2008-10-25T22:24:00.008-05:00

Ah, finally, a slow-down. This week we had an ear infection, which meant lots of mommy & me time for the little one. It does explain why she's been so ultra-clingy lately, not to mention cranky and just plain unpleasant to be around. Granted, we've been so busy, I'm pretty sure that she hasn't had enough at-home, attention-from-mommy time. We also had some guests this week: my friend Leta and my 20-month old goddaughters (twins!) What an eye-opening experience. Leta has my utmost respect for being able to handle having two toddlers going through all the same stages--at the same time. They were here for 3 1/2 days, and now that I am back to the one, I'm feeling really relaxed. I'm really glad they came though. C enjoyed playing with the twins, even asking a) if she could keep Katie and b) where the friends were when she woke up the morning after they left. It was so nice for Mommy to have a grown-up to talk to in the evening and the night time. That's the hardest time, I think, during a deployment. For now, though, we're back to the new normal.

For her card...

2008-10-16T23:46:00.003-05:00

This is what I want to write in my daughter's birthday card this year.

Dear C,

Months ago you started talking about your birthday. How you would eat cake and be three! Then you decided you loved ballet. I think you dress up as a ballerina (aka princess) every single day. You also love kitties right now, and talked about the kitty-fleece-fabric we saw one day at Wal-Mart for three months. Since we're celebrating you today, it's all about the things you love. So we're having a ballet birthday party. You're dressed up as a ballerina. I'll be making your cake this year, and I've made the ballet ribbon wands for your friends to dance with at the party. I bought that fabric and have spent hours making it into a blanket for you. I really wanted it all to be perfect, because I love you so much. I tried really hard to make that blanket perfect. Then I realized something: you'll love this blanket. Right now you'll love it because you're three, it's soft, it's got kitties on it, and it's pink! But later I hope you still love it, when you realize how imperfect it is...because your Mommy made it, thinking of you and trying to make something you'd love. Mommy did her best. When you're older, maybe it will have a message for you about perfection, about love, or about doing your best. I hope it does.

Oh, how the days go by...

2008-10-16T23:34:00.004-05:00

Well, I wanted to make sure that C and I had plenty to keep us busy with F gone. I have succeeded far beyond my wildest imaginings. Our ability to "go and do" at this post is so far beyond our ability to "go and do" at Irwin, it astounds me. Let's see, lately we've been to gymnastics class, dance class, a Raggs concert (visit www.pbskids.org for who Raggs is.) the Louisburg Cider Festival, the Weston Apple Festival, the Weston Red Barn Farm and pumpkin patch, a production of Richard Scarry's "Busy Town" by Theatre for Young America, the KC Renaissance Festival and KC chocolate festival, and that's only in the month of October! Of course, there's still more on our calendar to get us to the end of the month, then even more to get us to Thanksgiving and I think we get to breathe a little before Christmas...oh yeah, then we get to get ready for Christmas! If I have a chance later, I'll give some of the details of our outings, but right now, I just wanted to let y'all know what we're up to.

We said bye-bye...

2008-09-18T11:51:00.002-05:00

to the diapers. That's actually why I haven't updated this in a while. My life has revolved around the potty-training issue lately, and I didn't want to scar C for life by publicizing every detail of her potty-ing. However, it's been a week since she said that the diapers could go away and she'd use the potty. She's doing quite well so far, and her Mommy is keeping calm...mostly.

Her own preferences

2008-08-23T09:34:00.002-05:00

We have a photo frame that shows a slideshow of C photos that she'll just sit and watch for ages. Some of the photos are of last Halloween, when C was "Little Quack." Randomly, in the car the other day she started talking about the day she was a duck in the dark and how it was fun and she got treats in a sack. She was saying that it was "so much fun," (which, incidentally is one of her favorite phrases lately). I explained that it was a game we played every year, called Halloween. I asked if she wanted to be a duck again. Her response: "No, I don't want to be a duck again. I be Minnie Mouse in the dark next!" I never thought a not-quite-3 year old would understand Halloween enough to have a preference already! Thankfully, the Minnie costume is available online, so I'll be getting that soon.

Another quip...or two

2008-08-23T09:14:00.004-05:00

Last night we went to a dinner at the chapel and a little bunny was outside munching on leaves. We stopped to watch it--for about 10 minutes. We actually had to sit down on the sidewalk, we were there so long. C was very good about it too, she didn't chase him, she just sat and watched, and talked to it and about it. My favorite though:

C: Hi bunny, *points to self* I C, *points to me* and this is my friend, Mommy.

She looked at me a little later and said, "I want to pet bunny."

By this time I was ready to be done watching the bunny so I said, "Go ahead and try."

C very cautiously walked toward the bunny, and the bunny hopped away, of course. C looked up at me very solemnly and said, "I don't think bunny wants petted."

Quip of the day

2008-08-13T12:56:00.003-05:00

C decided she wanted cereal for lunch today, and since she had an egg and bacon for breakfast, I went along with it. I was talking to her while she ate and she decided to tell me all about her letters (The Letter Factory is our latest obsession, but I don't object because she knows almost all the sounds of all the letters now.) and she put her empty spoon in her mouth.

"Oops. No food there."

Little Bibliophile

2008-08-12T14:38:00.003-05:00

I'm raising a little bibliophile. For those of you who aren't big on the greek/latin word roots, "biblio" means book, and "phile" means love. We went to the library last week and got C her first library card, and while we were there, my friend Danielle (*waves*) was asking me about my favorite books growing up. I thought about it and realized that I don't know much about which books were my favorites when I was C's age, except for my mother telling me that I tortured my grandmother by making her read "The Farmer in the Dell" for hours upon end. I could think of a multitude of books I loved after about the age of 8, but before that *shrug* nobody knows what I was fond of. That made me decide to blog about what books C loves right now. And boy, does she love books. She has a stack of them that she carries around the house, pushes in her stroller and takes to bed. The _same_ stack all the time. She will also sit and "read" her books for, well, half-hours at a time. She loves her Clifford, Curious George, Thomas the Tank Engine and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but in particular she loves "Minnie's Rainbow" (100 times a day!) and "Curious George Builds a Home". In addition to her television characters, she has developed a fondness for "Miss Spider's Tea Party" that we got at Sophie's tea party birthday last year. She's also recently discovered our Dr. Suess books, and while she doesn't understand Horton Hears a Who, she likes looking at the elephant. She prefers Mr. Brown says Moo, There's a Wocket in My Pocket, Cat In the Hat and the Lorax though. She also loves "The Monster at the End of the Book" and her feels-real books. Her favorite board books seem to be Are You My Mother and Put Me In the Zoo. Before bed we have several books that we read, all bedtime related: Goodnight George, Just in Case You Ever Wonder, Kittycat's Lullaby, Little Quack's bedtime and The Going to Bed Book. We were reading Goodnight Moon until the air conditioning unit in C's room started leaking and got it all wet. Ick. Yes, I am raising a little bibliophile. I doubt that anyone is particularly surprised by that though.

Little Girl Firsts

2008-08-06T23:25:00.003-05:00

I can hardly believe my little girl is being, well, a little girl. She's more little girl than toddler these days. We have "firsts" and "she's started..." happening all the time these days. Where to start. In the past week, she's had her first horse-ride (she loved it and every time we drive past the place, she asks if we're going to ride the horse again), set up her first "picnic" for her stuffed friends, and she's gotten her first library card of her own. I don't know that she was all that excited by it, but she was thrilled by the books we got to take home. We went to Oceans of Fun for the first time. C calls it "the water carnival". C got her first (and quite likely only) kitchen set with play food. She spends copious amounts of time "cooking" and "cutting" and "baking." I get to eat a lot of pretend strawberries. She calls it a "chichen" (another one for the pronunciations). She's also started making up the most delightful little songs. She takes whatever is going on in our daily lives and turns it into a song, pounding on her Baby Einstein octopus piano at the same time. I keep trying to get a picture of it, but she's started noticing me take pictures and as soon as the camera comes out, she mugs for it. Last, but not least, she's started helping in the real kitchen a little bit. She buttered her own bread for a grilled cheese sandwich the other day, and, boy howdy, she thought that was the best sandwich ever. Guess we're going to start cooking more and more together. I just wish it didn't take so much planning and preparation in order to have her help. I'm enjoying all these firsts, I can hardly wait to see what she comes up with next. Hopefully, it will be going potty.

The things C says, part 2

2008-07-14T16:40:00.003-05:00

I've noticed a few other unique pronunciations that C has been using lately. One of the oldest unique pronunciations she's had is her name for her daddy. As far as she's concerned, his name is "Daggy." That big red dog on TV? Well, she calls him "Flifford."

Weeds...growing like one

2008-07-12T07:34:00.003-05:00

I've been reading this fantastic book series by Lauraine Snelling. Well, an ongoing series that's been split into three parts. Astrid, one of the main character's daughters asks her mother repeatedly why weeds grow so much faster than their crops. For some reason, this helped me to understand the phrase, "growing like a weed"--finally. And that's been my theme about C lately. She's growing, rather like a weed. She's a small one still, but she has taken root in our family and she is assertive, persistent and unlike a weed, delightful, most of the time. She is also growing so fast lately! I predict I will be buying shoes +1 size within the month. Wasn't it just yesterday she lay there, wiggling her 2-inch, tiny baby feet? Now she's a big girl running, jumping, climbing and dancing in size 7. Granted, her journey through the clothing sizes has been less swift, but I look at her and think, could this really be my baby girl comfortably wearing a 3T? 2T may fit a bit longer, but I can't buy them, or the 24 month clothes anymore. I'm too afraid we'd miss wearing them, because all it's going to take is one more growth spurt. Still don't know what I'll do about pants when the 2Ts are too short. She's so skinny, I'm not sure the 3Ts are going to stay on!

Lessons from a Carseat

2008-07-09T23:50:00.002-05:00

My carseat cover is in my washing machine, and the padding is sitting in my sink drying out.

Lesson 1: water has an effect on yogurt-covered raisins, and it's not necessarily a good one

Lesson 2: wet yogurt-covered raisins stink

Lesson 3: Febreze doesn't take out the stink from wet yogurt-covered raisins.

Lesson 4: carseat covers should be washed more often than once every two years, no matter how big a pain it is to get the cover off.

Ew.

Who We've Become

2008-07-09T22:56:00.003-05:00

Last weekend was my 15 year class reunion. I found it really interesting to see how my classmates had changed over the years. I didn't recognize the majority of the men; they'd filled out in so many ways. The ladies--well, they hadn't changed as much. Women apparently find their long-term faces in adolescence. Granted, some I hadn't known to begin with. I spent most of the evening walking up to people I'd once known, at least cursorily, reintroducing myself and asking for names. From a girl who once stood under the tree just waiting for someone to invite her to play, this was quite the change. I am reminded again that all that stuff from our childhood and high school really doesn't matter. What matters is the people we've become, and whether or not we're content with the lives we have. Something one of my classmates said rang all too true, "When it all comes down to it, we're all just doing the same things just in different towns." After 15 years, we all talked about the same things: our kids, our jobs and where we've been. We're all facing the same kinds of challenges. As Michele also said, "we're just trying our best to raise our kids and make good lives for ourselves." Any y'know what, I'm pretty content with my life as I'm living it. I just thought I'd share what I realized after 15 years.

Worlds of Pictures

2008-07-05T14:38:00.003-05:00

Actually, these are the best photos from Worlds of Fun so far. C is very serious as she goes on her rides, so it was incredibly difficult to find some that were really and truly representative of the fun we were indeed having. So, if she looks like she's not enjoying herself...well, that's just not the case. Keep in mind that the day she went on that little boat, she went 9 times in a row!

Pronunciations

2008-07-04T14:14:00.003-05:00

Toddlers are so cute when they're beginning to explore language. I was talking to a fellow scrapbooker the other day and she waxed nostalgic about the cute ways her kids had of pronouncing things when they were little. She noted how she'd thought she'd never forget the especially cute ones. Now that she finally has time to scrapbook them, she doesn't remember. It's prompted me, encouraged me to write more about how she says things these days, and not just that she says them. For example, lately she pronounces 'magnets' as "mangets" and 'Mickey Mouse Clubhouse' as "Mickey Mouse Chubhouse". 'Cinderella' is "Ciwewella". She's labeled Worlds of Fun a "Carnival". I'm sure there are others, but I'll have to add them as they come up.

Worlds of Fun

2008-06-26T15:59:00.004-05:00

Memberships to things are so worth it! In the past three weeks we've made three trips to Worlds of Fun. We only stay for between 4 or 5 hours each trip, but we certainly get plenty of rides in each time. If we bought regular tickets each day though, I'm pretty sure that I'd feel like 4 or 5 hours wasn't worth the money. With the season membership, I'm comfortable going for just a few hours on each excursion. We've been going on weekdays, and with the price of gas and groceries lately, people aren't going to the amusement park so much, and we've been able to just walk onto rides, and in some cases just stay on the ride from one rotation to the next. C totally takes after her mommy and daddy in her enjoyment of rides. Her favorite has changed with each trip. The first time she loved pretty much everything she tried. She went on the boat ride 10 times, and I didn't count the airplane iterations or the times on the Bounce-a-roos. On the second, the Roos were again a hit, as well as the Woodstock train. On this last trip, I lost count of how many times she went on the car and pony carousels. We've seen big carousels at various malls around the country and just a few months ago, we would try to have her ride them, but she was WAY less than impressed. I was unsure about how she would enjoy WoF, but I needn't have worried. A ride ends and she turns around and says "again!" I have to pry her away from the rides in order to get her to eat. My biggest concern was that she wouldn't want to ride without Mommy, but she's big enough to do some of the kiddie rides by herself, and Mommy is too big. The first time I told her to go by herself she was nervous and unsure, but once that Bounce-a-roo got going, the rides she could go on by herself definitely trumped the ones Mommy has to accompany her on. However, the thrill of the Flying Dutchman (swings) outweighs the Mommy-has-t0-go-with-me factor. She grins so big as the breeze blows back her hair. Watching the thrill on her face actually makes me enjoy the ride more as well. Since we've gone with other people two of the three times, I've even been able to ride a few coasters while she stayed on kiddie rides with Gramma or my friend Kim. Yippee! (Being a Mommy does make me a bit more nervous on the big coasters though...interesting.) Will have to add pictures of C on the rides later. My iPhoto doesn't like my blogger.

Daddy Time is a Zoo

2008-06-08T22:08:00.004-05:00

This past week gives new meaning to "it's been a zoo." Zoos have been the theme of this (a bit more than a) week long leave period. C's so interested in animals, we decided to go to the zoo out by Salina where we used to live. I told her a day or so beforehand that "we're going to go to a zoo," and she didn't stop talking about it until we got there. She told anyone who would listen that "I'm going to see giraffes! and Monkeys!" She wasn't disappointed either. As soon as we arrived at Rolling Hills Zoo, we headed straight to the giraffes. I think she could have sat and watched them for the few hours we'd allotted for the zoo. Then she discovered that there were more than giraffes at a zoo. We walked the rest of the zoo, and she looked excitedly at each one, and quickly said "let's see another one!" She tried valiantly to stay awake to see more and more, but with the heat of the day she tuckered out by the time we had lunch. After seeing what a hit the zoo was, we decided to take a trip up to Omaha to the Henry Doorly Zoo where we spent the day with our friends Tom and Jen, experienced zoo-goers. They go so often that they knew about the bridge where you can feed the fish, so they brought bread for us. I think that was the hit of the day for C. She got to throw bits of almost a half a loaf of bread out to the fish and she laughed the whole time. The zoo has had several facility improvements since the last time F and I were out there. I was very impressed, but the hills still wore me out. C walked a good portion of the zoo, and decided to do her impression of the monkeys while we were in the big-cat house. We only got to see half the zoo before C and I were both "done." After two zoos, you'd think we were done, but no, we finished off the week with a trip to the Kansas City Zoo. After the wild animal carousel, which we saw right away ("let's go ride Mommy!") this time, the lions were the big hit. C wanted to see the giraffes, but was insistent on seeing the lions. There was a lioness up next to the viewing glass and C had to compare her "paw" with the lioness's. I'm thinking a season pass to the zoo may not be a bad idea.

Another Date with Thomas

2008-06-08T21:33:00.005-05:00

If you remember C's birthday, we got to visit Thomas the Train back in California with our friends Sophie and her Mommy. Thomas tours the whole country though! When we were reading a local "what's in the area" magazine we got as an advertisement, we found an blurb mentioning that Thomas was going to be in our area this last weekend. Since we were trying to fill up the days that F's on leave before going abroad, we decided to made the 1 1/2 hour trip to see Thomas. After the distances required of us in California, that was an easy day trip. C understood the event a lot more this time. The field was a bit soggy since we've been coping with a plethora of rainstorms lately. The Thomas event was quite a bit different than the event we attended back in CA. First, the venue was much smaller, as the Perris CA location was at a large railway museum, but this one was at a local train depot that offers rides between two small towns. Bob the Builder didn't come along for this trip either. However, this location offered a cute, small petting/feeding zoo that we really enjoyed. We spent a good 45 minutes in that area; we saw a monkey, llama, calf, a couple of donkeys, several goats, a camel and a kangaroo. C enjoyed feeding the animals so much, we had to stop her from holding out the empty scoop--it was teasing the poor things! Thomas was, of course a big hit. We got up a lot closer to the engine this time and C shouted "Thomas!" each time he went by and she saw him. While we waited, C must have asked 30 times to "let's go ride Thomas". She really understood it this time. Definitely worth the trip.

Around the House

2008-06-06T21:16:00.003-05:00

In the past couple of weeks I've been fighting quite the summer cold. This, of course, means that we've been spending quite a bit of time at home. I've had the opportunity to catch C in some of the sweetest moments. She's slowly learning how to play for short bits of time by herself. It's something I have to enforce a bit, but it's something she does need to know how to do, for the sanity of us both. She's discovered her dolls, and that she can play pretend with them. She's taking some time to "read" her books by herself, and she loves her crafts lately. She's constantly clamoring for us to make something. When Daddy was home for a four-day weekend, he even got to sit down and paint with her. The show of the moment is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. She even does "The Hot Dog Dance" when the show's not on. She wants me to dance with her too. One would think that I'd be getting plenty of exercise this way. I wish. It's days that are filled with moments like these that motherhood seems easy and lovely, or if not these, at least not so frustrating.

Little Miss Energy

2008-05-18T21:23:00.003-05:00

Some days I think C has enough energy for 10 mommies. I know she has a ton of toys, but I think we touch every toy we own at least twice a day, some toys, of course, even more than that. Her favorite words lately are "Mommy, want to play with me?" or "watch 1 show?" Even though one might think that the shows would let me have a bit of a breather, not so much. C wants Mommy to sit with her to watch her show, and interact with her throughout. I wish I knew where she gets all of it, considering she hardly eats anything. In addition to being Little Miss Energy, she's also Little Miss Fussyeater and Little Miss Iwantpantiesbutnotpotty. So, in addition to keeping up with her, I'm trying to convince her to watch fewer shows, eat a wider variety of foods (and more at a time instead of snacking all day), and use the potty. All of the challenges between the two of us just get exhausting. Speaking of eating and energy usage, I keep wondering where she gets the energy to grow like she has lately! I think it was in the course of a week, but she sprouted through a whole size of clothes. She's now up to 3T tops and 2T bottoms. I'd hoped that she'd even out for a while and be in 2T for both instead of the 2T top/18month bottoms she'd been in. No go. I'm now facing the challenge of finding shorts for her. As long as she wears a dress or tee with jeans, it's easy enough to dress her, but shorts seem to only come in sets, and she doesn't wear the same size on top as on the bottom! Frustrating. Our activities are coming to an end for the summer, so it's going to take just about all my creativity and energy to keep her occupied on a daily basis through June, July and August. I'm thankful for the child development center and child care there, as well as having good friends around with whom we can go on outings. Wish me luck.

Business start

2008-05-18T21:05:00.003-05:00

My first gathering was fairly successful. We had fun, and I practiced my presentation on people I already know and who are more forgiving of my foibles. I also recognized that I needed to refine my game. Best of all though, was getting to show my friends and fellow scrappers the products that I'm so enamored with. The whole order process went smoothly; my only problem was in correctly figuring the shipping and handling, but I've now ironed that out and I'm good to go for next time. The products arrived less than a week after placing the order. I've had orders for just myself come in that quickly, but I'm impressed that an order with multiple orders and so much product arrived just as fast. Now I'm getting set to go to my first gathering as the consultant and not hostess. It will be a new and interesting experience.

A New Venture

2008-05-08T14:44:00.002-05:00

Well, tonight's the night--my big kickoff open house. That's right, open house. For what, you might ask. Well, the short story is: I'm a new independent consultant for Close To My Heart (scrapbooking and stamping supplies). The long story: I was introduced to Close To My Heart products about 2 years ago when an acquaintance invited me to her open house when she kicked off her business. I immediately fell in love with the products. The coordinating papers and stickers, the easy-to-use stamps, the compact organization! I spent so much on them at first that Fred put me on a “scrapbooking allotment!” When that happened, I went through my catalogs and made so many wish lists that I knew the pages certain products were on at every gathering I went to. Kimberly (my friend and consultant) suggested a few times that I'd make a good consultant. I pooh-poohed the idea, after the experience I had with another direct sales company a number of years ago. Another friend (also a consultant) mentioned that I'd make a great consultant, and again I shrugged off the idea. Well, when Fred got his most recent orders, I really started thinking about what I wanted for myself--beyond being "(military) wife" and "mommy". What was my dream in the long-run? I started talking to Fred about “someday” opening my own scrapbook store. He frowned and said, well, if you want to do that, I’d rather you do like Kimberly and sell Close to my Heart. You already know and love the product. You talk about the stamps and paper with anyone who even mentions scrapbooking.

That was in March. I looked into it a bit, and then decided to wait on it, but started praying. I decided that if someone I didn't know offered to host a gathering, then I'd go ahead with the business. In April the PWOC and chapel sponsored a papercrafting day. It was an incredible blessing to be able to socially scrapbook like that. The vast majority of my "toys" are from Close To My Heart and several gals were oohing and ahing over things. I also had my idea book with me and was sharing it around. I mentioned once that I was thinking about signing up as a consultant. At the end of the day, Suzy, a woman I met only that day said, "If you do decide you want to do it, I'll host a party for you." That was that...and I think I'm ready for my first gathering tonight.

C's "babies"

2008-05-03T23:19:00.002-05:00

Oh my, C's newest infatuation is with "baby sisters". The mother of our friend/neighbor just had her third baby, a baby sister for her other two girls. C has seen the baby now, not just the talk about her, and she is all about the "baby sister" concept. I keep hearing "I want baby sister," and "where's my baby sister." So far I've managed to convince her that her babydolls are quite enough. The "baby sisters" come with us just about everywhere. They come shopping with us, and they go about the house with us carried, in stroller or in cart. She's very conscientious of their needs: giving them a bottle, covering them with blankets, and making sure they take their naps. It's quite sweet. As for the future and real baby sisters, who knows.

Sweet Pray-er

2008-04-28T21:49:00.002-05:00

C has started praying with me when I pray during her bedtime routine. I noticed the other night that she was muttering while I prayed, and I asked her if she wanted to talk to God. She nodded vigorously and said "talk-a God!" Now she gets so excited when I tell her it's time to talk with God and Jesus. She is so aware of her blessings. I do the praying in terms of "requests" but she just says lots of thank-yous, and mostly for people. "Thank you God, (for) Pammie, Maddie, Miss Rachel. Thank you (for) kids, play(ing) with kids, fun, 'nastics, dance. Thank you (for our) tea party. Thank you (for) Papa, Grammy, Papa, Nana, Mommy, Daddy." Isn't that the most precious! I am so blessed by my baby girl. I wish I could claim some responsibility for her sweet spirit, but I think she just came made that way.

Toddler Logic

2008-04-17T14:52:00.002-05:00

We went to playgroup, lunch and then WalMart today, and the friend of choice was "tiny kitty." Here's what happened leaving WalMart. I am ever surprised and impressed by how smart my little girl is. Now if she could figure out potty-logic.

C drops "tiny kitty" on floor of car before I get the car started: Mommy, uh-oh, drop tiny kitty!
Mommy: Where is tiny kitty?
C: on floor, get him?
Mommy gets kitty: hold on to him, because if you drop him, Mommy can't get him again until we get home.
Mommy starts car
C drops "tiny kitty" again. "Uh-oh. Drop tiny kitty 'gin...wait home." *Sigh*
Mommy: That's right, Mommy is driving so Mommy can't get tiny kitty until we get home.
C: Want Daddy.
Mommy: Why do you want Daddy?
C: Daddy drive car, Mommy get tiny kitty!

No oreos today, maybe later

2008-04-17T14:48:00.001-05:00

Well, ya'll are going to have to keep coming back for those Oreo pictures. Something wacky's going on with blogger today.

O-R-E-O

2008-04-16T21:22:00.004-05:00

Betcha didn't know that there's something inherent about how to eat an Oreo cookie! I gave into my craving for the tasty-yet-bad-for-me cookies and bought some about 3 or 4 weeks ago. They sat in the cupboard untouched (really) for some time until C started begging for cookies. They were the only ones we had, so I handed her a few. She'd never seen me eat one. However, she sat down with the bowl and twisted off one of the tops, licked the white filling and set the cracker part aside. She did this with each one, and didn't eat the chocolate crackers until I told her she wouldn't get any more unless she ate all the pieces. It was so cute. I'll have to post the pictures later. It's taking too long to upload today.

He Is Risen

2008-03-29T21:04:00.004-05:00

He is Risen Indeed! Yes, here is Easter, the commemoration of our Lord's resurrection. Before I babble about the fun C had with her eggs and gifts and whatnot, I need to mention Pastor Quinn's really powerful sermon from church on Sunday. The title of the sermon: To be, or not to be, that is the resurrection! The English teacher in me loved the literary reference, of course, and the connection between the Hamlet section and the resurrection message was quite poignant. Hamlet's soliloquy at that point in the play indicated his melancholy; he was contemplating suicide. He no longer had any hope. _But_ it it is precisely because of the resurrection that _we_ have hope! Of course, there was more to it than that, but it was a beautiful message of hope and future and life abundant and eternal.

C, however, spent the service in the nursery, so she's still at the "Easter's a celebration" stage of understanding though she doesn't yet understand what it's a celebration of. We decorated eggs on Saturday, and she hunted for them on Sunday morning, as well as for the plastic ones filled with treats. She also got spoiled by her grandparents who were here visiting for the weekend, and got all sorts of neat toys from them. Her favorite by far is the Snow White dressup outfit. Now we can have friends over and have princess gatherings. Mommy's goodies have been ignored thus far. I put together a plastic box filled with a plethora of crafting supplies. (child-safe scissors, gluesticks, construction paper, pipe cleaners, fuzzy balls, rhinestones, glitter, google eyes, ribbon, stickers, paper doilies, paints, fingerpaint, and playdoh) I'm sure they'll be discovered soon. It should be fun to create with her.

In life beyond the holiday, I've discovered the true blessing of hardwood floors: they're a whole lot easier to clean up vomit from than carpet. C got sick yesterday and I spent much less time cleaning up after her than I did back at Irwin. She's better now, and we've got some high school girls from the band performing at our chapel tomorrow staying with us. She was so excited to "get the ladies!" and showed off all her energy for them in the hour before bedtime. She seriously wears me out some days. This would be one of them.

McDonalds Associations

2008-03-13T15:37:00.002-05:00

So, what do you think of when one suggests eating at McDonalds? Most Boomers think of the Big Mac or a similar burger. Xers think of the same, or chicken McNuggets. And a good portion of my friends' children, or so I've heard, think of french fries. Not my child, no. C sees the golden arches and begins clamoring for, of all things, apples! I made the mistake once of getting a Happy Meal and forgetting to change the fries to apples, and she was so disappointed. She cried for apples all the way home. Last night I remembered the apples, and guess what she asked for as soon as the bag came through the window...apples. She finished the package before we got home. Apples and McDonalds...go figure.

Open Door Morning

2008-03-12T13:11:00.000-05:00

One of the blessings about our housing assignment is that our across-the-hall-neighbors have a 2 year old (6 days older than C) and the girls really enjoy playing together. Today they had a play date that started in their place and then C had a meltdown and needed Mommy. Because we were standing in the doorway talking, Pammie came into our house and started playing. After laughing about how the girls kept just making themselves at home, Rachel (P's mommy) and I decided to put a baby gate across the stairwell and just leave the doors open so the girls could come and go into the apartments and we Mommies could get our things done. At lunch time, Rachel and Pammy joined us to help out with our leftovers. It was so much fun, we decided we ought to have open-door-mornings more often!

What a privilege

2008-03-02T15:34:00.000-06:00

I just have to share this testimony about the working of the Holy Spirit. I didn't manage to check my email on Thursday and Friday, so it wasn't until yesterday that I learned my friend Melissa had her baby. I hadn't even known she was in labor. However, she's been on my prayer list for a week or so, and I've been praying about her birthing process. On Wednesday night I couldn't sleep, so I went through my prayer list. The rest of my list went first, and quickly, but my prayers over Melissa seemed to linger. I felt moved to pray in depth for her and specifically for her labor. Finally, I felt like I could stop praying and could finally sleep, without any effort at all; I just drifted off. It was just after 11:30 pm. On Thursday and Friday I didn't feel the need to pray for her delivery at all, and just dropped that off my list for the moment, intending to pray for it later. Evan was born at 9:37 pm PST, which would have been 11:27 pm, my time. The Holy Spirit had led me to pray for her through her labor and delivery. I feel incredibly blessed to have been allowed the privilege to pray through that time for her, even though she...and I didn't even know it. How sovereign is the Lord our God!

Do it myself...

2008-03-02T15:10:00.000-06:00

seems to be the mantra lately from my little girl, whether she's actually saying it or not. We've had a number of exciting things develop in the last few days. We've started consciously potty training. I'd planned to wait until summer, but C had other ideas. Earlier this week I heard a shriek from the bathroom and went running to see what had happened. C was standing there with her pullup and pants around her ankles and poo was all over the potty and her legs. She was crying, "I pooped!" *bawl* "I pooped!" *bawl* She was none too happy about having created a mess. (Don't know what I'm going to do about her mess issues.) She'd decided to try the potty on her own. I think they've been working the potty thing at the CDC and she'd taken it into her head to try it at home. F and I cleaned her up and told her over and over how proud we were that she'd tried the potty, because I'm concerned that she's intimidated about it now. However, last night I made her sit on her potty while I ran the bath, and she finally "made water" in it. The other big accomplishment was at the playground yesterday morning. There's a curved ladder that she climbed with Daddy's help at Irwin and at first yesterday. By the time we left the park though, she was doing it all by herself. I'm glad the weather was finally nice enough to go the the playground. We've been driving past the playgrounds, and she's called out wanting to go play, but we couldn't. She was so excited when we said "playground"! Pictures follow of our excursion.

The Lay of the Land

2008-03-02T14:24:00.000-06:00

This is our second (3rd? they were back to back) assignment in Kansas, and one of the last things we did before leaving 3.5 years ago was visit Kansas City. It had become a fairly special place for us. We got engaged there at the Plaza and visited some attractions with friends several times as well. After getting settled in, we've found ourselves with a bit of extra time on our hands, so we've been off exploring how things have changed. One of our favorite haunts used to be the Hallmark Gold Crown Center. We made use of Parent's Night Out at the Child Development Center and had a very nice date there, enjoying Kabuki and having some excellent vegetable tempura. We discovered that the vendors immediately outside of the Crown Center had expanded, but for the most part, the inside vendors of the center remained unchanged. The only real change we noted was that the scrapbook shop on the second floor that used to have a photo studio inside had been replaced by a fragrance shop, and the paint-your-own-pottery place across from the Crayola Cafe had been replaced by a cell phone vendor. Both were disappointments. We've also explored the shopping on NW Barry Road, and there are robust shopping complexes that hadn't even broken ground when we left in 2004! It should be fun exploring Zona Rosa. South on I-435 we recalled that there had been construction going on around the Kansas Speedway when we'd left, wondering what it would become. Now that area is bustling with a huge Cabela's, Nebraska Furniture Mart (*chuckle*) and Legends, a massive shopping complex, and all the restaraunts that go along with such a commercial district. Seeing such changes happen in such a short period of time is a bit mind-boggling, since we'd thought KC quite robust in the shopping arena as it was!

I love the downtown in Leavenworth. There are so many simply lovely shops. There's a paint-your-pottery place, at least 5 antique shops, a flower shop with a toy store above, and an amazing quilting store. It's been fun exploring all the nooks and crannies.

I'm also looking for the options available as far as activites to occupy C's time go. Although I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before, I bought two excellent books: Shifra Stein's A Kid's Guide to Kansas City and The Kansas Guidebook for explorers by Marci Penner. The former I found at Waldenbooks and the latter at a local shop called the Corner Pharmacy. I've found tons of interesting things for us to do and see while we're here. We tackled on of the top items on our list before F left for training, going to the Wonderscope Children's Museum in Shawnee. It was a reasonable drive, and there were plenty of activities for her there. There are programs on Tuesdays and Fridays for little ones, so Cand I will most likely venture down there at least once a month. Here she is on our first excursion. She was fascinated by the gate in the art room that maintained the partition between the rest of the room and a sandbox area.

At Home at FtLvwth

2008-03-01T22:10:00.001-06:00

Feels like home

2008-02-26T19:40:00.000-06:00

There is something to be said for F's adage though, that "Home is the post you just left." I keep referring to Irwin as "back home". Except I referred to Kansas as "back home" the entire time we were in Irwin! Isn't it funny the things our minds come up with in the midst of all this moving? For the first time today, I didn't spin around in circles in the kitchen wondering where I'd put something. I knew where it was. What an awesome feeling! I also knew where I was depositing C while I went to PWOC, and where I was going as I drove to C's dance class. I guess that's a sign that this is beginning to feel like home. C knows where her room is, and where F and I are if we call out that we're in "x" room. She's even figured out where she's to go when I tell her to go to time-out. We know that we're settled in for two reasons really. 1) We've had our first guests over for dinner and 2) I took a nap with C this afternoon instead of doing something for the house. F feels particularly proud of how our home looks. He's asked me to post a few of the pictures of our new digs--including the one of C and me napping. I'm going to try to put together a slide show like the ones one of my friends has on her site. Keep an eye out for it.

Tiny Toes means dance here

2008-02-26T19:13:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was gymnastics, (pics below) and C seemed to enjoy it. It was a bit unstructured and that's kind of what I expected today when we showed up for (mom-me) dance. Um, not so much. It was great! The teacher was amazingly structured, which was awesome for C. It took a few minutes to get her corralled and on pace with the other three little girls, but once she figured it out, she followed right along. Two of the other girls were born in the same month/year that C was, and I'm hoping we can become friends. The other little girl is about 18 months old, and today was her first day too. She caught on quite well too. They started out with an "obstacle course" where the girls straddled cones as they walked over them; walked backwards on a low, wide beam; crawled through a tunnel made out of a folded mat; donkey-kicked in the middle of a hoop; hopped on colored squares; walked on a less wide, higher up beam (holding Mommy's hand); tippy-toed on some colored stars; and then bounced on a trampoline. Then, we made a circle and did a variety of dance stretches, learning how to make butterfly knees and touch our toes, and answer our toe-phones. Then we got to move in different ways as we got up from the floor. We danced with pompoms and learned how to "freeze". Finally, we tried forward rolls, crab walking and elementary bridges with a ball for support. When we left, C babbled all the way home about hopping, spinning, dancing, rolling, jumping and sparklies (which is what she called the pompoms). She was so excited! I'm looking forward to next week. I think we may be investing in some dance wear for her as well. She thought Eleanor, the little (Chinese!) girl who was wearing the tights/leotard/shoes business looked like a fairy princess. Eleanor also looked like she could move around a bit more easily as well. We're trying out Toddler Tunes tomorrow afternoon. Then, that's the end of the "official" classes, but there's plenty more in store for us, I'm sure. Another mom at the wives' group I went to recommended some books that have a lot of fantastic ideas about what to do and see while we're in the area. One is a Kansas Guidebook that I got from the local "Corner Pharmacy", and the other is titled "Kansas City with Kids" that I got from the local Waldenbooks. I've looked through them both and already have tons of ideas for little weekend (or even weekday) adventures.

Both Feet

2008-02-25T10:49:00.000-06:00

We're jumping in to life at Fort Leavenworth with both feet. My calendar is packed already--I can hardly believe it. FLW has an incredible Child and Youth Services program. Their SKIESUnlimited program even has classes for tots (age 2!) I learned this fall that as long as C gets to leave the house for something relatively structured once a day, she sleeps pretty well at night, and our time at home is much more pleasant. Thus, she (we) are registered for gymnastics, dance, and toddler tunes through the CYS. We attended playmorning for the first time last week and after some warming-up, C had fun chasing the balls around, and I had fun visiting with some other mommies. I've also found storytime at the Post library and some fun things at the KC children's museums. I already feel involved again! It's wonderful. C had her first day at gymnastics this morning. She enjoyed bouncing on the mats and trampolines, and climbing all the mat-toys they have set up, but the big hit was swinging on the uneven parallel bars and kicking over the toy elephant! There's another little girl about her age in the class, and a boy was there today. It looks like it will be a good time.

Settling In

2008-02-22T08:45:00.000-06:00

To all ya'll who didn't believe me when I told you that when I move, I am unpacked in 2 weeks or less, and that I was sure I'd do the same thing this time, even with a toddler...believe! Our household goods arrived on the 13th and every box is empty _and_ the cardboard is out! Everything has a home within my home, my pantry is restocked and the pictures are on the wall. All the boxes arrived, albeit with a few dents and smashes. Not too much in the way of damage to report. The steam cleaner application hood got cracked, and one of our cheap-o Wal-Mart put-it-together-yourself bookshelves arrived with the backing falling off. Everything the packers put in boxes arrived unscathed. I was pleased with the care of their packing, though some of the things I thought ought to be in boxes were not. Turns out I was a bit in the right on that one. When I questioned it, I was told that these bulky, not-easily-packed items would be used as top-load, or light-pack. These were things like my "wire"-rack paper system, our "wire"-rack shelf units, my wooden shelves, curtain rods and the like. The put-it-on-the-truck guys, on the otherhand, took the furniture and these "light-pack" items as they were, assembled and all. However, only the primary piece got a ship-tag. When the goods arrived, we weren't here yet to accept them, so they had to go into storage. This meant that all the things that went on the truck assembled with 1 (one) lable, got disassembled. That aforementioned bookshelf arrived without its shelves, because they hadn't been labled. Hardware to put the "wire"-rack systems was also missing, as were some of the other hardware pieces to bookshelves and the media armoire. We also discovered that the packers had neglected to open the drawers and pack the items in the coffee table--luckily what I had in there was small, not breakable, and light enough so as not to cause damage to the table as it was moved around. For future reference--next move I'm going to disassemble all that stuff myself, zip-tie things together and make a little "hardware" box (shouldn't be very big, really) to carry with us in our car, so it's ready to access as the furniture comes into the house. Oh, and Fred admits that some of my "Monkishness" that he was teasing me about before the packers/movers came has paid off. Score one for beaverism over otteriness (if you don't get the reference, ask me sometime).

I'm enjoying my new home, though it's a bit difficult to remember where I've put things; because of our layout, not all the things _can_ go where it makes the most sense to put them. I'm still doing some organizing in my craft area; that's one of the two places I really need the placement of things to "make sense", but then again, I was still organizing the one at Fort Irwin the month before we left, so... *shrugh* Haven't quite gotten around to taking pictures of the new place yet, but I'm not going to post them here; protection of personal data and all that. However, if you _want_ to see the pics, email me and I'll send them out. Oh yeah, apparently hotmail has something against my gmail account. When I sent out my info update, which had to go out en masse, every hotmail address came back rejected. Even though I've tried to go back and send each one of those individually, they've come back too. What gives! Guess I'll just have to wait until those who have hotmail accounts write to me to let me know they're missing it. (hint, hint)

Jehovah-Jireh and then some

2008-02-09T21:18:00.000-06:00

A year or so ago, I had the opportunity to engage in a study of the Word based on the names of God. The one I really remember (because, well, I have to confess I didn't keep up on the reading as well as I ought...sorry Nicolle) was Jehovah-Jireh, God the Provider. We discussed this image in depth, and how God provides all good things to His children, who trust in Him, and ask for His provision. I have to testify that God truly does hear the prayers of His children, and He does more than provide, if we trust Him to. He provides more than we need, He blesses! In September, when we found out about this move, I fretted and fumed about housing, and of course started researching all the options. I discovered quickly that if I wanted to live on post, which I did since F's leaving, I had little to no control over what kind of house we would get. I started praying about our house, and asked just about every woman of faith around me to pray too (okay, yes I'm a bit selfish). In December we found out that we might not be allowed to live on post, and I started fretting and fuming again, and tried to take control of the situation myself. After torturing myself for several days, I finally went back to prayer, and the of/on-post issue was resolved. I reached a peace and a sense of trust about our house options, a willingness to take with gratitude what was available. Then, mid-January before leaving, I learned that our only option was going to be a house about 700 square feet smaller than our then-current home. I went to work trying to figure out how to get our furniture into it. It was going to be tight, and perhaps uncomfortable, but I managed, at least with my little to-scale furniture papers. When I called housing on our way to set up a time to meet, I learned that our options had changed! We arrived to find ourselves able to take the option of a LOVELY (approx) 2000 sq. foot home/apt with everything all on one level! There will be NO problems fitting everything (our room might be tight just b/c of the size of the rooms themselves), _and_ we even have space for a guest room in addition to the scrapbook area. The change in availability was a last-minute one, which I am confident the Lord orchestrated. I have to give all the credit for this amazing space to God and God alone. He has done more than provide for our needs. He blessed us with abundance! Our neighbors are also folks we knew at Irwin back about 2 years and across the way is a friend of F's from his years at Hood. Wow...a great space, and friends too. Now we're just waiting on delivery of our household goods. Will let ya'll know how the decorating goes.

Well Toto, we're not in...

2008-02-07T16:38:00.000-06:00

...California anymore. That's right, we've arrived in Kansas. There are still miles to go before our final destination, but we've stopped in Wichita for the night. I have some dear friends from our last stint in Kansas who live here and have a 2 year old daughter as well. We're seeing them this evening and the girls will get to meet and play. I'm hoping C won't be terribly confused, since their daughter is "Sophie", and one of C's fave playmates from Irwin is also "Sophie". I'm not sure C understands that more than one person can have the same name. I hope the girls enjoy one another's company.

On another note, I'd like to comment on the Days Inn franchise. Most Days Inns accept/welcome pets smaller than about 25 pounds, so we've stayed with them all the way across the country, and quite economically. What's most interesting is the quality of the accomodations. It's funny (amusing-funny) but each room seems to be an upgrade from the previous one. We've really enjoyed our stays.

Central Time

2008-02-06T21:22:00.000-06:00

There's a part of me that simply cannot believe we're back in CST. We spent night #1 in Kingman AZ, #2 in Albequerque NM, and tonight we're in Amarillo TX. The cats are handling the travel well (except for trying to get them out from under hotel beds!) and C's being a real trooper about all the time in the car, and hotels and restaraunts. She's still asking to go home, but not quite so often or adamantly. Perhaps she's beginning to understand what we mean when we answer that "we're on our way to our new home." We're quite glad for our DVD player, but she's even getting tired of the TV! We've been keeping a pretty decent pace with the driving, and stopping with plenty of time for C to bounce around and unwind before bed each night. Today we kept the drive short, only about 4 hours in the car, and stopped at the Don Harrington Discovery Center (Children's museum) before heading to the hotel. C loved it; she was delighted that Mommy and Daddy were letting her push all the buttons and flip all the switches! C has also enjoyed having Papa's attention; my dad flew out to Ontario to help me on the drive east. As nuts as we drive each other, I honestly don't think I could handle this trip without him. I hope he knows how very grateful I really am. While fast food has been the necessity for lunches on the day-drive, we've enjoyed some nice sit-down establishments in the evening. We visited a local diner in Kingman, called JB's. They specialized in comfort food; it was positively delish! We thought fondly of my Gr'pa in Albequerque, eating at Furr's cafeteria; it was his (and my Gr'ma's) favorite place to eat when they were alive. C enjoyed her mac-n-cheese and had fun with the whipped topping on her jello. (Picture to follow later). The trip is long, and I'm looking forward to getting to our new home, but it hasn't been too bad, all in all.

Disney'd Out

2008-02-03T22:40:00.000-06:00

We chose a good weekend to do our last Disney trip (for a while). Apparently, on SuperBowl Sunday, people aren't as inclined to go to an amusement park as they usually are. It also drizzled and remained overcast most of the day. While the precipitation was inconvenient and uncomfortable as we waited for the park to open in the morning, it did keep the crowds at bay. I'm not sure we got our money's worth out of the day though. We decided ahead of time that we'd only go on the rides C would be able to enjoy, which didn't leave us that many. Small World was closed, and that was the one she was anticipating with the most eagerness. We rode Dumbo, the Astro Orbiter, Autopia, King Arthur's Carousel (but only on the bench seat), Casey Jr. (the cartoon-ish train), the Storybook tourboat, the Monorail, and the Buzz Lightyear ride. C did not like the Buzz Lightyear ride until I put her on my knee to see, and that only made the ride tolerable for her. She complained all the way out that it had been dark. "Is dark! No likey dark! No more dark!" This dark thing has been going on for some time, leading to the nightlight that's traveling with us. However, the "no dark" stipulation left out all the story-rides that would have been suitable for a toddler. *sigh* The trains were a big hit, and she likely would have ridden Casey a second time, if the wait hadn't gotten so long by the time we went back to it...and if we hadn't arrived at the line to discover someone had tossed their cookies right outside of it. Ew. The storybook land tour did not impress her much, and she "drove" on Autopia for about 30 seconds before losing interest, which led me to discover that driving from the left side of the car with the steering wheel on the right is a major pain (in the shoulder). After making the rounds of all the rides of interest, we tried to go back to the ones C enjoyed. We stood in line for the Astro Orbitor a second time, and when we got to the rocket, she balked, saying she didn't want to fly again. Same scene at Dumbo, round 2. About that time, she wanted to see the princesses. I really love the new Fantasyland "exhibit" where they have the princesses in the pavilion at one location with the coronation and storytelling events. C got to see the princesses, and participate, but without having to stand in line for an eternity. We did have to stop mid-day though, for a nap in one of the restaraunts, because C woke up at 0600 and was tuckered out by 1100. I'm sure the shortness of the nap also led to her crankiness later in the day, and the subsequent refusals to enjoy her favorite rides a second time. All in all, it was a good way to break away from California. By intent or by accident, we have developed a tradition, as a family, that when we leave a post, we go amusement park-ing. I finally feel like the move is real now...for me (Fred felt it about a week ago.)

On a side note: Disney park prices are CRAZY. I wanted to get a sweatshirt for C and me, but for the prices they charge, we could have bought a coat! I did, however, find a really awesome stocking cap and scarf that are super-soft and super-cute. They were worth the inflated prices, since I can never find ones that don't itch to high havens. Just in time to move to weather where I'll need them!

Around the (farewell) Horn

2008-02-02T21:52:00.000-06:00

F's fond of sports phrasing, and he mentioned today that we've gone "around the horn" in saying farewell to our California families now, in just one week. First, we said our "see you laters" to our Chapel family, then Regimental Staff family, the Shop family, and now the Family family. We've been blessed by having made and had so many connections while at Fort Irwin, and it feels like we're really on our way out now.

Homeless

2008-02-02T00:30:00.000-06:00

As my Gr'pa used to say/sing, "We're on the road again..." That's right, our household goods are all on a moving truck, we've cleaned and cleared housing ($560...not bad, all considered) and are currently in transit. C keeps asking to go "home" and we explain it over and over again, but I don't think she's going to really comprehend it until all our things are in the new house. I've had her say "good bye" to as many of our friends (that we could fit in) and familiar spots at Fort Irwin, but she just waved and said "see ya later," to them. Perhaps she's following my lead, since I'm not saying "goodbye," just "see you later" out loud. The packup went reallywell, and I was pleased with the way I saw things going, but won't know for sure how well they did until we're unpacking them. The loadup didn't impress me as much. The guys were too anxious to "get 'er done" and moved too fast with our furniture and boxes for my comfort level. I hovered a bit much and I'm pretty sure they were glad when I had to absent myself to go handle a childcare issue. During this whole leaving process, I just have to publicly praise God for providing such care from our friends. Several gals helped watch C during the busy-ness, and one family even invited us for a home-cooked dinner on our last night on post. It was incredibly restful to be able to eat a dinner that wasn't at a restaraunt, since we'll be getting our fill of those during this move. C was able to play while we ate (after she was done), and it tasted wonderful! Some others offered to bring us meals to the house, but we couldn't accept, because it was the place to eat the meals that had us most challenged at the end! Still, the thought meant so much to us.

Tonight's stop was Auntie Irene's house for dinner with their family and Auntie Jennie's too. One blessing about living out here in California was having some of F's aunts and uncles close by. We didn't see them as often as we'd like, but we're at least trying to see them one more time before leaving. Auntie Irene fixed an incredible dinner (can't wait to try out the chicken recipe on my own in the new home!) and we just got to relax. What a treat to have a dinner I didn't have to cook, rush away from in order to get things done to get ready to move, or do dishes. I felt so pampered! Thank you so much Auntie!

In other news, I can tell that I'm getting into a really bad habit with the television shows and C. After exploring Auntie Irene's house a bit, she found the television there. She sat right down and here's the coversation:

C: "Watch George please?"
Mommy: "No, Auntie Irene doesn't have any George."
C: "How about Bob?" (as in Bob the Builder)

I laughed so hard, I couldn't figure out what to say to that one. After I could breathe again, I told her that we'd watched enough shows for today in the car, and we were going to play. She accepted that, and we moved on. But how's that for some early creative thinking!

"...Back Soon"

2008-01-13T22:18:00.001-06:00

C is definitely a child of routine. We have finally found a nighttime ritual that works. As long as we can follow the routine, bedtime, even naptime goes off without a fight. Without the routine though...ugh...scary thought.

Step 1) When C starts the bedtime fussies, we ask her if she's ready to take her friends upstairs. If we ask if she's ready for bed, she says "no", "no likey bed". If she's really ready,

Step 2) she'll gather up her 'friends' and go to the steps, and says "uppease". She has so many stuffed friends, she can't walk up the stairs by herself.

Step 3) Place C in the bed, and she asks for "bug on" and "house on". The bug is her nightlight that she picked out herself when she developed her darkness issues. The house is one of those village houses that lights up. This one is decorated as though it's autumn and has pumpkins and turkeys and such on it. F thought it would be a good nightlight until C could pick one out of her own. They've both stuck.

Step 4) Turn on the bug and house.

Step 5) Tuck into Thomas blanket and Mommy blanket {the blanket I made for her while I was pregnant}. Depending on how tired she is, maybe skip to step 8.

Step 6) Read bedtime books in whatever order requested: Goodnight Moon, called "moon"; The Going to Bed Book, called "cow book" (I'm not sure why); and one of the following: Kittycat Lullaby, Have You Got My Purr?, or Guess How Much I Love You, called "bunny book".

Step 7) Pray and sing "Jesus Loves Me" together.

Step 8) C says "Mommy back soon." This is my signal that she's ready for me to give her kisses and leave her room. She doesn't like to say goodnight. I think she just needs to know that I'm coming back at some point.

Step 9) Kiss one hand repeatedly until "full", switch and repeat with second hand. Kiss each cheek, nose and head.

Step 10) C specifies what she's going to kiss on Mommy and Mommy bends to facilitate kisses, for example: "cheek" -kiss- "orcheek" -kiss- "kiss hair" -kiss- "kiss nose" -kiss- Yes, she only says kiss before the part on parts other than cheeks. Very odd.

Step 11) I say "Mommy loves C". C says "I wuf you Mommy." and I finally leave the room.
As I discovered in the hotel with my folks, if I don't leave the room, C does not go to sleep, no matter how much of the rest of the routine is adhered to. I can come back after she's asleep, but she needs to go to sleep alone.

A Tale of Two Papas...

2008-01-06T11:06:00.001-06:00

...and Christmas 2007.

For those who speak Army, today is the end of max/block leave, and for us, the end of "Christmastime". It's been an amazing season around our house. I can't believe the difference it makes, living this season alongside a child. C's catch phrase has been "I likey Christmas." It's so cute.

Our house seemed to have a revolving door. The Wong grandparents arrived on the 23rd, my sister on the 24th, and my parents early Christmas morning. C was so excited to see each and every one of them. One of the most priceless moments was after my parents arrived for the morning, and C was playing with Papa and Grammy Lippert and then Richard and Anita came over from their hotel. Casssie looked at my dad and pointed, saying, "Papa," turned to Richard and pointed at him and said, "Papa." She looked again at my dad, pointed with a "Papa," and back to Richard again. She repeated one more time, getting more excited with each "Papa." Finally, she exclaimed, "Two Papas!" This discovery thrilled her to no end.

Perhaps my favorite moment was the one I did not expect. Every time a package arrived, or she saw a present-type package, C has wanted to open it. We'd tell her she had to wait until Christmas. Then, we put the package in the storage room, where we kept all the Christmas gifts until we were ready to open on Christmas morn. I expected C to clamor to open each one as it came downstairs, so I took her aside while F and Rachel brought the gifts for everyone to the living room. I fully expected a wide-eyed, eager reaction to the pile of gifts, perhaps with a run to them. My expectations were unfulfilled. It was beautiful. When I brought her into the room, and put her down, she ran first for her grandparents, exclaiming Papa! (even for her grandmas...it took a bit for her to figure all the people out) and hugging each of them, over and over. F and I actually had to pick her up and put her in front of the gifts and encourage her to open them. It was beautiful.

The day after Christmas was so much fun! F's aunties drove up from Southern California to see all of us, since Richard and Anita were here. F cooked a tasty steak lunch and we played some games while C napped. We laughed so hard! However, Auntie Jennie strongly objected to the use of gestures while playing "Catch Phrase." We're thinking she needs a coach's challenge flag.

Twas the Night...

2007-12-21T21:20:00.000-06:00

...that C stayed away from home all night for the first time.

F and I returned today from an overnight stay away from C. We had a Regimental Ball that was out of town since there simply isn't anywhere here that will hold that massive number of people (92 tables of 10!!) There was child care provided on site there, but considering the number of children involved, we decided that we'd find a friend who could keep C here. A dear friend from PWOC and her husband and older children had her stay with them. C had been to their house before and spent a day with them when I was recovering from my surgery. She adores their boys and really enjoys their doggies. She ate well, napped, and even went to sleep at night without a fight! I am so impressed that she did so well. When I was her age, my parents would leave me with my grandparents or aunt and uncle. In the Army life, one doesn't always have the luxury of having family nearby, and friends are called on to stand in the gap. I am sooooooo incredibly blessed to have found such a family of friends here at Irwin-town. Makes my heart sigh that we're leaving so soon.

Diaper Talent

2007-12-20T12:04:00.002-06:00

I think it's about time to push the potty-issue. C has taken to changing her own diaper, well, actually a pull-up. It's incredibly cute. She does the whole thing, including wiping. This is only a problem if it's not just wet. Then, she comes a-running, hollering "yucky! yucky!" Then we wash her hands...for one of the thousand times we wash each day: C just loves to wash her hands. I really don't want to deal with the potty until after we've moved. I'm not relishing the idea of taking a potty-training toddler on a 4 day trip. Yes, we're taking 4 days to do the drive, so we can stop and do a few fun little side trippy things on the way.

Tree's Up

2007-12-15T23:10:00.000-06:00

and C is totally into it...all the time. I guess it's our own fault for having cute Hallmark ornaments that look a lot like toys to her. At first, the tree was a novelty, and she was good about asking Daddy and Mommy for an ornament to look at, would examine it, and then give it back to us to hang back on the tree. As the novelty wore off, she stopped asking, and just started pulling them off. She isn't very nice to them and has broken one or two. So, our poor tree looks awfully topheavy though. As she discovers new ornaments to mess with, I keep moving them closer to the top of the tree. Just another source for tantrums, but without the tree it just doesn't seem like Christmas.

Disney in a Downpour

2007-12-02T19:55:00.000-06:00

The first time I was at Disneyland, I was 10 years old, and we went in the rain. This weekend, we repeated the experience. It was great...after we took a break from the park and let C have her nap, and stopped at Target to buy a new umbrella, a new outfit and rain coat for C, shoes for me (I'd only taken my sandals!) and a smaller travel-sling to carry diapers (etc) around with us. During the first go-round at the theme park, my feet were soaked and C was shivering. However, the second go-round left C with giggles and grins and cries of "more!" and "again!" and "fun!" Because of the rain, the crowds were really light, and we didn't have to wait long for any of the events and rides. One of our first stops was the Princess Fantasy Faire, where little princesses could get their pictures taken with three of the Disney Princesses. This venue thing is a great idea on Disney's part. Last time we were there, the Princesses would come out for an hour or so, but the line for each was out of control. I'm sure that way some families did nothing all day but scout the appearance sites and stand in line to see the Princesses. Now, the line for the Princesses is continuous, with the Princesses rotating through the day, and each little girl gets 3 princesses at one shot. Much more convenient. C, however was less than impressed with the live princesses, prefering images to the real thing.

On the other hand, C was thoroughly enamored with the rides! She is old enough now that she can voice preferences, and she asked to ride the "horse" (Carousel) and "elephant" (Dumbo) twice. She saw the rockets on the Astro Orbiter and asked to ride the "plane". The really great thing about the light crowd was that when she asked to do things, we were able to just go get on that ride before the inkling passed. We also went on the Small World ride, and although she started out on the seat, she quickly clambored up onto F's lap so she could see all the displays. The awe I saw in her face is indescribable. Of course, I couldn't get a picture of it because flash photography isn't allowed inside the ride. All in all, I know she enjoyed herself, and that made the whole day worthwhile.