“Mama, I ready to go?  I ready!!”

“No, I no need pants either!”

String Art - Where you cut different sizes of string and dip it in paint and then on your paper.  Or, face.

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This was a baby shower I threw for a great friend recently.  Do you see the “jar” on the table by the flowers?  It has little paper fortune cookies in it.  –Those were the “favors.”  I used heavy papers that coordinated nicely with the baby’s room decor and on a slip of paper inside each of them, printed:

“A gift from heaven is on it’s way”  (front)   “Eden Rosemarie (Lastname)” (back)

First, you will need to cut out circles between 2-3 inches in diameter on thick scrapbooking paper.  I used a candle to make my template.

Fold the circle in half.  Do NOT crease it.

Using two fingers, hold the edges down to keep the circle folded in half.  With the other hand, grasp the edges of folded over circle, using a third finger to slowly “bend” the center of the circle while pulling the edges forward.

While keeping the back of the “cookie” closed, continue to bring the sides together with your opposite hand.

Ta-Da!  You are almost finished!  Now, you need to secure your cookie.  You can use HEAVY DUTY double sided tape or you can use glue.  I used Elmer’s School Glue because I had an insane amount on hand.  If you use glue, you’ll want to put the glue between the two edges (the ones you just pulled together…you could also call them “legs”) and then use a paperclip to secure it.  I let mine sit overnight and then removed the paperclip.

You can make these for virtually any party and the keep well :)   Also, they’re even more fun if you add a “fortune” inside before you begin folding.

This morning, I rolled out of bed at a decent hour.  I scrambled into the shower and even prodded my husband enough to get him motivated to move quickly enough to NOT put us behind schedule.  I made up my mind to dress the girls BOTH in dresses.  With tights!!  I mind-wrestled with a very stubborn and suddenly EXTREMELY whiny (as opposed to just moderately whiny) almost-3-year old.  I physically wrestled with a 10 month old as I tried to get her to face outwards so I could put clothes on her (since her just wearing ME wouldn’t suffice).  Neither of my “opponents” were very happy.  We jumped hurdles, mainly clothes baskets and baby dolls and shoes.  I overcame the case of the missing eyeliner (thanks, Lorelei) and decided to draw it on with eyeshadow instead.  And, after all of it, we walked out the door in time to arrive at church in PERFECT time AND with mostly unwrinkled clothes.  YEAH!

It wasn’t until we were 3 miles away from church that we decided we wouldn’t be going - you know, when the van just DIED while we were driving.

Awesome.

(The good news is that ACCORDING TO GOOGLE, it should be a fairly inexpensive and easy fix.)

(With my face cupped in her hands, Lorelei says…)

Lorelei:  “You pretty.  This eyebrow pretty.  This eyebrow pretty.  This (eye) pretty.  This pretty eye, too.  Here (nose) pretty.  Lips pretty.  Hair pretty.  You just sooo pretty, mommy.”

Me:  “Thank you, sweetie.  You are beautiful.”

Lorelei:  “Thank you.  I love you mommy!  (Then, a big bear hug)”

Lorelei:  (shouting to me from outside the shower/tub)  “Mama!  A BUG! Look!”

Me:  (pulls the shower curtain aside.  I see a little “thing” but couldn’t tell if it was a fuzzy or a bug)  “Honey, just leave it alone.  I can’t see what it is.  I’ll look when I get out of the shower.”

Lorelei:  “Get out now and you can see it, mommy.  What (do) I do with it?”

(10 minutes pass and I get out of the shower.  Lorelei is on her stepstool in front of the sink, brushing her teeth.  A washcloth is on the floor)

Lorelei:  “See the bug?  I covered it up with a washcloth!”

Me:  “Let’s see it.  (she uncovers the bug proudly)  Oh, it’s a ladybug!”

Lorelei:  “I throw it away?  Kill it?  Put it in the trash?  Throw it outside?”

Me:  “No, just leave her alone.  She won’t hurt you.”

Lorelei:  “She bite me!  Is she alive?  Is she hurt?”

Me:  “Lorelei, why do you ask me that?  Did you do something mean to the ladybug?”

Lorelei:  “Yes.  Yes, I did.”

Me:  “Well, that wasn’t very nice, was it?”

Lorelei: (looks at the ladybug)  “I sorry, bug.  Mama, I piss (kiss) her?”

Me:  “No.  Don’t kiss her.  Just blow her some kisses. ”

Lorelei:  (blows kisses to the ladybug)  “I brush her with my toothbrush?”

Me:  “No.  don’t do that.”

Lorelei:  “I lick her?”

Me:  “Definitely not.”

Lorelei:  “Why I not lick and brush her, mommy?”

Me:  “Because it’s yucky.  (blank stare from her)  ….Because…um…she has germs.  You might get sick.  You know, like if I lick YOUR face, I might get sick because you might have germs on your face.  So, we just don’t brush people or ANYTHING with our toothbrushes and we definitely don’t lick them.  Especially boys, but that’s another story.  Okay?”

Lorelei:  “Okay.  I won’t lick her.  Hey mommy?  Can I cut something with scissors….?”

Dear “Rora,”

I can’t believe 10 months has passed since we first welcomed you into our lives.  You have grown so much — and time has passed too quickly!

Your favorite toys are NOT baby toys.  You love Little People and baby dolls and some of the most random toys like Lala’s “robot” - a McDonald’s type toy that’s actually an astronaut and does nothing spectacular.  I have a feeling you love it because Lorelei loves it.

Your smile and laugh is infectious.

Your eyes are a deep blue and are so expressive.  You use them well to sense other people’s feelings.  I’m so curious to see if you’ll keep your blue eyes - your paternal grandfather has them and so does your maternal grandmother.  By this age, Lala’s eyes had turned a dark steely gray.

You nuzzle with your head as your way of showing love.  You enjoy uncovering our faces from under your blankie as we play “peek a boo.”  Lorelei is still your best friend, and watching you two play brings a smile to my face.  Just looking at her makes you smile (and her, you).

However, you’ve also begun asserting your own…(what shall we call it…) independence.  Today, as you and your sister were both upset (you because of teething, her because of allergies), you both wanted in my lap.  So, I set you both on my legs and as she leaned her head against my chest, you reached over, trying to move her face away from me.  Your little face crumpled when it was made clear that Lorelei would have to share my lap.  You also refuse to sit somewhere (as opposed to being held) that you don’t want to by arching your little back and throwing your head backwards.

Unlike your big sister, you are definitely a mouth explorer at this age.  –As in, you pick everything up and it goes straight to your mouth.  It’s funny to walk into a room to see you with a doll sticking out of your face.

You’ve also begun teething and now have FIVE teeth.  The two bottom center teeth came in first and then one beside those and very recently, you got the top two in.  (Those last two were NOT FUN.  You sprung a 102.5 fever for a few hours and had me really worried, I wasn’t sure what was going on!)

You crawl and get around well but are showing no interest in pulling up.  -Pulling things down from a table, sure.  Pulling yourself up?  Why bother?

You are doing well with mushed up foods, but you always want a follow up with breastfeeding.  Your father and I left for a weekend and we had formula as a standby but you HATED it.  So, you chose to only eat your food and drink water and juice from a bottle.  Although, when we got back, you were DEFINITELY happy to see me again

You sleep all night, now, in your room.  Every once in a while you’ll wake up and have a night feeding but it’s RARE.  I welcome those rarities though.  I need my sleep, but your cuddles are so special.

Funny girl, you hijack your baby doll’s pacifiers and bottles and take them as your own.

You are so special and we can’t wait to see your personality develop.

Love always,

Mommy

It’s tricky having a toddler with my stubborn-ness.  She’s desperate to learn but doesn’t want to be confined by any RULES, especially when it’s ME.

Today, I found this new GREAT website:  www.starfall.com

There’s more to it than just ABCs, but that’s what we’re working on now.  Just this morning, she wanted to do ALL OF THEM!  I let her do A-F and then we stopped, though.  I don’t want her to burn out too quickly.

Also, I found a cute little calendar with ideas for toddlers with things to do each day in March.  Here are the ones for this week, most of them follow the concept of WIND:

Monday - Put ribbons on branches of trees to see the wind blowing (Science)

Tuesday - Help you toddler make a simple wind sock to hang outside (Art/Science)

Wednesday - Let your child blow over “houses” made with playing cards.  (Coordination)

Thursday - Sing a song about the wind (Music)

Friday - Give you children different kinds of hats to play with (Dramatic Play)