More about Pee

I think we're in the home stretch on the potty training. It's been about five/six days now. Maggie is not wearing diapers except for nap and bedtime, has been averaging only about one accident per day, and has been pooping only in her potty for that whole time. So she's doing good, but she is still learning - which is what the employees at Target found out yesterday afternoon when she peed on the floor in their dollar ailse.

Easter, Part One

Today we took Maggie to the local Parks Department Easter egg hunt. She was so confused the entire time we were there, had no idea what it was about. And there were soooo many kids! They seperated the hunters into ages groups, but it was still a little crazy. A few cute pictures from the event...

Put Your Left Arm In...

I love it when we get to do "kid" things with Maggie. Recently we've begun attending weekly story time at the Borders in town. Story time is about half an hour long and is hosted by a lady with a guitar and includes oh so many songs... including Maggie's new fav, the Hokey Pokey.

She hasn't been very adept at following the directions of the song, except the "and turn yourself around" part, but yesterday she decided to show off. We were singing some songs for her after dinner, Hokey Pokey being one of them, and she not only following the directions but actually sang along as well. At the end of the song she applauded herself and cried, "Mama, more Hickey Pickey!!!" Hickey Pickey, I love it!

Biker Chick

Among this list of favorite toys... a backpack, a tricycle, a rolling Dora suitcase, and a baby doll. All can be seen here...

My Future Veterinarian

Maggie loves animals. It doesn't matter what animal it is, she loves it. The other day we were playing outside and I asked her to walk around the side of the house with me to fetch the mail. Halfway there she joyously pointed out a "MOUSE!" to me. Too bad the mouse was dead. I don't think Maggie knows what dead is yet. She spent about five minutes talking to the dead mouse, saying sweet things in her sing-song baby girl voice, and informing me that the mouse "went nigh-nigh mama." I was finally able to drag her away from her new best friend, "Bye bye mouse! Bye bye!" Though I should have had the foresight to take another route on the return trip because lo-and-behold, the mouse was still there! Woo Hoo! And another five minutes was spent talking to a dead mouse.

So Much To Say

Maggie's newest phrases...

"Mama! Watch this!"
"Go away Mama!"

Fun stuff

Yesterday's "What Have I Done to Deserve This" Moment

After yesterday morning's drizzly, gooey start, the sun decided to peak out late that afternoon. So out we go - front yard... took down some Christmas lights, chatted with neighbors, helped Maggie push her "car" around the driveway. Back yard... clean up dog shit. I swear to god you'd think we had ten dogs instead of two. I have never seen so much crap before in my life. There was poop every two feet throughout the entire yard. Thus begins my "What have I done to deserve this" moment.

Maggie and I went down to the yard to begin cleaning up the wasteland and I decided to leave the dogs on the deck. You see, everyone in the entire neighborhood was out for a stroll in the nice weather and Payton was in full defense mode. If I had let them down to the yard they would have ran along the (muddy) (disgusting) fence line harassing everyone.

We had made a very minor dent by filling up two grocery bags full of poop when Payton's nemesis, the German Shepard from the cul-du-sac, walked by with his owner. Al of sudden all hell breaks loose on the deck. Payton foolishly decides to take out his frustration on Steve (who is four times her size) and Steve, aka Big Pussy, decides today is the day he fights back... and I am screaming like an idiot from below to get them to stop brawling.

They eventually stop, I continue to fill the bags, realize I accidentally touched poop, and call an end to outside time. I drag Maggie up the stairs and am greeted by Payton dripping in blood, her entire head and legs bright red. And Steve, cowering by the door with his own fair share of the red stuff. Oh. My. God.

I hustled everyone inside and wasn't sure who to inspect first, but then Payton shook her head and splattered blood all over the wall, all over me, and all over Maggie. So I shoved everyone into the laundry room and gently started wiping fur trying to figure out who was actually hurt and who deserved to be hurt.

Steve looked so pathetic, I took the towel to him and said "It's OK Buddy," and Maggie helped by gently patting his back and repeating those words over and over again. Not a scratch on him, the blood was Payton's. Maggie wasn't so sympathetic with Payton. After a cursory inspection we decided she seemed to only have a cut on her ear, but we had to get her in the bath to make sure (besides the blood, she was covered in mud). Maggie watched me wash Payton for about thirty seconds, decided to try and help by using her orange garden shovel to try and rinse Payton off, thus scaring the crap out of Payton, then she decided it was time to brush her teeth and wandered off. Payton's ear was the only injury. I put two bandaids on it. And it's totally fine.

So now that the dogs aren't dying, I had the pleasure of wiping blood off the floor, the walls, the washing machine, the dryer, the patio door, myself, and Maggie. Oh, and cleaning the poop off of two pairs of shoes.

Shit and blood... just how I imagined I would spend the first nice afternoon of the spring. I love my life, I love my life, I love my life (curled up, rocking, in the fetal position).

Spring Fever

It looks like crap outside today, but almost all the snow has melted and it might actually hit 55 degrees today. Maggie has the fever (spring fever) even worse than I do, poor kid. When we got home from gym class today she refused to come inside. She made me drag out her stroller and take her for a walk. It was drizzling and slimey outside but she was insistant, so I took a quick lap around the cul-du-sac. It made me feel good to know that she is just as fed up with being stuck indoors as I am.

Watch Your Mouth

You really begin to notice just how often you say certain phrases when you have a two year old in the house. For instance, has anyone noticed how often I say "There you go" in any given day? It must be an awful lot, because Maggie is saying it all the time. She'll play pretend with her babies and, "There you go!" when they successfully use the fake potty, "There you go!" when they lay down nicely for nigh-nigh, "There you go!" when they fit snugly into her backpack for a ride to the grocery store. All I can say is... THANK GOD this is the phrase she's chosen to repeat so obsessively. One of these days my luck will run out and she'll start saying "Damn it!" every time she bumps her head, or "You little shit!" every time the dog pees in the laundry room.

The Magical Fruit

Vegetables are hit or miss in this house... more often than not they are a miss. Maggie will try just about anything once, but she is not afraid to let me know when she thinks something is "yucky". Today's veggie of choice: the green bean.

As an infant she was all about the mushed up baby food version of green beans, but it's been months since a bean was able to infiltrate that impenetrable fortress that is my child's mouth. So I try to make it a little fun - look at how much Mommy loves her green beans, YUM YUM YUM - uh oh, the doggy wants to eat your green beans, no doggy! - these tactics didn't work. BUT, this did - Maggie, if you want a bean all you have to say is "Bean me!" and I'll pop one in your mouth. "Bean me!" pop, in goes the bean. "Bean me!" pop, in goes the bean. "Bean me MAMA! Bean me Mama!"

Woo Hoo! Success!

Kung-fu Style

Jason got to feel the baby kick for the first time last night. I've been feeling her toss and turn for a while now, since I was 18 weeks, but last night she was really giving it to me. He quickly placed his hand on my stomach when I said, "Ugh, I think you might be able to feel this one," and was in turn rewarded with a nice solid kick. His immediate reaction was to swiftly pull his hand away and say "Weird!" Yeah, it is kinda weird to feel a human moving from the outside of another human, but try feeling a human moving inside your own body. Now that's weird. Rather ironically, we were watching Alien vs. Predator last night - that's a pretty good representation of what it feels like I think.

The Barbie Hath Cometh!

Barbie, my old friend, welcome home. I've missed you these long years. Your flowing blonde hair, your stylish ensembles, your diverse career goals, I couldn't be happier to introduce you to my daughter.

Barbie was welcomed into our home this past Sunday. Granny brought Barbie over, and she came accompanied by a younger friend, a toilet, and a sink. She comes prepared, that's Barbie. Maggie was a little leery of her at first, but last night she let Barbie sleep with her and they've been inseparable ever since.

Barbie is the "Mommy" and the little girl doll that came with is the "Baby". The Mommy and the Baby have to hold Maggie's hands when they walk around the house. They have to scoot on their bottoms to get down the stairs. They need to sit nicely at the pillows and listen to bedtime stories, and they even need to be tucked in up to their shoulders with their heads on the pillow to go to bed with Maggie.

I'm so glad Barbie has stood the test of time. Say what you want about her, but I have very fond memories of imaginative play: Barbie houses, Barbie doctor, Barbie hairdresser, Barbie fashion designer, Barbie vet. If Barbie can help Maggie use her imagination they way she helped me, then Barbie can set up shop and stay with us as long as she wants - toilet and all.

Birthday Party 2.0

Maggie had her birthday party yesterday evening. I don't think she stopped smiling from 4pm to 8pm, she had such a good time. Her family came, including her two cousins, and so did some friends. She was ecstatic to have kids to play with all night and so pleased to be the center of attention. We didn't go overboard with the party, opting instead to make burgers and mac-n-cheese for everyone with cake and cookies to follow. Below are some pictures from the event....

Maggie's New Stats

Height: 32.25 inches
Weight: 23.5 pounds
Head: 19 inches

10-25% for height
10% for weight (woo hoo! finally out of the single digits!)
75% for head circum. - which leads me to quote..."That's a huge noggin, a virtual planetoid! HEAD... MOVE!" If you guess what movie that's from you win a major award. Well, not really, but won't you feel smart :)

No vaccinations today, next one is at two and a half.