I Have No Idea How She Knew That

Callie has a bunch of things that she sleeps with:

Tiny Bear
Hello Kitty
Beau Bear
New Puppy
Kona Dos
Llama Llama
15 little blankies (okay that may be an exaggeration, but you get the idea)

Her bed is full of snuggly things.  And she is picky about the things that get to sleep with her.

Some are not invited- like Heena, Rico, Tutti, and Molly.  They can only hang out in her room- not in her bed.

We didn't check which things were in her bed tonight, because the six major players are usually all there.  The lights were turned off, kisses were given, the door was shut.

Then, after watching my toddler on the monitor messing around and NOT sleeping for 45 minutes, I talked to her through the intercom thingy and told her to go to sleepies.  She replied with, "But Mommy, Tiny Bear is missing!"

I sighed, sure that Tiny Bear was in her bed somewhere, but went upstairs to check the living room just in case.

Tiny Bear was in fact in the living room, and I was flabbergasted at how she knew that he wasn't a part of the mountain of lovey things in bed.

Apparently we can't underestimate the importance of having 6 animals instead of 5 in bed with a toddler who is clearly detail oriented.  I texted Chris about it, and he responded "Yeah she knows all her animals by feel and has some weird sixth sense about it."

So I brought up Tiny Bear.  She's still not sleeping.

For real, child, your gang's all there...GO TO SLEEP!!

Punkin Pie

As I blogged yesterday, the toddler into our house turned into a screeching howler monkey most of the weekend.

Thankfully, today our toddler was back to her sweet Punkin Pie self. 

Loveable.

Adorable.

Smart.

Wonderful.

Hilarious.

Generous.

My baby girl.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Um...I just don't have much nice to say about this weekend, so I won't say much at all.

The 3s are happening and we're muddling through them. 

Yesterday we had some fun in the morning at the Children's Museum...and then didn't have much fun the rest of the day.  Then today was more not having fun this morning before Sunday School, and then later Callie had fun with Auntie Cat at Children's Theater while we had a much needed afternoon "off" and got some nesting cleaning done.

Here are some pictures.

Just hanging with Dora and Boots



Callie the turtle

The "before" view of our basement...embarassing

Three hours later and it is fully organized and put back together

Showing Lami the program of the play they saw at Children's Theater

As for Hamsie: he/she is 19 weeks along and is roughly the size of a large heirloom tomato.  My baby center app says that the baby may be able to hear voices now, "so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to him or her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you."  After this weekend, he/she may be thinking that we live with a screeching howler monkey.  Don't worry, Hamsie, it is just your big sister.  We'll try and have the 3s figured out by the time you get here.

Favorite-Things-Phone-Dump Friday: 38-Months-Old!

Happy Friday!  It is once again the 22nd and our toddler is 38-months old.  Crazy. 

Whew...made it through another week.  I'm happy to say my energy level has picked up dramatically and I'm feeling so much better than the first trimester.  It is amazing what a difference actually feeling okay makes on life in general. 

Now for the phone dump...

Favorite Thing #1: Watching this crazy girl fall asleep.  Creepy raccoon eyes and all.

Favorite Thing #2: Toddler's request at dinner: "I want to sit by my aunties!"

And lastly, remember our potty training regression issue?  I'm happy to say that we've made it through to the other side and are back down to 1 pair of undies a day.  Today she was very proud to earn her last sticker, and therefore a new movie!

Favorite Thing #3: Using teacher strategies works for parenting too!

We went to Target and she chose a Minnie Mouse movie, which we are currently watching on this low-key Friday night.  Now on to another sticker chart.  Our next battle to fight and use unabashed bribery for: pooping on the potty.  Yep, she always saves her poops for sleepy time pull-ups and we gotta break the habit.  Wish us luck.

Have a great weekend!

Sun QOTD

A week or so ago I overheard a conversation between Chris and Callie about day and night and the sun (yes, I was spying on bed time through the new video monitor...it was adorable).  Chris explained how the earth rotated around the sun and that different parts of the earth were light and dark at different times of the day.

Since then, pretty much daily (if not multiple times a day), she identifies whether or not it is day or night and what that means for the rest of the world.

Noticing that it is dark out.
Callie: Mom!  It is dark out!  The sun is at the other world!
Me: Yes, you're right!  The sun is now in the southern hemisphere!  That's the other part of the world.

The same type of conversation happens when it is light out.  I'm still waiting for her to bust out the "hemisphere" word, but it shouldn't be too long.

Three-year-old brains are awesome sponges. 

Moods

If you're a parent to a toddler, you may be familiar with this book:

Sandra Boynton books are all adorable, but this one is my favorite.  Maybe it is because, as a mother of a toddler, I can completely relate.  Because our toddler can go from "Happy Hippo" to "Angry Duck" in approximately 1.3 seconds.  More like 1.3 milliseconds.

We read this book tonight because it was a rough afternoon/evening.  So here is a reading of the story (the author's words in bold text) with me inserting any comment that seems fitting for today (my words in red italicized text).

A-hem.  A-hem.

"Happy Hippo, Angry Duck.  A book of moods.  By Sandra Boynton."

"Hello, Little Person!  How ARE you today?  Is your mood quite terrific or only okay?"
Every time I read this Callie answers "Only okay."  EVERY TIME.

"Are you HAPPY AS A HIPPO?"
Um, that was the case for bath time, snack time and dinner time.
"Or ANGRY AS A DUCK?"
The ENTIRE REST of the afternoon/evening.
"Maybe SAD AS A CHICKEN? (Can you sadly say 'CLUCK CLUCK'?)"
She relishes in saying a VERY sad "CLUCK CLUCK."

"Are you...GRUMPY AS A MOOSE?
Or EXCITED AS A DOG?
WORRIED AS A RABBIT?
CONTENTED AS A FROG?"
No comment.  I say grumpy, she says excited.  Someone may need to learn how to be more self-aware.  That may, however, not be a developmentally appropriate 3-year-old skill.  I really REALLY wish it was.

"Perhaps, like a pig, you are SWEETLY AMUSED.  Or perhaps, like a cow, you're COMPLETELY CONFUSED."
Giggle giggle giggle.  The animals are funny!

"You might feel that, somehow, you've lost all your fizz.
Or you're FRAZZLED LIKE A...um...FRAZZLED THING.  (I'm not sure what that is)."
I'm not sure either, but I feel like it might be me.  Okay...I KNOW it is me.

"Well, I hope you are happy.  But if you are not, you have friends who will help you.  We like you a lot."
We are both thankful we have lots of friends.  She's thankful because she loves to play with them.  I'm thankful because they keep me sane. :)

"And a difficult mood is not here to stay.  Everyone's moods will change day to day."
Thank GOODNESS.  But in the case of 3-year-olds...it is minute to minute.

"Unless you're that duck.  He's always this way."
A good reminder to be thankful for the "Happy Hippo" times, no matter how few and far between they seem to be some days.  At least they are there.

So there you have it.  I hope you have enjoyed this bedtime story.  And I hope tomorrow we have more "Happy Hippo" moments than "Angry Duck" moments.

Weekend Wrap-Up: The Late Edition

I know, I know.  I'm late on the weekend wrap-up.  I've already been reminded of this by my mom. :)

But, technically, since I have today off, my weekend is over yet.

First off, congrats to my cousin Andy, his wife Beth and their little boy Donald.  They added another boy to their family on Saturday- Frederic William.  Congrats!  Can't wait to meet the little one!

We have had a nice weekend...it started out with date night for me and Chris while Callie spent Friday night at G-ma and G-pa's house.  It was a "girls' night" because Chris' cousins Arieanna and Annelise spent the night as well.  Callie had a blast!

Much more patient letting Arieanna and Annelise do her hair than when Mommy tries!

Story time with Arieanna

Saturday

After lunch with the girls and nap time, we spent the evening at the condo.  In a fairy dress.

Dancing and singing fairy

Sunday

We took it easy...hung around the house mostly.  Got a little artistic.  Practiced being a big sister.  The usual.

Such concentration!

Goofball face

Big sister practice- but no, there won't be twins.

Monday

Since I have the day off, I got to go to music class with Callie and Boom this morning.

On the run!

With Boom at MacPhail

Many of you may have seen this on Facebook, but in case you missed it, we found a picture of me as a three-year-old and I had to do a side-by-side with my mini-me.

Kati and Callie at age 3

Have a great week!

Favorite-Things-Phone-Dump Friday

Happy Friday!

The only picture I took this week besides the Valentine's picture, was a baby bump picture.

I took a baby bump picture because I feel huge.  Already.  At 17 weeks.

Holy cow 2nd pregnancies make everything pop sooner than the 1st ones. 

But regardless of how large I feel, it is my favorite thing.  It means that Hamsie is growing and thriving and my body is doing what it is supposed to be doing. 

I had a check-up on Wednesday and all is good.  Heartbeat is 140 bpm (last month it was 150, is there any significance to that?) and my doc predicts a boy, though she says she's only 50/50 with her predictions being right.

Callie made it abundantly clear to me the other day that she DOES NOT want a brother and that Hamsie is most definitely a girl.

We find out who is right on March 5th.

The baby's due date has been confirmed for July 21st.

So if you have any predictions for gender (or birth date and birth time) send them our way.  We made a spreadsheet of predictions the first time around and it was really fun.

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hope everyone had a love-filled day!

Potty QOTD

After returning home from a successful Mall of America trip, including the purchase of a "Tangled" toy set for Valentine's day.

Me: Okay, Mommy has to go potty, but do you want me to come down and open your toys first?
Callie: (with a very concerned face) Are you going to stay dry, Mom?


Clearly she has heard that phrase a lot.

Time QOTD

A conversation like this happens multiple times a day.  She's clearly trying actively to figure out the concept of time.

During bath time tonight.

Me: Okay Callie, in 2 minutes we're going to wash your hair.
Callie: What number is it?
Me: You mean, what time is it?
Callie: Yeah, what time is it?
Me: 5:03.
Callie: What time is washing my hair?
Me: 5:05.
Callie: (pausing a second) Is it 5:05 yet?
Me: Nope.
Callie: (pausing a second) Is it 5:05 yet?
Me: Nope.
Callie: (pausing three seconds) Is it 5:05 yet?

And so on...

Weekend Wrap-Up

We had a fun weekend!  Things are going much better in the potty training department (i.e. tonight at dinner (out of the blue) she told us she had to go potty, we made it to the bathroom and she went with no accident!).  Victory!

Saturday

We had playtime and lunch at Boom and Bops' house.

Dancing to the Princess music

Where's Callie?

On Saturday evening Callie hung out with Auntie Cat and G-pa while Chris and I went out to eat with our college crew.  It was a fun night for all!  Callie was excited that she got to hang out without us.  She made sure to tell us we had to leave as soon as we got there to drop her off.  Once again, we feel so loved...

Sunday

We went to church today and the Sunday School classes sang a song during the service.  Well, Callie stood up in the front and watched while other kids sang.

After church we had lunch with Jenna, Charlie and Mabel.

After nap time, Callie went outside in the snow and played with Dan and Anna.  I was barely allowed to take pictures ("Don't come, Mom!"), but I snuck a few anyway.

Working on a snowman

Throwing a snowball at Uncle Dan

Hank the Snowman- right in our front yard!

Hamsie update- he/she is currently 17 weeks along.  As for size- he/she is around 5 inches long and 5 ounces.  I have an appointment on Wednesday and I think we'll be able to schedule an ultrasound sometime in the next couple of weeks to find out if Hamsie is a he or a she!  Can't wait til we know for sure!

Favorite-Things-Phone-Dump Friday

Another week both dragged on and flew by simultaneously.  Not sure how that works but I can't believe it is already Friday, and Monday seems like SO LONG ago.

I wasn't at all stellar at taking pictures this week again, but here's what I got:

Favorite Thing #1: After not having many groceries for most of the week, we finally all had enough energy to brave the store.  And Callie is wearing the second dress she earned on her potty chart.  Yay!

Favorite Thing #2: How do we beat the winter blahs?  By painting our nails and toes of course!  And it is fun to represent all the favorite colors- purple, silver and pink!

That is all.  I will no doubt be asleep on the couch in about 20 minutes...hope you all have a more exciting Friday night than mine will be! :)

The 3s- Part II

I wrote my first post about the 3s a little over a week ago amidst the chaos of toddler sickness, pregnancy exhaustion and surgery recovery.

We're out of those crazy woods so I now feel the need to add another 3s post that is a little more...shall we say...positive.  So here is The 3s- Part II.

1)  They are thinkers.  They are thinking about stuff all. the. time.  For example, as we were driving home the other day, she said "Mommy, when the snow melts, I am going to pick a pretty flower!"  She was obviously thinking about the seasons and what happens and came up with that all on her own completely unprompted.  I love it.

2) They try and act big.  She calls me "Mom" way more often than "Mommy" these days.  And my heart simultaneously swells and breaks to hear her sound like such a big girl.  Tonight when we were in the car she said, "Hey Mom, it is dark outside!"

3) They are still very literal.  When she was playing with Anna the other day, Anna told Kona to pick up the ball.  Callie said, "But Kona doesn't have any hands!"

4) They are INQUISITIVE.  An example from watching a basketball game last night:
Callie: (after seeing a player fall down) What happened to that guy?
Chris: He fell down.
Callie: Why?
Chris: He got kneed in the stomach.
Callie: By who?
Chris: By the little guy.  You can't see him right now.
Callie: But who did it?
Chris: That guy. 
Callie: But why did he do that?

And it went on...and was adorable.  And hilarious.

Other times she asks us to rehash conversations that we just had that she just heard.  When getting Cal and me in the car this morning, I saw our neighbor for the first time in a long time and he congratulated me on the baby.  We had a 2-second conversation and then Callie I and had the following conversation.
Callie: What did he say?
Me: He said congratulations.
Callie: Then what did you say?
Me: I said thank you.
Callie: Then what did he say?
Me: He asked when the baby is coming.
Callie: What did you say?
Me: I said July.
Callie: Then what did he say?

Etcetera...etcetera...etcetera...

All of this she had just heard live as it happened the minute before.  So funny.

5) They still like to cuddle *SOMETIMES* and we relish it when we get the opportunity.

She may not look it, but she's happy to be back on Daddy's lap after not being able to for awhile.

6)  They are so incredibly sweet.  My most favorite thing that she says to me (quite often) that shows her excitement and understanding of her future sibling is, "What do you think Hamsie is doing in there?" and then gives my belly a rub or a kiss.

So I really am loving the 3s right now...she has her tough moments, but so do I, and the good and joyful moments outweigh the rough moments by a lot. 

Weekend Wrap-Up

So this is where pregnancy brain comes in to play...trying to remember stuff that happened in the past.  Thank goodness I am in the habit of taking pictures, or I'd have no idea what to post on the weekend wrap-up.

Saturday
First off, Callie found Heena! 

Heena is a seal she got from my parents about a year ago that mysteriously disappeared months ago.  Want to know where and how she was found?  First off, she was up WAY to early on Saturday morning, so we told her to just play in her room for a little bit.  Then she decided to empty out her entire drawer full of sheets and blankets.  And because of that she found Heena who was stuffed INSIDE a pillow case in the drawer.  No idea how that happened, but I have a feeling a certain little person had something to do with it many months ago...

Anyway...the other exciting part about Saturday was that Callie earned her "new dress" sticker on the potty chart, so we went to Southdale in search of the perfect "sparkly" dress.

We found it.

And it hasn't come off the rest of the weekend...except for sleepy times.

She rocked it at Andy and Beth's baby shower and had fun playing bubbles with Donald and Amy.

Sunday

Auntie Mari came over in the morning to play and we had story time before nap time.

This was minutes after we took the dress off to prepare for nap time.

Then Cal and I went to the condo to spend the evening with Boom.  Dress back on.

As far as Hamsie goes, he/she is 16 weeks along and I'm told by my babycenter app that he/she will be growing like crazy in the next few weeks.  I'm most definitely obviously pregnant as I've gotten a couple comments from strangers.  And I have had my first real craving of this pregnancy (though I didn't have very many with Callie, so we'll see)...sparkling fruit punch.  Like Tahitian Treat that you may have enjoyed as a 12-year-old but not since then.  I kept thinking about it all day on Thursday and Friday.  Finally today I got some fruit punch and mixed it will a little Sprite and it was AMAZING.

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!

Auntie QOTD

Auntie Cat told me this one from last weekend when she was at our house.  And a little background knowledge for you- when other people are around, Callie doesn't really want much to do with Chris or me.  She usually tells us to go away.

Last Sunday Callie, Cat and I were eating dinner in our kitchen and Callie repeatedly told me to "go check on Daddy"...like many many times.  I finally left and went downstairs.

Callie: (turning to Auntie Cat) Good!  Now WE can hang out. 

Gosh she sure knows how to make her mom feel special.

Favorite-Things-Phone-Dump Friday

We made it through the week and things are looking up.

Chris' arm is okay...he's still in a lot of pain and uncomfortable, but he is able to move it around more and is able to do more things to help himself. I'm still in charge of socks and bandages and assisting with getting his shirt on, but I can handle that. :)

Callie no longer screams out "NOSE" every other minute and is feeling much better, so that makes for both a happier girl and much less frazzled parents.

We have Kona back after an extended stay at G-ma and G-pa's so our house is starting to feel normal again (and with the limited ability of either of us to do much housework, it is cluttered and messy, which I guess is our normal anyway).

Our potty chart has been working and Callie stayed dry the ENTIRE day today.  That hasn't happened in probably a month.  Therefore, tomorrow we are going shopping to buy the first dress she earned. 

See?  Progress.

On to the pictures...

Favorite Thing #1: Playing in the snow

Favorite Thing #2: Playing in the snow with Grandma!

Favorite Thing #3: Above zero temps meant we could get this crazy doggy outside a little bit!

Favorite Thing #4: Dinner at the Suurmeyers and making valentines

Favorite Thing #5: The princess has a tiara

Favorite Thing #6: I *think* I felt little flutters tonight while typing this!

 Hope everyone has a great weekend!