Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Toddler Problem Solving QOTD

Tonight while playing, Callie was trying to get behind her green chair:

Callie: (grunting) I'm trying to get behind my green chair but Mr. Bear is in the way! (more grunting...trying to move Mr. Bear...grunting...going to the left of Mr. Bear to get behind the chair...pushing the wall...grunting) WE GOTTA MOVE THIS WALL!



Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Horns QOTD

I haven't done a QOTD for awhile but a cute one came up in the car on the way home today.

Background Information
1) Callie and Boom go to music class together 
2) We all call passing gas "tooters"

Callie: (listening to a horn section of orchestral Christmas music in the car) One time when Boom and I were listening to music, the horns sounded like tooters!!!

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Weekend Wrap-Up: The Christmas Program Edition

It was a girls weekend.  Chris and his buddies went up north for some guy bonding time, so it was Cal and me.  Thankfully we were able to bop around to see Boom, Bops and Yoda and G-ma, G-pa and Auntie Cat throughout the weekend as well.  And last night we had a big girls night with the wives and children of the guys up north...we went to Alison's house and hung out with her, Baby Avery, Cherilyn, Sydney and Baby Kylie.  It was a little nuts and we were a good reminder to Alison to soak up the baby months because toddlerhood can be a beast. :)


"Around the Mulberry Bush" with Boom

Christmas music with Bops

The two seconds that the toddlers were calm all evening...yay cartoons!

The babies- Avery and Kylie


The best part of the weekend for me was the Sunday School Christmas Program.  The two-year-olds had a small part (two songs with the bigger kids!) and it was hilarious to watch them all NOT singing.  Callie seemed to be overwhelmed at first, but as you'll see below, got into each song a little bit by the end.  She might have been overwhelmed by the army of people who came to see her- Boom, Bops, Auntie Yoda, Craig, G-ma, G-pa and Auntie Cat.  What an awesome family!!!

Dressed up in her Christmas dress!

Leading the way!

Trying to figure out what is going on

Starting to get into it...
 
Not sure about this, but participating nonetheless.
Cookies after the service!
Thanks to my dad for the pictures above and Auntie Yoda for the video goods below...hilarious.

Light One Candle from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

God is so Good from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

Now Daddy is home and I'm officially off duty and heading out for a different kind of girls' night...one in which I can sit and chat quietly with my friend.  I loved being with my little girl this weekend, but now I need some "me" time.

Less than one week until a certain toddler's 3rd birthday and we still have a lot to do...it is going to be a busy week.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Heartsick

I can't do a Favorite-Things-Phone-Dump Friday post today.  Not because I haven't taken pictures or can't think of favorite things from this week, but because all of those things have been completely overshadowed the the tragic shooting that took place today in Connecticut.

I work at an elementary school.  It is where I spend the majority of my time.  The children there are the reason for my life's work.  My colleagues are dear friends.  
 
What happened today is unimaginable.  I have spent today in shock and in tears and angry.

At my heart I am a mother.  Words can't even express how much my heart is broken for the mothers and fathers and families in Connecticut right now.  

It is Friday- the weekend- which means I get extra time to hug and kiss and love my sweet girl.  But it will all be so bittersweet because I'll be constantly thinking of those parents who can't.
 
So I will constantly pray.
 
As I was on twitter today I came across this blog post.  I had never read the blog before, but this post sums up pretty much exactly what I am feeling.
 
http://extraordinary-ordinary.net/2012/12/14/i-cant/

Peace.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Okay, I Need to Vent A Little. Please Forgive Me.

You guys...HELP.

Three-year-olds.  OHMYGOODNESS.

We're less than two weeks from having a 3yo and...seriously.  How does one little person go from this...

"Hi!  My name is Callie and I'm an ANGEL!"
to this...

"Hi!  My name is Callie and I'm a MONSTER!"
in 0.645 seconds flat?

I have mentioned a few things the past couple months...things like googling defiant three year olds, and subliminal messaging that have shown a couple of different "sides" to our toddler.  But I gotta say that the last couple of weeks has been challenging.  And that would be an understatement.

Once again I feel lame for complaining.  We only have one.  She's perfectly healthy.  We have tons of support.  But even with all of those things going for us, we're in brand new territory and we're trying to figure it out.  And we're learning that it is HARD, no matter how you slice it.

It's HARD when, for at least the last 7 or 8 mornings in a row, our toddler throws high-pitched-screaming-screeching-like-a-banshee-hissy-fits when we try to get her dressed.  Every. Freaking. Morning.

It's HARD when EVERY TIME we leave the house, we have to endure the same hissy fits just to get her boots and coat on.

It's HARD when most of the words that come out of her mouth are either screeching or whining, despite our calm reminders and consistent expectations that she use her "big girl voice."

It's HARD when, even when we try to be the models of consistency and patience, we still get nowhere.

It's HARD when she's screaming and flailing on the floor and I want to do the same thing but I can't.

It's HARD when we hear what an angel she is during the day with our parents, but is the opposite of that at home with us in the mornings and evenings. 

It's HARD when I'm a freaking TEACHER and EVERY SINGLE STRATEGY I try fails with my own child.

It's HARD.

I know it is a phase and everyone says that threes are worse than twos and we will survive it.  I know that.  And I know that tomorrow is another day and a chance to start over.  And I'm thankful.

I'm also thankful for 8pm toddler bedtime.

Okay I'm done.  Thank you for letting me vent.  I promise my next post will be full of adorable toddler pictures and anecdotes. :)

Happy Birthday Auntie Mari!

Have a great day off!  Enjoy playing with this crazy toddler. :)


Sunday, December 9, 2012

Weekend Wrap-Up: The Oh-My-SNOW Edition

Well, after a very mild winter last year, we got our good taste of a normal MN winter this weekend.  Lots and lots of snow.  Ugh.  Thankfully it didn't ruin our fun plans.

Friday
We went out for a family dinner...and had an early bed time after a long week.

Saturday
We spent the morning at our neighbors Ben and Hannah's 2nd birthday party.  It was a fun Curious George-themed event.  Callie enjoyed the balloons, among other things.

Crazy static hair!

Curious George mask

"Helping" Ben and Hannah open their gifts
Later that evening we went over to Auntie Cat's house for gingerbread house making.  It was quite an undertaking but we did it!

Getting ready!

Attempting to make a stable house out of frosting and graham crackers

Such concentration!

All done!


Thanks for a fun evening, Auntie Cat! :)
Sunday
After Sunday School we headed to the condo for the day.  My parents, sisters and I went to the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus concert (probably for the 15th time in the past couple of decades...we LOVE those concerts!).  Our piano teacher, Tim, is the principal accompanist and it was fun to see him after the show. Later in the evening we were all together celebrating Auntie Mari's 24th birthday (which is tomorrow).  Most of the pictures were taken by an almost-3-year-old photographer.  The photo quality is hit-or-miss, but the overall artistry is quite fabulous, don't you think?

One of the highlights of the evening (besides the usual family time and delicious dinner made my Boom), was watching my Dad "dust panning" the snow out on the deck so that they could get to the grill to make Mari's requested birthday steak.



Oh, how lovely that the mighty condo dweller was finally humbled by the MN snow.  Though tomorrow I'm sure he'll smugly drive out of his heated parking ramp to work while I work to dig my car out of the snowbank that it will be stuck in.  Sigh.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!  Safe travels in the snow, Minnesotans!