Surrendering

We went to church on Sunday and Pastor Chris' sermon was about surrendering.  More specifically, surrendering control.  He used many different examples of this, one of them being in parenting.

It could not have been a more perfect message for me.

I've blogged about this challenging toddler business before, and the lack of control is what is getting to me.  Big time.  Why can I not control this little person?  I am a teacher.  I should be able to figure this out.  And yet I have seriously NOT been able to. 

So I've just finally came to the conclusion that, despite by irrational thoughts that it shouldn't be, parenting is hard.  Even with a relatively easy kid like Callie.  It is totally new territory- we are learning as we go, and she is doing the same.

Pastor Chris ended his sermon by saying that surrendering is a process.  A habit we have to practice.  So everyday I'm praying for a little more patience, and a little less need for control.

My mind keeps coming back to this Sara Groves song, "Remember, Surrender."  If you have a few minutes and want to hear to a beautiful, peaceful song, have a listen.



Thank you for reading this blog, and in turn, supporting us through this phase in our lives.  :)

Weekend Wrap-Up

It is late.  So this Weekend Wrap-Up will be brief.

First off, shout out to our college friend Angie, her husband Jason and their 3-year-old Reese who welcomed another little boy, Drake, on Thursday.  Congrats!!!!

On to the weekend.  Here are the pics.

Dr. Seuss event at Target with Charlie

Dinner with Sydney

Books with Pa

Beanie Babies with Aunties

Cute in the kitchen

And we were treated to a couple of performances this evening:





It is WAY too late for me to be awake considering the busy week ahead...so I will say goodnight!

26 Months Old!!!

I had to literally click on January and find the previous blog post from the 22nd because I was too lazy to do the math in my head (ridiculous, I know, but it has been a long day!).

If I think back on the past month, I think mostly of my toddler's brilliance- and how she used it for good (her sponge-brain was able to learn SO much!) and sometimes for not-so-good (too-smart-for-her-own-good tantrums). :)

Regardless, she is well into 2-years-old and everyone comments about how old she looks, like what a little girl she is.

I agree, and I love it and hate it at the same time.

A Couple Videos

Daddy taught Callie a new trick:



Dave, Cherilyn and Sydney gave Callie a Mrs. Potato Head for her birthday...she LOVES it.

Weekend Wrap-Up: The Two Callies Edition

I wasn't sure how to start this blog post.  So I decided to google "quotes about 2-year-olds" and see what came up.  I found a few quotes that seem to sum up this weekend.

"You can learn many things from children.  How much patience you have, for instance."  ~Franklin P. Jones

"Having a two-year-old is like having a blender that you don't have the top for."  

~Jerry Seinfeld

Friday

The Cute-Callie/Crabby-Callie show started the moment I picked herup from G-pa on Friday afternoon.  Drama.  So. Much. Drama.  And by drama, I mean Crabby-Callie engaging me in a 5 minute screaming battle to get into the car seat.  And then, two minutes later, Cute-Callie was asking me so very politely to turn on her favorite song ("Eliza Jane please Mommy!").

And then, at home, Crabby-Callie came out again with MULTIPLE episodes of flinging herself onto the carpet and screaming.  And then Cute-Callie was on display at the party at my school.  She had a blast running around, playing with other kids and dancing during the student talent show.   (I apologize in advance for the obnoxiously loud Justin Bieber music in the video).

Saturday

The two Callie's were out in full force again, switching up faster than we could keep up with.  But we did manage to make real "wuffins" with Cute-Callie using a recipe from the Muffin Cookbook Boom gave us for Valentine's day.  

 After a relatively brief nap, Chris and I were totally okay with sending Callie with G-ma, G-pa, and Auntie Cat for an overnight.  They had a blast swimming at the Y and playing with the only Callie that was around for them: Cute-Callie (of course).  

 Meanwhile, we had a date night- dinner and a movie.  And then stayed at our favorite B&B.  It was an evening of relaxation that was VERY much needed.

Sunday

Today was better.  More Cute-Callie appearances than Crabby-Callie meltdowns.  Thankfully!  We picked Cute-Callie up from G-ma and G-pa's house late morning and brought her home just in time for nap time.  Then after some play time, Cal and I headed for a little shopping outing and dinner while Chris went to the T-Wolves game.

So that about sums it up.  We are trying to predict the unpredictable and I sometimes catch myself thinking "Who IS this crazy child??"  when she has thrown herself on the ground for tantrum #347 of the day.  But then, she does something adorable like sitting in the middle of her puzzles and patting the ground next to her saying "Come, Mommy!  Come!" 

So the third quote I found is spot on.

"Even though your kids will consistently do the exact opposite of what you're telling them to do, you have to keep loving them just as much."

~Bill Cosby

And we do! 

 

Fun with Photo Booth

After Chris cooked dinner last night, Callie, Anna and I had fun with Anna's Mac- more specifically, the Photo Booth effects on her Mac.

The results?  Hilarious.

We could not stop giggling.  Then we went out for frozen yogurt.

It was a pretty kick-butt Valentines day.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love,
Callie

Weekend Wrap-Up

Oh weekends...why do you go by so fast?

Friday
We tried out a new sandwich shop called Which 'Wich by our house (you know, because it isn't enough to have Subway, Jimmy John's, Panera and Brueggers all within 2 miles of us).  It was AWESOME.

Yummy Sammiches

Peace Sign!

Goose!

Saturday
Well, we went shopping.  And then had the Battle of Wills.

After nap time, she went with Chris to the Choo Choo Bob's shop to play with some trains.

 Then we had some fun playtime at home.  It was lovely to be in our jammies by 6pm on a Saturday night!

Sunday
We went to the condo in the morning and got out all of Mari's old Beanie Babies...all 60 of them!

Tonight we went over to G-ma and G-pa's house and out to dinner to celebrate with Uncle Dan.  After a VERY lengthy interview process, he was offered (and accepted) a police job with a police force up north and will be starting next week. 

We're very excited for him but will miss having him here. 

Hope everybody had a great weekend!

Battle of Wills

Who is more stubborn?  The mom or the toddler?

This morning there was an...um...opportunity to find out the answer to that question.  And it was documented by the cell phone camera.  Because that is what mom's do to eventually prove they are right, right?  Poor children.

It started out perfectly innocent. 

The mom bought some fun new (super cheap!) toy dishes for the toddler's kitchen. 

The basement was a disaster because of the toddler, so the mom decided that before the toddler could play with the new toys, she had to help clean up. 

The toddler's job was to clean up the little animals and put them in the blue basket (like she usually does during clean up time).

Not too difficult, right?

However, the toddler refused.  Multiple times.  Even after the mom took out the new toys and started playing with them herself to entice the toddler.  All she got was the toddler putting 2 toys in and then immediately throwing the basket so the toys fell out.

You can't make me, Mom.

So after some drawn out drama and the toddler sobbing "sleepytime sleepytime!", the Mom decided to abandon the basement for the moment and have lunch.

Mac & Cheese in a Mickey bowl makes everything better.

After being cheered by the mac and cheese, the mom decided to try her luck with the clean-up battle again.  It took a few minutes, but...

VICTORY!!!

When Mommy wins, toddler wins.

Dishes! Dishes!

The Battle of Wills Part 1 (assuming there will be many more):

Mommy: 1  Toddler: 0

Triple Date

Chris and I went out with two other couples tonight.

Jenna and Andy are great- but it was the other couple that got most of our attention... 

Charlie and Callie...

...on a date...

...typical toddler dinnertime shenanigans...

...and then, of course, ice cream!

Bed Time

I'd like to start off by saying that this is in no way a major issue, but rather a slight annoyance.

I've alluded to the fact that bed time has not gone the way we'd like lately.

No, there is no screaming.  No, there is no crying.

On the contrary, there is lots of laughing.  And blabbing.  And kicking the crib.  And naming different animals.  And kicking the wall.  And talking about colors.  And talking to blankies.  And sighing.  And counting. And...you get my drift.

The little stinker just really likes to entertain herself in the complete darkness instead of falling asleep.

Tonight she is showing off her counting skills:




We have tried an early bed time.  We have tried a later bed time.  No matter what time she goes down, it takes at least 30-45 minutes of babbling to herself (last night--> 90 minutes) before we hear a quiet monitor.

And every night Chris and I look at each other and roll our eyes at the funny things coming through the monitor, and we are so thankful that this little stinker is all ours.

Weekend Wrap-Up

We had another mellow weekend.  It was great.

Friday
Um...I honestly can't remember.

Oh yeah, I posted this. That about summed it up.

And there was probably a "naked baby" running around because her new favorite thing is to be without clothes.

Saturday
We practiced our silly smile.

We took a jaunt around the neighborhood.

After nap time, we took our pants off and burned off some energy. 



And by we, of course I mean the toddler.  I was invited to be "nakee babies" (in this case, pant-less) with her, but declined.  The conversation went something like this:
Callie: **Taking a quick break from running**  Mommy nakee babies too!
Me:  No. Mommy will not be naked babies.
Callie: Okay! **Continuing to run back and forth**


Then that evening, while Chris went to the T-Wolves game, Bethany came over and we had fun with stickers.

Sunday
While at the condo, Mari and Callie took a little rest...Kona supervised.

For the Superbowl, I made some low(er) fat/fewer calorie versions of my favorite dips: spinach artichoke dip and taco dip.  We also had veggies.  And fruit.  So we did not consume the 4000-6000 calories that the average American does on this crazy football day.

Friday Night

Friday nights look a little different than they did ten years ago.

Tonight:

5:00-7:30 Dinner, billions of books and play time with the toddler.

7:30 Toddler bed time.

7:45 Glass of wine.

And no doubt falling asleep on the couch in the next hour.

I'd pretty much call that bliss.