Mealtime with an Almost-2-Year-Old

Maya has a tendency to get very HANGRY. No, that is not an embarrassing typo. She gets HUNGRY ANGRY...so HANGRY.

But then sometimes, like today, she gets HANGRY but still won't eat. Those times are fun.

Observe.

Step #1: The HANGRY starts

Step #2: Sissy tries bribery (apparently we have taught her well)

Step #3: Sissy tries the airplane method

Step #4: It doesn't go well

Step #5: Distraction by water bottle

Step #6: She remembers she is HANGRY

Step #7: An escape attempt

Step #8: Trickery: touching the empty fork to her mouth

Step #9: One more Sissy attempt, from the other side

Step #10: Beg for Squeezie

Step #11: Mom gives in. Dang it.

So there you have it. HANGRY. 

We also have SLANGRY: SLEEPY ANGRY which is just as fun!

Yay toddlerhood! :)

Weekend Wrap-Up

My back is out again. Like majorly out. Thankfully my amazing chiro came in special for me today and worked hard, so hopefully it will be better soon. Thanks Dr. Stewart!

I should probably mention one of the contributing factors to the issue is the fact that I participated in a "Wipeout" 5K yesterday. Like the TV show Wipeout. There were obstacles and water and it was crazy and fun. But probably not so good for the back. Chris did it too, along with my friend Jill.

There were professional Photographers on the course, but we haven't seen any of their pics yet. If there are any hilarious ones, I'll be sure to share them. As you can see, the finish line was a 4 story tall water slide.

While we were at the race, the girls spent the morning with G-ma and Pa. They went to the farmer's market and swimming.  So much fun!

After the race I pretty much spent the rest of the day in bed or horizontal.  Like here, where I at one point tried to lay down outside and watch the girls play.  But then I got a Maya attack.

Chris was awesome and kept the girls busy so I could rest.  They went to an indoor park and our goddaughter Christine's soccer game.

 

Today was a hard day.  I was in a lot of pain and had a hard time holding it together.  But good things still happened. I went out on a walk early in the morning to try and loosen up, and the sky was once again beautiful.  It is hard to tell from the picture on the right, but there was a rainbow.

And we were able to see great friends for lunch, with these two crazies.

And then I got to see more great friends for dinner.

When I got home, the sky looked like this.  I love that our house faces the west.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend too.  It is hard to believe that it is almost July.
 

A Light Project

I mentioned yesterday that I have really been noticing how beautiful our sky is.  And I have posted a couple times now about sunrays and looking for light.

The best part of these posts is the fact that other people have now started sending me pictures of the light and beauty they have found where they are.

I love getting these beautiful reminders, so if you happen to snap any pictures wherever you are, feel free to text or email them to me  (kati@twincitizen.net).

I'd love to start an awesome collection of light from lots of different places.

A Picture Update

Happy Friday.

I'll just get right to the pictures today.  I have them organized by day this time, except for my sunshine running pictures.  I had another good week of running in a couple different locations, so it was nice to get some different kinds of sunray shots.

The sun reflecting off the building was pretty cool.

As for our week...on Monday we met Boom for brunch, and then went to the library after nap time.

On Tuesday we played with Kona in G-ma and Pa's yard, played in our yard and went to swimming lessons.

The picture in the bottom left is the face Maya makes when I asked her to show me her teeth.  I guess I need another phrase
to use to get her to smile on command.  That one obviously backfired.

On Wednesday we went over to my friend Emily's house and had a play date with Vera and Hattie.

I also went back to my Mom's on the Run group that night.  I was REALLY nervous about it, since the last time I had gone was the night before Dad died.  It was okay.  I kept to myself, mostly, but my coach and I talked and ran together a little.  I probably won't go as religiously as I did last summer, but I'll try and go sporadically if I can. 

Thursday marked 8 weeks since Dad died. 8 WEEKS. 

We had a few girls over for a playdate, and Callie got to hold Baby Olivia, which was really fun for her.  Boom came over in the afternoon for a walk to the park and a picnic.  We ended the evening with a bath and books.

Tonight we went over to Chris' Uncle Rich and Aunt Stacey's house with G-ma and Pa.  The girls had a blast running around and playing with their kids (Arieanna (14), Alex (12), and Annelise (11)...their oldest Andrew (17) was working so we didn't see him).

We left past bedtime and Callie was asleep in the car within 3 minutes.  Maya blabbed the WHOLE way home (about 45 minutes!).  The girl does not sleep in the car.  Most of the time it works to my advantage (if I'm running late for nap time and don't want her to fall asleep for fear of am unsuccessful transfer), but tonight we wanted her to sleep, the little stinker.

I don't know if I have just never looked up as much as I do now a days, but has anyone else noticed that the sky and clouds have been so beautiful lately?  I guess it pays to look for the light... lots of beauty to see.

Have a great weekend.

23-Months-Old!

I can't believe we are one month away from 2 with this one.

Well I can believe it because of the tantrums. And also because of the crazy awesome language development. And the strong desire to do everything on her own.

Her excitement for pushing the handicap accessible door buttons is pretty much out of control. Each button has to be pushed at least twice everywhere we go.

Her love for reading books and pointing out all the words she knows is awesome. She has the most excited feet of anyone I know.

IMG 7293 from Baby Goose on Vimeo.

A year ago I posted about how she ate anything, and I now must report the opposite is true. Her go to snack is a bagel, as she says "Hungry bagel" anytime she needs food. And she pretty much refuses to eat all fruit, except maybe bananas if we slab some peanut butter on there.

Speaking of food, she finds it hilarious to throw everything on the floor when she considers herself done eating. Or any time, really.

Some other funny things she says:

*"Window OFF!"- when she wants her car window rolled down

*"Mommy hold you"- in a really high baby voice when she wants me to carry her down the stairs

*"Maya do it!"- most of the rest of the time when she won't let me help her at all

She copies everything her sister does and says. She plays like a big girl. She colors with markers. But I seriously can't believe she is almost 2!!

And lately, she does weird kinda of yoga moves and other toddler acrobatics in her crib to avoid sleeping.

But this little Maya Leigh is exhausting and hilarious and makes us all laugh and brings us lots of joy every day!

 

Five-and-a-Half

I am going to be completely honest here and say that I am really struggling with this 5.5 year old.

The word I have used to describe her lately is RELENTLESS. Physically relentless, verbally relentless, emotionally relentless.

There are times when she wont stop touching me or Maya or Chris. It drives me nuts. 

She is a "last word" kid. Her ability to argue about anything makes me think we will have another family lawyer in 20 years. 

Her latest thing is to say something like, "I don't like anyone in my family" or "No one loves me" when she is redirected or called out for something. And since she is an impulsive 5.5 year old, it happens a lot.

And now here is the part where my logical brain kicks in and I know that it is completely unfair for me to write all these things. My own ability to deal with parenting and life is totally compromised. My patience level is shot and my exhaustion level is high.

But when I thought about writing about five-and-a-half I knew I couldn't fake it. So here you go. Adorable pictures with real frustrations and the acknowledgement that times are hard and we are pushing on as best as we can.

Weekend Wrap-Up: The Symphony Ball and Father's Day

At the end of May I probably mentioned that June would be a tough month.  Dad's 60th birthday was on June 1st.  Their 39th wedding anniversary was on June 12th.  This weekend was two more events that concluded the 1-2-3-4 punch that was the month of June (though, really every day has its own, um, punches).

But this weekend (yesterday) I accompanied my mom to the Symphony Ball.  It was a fundraiser for the MN Orchestra, and my dad had bought tickets for him and my mom months ago. 

It was just one more thing we did to "walk into the pain" and "do the work" of grieving.  Those are our new phrases...we've been told many times in many different ways that we need to do those things in order to get to the other side.  And we are, and I'm impressed with us.

So.  Last night my mom and I got all dressed up in fancy dresses.

We spent the evening hobnobbing with really nice and gracious people, who were so sweet and supportive of us.  We spent time looking at silent auction items during the cocktail hour, had a fancy dinner, and attended a live auction and concert.

We had a really nice time.  And lots of wine (thanks for being our driver, Laura!).  But it was still hard knowing how much Dad would have loved it.

While I was downtown, the girls spent time at G-ma and Pa's house.

And then there's today.  Father's Day.  I slept over at the condo so I didn't have to worry about driving home late last night, so my mom and I started the day with a 6:30am 5-mile walk.  We found some sunrise sunrays.

We met my sisters, Craig and Josh at the cemetery before church.  It was my first time there since the burial.  He rests under a beautiful tree, the third spot from the left.  His plaque is not ready yet, but hopefully will be soon.

After church we went back to the condo for lunch.  Callie went on a nice walk with Boom, Auntie Mari and Josh.

We then went over to see G-ma, Pa and Auntie Cat.  And I got this awesome picture.

Happy Father's Day Daddy and Pa!

Chris and Callie ended the day at the Lynx game. 

Maya and I ended the day going on a little walk.  As I was driving home I noticed the sky and sun looked pretty cool, so we went to check it out. 

I feel lucky to have started and ended the day with sunrays.  Happy Father's Day Dad.  I love and miss you.