Weak in the knees

Yesterday at Target, Anna figured out how to stand up in the cart. Even with the seatbelt fastened securely around her, she weaseled herself up to a standing position in less than thirty seconds. We did our shopping with my hand on her shoulder or actually carrying her.

After we checked out, I had that Mommy moment that really puts us to the test. I had to go to the bathroom.

I brought the cart into the bathroom, and debated between 1. taking Anna in the stall with me, where I know she'd escape from my grasp and crawl on her hands and knees on the urine coated, bacteria infested floor, or 2. putting her in the back of the cart. I tried out the back of the cart, and, noting that it came only a couple inches below her chin, decided she couldn't topple out, especially not in the 45 seconds I'd allow myself to use the toilet.

She didn't topple out. But, she did somehow smash her mouth against the cart. Just as I was finishing in the stall, I heard a piercing scream. I ran out to find Anna drooling blood. I didn't see any missing teeth, and, somehow, amidst the pool of blood noticed the skin attaching her gums to her lip was no longer attaching her gums to her lip. It was hanging down between her teeth.

With knees so weak, I don't even know how I managed, but I declared we were going to the doctor. I threw the groceries into the car and both kids into their carseats. My sleeve was soaked with blood, as was Anna's shirt. I drove up the on-ramp and paged Dave. I told him we were on our way and explained what happened.

His reply: "Oh, that's no big deal. It happens all the time. Hers was pretty thick, anyway, I expected that to happen."

My response to his nonchalant attitude... I started crying.

It was really bad. It didn't stop bleeding all night. I put her to bed three and a half hours later and her pajamas, sleep sack, and sheets got bloody.

I'm going to do it. I'm going to post pictures I took three hours afterwards. Her face, which I'd wiped blood from all night, is even blotched with new blood. Why would I post the pictures? Maybe after Dave acting like it was no big deal, I need someone to think, "Oh, poor Anna. Kristal, I certainly would have reacted like you did!"

The fall

I've never thought myself a perfect mother, not close, but I did think I was reasonably patient. And, I did pride myself on letting Kate experiment with things without judgement or correction. If she's painting or working on a project, I let her make it as she believes is best. I may make one of my own, to give her ideas, but I leave hers alone. If we’re making a recipe and she cuts something imperfectly, I don’t care. Even if she spills half of the egg out of the batter bowl, it's no big deal.

Notice I said I pride myself on that kind of parenting. As the saying goes, "Pride cometh before the fall."

The fall was the garden. On Monday, Kate and I worked on planting the garden. I got kind of tense when her little foot prints stomped down the freshly tilled soil. Then I almost freaked out when she walked along the twine marking where we’d planted the lettuce seeds instead of the twine marking the divider between patches. (Like she’s really supposed to be able to keep them straight!) And I did let out some exasperated exclamation when her floot landed directly on the tomato seedling.

Poor kid! She’s only three. I really tried to be patient, and I really did not do well. When she refuses to help me at age nine, when I want nothing more than to have her spend time with me, someone make me read this and ask for forgiveness.

She did help me water today, though, and I did much better. I didn’t even flinch when she full on sprayed the lettuce beds, splashing soil and seeds everywhere. Okay, I flinched. I definitely flinched, and maybe more, but she didn’t see!

Odd juxtaposition

This morning, Kate wanted a sippy cup of milk, something she gets every day, even though we do try to encourage her to drink from a “big girl” cup at meals. She wanted her princess cup, but it was dirty from yesterday. She said, “Daddy, I have another princess cup. When we bought them, we bought two. So, perhaps, you can get me my other princess cup.” Dave and I looked at each other. I said, “Yes, Daddy, perhaps you can.” He said, “Yes, perhaps I did!” Such an odd juxtaposition, a kid drinking from a sippy cup and saying “perhaps.”

Cute little bully!

Last week we got home from the beach covered in sand, stuck in every crevice and all over our skin as it stuck to our sunscreen. I put the girls in the bath and got in the shower next to them to rinse myself off. I could see them clearly, and could be out to help in two seconds if an emergency arose, but I think Anna felt liberated by the glass wall between us. She began picking up water in her hands and dribbling it on Kate’s head. When I told her to stop, she giggled and did it a few more times. I poked my head out of the door and she stopped. But then she discovered something even more entertaining. She stomped her foot right by Kate, splashing her remarkably much. Anna thought it was quite funny. She laughed and did it again. This time, though, it was quite a bit funnier, because Kate began to protest. I told Anna to stop, but once Anna got a reaction from Kate, there was no stopping her. The protests led to more splashes and more fits of laughter. This, of course, also led to my shower being cut short so I could intervene.

Smell it.

Kate held up her flashlight toy to me and told me, “Smell.”

I started to smell it but, unsure of what to expect, I didn't get too close.

Then Kate told me, “Smell close.” I was still a little nervous about where it might have been, what had gotten on it, that I had to smell it, but got my face a little closer.

Then she stuck it right into my nose and said, “Right up close… Smells like light doesn’t it?”

Thank goodness, I thought! I agreed it sure did “smell like light!”

Get this thing off of me!

Although her mother is, Anna is not a big fan of hats.

Beautiful day!

Anna the ham-ma!

Juice

There was no convincing her it wasn't "Juissss, Juissss, Juissss!!"

Corner teeth

Kate is very cooperative with most things, but she hates having her teeth brushed. Not really all her teeth, but specifically the "corners," as she calls them. She doesn't like it when I "pull her lips back," and she gets very uncomfortable when I just dig the toothbrush in. This is an ongoing battle every evening, with unending complaints pelleted at me.

Last night we had (another) long conversation about cavities and how food causes them, so we have to wash the food off, etc.

Today at breakfast Kate was eating really oddly. Okay, I'll say it, really annoyingly. I was politely ignoring it until she stated, "I'm trying to chew in the front."

I didn't understand, (because, I, unlike you, didn't have the toothbrushing thing fresh in my mind) so I asked her what she was talking about. She explained, of course, that she was keeping her corner teeth clean.

A perfect moment

It was one of those rare perfect moments. One that you try to remember everything about, but know you never will. One that you spend so much time wishing it would last that it goes by even faster.

We'd met Samantha and her kids to play at the park and have a picnic. And, as picnics often tend to be, it was more work and less fun than we'd hoped for. There was also more wind blowing and plate chasing, and less sitting and eating. More bugs and less enjoyable conversation. More sandy food, and, as you can imagine, less of the kids eating.

After playing and having a picnic, we decided to walk down to the beach before we went home. And, there was the moment. We arrived to find a beautiful lake scene, a crevice in the sand leaving a still pool for the girls to jump in. Kate, Amber, and Ashley took off their sandals and walked in the water. Then they began to pick up rocks, making a pile of the especially beautiful ones to save and tossing the less perfect ones into the lake. Anna and Abby joined in the fun, both girls tossing rocks out into the lake, and Anna making sure they were as delicious as they were beautiful. Maddy sat in the stroller enjoying watching the other five have fun. The air smelled of fresh water and wet sand, and the breeze alternated between warm from the land and cool from the lake. I smiled as I took it all in, the clean smell, the perfect breeze, and the sounds of the waves mix with the children's laughter. The bigger girls began to jump in the waves and the little girls repeatedly fell in the still water. Each one of these precious little girls was happy, playing together and enjoying the simple perfection of the evening.

Now I'm home, the kids having been shaken out, bathed, and put to bed. And, I have some incredibly sandy clothes and a few of those have-to-save rocks, by which to remember that perfect moment.

Note to Samantha: Yes, one of those sandy items is Abby's. I'll shake it, wash it, and return it.

Although I'd forgotten my camera and didn't take any pictures at the beach, I did capture the inevitable melt-down that resulted from trying to get a sandy, over-tired toddler into the house for a bath, and hence, the opening picture.

Influences...

Anna always tries to do everything Kate does, and often she succeeds. Kate learned to climb a sort of climbing wall/ladder thing at the park for the first time on Monday. Anna climbed it for the first time a few minutes later. At Gymnastics on Tuesday, Kate finally did her first summersault. And the next day, as they showed off on our bed for Oma and Opa, Anna basically did a summersault on her own, too. (Much less cautiously, as Anna basically just forced her head into the mattress until her legs had no choice but to flop over, but she did it, nonetheless.) Kate has almost learned to ride a scooter, so Anna climbed on yesterday, rocking her body back and forth to make it move. Anna has no idea she’s over two years younger than Kate, a significant two years, too, as it makes her only about a third of Kate’s age.

If it’s helped Anna be more advanced having Kate to emulate, we’ll have to see the affect our neighbor’s granddaughter Emma will have on Kate. Emma (only a few months older than Kate) has already shown Kate a lot of new tricks, including new ways to go down the slide, more dangerous ways to use a swing, and how to climb onto the roof of the playhouse, which Kate can’t yet do without help, but would likely have never even thought of on her own!

Impressive Daddy

Tuesday evening Dave was playing outside with the girls while I made dinner. When they arrived inside Dave told me they would have been in sooner but, after he’d kicked the ball up on the roof and they’d watched it come down a few times, Kate insisted, “Daddy, kick the ball some more; I’m super impressed!”

Two (not so) graceful princesses

Kate declared herself and Anna to be little princesses today. Anna was then forced, much to her dismay, to dress as such, as Kate narrated, "The two graceful little princesses were chased around their castle by the monster..." The monster, of course, was me.

Going for a drive

Always our little comedian, Anna demonstrates her driving skills.

Anna's Vocabulary

Anna with her, "Baby, baby, baby."

Anna turned 15-Months-Old on Saturday. And, although this will most likely be extremely boring to anyone other than the grandparents and me, here's a list of Anna's current words and signs.

Words
Ball
Baby
Dada
Mama
Hi
Mine
Me
Uh Oh
Ni ni
Poopies
Duck
Eyes

Anna - Nana

Amen - men
Dog – daw
Shoes – shsss
Bath – baa
Dora – doh a
Apple – ball
Swing – eee
Juice – signs “drink” with two hands and says, “jsss”
Fish – signs fish and says fish

Sounds
Cow – mmmm
Sheep – baah
Lion – rrrrr
Elephant – bfoooh (with hand motion)
Monkey – eeeh eeeh
Birds (seagulls) –eeh eeh eeh
Snake – ssssss
Car – roooom rooom
Horse – sssss (I don’t know! I think she’s saying “horse.”)

Signs
All done
Please
Milk – Signs “drink” with one hand

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I recently read this in an on-line article:

By 15 months, the majority (about 75 percent) of children have a vocabulary that consists of "Mama" and "Dada" plus at least three other words...

So, I'm pretty proud of her!

Egg citing

The last time we were grocery shopping, I decided for the first time to buy a carton of 18 eggs, rather than just a dozen. Friday Kate and I were making cupcakes, she for the first time dropped the open carton of eggs.

I grabbed some paper towels, scooped up the worst of it, and went for more paper towels. During this 2 second time period, Anna decided to get in on the action.

Breakfast in Bed

Way to go, Dave!

He let me sleep in as late as I wanted. He fed the girls. And he manuevered both girls up to me in bed, along with a tray of pancakes, eggs, toast, and a homemade chai tea latte, served in pottery made by the girls.

And this was only the beginning of what turned out to be a perfect day of relaxation and fun (for me. He must be exhausted!).

YUM!

This morning, I was taking a little time to sip my tea and wake up for another day. I was relieved Anna had occupied herself by standing in the corner watching Mason eat his breakfast.

.

A few minutes later, my tea short time long over, we were gathered in the playroom. Dave said, "Anna, what do you have in your mouth?"

.

As I'm sure you all have, I immediately knew what it was in her mouth, and began to pry Anna's mouth open. With a little help from Dave, I extracted the dog food.

.

Boy, was she mad. How could we, as loving parents, even think of depriving her of such a delicious treat?

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I thought the situation was rather amusing, but what I find hilarious is what an old friend Tanya had to say about the situation:

"Every kid LOVES dog-food!! My brother had to get special food for their dog, because their SON was having allergic reactions to it when eaten!!"

Yes, Mother.

I'm crabby. I'll admit it. It might be lack of sleep. It might be the dog's newest antics today. Whatever it is, I'm crabby.

And I knew I was crabby, but I was quite proud of myself for keeping it from affecting my mothering. I haven't raised my voice, and, aside from a few sighs to allow me time to pray for patience, I was sure the kids had no idea I was anything but cheerful.

That is until a few minutes ago. I'd asked Kate to clean up her puzzles. She said she was still playing with them (her latest line to avoid clean-up). I told her she couldn't do anything else, then, until she cleaned them up. After stalling, stubbornly, and not doing anything else, for 30 minutes, Kate decided it was time to clean them up. By this point, I was really sick of waiting and wanted it done quickly, so I could vacuum. I bent down and began to help. She protested. I sighed (insert not-so-holy-prayer) and said, "I'm going to go in the other room a minute."

Kate replied, "Mommy, try saying that again in a nicer voice."

The Awe of Hotels

As we were settling into our hotel room on vacation, there was a knock at the door. We opened it, and a employee wheeled in a crib. We explained to Kate it was Anna’s crib. Kate was impressed and wondered aloud, “I wonder when my bed is going to be coming!”

Our hotel was reasonably fancy. They took two towels and made them into an elephant to decorate a table, adding little pieces of black paper for eyes. Anna thought it was intriguing, but didn’t realize it was an elephant. As I was putting her down for her nap the first day there, she started to demand, “Baaa, baaa.”

“Ball?” I asked.

“Baaa, baaa,” she continued, more insistently, now pointing. I looked and realized she was pointing to the towel elephant. “Oh, that’s not a sheep,” I explained, “That’s an elephant!”

“Bffffoooo,” she said, throwing an arm in the air.

She didn’t care what it was, she still wanted it.

When she grabbed it, it unraveled into a boring, white towel, which she slept with that nap.

A Little TOO Close?

One morning on vacation, I was keeping an eye on Kate while I got dressed. I was slipping on my underpants, new ones from a pack I’d just bought at Target before vacation.

Kate commented, “I’ve never seen those underpants before. Are they new?”

Dave cracked up, “She recognizes your underpants!?”

Bungee Trampoline

One part of our vacation that I’ll never forget is something we stumbled upon quite by accident.

We were walking down the waterline on our way back from dinner when we saw a person jumping up and down doing flips in the air. There was a trampoline with bungee cords hooked up to person, so she was jumping maybe 15 feet into the air.

Dave mentioned he wanted to try it but that he didn’t think he would. I said, “Oh, come on! If you want to do it, do it. We’re on vacation, and you might never have a chance to do it again. Plus, how much could it cost? $15, $20? Not bad for an experience. You should do it!” As we dragged the stroller up the beach, he asked if I was going to do it. I kind of wanted to, so I said I would if it was less than $15, thinking it probably wouldn't be.

It turned out it was only $7.

Dave went first. He had an amazing time. He took right to it, doing flips almost immediately. I took a video of him and both girls watched him, quite impressed. Anna laughed and Kate yelled to him.

When he was done, we changed Anna’s diaper, and it was my turn.

I was a little nervous. Once I started jumping, though, I was infinitely more nervous. I felt like I was being whipped into the air and back down. It was really scary.

Dave started to video tape and told me to do flips. There was no way I would be flipping. I yelled, “Oh, no, this is fun. I’m having fun just doing this.” He yelled, “Come on. Lean back. Flip.” I insisted I was already having fun. He insisted I flip. I yelled back, quite sternly, “I’m. Not. Doing. It.”

Then I heard Kate, “Mommy, do it. Do it, Mom.”

I tried. I couldn’t. I tried again. I felt sick. I tried, again, for Kate. I couldn’t. I tried to flip forward instead. I couldn’t. Then I gritted my teeth and did it. Dave cheered and began to video tape again.

I was so proud. I couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel and watch the videos. I was so glad to have it on tape. The whole way back, I was beaming. I was just so excited to see it.

When we got back to the hotel, and put the kids to bed, I insisted we watch the video right away. We sat on the couch and watched them.

Here are the videos:

Nope. No mistake.

That really is the video he got of me... You should see the one he took of Anna’s first steps.

Chocolate Fever

When it comes to candy (or mandarine oranges), Anna has a one-track mind. That track goes something like this, "Shove as many in your mouth as you can. More, more..."

Her newest love is junior mints. The addiction started about a month ago when she happened upon me, uh, the Easter Bunny trying to prepare the Easter baskets as Kate had downtime in her room. In order to keep her out of the baskets, Anna was alowed soem treats. The plan backfired completely, though, because rather than go for the baskets, she began climbing all over me trying to grab the junior mints as I stuffed them into the eggs.

n Easter, I took Anna upstairs with me so the eggs and baskets could be hidden while Dave played with Kate downstairs. Anna managed to find and open one of the eggs during that time and had downed most of junior mints before I even noticed.

When the girls were finding their baskets and eggs, Anna was doing all she could to get more junior mints. We have a lot of cute pictures of Kate getting excited about finding her basket and about her books and ballerina outfit. All the pictures of Anna have her hand in her mouth or in an egg.

The day after Easter, Anna had been signing toward Kate’s Easter basket. I finally took her on my lap, opened an egg, gave Kate a few junior mints and let Anna have the rest. She took a junior mint, ate it, took another, ate it, took another, and maybe because her mouth was so full, she put it in my mouth. The she put her hand back in the egg, realized it was empty, and tried to grab the junior mint she’d just given me out of my mouth.

Anna isn't picky, though. If it's chocolate, she'll go after it. The best example of all, was a few weeks ago at the Schwakes’ house. Jamie had wanted me to read something on the computer, so she stood in the hall where she could keep an eye on the kids and still look at the computer with me. After a few minutes, Parker came running to me and said, “Anna’s eating candy.” Jamie and I both exclaimed, “What?” and ran in the room. It looked like Anna was just sitting on the floor playing with the toy computer, which is why Jamie didn’t notice what she was actually doing. When I bent down, I saw Anna’s face, hands, and shirt were basically coated in chocolate. She was gnawing on a brown mass that, upon closer inspection, turned out to be the remains of a chocolate egg with the foil still on but chewed into and through.

When I saw her, I started laughing and Jamie did the same. Anna was so startled by our laughing that she started to cry. I picked her up. Her chocolate mixed tears ran with her drool all over my shirt. She reached into my shirt, a habit she finds comforting. After Anna stopped crying, Jamie exclaimed, “Kristal, look at yourself.” I was now covered in nearly as much chocolate as Anna. This made us laugh again. Before Jamie let me wipe Anna or myself off, she insisted we take a picture.

Hoover?

We'll begin this new era in blogging with another story that illustrates my failure as a mom:

While we were on vacation, Kate had a bad fall. She toppled head first into the cement. Just so you can see the extent of the injury, and not think quite as badly of me, please look at the picture.

Well, when I saw the injury, I let a word I usually don't say slip. "D@#%!" I exclaimed.

Dave glanced at me, but seeing my distress, thought better of a reprimand.

Friday morning, as Kate still played in the bath, I took Anna out and began getting her dressed. I was trying to comb residule sand out of her hair and it got all spiked up.

Whenever Anna’s hair gets spiked, Kate is horrified and tries to smooth it down. In the past, when Anna would show Kate her hair, Kate would tell Anna she looked like a boy. However, since I mentioned it wasn’t a nice thing to say, Kate’s been coming up with alternate responses. One time she told her she looked weird.

Friday she had an all new description for Anna's hair. She said, “Anna, you look damn.” “What?” I asked. “You look damn.”

I thought back to the fall five days earler. “What does that mean, honey?” I asked.

Kate explained, “It means ‘bad’.”

Back by Mediocre Demand!

It was Samantha who pushed me over the edge.

My cousin Jenny initially weakened my resolve. Then J.J. and Diana threw in some punches, causing me to sway a little. But, I held fast until I happened upon comments on here from Ann and Samantha.

That did me in. I'm back to blogging.

So, my loyal, miniscule following, the hiatus has ended!