Light Lunch Conversation with Lily

I finally got Lily to blow on her hot food (instead of always making Mike or I do it for her) by telling her she needed practice to be able to blow out her candles to get her wish for her next birthday. (Can you believe it, she blew on her own food!?)

A few moments later:

Lily: I just want a ray gun for my birthday.
me: We usually don't give ray guns to kids.

Lily: I just want toys for my birthday. (That's what I like to hear!)

Don't know how this subject came up, but...

Lily: Do you eat people? (with her little silly grin)
me: People! No, yuck!
Lily: Actually, I eat people! (giggling)

Just for fun I told Lily a little about cannibals. I tried to get her to say: "We aren't cannibals." But of course she said: "I am a cannibal!"

The conversation went on...Lily can ask a ridiculous amount of questions. At some point your eyes will start rolling back in your head and you will feel like you might suddenly drop to sleep from the effort of trying to answer them.

Here's just some of the questions from our conversation that I can remember:

Lily: I'm a cannibal...
What's a cannibal?
Where do they live?

Lily: (after describing all the parts she would put together to make an elephant) 
What do elephants eat?
Elephants don't eat leaves!
Elephants don't eat peanuts!
Elephants don't eat bananas! - Monkeys eat bananas!
me: Monkeys and elephants could both like bananas! (She's not too keen on the concept that 2 people could like the same thing)
Lily: Monkeys and elephants stick together.
me: Oh, yeah? They help each other?
Lily: They stick together with a balloon! With a balloon and glue!
They hide their bananas so any monsters won't get them? (batting those innocent eyes at me)
me: No, just to save for later maybe.
 
Somewhere at this point my eyes were beginning to lose focus so I had to cut the conversation short and tell her to finish her lunch.

A little random Lily Lingo

I haven't written about some of the funny things Lily says in a while, and lately there is a ton!

She's been making up songs, or combining 3 or 4 real ones in ways I certainly would never have thought to combine them. I love hearing her actually singing tunes now instead of just chanting like she used to! I always made up little songs as a kid so it’s extra fun hearing her do it :)

Lily singing a made up song as we put the Christmas ornaments away this year: "I'm gonna check these candy canes...It's my favorite good id-ea!" She loves candy canes. I wish I could communicate the tune!

Yesterday: "Yo Ho Yo Ho when I hug my mommy!" (repeated)  I think that is a combination of "Yo Ho Yo Ho a Pirate's Life for me", "When my mother calls me quickly I'll obey", and "I'm so glad when Daddy comes home." It made me feel loved.

Lately she's been saying "That's the idea!" (The way she delivers it is killer)

She's also been saying "I don't and I do." sometimes when I ask her a question, like: "Do you want to start potty-training?" (-- I must say, I feel the same way.)

Other random little things:

"I'm gonna wear my brown shoes, and you wear your brown shoes, and we'll be twinners!"

"I wanna go to the store and get a stuffy stuff toy!" Her description of that was straight out of little bear: sharp claws, long fur, and pointy teeth!

Talking very seriously to me: "Sometimes things go wrong." Love those words of wisdom from my 2 year old!

Lily: "Let's fight over my cupcake (muffin) together!"

me: -not sure what she just asked me to do- "Cheers!"

Lily: "No mine!"

me: -confused-

Lily: "Now you say: No, mine!"

me: "Oh, you want to fight!? I'm not really a fighter..."

Lily: "Yes, we are fighters!" (I wasn't gonna argue with that.)

One day I was singing a couple of lines from this catchy little song Mike made up for Lily. I got to a part I couldn't remember and Lily chimed in with a rhyme - not the actual lyrics, but it was so cute that she picked a rhyme of her own!

me: I'm a dragonfly, soaring though the sky...

       I've got four wings, and...

Lily: ...a sweetie pie!

This was funny to me...

me: "Do you like honey?"

Lily (seriously): "No, I like vegetables."

(Whatever! She doesn't like either!)

Lily pretty much just knows snakes from drawings in books and the cartoon character named 'No feet' on Little Bear. One day I asked her:

me: "Would you be afraid of a real snake?"

Lily: "No."

me: "Real snakes might bite..."

Lily: "Actually, snakes don't bite - they say hello to you!"

me: "Cartoon snakes say hello to you, but real snakes don't talk, and they might try to bite you."

Lily: "I would say hello to it."

Lily loves to play hide and seek, but she'll usually keep hiding in the same place every time, and she doesn't quite get the seeking part - even with Mike calling to her from where he's hidden. She just loves to be tickled, to hide under the pillows and blankets with her dad, to shriek in pretend fear at the Mommy monster or Mike's hand-spider, but if you jump out from somewhere and really startle her she might cry. I think I've even done that as an adult a couple times though come to think of it :)

Our kitchen is often "The spooky forest" A witch lives there.

Lily still says restaurant -kind of like astronaut: "Resternaut" One day we made menu's for 'Lily's Resternaut' and she set up a couple of tables and served all her dolls. I helped her draw the menus, but she picked the menu items and prices. Just a couple: You might think this was a regular place with macaroni and cheese and cheeseburgers going for $4 or $6, but make sure you know what your paying before you order... a Peanut butter sandwich - $40, Salt - $4, Lemons - $3. I liked her $10 "Lily's famous flying pizza" and the special on the front: "Two cups of spooky Halloweens" a bargain at $4.

 Thank you for coming!

They're so sweet...

...when they're asleep. My parents always used to say that about us kids to tease us. It is so true...there is just something about a sleeping baby/toddler/child face!

 
And boy is nap-time a welcome break! I just wanted to remember (when she is big and grown) how much I love putting Lily to bed. She's been fighting bedtime and nap time for a while, but she's still a good kid and eventually goes to sleep. Lily loves to play hide from the "Mommy monster" at bedtime with her dad, shrieking and giggling under the pillows and blankets on our bed. But when it's just us two, usually at nap time or as she's finally settling down at night, she gets so cuddly! We read stories and she still loves for me to sing to her, and rock her in our glider chair. I love doing it, too. She pulls out the mini children's songbook I have stuck in the side pocket of the chair and asks me to sing out of it. I can't read music so I always have to flip to songs that I can remember the tune to. I love that time together. It's probably my favorite time in the day.

 Had to throw in this photo of when Lily was a baby. I just love the chubby cheeks, and those are cut off socks pulled on over her short sleeved pajamas.... You get creative in the middle of the night when you are cold and tired and want to keep your baby warm, but don't want to wake her to put on warmer pajamas.

School!

 

Lily's first day of preschool.

Lily and I started attending a Mommy and me preschool with 2 of her cousins, her uncle and her aunt. It's just one day a week, and all the parents come too, well one for each kid. So far we've only been to 2 classes, but it's so much fun! I think it's going to be a good experience for both of us. Lily's learning how to get along with other kids close to her age, and I'm hoping she'll join in the group activities as she gets more used to it. So far she refuses to dance during music and movement (No!) or to join in Ring around the Rosy (though I can't really blame her there - it's a large group with all the parents and there isn't really room). 

Here's a little video clip from the freeze dance:



Note: Lily sitting on the sidelines, Aujinay - master of the dance, and even little Audrey who is still learning to walk bopping in the back! They are so cute! I wonder if Lily will get the desire to join in with the others or if she just likes to keep out of the spotlight (kinda like me)... The funny thing is when you're the one kid sitting it out you kind of stand out more than you think, and you miss a lot of fun. Well, we'll see how it goes. Maybe once she feels among friends she'll take after her dad and not be afraid to make a fool of herself (one of the things I love about him!). It will be interesting to see!

Hide and Seek

It's Beginning to Look Not Like Christmas

Yes, I finally took down the decorations over here. Decorating for Christmas is way more fun, but I'm also always glad to see them go. It's nice to have our living room back with room to dance and play, and nice not to worry about Lily breaking any of Grandma's ornaments or constantly asking for candy canes. Plus the decorations just aren't the same after Christmas is over. The thrill is gone. Especially here in sunny California where it's already feeling like spring. 

So why did it take us halfway through January to get them down? Well, nobody felt like doing it. We've all been sick over here. We keep starting to get better and getting sick all over again. Pretty much since mid October, though each of us to varying degrees. Lily has been pretty lucky so far. We were all lucky to have been better right around each holiday, miraculously. Boy am I sick of being sick! Tired of being chapped and congested. Tired of having to sleep in weird positions to try to breathe - it's like the uncomfortable sleep of being pregnant without the baby to look forward to. There's just nothing good about having a cold...unless it's to make you grateful for not having one all the time. I started to feel like I'm doomed to have one all the time. I have been dreaming or visualizing being able to lay down and stretch out and take a real deep breath without body aches or throwing my sinuses all out of whack from the change in position - just reveling in being healthy and feeling good! I am so ready to be better! So ready to tackle the hundreds of things I would like to get done that I have just not been able to! I am feeling on the mend finally with a new medicine - hoping it sticks this time! The weather is getting warmer so maybe we'll get outside more and really be done with it! That's my prayer. If you are a praying person - prayers would be welcome! :)

Resolutions

I haven't made New Year's Resolutions in years, and didn't really this year either. I don't know if I feel like tying it to the new year it is destined to fail, or what. I think I just prefer to make goals on my own time. I feel like if I'm really serious about them why wait for January 1st? I've had an unwritten goal about my fun computer time - which includes blogging. I guess it's in writing now! So you may not see me updating as often as of yore, but then again - maybe some of the other changes I'm making will help me manage my time better so I can. My goal is not to do what I consider fun (unnecessary) things on the computer during the day, when Lily's napping or awake entertaining herself. I want to spend those hours on more important things I need to take care of, and not have my back to Lily sitting at the computer, even for a few minutes (it always goes longer than I intend). I'd rather she see me working around the house and doing more hands on things than that, and giving her more attention too. If I have any time to wind down at night I can blog then - if Mike and I aren't spending all the time together. I have a lot of important things I keep putting off and so if I focus my daylight time on those I'll be able to put them behind me - which will relieve a lot of stress!

I've been reading a parenting book I'd had on hold at the library - still haven't gotten to the one I bought, but already I've identified some good changes to make in how I react and act with Lily. I have seen some good results and had an excellent last couple of days with her (aside from the bedtime tantrum last night -- it did go well tonight!) She's been a happier sweeter kid. Mostly it involves being more regular and firm with our routine, tying consequences that fit the bad behavior rather than just giving time outs, and my favorite tip - not reacting too emotionally when she misbehaves. I was seriously at a loss at what to do about her hitting us. It started small, but over the last couple of weeks was really getting worse. One day instead of my usual reaction - I just let her hit me and see that it didn't really hurt me and talked to her about her emotions and what I could do to help her. I thought maybe if I just let her while being sweet to her she'd feel worse about it and stop. Well, I was partly on the right track. It's not good to let her continue to hit, but letting her know hitting doesn't change what she is mad about without giving her the satisfaction of making me upset has made a difference. Along with giving her the more emotional reaction over positive things. I guess kids just like to see their parents fired up, we're just going to try to only do so for good behavior. Working on that poker face. I'm also looking forward to putting more of her issues back in her hands to help her come up with solutions on her own. She is growing in understanding so I shouldn't try to fix everything for her. She is too much of her own person for that! It's hard to switch that mindset from taking care of a baby to a kid! I know we will still have struggles, but I feel like I have some better tools for managing rough spots ahead. So I highly recommend reading parenting books even if you think your instincts are good enough. There's always room for improvement. I got a new perspective and feel more confident and positive about how I handle things.

Oh So Very 2!

Lily is driving me crazy lately. Actually not just me. She is so terribly moody that I'm really hoping it's a phase that goes with being 2 and that it will pass as soon as possible. It's hard living with someone so unpredictable. The slightest thing will set her off and then she's flipping food around, or hitting or kicking us. I'm trying to teach her more appropriate ways of expressing herself, but it just doesn't seem to be sinking in. It's so weird to me that she knows so many words and can communicate so well if she chooses to, but lately she sometimes reverts to pointing and grunting at things and is crying a lot! She has been sick, but I can't really think of any other changes in our lifestyle to coincide with her altered attitude. Could it be the new bed? Maybe she's getting some new teeth and the pain is making her grouchy? Sometimes I wonder if it's because she doesn't eat enough, but she's so temperamental that trying to get her to eat more is not easy. I give her something I know she really likes and she acts all happy about eating it, but then some minuscule thing is not to her liking and it's all over the floor and she won't have it. I try time outs, taking away things that are treats, small lectures, sending her to bed, everything I can think of, but it doesn't seem to faze her resolve to get what she wants - her way - or flip out. I know part of it is just learning to be her own person and testing what is appropriate and what is not, but sheesh! This is the pits. I have hope because there are many times where she is an absolute angel, lately they are fewer and farther between, but they give me hope! Sometimes it seems like she's really getting it and I'm on the right track, and then it's like I'm right back at the beginning. If anyone out there has advice or experience to share I could use a bit more hope, and any help I can get! I'm feeling super appreciative of my own mom and dad and all they went through to raise us kids. Parents deserve way more love and respect than they get!

A little video I captured yesterday I thought went along with this post. Lily was writing a note that said "I love Daddy, and Grandma..." but her note to me turned out a little different... Mike is laughing in the background.

The note she wrote:

 My two and a half year old:

A good moment. I love my girl all of the time, but I have to admit there are moments I don't like her! I feel bad to admit that, but it's true. I really hope it gets better soon, and I really hope my mom no longer feels that way about me! I'm not trying to complain. I do want to remember how it really was so when Lily has a two year old of her own, I can sympathize.

Just got a parenting book I ordered in the mail - got some reading to do!