I had to stop and just look at Maggie today on our way out the door. There she was standing in front of me in her khaki colored "trench coat", gold bracelet (that she stole off my wrist), keys and Blackberry ready to go to "school". But as if that wasn't enough, she kept crying "more? more? more?"...OH...I forgot...you need your binky. The little businesswoman still needs her binky.
It has been an amazing month with Maggie talking more and more everyday. Sometimes I forget we are not having real conversations. She talks in full gibberish sentences and looks at you for a response, it feels as if you are really communicating. And she is starting to put 2 and 3 real words together to make (fragmented) sentences. Yesterday morning as Erik was leaving for work she yelled "DaDa" and he yelled "Bye Moo" all the way until she heard him walk out the door. Then she said quietly "Bye Bye Da Da" and went on to eat her pancake.
I realized just how much she gets it today when she was going through the bowl in our entryway where we keep our keys and miscellaneous junk. She picked up the AC/DC CD that Erik made for Uncle Bruce and walked around the house with that for a while. But when I said "can you put the CD back and bring my Blackberry and keys to me", I turned around and there she was in her khaki colored "trench coat", gold bracelet, keys and Blackberry. And the CD was back in the bowl.
And when I read a library book to her last week just one time, the next time we read it, she made all of the same gestures and comments that I did the first time I read the book. So as I read it to her (for the 500th time) last night it went a little like this:
It was bedtime and 5 little monkeys said good night to their mama
Maggie: MAMA!
And Five Little Monkeys jumped on the bed
One fell off and bumped her head
Maggie: OH NO!
Mama called the doctor
Maggie: Hello DaDa (Doctor)
And the Doctor Said...
Maggie shakes her finger and says NO NO
NO MORE MONKEYS JUMPING ON THE BED!
So now if I say no to her I get the finger shake. It's pretty cute...as long as she's not mocking me. Which I think she might be...but it's still cute.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Worst Week Ever.
OK...so in the whole scheme of things it was not the worst week ever. But it certainly wasn't the best.
Erik was away this week so it was just the girls. I had visions of doing fun girl stuff together, letting her sleep in my bed, playing, etc. etc. etc. But...when you work 8-5 the harsh reality is, you barely have enough time to do what needs to be done, let alone braid each others hair (like I can braid hair - ok, maybe a regular braid, but don't even bother asking for a french braid. That is Aunt Jen's department).
So the week went more like this:
Wake up early Monday because we have to take Erik to drop off his truck, then Maggie at daycare, then Erik at work so I get to work 20 minutes late. Have incredibly busy day at work and leave at 5:01 to get Maggie. She's not used to being at daycare that late so of course I am stressed about it all day. I show up at 5:15 and she could care less that she's been there an hour longer than usual. I watch her through the window before going in just to see how she plays. She picked up a baby doll and so sweetly laid her on the table as if she was going to change her diaper, hugged her and rocked her. I walked in and she throws the baby on the floor and yells "bye bye ba-by" and runs to me. Sweet...domestic abuse at its finest.
Tuesday - this is going to be a good day. I have a work dinner with a good group, Aunt Jen is babysitting. Yes, I have 3 short nights with Maggie alone and I get a babysitter. What can I say? Dinner went well, Maggie and Aunt Jen had a great night together, she's sleeping when I get home so I go to bed early. Everything goes well until midnight when chaos ensues. The cough is back and with a vengeance. She is coughing so violently she throws up. So since I was not around for dinner, she made sure that I could see (and wear) what she had. Oh, I see Aunt Jen gave you fish sticks tonight. Great.
Of course this all happens right after I read an article in Parents magazine about how a toddler rarely throws up only once. So of course I am waiting for the other shoe to drop...all...night...long. And very little sleep was had. To top it off, Maggie (who NEVER wakes up before 7 when Erik is home) wakes up at 6 AM the next morning, the time when I usually get in the shower. So now I get to entertain while I get ready...did I mention I had very little sleep? This is going to be a great day.
Oh and it was. I won't go into boring work stuff because this is not about me (who are we kidding?) but suffice it to say Wednesday was my busiest work day ever. Get through that, pick up Maggie at 5:15 to find her wearing a fireman's coat strutting around the classroom like it's no big deal. This has to be the best part of the day, to catch her in a moment when she doesn't know I'm watching.
Rather than going into more poor me, I will just summarize the point of this post. I admire single working moms so much it's not funny. How they do it and still have any ounce of sanity left is beyond me, but they deserve medals and trophies and cakes and cookies and everything that is good in the world because I stepped into those shoes for 3 short days and think I might have to hibernate for a week just to catch up.
Now excuse me while I go pray to the sleep gods...we really need a full night tonight...please?
Erik was away this week so it was just the girls. I had visions of doing fun girl stuff together, letting her sleep in my bed, playing, etc. etc. etc. But...when you work 8-5 the harsh reality is, you barely have enough time to do what needs to be done, let alone braid each others hair (like I can braid hair - ok, maybe a regular braid, but don't even bother asking for a french braid. That is Aunt Jen's department).
So the week went more like this:
Wake up early Monday because we have to take Erik to drop off his truck, then Maggie at daycare, then Erik at work so I get to work 20 minutes late. Have incredibly busy day at work and leave at 5:01 to get Maggie. She's not used to being at daycare that late so of course I am stressed about it all day. I show up at 5:15 and she could care less that she's been there an hour longer than usual. I watch her through the window before going in just to see how she plays. She picked up a baby doll and so sweetly laid her on the table as if she was going to change her diaper, hugged her and rocked her. I walked in and she throws the baby on the floor and yells "bye bye ba-by" and runs to me. Sweet...domestic abuse at its finest.
Tuesday - this is going to be a good day. I have a work dinner with a good group, Aunt Jen is babysitting. Yes, I have 3 short nights with Maggie alone and I get a babysitter. What can I say? Dinner went well, Maggie and Aunt Jen had a great night together, she's sleeping when I get home so I go to bed early. Everything goes well until midnight when chaos ensues. The cough is back and with a vengeance. She is coughing so violently she throws up. So since I was not around for dinner, she made sure that I could see (and wear) what she had. Oh, I see Aunt Jen gave you fish sticks tonight. Great.
Of course this all happens right after I read an article in Parents magazine about how a toddler rarely throws up only once. So of course I am waiting for the other shoe to drop...all...night...long. And very little sleep was had. To top it off, Maggie (who NEVER wakes up before 7 when Erik is home) wakes up at 6 AM the next morning, the time when I usually get in the shower. So now I get to entertain while I get ready...did I mention I had very little sleep? This is going to be a great day.
Oh and it was. I won't go into boring work stuff because this is not about me (who are we kidding?) but suffice it to say Wednesday was my busiest work day ever. Get through that, pick up Maggie at 5:15 to find her wearing a fireman's coat strutting around the classroom like it's no big deal. This has to be the best part of the day, to catch her in a moment when she doesn't know I'm watching.
Rather than going into more poor me, I will just summarize the point of this post. I admire single working moms so much it's not funny. How they do it and still have any ounce of sanity left is beyond me, but they deserve medals and trophies and cakes and cookies and everything that is good in the world because I stepped into those shoes for 3 short days and think I might have to hibernate for a week just to catch up.
Now excuse me while I go pray to the sleep gods...we really need a full night tonight...please?
Monday, October 13, 2008
Baby Blues
My name is Maggie...
Some of you call me Moo...
But I am here to tell you
I have the Ba-a-a-by Blues...
Maggie has added a new instrument to her repertoire. After mastering the xylophone, maraca and bongo she has moved onto wind instruments...the harmonica. The old blues harp. She's pretty good too. I thought she was a regular Matthew McCounaghey on the bongos, now she's like John Popper to the harmonica...and don't even get me started on her dancing.
We keep it in the car now and it's funny when all of a sudden she'll belt out a few notes, then put it carefully next to her just in case the mood strikes her again. Every other toy in the car she throws in utter disregard when she is done with it, but not the harmonica. It is always within arms reach. It's especially adorable when, in the middle of a rif, she'll say "ALRIGHT!" and then continue to play.
Alright is the word du jour. At first I couldn't figure out where she learned it until I paid attention to the words I say to her. Alright has got to be the most overused word in my vocabulary and I had no idea. Now even if I tried to stop I'm not sure I could.
We're also trying to (ahem...brainwash)...teach her to say "OBAMA" and she hasn't quite mastered it yet, but I'm almost happier with her version - "Oh-mama". And if we ask her to say Obama Mama she says Oh-mamamama.
So Maggie, why don't you break it down for us a little...
That's right, I got the Ba-a-a-by Blues....
ALRIGHT! Go Oh-mama!
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