Santa

Over the holiday season we have gone to the mall 3 times to have Maggie's picture taken with Santa only to stand there for 20 minutes staring at him then leaving when she decides she doesn't want to see him up close. Today was different and might have been the funniest thing I have ever seen her do.

Santa came to daycare today and I assumed it would be another similar adventure so I was not hopeful, almost didn't even bring the camera. We're standing there in our typical fashion staring at Santa while child after child happily sits on his lap and goes on their way. I casually said to Maggie "you just sit on his lap, tell him what you want for Christmas and then you get a cookie". Before I could finish the word cookie, she marched to the front of the line, cutting off every child waiting, sat right on his lap, said "Mickey Mouse", sat for her picture (no smile), got down, grabbed her cookie and was on her way.

That's my girl...all business and not taking the chance that I might have been bluffing with my cookie bribe. Who knew it was that easy?

Funny and Random - part 2

More funny things said by Maggie Rose Crawford, still age 2 1/2:

While Aunt Jen is holding her on her lap, Maggie spots a binky, grabs it and puts it in her mouth. She looks at Aunt Jen, puts her finger over her lips and says "ssshhhhh"
me: Maggie, where'd you get that binky?
Maggie: Aunt Jen


Walking down the stairs before school yesterday, she asked me to carry her like a baby.
me: Maggie, you're so crazy
Maggie: Mommy, I'm not crazy, I'm so cute!

Driving to the park her window mysteriously goes down
Maggie: My window went down all by itself...what happened?
me: That's strange, I don't know what happened
Maggie: it's kinda funny huh?
Erik tells me later that Maggie learned how to put the window down herself and was doing it all morning

Divorced Parents Olympics

Last Sunday we pretended to be divorced parents competing over who could have the most fun individually with Maggie.

I had to go somewhere in the morning so Erik had Maggie and took her to Algonkian park where they played in the leaves, watched a softball game and took tons of great pictures. I could just picture them skipping hand in hand in a field. Ok, maybe not. Erase that visual from your mind.

Erik went to watch the football games in the afternoon so I took her to an art show at Glen Echo Park where she ate cupcakes, played at the playground and danced along to the square dance music heard throughout the park.

The next day as I was driving her to school I told her how much fun I had with her over the weekend and how my favorite part was going to the park. She responded "the park with Daddy? That was FUN! I like my Dad!". Really Maggie? Did I mention you had cupcakes with me?

Daddy wins. I can accept defeat gracefully.

Random and Funny

Funny things recently said by Maggie Rose Crawford, age 2 1/2:

me: (coming home from work) Hi Maggie!
Maggie: mommy, you came, you came!
me: how was your day?
Maggie: good, how was YOUR day?
me: good
Maggie: Daddy's Monday was very busy


me: Maggie, will you draw with me?
Maggie: no, I'm busy
(really? too busy at 2 1/2 to color?)


Driving to Gramma and Pap's house...
Maggie: I want see my grandfather
me: I thought he was your Pap
Maggie: YOU call him Pap


On Halloween night when she was in heaven staying up late, watching TV and eating a lollipop (excuse me "LADYPOP")...
me: maggie, don't bite the lollipop, just lick it
Maggie: go mommy, go outside with Daddy, Aunt Jen and Uncle Bruce
(I leave for a minute and come back to see the lollipop is suspiciously smaller)
Maggie: I licked it

More to come...

Dream?

I woke up this morning with a fuzzy recollection of seeing Maggie in the middle of the night - and not the midnight sheet change when she coughed so hard she threw up. I just chalked it up to a dream. Until Erik asked me later - did Maggie come into our room last night? YES, she did!

She had her tennis shoes on (she did not go to sleep with them on) and was asking for her slippers. I walked her back to her room, gave her her slippers and she held out her hands for me to put them on. She crawled back into bed with her tennis shoes on her feet and slippers on her hands.

I'd like to say that it was all part of a dream and she forgot about it in the morning but first thing she asked for when she woke up this morning was for her slippers for her hands.

There's a fine line between unique and weird...is she crossing it?

So much to say...

So much...but where to begin. Life with a 2 1/2 year old is infinitely different than life with a 2 year old. That short span of time might as well be a lifetime. They get it now...they get that they can make you laugh, cry, angry, etc. And they push everyone of those buttons whenever the mood strikes.

The morning routine is more and more challenging everyday, Maggie is the queen of stalling and will find a hundred things she needs to do before her shoes can be put on. This morning it was putting her play hammer inside her teacup and letting it fall over. Apparently that was a very important thing to accomplish at 7:19 AM when we are supposed to be out the door by 7:15 AM (I tell myself...breathe...no stress...does it really matter if I'm at work at 8:07 versus 8:16? These moments matter...right?). So we do our usual routine of dillying and dallying and finally get out the door when of course the school bus arrives for the older kids (my goal is to get in the car before the bus comes because that just adds another 5 minutes to the morning).

When we do leave late enough to see the bus (i.e., everyday), our routine is that we both have to crouch down on the sidewalk and watch all the kids board and then we can leave. So we do that and then she takes off for a walk "BY MY-SELF!" Because apparently she's allowed to just walk the neighborhood now. As she's running back she trips a little and cries so I just pick her up and put her in the car. AHA...gotcha! Well, not really because she yells at me halfway to school that she wanted to do it "BY MY-SELF!" and "STOP MOMMY STOP!!". Then all of a sudden she stops and says "Daddy's wearing jeans today, so is Maggie, Mommy's not wearing jeans".

And all is good...

OCD...reprise

I believe I have already posted about Maggie's OCD, but I felt the need to document the progression (or digression depending on how you look at it). She seems to have inherited YET ANOTHER trait from her Dad and it thrills me to know end (she says sarcastically).

Our daycare drop off ritual:
There is a ramp on one side of the entrance and steps on the other...I have to walk up the steps while Maggie walks up the ramp. In order to enter the building I have to enter a code and have my finger print scanned - while I am doing this, Maggie must turn the water faucet knob located directly below it back and forth a few times, then push this button-like thing on top, then I open the door and she goes in. We get inside and she must position the footstool in the lobby under the water fountain and get a drink.

Bedtime ritual:
She sits in her little rocking chair while I sit in the bigger one and we have to sing the following songs in this order: Chicken Dance, Rock a Bye Baby, Oh Canada, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, ABCs. A new addition to this routine is that I must have my feet on each leg of the rocking chair while she has her feet on the legs of her rocking chair...and we rock.

And all I can think is...really? Where did this come from? Oh yeah, I remember now.

She is in a funny stage right now where she can be mean as anything to me (mommy, go away!) to the sweetest little angel in the world (mommy, I want to give you a kiss and a hug, then thanks me for it) I only seem to remember the details of the sweet moments - tonight she asked for some juice and when I got up to get it for her she says in her sweetest voice "thank you mommy*".

*See heart melting...