By whatever means necessary

We call Bunny Bunny because she likes to hop around like a bunny. However, there is one aspect of her personality that is decidedly un-bunnylike. She does not like vegetables.

Now I don't mean that she'll eat some veggies and not others. She does not want to eat any veggie at all. This can be very frustrating when you are trying to get her to eat dinner. Luckily for us she has gotten past the throwing food stage but she will still take veggies off of her plate.

So what's a parent to do? I've made a big production out of eating vegetables in front of her, talking about how delicious they are. She's intrigued but when you offer her one - nothing. I've covered them in cheese, ranch dressing and hummus, all of which she likes. She will take them, suck the topping off and hand them back to you asking for more topping.

But I think Bubs has hit on a good idea, no its a truly fantastic idea. He was eating asparagus one day and told her how much the little tree wanted to play in her belly. He made a production out of eating one, saying it was going down into his belly to play. He then made silly noises of the aspargus playing in his belly. Well Bunny thought this was histerical (and so did I) so she actually tried one. And then another, and then another. Until she had eaten 4 pieces of asparagus (which I don't think I liked until I was 30).

So we've continued this game and it seems to be working. Yesterday we had broccoli at lunch. She wasn't eating much of it until I told her that the broccoli was friends with the watermelon and wanted to be in her belly when the watermelon got there. And she ate it.

I know it won't be long before she figures us out. But for now I can feel like a good parent who's child eats her veggies.

Taking to my bed

Today as most days Bunny was upset after daddy went to work. She cried, she stomped her feet and then she did something very unexpected. She said she wanted to take a nap. Bunny never says that.

So she laid on the couch with her favorite silky blanket and I covered her up with another blanket. She then laid there watching Word World, occasionally lamenting how much she missed her daddy.

Music Class

Monday mornings Bunny and I have music class with a bunch of other toddlers. Bunny enjoys it because she likes to dance and sing. Of course the best part of the class is when the teacher Miss Haley brings out a musical instrument for the kids to "play". So far she's gotten to play a violin, viola, cello, keyboard, trumpet and xylophone. Her favorites are the string instruments. She will often find a stick during our walks and call it her bow.

The first time she got to touch an instrument I told her to be careful when she strummed the strings. Well after all the kids are done playing it, Miss Haley will play a song on the instrument. Bunny yells out "Miss Haley be really, really careful with cello." Too cute.

As much as she likes the class, Bunny will not sit still. When her little friend Claire comes in, they chase eachother around. When class starts Claire will go and sit by her mom. Bunny, not so much. She runs around, runs around and runs around. She will do all of the activities but they are often done while doing laps around the class or leaning up against the mirrors practicing her latest trick - standing on one leg.

I've often felt bad about her behavior but it doesn't really disrupt the class so I let it go. Yesterday a new mom brought a 15 month old to class. She was worried that he was disrupting the class by his running. Miss Haley pointed out that Bunny runs too. She said she hadn't noticed. So I guess its not so bad, just Bunny being Bunny.

85% Toddler Free Weekend

Or what's a girl to do with herself.

We had a rather jam packed weekend where Bunny found herself with babysitters quite a bit. First off her godparents David and Beth babysat on Friday night while Bubs and I went to the opera. All reports were that she was the perfect angel and that David and Beth survived unscathed and are still considering having children. So a win win situation all around.

On Sunday we had plans to go to the Brewer's game and tailgate before with our friends. My parents agreed to babysit. But then they gave us an unexpecdted gift and offered to take Bunny on Saturday night. Yippee!!

So Saturday morning is my free time to do whatever I want while Bubs takes Bunny to swim class or someother activity. They get time to bond and I get a little break. I didn't do anything too earth shattering, just ran some errands while Bubs and Bunny went to the children's museum and had a great time. We all had lunch together and after nap time it was off to grandma and grandpa's house.

Bubs and I had the evening free. It doesn't happen too often and we had a hard time deciding what to do. Eventually we decided to go to our favorite Mexican restaraunt for a good meal and some good margaritas. It was a great time. We actually got to talk about adult stuff - what we were going to do about our house (which is broken and needs to be fixed) and about our second adoption. At first we were joking, saying "You look so familiar, what is your name again?" It was good to reconnect.

Sunday was a blast David and Beth had organized a tailgate party for her upcoming birthday. Most of our friends were there and it was fun to see them. The game was fun too but the Brewers ended up losing in 10 innings so that was kind of a bummer.

But now its Monday morning and I am refreshed and ready for another week of all Bunny all the time. In fact I am being summoned to get her dressed right now.

Friday Finds

Every Friday I am going to feature a new item I've found to make life easier. I tend to favor indie crafts and handmade goodness. I am sure that I will be featuring a lot of the wonderful artists and crafters I've found on Etsy

Today's find is something I didn't even know I needed but now I think I don't want to live without. Its a coffee corset from Jenn Gee. A coffee corset takes the place of the disposable paper cuffs you get at the coffee house so the cup doesn't burn your hand. Rather than creating more waste, you can pull out one of these stylish corsets out of your bag and slide it on your cup. Just pop it back in your bag when you are done.

The corsets are made of fabric with ribbon lacing and bead details. You are sure to find one you will love. They are treated with Scotch Gard to prevent stains and are washable if any spills occur.

These are sure to add an extra pick-me up to your next cuppa joe.

Play Date

Today Bunny had a play date with her little friend Charlie. She decided to dress for the occasion with a purple yarn necklace, her fancy scarf (which she's wearing in the picture for the last post) and her pink mary janes on the wrong feet.

Bunny was an excellent hostess. She offered Charlie and his mom tea and plastic fruit when they first arrived. But then as it often does the play date turned to minor temper tantrums and tears. You see when you get two two year olds in the same room they inevitably want to play with the same toys at the same time. Since Bunny is the hostess, she should let Charlie play with whatever toys he wants. But when you are two that logic really doesn't work. The toys are hers and if she wants to play with them, well she's gonna play with them. Which of course Charlie didn't like.

The purpose of play dates is to get the children used to playing with others, teaching them to share etc. Most of the time they are good but some days it seems like we have a long way to go.

Hey You're Funny

Bunny is funny. She's started making jokes. Whenever we say there is something special or a surprise for her, she will start laughing and say: "Is it snakes?" "Is it worms?" "Is it beets?"

She loves it when you say tell her it is worms. Then she'll say "No its sharks."

My little commedienne.

Babysitter auditions

Bunny has never had a non-family member babysitter since she was adopted a year and a half ago. Well we have plans to go to the opera on Friday with my parents (aren't we so cultured). Bubs' parents are working that night so we were left with no other option then to use a babysitter.

Luckily Bunny's godparents volunteered. So we had them over for dinner tonight to see how Bunny would react. Well I can say the experiment was a huge success. Bunny is totally in love with David and thinks Beth is pretty cool too. We made a big production out of leaving for a walk around the block to see how she'd react. She said goodbye, looked out the window to watch us go and then she turned to play with David.

Of course there is no telling how she'll react when we are gone for more than 10 minutes, but when I asked if she wanted David and Beth to babysit she said "Yes, I love Aunt David." So we've got that going for us.

Matchy Match

While I abhor having matching outfits with your children, I find myself strangely wanting the same shoes my daughter has. You see, my lovely mother bought Bunny these pink Chuck Taylors that I had picked out.

Now every time I see them, I want a pair of my own. I know where I can buy them and have been mentally calculating how many lattes I would have to skip in order to own them. They are just that cool.

I also have an affection for Converse because I wore a pair of green suede One Stars at my wedding reception. I love them to death. In fact they are on my feet as I am writing.

So the pink Chucks are calling to me. "Buy me" they whisper, "you know you want to."

Would it really be that wrong to wear the same shoes as Bunny?

Because I said so

Actual conversation between Bunny and I today:

Bunny: "I want that. I want that."

Me: "Why? Use your big girl words and tell me why."

Bunny: "Cuz I said it."

Note to self don't say "Because I said so" around Bunny any more.

Learning to Count

Yesterday bunny and I were watching My Friends Tigger and Pooh while getting dressed. In it Piglet was scared of the lightning and thunder. So in order to get him over his fears they taught him how to count the time between the thunder and lightning. The higher he could count, the further away the storm was.

Well I found that this theory can apply to bed time as well. Bunny really doesn't like to go to bed. In fact sometimes she's just plain mad about it. It doesn't matter how tired she is, she will bounce in her crib and cry. "One more book, mommy." "I want daddy." etc.

After an hour of this and a few trips to her room to try and get her calmed down, I noticed that her cries were getting further apart. So I started counting the time between her cries. And what do you know, the time kept getting longer meaning she was closer to sleep.

Who said TV never taught you anything?

Introductions

Hello there.
Three plus months into being a stay at home mom, I've decided to start a "mommy blog". Why? I have no idea.

Well maybe I want to share stories about my daughter, maybe I'm hoping to connect with the outside world, maybe I'm just trying to keep my sanity.

Who are we?

I'm reneedesigns. I am a recovering attorney and financial services professional. I currently run a small jewelry business out of my home, selling in local stores and on-line

My daughter is known by many names but most often she is called the Wee One or Bunny. She is two years old and behaves like a perpetual motion machine. She has just entered the constant questioning stage. Every other word out of her mouth is Why?, What's that?, Where is it? and so forth. Even with all my my years of education, I'm pretty sure she is smarter than me right now.

So stop by from time to time, have a cup of tea or coffee and share in the day to day madness of a two year old and chuckle at me as I try to keep up.