Hi My Name Is

Mommy and I'm chopped liver. At least around these parts recently.

Bunny got to spend a lot of quality time with her father over the long holiday weekend and it appears that she prefers him to me. When faced with the question "Who do you want to do X?" The answer was always daddy.

At times she would look at me and say "Go away momma. Go cook dinner." Nice. My own kid ordering me around like a servant.

I thought I caught a break on Saturday night when, after bath time, she wriggled out of her towel to climb in my lap. She gave me a nice soaking wet hug and said "I love you, mommy." She then allowed me to read her books and put her to bed. Well after the last story, just as I was getting ready to put her down, she screams "I want Daddy. Daddy put me bed." Curses, foiled again. So daddy was summoned and Bunny went to bed.

I get that she spends most of her time with me so Daddy time is special, something to be savored. And this weekend she got 3 whole days of daddy. Its what she expects now. In fact when I got her up this morning the first thing she said is "Where's daddy." It will take some time to fall back into our routine.

But looking back over the weekend, I really wouldn't have it anyother way. Yesterday we were at the beach. As I lay on the blanket I could see Bubs chasing her around, helping her throw rocks in the lake and building her sand castles. It was beautiful. Bunny is so lucky to have such a devoted dad.

So while I may be chopped liver. Its okay.

Please Stop It, Please for Mommy's Sake

So Bunny and I were at the park. She was running around like a crazy girl generally having a great time.

All was right with the world until . . . she spotted the pole underneath the big slide. She ran right to it and started swinging on it. "Look at me Mommy. I'm swinging in circles." No! No! No! You're only 2.

So it was time to start diversionary tactics, look Bunny a swing. Look Bunny the monkey bars. Look the sandbox.

She immediatly stopped what she was doing and ran to the sandbox. Crisis averted.

So This Is It

Some days you wonder so this is what my life is.

Now I am an educated individual. I hold a law degree and licenses which would allow me to give you financial advice. I wouldn't recommend taking legal or financial advice from me at the present. But hypothetically you could do so.

But today I have spent all morning spouting such phrases as "Eat your bagel." "Where are your pants?" "Go find your shirt." "Don't hit the cat." And the bagel was not eaten. The pants were not found for a while. The shirt was worn as a hat. But luckily the cat was not hit.

Yeah this is it. But its still better than my old job.

Thank You Nice Day Have Dinner

Have you ever been so tired where you break into peals of laughter for no reason? In college we called it being punchy. When you stayed up all night studying or just generally didn't get enough sleep you would get punchy.

When you are punchy you laugh an almost hysterical laughter that can turn in to tears at any moment. For no reason. Its just your emotions being pushed to the edge and your overtired body can't do anything about it. We've all been there.

And last night so was Bunny. For whatever reason she decided not to nap, yet again. But she needs a nap, if she doesn't she gets punchy.

We had dinner with my parents last night. When we are there she is always "on", the consumate entertainer, making everyone laugh. Round about 6:30 she started in on the hysterical laughter. She found a Thomas the Train song book where if you press a button it will play a song. When she'd press the button she'd start dancing and laughing and laughing. Things that weren't really funny became hilarious.

At about 7 we figured we should leave so we could get Bunny to bed at a reasonable time. All the way home she would point at a car and yell "Red Car" and laugh. Then she would cry and say "I want Daddy". I explained Daddy had his own car because he came from work. Well that worked for a while before she saw a "Blue Car". Then it was "I want Ama and Baca." Oh look "Green Car"

On and on it went. Laughter and tears, tears and laughter. Meanwhile I was channel surfing on the radio and came across "The Break Up Song" by The Greg Kinn Band. I don't know why but I always have to sing it really loud when I hear it. So I did. Well that was pretty much it. Bunny dissolved into hysterics at every "Bumpa bump bumpa bump bump bump" She'd yell "sing it again mommy." She sang it all the way home, laughing all the way.

So it looks like Greg Kinn got himself a new fan.

Things You Don't Want To Hear

Yesterday Bunny and I were upstairs getting ready to go out. It usually goes like this: I lay out some clothes for Bunny. She picks out an outfit and runs around in her diaper for at least 1/2 hour before she will let me get her dressed. So I get ready in the meantime.

I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth when Bunny came to me and said "Look Mommy. I colored the TV." What? Did you just say you colored the TV? No! No! No!

Sure enough when I got into my room the TV was covered in orange crayon. Now I know crayons are washable but I'm pretty sure you don't want to put water on your TV screen. So I grabbed a rag and managed to clean off all of the offending crayon. Thank goodness.

Then it was punishment time. I told Bunny that I was glad she told me what she did. But I also told her that we can only color on paper so she would have to have a time out. So she said she was sorry and stood in the corner and took her time out like a champ.

All in all not too bad. But note to self, make sure there are no crayons lying around unless there is paper too.

And Now Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

Lately Bunny has been displaying very good coordination. She wanted to learn how to stand on one foot and then jump on one foot. So she has been practicing all the time. She will hold your hand or hold onto a piece of furniture and practice.

Well it seems that all this practice has paid off. Yesterday she managed to stand on one foot several different times. It was only for about 2 seconds a time, but she did it.

Needless to say I was very impressed. One that she could do it and two because I really can't. You see I am not very coordinated. You can blame it the fact that I was 5'10" by the time I was 12 or whatever. But as Bubs likes to say, I should not be allowed to walk unsupervised.

Tables, chairs, doors and even walls are my enemy. They all lie in wait ready to jump out at any moment and attack. I have had countless bumps and brusies due to these inanimate objects.

I once walked into the locked part of a double door while out with a guy I liked in college (it was in the middle of the afternoon at a bank so don't get any ideas). Needless to say we didn't go out for much longer.

I've also broken my big toe walking. You see I was wearing flip flops and tripped over a raised portion of the sidewalk. Very graceful, very painful.

So, yes I am a bit jealous of Bunny's extraordinary coordination. But I am also glad that she is unlikely to suffer my fate.

Some Days

Some days you wake up at the crack of dawn.

Some days nothing goes right. A trip to the beach breaks down into a whinefest because there is yucky smelly seaweed along the shore. A trip to the grocery store turns into a full blown tantrum. Meal time becomes a battleground.

Some days you are so mind numbingly tired that you put your shirt on inside out. And when you finally notice and go to turn it right side out you realize that you are not in your home but on the street on the way to the park. Your brain is so hazy that you think its logical to change it in the park bathroom until the scent reminds you not to. So you don't change and you climb into bed still wearing that same inside out shirt.

Some days your toddler decides not to nap.

Some days you are so soul crushingly tired that you close the door to the bathroom so you don't have to cry in front of your toddler.

Some days your toddler is so cranky that she will throw a toy across the room and in the very next breath sob because she wants it back.

Some days you yell at your husband when he calls from the store that you sent him to because he is not here to help.

Some days your body just aches and you are asleep before your head hits the pillow.

But then some days you get to sleep in to 7:30. And you are greeted with a smile so bright that it could power the entire city for a month. Some days you know are going to be better.

BFFs

Best Friends Forever. Do you remember those days when you were sure you would be friends with Susie or Jenny forever? Ah junior high.

Well Bunny apparently has reached that stage. Everytime we are around other kids and they leave, she will turn to me and ask "Where did my best friend go?" Its so cute. She doesn't even know their name and never really played with them, but they are her best friend.

I think this stems from the fact that when I know we will be around other kids, I stress the importance of sharing with our friends. I call all little kids our friends so she doesn't freak out and try to take their toys or whatever. I have also told her that she is my best friend. So apparently she has put two and two together and all little kids are now her best friends. She has her music class best friend, her gymnastics best friend and her playdate friend (although Charlie has never been called her best friend because he is a boy).

I guess this also means I have to get her around other kids on a more regular basis so she can make more "best friends".

If its not about me . . .

then I don't want any part of it.

This is a 2 yr olds motto. Yesterday we had our regularly scheduled dinner with my parents. Bunny gets to hang out with them, play with toys and generally revel in all the attention.

However, my cousin recently had a new baby so my parents suggested after dinner we go to my aunt's house. All my cousins would be there, we could see the new baby and they could see Bunny (they haven't seen her since Christmas).

Well Bunny was suitably underwhelmed when she saw the baby. She just muttered "Hi River" and walked away. She played outside for a while then looked for toys at my aunt's house (which there weren't many). She started whining and we had to leave after being there for 15 minutes to avoid a full blown tantrum (we didn't want Bunny to set a bad example for River).

My cousin told me thats exactly how their 13 year old acted when he first saw the new baby. So apparently they don't grow out of it. Nice.

What are you eating?

Lately Bunny has become obsessed with eating. Not so much by what she is eating (unless its ice cream) but by what everyone and everything else is eating.

Whenever we have lunch together, unless we are eating the exact same thing, she has to eat whatever I am eating. If I have a different kind of sandwich, if I have a frozen dinner, even if I have a salad, she has to eat it. In evitably she will like what I am eating more than what she is eating and want it. But if I start off giving it to her she probably won't eat it. Sigh.

She is especially interested if she sees you snacking on something. Probably because she knows its chips or something sweet. She will follow you around hoping to get some. We don't really have anything in our house she can't eat so its usually not a big deal. But sometimes Mommy buys chocolate that is just for her, so I've had to learn to save it for nap time.

Bunny is also obsessed with what animals eat. She has taken it upon herself to help daddy feed the cats every morning and night. She carries their plates of food and gently (or no so gently) places them on the floor. She then yells for them to eat but they really don't want to eat when she's around. Something about a screaming toddler that makes them a bit skittish, I don't know what it could be.

She also forced us to get a bird feeder. Well not forced, but she constantly talked about the bird feeders at my parents house until I gave in and bought one for her. She loves to "help" me fill the feeder and tells me that its okay if we spill because birds like to eat off the floor. She has even found a terracotta dish from an old planter and converted it into a bird feeder too. She carries that one around hollering for birds to come and eat. But again birds eating and yelling toddlers don't really mix. She is also totally mad that the squirrel in our yard has figured out how to eat out of the bird feeder and yells at him a lot.

Finally she is obsessed with the food the animals at the zoo eat. We usually get there first thing in the morning when all the animals have their food. In the bird house she doesn't care about the actual birds but wants to make sure they are eating. Which of course is usually accompanied by yelling at them to eat. She has also discovered the cart the zookeepers bring around with all the food. She loves to see what is on it - the fruit, the veggies, the live worms and insects, the dead mice. She is fascinated, while I'm totally grossed out at the last part.

Her interest carries over into the monkey house. She knows they eat vegetables, including lettuce and the other veggies we pretend they eat like broccoli and green beans just to get her to eat them. She knows they eat monkey chow too and thinks that is hilarious. She wanted to know if there was people chow or little girl chow.

Now if only I could get her as interested in her own food or at least something that is not ice cream. Hmmm, maybe I could make up something and call it little girl chow . . .

Decoding Toddler Speak

Houston we have a problem. Or do we?

Bunny has been using the words "No problem" and "We have a big problem" a lot lately. However, I'm not quite sure she understands what they mean.

Often I'll hear her say "Mommy, we have a big problem." When I ask her what the problem is, she'll giggle and say "I don't know" (her new favorite words).

Ok so "Big problem" means no problem. So what does "No problem" mean?

"No problem" means there is actually a big problem. When Bunny says "no problem" it is usually accompanied by tears in the middle of a tantrum. Like say when I tell her she needs to take a nap, wear pants or do something else she doesn't want to do. She'll look at me with tears in her eyes and say "No problem." It makes me want to just give her a big hug.

Starring Bunny as Speed Racer

It appears that Bunny is built for speed. We used to be able to take leisurely walks with Bunny and by leisurely I mean it would take 1/2 an hour to walk around the block. Bunny would stop every 100 feet or so and pick up a stick or look for bugs etc.

But now she just runs as fast as her little legs will carry her, giggling all the way. She will run until she reaches the corner and then turn and wait for you to catch up (thank goodness). She knows she can't go in to the street unless she is holding someone's hand. But once you reach the other side she starts running again.

Bubs takes her for a walk/run most nights after he gets home from work. He is a brave, brave man. When she sees a dog ahead of her, she will often chase it shouting "Wait Bunny comming, Bunny want to pet you." Now most dogs when they see a running, shouting toddler will not wait for her. They would much rather run themselves or cower in fear. But she does manage to pet her fair share.

Luckily for us, her slow footed parents, Bunny is still fascinated by bugs and sticks. So she will occasionally stop her running to pick up an especially attractive stick or to find a interesting looking bug. But most of the time, I am getting a preview of her teen years where I am several feet behind her. Although she still acknowledges my presence by yelling "Run momma, run."

Things overheard in my house over the weekend

"No pants, pants too scary!"

Now I've heard of sassy pants, liar liar pants on fire, and even kitty pants (Tabasco's nickname - he's a tuxedo cat), but I have never heard of scary pants. In fact I am pretty sure that pants would never intentionally scare anyone.

So what was the problem? Who knows? Bunny had a little accident which necessitated new pants. So we got new pants out and the screaming commenced. Did she not like the pants we had picked out? Probably. Did she not want to wear pants at all? Likely.

This problem has cropped up on more than one occasion, even when she gets to pick out the pants herself. It seems that she preferrs to run around in just a diaper and shirt. She has even refused to take a nap wearing pants. She will just start yelling "Pants off, pants off" until you remove the offending article of clothing No problem when we are in the house but big problem if we are trying to leave. You see we live in Wisconsin and even though it is spring, it is still way to cold to go without pants. Plus people will look at you funny if your toddler is just wearing a diaper.

Since we were headed to my parents house for dinner, we needed to get some sort of pant or other leg covering on her. Luckily she agreed to wear a dress and tights, so the crisis was averted for a day. But who knows what it will be like today.

Eavesdropping

I admit it. I love to eavesdrop on Bunny. Its so much fun to find out how a 2 yr old mind works.

We still have our baby monitor hooked up. I generally only turn it on when we are sleeping or if I am in another part of the house (sound travels pretty well here so I know when she is crying). Mainly I am paranoid that she will try to get out of her crib, fall and hurt herself. She did it once and once was enough for me (and for her it seems).

But when she is still awake in her crib she carrys on these wonderful conversations with her stuffed animals. One day we went to the bookstore and that afternoon at naptime Panda bear also went to the bookstore. He had to find his coat and hold her hand. Stuff that I had said to her earlier. But then the 2 yr old took over, she said "that's not your coat Panda, that's a circle. No that's not it either that's a worm." Huh?

When she stayed over at my parents' house they reported her saying "I love ice cream and ketchup." Well don't we all. But too cute nonetheless.

Last night she talked for about an hour. She told her animals about our trip to a restaraunt with a playland. Then she started repeating the cats' names over and over, almost like a chant. "Basco, Basco, Basco, Basco, boo." (Tabasco) "Miss Troit, Miss Troit, Miss Troit, Miss Troit" (Detroit - yes I know its a weird name for a cat but that's her name). This chanting went on for about 5 - 10 minutes. It was almost like she was summoning them to appear before her. But they are too lazy to go up there and open the door.

I cherish these conversations and will miss them when she's 15 and yells at me for even being in the same room with her when she's on the phone.