Summer

How is it August 4th already?  Didn't the summer just get started?  I have tried to fill our weekends with things to do, spending time with family and creating memories.  Rhea said to me this week "when are we just going to stay home?"  I was taken aback at first thinking to myself we are always home during the week.  But I realized we are not really home during the week. We rush out in the morning and rush through the nightly routine of dinner, baths, books, and bed.  So for the rest of the summer I am just going to take the days as they come and let the kids be home to chill out a bit.  Maybe skip a bath during the week, pending how clean they are. (side note- my kids get filthy at daycare. covered in paint, food, dirt on a daily basis) I know they have enjoyed camping and cookouts but I think this weekend we will just let them enjoy their toys, their yard.  And create some good memories in our home.  Sometimes I spend all this time and effort to make things good for them that I forget that spending time with Mom and Dad is good enough.  I need to remember that more.

Fast Cars

Rhea has really come into her own the past few months.  She is slowly transforming into this little lady.  I won't go into all that crap of how quickly it goes.  You all know that already.   She is becoming her own person and it is really neat to see it unfold.  What amazes me is how much she picks up and how much of it she is not picking up from me.  Examples of what she has said recently below:

Example #1
Rhea - "Mom, boys are so booooooooooooring.  When is Kellen coming over?"

Example #2
Rhea - "Mom, I like my hair brushed the opposite of how I like my cars"
Me - "I don't understand the analogy"
Rhea - "Mom, I like my cars to go fast with no traffic but I like you to brush my hair slow okay?"
Me-" Who are you?"

Example #3
Rhea - "What is Jack's sisters name?"
Me - " Jack doesn't have a sister"
Rhea -"Then who was with him today?"
Me- "Stephanie, his mom"
Rhea- "I thought she was his sister"

Example #4
Rhea -"Your diabetes is on the floor"
Me -"What?"
Rhea- "Your diabetes is all over the house"
Me-" do you mean my test strips?'
Rhea-"no your diabetes"

I'm a big girl now

You are big enough to use the potty.  You have outgrown your binkie.  You no longer need pull ups or diapers.  You no longer sleep in a crib.  You can dress yourself.  Your room is slowly becoming "your" room and less like the nursery I put together for you.  Your vocabulary has grown and what you say makes sense now.  You can brush your own teeth and hair.  You have likes and dislikes that have nothing to do with me.  You only drink "big girl water" now which is basically water out of a water bottle.  (Justin refers to it as big girl water now too)  You truly believe you will be a princess when you grow up.  You have friends at school that I don't even know about.  You can put together puzzles on your own.  You remind me everyday that "I'm a big girl now".  And as much as it pains me to admit it, you are.  Everyday you are slowly moving away from me and coming into your own. You don't depend on my the way your younger sister does. You say things to be like remember when I was a baby or tell me what I was like when I was a baby.  And I am caught off guard thinking to myself isn't she still a baby.  But you are not. You are a big girl now.    There is that old saying that kids grow up so fast.  And of course it is true.  Justin always tells me we didn't have kids to slow life down.  And I know he is right but what I wouldn't give to just freeze her as she now.  But I cannot.  So I have to let her become the big girl she wants to be.   I am hoping who she really is comes with a little less drama (" Maggie is looking at me, make her stop"  " You yelled at me because I hit Duke"  "I'm going to my room!!!!!!!!!" door slam) but I am still loving every ( well not every) minute of watching her grow

Three years young

My oldest daughter turned three this weekend.  At three she is old enough to dress herself.  At three she is old enough to be out of diapers and needing "privacy" when in the bathroom.  At three she can play soccer but refer to it as football.  At three she can take dance lessons and insist on wearing Crocs.  At three she doesn't always want to hug and kiss me good bye.   At three she answers all of my questions with "Of course"  It is kind of comical.

• "Do you want lunch?" - Of Course
• "Do you want to help me with dinner?" -Of Course
• "Are your toys supposed to be on the floor?" Of course they are not

She reminds me so much of Justin.  The way she talks, the way she laughs.   My Dad said she reminds him so much of me when I was younger.  Of course (see what I did there?) I don't see it. All I see is a little girl that is growing into a young lady that I am determined to keep her little and fun for as long as possible.  Life moves at a rapid speed and I am enjoying the moments in parenthood.

This is what Three Looks like-Enjoy!

Conversations with a two year old

This morning as I am lying in bed, Rhea comes into my room.   She starts to cry.  I ask her what is the matter?

Rhea "You left me home"
Me" What? When did I leave you home?"
Rhea pointing at my wedding picture  "You and daddy left me home.  I not there"
Me "Rhea that was our wedding.  You were not even born yet.  Someday when you get older you will have a wedding."
Rhea "No mommy.  I have four weddings"

Not much more to say after that.

Generation Gap

We put up all our Christmas decorations this weekend and Rhea was more than willing to help.  As we were emptying out the bins of stuff, she found about 5 Christmas DVDs and two Christmas VHS.  She opened every DVD to inspect the dvd and tell us she wanted to watch the movie.  When she got to the VHS she got really aggravated.  She kept trying to "open" the black case.  When Justin explained to her that this was the movie and there was nothing to open, it infuriated her even more. She threw a hissy fit and kept screaming at him to open it.  The funny thing is we don't even have a VCR to watch these movies so we couldn't show her what we were talking about.  We have since hidden those movies so we don't have to argue with a two year old about what a real movie looks like.  I am feeling really old tonight.

Night Moves- The Rhea edition

As I am driving home tonight the song Night Moves by Bob Seger was playing on the radio.  Since I have not shame I was singing along out loud.  Rhea decided to get in on the singing with me and proceeds to yell "nice boobs".  I stop singing thinking I heard her wrong but she kept going adding her own lyrics which went something like this "Nice boobs, Nice boobs, boobies boobies boobies.  Mommy's boobs.  Mommy's boobies".  I honestly have no idea where she gets it from (side eye glance to my husband)

Back seat driver

Hug it out

Rhea is at that age where I am pretty sure she understands everything I am saying to her.  And I am pretty sure she knows exactly what she should and should not do.  So last weekend she hit me really hard in the face.  I yelled at her that hitting is not nice and that she hurt Mommy.   I asked her to apologize to me and give me a hug.  With tear rimmed eyes she came over to me, gently touched my face and hugged me.  Nice right?  Well now that she knows what an apology is she is trying to use it to her advantage.  Like on Sunday when she bit me and I told her "no biting"  She leans into me and says "hugs, hugs" which was very nice.  But she proceeded to bite me again.   So it seems to me that every time we tell her "no" now she just smiles, yells "hugs",  gives hugs and kisses and continues to do what she was doing.  That somehow the cute little way she is apologizing will make you forget what you were mad about in the first place.  And I will tell you what.  It is working.

All in the eye of the beholder

My Dad came out to visit us this morning.  My mom called me this afternoon and said that my Dad had a nice visit and she heard Rhea was really good.  I asked my mom if Dad mentioned the park.  She said he did.  He said he had a nice time at the park with Rhea.  I then say to her did he mention that she threw a tantrum when we got there because she did not want to go on the swings.  She threw a tantrum when I climbed on the slide with her and when I tried to help her down the slide she threw another tantrum.  She threw a tantrum a few minutes later because I helped her take her coat off.  The tantrum escalated to her rolling around on the muddy ground ruining her new sneaker that Dad brought her.  Then we left.  We were there for approximately 4 minutes.  My father never mentioned this to my mom.  He said she was perfect.  All in the eye of the beholder I guess.

17 Months

Rhea is now 17 months old.  She is getting so big so fast!  She is getting so tall and strong.  It breaks my heart that she is no longer a baby.  She is developing quite the personality and I am enjoying getting to know this little lady she is becoming.  She is bossy, jealous, cheerful, giggly and a whole bunch of other things in between.  Listed below are a few things we know about Rhea at 17 months.  

She may look cute but don't let her fool you.  She uses those teeth to get what she wants. 

She loves to Woof like a dog.  All the time.  

She is not a morning person just like her father.

She loves her binkie

She will not talk with Nana on FaceTime.  Only Papa

Most days she loves Duke more than me and Justin

Not sure how it is possible but I fall more in love with her each and everyday.

Good Cop, Bad Cop

I have read enough magazine articles, blogs, books, etc to know that in parenthood there will always be the good cop, bad cop.  I always fantasied that I would be the good guy.  Apparently I am filling the roll of bad cop.  Our nightly routine consists of Rhea sitting on the couch with Justin having a bottle and unwinding before we put her down.  Now that she is getting alittle older and exerting more independence she tends to get off the couch and push boundaries.  I came into the living room last night just as she was climbing off the couch.  She saw me, panicked and hauled her little ass back on the couch and pretended to be a sleep.  Now I know she wasn't scared of me but she never has that reaction when Justin enters the room.  To rub salt in my wounds Justin has now resorted to saying "Uh-oh, here comes Mommy" anytime she is being fresh and not listening.   Which makes her run like hell to Daddy and pretend she wasn't just doing something wrong.  She has him wrapped.

Tantrums

I had expected Rhea to throw tantrums but not this soon. It has slowly been building up for about a month now. The crying fits are now accompanied by hand flailing and foot stomping. This all has happened within the privacy of my home.  This past weekend was a first for both of us.  I asked her to hold my hand while in the Aquarium's gift shop.  She pulled away from me and ran.  I then grabbed her hand and that is when it happened.  She screamed and threw herself on the floor.  I tried to pick her up off the floor but that made things worse.  A group on mothers pushing strollers gave me a sympathetic "Terrible Twos"  Not even close.  Fitful Fourteen month old.  And of course my father rewarded this behavior by purchasing her a penguin book in the gift shop.  I am doomed.