Wonder Baby Wednesday #37

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...Maid Marion (the fox version from the Disney Robin Hood cartoon) or Maria from Sound of Music. Or both.

Eme is at an age where she loves to mimic things she sees. When she wanted to put dishtowels on her head to mimic wearing a wimple, we clearly had to capture it on film.

She's actually getting quite good at repeating lines from movies, as well, so when she plays "Maid Marion" she's constantly looking out windows and sighing for Robin Hood. When she's Maria she runs around singing "my favorite things."

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Wonder Baby Wednesday #36

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...Daddy's little helper.

"Mommy, I haf do some wurt."
"Ok, why don't you go sit by Daddy and you can work on his phone while he works on his computer?"
(yes, she does know how to use the iPhone with very little help.)

My favorite part is that they each needed a drink to keep from getting parched because they're working so hard -- guess whose drink is in the little yellow chick with a straw...

She's getting so big!

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2 am calls are never something you want

I usually stick to posting about Eme on this blog, but something funny happened to me over the weekend and I really wanted to share...

I got drunk-dialed.
And texted.
Multiple times.
By someone I've never met.

Allow me to re-create the timeline for you here (texts are verbatim):

Saturday to Sunday:

10:49 pm -- missed call from a number I didn't recognize, no message

11 pm -- text from same number: "Where you at"

12:13 am -- text from same number: "WherE you at" (yes, capitalized just like this)

12:41 am -- missed call from same number, no message

1:48 am -- missed call from same number, no message

1:53 am -- missed call from same number, no message (someone clearly wants to get a hold of someone, but probably not me)

1:57 am -- I have been wrenched from sleep and I'm wondering if someone does indeed want to get a hold of me, but when I see the texts I realize I'm probably being drunk dialed/texted. I call back and leave a message saying "I'm not sure who you are, I think you have the wrong number, please stop calling." I then text (to cover all bases) "I'm sorry, but I think you must be calling the wrong number."

1:58 am -- He's clearly too drunk to get the hint b/c he texts back with "It's Emmerr."

2:34 am -- Further drunk and still un-hint-able, he now texts "fuckkk" then "Wu" in quick succession. No idea what he might have been trying to send.

In the morning, I figure he'll probably wake up, listen to his voicemail, look at the text with a clear head, and realize the problem, and I'll probably never hear from him again.

Wrong.

Tuesday to Wednesday:

12:11 am -- Text from same number "twenty minutes my ass" (whomever his friend is, he should stop waiting for this person; he keeps getting disappointed)

7:48 am -- I receive the text upon waking up, and decide to attempt to clear things up with a text of my own: "Dude, you've still got the wrong number. I have no idea what you're taking about, nor who you are. Please check with whomever's number you think this is and get the right one from him."

11:14 am -- Return text from the drunk dialer: "Ha fine my bad man. I thought you were my friend but you were just fucking with me on saturday"

11:56 am -- Thinking I'll acknowledge the joke by laughing along, I decide to text back (which turns out to be a mistake): "Nope. I really don't know who you are."

11:57 am -- He clearly misinterprets my tone via text message and sends back "Ok buddy calm down"

I realize that there is really no reason for me to text back. There's every reason for me to be cranky given that he called repeatedly at early hours and could have woken my toddler, but he didn't, and I'm not. Frankly, I think the whole thing is pretty hilarious.

I have been reminded of two important lessons:

1) don't expect people (particularly if they're drunk-dialing you) to recognize subtlety or tone via text message, so spell out exactly what you mean

2) everything has a funny side :)

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Wonder Baby Wednesday #35

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...mechanic to Dora the Explorer.

She decided that her Dora car needed to be fixed, so she flipped it over, got out her tools (yes, it's a hammer in her right hand; who knows when you'll need to pound on something?), and went to work. It's good news that she likes to take care of things, and doesn't mind working to fix her own car.

When I asked why her car needed fixing, she said "I drive terrible." This is not good news.

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Wonder Baby Wednesday #34 (Halloween post!)

Eme's Halloween costume is too cute for words! This is the first year she really understands what Halloween is, and she selected her own costume, so we're having lots of fun.

Wait for it.....



Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.

A few other mothers were complaining at the library today that they had trouble getting their children into their costumes for the library costume parade. My problem is the opposite -- Eme doesn't want to get OUT of her costume. :)

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Pottery Painting result

This is the result of Eme's first foray into pottery painting.

I feel that it accurately reflects both her vibrant personality and her love of Cinderella. :)

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There's not actually anything keeping me from posting...

I know I need to post again soon. I don't know why I have been so reluctant to post lately, but I do know that if I download some pics from my phone I'll have plenty of WBW shots to share.

Soon. I promise.

Wonder Baby Wednesday #33

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...mommy's little artist!

Today, for the first time, we took Eme's love of painting to the store -- the pottery painting store. We first had to decide among a number of things she could have painted (plates, bowls, figurines, etc). When she spotted the Cinderella figurine, her mind was made up.



I brought one of Daddy's old shirts (for maximum clothing coverage), and she even let me put her hair in a ponytail to keep paint out of it.

When we get the finished product back I'll post a picture of her masterpiece.

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Wonder Baby Wednesday #32

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...the happiest girl in the world.

We got to meet princesses when we visited Disney World last week. She was a little shell shocked at first, but here you can see she had a great time chatting with Belle.

I may not always love Disney, but I love that I could bring my daughter to see something that made her so happy. :)

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Sometimes you don't have to hide it when you cry.

I read a poem the other day that made me cry.

http://taylormali.com/index.cfm?webid=31

I don't know if the reason I cried was because I'm hormonal (pregnancy will do that to you), or just because it was such a beautiful and moving poem.

Either way, I tried to stem the tears as quickly as possible because I didn't want Eme to get upset. Little did I know just how strong my baby is...

She saw me when I still had a few tiny tears leaking from the corners of my eyes and said, "Why crying, mama?"

I said, "Mommy's just a little bit sad today, sweet pea."

She grabbed my hand and said "It be okay, mama."

I almost cried again, but instead I laughed. She's fantastic.


[If you want to find more by Taylor Mali, the same teacher/poet who wrote the one linked above, check out taylormali.com. I don't know the guy, but I do love his poetry. My favorite is one that you may have already heard, but if not it's worth checking out: "What Teachers Make" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuBmSbiVXo0]

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Wonder Baby Wednesday #31

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...little mommy.

Eme has decided that she is the mommy of her baby doll and I'm the big sister (she likes to try out different roles). When the baby "cries" she comforts her and says "it be okay, baby."

It's awesome.

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Things you do for your angel

My child is challenging me in ways I never imagined (yes, mom, I know that you told me this would happen, but it's different to hear about it than to experience it).

Today we took her paper dolls of Cinderella, Belle, and Ariel and dressed then undressed then re-dressed them in all "boo-fullll" dresses. Again and again.

And I enjoyed it.

Not because I love playing dress up (though I think there may have been a time when I was a lot younger and I did like dressing my dolls). Because SHE loves playing dress up. It's amazing to feel her excitement transferring to me -- she gets so excited about which dress each of them will wear that I find myself saying "Ariel, what dress would YOU like?"

As anyone who knows me can vouch, and something that has been a theme in many other of my posts, Disney princesses are not my thing. This morning, though, they were. Just for a little while.

I imagine that if she wants to play again tomorrow, they'll be my thing tomorrow, too.

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Wonder Baby Wednesday #30

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...cutest medieval baby ever!

This is Eme at the Medieval "festival" we attended last week. Notice the authentic linen dress (crafted by Andreas, no less!), and not so authentic Camelback water bottle and Igloo cooler. Life is all about juxtaposition.

If you haven't seen them already, ask us to show you the videos where we almost got run over at the Field Battle!

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Wonder Baby Wednesday #29

It's that time again...




Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...Gene Kelly.

She's dancin' and singin' in the rain.

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Parenting "Thought of the Day" #7

Isn't it cool how even when you feel sad, the sound of your daughter laughing makes you feel happy again?

Of course, if you already feel happy, the laughing makes you feel so happy that you might burst. Still not a down side, just true.

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Wonder Baby Wednesday #28

Thanks, Aunt Gillie, for reminding me that today is a Wednesday. Without further ado...



Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...Blue Steel! (Anyone remember Zoolander?)

Actually, it's double Blue Steel because Eme and I are both doing it. :)

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My daughter, Miss Pronunciation

Eme has begun pronouncing things much more carefully, which has actually created some hilarious instances of me asking her to repeat herself three or four times in order to figure out what she means. Examples:

Involving double r sounds:
Cherry -- was "chaaaaaa," now comes out "che-yay"
Sorry -- was "sah-ee," now "saw-yeee"

Involving double l sounds:
Pillow -- don't know whether I ever heard her say the word before, but now say "pi-r-yo"
Cinderella -- was "Ci-beh," now "Ci-we-lllllll-ya"

Words that have actually become easier to understand:
Banana -- was "bi-ya," now "banna"
Grandma -- was "wa," now "wa-ma"

These are just a few examples. I am amazed at how quickly her facility for language is growing, and her pronunciation and grammar are changing.

Can I just say it again? My angel is awesome, and I'm privileged to watch her grow.

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Parenting "Thought of the Day" #6

Anyone who has shown up at my house and found a half-naked toddler running around knows that we've been subscribing to the no-pants-at-home method of potty training. Things have been going well.

Is it strange that I'm really excited that we decided to try out big girl underpants for the first time today?

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Wonder Baby Wednesday #27

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...a girl who is ready for anything (including a blizzard in June).

Why she wanted to wear both her sunglasses and winter gloves defies my ability to reason, but I think in toddler-land the fact that they were both sitting on the table in plain sight is reason enough.

Yes, the one glove is backwards. Yes, they are on the wrong hands. But she put them on "all by self" -- yay, Eme!

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Redefined

[Wouldn't it be cool if, just once in a while, I actually posted something other than a picture? Well, here you go. I've been meaning to post on this topic for a while, so it's both of our lucky day; I get to post it, you get to read it. :)]

It's amazing how I've learned to redefine things now that my life has changed so much. A few examples:

A good day:

• Used to mean I got out of work early, or got to spend a whole day doing fun stuff that couples do with Andreas, or got a bunch of tasks done that I'd been meaning to do.
• Now it means that Eme took her nap (so that I got to do some work, or could spend time with Andreas, or get a few tasks done that I meant to do).

A clean house:

• Used to mean that I'd cleaned top to bottom, vacuuming every room and swiffering the linoleum, got the laundry and dishes done, counters cleaned, paraphernalia put away.
• Now it means there aren't toys EVERYWHERE, and the counter is relatively clean-ish.

Sleeping in:

• Used to mean cuddling in bed with Andreas until 9 or 10 in the morning on Saturday, usually followed by a leisurely breakfast.
• Now it means Eme doesn't wake me until 7:30, instead of at 7.

Watching a movie:

• Used to mean Andreas and I would sit down for the full length of a film we, as adults, wanted to see.
• Now it means watching any of a number of Disney films that I've now seen multiple times each (skipping over any "scary" parts as defined by Eme), or watching part of a movie with Andreas after we put Eme to bed (only part because we're often too tired to finish in one sitting)

The list could go on, but the important thing is this: it is our capacity to redefine ourselves that allows us to grow and change, and it is through change that we experience more of the world than we ever knew existed. It is through change that we remain alive, and avoid becoming stagnant.

Therefore, while all of these redefinitions may sound like complaints, the truth is that they're my life and I love my life. With that in mind, I offer one final redefinition:

Love:

• Used to mean the way I feel about my family, and the special bond I share with Andreas.
• Now it means all of those things, plus the way my heart fills when I see/think about/teach something new to/learn something new from Eme.

Thank goodness for the change that brought me, along with everything else that I've redefined, this amazing connection, which I wouldn't trade for anything.

Not even for Saturday mornings.

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Wonder Baby Wednesday #27

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...a chipmunk!

Only instead of having nuts stored in her cheek pouches, they are baby tomatoes--one in each cheek. As I have already mentioned a while back about her love of tomatoes: she's her mother's daughter.

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Parenting "Thought of the Day" #5

I love hearing things I've said come out of Eme's mouth because they sound so funny coming from someone so small.

Today, after seeing her give a big yawn, I asked "are you tired, baby?" She said "wong day." And then sighed.

She was right, it was a long day for both of us. But it was suddenly also a very funny day. I laughed, she laughed... a very funny, long day.

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Wonder Baby Wednesday #26

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...Cinderella ready for the ball!

Thanks, Aunt Amy, for Eme's first "pedicure" and her toddler-sized "glass slippers."

Yes, I gave my permission. Anyone who "Disney-fies" my child without permission deserves what they get from me. But how could I say no when Eme got so excited at the prospect of getting to do her toes just like mommy and Aunt Amy?

Plus, it turns out glass slippers aren't just for dancing. You should see her play football in those shoes!

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Wonder Baby Wednesday #25

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...a (stuffed animal) chameleon!

Can you spot her as she cunningly blends with her surroundings?

This is Eme hiding from the "ba-boom" (that's vacuum for those of you unaccustomed to Eme-speak). She figured that if we put everything else on the couch to keep it safe, why not her, too?

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Wonder Baby Wednesday #24

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of....merry-go-round rodeo rider!

She's riding! Pay no attention to Papa Guy holding her on the horse.

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Parenting "Thought of the Day" #4

Training potties are fantastic for many reasons (because they're the right size for small bottoms and short legs, because they come with princesses on them, etc.) but I never thought I'd have to carry around so much pee.

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The differences between men and women.

Eme has really begun to enjoy Eloise -- you may remember the books from your childhood, or you may even have seen the (very cute) movies produced back in 2003 with Julie Andrews as the nanny. We got the movies from the library, and Eme likes to ask me to tell the story, or will sometimes do something Eloise does (like stand on her toes).

The other day I found myself searching Amazon to see if I could get the movies (they're not really widely available right now since they're from 2003 and you can only check them out of the library so many times before you start to seem strange). I found and ordered them, and ordered an Eloise book that I thought Eme and I could read together as well.

A little bit later, Andreas was talking about a present he wanted to get for Eme. Could it be that he had also noticed how much she liked Elosie and wouldn't it be funny if we were searching for the same thing?

Nope. Not so much.

He wanted to get her a couple of sticks like the one Mulan has (points for trying to get her something from a character she likes) so she can fight me like Mulan does.

That may not be the only difference between men and women, but it's certainly an eye-opening one. :)

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Parenting "Thought of the Day" #3

I know, you thought you were going to get a WBW today, but there's been a lot of excitement at the house that is not of the kind you photograph. Therefore, to commemorate a very special occasion, I have a Parenting Thought of the Day:

Who knew how exciting it could be to see someone else do a poo in their own potty?

Good job, Eme!


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Conversation as I attempted to get Eme to go to sleep last night

Eme: Mama! Sing muumaid.

Me: Ok. "I wish I could be part of your world..."

Eme: No! Sing ovaaa muumaid. "Ahhhhhhhh." (Eme attempts to do the vocalization from when the Sea Witch takes Ariel's voice.)

Me: Ok. "Ahhhhhhhhh, ahhhhhhhh, ahhhhhhh, ahhhh ahhh ahhh ahhhh ahhhhhh." (I attempt, without much more success, to do Ariel's vocalization. What can I say? I was tired.)

Eme: Mama! Sing Waddddin.

Me: Ok, I'll sing Aladdin. "Unbelievable sights, indescribable feelings, soaring tumbling..."

Eme: No! Sing pwince weeeee.

Me: Ok, I'll sing Prince Ali. "Prince Ali, handsome is he, Ali Ababwa. Something something and something definitely."

Eme: No more sumping sumping.

Me: (racking my brain to try to remember the words that I have replaced with "something something") "Prince Ali, mighty is he, Ali Ababwa. Strong as ten regular men, definitely...?"

Eme: Guuu job, mama.

Me: Time to go to sleep, Eme.


She's getting too smart for my own good.

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Wonder Baby Wednesday #24

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...gangsta' leprechaun.

Everyone's after her lucky charms (and she certainly has a lot of charm), but you'd better watch out if you get too close. She'll take you down--with her lethal smile. :)

Yes, I know it's late for St. Patrick's Day. Yes, she is wearing a Notre Dame hat. It belongs to Andreas; isn't that enough explanation?

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Parenting "Thought of the Day" #2

Things (I didn't realize until now) that I have to ask my mom:

1) When we finished a coloring book, did you throw it out? Did we ever miss it?

2) How many of our toys (or scraps of paper we were attached to) did you accidentally vacuum up? How long did it take for us to get over it?

These are just a few more things you don't need to think about until you do.

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Wonder Baby Wednesday #23

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of....evil genius.

Couldn't you tell by the goatee?

Or, wait, is it just that this blueberry smoothie is really good?

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Wonder Baby Wednesday #22

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...Lady! (Andreas is the Tramp)

Can you guess what movie we got from the library this week?

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Eme Dueeetsef

My baby has been turning into a toddler gradually over a number of months now, but lately she's REALLY begun asserting her independence.

She loves to say "dueetsef" (pronounced "dew EEt sef"). What she means is that she'd like to do something by herself, with no help. This exclamation is sometimes accompanied by an exhortation for mommy to "go'way," as in "Mommy go'way! Eme doeetsef!"

Eme will exclaim in this way over tasks big and small. Some days she wants to try to dress herself, hold her own cup (or my cup, which is usually bigger and made of glass, so you can imagine why I'd want to help her hold it), type on the computer, push play on the DVD player, put on shoes, take off shoes, climb onto a chair, climb into her tutu, dump something out, clean something up, and so on, and so on.

It's strange for me to feel both needed and not needed at the same time. Of course she still needs help, but she also needs to feel, and to some extent to actually be, independent.

It's becoming so that a little hug and kiss before Eme runs to her next adventure is now a boon, when I had been used to it being the norm. It's the time when mommy is increasingly the mean lady who makes Eme wear pants so that she doesn't get cold, rather than the lady I used to be who was actually in charge of wardrobe.

I guess it's time that mommy has to grow out of automatically taking things over that I used to know Eme couldn't do by herself as she becomes more adventurous, and more capable, every single day.

That's my toddler.

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Wonder Baby Wednesday #21

What? It's Wednesday and I'm posting a WBW? Strange.



Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of....a snow angel!



Yes, my stinky angel made her first snow angel, and it was beautiful.

All the way up until she accidentally got snow down her back. Then it was tragic for a few minutes. Stinky mommy, using the camera instead of keeping snow out of her baby's coat!

Don't worry, though. We were all happy again once hugs and kisses and the warm air inside the house had all been liberally applied to the "wound." :)

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Birthday present: Done. Only about a week late!

Finally done with Eme's b-day gift (counted cross stitch), and I'm only just over a week late... Now I just have to frame the thing.

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Wonder Baby Wednesday #20

Wonder Baby Powers, activate!
Form of...a 2-year old!



Happy Birthday, my stinky little angel.

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Wonder Baby Wednesday #19 (oops! Thursday again.)

I promised Aunt Gillie a WBW, so here it is, even if it is a Thursday. Again.


Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...Cinderella!

She didn't even have any mice or birds to help her create a pink dress out of castoffs -- just daddy's old pink polo shirt and a dream of being the most beautiful girl at the ball.

Now she's off to meet a prince. Lucky she doesn't have any stepsisters to tear up the dress!

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Parenting "Thought of the Day" #1

Welcome to a new feature that I hope to use at least as regularly as I use WBWs. I plan to list things that I find myself thinking as a parent that I can't imagine ever having thought about in the time before Emelie.
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Today's thought (after having discovered that her hair was sticky from having put food in it, but we were already out at music class):

If I washed her hair every time she put something in it I'd probably at least double the global water crisis. Plus, maybe no one will notice. You can't tell it's sticky unless you feel it. Thank goodness peach juice is clear!

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Please feel free to add your own thoughts for the day in comments, even if you aren't a parent. :)

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Wonder Baby Wednesday #18

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...a tree hugger (and kisser)!

With parents like us, you knew it would happen. Why not start her early? Go green!

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Wonder Baby Wednesday #17 (Christmas edition)

Wonder Baby Powers, activate! Form of...Santa's Little Helper (or tomtenisse for my Swedish readers).

Here she is, trekking through the snow to get presents to deserving children all over the world. Or is it just that she was inspecting her tree to see if her daddy did the lights right?

Yes, Eme did get a tree. It happens to be in the back yard, but it looks beautiful out there, all lit up at night.

Also, I do know the photo quality is terrible on this one, but sometimes the only camera you have on you at moments like this (that is, informal tree lighting ceremonies) is your phone.

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Up all night. Again. But not for the reason you think...

Did I really only post once in December? Really? Just the once?

I blame The Holidays. And the funeral.

Anyway, I'm back. ish.

One of the reasons I haven't had time for my fun writing is because I've had a lot of freelance work coming in. When there's only so much time available in the day, the things that pay me (yay!) and have deadlines (boo) have to come first.

That's actually the subject of this post: deadlines. Or, really, deadlines and children. Or, reeeeaaaaally, deadlines and Eme. And being her mommy.

Ever since I made the choice not to go back to work full time, I have been trying to be a great stay-at-home mom. I spend my days eating pretend food, becoming a horse who runs and bounces her toddler jockey, and naming everything by its shape and color ("look at that orange ball!" "is that a blue triangle?"). I've also learned a bunch of different versions of the alphabet song.

Eme is getting old enough now that she doesn't need me every single minute she's awake any more. She'll spend 10 minutes at a time playing by herself when I cook or clean something. But the amount of time she's willing to play on her own is still little enough that I can't get a reasonable part of a project done during that time. Thus, I do all of my work during her naptimes.

Make that "most." I do most of my work during her naptimes. There are days when I've got too much to do to complete it during the two hours she naps. Of course, this is a good thing -- it means I'm getting a lot of work -- but when else can I possibly get it done? Thanks for asking.

I have found myself up until midnight, one, two in the morning a few times, trying to get everything done before deadline. A funny feeling comes over me when I'm up at two in the morning, working on a project that makes me feel worthwhile, and I know my baby is sleeping and won't need me.

It's the closest I've felt to the way I used to be before having a baby. That's an imperfect way to describe it, but it's a feeling of being good at something and having the time and freedom to do it. It's my time to be me, before the sweet weight of the responsibility for another person settles back on me and I have to be a mommy again.

It's amazing how those few free hours, even though I'm working hard for someone else, allow me to feel like me. And I think they make me a better mommy in the morning, because I've had time to be something other than a mommy. It's as if the comparison allows me to remember how much I enjoy being a chef/horse/object-namer.

So we'll see how the new year goes. Maybe I can find those few hours on my own, even when I don't have a pressing deadline. Maybe I can use them to write in my blog more often...or just to think about who I am and who I want to be.

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