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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