Thursday, August 26, 2010

The Hug Police is on vacation!

For months, any time Geeky Entrepreneur and I were found hugging, Amor Chiquito would run in and split us up. It ended up becoming a game. Even if she was not around, we would say "no hug"!

Recently, she changed her mind and decided that hugs are cool! Absolutely awesome because I am a squeeshy mama! I love hugs! Now, she comes over, out of the blue, hugs a parent and asks the other one to join her for a family hug! I love it! The huge smile is priceless!

We have a little routine. Every morning, before we get out of bed, we do a big family hug. She then instructs her father to put a sock on his shoulder so she can grab it, run away with it, and hide it! They do that at least three times, until her father says he is done playing the game!

Oh, lately, she has been coming over to give us tiny kisses just because!

I love that kid! Hugs and kisses never get old!

A "Love and Logic" Moment

Amor Chiquito is not a fan of picking up her toys after she is done playing with them. Then again, who is?!

There have been times when I ask her to pick up her toys and she has told me it is my turn. Imp! It was funny once or twice, but not anymore! Most of the time, either the grownups pick up the toys or we have a royal mess in our living room. Who am I kidding? Most of the time we have a royal mess in our living room. I can’t keep up, it feels like!

Yesterday I got her magnetic numbers. She was ecstatic! We played with them for a while, and, then, the inevitable, cleanup time.

Ari: I no want clean up.

Me: Please clean up the numbers.

Ari: But I no want to.

Me: You have two choices. If you clean up, you can play with them later. If I clean up, they will go up high. Who is cleaning up?

Ari: You.

Me: Ok, I will clean up. They are going up high.

There was some crying.

In retrospect, I could have done a better job. I was tired, frustrated, and tired of repeating myself so many times in one day. Instead, I could have tried to be brief and to not let it get to me.

Today Amor Chiquito asked for her numbers.

Me: I will get them. They are up high because I picked them up yesterday.

We played for a while. She would grab a number. She would tell me what the number was. If she did not know, I would tell her. She would then run to the kitchen and put the number on the fridge. Repeat, repeat, and repeat some more...!

When it was time to clean up, I asked if she was cleaning up or if I was.

Ari: I clean up. No numbers up high.

No fuss! How cool is that! I got the idea from the Love and Logic book.

Later on, we played with play dough and she cleaned up too.

We are also working on having a consistent parking spot, if you will, for her bike. I have tripped on the damn bike more times than I care to admit! Basically, because my vision is so limited, I might see things that I am looking for. Otherwise, I don’t notice a lot of things, particularly smaller objects close to the ground such as her bike.

That reminds me of a sweet moment today… Amor Chiquito was riding her bike. I was walking near her. She said “waaatch out, mommy.”

I might have mentioned this before. Amor Chiquito has been aware of my visual impairment since before she was a year old. It is fascinating to see how her and I continue to adapt as time goes on, as she gets older and understands more about my eye sight.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Poem About Breastfeeding

Just came across this cute poem about breastfeeding:
http://10centandbeyond.blogspot.com/2010/08/dr-seuss-for-nursing-moms.html

Sunday, August 22, 2010

From PBS.org: article on myths and facts about attachment

Secure attachment has to do with your child knowing that you are trustworthy, knowing that you are there, that you will respond to his/her needs. Secure attachment is vital. Attachment in early childhood, secure or insecure, has been found to have an impact in future relationships. In other words, if, as a young child, you were securely attached to your caregiver, later on, adult relationships will be easier for you.

Attachment is something I am very passionate about. Some day I would love to have the time to write a long post on attachment. In the meantime, here is this article:
http://www.pbs.org/thisemotionallife/childhood-attachment

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

35 months today...

I can't believe our little girl will be three years old a month from today. Wow!

She is not a baby anymore. She is a little girl, full of stories, silly ideas, making up games...! I love it!

Birthdays have a whole new meaning for me now!

Monday, August 16, 2010

Out of shampoo, what could I do?!

I wrote a while ago about using a baking soda solution instead of shampoo. I had not gotten around to trying it. To be honest, I was very skeptical. My hair is very oily; I just wasn’t sure about baking soda! I love when my hair feels squeaky clean! I was assuming baking soda wouldn’t do the trick. But… What can you do when you are completely out of shampoo. Baby shampoo does not work on my hair. I tried!

So, there I was, with a cup, water and baking soda. There was my husband, making quite the funny face!

Guess what? It worked! If it worked on my super oily hair, it will probably work on anyone’s hair! And, no, my hair did not stink! To be fair, I did not try the vinegar.

Some relatives heard about my experiment. They don’t know much about my “crunchy” side. They laughed their butts off and they think I am crazy. Whatever!

Oh, the recipe:
1 cup water
2 tablespoons baking soda

Pretend Play, Creativity and Imagination

Amor Chiquito is very much into pretend play lately. The other day, one of Geeky Entrepreneur’s ties was an anaconda, a seatbelt and a rope, all within half an hour.

Some of Ari’s favorite games lately:

Run after mom or dad with the anaconda, saying sss!

Tell mommy to “be a horse,” sit on mommy’s back, and put her seatbelt on! I am so glad that seatbelts are viewed as such a positive thing in our home!

I forget what the rope was for!

Oh, about an hour ago, a plastic bag became a magic carpet and a tie became a seatbelt. She was flying while Daddy hummed the song! Eventually, both her and daddy were flying together, sharing a magic carpet!

Many more stories, but I am blanking out right now.

All about being a family...

Every time I remember these conversations I smile!

Two weeks ago Ari asked: “mommy, you my family?

Me: Yes, love.

Ari: Da-e my family too?

Me: Yes, Ari, you, daddy and I are a family.

Ari: Yay!

Later on that day…

Ari, as she is getting out of the car: My mommy is great!

She made my day! Her remark was completely unprovoked, all her.

Speaking of family, she has learned that Nana is “da-e mommy,” Mama is “mommy mommy,” Jaiden (her cousin) is “tio (uncle) baby,” etc.

The other day she surprised me. I told Geeky Entrepreneur I was going to my mom’s. She jumped in and said “hurray, Mama house! That my grandma!”

Very cute! Child development is so very fascinaEvery time I remember these conversations I smile!

Two weeks ago Ari asked: “mommy, you my family?

Me: Yes, love.

Ari: Da-e my family too?

Me: Yes, Ari, you, daddy and I are a family.

Ari: Yay!

Later on that day…

Ari, as she is getting out of the car: My mommy is great!

She made my day! Her remark was completely unprovoked, all her.

Speaking of family, she has learned that Nana is “da-e mommy,” Mama is “mommy mommy,” Jaiden (her cousin) is “tio (uncle) baby,” etc.

The other day she surprised me. I told Geeky Entrepreneur I was going to my mom’s. She jumped in and said “hurray, Mama house! That my grandma!”

Very cute! Child development is so very fascinating.

21st Century Family

Long day. Everyone had fun. Everyone was tired. But Ari was not ready to go to sleep.

Geeky Entrepreneur was taking a break and playing a video game on his computer.

I was catching up on Blogger on my laptop.

Ari was watching a kid show on Netflix Instant Watch on Geeky Entrepreneur’s netbook.

Can you spell 21st century family?!

Oh, by the way, she is threatening to be good at using the mouse any day. She knows how to pause or hit play on her show on Netflix or Youtube.

My family got our first computer when I was a freshman in high school. My 2-year-old uses one every day. I feel old!

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

All about the cute and fun stuff Ari has been saying and doing lately!

Many silly moments lately!

Ari told her daddy to be careful eating his pasta so he wouldn’t make a mess on the table! Very thoughtful! So much laughter in our home lately!

The other day I told her she was full of boloney. Her response: No, only Nana say that! Only Nana!

I was told that she wanted to go to the horses (the merry-go-round). I explained that it was not open at the time. She said: Ok, mommy, we have find other horses!

Ari has known about stop signs for a while. She recently learned about traffic lights. Now she tells her daddy “red, stop please,” or “green, go!” She will also say “look, Da-e, white, people walk, no drive.”

Ari walked around wearing a birthday hat all day on Sunday. She went to the park, the mall, and to a restaurant wearing it! The day before it was a helmet. The day before that it was a baseball cap. The sun hat is missing in action! I don’t know if I’ll ever see it again!

Lastly, I am walking around with an airplane sticker on my forehead! My daughter put it on there and I am not about to remove it! I am sure I look very silly, but I don’t care!

Have I mentioned lately how much I am thoroughly loving this age?!