Making Daddy Melt

Daddy left this morning before Lil' woke up. This doesn't happen very often and is confusing to Lil' when it does happen. She asked to call Daddy on the phone after breakfast. They chatted for just a moment because Daddy was busy getting ready for the upcoming golf tournament.

When Daddy got home Lil' ran to give him the customary hug. She threw her arms around him and said "I missed you!". This is something that Daddy tells her often but a first time for him to hear it. It was surprising since she wasn't just responding to his statement. It was all on her own.

My Seeds!

Much to my surprise and Lil's delight some of our greenhouse seeds germinated in two days and are now about an inch tall. Three other seed cups are also showing growth. Tonight after dinner when washing Lil's hands she looked up in the window and saw the greenhouse and exclaimed, "Look Daddy, my seeds!".

The Sun Has Been Shining

It was a beautiful weekend here. The sun was shining. Grandpa D. came to visit yesterday. Lil', as is customary with all visitors, took him by the hand and showed him how things are in her world. He was ushered to her room when she wanted to get something, instructed where and when to sit, take off his shoes or coat and was the recipient of many classic Lil' looks and loves. We all enjoyed a nice dinner at home.
Today Mr. Eleven got up early to dress Lil' for a date with Grandpa. She was just waking when he entered her room but immediately jumped to her feet, saying "Where Grandpa Go?" She found him tucked in his sleeping bag on the "blue couch". They were off to see the back side of the horse track and have a breakfast of crunchy bacon, eggs and peaches. Mama got to sleep in. It felt kinda weird, but very nice.
The late morning and after nap were spent outside in the backyard. One of Mama's weekend goals was to build the activity slide for Lil' that has been waiting on the side of the house for spring to arrive. Here is her first time playing with it at her house. Many thanks to Oosje's friends, B,S,I & especially H! Lil' loves her slide!

Dirt

I love Earth Day. I have since I was young. Back then I wore a t-shirt celebrating Earth day all year long. It was a favorite. There were several years when my favorite part of Earth Day was planting something with Oosje. One year it was three little evergreen seedlings that went in the front yard. Other years it was too cold and snowy for planting anything outside.

This Earth Day was the first time Lil' and I planted anything together. We planted a Mini Greenhouse of herbs that she got from her very best girlfriend for her birthday. It was fun. Lil' scooped dirt and sprinkled seeds and helped Mama do the watering out of the teapot that Grandma Barbie got us a while back. I had such a good time carrying on the planting tradition.

Later on in the day, Mama and Lil' went outside to enjoy the sunshine. Lil' blew bubbles for Belle. It's become one of their favorite sister activities. Lil' blows and Belle chases. They kept each other busy long enough for Mama to get some yard work done, with the goal of setting up the slide that we inherited from Oosje's friend, H, this weekend.

Weekend Update

Before Lil' came along Mama was often found on weekend mornings in bed with the covers pulled up over hear head to block the sunshine. Days often began at noon. This hasn't happened since Lil' lived inside Mama. This weekend she was ready to "Play!" at the crack of 5:45 and 6:15, respectivly.
Saturday morning Mama took this opportunity to get housework done, giving Lil' project like "take Mama's shoe to her closet, please". Shoes for each family member were taken one by one. She took art supplies to her desk, and toys to her bucket. She also danced and did some art. Mr. Eleven was at the disc golf course, freezing his fingers off, but practicing none the less. The day also included a walk to the park in which we left the stroller at home and Lil' walked herself, about 1/2 way before employing Mr. Eleven's shoulders to ride on. It was a quick trip due to the cold but it was fun for Mama to see Lil' order Mr. Eleven "down the slide" and "up, here" and scold him for not following on the ladder close enough.
This morning Mama tried to put Lil' in bed next to her and pretend to sleep but between Belle trying to get in the covers to seek refuge from Lil' and Lil' sticking her fingers in Mama's ears it was of no use. Mr. Eleven bought Mama a few extra minutes by getting the daily oatmeal ready before leaving for his morning round. This was followed by a day that included several pees on the potty (one for each Mr. Eleven and Mama), and a declaration by Lil' to Mr. Eleven during an afternoon play session that she was going to "play soccer".
Lil' often amazes Mama with her memory. This one topped the cake. Mr. Eleven has been talking to her about soccer since July 2005, when we still called her "Bud".

Girls' Haircuts - $21, Results Priceless

Today Lil' had her hair cut. It was the first time that she had this done at a place where people get haircuts. Lil' got to wear an animal cape which gave us something to keep her distracted. The green lollipop that she spied all on her own and asked nicely for using her manners also helped keep her entertained. Mama forgot to bring a camera. Here is a picture I took after we got home with her reward, $1 sunglasses for the store next door to the haircut place.



Belle also had a much overdue haircut at a new do it yourself grooming place in our neighborhood. Mama is super pleased with the results and liked the $5 price even better! Belle is happily roaming the backyard so pictures will have to wait until tomorrow.

Taking My Friend Andy Along!

Lil' took her new friend Raggedy Andy to Costco the other day. This is one of the few things that Mama has from when she was growing up (although a few years ago it was discovered that it was really the one that Aunt Scully had when she was young and a mixup of the Andy's and Ann's had occured at some point). Usually Mama asks Lil' to leave her "friends" in the car but on this particular morning it was clear that such a request would cause more work for Mama than she was willing to commit to. Upon getting Lil' in the cart Mama buckled her up, as usual, and off we went, all of about two steps, before Lil' shouted "STOP!". Everyone around us stopped too and heard Lil' scold me for not doing "Andy Buckles NOW!" You see, Costco has those fancy carts that have two kiddo seats up front and there was Andy in the extra seat, waiting for his buckles. Several people laughed. Mama did the buckles. For several rows Lil' and Andy sat next to each other but by the end they were sitting together, Andy out of his buckles but Lil' holding on tight to make sure he was safe. He didn't get rebuckeled until we had paid and were standing in the hot dog line. Mama didn't want anything to get on Andy since wet wipes don't work as well on fabric as they do on kiddos. Lil' was sad. It seems, in reality, those Costco carts are wide and having your friends so far away isn't as fun as having them right up close.

Sing Songs

Here are a few of the songs that Lil' sings throughout the day....
*Moolah's favorite ...."The Wheels On The Bus"...her favorite part is "all around the town".
* ABC's...she's good at the beginning and the end. The middle has a lot of 3's added to it.
* Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star sounds more like "tinkle tinkle, star, star, wonder, are"
* Rock A Bye Baby has become a bedtime requirement.
* Ring Around the Rosie...she finally falls down.
*Farmer and the Dell"....Farmer Dell, Farmer Dell, Farmer wife, Farmer nurse, farmer dell.

Today after we went to the Music and Movement class at the library we got some new CD's to listen to. I'm looking forward to expanding her selection.

Art

Mama and Lil' went shopping yesterday at the consignment sale where they have a bunch of things for sale. Mama knew when she was cleaning out Lil's toys that she could find something new and exciting instead of storing baby toys that she no longer plays with. Right in the door Lil' found an art desk of her very own for only $8.00. Mama cleaned it up during Lil's rest and it's been used pretty much non stop since then.

Summer Sunshine

Those of us in the Snowy State need some warmer weather. So here it is.....in it's virtual form. This photo of Lil' was taken last year, around the time of Oosje's birthday.

Lil' Asking Questions

Lil' knows many animal sounds. When we see animals in books, movies or in real life Lil' likes to make their sound. She's been asked "What sound does the ___ make?" for months. Last night was the first time she turned the tables on Mama and Mr. Eleven.

Lil': "Quack, Quack. What's that sound Daddy?"
Mr. Eleven: "That a duck"
Lil'" "Good job Daddy" "Moo. What's that sound, Mama?"
Mama: "That's the sound a cow makes Lil'"
Lil': "Good job Mama"

The game continued thru several rounds and as many animals as she could think of. Sometimes they weren't really sounds, like when she said "Boing, Boing" I wasn't sure if I was supposed to answer "Tigger" (Winnie The Pooh's friend) or "Kangaroo". She seemed satisfied with my answer of Tigger. I think I better figure out what sounds hyenas and baboons makes since that those are some of her favorite animal toys these days. She loves her "meena" and "boon".

Mother Nature Is Confused!

March 1994 was Mama's first spring away from home. I remember walking from campus to downtown with Mr. Eleven. We shopped at The Bon for some very cute shorts, which I wore out of the store since it was very warm and sunny.

April 9, 2008.....SNOW?

Mother Nature seems confused this year. I thought it was finally spring when my daffodils bloomed and I saw my first robin; that was weeks ago. I didn't really believe my eyes or ears this morning as Lil' shouted with complete glee "Snow, Mama!" as my eyes scanned past the kitchen window for the first time. "Yes, Lil', snow" "Play outside, Mama?" "Not right now Lil'. How about some oatmeal?" "No Mama, play outside with sister" Sister of course had her tail wagging as fast as possible. If she could talk she would say "Snow, Mama. Play outside". OK girls, you win.

Potty Update

Lil' and Mama have been working on Lil' using the potty for a couple of weeks now. Mr. Eleven hasn't been invovled too much until Sunday. Sunday morning Lil' wanted to sit on her potty. Mr. Eleven was the only suitable companion. He took his newspaper into the bathroom and spent almost an hour coaching Lil'. She had two successful pees. He was also the companion for an afternoon pee and Mama was finally picked to coach Lil' thru her evening pee.

It was a successful day on the potty.

Disc Golf Results

The tournament started off roughly for Daddy....Five baskets in and Daddy was +5 and -1 disc. He stepped away from the group to have a word with himself. As usual he was good with his words because he started his turn around on his next throw. He completed the rest of the round throwing 3 birdies and 3 bogies, so at least he "didn't get further in the hole". Round two went much better but took forever because the baskets were moved to the longest position and all the players were required to play from the professional tee pad, which made the holes very long on a windy afternoon. The end result was that Mr. Eleven shot a 119 (5th in his division). KH, "his biggest competetion", shot a 118. Third place shot a 117, 2nd place a 116 and first place a 115. Not the result he was looking for but not bad for the first tournament of the year.

And here is another picture from the day Mama and Lil' went to play with Daddy at the "far course".

Good Lucky Daddy

The Last of My Rainy State Photos

Lil' and Moolah in their Easter egg dying smocks. They wouldn't stand next to each other to get their picture taken.




At one point during the activities dye was spilled. The Mamas cleaned up the mess but didn't realize Lil's stool was saturated in dye until the activity was done, giving Lil's feet time to get a nice shade of Bronco orange.


The flight home was early so Lil' was in her clothes and her nightgown. She liked to look out the window at all the activity on the ramp.

Mister Man....

Lil' really enjoyed visiting with her cousins in the Rainy State over the Easter holiday. Last Wednesday at playgroup Lil' wandered around with her friends looking for "Mister Man", which is what Mama called Ace a few times during our visit. It made sense that Lil' might still be wondering where he was since we had just gotten home the day before.

Throughtout the week Mama and Lil' have spent time in the office, which is a new area for Lil'. She has gotten to watch Dora on the computer, has seen photos of herself and her cousins on blogs and via slideshows of Mama's picture folders. It's all very exciting to Lil' to see herself on the " 'puter show" Mama thinks she doesn't understand it is different from the TV which she also calls show.

Last night during Lil' and Mr. 11's playtime I heard her talking about "Mister Man" again. She wanted to see him on the computer. She settled for Mr. 11 holding her up to his photo hanging on family wall. She gave Mister Man kisses, she told him "I lub oooo". It was Lil' showing her heart; it made Mama melt as she stood in the kitchen listening and cooking zuccini.

This morning as we headed to playgroup Lil' asked "Mister Man there?" She seemed confused when I told her no. She frankly didn't believe. She spent at least the first ten minutes of playgroup wandering from the kitchen to the living room to the bedrooms looking for her Mister Man. When she had looked everywhere, even the master bedroom, which she insisted our hostess open the door to, she began to play with her friends.

She asked about Mister Man again on the way home. She seems to really miss him. Mama is glad that she already seems to have an amazing connection with her cousins. That's how it should be.

Dancing with Oosje and Bampa

This video is from the beginning of March when Oosje and Bampa visited on their way to California.