I'm already a slacker...

See? It's almost been a month since my last post. In my defense, it has been busy with trying to get ready for the holidays but I guess that's just an excuse.

Anyway, it looks like we have grown a little scammer. Yesterday morning, on my way to work, she was gabbing with herself in the back seat and she suddenly announced that "when you get home, Mommy, that we're going to go to the neighbor's house and knock on the door and say 'Merry Christmas!' when they open the door and then we're going to ask for Christmas candy." Hmmm... I assured her, that no - we don't go door to door for candy at Christmas but she said that yes - we were going. I then explained that we only do that at Halloween and that we'll do it again next year but not until Halloween rolls around again. This was met with dead silence for a moment before she recovered and said we should do it now. Oh boy - we have our hands full!

She's been quite the handful this past couple of months. Demanding everything - no asking. No "please," no "thank you" and nothing even coming close to being polite. I realize that we're dealing with an ego-centric two year old but this is ridiculous! So now we've really come down hard on her. We've resorted to turning off the TV when viewing it is demanded. Moo Cow is also prone to banishment and she knows that infractions will result in some sort of consequence. Sometimes I think she just plays the odds that something bad will happen. Other times, I think maybe she just forgets. But honestly, she's so smart, I lean most heavily towards the fact that we're being played for fools and damn if she's not close to the target there. How do parents survive these years and if it's like this now, what are we up against when she's 12? I shiver at the thought...

Nothing like a 3:00 AM wake up call...

I'm sound asleep this morning and from the depth of a most delicious sleep, I'm wakened by the mewling cries of my darling daughter. Like any good mother, I tense... hoping beyond hope that this is just a momentary glitch and that she'll go back to sleep on her own. Instead, the wails intensify and conjoin into an actual sentence of "I want my binky... I want my binky in my mouff!" Definitely a cry that means business. So, I dragged my sorry butt out of the warm (delightfully so) bed and down the hall to the light switch where I'm momentarily blinded in the glare. I continue down the hall and into her room to find her laying there quitely with the binky firmly ensconced. "What," I think??? I got out of bed for this? But no. Of course she wouldn't disappoint me like this because as soon as she saw me looking in disbelief at the binky, she said, quite clearly, "I want my bubba. I want my bubba in my mouff."

Arghhhh... I told her that bubbas were not for the middle of the night and that she needed to go back to sleep immediately. I covered her back up, turned the music on the mobile on and blindly headed back to bed where I inserted the ear plugs as deeply as I could and went back to sleep. Mothers need far more patience than I have at times...

Almost forgot this one...

Yesterday, while on the way to daycare, Gracie saw a yellow school bus and told me again- that she wants to ride on one to school. She wants to go to school in the worst way! I reiterated again that she needs to be 5 before she can go to school. I then asked her if she knew what grade she'd be in when she starts school. She was silent so I told her that she'd be in Kindergarten when she was 5. After a minute, she told me that she was going to pick all the flowers in the garden. I thought, huh? How did we move to the gardening topic? So I asked her what garden she wanted to pick flowers in and she said (duh!) KINDERGARTEN!

After I stopped laughing, I explained that Kindergarten isn't really a garden at all but that she'd have fun there and meet lots of new kids. It was just so cute.

Halloween fun

Last night was Gracie's first time hitting the neighborhood as an official Trick or Treater. She actually did very well and was so excited about ringing doorbells to get candy. We started off the evening with her at the Boo at the Zoo festivities. We met a couple of moms from my mom's group and caught up with them for a few minutes. Then we wandered around a bit and then headed home so that Gracie could do some trick or treating. She was so excited about going and she had no hesitation about knocking on doors! I was pretty surprised by how easily she settled into the routine and fun of it. I really enjoyed going with her and was only just a little bit wistful about how fast my baby is growing up. She looked adorable in her "Princess Butterfly" costume too.

A long day...

But not really a bad one. Just one in which I don't get to spend much time with Gracie. I dropped her off at daycare this morning at 7:30 - it's now almost 8:00 PM and I'm still at work. So I won't get to see her tonight unless I creep into her room to watch her sleep.

She did wake up in a good mood this morning. Helped along I'm sure, by me turning on "The Wiggles" without her having to ask. She happily watched it as I peeled off her sleeper and then gave a meager protest (bladder was full!) as I removed her briefly from the TV in order to put her on the potty. Once that nonsense was over, she sat happily but definitely focused on the TV screen as I manipulated her body into her jeans, t-shirt, shoes and socks. We had a momentary struggle over the mittens she's taken to wearing. I think they're rather a novelty item but she seems to love them. She suffered their removal with only a small protest and then moved on to other concerns.

I left her with Miss Frances happily watching the cat - Tobey. No other kids were at daycare yet so she had Frances to herself which, in Gracie's book, is always a good thing.

When I talked to her Daddy this afternoon after he had picked her up, he said that she hadn't napped today. We've been noticing over the past month or so that she's more and more reluctant to go down for an afternoon nap. I'm wondering if she's really breaking herself of it but I worry about her getting enough sleep. And, truthfully, her afternoon nap has been an enjoyable haven of quiet for me this last year. It's my one-two hour "free play" period where I can do what I want for a little while.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting home tonight and watching her sleep for a bit. She's still in her crib and it's a visual reminder of the tiny baby she was even as I'm watching the little girl she's become. All these moments are permanently imprinted on my heart even if they're not written down. However, it might be of interest to her someday... those first days when she was so tiny that her pinky fingernail was about the size of a head of a pin or the ridiculous face she made with that first spoonful of sweet potatoes to having a meltdown over not being carried around like she's likely to do now. Maybe one day she'll want to know all this and I will have it written down somewhere (and all I'll have to do is to find it!)

Oh! I almost forgot. She's learned to negotiate! (My little manipulator!) She even does it with the right inflection in her voice. So, we'll sit down at night and unwind and she'll ask for a book. I'll say "no... the books are closed for today" and she'll say... "Just one book - one!" Or, if it's bedtime, she'll say..."5 more minutes!" It cracks me up even if I do get weary of hearing it over and over. She's just so darn funny. If you want the purest form of comedy - just try conversing with a 2 year old. You'll be in stitches in no time.

Ha! I knew this would be payback someday!

So, my darling daughter and I were watching TV Sunday night and she happened to catch a glimpse of a Christmas Tree on TV. She pointed to it and excitedly exclaimed, "Christmas Tree!"

Being the good parent and seeing a potential teaching moment, I responded, "yes, that's a Christmas Tree. Do you remember Christmas from last year?" She was silent. So I prompted her with, "Who brings you Christmas presents each year?" Obviously, I wasn't specific enough because she was quiet for a moment and then responded happily... "AUNT KARI!"

Ahhh... this gave me warm feelings of joy because I remember my nieces at this age - looking forward to my visits because they knew I didn't come over without something for them. My sister bawled me out for it and told me to stop because I was "spoiling them." Hmmmm... do you think she's guilty of doing the same thing???

Either way, it was funny. Sheesh! Who knew the entertainment value of a young child before having one yourself?

To be a mom is to be humbled...

So a quick, but funny Gracie story. Last night, Luis and I got a baby sitter so that we could have a rare night out without our darling daughter. Since it doesn't happen often we're always a bit concerned that she might experience some separation anxiety when we're away. We shouldn't have been so worried, apparently.

I decided to tell Gracie that we were going out and that she'd have a babysitter that night. Gracie was actually quite thrilled when I told her that Jacqui was coming and danced and bounced around the living room as soon as Jacqui rang the bell. We reacquainted Jacqui with the house and I left Gracie with the admonishment to use her "listening ears" and to be good for Jacqui. Apparently, they had a wonderful time which was great and we returned home to find a quiet house - Gracie long since asleep and Jacqui quietly working on homework. I thought to myself... wow! See, that wasn't so hard. Maybe we should do this more often?

Or, errrr... maybe not? Upon waking this morning, my darling daughter was downright disappointed to realize that it was just me coming to get her and she quickly demanded Jaqui's return. When I couldn't immediately produce her, she was pretty unhappy. So much for separation anxiety!

I guess I should be happy that she's not worried about our return - it certainly makes leaving that much easier. However, the mom in me can't help but be disappointed that we're not missed more. I suppose I should get used to it though... (sigh)

Now what?

Okay, so I started this because I felt like the entire technology world was passing me by. Also, because I feel more than just a little bit guilty that the dozens or so beautiful journals I've been given over the years have gone to complete and utter waste.

But I also wanted to do this because I have mom guilt over the lack of details I have for Gracie. Fun tidbits she's done or told me that I can never remember to put into her still blank baby book. Maybe - just maybe this will assuage some of that guilt.

For today, I will say that it was a fairly ordinary day. Gracie was in a pretty good mood this morning when I dropped her at daycare. This makes leaving her just a little bit easier in the AM which is a good thing.

Oh, and there's hope that she's learning just a smidge of manners after all this time. Last night at dinner, when she was done, she actually asked to be excused without me prompting her. Of course, her good humor came at the price of one shortbread cookie which I was still wiping from her lips when she posed the question. But I guess I need to learn to be grateful for the small things. Especially when, at 2.5 years, she's only willing to give on so much.

But nothing gives Luis and I more entertainment and sheer love than our daughter - and in the end, I guess that's what counts the most.