Chloe doesn't often hear the word NO. Let me rephrase that, she hears the word NO quite often (she has a big brother and 2 dogs), but it is very rarely directed at her.
At least it used to be.
While she has been crawling for a couple of months now, she has finally built up some stamina (it takes quite a bit to move that solid 23 + lbs. more than a couple of feet), and now she is into everything.
Since she woke up from her nap an hour ago, she has been climbing on, exploring, and grabbing just about everything in our house that is off limits (and that isn't much). Being the "good" mom that I am, and wanting to instill an expectation of obedience much earlier with her than I did her brother, I tell her "no" and physically move her away from whatever she is doing. But, to my sweet and sensitive little girl, no is a bad word. "No" brings tears and hurt feelings.
Morgan thought that "no" was a challenge to see how quickly he could get right back into whatever he was told not to.
I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again, but girls are really different! I sure like the pink bows and froofy dresses, but I'm not sure I am cut out for all this emotional stuff!
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Cleaning up my Conversations
I consider myself an intelligent and on-the-ball individual, but occasionally I do something that testifies to the color of my hair. My past is characterized by a by a long list of "blond moments" ("Those are the same thing?" in reference to the CaRIbbean and the CariBBEan, "There's no weight limit in the carpool lane!" after 5 minutes of thoughtful consideration, and "Which one is the break?" screamed in worry as the manual transmission truck I am sitting in is rolling away, to name a few). I thought that I had mostly outgrown these "blond moments" now that I am officially a "grown up" - think again!
Yesterday, I did laundry pretty much all day - folding, changing loads, and more folding. By about 9:00 last night, I changed into my pj's so that I could go down and put in the final load - including the jeans I was wearing. I felt so efficient! At about 11:00, as I was getting ready to hop into bed, I remembered that my cell phone had been in the back pocket of my jeans. Naturally, I went over to the dirty clothes bin to get it and plug it into the charger - unnaturally, I had been far to efficient with the laundry, and there were no clothes there! I raced downstairs, flung open the washer (which had long-since finished the load) and dug through the cylinder of damp clothes to find my jeans. No cell phone in the pocket. Maybe I didn't leave the phone in my pocket, I thought, wouldn't it be funny if the phone were already charging on my nightstand? No such luck. There, in the bottom of the washing machine, was horrifying proof that I am, indeed, a blond.
In case you are wondering how well a cell phone survives an adventurous swim in the washing machine -- after a night of air drying, the phone turned on, the screen worked, and it even made its normal sounds. Am I really that lucky, I wondered? I placed a call to Seth. It dialed out, I heard him answer the phone, it worked! HOORAY! ...But all he heard was silence. Apparently, microphones and water don't mix well. Who would have thought?
Yesterday, I did laundry pretty much all day - folding, changing loads, and more folding. By about 9:00 last night, I changed into my pj's so that I could go down and put in the final load - including the jeans I was wearing. I felt so efficient! At about 11:00, as I was getting ready to hop into bed, I remembered that my cell phone had been in the back pocket of my jeans. Naturally, I went over to the dirty clothes bin to get it and plug it into the charger - unnaturally, I had been far to efficient with the laundry, and there were no clothes there! I raced downstairs, flung open the washer (which had long-since finished the load) and dug through the cylinder of damp clothes to find my jeans. No cell phone in the pocket. Maybe I didn't leave the phone in my pocket, I thought, wouldn't it be funny if the phone were already charging on my nightstand? No such luck. There, in the bottom of the washing machine, was horrifying proof that I am, indeed, a blond.
In case you are wondering how well a cell phone survives an adventurous swim in the washing machine -- after a night of air drying, the phone turned on, the screen worked, and it even made its normal sounds. Am I really that lucky, I wondered? I placed a call to Seth. It dialed out, I heard him answer the phone, it worked! HOORAY! ...But all he heard was silence. Apparently, microphones and water don't mix well. Who would have thought?
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Just Can't Help It!
I think my kids are so darn cute!
I love watching them laugh at each other - which they do all day long! I love it when Morgan uses his soft, higher-pitched voice to make Chloe happy. I love that Morgan always wants to share his food, drink, toys with Chloe. I love that Chloe doesn't want to share them back! I love that they play together in Chloe's room before her morning nap. I love that they play together in Morgan's room after their afternoon nap. I love that Morgan helps Chloe put her toys away and knows where all of them go. I love that Morgan gets so excited when Chloe reaches a new milestone - it just makes the milestone that much sweeter. I love that when I leave them eating breakfast in the kitchen, all I hear is giggling from the other room. I love it when Morgan sings to Chloe - just because. Most of all, I love it when they sit together on the couch to watch Veggietales (above) or when we get home from a winter walk (below) and just cuddle! Morgan loves to put his arm around his baby sister so she doesn't fall or get right in her face and smile so she will smile too! Every day I feel so blessed that Heavenly Father sent these two little best buddies to my house so they could grow up together - laughing all the way!
New Discovery
I just discovered the Babywise books (Toddlerwise, Childwise and the like) thanks to Ruth :) and I wish someone had clued me in to them when Morgan was a baby! I have just started to implement the concepts from the books, and it is as if Morgan has blossomed into a better version of his wonderful self overnight. And I am a much nicer mommy with newfound energy! My brother-in-law told me about these books last summer, but I hadn't gotten around to reading them yet. So, when I saw Ruth's reccommendation on her blog, I decided I was just desperate enough for some parenting guidance to pick it up (plus, I now have a library card - how did I ever live without one?).
So, to avoid reading these books when your 2 year-old is almost 3 and wishing you had read them earlier - if you haven't read them, get on the ball now. I guarantee that these books will change your parenting for the better. They have definitely made a difference for us!
So, to avoid reading these books when your 2 year-old is almost 3 and wishing you had read them earlier - if you haven't read them, get on the ball now. I guarantee that these books will change your parenting for the better. They have definitely made a difference for us!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Puppy Love
If you have any preconceived notion that I am a perfectly sane and normal individual, just skip this entry entirely - it will change your view of me forever. Those of you who already know that I am a big box of crazy - read on - don't worry, it has a happy ending.
Callie, our older dog, was treated as our child the second she joined our family. She was a pretty hard dog to train. We think she may have been abused as a puppy, but through it all, I just loved her - and everyone knew it!
Roxy, our puppy, was a completely different story. The timing of Roxy's entry to our family could not have been worse. We got her a week and a half before Chloe was born - translation: I was an ornery, 9-month-pregnant, emotional basketcase. Seth was 2 nights into a 6 night string of shifts and so I was on my own to care for this little untrained puppy who whined and yipped all night and slept all day except when she was peeing on my carpet. Needless to say, Roxy and I didn't get off to a very good start.
Why were we so insanely crazy to get her, you ask? She was a cute little pure-bred puppy and we got her for free from a loving home. Honestly, I loved the dream of what would be - a playmate for my Callie and an extra cuddle buddy and pal for the human Tates. HA!
Well, I'd love to say that it got better from there, but it didn't. Seth might tell you differently, he was instantly smitten, but not me. I had to deal with the 6 months of non-potty trained puppy while in the midst of showing our house 3 or 4 times a week. I had to deal with 2 out-of-control dogs stepping on my baby girl in the car every time we had to show the house. I had to deal with the non-stop fighting over bones, toys, etc between Callie and Roxy. I was the one walking 2 dogs and 2 kids in the summer - until I gave up completely on the idea. I was the one awakened in the morning by dogs chasing each other around the house, quickly followed by a crying baby and an ornery toddler. I put up with the endless toys, favorite shoes, computer cords, defrost connector in the car and even the prized Curious George AND Elmo slippers that suffered at the merciless madness of Roxy's chewing craze. I am the one at home when her big clumsy paws and whizzing tail maim children, furniture and even myself. I am the one whose carefully prepared dinner, left warm and ready to make a happy husband, disappeared into the stomach of a crazy (and very tall) dog. Time and again I have reported to Seth that, "HIS dumb dog" has done these things while he was at work.
BUT, and this is probably a completely crazy BUT for any of you who have never experienced the love of a dog, somehow, she has snuck her way into my heart. Even Seth will be surprised, but today, as our family went on a walk in the snow, I looked down at my two little girls (Callie and Roxy) and was overwhelmed with how happy I am that they are a part of our family - even Roxy. In 10 months, she has passed Callie up in height, length, and weight. She is our "calm" dog (still love you, Cal). And, while she still does just about all the crazy things I listed and more, she is a good dog. She is constantly making Chloe giggle, Morgan loves to chase her around, Seth loves to cuddle with her, and me - well, I just love to stand back and watch, so happy that she is an irreplaceable part of family. So if I have offered to give her away to you - just kidding, I take it back. I love you Roxy and you are a keeper.
Callie, our older dog, was treated as our child the second she joined our family. She was a pretty hard dog to train. We think she may have been abused as a puppy, but through it all, I just loved her - and everyone knew it!
Roxy, our puppy, was a completely different story. The timing of Roxy's entry to our family could not have been worse. We got her a week and a half before Chloe was born - translation: I was an ornery, 9-month-pregnant, emotional basketcase. Seth was 2 nights into a 6 night string of shifts and so I was on my own to care for this little untrained puppy who whined and yipped all night and slept all day except when she was peeing on my carpet. Needless to say, Roxy and I didn't get off to a very good start.
Why were we so insanely crazy to get her, you ask? She was a cute little pure-bred puppy and we got her for free from a loving home. Honestly, I loved the dream of what would be - a playmate for my Callie and an extra cuddle buddy and pal for the human Tates. HA!
Well, I'd love to say that it got better from there, but it didn't. Seth might tell you differently, he was instantly smitten, but not me. I had to deal with the 6 months of non-potty trained puppy while in the midst of showing our house 3 or 4 times a week. I had to deal with 2 out-of-control dogs stepping on my baby girl in the car every time we had to show the house. I had to deal with the non-stop fighting over bones, toys, etc between Callie and Roxy. I was the one walking 2 dogs and 2 kids in the summer - until I gave up completely on the idea. I was the one awakened in the morning by dogs chasing each other around the house, quickly followed by a crying baby and an ornery toddler. I put up with the endless toys, favorite shoes, computer cords, defrost connector in the car and even the prized Curious George AND Elmo slippers that suffered at the merciless madness of Roxy's chewing craze. I am the one at home when her big clumsy paws and whizzing tail maim children, furniture and even myself. I am the one whose carefully prepared dinner, left warm and ready to make a happy husband, disappeared into the stomach of a crazy (and very tall) dog. Time and again I have reported to Seth that, "HIS dumb dog" has done these things while he was at work.
BUT, and this is probably a completely crazy BUT for any of you who have never experienced the love of a dog, somehow, she has snuck her way into my heart. Even Seth will be surprised, but today, as our family went on a walk in the snow, I looked down at my two little girls (Callie and Roxy) and was overwhelmed with how happy I am that they are a part of our family - even Roxy. In 10 months, she has passed Callie up in height, length, and weight. She is our "calm" dog (still love you, Cal). And, while she still does just about all the crazy things I listed and more, she is a good dog. She is constantly making Chloe giggle, Morgan loves to chase her around, Seth loves to cuddle with her, and me - well, I just love to stand back and watch, so happy that she is an irreplaceable part of family. So if I have offered to give her away to you - just kidding, I take it back. I love you Roxy and you are a keeper.
Roxy - Then and Now
Blissfully Happy
For FHE last night, we learned about the temple and eternal marriage and we all watched Seth and my wedding video together as the activity. I know it hasn't been that long, but it is so interesting to look back at ourselves then. It seems we have changed so much. Our engagement and marriage was so blissful - absolutely perfect. Looking back I wouldn't change a thing. As I watched us on our wedding day I realized that while every day is no longer a walk-on-cloud-9 kind of blissful happiness as it was then, our days are now filled with plain old, ordinary happiness - the kind where you are grateful every second that this is your life.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Preschool Help
Well, this is the year my little Morgan man starts 3-year-old preschool. I am so excited for him and he is definintely ready for some structured school learning, but I have no idea where to send him. I tend to think he would do best in a more play-centered environment (obviously with a great learning and teaching environment - that is why you are sending them after all). I think that enrollment is fast approaching, so I would love your thoughts - good or bad - on local preschools to send (or not send) him to. Thanks for the help!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
This Describes My Reality
"You know you're in love when you can't sleep...because reality is finally better than your dreams."
~Dr. Suess
(This is certainly not say that I couldn't use a nap - oh how I could!)
~Dr. Suess
(This is certainly not say that I couldn't use a nap - oh how I could!)
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