Sunday, October 19, 2008

Saucy Miss E

Miss E is almost 2 1/2. I am constantly delighted by her expanding vocabulary and comprehension. Though occasionally chastened:

Someone in a van in front of me was driving sooooo slowly. Finally they pulled into a turn lane. "So long, grandma," I muttered as I passed them. A few moments later, Miss E thoughtfully asked, "That was Grandma?" Oops.

* * *

She still talks about that calf from the pumpkin patch. The other day she carefully laid her baby bear down for a nap in a large Rubbermaid tote. "Baby Bear scared," she told me solemnly.

"What's Baby Bear scared of?" I asked, suspecting the answer.

"Baby Bear scared of cows."

I reassured her that Mommy and Daddy would not let any cows hurt Baby Bear. A few days later, Dh asked Miss E if we should go to the pumpkin patch and she emphatically told him no, because she didn't like the cow. That cow is very vivid in her memory!

* * *

Miss E loves Sesame Street. She loves all the different characters, knows their names. One day she was hanging around me while I made dinner in the kitchen.

"Wait a minute!" She looked up at me expectantly. "Wait a minute! Oscar the Grouch!"

I suddenly realized she was quoting Oscar. I filled in. "Now scram! Wait a minute! I sent this email! I'll scram!" (There've been a lot of Sesame reruns on lately, so I've got the skits down too.) She was delighted and danced around the kitchen saying, "Now scram!"



Today she saw my shoes sitting out on the bathroom floor as I put on my makeup before church. "I wearing Mommy's shoes to church!" she announced. "Mommy's wearing Mommy's shoes to church," I replied. "No, I am!" she shot back. Have you noticed all the exclamation points? That's how Miss E talks. Emphatically.

When I emerged from the bedroom all dressed and ready to go, Miss E came up to me. "Pretty shoes. Ooh, nice tights. I like your skirt. Nice shirt, Mommy! It's nice!" She went right up my outfit. I loved it!




Miss E constantly runs around. She also constantly narrates her day. This afternoon Dh and I were eating a late lunch after church. He read the newspaper, while I tried the NYT crossword (pretty hard today, only got about a third filled in). Miss E ran around the table, narrating to herself. "I running! It's fun!" Repeat for five minutes. Then she started with the "I'm gonna get you!" and tickling us. She can only be neglected for so long. Ha ha


Wow Ace's clothes totally don't match.

It's a good thing Ace is a big boy, because his big sister has no concept of playing gently, despite my best efforts. She loves to lay on top of him and give him rough hugs. Fortunately, he loves it and will squeal delightedly and grab on to any part of her he can. She usually loves to help me, fetching a bib or binky for Ace, or running into his room when he wakes from a nap to keep him entertained for a few moments until I get free.

She has been asserting her independence more often recently. She threw a huge fit at Target Friday because she didn't want to ride in the cart. (I suspect this was because Dh was with us. She rides in the cart all the time when I take the kids by myself.) She never wants to go for a walk anymore, though she used to love walks. This afternoon I insisted on a walk, and she bawled for the first five minutes. Eventually she got distracted by something and forgot to keep crying, and then had a lovely time.

Ace has taken over the high chair, and our chairs are much too big for Miss E, so we got her a booster seat. To get her psyched, I told her she was a big girl to eat in the booster seat! A big girl like Ballerina (EdgyK's daughter, one year older than Miss E). Now every time Miss E eats in her booster seat, she announces proudly, "I a big girl! Like Ballerina!"

She also wants to be just like her Mommy, which makes my heart sing. She carefully watched how I ate my spaghetti and was soon trying to wind her noodles around her fork too. She didn't want the noodles cut up! She wanted them long - "Like Mommy!" I love to hear that little phrase.

I love the spontaneous bear hugs, the unsolicited kisses, the requests for me to kiss an owie and make it better. Miss E is fabulous!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Lousy Movie

This movie is really quite dreadful. First of all, Patrick Dempsey is borderline to begin with. In this movie, he plays an extremely annoying womanizer who is supposedly so charming that women are willing to sleep with him despite his misogynistic ways. Oh and the main female character, a genuine, sweet girl (Michelle Monaghan) is also fine with being his best friend while he sleeps with most of the female population of NYC. It only goes downhill from there. The last twenty minutes of the film are composed of literally every cliche in the canon of chick flicks.

Only watch this movie if:
  • You love Patrick Dempsey so much it has turned off all your brain cells
  • You enjoy throwing up in your mouth
  • Your queue is absolutely empty AND your husband is out of town AND you are bored.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Why Did My Kids' Naps Only Overlap by Thirty Minutes Today?



What a cheesy grin this boy has! I love it!





This is the intent look Ace gives Miss E all the time, like he is memorizing her coolness so he can adopt it himself in a few months.

Dh started grad school a few weeks ago, but thankfully Crazy Dh* has not appeared. On the contrary, we've been getting along very well. This is partially due to the fact that Ace is getting older. I'm getting more sleep, and therefore am not constantly annoyed and blaming Dh for everything. Which I think he is thrilled about. Go figure.

The past few nights, Ace has been waking every 1-2 hours wanting his binky popped back in. He's nursing less (a couple of times making it to 5:30 am!) but waking more. Since Dh is the one fielding the binky requests, he's getting really annoyed. I'm starting to think a true cry-it-out might be in order. If Ace can sleep from 6 to 5:30, he's obviously not actually hungry at midnight when he usually nurses. I don't know. I think I'll at least wait until he hits 6 months.

Miss E is still talking about that cow from the pumpkin patch. She tells me that the cow scares her. Oh and she has started the whole "Don't touch me, Ace!" while they are in the double stroller. Frankly, it's hilarious.

As for myself, I'm kind of stuck in Brideshead Revisited. I'm finishing up a crocheted afghan. And I started a cooking blog with EdgyK. I am a freaking nerd! Boo-yah!


*Crazy Dh is the person who replaces my husband when he is in grad school. In the words of Miss E, "I no like it."

Friday, October 03, 2008

Visit to the Pumpkin Patch!

I was excited to take Miss E to the Pumpkin Patch, which also promised a petting zoo. I thought she would love the animals! Unfortunately, this innocent creature completely freaked her out!


She spent most of our visit in tears. Anytime she heard the calf moo, she would say quietly to herself, "I no like it." She got far away from that cow as soon as she could and cheerfully yelled, "Bye bye, animals!"

Apparently when you go to the pumpkin patch on Friday afternoon, you get the Patch completely to yourself. It was actually a bit creepy.


The following picture illustrates what Ace happily spent the entire visit doing:




"Miss E, show me your teeth!"

We'll see how she does next year.