Monday, March 29, 2010

Nice days...

Other than the wind, the weather is starting to warm up and the days are getting much nicer around here. This is great news for Dotty and those who are in charge of watching her. Dotty LOVES to be outside! I joke about just getting her a tent and letting her sleep out there at night (she still is not a great sleeper...oh how I envy you parents who get 8 hours...or even 4...of straight sleep a night).

Since the day Dotty was born she has loved to be outside. Cold, rain, wind, 110 degrees...none of it seems to bother her. She just wants to be outdoors! At times that is great because I enjoy being outside myself too and having the trampoline is great fun for everyone. However, on days when the wind is gusting 40mph that is when I have to really do some fast talking to get Dotty to go inside.

I hope the wind dies down soon but I guess we will take what we can get. As long as Dotty does not blow away I guess all is good!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Easter Bunny Pics...

Last Thursday Dotty had her picture made with a bunny for Easter. Gordon photography did them (we take all of Dotty's bunny and Santa pictures with Gordon's and I highly recommend them) and they always do a great job with it! Dotty liked the bunny (although not as much as last year...she tried to "pet to death" the one last year). It was a very well behaved black and white bunny with long ears.

Some of you may know that sweet Miss Dotty, while being a happy child, is not a "smiler" when it comes to pictures. (She gets that from her Daddy I believe.) So if we ever get her to smile (pleasantly) in a picture...even just one out of a 30 minute 50 shot photo shoot...I consider myself lucky. Erin did a fabulous job with Dotty and I cannot thank her enough for being so sweet, patient, and fast on the flash when Dotty did smile.

Hoppy Early Easter from Dotty!!!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Funny Girl...

Kids say the funniest things...I believe that was the title of a television show once...but it is so true. Dotty is constantly saying things that are just down right hysterical to me. Of course, being her mother, I am usually living on less sleep than normal which tends to make me giddy.

At church this past Sunday Dotty and I were back in the classrooms playing. It was time to go because church was over but Dotty was not done with all the toys. I was trying to come up with a good excuse to make her want to leave so I told her, "If you go with Nana then I bet Daddy will jump with you on the trampoline." (Remember Dotty got her trampoline this past Christmas from Santa and for many reasons the trampoline is at Howard and Ruth Ann's house.) Dotty just looked at me and asked, "Do you think Santa will move the trampoline to our house someday?"

I just cracked up! To be so sweet and innocent and think that she has to ask Santa to move the trampoline just made me smile for the rest of the day!!!

Then later that night Ruth Ann and I were at the evening church service and Ruth Ann told me what Dotty had said to her. Tony's birthday was the 16th but they were making him a birthday cake on Sunday. Ruth Ann, Julie, and Dotty were all in on the project. When it came time to decorate Julie asked Dotty, "What do you think Daddy's birthday cake will say?" Dotty looked at Julie and said very somberly, "Julie...birthday cakes don't talk."

I burst out laughing at that one (good thing the service had not yet begun)! It amazes me what the world must look like to a 2 and a half year old little girl. Everything is so black and white and lots of things are new and exciting. What a wonderful way to see things!

Friday, March 12, 2010

Wisdom of a Two Year Old...

It amazes me the things that come out of Dotty's mouth. Not only the "big" words that she says (and uses correctly) but the statements that she makes. Some of them are just so true and so profound yet at the same time so simple that I have to stop and be amazed at the wonderful little person God has blessed me with.

Just yesterday we were jumping on the trampoline (it was blowing about 50 mph but we were trying our best). Dotty had been to the doctor to receive a scheduled vaccine shot and she was a little crabby but happy to be jumping. We were doing the usual...jump like a kangaroo, chase me, ring around the roses (it is more fun to do the "we all fall down" on a trampoline than on a hard floor)...and then all of a sudden Dotty stops and looks at me with a dead serious expression.

She said, "Mommy I am getting bigger everyday." Then she burst out in a big grin and exclaimed, "Come on, lets jump!" I seriously almost burst into tears. My baby is no longer a little tiny baby. She IS getting bigger everyday. She grows physically as well as emotionally, intellectually, and in all other sorts of ways that I don't even understand.

One day I am going to turn around and my little girl will be going off to school, then college, then marriage, then...well I just don't even want to think about it. I try every day to cherish all the moments I have with her but I know too often I fail. I get bogged down with laundry, work, life, etc. I recently read in a great book (The Happiness Project...thanks Jeri for getting it for me) the saying "The days are long but the years are short." If you have children you know just how true that phrase is. I have used it as a mantra ever since I read it (especially during the moments when Dotty is being good at being a "Terrible Two") I hope we all realize that we are not promised tomorrow...only today...it is a gift...that is why it is called the present!

Biker Babe!

Dotty got a new bike from Grandma on Thursday. She had been at Presley's house on Tuesday and had loved riding Presley's bike so (of course) Grandma had to get her one. (My child is spoiled rotten I realize but about 50% of it comes from an overzealous Grandma.)

Dotty loves the bike! She rode it all over the Pecan Shed. She loved the little "ding-ding-ding" bell (that is going to get old in a hurry) and she loved the purple streamers on the handle bars. I love the fact that she is girlie and not too proud to show it!

Thanks to Max for putting the bike together and of course thanks to Grandma for getting the bike for her. I know Dotty will spend a lot of time riding (and giving me a heart attack)! I guess at some point a mom just has to let go of her little one!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Jumping for Joy!!!

For Christmas Santa bought Dotty a trampoline and she LOVES it! The trampoline resides at Howard and Ruth Ann's (Papaw and Nana's) house. I think every time the sun is out and Dotty has a free moment she is on that thing.

I know every time I pick her up from Kathy W. keeping her the first thing Dotty says when we get in the car is "Let's go jump at Nana's house!" So of course we do just that. Luckily the little legs of a two-year old can only hold up for about 30 minutes or so.

Yesterday I was really glad she only lasted about 30 minutes because the wind was just terrible! It was a beautiful bright and sunny day but the wind was so gusty and so chilly we barely made it 30 minutes (even with the help of Bara jumping too).

Let me just tell you...Dotty is a professional jumper. We have a routine. We jump like kangaroos, then like frogs, then we jump and kick our legs out, then we jump on one foot, then the other(that is hilarious to watch both me and Dotty try to attempt...neither of us are very coordinated at this point in life)...let me tell you it is quite the workout!

Hope you all enjoyed the pretty (yet windy) day yesterday. The great thing about having a two-year old is she finds joy in the little things of life...like a day spent jumping while the wind blows her hair...what a great day!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

The Twos are Tough on a Girl...

I don't know who is having a harder time with the "2's"...me or Dotty. I know she gets frustrated because she is sort of like a little adult in a child's body. She can talk (wow can she talk) but she still has a hard time dealing with her emotions and communicating them to me and others at times. She has the "fit throwing" stereotype of a 2-year old down to an art form but really I think she just has difficulty understanding and expressing her feelings (either that or she is bi-polar...just kidding).

Last night for instance, I went to the gym to workout after work while my mom watched Dotty. When I got to Mom's apartment Dotty was thrilled to see me! I am talking BIG hugs, LOTS of kisses, all sorts of "I love you Mommy with all my heart!" (that is one of her newest sayings...with all my heart...it is just precious...of course I hear her saying it to Dora on tv too so I don't feel all that special). Life was good.

Then it was time to go home. Whoa...all heck broke loose. When we did get her in the car she was happy for a while playing with her new Rintoo (the tiger from Kai-lan...a show on Nick, Jr.) that Grandma (my mom) had bought her but only minutes into the drive she throws Rintoo into the very back of my Tahoe and chunks her sippy cup at me (while I am driving) and starts screaming (you see how the bi-polar fits in). She screamed the whole way home.

Now I know what many of you (including my mother) will say...and yes I do realize she was tired but my goodness! It was a tough 30 minutes for us both. About Petrolia she was crying saying "I want my Rintoo and Sippy. I want to be a good girl!" That just broke my heart. I could not reach either of the objects even if I wanted to give them to her and I was not going to pull over on Hwy 79 at dark to try and find them while risking my life. We made it home and the minute I gave them to her she threw them at me again. Needless to say we went in and went to bed very shortly after that.

Today has been a great day though. She woke up early so we actually got to school on time. Yay! She was excited to go and she was excited when I picked her up. Both of those events make my heart happy (as Kai-lan would say). It is a beautiful day so I am sure she and Grandma will play outside a lot!

All in all the 2's are tough but I am sure we will survive. I hope the 3's will be better. I hope the 13's through 18's will be at least survivable!

Monday, March 1, 2010

Play-doh Woes...

For those of you with little ones who love to play with Play-Doh I have a warning for you...watch those little hands carefully! Dotty was playing with yellow Play-Doh about a week ago and she came into the kitchen where I was washing dishes. She said..."Look at my earrings Momma!" I glanced at her ears and saw nothing (she has dress-up clip-on earrings so I thought she might have them on). A little later she came in and and said "Look Mommy". That is when I noticed a highlighter yellow substance coming out of her nose. I grabbed her up (trying not to panic and scare her in the process) and asked her what it was. She smiled and said "Play-Doh". I then looked at her ears and noticed she had put Play-Doh INSIDE both her ears. I was able to get the yellow "earrings" out of her ears with no trouble but the Doh up her nose was not budging. I called her pediatrician and the nurse said to just watch it, stop trying to get it out because I was more than likely shoving it up higher into her nostril, and she would probably blow or sneeze it out soon. Well, I called both Mom and Tony to tell them the story and by the time I got off the phone Dotty was really rubbing at her nose. Within minutes she sneezed and a snotty string of yellow Play-Doh was hanging from her nose. At first I was disgusted, then I thought about taking a picture of her with it, and finally my "mommy genes" kicked in and I simply grabbed a tissue and got it all out. Dotty and I then had a little talk about the proper uses of Play-Doh. She still plays with the stuff almost daily but now I keep a close watch on her!!!