Another Runner in the Family

There's been a lot of action around here the last couple weeks. The little one started Pre-School Prep class, she claimed her first medal, had her first Legoland experience and somewhere in the middle I turned the calendar on another year. By the way, thank you for all the phone calls and well wishes!

I'm not sure what she found most exciting but the enthusiasm for the race t-shirt she received may be an indicator. She actually asked to sleep with it the first night she got it and insisted on wearing it the whole weekend. Part of it stems from her new love for all things pirate. When she saw that the shirt had a treasure chest on the back, she about lost it. She's taken to calling me, "Pirate Mommy." It's strange...but cute.

Well, you never know how these things are going to go. You ask if they want to do a run like Mommy & Daddy and they say yes. There's lots of talk about it for the months and weeks leading up to it but when the race administer says "GO", all bets are off. As we waited our turn in the swarm of two year-old's and their parents anticipating the 30 seconds for their kid to shine, I explained to my little girl that she needed to run to the balloons and she'll get a medal. She nodded her head in understanding and repeated, "Run to the balloons."

So far so good. We saddled up next to her best buddy, also running, and they were off. She did well and with a bit of encouraging along the way, reached the balloons and received her medal.

Now, daily she walks through the house proudly wearing her accomplishment and I am happy to have the video footage for the family archives. I may need to take a cue from the little one and when I need a little confidence builder maybe I should strut around the house with my marathon medals.

We hope to make it an annual event. The announcer made mention of a 17 year old girl running in her 17th Carlsbad 5000 (5K), she started in the diaper dash at one and has been in the event every year since! How great is that. I think it's the little achievements of significance like that, that add up to a complete and fulfilling life. It's about goals, accomplishment, bettering yourself and having something to look forward to. I love it!

Ahoy!

To Annabelle

Oh sweet Annabelle, how loved you are. I can picture your little face in my head, at least what I imagine it may look like, and it makes me smile. What a beautiful baby girl! Our family considers you a part of it already and my little girl already talks of her friend by name. She had the opportunity to play with some of your toys the other day and expressed her approval. Your little baby Aubrey has now been renamed Boo, but of course you are at liberty to change it to any name you wish. I look forward to being able to hold you if only I am able to tear you away from your Mommy's arms.

You have been blessed with wonderful loving parents who will do anything for you. The challenges put before them are great but the thought of your sweet presence is one that makes every step of the way a worthwhile journey. I know you will return their love in great quantity with a simple smile or laugh. Your Mom and Dad have already touched so many lives around them by witnessing their desire to make your life a wonderful one. They continue to be an example of God's great love and grace, even through their heartache. Oh how I love them dearly.

It's difficult for me to write this without totally breaking down in tears. You see, that's what a love so deep does. The type of love only given by our God who so loves us. It cuts right to the heart and humbles even the strongest man. Thank you for being an example of His love for all His children, especially me.

A Few Notes

So far we're having fun being two!

New realizations: candy, cake, juice and PRESENTS! And they keep coming. Everyone has been overly kind to our little one and I think she has been sufficiently spoiled that it' s going to be difficult to recover. She now expects a new package in the mail every other day and after it is opened she asks, "Open it again Mommy." I usually oblige, one time only, packaging up the surprise again and letting her do the honors once more.

Beyond that she continues to be the chatter bug. Her vocabulary grows each day as does her grasp on the English language. A few months ago I considered her putting 3 or 4 words together as making sentences, but now she is really making sentences. When Daddy said at dinner last night, "I like broccoli." The little munchkin responded with, "I like broccoli too." She even hit the voice inflection and accented the "too" by bringing her tone up a few notes.

She's been saying all sorts of funny and cute things. A few nights ago, our family of three ended up on the couch together enjoying the Apple TV screen saver and at one point the little one says, "Who's that cute baby?" Hhmm, who do you think?

There is a bit of maturing that has happened at two, to my great pleasure. She is better at staying within a manageable distance in public places instead of just taking off to whatever shiny thing is in eye shot. We were at the mall, with plenty of distractions in every direction and she stayed within five feet of me and when I called her or asked her to stay near, she responded accordingly. It may sound fairly trivial, but lest us not underestimate the value of a simple concept.

With the age of two comes the attitude as well. Let's just say it's not my most favorite thing but we work on it...daily, minute by minute. Many of those minutes being apologetic and confined to time out. I must remind myself that the rewards will come in the future. Be tough now and it will pay off in spades down the line. The reality is, every age has it's own challenges and how you respond to them will mold the little tyke into the adult they will become.

I pray it's a good one!

TWO!

Hooray, the little one is two today! Thank you to our blogger friends for all the the birthday tribute posts. It's nice to know the vastness and infinite qualities of the internet are not lost on our little girl. Tell her Happy Birthday and she responds with a smile, "Happy Birthday!"

By 12 noon she had consumed one cupcake, a handful of french fries, ice cream sundae with whipped cream and cherry on top and lets not forget the jelly beans. The little one's world reached new heights with the first taste of candy. Sweet, sweet jelly beans. She consumed about 5 of them and responded with a, "mmmm...jellies. " It was not my intention to introduce candy today, but it had to happen sooner or later so why not the big bday. We were at an Easter egg hunt/petting zoo and when her and her buddy sat down to check out the contents of the eggs, the first one he opened was filled with jelly beans. Before I could stop them, he had handed her the savory treat to share in the delight. That's the way it goes.

So the day has been full of fun and smiles, as every parent would wish for their child. I have plans to take her to her first movie sometime soon. I'm pretty sure she'll freak out at the hugeness of the TV. If only they had a feature of The Little Einsteins. Perhaps Horton Hears a Hoo will be the first movie. It's sure to be an adventure but with enough popcorn, and jellybeans, I think she'll love it!

As a side note: I pressed the publish post button just as the joyful tune of "She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain" could be heard from the little one's room. She just woke up from her nap and started singing. Looks like she's ready for the celebrations to continue.

Cheese

With the second birthday coming next week, I decided it would be nice to get some photos taken to mark the passing of another year. The last time we went in for a sitting was a year ago so it felt like it was time. Having done this a few times prior, I told myself this time will be different. For anyone who has never had this excruciating experience, it goes something like this.

There is much thought about what she should wear and how to do the hair etc. etc. Then you get in the room with the photographer who is all of about 18 years old and quickly realize that you are going to have to take control of the situation. They offer no suggestions or advice on how to get your cute little darling to look at the camera, much less smile, or even stay in one place. It's painful but you persist and hope for just one money shot that will be worthy of the memory books. When the photo shoot is finished, you wait.

About 20 minutes later, if your child hasn't already melted down they soon will as you sit down at their fancy computer to view the results. This is where I begin to meltdown. A little known fact about me, I have no trouble making the big decisions in life it's the small ones that I anguish over. I guess I'm really afraid to make the wrong decision and end up with post purchase dissonance. There I am looking at all the photos and having to pick one, so as not to break the bank on photo purchases. Packages usually start in the $150 range and that's for a so/so (I was here) sampling. But I only want to spend $50. Well, that gets me just about nothing that I will be happy with. It goes on and on and sure enough, I walk out with a $140 bill and a few photos to show for it. At least I got one of every shot I sorta liked and I feel kinda ripped off but I ultimately dismiss it because it's for the history books.

As I said, this time was going to be different. This time I'm going with backup. Another Mom and I went with our almost two year olds and we both seemed relieved when the other agreed to go. It turned out that photographing a 2 year old was much easier than at 1 year. The smiles come easier and she didn't try to dash outside of the sitting room and into the mall every time I stepped back for the shot. It was nice having another opinion, or at least someone to validate mine, on which photos to choose and how many. The nice people at The Picture People allowed us to do our photos individually but as one sitting. We were able to purchase one package and split it, selecting as many poses as we liked. It was still overpriced but at least I got more for the money and a few pictures I'm really happy with.


Why is this important to me? I wondered this myself but what it comes down to is I want it for the little one. When she is older, I want her to be able to know her history and what she was like as a child. I have no photos from my childhood taken at a formal sitting and I only have one baby picture all told. There are a few school photos from odd years that I somehow stored away and saved in my own memory books. I look at my husband's photo archive and it is rich with pictures of him from age 0 through high school. He had regular sittings, almost monthly, when he was a baby and it's nice to have to look back on. I hope she enjoys them, I know I will.

Around Town

Is anybody else's Internet moving at a snail's pace? I feel like I'm back in the prehistoric days of dial up. Cox's advertising must be so successful that they have succeeded in overselling the local hub and we must live too far from the main thingamajig to receive the "lightning fast" speeds promised.

Oh well. I figure it's good for me to sit and be patient. That's one thing the little one and I have been working on. I took her with me down to the city to pull a couple building permits and when she would start to get antsy I would tell her, "Be patient please." It's really a cruel thing to ask an almost two year old. Sit in your stroller, talk in hushed tones and read your book...for over an hour. She is getting more tolerant of my demands and on this occasion did surprisingly well. Even other people remarked at what a good job she was doing. As we left the building I thanked her and told her what a good job she did at being patient. When Daddy came home that evening and asked her what she did that day, she replied with a smile, "I was patient." Music to my ears.

As the little one approaches her 2nd birthday it occurs to me how our time together has changed a bit. She has become more of a companion rather than an appendage. I'm use to hauling her everywhere I go and she enjoys the routine and chats along in the backseat. As we drive down the freeway she points and tells me that that's where Ms. Allison is, or there is where we bought a friend bubbles for a birthday gift. She is familiar with her surroundings and has opinions about where and what we do.

We recently started making regular trips to the Farmer's Market. It's on Thursday mornings and it is very enjoyable for both of us. The little one likes to try the fruit samples and I enjoy picking up fresh veggies and flowers. Today was particularly fun for her as strawberries are now in prime season and they are grown right here in our own city. After one taste of Oceanside strawberry, she begs for more. I buy a basket and it keeps her happy while I shop. The broccoli is far tastier than anything we buy at the store, even the Mr. agrees and he is known to be more particular and vocal about his feelings than most. She and I both tasted the oranges and agreed they were suitable for purchase. The weather was beautiful so we walked around a bit and when she was done she said, "All done Farmer's Market." I take the cue and as we walk to the car it's, "Bye, Bye Farmers Market. See you next time."

It's nice to have her company.

Averting Disaster

I've spent the last few weeks dedicating my non-mommy time to fulfilling the needs of the family business. Thankfully, we've made it through the slow winter months, typical of the construction industry, and have an optimistic look for spring. Beyond that is unsure but such is the way it goes when you choose to not answer to the "man" and risk it on your own. Although if the skies continue to dump as they are at this moment, the whole business may dump right along with it. I will try to be thankful for the rain as several people this week have informed me of the impending doom of water rationing. Yesterday news reports that if all things continue as is (whatever that means), Lake Mead will dry up by the year 2021.

It's a shame really. Just thinking about Lake Mead stirs up many fond (and not so fond) memories beginning from my childhood. I first learned to water ski on that lake and hoped to one day teach my little one to do the same. Come to think of it, there were many firsts on the lake. Lake Mead is also where I first broke down and jumped from a burning boat. It was the first time the boat blew away and washed up between some rocks miles from our campsite, and the first time I was shipwrecked on the beach with a broken prop and hole in the boat.

On second thought, maybe we should just let the water be sucked dry. I will consider it an opportunity to end some generational curse and forge ahead to bluer waters where my children will thrive. It will be uneventful boating excursions from here on out.

But seriously, then it wouldn't be this family. The family that thrives on adventure and mishaps. It's what keeps our bond strong and provides hours of entertaining stories. The stories you almost doubted you would live to tell. You shake your head but secretly know that a little piece of you is better for the experience.