Where's My Mother of the Year Award?

Now She Gets It

Back in November, Joelle got me a book of signs to teach babies. I tried and tried to teach both Kyra and Rachel the sign for more, cup, and eat. Neither one of them learned a thing. Or so I thought. Over Christmas, Rachel started signing "more" to her mother (who also had been working with her). Kyra, never picked up a thing. She really had better things to do then gesture meaningful signs with her hands.

So, I told you guys the other day that I taught Kyra the words "more" and "bite". Two days ago, just as she was saying "more" to get her sippy cup, she started putting her two fists together at the same time. "Good Kyra! More. More. Do it again, more?" And that was it. I thought it was a fluke.

Come today. Every time she says "more", she puts her two fists together. Signing and speaking at the same time. And... when she says "bite", as in she wants something to eat, she puts one fist to her mouth at the same time.

I've been trying to teach her both the word and sign for "cup". Now I know if I concentrate more to get her to say it, she'll probably follow speaking with signing. It may be backwards, but it gets her point across.

Useless Knowledge About Yours Truely

Because the only other exciting thing I have to share with you guys is how Kyra and Rachel have learned to hold hands while walking though a parking lot, I thought I'd entertain you guys with some all around useless knowledge about me. (and because I saw this on Erica's site yesterday and I'm in the stealing kind of mood)

1. Name one person who made you smile today? Kyra
2. What were you doing at 8 this morning? Changing Kyra's butt.
3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Reading Kyra The Little Engine That Could for the 15th time this morning
4. What is something that happened in 1994? We moved from the warm Gulf Coast waters of Florida to the freezing cold Atlantic coast of Georgia
5. What is the last thing you said out loud? Lets put your pants back on. (after changing the 3rd stinky diaper today)
6. How many different things did you drink today? 1 glass of chocolate milk
7. What color is your hairbrush? Blue
8. What was the last thing you bought? Groceries
9. What was the last gift you received? Jer brought me a can of root beer from the boat and called it a "present"
10. What color is your front door? White
11. Where do you keep your change? In my wallet or in our change jar
12. What was the weather like today? Freezing cold.
13. What’s the best ice cream flavor? um... I tend to change my mind, but right now I wouldn't mind having some chocolate
14. Do you have a sister? Yes
15. Are you very random? Did you not read #13 that said "I tend to change my mind"?
16. Do you want to cut your hair? trimmed, but not cut
17. Are you over the age of 25? Nope.
18. Do you talk a lot? If I know you well enough, yes I will jabber on and on.
19. Do you watch the OC? Um, no. That would interfere with my Gray's Anatomy
20. Does your screen name have an ‘x’ in it? No… what kind of silly question is this?
21. Do you know anyone called Steve? Can't say that I do.
22. Do you make up your own words? I have been known to make up a few.
23. Are you ticklish? Yes, but I hate to be tickled.
24. Are you typically a jealous person? Yes. I tend to get jealous of 12 year olds who have better looking clothes then I do. Guess the sudden lack of style comes with the Mommy territory. What used to be my hip and trendy clothes now make me look like I'm trying to fake my way into the "Cool Mom's Club"
25. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter "C"? CJ
26. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘D’? Got nothing for that one.
27. Who’s the 1st person on your dialed calls list? We don't have a cell phone, but on the home phone, the last person I called was Joelle.
28. What did the last text messages you received say? Um... did you not get the memo? Home phones don't do text messages.
29. Do you have curly, frizzy hair? Strait as a board.
30. What is the next show/concert your going to? What are those? Can you bring a 16 month old?
31. Who is the worst person in your life? Um, I rather not say.
32. Who is the coolest person in your life? Why me, of course!
33. What is something you type a lot? Kyra
34. What is the last thing you ate? Banana bread.
35. Have you seen the movie ‘Donnie Darko’? Can't say that I have.
36. Do you have work tomorrow? Being a SAHM I never leave work.
37. Are you a fighter or a lover? I'm a lover if you do me right and a fighter if you do me wrong. So don't piss me off.
38. When was the last time you said ‘I love you’ to someone? A few minutes ago to Kyra
39. What should you be doing right now? Laundry. Its really starting to pile up.
40. Do you have a nickname? Unfortunately yes, Lici. I despise this name, with every ounce of my being and my mother, brother and father refuse stop using it.
41. Are you a heavy sleeper? I completely sleep through Jer's alarm going off every morning, but I'll wake up in an instant to hear Kyra whimper in her sleep.
42. When was the last time you used a skateboard? When I was 10, maybe?
43. What is the best movie you’ve seen in the past two weeks? Chicago. One of my favorite movies of all time.
44. Do you think you’re going to follow through with your new years resolution? I only made on, and so far so good.
45. Where do you want to go most in the world? Europe... I'm not too picky on specifics.
46. Which chat program do you use? MSN OR AOL
47. Are you tired today? Um, not yet. Check back in a couple hours.
48. Who is your current favorite band? At the moment I'm all about Lori McKenna
49. What is your favorite item of clothing? I'm a jeans and t-shirt kinda woman.
50. Do you wear designer labels? I'm don't claim to be cheap, but who wants to pay that much for some clothes?

Snow... take 2

We had more snow last night and Kyra enjoyed herself a lot more today. We got out there about 8 this morning and she waved and said "Hi-ee" to every (yes, every) car that passed by. Some people looked at her and ignored her, but most had a big smile and waved back to my little hot pink snow bunny. Its not like they could hear her oh-so-cute "Hi-ee" from their closed car windows, but she made sure to say it to everyone.

She also ate snow, for the first time, from my hand, then tried to pick it up by herself. She swished her hand back and forth and couldn't figure out why it wouldn't stick to her hand like it did mine. So she took my hand and swished it in the snow, then sucked it off my fingers. What a silly girl.

The snow is now melted, and the weather man is not calling for anymore in the near future. I'm kinda sad, we have a big hill behind our house and shiny new sleds we have yet to break in. Hopefully February brings us more white powder then January did.

More Fluries Came and Stayed

They stayed on the ground for about an hour that is. But, hey, it's more snow then we've seen since February or March of last year.

While I tried to get Kyra all interested in the trace amount that we had going there, she really could care less. See those bikes in the background? Yep, those are all she wanted to play with. Oh, and the cigarette butts the neighbors on the other side of us enjoy tossing on the ground. (So, they'll smoke outside, away from their children, but then they're going to litter?) Any way, I had more fun trying to catch the tiny snowflakes in my mouth then Kyra did. Maybe if we ever get a sizable snowfall she'll be more excited.

Good news that has nothing to do with snow, Kyra has picked up 2 new words. From Me! She will say bite and more. Bite is when she wants more food, more is when she wants more drink. Yea for me, I've taught her a word! Oh, and just because I'm better then Jeremy... my words she knows and understands the meanings. Jeremy's words she just mimics only after you say them. So HA!

Rollin' With Saget

I hijacked this link from Sarah and the Goon Squad, who I believe stole it from another blogger as well. I had to jump in and help share the comic relief to a few more people in the world. Enjoy.

Time for a Meme?

I was tagged by both Heather and Lindsey to do this Meme. It's a pretty easy one, and that disappoints me. I'm all about the concept of thinking. Being that I am with a 16 month old all day, and I get very few chances to have an actual adult though. But, as it is that Kyra is screaming because I put her in her dreadful bed for a nap that she is not particularly happy about, a lack of thought for this Meme is well timed.

I am supposed to grab the first book I see, flip to page 123, find the fifth sentence on that page and then blog the following three sentences.

Fairly simple right? Ya, well, I am surrounded by piles of Kyra's books, and none of them have a page 123. Nor do any of them have more then 2-3 sentences to a page.

Instead I have retrieved the book on my nightstand. Behind The Lines by Andrew Carroll. "The Yankee camps, that we took were beautifully located with fine springs running down in branches, but on Monday morning I saw those branches having their waters all colored with blood. O Mary you could never form an idea of the horrors of actual war unless you saw the battlefields while the conflict is progressing. Death in every awful form, if it really be death, is a pleasant sight in comparison to the fearfully and mortally wounded."

I Couldn't Resist

Who sleeps like this? Really, how comfortable is that?

**On a side note, tonight Jer came home from work and within 30 minutes time Kyra can now say turtle, girl and busy (as in "I'm busy woman!" Ya, I see a seriously hard kick to the balls coming).

Explinations and Updates

In case you were wondering:

1) Kyra put the Vaseline in her own hair. We have a tub of it on her changing table. She's been in trouble many times before for trying to play with it, but she's always been caught just as she puts her hand on the lid. Yesterday she was smart enough to keep jabbering as if she was playing with her toys. Usually, as most people know, you're always listening for when they get quiet, then you know they're up to something naughty. Kyra just jabbered away up to the point she came strolling in to me in the other bedroom. By that time her hair, half her face, and one hand was covered in a thick layer of the stuff. I have pictures, but they won't upload. Something about the file being too big. This picture is from this morning, in which Kyra's hair is still sticking strait up.


2) The turtle is her new favorite stuffed animal because, well, she didn't give two craps about any other stuffed toy. Well, unless you count her ducky. But she only wants it to play with while she's laying in bed. The turtle, however, is carried around everywhere, at all times, and must be had to go to bed with.


3) I mentioned something about putting a video up of Kyra the other day... I've tried and tried to upload it to Photobucket, YouTube, and Vimeo. No such luck with any of them. They all start to download, or at least appear to start, but then they quit, with no explanation. All I can say is that I'm an idiot with this stuff and need step by step instructions. (and yes, I've read the web sites instructions and as far as I can tell, I'm doing everything as they say)

4) Kyra spent an entire day with Jeremy, alone, as I had final exams for my EMT class and ambulance hours to get. I came home once, in between the two, to find that Kyra has lots of new words. That one day alone and since then, Jer has got her to say Bishop, Cricket, Raul, Gayla, Chris, Aya, pretty, squirrel, and various others I can't seem to recall at the moment. She is not, however, learning any words from me.
me: can you say cup? say cup.
Kyra: hahaha!
Jeremy: can you say squirrel?
Kyra: quirl.
Um, excuse me? I believe I'm the one who spends all day with you, repeating word after word, begging you to say something. Daddy gets one day and you're repeating everything he asks of you? So not fair!

Definition of Peace

There is nothing more peaceful at the end of the day then a sleeping toddler. A sleeping toddler who, 8 hours earlier had globs of Vaseline in her hair.Some of which is still there, even after 2 washings with baby shampoo, 1 washing with regular shampoo, 1 washing with a bar of soap, 2 washings with dish soap, 1 dousing of cornstarch (left to marinate for several hours) and 2 more washings with baby shampoo. Like I stated at the beginning of that run-on sentence, she still has the greasy residue left in her hair.

May the peace continue for the rest of the night... am I pushing it if I ask for it to continue until closer to 8 in the morning?

**the peace lasted until 6:30. At which time I made her stay in bed until I could pry both of my eyes open about 7.

I Swear I Didn't Beat Her!

I was downloading pictures of this. Its a turtle my uncle and aunt gave to Kyra for Christmas. It has become her new favorite stuffed animal. Kyra has been carrying this poor turtle around the house all day. Playing with her other toys while never letting go of this one. She would also use it as a phone, as she's doing in the picture below. Putting its head up to her ear and just chatting away at it. I'm not sure who she was talking to, or how the turtle was transmitting so well, but it seemed to be working for her.

Roughly 10 minutes after that picture was taken, I took this next one. She was playing in her room with the Babies. They were tugging on one of their toys and Kyra thinks it is hilarious to chase them around and try to get in on the action. The Babies humor her, let her grab their toy once in a while then throw her to the ground, where she laughs hysterically, gets back up, and goes back for more. I suspect that is how the hematoma on her head occurred. (hematoma- also known as a goose egg. I'm trying to be all smart and use my medical terms!) I found her, on the floor next to her dresser, screaming in pain. I picked her up and she promptly buried her head in my shoulder. Snotting, bawling, and gasping for air from crying so hard. She didn't want me to look at her, refused to pull her head up from out of my neck. After patting her back, sh-shing her, and rocking her for quite some time she finally calmed down and got my first look at the damage. Poor baby. She wouldn't let me put any ice to her head or anything. All she wanted to feel better with was her sippy cup of water and some Cheerios.

She was obviously feeling much better when I dropped her off at Joelle's 30 minutes later. She seems as happy as can be playing with Rachel and Anton.

When I was pregnant, I begged God for a girl. I think He compromised and gave me a tom boy. If Child Services ever comes to my house, I'm sure they're going to think I beat her. Really though, she's just a girl who lacks grace.

*on another note, this is also after keeping Jer and I up all night screaming and crying because she was overly tired but couldn't get a good night's sleep due to a snotty nose that wouldn't let her breathe. On top of that, in the morning her little body decided it wanted to run a temperature of 101.9 all day. None of this, however, stopped her from playing happily. (when she wasn't fussing because she was so tired, that is)

We Had Snow!

Fluries that is. Nothing more. But I still had a minor heart attack. Being that I was at play group, and it didn't start snowing until long after we arrived, and I was driving, with Kyra!

It was fluries. No more, no less. Well, nothing more outside of my imagination, to where I saw snow piled on the side of the roads and newly formed ice patches from all the puddles around here. Yes, I know, I get very creative when I worry. I'm all about making a mountain out of a mole hole.

Mother nature must have listened to my silent prayers that even the snow flurries would stop just long enough for me to get from play group, to the Commissary and back home. You know, before the call out the snow plows and sand trucks.

Yes, yes, I hear you all telling me what a big baby I am. And yes, I hear Jer telling me how I need to get over this whole fear of driving in the snow. Seriously, I've tried to drive in the snow, once. We made it 3 feet and I wasn't having anymore of it. The truck didn't go when I hit the gas, didn't stop when I hit the break. Oh, and the near death experience we had December '05 when Jer was driving and we did a 360 in the middle of the road. Yep, there was snow involved in that too. I think I'll stick to playing in the white powder, and leave the rest of the world to meet their fate in the stuff. Me, I'm staying home with a cup of hot chocolate.

But that was the excitement of my day today. Hope you all enjoy a good laugh on my expense. If you really want to feel sorry for someone (other then my pathetic "terrified of a snow flurry" self, maybe you should head on over to Heather's place and hear the story about her broken tooth.

Why She Falls Out of Bed

It's no mystery to me why she falls out of the bed. At least tonight she was still in the center of the bed when she finished playing and fell asleep. Usually her legs are hanging off the side of the bed. I have already repositioned and re-tucked her in for the night; replaced her ducky and bunny by her pillow.

On another note, she still hasn't climbed out of bed. She goes to sleep playing, and wakes up chatting to her ducky and bunny until I come in to get her. She is the most well behaved 15 month old children I have ever met (and she's mine!). Hopefully bedtime stays this easy, knock on wood.

Kyra is Growing Up *sniff sniff*

The topic today is Kyra. Um, Kyra. Yes, and more Kyra. She's had a lot of new firsts this last week, and I have only recently come to accept them and stop crying.

My baby is growing up. This has not escaped my line of sight, but I've chosen to watch her learn and do all new things, then pushed the "idea" that she is growing into the full fledged toddler world to the back of my mind. Kinda like, if I don't think about it it's not completely true. Ya, it only worked for about a month... then reality hit me square between the eyes. And I cried. A lot.

With out further patheticness on my part, here is some visual evidence of her growing up.

She has learned to use the slide at the mall all by herself. When I do hit the mall, I usually don't stop at the play area because there are 10,000 screaming monkeys with their oblivious parents in tow. The play area is usually too crowded for my liking, as my little baby might get lost in the chaos. Aside from that, there are always the one or two parents with 9 year olds playing there too. The height limit is 36" or something close. When the kid is nearly as tall as I am, and probably weighs more then I do, I'm not comfortable with that either. These are usually the heathen children who climb all over top of the equipment with unsuspecting (much) smaller children below them. I just hate this place. That is, unless I can catch it once in a while with only a couple small toddlers for Kyra to play with. As was the case the day she climbed and slid down the slide all on her own. *sniff sniff*

Next up is that Kyra has learned to use a real fork. She can stab her food, and successfully make it to her mouth. We've been giving her a plastic fork, and she uses it with thick mashed foods, but on a whim, I gave her a real fork. Lets just say she won't eat anything with out it. She doesn't always use it... some foods will still elude her fork, but she must have it in hand at every meal.

These books have become her favorites. All four books she got for Christmas. All four must be read at least 32 consecutive times a day. Why is this in my "Kyra's growing up, sniff sniff" blog? Because this shows that she is getting old enough to sit still for such things as reading the same book 32 times in a row.

And finally today, comes the toddler bed. We got this bed for her on the 29th of December. Last night was the first night I didn't cry about it. She does so well in this bed. We put her in it, and she doesn't get out. We told this to one of our friends who has grown children, they laughed at us and said "just wait, she hasn't learned yet." Thanks guys, thanks a lot for killing our joy. While, no, she still has yet to climb out of bed, I hope that she will remain a good, great, fabulous toddler who stays where she is put. We'll go check on her and she'll be laying sideways, legs hanging off, sheets crumpled around her head. We'll straiten her up, fix her sheets, but even still, there have been several occasions she's fallen out of bed. I guess its a good thing the bed is only 6 inches off the ground.

Oh, also. Is there anything you notice in the top two pictures of Kyra? Like maybe she got her first haircut? That's right. I finally gave in to the rest of the world's requests and got my child a haircut. I had too. It was long so long and now she's started continuously pulling her her ponytails out. I got tired of her looking like a heathen in public. At home it's fine, but in public. I'd at least not like her to look like a rag-a-muffin.

Now there is one thing that I have yet to figure out how to put on here. Videos. If I could ever figure that out I would post a video I took of her saying some of her words. She can say (but usually won't when prompted) Mommy, Daddy, babies, Papa, birdies, bye bye, bad and what's that?.

So there you have it. Ive finally admitted it. Kyra is no longer a baby. She's a toddler. And an ever growing and changing one at that. Maybe next time she decides to grow and learn, she could at least space everything out one week at a time. Versus the everything in one week? Maybe?