Christmas 2010 Photo Album



greenery creation



homemade goodies for the kids in Day's class



our tree



on top of Day's dresser



happy day



playing with her babies



making cookies for Santa



press it down!




stir it up!




painting cookies for Santa





sneaking a bite







reaching for Santa's cookies



Is Santa MY size, Mommy?



dinner at Maw Maw's house




Aunt Felicia helped me with my presents.




And so she got credit for EVERYTHING I got.





Get it out!




cooking



Hello? Who is it?



Look what Santa brought!




Whoa!

 

Look, Day!




RUNNING to her kitchen




started cooking right away




I wanna COLOR!




A White Christmas




breakfast with her cousin



and her Cacky



Thank you, GG. We've read this book 42 times already!

 

more presents




She is such a good hostess.




doing her ballerina



Daily Stuff

Things that Day says almost daily:

Where’s Daddy? He hunting rack bucks?

I like your hair, Momma. (Variations of this include my eyes, neck, sweater, pony tail, etc.)

God is great, God is good, (mumble mumble) eat the FOOD, A-MEN!

Bless you, Momma. (in response to a sneeze, cough, burp, whatever)

Oh. My. Gosh.

Turn that fan off. (Upon awaking each morning)

I lub you, Momma. (melt me)

I need a hamma (hammer).

I wanna pay [play] sushi, Momma. (Variations: toys, puzzles, baby)

That's DAY'S food, GG. (And DAY'S shirt, chair, etc. Other variations include telling all of the other animals what belongs to her: That's DAY'S hat, Chloe.)

I'm ready to go! (She yelled this at big church during complete silence.)

Put my boop back on. (see below)

And her most frequent phrase: Hold me, Momma!

Things that Day does almost daily:

spontaneous mouth kisses

run run run

“reads” books – must be in a lap with interaction about the content, so far not a solitary reader

“hits” – hits me, hits her daddy, hits herself, hits the air

Goes to time out, where she cries until I ask, “Are you better?” Then we hug and move on.

growls

high fives and fist bumps

plays puzzles and sushi

pulls off her new "boops" [boots]

swims in the bathtub

laughs (fake) when you ask her if she's funny

Songs that Day sings almost daily:

A, B, C, D, E, F, G…

Happy Birfday to You! (Ends with blowing out the candles and yelling YAY!)

Issy Bissy Pider, Upa wada pout (complete with hand motions)

Babies on the bus go Whaa Whaa Whaa

Driver on the bus says Moob on back (big sweeping hand motion)

Wing Awound Wosies, Asha Asha, All fall DOWN!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, How I wonder what you are, Up a bubba wor so high, diaper diaper in da car

Mother of the Year

I did it. I endangered my child’s life. I neglected her safety, and it could have been bad. It wasn’t intentional, but that has not made me feel any less terrible.

Yesterday after work/school, Day and I both had friends over. Day and her friend were playing while friend’s mom and I were sitting on the back deck, talking (drinking beer). I include that fact because somehow it makes me feel even worse and I need to purge the guilt.

We were both oblivious to where the kids might be but unconcerned because really, “what kind of trouble could they get into?”… when a very panicked, very frightened, very intense neighbor came flying out of my back door (from inside the house) saying, “There are KIDS playing in the STREET!!”

Oh, Shit. MY kid.

I ran out to the front where traffic is stopped going both ways in front of our house because some dumb ass red neck mom let her kid and friend wander around the house unsupervised. (That would be me.) Of course they ended up going out the front door! In my defense (there really is no defense, but I need you to know) we ALWAYS keep the latch locked on our screen door for this very reason. But not this time.

Part of what kept me up all night was replaying the looks of disgust on my neighbor’s faces. Their lack of understanding when I pitifully muttered I’m so sorry. These people don’t know me. But they are forming opinions. Not off to a great start. And it didn’t help that we were on the back deck drinking beer and they were on their way to Wednesday night bible study at the Baptist church. Jesus.

It also is weighing heavily on me that another child could have been hurt at my house. And I take full responsibility for the possibility. It was not my friend’s job to lock my screen door. She assumed her child was safe at my house. I would have assumed the same thing. I DID assume the same thing. You should know that she did not overreact, did not blame me, in fact she spent the next hour trying her best to make me feel better. That’s what a friend does.

But mostly what has tortured me is that my child was in danger BECAUSE OF ME. It is my only job in the world to keep her safe. I do realize that I should be eternally grateful and humbled that she was in fact NOT hurt. And I am. But, I have to be honest. That might have been my initial emotion, but it very quickly turned into shame.

So, again… I apologize to my neighbors and to the world that I endangered my child. And I am so appreciative that they stopped and made sure she was safe. I don’t remember telling them thank you, but I will, in person, the first chance I get. And I can’t promise I’ll ever be Mother of the Year, but I promise that I’ll do better. After all, she is my most precious gift.

Her Peeps

I find it fascinating when Day talks about people that are on her mind. A few of these names come up pretty regularly.

Disclaimer to all grandparents, other family members, and people who did not make the list: Yes, she talks about YOU, too. But most of the time it is when we ask her about you or we are talking about you or we're on the phone with you or when she sees your picture.

These people pop into her head all by themselves.

Gary:

“Hey, Gary!”

“Bye, Gary!”

“Night Night, Gary!”

Theory/Analysis: She has been talking to Gary (our across the street neighbor) through the front glass doors since we moved in. The first time, he was actually outside. Now, she talks to his house. I think he somehow reminds her of Bebo (Jimmy), and she LOVES her some Bebo. Last night she was singing happy birthday to Gary and “bye-byeing” to him from the window, so Ken took her over there in her pajamas and knocked on the door. Gary answered (in his pajamas) and she clammed up. Wouldn’t say a word until she got back in the house. Then a very quiet, “night night Gary.”

Deana:

“Hey, Mina!”

“Bye, Mina!”

Theory/Analysis: Deana is Gary’s wife. She’s actually the one who talks more to Day than Gary. But Day has been too shy to say her name until recently. Deana came over and invited us inside to see her house last week. She had a little bitty rocking chair, a furry cat, and a pig statue. Now, Deana is on the radar.

Baby Nora:

“Hey, Baby Nora!”

“That’s Nora.”

Theory/Analysis: Baby Nora is Erin and Matt Molina’s 3 month old baby girl. Day saw her in the hospital under the blue light when she was born with her “shades” on and this seemed to make a big impression. She has been around her a handful of other times, and most of the times have included Erin bouncing a tightly swaddled Nora. Day made this connection apparently, because now when we bounce her babies, they are Baby Nora. We went to see Karen’s new babies on Monday and there was a newborn under the blue light in the nursery. Guess who Day said it was… Baby Nora. She talks about Nora in the car a lot.

Eli:

“Hey, Eli!”

“That’s Eli.”

Theory/Analysis: It is yet to be determined whether Day is referring to her baby cousin Eli or to her friend at school Eli. All babies used to be Eli. But then she called Savannah (Phadra’s daughter who is only 6 months younger than Day and therefore not necessarily a baby) Eli for the whole beach trip this summer. Now, since most babies are Baby Nora and she is still talking about Eli, I think maybe it's her friend at school that she's talking about. They do hug each other in the mornings. And when I come to pick up Day, Eli runs to me yelling DAAAY and gives me a hug. Again, she talks about him in the car. Maybe she’s daydreaming about what toys they’ll play with at school that day.

Eddie:

“Hey, Eddie!”

“Bye Bye, Eddie!”

Theory/Analysis: Eddie basically lives in our kitchen. He’s been doing a lot of the remodeling, and so he gets there around 7 AM just in time to talk to Day about her pancakes, her app-a-juice, etc. She is intrigued by him and all the tools that he carries. He’s really sweet to her and honestly a big help to me in the mornings because I put the baby gate up and she watches him like a hawk. I get a lot done. Then when it’s time to go, I have to drag her away and she yells “Bye Bye, Eddie!” In fact, even at night (when Eddie is probably at home in his own kitchen) she looks around for him and talks about Eddie and his "hammah".

(I hope to post photos of our new kitchen VERY soon. Don’t want to jinx anything with an expected finish date, though.)

Caston:

Caston’s name is in a lot of sentences at our house. It’s not just “Hey, Bye, Night Night, etc”. And Caston’s name is ALWAYS said with a huge smile. I have honestly never witnessed such true adoration. She talks about him when she eats, before she goes to bed, when we get to school, when we read books, at all times. Yesterday, she stopped at his door at school instead of hers, so I called him over so she could hug him. She doesn’t seem to notice that he does not return the full measure of her enthusiasm.

One day at lunch I dropped by to spy (it was her first week in a new room – give me a break) and her class and Caston’s were in the playroom watching a Barney video. Well, all but Day and Caston. While everyone else was zoned in on the TV, they were turned around backwards poking each other. As I walked by I heard one of the teachers say, “Caston! Get your hands off Day!” and I watched Day smile and kinda push on him a little. A love press, no doubt.

big kids' table at Jason and Lucy's

snacking at the sprayground

Things I Love

Note to left-brained people: The text and photos are just thrown in, they don’t necessarily relate.

These are things I’m loving right now and don’t want to forget about…

I love when I take her hand as she’s about to start down the front steps and she says, “Tankoo”.

I love when she puts things together for the first time. Right now, she is naming things according to who they belong to: Momma shoe. Daddy shoe. Baby diaper.

I love when she wants you to hold something so she says, “Tankoo sippy”, as she hands you her sippy cup.

I love the way she says APP-A-JUICE.

I love when she pretends to go to sleep. She thinks it’s so funny when she “tricks” me.

I love when I ask her if she’s poo-poo and she stops to think about it. She will say no even if she is, but a nod ‘yes’ is always a sure thing.

I love how she puts her hands over her eyes to hide. And the squeal of joy when I “find” her.

I love when she lays down on the floor and rolls over onto her back and lays there with a smile, waiting to be tickled.

I love how she lunges out for night night kisses while I’m holding her and how she’ll kiss anyone nearby.

I love how she has to arrange things, and when they get just right (which is rare and requires a lot of effort), she gets very still.

I love her growl-voice when she says “bear”.

I love how she loves to make people laugh.

I love that she loves books and has individual names for them all, even if they aren’t the actual titles.

I love when we are naming things in picture books and she tells me when I’m right with an exaggerated nod and a “Uh-huh, Uh-huh”.

I love how she has started trying different tactics to get picked up: “Mmm, baby? Momma? Hold me?”

I love how she loves her daddy and when we hear him coming she says “DADDY HOME”!

And when he leaves in the mornings they chorus back and forth “BYE BYE DAY”, “BYE BYE DADDY” at least 10 times. Same thing at night: “NIGHT NIGHT DAY”, “NIGHT NIGHT DADDY”.

I love when we are in the backyard and she names all the dogs and bends over with delight when she gets to McWally the cat.

I love how if one of the dogs gets too close she swats backwards and says “GO!”