there's a reason babies should sleep late instead of getting up at the crack of dawn when they're still exhausted
"hello?"
"hi, is this Wit's End?"
"yes, it is, are you calling for reservations?"
"yes, 1 for today, please."
"and what time will you be arriving?"
"
annnny minute now."
listening too well
i have a bad back (i was gymnastics my entire childhood and now i'm paying the price.) and micah never holds on when i'm carrying her so i often say to her (too often - i'm only 26 dammit), "i have to put you down, now, my back hurts." or "i can't carry you right now, micah, my back hurts."
so, she's begun to use the same excuse.
"micah, can you please help mommy put your toys away?"
"i can't, mommy, my back's hurtin"
sometimes she'll take it a bit further.
"micah, please put your cup and bowl in the sink."
"i can't, mommy, my legs is broken."
she's also picked up on "in a minute" and when i ask her to do something, she'll say, "in a minute, mommy." or "okay, i will do it. in two (shows me two fingers) minutes. okay, mommy?"
babyisms
while i'm sitting on the couch, in the middle of a conversation on the phone, she takes my face in her little hands, squishing my cheeks together so my lips puff out:
micah: "scuze me, mommy. i'm talkin a yew."
so.tired.
for the last 3 nights in a row, micah's been waking up at odd hours. the first night, she freaked out and demanded milk in a sippy cup. milan argued with her about it and the two of them were yelling. it wasn't good. he finally caved on the milk and she was out in a matter of seconds. two nights ago, she freaked out, milan went in, and she yelled about her red slippers and her shoes. he said uh-huh and covered her with a blanket. by the time he walked out of her room, she was asleep. last night she came in my room and was crying for me to help her climb into our bed. i have no idea what time it was, but i was so asleep that i remember conciously saying to myself, must open at least one eye ... then at 3:17am, after being smacked in the head by a flailing baby body part for the hundreth time, i took her back to bed. she didn't even complain.
what's going on with her? i think it may be nightmares... anyone have experience with this?
i remember the day
i've been nostalgic this past week for some reason and have been remembering micah's babyhood. i have to say, as difficult as being alone is, we had so much fun together. i think we're closer because i'm a single parent.
so - here's looking back -
she always slept. right after birth - she'd sleep for 6 hours at a time. i'm not exaggerating. the nurses in the hospital used to try to force me to wake her to eat.
she was a huge baby - 9lbs - and could eat a lot at a time. i think this is why she slept so well.
the child never cried. i mean never. she was the happiest baby i've ever seen. (she still is.)
but, put a plate of food in front of mommy and she howled. i'd not only have to hold and rock her, but stand while doing so. damn. no wonder i lost the weight so quickly...
she used to love when i would stand her on my lap, hold her hips and shake them side to side singing, "do the baby boogie - and shake that baby bootie" - it would crack her up!
she loved faces. i could entertain her (and myself) for hours just putting my face in hers.
she hated kisses for the first few days (they're probably scratchy to that baby skin) but after i berated her with them 24 hours a day - she couldn't get enough of them. she still loves to squish her little cheeks against my face.
she always talked. always. she would make speaking noises while feeding, while playing, in the car, you name it.
her milk allergy was so severe that they had her on
neutramigen. in case you're not familiar with it, it's synthetic and smells like ass! (and costs twice as much.) anyway, it also goes through baby's system fast and easily so every time she pooped, it looked and smelled like watery diarrhea and her clothes had to be changed. yup, that's right, she'd go through 4, maybe 5 outfits every day!
because the neutramigen smelled so bad, i gave it to her cold. and as i said earlier, she was a good eater. at 7 weeks old, when we started daycare, she would eat a cold 8-9 oz bottle every 5 hours! so easy!
it's funny how things change. now, she's not as good a sleeper and she talks even more - i didn't think it was possible! she stills loves doing the baby boogie - although she does it on her own now. and she's growing out of this horrible milk allergy.
i'll bring a few fave baby photos to post tomorrow.
at target last night, i let micah run around rather than sitting in the cart. i ignorantly though i could be that patient. it lasted about 20 minutes. i'm proud of that number!
anyway, while in the toddler girls' clothes section she found this little hula skirt cover-up. it's kind of like the one in the picture (the title is a link to the picture) but there's no suit, just the skirt, and she chose a turquoise one. and it only cost 5 buck-a-roos. of course i said yes.
she put it on as soon as we got home and stayed in it until i made her take it off to go to bed. hold on, let me take a crappy camera phone picture of this...
okay, i'm back. i let her jump on my bed to get her to stay in one place so i could take the picture.
so a second ago, she was walking around putting in on the hanger and taking it back off, singing ba-di-ba-di-ba-dah, skirt, skirt, ba-di-da.
and now we've added the
princess shoes to the ensemble. damn she's cute.
la la-la la
micah sings
constantly, all day long and even sings herself to sleep. her favorite song right now is "rudolph the red-nosed reindeer". she knows the entire song. that's a long song for a 2 and 1/2 year old. we hear this song like 50-60 times a day. she also loves mary had a little lamb.
when she's not singing an actual song, she sometimes sings along to what we're doing. "mommy's cuttin the da mango, da mango. i's gonna eat the mango. mommy's cuttin it fo me..." etc... she also sings along with any music/singing she overhears. it could be on the radio, tv, a commercial... she even sings along when milan plays his guitar.
the strangest part of all this is that she's actually pretty damn good. she keeps to the tune, she raises and lowers her voice accordingly and she has (what seems like) a sense of pitch and tone. it's really strange.
i've been trying to post a short video i took of her singing rudolph, but i suck and can't figure out how. one person taught me how if i had a mac, but i don't. nope. i'm just sittin here on a dell pc. i actually hate macs. one ate my year-end report freshman year at
UNC-W. funny, i can't even remember what class it was... i just remember that it was 8 pages and i had to start from
SCRATCH. i hate macs.
mommy, please report to the principal's office
all week i've been getting notes home from micah's teachers regarding her "poor listening skills" and that she's being "rough" with her friends.
notes home already?!! she's only 2-years-old! i feel like i've done something wrong! i feel like i'm the one being reprimanded.
here's an example of the notes:
"today, micah had trouble listening to her teachers."
translation - hello, terrrible mother, your daughter doesn't listen to a thing we say. you probably spoil her at home and let her do whatever she wants. you terrible mother.
and
"she ran away from her teachers and class on the playground."
translation - none of the other kids seem to have a problem, so why can't your kid listen and follow the rules? you terrible mother.
or
"do you have any suggestions that we could do to help her behavior improve?"
translation - look, you terrible mother, you need to come in for a conference so we can tell you what a terrible job you're doing. we'll give you some parenting tips that your dumb ass should have known by now.
** disclaimer --- those translations are jokes. jokes. the kind you laugh at and don't take seriously.
but mommy
"okay, time for bed."
"but mommy, i don wanna go nite - nite."
"i know, angel. but it's time for bed, now."
"but mommy, two more minutes, okay."
"you already had lots of 2 minutes. c'mon, time for bed."
"but mommy, i need medicine, mommy, my forehead is sick."
"you're fine, micah, you don't need medicine."
"but mommy, yes, i do. my forehead is sick and last time dr. nee-er-er (neiderer) say i need medicine."
"time for bed, micah."
"but mommy, i need little bit water, mommy, my tummy sick."
"you already had some milk."
"but mommy, my tummy sick. i need little bit water."
*gives her water*
"okay, let's go to bed."
"but mommy, i need to put the cup in the sink."
there are 2 things i selfishly ask for. 1. to be able to poop. i just want to be able to go sit on the toilet and read a book when it is so necessary. 2. twice or week or so - i would like to spend 10-15 minutes on my hair before work.
my daughter, though, demands otherwise.
milan was out last night so it was just micah and i. after dinner, a dinner fraught with things like the exchange of (me:) "no standing on your chair. sit on your hiney." (micah:) "no, my knees" uttered 37 times and "mommy, i wan __________ (insert any food other than what we were eating)" growing louder with each demand; i needed to go to the bathroom.
so, i grabbed my book and didn't shut the door. usually, micah comes in with me so that she can pester me. but this time she didn't. for 10 minutes prior to me going into the bathroom she had been testing me by repeatedly pretending to touch the computer. so, when all was quiet, i called her name.
here are the steps so that you can recreate this touching exchange in the privacy of your own bathroom:
1. "micah. *child's name*." 2. no response 3. wait about 20 seconds 4. repeat 5. repeat, but *slightly* louder 6. repeat steps 1-5 occasionally dropping in statements such as "answer me, please" or "what are you doing, please?" until the cashier at the supermarket down the street can hear you screaming your child's name, you've dropped "please" and are using "now" and you are *this* close to getting up off the toilet with the damn poop-log dangling from your ass.
that is when my precious darling decided to grace me with her presence (complete with pen marks all over her face). i'd estimate it was 5-7 minutes from the start as i was reading in my book in between screams.
me: "what were you doing, micah?"
her: "playin wit you peter."
me: "excuse me, my *peter*?"
her: "uh-huh"
me: *to self* - hmmm... but milan's not here.... "oh! my computer!"
commence yelling session. baby tucks tail between legs...
so, now i'm on the toilet (almost finished) and she's sitting across from me "watching me". she gets up to touch me and pet me to make things better. i say, not now, micah, i'm still very angry with you. you don't touch my computer, blah, blah, blah... and she cries. yep, i made a 2 and a half year old cry. now, if i could just crush that lousy beer can on my forehead and knock down that old lady with the cane trying to get from her handicapped parking spot to the sidewalk my life's goals will have been met!
this morning, well, what can i say, obviously she wouldn't stop whining and grabbing hold of my pants and reaching for the straightening iron, etc, etc... i did not however, yell. learned that lesson last night.
still, last night i was almost crying while sitting on that toilet knowing my daughter was getting into trouble and flat out ignoring me.
and ps - the link in the title is a good article about the strive of most women to be the "perfect" mother.
about a month ago, micah jumped on me while i was laying on the couch and said, "mommy! mommy! the monster's gettin' us!!" so, we played that game for awhile until she said, "the man's gettin us"! um... back up... excuse me, a "man" - no. that's way to "real" for me to handle as a joke. then she said, "we have to kill him, mommy." "who?" "the man, mommy." my jaw drops, i stare dumbfounded... "sarah and me always kill the man, mommy." (insert conversation with toddler about not ever killing anything and not joking about a man getting you - monsters, sure, but not men.)
the next day, i brought it up to her teacher who swore up and down that she'd never heard micah nor the other kids saying anything like this.
fast forward to this past weekend. the three of us are walking through the parking lot toward trader joe's and milan's holding micah. she says, "i kill you in you face, mahn." and makes a motion with her hand toward his face that milan described as a stabbing motion. (i didn't see it.)
so, of course this morning, between tears, i relay this to her teacher and how i've brought this up before and blah, blah, blah... i still felt brushed off. so, i went to speak to the director.
i barely get the first sentence out, when she says - "you mean kill the man, right?" why yes puzzle solver extraordinaire - that's exactly what she said!!!
turns out, the director walked in on the class while the teachers were playing the radio (which is forbidden b/c of foul language, etc... they can only play pre-approved kiddie cd's and tapes). and on the radio was the song "how i could just kill a man" by rage against the machine. (the title is a link where you can play a clip of the song) it has a good beat and she said the little kiddies were dancing to it. (the director changed the station and gave a lecture (#759 probably) about that's why we don't play the radio here at daycare.)
here's the chorus:
Here is something you can't understand
How I could just kill a man
Here is something you can't understand
How I could just kill a man
oh thank goodness there is not some bully 2-yr-old threatening to stab my daughter to death at school!! :) and ps - what's next for crying out loud - "killing in the name"?!!?
we're havin a party!
okay, so really we're just hangin out at a friend's house tomorrow night for dinner. but i totally tried to use it as an excuse last night when i was picking micah up from school. we're going to her best friend, carter's house. (i will post of picture of him from home because he is the cutest and he and micah look like twins.)
*** ooh - i found a photo - he's even cuter now b/c he got a hair cut ***
*** mmm... yummy elastic bands... ***
so, i'm trying to get her coat on (i have her on my lap and i've crossed one of my legs over hers so that her legs are sandwiched and she can't escape - which, for some reason, she hates) and i say to her, "hey, micah, you wanna to go to carter's house tomorrow?"
micah: "car-car havin a party?"
me: "yeah." (read "sure kid - whatever - as long as you put this damn coat on")
and carter's mommy (who's next to us wrestling his coat on him) says "yeah, and we'll have pizza!"
carter: "peet-za??
YEAH!!"
micah: "i have peet-za, mommy?"
me: "no, angel, it has cheese."
micah: "oh, i no have cheese, right mommy, car-car have cheese."
carter's mommy: "oh, micah, i forgot!" (sad face)
micah: "dat's okay - i just have crackers at da party."
it totally worked, by the way. i even got the hat on her! and then carter ran away down the hall, but that's another story.
home sweet home
this was taken on my drive home last friday. it was the first day that i left after 5 and it wasn't pitch black!! yeah!! spring is on the way!!
for the interest of my mother who has often asked for a photo of the house we rent - here it is
what you don't see is that micah has her own room, the driveway is ridiculously skinny so that you can barely get in and out of the cars and we have more kitchen space then we would
ever know what to do with!
ps - hi henry!
in the car
here we are on the ride home. micah and her dirty little daycare feet! LOL
my little nail biter
micah has picked up the habit of biting her nails from her friend, J, at school. do these kids really start such habits so young??!! when J was an infant she used to suck on the side of her hand until the skin was raw, and of course, micah used to copy her. (for some reason she always imitates this child - but never any of the others...) back then, i used to tell her, "micah, you're not J. stop sucking your hand." it worked then so i'm trying it again now. we'll see.
now, i ask you - who could resist photographing these cheeks??!! who cares that she was sleeping and i woke her - they're
so cute!
stop pushing my buttons, kid!
micah's new favorite game to annoy me - when i ask her to put something away she asks
"whey-ure is it, mommy?" and every time i initially fall for it.
"it's right there, baby. in front of you (to the left, to the right - whatever)"
"whey-ure", mommy?"
"right.there.right.in.front.of.you."
"but whey-ure? i don see it." when i first fell for this game - i half believed her and half didn't so i was all creative in my descriptions. it's beside the ball and in front of the white doggie. it's between the small, sparkly-haired doll and the green chair... etc... now my response is
"youknowwhereitisnowstopplayingthisgamethis instant"
"yay-yos"
i just realized that i've never posted one of my all time favorite micah words. "yay-yos" which is cheerios. she's been saying it for a year and a half and milan still has trouble with it. it also sounds like "yay-yo" which is yellow, so you can understand his confusion.
baby-isms
this morning micah found a pair of her sunglasses and asked if she could bring them in the car for the ride to school. sure.
so, as we walk outside to get in the car she says to me, "i need my sungasses, mommy. my eyes is freezin."
(taken with my camera phone)
my little angel
proof my child is actually an angel! :) (excuse the poor quality - i had to scan it in)
last night, when i picked up micah, sarah's mom was also picking her up. so, of course, we had to go through the
battle of getting them apart. sarah's mom was nice enough to bring fruit snacks for both sarah and micah. she said quietly to me as she handed a pack to her daughter, "can micah have these?" and i nodded yes.
so, she hands the pack of nemo fruit snacks to micah and micah turns them around to look at the back of the little bag. then with her index finger, she traces the lines of words saying, "hmmm... can i have this mommy?" and then seconds later (as i'm cracking up) "yeah, i can have this. okay, mommy?"
don't try to fool my daughter into eating something laced with dairy - she knows what's up!
