Only a little sister

The things you learn from having an older brother.
She was playing behind the couch, telling me she was a wizard going to fight with her magic sword, and she holds up the long blue stretchy tube. It's the kind you swing around in a circle and it makes a whistling noise.

Then she decided she needed her hands free, and had to holster the sword.

Behold Bitty Girl and her magic sword. Either that or item #347 in my future blackmail collection.

Nostalgia, sniff, sniff.

It really has surprised me, this weird, wistful nostalgia as Bitty Girl grows and passes milestones. We don't want another baby. Not even a little bit.

It's just the thought of never having another baby in the house seems so odd and final. And while we (meaning dear husband) love to get rid of baby things we won't ever use again, it gives me a twinge of the heart to say goodbye to them forever.

And I spend so much time thinking about how much easier some things will be when they're older, that I surprise myself when I get caught thinking that I love some things just the way they are. Or the way they were.

Bitty Girl was riding her trike today, and I guess it's been a while since I've seen her on it. Somehow she can get on and off by herself, reach the pedals, back up, and lean precariously off the side without falling.

Yes, I fixed her helmet after the picture.

Here's a little cycling action. Just because you can reach pedals doesn't mean you have to use them. Look out Lance Armstrong!

Maybe it's the big girl bed that's making me all sappy. She loves it, and has slept wonderfully in it from the start. She does say that she misses her crib sometimes, and I think, "So does Mama." I love being able to lie down and snuggle with her, but it's a BIG GIRL BED.

(updated picture with less obnoxious purple comforter coming soon)

And she wants to walk everywhere by herself. Which is good--30 pounds is heavy to lug around. But it's such a big girl thing to walk up the stairs at the Y or out in a parking lot. Lucky she still likes to hold my hand.
And eat big sandwiches. No crusts, please.

Just kidding. She still lets me cut her sandwiches. This was just one time she asked for the big one.

Big Three-O

Bitty Girl, you are 2 1/2 today. Thirty months old.

Thinking (or reading, since who can remember that long ago?) back to your birthday seems like ages ago, but you are still doing all those things I listed. Just more of them.

More picnics with your dollies sleeping under blankets
More adamant and bossy and independent
More beautiful and spunky and funny and delightful
More entertaining, as you try to tell jokes and then say, "I just teasing!"
More shrieking and screeching at your brother's transgressions, real or imagined
More of a need to be the center of attention
More interested in Mommy holding you, Mommy putting you to bed
More delighted with potty talk, especially our reaction to it
More silly at the dinner table
More dramatic play, telling stories about monsters and school and your family


You drop the beginning "s" off words starting with "sp" or "st" just like your cousin: (s)Pider, (s)tar, and your favorite.... (s)pit
You say "franwich" for sandwich, and "Auntie Caff-erine" for Catherine
Pink and purple are somehow your favorite colors, and you remind us of this daily. Many times.
If you don't like the clothes I choose, you say, "I don't match!"
You might have more of a sweet tooth than your brother and me - oops!
You repeat everything we say, including your brother's less-than-appropriate items
You are very independent, like to try to get yourself dressed and undressed, gave up the highchair long ago, and barely tolerate the stroller
But you go along with our craziness, don't mind being woken up from your nap to pick up your brother at school, or missing a nap on a busy day.

Our favorite funnies this week include:

You want a piece of me?

I freezing cold

Wrap me around (wrap a blanket around me)

Hold me, hold me, hold me, hold me, hold me (when you want to be picked up)

Happy Half Birthday, Bitty Girl! We love you!

Adding to the list

Presenting #24 on the list of
"There's just something slightly wrong about a 2 1/2 year old saying...."

"I like to move it, move it!" (complete with hip shaking) Yes, she really says it...

If you don't follow the latest over-hyped animated movie press, I offer you...
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.

We never saw the first Madagascar movie, but in a desperate, futile attempt to avoid the Plague of 1,000,000 Questions, it's waiting for us at the library. We'd like to get the story straight with The Boy before we find ourselves in the movie theater woefully unprepared for the onslaught of questions..

Never underestimate the power of a catchy tune and McDonald's Happy Meal Toys.

I have to admit it's catchy.

P.S. I already looked up the lyrics, and I think it's fairly harmless. I think there's a big hippo in the movie, and there's supposed to be some message about how she loves herself just how she is. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't some REALLY nasty song with just a catchy chorus.

Guilty lists

I was, okay, I'll admit it, COMPULSIVE about keeping lists of milestones when The Boy was a baby. His first words, journal entries about what he was doing every single month. (Note to self: get a life!!!)

And as a result, he's a completely typical first baby who thinks the world revolves around him.

But I never should have done the lists, because I should have known I could never keep them up with Baby #2.
I just found, in the pile o'crap that is my office, a list of words that I was keeping as Bitty Girl's "latest," I think from about April-Sept 2008. Of course it's not dated, and she says so much more now, so I really have no idea what time period it covers. Something around 2 years old..

Here it is:

• own juice!
• NOW
• pick
• Audee (saying her name)
• please
• right here
• thank you
• sorry
• I lub you (love you)
• healthy lunch
• cookie after dinner (this was proudly her first 3 word sentence, I think)
• popcorn (pop-o-door)
• sandwich (tranwich)
• lollipop (pop or loblie)

I guess I should be happy that I wrote anything down?? I tell myself that she'll be a better person for it--better adjusted, more adaptable. Living out of the glare of the Mommy Microscope has to have some benefits, right? Just say yes.

Moments like these

make it all worthwhile.

By moments like these, I mean when I sneak into her room while she's napping because I have to wake her up to go pick up her brother at school, and she looks so heartbreakingly beautiful that I have to run and get the camera. Then when I take a few pictures, even the flash doesn't wake her up, and I feel guilty about interrupting her nap.

But look at her red cheeks, and the sweet way she's snuggling with her baby. The big purple thing is my pillow. She has been doing this blanket folding thing lately to make herself a "pullow" but she wasn't happy with my folding, so I offered my real pillow. She loved it, and promptly fell asleep. The baby has a blanket and a "pullow" too.

Such a second baby - always a good sport when I have to wake her up, and doesn't even fuss when we have to get right in the car. Thank goodness someone in our family can go with the flow, because most of us are not known for that quality.

How could I forget?

The newest addition - our new nephew Brady! My sister had her baby boy on July 12, and we had to wait almost 5 agonizing days until they decided on a name other than Baby Brother!
And Maggie still calls him Baby Brother!




Notice how she holds him - he's definitely HER baby!
I'm going to visit on Saturday, with just my mom. Guilty for leaving Pat home with the kids, but delighted to think of all the Maggie and Baby hogging I'll be able to do! Will bring back more pictures!

Bitty Window

Just watching Bitty Girl tonight, I must have laughed 500 times. I wanted to get it on video, but knew she'd stop once she saw the camera.


They were outside in back, The Boy and Daddy were playing catch, and Bitty Girl was trying her best to pretend like she wasn't trying to get in the middle.


First she played in her water table for a while, happily splashing and pouring.
When she noticed the boys weren't paying any attention to her, she switched to her ride-on bike. She zoomed toward Daddy first, very obviously running over his toes on purpose. She alternated between using her tiptoes to zoom and walking/dragging the bike.


Then she switched to riding with one knee up on the seat, imitating Grandma with her scooter after her recent foot surgery. I wish I had a picture of the smug, delighted look on her face when she realized she could do that kind of zooming without falling over. Daddy intervened briefly when she put both knees/feet up on the seat, but then went back to his game.


Now she was getting desperate. She turned the bike on its side in the middle of the court and ran to get a bowl of water and a towel. By golly, if they won't pay attention to me, I'll WASH MY BIKE in the middle of their game.


One of the best parts that I left out at the beginning was her outfit. Green long-sleeved tshirt that she's quickly outgrowing, khaki flowered leggings, pink Merrell mocs on her feet, and her pink flowered bike helmet.

Heimlich, anyone?

The life of a second child...

She is most thrilled when she's allowed to play with her brother's tiny little toys. The above choking hazards are from his Playmobil pirate ship. Not pictured: another 20,000 tiny men and hats and feathers and swords. She was given strict instructions, along with "The LOOK," about not putting any of it in her mouth. And she didn't. She's not dumb--she knows if anything goes in her mouth, it's off limits. I was right nearby, in case anyone is thinking I've gotten that relaxed by baby #2.

When The Boy was nearly 2, not only did we not have those toys in the house, but I would barely have let him get within 10 feet of a toy that small. Haven't I come a long way?

I know they're still on the forbidden list, along with grapes, raisins, raw carrots and everything else she wants to eat. And if she choked, I would have to reevaluate my lax parenting. But until then, the wee lass is going to "Ahoy there me hearties" and "Aaargh, you're walking the plank" to her hearts' content.