Cuteness Summarized

If I were to blog every cute or funny thing that Teagan did, I'd have carpal tunnel and my blog books would be the size of a Twilight novel. So I thought I would summarize some of her recent cuteness in a single post.

She's been fighting sleep for some time now, and yesterday I let her cry it out for a while after I put her down for a nap. Until I heard, "Help! Help!" then "Ayudame! Ayudame!"and came in to find her in the midst of trying to climb out (she may be getting wise) and stuck on the side of the crib. So she can call for help in two languages - may come in handy. But it may be time to slow down on the Dora.

Is there anything cuter than a baby in the bath, laying on their tummy with their little bum cheeks breaking the surface of the water? How about if they look up at you with great big blue eyes and say "Mummy! I Nemo! I swimmin!"

I've started teaching a few piano students and their mums watch Teagan while I teach, which is a win win win. Teagan loves to play with her friends instead of boring old Mummy. Especially since my friend Katie is an expert cookie maker and whips them up nearly every week. Teagan toddles in with a plateful, parks herself in the living room and dares anyone to try to take a cookie from her. It's really very frightening. Luke braved sneaking one and Teagan shoved his hand away. So he tried it with the other hand. She pinned both hands down and spat cookie in his face while yelling "No Nuke!" Charming. I resorted to distracting her with something shiny to get my share.

There are times I've wondered aloud how library DVDs can get scratched beyond recognition to the point they don't play. I got my answer this week. We're entering an independent stage and I can't seem to stop her from operating the DVD player on her own. She knows the eject button and with an attention span of less than 2 minutes, changes DVDs several times before settling on one. She insists on taking the DVDs out of their cases herself (thank goodness she's picked up the finger through the hole trick taking them out) and transferring them to the player, pushing me away and saying "Teagan turn. I help you." Hmm, I'm rethinking placing this particular aspect in the "cute" category.

If you haven't seen Finding Nemo, you may not appreciation this next one. We have church at 2:00 in the afternoon. To say it's a struggle would be a laughable understatement. We make a lot of effort to keep her in Sacrament Meeting, which means getting creative. To stave off what looked like a particularly nasty tantrum, he taught her to say "Noggin", bonk heads (lightly) and say "Duuude." Adorable. Unless it's the middle of the night, you've been rocking her for several minutes (which is hilarious to watch because she's gigantic) and are convinced she's asleep, only to find that once you rest your chin on her forehead in a squeeze of love, she quietly whispers "Noggin" and "Duuude." More maddening than cute, really.

Trying to branch out from Dora and <eye twitch> Max & Ruby (if you ask her, it's "Max & Nuby, Nuby & Max and she dances around to the theme song singing along - Max and Nuby! Nuby and Max over and over), we've been watching the Madagascar movies as a family. 'Madagascar' is difficult for an adult to spit out, so Teagan simply goes with "Noove It Noove It" (citing the 'Move It Move It' song during the credits). Use it in a sentence, you ask? "Teagan do it Noove It Noove It" meaning another DVD is about to meet its maker. (Literally, we've sent Monsters Inc. back to Disney to be replaced. Noove It Noove It will be next.)

Lately she's been a teeny tiny mummy and it melts my heart. She swaddles her Minnie Mouse doll or any other toy she can find, carries them around for a while, whispering things like "I know. It's okay. I know." and then laying them down somewhere, kissing them and saying "nigh night." She does it to me too, but with a little less love. "Sweep, Mummy." Then she drapes me with a blanket. And by "blanket" I mean her changing pad. While it's a sweet gesture, something a little less germ ridden would be lovely.

 

 

 

 

 

The girl's destined to be a nerd. I tell her to pick out stuffed animals to snuggle with at nap and bedtime and she insists on cuddling a pile of books. 

Which leads me to her compulsively neat tendencies. At first it was cute that she sorted all the memory cards by colour and stacked them neatly. But now, if one of the books in a pile is out of line or upside down she has an uncontrollable meltdown, yelling that it's "Boken!" between heaving sobs. It's bordering on the ridiculous.

And that, my friends is just a glimpse of the cuteness/irritation I deal with on a daily basis.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker, make me a match.

While we aren't quite ready to compete on the Memory circuit, we've been playing it (with rules slightly modified) for a few days now and Teagan is really getting it. I'm sure the fact that this particular version features Dora, Dora and more Dora has nothing to do with her fascination. Trying to figure out how to break it to her that it isn't ALWAYS her turn, though.

Like a Diamond in the Sky

I finally caught her singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on film. She sings it almost constantly, but zips her lip as soon as I run to get the camera. I missed the first few bars, but I'm celebrating the small victories. Those are the only ones I have these days.
My favourite part is when she makes the diamond...and it's really the first time that the song is recognizable. Melts my heart every time. Isn't it darling?

The Cutest Thing.

Brandon tells me the cutest thing about Teagan these days is that she's old enough to run errands. Like getting a tissue when she needs her nose wiped, or pulling books off the shelf to read...and by read, I mean pile neatly. Observe the "cuteness".

Out of the Mouths of Babies and Munchkins on Helium

Ever wonder what a munchkin might sound like after it inhaled helium? Come and talk to Teagan. More often than not, I have a hard time taking her seriously when she's babbling incessantly several octaves above everyone else. While we tend to speak in higher tones when we talk to babies, she has nowhere to go but down. Way down. She loves talking to her little friend Makenna and always lowers her voice to almost a growl. A little scary, but Kenna smiles at her politely.

I don't know if it's because she's my only one, but she is still my baby. Every now and again when she looks at me, I still see a six month old with impossibly chubby cheeks, struggling to support the weight of her fat head. Just this week, she looked up at me from the bathtub and I saw that baby face. And that baby face said "opposites". She has a little bath book about opposites staring Elmo and remembered what it was called from her last bath. It floored me to hear a three syllable word resounding from those oh-so-full-and-kissable baby lips. <sigh> not a baby anymore.

While it's funny to hear her talk, it's hilarious to hear her sing. She's always singing a little tune to herself, whether it be her version of the ABCs or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. (Sidenote: it took me YEARS to figure out that the two songs shared a tune. I was playing it on the piano the other day and she recognized that they were the same. How embarrassing.) She likes to sing the "Hot dog hot dog hot diggity dog" victory song from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse but gets stuck in one particular spot and ends up sounding like a broken record. It goes something like "Hot dog, hot dog, hot digga digga digga digga..." you get the idea. And if you don't...

Getting into her PJs at night stresses her out, so we've tried to dispurse the anxiety with songs. Specifically "Zip a dee doo dah" while we're zipping up her zipper - bet you didn't see that coming. She sings the entire chorus of the the song and it's probably the cutest thing I've ever heard. And the dogs on our street go crazy for it :) As a hilarious little bonus, she now calls her zipper by its full name. I went to get her up from a nap and she'd unzipped it most of the way and asked me to fix her "zip a dee doo dah." Too funny.

In case you thought she could only sing in English and Jibberish, she loves to chant one of Dora's classics in espanol: "Bate bate chocolate." You've got to keep it fresh, people.

A Mother Heart

It's absolutely amazing to me how quickly little girls take to mothering. We gave Teagan a baby doll for Christmas when she'd just turned one. I had thought she was too young, but after a playdate at a friend's house spent cuddling a doll I realized that she just needed to be given a chance. To see my baby carrying a baby around was just darling.

From the get go, she knew how to cradle it and give it a bottle. I marveled at how someone so young could be so loving and nurturing. Then she got distracted and dropped it on its head. Back to life. Back to reality.

Her mothering has become more sophisticated since then, and now she's comforting her babies when she imagines that they cry. I walked into her room the other day to find her with a doll over her shoulder, resting her head on its head, patting its back and saying "It's okay...I know...I know..." I nearly cried. That's a lie. I cried. I like to think that I had a smidge to do with it - although I know that so much of it is natural and inherent.

As I was reporting this to Brandon while we were going through the bedtime routine, we both let out a resounding "Aww" and turned to look at Teagan who was playing with her little kitchen. Taking one baby out of the dishwasher and another out of the oven. She didn't learn that part from me.

Baby Tarzan and Mike Wowski

Like most toddlers, Teagan fixates on our or two obsessions at a time. Move over Dora, here comes Disney. Not a day goes by that she doesn't ask to watch Baby Tarzan and Mike Wowski (or Mo-sters). We had Tarzan on VHS, so were limited to playing it upstairs in the loft. She could take or leave Tarzan once he grows up, but she loves baby Tarzan in the opening few minutes of the movie. She wants to watch those scenes again and again. Funnily enough, she isn't familiar with the concept that it takes time to rewind a videotape. Boy, do I feel old. It was taking us forever and I'm fairly confident we're wearing it out, so I found the DVD on sale at Target and jumped on it. Now it's a lot easier to enjoy Baby Tarzan, and the rest of the gang if she decides to stick it out.

Her other fixation these days is Monsters, Inc. She says "Ees okay" when the monsters are being scary and we laugh in hopes that she doesn't let them scare her. She loves Boo and has taken to throwing her head back and saying "Aah" in hopes of us hurling treats at her. She's forever talking about Sulley, Mike "Wowski", Randall and Boo. In fact, she's so eager to watch it that she often pulls it off the shelf for me and sometimes before I can stop her, she yanks it out of its case. Perhaps that's why it's scratched beyond recognition. We can't play chapters 5-17 without a maddening amount of skipping and pausing. So we borrowed a copy from the Giffords (heaven bless them) and Natalie told me that Disney actually replaces damaged DVDs for a small fee. So instead of us shelling out nearly $30 for a new copy, we can get it replaced for $6.95. Yet another reason to love Disney.

We're looking forward to the prequel to Monsters, Inc. that comes out in the summer. Thinking about taking her to her first movie. We'll see if she gets her movie going attitude from her mum or her dad...

Nice to Meet You?

Teagan's taken to calling me Michelle lately. Well, if I'm being entirely honest, she's calling me Bash-ow. And without fail, here's how the conversations go:

Teagan: "Bash-ow? BASH-OW!"
Mummy: "My name is Mummy."
Teagan: "Hi! I Teagan."

I believe we've met. I did, after all, MAKE you. And you'd be wise to remember that.

Second ever jumping photo. It's in the genes.

SO big...cheating aside

Brandon's "day off" last week was anything but. He ended up hanging shelves, pictures and - miracle of miracles - the growth chart I made at 2011's Relief Society Super Saturday. For the last year and a half, it's been propped up against a wall, teetering dangerously. I like it much better where it is now.

Teagan wasn't sure about it at first, but once I showed her what we were doing she was all for it. (Sidenote: If you include my sock bun, I'm nearly average height!) We measured several times (not standing on her tippy toes - totally did that herself, by the way) and confirmed that she is, indeed, growing like a weed. And judging from the look of my backyard, I'm an expert on how fast weeds grow.

Beauty and the Beast

Since braving the park with a 9 month old two summers ago, I've envied the moms who brought a book to the park and were able to let their little ones roam free and enjoy themselves. Sure, I've brought books before, but I've never actually opened one. At 9 months, it was crawling around finding every piece of garbage and cigarette butt in sight and I dreamed of the day when I would get to relax at the park and actually visit with my friends. I figured I'd be there by now.

We're lucky enough to have a park within walking distance (about a 10-15 minute walk so it's good for me). The unfortunate part is that it's surrounded by desert. So while everyone else's kids take turns climbing up ladders and sliding down slides, my child is running as fast as she can through the sagebrush. Or throwing wood chips. Not only do I not get to enjoy myself, I'm constantly disciplining her for running away from me, pushing people or not sharing. 

Today was a particularly miserable day. I asked myself over and over why I bothered coming. I felt like a huge failure as a mother because she was so out of control. She'd hit someone and then run away from me. So we spent the majority of our time there staring eachother down, me keeping a firm grip on her arm so she knows I'm serious. Naturally, she doesn't love our little talks and fights me tooth and nail to get away which leaves us both angry and frustrated and I lost my patience on more than one occasion. One thing that stresses me out at the park is being around strangers. Not a stranger danger sort of a situation, but what to do when my child mistreats another child whose parents I don't know. If our roles were reversed and a stranger's child mistreated mine, I would like to see that the parent is actively teaching their child that it's wrong to hit or push or what have you. So, in order for them to see that I'm not lackadaisical about the issue, I make her apologize, take her aside and talk to her before a time out. Whether or not that child's parents felt the same as I did, I felt it was important for me to be consistent. Which meant that we spent a lot of time repeating this pattern.

At one point, she turned and waved at me and ran as fast as she could over the hill and into the desert. One of my friends there with her son (who didn't leave her side) asked me if I was like that when I was a kid or if she got it from Brandon. Never found out what "like that" meant, but it couldn't have been good. I was frustrated, Teagan was frustrated and we decided to go home. 

 

We had a quick lunch and I've never been so relieved to put her in her crib and shut the door for naptime. I tidied the place (sidenote: why do I waste so much time cleaning?) and all the while felt terrible about being so hard on her at the park. I was so upset with myself that part of me started to wonder if I haven't been able to get pregnant again because I'm not a good mother to the baby I have now. When I went in to get her up from her nap, I started sobbing, telling her I was sorry for yelling at her and being a mean mummy. I couldn't stop the tears and Teagan cradled my face in her chubby little hands and asked "What happened, Mummy?" We hugged for what seemed like hours and I was amazed, humbled and grateful for the unconditional love of a child. All had been forgiven and I did my utmost to be a kind and loving mother for the rest of the day.

From that point on, she was different and I was different. Bedtime has never gone as smoothly as it did tonight. Teagan listened and did everything we asked her with exactness. From brushing her teeth, to getting a diaper, to praying, to picking a story. It was beautiful, and I don't think I would have appreciated it nearly so much if we hadn't had such a terrible morning. I guess you have to deal with the Beast to appreciate the Beauty. And she's a beauty. So grateful for the lessons she teaches me and the love she gives me. I'll be even more grateful when I've opened my book at the park.

Cashew Issues

BEFORE: Learning that Teagan likes to eat cashews.
AFTER: Learning that Teagan doesn't like to share cashews. Daddy took one and this is the reaction he got. And he almost lost a finger.

Tykes N Tots N Teagan

My dear friend Hillary, who is always driving us around to fun and exciting new places (eg. Sam's Club) took us to Tykes N Tots earlier this month and it turned out to be a huge hit. It's designed for toddlers, so I didn't have to worry about her being able to hold her own with 12 year olds running circles around her. You pay for a day pass and can come and go as you please - for things like naps, meals, etc. They have a trampoline, a ball pit, a mini-roller coaster, a toddler jungle gym and every toy, doll and book you can think of. (A Dora book created quite a stir - read about it HERE.) While you were responsible for looking after your child, the room is wide open so you can keep an eye on them from almost anywhere. In particular the incredibly comfortable leather couches complete with magazines and free wi-fi. If your child is well-behaved and safety conscious, you could enjoy a really relaxing day. Really looking forward to one years from now.

The ball pit was Teagan's favourite activity. Her favourite accessory? An ill-fitting pair of goggles that she insisted on wearing everywhere once she found them. A scientist in the family? Most likely a mad one.

It's always nice to try new things and while the cost of this particular adventure will inhibit us from making it a regular occurrence, it will make for a marvelous incentive when it comes to potty training and rewards for good behaviour. Should either of those days ever come.

Kick into Mama Bear Gear

Those of you who know me, or have read most of my posts know that I'm a non-confrontational, let you walk all over me kind of a person, particularly in public. So imagine my surprise when I found myself seething and hissing through my teeth at a stranger the other day.

Teagan and I went with some friends to an indoor play place specifically designed for toddlers. You can read about our otherwise resplendent visit HERE. Right here is where you'll get the dirt on my run in and an uncharacteristic tirade/venting session.

I was sitting across the room, keeping my eye on Teagan from a distance, letting her have some independence, since we're on top of each other all day every day. She was content jumping in and out of the ball pit. Until she saw a girl reading a Dora book. When it comes to Dora, she reminds me of a horse with blinders. She doesn't see anything surrounding the item (like ahem, the owner) she just goes for it. I saw her notice it and got right up because I knew what was about to happen. She grabbed it just before I got there, so I was ready to help her hand it back to the little girl and apologize. I was too late, however, and the girl's mother was on Teagan like a fat kid on a piece of cake. She furrowed her brows, shook her finger and yelled very angrily "You DON'T take things from other kids!" and proceeded to snatch the book out of Teagan's hands. That's when I got there. I apologized and had Teagan say she was sorry, and told the lady I would handle it. This mother ignored me and got in Teagan's face, wagging her finger and repeating "You DON'T take things from other kids!" I don't think so, stranger.

"I've GOT it. Thank you." I grimaced and hissed it through my teeth so as not to yell and picked Teagan up and walked away, which I saw as the only alternative to punching this woman in the face.

Granted, I get incredibly defensive when I see Teagan being picked on (like when she was 18 months and a 6 year old put his shoe on her forehead and kicked her away because he didn't want her to be there) so I can appreciate that this mother didn't like that her daughter had something snatched from her. I get that. What I don't get is her thinking that she can yell at my daughter and step in as a parent a) when she's a complete stranger and b) when I'm standing there. That's what got my dander up.

Even though I'm relatively new to the parenting game, I understand that there isn't a "right" way to parent and that my ways aren't any better than her ways, only different. What she might have seen as an "I'm going to make you see how it feels" approach, I saw as an "it's okay for me to snatch things from you, but you can't do it to other people."

Not wanting to leave with a bad taste in my mouth (or an enemy) I mustered the courage (and self-restraint) later to go up to her and explain that Teagan just turned 2 and that we're working on manners and sharing. Someone else thought she was 4, so I assumed that she thought she was older and therefore more capable of understanding. "Oh, I totally get that. We're going through the same thing," was her reply and I suppose you could say we ended things on a good note. 

You may think I'm silly for getting so worked up about something so small, and you may tell me that I am in for a rude awakening when she goes to school and is subject to other people disciplining her. And I believe that's an entirely different situation. Just hoping no one else pokes the Mama Bear anytime soon. My alter ego is scary.