He liked the pumpkin...

...until he found out it had a face. It is his first Halloween, after all (at 364 days old!)

For a girl who can't stop talking...

...she didn't say much.

I learned an important lesson in reading all the way to the bottom of e-mails and sang the praises of my friend when she texted me on Friday night (not Saturday, bless her heart) to make sure I knew Teagan was giving a talk on Sunday. No. I did not. So, while I was preparing my Relief Society lesson (wrong place at the wrong time and asked to sub) on faith and repentance, I found some good material for Teagan's talk on Jesus Christ being our Saviour. On Saturday we told her she would be talking in Primary and she was all for it, really excited to use the microphone. So we practiced that night reading our scriptures into her toy microphone. Not the same, we know, but she'd hear her voice sounding different and we had some fun with Daddy reading "wo unto you" scriptures into the mike in his already booming voice. Sidenote, his buddy compared him to Barry White the other day - a nice change of pace from Kronk. Even Mason got in on the action.

She was totally pumped to speak, until it came time to sit at the front in the Talk chair. She sat on my lap for the entirety of opening exercises, which should have told me everything I needed to know about what was to come next. She remained cool and confident as she strode up to the pulpit and then promptly froze. I will celebrate the fact that she made it up there and didn't run away screaming. Our small victory is that she stayed at said pulpit for as long as it took for the talk to be said. By me. I'll admit, it's been a few years since I gave a talk in Primary and it took me back. I tried to whisper in her ear what to say, but the silence became so uncomfortable, I had to break it and deliver the talk as if I were Teagan, saying things like, "Teagan knows that Jesus Christ lives and she loves Him." I felt more than a little silly, but the teachers smiled at me politely. 

An overzealous photographer, I wanted to capture some of the moment but knew it was inappropriate at the time. So we recreated the moment after all was said and done. I couldn't get her down from the pulpit after church, she delivered an epistle when no one was staring at her. But she looked the part.

And I took the opportunity to chastise the Primary kids as a whole after they'd all left. This photo is a little more accurate as to how the whole ordeal really went. But I was reassured that many a Sunbeam's parent has recited their talk for them and that it wouldn't be the last time I'd have to do it. Look out, kids. There's deep doctrine coming your way when "Teagan" gives her next talk.

 

One good thing that came out of the whole ordeal is that she loves looking through the Gospel Art Book and talk about Jesus. Win.

The next J.K. Rowling

Thank goodness Teagan is happy to have stories read to her, because if she needed me to make up stories to tell, she's be sorely disappointed. She asked me to do a puppet show with Lalaloopsy colouring pages (yes) and I had to make up a plot on the spot. It was very sad. To give you an idea of how terrible my storytelling is, Teagan tried to imitate my style. Sad indeed.

"Ladies and Gentlemen...Once upon a time there was a girl named Crumbs Sugar Cookie. She went to sleep and it was nighttime forever. Then a wolf went to her rainbow and said "Wow! You're way up high!" And the wolf went to sleep too. The End."

"Ladies and Gentlemen...There was a girl named Jewel and Cat and they were excited to run with the wolves and the good wolves and the rubber duckies. They ran and ran and then there were no good wolves and they fell out of the tree."

"A jewel named Cat was excited to have a picnic with good wolves in the trees. They fell down."

Soon to be bestsellers, I'm sure of it.

Hide and Seek - Tips from Teagan

Yesterday, I had the privilege of participating in a game of Hide and Seek with Teagan, my three year old. I had a lot I wanted and needed to do, but decided to take the time to play with her, which hasn't happened much in the last two months for some strange, cute little reason.

I am so glad I did. It's the first time we've played that she's really gotten the concept. Usually she suggests Hide and Seek and insists I hide with her, leaving no one in the role of seeker. I don't have to tell you it's rather a boring game to play that way. Just spending those 15 minutes taking turns hiding and seeking while the baby slept peacefully in his swing made up for the other 8 hours of the day that were frustrating and difficult. I need to remind myself to play more often. Besides a little recharge to the ol' Mom Battery, I also picked up a few helpful hints when it comes to playing Hide and Seek with Teagan.

1. Be sure to giggle as conspicuously as possible. Especially if you're in a room that echoes.

2. When you plan to hide in a different room, be sure to slam the door as hard as is humanly possible.

3. Mutter "Ow!" and "That hurt me!" as loudly as possible when you're wriggling under a table a few feet away from the person who is counting.

4. When your opponent is having a hard time maintaining their composure while counting in the face of #3, ask astute questions like, "Why you laughing, Mom?" and carry on conversation while you make your way to your "secret" destination.

4. Hide in plain sight every so often to throw your opponent off.

5. By all means, if you find a good hiding place, reuse it multiple times. Waste not, want not.

6. Sound hide-and-seek strategy suggests you hide in the exact same place as your opponent did on your next turn. They won't see it coming.

7. To speed things along and thwart your opponent's (read: mother's) plans to squeeze under a desk, simply skip the numbers 4 through 9 when counting aloud.

And there you have it. A hilarious take on what used to be a fairly boring game. She is at such a fun age, where she's able (but sometimes refuses) to communicate what she wants and we're able to reason with her...unless she's tired, hungry or otherwise cranky. Of course, said communication isn't always 100% effective. It feels more like a game of Mad Gab then anything else at times. Especially when it comes to playing together and her trying to tell us exactly how she'd like the puppet show or the role play to go. I always do it wrong, making it frustrating for both of us. Take today's direction, for example.

Teagan: "You be chicken liver pirate witch."

Me: "Um, what?"

Teagan: "Chicken liver pirate witch."

I mulled it over several times, changing consonants and altering emphases.

Me: "OH! Jake and the Neverland Pirates witch?"

Teagan: "Yeah." I believe this was made more confusing by the fact that she doesn't watch the show, nor do I believe there is a witch involved. She then went on to hand me a "magic wand" and tried to tell me precisely what to do with it - at whom it should be pointed and what they would turn into.

The other day she wanted to pretend it was cold inside our house and brought me a hat, scarf and mittens to wear and wanted me to shiver. Then she caught snowflakes on her tongue. The more I pay attention and play with her, the more I'm in awe of her creativity and imagination and am able to let myself be silly...when no one else is around.

She has very specific ideas for how she wants things to play out when it comes to role playing, so yesterday's impromptu, unscripted game of Hide and Seek was a breath of fresh, understandable air. Love my little lady.

Zero to Six Pees

We're up to our eyeballs in diapers over here. Teagan "helped" me by sorting he newborn diapers by Sesame Street characters. Size is irrelevant - it's very important that Mason wears Elmo on the right day.

 

They are the perfect size for her babies (not so much for Mason anymore) and GG made up a wee diaper bag for her to carry around. It's more than a little bit adorable. If only she'd change actual dirty diapers.

At the moment, there are three of us in diapers. Never thought I'd live to see the day. I pulled one of Teagan's out one day and it was comically large in comparison to Mason's teeny tiny newborn ones. And then to add insult to injury, I grabbed one of my hospital issue beauties and nearly cried. 

 

There's so much truth to the fact that a toddler needs to choose when to potty train. Proven by the fact that Teagan finally showed an interest in the whole affair exactly four days after her brother was born. I'd been trying to get her to sit on the potty for weeks and finally gave up, planning to pick it up when she was ready. We took both kids to see the doctor and she asked about potty training, to which I responded that Teagan had absolutely no interest. Then, to make me a liar, she sat on the potty as soon as we got home - thanks to GG. GG was able to convince her to sit on the potty until something actually happened.

The look on her face when she heard the pee hit the bottom of the potty was absolutely priceless. That success lit a fire in her and she was hooked.

She peed in the potty six times that first day. SIX times.

I was so excited she was actually doing it that I promised her a piece of Halloween candy each time she peed on the potty. After a few days of her peeing every few minutes and consequently rotting her teeth, I had no choice but to scale it back to a single Skittle and a fun size chocolate bar for pooping.

A few days in, she actually threw a diaper on the ground and stomped on it, yelling, "Diapers are for babies! I a big girl."

We had a few pairs of big girl everywhere, but they were 2T and 3T, so Sneaky Cheek was at an all-time high, and as they were hand-me-downs, they weren't really characters she was all that interested in. GG suggested we have her pick out some big girl underwear, which she likes to call "everywhere" so we headed to Target, my happy place. We talked to her about all the possibilities and she decided she wanted Minnie Mouse everywhere. And even in the face of Doc McStuffins, the Disney Princesses, Dora AND Bubble Guppies, she came home with Minnie Mouse. A girl of her word indeed.

So far she has been fantastic. And while I'm not able to lift her, in light of my incredibly recent surgery, things are going well. She has a stool in each bathroom and I've only had to lift her onto the potty (sometimes from the bathtub) a few excruciatingly painful times so far. I'm cautiously optimistic. But life just got a whole lot more complicated. And messy.

Funny Stories, eh?

I'd spend my life at the computer if I recorded every sweet, funny or cute thing my daughter does these days. Ain't nobody got time for that. So I will summarize her hilarity whilst we were up north. She seemed to grow exponentially while we were in Canada, especially when it came to speaking. Words and phrases I'd never heard before were rolling out of her mouth and had us all cracking up.

• She was up way past bedtime most nights, but one night in particular she couldn't sleep and instead sat up with GG & I. GG was peeling carrots in preparation for dinner the next day and Teagan wanted to help. After helping with a few, she jumped up and said "I be right back." She ran upstairs and returned with a Styrofoam snowman that Nicola made eons ago, took a carrot stick and shoved it into the Styrofoam as a nose.
• She had a few scares while we were there. Namely Diesel, my sister's Rottweiler and Chuck E. Cheese. She woke up in the middle of the night on multiple occasions telling me she was "scared a Diesel". And she cringed at the mere mention of Chuck E. Cheese, but loved playing his games - while maintaining a safe distance.
• Teagan became obsessed with Toopy and Binoo, a Canadian cartoon starring an ROUS (Rodent of Unusual Size) and his best friend, a tiny, mute cat. Yes, it's as weird as it sounds. G-Pop found it On Demand and T was in heaven with her friends Toopy and "Bidoo".
• The words "ice cream" were only to be whispered. If she thought she heard anything close to "ice cream" she was running upstairs to grab a spoon. GG mentioned ice cream in passing one evening. The next thing we knew, Teagan was upstairs and back down again with a spoon, ran over to GG and took her hand to lead her down to the cold cellar where the freezer is and said, "I got my spoon, GG, come on!"
• She and G-Pop had a role play going and she called him Swiper the whole time. But whatever he said, he was wrong. She always said no to him. If he told her the sky was blue, she'd tell him no.
• We played a game called "Bumpy or Smooth?" in relation to our legs. I could have shaved 30 seconds prior to asking her and she'd still tell me they were bumpy. Nicola's were always smooth. Always.
• Nicola The Smooth was kind enough to babysit and upon us returning home, she announced "My fingers are orange!" (The first full sentence I've ever heard her utter.) I asked her if she had Cheetos. She answered "Lots of Cheetos." Nicola added, "SO many Cheetos." They had a great time.

Where has my baby gone? I sure do miss her, but the older version's a whole lot more entertaining!

Piggies Pretty in Pink

I've always thought it adorable to see little girls toddling around with brightly painted toenails. Adorable for them. I couldn't picture my little girl sitting still long enough to paint her pinky toe. Instead, I envisioned squirming, smearing, screaming and a whole lot of permanent stains on my carpet. none of which I was prepared to deal with. Then came another Saturday with Brandon at work and I found myself in need of an activity to occupy some of our time and decided to bite the bullet. I need to give her more credit. She loved it! She sat still when I asked her, she counted her toes as I painted them and asked me to "match other toes" when I'd finished the first foot. It was darling. I'm sure we'll do it again. Maybe not with so much fanfare, but a first is a first.

 

Real Pretend.

Today we played our first real pretend game. Oxymoron alert? Regardless, it was hilarious...the first 17 times. I busted out the Easter decorations on March 18th, realizing that I didn't have much time before Easter was actually upon us. So out came the eggs and we haven't stopped playing with them since.

She decided she wanted to be Little Red Riding Hood and deliver eggs and cookies to Grandma: Me. (Love hearing her beckon to me as Grandma, by the way. :|) She put all the eggs in a basket and started to skip around the living room, swinging her basket and singing "la, la, la" over and over until she dumped them out and they were strewn across the living room. 

She'd proclaim, "Oh no! My eggs!" or "My cookies!" depending on her mood. She'd look to me and say "Grandma, help me please?" So Grandma would pat her on the back and say, "Don't worry. I'll fix it."

Then roles were reversed and I was required to be Red Riding Hood. There was nothing sweeter than Teagan dropping to her knees beside me, rubbing my back and reassuring me with, "Don't worry. I fix it." So sweet and so exhausting. Neither of us was allowed to break character until Teagan decided we were finished playing, which seemed to take hours. She's nothing if not committed.

A Child's Prayer

Until a couple of days ago, Teagan had absolutely no interest in saying prayers. Sure, she's fold her arms and close her eyes, but refused to repeat after me. She's started to say words as I'm saying them

Tonight she said her very own prayer for the very first time.

Something about "day"

Something about "potty"

Something about "baby" - Even though she's just repeating what we've been saying, to hear her pray for a new baby melted my heart and brought me to tears.

So sweet to know that she HAS been listening for months and was taking it all in. I'm so looking forward to hearing her continue to pray and add things that she feels are important as she gets older. I can't believe how fast she's growing up.

Code Brown.

WARNING. You're about to read a post about P-O-O. Avert your eyes if your constitution is weak.

You know the saying, "_ _it happens"? Well, it happened. The term "Crappy Karma" comes to mind as I remember laughing at the plight of my friends as they posted about their children smearing feces all over themselves. I'm not laughing now. Is it one of those things that all kids do? Is it just a rite of passage for children and parents alike? Well whatever it is, it stinks. Allow me to set the stage...

I was nagging my husband (as I am wont to do) to get out and run his Saturday errands (that is, early voting and a bank trip, neither of which I could do for him) before Teagan woke up so it wouldn't be just another day when the two of us are home alone together. There was a little dillying, a lot of dallying and even more research on political candidates, so sure enough I heard her yelp from her crib before he'd left the house. And boy was I glad. Merely opening the door to her room burned my nostrils. 'Oh, she has a poopy diaper' thought I. But where is it? Answer: the floor. Which was a blessing in disguise, because she apparently hadn't left herself much to work with when it came to smearing. But with what little she had, she managed to hit all four sides of the crib, the sheet and saved some for her feet, legs, hands, arms and <shudder>  face.

"BRANDON!" He knew something was wrong because a) I never call him Brandon and b) I was shrieking. He came running and upon seeing/smelling our predicament said the following: "I have to get to the bank before it closes." Needless to say, the joke was NOT well received. He hobbled to the bank after wiping down the crib.

Never again will she nap in only a diaper. (What? It's still hot here!) And never again will Buddy crack a joke (pun intended) when there's a poo-covered toddler involved. Hoping that's the end of it. That was one nasty milestone!

Here be Krispy Kremes...ARRR.

I've never known pirates to share, but we owe Teagan's first Krispy Kreme donut to a friendly neighbourhood pirate who kindly gave us some of her loot. After braving the establishment on International Talk Like a Pirate Day to lay claim on free glazies, our friend Cap'n Olivia stopped by with her mum to share with us. So sweet...in every sense of the word. Thanks, Cap'n Livi!

A Sunday of Firsts

It's always nice when I can document two Firsts in one post. Better yet, one set of photos. Of course, I wouldn't normally record her attempt at stuffing a VHS tape in the VCR, but it just so happened that said activity provided me a good angle of her first public ponytail on August 19th. By the time we got to church, half of her hair was already out and it was even more lopsided than when I first did it, but I think her dress helped up the cuteness factor and deflect attention from the asymmetry

But she's only a baby!

It all happened so unexpectedly, that I didn't have a chance to record it properly. Brandon and I were called to be Primary teachers for the 9-10 year olds at church in February. We took Teagan into class with us for a few weeks and it was fine. The kids got a kick out of her and she had fun with them. But I didn't think it would work for the almost 3 months before Teagan could legitimately attend Nursery (at 18 months.) An answer to a silent prayer, the Primary Presidency approached us and told us that we'd be welcome to start bringing her to Nursery early, in light of us both teaching. So we took her the following Sunday, fully expecting to have to pick her up a few minutes later because she wouldn't stop screaming. 

Well, she came through, bless her heart. Word on the street is that she handled her new environment like a champ and was just happy to be there, playing with toys and making new friends. Singing Time came as a shock to her - what? sitting down and paying attention? but Snack Time made her feel right at home. She had a bit more trouble the next week, but as soon as they handed me to her 15 minutes before church ended I knew that the problem was hanging out in her diaper...I'd cry if I was sitting on a brick too! 

I admit to worrying, not that she would be picked on or that she'd miss me, but that she wouldn't be able to keep up with the other kids. That she was too immature to sit when she needed to sit and sing when she was told to sing. We had a wonderful leader in Autumn who told me whenever I apologized that Teagan was there prematurely and offered to bring her back when she was old enough that she had 4 kids of her own and I quote "She will not rock my world." Well Nursery rocked my world and opened up 2 hours of near freedom on Sundays. If it weren't for those other 10 kids we were responsible for, I'd be carefree! 

The kids miss her, though. They asked me for months after the fact where Teagan was and why wasn't she there anymore. "She was funny. She used to fart all the time," said one. I told him Brother Richards could fill that role if that was what he was looking for in a Primary class, but that hopefully he could enjoy class without the background "music". 

I don't know that we would have made it to 18 months with our sanity intact, so I think this is for the best. And it warmed my heart that she took to Nursery so well so quickly. Of course it's nothing to do with my parenting and everything to do with her sweet personality, but I can still be proud, right?

The First Great Escape

As she approaches two, we've known that climbing out of her crib was a possibility for Teagan in the near future. But nothing prepared me for the pudgy sausage fingers (not Brandon's) poking me at 2:00 this morning wanting to get in bed with us.
It wasn't until this morning when Brandon & I both discussed how angry we were with the other for getting her out of her crib in the middle of the night that we realized neither of us did.

Boosterrific!

There came a time last week that Teagan looked longingly at Brandon and I sitting at the table. We'd been scooting her closer and closer to us for a while now, but it just seemed like it wasn't enough. A booster seat seemed to make sense (and take up less room) so she's been promoted and LOVES it. She loved eating before, but now she can't stop!

You don't have to brush your teeth...just the ones you want to keep.

We've been fairly diligent brushing her teeth (plural!) for the last few months, but I stumbled across this footage of us brushing her teeth for the first time and wanted to share. She only had two teeth at the time, so the 1:34 is excessive, but she actually gets a kick out of having her teeth brushed. We've been known to bust out the toothbrush when she's upset and it almost works as well as the ol' binky. Do we have a future dentist in the family?

Walkie AND Talkie

So she isn't walking yet, but she's taking baby steps. HA! The physical therapist in Brandon forces him to want to have her walking soon, so he practices with her every day. Her personal best is 14 steps, but we haven't been able to catch that on camera - 4 steps is all we have been able to document. She isn't all that interested in walking since she can get around just fine crawling. We're in no hurry and aren't worried at all, but thought we'd show you her progress.

And for her next trick, she's started to say "Hi!" Cute when it's at home, less so when we're in line at the Post Office for half an hour and she won't relent until each person in line has said hi and waved back.

Loving all of her new tricks and feeling like I don't have a baby anymore! Hope you enjoyed them too.

A Real Stand Up Comedian

I was lucky enough to go away for a weekend with some of my best girlfriends (and lucky enough to have a husband willing to take care of the baby) and I came back to a regular stand up comedian. She'd only got to standing twice on my watch, and apparently had been doing in constantly, all weekend. 

I know some people have babies walking and talking by now, but she's oh-so-proud of her accomplishment (as you'll see in the video) so we are oh-so-proud parents who see no need for concern - especially since I didn't walk until I was well over a year.

A few disclaimers before you feast your eyes on our stand up gal:

1. Should you receive random phone calls from me, consisting of shallow breathing or high-pitched squealing, you'll see why. 

2. Teagan only wears clothes when she isn't eating, so the majority of our pictures and videos feature a nearly naked baby. She's constantly snacking, so I'm sure there's a pile of Cheerios somewhere just out of frame. And it's still pretty hot here, so please don't judge me. Just enjoy the cuteness.

Here's to the days when mobile just meant the thing that hung over her crib.

I know. You've seen babies crawl before. But you've never seen my baby crawl. Because we'd never seen her crawl until two days ago, at exactly 9 months. Up until now, she's been doing "The Worm"  to get where she needed to go, but on July 25th she all of a sudden figured it out. And while posting 3 videos of a baby crawling may seem excessive to you, that's the beauty of this blog - you signed up for it :) This one is probably more for Teagan's grandparents, but I hope you'll watch at least one. We couldn't decide which of the 3 to post, since we found something to chuckle at in all three.

At :07 Brandon tells her to get up on her hands & knees and she just so happened to oblige. Let's hope that continues. And at :32 you get a little bonus view.

She tends to hit the ground so hard with her chubby little hands that her trademark cheeks jiggle as a result.

 

At this point, it was already past bedtime and the third time we'd made her perform like a trained monkey. But we wanted to film her doing it one more time, from her good side. Ooh ooh ahh ahh.

  

 Things just got a little more interesting around here.

First Things First.

I thought it apropos for the first post to detail some of Little T's firsts. We're keeping track of everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. Feast your eyes on her firsts...

HER FIRST TASTE OF RICE CEREAL

HER FIRST TASTE OF FLOWER

HER FIRST TASTE OF TOE

HER FIRST GENERAL CONFERENCE

HER FIRST WEDGIE

HER FIRST BEDTIME STORY

 

HER FIRST "I CAN DO IT MYSELF" MOMENT

  HER FIRST ENCOUNTER (of many) WITH DORA ¡Hola! Soy Teagan.

 HER FIRST JUMPING PHOTO (many more to come)

Obviously she's squeezed years of experience into a mere 5 months.  Thanks for wanting to keep up with Teagan's life in the fast lane!