My baby is THREE!!!

I took Vivian to the mall yesterday to get her picture taken on her birthday. It's a tradition that my mom (and many moms for that matter) did for years and one I'm incredibly fond of. These years will be gone in a flash and I'm so happy to have it recorded in this special way.

The girls are at the PERFECT age right now for the camera! Last year we struggled to get Viv to sit still. This year, she was an angel. She crossed her hands, tilted her head, said "Fuzzy Pickles" and followed every instruction that the photographer threw at her. What a joy!

Audrey begged to be included in the photos. Actually, she wanted to be included in all aspects of Vivian's birthday -- right down to opening her gifts and eating her icecream sundae at Red Robin. No surprise, I guess. I just wish I would have picked out a different outfit for her to wear. But this one fits her personality perfectly.

Here are the results of our photo shoot.

Happy birthday, my beautiful baby Vivian!!!! And Audrey, you're way cool, too! Don't worry -- you'll grow into those teeth very soon.

What's in a name?

So . . . I'm shopping at Trader Joe's last night with both of my girls. They fight over who gets to push the kid-sized shopping cart but that's not why I'm writing (Vivian won, in case you're interested).

We sail through our trip with relative ease. I'm pleased as punch because the girls are on their best grocery-shopping behavior -- not at all their usual mode. I guess that swing through McDonald's first was a really good idea!

We finish our shopping and a very nice young guy steps out of the register line, asks us if we're ready and motions us to come on over. Audrey mumbles something about the balloons and he jokingly says they're all out of balloons (balloons are everywhere at the check-out).

I say something to Vivian along the lines of "Vivian, bring the cart over here" and Rob (who's nametag actually says "Skip" but he later tells me his real name is Rob) asks, "Her name is Vivian?" At first I thought he found the name unusual but it turns out that he has a 5 year old daughter named Vivian. Hey, that's cool, we think.

We chit-chat and small talk some more.

Rob/Skip then says, "You don't have a sister named Audrey, do you?"

I look at him very strangely at this point. Then I look at Audrey. How the hell did he know Audrey's name?

He notices my odd look and throws a similar look back at me.

We finally discover that we both have two little girls named Audrey and Vivian. We are laughing our asses off at this point. His Audrey version is just 15 months old.

Then we start shooting questions at each other. "What are their middle names?" "How did you pick these names?" "How old are they again?"

"I can't wait until my break so I can call my wife," Rob tells me. (I immediately called Curt as well.)

The really funny thing is, we both thought we were so smooth by picking out names that no one else would ever choose.

Yeah, we're so original.

Baby talk

Some random moments in the car with my girls.

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Actual conversation between Vivian and I after I picked her up for school one day this week.

Vivian: Mommy, we are going so fast! (she was watching the trees go by. For the record, we were going the speed limit.)

Mommy: Oh? Are we going too fast?

Vivian: No. We are going one fast.

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Audrey believes the road sign that says "No Turn On Red" is baby talk.

It should say "Don't turn on red."

She's got a point.

Who needs a play structure?

Vivian's (and formerly Audrey's) pre-school is losing their current play structure. Truth be told, it's probably time anyway . . . but play structures are expensive and many of us will miss the old one. The kids aren't even allowed on it ever since the state inspector visited and announced that it has to be removed. That's the saddest part of all.

One of the teachers gathered the crew together just to take this picture. (Viv is the fuzzy kid to the right of the slide). It was all they could do to keep the toddlers from climbing all over the place.

What you can't see in this picture is the swing set in the corner of the play area. That has to go as well. Vivian's butt was permanently stuck to those swings all summer a year ago. She's gonna' miss her swings!

Below is a letter being sent out by the staff of the Children's Creative Center. Curt and I are on the committee to help raise funds. In addition, Curt plans to take down the existing play structure by himself.

I now fear that it will end up in my backyard. Does anyone want a wooden play structure???

Dear Families and Community Members:

The Children’s Creative Center is a child care facility, founded in 1993, with the philosophy that children learn best through play and when creativity is encouraged. With a program founded on the principles of respect, kindness, and dignity the CCC, as it is more commonly known, has served as a pillar of the community and a bright light for families during times of economic hardship and despair. Grabbing hold to the vision of director Laurie Atwood, the children of CCC have been involved in numerous outreach projects to give back to their peers. Each summer the children take part in a musical which raises money for a scholarship fund called Kids In Need, benefitting children who would not otherwise receive quality child care. This past summer the children were also participants in a walk a thon with proceeds providing toy donation for Motts Hospital. Additionally, the center adopts a family during the holidays, purchasing needed items. Currently, the center is involved in a clothing and food drive for the Alpha House, a homeless shelter in the area. These activities have helped to foster a sense of volunteerism and community support in the children of the CCC.


The center was recently informed that state regulations for child care have changed and the playground structure which has served the children successfully for many years must be updated. Although the structure itself is efficient, unfortunately we must rebuild. The current cost of playground structures range from $8,000-$17,000. In an effort to offset this cost, the center will embark on several fundraising activities. We will be hosting a gala event, with proceeds used for the construction of a new playground structure. In addition, we will be having a plant sale, as well as sponsoring music events open to the public. We would like to give opportunity for community members to assist with a donation of time, money and/or participation while we are in the process of undertaking this worthwhile endeavor. We thank you in advance for your support.

A heart a day

I'm so thankful for the people that read my blog. Especially when they have little tidbits of advice to offer along the way.

Thanks to my niece, Heather, I have a new system we're trying out to make our morning routine a little more pleasant.

Heather emailed me yesterday after reading my blog to fill me in on her little secret. She has a "heart a day" plan in operation for her kiddos. For every morning that Paul and Hollie get ready without a fuss, they get to put a heart on the calendar for that day. After they get 30 hearts, they can pick out a new Wii or DS game of their choice.

Hey! I want in on that!

I couldn't wait to get home and print out some calendars of my very own!!

I filled Audrey in on the plan and she was also excited. I didn't mention the Wii or DS game option, but just informed her that she would get a treat and perhaps we could go shopping for something.

I couldn't believe how WELL this system worked this morning!! It was like a dream. Not only did Audrey bounce on air all morning, she also was up early, was the first to take a shower and even got her own breakfast. She was truly a model child.

She also took her shower in record speed. (On a normal day, she completely zones out and just stands in the hot water, day-dreaming. I'll admit, that feels good . . . but come on!) This morning, she decided that she wants to include stars on her calendar on the days that she showers quickly. Whatever works!

Audrey drew on a pink heart and a yellow star on the March 4th box of her calendar. Vivian scribbled a red blob on her calendar as well.

Day 1 in the bag! Keep your fingers crossed for us.

A peek into the future

Curt and I were able to see into the future this morning . . . . and it wasn't pretty.

We had one of the those mornings.

Audrey and I were at odds the moment I kissed her cheek to wake her up. "I don't feel good" were the first words out of her mouth.

I'm really growing patient with that phrase. Here are a few other favorites: "My stomach hurts." "I'm too sick." "I'm SO TIRED." This morning, she even tried to tell me that Miss Miller "doesn't like it when your voice is scratchy."

I did my best to cajole her and stay positive. I also took a moment to listen empathetically to anything that might be going on in her world. Things that would cause her to avoid going to school. "Are any of the kids bugging you?" "Are you nervous about something?" Whatever I could think of. Everything checked out okay.

So, I spent the morning catering to her and doing my best to keep my sluggish little girl on task (not easy to do on a GOOD day!) I even packed her a lunch full of her special requests. All of this extra care was impeding my own agenda of getting ready for work, mind you. JUST so we could get out of the door peacefully and on our way.

For some reason, my extra attention only fueled Audrey's desire to be whiny. At breakfast, she informed me that I "had disappointed her" because I failed to sign some Jump Rope for Heart permission slip that was due last week. I had NO IDEA that she was interested in doing this -- this is the first I was hearing of this. But she was in tears because I had let her down.

Then there was some other sad thing that I neglected to do (make hot chocolate) and that's when I lost it. No more Mrs. Nice guy. I let her know how hard I was working to make her day more enjoyable and she seemed to be completely dumping on me. She cried out, "BUT I DON'T FEEL GOOD!" and ran to her room in tears.

Enter Curt. He only heard this last exchange and appeared to see what all the commotion was about.

His first words? "You know who this reminds me of, don't you?" all the while looking at me and smiling.

Yes, Audrey and I are very much alike. And I could hear my own voice in some of those words as she ran away crying. Thankfully, she's also easy to win back over . . . for now. I'm certain that this will get harder and harder the older she gets and the more alike we get.

Curt better get a suit of armor.

In any case, we made up and talked it out. Audrey even ran back to me for an extra hug when I dropped her off at school. I think she felt a little bit bad about this morning as well.

And I guess I need to get up even earlier in the mornings so I have more time to get myself ready and deal with whatever crisis that might arise. It seems crazy to me, but I think it's necessary. I can't expect smooth sailing every morning. Cuz that'll never happen . . .

(this photo was NOT taken this morning)