The End of Naps?

Now, it very well could be just the excitement that comes with the holidays. It might not be the end of naps entirely, but who knows. We've had a good run with naps for almost 3 and a half years. That's more than many children in my daughter's playgroup! Lily has been skipping a nap here and there for a few months now. Nothing drastic and nothing to make her hours awake troublesome or frustrating. She just has a day or two every couple weeks where she just isn't tired. It's beautiful what she does though. She never even leaves her bed! I have her trained so well to stay in her bed during that time that usually I never hear from her and don't even know she hasn't napped until an hour or so has passed. She's so good...SO good. Yesterday was one of the skipped days in her schedule. Like I said, it could have been the fact that we got a Christmas tree and decorated it right before her nap. DUH. She was way too excited to sleep, I imagine. Well, for instance, I walked by her door and she's sitting there playing with her lampshade beads and I said, "Hey, sweetie. Did you get a nap today?" Her response, which seemed rehearsed, was, "Yes, I slept here, and here and here!" She then pointed to all the places on the bed she had laid. HA! Next she begins to tell me about all the things that she dreamed of. She held her hand up and counted on her fingers, " I dreamed about bunnies, lions, tigers, bears and alligators, Mommy." As I stifled my laughter I asked again, "Honey, did you really nap?" She looks at me and smiles and says, "No, I'm too excited, can we decorate the tree again??" After explaining that I cannot take all the decorations down and put them back on over and over and over again, she relented and hopped down to go sit near the tree and soak up the loveliness. She's just like me sometimes. And I just love her so much!
This might start the beginning of the end of naps, but I don't mind. She's growing up into someone that I just might like to hang out with an extra hour or two a day anyway. :)

Mamaw and Papaw's House

Is there really anything better than watching your kid wake up in her little brown jammies with pink hearts on them, hair a little awry, dreamy sleep only minutes away from her little head, with a big smile on her face because you're at the best house in the universe? The house with two people who have higher office in her mind than the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Disney Princesses, and Fancy Nancy with all her amazing accessories? That's right, it's Mamaw and Papaw's house. When we're here all I hear is "Mamaw told me I could..." and "Papaw said it was okay..." Now, don't think for two minutes that my parents go around me and spoil her to death. No way. They are totally supportive of my parenting. But my daughter has begun to tell these little fibs to me in order to play me a bit. Do I mind? Nope. I have great memories of being at my Grandparent's houses. Time seemed to slow down. We did fun things and had no time table or agenda. Jammies would come off at noon and we'd find fun things to do until a meal I knew I would like was served and then I would play until way past my bedtime. Who wouldn't love that? So, this morning as I happily pass this legacy on to my child, I am amused for a new reason...Traveling for parents is TOTALLY different! HA! I never knew the packing, the lugging, the adult time tables, the lack of sleep that comes with parental travel. Don't get me wrong, I love it too, but I don't get the sleep I need and I eat too much and I do damage control for an overwrought kid (once the missed hours of sleep catch up to her). So, as I pass on the baton of warm fuzzies to Lily, I take the baton of parenting from my Mom and Dad. Guys, I never realized what you did to make our weekends so breezy. I now know that even though you loved it, you loved seeing ME love it most of all. Thank you. And Lilian, you're welcome.

Thanksgiving

I hate the days that I fall short. Whether I get frustrated too quickly or I am a little on edge, it just doesn't matter, I hate days like this. Why? Because the beautiful little green eyes looking up at me are taking in every little move I make. Because those green eyes will find their identity under my roof for the next number of years. I want my eyes to be a clear mirror to her of what she truly means to me, and to God. I want her to see love, life, beauty, freedom and safety. I don't want her to see judgment, condemnation, shame or insecurity. How she's seen now, by me and her Daddy, will translate into her own thoughts and feelings about herself one day. Even now, I hear her telling me new things about herself that she didn't know before. "Mommy, I can dance SO good!" or "Mommy, I can't draw that, it's too hard for me." Those thoughts could translate into permanent "tapes" that will play in her head for years and years to come. So, I want her to hear from her Momma that she's the bee's knees, the cat's pajamas, the best thing since sliced pineapple. And when she's older I want her to think that of herself (not obnoxiously, of course). So, today, as I lost my temper after my daughter asserted her heinously strong will for the eleventy billionth time, I stopped short. I apologized quickly for raising my voice and as her beautiful green eyes, now rimmed with tears, looked up at me I melted. She said, "That's okay, Mommy. I love you more than anything in the whole wide world." It's true what they say: Having a child is like watching your heart walk around outside your body. What a joy, and how very very hard.

Mini Me

God sure teaches you a lot when you're toe-to-toe with a tiny replica of yourself...
I have never loved a person (besides my wonderful man) more than I love her. And yet, at the same time I have never been so sideswiped by my own personality...in the form of a pint-sized beauty queen. Wow. Parenting...it's not for wusses!

My daughter, the big sister

There's a new reason to blog about my charming Lilypie. Her baby sister will be joining us on or around February 8th! Yes, my little princess will soon be a big sister to our second little girlie. But, if you ask her she will quickly correct you (as she did the lady at the coffee shop yesterday)..."I'm a big sister NOW!" she says with her little brow a bit furrowed. She's right! Gotta give her credit for accuracy! She gets the whole "life at conception" concept better than some of my friends. So, we talk a LOT about the baby. She kisses my belly each day, talks to her sister and tells me that they're "secrets" and I can't listen. SO cute. She will be a great sibling. Lily was made to be a big sister. I would know. I am one myself! She'll be bossy, super loving, nurturing, guiding, inquisitive and jealous.
Part of me is very excited to have Lily know what having another kid around will be like. I am very much looking forward to the light bulb (and corresponding tantrums that will ensue) over her head when she realizes what life is like when you have to share and care and think about someone else. But another little part of me isn't ready to have this one-on-one time with her diminish. I pray a lot about that. I pray for the ability to make each of my girls feel needed and cared for and wanted. I want her to feel invited into my home and my life, not pushed out. Many of you who have more than one tell me that I will have challenging days, but there will definitely be enough love for everyone. That encourages me. I'm sure we'll all fall right into our new roles after the first few weeks or months. But for now, I relish the times in the car where no other baby cries and Lily can ask me a thousand questions about one topic. I hope she always feels loved and heard. She is. She SO is. My girl is growing up and that's a fact of life. Mommy's just not as ready as she is, I don't think. What Mom is?

The anal retentive part of me wants to explain why I've spent so little time on this blog. So much has happened. I really can't go into all of it. Those that are close to me know that I have had a lot of personal growth in the last year. A lot of hard topics and issues arose and were dealt with...and are still being dealt with. But, one constant thing has remained: my daughter is amazing. She really is. She's almost three now, which truly knocks me over when I allow my finite little mommy brain to dwell on it for longer than 2 minutes. My baby is gone. She has the verbal skills of a four year old (that's what I was told) and she's so well adjusted. Makes me feel like I've done something right for her. But really, it's not about my abilities as a Mom. I just pray a LOT. Seriously. She's potty trained during the day, but not so much at night yet. She adores music, princesses, anything girlie, painting, drawing, reading, dancing, carousels, her grandparents, taking care of her babies, going for walks, Popsicles, dressing herself, being "all in a family" as she says, and watching the birds. She's really fun to be around. If I were her age, I'd totally want to be friends with her :) That's totally bipartisan, right? HA. She's really good at her famous "pull-out-all-the-stops" tantrums, telling on Mommy to Daddy (yes, believe it people!), and saying "no...I...will...not." She's SO stubborn and particular, but on the flip side she's very balanced. She is kind, sweet, empathetic, snuggly beyond belief, smart, sensitive and strong willed. I like all these facets of her personality. She shows the ability to quietly play for a long time by herself. She's not needy like some kids. But, she's selectively shy and won't run to friends or family right away...she warms to you. I know these things are all toddler/preschool traits, but they're my preschoolers traits and that makes them amazing. So too bad. If you've read this far and are gagging, well that's you're fault! She's also starting to learn some phonics with her alphabet. She knows all the letters and now she's really into the sounds they make and what words start with what letters. I LOVE these questions. Maybe cause I'm a teacher? I never mind answering these questions. Who could get tired of their kid wanting to learn? I WILL say that I am tired of all the "why?" questions that she asks over and over and over. And they're not just like, "Mommy, why does this do this?" They're more like, "What's this?" I will then tell her. "Why?" Umm. Why what? So, we then go over all the ways the bird will eat or drink or live or sing or sleep or have babies and on and on it goes. I should be more patient. Those questions really aren't so bad, but when she starts asking where Cinderella is at that moment it gets a little old...but very funny!
So, I'll post some pics now of her over the past few months. We're not all caught up I know, but maybe I'll actually give this another solid attempt. We shall see, won't we?
Oh and sorry, the photos aren't in order, in fact, I think they might be backwards? Going from recent to past? Sorry.