Car conversations

The series continues...

ML [digging in her ear with her index finger]: I got somethin' in my ear. I get it out with my finger.

Me: What is it? Wax?

ML: No. It's pancakes.

Car conversations

The series continues...

[We were without electricity for about 32 hours after the storms earlier this week. This was on the ride home the day power was restored.]

Me: Guess what? They moved the tree out of the road and fixed the power. The lights are back on at our house.

ML: And the TV!!!


um...maybe somebody's parents need to limit her tv time a little more.

Morning chat

Our cat, Moe, isn't doing so well. This morning as I sat with Mary Lawton as she ate her breakfast, I told her Moe was sick and that we should say a prayer for him. I started praying.

ML: Mommy! Who are you talking to?
Me: God. I'm praying for Moe because he's sick. God listens to us and takes care of us. I'm asking God to help Moe feel better.
ML: [Kind of looking around. Looking for God, I guess.] I want to see God.
Me: You can't see God. He's all around us, taking care of us. But you can't see him.
ML: I want a banananana.

How have you explained God to your children?

Well-girl checkup

We went to see Dr. M on February 18 for Mary Lawton's 2-year-old well visit. Mary Lawton waited very patiently. She was fine with the nurse and was kind of a show-off while the nurse asked the basic development questions. (Nurse Paige: Can she speak in two word phrases? ML: Mommy, I want to go home and see Daddy.)

Then Dr. M showed up, and Mary Lawton turned into a sobbing disaster. Poor girl. Dr. M said she was very healthy.

Little did Mary Lawton know that the worst was yet to come: a flu shot (that I said I would do in November then forgot) and a hematocrit/lead blood test. The blood test was a nightmare--for me. But when it was all over, she got her first ever (sugar-free) lollipop and Baby got band-aids that matched Mary Lawton's, and everything was just fine.

Weight: 24 pounds 15 ounces. 25th percentile
Height: 35 inches. 75-85th percentile
Head circumference: 19 inches. 65-75th percentile

Upcoming milestone [sniff]

I just made the appointment for Mary Lawton's first haircut. This is really pulling at my heart for some reason (not to mention making me anxious, because I have no idea how she'll react). Sunday at 4pm. Wish us luck.

Party time!

We had a birthday party for Mary Lawton at our house on Saturday, February 19. What a beautiful day! The weather and company were perfect, and Mary Lawton was so excited. Andrew and Gail's gift to Mary Lawton was to photograph the party. I can't wait to see the pictures! Until then, here are 5 I took:

Guess who's 2?

It was a loosely bike-themed party.

Her "boo bike"

Learning

She refused to remove her new bike elbow and knee pads for her nap.

Happy Birthday, Sweetest Girl in the World.

This morning over breakfast I interviewed the birthday girl. Here's what she had to say.

What is your favorite thing to eat?
Watermelon

What else do you like to eat?
Pancakes
[Note: She was eating pancakes and watermelon for breakfast.]
Who is your favorite teacher?
Miss Linda
What do you like to play with?
Popper [This is questionable.]

What is your favorite color?
Pupple. And geen. Pink. And bue and yeyow.

What songs do you like to sing?
Round and Round [Wheels on the Bus]

Who are your friends?
Miss Kim [one of her teachers]

Do you have any other friends?
Eleanor

What is something you like to do outside?
Swings!

What is your favorite thing to do on Saturday?
I don't know.

What is your favorite thing to do on Sunday?
Go to church

We had a wonderful day. Mary Lawton ate a huge breakfast of strawberry pancakes and watermelon. She was happy to wear her new 2 shirt and new (to her) shoes. She loved the "happy birthday" sign hanging in the kitchen and wanted to go over all the letters. She was excited to go to out for pizza for dinner and pick out her own birthday cupcake.

Some two-year-old highlights:

• "Hi, Mommy. I so happy see you."
• "Moe [the cat] can't go to Savage Pizza."
• "Hey, Daddy-Do Daddy-Do."
• "I ate duh Pay-Doh. Miss Lisa say don't eat duh Pay-Doh. Big kids don't eat Pay-Doh." [It turns out Mary Lawton didn't eat the Play-Doh. Her friend Eleanor did.]
  
• [after spilling milk all over the table] "Mommy! Duh muk is out! Duh muk is out!"
• "Dis is my elbow. Wight dere."
  

Mary Lawton loves to go to the playground, any playground, but she especially loves the "pupple paygound" because it has swings. She would be happy swinging for hours. She likes to play with the kitchen she got for Christmas and loves stickers. She loves all her babies, and we have names for all of them. She changes their diapers and feeds them like a good mama.

She is a good helper around the house. She still likes to get a paper towel and the Febreeze and clean up. She gives Coqui his treats and scoops Moe's food. She cleans up her toys when she feels like it or when she wants to start something new and we make her clean up.

Mary Lawton is very dramatic. Last night when we got to the end of Curious George Rides a Bike, she started crying when George went to sleep. "Wake up, George! Wake up!" Tears rolling. If a character in a book seems upset, she gets all sad and says, "He want his daddy!" She's already a crybaby just like her mama.

She is very curious and talks constantly about everything she sees. She wants to know who everyone is. If we pass someone on the street she's likely to ask, "What dat man?," which means who is that man, and then "What dat man doing?" Or she might say, "somebody's daddy" or "somebody's mommy wight dere." I've tried to explain that not all men are daddies and not all women are mommies, but it makes no sense to her.

We can't wait 'til her birthday party on Saturday and to see the look on her face when she gets her big surprise! The only thing she's consistently said about her birthday party is that she wants pink cake, so she's getting pink cupcakes.

Mary Lawton, we are so thankful and feel so blessed that we got you. You are such a light in our lives. Thanks for the millions of smiles and laughs you've brought us. Love, love, love you, Shorty.

The Big Day in Pictures: Part 2

Excited to be going to Savage Pizza for dinner

Savage Pizza! Mary Lawton insisted that Baby get her own booster seat.

On the way to Savage Pizza we stopped at Cookie Studio so Mary Lawton could pick out a cupcake. She chose "the black one." I got her a vanilla one, too, just in case.

Trying to blow out the candles

Trying harder

"This is my cupcake."

The first nibble.

Tasty.

Getting some help from Daddy with the gifts. Her favorite gift was a pink balloon our neighbors left for her to discover in our yard. She is treating it like her pet.

Filled with pizza and cupcakes. Excited about presents. Happiest girl in the world.

The Big Day in Pictures: Part 1

Mary Lawton is 2!

Her day so far...

Waking up with a smile

Checking out the happy birthday sign

Discovering a birthday card left at the door by sneaky neighbors

My two favorite faces

Me and my girl

Practicing two fingers

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day!

The best part of the day: Chocolate croissants for dessert

I love this kid.

Said this morning, just over 2 weeks before she turns 2 years old:

"I have a boogah in my nose, Mommy."

Car conversations

The series continues . . .

ML: Mommy, wus dat?

Me: That's a car dealership. They sell cars. If you have enough money, you can buy a new car. Do you have any money?

ML: No. [pauses, thinking.] I have yipstick.

22 months old

Mary Lawton is a lovable, whiny, funny, fast, singing, silly, busy girl. She often tells us she's a "bid durl." A few days ago I asked her what big girls like to do. She told me play and church. I would add to that:

• Saying "I don like that, Mommy! No! Daddy do it!" or, "I don like that, Daddy! No! Mommy do it!"
  
• Playing with play-doh

• Cleaning. She goes to the cleaning supplies cabinet and helps herself to a paper towel and the Febreeze. Then she says, "I clean! I clean den!"
  
• Stickers

• Changing her baby's diaper
• Preparing to sit on the potty. She likes pulling down her pants, removing her diaper, and walking around without a diaper.
  
• Singing the ABC's
• Counting to 10
• Being sassy. She sits in timeout about once a week for offenses such as throwing food or trying to hit me.

• Going to bed. She tells us she wants "my own bed." This almost makes up for the fact that she didn't sleep well until she was 18 months old.
• Doing everything by herself: "I do it!" We just say ok, let me know if you want any help, and leave her alone until she decides she wants help. "Hep! Hep peeze!"

We're so lucky to have a healthy, smart girl filled with hugs and, when we're really lucky, big, loud kisses.

That's my girl.

all smiles, all the time.

We're 0 for 3 in school pictures. I don't know why they even try.

A little morning peace

We had a rough morning. Mary Lawton woke up sweet and happy, but the tide turned. We somehow made it into the car to go to work/school, but the crying and whining didn't stop. She didn't want her mittens. She did. She didn't want a blanket. And then we couldn't agree on the musical selection: "Dummer boy! Mommy! Dummer boy! No! I don like dat [song that is not Drummer Boy]!" I turned off the stereo. Then about 5 minutes into our drive, she fell asleep.

Peace. Quiet.

Not even 2 going on 22

Mary Lawton knows our names and lately is referring to us by our names. Things like: "Hey, Jiffer. How you doing? You ok?" A couple of weeks ago all 3 of us were at Target, and Mary Lawton was off with her daddy. I heard a familiar little voice calling, "Jiiiifuuuur! Jiiiifuuuur! Weh ah you? Jiiiifuuur! Weh ah you?" I was sure Sweet LJ put her up to it, but he promised he didn't.

Yesterday she said to her daddy: "Hey, boy. Hey, how you doing?"

We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing.

After a few years away, I returned to the kitchen to prepare Thanksgiving dinner. It was for just the three of us, so not really a big cooking deal, but we had a lovely dinner. We spent the week leading up to Thanksgiving writing down on little cards the things we're thankful for and dropping them in a bowl. During dinner we took turns reading them. Hopefully, I'll remember to do this again next year and make it a tradition!

Mary Lawton seemed pretty happy to be eating from a real plate and fancy cup.

She commented several times on the leaves on the table.

After dinner we headed to Bruce and Jan's house for dessert, football, and love.

So many blessings. So much for which to be thankful.

Baby's first Bruster's dirt sundae

My, oh, my. I've never been around a Mary Lawton as quiet as she was the night of her first Bruster's dirt sundae (vanilla ice cream with Oreo crumbs and gummy worms. I tossed the gummy worms.) A girl in heaven. November 12, 2010

November 24, 2010

And before you jump to any conclusions, remember that if you sit there long enough, something will come out.

Just a sweet girl

For the past couple of months, we've been letting Mary Lawton sit in the "big bed" (our bed) for books at bedtime. I thought it was becoming a ritual, but she seems to be losing interest. Anyway, I took a few pictures one night. She was kind of posing for these.


Then she practiced her ABC's. This was about a month ago. She's even better now.