beanski

dear renee

You were born a Mommy's girl. From day one, you looked up at me with your wrinkled little baby skin and you sighed that content little sigh as your drank your milk and I sang You Are My Sunshine and you knew that day who loves you the best. You make me special. Your love, your insistence on me reading your books and buckling you into your carseat and pushing your trike make me special. I will admit that there are days when it would be nice if you would let your dad help you put your shoes on just once in a while but for the most part, every day that I spend with you I feel special. The days that I felt special before you came into my life were few and far between but not now.Thank-you for that.

I was away for a few days a month ago sort of unexpectantly and the look on your face when I walked through that door said it all. With this shy little look on your face you walked over and curled up on my lap and said "I'm glad you're home, Mommy. Don't leave again." For the weeks since, you've clung to me like you're never going to let me leave your side again and I think there was some part of you that didn't think I was coming back. I will tell you this today, my girl. As long as there is a car to drive and air to breathe, I will never leave you and not come back. Ever. You don't need to worry about it. Worry about which Backyardigan you like the best (the PINK one) or whether we can find the Princess Dora DVD (RIGHT THIS INSTANT) but please don't worry about your mom leaving you. I never will.

I feel compelled to tell you this because you worry a lot for a three year old. You are a very introspective little creature, taking on the world with a quiet, watching-from-behind-the-scenes approach. Somedays I wonder just what is going on in that little brain of yours. Your brother shouts every single thought that passes through his brain at the top of his lungs but not you. You sit back and watch and process and plan things out before you act on them. I love to watch you in social situations because you'll plaster your body as close to me as you can and watch for a good couple of hours acting like you are the shyest kid on planet earth and then all of a sudden you'll decide it's safe and you jump right in with both feet.

And before I know it, the little girl hiding behind my legs not wanting anyone to look at her, is bossing around all the other kids, telling then where to sit and what color cup to drink out of. I watched you boss around your cousin Sarah at a birthday party a few weeks ago and there was a part of me that couldn't belive my eyes. I mean, sure, you boss me around daily, but I was so surprised to see you bossing around your peers. And, I was proud of you. Not because you were bossing kids around but because you knew what you wanted and you were not afraid to say it.

I had so much fun planning your lemonade birthday party this year because you watched in awe as I finished all of the details wanting so much to help and I know that seeing all the work that went into it makes you feel special. On your birthday, I promise to always make you feel as special as you make me feel. You asked me the day after the party to leave up the decorations and then a couple of days after that insisted that you should get another birthday party tomorrow. When you're 30 and have two little kids and you're busy and overworked and tired, I promise to make it clear to you how wonderful of a day June 30, 2007 (which you recite to anyone that will listen, complete with the year) was for me too.

You love playdoh and painting and being chased and spun. You love TV and milk and snacks on your throne in the living room. You love the Angelina Ballerina books. You always eat your fruits and vegetables but steer clear of any meat that isn't chicken nuggets or hot dogs. You are terrified of dogs and swings. You threw a fit of epic proportions the other day because the ceiling fan we got installed in your bedroom is brown and not pink. You potty trained yourself and now ask for "privacy" when you're going yelling "I can do it MYSELF, mom, LEAVE ME ALONE." You snuggle in as close as you can get to me at night and always say "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy" with utmost love and admiration and your curls itch my nose and you smell like your bath and you rub your feet back and forth along my legs until sleep overcomes you. I lay for a long time after you fall asleep on my nights, soaking in the miracle of you. Reveling in the fact that I am still the most important person in your life.

Happy Birthday, Mu Shu Chicken, honey, Rosie Ro. I love you more than anything.
Mama

P.S. Didn't you just turn One? OK, how about Two? It seems like YESTERDAY.
P.P.S. I promise to get a better picture next year.

the lemonade party

A few shots of the lemonade party we threw for Renee last weekend. I spent MANY hours sewing table runners and aprons and pennants and fluffing tissue balls and making cakes and cake lollipops but it was totally worth it in the end. The look on her face when she walked through the door was completely priceless.

 

the lemonade stand

We had Renee's 3rd Birthday party yesterday and the only thing that didn't go exactly as I planned was the weather. It was one of my favorite days ever and the memories of it will be etched in my mind for eternity. Uncle Carl built the kids this lemonade stand and they LOVE it. I see many, many, MANY weekend afternoons spent out by the curb selling lemonade to the passersby. Thank-you, Uncle Carl, from the bottom of all of our hearts!

they each have a buddy

As the kids get older one of the things I'm loving the most is getting to know my nieces and nephews and watching them build friendships with my kids. Each of them has a little buddy. Charlie and Griffin are a year apart, Renee and Sarah are six weeks apart and Sam and Cameron are six months apart.

We spent the weekend together in Mankato celebrating Sam's birthday and while I have a boatload of pictures to process, I wanted to post these.

If you sit around and listen, the boys are sneaking in discussions about poopy butts and saying crap like it's a swear word. I love that they already have secrets.


And don't get me started on the girls. They spent most of the weekend locked in a bedroom upstairs having a "Girls Only" party. They slammed the door on the face of any boy that came near them and they pranced around all weekend long holding hands. I have no idea where this girliness comes from as my sister Jen and I are not super feminine women. Our girls seem to think they are princesses though :) 


And these two don't know it yet but they are going to be best buddies too. Right now they're really only concerned with the fact that there is a lot of sugar on the table in the form of Fruit Loops and that is just not something they get every day :)

  

rock on, sister friend

This is what we have to say to finally biting the bullet and being rid of diapers forever:

It was about a month ago that we pulled the plug on potty training all together. It had gotten to the point where she would scream and cry every time we pushed her to go on the potty. So, I said screw it and changed my GO TO THE POTTY RIGHT NOW OR ELSE mantra to "Whatever, you can figure it out when you're ready. I don't have time for this crap."

You know what the girl did?

She potty trained herself just to spite me.

And you know what? I had the last laugh because I had a stinking suspicion that my girl? She just doesn't like being told what to do.

HIGH FIVE, GIRL.

Peace out.
 

baby burrito

It's been going on since her very first bath when he wrapped her up safe and warm in her towel and called her a baby burrito.

Over time, it has morphed into a long, post bath-time rant leaving them both in stitches by the time she has her pajamas on.

It goes something like this:

Ski: "Are you a nacho grande?"
Renee: "No!" {SQUEAL}
Ski: "HMMM, well maybe you are a chicken soft taco?"
Renee: "NO!" {GIGGLE, GIGGLE}
Ski: "I got it, you must be a beef enchilada?"
Renee: HAHAHAHA {can't talk, laughing too hard}
Ski: "Hey Renee, are you a chicken chimichanga?"
Renee: "You're SO silly. daddy." {LAUGHING}
Ski: "Well, you must be a baby burrito. I could eat you up."

It's one of the many things I never ever want to forgot.  

the one that i love

She has her glare worked out...just in case you were wondering. 

my big girl's room

I spent this morning cutting up Renee's crib sheet to make two pillowcases for her big girl bed. I was going to link to her old room but I apparently never posted pictures of it. Ha. We had converted her crib to a toddler bed a while back and then last week Ski sat down on it and it broke. So, our long-term plan to buy her a full size bed got moved forward to this weekend. She's still telling me that she wants her "little bed" back but when I went in to wake her up this morning she was sprawled all across the enormous bed so hopefully she'll see the benefits of it soon. I think it turned out super cute...even with the clearance quilt and cheapest sheets they make :)





Room 1 of a billion complete. I love checking things off my list.  

pre-school

She's going to pre-school two days a week starting next week and this morning, I took her there for a visit. I took her there so that she has something in her mind when I talk to her about it. I took her there in attempt to prepare her for the upcoming change. I was pretty sure she'd be scared and that she wouldn't leave my side. 

The teacher took the balls out for playtime and you could almost hear the wheels turning in her head. You could tell she wanted to jump in and grab a ball. You could tell she wanted to sing The Wheels on the Bus with the other kids.

But she didn't. She refused my offer to take her coat off. She held my hand tightly and watched cautiously.

After a few minutes of watching, she looked up and whispered to me that she wanted me to take her coat off. I complied. She always whispers when she's nervous.

She wrapped her arms around my knee and held me close. I rubbed her curls.

Then, all of a sudden, after her mind had properly processed her surroundings, she decided she was ready and off she went without so much as a backward glance. I stood along the wall of the classroom and watched with tears in my eyes as she sat down at the table with the other kids and had her snack. I watched her watch those kids, learning the rules and the routines, trying to act just like them. I watched her as she worked so hard drink out of a big kid cup just like them even though she begs for sippy cups at home. I watched her look down at her wet shirt in a somewhat embarassed way and wipe it off, trying to cover up the fact that she'd spilled in front of the other kids, in front of her new teacher.

It took her about 20 minutes and she forgot I was even there.

I couldn't be more proud of her.

I think I'll miss the sippy cups next week.

shel, you could have picked a better picture

Renee received a copy of Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree for Christmas. It, like all of the other books, including the Monster Truck book, has been a huge hit. But tonight she turned The Giving Tree over after we had finished reading it and saw this:
   
She said, "EWWWW, MEAN. I don't like him mommy" and threw the book on the floor.

I haven't stopped laughing since.