Daddy

Boy is she all about her daddy right now! We both wish we had a dollar for every time she says "daddy" in an evening. She asks for him when she first wakes up, she follows him when he leaves the room and wants to go with him when he runs an errand. About a week ago, she and I had a cute conversation. I heard her in her room when she woke up in the morning.
D: "Mommy!"
W: "Good morning, baby."
D: "I want Mommy to pick me up"
W: "OK"
D: "and take me to daddy!"

A couple of nights ago we were finishing dinner and she said "Daddy! Daddy! I want Daddy to hold me. But not Momma."

Of course, a short time later, she had a little bump on something and immediately wanted me. Funny how that works.

All evening long we hear "Dady, daddy, daddy, I want daddy, I want daddy!" She's not crying or upset or anything- she just wants her daddy. At dinner, it's often followed by "I want daddy to feeeeeeeed me."

I think it's pretty cool, though. Their relationship has grown so much since I started working every other saturday with Dillon staying home with Dave. He's so much more comfortable in taking care of her now. In the beginning, all he could do was take care of her. Now they go to the museum on a regular basis, they go shopping for yard stuff or even Mother's Day presents. I was particularly impressed by his willingness to take her to JCPenney's to go Mother's Day shopping. He said that she got under the clothes in the racks and loudly proclaimed "Look Daddy- I'm in a cage!" They also have the tradition of making "Daddy eggs." They are scrambled eggs with some combination of cheese, mushrooms, sausage and/or shrimp and/or bacon in them. She LOVES them and when they didn't have all the stuff they needed one time, he loaded her up, they went to the grocery store to get what they needed, then came back home and made Daddy eggs. What a good daddy he is!

JulieBear in the sling

That's a sling that I made especially for carrying Dillon on my back. We used it Saturday when we went to the nursery to buy some plants. I figured it would be a good way to keep her out of the multitude of things that she doesn't need to be in in a nursery. Saturday evening, she wanted to use the sling to carry her babies around. First she wanted to carry robot, but that didn't work too well since he can't sit. So, I suggested Julie Bear which worked like a charm. She carried her around for a while and was quite proud of herself.

We used the sling again today when we went hiking with our friend Mardrey. Actually, we went geocaching It's the second time we've been. You take a Global Positioning Satelite (GPS) to find the coordinates where someone has hidden a small box of stuff in the woods. You follow the trail to the coordinates, do a little searching because a GPS is only accurate to about 30 feet in the woods, then search through the goodies to trade for items that you bring in. Today we went to Quechee Gorge. Dillon wanted to be carried most of the way, so I was glad I had the sling with me. I ended up carrying her in front of me with the sling which actually worked pretty well. The added benefit was that we were able to snuggle together to stay warm, since it was a chilly 50 something degrees and being in the woods didn't provide much sun. It was a beautiful hike, though and I am so glad we went. Strangely enough, the laundry was, in fact, still waiting on me when I got home as everyone says it will be when you opt to go do something fun rather than something not.

The thrill over the last few days is that she has started tell us "I love you." It's almost made both of us cry. First she told Dave "Dillon loves Daddy," then this morning said "I love you without me having said it first. Such a sweet baby.

We got tickled at her on Sunday night. We traded some babysitting time with some friends. Ben, who is a month older than Dillon, came over on Sunday night. Almost from the moment he got here, Dillon wanted to change his diaper. She was convinced that he was wet and needed a new diaper on and kept following him around telling him to lay down so she could change his diaper. He just looked at me like "What's her deal?" Then I gave them a little snack and she kept wanting him to put a bib on. Dave told him to get used to it- all his life there'd be a girl trying to mother him.

Like that's such a bad thing!

Whew! We made it!

Cutie! 

We made it through 3 months of juggling 3-4 days of work per week for me with child care here at home with Courtney and at Locust Creek one day per week, and with Dave taking care of her on the saturdays that I work. The last 3 weeks have been pretty tough with me picking up extra days knowing that I was cutting back starting yesterday. But we made it. Courtney's last day was last week. I think she was a little teary when she left friday night (she babysat for our anniversary), but it really wasn't working for her to make the almost 2 hour drive from where she now lives to here 2 days a week. Not only that, she was having a tough time finding a job that would work around the time here. It wasn't working well for us financially. We, and especially Dillon, will miss her, but I will really enjoy getting back to having more time with Dillon. Besides, we already have a couple of dates that Courtney has agreed to come back to babysit for us. We'll be able to afford to actually go on dates a little more often now that our child care costs have dropped so much!

So, here we are on a beautiful Tuesday. We made muffins this morning with Dillon helping stir. Then we went and played outside for a couple of hours. She's now napping which has definitely been one of the things that has suffered with me working more. She naps great for me, sometimes for Courtney and not at all for Dad. We'll go back out this afternoon after she wakes up.

I'm trying to think of what she's doing new. She has developed a fear/interest relationship with bugs, though it's more fear than interest. She comes unglued if she sees one in the house. They're ok if they're outside, though. She even wakes up in the middle of the night screaming (in my ear....) "Bug! Bug!!" She also has a fear of "Car will get you!" anywhere outside. But she LOVES to play in mine and Dave's car and will sometimes get quite upset that she isn't allowed to actually drive. Loud noises are also bothersome. Toilets flushing, food processor going, any number of things that makes noise, she now does not like and must be held if she is to be subjected to them.

We finally went for her 2 year appointment a couple of weeks ago. We had an appointment not long after her birthday, but the pediatrition had to go on medical leave and it took 2 months of dates to get one that would work for me. She weighed 26 pounds and measured 34 inches tall. No problems to speak of and no shots.

As for the cute things she says- when we were outside this morning, she said "So... ummm....there's a big rock right there, mom." She is also quite fond of asking me what something is then telling me "Its a truck mom." like "Duh don't you know that?!" She was also rubbing her daddy's chest they other evening and said "Oh, you silly little David!"

Silly kid!

Huh?!

The great thing about a verbal child is that you get an idea of what is going on in their head. Sometimes it's as clear as a bell as in "I want more!" And then, sometimes, you have conversations such as the one Dillon & I had this morning while I was getting her dressed-
D: "Listen to me" (said while holding my face with both of her hands)
W: "OK"
D: "When the stairs come down, then we can dance."
W: "Alright"

Huh?! She was completely intent on telling me this. I guess it would be kind of bad if that did make sense to me. I do have a few years of education and verbal ability on her.

The other conversation we had this morning was even better. We were sitting, cuddling on the couch not long after she woke up.
W: "I love you baby."
D: "I love you baby."

That one made perfect sense and made me a little teary.

She wanted to wear the sling to carry her bear around yesterday morning. So, I put it on her, wrapped it around so she wouldn't trip and she carried the bear around for a while. I love it when she imitates the things I'm really happy that I do!

She's been helping me cook, which really turns into quite an adventure. She drags her learning tower over to wherever I'm working. If whatever I'm stirring doesn't involve raw meat or eggs, I'll let her help. She generally does pretty well provided that I picked a bowl that was plenty big for my little helper bee. When she starts getting a little wild with it, or it's time to move on to the next stage of dinner, I'll get her a little bowl with just a small amount of whatever it was and let her keep stirring. Once she gets bored, she starts feeding it to Satchmo. Then he gets underfoot because he's so focused on getting a bite of food from her that I invaribly accidently kick him, which sends him scurrying out of the way. This makes Dillon laugh, so then she wants to kick him to get the same reaction. It's incredible how fast this vicious cycle gets set up, just from stirring something in a bowl!

All by herself

This is the latest addition to "Dillon do it." It now has to be "all by herself." Often that's OK-- sometimes it's not, like when it involves carrying breakable items from point A to point B. Or finding animals on the computer. But socks and shoes she does pretty well with. Pants go well sometimes. This morning she put her shirt on by herself and just needed help with the sleeve. To her credit, she came to me and asked for help with the sleeve rather than just sitting there screaming as she used to do. She's also gotten into picking out her own clothes, which makes for some pretty interesting outfits. She often picks dresses, which is funny because I never wear them. I think this is one of those things that goes beyond imitation and is wholly her choosing.

Bless her heart, she's a bit of a dishelved mess right now. She has a cold and is getting 3 teeth- a molar and 2 eye teeth- all at the same time. On top of all of that, her hair's just long enough to be wild looking , but not long enough to actually style in some way. So, there's this constant stream of watery eyes, snot and drool with this wild hair. But, despite a few tearful moments when not feeling well just gets the better of her, she's really pretty pleasant and happy. She was even able to smile at people in the grocery store yesterday.

The new job is going well. Dillon is enjoying playing with Rowyn, my boss' little girl. There was a little nervousness in starting the second day, because historically for Dillon, the second day was harder than the first, but it went beautifully. It's really cause for a huge sigh of relief from both me and Rowyn's parents. They really like having Dillon there because it's a social opportunity for Rowyn. I like having Dillon close so I can see her during the day. I think the being able to see her during the day has really helped with the transition. Plus there are all the toys that she doesn't have at home and 2 big dogs and some cats to play with and chase around. Does sound kind of heavenly for a 2 year old, huh?

Happy 2nd Birthday, Dillon! 

Sorry for the delay in updating! Life has gotten a good bit busier with the start of the new web design job. I'm really enjoying it though! It also means a lot more time at the computer, so sometimes it's a little tough to motivate myself to sit down at it again to do some updating. But, here it is, at last.

2 years old! The picture was taken the evening before her birthday as we were getting ready for her very small birthday party. It was Dave & I, Nana and Courtney. Dillon had fallen asleep early in the evening. Courtney arrived while she was asleep, so when she woke up, she was completely confused as to why Courtney was eating dinner at her house. And what are all the new things you are giving me and wanting me to play with? And why are you all of the sudden encouraging me to eat chocolate cake? Bless her heart, she never could quite get it all sorted out in her mind as to what was going on. On her actual birthday we went to our local science museum where she had a great time, then after naptime we went up to the hospital to see Dave who was on call in the ICU. I think she loved running around the hospital as much as she did the museum. Nana bought her a helium balloon that came untied and went floating way, way, way up high. The gift shop was kind enough to replace it, but, of course, she wanted the one that got away. The replacement has not been nearly as loved as that first one was.

So, I thought I'd make a little rundown of her likes and dislikes at 2 years old.
Likes: Running, playing with the digital camera, playing with the metal bowls, babies (the stuffed variety more so than the live variety), nursing, climbing all over Daddy, Satchmo, working puzzles, reading books, going to "see kids" (any activity in which there will be other children present), looking at herself in the mirror, cheese, spinning in the desk chair, those purple snow boots

Dislikes: falling down in the snow, staying in the nursery at church, having her hair brushed, having her teeth brushed, being in the car seat for more than about 1/2 an hour, more than 3 bites of food at a time, Satchmo stealing her food

Could take it or leave it: bathtime, playing with play-doh, painting, coloring with crayons

She continues to amaze us at her verbal abilities. Her sentences have gotten more and more complex. Dave pointed out the other day that she will also try to rephrase things if you tell her you don't understand what she is saying. Sometimes it's sucessful, sometimes not, but it's pretty amazing that she tries. She's learning some of the individual letters from the puzzle from Mimi & Addy. She has left and right down more often than not.

Really, she is just a happy kid. She such a joy to be with-- an exhausting one, but a joy nonetheless. Sometimes I wish she'd let me one mess under control before she creates a new one! But it is just so amazing to watch her learning. It's a joy to watch she & Dave together. I really miss her the days that I'm away from her, but the time is coming soon when that will be less. The days will be warmer and we'll be able to be outside more. Dave will have finished 2 of his 6 years of residency training. Good as it is now, life will be even better.

Indignancies

Just over the last week or so, Dillon has learned the art of giving a dirty look. Several times now I've seen her give a dirty look to another child that is trying to take another toy from her or knocks her over. She's also learned the art of being indignant. She and I were sitting on the floor eating tortilla chips and dip the other night. She took a bite of one then put it back in the bowl. Thinking that she didn't want it, I ate it. A minute or so later, she went to get it and realized it was gone. Very indignantly (and very clearly)she asked "Did YOU eat Dillon's?" "Ummmmm...yes" I replied rather sheepishly, "I'm sorry." Then came the dirty look. She was very clearly upset with me for having eaten her chip. She did forgive me, though, thank goodness!

I start this week at my new web design job. Dillon & I went to see the office and the house where she'll be staying while I'm working. We also got to meet Jeanne's (my new boss)little girl, Rowyn who is 18 months. We were practicing Rowyn's name on the way there since it's a little tough to pronounce when you're just learning to talk. It still frequently came out "Go see Robe." Dillon had a good time there and was even fine when I left for about 45 minutes to go see the new office building. I'll actually be about 3 miles away from where she'll be, but will be able to see her for lunch (and hopefully get her down for a nap). She'll stay at the house with Courtney tomorrow and then will go with me on Thursday.

She's getting into counting recently. "12345" happens a lot. She's also added "678910" to it. You can ask her how many feet she has and she'll tell you 2. Mostly she's just reciting numbers, but I've heard her actually count things out to 4. She's also starting to recognize specific letters, especially if you ask her to point to a particular letter on a page. For some letters she can just tell you what they are, but she definitely recognizes more than she can put a label on. I kind of think of it as the difference in difficulty between a multiple choice question and a fill in the blank question. The fill in the blank is more difficult even if it is the exact same question as the multiple choice.

One week from today she'll be 2 years old. I still can't believe it. We have a couple of friends with brand new babies. It's so amazing to look at those babies and remember her being that size. I can't honestly say which age is my favorite because they've all been so fun- although there's something to be said for the stage where they stay where you put them! Now we're more at the "Will I ever get to go pee all by myself again?!" stage! I still love it, I have to say.