The men in my life

My Father

On the first Sunday of every month, my dad would meet with each of us kids individually. At that time, he would give us our allowance and then we would set goals. I would set a goal for that month, like to make straight A’s. And then he would set a goal, like to build some bookshelves for my room. And then he would tell me he loved me and give me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. For as long as I can remember, my dad never missed a father-daughter meeting. If he happened to be out of town on business that first Sunday, he would do it the very next Sunday. That’s just how my dad is. Family always comes first. Growing up, my dad and I didn’t always see eye to eye. He views the world in black and white and I was always looking for the shades of gray. But I hope my dad knows how much I admire and respect him. I feel so blessed to have a dad like him.

Tom

As soon as Ellie was born, I was whisked away to a recovery room and Tom went with Ellie. It was Tom who gave Ellie her first bottle and her first bath. Tom is the one who changed all the diapers while we were at the hospital. And when I went back to work seven weeks later, Tom was the one who stayed home with Ellie for the summer. And then he did it again the following summer. I think those moments helped forge the strong bond that Tom has with Ellie today. Sure, Ellie loves her mommy, but if Tom is around, then I am just chopped liver. It is always “Daddy’s turn.” Time for Ellie to take a bath? "Daddy’s turn." Who pushes the grocery cart? "Daddy’s turn." Who buckles Ellie into her carseat? "Daddy’s turn." I am so thankful that Tom is the type of father who doesn’t mind that it is always his turn.

Happy Father’s Day to the men in my life!

Discovery Green

Today was kind of a crazy day. I loaded Ellie up this morning and we headed downtown to check out the new Discovery Green park. I'd been on the road about 30 minutes when I received a call from Tom saying his car wouldn't start and he was stuck at a gas station. I was really looking forward to a day with Sheryl, Steph, and baby Tate, so I really, really didn't want to have to turn back around. Luckily, Sabrina saved the day and rescued Tom.
The park was pretty cool. The playground area was unique and interesting, but the real highlights of the park are the interactive fountains. Some creepy guy was taking Ellie's picture while she and Steph were playing in the water. Steph kept trying to block him and move Ellie away. He later approached us and gave us his business card. I guess he is a photographer and was trying to drum up some business. He said he was going to upload the pictures to a directory and to email him for the password. Um, wouldn't you ask the parent's permission before you start taking pictures of children in swimsuits? Anyway, Ellie loved playing in the water. I'm glad I packed her suit!

Unfortunately, the rest of the day wasn't so fun. We all got parking tickets even though we had paid the meter. Apparently it was the wrong meter. We are going to contest them next week because who wants to pay $55 for a supposedly free day at the park? Also, Tom's car repairs? $450. And I'm not even going to talk about what Ellie did in the living room when I thought she was watching Dora (let's just say I should have put a onesie on her). Then, we went grocery shopping in the evening and somehow managed to leave half the groceries in the car when we unloaded. 3 hours later I realized we were missing the milk. And the fish. And the sausage. And the cheese. I'd have to say the park and our girls' lunch afterwards were the only highlights of the day.

Tiptoeing into the world of potty training

You can't really tell from this picture, but Ellie is wearing big girl panties under that skirt! Well, technically, they are tiny Elmo panties, but you know what I mean. So far today, she has gone in the potty twice and on my carpet once (but pee is much easier to clean than that other word that I have used way too much on this blog). I haven't really committed to the whole potty training thing. Part of me wants to wait til she is back at school in the fall and just let them do it for me. I'm lazy like that. I only bought the panties because they were so freaking cute. As for Ellie's hair, I was trying to pull it back in a ponytail and she was wiggling around so much that she ended up with an I Dream of Jeannie look.

Sweet

Despite the poo drama, I really, really love the stage Ellie is at now. She is just so sweet! I love how she wraps her arms tight around my neck and kisses my cheek. And how she loves to play Kissing Monster, giving me lots and lots of kisses and giggling like crazy when I take my turn. She refers to me as “my mommy” and is oh so possessive of me. When I give her anything, she is quick to say, “Thank you, Mommy.” I love how she always adds "mommy" to the end. And lately she has taken to telling me, “Good job, Mommy!” in this very happy, proud tone. Don’t get me wrong, she still has her moments, but I just start counting to 3 and usually she stops and does what is asked of her. Of course, now she has started counting to three with me, “C’mere, Mommy, c’mere. One, two, three…” How could I have known that motherhood would be this sweet?

So grossed out

I was all set to blog about our trip to the pool today. I was so excited by her jumping off the edge to me (no hands!) and how she loved being thrown high in the air only to come crashing down into the water. I was even going to write about how she went down the water slide and came flying down it so fast that I was too scared to let her try it again even though she kept begging. No, I can't blog about that because I have much more pressing matters to discuss.

We are having major poo issues at naptime. I mentioned it once before, but shrugged it off as a daycare issue. Well, it is happening all too often at home now (and once at Sabrina's). I thought she was perhaps doing it in her sleep because it only happened during that naptimes where she actually fell asleep. And she always seemed alarmed and confused to wake up with her hands and face caked in dry poo (and usually the carpet and blankets surrounding her). But today, not only did she have poo all up her back, on her hands, on her face, and on the floor, but it was also on all the freaking toys she was playing with. It was like she had taken her feces and smeared them all over every part of her room. I went through a whole freaking can of Kids 'N' Pets. I had to throw away several toys because it just wasn't worth trying to clean them. And once again I am doing a load of poo laundry. This is becoming all too frequent (the last time it happened was yesterday) and I just don't know what to do. And it's not like I don't have the monitor going in her room. I listen carefully for sounds of her saying "poo" or crying. When she is awake and she goes poo, she tells us and usually brings us a diaper and wipes. Tomorrow, I am going to buy a whole bunch of onesies and make her wear them under all of her clothes despite that 90+ degree weather. You know, I was planning on potty training Ellie this summer, but now all I want to train her to do is not dig down the back of her diaper during naptime!