…TV. That’s right, television, specifically the Nick Jr spin-off channel, Noggin.
Today was the second day home with Helen and her swollen pink eye and the second day Helen’s nap was extremely abbreviated. Day 1 = 45 minutes, Day 2 = none. Out of desperation to get some things done before I get fired, I turned on Noggin at the end of Day 2. She is happily sitting on the floor, half-in/half-out of her caterpillar tunnel, staring mesmerized at the TV. I think I see drool.
And by the way, whichever one of you Puffin room dwellers shared your eye goop with my daughter to begin with, well, let’s just say I’ve saved some for your re-enjoyment. Watch your yogurt at snack time.
Helen: No pick nose!
Daddy: That’s right, no nose-picking. Do the teachers at school say that a lot?
Helen: [Nods]
Daddy: Who at school picks their nose?
Helen: [Pause & Ponder]
Helen: Honey do!
I know it’s been an unacceptably long time since I’ve been around, and there are lots of little stories to share since the last post. Like, the fact that Helen’s current favorite car game is to peel off her stinky socks and throw them at the driver. Or that she’s now entered a new phase where every action is preceded by an emphatic “My do it!” including things like taking her medicine, putting on her own diaper, etc.
Here’s some video of her trying out some new dance moves:
I know it’s been quite a while since the last update. The last few weeks have been tough at home and at work - Doug & I find that we’re rarely home at the same time lately making it hard to keep the kitchen clean, let alone find time to use the computer for non-work/bills/taxes related activities.
Today the weather is so bad (freezing ice this morning followed by an expected 10ish or so inches of snow today) that we have no choice but to stay here and Helen’s running a fever making it even more of a slow day.
Here are some long overdue videos of the peanut from January not long after we got home from the holidays. The first one shows her goofing off with her new rooster hat and the second playing with her new sit-n-spit, both ingenious gifts from her best Tete’, Christina:
After walking in on Helen precariously balancing on her belly on the crib rail, we decided it was time to try the toddler bed again. We figured it wasn’t going to be easy whenever we did it and we ought to just suck it up, assume we weren’t going to get any sleep for a while, and deal with it until she was used to it.
Quite to our surprise, the opposite of last time occurred. Her first night was rough, but after that she’s adjusted fairly well so far. Now, we are usually awoken around 6:30ish in the morning each day to toddler breath in our faces and a whispered “HI!”. Far better than the whines and cries that used to wake us up at the same time.
Perhaps it helped that we made a big fuss over Helen’s new bed before we took the rail off this time instead of just doing it without warning. And we took her out one treacherous wintery night (which is about all we have anymore in this neck of the woods) to pick out her own toddler bed sheet set. The choice was limited, but even so I was heavily pushing the Dora the Explorer set while blocking her view of the Disney princesses - “Look, Helen! She’s multi-cultural! She’s friends with a monkey and boy named Diego!”
She settled on a hideous Little Mermaid set which I’m totally fine with since she loves it so much and she almost seems to look forward to going to bed. Here’s a photo of her enjoying her new bed which looks like Ariel exploded all over it:
Doug’s in Las Vegas this weekend, so its just me and the peanutbutt on our own. We’re having a nice lazy weekend, but getting a little cabin feverish since the current temperature here is eleven (11!) degrees. That’s actually quite balmy compared to what it was yesterday and last night (eleven below zero, -11!).
While Doug’s away, I’ve indulged in all of the British movies that I like to watch that he doesn’t and I don’t think he believes me when I say that it is a complete coincidence that they all happen to feature Colin Firth. While I’m getting my Pride & Prejudice fix, this is how Helen is occupying her time stuck indoors:
Actually, I haven’t left her alone while I watch TV. I had to take Dog* outside to see if it’s cold enough for his poo to freeze before it hits the ground (it is), and when I came back 45 seconds later, I found her like this. Happily screeching and smearing her face with her lunch. I honestly thought we were past this. But, I also thought we were past temper tantrums and, boy, have I been proven wrong on that one.
*Dog = Helen’s name for Gus. She used to call him by his name, in fact, it was one of the first words she said. But now, she refuses. Everyone else gets called by their proper name, except for poor Gus.
Meemu is the newest addition to our family. He’s a little, blue crowntail betta fish and when we asked Helen what his name should be, she immediately lit up and said “Meemu! Meemu! Meemu!” (trans. “Nemo” for all you adult speakers out there).
Nemo’s parked on our kitchen counter until we find a good permanent spot for his bowl. For now, though, this is working well since Helen can climb up on the kitchen stepladder to watch Nemo and say “Hi” and “Buh-Bye!” to him.
Will see how skilled I am at getting a picture of Nemo…
We spent yesterday at the Madison Children’s Museum followed by burgers at Doty’s Dumpling Dowry in Madison with Helen’s friend Ayden. Then we came home, made birthday cupcakes, and opened presents.
