Ambushed!

I leaned in for a kiss and she licked me at the last second. Goofball!

What's that you say?

She sure has a lot to say! In honor of her turning 2 1/2 in a few days, I'd thought I'd share some of her regular "Baylee-isms" with you.

Things she is saying (with translations/explanation):

• "Awww, cuke!" (cute)
• Pooey Pooey (roly poly bugs)
• "Me do it" She is sooo independent and doesn't want help with anything.
• "Mmmm....smells like....apples!" She says this about everything, no matter what it really smells like.
• "Stop following me"
• "I'm sorry mommy, me too" This is said all in one sentence like she is not quite sure which part she is supposed to say.
• "Together Mommy" said when she realizes that she is not going to get to do something by herself.
• "Mommy... Mommy....Mommy" She sounds like Stewie.
• She likes to listen to "Choich muke" (Church music) on the local Christian radio station and "God stories" (stories from her Bible). She is just starting to make the connections between what we hear at church and what we hear and read at home.
• "Can I keep you?" Yes, you can Baylee. (This is my favorite)

Things I am saying:

• "What Baylee?"
• "What Baylee?" 
• "What Baylee?" 

I love you sweet heart! I want to keep you, too!

731 days

 Dear Baylee,

Today we celebrate the completion of your second trip around the sun. On one hand, it's hard to believe you have been with us that long. On the other hand, it feels like you have been here forever. You have accomplished many things this past year and your dad and I are very proud of who you are becoming. You continue to astound us with how fast you learn things.
 You right now:

wearing: big girl panties (Tinkerbell, of course) 2t-3t clothes, size 6 shoes, pony tails in your hair

eating: raisin bran crunch cereal, honey on everything, ice cream

doing: 25 piece puzzles, cutting with the big kid scissors, jumping on the trampoline
saying: you have a lot of words, but the words you say the most are mommy, daddy, please, and thank you.

As you turn two, we know there are some days ahead of us that are going to require us to have a lot of patience. Please be gentle with Mommy and Daddy as we help you to figure out this great big world.

We love you, big girl!

The Child as Protagonist

     Are you familiar with the Reggio Emilia approach to education? I first heard of it while attending a teaching conference in 1994. The idea that children are way more capable than we give them credit for is something I strongly believe in, and is at the heart of what the approach is about. Through the years, I have been eager to learn more about it and adopt it's strategies into my teaching style. The more I learned, the more passionate I became about the approach. In recent years its use has become more widespread in the United States and I was happy to discover that St. Louis has several schools that have embraced this approach.

     I have had the opportunity to visit one of these schools, and can only say that it is the school of my dreams. I would love to work there. I would love for my daughter to attend (it's Pre-k through 8th grade). I wish I would have been able to go there as a young student. Basically, I can't rave about it enough. The problem is that it is 45 minutes from my house and the tuition is way out of my budget ($12,000/ year for Pre-k). Since there is no way I will ever be able to afford that, and there are seldom any job openings, I have to settle for attending their free events and open houses.
     This past weekend, I took Baylee to their Winter Children's Festival. I wish I had more pictures so you could see how they use and adapt the environment in the classrooms to create a sense of wonder and a love of learning, but exploring with a 21 month old doesn't allow me to take many pictures. Here are just a few, and if you are curious about the approach, take some time to Google it or look it up on Pinterest.

Creating in the atelier. I especially like that children are taught how to properly use the materials. 

A collaborative sculpture done by the three year old class.

Playing in the housekeeping area. I love the use of the sheers to divide the areas without blocking your view.

They have a fabulous playground that allows the children to climb and explore.

21 months

Right now...

• You will not keep your clothes on! You wear pajamas to bed, but as soon as you get up, you take them off. As you walk through the house stripping, you say, "hot, hot". It drives your dad crazy.

• You are wearing panties all day- even during nap! You go through about 15 pair a day. Not because you have accidents, but because you changed your mind about which character you want to wear. You are so independent that you will go in your room, open your drawer, pull out a new pair, and change before I even realize what you are doing. (You have also decided that you don't need me to help you go potty. Whenever you go in the bathroom, you put your hand up to stop me from coming in, and you close the door. You are doing great with this concept. I, however, am not ready for you not to need me.)

• You call Santa Claus "San Tee."

• Your favorite bedtime snack is ice cream. Any time someone walks towards the refrigerator, you run into the kitchen yelling, "ahs-keem!"

• You still love to jump on the mini-trampoline. We are keeping it in the corner in the kitchen and you jump on it at least 20 times a day.

• You would watch Barney all day if I would let you, but I don't.

• You can't wait for your dad to get home each day. It's like you know when it is 4:30 and every time you hear a car door, you run to the front door looking for him and yelling his name. You love him so much and he is equally enamored with you.

• You wake up every morning at 7:30, nap from 1:30-3:30, and go to bed at 8:30. 

• Your hair is getting longer and thicker everyday, although you still won't keep anything in it. 

• You know your colors, a few letters, and can count to two. You are an expert at puzzles and love to draw with markers. You really want to cut, but don't quite have the strength to get the scissors to do what you want.

• I love your smile and your giggle and I feel so blessed to be your mom.

Maybe I shouldn't have let her lick the spoon. Every morning, we have breakfast together. She has oatmeal or pancakes most days while I just have a cup of coffee, heavy on the hazelnut cream. After I stir in the cream, I hand her the spoon and let her lick off the little puddle of coffee that is left behind. So, this morning when I asked her what she wanted to drink, she said "Coffee!" I handed her my spoon but she wasn't satisfied and leaned over to drink out of my mug. Now, before you freak out, I did not give her my coffee. Instead, I made her a nice little mug of hot chocolate (heavy on the milk, light on the chocolate) and gave her her own mug. Oh, and I called it coffee. Success! Really, I think she just wanted to drink out of the mug. She would have been happy with water.

Daddies & Diapers

I love a dad who changes diapers! Before I started my maternity leave, the ladies I work with were telling me stories of how hard it is to have a baby and that husbands don't really help much. Every afternoon I would hear tales of how their husbands would only hold their babies when they were quiet and the minute they started crying or had a dirty diaper, they would hand them back over to mom. Even if mom was cooking dinner. Or doing laundry. Or cooking dinner AND doing laundry at the same time. I kept telling them that no, my husband isn't like that. I was sure he would be a very hands on dad and would help as much as possible.

Although, I have to admit, they got to me.

Doubt started to creep in and I worried that I would have to do everything myself and I would fail miserably. It was a waste of time. Worrying, that is. Mike is a wonderful dad and helps more than I could have imagined. I could give you a list of the things he does to help (diapers, middle of night feedings, grocery shopping when I don't feel like it) but I think one word could sum it all up:  Initiative. That is what sets him apart from a lot of dads I've seen. He doesn't wait for me to ask him to do something, he just does it.
He is truly my partner in this baby crying, pooping, burping, cooing, phase of life.