Category Archives: toddler

The Little Things

It was a very busy and slightly crazy weekend, both personally and the world in general. There was no missing the news this weekend and how horrible it was. I admit, it starts to make me wonder what kind of world we’ve brought two children into. I admit I often avoid the news because it’s either all very trivial celebrity gossip or it’s just very awful. Both make me shake my head, just for very different reasons. Honestly, I’m not even sure what to say when it comes to the state of the world we live in. It makes me sad that there has to be so much hate and violence, though. I’ll never understand it. So, this weekend I focused on my family. We celebrated the 2 years that Phoebe has been with us and then on Sunday we went and bought her a big girl bed. These pictures aren’t from this weekend, but from a few weeks ago when they helped me make a pie.

As you can see, Phoebe was also due for another trim, but she’d rather have her hair in her eyes then let me trim it for her… which I guess I can’t say that I blame her for that. I’m not a hair stylist for a reason. Anyhoo, it’s always hit or miss with the kids in the kitchen. Some days they’re thrilled to help out, and others not so much, so when Enzo asked if he could help, I couldn’t refuse and he pulled his chair up to the counter. Phoebe is never one to be left out and pulled a chair over as well. Thankfully, Key Lime pie is pretty easy to make and what’s not to love about crushing up graham crackers?

I’m sure Phoebe would argue that sneaking bits is probably the best part, but Enzo was far too intent on getting the right amount so we could do the actual fun part, which is when you get to push the button. I love how excited they get at the thought of just pushing a button to make something happen. I often forget about taking joy in the little things, but the kids have been helping me remember that it’s often in the little things that we find the most joy. Whether it be coloring in a coloring book or sipping hot cocoa and watching it storm or putting flannel sheets on the bed when the weather gets cool… it doesn’t have to be much.

While we were at Target yesterday with the kids, a woman actually walked over to me and smiled and said, “I just wanted to tell you how adorable your family is. It made my day to see you all.” So often I feel like we’re a chaotic mess and it was such a huge thing what she said. Usually I try to keep the kids corralled, but we didn’t today and while it may irritate some people that our kids are giggling and having a great time looking at everything, there are people who also find joy in seeing two very happy kids shopping with their parents and having a grand time. It may have even been her words that kept me from getting frustrated with them when the didn’t want to listen and Enzo kept removing things from shelves and Phoebe would suddenly run down an aisle out of the blue. Granted, having a parent for each of them helps, but this stranger’s words also helped me take a step back and just watch them from someone else’s point of view. I could either get irritated like some people, or I could smile and laugh like so many others watching them interact with each other and everyone and everything around them. I chose the latter. I think we all just need to slow down a bit and learn to smile more.

2 Years

I think I can easily that the past two years have gone by more quickly than any previous years. Enzo was our parenting test dummy, so we felt pretty confident when Phoebe came along. It’s true what they say, you become much more relaxed with your second and it also helps that she has always been a fairly mellow gal. There is so much to say about this girl of ours that we all love so much.

She has a great sense of humor, even if it is a fairly naughty one.

She is loving and a great cuddler.

She is very independent and as is fairly typical of this age, we hear a lot of, “I do it!”

She loves music and singing and dancing.

Her favorite songs to sing are the Alphabet Song and Bah Bah Black Sheep.

She loves reading. Right now she enjoys reading to me more than she enjoys listening.

She loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Paw Patrol.

Her favorite colors are pink and purple.

She loves poofy skirts and shoes (especially new ones).

She is very active and is a bit of a daredevil.

Her favorite movie right now is Inside Out.

She loves chocolate milk and pancakes.

She’s so smart and her teachers have commented on her vocabulary and what a quick learner she is.

She likes to paint and color.

She has an eyebrow raising sassy side that is also somehow endearing.

She loves her big brother, but also knows just what buttons to push and enjoys it a bit too much.

While independent, she is also very much a mama’s girl and there are days where no one except mama will do.

She’s a warm weather gal, and winter is not her favorite.

Phoebe has definitely been a shining light in our household full of mixed personalities. We can usually count on her goofy grin and silly antics to make us laugh. She and Enzo are such a great duo and I hope their good relationship continues. The two of them have us in stitches at times and I can only imagine what the next year will bring. Happy 2^nd, Phoebe! You are now officially much more expensive to take on flights. 😉

Girl Time

We try to do things separately with the kids now and then so they each get their one on one time with us. Sometimes it’s planned, and sometimes someone gets cranky and misbehaves big time and rather than completely throwing all plans out the window, one of us just takes whichever munchkin is still ready to go. This happened a few weekends ago when Enzo was just having a rough day, so Phoebe and I went to a local orchard.

I took some photos with my cell phone of our little jaunt and it was a surprisingly nice day out. It got a little chilly as the sun started going down, but we made the most of no jackets for as long as possible. First we checked out some horses and then we wandered around and found a little play area.

It wasn’t overly busy, which was nice, and there was another little girl who was probably around 3 or 4 and was playing with Phoebe on the slides. She kind of wanted to boss Phoebe around a bit, but Phoebe would just kind of look at her like, “Who are you?” and turn around and do her own thing. I can’t tell you how many times she went down the slide… not the twisty one, the other one. She’s still on the fence about the twisty one.

The Luce Line Orchard was also the spot of a local tornado touchdown over the summer, and was a little close for comfort to our house. The Orchard is about 2 minutes away from our house and due to where it’s located, even closer than that. Granted, it wasn’t a big tornado, but it was still crazy to see the damage the winds caused and where it touched down.

Next time I’ll have to see about taking Enzo out with me. He’s usually a really good shopper and after he did so well at the movie theater, we’ll have to see about either his Dad or I taking him to see another one. Phoebe didn’t completely last for her first movie, she came close, but towards the end she got squirmy and wanted to run, so I had to take her out for a bit.

Now that the weather is changing we’ll have fewer outings, but I’m adamant that we go sledding this year! The kids are all about hot cocoa, and you can’t have sledding without hot cocoa. 😉

Threenager

I had one of those random moments today where I looked at Enzo and he seemed so much older than his 3.5 years. My little boy did not seem so little, and a tiny part of me was reminded that someday he won’t really need me. Okay, he’ll always “need” me on some level, but he won’t depend on me as much as he does now, and I had a glimpse of what this would be like this morning at the dentist. Don’t get me wrong – it was incredibly helpful that I didn’t have to bounce back and forth between both kiddos since Phoebe had to be convinced to allow the hygienist to clean her teeth. Still, though… one minute they’re dependent on you for everything and then they start to say, “I do it!” and then they are actually doing it without any assistance whatsoever.

I was really impressed with Enzo this morning as he hopped up on the table/chair/whatever and just casually started chatting and not once was he uncertain or did he need me. I was so focused on trying to help with Phoebe that I suddenly realized I hadn’t checked on Enzo and he was just totally relaxed, watching TV while his teeth were cleaned. This of course helped a lot when it came to Phoebe as she could watch him and she always wants to do what Enzo is doing. (We ended up getting her some undies after this day in the photos when she insisted on wearing two pairs of Enzo’s underwear over her diaper. She’s a tad indecisive at times… not sure where she gets that from). 😉

On the downside, Phoebe also likes to mimic Enzo and his particular brand of preschooler cursing, so that’s fun (“No Poo Poo/Boo Boo/Bee Bee!” etc in the whiniest voice ever). I also take no responsibility whatsoever for his new favorite exclamation “What the heck?!” He’s also quite fond of Donald Duck’s signature phrase “Ah, phooey!” which is admittedly more child-friendly. I’m really just more impressed that he uses these phrases at the appropriate times… so there’s that. Now I’m curious as to what other sayings/phrases/words I overuse and which they’ll decide to point out.

In any case, they’re getting too big too fast, are sassy and are also cavity free. We do, however, have to begin Operation Take Back the Nuk with Miss Phoebe as her teeth are becoming affected. If you should hear something in the distance that sounds a little like someone’s heart being ripped out, fear not! It’s probably just the soul-wrenching cry of our toddler being forced to walk around without her beloved nuk.

23 Months

Well, just a month to go until our gal turns 2. She might as well be already considering how much older she seems lately, and changed. In just a month certain skills have improved vastly, she’s gained new words and in general she is just more and more… Phoebe.

Our sassy little spitfire can be quite a handful at times, but I wouldn’t trade her for the world. She has mastered the pout with slightly turned down face and eyes looking upward and can also shriek her opinion loud enough for neighbors to hear. She also has an infectious grin and mischievous sense of humor that are hard not to love. Being the big girl that she is, she has been even more adamant lately that she do everything by herself, which is pretty cute, especially when she says, “I do it!” I remember Enzo saying the exact same thing. Thankfully, though, I can still count on her to always demand that I carry her to the living room in the morning, so she still acknowledges that she needs me for something.

I still remember when we found out we were having a girl and I was so uncertain about it. I shouldn’t have been concerned at all. Phoebe is such a fun mixture of girly-girl and tomboy. She loves all things and purple and loves her pony tails (which I fail at miserably), but she is also a big fan of cars and trucks and while she may not enjoy getting her hands dirty she is a wild woman who climbs, jumps and has not trouble keeping up with her big brother. She still loves to sing and dance and lately she wants to do “Ring-a-Rosie” all the time.

All too soon I’m going to stop hearing her say, “Hold you?” and it shall be a sad day indeed. Someone tell this girl to slow down and not grow up so fast. I can’t take how fast this time is going by!!

Dino and Bunnies

Every day adventures