Callie's visit

Callie came over last week so her mom, Bonnie, could get her beautiful curly hair trimmed. Callie was an angel.

Magdelyn, well, she was good while they watched a video after which she 'struggled' with sharing.

Magdelyn might be 1 of the 2 children in the world to not have taken a shining "Sophie the Giraffe". But Callie liked it, and all of a sudden, Magdelyn just had to snuggle it.

Callie downed as many Baby Mum Mums as I would give her. Baby Mum Mums. Long before I ever had kids, Jen Janzen had Everet. Everet introduced me to Baby Mum Mums. I watched him one day while Jen was in a wedding and he ran around chowing down these weird rice crackers and it was just so cute I imagined having my own mum mum eating baby one day. Really. I it crossed my mind. I'd see mum mums in the grocery store and think "oh, one day..."

Magdelyn, of course, has refused to eat Baby Mum Mums. UNTIL Callie liked them! Here's how it went:

Okay, this can't be so bad.

Oh, actually it makes me want to puke.

No thanks, I changed my mind.

Very Helpful

I've learned that if I include her in tasks she actually participates in a non-destructive way. So, I let her help me load the washer and then she's allowed to press the 'on' button (ONCE!)


Daddy didn't let her press the button and this affable scene ended with her running to me in tears saying "Daddy, No!" (Interpretation: Daddy SAID no).

She's a tattletale.

So fast.

Her vocabulary is one of her strong suits, but today was one of those days where I just shook my head. Wasn't she just born? How can she be talking to me?

She ran around the house tonight with her stuffed puppies saying "I run with dogs!"

Today Kris and Lisa came over with 4mo old Micah in a carseat, she ran to greet them, pointed at the seat and said "Baby in there!"

In the last week or so she started telling me "I got poopies."

I regularly hear "I want momma" or even "I need momma." "I need it" in general is one of her favorite phrases, along with "go outside", "rocking chair" and "I sit here" (in reference to couch, window seat, stairwell, highchair, rocking chair etc.)

In amongst all the things that I can understand (and it's garbled for sure, but if you know Magdelyn talk you can clearly catch it) is an almost unending stream of gibberish. The other day she found a (closed) nail polish bottle and I watched as she gently held her foot and touched the bottle to her toes. WHAT? When has she ever seen that? Honestly, it's creepy how spongy kids are.

She's 18months old tomorrow. Happy half birthday baby girl.

She just had to

Try on my t-shirt this morning.

Terrifying Developmental Milestones

1. She figured out that she can open any door in the house. This includes: the pantry door, the bathroom door, the door leading to the basement ...

Let me lay out the problem here: I have a glass shower. In the mornings I bring her toys to the bathroom, shut the door and hop in the shower. She ignores her toys completely and empties out my cupboards. It's fine. She safely plays with my tampons and I get my hair washed while I keeping an eye on her. Today, I shut the door and she opened it. I shut it again, and she opened it again. I jammed it with a towel and she screamed while I got myself undressed. She was eventually distracted by the tampons, and we were good.

At the end of the shower she watched me carefully as I unjammed the towel from under the door and opened it. I've got maybe 2 showers before she figures that out. Frick.

2. Remembering to close the toilet lid was previously a sufficient deterrent from random things being tossed into it. Yesterday she figured out that she can lift the lid herself. She quickly threw her plush ball into the bowl while she saw me coming (I love the swift hand pull back of a toddler who knows their in the wrong). Aside from toilet locks, and I give up on the application of locks, I'll just have to teach her that this is not allowed.

I've learned that it takes about 3 firm and consistent NO'S for her to learn a boundary. I suspect at least 2 more things will be sacrificed to the toilet bowl while this lesson is learned. I'm praying it's not our remote control or portable phone (one of which has already been sacrificed to the cup of water on my nightstand).

3. And finally; she got up onto the couch on her own this morning. We've hit the climbing (and falling) stage with full force.

It's an olympic ticket

But I'm pretty sure she thinks it's a medal.

A First

Mall rides.

They used to come in the form of 2 horses galloping in rhythm near the exit of Zellers, and my parents always coughed up the quarter it took to make them buck. Now it's a car and an under the sea merry-go-round, and they cost a loonie. The effect, exactly the same. Spencer and Ryder hung out with us last Friday afternoon and after waiting patiently for Magdelyn to wake up from her nearly 4 hour nap, we ran a few errands together. Errands, interspersed with mall rides.

My aunt M.E. is one of the busiest people I know. She worked full time and raised two great kids and I asked her once how it'd all gotten done. She said "we made every errand an outing. Even grocery shopping can be fun." Grocery shopping with my aunt ME was fun. I went with her once, and remember it vividly 25 years later. She broke open a box of cookies and in the next aisle gave us a juice box to rinse down the crumbs. I wondered out loud if we were stealing, and she assured me that as long as we kept the wrappers and paid on the way out it was fine. It was more then fine, it was an experience.

I think that a mall ride here or there are a great way to turn an errands into an Aunt ME inspired outing. And honestly ... I'd pay a lot more then a loonie to see that smile.

Next in the series of silly outfits:

This is her newest favorite.


She roots through the bib drawer to find THIS one, attempts to get it on herself and in frustration finally brings it to me, then wears it around the house for hours at a time. Repeat daily. I suspect my future will be full of interesting negotations regarding what she's allowed to wear out of the house.

Opinions. She. is. full. of. them.