A Day in the Life

5:30am Up and At 'Em. Breakfast with Daddy.
6am Mommy appears, heading directly for the coffee.
7am Fed, dressed, and headed to the park.
9am Library Time (Mon) or Fitness Center (Tues/Thurs) or Meet Caden (Wed) or Play with Toys at Garage Sales (Fri)
10am Home, Snack, Diaper, Morning Nap
11:30 Eat some yummy finger foods: Lunch
12 Call Friends. Everyone eating or sleeping. Watch Barney.
12:30 Swimsuit, sunscreen, floppy hat? Hit the pool! Wander back yard. Yell greetings to neighbors, dogs, and bugs.
3pm Afternoon nap.
4pm Wake up grumpy. Read with mom or dad.
5pm Help daddy with yardwork.
6pm Enjoy handfuls of lasagna or chicken and rice or hot dog: Dinner
6:30 Stroll to new neighborhood park. Play on big kid slides. Swing.
7:30 Bathtime, Night-Night.

What's missing? No more nursing. Not even before night-night. Mommy is both relieved and sad. Comforts herself with the anticipation of future nursing babes and reminds herself that Anne now has several teeth. (Ouch).

"I know what is so scary about those little people between the ages of one and four- they are raw and uncensored examples of our human nature. They are the urges, frustrations, desires and fears that all of us feel, but they have absolutely no veneer or civilization to make them more palatable to their fellow human beings. It's as if your most egotistical friend mated with your worst date in high school and their baby shared DNA with Evel Knievel. Maturity is really just a matter of learning clever ways to cover up the lively toddler in all of us. I still don't like to sit still in my chair, eat my vegetables, share my toys or wait my turn to do absolutely anything; I'm just a lot better now at pretending all those things come naturally to me. Being around toddlers is too much like reading Lord of the Flies- the more you know about them, the closer you feel to absolute anarchy."
Vicky Iovine, _The Girlfriends' Guide to Toddlers_

Hello, My Name is Annie

On our way inside the front door after a jaunt in the jogging stroller, Anne spotted Bon-Bon, our neighbor's dog. "Outside, OUTside!" she yelled, pointing her little finger towards the passing canine. We hurried down the sidewalk to say hello to Bon-Bon and Jessica, the little girl he dutifully trotted behind. Jessica's mom followed them, like a noonday parade. "How old is she?" Sarah asked me, referring to my wee one, who was completely enthralled with the panting, licking, nodding pooch. "She's 15 months," I answered. "And what is her name, again?" (They are new neighbors). Anne and I answered in unison, "Annie." I couldn't be certain that Anne had, in fact, indtroduced herself. She seems a little young to be doing that, and I didn't want to make a big deal in front of Sarah. So the next day, I casually asked Anne, out of the blue as she awoke for the day, "What is your name?" She grinned at me and patted her chest, chirping happily, "Annie!"

Anne has a lot to say these days, and her words are becoming more and more clear to us. I took her to Prairie Farm for the first time Friday afternoon. She recited all the animal noises to me as we prepared for our afternoon out: Cow says "moo," pig (snorts), sheep says "baa," horse says "neigh," duck says "quack." She is so smart! I know, all parents think this about their toddler! But I figure it's my job to think she is amazing, so I do it with pride and pleasure. Over dinner, I asked Anne, as I often do, "Tell Daddy what we did today, Anne." Her reply? "Ahhhh, MOO!" We then told him, together, what animals we had seen at the Prairie Farm.

What strikes me is that Anne says a lot, but she understands even more than she is able to articulate. While out for a walk last evening, as I pushed my curlie cutie in her stroller, I gushed to Charles, "I love being Anne's mommy!" And immediately, I hear smooching sounds from the little girl in the stroller. Love=kisses, and she is generous with the smooches. I may not receive a paycheck for the job I do day after day, but I am paid in full. She is a delight.