Carolyn

Sick Kiddo

Sarah Carolyn

My poor little munchkin has had a pretty high (102°-103°) fever since yesterday afternoon. The nurse at her pediatrician’s office agrees with my guess that it could be roseola, although we won’t know for sure until a couple days from now if she breaks out in a rash.

We’ve been watching TV all morning. Mostly because I was up half the night with her and we’re both exhausted. I have to find a way to keep her temperature under control a little better overnight tonight. The poor baby woke up hot and uncomfortable, a whole hour before I could give her more Motrin. As much as I hate being sick myself, I really hate having to watch Carrie being sick.

“Food Is Better”

Sarah Carolyn

Carrie wanted to play outside in the rain today. So I let her put on her rain boots and rain coat and play with her sand table on the deck while I kept an eye on her from the kitchen. (I really need rain boots and a coat for myself!) I wasn’t watching her every move, so imagine my surprise when she came up to the deck door crunching on something…

She decided to see what sand tastes like.

After I helped her rinse her mouth out, I asked her what she thought of the sand. She thought for a minute and said, “food is better!” and agreed that she wouldn’t try to eat sand again.

Oh, and while I was brushing her teeth extra well this evening to make sure there was no sand still hiding in there, I realized that her third two-year molar is in. Now we just have to wait for tooth number 20 and we’ll be done, done, done with the teething thing. That molar probably explains some of the recent lack of sleep!

My Little Bowler

Sarah Carolyn

I signed Carrie up for bumper bowling this spring, and today was the last day. After the game there was a party with donut holes and juice, and each kid got a trophy and a balloon.

What was Carrie’s favorite part of the eight weeks of bumper bowling? The balloon.

Thirty-One Months Old!

Sarah Monthly Updates

Dear Carolyn,

Guess what? You’re as old in months as I am in years. (Yes, that means I’m old.) Every day I realize that the toddler is disappearing a little and leaving a preschooler in her place. Some days you shock me with how big you’re getting, how helpful you are, what you can do by yourself, the words you know.

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I didn’t mention it last month, but you stopped nursing 10 days before you turned 2 and a half. I’m really happy that you stopped when you were ready – to be honest, I was ready too! Now one of these days we’re going to have to work on that binky habit. (Just promise me you’ll give it up before kindergarten?)

Mimi is still a regular fixture in our lives. Sometimes she goes away for a couple of days, but then she’ll suddenly be in the car needing to be buckled in, or be the one who’s splashing all the water out of the tub. And when you’re not playing with Mimi, you play with your dolls. I bought you trucks, balls, blocks…and guess what? You love your dolls best of all!

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Lately, you sing all the time. You make up songs about what you’re doing right at that moment, you sing songs from the Wiggles – if there isn’t music playing you make it up yourself. I think it’s funny now that I was (just slightly) worried that you’d be tone deaf since you only recited the words to songs. Not that you get the tunes quite right, but there’s plenty of time for you to learn that!

Next month’s big challenge will be potty training. We started this week, and you’ve had some successes, some accidents, and some surprisingly long dry stretches. (I’m starting to suspect you’re part camel.) As part of this process, we bought a package of Dora panties today. Oh, how it pained me to buy something character related to put on your body, but they were the ones you picked out for yourself. (Then again, the diapers you wear have characters all over them too, so I suppose it’s nothing your bottom hasn’t seen before.) You are so excited about having big girl panties to wear.

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So, my silly, funny, musical girl…another month gone, and you’re closer to three than two. There are days when I’d swear you’re two going on thirteen, but most of the time you really are a fabulous kiddo. It really is true: time flies when you’re having fun!

Love, Mommy

Zoe-oak

Sarah Carolyn

We went to a very fancy restaurant for dinner tonight. Considering how long the meal was, and the distinct lack of grilled cheese or mac & cheese on the menu – oh, and cups of milk with straws! – Carrie did fantastically. After the salads and before the entree, the waitress brought out small dishes of orange sorbet. Carrie pronounced it “DELICIOUS!!!” When we asked her what it was, she thought for a bit and said “zoe-oak”. I asked her what “zoe-oak” means, and she said “it’s the Spanish word of the day!”

Do you think she watches too much Sesame Street?

Bow to Your Bottom

Sarah Carolyn

Carrie loves Little Einsteins. But before her complete obsession with them, she would alternate between watching Blue’s Clues and The Wiggles. The Wiggles, while completely and utterly annoying to watch, have some great songs, and the concept – having children get up and dance and sing along as long as they’re going to be watching TV – is hard to argue with.

So lately, she’s been singing “Rock-A-Bye Your Bear”. Except, she hasn’t quite figured out the right lyrics. She sings:
Everybody clap (clap, clap, clap)
Everybody sing, la la la la la
Bow to your bottom* (at this point she bends way over, puts her hands on the floor and touches her head to the ground)
Then you turn around, yippee!
Hands in the air, rock-a-bye your bear,
Ant’s now asleep*, shh shh shh

Denis and I almost passed out from laughing last night, as she sang this over and over while we were trying to get her ready for bed. Most. Hysterical. Misheard lyrics. EVER.

* “Bow to your bottom” is supposed to be “bow to your partner“, and “ant’s now asleep” is supposed to be “bear’s now asleep” – for those of you who do not have a Wiggles-obsessed toddler in your life.

The “OK” Phase

Sarah Carolyn

I’ve never read about this anywhere, so I’m not sure if this is a normal thing or not, but just in the last couple of days, Carrie has become super agreeable and cooperative. I mean, she literally says “OK” to any request I make and then actually does it. And I’m talking about things that used to result in a big, emphatic “NO!” and a meltdown:

“Carrie, it’s time to go inside, we’ll garden some more later.” “Oh, OK. Let’s go inside!”
“We don’t have time to watch TV right now, we have to get ready to leave.” “OK Mommy, I need shoes!”
“Sorry sweetie, we have to eat dinner before you can have a cookie.” “Oh, OK! I eat dinner first!”

I’m starting to worry…

Two…and a half!

Sarah Monthly Updates

Dear Carolyn,

Today you are officially two and a half. We celebrated by going and getting our hair cut. Actually, I got my hair cut, and then you wanted a hair cut too, so we’re now sporting matching kicky summer styles. I’m a little sad, because your hair was finally getting long enough to braid, but now you actually look two and a half – strangers kept assuming you were much older between your hair and your height.


You are so excited that it’s spring. Every time anyone walks out of the house – to get the mail, take the dogs out, go to work, or anything else – you immediately drop what you’re doing, run to the foyer, start putting on your sandals and exclaim “I go out too because it’s spring!” I think you’re having a hard time understanding that sometimes when it’s spring you still need to wear a coat and socks! You’ve been having so much fun outside with your tricycle and your chalk that I can’t blame you for wanting to be out there as much as possible. We’ve also been planning what flowers to plant in our garden this spring – you’re sure you want purple – and I have a feeling gardening is going to be one of your new favorite activities. Maybe we’ll try planting a container garden of vegetables on the deck this year.
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Your imagination has really taken off this month. You have an imaginary friend, Mimi, and you have tea parties with your baby dolls. You love to pretend to be things, like an octopus or a puppy. The other day you wanted me to be Carolyn while you were Mommy. For some reason you didn’t want to fix me a snack, though…

This has also been a month of fine motor skills. You’re starting to hold crayons and pencils the “right” way – and you favor your right hand when you do, so it looks like you’re not going to be a lefty like me. You want to know how to write letters. I think you may learn how to write before you learn how to read! You’ve also discovered that you can form your fingers into the ASL numbers and letters – including the “ILY” sign for “I Love You”. It’s amazingly cute (and wonderful) to flash you the ILY sign and have you sign and say back “I love you too Mommy!”

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I figured out today that you’ve been here for more than 900 days. Even if I’ve only given you 11 kisses every day (and that’s a pretty low estimate, because you’re awfully kissable) I’ve already given you 10,000 kisses. Mwah!

Love, Mommy

First Imaginary Friend?

Sarah Firsts

This morning while Carrie and I were snuggling she mentioned “Mimi”. I asked her who Mimi was, and I discovered that Mimi is a 3 1/2 year old little girl with red hair who was sitting on the bookshelf. I asked Carrie to tell Mimi that 3 1/2 year old little girls should not sit on bookshelves and could she please climb down, and then asked her how she knew Mimi. She said that they have been friends for a long time. After Mimi got down off the bookshelf she declared that she was going to go eat at Wendy’s. Um, OK.

We’ll see if Mimi becomes a regular visitor or not.