17 Things About My 17 Month Old*

1. She is the biggest snuggle bug in the WORLD!!! Kate is totally happy sitting on my lap for a hour, playing, reading...whatever she can. She loves to be held, hugged, kissed, and rocked. She will snuggle all day long if I let her, and on good days I do.

2. She prefers everyone (Jeff, Hannah and me) to be together all the time. If Hannah or I leave the room she follows and says, "Ka mama (Nah-nah)!" And when Jeff leaves she cries.
3. She likes being home or in familiar settings.

4. She has a circle of trust and will only let certain people hold her. If a person picks her up and they are not in her circle of trust have mercy!!

5. She does not like church nursery. When Hannah heard that it was church day on Sunday she said very sympathetically, "Oh dear! My sista no wike church. She gonna cwy and cwy and cwy. What we gonna do?" Exactly Hannah. What we gonna do?

6. She loves her crocs and will not tolerate any other shoe. When I put other shoes on her feet she sits and says, "No, no, no" over and over pulling at her shoes until I take them off. If I take her out in other shoes she will just sit and sit. Is it a battle to fight? Not any more.

7. She can put her laundry away.

8. She has an intense sweet tooth. After eating a meal she will say "All da. Twt peez." (All done. Treat please.) And she knows the difference between treat and fruit, so don't try to pull a fast one on her!

9. She can play independently for about 20 minutes, which amazes me!!

10. She loves her doll, purse, sun glasses and sweater and wants to take all of those items, regardless of weather or where we are headed, every time we leave the house.
11 She is a talker at home, and quiet when we are out. Very quiet. Until I leave her in the nursery, and then, oh wait, that was #5.

12. She cries a lot. She will barely hit her hand, trip or bump her head and she turns red in the face, takes a huge deep breath in (as if winding up) and then lets loose.

13. She can gain control when I say, "1, 2, 3 all done crying." It's like a switch that goes on, and then goes off. Again, like her mama: all or nothing.

14. She has the greatest curls. I hope she keeps these curl because they are beautiful.

15. She has the most infectious belly laugh ever, and will laugh at the slightest "BOO" or tickle. When I had the flu only one thing got me out of bed: Kate was cracking up in the bath tub and I had to see what was making her laugh so hard. Her laugh would get the sickest person out of bed. It's just that good.

16. She loves self-care: hair combing, teeth brushing (of which she now has 10), teeth flossing, lotion, nail clipping, baths . . . this girl loves being pampered.
17. She is Kate. A constantly growing, changing, learning, adapting, breaking, fixing, laughing, crying, eating, sleeping, snuggling, playing, reading, listening, ignoring, climbing, sliding, yelling, quite perfect little toddler. She is an amazing girl and beautiful in every sense of the word.

*I accidently posted last month that Kate was 17 months, but she was really 16 months. This is also a day late

It's Over

Our search for a place to buy is over.* FREEDOM!!!

This past year has had many ups and downs while search for a new place, and it has made settling into life here slower. Should we try a new church? Let's wait until we are settled. Should we buy some shelves and a couch to make life easier in our apartment? Let's wait until we are settled.
We looked at many places and made about a dozen offers. We either were outbid or people accepted cash offers. We finally figured out how to create an all cash offer and were told that our Realtor (who is a wonderful person and is great at her job) is taking a different job and can no longer help us in our house hunt. So, do we find a new Realtor and start over? No.


So, after much debating and soul searching Jeff and I have decided to find a place that would feel more like a home and rent for the remainder of his post doc.

As we sat together looking at properties to rent both he and I began to get excited. It feels like we have made a good decision, and a right decision. We may stay here in our apartment longer and we may move but the house search is over and we feel great peace about that.


*All this is in flux, so I may post in two, three, six months that we actually bought a place. No commitment here.

The blind leading the blind

Prayers

Hannah is praying every night before bed. She loves to pray and seems to have a list of people and things that she is thankful for. Her simple prayers are so genuine and reflect an innocence: she doesn't worry about tomorrow because she has enough for today. Or maybe it's because she doesn't understand what "tomorrow" means, but either way, she is an encouragement to trust God more and be thankful for all the people and ways in my life that God has provided.

A Life Lived Well

A year ago my grandmother, Nana, passed away from a very aggressive form of pancreatic cancer. This weekend I went to Fresno, CA, where my Nana lived and rests, to visit with family and remember her life. There were tears and laughter as we shared stories. It was a celebration of her life, and a gathering together to mourn our loss.

I can honestly say that Nana loved the Lord with all her heart, soul and mind and that she loved her neighbors as herself, and her family more than herself. This weekend was a wonderful celebration of a life lived well.

M.O.P.'s

Mothers of Preschoolers. I have been living in San Diego for almost a full year now.

The Poop Factor

I have been debating about blogging two recent stories because they involve a lot of poop, but I think it's time to debunk the idea that my life is actually easier now that both girls are potty trained, because potty trained or not, my life still involves a lot of poop clean up.

Story 1: Kate
During Kate's third week of potty training I began taking her to public places without a pull-up. Our Mommy and Me class was the day after her 15 mth vaccinations, and I was taking her often to the bathroom because she usually has an unpleasant side effect from her shots (hopefully you all are following me). After the class I loaded the girls in the stroller and because the walk to our car when Kate began a scream-cry for no apparent reason. We were passing a bathroom so I thought it may be time for THE bathroom break. I put the toilet seat protector down, picked her up and began to pull her pants down when BOOM...projectile poop everywhere...on me, my pants, her, her pants, the toilet, the floor, her shoes, my shoes...EVERYWHERE!!! Hannah started to freak out in the stroller screaming, "Kate stinky I no wanna sit wif her." Kate crying, Hannah trying to get out and poop everywhere. As a mom, it was one of my finest moments because I did not puke in the midst of it all. Lesson learned: do not leave the house the day after Kate's shots. Ever.

Story 2: Hannah
Hannah has taken to shutting the door to the bathroom for "pri-fussy." She usually does her business before nap, so this particular bathroom visit can be long. This one happened to be especially long and Kate was beginning to lay on the ground, practically begging me to let her fall asleep. I opened the door to the bathroom and there is Hannah, naked with the toilet bowl brush trying to "clean her poop" as she later explained to me. There was speckled brush stokes of poop everywhere and poopy toilet water all over the floor!! Suffice to say I lost my temper, put both girls in bed, cleaned the bathroom and took a nap myself. Lesson learned: Don't let a curious toddler shut doors.

So, for my friends embarking on or thinking about potty training, or people who think that potty trained kids are a breeze, keep in mind that there will still be times when you have to clean poop off toilets, floors, kids and other places you would never imagine poop might be.

And for those of you who are about to have a baby and are dreading the poop factor, here are some highlights that will make all the poop in the world worth it: