The Art Of Teeth Brushing

MissMunchkin now has a mouth full of teeth and while she still has a few more to go it has been decided to begin brushing her teeth. I had been debating about it with dread; cutting her fingernails in more than enough adventure for me. However, after Daddy made a comment about it taking him almost twenty years to get in the habit himself, I figured we'd might as well get started.

Now envision a screaming, crying, tantrum throwing MissMunchkin.

Did Mommy brush too hard or poke her in the eye?

Nope.

Toothpaste taste icky?

Nope, try again.

All Mommy did was take the toothbrush away after ten minutes of watching MissMunchkin brush and brush... and brush!

Did I mention she's excited because she got her very own new bottles of shampoo and body wash?

Mommy's Owie

One of my favorite quotes is:

"One of the most unexpected things, so far, about parenting a toddler is how often I have to check whether my nose is broken."

Posted on Dairy of a Playground Drop-out

It made my laugh when I first read it. I was not laughing yesterday.

I thought MissMunchkin was asleep. (Yay! Naptime! Mommy might get something done..)

Couple more minutes and I could safely sneak out of the room.

Now, putting MissMunchkin down for a nap involves pretending you yourself are asleep. So, naturally my eyes were closed. I couldn't see it coming. I didn't stand one cotton-pickin' chance.

MissMunchkin headbutted Mommy right between the eyes. So hard MissMunchkin whimpered, which is rare as she seemed to be hard-headed.

Very hard-headed.

Mommy almost blacked-out hard.

And of course that was the end of naptime. MissMunchkin was now ready to play.

Mommy took a pain killer, iced her forehead until MissMunchkin ran off with the ice pack...

Two hours later I began to get dizzy and the nausea set in. I consider no small miracle that MissMunchkin played by herself quietly for over an hour while Mommy laid on the couch and then took a three hour nap with her.

Maybe she I thought I was really asleep? Wonder if that would work again? Of course nothing gets done that way...

Oh, and I feel fine today. Or as fine as a sleep deprived mother of a very busy 16 month old toddler....

Making Daddy Happy

MissMunchkin said her first word last weekend at Grandma's.

What is it?

"Car."

Daddy finally got to hear last night to his delight. He couldn't be more proud.

Of course she'd only say it once for him. lol

MissMunchkin's Bear Hunt

Are there bears in south Georgia? MissMunchkin wants to know.

Bright and early this morning...

Okay, so it was 11am, and Mommy had had a shower and breakfast. Bright eyed and bushy tailed? Not so much.

MissMunchkin is in full gear however with all three of her new signing books out. We can learn signs from books too!

Now, MissMunchkin was signing 'bear' two days ago. Today she looks at me blankly when I point to the bear in the book and make the sign. There's nothing like hands-on learning and if it's one thing Mommy has plenty of it's teddy bears. So...

One pile of various size teddy bears later, MissMunchkin is proudly signing 'bear'.

Can we find more bears? Yep, sure can! She pulls out every book on her bookshelf and Mommy points out every bear. MissMunchkin signs 'bear,' 'bear,' bear,' 'dog.' Yep, there's a dog too. Then we pick out all the other animals in her books. (Mommy does not know enough signs!)

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Hours and various activities later MissMunchkin has dragged Mommy outside in the near 100 degree heat! Armed with ball and water bottle we are exploring the world. Or rather MissMunchkin is while Mommy's trying to figure out how to stay in the shade. Do you know how little shade there is at 2 in the afternoon??

Down the sidewalk and across the driveway.

Bounce the ball in the volleyball court, stop to play in the sand.

Throw the ball in grass, run through the grass and kick the ball.

Sit by the tree to drink our water.

Leave Mommy, water, and ball and run off...

Into the hole, out of the hole, around the tree and back into the hole!

Off again, onto the gulf cart. Oops, nope, Mommy is looking.

Around the building instead.

Now, toward the road. Darn, Mommy got us again!

MissMunchkin where are you going?

No answer, just into the ditch toward the drain pipe.

We go to the other side of the road and MissMunchkin heads toward that drain pipe.

I finally get her to stop and ask her where she is going? What is she looking for?

"Bear," signs MissMunchkin.

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"We're going on a bear hunt!
We're gonna catch a big one!
I'm not afraid!
Are you?
Not me!"

Signing Times

After a very long weekend for Mommy, MissMunchkin's "Baby Signing Time" Marathon has ended. Well, maybe not quite ended but slowed significantly.

Yesterday we were finally allowed to watch something else or turn the tv off for a while.

Then the signing started.

MissMunchkin now has a blossoming signing vocabulary. And often those signs are accompanied with sound. Not quite words but getting there!

MissMunchkin now signs ball, bear cracker (teddy grahams), car, eat, potty (mostly after the fact...,) and best of all Grandma!

How she figured out Grandma and not Mom is beyond me since they are almost the same sign. But that is neither here nor there I suppose.

Grandma sent new "Signing Time" dvd's and books for episodes 1-3. The dvd's are not as captivating as the baby volumes but they have lots of new signs. The books on the other hand... Oh, MissMunchkin loves those books!

Now, see, MissMunchkin started signing this sign last night and I couldn't figure it out. She was a bit upset with me but she moved on. (We were teething yesterday, MissMunchkin was a bit upset about everything.)

Then today FedEx shows up with these books. (Sidenote: How many doors do you think knock back when FedEx knocks on them? MissMunchkin's does!)

I show her the books and she carries them off. I swear it's not two minutes later she's back with them. Okay, Mommy read to MissMunchkin. Happens regularly.

Nope, no read. She wants to show me the page with "grandma" and "grandpa" on it. Okay, yep, neat.

Then she starts making this sign, complete with "Gaa, gaa". (You really have to hear it... sorry.)

One plus one equal two Mom.

The rest of the afternoon I get "grandma", "car", knocking on the door, "grandma". Oh, then she's starts crawling in her high chair. It sits next to the light switch when it's not meal time. MissMunchkin likes to play with the lights. Not today. Today she's trying to buckle herself in. Which with some (but not very much) help from Mommy we accomplish. Then she signs car.

If it's not one thing with MissMunchkin it's another.

"Put your fingertips together..."

"For more, more, more!!"

This what I find myself singing 24/7 now. Even in my sleep!

MissMunchkin has discovered her first favorite dvd: "Baby Signing Time."

"Signing Time" is a program started by a mother after discovering her toddler was deaf. Learning is sign lets toddlers communicate easier before they can talk (and after!) As opposed to the screaming tantrum because of a need or want compounded by the frustration of not being able to communicate it.

We got the two "Baby Signing Time" volumes about a month ago. I've played at least one a day, signed and sang along with them. They're kinda cute and easy to learn. MissMunchkin would dance some and maybe watch them (if she was sitting to eat.)

That was until a couple days ago, something changed. Now what it was and why it happened I have no clue. But something clicked is MissMunchkin's head.

We've gone from mild curiousity to complete and total obsession. Mommy can't watch anything on tv without being pushed, tugged and having dvd cases shoved at her.

Yesterday we had our first signs: cracker and owie. I had a granola bar which we alway share. This time MissMunchkin refused and made her sign for cracker. So I gave her a cracker, which her happily ate signing cracker inbetween bites!

Later she banged her head on the table. (She just can't seem to remember she taller then the table now.) Almidst the sniffles she signed "owie" or "hurt!"

"Cool", me thinks!

9am this morning. Saturday cartoons are unacceptable. MissMunchkin wants her dvd. Then she sits on the floor and watched it twice.

That's right. MissMunchkin sat on the floor for an entire hour, quietly.

Then she brings me the next case and points at the tv. Great, she's learned they have different cases!

This was all very neat this morning. It is now 12 hours later and except for naptime and while she was in the bathtub we have been watching "Baby Signing Time."

Help.

Someone?

"Today will soon be over... and tomorrow will arrive..." Time to change dvds again...