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Day Two, No Nap

Actually, it's Day Four if you don't count the day MissMunchkin did take a nap between Day Two and Day Three.

MM seems to be trying out this whole no nap thing more and more often. Mommy is not sure she is ready for endless days without an hour break in it. One hour (more or less), of peace and quiet. One hour (more or less), of me time.

Alas, those days seem to be slipping away.

On the upside of it, MissMunchkin usually passes out by 8 o'clock when she skips nap time.

Water!

It rained Saturday during MissMunchkin's nap. I mean, it all out poured cats and dogs. When MissMunchkin woke up she wanted to go outside. (When does she not?) Mommy told her even though it had stopped raining, it was too wet to go out.


After much whining and having every shoe in the house brought to her, Mommy gave in.


So, outside we went.


Our sidewalks are like little rivers when it rains as the lawn seems to be 1/2 inch higher then the sidewalk pavement. MissMunchkin much enjoyed splashing through the river. Then venturing into the yard, she managed to find and sit in a nice puddle. There she sat, playing with the water flowing into a small pipe, signing water, splashing, and giggling.


All told, we spent an hour wandering through our flooded complex until Mommy finally dragged our soggy selves back home.

Potty Stops

Halfway home from a visit to Grandma's MissMunchkin woke up from her nap very grumpy. She had her pacifier and Miss Kitty but that didn't stop the screaming. Then Mommy asked if she had to go potty. Silence fell and a little hand made the potty sign.

MissMunchkin then waited (mostly) patiently until Daddy found a gas station to stop at and for Mommy to carry her inside. She did her business, settled back in her car seat and promptly went back to sleep.


One less wet diaper to wash!

Peek-a-Quack?

MissMunchkin loves to play peek-a-boo. She'll bring Mommy the dish towel she managed to snag from the counter and giggle as Mommy covers her head with it. Then she'll snatch it off and try to put it back on.

Today in the bathtub I caught MissMunchkin putting a washcloth over one of her ducks and then covering her own eyes with her hands. Then she'd take the cloth of the duck, say "quack, quack" (one of MissMunchkin's favorite words) and start all over again.

Peek-a-quack-quack!

Studying Signs

In case you've been wondering, MissMunchkin is still very engrossed in learning American Sign Language. She has created her very own course of study on the subject.


Upon rising in the morning, MissMunchkin pulls out her "Signing Time" board books, all three volumes. We have to carefully read each one together, at least once, if not several times. I wonder whether it's to make sure she hasn't forgotten them or to refresh me.


Through out the day we cycle through five dvd's:

• "Baby Signing Time Volume One"
• "Baby Signing Time Volume Two"
• "Signing Time: Volume 1, My First Signs"
• "Signing Time: Volume 2, Playtime Signs"
• "Signing Time: Volume 3, Everyday Signs"

If I'm lucky we may turn them off for up to an hour at a time.

The five dvd's cover 90 signs. MissMunchkin knows all but 12 (diaper, horse, boat, blanket, friend, hungry, bread, full, day, happy, sad, and boy.) Many of those she either has another sign that works just as well for the idea (ie: all done/finished instead of full), she has no use for the sign (ie: why learn blanket, she hates them), or has no understanding of the word at all (ie: friend).

Wow, I didn't realize how many signs we have learned till I sat here and counted them. No wonder we have to review them all everyday!

MissMunchkin is getting bored and ready for the next challenge now. The dvd's are not so engrossing anymore. She knows them by heart; I've caught her moving on to the next sign or song before the kids on the tv do.

There's a rumor there are new ones on the way... Let's hope it's soon!

"It's Hot"

It is incredibly hot, in fact. I don't think it has gotten below 80 degrees at night all week. And in the day? Into the triple digits. Much, much too hot for me. So, MissMunchkin hasn't gotten to go get the mail or even go to the pool. It's too hot to swim even!

Strangely, now that I think about it, she hasn't been complaining about not going outside. Usually after a day or two I start getting shoes brought to me and chants of "siii, sii, sii!!" Which I take as her attempts to say 'outside.' I haven't heard that all week. Maybe even MissMunchkin has realized it's too hot out. That'd be a first!

Actually this post was to have nothing to do with the temperature outside but rather MissMunchkin's new favorite phrase: "It's hot."

I suppose it's my fault really. When I give her dinner I usually tell her the main dish is hot and to be careful. (Mind you it's never anything that's incredibly hot, just hotter than the room temperature fruit she's shoving in spoon over fist.)

Now whatever I give her that's not straight out of the fridge is "hot."

"I's 'ot" is more what it sounds like.

It's been sitting in front of her for ten minutes with her playing with it and she looks at me to say for the twentieth time:

"I's 'ot."

It'd be infuriating if it wasn't so damn adorable.

Miss Munchkin's Indoor Pool

MissMunchkin's biggest complaint about the heat is that Mommy is refusing to even go to the pool. This is a favorite activity for MissMunchkin. She is getting over her hesitation (for better or worse is yet to be seen) and is learning to hold her breath, kick, and splash (under Mommy and Daddy's watchful eye.)


After a few tantrums and trying to get to her swim suit in all manner of ways she seemed to have given up on the concept. Or so I thought.

MissMunchkin has discovered she has her very own personal indoor pool and it is just her size! How cool is that? Here Mommy and Daddy just thought it was a bathtub. Silly, silly them.

In MissMunchkin's pool she can hold herself up with her hands and kick to her hearts delight. She can splash and splash. Who cares that it gets water all over the bathroom? Mommy wanted to mop anyway. Didn't she?

Oh, what will she come up with next?

My Little House Elf

Mommy started using FlyLady this week; trying to get some order to the house. Not that it's bad here, just more clutter then is needed. Or rather, more temptation then is needed for MissMunchkin to get into.

Now MissMunchkin not being like any other "normal" child, likes to clean. Here's some of her favorite things to do:

- scrub the walls while taking a bath/shower
- find a cloth and wipe down table, walls, Mommy, floors, MissMunchkin, Mommy again...
- throw Lego's in the Lego bucket
- throw anything in a bucket
- wipe the counter while Mommy washes dishes
- throw dirty clothes in the hamper
- throw dirty clothes in the washer (this was a great new thing this morning!)
- hand Mommy clean clothes to fold
- direct Mommy where the clean, folded clothes go (with much pointing of the fingers)

Oh, and I almost forgot.

MissMunchkin's favorite thing is... Vacuuming! If only it wasn't bigger then her!

I'm still looking for those pointy ears to start showing any day now.

Kitty On The Wall

I finally found my calenders! Nearly two months after our move, but hey I found them! One of them was still plastic wrapped even. It was bigger and filled the blank space on the wall better so I broke it open.

MissMunchkin sees it and comes running over, signing "kitty, kitty, kitty" while making her meow sound.

Yep, it's a calendar full of kitties! Cute napping kittens at that.

The rest of the day whenever we talk or read about cats she has run over to show me there is a kitty on the wall.

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!)

--------------------

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.

---------------------------

"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...