Love Letter: Month 14

04-Apr-2010 15:30

 

Okay, okay…I know this now over a week late. I swear I’ve been trying to get it done, it’s been on my to do list since before the 18th.

So Brynn, it’s been busy around here recently.  I’m sorry to say that none of it has to do with Mommy starting a new job because that never did materialize.  It’s a long story and this post is about you so I won’t go into it.  One thing that didn’t happen this month was you heading to daycare.

I think that the biggest change I’ve seen in you this month has been your speech.  You are actually starting to say words and we can understand them.  When I walk in your room in the morning you always great me with a very loud “HI!” and a smile just as big to go with it.  I love starting the day this way!  Then when we go into Rylee’s room or she comes into your room you greet her the same way.

You are still not saying ‘no’ very often, but there is never a doubt if you don’t want something.  You shake your head ‘no’ with such purpose that it makes me laugh almost every time you do it.  I can’t wait to hear you say ‘no’ just as forcefully as you shake your head.

25-Mar-2010 11:42

 

You love eating bananas and now you have started to say “nana” when I get one for you or ask you if you want one.  You also like to say “num-num” if you like what you’re eating.

With you, it’s all about the food.  You have started to walk up to the pantry and try to pull it open when you want a snack.  You will even do this five minutes after you’ve finished a meal.  If I ask you if you want fishies or Cocopop you go running to the pantry to get it.

When we eat you’ve also started pointing to the things you want and making noises to let us know that you need more _____.  Oh, and you also sign ‘more’ very well and you even speak it quite clearly.

The best part about the past month is that you’ve started to say “Dada” and “Dad”.  I think your father is happy to no longer be called “mom”.  You say DAD just as loudly as you say MOM.  But not nearly as often.  The reason for that is because ‘mom’ is your word for many things.  If you want to tell someone about something you just keep saying MOM and pointing to whatever it is you’re talking about.

You had a lot of fun on Easter this year.  You really thought that gathering eggs at Bobbi & Papa’s house was a lot of fun.  When you were done gathering them you kept looking in the bag to make sure they were still there.  I think that next year you might give your sister and Evan a run for the money!

16-Apr-2010 07:36

 

In the past few weeks I’ve started to do your hair.  I have done the typical “whale spout” which your Dad calls an exclamation point.  I think it looks hysterical and I make you wear it a few times a week. It doesn’t bother you one bit so we’re keeping it for now.  Sorry kid.

24-Apr-2010 09:11

 

Last weekend was your first trip to State College.  You had a fun time having your picture taken around town.  You also had a great time at your first tailgate, and so did Rylee.  You two had a great time playing with the balls we took, the washers from the washer toss game and especially the mulch.  Yeah, and here I was worried there wouldn’t be enough to keep all the kids entertained.  HA!  All eight of you kids were total dirtballs at the end of the day.  It was great to see you all have so much fun. Of course you had a great time watching the other folks who were tailgating too.  You even walked right into the middle of a beanbag toss game.

For some reason this month I’m amazed at how old you are and how big you are getting.  A few weeks ago I looked at you and knew it wouldn’t be long until I’ll look at you and see a toddler instead of a baby. I remember when it happened with your sister and I know I’ll remember when it happens with you.

But for now, please keep running up to me and giving me hugs for no reason at all.  Keep thinking I’m the funniest person you know.  And know that I will always keep you safe.

Love, Momma

Light At The End Of The Tunnel

This post was originally going to be just about potty training, but with being offered a job this week it has taken on two meanings for me.

First the potty training.  Rylee and I started on this journey on February 24th.  At first it was pure hell.  Just ask my mom, I called her and informed her that being a person of no patience, there was no way I was going to be able to do this without a horrible outcome.  She talked me down off the ledge and away we went.

At first Rylee was excited about peeing in the potty, then she got lazy about it.  Then it was good again and so went the initial roller coaster.  After a month of accidents I’ve luckily managed on getting urine smell out of mattress and I watched a friend of Rylee’s for a few days due to some daycare issues for her mom.  I prayed that somehow Kayla’s time with Rylee would have positive potty results.  Well, let me tell you, we should have had Kayla spend time with us a month earlier.  Rylee would sit on her training potty and Kayla would sit on the ‘big’ potty and the two of them would have a great time on day one.  Then Kayla went home.  After she left Rylee informed me that she wanted to pee on the ‘big’ potty.  YAY!!!  That was the end of the training potty. I cleaned it up, put it in a closet and we’ve never looked back.

Yes, Rylee still wears a Pull-Up for her naps and an Overnite diaper to bed at night.  But we’ll take the small victories.  Like the fact that after being at this for only a month she started telling me when she needed to go.  This is just wonderful as it has put an end to many accidents.  Now we still have them, but most of the time I realize that it was my fault because I didn’t make her go before doing ______.  But it’s a learning curve for both of us.

Is she potty trained? Not by any stretch of the imagination.  But she is well on her way.  And after almost two months I’m pretty happy about where we are.

The other light at the end of a much longer tunnel is that after almost exactly a year I got a job offer.  Truth be told, it came not a moment too soon.  Last week was the last week of unemployment for me.  Talk about stress!  We all know that the money you get from unemployment is a big reduction from what your salary was, but anyone who has collected it is more than thankful it’s there.  That said, the money I got from it is money that is needed.  So looking down the barrel of that loaded gun wasn’t any fun for me at all.

I will be starting my new job on April 19th.  I will be working at a small pharmaceutical company in a support role that sounds exactly like what I did at Wyeth for five years.  I really like the company and the people I have met have been very friendly.  I’m looking forward to getting back into the work force for numerous reasons.

Rylee is also excited that Mommy got a job because she knows that it means that she will get to back to ‘school’.  She is ready to spend her time with kids her own age and I know she is ready to learn more than Mommy was able to teach her.  She’s also excited for Brynn to go to ‘school’ too.  I will say that Brynn won’t be nearly as excited as Rylee come the 19th.  She is very attached to me so I’m sure when I drop her off she and I will both be crying as I walk out the door.  But I know that she will stop and by the time Daddy picks her up she will be having fun with her new friends.