Dear Chance (Part 7)

Dear Chance,

Today is your first day of school ever. It's your first day of Kindergarten. Already you've made a name for yourself as you got Chicken Pox from your booster. You are a week late starting class and I feel bad that you're already behind. But it is what it is. You, begin the little unique person you are, not only caught the virus from the booster (Which only happens in 2% of cases world wide), but you caught the virus within 2 days of getting the booster, which is even rarer! Score one for mommy seeing as they science isn't there to definitively prove it yet, but genes have something to do with propensity to develop Chicken Pox and guess who got them twice when she was a little girl! Yep.

I'm not ready for you to be in school. There is a lot going on right now, your Mimi is very sick, and it's made me want you with me more and more. But you need this. I am trying to convince myself of this. I know it's good for you to be in school, you seem to love your teacher, and you even made a friend in Orientation so it's going to be neat to see how your friendship develops. I just miss you. One of those gotta let them grow up things, but I don't have to like it. :)

Anyway, this is going to be a short entry, I've got to get to your Mimi's and take care of her, but I'll be there to pick you up before you get off, baby. Mommy loves you. So so much. I hope you have a great first day at school.

Love Always,
Mommy

Shirley Temple and the Things My Child Thinked

So tonight I'm watching Bright Eyes. One of my favorite Shirley Temple movies. I'm talking to my daughter about it and I hit it up on the channel to see if there's a Shirley Temple marathon. I scan through a couple of pages and alas, theres not. However, I notice that the movie A Star is Born, is on.

Thinking out loud I say "Oooh A Star is Born. But...1937? That's not the one with Judy Garland in it." and out of the blue, my 5 year old pops up, "That's that girl that was in that tornado movie with the witch and the dog and the munchkins, isn't it?"

My mouth hangs open. "Baby, how did you know that?" - "Because mommy, I thinked it." - "Yes baby, but how did you know that?" She gets shy. "Because, mommy. I told you. I thinked it."

I shake my head. I have a very special little girl indeed.

I'm Doing Something Right...

So in the news, everywhere you look, there is negative about two things. Cops, and race. There is racial division everywhere we look, and every time we turn the television on. TV shows, they try. They attempt at making sure there isn't racial division or division between cops and civilians, but it doesn't matter. There still is. So what do I, as a mother, do for my little girl?

Yes, there are bad cops, no matter where you go. There is racial division, no matter where you go. So what do you do? Well...I do the best that I can to make sure that my daughter isn't afraid of cops, and that she doesn't see race. I saw something recently where a person recognized and acknowledged ... kids don't see race. They see a person, just like them that likes to run, and laugh, and play. We raise our children how to be racist. We raise our children to know that cops are bad. People...this has to stop!

One of my dearest friends, is black. And I am white. Do you know what I see when I look at her? Honestly? I see my sister in God. I see this amazingly beautiful soul that sees ME. Her eyes hold everything. Those eyes, can see straight through all the bullshit. Straight through the past. Straight through my demons. Straight through my vices. Not her skin color. Not her hairstyle. Not her economic status. Her spirit. She looks in my eyes and gives me the most amazing smile ever and she sees ME. Folks, I couldn't lie to this person if I tried. She is just that amazing and that beautiful and that...full of God. Love. Sheer love.

This. This is what I want to teach my daughter. I want her to be raised the way I was. I want her to know that a person is beautiful, no matter what color their skin, or where they grew up, or where they've come from. I want her to know that a person is inside, not outside, and not to be afraid of what's to come, and people she's going to meet.

Which leads me to cops. A lot of racial division seems to be going on, especially with "Bad cops." Well let me tell you, from personal knowledge, cops DON'T HAVE IT EASY!!! They walk out of their front doors, kissing their children and spouses, every day/night, NOT KNOWING if they are going to make it home at the end of shift, or if someone is going to pull a gun, or run over them on the side of the road, or if someone is going to fight them and pull a knife, or if someone is going to run them until they can't run any more. They don't know if they're going to be forced to pull their gun, to run after a suspect, or to shoot with deadly force. They don't know. And neither do you.

You see constantly where cops do this or cops do that. You never hear about the cops that are walking through the hospital and see a little girl who proudly says "I'm gonna be a cop when I grow up!" because her mommy has taught her that cops are the good guys, and stops to say "If you're going to be a cop, you're going to need this blue light!" and give that little girl a small finger flashlight that's blue. You don't see those moments when the cop is in uniform and a little girl screams through the grocery store, "Hi cop!!! I'm gonna be a cop just like you when I'm older! Okay, bye cop!" and her mommy blushes and says "Sorry, she really does have manners." for that cop to smile and say "Oh honey, that's alright. I get called a lot worse on a daily basis."

The other day, my daughter and I were watching Disney Jr. We saw this little blurb, where a girl was getting ready for school, saw her calendar and realized it was "Red Shirt" day, and slipped a red t-shirt over her long sleeve shirt she had on and walked out the door. This girl was clearly of middle eastern descent. Darker skin, long, long dark hair and dark eyes. My daughter smiles, looks and me and says "Mommy! That girl is beautiful! Just like me!"

I knew in that moment, I'm doing something right. And I hope it continues.

Dear Chance (Part 6)

Dear Chance,

As you sit here and buff Satin's nails (And she LETS you), I smile thinking about this letter and how bad I've slacked lately. I cant believe it's been since December two years ago that I sat down and wrote you a note. I actually sit here thinking about a lot of stuff I've slacked in lately. Today, it seems as though I'm slacking even more because I was in a bad mood, and I yelled at you. I turned and saw your little face and I knew I'd hurt your feelings, because you were just trying to show me a picture you drew of the two of us. And my heart broke. I immediately started crying and apologized profusely, and the picture of you and I, sets beside me daily. You're five now, and you grow every day and I can't stand it.

Your favorite movies of the moment are The LEGO Movie, and Into the Storm. Yes, my little tornado chaser, you make me proud. Your favorite shows are anything on Disney Junior, including but not limited to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sofia the First and Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and yes, you're still big on Dora the Explorer. Every day, you sweep the floors now, and your favorite toy is still your rocking horse, though you have this teddy bear that you drag around everywhere and call it your sister Amy. Not to be mistakenly pronounced normally, it's Am-ee, and not A-mee. You LOVE to mimic commercials and so much so that one night in your sleep, you popped off with "Now who's your Burger Daddy?" from a Red Robins commercial. Your other favorite commercial is the "Jake from State Farm" commercial in which you will reenact the entire thing, and an AT&T commercial with two guys in a van pulled over. The driver is talking to the cop when the passenger asks the cop if he ever puts pepper spray on his burrito.

I retract my original statement from earlier. Your favorite toy is a toss up between your rocking horse that Uncle Eddie built for you, and a small Ukulele that I got for you randomly one pay day when we were in Walgreens. It's got Minnie Mouse on it, and it goes everywhere with you. You also like movies Frozen and Maleficent, and you don't know it yet, but your Aunt Brenda and Uncle Eddie got you a humongous Olaf and a copy of Frozen, for Christmas. I can't believe you're five. I know I keep saying that, but it hardly seems possible that it was five years ago Nov eleventh that I brought you home from the hospital. Still nineteen days before your due date. You were so little. Now you've grown so much. And you're too stinkin cute to boot.

Joe is here now. Your grandma Judi told me a couple of months ago that he loved me, and that he would always be mine, and to bring him home. So your daddy and you both, worked really hard, got the barn ready, and we brought him home a few weeks ago. I work across the street with the horses and you love every minute of it, even getting in there and helping out with the taking care of the horses. You can't wait to ride, and your favorite thing over there, outside of the horses that is, is Grandma Judi's bathtub. It's a huge garden tub and you can practically swim in it. And you do. WITH supervision, of course. ;)

Well anyway, Bug, I need to get going and get ready to go to Aunt Brenda and Uncle Eddie's house, your daddy is going to be home soon so we can go hang out, probably for the evening, like normal. I'm going to do my best to get back on writing you a lot more often. I think it's important that I keep this going better, so that you'll have something to read, later on in life. I love you baby. You're still my whole world.

Love always,
Mommy

Wow have I been slacking!

So there is a major reason for the post today, and one that I don't want to ever forget, but I will admit, I have SERIOUSLY been slacking, and I'm sorry. I've had so much going on, with her, and with my own books being published, and my cousin's here, my mom popped in for a surprise visit, been helping my neighbor/second mom with her horses on a pretty regular basis, and keeping up with my house. It gets tiresome, to say the least. LoL!

However, that being said, I had to put down a couple of things that have been happening lately, that I want to remember and to be able to tell her later on down the road. The first, a few months ago, she got a packet of Curious George cards and envelopes set for Christmas I think... Anyway, she decided she wanted to write letters to her Grahmma and Grahmpa for throwing her a b'day party at their place, some 700 miles away. The first card was for Grahmpa and while she was writing it out, she picked out the other one that she wanted for Grahmma. She picked out one with a rainbow. And she said "This one is Grahmma's. She loves rainbows." I sit there for a moment, and I say "How do you know Grahmma loves rainbows?" Now understand, there is a lot of truth to that statement. Not one that she understands or has ever heard, most people haven't, but there's a reason why.

On the day she was born, her Grahmma's b'day, it had been storming and raining all day. Well it finally broke for a while, and Grahmma, was going to meet Grahmpa at a restaurant for her b'day. She was in the golf cart, and had come to a stop light, waiting to turn. When she looked up in the sky, above the stop light, she saw this rainbow. And it was bright and almost as if it had been meant just for her. She glanced at her watch, worried she was going to be late to meet Grahmpa, and for whatever reason, the time, stuck with her. I call her after she's born, and she tells me about the rainbow. It showed up in the sky, at the exact moment Chance was born. The importance of this is the fact that she was born so early, and there was so much question of whether or not she would make it. She was only 30 weeks. Her lungs weren't fully developed, she weighed 2 lbs and 5 oz, there were a lot of things stacked against her. Her Grahmma said, "Honey, she's going to be alright."

A couple of weeks ago, we're out with the neighbor and her dad. He is older, has emphysema I believe, and has a nasal cannula for oxygen that goes with him everywhere. We're in the van, and Chance says "Mommy, I remember having one of those." I scratch my head, and I say "Baby...what?" She did have one of those when she was first born to help her breathe. And she goes "Yeah, remember, when I was a baby. Jesus came to me and told me that I needed that to help me breathe so I could talk when I was older." I once again sat there, mouth hung open, and couldn't really respond.

Today, I was watching Dr. Phil. And I LOVE Dr. Phil. I watch it daily, so does her Grahmma. Well today it's on, and just out of the blue, she goes "Mommy, he looks like God. Only a little different." I say "Baby who? That guy?" She says "No mommy. Dr. Phil." I sit there once again, mouth open. "God? Like God, God. God?" She looks at me as if to say 'Duh' and goes, "Yeah! God! I met him when I was a baby!" - My little girl, is special. She is meant to go places. She is meant to be here. She's my angel.

Vacation and Vocabularies

So lets start with vocabularies. Bug has been in speech for a little while now and boy has it helped. The other day for one, coming down to a point of not even knowing where she even learned this word, we get out of the shower and she goes for a towel. I'm like "Baby, what are you doing?" - Without missing a beat she goes "Mama, I have to get the condensation off of the mirror!" - What!? When did she even...I mean, not only did she say the word clearly, but she used it in the right sense! Then...earlier today (She LOVES Doc McStuffins), she comes up to me and "looks into my eyes" then runs and grabs a piece of paper and a crayon and says "Alright mama. I have your diagnosis!" LMBO! Bless her heart! She's growing up so fast.

Next up, vacation. We made it to grandma and grandpa's house. For her birthday of all things. Sharing a birthday with your grandma is special enough, and actually being able to be with grandma this time around, made it that much better. We had so much fun with this stint away from home. We went bowling, grandpa and daddy took her to see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2, which let me tell you, was definitely a treat for grandpa, we went swimming, she made a bird house with daddy, mama and grandma got in the water and swam with manatee's, even though she was scared of them, daddy and grandpa were along for the boat ride, we took a little scenic boat ride, and we just all around had a good time. One of Bug's favorite things to talk about while being there was her and grandpa watched Sharknado and Ghost Shark together on television. That was one of the things she talks about more than anything. She got to ride in the golf cart a lot too, which was a total hi-light for her.

She even through the fit of a lifetime, which resulted in me carrying her out of a department store, with her kicking and screaming under my arm like a football. LoL! I'll never forget, there was these little old ladies walking in the parking lot. And Bug was going "Mommy, I don't like this! I don't like you!" and I told her, "You know what, that's okay because I still love you." and one lady looked at me and she goes "Just keep smilin honey. It will get better!" Made my whole day, even with a screaming four year old tucked under my side. It was a most memorable trip, and so good. So good. Hated to leave, but then, it's my mama and daddy. I always hate saying good-bye.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'm on my way back to finish Bug's room. We're going through and donating a few (Like 75%) of her toys that she never plays with. She's got so many toys, oh my goodness. And like I explained to her, there are lots of kids out there who don't have any toys. So we're going through and she's helping go through the ones she wants to give to someone else. My baby girl. Gettin all growed up. *Sniffle*

Visiting Gramma and Grampa

So Bug has been doing really good and even potty training all by her self (Forcing her wasn't working at all). It's been great. Well we've been rewarding her with "monies" which are little dollar bills made just for her out of green construction paper. So today, she's talking to her Mimi and tells her that we're going to visit Grandma and Grandpa soon.

So after she hangs up, all day I hear "I wanna go see Grandpa. I wanna go see Grandma." So finally I had to put a stop to it because we can't go until Daddy gets some time off work. It's kinda a long trip. So I finally tell her that Daddy doesn't have the money yet to go. That seems to placate her for a little while anyway.

So she gets "monies" for using the potty. And we've been really working on it, with big time monies rewards for pooping on the potty. Well today she did. So she collects all of her monies, brings it to me and says "There! Now Daddy has the monies to go to Grandma and Grandpas!" I was like AWE!!!, little tear of love comin down for my little girl. She's so cool.

Anyway, that's about all that's going on here. Nothing major. Talking more and more every day. She starts speech again soon so I'm excited to get going there. But that's about all for now. :) Until later...

First Horseback Ride

So I have this incredible neighbor, who has a couple of horses. We're going riding tomorrow (If all goes well), so tonight we were prepping the horses and the tack. Well Daddy was mowing the lawn, and Ga was asleep, so Bug came with me. Well Daddy made his way over after mowing and helped take care of her as we caught the horses and picked the hooves, getting ready for a ride tomorrow.

Well since Daddy was there, we popped her up on Joe (A Tn Walker) and she got to ride her first horse today. At 3 years old. I was so proud of the little fart I got it all on video and took pictures. She did so good! And Daddy did good too, not freaking out when she was up there. I'm such a proud Mommy!

Honestly, we've been going through a really rough time, including a funeral and some home sickness lately so I realize I haven't posted, but thankfully, a lot hasn't happened to require posting. So on that note...until next time! :)

So awesome!

Ha! My daughter is the bomb! Today she spent the whole day with Daddy and Uncle Ga. The went for breakfast, rode out to the sticks, visited Mimi at home then went grocery shopping. So she'd been gone all day, and after being gone, I couldn't wait to see her. Well a little while later I was doing laundry. So I was folding, then I was putting it away. Well I noticed her go into the bathroom a little while later, no light came on or anything, then she came back out. Well I was back in there a few minutes later and I realized, she grabbed a whole stack of wash cloths, and put them away, trying to help Mommy.

I called her in the bathroom and I was like, "Did you do that?" she nodded, not sure of what she did was right. So I asked then, "Was it to help Mommy?" and she nodded again. I smiled really big and she grinned bigger than I've ever seen and I bent down as she ran to give me a hug. We have the coolest kid in the world! Just sayin. :)

Just an Update

Bug is doing great! Yes, admittedly, her nickname has become Bug. Not sure how or when that happened, but regardless, that's what it is. LoL! She's passed out asleep right now where we had a great day today. Now that the weather is finally warming up around here, we're able to get outside and play. Today, after walking the property and finding a turkey feather, we saw the neighbors children playing, and went over so she could have a good time with them. Plus it gave me some good girl time. LoL!

Then, we come home and she tells her uncle all about the turkey feather, about petting the horse across the street, and about seeing an airplane. That's been the biggest thing for her lately. I live in a direct path from one military base to another, so there's often military air craft traffic through here. Well the other day, she was helping her daddy in the yard, and these two huge transport helicopters came over head. And they were low enough, that I told Bug to wave at them as they went by. That has been the hilight of her whole month. Everyone she talks to (including the pizza delivery guy), she has told about the helicopters going over. She's so funny.

And oh my gosh I LOVE her personality. Until she starts telling me no. Then, I don't love that part. But I do love the fact that she is ABLE to do it, after wondering for so long if she would even talk. LoL! Today proved just how hard her head was. I was doing dishes, and she insists on helping. So I was picking up some plates, well one of them was wet, where water had dripped from the top rack. So I pick up the plate and it starts to slip. Well I'm trying to keep it from falling and about an inch from her head, it drops.

So I cry out, I'm like "Oh no!" the plate proceeds to hit the top of her head right at the bottom and splits in two, falling to the floor. Here is the conversation that ensues.
Her: Mommy? Okay?
Me: Yes baby, I'm fine. Are you okay?
Her: I fine mommy! Plate broken.
Me: Yes, it's broken, are you sure you're okay?
Her: Yes mommy. (Proceeds to let me look through her hair to make sure there are no glass shards or splinters or anything.) Mommy all done?
Me: Yes baby. All done.
Her: Uh oh. Plate broken.
I shake my head at her completely unphased expression as she just keeps going. Oh my lord I'm in so much trouble! LMAO!

Last Year in Review

Yep. It's that time again, when I go through and remember all of the ups and downs of 2012. We had a lot of firsts this year, and I have a picture that shows how much she's grown. I cry every time I see it, but I think I'll share it. She's still a tiny fart, just barely fitting into 2T clothes now, but the premie onesie I have for her with the knitted booties were too big for her tiny 4 lb 7 oz self when she came home.

A few more of her firsts, she was baptized this Easter at her grandpa's church. It was something that I was amazed as well as honored to have happen at grandma and grandpa's. Grandpa was honored too. It was a great Easter this year. We were able to visit the parents and we were able to spend a great amount of time down there. She had so much fun, going to see the ocean for the first time, playing at the beach, and swimming for the first time. She had a lot of firsts visiting her grandma and grandpa. And she loved every minute of it.

In May, we had our first real conversation, and I can say now that it hasn't stopped. And I couldn't be more tickled about it. And she's saying compound words too. Like today out of the blue she said "Mommy I want a peanut butter sandwich." and it wasn't perfect but I understood it. Other things she's said lately that are intelligible have been things like "Daddy broke my ahee." - "Daddy fix my ahee." - "Daddy fix my choo choo train." - "Where'd my grandpa go?" - "Quiet mommy, I'm talking to my grandpa." on her fake phone, and I mean, the list goes on and on. And I'm amazed that she's getting these compound words and making them understandable. The other day, she was on the phone with her Mimi and Papa and told them that mommy took pictures of a peacock in the back yard with her phone.

She's growing up so fast I can't stand it. She runs through the house now and it's so funny. I remember the house I grew up in. It was 900 sq ft and I remember growing up it was HUGE! In reality, the house that we're in now, that I've been in since I was younger thanks to my dad allowing us to buy it from him is almost twice as big, and is not small by any means, but I realized watching my daughter run down the hallway the other day like it was huge, that perception is everything when you're a kid.

Then we had the thing that every parent goes through, the scissor moment. Oh yes. That made me cry. We finally got her a real hair cut and it breaks my heart every time I brush her hair. LoL! Then for Thanksgiving we had grandma and grandpa up. Well they stayed at a hotel, but they were here every morning before we got up. So after they left, for the next two weeks, I woke up every morning to "Where'd grandpa go? Where'd grandma go?" and then my aunt made it down for Thanksgiving and after she left I had to hear "Where'd Aunt Susie go?" LoL!

She also, poor kid, got her first ear infection this year. It was a double ear infection and if I hadn't taken her to the doctor, I'd never known. It's been a big year of firsts. I can't wait to see what this year brings. With any luck, it'll bring lots of good and lots of giggles. Until then...I'm out peeps!

Dear Chance (Part 5)

Yesterday, a great tragedy befell our country. A man walked into an elementary school and murdered twenty children and six adults. A senseless act that took the lives of little kids and for what reason, is still unknown. I look at you and I've hugged you a little tighter the last couple of days. Given a little more patience. Felt a little more grateful that you're here, pestering the crap out of me for more and more Dora. The more and more I see on the television, the more it solidifies the thought of home schooling. Even taking you to school for speech therapy isn't appealing to me. And I know that this isn't something that's going to happen in every school, or for other shootings, at every mall or movie theater. But the thought of you being unsafe, rattles me.

When I was younger, I was scared of having kids. I had a lot of reasons. Most of them were irrational, but some of them were founded. I worried about being able to keep you safe and it's turning out more and more that it's not ever going to be up to me. I can only do what I can, and the rest is in God's hands. I struggle with that sometimes as a mom. Like when you're sick. You're dealing with you first ear infection ever, and it's a double ear infection. You're on the bubble gum flavored Amoxicillin and you hate it. The first time I gave it to you I had to hold you down and force it. Now, you may give me a bit of protest, but you will take it on your own. The doctor told me the other day that you were one of the toughest kids she's ever met, and she's from California. She said that you have a double ear infection and still are managing to play and smile. She said she doesn't know any kids out there that can tolerate that much pain. LoL! You're a tough snot.

You're favorite thing to watch, has been Disney movies (Thank God), and Dora the Explorer. I could take or leave Dora, and maybe I'm just too literal with things in the show, but I'm with you on the Disney movies all day. You've really been talking more and more lately and just popping off with just random moments of attitude. Girl, your attitude is just ... you are ALL your daddy there. LoL! Now of course daddy would disagree there and tell you it's the other way around, but really it's not. LoL! Anyway little girl, it's your nap time and honestly, being sick myself, I am right there with you and we're fixin to go lay down. I love you little girl. You're my whole world.

As of late...

Well it's been a while, once again. Sorry. No excuses. Lots happened. Most recently came the infamous scissor incident. Yes, every one of you with children knows where I'm going with this. She got a hold of some scissors and gave herself a haircut. Oh yeah. So I almost cried. her hair is down to the middle of her back and she chopped it off. This was three days ago.

Well last night, she's laying there in bed, and I think she's asleep. All of a sudden she breaks the silence. "Mommy, I'm sorry." I'm scratching my head, she's done nothing wrong that I know of in at least two hours. "Baby, what are you sorry for." In the most sincere voice, I hear "I cut my hair." I almost cried. I told her it was okay and she reached over and gave me a hug and kiss then laid down. I felt so humbled. Bless her heart after so long, she apologized. It immediately put me in mind of when I was younger.

When I was little, my family and I used to travel to see family between Tennessee and Michigan. It was a long drive that we made and it seemed to take forever. Well one year, we were on our way back and I'd left my wallet at a restaurant. And there was my ID, some money and some miniature dice that my cousin had given me, in this wallet. And I remember the dice were more important than anything, but I tell my dad. He was so mad that we had to turn around. (In reality he was just a little irritated, but to me, he was mad as the devil. Of course at eleven, you know things are so much worse than reality). So we drive all the way back to the restaurant (I can't remember how far), daddy runs inside and gets my wallet then comes back out. He was spittin mad. (Again, to the mind of an eleven year old). So we get back on the road, and in all my childhood wisdom after what seemed like an hour, I hand all the money in my little wallet to my mom and I tell her to give it to my dad, to pay for the gas that he spent turning around for my wallet.

She's growing up so fast, and at times, I can't stand it. I want to keep her young forever at times. She's getting so mature and she's barely three. She is all about helping with the cleaning be it dishes, sweeping, mopping. or cleaning. Such a big girl.

Dear Chance (Part 4)

Dear Chance,

It's been a while since I've done a letter to you on here so I figured I would go for it. :) You're three now. I can't believe it. I look back at pictures of the last year and I cant believe how much you've grown. You're finally 26 lbs now, finally having full on conversations and you're asking why a million times a day. Well let me clarify, you're not asking why, but you're asking because. I'll tell you to do something and you'll go "Because?" and I'll say "Because..." whatever reason. Then of course you'll ask me a million times before I finally just tell you "Because I said so." LoL!

You're drinking out of a big girl cup now and playing with everything you can get your hands on. Your favorite thing to watch on Netflix right now is Horseland, Curious George or Rainbow Bright and the Star Stealer. I've seen the movie at least sixteen times in the last week, and that's not an exaggeration. However, I just put Space Camp in the Play Station and you are really digging this movie. Especially Max. With any luck...I can get sick of this movie, which will take a LONG time.

You're talking more and more. And intelligible to boot! You definitely get your love of animals from me, and we're learning how to be nice to the animals in stead of being mean. We're starting speech therapy with the Elementary school around the corner here on Monday and hopefully that will work out for you as well as your other therapist did.

The other day you walked up to me, gave me the sign for I Love You and told me you wanted to talk to your Gramma. So we Skyped. Then a couple of days later, you pestered me for half an hour to talk to your Grampa. So we Skyped then too. LoL! It's awesome you differentiate between your Gramma and Grampa, and your Mimi and Papa. Gramma and Grampa are coming for Thanksgiving and you are so excited every time we talk about it, the other day you asked when you were gonna see them. It was awesome.

Well I guess that's about it for now. I'm going to get going so we can finish the movie. I love you darlin. I can't believe you're three already. Where does the time go?

Mommy Moments

So I'm writing tonight to talk about the love from a mother to a child. And I don't just mean human mother to child either. Let me explain. A few weeks ago, a little kitty showed up on our doorstep. This little boy was alone, and it was wet since it had been raining, and the poor little guy just looked miserable. My brother in law had gone to the mailbox with my daughter, and on the way back, found him. So he brings him in and goes to the store.

Within half an hour, this little guy decides, I'm his person and that's that. Little did I know that meant I am now his bed, his bathtub, his venter and his feeder. LoL! Everyone in the house will feed/water if they see his bowls are empty, but if they're empty and no one notices, he will come and GET me.

So a couple of days later this second little black cat shows up on my porch. Looks almost identical to my little guy which by this point has been called Ducati. Yes, after the motorcycle. I didn't have any say so in that. But whatever. Not what I would have called him, in fact, most of the time I call him Snuggle Butt or Cat. Regardless, this other little kitty shows up and my husband is like "NO WAY! I already took in one cat I didn't want, the other one needs to just go on."

So we look at it, and it looks like it's maybe a next generation, like Ducati's brother or something. It was too small to be a parent. Well, push comes to shove, we started feeding the little girl because she was so thin, and after about a week, she literally grew. And she grew fast. She started filling out, she started looking better, her coat started shining and I soon realized, we didn't have sister. We had mama outside and baby inside. So, baby's still growing and thankfully mama is putting on weight, though still outside.

A few days after starting to feed her, I went out there and I resigned to petting her. Which, don't tell my husband I said this, but he'd been talking to and petting/holding her all along. He finally admitted it after the not wanting another cat comment. LoL! But see...I'd been resistant for so long because I am very easily attached to animals. I didn't want to get attached if she was just gonna move on. But she didn't. Over the next few days I started noticing her watching in the windows, and her head popping up as she watched in on her son.

So when I went outside to say hello, she got up in my lap after I sat down, put one paw on each shoulder as if to say thank you, and rubbed her face in mine, meowing a short appreciation. It was as if she knew, I had been deemed by him, his person, and she knew, I was taking care of him. And by damn she wanted me to know that she appreciated it.

What's the point to this story? I guess it's that (to quote my awesome neighbor), if a mama cat can stick around to keep an eye on her little boy, and know just by his smell on my clothes that he's being well taken care of, then why is it there are so many stories of crimes against babies in this world? I mean, I couldn't figure out why Satin wouldn't go. (Yes, I've decided to call her Satin at the suggestion of my brother in law's sister, no matter what he calls her. LoL! Her almost solid black fur, just like her son's, feels like satin.) But I couldn't figure out why she wouldn't leave. Now I know. Would I do that if it was my little girl? Hell yes! Now I realize that they are cats, we are not. But the fact of the matter is, point blank, a mothers love, never changes. It doesn't matter the species of mammal, a mothers love, a TRUE mother's love, will stay strong, regardless.

I guess that's about all I have for this entry. Will post more probably in the next couple of days. Three years ago today I was admitted into the hospital, not knowing that in six days, I would be giving birth to my little girl. Seems impossible.

Funnies

Little girl's had quite a few funny little moments as of late. But there's a couple of them that make me throw my head back. Moment one, the other day, while listening to Jack FM on my phone, Prince came on. And I can't think of the specific song at the moment, but I turn around while doing dishes, and Chance is break dancing. That's right. She's break dancing. To PRINCE! LMAO! I couldn't stop laughing I laughed so hard! I didn't know if I should have been laughing, or scared. I finally decided upon laughing.

Second funny moment, and you want to talk about her paying attention...The other night, she sees her daddy finish off his beer. No big deal, daddy doesn't drink a beer very often. Anyway, he finishes it off, she gets in the fridge, gets out a new one from the drawer in the fridge and gives it to her daddy. It was so cool.

She's grown so much lately! Its incredible to think in just over a month, she's going to be 3. Where does the time go?

Translations

There are things your kids say when they're younger that you sometimes forget. So I'm going to record a few of the most prevalent.

Ahee - Horse
Mickey - Music
Moo - Milk
Ga Ga - Uncle Greg
Pee - Symphony
Kee - Kris
Boo - Broke
Elelelele - Elephant
Tech-te-ga - Peek-a-boo
and lastly...Too - Shoe

To Speech or not to Speech

Okay if you know me at all, you know that I have a three year old that still needs Speech Therapy. But I have to question, as I watch her, does she NEED speech? She has so many clear words, which is no where near where she "should be" for an almost three year old. On the other hand, she makes herself very clear. She gets across what she's wanting to get across very well. So it begs to ask the question, when she turns three, and ages out of the states system, should I continue Speech Therapy if it's available to her, or should I just say no, it's not needed? If you put her and another kid her age in the room, and you can understand my daughter over the kid that has the bigger vocabulary, is she really behind? But then is that a fair assumption? Was it just that one particular kid that couldn't make himself clear enough to understand even though he had the bigger vocabulary?

Because technically by the age of three, she should have three hundred clear words. From the age between two and three, she should go from around fifty clear words, to three hundred. So is she behind because she doesn't have three hundred clear words? I don't know! She works every day and even her Speech Therapist says she's doing great as far as updating her vocab and articulating down to the syllable, so does it constitute taking the extra resources? There are a lot of kids out there that are in worse shape than she is. So at what point do I stop taking advantage of state resources? When does she get to a point that she doesn't need Speech? I leave it to you parents out there. Does she need to continue? Or should we let her just age out? What do ya'll think?

Blue Moment

So the other night, I was having a blue moment, and it was just me and Chance, and she is playing when all of a sudden she goes "Mommy! What's wrong?" and I'm like "Nothing's wrong baby. But thank you." and she comes over, gives me a hug, says "I love you mommy, here." and puts her puppy in my lap to make me feel better.

Brought a tear to my eye. She's such a sweet heart. And has a big heart to boot. She's very emotionally developed. LoL! Anyway, just thought I'd share.

First Conversation

Well Chance, we had our first intelligible conversation tonight and you used words I didn't even know you knew and in the right context. It was great! I'd told you no, and you didn't listen. So then you threw a fit because I told you no again. So then it was the dramatic throw yourself in the floor type of fit. So then you want to play with your blocks. So you bring me the case. And here's where the conversation starts.

Me: Calm down first.
You: I'm done.
Me: You're done what?
You: Done crying. (Still crying)
Me: Then stop crying.
You: I can't.
Me: Yes you can.
You: (Takes a deep cry breath, lets it out) Okay.

This is so cool! I had to tell about it. :)