The Ways Daddy Plays

When NHV was born, Chad was not exactly thrilled with our little warm lump.  Don't get me wrong, he loved and adored her plenty, but he was definitely counting down the days until she could actually interactive with him.  Don't all men love to play?

These past few weeks since CJV was born and my time has been completely consumed by carrying for our second "warm lump" ... daddy has come to the rescue - big time, especially when it comes to entertaining our toddler.  Clearly a two year old provides all the interaction he could ask for ... and more!  And I cannot tell you how impressed I am with the ways he plays.  His inventive, outside-the-box ideas give a whole new spin to how Natalie spends her time.  He teaches her about big concepts and has infinite patient with her.  Watching the two of them play - while I sitting around nursing and cuddling the newbie - really got me thinking about the evolution of daddy play ...

It all started with a little game called "What's on Daddy's Head?"  As Natalie mastered the fine art of crawling and started to pull up on furniture, Chad came up with an incentive to practice.  He'd sit on the floor, grab the nearest toy, and put it on his head.  Then he'd ask, "What's that on daddy's head?  That doesn't belong there; that's just silly."  Natalie would take off crawling toward him, pull up and grab the toy with great enthusiasm.  It was so much fun to watch.

Of course, his play repertorie has grown to include such favorites as ...

• Making breakfast food items out of Play-Doh
• Hide-and-seeking (with some pretty silly hiding spots)
• Running laps around the bottom level of our house while singing "She'll be Coming Around the Mountain"
• Building playgrounds and schools and airports out of foam and wooden blocks
• Making blanket forts and having pretend camp-outs
• Burying Natalie with every stuffed animal in the house
• Hanging her upside down (by her ankles) and using her as a "crane" to pick up toys off the ground

And then there are the more sophisticated - way over a two year old's head - science experiments that only an engineer could dream up ... like the most recent balloon bouyancy experiment.  Chad attached a yogurt cup to the string of my birthday balloon.  Together, Natalie and daddy tested how much weight could be loaded in the "basket"  ... what would make it sink, what would cause it to float all the way to the ceiling, ... and finally Chad's rate of liquid evaporation vs. deflation rate ... yeah, that one is even over my head!

Oh, and here's my super talented husband retrieving the stranded balloon from the two-story stairwell by ... get this ... tossing a tiny bouncy ball into the yogurt cup attached to the string ... and yes, he was successful!

Rhino Breakthrough

It's probaby a good idea to start here.  Otherwise you may think I am a little crazy or really sleep deprived ... you'd be right on both counts, but I think if you take a minute to click and read, this post will make sense ... even if you don't, I think you'll enjoy this video ... either way ... it's a win-win for you :)

NHV is finally playing in the living room and even occasionally going near the front door.  Her fear of the rhinoceros is slowly diminishing, and this video is the main reason for that ... and my friend Jessica is to thank for it.  I never thought to scour YouTube for a video featuring a super cute and friendly rhinoceros - imagine that!  Apparently some people watch this video purely for entertainment (and I can see why) ... not to overcome a fear instilled in you by your misguided parents :)

And I just have to mention how much I LOVE that my friend Debbie in VA wrote this on my Facebook wall ...
It's 1:23 a.m. and while I have yet another long day ahead of me, I'm wide awake. So as I thumb through 800 channels of bad programming I stumble across a show on Animal Planet. No kidding, it's called "There's a Rhino In My House!". I, of course, thought of you and sweet NHV. Sending lots of live your way.

Seems NHV's fear of rhinos has everybody thinking about those misunderstood creatures!

All About MEme: Birthday Week

with MommyBrain and SupahMommy

2006 - when I was much younger

 
I absolutely adore birthdays.  Especially mine.  I love the presents, the cake, the focus on me, and the element of surprise that comes along with birthdays.

At some point in high school, I decided that one day simply wasn't enough.  I wore an "It's my Birthday!" pin - probably stuck to my super fashionable blue jean jacket - for an entire week ... and Birthday Week was born (pun intended).  I've since lost the ever-so-clever pin, however my determination to celebrate for an entire week remains fully in effect.

As for my most memorable birthdays, it's tough for me to choose ... and I came up with the stinkin' prompt so the pressure is on ... but how does one chose between ...

My 31st Birthday when a group of my friends sent me clues all week leading up to a day full of  surprises and blindfolded rides to various events ... ice skating, dinner at a fancy restaurant, ...

My 30th Birthday when CPV took me on a cruise to the Bahamas and surprised me by having my parents drive from IL to FL (my dad doesn't fly) to go with us.  I was completely shocked to see them!  No kidding, that was the most surprised I have ever been.  It was their first cruise, our second, and we had a blast!

My 22nd Birthday was probably one of the craziest things I've ever done ... and it was another surprise.  I was on winter break and visiting CPV in Florida.  He cryptically told me to wear comfortable clothes and drove me to a local airport.  At the time, he was in flight school, so I assumed we were going to rent a plane a fly somewhere.  Because he needed to build up flight hours, it was not uncommon for us to do that.   What I quickly realized - after seeing several colorful shapes hovering overhead - was that we would be in a plane, but we weren't really going anywhere.  Well, that's not exactly true ... we were going to 13,500 feet ... and then straight back down to the landing area.  After several years of confidently saying that, given the chance, I would jump from an airplane ... because I thought there was no way in a million years I would ever get the chance ... it seems that CPV called my bluff.  I did a tandem dive with a 60 second free fall and a very ungraceful landing. It was the most exhilarating experience of my life ... but I don't think I would ever do it again ... once was enough!

My 21st, which included 7 shots of cheap tequila ... I'd rather not remember that.

Or my 18th Birthday celebrated with my now-husband before we were officially dating.  It snowed (which I love, love, love) and we took a walk through the woods behind my parents' house.  I flirted with him like crazy.  And I remember the warmth of anticipation as I wished for something to happen between us.  It didn't.  But I still remember this night as a time when I knew he was the one.

Another all-time favorite, my 16th Birthday.  To make sure I had the cash I needed to buy a (used and very cheap) car, my parents hid 16 twenty dollar bills all over the house and sent me on a Scavenger Hunt to find them.  I had worked all summer and saved as much as I could, but that $320.00 gave me enough to buy the car and have a little gas money.

My childhood is littered with cutesy cakes and parties with silly games.  But none of them stand out as especially memorable or embarrassing or surprising. 

My earliest memory is from my 3rd Birthday.  My mom baked me a Cookie Monster cake. I still remember this mound of bright blue icing topped with ping-pong balls for eyes.

The good news is that I don't have to choose.  Because it's my Birthday Week, and I get super special privileges today and for the next six days.  I just love my birthday ... week!

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Now it's your turn to play along ... my favorite part of all this mayhem!

• Put together a post that remotely resembles an answer to the prompt.
• Be sure to copy/ paste/ post our super fabulous button thingy (at the top of this post) on your post somewhere! (That's how we'll grow and we THANK YOU 100X for helping!)
• Come back here and link up with Mr. Linky! (If you can't see it at the bottom of this post, hop over to Supah's place and link up there.)
• Visit the 3 blogs above your name if you have time and leave them a comment!! (This is the secret to growing a blog!) ... and if you're first, ... well then aren't you special! You'll just need to visit the 3 below your when name when they appear and leave a comment!
• Look for a comment from SupahMommy and MommyBrain; we've made it our personal mission to visit and comment on all of our meme links ... that's how much love we have for you all :)

Love Child

In about 35 minutes, the time here in the NW will be midnight, and my birthday will officially begin.  My 35th birthday ... to be exact.

As I sit here ... counting down the minutes ... and staring at my beautiful baby girl ... in between keystrokes, details of my recent labor experience and my daughter's "birth" day keep flooding my brain. I am curious to see how those thoughts may intertwine with thoughts of MY own birthday ...

I was born January 10, 1975 to a young woman and her husband.  They had only been married since June 20, 1974.  If you do the math, as I finally did at the age of 17, you'll discover that only about 6 months had passed between those two events.  I wasn't born out of wedlock, but I was ... I am ... a Love Child.  And 35 years later, my parents are still (quite) happily married.  I was married for 9 years before having my first child.

16 hours of labor.  Do you know how many times my mom has reminded me of that simple fact?  She was in labor for 16 hours, which I must admit does seem like a long time ... to labor.  Especially considering the fact that I was only in labor for a fraction of that ... about four hours with my first and an eight hour induction with my second. 

Although the exact time eludes me, I also know I was born sometime around 12:30 am.  My first daughter was also born about half past midnight.  My mom's water was broken by the doctors, and epidural wasn't even an option.  My water broke at home the first time, but I experienced having my water broken with my second daughter's induction.  I've given birth - both times - without an epidural ... by choice.

I weighed a modest 6 pounds 10 ounces.  I know this size baby very well.  Having gained two pounds since birth, this is the exact current weight of my sweet Charlotte.  Natalie was just a little bit bigger at 7 pounds but lost almost a pound while learning to nurse.

My mom did not nurse me.  Well, she tried but I didn't cooperate.  And there just wasn't the support for breastfeeding "back then" that there is now.  I have found great joy in being able to nurse both my girls.

According to my mother, who doesn't mince words when it comes to this topic, I was an awful baby.  I was colicky ... apparently forever ... at least the way she remembers it.  I didn't sleep well.  I cried all the time.  I was disgruntled and fussy and awful.  It's a wonder she ever had more babies.  Perhaps the fact that I was a great toddler and kid helped persuade her to have three more!

My mom was young when she had me; just 19 years old.  And she was done having her four children by age 32, the age at which I found out I was pregnant for the first time.

Something that really surprised me about being pregnant and birthing a baby ... it completely  changed the way I think about my own mother.  It gave me this whole new perspective and appreciation.  I understand what she had to go through to bring me into this world.   I know the depths of the love she felt when she held me for the first time.  I know the emotions and doubts and concerns that coursed through her heart and mind as she took care of me as a newborn.  I know the challenges of learning how a newborn communicates and meeting her needs.  It's incredible to think that my mom once looked at my sleeping newborn face the same way I am looking at my daughter's right now ... with a love that is almost impossible to describe but is known by mother's everywhere.

Just as my labor experiences - my children's "birth" days - are etched into my heart and brain forever, MY birthday must bring back a flood of memories for my mom, too.   There is no one else who can recall the details and emotions of the day I was born.  For most of my life, I've thought about MY birthday but really, it's a day I share with the woman who was gave me life.  It's OUR birthday!

At the Car Wash ...

or Wash Car, as Natalie likes to call it.

Either way, blue skies busted through some morning clouds, and I am happily driving a freshly washed car ... well, not right now.  Right now I am typing at my laptop, and it definitely would not be safe to do that while driving ... the freshly washed car is actually sitting in the driveway.

Anyway, by now, with all the mention of the car wash, I am hoping that you're singing this little ditty in your pretty head ...

(Workin' at the) car wash.
Workin' at the car wash yeah!
Come on and sing it with me car wash.
Get with the feelin' y'all car wash yeah.

Now, substitute the word workin' with the word nursin' ... and I think you'll get the idea ;)

Yep, we rolled the Milk Truck through the car wash right along with the Volvo.  How classy is that?!  I hopped in the backseat, pulled out my Hooter Hider and The Girls, and spent the four minutes of spray and suds ... well, you get the idea!

How did YOU spend your Saturday afternoon?

All About MEme: Prompt for 1.11.10

And ... we're back ... ready or not ...

 

with MommyBrain and SupahMommy

It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to ... 

 

This Sunday ... 1.10.2010 ... is  

MommyBrain's Birthday,

and she is absolutely crazy about birthdays!  

 

Let's help her celebrate ... 'cause Lord knows she won't be getting out of the house or having a party or doing anything even remotely fun with a newborn demanding boobie milk around the clock and keeping her up all night ... 

and give her something to look forward to on Monday morning ...

Tell us about  Your Most Memorable Birthday!

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You remember how this works, right?!  It has been awhile ... 

Think on it and come back Monday to Link up!

Sisters ...

Photos taken at about the same age ... give or take a week.