Leg Sleeves

Very good question of the day: why aren't they called "leg sleeves"? Because this morning Aidyn's pajama pants kept riding up her legs and she was starting to get frustrated with them. She's finally growing out of something! Anyway, she said, "Mommy! My leg sleeves are getting messed up!"

You Have Your Own Neck

I love to play a game with Aidyn where I try to tickle her neck with lots of kisses. She loves it, too, and just giggles hysterically! While we were playing it this morning I said, "Give me your neck!" and she replied seriously, "No, Mommy. You have your own neck."

I Had a Good Christmas

This year was the first time that Aidyn really understood a little bit about Christmas. She's been looking forward to opening the presents that were piling up under the tree for a couple of weeks now and learned to say that "God's Son Jesus was born" whenever we asked what Christmas was all about.
She had a blast opening presents and was a big help to the rest of us, volunteering herself to open all of our presents too! She even helped Hailie open her gifts before she opened her own. She got a piano from Mamie, coloring books, a doctor's kit, a doll with snap-on clothes, a magna-doodle board, Winnie the Pooh's Adventures dvd, a Cabbage Patch doll, a fish tank, some clothes, and more to come at our family Christmas in California this year. As we put her to bed last night she said, "I had a good Christmas, Dad."

Chicks Doing the Cha-Cha

As a Christmas gift this year Aidyn received a play doctor's kit complete with stethescope, thermometer, and an otoscope for looking in ears. She was trying out her new toys by looking in everyone's ears and when she came to Nana she looked in and Nana asked, "What's in there?"
"Chicks doing the cha-cha," Aidyn announced. Where does she get this stuff?

Where is Jesus?

About a week ago Aidyn and I were having a discussion about obedience. Here's the transcript:

Mommy: "When you obey it makes Jesus happy."
Aidyn: "But, where is Jesus?" [a good question, really--all the other people we talk about she's seen and talked to and played with]
M: "Jesus is by us all the time. Wherever we are He's with us."
A: "Can he come over and have a party with us? That would be fun."
M: "Well, someday He'll come get us and we'll all go have a party with him." [ok, so it's simplified doctrine, but on the whole it's true!]
A: "Oh! Ok! But...where's God?" [wow--what a connection...I'm not sure how she's made the connection that Jesus and God are related but not the same]
M: "God is by us all the time, too."
A: "Why can't I see Him?"
M: "Because we have to see him with our hearts." [what do you say to that question?!]
A: "Oh. But I can see Him if I look out the window in your room."
M: "You can?" [surprised, of course...I should try looking out that window more often!]
A: "Yep. Let's play guys." [guys are her term for her Little People and all of their various buildings and vehicles]

Teaching Aidyn about Jesus and God is such a big responsibility and such a privilege. I am looking forward to having to give many more difficult answers as she grows in her knowledge and understanding. But really...what do you tell your preschooler when she asks such deep questions?!

Pokynokyo

Aidyn was enjoying those Disney books on tape the other night and was listening to the Pinocchio one. Later we asked her, "Which one were you listening to?"
She said, "Pokynokyo."

Shapers

Aidyn was playing play-doh yesterday and wanted to have the set of cookie cutters that Tracy's mom sent her. She couldn't remember what they were called, so she just improvised:
"Daddy, I need the shapers!"

Whobody?

Yesterday afternoon Aidyn and I were cuddling under a blanket on the couch. She noticed that there were some pink highlighter marks on the back of the quilt and she said, "Oh no! Mommy, look!"
I said, "Yeah, somebody colored on the blanket, huh?"
She answered back, "Whobody?"

I Think Mommy Did It

Yesterday afternoon I found a piece of junk mail floating in the downstairs toilet. I actually asked Donnie first if he'd actually dropped it in there (just to let you know that I started out giving Aidyn the benefit of the doubt!), but of course he hadn't. So we called Aidyn into the bathroom and asked her if she'd put the paper in the toilet. Initially she said she had, so Donnie had a little conversation with her about not putting things in the potty because that's yucky and it could block the toilet.
She responded with her first (to my knowledge) outright lie: "Um...but...I think Mommy did it."
The conversation quickly changed to a time out and a discussion about lying. I must admit though that during her time out Donnie and I were in the bathroom laughing as quietly as we could. How on earth do you keep a straight face through these things!?

Guess What!

Aidyn has started using a new phrase: "Guess what!?" What's funniest about it though is that she always uses it in the same little conversation no matter what else we had been talking about.

Aidyn: "Mommy! Guess what!?"
Me: "What, Baby?"
Aidyn: "I'm going to go at my school."
Me: "Oh yeah?"
Aidyn: "Yeah! And I'm going to learn my letters and a new clean-up song."

Never mind that she already knows her letters and at least two different clean-up songs! I hope she won't be too disappointed if we continue down the path toward homeschooling her. Although, I promise to teach her another clean-up song to sweeten the deal.

Cow Shoes

This morning we really didn't have much to eat for breakfast (I really need to go grocery shopping) so I was putting together a little plate of varied breakfast-adaptable foods for Aidyn. I put some raisins, some mandarin oranges from a can left over from Thanksgiving, a dinner roll with some butter and jam, and I was looking for some protein to add to the mix. I found a can of cashews and started putting a few on her plate. Just then she came into the kitchen and said, "What am I having for breakfast?"
I listed the buffet selection: "Raisins, oranges, bread with jam, and nuts."
"Oh! Nuts!?" she questioned. "Daddy calls those cow shoes."

Tinker All the Way

While coloring in a Disney Princess coloring book with Aidyn today she came across a Tinkerbell page. She looked at me and excitedly said, "Oh yeah!" Then began singing to the tune of a very familiar Christmas song: "Tinkerbells, Tinkerbells, Tinker all the way!"

Don't Blow My Head In

The other night I was reading the story of TheThree Little Pigs to Aidyn before bed. I always try to make the stories more interesting by getting into character, doing the voices, and creating appropriate sound effects. So when the Big Bad Wolf came to each of the little pigs' houses he would huff and I would really huff; he would puff, and I would do the puffiest puff I could do. And then when he would blow the house in, I would actually blow the house in with all my lung capacity. I like to view bedtime stories as a multisensory experience.
When the wolf got to the brick house, as he tried to huff and puff and huff and puff and blow it in, I actually blew on the back of Aidyn's head as she was sitting in my lap. Startled and with a worried look on her face, Aidyn turned to me and sternly said, "No, Daddy. Don't blow my head in."

I Am A VERY Good Big Sister

This week we welcomed our first foster care placement into our home. Hailie Rose is 7 weeks old and is a really wonderful baby. We didn't get too much preparation time for Aidyn, that being the nature of foster care, but we were fortunate to have three days to prepare her for having a new baby in the house.
We picked Hailie up on Monday and right from the beginning Aidyn has been very helpful (sometimes too helpful, but what can you do?!) We have provided lots of encouragement to Aidyn about being a good big sister and she has really taken that to heart. I was a little worried about her being jealous when I need to hold Hailie but she has surprised me with very frequent, "Mommy, Hailie needs you to hold her."
Her favorite new saying, though, is: "I am a VERY good big sister!" And she's right!

Happy Thanksgiving

While learning about Thanksgiving and thankfulness this week (in the bathtub of all places--it's amazing what you can teach your toddler while she's soaking in the tub!) Aidyn melted my heart.
We were not far into the discussion, so I was surprised and delighted at her answer to my question: "Aidyn, what are you thankful for?"
"I am thankful for my Mommy and my Daddy."

Sometimes They Fall Off Ladders

Aidyn is starting to understand the concept that Mommy is at work while she's sleeping at night. I work in a busy ER and I spare her the gory details, but she knows that when I go to work I'm helping people who are sick.
Yesterday morning I woke her up and was getting her dressed and she noticed that I was wearing my work clothes. "Did you go to work?" she asked.
"Yep," was all I said.
"And you were helping people who were sick?" she questioned further.
"Yep."
"And sometimes they fall off ladders and you help them?" she asked.
I suppose it could happen so what could I say but, "Yep!"

That's fine

Again, a phrase that I must use often: "That's fine."
Aidyn's take on the phrase: "I can have a cookie if I want to. That's fine."

Disobedient Daddy

Aidyn is usually pretty easy to discipline. She has her moments, of course, but she knows that we expect her to obey and that there are consequences for disobedience. Over the last several months she has started "tattling" on Mommy to Daddy or vice versa when she feels that something hasn't gone her way (particularly if someone tells her no).
One day she came to me crying after Daddy had disciplined her and I asked her what was wrong. "Daddy doesn't obey me!" she cried. We got to have a great little discussion about Ephesians 6:1 and that God expects Aidyn to obey Daddy, not the other way around. It still hasn't sunk in, I don't think, but at least it's a start!

Flashback

For a very long time Aidyn's word for bath was "bap." About a year ago when Aidyn was not quite two she suggested: "I need a bap."

Cuddle Bug

There was a period of time when Aidyn was almost two that I was worried I'd never get cuddles from her. She was just too busy running all over the place to stop for hugs or kisses. Lately, though, she's been so cuddly and takes every opportunity to snuggle with us. She gives wonderful kisses and hugs and frequently says (unsolicited) "I love you Mommy." My favorite line from lately though is, "Don't you want to cuddle me?"
Of course I do!

Scary Fruit

Daddy has a t-shirt with an artistic drawing of a withered-looking tree sprouting skulls as fruit and with snakes as roots. Ok, it's not as dramatic as it sounds--it's actually a pretty sweet shirt. Aidyn has never really liked it though and one day several months ago she was sitting in Daddy's lap and noticed that he was wearing that shirt. She said, "I don't like the scary fruit shirt."

Disney Tapes

I can't believe they still work! These are the Disney books on tape that I listened to as a child. I know they were played over and over and the copyright date on them is 1978, so I was surprised that they still worked when I found them in Aidyn's closet tonight.

I put the Pinocchio tape in for Aidyn and gave her the book. I showed her how to turn the pages when the chime sounds on the tape (ah! the memories!) and sort of sat back and watched her discover. She caught on very quickly and turned the pages at all the right times...spellbound! She went on to listen to The Three Little Pigs, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, and would have just kept listening all night except it was time for bed. I'm so excited to share more of these stories with her. Maybe I'll try to put them on cd to preserve the audio, but either way these 30-year-old tapes will bring joy to another generation. All Aidyn could say was: "That's pretty cool!"

Ta-Da!

The other day Aidyn was eating pancakes and had gotten syrup EVERYWHERE (as usual!). She picked up her fork and realized that it was really sticky. Instead of being bothered by it, she just held up her very sticky hand with a very sticky fork just glued to her palm and said, "Ta-da!" What a great magic trick, right?!

Jesus Loves the Little Penguin

Aidyn sings EVERYTHING! I think we've mentioned this before, but it never ceases to amaze me how many things she can turn into a song. Today she was singing an actual song, Jesus Loves Me. Here's how it went:

"Jesus loves me this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Yes Jesus loves me
Yes Jesus loves me
Yes Jesus loves me (repeat x infinity, then transition directly into a made up song about a penguin, roughly to the tune of A Tisket A Tasket)
A penguin, a penguin
A little funny penguin
He walked around and (transition again into the Lullaby Song that Nana taught her)
Go to sleep, go to sleep
Close your eyes little penguin"

Not sure where the penguin came from, but apparantly Jesus loves him and he needs to go to sleep. The lovely impromptu medley was immediately followed by a special announcement: "Mom. I pooped."

Macaroni and Cheese Fish

A couple of days ago Tracy, Aidyn, and I were at Wal-Mart (Lord help 'em) and Aidyn was really getting bored. Eventually we got to that point. If you have a kid you know what I mean. It's the I'm-sick-and-tired-of-sitting-in-this-cart-and-I-want-to-do-something-else-NOW point. Truth be told I was getting bored too. So I did what we always did when Aidyn was ready to go and we still had some things to pick up- we went to look at the fish in the pet section. Aidyn always loves looking at all the different fish.

When we got to the fish tanks she immediately spotted one that she really liked. "Ooooh look at those fish daddy!" she said. I saw the tank of fish she was looking at and thought this would be a great teaching experience. So as I was getting ready to tell her that those fish are Albino or Golden Tiger Barbs.....they are a color morph of the regular Tiger Barb from Indonesia and Sumatra ......this fish doesn't exist in the wild.......it was bred specifically for aquarists.....they are schooling fish so we'd have to by at least 6.........she interrupted my thought process by excitedly stating "Wooow that's a macaroni and cheese fish!" And I just laughed hysterically. Well take a look. Why isn't that named the Macaroni and Cheese Barb?

What's for Breakfast?

We've mentioned in previous posts that Aidyn knows very well how to choose a breakfast meal. Recently she's been learning to eat cereal "like a big girl" with milk and a spoon. This morning's cereal of choice: Rice Krip-sies.

Flashback

In the week before Aidyn turned two we were visiting my family in Pennsylvania. Aidyn had received a video of Dora personalized with her name and picture and was intently watching it. I guess we grown-ups must have been making too much noise because she (very politely) turned around on the couch and said, "Talking please!"

Need a Diaper

Yet another setback in the potty training world (or maybe an advance, I don't know).
Yesterday after her bath I was drying Aidyn off and she began fussing; not really crying, just kind of whining. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "I need a diaper on so I can go potty."

Girly

Today Aidyn wanted something special:
"Can you put a pretty in my hair so I can be girly?"

Then, once it was in:
"I'm so girly!"

Shadow Drawer

I forgot to add that in addition to Never Land, we also have a "shadow drawer" under our television stand. I guess that's where she's keeping Peter Pan's shadow until he comes back looking for it.

Barbie

Tonight Aidyn discovered the cure for all body image problems in America. At dinner she blurted out randomly: "Daddy, we are not Barbies. We are people."

The deep philosophical meaning encapsulated in that statement is overwhelming!!

Potty Fear

This last week we have been trying to potty train Aidyn. Yeah...not so much. We were ok until something about going potty scared her. I'm not sure if it was our excitement party the first time she went on the potty or if something else bothered her during the week. Then she started being really upset when she'd go in her pants, to the point of crying and shaking with fear/embarassment/shame/whatever if she had wet pants. To my knowledge, we never did anything to contribute to her fear, but I still felt so bad for her. So we decided to give it a few weeks before trying again, and at her request, put her diapers back on.

Today she decided ON HER OWN to put on some big girl undies after a diaper change. We brought the potty out into the main room so it would be in her sight all the time, but otherwise did or said nothing about using the potty. A few minutes later she was standing on top of her closed potty and decided to let her bladder go. I don't know if it was the sound of the pee hitting the potty or that fear/embarassment/shame/whatever-thing but she ran screaming (with pee dribbling down her legs) out of the living room and into the kitchen where she stood screaming and crying.
We quickly went to her and kept telling her "It's no big deal! Everything is ok!"
Then she said, "I dripped on my potty!!"
We said, "Did you scare yourself?"
"Yeah," she said.
Then we said, "Do you want dry panties or a diaper on now?"
"A diaper!!" she said without hesitation.

Hopefully she learns soon that going potty is not scary!!

Never Land

We've been letting Aidyn watch Peter Pan lately and it's become one of her favorites. Tonight she wanted to play upstairs and she said, "Come on guys! Let's go to Never Land!" Apparantly Never Land is the guest room where all the toys are kept!

Good Morning Daddy!

A few nights ago I put Aidyn down for bed. After our regular routine of reading a story and all that good stuff, I told her that since she's potty training I'd leave the door open so she could go potty or come get us if she needed help, and that I'd see her in the morning. Aidyn REALLY did not want to go to bed, but she lay there quietly until I left the room.
It wasn't long after I came downstairs before I started hearing little footsteps above me. I went to go upstairs to put her back in bed, only to be met by Aidyn at the bottom of the stairs. In her chirpiest and most cheerful voice she looked brightly at me and said, "Um...good morning Daddy!"
I said, "Nice try. But it's still dark out and we have to go to bed."

Coat Jambones

In our family we have a silly word for pajamas: Jambones.
Since it's getting so much colder lately, we've been putting Aidyn in the one-piece fleece footie-pajamas at night. I guess the pajamas remind her of something else, because tonight she commented that she wanted to wear her "coat jambones."

A-I-D-Y-N

Aidyn learned to spell her name today! And kind of out of the blue. She asked me to write her name for her and I said, "Ok, A-" and she added, "then I-D-Y-N!" She was pretty excited and so was I.

Just One More Time

Lately Aidyn has been saying "I need your tummy" and I finally figured out what she means. This morning I was cuddling on the couch with Aidyn, lying down and holding her on my tummy. How cute is that expression?
Then I asked her what she wanted for breakfast. She said, "Fruit."
Then she sat up like she was ready to get up to go to the table and eat, but hesitated. I could see her thinking. Then she said, "Just one more time."
Before I could even ask "one more time what?" she said: "Just one more time cuddles." Then she snuggled back into me for a few more minutes. And we were both ready to face our day.

Crazies

Out of the blue while Aidyn and I were wrestling she began wiping my face off with her hands in a silly way. I asked her, "What are you doing?"
"I'm getting the crazies off," she said matter-of-factly, as if I should have known all along.

Vanilla Peanut Butter

This morning while Tracy was making "cheesy eggs" as Aidyn calls them (scrambled eggs with cheese), I was buttering the toast. Aidyn asked me, "Ooooh, Daddy. Is that vanilla peanut butter?"

I Smell Snake

Tonight we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner...don't worry--it's in the budget :-) Aidyn was smelling all the wonderful food and kept leaning right down near my steak to smell it. I said,"That's steak!" and she replied, "Mmmmm...I smell the snake."

Perfume

Today we were reading another of the rebus books, The Dress I'll Wear to the Party. One of the pages was about the "perfume that scents the air." Asking for her help I asked Aidyn to repeat the word "perfume." Her (very adorable) mispronunciation: pre-fewm.

Okie-Dokie

We were playing an impromptu repeating game. I was saying, "Okie-dokie," and Aidyn was repeating "Okay dokie-dokie."

Dinner in the Closet

I wonder if sleepwalking is genetic? Because I remember waking up several times as a little boy staring at the blank tv screen in the middle of the night or with my nose an inch from the front door or apparantly knocking on my parents bedroom door.

A couple of nights ago Aidyn woke me up at 3:00am with a terror-sounding cry. So I got up to go see what the problem was. On my way I turned the bathroom light on so it wouldn't be too bright when I opened the door. I went into Aidyn's room and knelt by her bed and asked, "Aidyn, what's wrong?"

In the dark I reached out to her bed to make sure she was covered and comfort her only to feel empty blankets and teddy bears. Knowing she had to be somewhere in her room, I looked around and said, "Aidyn, where are you?"

Then I heard a whimper from the closet in the corner of her room where we keep a bunch of her toys. She loves playing in the closet because the folding door is fun to open and close and it's full of her toys! So I went to the closet and opened the folding door and as soon as I opened it, Aidyn came out of the darkness with her arms outstretched toward me.

Taking her into my arms I asked her, "What are you doing in the closet, Aidyn?"

She replied: "Cause I just needed some dinner."

With a knowing smile I gave her a hug, placed her back under the covers, and she was asleep before I left the room. In the morning we asked her what she was doing in the closet and she replied, "I was just sleeping."

Tell You What

A couple of nights ago it was time for Aidyn to go to bed and she said, "But I want to cuddle with you." How can you refuse your two-year-old asking for a cuddle!? So, we cuddled on the couch with a big cozy blanket. And then Aidyn said, "Tell you what. You lay here and I'll lay here [pointing to where we should lay our heads on the pillow]."

Yikes!

Now this one is definitely NOT us! I know we say a lot of silly little phrases that Aidyn repeats, but this one has never left my mouth:

Aidyn, in the car on the way home, regarding something that frightened her: "Yikes! That scared me!"

Sneeze

Daddy has a cold today, and it's appropriate timing for Aidyn since we've just borrowed a book from the library called I'm Not Feeling Well Today. The book is done in rebus format so Aidyn can "read" along by looking at the pictures. It chronicles a little boy who is too sick to go to school and needs all types of comfort objects: "a box of tissues in case I sneeze, and an extra pillow if you please," until he finds out that last night's snow storm has closed the school--then he's ready to play outside all day!
Daddy was lying on the couch trying to catch a nap and Aidyn was trying to be helpful. She brought him a box of tissues and when he said he really didn't need any right now, she replied:
"I need a tissues because I have a sneeze in my mouth."

Story

I took Aidyn to the library today, and on the way home she decided to tell a story. These are her exact words:

"Once upon a time there was a price who wanted to find a princess. He wanted a book that was a little different. And they lived ever ever after."

Finding of the House

Every time we come home from a trip, as soon as Aidyn sees our house she says, "There's our house! We found it!" I didn't really think anything about it until she started going to our friend's house for babysitting three days a week. Every time I pick her up and take her home she asks me, "Daddy, where's our house?" Then she starts calling for the house, "House! Where are you!?" As soon as we get home she's super excited that we found our house, clapping her hands and laughing, "We found it! We found our house!"

Then it dawned on me. Have you ever thought what driving around town looks like to a two-year-old? Apparantly Aidyn thinks we just drive around randomly, sporadically turning onto various streets, until eventually we happen upon our home. To her, it's not "welcome home," it's "Thank God we found it Dad! I was getting worried."

Flashback

Aidyn, July 2008, upon seeing Auntie's navel ring:

"Oh, Auntie! I'm sorry. That is very stuck."

Try That Plan

No luck with the potty training yet, but Aidyn has an idea.

Last night Aidyn spent a few hours with her friend, Lexi. I found out that Aidyn is very interested in the treats and stickers that Lexi gets when she uses the potty. So, on the way home I asked Aidyn about Lexi.

Me: "I heard that Lexi goes potty."
Aidyn: "Yeah, and she gets stickers and treats. Maybe we should try that plan!"

My Feet On

Tonight we had some friends over for game night and Aidyn was walking barefoot down the stairs with one of the kids. She said to Taylor, "You have your shoes on!"
Taylor said, "Yep, I have my shoes on."
Aidyn: "I have my feet on!"

Friends

I have really been loving how Aidyn is growing in her friendships with other kids her age. Last night we were at church for a Financial Peace University class and afterwards we stopped by the Middle School Ministry kickoff event to share the rest of the cookies I made for our FPU group (since I have such a big butt!). We were sitting in the chapel listening to what was definitely NOT night-night music and her friend Beckham came by. He saw Aidyn and said, "Wait!" then ran off. Aidyn and I just kind of looked at each other, and then she turned her attention back to the music videos on the big screen.

A few seconds later Beckham returned with his two sisters, Leia and Lexi, and yelled, "Look! It's Aidyn guys!" and then it was just a big jumble of hugs all around. They took off running through the empty chapel and played a sort of follow-the-leader game between all the rows of chairs.

I just watched and thought about the importance of friendships in Aidyn's life. My prayer for her is that she'll continue to develop quality friendships--some friends who will speak into her life as she grows up. Right now if you ask her who is her favorite friend, she'll reply, "Lexi. And Daddy." I hope that we can always be some of her favorite friends without sacrificing our responsibility to her as parents.

Brighting

I love how Aidyn uses what words she knows to make herself understood. Case in point from this week: Driving in the car, we turn a corner and the sun shines directly on Aidyn's face. She responds with, "Mommy, the sun is brighting my eyes."

It's too _______-y

Aidyn has learned to add -y to the end of her words to make a noun into an adjective. Here are two examples from today:

After her nap she saw a book in her room with a bear on the cover. She said, "We can't bring this book downstairs. It's too beary."

At dinner Daddy was singing and Aidyn was unimpressed. She said, "No, Daddy, don't do that. That's too singy"

Brooklyn and Headsprout

Aidyn loves an online learning game from www.headsprout.com (which by the way is on sale for half off to anyone with kids still learning to read!--there's even a 3-lesson trial. It's a bit pricey, but we think totally worth it!) and we try to play what she calls "Spaceship Game" at least every other day. Our friends Jay and Cara have a new baby, Brooklyn, and a beautiful blog that shows how Brooklyn is growing. One day a few weeks ago we went online to play her game and I showed her Brooklyn's picture in their blog. I think an immediate friendship was born! Now each day before we play her game, I'll say, "Want to play Spaceship Game?" and she'll reply, "Yeah, but first we have to see the baby!"

I told Cara about Aidyn's fascination with Brooklyn and she (very sweetly) posted a shout out to Aidyn, a really cute picture of Brooklyn holding a sign that says, "Hi, Aidyn!" So, today I was very excited to show her the blog before we played Spaceship Game. Aidyn woke up from her nap late and I told her that Brooklyn had a surprise for her--she was very excited!

We went online, went to the blog, and I showed her the shout out. I showed her that the sign said, "Hi, Aidyn," and that Brooklyn and her mommy made that picture just for her. I explained that it was very special and very nice of them to send a message to her. I told her that Brooklyn lives really far away, all the way out by Uncle Dennis in California. Then I told her it was pretty cool, right? She looked at it for a minute and just said, "Oh. Let's play Spaceship Game!"

I Have an Owie

First of all, note the time of this post. Yeah, that's right, 4:10am. Ok, now the post:

When we put Aidyn down to sleep at night we turn on her fan, a cd (of either stories or songs), and a little lamp. The lamp and stories turn back off after about 15-20 minutes, but she's usually asleep before then. Sometimes, if she wakes up in the middle of the night, all it takes is to turn the cd and lamp back on and she's asleep again with no problem, then they turn themselves off after a little while. Obviously tonight is not one of those nights!

Tonight she woke up and I went in her room to give her a little reassurance. I noticed that she has a stuffy nose and figured that's what had her up in the night. I even changed her diaper, thinking maybe that was bothering her. Then I turned on her light and her songs and quietly stepped out of her room. She was quiet for a few moments (you know, just enough time for me to snuggle back under my covers and get almost asleep--about 15-20 minutes) and then began crying, "I have an owie! I have an owie! I have an owie!"

Concerned that something truly serious had awakened her tonight, I got up and went back in her room, listening to "I have an owie!" all the way there. I opened her door and she stopped crying after one last pitiful "I have an owie!" I went by her bed and asked her, "What's owie, Baby?"

Her reply: "My light and my music turned off!"

I think the first fable we'll have to learn is The Boy Who Cried Wolf!

Night-Night Music

The other day Aidyn was riding in the car with me (Donnie) and I turned the music on in the van. The radio station is usually tuned to KLOVE, our area's Christian radio station, and on this particular day it was playing it's typical mix of Christian songs. I think the channel is pretty boring--it seems like they only play the slow songs from the good bands--and apparantly Aidyn agrees. As soon as I turned on the radio she said, "No, Daddy, I don't want to listen to night-night music!" So I changed to the rock station and she began bobbing her head with the music. Even my child who is the perpetual musical (breaking out in song at random moments) knows where to find the good music!

Breakfast

As we've mentioned before, Aidyn knows what she wants--especially for breakfast. Today the conversation went something like this:

Daddy: "Aidyn, what do you want for breakfast?"
Aidyn: "Ummm...I will have....um...."
Daddy: "How about a banana?"
Aidyn: "No, bananas are too sticky."
Daddy: "How about an apple?"
Aidyn: "No, apples are too cold."
Daddy: "How about some milk?"
Aidyn: "No, milk is too cold. But, I will have some chocolate milk."

Flashback

Aidyn, about 18 months, playing with Daddy on the floor. Daddy is opening and closing his legs like a gate and Aidyn is laughing hysterically. Daddy stops and Aidyn says, "OPEN!!"
Daddy: "What's the magic word?"
Aidyn: "Abre."

Thanks, Dora!

King Me!

Aidyn's most recent kick has been "beautiful princess." She has princess sheets, princess blankets, princess toys, princess shirts...even princess shoes for pete's sake. Last week she picked out her frilliest dress to wear to church (complete with tennis shoes) and proclaimed herself "a beautiful princess!"

Today before her nap she apparantly reached a new decision:
"I don't want to be a beautiful princess anymore. I want to be the king!"

Mean Streak

Aidyn's "two-ness" is starting to come out more and more. Today we had to have a very serious talk regarding using nice words. A couple of days ago she decided that "Mommy! No more talking!" was an acceptable form of communication, but today was even worse. This morning she pointed her finger at me and said in her meanest possible voice--"No, Mommy! You don't talk to me anymore!" It landed her straight in time-out, of course. I hope we can teach her soon how to use nice words instead!!

Baby Belly

I apparantly need to lose weight. I'm not sure what's going on, but Aidyn is suddenly very interested in the size of my belly. Today at church she looked down my shirt and said, "You don't have any baby in your belly Mommy." I'm not even sure where she found out about babies in bellies anyway!

Mad Lips

Today Aidyn found a book on the shelf that she thought looked like a good book to read. It turned out to be an old copy of Mad Libs that we had hanging around. I read the title to her and she said, "I don't want to read about the Mad Lips!"

Big Butt

We are really trying to work on this potty training thing, but it's just not happening. I have to say I'm a little surprised that she didn't catch on more quickly, but I just have to keep telling myself that she won't still be wearing diapers in high school so we're going to be ok.

Lots of the books and articles tell you to model using the bathroom for your child, or at least point out to them that you're "going on the potty like a big girl." So today Aidyn was sitting on the potty (and nothing was happening besides reading "Elmo Uses the Potty" for the 50th time) and I decided to talk to her about it. I explained that Mommy uses the potty like a big girl and she said:

"But you have a big butt and I have a little butt. And, you have a big belly but I have a little belly. And I don't have to go potty."

Thanks, Aidyn. Thanks a lot. I think I'll definitely be sticking with my diet after that wonderful, uplifting encouragement and I'll be sure to use similarly loving words when you're wearing diapers to Algebra class.

Cheese Everywhere

I just picked Aidyn up from her first day at her new babysitter's house. We're really blessed because she doesn't have to go to formal daycare and she can play all day with her "favorite friend," Lexi, thanks to the willingness of one of our friends to watch her three days a week.

She told me all about what a fun day she'd had and all the different toys she'd played with. Then I asked her if she'd eaten lunch yet and she started to giggle.

Direct quote: "Yeah, we had cheesy noodles [macaroni and cheese] and there was cheese all over the place. Yeah, it was so silly and funny."

So, apparantly, I also need to send a cleaning staff to our friends' house after lunch each day!

That's Not Cute

Earlier in the summer Aidyn began using the word "cute." One morning as Daddy was getting her dressed, she said, "Daddy, that's not cute." He figured she didn't know what she was talking about and finished getting her dressed, then took her to church.

Mommy came home from work later in the afternoon and saw what Aidyn had worn to church. She asked, "Did you let her wear that to church? Because it doesn't match."

Daddy: "Yeah! She said it wasn't cute, but..."
Mommy: "Well...next time you should listen to her!"

I guess fashion sense is instinct!

Aidyn's Dictionary

Of course, every child is going to have some mispronunciations and alternate words when they're learning to talk. Aidyn's are particularly adorable. Below we've listed a few, including translations.

fork and shirt were a little dodgy for a while...that's getting better. You can use your imagination for what her mispronunciations were. Let's just say that "r's" are difficult.

oapaneal (oatmeal)

meat (neat...she will even correct us if we try to enunciate the n. "No! MMMMMMeat!"

mutt (mud)

beeenana (banana)

o-sauce (applesauce)

mickey (a diaper. This developed when she noticed that Mickey Mouse is printed on her diapers. She will even use it: "Mommy, I need a mickey change.")

Just a few that we could think of right now. More to come, I'm sure!

Yoatgurt

Aidyn has, for quite some time, known exactly what she wants. And by this I mean that if we ask her in the morning what she wants for breakfast, she will usually respond, "Um.....I will have _____________." Sometimes it's a banana, sometimes she wants cheese and crackers, and sometimes we have to gently guide her decisions ("No, Aidyn, pretzels are not a breakfast food."). But, she always has an answer for that question, and has had an (usually) appropriate response since before she turned two.

This morning we asked, "Aidyn, what would you like for breakfast today?"
Her response: "Um....yoatgurt."

So Proud

We are constantly telling Aidyn that we're very proud of her, but I'm not sure that she completely understands what it means, as evidenced by our interaction yesterday:

"Mommy! I'm so proud to see you!"

I guess she missed me when she was in church nursery!

...And Anyways

Aidyn is finally learning to talk on the phone to Mamie and Pappy all by herself! Before we'd have to sort of force her or use speaker phone because she wouldn't hold the phone and talk. Today she was talking to Mamie, holding the phone in one hand and her baby doll with the other hand (wish I could've gotten a picture!) and she was just telling Mamie about her day and about all her friends.

Then she said, "...and anyways," and changed the subject to something else!! Once again, it must be one of the phrases we use a lot!

Flashback

Aidyn, age 28 months, upset that Aunt Sarah was around:

"Auntie can't look at me anymore!"

Do we think this child really needs a sibling?

It's Raining!

Today we've been driving all around town running errands and it's really raining a lot! We used the "brella" and still got wet just from the puddles. Aidyn has had a lot to say today, including "we're waiting soooooo patientwy" in the bank line, but my favorite was in the van:

"Mommy, where is the sun?"

We got to have a good talk about how God waters the earth with the rain and the sun hides behind the clouds which led into a great discussion about Noah and the Ark. She decided that the way God waters the flowers is "pretty cool."

Which reminds me of another great story of Aidyn's from lately. A few weeks ago we were riding in the van and I was talking to Aidyn about prayer. We'd been trying to get her to "help" with prayers at meals and bedtime but just hadn't gotten her to try it yet. Then spontaneously she said:

"Dear God thank you for the flowers amen."

I think God hears those prayers more than any other type, don't you?

Flashback

February, 2008
Aidyn, age 2, asking for dinner at Chuck-E-Cheese

"Mamie and Pappy will take me to Chicky Jesus?!"

Sure is! Must have!

So, you start to notice what kind of things you say a lot when your kids pull these random phrases out and use them against you!

Us: "Aidyn, did you go poop in your diaper?"
Aidyn: "Must have!"

or

Aidyn: "The floor is wet."
Us: "Yep, I just mopped so the floor is wet."
Aidyn: "Sure is!"

It makes me laugh!

Flashback

I have missed so many great things Aidyn has said by starting this blog so late. I should have started it when she said her first word at 7 months (not "dada"...it was "Daddy" and even possibly "hi, Daddy.") She's always been precocious in the language department and I'll have to periodically put in "flashback" phrases that she's said.

So, for the first flashback:
Aidyn, age 22 months or so, asking for a hug:

"Daddy, I need to be in your love."

Baby Monitor Eavesdropping

So right now I should be sleeping, but Aidyn is breaking my heart over the baby monitor. I just put her down to sleep, and now that she's getting to be a "big girl" she's allowed to keep her lamp on for an hour to read in bed. We keep a pile of books beside her and the lamp is on an auto-timer so we don't have to go back in and risk waking her up.

Tonight she kept needing "another story" and tried all the usual tactics, but I am tired and have to be to work in just a few hours, so I had to say no. I told her it was because Mommy needed to go to bed, but she didn't have to...she could stay up and read like a big girl!

Nevertheless, she was screaming for me before I even left her room. Usually she calms down within 30 seconds, but tonight was a marathon resistance of bedtime. Finally, as she began to calm herself, I heard the following conversation between Aidyn and herself:

"But I want to read another story!" (whiny, crying voice Aidyn)
"But it's very night time" (calm, no whine voice! Hilarious!)
"But Mommy can't read to me anymore" (crying again)
"Becase Mommy had to go nite-nite." (calm! Ha!)
"But I want her really much!" (whining to the max)
"But she will come back, so we can just read these stories." (as calm as can be...she must have quieted the whiny Aidyn because that's the last of the conversation I could make out over the monitor)

And now I hear her counting and singing, so I know all is well and she will play herself to sleep as usual. How wonderfully she illustrated the bi-polar nature in every toddler.

Goodnight my two Aidyns, sleep well.

Lucky Germs

This morning Aidyn was describing her breakfast:

"I need more mushamellows in my Lucky Germs. And I need milk in it."

A Little Fire Kindles

Inspired by the hilarious things she says, we have decided to start a blog to record Aidyn's expanding vocabulary. we hope to record a little of her expanding life as well.

We have named the blog "A Little Fire Kindles," a phrase from James 3:5b. Aidyn's name means "little fire" in Gaelic and each day her intensity and spirit proves that we chose the correct name for her. And James 3 is about taming the tongue...both of her parents are constantly working on that one, and we bet that's genetic!

So, here's to Aidyn and her amazing use of the English language!