5/4/20 – Working out

This morning, you came to my bed at 5 am with your M&Ms blanket, one puppy pad & water bottle. You cried because your boo boo on your foot hurt when you came to my room. Last night before bed, you put your couch next to my bed, all reclined out so you could lay in there when you came to my bed. I put it back to the seated position so you wouldn’t trip on it during the night. You were not happy about that but I quickly consoled you to lay in bed and snuggle with me. You gave me kisses and said I love you mama and drifted right back to sleep.

When I woke you up at 7:30, you said your body was still full of sleep lol. After having a chance to look more closely at your foot, we did find a tiny piece of glass on the ball of your foot. Of course you didn’t want us to touch it but finally, I was able to distract you with kids Lingos and you didn’t even notice Daddy touching it. It was out without pain and when we went to your room to get dressed, you were jumping on it so excited that it didn’t hurt anymore!

When I got home from work, you and Daddy were upstairs doing a workout video. He sent me a video of you doing the workout, then you turned around to say “I’m taking a break!!” I about died. You asked me to join you in my dress, then you would let me go change my clothes. I went downstairs to start cooking and then you joined me to help. You seasoned the chicken and stirred the Marsala sauce.

We played outside after dinner since it was so pretty. We went to your room to do Italian Lingos and read a book. You were wiggly tonight and took a little longer to fall asleep, so I sat next to you, rubbed your forehead and told you a story about you. You smiled until you were snoring. This is a spectacular way to do bedtime and I love it. It’s one of my favorite things we do together.

I love you so much.

5/3/20 – Sunday Funday!

You slept all night in your room & came to my room at 7a ready to go! You brought your Goodnight Football book and read the whole thing in bed snuggling with me. While we were reading, you looked at me and said, I wish Daddy was awake lol!

You helped me make waffles again (much better batch today) then we watched Coco. You helped me clean up the toys that were all over the living room. You ALWAYS love to help!You found your Tickle Monster book in your closet when you were putting shoes away. It came with furry mittens for tickling. You were wearing them and calling them “puppy pads”.

You ate a grilled cheese sandwich IN your couch ON my bed. Last weeks garden theme at school has you very interested in plants and seeds. So we went to Lowe’s to get potting soil and planter for herbs, but the line was so long I just told you I forgot my money lol!

You snoozed in the car on the way to Ms. Marcela’s house. You immediately put all 52 of your ducks in the pool & 12 mermaids lol. You are also fascinated with feeding all of the bugs you find in the pool to her chicken. So you kept running over to the chicken coop, in your swimsuit, googles and glittery light up rain boots lol. Eric brought out a bag of dried meal worms for the chicken to snack on. Of course, the perpetual helper, you were eager to carry the bag to the coop and feed the chicken. You look like quite a little farmer! Back in the pool, you love stepping on the water pump pipe and then stepping off and it spraying up super high! You were counting to 20 in Spanish & cracking up laughing when you got soaked!

You sang some crazy songs you made up on the way home. You helped Daddy take the trashcans out and then jumped in the shower with me. You brought ALL of your ducks into the shower. You played for a few minutes in the shower and then we went to your room to do Kids Lingos. I told you we could do three. When you finished them I said “ok, we’re all done with Lingos. Grab a book & come snuggle with me.” You did exactly that. We read the Tickle Monster book that goes with your “puppy pads” and then I asked you if you wanted to hear music. You said, “I want to snuggle with you mama & listen to Bamboleo.” I said, that’s fine, just close your eyes. You did, and you were snoring in no time at all. We had a fantastic weekend. I absolutely adore you.

I love you so much!

5/2/20 – Splishing & Splashing

This morning you slept in a little, but Daddy woke up in the middle of the night and had fallen asleep on the couch watching TV. To try to keep you in bed with me so he could sleep, we did “Kid’s Lingos” ( an English reading & writing version of Duolingo). You LOVE it. It’s really the first app I have ever downloaded for you. I saw an ad for it in the Duolingo app about 2 weeks ago or so. I wasn’t sure what it was about but thought we would take a look. I don’t want you going crazy for my phone, so I have never let you have any games or anything on my phone.

Finally, our new waffle iron arrived this week so we got to try it out this morning. You helped me make waffles and you measured and stirred all the ingredients. You put your new Frozen couch from Romo on top of the chair in the living room & sat there eating your waffle. We packed up after breakfast to head to Ms. Marcela’s house to swim. You had a BLAST!!!!! You had all your ducks out and kept catching bugs and taking them to the chicken coop to feed to her chicken. You played and swam so hard all day and also lounged with me in her huge “boat” raft. We left around 3:30p and you were passed out in the car in no time. It was way too late to nap, but I still let you sleep for an hour so you wouldn’t be too tired to watch a movie tonight. All week you had asked to watch Toy Story 3, but it was just too late each night. If you hadn’t napped there’s no way you would have made it through a movie.

Daddy made a steak on the grill & you ate about half of it lol. You brought your Frozen couch and put it by the bar to sit it and wait for fork fulls of steak, like a baby bird waiting for a worm lol. While he was cooking, we were dancing to Bomboleo by Gypsy Kings. You love them now that you have discovered Hay Un Amigo En Mi.

After dinner, we watched Toy Story 3 and you ate more snacks (after a huge dinner)! We went to your room, did 2 Italian Lingos & then read If I Ran the Zoo. I can’t believe how much of this book you have memorized. It’s a pretty complex book! You never cease to amaze me. You were still awake when I finished so we read Sneetches. You fell asleep, so when I finished, I pulled the covers up to your shoulders (you HATE covers when you are awake, so I always cover you up before I leave) and then I kissed your forehead. As I opened the door, I looked back at you and your eyes were open!!!! HOW!?!?! You should be out! I laid back down with you & you were out in just a few minutes. I have never regretted reading and snuggling with you to sleep. I’m in no rush to push you to independence and I always want you to know that I will be there for you no matter what… no matter what time, day or night… no matter what you need… no matter what.

I love you so much!!!

5/1/20 – Parking Lot Picnic

You were slow moving this morning. You took FOREVER to get up, to brush your teeth, to get dressed, to brush your hair. In the car on the way to school, you were trying to sing “Hay Un Amigo En Me” but you were having trouble remembering the words without the music playing. You said “mama, can you please play the song? I can’t concentrate without the music!” We were running later to school than usual. You were happy when we got there though and had a great day. When you got home, you and Ms. Sandy finished your Frozen Lego Arendelle Castle and it looked amazing!!!! When I got home from work, you showed me all of your rainbow and garden projects…. Everything was great! When Daddy got home you were excited to show him as well. You told him to “wait a couple whiles” instead of wait a couple of minutes lol.

We packed up the car with picnic supplies, chairs and your bike and ran to pick up Chinese food and had a picnic in the parking lot. You were happy to ride all around and there were several cars that did the same thing. You were happy to keep tabs on what all the other kids were doing. The weather was just too nice to eat inside and I didn’t have picnic food options at home. This was as fantastic as it was unplanned. You skipped your nap again today (I guess you feel you don’t need them anymore) so you started to rub your eyes after we ate while you were bike riding. We packed up, headed home, jumped in bed and did just 2 Lingos before you fell asleep. Poor tired girl!

I love you soooo much!

4/30/20 – All wet…

Daddy went to leave for work and you ran to the front door to kiss him goodbye. You ran back in saying “Daddy’s car has a boo-boo mama. A really BIG boo-boo! I went outside to see what had happened. He forgot the sunroof open and it poured rain all night. The inside was soaked! So we all loaded up in my car, we took you to school and then he dropped me at work & he took my car to work. You were so happy to have me ride in the back seat with you on the way to school!! You wore your new glittery light up rain boots in the car, even though you can’t wear them to school.

When we got home, we cooked together. You helped me season chicken wings and set the oven to preheat. You are getting so good at following directions like that. We made some teriyaki sauce and you were in charge of stirring. You still make a pretty good mess when you stir, but you are getting so much better! You loved the wings (and the tater tots!) You played with your new Arendelle castle and I had to send Aunt Deb a picture of you. It was so cute. Tonight, Arendelle was full of Toy Story characters.

You took a bike ride around the block while Daddy & I walked. We didn’t get too far when we ran into a few neighbors standing around talking. You were showing off to everyone how well you can ride your bike and fast too! Enzo was there so you wanted to pet him of course. All of a sudden, I looked over at you and your face was scrunched up. I knew right away you had to pee and already had started. We quietly headed home so you wouldn’t be embarrassed. We had just rounded the corner and you saw Ms. Moe almost to the next curve. You took off so fast and blew right past the house shouting out “Ms. Mooooooeeeeeee!!!” We ended up circling the entire block again, although we never stopped to potty! When we got back home, you ran in right away to change. By the time I got into the house, you had peed, put on night pants, a Frozen nightgown and had your bike helmet back on. When I walked in you wailed in tears because you wanted to go back out to ride more! I quickly calmed you down and we went to your room to do Lingos. We did two lessons, you climbed on top of me and you were snoring in 2 minutes. I must have kissed your forehead 20 times before leaving your room.

I love you so much!!

4/29/20 – Impromptu

It was quite a process to get you dressed today lol. You spent a lot of time organizing your panties and deciding which ones to wear! On the way to school we listened to Toy Story in Spanish – you love to sing Hay Un Amigo En Mi! The new drop off procedure at school is going very well. You are happy to grab your lunch box, give me a big hug & kiss, then run right to Ms. Amber and right to your class with no worries about me! It feels so much better. I told Ms. Amber that after you went to your classroom and she said they are considering keeping this in place because it’s been so much easier for all the kids.

I picked you up and you said you were hungry. You just finished lunch before I came, but you wanted pizza. So, we grabbed a slice at Rico’s and headed to the park at the north bridge to Siesta. I put a blanket on the ground and we had a lovely little picnic. You told me “it’s so pretty here mama!” These moments make me extremely grateful for the changes that have come in response to this virus. Without it, our picnic today wouldn’t have happened. We headed to my office after lunch so Romo could give you your birthday present, a Frozen couch. She asked you to close your eyes so you could find your surprise. You said, “mama needs to take a picture of me first!” We were all cracking up laughing. When you learned it folded out and you could lay on it you were so excited. You wanted to call Jackie and sat on couch with the phone chatting her up. When I went to sign my closing I told you I would be right back & you said “is your people here?” I was done quickly and we left to go home. You wanted to video call Grandma Weezie and you were excited to tell her about your Frozen couch. When we got home we played phase 10.

Daddy’s coffee pot was delivered and you opened it like it was a birthday present lol. I said but it’s in a box and you don’t like boxes. You said, I don’t mind boxes anymore! I was like hmmm, well on your birthday you were super annoyed by them lol. He made you hot cocoa while I was at the store. We went to bed, did two Lingos & you snuggled on me and were snoring in 2 minutes. I went to lay you down on your pillow and kissed your forehead a thousand times. I love you so much!

4/28/20 – This is Nothing!

When you came to my room last night, you brought your M&M blanket, raggedy Ann doll, stuffed flamingo, small pillow from your couch, Easter bunny stuffy and your water bottle! We have no idea how you gather up so much stuff t bring while you are half asleep. You always bring your water bottle and blanket or stuffy, but last night was a LOT!!! When you climb into bed you are back to sleep in 30 seconds.

You didn’t want to get up this morning but when you finally did, you were very cooperative. You were riding your scooter all over the house while I finished getting ready. Daddy left for work before you woke up and you were disappointed to find he was gone. However, he made you an awesome egg sandwich which you wolfed down on the way to school. I picked you up from school because Ms. Sandy was sick. You were quiet in the car, and when I looked in the rear-view mirror a few minutes later, you were sound asleep. While you were sleeping, we ran by Grandma Weezie’s to drop something off. While we were talking you woke up. You were happy to see her and you scammed her out of piece of pizza she was having for lunch. lol. We left and dropped some packages off at the UPS store. You handed each package and label to the clerk, one by one, giving her direction “this one goes with this package…etc”. The clerk was very complimentary of you and so was I. It’s impressive to see how confident you are interacting with adults.

We went home & Grandma Noot came to hang out with you while I took a quick call. There was an Amazon package delivered and I thought it was another birthday delivery for you. You opened it, but it was a part for Daddy’s phone. You said “this is nothing!!!!” clearly disappointed it wasn’t a birthday present. Grandma Noot brought your birthday presents that were delayed. You couldn’t wait to see what your surprises were. You were so excited about the mermaid shirt, unicorn swimsuit & long unicorn dress. She intentionally wrapped them without a box because you were so frustrated by the boxes on your birthday. You told her that you don’t mind boxes now. lol! We were both cracking up laughing. You thought all of it was so pretty that you insisted on wearing it to Target to grab a few things. You wanted everything we walked by in the store and you weren’t happy we didn’t buy a 5 foot tall Arendelle Castle. We drove by Juniper’s birthday party long enough for you to grab a cupcake, a cookie & a balloon! After dinner, you were jumping around and being crazy. We headed to bed, did 3 Lingos and read two books. You climbed on top of me and fell asleep. I love you so much!!!!

4/27/20 – Gardens Growing

This morning when you woke up you told me that you had a dream about me. It was so sweet to hear you tell me all about it. I believe this was your first dream that you had. We were headed to the car to go to school and Luca & Mr. Anthony were walking baby Gio around the block. Of course you had to pet Enzo the Doodle. Luca had a Buzz Lightyear, so you ran in and grabbed yours. You were so excited that you both had one.

On the way to school, you were so excited to be able to see me in my rear view mirror. You giggled out

loud so hard it made me laugh! When we got to school, you couldn’t wait to show Ms. Amber your new Buzz & Woody.

You ran off into school so happily. My heart just smiles to see you back in your element, thriving. We could not possibly have found a better fit for you in a school. I hope you always love school like you do now! You had a great day and this week started a gardening theme at school. You planted seeds, cut & pasted a series of pictures of a garden growing & you were so excited to show it to me when I got home! You practiced more cutting at home and you have gotten so good at cutting straight lines!

You helped me cook dinner and then we played a fierce game of Sorry! & Uno. After that, we headed to your room to do Lingos. We did 3 Italian lessons (I’ll take it while you are into it because sometimes you only want to do Spanish.) You asked me to play the Frozen soundtrack in Spanish, so I did, but you fell asleep during the first song, with you arms holding onto mine.

When I left your room, I had an email from Alisa Sue with your birthday photos. Every single one is AMAZING!!! She’s able to capture your personality in every shot. I love every photo… like always!

I love you so much sweet girl.

4/26/20 – Easy Like Sunday Morning

You slept all night in your bed & came to my room at 7:40a and wanted to snuggle with me. I asked how your sleep was and you said “it was good & great!”

We made breakfast (blueberry pancakes & biscuits). You tried to use a ton of butter on your biscuits. Poor Harold, you made him wear your Anna crown, have a Buzz Light Year party and then you took him for a walk and used your binoculars to check everything out. In the mail, we found ANOTHER birthday gift. It was a 2nd Frozen Spanish book. When we got home, Daddy tried to read it to you & you said, “no Daddy, Mommy knows the words better. Have her read it” lol.

“no Daddy, Mommy knows the words better. Have her read it”

We played Uno & Sorry, had lunch and then Daddy went to your room to nap. We joined him as soon as you finished eating, but he was long asleep lol. I read you your new Spanish Frozen book and you were asleep by the end. You had a snack and watched Toy Story when you woke up. You & I took some soup & ice cream to Grandma Weezie’s house. You wanted to bring your scooter so we did. You insisted on calling her in the car. You couldn’t wait to tell her that we turned your car seat around! You were basically squealing with excitement!

You even told her when we were pulling into her neighborhood. Then you “yelled” I love you and hung up! You were calling for her when we pulled up to look at your seat facing forward. She was so happy for you! You got out and rode your scooter for a bit & gave her a huge hug when we left. She always tells you that you give the best hugs… I think she’s right!

We went home to eat & played Sorry & Uno again. You are counting the spaces in Sorry so much better than even a couple of weeks ago. I also love the way you say “Lose a turn” during Uno. It’s so cute because it’s almost sing-songy. I also love the way you pronounce “Sugar” with a very strong emphasis on the shhhh (“Shhh-ugar”). You are quite a special little girl.

We headed off to bed. You wanted to do three Lingos (Italian lessons) and we read your entire Spanish Vocabulary book. You then asked me to play spanish kids songs. I sang De Colores to you and then found a Spanish Lullaby station on Pandora. You drifted off to sleep in my arms and it was another absolutely perfect night. I love you so much.

  • Using Frozen Powers on Daddy!
  • Poor Harold!
  • To Infinity & Beyond!

4/25/20 – Changes…

Today was the day…. at 4 years and 4 days old, we finally turned your car seat around to face forward. You were nearing the maximum height limit, so it was time. However, it’s one more step away from you being little & that stings a little bit for me. The look on your face when you got in was priceless. You told me that it was so much “cozier” in your seat now. We stopped by my office for a minute and you were chatting up with Jenn & Laney, taking all their stamps and having a blast. Grandma Noot met us and we went out to Longboat Key to check on a condo listing of hers. The unit has a private beach access, so we were able to play on the beach. We collected shells, had snacks & you played in the sand (even put it right in your hair!) and because no one was there, you could throw the sand in the air as much as you wanted! That definitely made your day! You started to get tired, so you asked if we could go home. You were definitely tired & when we dropped Grandma Noot off at my office, your eyes were glazed. We weren’t to the back gate of my parking lot when you fell asleep! Poor tired girl!

When you woke up, you snacked & then we showered. I never did get you to put any clothes on lol. You ate a ton of watermelon & then you didn’t want to eat the stir fry I made for dinner. We played Life & then I ran to Whole Foods. While I was gone, you tried to con Daddy into making you a grilled cheese sandwich… He didn’t buy it lol, so you finally ate some of your stir fry and MORE watermelon!!! We went to bed to do Lingos & read Seuss books. You snuggled with me, complained that my boob was in your way, then rolled over and drifted off to sleep in the middle of The Lorax. As I sat up in your bed, I leaned over and kissed your forehead. You look like an angel laying in bed. Bedtime hasn’t always been this peaceful, but it was worth the wait! It’s one of my favorite things that we do. I love you so much!!!!