Hide and Seek

I have always wondered why kids love to play endless games of hide and seek. Even as a child this was not really my thing. Looking sucked and I wasn’t very patient during the hiding part either. Here I am all these years later once again playing my least favorite game. The best part of playing this time is who I get to play with. Dakota has just discovered this game and hasn’t really figured out the point yet. She knows that she needs to go into the other room and cover her eyes. She knows how to count, but sometimes only gives me a count of 4 to hide. She yells out “Ready not! I come!”. The part she is struggling with is the SECRET hiding place. When she hides she tells me exactly where I should come find her. “Mom go count and then find me in my bed” When it’s my turn to hide she tells me I have to hide in her bed and she will find me. I’ve tried to encourage her NOT to tell me where she is hiding and also that she doesn’t always have to hide in the same place. Contrary to her order, I once hid on the ground at the foot of her bed. I sat Indian style with her quilt over me. I was peeking so I had a good view of her racing into her room anticipating the moment she got to unveil me from my pre-assigned spot on the bed. She stopped dead and said “mom!” then “Mommy?!?” She ran out of her room calling for me. She got to daddy in the kitchen and I heard her tell him that I was gone. The poor thing was close to tears when I started yelling for her to come back into her room. As a result of my poor listening skills she told me today that I had to hide ON her bed and not on the floor. Soon hide and seek will become more complicated and she will discover the fun of finding the best hiding spots in the house, until then, I know exactly where to look.

The Great Cracker Caper

When did Dalton get so independent? More and more he acts like he’s a big boy already. He stole a bowl of crackers off the kitchen table today. He walked his bowl over to the coffee table and took a seat in the rocking chair. He wanted to sit down and have a snack. The absolute best part of his cracker adventure was his look of pride and success from setting himself up at the table. When I glanced over at him he had a big smile on his face and a cracker in his little hand. I want to know how he got so smart already? He is also becoming a pro with silverware. I don’t think Dakota started mastering a fork until she was closer to 18 months, but he yells and fusses until you give him his own fork so he can try to eat with it. He still tries to use the wrong end, but he is getting better with it each day. He is very conscience of how things work and he wants to use everything correctly. You should see him trying to color! He goes back and forth between trying to eat the crayon and making little sounds of glee while actually getting some of the crayon onto the paper. My future holds electronics in pieces I fear.     

Here's to Graeme

Graeme picked up a pair of Dakota’s shoes last night and said he couldn’t believe her feet were that big already. He was so sweet remembering her as his tiny little girl, “She should be little still and showing us her flower shoes and pooping in her diaper”  I told him to just wait 10 years from now and in his typical smart ass way he replied “At least she won’t be shitting in her pants”. Yep, that’s my husband! Regardless of his snarky answer I know that he is really missing his baby girl. Their relationship is just the perfect father/daughter relationship to me. I am so blessed by this man who loves his children deeply and is so devoted to them. He also somehow manages to put up with an insane wife and loves me not in spite of my quirks but because of them. So here is to Graeme, the man who makes me better and always makes me laugh.

 

Showing off her flower shoes (October 2011):

 

 Daddy and his Little Girl (May 2011)

 

Christmas Traditions and Memories (a little late)

It was so busy during the Christmas holidays that I didn’t spend any time to write. So here is the catch up on the Christmas happenings of 2012. Since having Dakota Christmas has become magical again for me. I struggled for many years during the holiday season. As so many people do, I felt so lonely. I felt like I was lacking all the traditions that other families had. I wanted Christmas to be special and it just wasn’t. Having my own family gave me the opportunity to create my own traditions, Graeme and I have been working to find the perfect Holiday magic ever since. I know love the holiday season and enjoy how busy we get and all the time we spend fellowshipping with our family and friends. The girls and I get together for a cookie party and have a blast baking and decorating and laughing together. We also gather at Stormy’s house for a casual dinner and gift giving or craft making.  The Quisenberry and McNabb families enjoy a cold night at the Zoo for Zoo Lights. Graeme and I also take the kids to see neighborhood Christmas lights (my favorite tradition) On Christmas we go to Uncle Bob’s for the annual Doty Prime Rib dinner. On Christmas morning we enjoy the magic of watching our children see the Christmas Tree surrounded with presents. We watch and laugh and enjoy watching the present opening with just us and our kiddos. This year we got Dakota a bike for Christmas and we even created a giant box and wrapped it so she would have a HUGE box under the tree. For the past several years we have hosted a Christmas dinner here at our house. We get a ham from the Pork Chop and eat and open presents and just enjoy each other and the season. In just a few short years we have already established some amazing Holiday traditions that I look forward to continuing in the years to come. Our gatherings are always casual and money is always tight. We don’t have formal dishes or fancy table settings, but we do have each other and we always have fun. As I look back on December I feel amazingly blessed by the joy we have in our lives.

Walking Boy and Talking Girl

Dalton is finally walking. It took him till he was almost 14mo old. Also, he is finally off a bottle and using only sippy cups; that took until just last week. He just takes longer to do everything than Dakota did. He is a very silly kid and I love to see him roaming around the house, it would be easier on me if he didn’t manage to get into so much trouble though.

Dakota just amazes me each day. We are struggling with being 3 years old though. Oh this girl can WHINE!  I am trying so hard to remain patient and consistent. I’ve started sending her off to her room when she is totally beyond normal communication. I try not to tell her she is in a time out, instead I tell her she should go calm down and we will talk when she feels better. This seems to be really helping. Sometimes she even calms down enough to speak to me without whining before she even gets to her room. She has even marched off to her room all on her own when she’s pissed at me. I give her a couple minuets then peek in, she laughs and hides under her blankets and is all cuddles and smiles again.  She is also getting so smart. She loves to count things and is learning her numbers so well. Her handwriting still is a bit crazy, I think that is mostly because she still can’t decide which hand to write with. She is constantly changing from right to left. I’m not worried though, I see her developing in so many other cool ways. I ran out to the store a couple days ago and when I got home she asked, “Are you back Mommy”. I told her no. Usually she just thinks about it and says, Yes you are and laughs. This time she thought really hard and told me, “You are in the house so you can’t be NOT back, you are home”. I loved to hear her logical answer.  I can’t wait to see who my kids turn out to be when they grow up and I’m loving every day as their mom.