Funny things kids say...


I will update soon with all the holiday new and some great pics, but I wanted to share a quick funny story before it got lost in my "mommy brain".

I asked Court what activity she wanted to do when she got bigger: gymnastics, soccer, baseball, dance. And what did my child say with all her normal dramatic flair "mommy, I want to take juggling lessons!". Great, my child will run away and join the circus!

Holiday updates!

My goodness November and December fly by every year. It starts with Halloween and before you know it, it's New Year's Day!

This is an especially exciting holiday season because it's the first where Court seems to really "get" what's going on.

She loved Halloween, but wasn't as into trick or treating as she was last year. She like the dressing up part, but didn't like actually saying "trick or treat". She just let Casey knock on the door, stuck her fingers in her mouth and put her bag out. It was quite rude, really. I sure hope she gets over this shy stage soon!



There she is helping daddy "carve" pumpkins. We got this great kit, where she could put lights into the pumpkin kinda like a Lite Brite. She thought it was way cool

Here she is all dressed up as a Barbie Princess



This is a cute of one of her and her daddy walking down the street. I love to watch them together.



Before we knew it, it was Thanksgiving, which for our family, means lots of turkey and FOOTBALL. Court had a blast playing with her cousin "Bubba". To me, that's what Thanksgiving is all about!

We are now preparing for Christmas. We put the lights up on the house. Our little angel picked out some penguins for the front yard. We bought most of our gifts already (I started in September...crazy, I know). Court has written her letter to Santa (3 pages!). Now, we play the waiting game, when every day, my little girl asks me "Is it Christmas yet?"

Terrible twos my butt!

They completely bypassed our family. I thought we were home free, then BAM! ...then came the Terrible Threes! They are kicking our butt. We have been completely inequipped to handle it since we've been so spoiled by what an angelic toddler she has been so far.

Everything is "no, I do it" and it takes 10 times longer. Everything is a negotation to get her to do ANYTHING. And now that she's given up her nap, she's worse in the evenings which is the only time I spend with her during the week. It's a mad rush to get her dinner, a bath, jammies, teeth brushing and bed. I often have to decompress with a glass of red wine after she's asleep! Mornings are equally as hectic, if not worse. Now that I have to get her out of the house to daycare, the pressure is on and we've yet to find our groove. The good news is that she LOVES her new daycare. She's so excited to go every morning which makes things MUCH easier. The hard part is getting her to brush her teeth and her hair. I have to threaten to cut it off almost every morning to get her to cooperate. I really hope she never calls my bluff on that one. Forget about getting her dressed. I'm just lucky her babysitter is ok with me bringing her in with her pajamas on half the time.

But, she is absolutely thriving at this daycare. She is playing real hard outside like normal kids do. Every day she comes come smelling like sweat and dirt, which is what I think a kid her age SHOULD smell like. She hardly watches television anymore, which is great, and she eats MUCH MUCH better. I don't even have to hide the veggies in her food anymore. Her favorite food is broccoli, carrots and peas right now. It's crazy. Just a couple of months ago, she wouldn't touch the stuff. So, it is obvious to me that she needed a little more structure in her life and this new daycare is giving that to her. I am still eternally grateful to her nanny for her 3 years of helping out our family, but it was time for a change.

Court is still, however, painfully shy. I was hoping playing with these kids every day would help that. She's not shy with them but she wont' talk to anyone else she doesn't know. A few weeks ago, I signed her up for a little tap and ballet class. I was eagerly awaiting for her to turn 3. When I found out I was having a little girl, tutus and tap shoes are what I immediately envisioned. Well, after spending a small fortune on said supplies, I took her to the class, only to have her cling to me and scream bloody murder. I threatened to take her tap shoes back and her tutu and that just made the screaming worse. I of course, felt awful and apologized to her. The truth is she's just not ready. In the meantime, she gets to keep the ridiculously overpriced tap shoes and I have to wait for this shy phase to ease up a bit, if it ever does. I did get some great shots though before we left for the class, when she was still all excited to go:





So, that's what's going on with us right now. It's quite hectic but we're adjusting. I've purchased every parenting of toddlers book I can find and I'm currently devouring those, but mainly, I'm just figuring out what makes my newly sophisticated little girl tick. And there is some manipulation involved on both sides, but we're managing.

But, don't even get me started on the potty training thing! That's for another post. Until then, I will leave with my current fave pic of my little "angel".



How can such a sweet girl be such a handful?

Change of babysitter

Court has been with the same nanny since she was 4 months old. When she was a baby, it was very important to me that she receive one on one care. As she became a toddler, I noticed that she craved interaction with other children. She adored the older grandchildren of her nanny, but they are 9 and 13 and were starting to teach her some bad habits. When she was around other kids her own age, she didn't really know how to react. She's become increasingly shy over the last few months and REALLY REALLY spoiled. So, enough was enough. I stopped taking the easy way out and went and found another daycare in our neighborhood that had 4 other kids her age.

It was the perfect setup. Right around the corner from our house. Recommended to us by her friend Gabbi's mother. She provides breakfast, lunch and snacks and she is willing to help us to potty train! It felt like it was the perfect thing at the perfect time, so we jumped on it and haven't looked back.

It was of course, sad for us because this woman has practically raised my daughter and took wonderful care of her, but we were becoming increasingly dissatisfied. She was getting up there in age, and not active enough to keep my child active during the day. She was watching too much television and has learned to roll her eyes and be sassy with us like the little grandson. It was time for a change and I'm so glad we did.

I was extremely nervous. I had to get her ready to actually leave the house every morning, where before, the nanny would just come to our house. I've never left her with anyone but grandparents and the nanny, so even though she came highly recommended, I was wary. I practically made myself sick the night before her first day of "school" (as we called it to get her excited). But it turns out it was all for naught. She was quite the trooper. She was so excited and got right in the car, no arguments. I stayed with her for about 10 minutes, she kissed me goodbye and I walked away. I cried all the way to work because this was a big change for me. My baby is growing up. I called to check on her a couple of hours later and the DCP said she was quiet for about an hour, never cried, but had been playing up a storm ever since and even ate a really good lunch (peas and all).

It's been 3 weeks, and she's had some ups and downs, but I've already noticed huge strides in her social demeanor. She's more brave, she eats better, and her manners are back to being impeccable. She's on a good schedule and she seems genuinely happy. Every day, she's excited to go play with her new friends. It warms my heart like you wouldn't believe. My little independent angel is such a big girl and I'm so proud! I feel we made the right decision and I believe in fate. This was just meant to be and has been good for the both of us :)

What a crazy day!

That birthday party was. It gets so much harder as they get older. I was so stressed out thinking of what to do to entertain a bunch of 3-year olds AND the 20 something adults we invited. It was bizarre. Every single person we invited RSVP'd YES. Even my father in law was in town from Palm Springs. It was a full house!

After going back and forth several times about a jumper, a pinata, snow-cone machine, etc.... we decided on a Little Mermaid water party. We had swimming pools, water guns, water balloons, sprinklers and a water table. It was like a water park in our backyard.



Good thing we decided to do that because it was SUPER hot that day. I'm pretty sure everyone had a good time, though I was running around like a crazy woman and didn't get to eat anything. Courtney got a bunch of gifts that we of course, have no room for, but she loved them.

We were all exhausted that night. I think I was asleep by 9pm. Court was extremely happy and went to sleep like an angel with the most adorable little half smile on her lips. Happy Birthday Baby!

Happy Birthday Baby!

I can't believe it's been 3 years since you came into my life. I was sooo scared when I found out I was pregnant, even though I wanted you so very badly. When you were born, the world suddenly made sense in a way it never did before. I was put on this earth to be your mother. I believe that with all my heart. And I am truly blessed to have you as a daughter.

You were so so small when I first met you and I was sure I was going to screw you up for life.



You were a colicky and sick baby which made for a pretty miserable 6 months for the both of us. But I got the hang of it and soon I couldn't remember what it was like to not be a mother. Once you started to feel better, you were such a happy baby. You were always smiling and laughing and making us smile and laugh.



Before we knew it, you were growing up to be a very beautiful toddler. Strangers would stop us on the street to compliment us on your beautiful eyes and your long shiny hair. You blew people away with your advanced vocabulary and your ability to take in everything around you. We knew you were special.



You were an amazing 2 year old. I couldn't figure out what the "terrible twos" even were. You were sweet and agreeable. You would just go with the flow. Wear what I wanted you to wear, let me brush your hair. Go where we wanted you to go.




Man, I miss those days! You are a very independent 3 year old and you are definitely keeping me on my toes. But I still feel blessed and proud. I want to raise a strong woman, the way my mother raised me. I see that in you already and I look forward to watching you learn and grow and blossom into an amazing person. You already are an amazing person and I thank God every day that I know you.



Thanks for humoring me if you've read the mushy letter to my daughter above. Her birthday party is this Saturday and I will be sure to post some pics!

The Other Love of My Life

I spend so much time talking and writing about my daughter that it may seem as if she's the only one that matters in my life. The truth of the matter is that my husband is the first love of my life and I try to remember that every day. I know a lot of women who ignore their husbands when their children are born, couples who don't have anything to talk about but their kids or who don't make time for the just the two of them. I think that is just plain criminal. Sure, our child is the most important thing in our lives but not THE only thing. A good marriage is the foundation of your family. After all, what will be left after the children go off and start their own lives?

Here's a pic of us at a wedding over the weekend. I'm more in love with him today than I was when we met over 14 years ago!

More Courtneyisms

It looks like Toys R Us in my child's bedroom. I try really hard to keep it contained to her bedroom, but it inevitably overflows into every room in the house. It's a constant effort to keep things picked up. She just has too much stuff and for some strange reason we all keep buying more! So, the new rule is that if she gets a new toy, we take one that she doesn't play with anymore and put it away for our next charitable donation. I tried to explain to her about how some kids don't have any toys because they are poor. On the surface, it appears as if she has some compassion for these children, but not enough to part with any toys that are still functioning.

"Oh, mommy, I forgot about this toy, it's my favorite" Then why haven't you played with it in over a year?

"This one toy is broken. Let's give it to the poor kids!" No, baby, I think they want toys that aren't broken.

I guess I'll keep trying.

Also, my husband thinks it's great fun to teach Court about slang.
Yesterday, I asked her why she was wearing her sunglasses in the house and she said:

"Mommy, this is how I roll!"

Great! That quality time with daddy was really well spent.

She has an answer for everything

I just had to share with this quick conversation with my witty 2-year old.

Mommy: Baby, please don't get bigger
Court: But I have to mommy
Mommy: Why?
Court: For I can reach the sinks and paint my toes

Hilarity ensued...

She is just toooo much

Now that I'm off of my soap box about working motherhood, I am going to elaborate on the effervescent drama queen that is my daughter.

She's gotten a little too sassy for her own good but timeouts seem to have curbed that a bit. She knows when she says something she wasn't supposed to and immediately says sorry. I'm just in awe that I have to deal with the eyerolling and backtalking at such a young age. She says things like

"No, I'm the boss"
"I don't want you, I want my daddy"
"I don't want to go on the potty, I can do it when I get bigger"
" Mom, I said don't look at me"

Aside from the snide comments, she also walks around with this dramatic flair and is always asking me to take her picture. Here are some that she demanded I take this week.



Courtney and her "sissy"



Courtney wasting an entire box of bandaids for entertainment purposes



My princess acting like she's too cool to get her picture taken.

What am I going to do with this child? I know I should be frightened, but for now she's just cracking me up!

Chaotic musings of a working mother

All my life, I have been the classic overachiever. I was the best at everything I did, especially in school and it mostly came without a ton of effort on my part. I was ambitious in college and climbed the corporate ladder pretty quickly in my last few jobs since graduating. With more responsibility came more money, recognition, self confidence. I was driven by those things, almost to an unhealthy degree. Then little Miss Courtney Rose came into my life and turned that way of thinking completely upside down.

I became content just doing the job I have now, the job that I actually love. I worked 9-5 so I can be home with my little girl in the evenings. My "ambition" in the traditional sense of the word abandoned me. I had different ambitions and goals. Though I still took pride in my work, what was most important was to be the most wife and mother I could be. To me, that was the source of TRUE happiness and success.

I still feel that way, but recently, I've began wanting more. I didn't go to UC Berkeley and work my butt off for nothing. I'm a really good financial analyst and was starting to get bored with my work. I put in for a promotion and suddently, all those old ambitious and competitive feelings came back. It was quite a dramatic couple of weeks. It turns out that the person I was trying to replace ended up not leaving the company so the position wasn't even available. I thought I wanted that job very badly. I was obssessed with getting it. I cried at first when I found out I wouldn't be getting the promotion. Then, I went home and suddenly, I was very relieved. I didn't like myself during those 2 weeks. I was working late and cranky during the rare time when I was home with my family. Is that really what I wanted? Sure, the money would have been great, but I don't think it would have been worth it. It would have meant significantly less time with my husband and daughter, more stress, more responsibility. That's just too much sacrifice right now. My daughter is going to be grown up before I know it and I don't want to miss one second of it that I don't have to. I have to work. I want to work. But I don't want to live to work. I want to work to live.

Thank god for those unanswered prayers. I would have been miserable!

Where or where has my angel gone?
What terrible twos? Parents should fear those terrible threes, where every little thing is a battle of wills. I'm just plain worn out from it all. The last week or so has been better, but for like a month before it, my nerves were completely frazzled. For everything I need her to do, the answer is a resounding "NO!". No, she doesn't want her diaper changed, No, she doesn't want to eat anything, No, she doesn't want to brush her teeth and go to bed, NO, I DON'T WANT ANYTING, MOMMY! My husband and I thought maybe she was finally getting her last 2 molars. We needed a logical reason for her sudden personality change, but sadly, that is not the case. She's just asserting her independence every chance she gets.

Bedtime, particularly, was a disaster. We weren't getting her to sleep until almost 10 every night. We were all so worn out from the experience, we would just go to bed right after that and not spend any time together as a couple. We would dread the evening and the 2-hour long ordeal of getting her to take a bath, brush her teeth and go to sleep. Then, she skipped her nap a couple of days in a row and passed out by 8pm at night. She was a little cranky in the evening, but for the most part, was cooperative enough and passed right now. Could this be the key? Yes! No more naps! I have extremely mixed feelings about this. I'm sad, because this is a sign that she's not a baby anymore. I feel sorry for myself, because I treasure my own Sunday naps on the weekend with her. On the upside, our family life has flourished again! She's sleeping 12-13 hours a night and is a joy to be around again. We no longer have to plan everything around her 1pm nap. We have our evenings to ourselves again. And, we get to sleep in on the weekends until almost 9AM sometimes! Life feels almost normal. I'm no longer walking around like "miss crotchety pants!"

Of course, we still battle about other stuff on a daily basis, but my patience is improving and she's being a LITTLE more flexible. The battle du jour is getting her to try new foods. She's so picky right now. But, one battle at a time please or I will never conserve enough energy to win the war!

Video Montage I made for my husband for Father's Day

I'm getting all verklempt just thinking about it...

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Talk to the hand!

Court must tell us "wait!" about 100 times a day. She has such attitude packed into such a little person. Now, she sticks her hand out and says wait (in English and Spanish). My MIL captured it perfectly.





Too funny!

Boogers and Toe Jam

Sounds yummy, doesn't it? For the most part, Court is a girly-girl but she can be just as gross as other 2-year olds. She's obsessed with picking her nose and getting all the lint out from beneath her toes. I just don't get it. I am trying to teach her to just do this at home, however. The other day, we were in the shoe store and I took off her socks so that we could try on some shoes. She proceeded to call out to me that she had to get her toe jam out first. How embarassing! My husband and I use phrases such as these thinking that she wouldn't pick up on it, but that girl doesn't miss a thing!

Trying to teach her to be a little lady is slow going, but we're getting there! In the meantime, we are using it to our advantage. My husband told her the other night if she let us cut her toenails, we would let her clean her toejam before bed! She jumped all over it. My kid is weird.





How can just a gross little being look like such a princess?

Trying this new digital video thing

Here's a video of one of Courtney's many performances. She's constantly "on"! Below is her rendition of "London Bridges", though it sounds more like "Wondon Bwidges fawing down, my fair wady!". Way too cute.







Also, here's a pic of her blowing bubbles outside with her daddy. She loves to play outside with her daddy!



And finally, another one of her being such a ham. That girl LOVES to get her picture taken.

When did my kid get so grown up?

It hit me last night. My kid is mature beyond her years. Not only is her vocabulary off the charts for her age (she was speaking in full sentences by like 14 months) but she's also very in tune with what everyone around her is feeling and thinking.

Example:

I got a much needed pedicure yesterday during my lunch hour. When I got home, Court was mesmerized by it (sad that she's never seen her mother's toes painted before). She wanted her toes painted and I said that she could when she got bigger. I must have put out a vibe that it's kind of sad that she's growing up so fast and she picked up on it. This morning the exchange went like this..

Court: "mommy, I still like your toes, but I don't want to paint mine right now, because I'm not bigger yet" Then she put her hand on my arm very gently, looked directly into my eyes and said "don't worry, mommy, I still your baby"

Me: (tearing up) "you will always be my baby"

Court: "Good mommy because I love you"

Could that get any cuter? It amazes me how I'm raising such a compassionate little being. I must be doing SOMETHING right.

Do 2-year-olds smell fear?

I'm convinced that mine does. She is has been so easy-going lately that caring for her has been less work and more fun for the first time in 2 1/2 years. She plays well by herself, listens to us most of the time, and is very sweet overall.

Well, my husband is out of town for the next few days and I was actually looking forward to spending some quality girl time with my little "angel". She apparently had different plans. I came home from work yesterday and picked her up from the babysitter and she proceeded to have a full-on hissy fit about not wanting to go home with me. That felt great. After 15 embarrassing minutes of "negotiating" I got her to come home. She had similar meltdowns at least every 15-20 minutes until I put her to bed for the night. I'm sure she was tired, but it was very hard to deal with for 3 hours after working all day. I swear she only does this when she knows I need her to behave while I'm doing the single mom thing.

Last week, however, we had a great time. I spent a lot of time with her after going a few weeks working crazy hours and missing her bedtime a few times. I took her to the park and we had a picnic. I enjoy watching her during these times. Man, is she bossy at the park, though!

Here's one of very few pics I have of just the two of us. (I'm always on the other side of the camera).





Wish me luck for the next couple of days!

The Best of Friends

Court met a little girl last year at gymnastics class that she just seemed to click with. Ever since then, she tells anyone who will listen that she is her best friend. Of course, she also tells us that our dog Fredrick is her best friend, so it's all relative.

As luck would have it, she lives about 2 minutes from us, so we try to get together and have play dates and do fun stuff. Last Saturday, we "played" miniature golf. Mostly, they ran down the fairway and threw the ball in the hole. Towards the end, they were hot, tired and goofy, so we got some cute pics.





I'm just happy she has a little friend. I didn't have many friends when I was little because I was so shy and preferred to stay in the house and read or play with dolls by myself. I don't want that for my little girl. I think every mother wants their daughter to be "popular" to a certain extent. I just want her to be happy and playing with other kids makes her happy, which in turn, makes me ECSTATIC.

The Pee Pee Dance

I am amazed by how excited I got when Courtney first peed in her potty. It was a couple of weeks ago and she was soooo darned proud. Of course it was sort of a fluke that it happened but we jumped up and down and did the pee pee dance for a good five minutes. My eyes actually teared up. Then we had to call all her grandparents to break the exciting news. After all the hoopla, she turned to me and said "Mommy, I'm so prouded!". Mommy's so prouded of you too baby.

Since then, it's been a bit hit or miss. It's hard to efficiently potty train when you're a working mom. She won't attempt it with the babysitter right now, so I just have to do my best on evenings and weekends until she gets the hang of it. I'll have to take some time off from work soon to really drive the point home, but I'm still so afraid to force it. Last night was a milestone, though, because while she was in the bath, she told me she had to pee. So, I took her out and put her on the potty and she dribbled a little bit. Again, we did the pee pee dance and she ran down the hall naked and wet to tell her daddy. It was downright adorable.

Latest Courtneyisms:

"Hey, what did I just tell you?" She says this when we do something that's against her wishes. She gets that from me because I say that all the time when she disobeys me.

"You did that on purpose". Again, it's the drama queen in her.

"Ladies and Gentleman, Courtney Rose Houtz..." She has to announce herself when she walks into a room.

She loves, loves, loves Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel. Whenever it's on, she says, "mommy, I have to get up and dance!" You go girl. Then, she makes me say "Go, Courtney, Go, Courtney" for like 5 minutes while she does her "routine".

Shameless Photo Brag

Just sharing pics of my darling daughter on Easter. She's really loved wearing dresses and hats lately. She walks around asking me if she's pretty. She acts as if she's strolling the catwalk. Again, I feel as if I'm really going to have my hands full!

We're back from Vacation!

Last week, we went on our first official family vacation (to a destination other than my in-laws in Palm Springs). We booked our timeshare in S CA, Casey, Court, my parents and I all piled into a rented Grand Caravan and drove to San Diego to enjoy some sun, golf and a 2-day pass to Legoland!

I admit, I was more than a little nervous. The long drive worried me. Spending 24-7 with my parents scared me. It didn't start out too well. Court woke up with a bad stuffy nose (which I'm positive she got from the germy kids next door). She is not a morning person as it is, and when we woke her up at 6AM (to beat the LA traffic in the afternoon), she was not a happy camper. But once we told her we were leaving on vacation, she got all excited and began to cooperate. She had no idea where we were going or why she should be so excited, but since my parents were there and we were all pumped up, she figured it was something she should like! So, we were off! About an hour into the trip, my mom spilled her grande mocha all over the floor of the rental van and Courtney threw up cranberry juice all over the place. This was not a good beginning! But we figured she wasn't actually sick and just choking on phlegm, so we powered on! We only had to stop twice for potty and food breaks. We brought snacks, a portable DVD player and my mom to entertain the little one, so it went surprisingly well.

The resort was beautiful. We just relaxed and reenergized. It was the first time my parents had had a real vacation in years, so it was nice to see them so relaxed. Below is a pic of 3 generations of Alexander women. A whole lot of trouble! I was beginning to feel bad for Casey and my dad!



After a nice dinner, where my carniverous daughter ate half of a steak dipped in mashed potatoes, we went to bed early to prepare ourselves for Legoland the next day!

Court was soooo excited and impatient to go to Legoland, though she had no idea what it was. She kept calling it "Neverland" and I didn't correct her, because I imagined it would be kind of like that for her. As soon as we got there, she ran in and I will never forget the look on her face as long as I live! She wanted to go on a ride immediately, so her and I got in line for a little jungle ride while everyone else went to get something to eat. She wasn't crazy about having to wait in line. She's not the most patient little girl in the world, to say the least. After about 15 minutes, she was done, so I called Casey over to play with legos in the play area while I waited in line. This, apparently, was highly entertaining for her! Check out this look of concentration.



After an hour of waiting in line and glowering at bratty 3 and 4 year olds, I was not in a good mood. I was surrounded by wealthy, stay at home moms, carrying their children's snacks in humongous Louis Vuitton bags, calling their children Spencer, Brandon and Carson. They were getting some dirty looks from me too. Finally, I was at the front of the line and my little booger of a daughter told me she wanted to go on the ride with her daddy and I was promptly kicked to the curb! I had to laugh and since we decided this trip was all about her, I didn't put up a fight. But no more rides! Instead, we spent the rest of the day playing on the structures and playing with legos. That's what she likes to do! At about 3pm, she pooped out and we went back to the resort to take a nap.

The next day didn't go as well. She got a bad rash from the new sunblock I used on her and was cranky after about 2 hours. We didn't do much new stuff with her. She went back to the playground and rode on the train. Casey tried standing in line with her for another ride for awhile, but she gave up on that after 15 minutes again. I spent a half hour climbing on this pirate ship thing with her and almost killed myself on the rope ladder, but it was a lot of fun and it tuckered her out! We were all cranky, hot and tired, so we bribed her with some toys at the gift shop and we left!

The next day was wonderful! Casey and my dad played golf and my mom watched the Little Monster while I went for a quick run around that gorgeous resort. After lunch, we played in the water. I was glad that Court wasn't afraid of the water and was content to wade around the steps. She was being her usual charming, LOUD self, announcing to everyone at the pool that I had water in my boobies! She then called me a drama queen and pranced around the sprinkler area like the little diva in training that she is. She's a constant source of amusement.



We went to the golf range after our afternoon nap and she, of course, had to be a part of everything and carried the bucket. When she thought we weren't looking, she would throw a golf ball out on the range as if she had hit it out there. She's such a cheater, but she had a lot of fun!



None of us wanted to go home the next day. We could have used about 3 extra days. It was good we came home, though, because her cold got worse and then I caught it real bad.

We made some great memories that I will treasure always! If she's happy, the whole world is a better place! It's really that simple!

My, what an imagination

Recently, Court has really been using that amazing imagination of hers. She plays for hours by herself talking to her dolls and her imaginary friends. We go on adventures rescuing animals, fighting dinosaurs, putting on shows, all in the comfort of our own home and backyard! We don't even need half of the toys she owns. She's growing into such a wonderful little person. Who knew such a little person could pack so much personality?

No more crib!

We finally broke down and took the rail off of Court's crib to turn it into a "big girl bed". We were going to wait until she was potty trained, but since that is going nowhere, we decided why not? It's actually made her more excited to go to bed. The bad news is that she can get out! I have to admit it is very cute to hear her little feet run down the hall to our room with her pillow and stuffed kitty. I know we shouldn't let her sleep with us, but we used to like it since it was only once in awhile and for a couple of hours in the morning.

Well...we don't like it anymore! Her top 2-year molars are coming in and her sleep is very restless. She yells out and kicks and hits in her sleep and I'm usually the target. The other night, she sat straight up in her sleep and yelled for me to get her a cookie. Then she laid back down and went to sleep, leaving me with a look of bewilderment on my face.

Her tantrums have gotten really bad with her teething. She's usually such a sweet girl. That's what I tell people in Target and the grocery store when she's down on the ground throwing a fit. I don't think they believe me. She screams and hits and kicks. I'm just so worn out and I miss my little girl. This bratty, alien-child is not mine. I apologize to every mother I've ever given a dirty look to when their children were having fits in public. I shall never judge again!

Here's a pic of (what used to be) my little angel trying out her new bed

New pics of my little lady

Not a whole lot going on, just that my little girl is growing up! She's almost acting like a teenager. She rolls her eyes at me already. Apparently, I'm not as cool as I think I am if a two-year old is embarrassed of me! I'm going to run out to Wal-Mart right now and buy my mom-jeans and fanny pack!

Below is my little SuperStar!






Here she is playing miniature golf. She actually "played" the entire 18 holes. She hit it once and then ran down to place the ball literally 2 centimers from the hole and hit it in! What a cheater!



Here are some pics that Casey took yesterday in our front yard. She looks like such a little lady!





People say she looks like my little mini-me in those last pics, but I've seen pictures of me as a child and I was nowhere near as cute! Neither was my husband so I'm not sure how she ended up so beautiful!

Until next time...

Can we just get healthy please?

Sorry it's taken so long to post, but the three of us just keep giving this nasty cold and cough virus back and forth to each other. I have to say that my darling girl has been such a trooper through all of this.

There are some other things going on besides illness at home:

Her latest obsession is dancing. She says she's doing "bawet" (still can't get those L's or R's pronounced well) and she wants to go to dance class when she gets bigger. Apparently there are a lot of things she wants to do when she gets bigger. The other day she asked me when she could wear makeup. I said when she gets bigger. The next day she asked Casey. "Daddy, am I bigger now?". Thinking it was a harmless question, he of course, answered yes, and she promptly replied, "ok, I can wear makeup now. Where's that wipstick?" I kid you not! I think we're definitely in for a real treat when she reaches her teenage years.

We now have regularly scheduled play dates with her best friend Gabi, who she met in her gymnastics class. The first was at her house and it went well. Last week, we got together at our house and that didn't go quite as well. Though Court is good at sharing other people's toys, she's not so good at it with her own toys. I don't think she understands that they aren't going to take them home with them. So, she shows kids her toys (practically shoves them in their faces) and when they try to grab them, she says "no, that's mines". It's kind of embarrassing, though typical for a 2-year old. She is rather spoiled, though. Gabi's mom walked into her room and her jaw dropped at all the toys and clothes she has. We've definitely overindulged. Oops!

She has been coming into our bed in the early hours of the morning, and though we were quite stressed about it at first, I've grown to cherish the snuggling time. She's so angelic when she's sleeping, though lately she's been snoring like a freight train because of her cold. And come to think of it, it's not all that comfortable. She kicks me in the ribs, calls out and tells me off in her sleep, turns around and sleeps horizontally between me and Casey....Why do I love this again? Oh yeah, because it's not going to be much longer before she is no longer small enough to fit in our bed or before she will not want to snuggle with us. I'm going to enjoy it as long as I can!

I will post new pics this week. Her hair is getting so long and I swear she's getting more gorgeous by the minute

New Favorites

I noticed that I wrote a post last year listing all of Court's current favorite things and almost all of them have changed since then. She is a very fickle little being and keeping track of her likes and dislikes is almost a full-time job right now, but I'm loving every minute of watching my little girl discover herself. Below is an update of what she likes as of today!

Favorite Color: Purple (Damn you Barney the Dinosaur)
Favorite show/character: Higgly Town Heroes, Max and Ruby, Backyardigans (thank goodness she seems to be over her Wiggles hero worship and can't say I miss Dora the Explorer either)
Favorite movie: Lion King, Lady and the Tramp
Favorite animal: cat (she carries around this little kitty that we bought that is made of real rabbit fur. She is obsessed with our poor cat Leo, who I have to say has yet to warm up to her)
Favorite drink : "Juice red" (cranberry juice)
Favorite meal: macaroni and cheese
Favorite snack: dried apricots, blueberries, Cheez-Its, popsicles
Favorite pasttimes: singing and dancing, stacking her many DVDs into "towers", racing us up and down the hallway, hide and seek, painting with watercolors
Favorite song: Hakuna Matata
Favorite toy: she doesn't much play with her toys, she prefers to play endlessly with household items like a flashlight, cup, coasters, fake fruit, knickknacks, but when she does play it's usually with her Thomas the Train set
Favorite phrases: "I need it" "but mommy I HAVE to" "I think I need a snack" "mommy, let's think about this"
What makes her happiest: Waking up in our bed. The big smile on her face when she rolls over and sees me in the morning is absolutely priceless
What makes her mad: Changing her diaper. Telling her to go to sleep. Putting her in a timeout. "you're making my mad!"

She's such a character...a big personality in such a tiny body.

The Cold Has Set Upon Us

We are having an unusually cold January in the Bay Area and because of that, EVERYONE has the flu or a cold. Courtney caught it first about a week ago. It started with a high fever for a couple of days and then a runny nose and a bad cough. It's been especially hard on us because the child now absolutely REFUSES to take medicine. A couple of months she had caught a little cold and we gave her some Tylenol Cold for children. The stuff tasted pretty nasty (I taste everything before I give it to her), but she was suffering so we kind of forced it down. She proceeded to cry and gag until she threw it all up (as well as her dinner, lunch and probably breakfast too). Now, she's traumatized. When we hold her down, she just spits it out all over the place or gags and throws up. We tried sneaking it in her juice and now she won't drink ANY juice. I got busted sneaking Triaminic Ready Tabs into her yogurt so now she won't eat that. We obviously have some trust issues now and I have to work on rebuilding that, but a mother desparate for her child to feel better will try just about anything.

So, I stayed home with her for a couple of days and got a pretty nasty cold as a result. I haven't had a cold in like 3 years, so it hit me like a ton of bricks. I haven't slept well in like 5 nights because of all the draining and coughing and I can barely hear anything because my ears are so stuffed up. I'm at work today either whispering or yelling at people because I can't hear myself talk. Now, my husband is sick also, so we're just a fun bunch! I'm usually such a caregiver and nurturer for everyone around me, but I've noticed that no one really takes care for "mommy" when she's sick. So, I just grit my teeth and get through it and continue to care for my husband and child. In the meantime, I'm absolutely miserable. I'm lucky, though, because Courtney really is a trouper when she's sick. Now, if only I could get my husband to stop being so whiny...

Sorry I've been so lazy

About updating my blog, though I'm not sure how many people actually read this!

The holidays were very mellow and very enjoyable. Christmas was awesome with Courtney. She really got into the whole Santa thing and got WAY too spoiled with presents. I have to completely reorganize the house to figure out where to put everything. She didn't act spoiled, though, which makes me very happy. She very patiently opened each gift, put the wrapping paper in the garbage bag, and lines up the presents very neatly in front of the fireplace. How many 2-year olds behave like that at Xmas? I haven't decided if this is a good or bad thing yet. She's pretty uptight and things have to be just perfect or she has a bit of a meltdown. Everything has to be stacked neatly, lined up, none of her food can touch on her plate. But it makes for a pretty tidy house!

I have to say I really enjoyed staying at home with her for my 10 day "vacation". I got into the whole stay at home mom thing. I cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner, all healthy snacks and meals. I took her on excursions. We went out to dinner together, we went shopping. It was like she was my little buddy. This time with her is why I had a baby in the first place. I thought I'd be ready to go back to work from being burnt out, but I cried the whole drive in on that first day back. I don't know if I could do it full-time forever, but I treasure those days when I can devote all my time and energy to my little angel.

I was going to tackle the potty-training thing during this time off, but this gained no traction whatsoever. I took her to Target to pick out some big girl panties thinking this would be a good way to kickstart the process. Thirty dollars later...no dice! She had to get all these boy underwear, like Cars and Wiggles, as well as girly Dora the Explorer, Little Mermaid and Curious George panties. For a couple of days, I had to put them on over her diapers. She also likes to play with them and organize them into neat little piles, but other than that, they don't seem to interest her very much. Money well spent. I did get some Pull-up diapers and she was into pulling them up and down for a couple of days, but she's over that also. I know I'm supposed to be waiting for these elusive "potty training cues" before I try to get the ball rolling, but I'm thinking about taking a more heavy-handed approach. I don't understand how a child as brilliant as Court can be so behind in things like these. I had the same problem with the bottle-weaning issue. Oh well. We'll see what happens.

New Years was a big whopping dud. We didn't even make it to midnight. I did absolutely no reflecting and made no resolutions. I just want to be the best wife and mother I can every day. I have learned this past year, that it's important to put equal energy into both endeavors. As much as I love my daughter and want to make her the center of my universe, I love my husband just as much. It's a different kind of love, of course, but not any less important. I think the foundation of a good family life is a good marriage and I'm committed to that wholeheartedly. Having this child put a tremendous strain on things that first year from all the first-time parent stress that arises from not knowing what the heck you're doing, but things are great now. I want to keep it that way. A lot of my friends ignore their husbands and completely lose their sense of self and individuality when they have children. I made a promise to myself I wouldn't do that and I've done pretty well so far. I still have my yoga classes, dinners with girlfriends, date nights with my husband, drinks with work colleagues, and it makes me a well-rounded person, and not any less of a mother. I want to be a good role model for my daughter and show her that you can have everything if you want it bad enough. Oh look at that...I'm reflecting. Enough of that!

I will post holiday pics next time of my little anal retentive girl!

Cheers