ChattaBaby

Time flies

I love this picture because as I was rushing around trying to get ready for work, I heard giggles and instructions coming from the bathroom. "Lotion is first, Sarah." And always, "Lips last." That's Sarah's mantra now. Sarah has an inherent love for makeup, and I don't wear much so I didn't even know she knew what it was until I was taking a shower last November and Sarah said, "Ooh. Look at me."

Luckily our babysitter is giving lessons now. At the same time, though, I keep getting flashes of the tween years — phone lines tied up for hours, clothes I don't approve, attitude. So, the makeup can wait.

It is not a right, but a duty...

to report the cream of the cuteness crop on this weblog. And so, I begin. Sarah loves to sing. The song she loves the best is Twinkle Twinkle. ABC's are a close second and if you listen carefully you might catch one of her now famous versions of the Barney theme. For those of you not in-the-know, the theme to Barney rapes 'This Old Man' of its melody and adds an entirely new set of lyrics that go something like this:

I love you,
(This old man)
You love me,
(he played one)
We're a happy family,
(He played knick-knack on my thumb)
with a great big hug,
(Knick-knack paddywhack)
and a kiss from me to you,
(Give a dog a bone)
Won't you say you love me TOO!
(This old man came rolling home.)

Gosh. That might have been over-explained a bit. Anyway, as wih any song, Sarah will start off strong, belting it out with a proper mix of conviction and perfect pitch (from my side). And then, as if she grows senile before our very ears, she gets a mumbly and off-key (megan's side). It is from the latter that brilliant improvizations have occurred.

As Aunt Wendy and I were feeding Sarah last night we heard Sarah begin to sing the Barney theme. It caught my attention because up til recently she alway began it with "How are you?" instead of the overly committal "I love you". But as clear as crystal she began, "I LOVE YOU!" good start. We were then blindsided by the next line which went something like "...with a fresh diaper".

Huh? We though it reeked of Gpa but he says, 'Pamper', not diaper. Nobody has owned up to teaching her this anthem of conditional love as of yet but my money is on the nanny. She loves me...with an open checkbook.

It's just so corny (and cucumbery and tomatoey)

And it has been stuck in my head for three days now! I haven't even watched VEGGIE TALES since last week! But the song — or rather, the four lines of the song I know — keep playing over and over again. "Broccoli. Celery. something something Veggie Tales. Lima beans. Collard greens. something something Veggie Tales."
My mom bought Sarah a DVD while she was in town and said the girl was instantly hooked — "watching it three times in a row" hooked and "tears streaming down her face if she is denied" hooked.
I had been holding off on the whole Veggie Tales thing because I figured it would eventually make its own way to Sarah. And I'm glad it has. It makes me laugh and eventually might teach her a thing or two.
It's cute as all get out, but please just get out of my head.

Playing hard

We had a wonderful week with Nana and Grandpa. This is Sarah and Nana at the Creative Discovery Museum. Unfortunately, one of the side effects of all these fun places is the sickness that begins about three days later. Recently I took her to a play area at the mall, and she came down with pretty much strep throat. Then, Discovery Museum, and now she has a cold. Luckily we snuck in Chuck E Cheese's at the beginning of the cold, so maybe it's germs will combine with the cold and we'll just knock it all out together.
On the plus side, with Sarah lying in bed watching Caillou, I can actually post pictures.

She still slept through it

Sometimes I wonder what is going through her mind

The other morning when Gpa came to play wih Sarah, I heard his car door close, so I asked, "Sarah, who's here?" When she saw his red car, she started clapping and saying, "Yea! I did it! I did it! I found Gpa!"

Huh?

Hyped up

My parents are coming tomorrow, and I haven't seen them since Gammy's birthday in Florida about a month ago, but if feels like forever. Sarah has changed so much in that time, we won't even know where to begin. But I'm praying for good weather so we'll have nothing but park days and cabin days — maybe boating days? This will be great. And I'm all prepared. I even vacuumed out my car — trunk included — and got my oil changed so when my dad checks the sticker on my windshield I can feel all proud and responsible. Dads are great. One of the best things about my days off are getting to eat dinner with Barry and Sarah. It's such a family occasion, and since I'm not usually a part of it, I get to observe their rituals — from Barry's screams of "Oh no! Oh no! Aaaaaa!" when Sarah takes a bite of food to the latest: tearing up food into tiny crumbs called "baby pieces" that she offers to him on the tip of her thumb. I'm not sure about that one yet.

Happy Birthday, Aunt Mary

the not-so-terrible twos

Sunday was a slow day for Daddy, who battled a hangover for the first part of the morning. I didn't put pants on until about 3 pm and Chattababy wore PJs all day. We had a blast, though. We spent all day napping, dancing, putting together puzzles, building castles, reading the same book 50 times, reading the newspaper, eating, eating and eating. After her bath I brushed her hair while we watched Berenstain Bears. Then we cuddled up and she allowed me to bury my stinky daddy face in her fleecey-sweet baby rib cage. As I inhaled her I imagined what she would be like as she got older. I wondered how long she would let me be this close. And then, as if she could feel my thoughts, she began gently massaging my scalp with her little baby fingers and I wept.

And I bought her a pony.