for daddy & his girl

Father and Daughter

Paul Simon

If you leap awake in the mirror of a bad dream
And for a fraction of a second you can't remember where you are
Just open your window and follow your memory upstream
To the meadow in the mountain where we counted every falling star

I believe a light that shines on you will shine on you forever
And though I can't guarantee there's nothing scary hiding under your bed
I'm gonna stand guard like a postcard of a Golden Retriever
And never leave 'til I leave you with a sweet dream in your head

[Chorus:]
I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father
Who loved his daughter more than I love you

Trust your intuition
It's just like goin' fishin'
You cast your line and hope you get a bite
But you don't need to waste your time
Worryin' about the market place
Try to help the human race
Struggling to survive its harshest night

To an already wonderful Daddy, I can't wait to see you with your little girl!

conversations

When asking for an almond butter sandwich:

"want almond butter and sandwich. almond butter AND sandwich. not peanut butter."

D: Read Winnie Pooh.

M: Hm, that would be nice, but we took the Winnie the Pooh book back to the library. (Two months ago...)

D: Okay, Mommy. Be right back. Go to library.

(At this point he's got his blanket with jammies on and he's running to the front door...)

After his nap yesterday he was a bit snuggly and asked to lay down on the couch with "Mommy's pillow." He invited me to lay down too. Then he told me to use my blanket since he already had his. After then requesting to put "my blanket" over our heads, he told me, looking through the blanket weave that we were looking at stars. So sweet!

kittens vs. puppies

Drew has always seemed like more of a puppy to me - playful, always just out of reach, social, and a little yappy at times. He's never been much of a snuggler, unless he's sick.

But, I'm thinking this baby is going to be a snuggler. It feels like she is trying to fit her entire body on one side of mine, unlike her brother who used to try stretching out completely. There's not that much room in there - either one of you! :)

stuff

Last night we put Drew in some of his "new" Christmas jammies. He's been avoiding them like the plague for some reason, but last night he was SO excited about them. Doug held them out to him and he RAN up to them and said, very precisely pointing, "Look at all that crazy stuff!" I think it's actually squirrels dressed up as Santa Claus, but I guess "crazy stuff" works just as well. :)

drew quotes

I've been a bit remiss to add quotes lately...They come faster and faster these days, it's hard to remember them all.

"Dinosaurs! Rarrr! Mommy, I love dinosaurs. T-Rex? Where? Mommy, where?"

"Aaargg! I a pirate!"

"Awww, don't be sad, Jessie" (while watching Toy Story)

"Don't worry Mommy" (while rubbing my cheek - I wasn't sad, but I guess I looked pensive while working on the computer)

"Elmo! You thirsty? Want sometink to dink?"

On our way to Gee-Gee's house a couple of months ago, as soon as we pulled into the neighborhood he said, "Gee-Gee!" He hadn't been there for a few months and I hadn't told him where we were going, he just recognized it.

"This George. Good monkey, always curious. George, Man Yellow Hat, hol-day parade!" He can now "read" the first page of Curious George books if he's read them before....he's such a little sponge!

"My toy! Remember! Grandpa, grandma!" Every time he sees this toy from my dad he tells me he remembers. Sometimes he'll go into a whole shpeel about the dogs, running, riding a truck, watching for the 'big step', etc.

Magina-Movers - aka, Imagination Movers

Last night we had the following conversation as he was falling asleep from exhaustion (he's been sick for a week with a cold...)

D: "Mommy, Magina-Movers...big phone book."

M: "They were moving a big phone book, weren't they?"

D: "Yes. Really big"

M: "How did they move it, on wheels? Like a car?"

D: "Yes...I love cars..."

Drew's new daycare provider is named Evangeline, sometimes he calls her Angel. I was saying goodnight a few nights ago and this was the conversation:

M: "Goodnight, Angel."

D: "Miss Vangeline?"

M: "No, you're the angel. You saw Miss Evangeline today, didn't you?"

D: "Yes, play outside. Lias, DaveScott, Camiwa..." (Elias, David-Scott & Camilla)

M: "You have lots of friends there, goodnight!" :)

it's a GIRL!

I'd like to think I'd be elated either way - and I know was prepared for a boy and very excited about it. But, a girl! What do you do with a girl!? :) Get ready for the bows, little one!

She's a little blurry and bumpy in the image, but it's still fun to see her in 4 dimensions! :)

logo designs

Beginning stage of a conceptual logo design project. More to come, as it evolves...

wanna-be cowboy

All day today Drew has been singing "Home on the range...home on the range..." That's the only line he remembers so far; we're working on the rest!

He also loves wearing our shoes. Today he chose Doug's cowboy boots. After he'd successfully put them on, he said he was ready to go. I asked where he was going and he said, "Andrew going to the bank." Sounds like trouble to me!

Two new phrases: "giddy-up, cowboy!" + "infiny and eyonnnnd!" (To Infinity and Beyond!)

Outside of the Western-themed day, we created a cardboard mailbox for his cardboard playhouse. I kept trying to ask where he was sending all his toys but he wasn't sure of the recipient. We'll let you know if you're the lucky one.

december 30 : 70 degrees

christmas - part II

crafting

Drew and I ventured our first full-on craft time yesterday. He paints or draws almost every day, but we've never walked around the house scavenging for things to use as crafts. We gathered paper plates, cotton balls, buttons and felt. Can you guess what we made? A snow man and a Santa! It was really challenging for me to stop jumping in to tell him how to do things. I tried to ask where he wanted glue and if the snowman should have a nose...

In the end it was a true joint effort. Drew's big contributions were the glue blobs, miscellaneous button placements on the snowman's hat and rainbow skin colors. He also helped "fluff" the cotton balls (once I glued them on, he proceeded to pull them off). Santa's nose changed colors several times, ending as a blue cotton puff.

All in all, it was a success. As soon as he woke this morning he ran into the kitchen asking to making another craft - this time he wanted to make a GIANT! One step at a time, big man...

We also had a dance party yesterday to Mommy's version of Jingle Bell Rock. His Aunt Amy would have been impressed. Can you tell I'm trying to cut back his TV habits?

early christmas

Thanks to Great-Grandpa, Drew is now able to enjoy a new slide and craft table in the back yard! The weather has also afforded time to play this weekend.

We also joined the O'Connors for a holiday event at the Wildflower Center last night. This is about as close as we could come to a decent pic of Drew in front of any Christmas tree. Cheese!

after the christmas cards...

This DIY post from "Take Heart," gives me motivation to plow through the rest of our homemade Christmas cards, quick!

completely inspiring

Creature Comforts Blog produces the Gifted magazine:

http://www.creaturecomfortsblog.com/gifted-magazine

mr. personable

No matter where we are - on a walk, at the grocery store, at the mall - Drew inevitably makes a friend. He's constantly telling strangers hello. I guess some day we'll have to talk about this habit, but for now it's sweet and harmless. He's still cautious around them, as soon as he says hello he runs out of things to say and turns shy.

Today when we were leaving the house, he grabbed his tool box saying "Come on tools," and looking over his shoulder he said, "Bye, Christmas twee, see ya lata." He's even friends with inanimate objects...

gingerbread house

Vote for the Court House by Alterstudio...or whichever is you favorite...

Modern Gingerbread House Contest

morning dialogue

As soon as Drew woke up this morning he saw his penguin bobble toy. It's one of those toys that if you push it over it bobbles back upright. It was frightening when he was little, now it's like a sibling.

He got it out today and immediately starting talking to it:

Hi, Penguin.
He' ya go, Penguin. (giving him his coveted blanket)
Ghost Penguin! (when the blanket was over his head)
Spin, spin! Turn around! Hugs! (He actually gave him good hugs! A rarity from Drew.)
Whoa - oops, sorry, Penguin. (After the hug, he tackled him down to the ground. The both rolled. Penguin got the apology.)
What 'cha got, Penguin? (checking out his mouth)

convo

My last conversation with Drew -
Me: You need a bath, would you like to take a bath?
Drew: (without hesitation) No.
Me: Would you like to watch football, so we can feel like Daddy is home?
Drew: No.
Me: Hm, would you like some pretzels?
Drew: Oh, pretzel-time! Hot-diggity-dog. Thank you so much!

What a difference a nap makes. I enjoy the afternoons so much more - thank you much, sweet Drew.

context

Drew just had his 2-year check up - The entire ride to the appointment he kept saying we were going to see "Dr. Medicine." His pediatrician's name is actually Dr. Mitchell, close and perfect association!

Recently I've noticed not just an explosion of words, but more often an explosion of exclamations:
Oh Boy, Hot dog!
Hot diggy-diggy (diggity) dog!
Hooray!
Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow...
Coming through!
Happy Halloween!

Tonight when I asked if he wanted a quesadilla for dinner, he said, "Oh yay, quesadilla! Hooray, Mommy saved the day!"

happy 2nd sweet drew