Learning. In a Tower.

After many - let's say, challenging - days and nights trying to make dinner and get various kitchen-y things done, we realized we were in desperate need of some sort of solution that could 1) keep Cady occupied and feeling like she was part of the family during Kitchen Time, 2) let us get said simple Kitchen Tasks done, and 3) teach her what goes on in the kitchen and how she can "help."

And maybe learn to make us breakfast in bed?  We gotta start somewhere, amirite?

By the time we got Cady's new Learning Tower all put together this evening, there was really only time for some splashing and climbing.  But there was also a small victory: she ate an entire banana in one sitting.  This is the most she's eaten at once since getting sick a week and a half ago (that's a whole 'nother topic for a whole 'nother post).

It's only been in use for 30 minutes total so far... but I think this is going to be a useful piece of furniture.

To be continued...

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Artiste

Cady's built-in BFF (next door neighbor), Lauren, turned ONE (!) a couple weeks ago, and her art-teacher mom threw an awesome rainbow-themed party for her, complete with a rainbow coloring station.

Cady spent nearly THREE HOURS "painting." 

Thank you, Aubrey, for providing washable paint markers.  :-)

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Airplane

Friday marked three years since Cady's Grandpa Mark (my dad) passed away, and I was feeling a little bit down.  By the time 7:00 rolled around I was drained, and Cady was out-of-sorts and especially difficult to get to sleep. After nearly 20 minutes or so of extreme fussing, I was rocking her, singing, shhhh'ing... I pulled everything but a bottle out of my mama-pocket (we stopped giving a night time bottle last week, when she turned a year and a half).

All of a sudden she calmed, and said "airplane" very clearly.

"Airplane, airplane," she repeated.

"There's no airplane, sweetie," I whispered.

"Airplane!" she insisted.

"Your picture?" I asked, wondering if the small airplane in one of her posters was the one to which she was referring.

"No!  No, no, no... AIRPLANE," came her persistent argument. She pointed up toward the far corner of her room, near the ceiling.

There was nothing there, but I appeased her, "yes, that's right. Airplane. Shhhhh, time to sleep."

All at once, she settled and sighed. Her breaths became slow and even, and soon she was off in toddler dream land. I gently laid her down in her crib and crept out of her room, wondering.

A picture, displayed in our dining room, is one of the few reminders we have around the house of my dad. Cady often points to it while eating, making sure we're clear that she knows her words: "airplane!" I tell her about her Grandpa, how he liked to build and fly them. And how he was an amazing guitarist who loved to cook and that he was one of the smartest people I've ever known... and I tell her how much he would have loved his granddaughter.

I think that maybe - just maybe - Cady had a visitor in her room the other night.

Top (left to right): Uncle Dan, Grandpa Fornes, and my dad, flying a radio-controlled plane my dad built.
Bottom: one of dad's planes, piloted by a stuffed mouse, "Marty."

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Modesty Bucket

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Pretty!

"Pretty!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, you are."  I agreed.

"No... fwowa," she contradicted.

I know it was I who was correct, but I'll give it to her. 

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Baptism

Or maybe a swim.  A bath perhaps?

Whatever it is, Cady loves her new baby doll.  I finally gave in and got her one for a buck at a recent consignment sale (that dress is also from the sale... and was also a buck!).  I had been holding off, partially because I want her to be old enough to treat a baby doll nicely since it so closely resembles a fellow human (somehow her abusing Elmo and Eeyore seems less violent) and also because I find them a tad creepy. 

But, she's been eying (and swiping) baby dolls belonging to other little children, lately, so I took it as a sign that she was ready. If she's still interested in a couple weeks and treats this one relatively civilly for a week or two, maybe we'll pony up and get her a proper soft-bodied baby doll (someone recommended the Corolle dolls. Any other non-AG recommendations?).

So listen up, Cady: I retrieved your baby face-down in the water table. Treating the baby nice means no "accidental" drownings, okay?

 

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