bedtime prayers

Tonight in our hotel in Illinois during our fall trip, we watched Zuzu put her doll, Babydoll, under the covers in bed. She followed it by praying,

"Dear Jesus, God bless Babydoll as she sleeps."

Amen.

she loves her some Jimi

The girl has taken a liking to Jimi Hendrix. She gets near the stereo and repeats "I want Jimi, I want Jimi! I want to listen to Jimi Hendrix!" until I put the CD in. The first song produces lots of dancing (often in circles), frequently checking out her reflection in the TV screen, and sometimes a family dance party. The second song results in pleas for more Jimi. "Zuzu, this is Jimi!" we tell her. Sometimes we'll try other songs on the CD. No luck. She doesn't understand all the other songs are also Jimi Hendrix. By the time it's all over, we've repeated "All Along the Watchtower" ten times and she's stripped down to her diaper.

lookin' out for numero uno

FOUR. Count 'em, cuatro. That's the number of times in a row Zuzu has gotten right down to business and successfully used her potty. Never mind the fact that she placed the used TP on her head last night. And then sat her bare bottom upon me. That's what soap is for, right?

I am beaming with delight. My fears of hours in the bathroom with nothing to show for it are long gone. I'm thinking that this kid could be a potty training genius.

snow tease

It snowed yesterday. Our first mistake was telling Zuzu it snowed. We should have curbed our enthusiasm.

Our second mistake was giving in when Zuzu said she wanted to wear her boots. Even though this was followed by "okay, honey, but we're not going outside," it translated in her toddler mind as "Yes, Zuzu, here are your boots. We'll have a glorious time outside in the snow."

Our third mistake was allowing her to put on her winter coat and mittens, again followed by "you can wear them but we're not going outside." To Zuzu, getting on her boots plus the winter coat AND mittens, despite the warning, meant "Mommy and Daddy are bluffing -- score! Outside to the world of snow we go!"

The kiss of death was actually opening the front door to look at the snow. And locking the storm door. It's just plain cruel.

Are you kidding me?! But I have my coat on, and boots, and mittens!
This is the end of the world, I tell you! Horrible! Tantrum! Tantrum! Tantrum!

We apologized. Even today she was still asking for her sled.

z's boots

On Saturday afternoon Ty and I had a parenting faux paus when we both feel asleep -- one on the couch and the other on the floor -- each assuming the other was watching Zuzu. Thankfully it's taken two and a half years for us to make this mistake. Little Z was apparently delighted with the uninterrupted playtime, evidenced by the fact that when we woke up her toys were everywhere and she was in her own little world, flitting around from room to room and whispering to herself and her dolly. She had taken advantage of the opportunity to undress herself (thank goodness she kept her diaper on), leaving a trail of clothes in various rooms. She also went rummaging and pulled her winter boots out of the hall closet. Ty woke up in time to see her put her boots on by herself, which involved the following steps:

1. Place boots on floor.
2. Lean forward until head and hands touch ground.

3. With head on floor and rear in the air, step into boots, with the left boot on the right foot and the right boot on the left foot.

4. Stand up and walk until feet are firmly in the boots.

Later that day she had her first peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She loved it so much she ate all of my sandwich too. Of course, she ate it at the kitchen counter with her little legs dangling, wearing nothing but her diaper and her winter boots.