Conversations with Scarlett #2

Mommy, when can I take piano lessons?

(Scarlett loves my mom's piano so I'm not surprised by this question.)

Well, when you're...

(interrupts) When I'm four?

Well...we'll see....I'm just not sure when.

(I'm thinking to myself when a good age acutally would be, but I have no clue!)

Well, just call them and see when I can, mommy!

Call who?

The piano girl!

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Mommy, you need to get a baby in your tummy!

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Mommy, I don't want to go to kindergargden!

Good! I don't want you to go either! You're only three!

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(Just the other day)
Mommy, I don't want to go to the scary houses at Halloween, I just want to go to the regular ones!

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Mommy, now what was daddy holding when he was standing at the toilet?

Umm....well....he....well......

His shirt?

Yes! Exactly! He was holding his shirt!

(Whew! )

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A Picture Really Is Worth a Thousand Words

If I was entering some contest or something like that which required me to choose one photo that best represented my child's personality.  This is the picture I would submit.

Scarlett is so full of life.

She's dramatic and extremely animated.

She loves being around other people and kids.

She's constantly talking.

She's already into shutting her door to keep me out.

She's incredibly observant.

In many ways, she's wise beyond her years.

The other day the phone rang, I answered it, realized it was a telemarketer, and hung up. She was watching and asked, "Wrong number?"

She's very loving. Always kissing, hugging and babying.

We were in the car the other morning about to head to preschool.  I was mainly talking out loud to myself and was naming off everything we had in the car to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything. "We have your lunch, your backpack, your nap mat, your coat...."  To which she interrupted, "Mommy! We forgot your purse!"  She was right.

She's fiercely independent. 

She put the entire outfit on she's wearing here. Flip flops (it's January and there's snow outside), some new white leggings that go with a completely different top, her bathing suit cover up, her favorite sunglasses and headband, and her new umbrella.

So for some reason, seeing this picture that Chris captured with his phone, to me, just perfectly sums up my dynamic baby girl who will turn 3 in 3 short months.

3 going on 13. 

And I love her so much sometimes I think my heart could just burst.

Santa Clause

I cannot believe this will be Scarlett's third Christmas! This year she is very much aware who Santa is. We had planned to go see him with a big entourage, us, my sister's family, and my parents last weekend. We waited in line for an hour, and by the time it was finally our turn, Scarlett was not having it. She cried and cried and told me, "I don't want to!" So we didn't make her sit on his lap. My sister was very annoyed by this, and thought we should have just thrown her on his lap for a quick pic, but I just couldn't make her when she was that upset. It wasn't a huge deal to me, so I was just going to foret about it this year.

Then all week she started up about Santa again saying she wanted to "try again" and she said, "I not cry anymore!" So when we were at the mall last night with just me, her and Chris, and I saw the Santa exhibit, I told her he was there. We had just ate dinner so she was full and hyper, and she very excitedly said she was ready to see him.

And to my great surprise, she was! There was only one little boy in front of us, and he was crying a little bit so Scarlett started singing to him, "Oh, you better watch out! You better not cry!" I swear I'm not making that up.

She kept asking, "Can I sit on his lap now?" I really couldn't belive it! She walked up to him, and told him she wanted a choo-choo train, and she pointed to us and said, "That's my mom!" and "That's my dad!" She asked him if he was going to bring her toys. She sat on his lap easily and hugged him good-bye. Afterwards she kept saying, "But he didn't say Ho, Ho, Ho!?" That really threw her off.

So I hope my sister is happy because we do have a picture this year after all.

Last year she didn't cry until she realized she was on his lap and I was walking off.

And the first year. Ignorance is bliss!

And my favorite "Santa" picuture of all. I could just cry! They just aren't babies for very long. 

Conversations with Scarlett #1

At Target

Waiting in line to check-out behind a disheveled, grumpy looking man.

Scarlett: (To the man) Hi! We take Vito to the doctor!

This kid has gotten to where she'll talk to just about anybody. She was right at least; we were going to take our cats to get their vaccinations later.Grumpy Man just stared at her blankly while Target Lady scanned his items.Scarlett stared back. Scarlett turned to me.

Scarlett: He can’t talk mommy?

Me:  (Leaning down to whisper) Scarlett let’s be quiet, ok? Just talk to mommy.

Scarlett: But he can’t talk?

Grumpy Man was not amused. He then looked at me. I smiled and shrugged. He stared, no smile.

Scarlett: (Giving up on Grumpy Man, she began singing at the top of her lungs.) Old MacDonald had a farm EIEIO! And on this farm he had a... (long pause) COW! EIEIO!

Grumpy Man looked at me as if to say, Are you going to make her stop? He didn't even crack a tiny smile. Jerk. She‘s a two year old for goodness sakes! I noticed he was staring at her hood too; the hood I couldn't get her to take off.

Me: Scarlett, let’s sing very quietly, ok?

Scarlett: NO!

Me: And let’s take off your hood too. You don’t need it inside.

Scarlett: No mommy!

Me: Well why not?

Scarlett: Because mommy! My hair’s cold!

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On the Way to Church

Scarlett: Will Jesus be at church mommy?

Me: Well, yes, he’ll be there, but you just can’t see him.

Scarlett: But mommy, where's Jesus's car?

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At 3:40 a.m

Scarlett: Mommy! Mommy! Come cover me up!

I went. I covered her up. I walked out of her room without saying anything.

Scarlett: Mommy! Teddy needs covers too!

I was half way back to my bed. I turned back around, went back in her room, covered up Teddy, and left, again, without saying anything.

Scarlett: Thank you mommy!

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At home today (After watching an old Santa cartoon with Chris yesterday)

Sarlett was dragging around one of my huge cloth laundry bags. It was filled with all sorts of her toys. She was going around to different corners of the house. She’d stop, pull out a toy, put it on the ground, gather her bag back up, and walk around some more. She came to me, stopped, dug around in the bag some, and pulled out her beloved Curious George stuffed animal.

Scarlett: Mommy, this one’s for you!

Me: Thank you!

She gathered up the bag and dragged it off again.

Me: What are you doing?

Scarlett: I’m makin’ Christmas mommy!

Little Gardener

Scarlett loves to do almost anything outside. She's really into bugs right now. She notices ants, rolly-polly bugs, crickets, spiders, and wasps. I've been teaching her all of their names. Most of them she wants to touch. The other day, I was telling her to watch out for a wasp that was flying around, and she said, "No, that's a dragonfly Momma!"  Seriously, the kid is so smart with the things she says!

She also likes dirt. When we were at my parents' she enjoyed digging around in their garden and "helping" plant some too. She LOVES to think she's helping. She says, "Look! I'm helping!"

Helping Pa prepare the tomato plants

Showing GG and G Pa she knows how to water the garden

She also loves the tacky yard art cute little garden animals my mom has; she kept kissing, hugging, and petting them.

2 Years Old

Scarlett
     sleeps in her crib
     eats her vegetables
     sings several songs from memory
     lets me paint her toenails
     has never had a haircut
     insists on doing things by herself 
     enjoys "cooking" in her kitchen and "setting" her table 
     says, "Ta Da!" when she shows me something she did
     gives lots of hugs and kisses
     identifies most letters and single digit numbers
     loves scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, pickles, chocolate and popsicles
     weighs 29 pounds
     sleeps with a slew of stuffed animals in her bed
     is day-time potty trained
     talks on the phone
     loves Curious George & Caillou
     would choose a potato chip over a cookie
     has a large vocabulary 
     persists until she (usually) gets her way
     tells Daddy, "Be careful!" when he leaves for work
     used the word "patient" the other day
     peels the paper off of crayons
     talks from the instant she wakes up until the moment she falls asleep
     hates having her face washed
     goes to bed at 7:30
     pulls her kitties' tales
     is seriously fearful of going to the doctor 
     loves to get "cozy"
     takes a nap after lunch
     pulls out her hair bows any chance she gets 
     cries when I leave her a church
     does not cry when I leave her with my sister
     says, "walkie, walkie" instead of just walk
     loves, coloring, play-dough, animals, cars, and her "little people"

Scarlett is two now and so full of energy, curiosity, life, and love.
What an amazing little girl! We love you sweet Scarlett.

Toddler Talk

Beacause these are things I never want to forget but will if they're not written down....

It's warming up here now, and when I turned on the air conditioner in the car the other day, Scarlett yelled: "Mommy it's windy!!" 

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Scarlett's favorite question right now is:

Scarlett:   "Mommmy, what's your name?"
Me:          My name is Mommy. What's your name?
Scarlett:   "My name is 'Karlett!"
Me:         Very good!
Scarlett:  "Daddy, what's your name?
Chris:     My name is Daddy! What's your name?
Scarlett:  "My name is 'Karlett!"
Chris:      Good job!

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Scarlett was awake from her nap calling out to me:   

"Mommy! Mommy! MOOOMYYY? WHERE ARE YOU? Mommy?" 

When I (finally) poked my head in her door, she beamed and cried out,

"I found her!"

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I was watching Oprah the other day just before we were heading out the door, we were almost to the car when Scarlett stopped, furrowed her brow in concern and asked: "Where'd Oprah go?"

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While I wasn't watching, Scarlett sprinkled a trail of cat food from their dish, into the kitchen, and on into the living room.  So of course, I asked, "What are you doing, Scarlett!?"  She answered, "Mommy, kitty hungry!"

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While grocery shopping the other day in the produce section, we were right next to a worker who was stocking vegetables. Scarlett looked the elderly man over and shouted, "Mommy, man scary!!

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Lately, whenever I correct Scarlett or even just tell her no, she retorts in a bossy voice, "Mommy, be nice!"

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Mine! Mine! Mine!

I think this all began with that dang Sesame Street episode where everybody gets "mine-itis." Scarlett knows I don't like it when she shouts, mine!, so it usually comes out of her mouth when she's frustrated, or mad at me, or having a difficult time sharing with her cousins.  She'll grab the object, usually a toy, hold it tight against her, and assert, mine! She'll then look to me for a reaction. If other kids aren't involved, I try to ignore her so she'll get the idea that it's not the cool thing to do. It's actually amusing that she says it during the day when it's just me and her, I mean it's not like I'm fighting over toys with her, but I guess she just wants to make it very clear to me and the cats what all is hers. Drama. Queen. She'll grab my purse, My purse! She'll grab Chris's cap, My hat! Mine!  She'll grab the book I'm reading, Mine! Today she was in a particularly argumentative mood, and while I was changing her diaper, she grabbed her foot, glared at me, and shouted, Mine! My toes! She stared me down, daring me to argue with her.  Of course, I only held in my laugh.  Yes, my dear, those are indeed yours!

Sweet Songs

We sing a lot of songs around here! Scarlett loves to sing and incorporating songs into our daily activities can really help things to go smoothly. Songs can be a great distraction when Scarlett doesn't want to do what I need her to do or when she's fussy.

We have a song we sing when we clean up; Scarlett hears the song and immediately sings along and knows what I want her to do. We sing during bath time, when we brush her teeth, when we wash her hands, and when when we're driving. In the car now, instead of asking for a DVD, she asks for music. She says, "Noomic!" Which of course means music. She just sits back and sings along with the CD to songs like, If You're Happy and You Know It, Shoo Fly, Old MacDonald, and all those traditional children's songs. I set up my I Pod player in her room, and she's always pointing up to it demanding, "Noomic!"

I've been trying to record her singing, but every time I try, she stops and wants the video camera. Here are two videos I did get, but I'm hoping to eventually capture better versions.

Yackety-Yak

Scarlett has been saying so many funny words and phrases as her little vocabulary grows and grows. Just tonight, we came home from eating out and shopping, and she declared to the cat when we walked in the door, "Hi Peanut! How are you?" We crack up at what she says daily. Here are some of my favorites right now; the way she pronounces many of these is much cuter in person!

"High Five!"

"I swimmin!" (While taking a bath)

"Beach!" (When she spots the pool at our complex)

"That's funny!"

"Kitty! Get back!"

"I did it!" and "I DO it!"

"Tickle, Tickle!"

"Good Morning Peanut!" (To the cat when she wakes up)

"Bless you mommy!" (Or daddy, or whoever just sneezed)

"Daddy work" (When she's looking for Chris during the day and realizes he's gone)

"Oh! Mess!" (When she spills something)

"Oh, shoot!" (Unfortunately, she got this one from me, but at least it's not the other word!)

And best of all, if someone says to her, "Shake, shake, shake, Shake, shake, shake..." She knows just how to finish it off! Yep that's my girl!

Quote of the Day

Scarlett: (Upon realizing there were no pacifiers to be found no matter where she looked because unbeknownst to her, mommy had hidden them all)
"Paaaci! Where arrrre you?"

Lately...

Over the past couple of weeks Scarlett has been:

Demanding to feed herself...


Increasing her vocabulary...
Scarlett says phrases now like, "I see you!" and "Where are you?" and "Oh, look at that!" Everything lately is "Mommy" this or "Mommy" that. She also enjoys telling her kitties (and for that matter, me) "No, No!" My favorite right now is the way she says, "thank you" every time you hand her something or when she hands you something!

Enjoying computer games like this...


Playing dress-up with anything she can get her hands on...


And I mean anything...



Enjoying the park...


Gobbling up fresh chocolate chip cookies...


Counting...
When counting to ten, Scarlett does a pretty good job! I have witnesses! If you say "One" she says "Two" and so on. She especially enjoys saying "Six" and "Eight". "Seven" is cutest because it sounds more like "Sewen"!

Wearing random pj combinations that only a father could pick out...


And babbling....
When Scarlett isn't saying her words, she babbles. It's pretty much non stop all day at this point. I like to call it her Swahili! Here's the best clip I could capture. Of course, she never likes to do anything for the camera.