This Morning...

Some mornings, I just wake up with a renewed sense of purpose. On occasion, those days happen when our schedule is jam packed with activities and learning adventures, leaving little room to actually accomplish something around the house. Today, I woke up energized and motivated...with not a single thing on our agenda for the day.

It was almost as if the stars aligned for me this morning. Elliana slept in until 7:34 (yes, that is sleeping in) and woke up with an amazing attitude. Clearly, those five teeth that are breaking through are no longer bothering her as they have been. As if that wasn't a good enough start to the day, I actually made a good cup of coffee for myself! Normally, my coffee tastes like dirty dish water but due to my caffeine addiction, I normally still manage to guzzle a few cups in spite of it. A good breakfast was had by both Elliana and I with minimal mess (well, as minimal of mess as a 20-month old eating Fruity Pebbles by herself can be). And then.....drumroll please....Elliana played independently for more than an hour!!

The pain of teething no longer had her attached to my leg during each waking moment. Being motivated to actually get work done is much more difficult with a 23-lb fussy toddler attached to a limb. This morning, Elliana methodically circled the family room playing with toys as if she has never seen them before. No requests for television and no demands that Mommy stop watching the news.

The morning dirty diaper came much earlier than usual, allowing us to actually walk it to the curb for the lovely garbage man to remove the smell from our home much sooner than usual. When snack requests came, Elliana requested a healthy snack rather than cookies or chips as she usually tries to fanagle during any Mommy moment of weakness.

It might sound like all of these things are just small, insignificant parts of the day. But, I am grateful for them and know that today will be a great day.

After all with a smile like this to look at all day, how could our day together be anything but great? :)

No Daddy Shweps!

This face isn't one we see often, but it is sometimes amazing what it takes to get it.  I sometimes feel like a bad daddy because I see it and want to laugh and sometimes even want to snap a photo.  I don't lack sensitivity.  If  this face resulted from an injury or fear, I'd be the first one to console her, but that's not where this one comes from.

Here's an example that will put it into perspective.  Yesterday, when heading upstairs at our house, Elliana stopped about 5 steps into the 15 or so required to achieve our second floor.

"Let's go!" I say to Elliana, but nothing changes.
"Do you want me to carry you?" I ask.  "No!", I get in return.
"Well, let's go up then.  Come on." I say, but still there is no movement.

So after a minute or so, I say, "Come on, I'll carry you." and proceed to carry her up the steps.

This is when the world seems to have ended for her.  She completely broke down at the top of the steps;  crying, flailing around, and yelling at me "NO DADDY SHWEPS (steps)!"  This continued on as we finished our task upstairs, headed downstairs, and began to get ready for dinner.  I just kept hearing "NO DADDY SHWEPS!" for about an hour following the initial apparent violation on my part.

Mommy had to hear about it many times, playing wouldn't resolve it, and she wanted nothing to do with Daddy.  So, how did I end up resolving the situation?  You won't guess what fixed it.

I asked Elliana if she wanted to go back to the steps and go up by herself.  "YES" she said.  So we proceeded to the staircase and she went from the bottom to the top right in front of me.  When she got to the top, she reached her arms up (like she does when she wants me to pick her up) and I asked, "Do you want me to carry you down?".  "Yes" she replied, and that was the end of it.  I carried her down the steps, she asked me to play and her mood went back to the happy little girl I'm used to.

So, sometimes the smallest things (to me) which are apparently the biggest things (to her) can cause this face.  As her daddy, I just need to realize this is the way it is and think like her to resolve the situation in an attempt to bring a smile back to her beautiful face.

Bubbles of fun

An afternoon at the park with Grandma & Papa turned into bubbles of fun!

Precious

There are few things in life as precious as the bond between a father and daughter. On vacation, I was fortunate to capture that amazing bond on film. I am forever in awe of their love and am grateful to be a part of it.

Making an attempt...

Well, I admit...I am a Mom who likes to be on the go. I just seem to thrive when we have plans and structure planned for our week. But, I think I might have planned a little too much this week.

We returned home from vacation late Saturday night, and we have literally been on the go ever since. Granted, it has all been really fun things we've been doing. A local amusement park, trip to the zoo, visiting a friend and her new baby, etc. Fun stuff!! However, I realized last night as I collapsed on the couch around 4:00 listening to my daughter cry and ask not to take a nap, that perhaps we need to schedule some "downtime" too. And so, today...I am making an attempt to do nothing.

Our day of nothing still involves some cleaning, playing and organizing. But it sounds absolutely wonderful!

Today's Lesson Learned

As a mother, I learn new things everyday. I used to think I had to know a bit of everything before I became a mom. Luckily, this job provides on the job training. Sometimes, I learn a few tricks of the trade from other Moms who have made goofs and pass it on before other mothers make the same goof. And so, today I pass on my lesson learned.

This morning, in an attempt to get my 20-month old to move a bit faster, I happened to mention that she was going to Nana's house for the day. Ecstatic with the idea of seeing Nana for the first time in a few weeks (due to our various vacation schedules), Elliana stopped eating breakfast, and made a beeline toward the stairs to get dressed. Already realizing my mistake, I began explaining all of the things that had to happen BEFORE leaving for Nana's house. "Mommy has to take a shower," "Let's change your diaper.", "We have to get some snacks ready to go," etc. The more I explained what we must do, the more impatient Elliana appeared to get. I jumped in the shower quickly after distracting Elliana with her toothbrush and the activity of brushing her teeth. That distraction lasted about 30 seconds, but by that time I was already in the process of getting clean.

Elliana proceeded to say "No shower Mommy." Shampoo was in now and I was trying to enjoy the fact that I was getting showered before 9:00 in the morning ( sad, but true). Elliana then proceeds to walk into my closet, pick up a shirt and try to hand it to me through the shower door as she demanded "Mommy, dress!" Obviously, my daughter was in a hurry to see her Nana. I explained that Mommy was still wet and in the shower so that I couldn't get dressed yet. Elliana, apparently already a step ahead of me, was in the process of getting my bathrobe and trying to hand it to me. Wow, when on earth did my little girl get this smart?

Fast forward about four minutes. I'm out of the shower, dressed, picking up the clothes that Elliana had wanted me to wear, trying to step over a toddler repeating "nana's house" in increasing volumes and attempting to blow dry my hair only to throw it up in a pony tail a few minutes later.

Ten minutes later...almost to the car. Snacks are packed, diaper study paperwork and new trial diapers loaded, medicine administered to an increasingly fussy teething toddler, books ready for the 40 minute car ride to Nana's. Wait, pacifiers are needed. Oh, forgot blankie. Might need it if Elliana decides to nap. Ha ha...that's funny. Elliana's new favorite phrase is "No Map!" meaning No nap. But this Mama can dream and prepare for the best case scenario.

Then the drive began where my daughter continued to ask for Nana about every 30 seconds for the entire 40 minutes....thus reminding this Mommy of today's lesson learned: Wait to share the exciting details of the day until just moments before partaking, rather than an hour or two away.

I Think She Likes It

I'm thinking Elliana is liking this.

A Whole New World

Although it isn't her first time to the beach, for Elliana, the trip to Hilton Head Island is a whole new world.  With every new adventure, there are new words like, beach, alligator, and bike.  We've tried ocean, but she sees it as nothing more than "pool".  I guess she is right; kind of.

We've enjoyed:

Floating in the Pool

Digging in the Sand

Being Buried in the Sand

Riding Bikes

Getting Pretty

There is also a bunch of fun family time which seems to make Elliana (as well as Ashley and I) the most happy.  She has been having a blast and for two days the toys we brought haven't been touched, so she must be having fun exploring the new world of beaches, bikes, and alligators.

Working hard

Everyday, Elliana asks about Daddy and I explain he is at work.
Sometimes I explain Daddy works on a computer. At the library today,
Elliana climbed up to the computer and worked...just like Daddy.