Home for the Holidays

We did our annual visit to the Holiday Pops (12/10) and tonight we are buckling down to do some wrapping and preparing for the weekend.

Santa Babies

Because I think they are the most adorable kids ever I just need to share some pics...

By the way, the Nugget is not a big fan of Santa. She points him out at every turn (posters, TV, books, etc.) but when it comes to seeing him in person or sitting on him - not a chance. She will say "I a little bit scared."

She will, however, sing Jingle Bells at the top of her lungs and she loved decorating the tree - she broke the first ornament she touched this year and some of our branches have 3 ornaments on them - oh, well!

Prized Possessions

I am glad I have held off on writing this one because it is kind of interesting how many times these "things" have changed over the past couple of weeks.

In varying degrees of "have to have it" the Nugget has had some minor obsessions recently ...

First, it was Comfort and Achoo - two beanie baby dogs (one, kind of a beagle and the other a little lab) that she needed to carry with her everywhere including to her crib for naps and bedtime. By the way, we had no part of the naming - she came up with those on her own.

Next it was the three ducks and the blue dolphin - all tub toys that she hasn't played with or touched for literally months. All of a sudden she had to take them everywhere, including in the tub and then to bed. We had to read stories with the ducks (and the regular routine of two blankies and a bink) and they even made it into the Strawberry Shortcake back pack to be toted around.

After the ducks it was Ariel and some other fairie princess doll - it had wings and they too, had to be with the Nugget everywhere, including to bed for naps and bedtime.

Next it was her bouncy balls - you know, various shape/size superballs. Those were thrown, juggled (by me, not the Nugget), put in the backpack and then eventually the princess purse.

Yes, the princess purse was next on the list - she came home a couple weeks ago with her mama declaring, "we go shopping". And she showed off the princess purse which she informed me was "for my makeup". So, the bouncy balls, some chapstick, markers and other random items made it into the purse - that too, had to go to bed with the Nugget.

Well, I guess either she is really fickle, a toddler, or she has too much stuff - probably a little of all three. I am curious to see what is next.

*%#* My Kid Says

So, overheard at 97 Whippoorwill over the past couple of weeks:

Me: "Liana, are you my favorite little girl?"
Nugget: "No, I a big girl"

Of course, we have told her this countless times since she started going potty on her own.

Me: "Wow, you went potty all by yourself?"
Nugget: "I did one, two, three turds"

(as she looked in the toilet bowl and counted - she was right!)

Nugget: "Is Monkey George getting a time-out?"

A legitimate question while reading the Curious George Christmas book. He was being carried out of the room by a Nurse where the children's Christmas tree was. He had decided to do his own decorating.

"Dada, why can't I sit next to you and hug you?"

This one made me sad, but it was the rules while I was sick - obviously it didn't prevent anyone from getting sick so maybe we won't employ that tactic next time.

"That a round circle? That a round square?" - everytime she sees a circle - and you have no idea how many cirlces there are until you have a 2.5 year old - she asks if it is a round circle. I tried to explain that all circles are round but that was met with the usual "how come?". So, now she asks if that is a round square, if that is a round rectangle, etc. We're getting there - slowly but surely.

All He Wants for Christmas is His 2 Front Teeth

And he got them - yup, Henry boy popped his first tooth on 12/7. The bottom right tooth came through and a couple of days later the bottom left. This all at 4.5 months - 3 months earlier than the Nugget. He is chewing his hands or anything else like crazy and drooling everywhere. Mama can make him giggle and laugh like no other - it really is sweet.

Quarantine

As usual, this is a catch up post ... it has been a busy week catching up from almost two weeks of sickness at 97 Whippoorwill.

Short story long - Liana had a cough to close out November that resulted in a double ear infection a few days later. Henry managed to get the cough and on 12/6 went to the doctor for some respiratory issues - turns out he had to be on a nebulizer treatment every 3 hours. I went to bed that night after a 45-3 Patriots trouncing of the NY Jets only to wake up at 1:30 with the stomach bug. I stayed in bed for a day and a half and was planning on going back to work on Thursday when both mama and the Nugget woke up with vomit and diarrhea. At that point it was lockdown and we were on our own to try and get better. What a tough week but we managed to pull through it together under the good old divide and conquer approach.

The Good:

Liana basically decided she was going to be potty trained on 12/4. Shelly was out with the girls and I walked in the bathroom to find Liana with pants down and diaper undone. She said she had to go potty and oh by the way, needed her privacy. She did poo and pee-pee all on her own and then did some more pee a couple hours later. She went 3 or 4 days in big girl underwear without any accidents before the runs set in and it was squirt city.

The Bad:

Obviously the sickness that took over the house - seeing the Nugget throw up for the first time and not know what was happening. We changed the sheets in her bed 2 times - first when she woke up with vomit and then at 1:45 in the morning after she had eaten supper and been throw-up free for 6 hours. Oh, yeah, again the next day when she woke up with diarrhea everywhere - mama got the pleasure of that one.

The Funny:

Okay, it is funny now, but it was gross at the time. Mama and Henry were in the guest bed - mama was sick but feeding Henry. The Nugget needed a diaper change because of yes, the diarrhea. So I took her in her bedroom, laid her down and started wiping. I had the diaper ready when I heard a little toot - she announced, I just tooted. The next thing you know another toot happens except this one is fully loaded with liquid poo that travels at least a foot if not 2 feet right onto my pants and the rug. I tried to dodge it but it was too late. So, I finished the diaper and got the steam cleaner to get it out of the rug. I believe I yelled to Shelly "we need a new rug". And who knows, we still might.


Hopefully this is it for us for the season - I feel like we paid our dues, especially since Henry boy ended up with the runs and a tough cough as well.

Popeye

Need I say more?

Potporri ...

Here is just a quick update ... I haven't been in this blog for a while ... again.

Henry is growing like a weed and at a check up this week he weighed in at almost 18.5 lbs at 14 weeks - off the charts for length and weight. No surprise since all he does is eat, eat, eat! He has been giving us great smiles for the past couple of weeks and he is reaching for the toys in his baby rocking/bouncy chair. I will say he is stingy with the smiles and makes daddy work way too hard for them. He really doesn't spare a smile for mama, a sign that he will always have her wrapped around his finger.

Liana and Henry have been taking baths together ... her in the big tub and him in the little tub within the big tub. She gets a little rough with him but it's not too bad. We are constantly saying - don't touch his penis or don't touch his face.

Anyway, the best distraction for her is to tell her to show Henry how to do something, ("show Henry how to wash your face"). She started to embrace the role and dunked her head under water and said "watch this Henry!" Not exactly what we had in mind :-)

After Henry got out of his baby tubby the other night Liana climbed in and after a couple of minutes said "I'm going poopie". I immediately told her to stop and that we would go on the potty. I took her out, saw the little turd she left in the baby tubby and plopped her on the potty. She did her first pooh on the potty and it made a nice splash so I said "I heard a splash" and she echoed with a smile "I heard a splash, too!"

She did some pee-pee and poopie on the pottie the next day as well but after a shot at big girl underwear that got soaked with pee after 5 minutes.

When I wake up ...

Tonight I had to go back upstairs after about 45 minutes after the Nugget went to bed becuase I could see on the monitor that she was restless and not going to sleep. She wanted some milk so I brought some to her and we sat in her chair. She was chatty cathy and babbling on and on about how I woke her up from her nap and scared her when I was mowing the lawn - mind you it was 1 week ago so not sure why she was thinking of it.

She asked if the fishies on her ceiling (fishies that are supposed to go in a circle but don't because the projector is crappy and breaks all the time - sometimes in morning they are spinning) would be moving? I said maybe, we'll have to wait and see. She then looked at me with wide eyes and said "when I wake up I play with Autumn, Ashley and Amanda?" I said we would ask mommy. She also asked if we could find her blue ring (I have no idea what that is) and I said we would ask mommy (who, by the way, also has no idea what that is). In case I didn't hear all of her questions she gently summarized by asking "Dada, that okay I do those things when I wake up?"

All I can say is sure, as long as you don't wake up before 7 am!

tootsie roll

There was a tootsie roll commercial when I was a kid with a them song that went like this: "everything I see, becomes a tootsie roll to me" (be thankful you can' hear me singing as I type). It was an animated commercial with a child going through his day and everything takes the shape of a tootsie roll while this song plays in the background.

Okay, so for the connection to the Nugget ... it is kind of a stretch but a couple of examples of how recently I had the chance yet again to see the world through the Liana's eyes. There is a mirror on the back of the drivers seat so she can see herself when she is in her car seat. When I buckled her in her car seat the other day she declared "it looks like a 'H'", referring to the 5 point harness of the car seat. It surely did she amazed me once again. A couple of days later she took a cup and put it over mouth, breathed in and sucked it to her face and declared "I'm like an elephant!" She found a red monkey that was basically a wine charm so the tail was really curly so it could attach to the stem of a wine glass. She said, "that like a puma!" as it resembled the puma logo on my shirts on on her puma jacket. The last example is when one night recently when I was getting her ready for bed she saw a striped looking U-shaped mark in the carpet - it was the carpet being pulled against the normal grain from vacuuming. I would never in a million years thought twice about it but the Nugget declcared "it's a rainbow", and with a vivid imagination, surely it was.

Blow out King

I'll apologize to Henry now for putting this out there but I couldn't resist. We called Liana the blow-out queen to label her penchant for frequent and massive blowouts. The McNugget is on an every other day movement cycle or so but he has had 3 blowouts in 3 days and we are not about to give extra points for being consistent. I don't remember Liana having one this bad, but maybe that is revisionist history. Either way, we have yet to settle on a nickname for Henry (McNugget, Big Game Henry James, Hank the Tank, etc.) and Blow Out King could stick :-)

Mama texted this picture to me at work the other day and believe me - no matter how bad my day was going I smiled knowing I did not have to clean up this mess. The little guy is doing well and weighed in at 15 lbs 3 oz on his 2 month check up (actually he was 9 weeks old on that day). Comparitively, he has gained 5 lbs in 9 weeks compared to the Nugget gaining 2 lbs and we thought she was big! He's fun to have around and he such a good baby. Smiles are coming more frequently and he is adored by his big sister and all who meet him!

"Kill 'em with Kindness" and "Let's Make a Deal"

The Nugget has been on a roll lately, complimenting anyone and everyone, and in some cases, calling them like she sees them.

For example, she told me "dada, I like your shoes" or "dada, I like your belt". I like to think the compliments are genuine and that I have a few years to wait before those are followed with "... can I borrow the car?" In the doctor's office the other day (she was there with us while Henry was getting a check up) she went up to a girl in the lobby who was probably a couple years older than her and said "I like your barrett". She had no reason to say anything, I guess she just liked it.

This past Sunday mama took Henry to a baby shower and I had the Nugget all to myself. Mama and Henry took off right at lunch time. Liana and I were sitting at the island in the kitchen and as Shelly was opening the door to head into the garaga Liana called out "Mama, that's a pretty bracelet". Just as Shelly closed the door Liana softly called "drive safe!". I swear that I realize more and more that I have to be on guard for what I say as she hears and repeats everything! Minutes later I told her if she took a couple more bites she could have some cake. She looked right at me and said "that a good deal, dada?" Apparently we are negotiating hard with her lately because there have been many occasions where she will say that exact phrase but she has it timed perfectly and in context. So, again, to when she is 16 years old I am likely to hear ... "dad - you look like you've been working out. When I finish my homework I want to drive my friends to the mall - is that a good deal?"

PS The call 'em like she sees 'em aspect of this came true a couple of weeks ago on a visit to her grandparent's and aunt Joanne's house. Apparently Joanne's hair was a little frizzy, maybe teased a bit - I can't say since I wasn't there. The Nugget apparently looked right at her and said "you have messy hair!". Classic. Also, I sweat just thinking about exercise so anytime I am remotely damp from exercise or doing yard work Liana will call me out and say "dada, you a little bit sweaty?"

Where do they learn this stuff?

It happens more and more and I know it will continue, but I am always surprised by the things that the Nugget says ... I know that some of them seem to be rooted in overhearing things we say but some of the others just seem to come out of nowhere. Here are some examples:

We were at a baptism party today and while one of her little friend's grandma's was reading a story to the kids Liana reached out and touched her bracelet and said "is those diamonds?". They were sparkly stones and were not the real deal but just that she knew about diamonds cracked me up - it's not like they are in abundance at home or that mommy wears the ones she has very often while cleaning up spit-up and changing diapers every day.

In the tubby tonight she took the top and bottom of a soap dish ... made sure that it was filled with water and pressed it together and then declared "that my lunchbox!" Again, not being in school and not having one of her own I don't know where she got it from.

"You hear my toot?" - this is not a new one but it has been used more often in the presence of people she is meeting for the first time and said with such enthusiasm as if to break the ice.

"You just have to pull the tabs" - this declaration came yesterday when Auntie Julie was visiting. The Nugget asked for some help opening up a barrett that goes with her Strawberry Shortcake doll. Auntie Julie said "I don't know if it opens" and Liana told her exactly what to do!

big newtons - I just think it is funny that she calls fig newtons "Big Newtons"

"I got new bitamins" (aka vitamins)- Liana is now on chewables as opposed to the liquid and she repeated this about 30 times tonight while I was putting her to bed.

Every once in a while she will ask me "dada, what wrong?" if she senses something isn't going the way it is supposed to and I tell her "it's okay, daddy's just a little bit frustrated". Now, anytime something seems remotely wrong she will look at me and grin and say "you a little bit frustrated?"

We say bedtime prayers each night and we usually thank Jesus for the friends we played with during the day... whenever we say prayers for her friends Jameson and Andy and their mommy Erica and daddy Andy I move on to the next part of the prayer but the past two nights Liana has quickly inserted "... and Frank!". I guess she wants Jesus to be sure to remember their little dachsund doggie !

Oh, Henry Boy

Henry is going to be 2 months old on Monday and sadly we don't have a nickname for him yet - well, actually he is know as the McNugget, Big Game Henry James, Hank the Tank and Lian's favorite "Henry Boy". He is growing so much and is starting to wear 6 month clothes - he has big chubba legs and everyone thinks he couldn't be any bigger since he was 9.15 at birth. He had some skinny legs but not anymore - he is giving Michelin Man a run for his money :-)

He basically hangs out and does what babies are supposed to do. He is losing some hair but that is about all he is losing. Smiles are coming about once or twice per day and prediction thus far about his eyes is righ on ... from week #2 I said he wasn't going to have brown eyes. Grandma Jean rolled her eyes at the mere thought of anything but brown eyes given everyone we can think of in the family has them, but I just had a feeling. There is still time for him to prove me wrong but they will be either a darker blue or hazel.

The Nugget is a big fan and although she knocks him on the head every once in a while or roars at him occasionally she usually just gives him kisses, wants to hold him, wants to know what he is doing. Without fail, every morning when I go in to get her out of her crib she asks me "es Henry?" ("where's Henry?").

By the way, he is pretty much famous, or at least going to be - Henry is coming to Hasbro on Monday to be part of an internal Playskool sizzle. They needed babies and he got the call ... he has also taken part in two toy tests for babies - a rattle and a gloworm glowbright that goes in his crib - pretty awesome!

A few stories for a Saturday

Just a few highlights from a conversation I had with Liana earlier today. Now, we all need our privacy but with two kids sometimes you just have to do things that need to get done, like going to the bathroom. Liana and I went upstairs to take a shower before bed time. I had to go to the bathroom (#2) and she was in the bathroom with me. I was sitting on the toilet and I must have been pushing or something becuase the Nugget looked at me and said "you usin' your muscles dada?" and she squinched her face just like someone working hard to get out some pooh. Pretty funny!

At bedtime we were talking about our day which included swimming at the Y. There was a boy in the class who basicallys screamed the whole time and his dad should have just taken him out of the water. Anyway, while we were talking about swim class I asked the Nugget "what was the boy doing?" She said, "cryin'". I said "how come?" She said "he needed his binky" then a pause "and he needed his blanky". Funny how he might need the two things that the Nugget needs when she is having a rough time :-)

The last thing was story time tonight. There is a "Sleep Tight Elmo" book that has made its way into the rotation. On the last page Elmo is in his bed asleep and his daddy is in the door way saying "sleep tight, Elmo". We have read this book many times and the Nugget usually asks "is that Elmo's Daddy?" and we I will say yes and say "look at Elmo's milk" (which is on his nightstand) and the Nugget will say "and a snacky" (which is next to the milk on the nightstand). tonight, on the last page Liana abruptly grabbed her milk bottle from her lap and "clinked" glasses with Elmo's milk cup and proclaimed "cheers, elmo"!

She cracks me up every day, many times per day - all of these stories are funnier if you are there, I'm sure but I know I will look back some day and read this and laugh out loud.

Things that make me laugh and things that make me smile

The laughing:

"What you doin' guys? You playin' catch with my binky?" Just a random statement out of nowhere as we were playing a little keep-away with the binky. We hadn't heard the "what you doin' guys?" question before but have heard it several times since :-)

"I pump milk out of your boobies, dada?" - said the other night with her milk bottle firmly planted on my "boob"

"It smells a little stinky ... like my diaper" - an observant Nugget while I was cooking mussels the other night. Yes, they were a bit stinky, but come on - don't make me think about pooh while eating them!

"what my do?!" or "what my doin'?" - said when she does something she thinks is funny or cool ... like spitting out her binky to make room for a sip of juice, knocking over some toys, jumping off a stump, doing a summersault, etc.

"you have a pee-nus? Henry have a pee-nus?" - the first question she asked me when I came home from work tonight ...

The smiling ...

"I luv you ... that make you feel strong, dada?" She hugs me at night while reading stories or brushing her teeth and tells me she loves me. The other night I told her it makes me feel special - she must have misunderstood "special" for "strong" and now she asks me this every night.

"I will miss you at work, dada"? Her way of saying she will miss me and asking if I will miss her.

"where my curls go?" - asked after I poured water over her head in the tub so we could shampoo her hair. She looked in the little tubby mirror and realized her curls had turned to flat wet hair and she was very upset. She's got a lot of tomboy in her but she still wants to be a girly girl!

Recycling

I get accused of recycling old material by my closest of friends and of course my wife. I always insist that my jokes and stories are new and will workshop some new bits with a small crowd before taking it to a bigger stage or a new audience. The truth is somewhere in between and what's the problem with getting some free laughs off tried and true material with a new audience or one that may not have heard it in a while and can appreciate it enough - kind of like watching an old sitcom that you haven't seen in a while. The jokes and zingers seem funny even though you know you have heard them before. Well, the Nugget is taking after her old man ... a couple of weeks ago mama showed me a video (attached). Take a gander and note the punchline - "I just drawrin' a bee-ird". We laughed so hard at this and the Nugget saw the reaction when we watched it with her so she will repeat "I just drawrin' a bee-ird" when she is looking for a good yuk out of everyone.

Big Game Henry James

NOTE: I wrote the following 2 weeks ago but couldn't get pics to load so I am finally posting!

Okay ... so I am a little late in posting to announce the birth of Henry James Danubio. He arrived on 8/9/10 at 9:18 pm. Just like the Nugget I got to pull him out once his head was clear and then I got to cut the cord ... totally awesome and a gift like none other I have ever received.

Mama did a great job and I am so proud of how well she endured the pregnancy and the delivery - something no man could ever do.

Henry was welcomed warmly by the Nugget as she declared "he's so pretty" when she first saw him. She is taking to him nicely - always curious about "what Henry doing?" or "what Henry saying"? She seems to get that Henry only eat's "mama's milk" and that he can't do things like other kids yet like play catch or go on the swings.

More to come as I update this blog on the status of both kids and how they are doing individually and collectively.

I love you, you love me ...

Yes, Barney is in our house ...not literally, but the Nugget somehow discovered Barney the Purple Dinosaur and she loves him. She really only watches one episode - "Barney loves Bugs" - Liana sings and dances along and crawls like a beetle at just the right time. He teaches the right lessons about sharing and caring but something about the costume and that goofy toothy grin is just a little too creepy for me. Hopefully she kicks Barney to the curb and amps up the Monkey George and Sesame Street!

Gotta Pay the Bills

It has been way too long since I updated this blog. We are T minus 18 days before baby #2 arrives - not sure what his/her nickname will be - maybe McNugget :-)

There has been a lot of "I can't like that ..." and "I can't want that ..." going on with Liana. It can be TV, food, a juice cup, a snack - whatever. She just can't like or want stuff right now.

With the baby on the way Liana has been clinging to mom a bit more than usual - wanting her to changer her diaper (jackpot!), put on her PJ's, give her a tubby, etc. This is not great for mommy since she is tired and has trouble bending down as of late but she is a good mama and obliges.

This morning we did a little arts & crafts together before work - we broke out the "My Giant Busy Box" (weird name) that Auntie Jenn and Uncle Chris gave the Nugget several months ago. We were gluing paper mache to a cardboard butterfly but after a while I needed to shower and go to work. When I came downstairs the Nugget said "no daddy go to work today". I said "I have to go to work". To our surprise she said "daddy have to pay the bills". We both cracked up because we realized yet again that the Nugget doesn't miss a beat. A couple times a week when I say that I have to go to work she will ask "how come?" or "why" and I tell her that I have to pay the bills. I didn't realize she would be repeating that back to me.

So, there has been a lot of swimming, including a day at the Town Landing in Pembroke with Grammie Danubio, at the beach with mama, dada, Papa/Grandma, at a pool with Jenn/Chris and at different pools in the neighborhood. We love when she swims because it tires her out - hell hath no fury like the Nugget with her swimmies and bubble - she charges right for the water, will jump off the edge of the pool or the dock at the pond with no fear and proclaim "I all wet", "I underwater" or "I holdin' my breath" (all true :-) )

No like that show

We may be horrible parents because every morning when we get her out of bed we bring her into our bed so she can have juice and snacks and cuddle with us while we extend our time in bed.

Actually - that isn't what makes us bad parents ... it's that we turn on the TV so she can watch Sesame Street or "Monkey George" depending on what time she gets up.

When we turn on the TV it may be on the news or whatever channel was on when we went to bed. If it is not immediately on Sesame or Curious George when we turn on the tv she says "no like that show". The other day she wanted to watch sesame before her nap and I turned on the TV and wanted to watch the baseball highlights for a couple of minutes. I said, let's watch baseball for a minute and the Nugget replied "no like baseball"... cracks me up.

ItaLIANA

Our little Nugget has been-ah speaking her version of Italian - I call it ItaLIANA.
For example:

* "Mama no kiss-ah the daddy"
* "Liana push-ah the button" (such as on a toy)
* "Daddy read-ah more book" (at bed time when she is stalling for time)
* "Liana brush-a teeth"
* "Liana rock-ah the baby" (when she rocks her dolly's"

Happy Birthday Liana

Okay, so I am a few days late since the Nugget's birthday is 5/31. We had a great party for her on 5/30 with friends, family and neighbors.

The Nugget got a chance to hit the bouncy house pre-party as it arrived even before nap time. She was so excited and had a blast jumping around with mama, daddy, auntie Julie and even Papa. She called us all in her her classic hand motion, and "C'mon!"

One of the sweetest and saddest moments of the day was after nap (very short nap!) when she came down the stairs in her dress and a cute bow in her hair. Mama told her to go downstairs and show her dress to everyone - she meant "everyone" as the few family members that were here because it was still early for guests to have arrived. I walked her down the stairs and she scrambled through the kitchen, looked around, looked outside and went over to the door and began to pout and cry. I asked her what was wrong and she said "no friends coming". It was so sad ... she thought because no one was here yet that she was getting the shaft.

That all changed when everyone eventually showed up and she got cake (curious george cake!) and more bouncy house and presents. She had more cake the next day ("green cake" which is what she requested) and got to open more presents. It is hard to believe she is now two and so grown up with and will soon be a big sister.

We are so blessed to have her in our lives and we look forward to many more birthdays to come!

The Negotiator

The Nugget got a brand new swingset 2 weeks ago and she is so excited to swing and go down her slide all the time. She also likes to find little inchworms that have been eating the tree leaves above the swingset. Every time she finds one she declares "WORMY!" and picks up the worm and either sends it down the slide on her own or slides down with the wormy in her hand. She will ask "dada, help find wormy" and I will get on the tower and find a worm for her - she loves it! I got home later than usual tonight and after I ate Liana wanted to go out and swing. I told her we could swing for a few minutes but then it was tubby time. Rather than go right to the swingset she burned up some time by having me hit some wiffleballs and then we played with trucks in the sandbox. She went down the slide a few times, looked for some wormy's (I helped) and then she wanted to swing. I told her it was time to go in for a tub. She said "couple-a minutes". I couldn't help but laugh while putting her on the swings...she did some swinging and then asked to get off the swing and go on the "she-saw" (the horse type swing). She did that with me for a minute and then I said it was time to come in. She went and stood by the slide and said "last time". I couldn't help but give in to the strong negotiation - we slid down together and went inside for the tubby and did some bubble beards :-)

Role Reversal

The other night I was going through our normal nightly routine and as the Nugget was sitting on me she started pointing to different parts of my face and asking me "wha dat?"

It went like this:

"wha dat"? I answered "mouth"
"wha dat"? I answered "eyes"
"wha dat"? I answered "ears"
"wha dat"? I answered "nose"
"wha dat"? I answered "hair"

I thought she was going to move on to something else and ask me what it was but instead she matter of factly stated "good job". It took me a second to realize that I had just passed a quiz - the very same quiz that I have given the Nugget in the past and one of many quizzes that she regularly takes from mama, grandma, papa, aunties/uncles, etc., as we ask her about her letters, colors, numbers, shapes, animals, etc.

Two Babies

As you may recall I ask the Nugget daily two questions:

1) Do you know that mommy has a baby in her belly? (she nods or says "yes")
2) Do you want to be a big sister? (she either ignores me or says "no")

Now when I ask her question 1 she will immediately say "sister" anticipating question number 2. I don't think she knows what either question means but she is consistent. To confuse her even more we have been asking her lately if she is going to have a baby brother or a baby sister. She fluctuates between each but about 1 week ago when asked the question she said "two babies". Mama and I are pretty sure there is only one coming and we are hoping we don't have a little Nostradamus on our hands!

Tubby Time ...

Happened?

Liana has been having a lot of fun in the tub lately ... she will dunk her face under the water and then look at me and say "happened?", as in "what happened?". She did this repeatedly and the first night she did this so emphatically that she hit her head on the bottom of the tub :-)

This routine happened for several nights in a row (sans head bumping) and for some reason she decided to keep her head under water for longer periods of time. One time I counted that she held her breath for 7 seconds ... a true little fish!

Lillel Bit

There is a little container in the tub that the Nugget likes to fill with water and then she pours it into a little bowl. While doing this she says "lillel bit" (little bit).

how come?

this has nothing to do with the tub, but it's my next to last thought for the day..."why" is still a big part of conversations with Liana but "how come" has entered the mix recently as well. "How come" is usually accompanied by a shoulder shrug and hands raised in the classic "what do you mean?" type gesture.

Dada Proud

As we were brushing her teeth the other night Liana looked at me and said "Dada Proud" ... "proud" didn't come out 100% phonetically correct and it took me a second to figure out what she was saying. It donned on me that the night before I told that I was proud of her because she did such a good job brushing. Yet another reminder that nothing gets past these little ones and nothing is lost on them. My guess is she doesn't exactly know what "proud" means but by the tone in my voice and the look in my eye when I said she sure does know that it is something positive. I hope that I remember to tell her that as often as I can so she knows that I mean it.

TINY ...

So much to update - I keep thinking, "ooh, I need to write that down or blog about that" and when I get to doing it I know that I don't remember all the specifics or the exact dates or all the funny situations so this download will just be some matter of fact stuff that I don't want to forget about as the Nugget gets older (or as I get older and my memory fades :-))

Liana has gone pee-pee on the potty 2 times in the past week or so. I think both times were pretty much by accident but she said she wanted to sit on the potty (stall tactics before bedtime) and so we let her. She immediately went pee and mama and daddy got so excited. We made a big deal of it hoping to reinforce the result. Less than a week later she did the same for mama and was so excited that she got off the potty WHILE going pee and got it on the floor. "A" for effort! The Nugget will now sit on the potty for 1.5 seconds and then stand up and affirm "treat!". We are trying to reinforce the attempts but really only want to give a treat for productivity :-)


tiny pooh

Liana has an infatuation with "tiny" anything. She says "tiny" in a high pitched voice and squeezes her thumb and forefinger together trying to visually show us something small. We put relish on the table and I explained those were "tiny pickles" ... the Nugget laughed with delight and declared in her high pitched voice, "tiny pickle". Liana had a big mess in her diaper and her mama told her about a big pooh ... now anytime Liana gets her diaper changed she will say "tiny pooh" in the high pitched voice and mama will say "no,no,no ... BIIIIIGGG pooohh!"
Curious George closes ou the tiny conversation. There are 2 Curious George books that Liana likes to read (sorry Curious George shapes - you are third fiddle!) - one is a big book that has pop-ups inside for kids to explore. This is requested as "big monkey George" by Liana. There is also a small Curious George board book and Liana calls this "tiny Monkey George" (you have to hear the high pitched Nugget voice when saying "tiny" :-) She will ask me to read this every night after we have already reached our final book maximum. I usually refuse but at least she is a consistent about asking :-)

Nugget Speak

The Nugget is talking a blue streak and continues to string words and concepts together. She totally cracks us up and comes up with great questions, funny statements, and interesting commands.

"daddy, more under water" - she got some good laughs as daddy went under water at swimming classes while holding her above the water

"sun - I found it!" - her proclamation on the way to church on Easter as the sun broke through the clouds on her side of the car

"more up high" - her request to be thrown up in the air over and over again

"mama, daddy no hug" (or "no kiss") - our instructions if we show each other affection

"Liana hold it", "Liana do", "Liana!" - independent Liana wanting to do everything for herself

"1,6,9!" - she will give me this countdown (supposed to be 1,2,3) before she jumps into my arms at swimming class

"Nake!" - the Nugget's proclamation when she is naked or wants to be naked, usually right before tubby time. She will run around as naked as a jay bird and sometimes even draws naked :-)

"Igotthat" - usually says this with arm outstretched or pointing when she wants something

By the way, everything is green ... until we say, "no, what color is it really?" She will then tell us the right color (usually). Not sure about the obsession with green but she is a big fan.

"Hold You!" - The Nugget will say this when she wants you to hold her, either because she has a boo-boo, is sleepy, acting shy, or in general wants to be held. It can be directed specifically as in "mama hold you!"

"losht" - this means "lost", and the Nugget will put her hands over her eyes and pretend to be lost or invisible. We need to ask "where is Liana" and she will uncover her eyes and yell "boo!" or just giggle with excitement. This happens sometimes when we meet new people or if she hasn't seen someone in a long time. Synonyms are "shy" - which she is definitely NOT.

"daddy's funny" - my favorite ... it's all of my impromptu material that she loves ;-)

Baby Tubby!

With a new baby coming in August Liana has regressed already ...

It was one thing that she has been asking mommy to "rock baby" (hold her in mama's arms like a baby and swing her back and forth).

As of 3 nights ago The Nugget decided to get the "baby tubby" out of the bathroom closet. So now, rather than bathe in the regular tub like a big girl she now scrunches herself in the baby tubby and will proclaim "stuck". She wants nothing to do with the big girl tubby - we'll see how this goes and what will happen when her baby sister/brother arrives.

With Friends Like These ...

The Nugget distinctly remembers and associates particular things about those she calls her friends. We learned this when we came back from Utah ... she would say "friend, Kate, cry". This was in reference to her friend Katelin (9 months older) who yelled and cried when it was bedtime one night - it had quite an impact on the Nugget.

The Nugget had visited one of mama's friends who has a son named Sam. Apparently he was testy during the play date and screamed a lot. Recently we visited friends of ours who have a new baby Lyla. Liana was taken to the little girl Lyla but seems to only remember that she went pooh a couple of times. Another of her buddies Jameson is somewhat quiet and they hug and kiss sometimes but he is not a big talker. So the other night I asked Liana about her friends and got this response for each:

Katelin: "kai" (cry)
Sam: "skeem" (scream)
Lyla: "pooh"
Jameson: just silence from the Nugget

Yes, no response to Jameson was perfect since he is so quiet!

I told her maybe she should get some new friends but I think she is happy with the ones she has ... not to mention Shane, Christian, Kara, Libby and all the neighborhood girls who love to mother her. She gets to entertain them and soak in all the love they give to her!

Killer B's

Simply put The Nugget has her favorite things in her life and most start with the letter B. The above pic incorporates all but the ba-ba.

Ba (blanket, particularly one of her purple silky blankets)
Ba-ba (her milk in a bottle)
Big Bird (her stuffed Big Bird that she hugs and sleeps with). One afternoon on the monitor we heard "Are you Big Bird?", which means "where are you big bird". Mama forgot to put Big Bird in the crib at nap time ... I found it in our bedroom and brought him to the Nugget. If Big Bird was in the crib we may have been able to squeeze an extra 20 minutes out of the nap!
Bink - this is the Nugget's binky. Of course she didn't want one until she was 15 months old but she needs it now when she is tired or if she gets a boo-boo.

Testing: 1,6,9

The Nugget gets a look in her eyes and a devilish grin on her face when she is about to test mommy and daddy. The best example is when she cocks her hand when holding a marker, a crayon, a toy or whatever ... and then makes sure she has our attention. She will wait to see if we are going to say "don't throw that" and we never know what will happen next. The Nugget could ask "why", put the object down, or just throw it anyway.

1,6,9 is how Liana counts. It used to be that everything was "TWO!" but for some reason she skips 2 and 3 and 4 and 5.

You can ask her to count something or say "Liana, how many do you see?", and she will say 1...6...9 - no matter how many items may be on hand. Too funny.

Mama has a baby in her belly

Every day, twice a day, I ask the Nugget a couple of questions:

"Do you know that mama has a baby in her belly?" She will either nod her head with a big smile or say "yeah..."

Then I say "do you want to be a big sister"? She replies "nnnnnnnnn..no" We will have to work on that!

For a while (again, going back about 1 month ago) when we asked the Nugget if she wanted something (like more food or a pop) she would nod her head up and down very aggressively so there was no mistaking that she indeed did want something.

Lately if I ask her to do something, like "Liana, can you go to your kitchen and make daddy some tea?" she might answer with a quick "yeah" or even better is "shure". Hard to express in this blog why it is so funny but just to hear her using lingo or answer like she is just one of the grown ups is so unbeliveable to me. Where did my little baby go?

Washy...car...thank you

I took the Nugget to do some errands a few weeks ago and the Nugget seemed to enjoy the day. I say that because she told me and others over and over again about what we did. She moves her hands up and down and says "shashy" (washy). I will say "washy what". She replies, "car ... warwar" (car, water). I say "then what". She replies "sha" (fan). I say "we saw fans?" She says "store". I say "then what"? She says "moush, stickter" (mouse, sticker). I say "you got a sticker?" She says "thank you". The story is that we went to the car wash and then we went to Home Depot lighting section and she saw a bunch of fans (which she loves). While we were checking out she got a big Mickey Mouse sticker and she told the cashier "thank you". Another great story she told me about was how she wore her boots in the rain the other day and jumped in puddles and threw dirt. Then mama said "no, no, no". You have to see her say "no, no, no". She gets one finger up and waves it up and down at you - too damn funny. It's so funny how she remembers all the details and wants to tell everyone about it. More and more she will tell me what she did with mama during the day or what we have done - yesterday it was "yuckers". She learned that word from mama after mama squished a tomatoe by accident. Liana apparently thought it was hilarious. We are now seeing 3 word "sentences" like "I found it", "I did it", "I see you", go to 4 word "sentences" - "mama, dada, sit, eat" Also, the Nugget says her name a lot - "E-ana" is how it sounds. And she wants to do things by herself more and more. If I try to read a book she takes it and says "E-ana", or if I try to feed her she takes the cup and says "E-ana". She takes pride in being able to drink out of cups by herself (with many spills along the way). She knows that dada's name is "Mike" and mama's name is "Shally" and sometimes she will call out those names or sometimes she just yells "DA-DA" if she wants my attention or if she wants me to come downstairs. Last little story is lately she has been wanting to put salt on food - not because she necessarily enjoys the flavor but she likes the action of putting salt on. she has seen us reach into the small bowl of sea salt and sprinkle it on food with the thumb and forefinger. The Nugget now rubs her thumb/forefinger together and says "salt" or if we have already let her put it on food she will say "more salt". Much like everything else she does it cracks us up...

Utah, Get me Two (round 2)

We went back to Utah this year to visit the Allely clan. They have a new baby in the mix so Liana got a taste of what it will be like to have a baby sibling (August) and she got to hang out with her buddy KateLin who is 9 months older. Katelin wanted to borrow all of the Nugget's things - PJ's, Big Bird and bunny slippers and Liana was very agreeable - except when she had to part with Big Bird too many times. Now that we are home Liana has been taught the sign for "friend" and she will say her friend "Kate, Kai" (Katelin cries). She did hear some loud screaming at bed time from Katelin one night and that seems to be locked in her memory. The Nugget got on skis for the first time and loved it ... she left wanting more so we'll have to get her to Blue Hills or Wachussett sometime soon to get more practice. Her buddy Katelin is already on the Sterling Chair at DV so we'll have some catching up to do.

Ummm...Why?

These have become standard words in the Nugget's vocabulary over the past 6 weeks or so. When we ask her a question, for example, "Liana, what did you do today?" She often replies with "ummmm....?" and seems to be really thinking of an answer and lately has been putting her hands up in the air at the same time. She will also use this delay tactic if she isn't sure of the answer to a question. So funny!

Also within the past six weeks she has been asking "why?" a lot, and sometimes in sucession. One night she was so tired and it was 1 am and I was in checking on her and the conversation went like this:

Me: "Liana, you have to go to sleep"
Nugget: "Why?"
Me: "Because you're so tired"
Nugget: "Why?"
Me: "Because you didn't take a good nap today"
Nugget: "Why?"
Me: "Because I said so, now put your head down for nite nite time!"

At 19 months many of our friends had assured us it was a bit early for the "why's" and some thought it would go away. Nope ... they have only come with more frequency and the word is stretched out ...."uuwhhyyy".

How do I love thee...

Nothing makes me feel better than when the Nugget...

...reaches up and says "hand" so we can walk together
...says "up please" and asks to "stir" an egg or whatever I am cooking
...leans in to give me a kiss on the lips
...crosses her arms and/or says "I you" (I love you) to show me love (the sign for love)
...runs across the room and jumps into my arms to give me a big hug
...yells "daddd-eeee" or "da-da" when I come down the stairs in the morning
...watches me in the window in the mornings when I leave for work and blows me kisses
...sings with me at night when we are settling down and preparing for bed
...cuddles up on me to watch Elmo and even better, if she falls asleep in my arms


All of these things make me proud to be her dad and everyday I am amazed and humbled by how she can melt me with the simplest of words, actions or expression.

Creature of Habit

I get to put the Nugget down most nights - it is our special time to hang out after dinner and spend some time together.

After we eat I tell Liana that we are going to go take a tub and she says gets her blankie says "stairs" and heads to the stairs so we can go up and start the process of going to bed. She loves to run around upstairs naked ("nake", as she calls it) while the water is running and the tub is filling up.

She will spend time coloring in the tub (fancy crayola crayons designed for the tub) and filling filling up and pouring water out of pitchers and cups and playing with her toys. there is lots of kicking and practicing of her swimming moves and I end up quite wet - the Nugget laughs hysterically and thinks this is funny.

Sometimes she just stands up and says "out" and wants to get out - other times she will sit there until all the water is drained out. She gets in her "ribbit" which is the froggy towel and we wrap her up tight and go to her bedroom, after she kisses the baby (aka Liana) in the mirror.

We put her diaper on and get her dressed and then sit down to read and sing. She has her bubba or bottle of milk and lately it has been a steady diet of "Where the Wild Things Are", "Peekaboo Baby", and "I love you Through and Through". Believe me, I ask her what she wants to read and she will say "no" or "yeah" - if you ignore her wishes she will say "no, no, no". She definitely knows what she wants. After we read the books we brush her teeth - a difficult and onerous task, however I always laugh when she takes the toothbrush and touches it to her tongue. The Nugget lets out a giddy laugh as she tastes the paste and will often ask for "more".

We then fold our hands and pray and the Nugget echoes my "Amen" with her own and then claps and says "yaaay". Then it is singing time and although daddy's singing voice is not that great the Nugget doesn't seem to mind. She now will sing with me (the La, La, La part of "Sing") and will ask me to sing about random things - including rabbits, apples and noses.

I tell her she is going into her crib and lately she has been very receptive and sometimes will tell me "crib" when she is ready to go. A few weeks ago she would say "sit" or "no" and want me to spend more time before putting her in the crib. I make sure she has her blankies, her bink and then I cover her up with her "hoo-hoo" blanket (it has owls all over it). After that I ask for a kiss and The Nugget gets up on her knees and puckers up with her bink in her mouth and lets me kiss her. then she turns on her aquarium and puts her head down for nite-nite time.

I love these times with Liana and know that they won't last forever ... even if she doesn't sleep all through the night or if she wakes up really early it can be frustrating but the bedtime routine is special and fun.

The year in review

It has been a great 2009 with the Nugget. She has grown up so much and developed quite a personality.

It was a year of firsts - first teeth, first plane trip (Utah), first sickness (RSV), first steps, first birthday, first international trip and first baseball game (both in Toronto), and first trip to the doctor for a boo-boo (cut over her eye in December).

Here are some of the fun things I have learned about her this year. There is so much more but here is what comes off the top of my head:

We have seen her love the water - the beach, her baby pool, swimming at the Y and taking baths.

She has been in love with the snow - eating it and playing in it.

Liana loves to color - with crayons, pens, markers or with her new crayons that go in the tubby with her.

The Nugget is a laugher and a runner - she does not stay by our side if given the chance. When we go to the mall or to someone's house she just runs and smiles and laughs and it is adorable - exhausting, but adorable.

Similarly, she loves to chase or be chased around the kitchen - mama will get her and they will chase daddy or daddy will chase them.

Her smile brightens my day and even when I get tired and want her to go to sleep she can say or do the littlest thing that cause me to crack up. Sometimes she just runs full throttle and opens up her arms as wide as an eagle in flight and as I kneel down she just jumps into my arms. Nothing is better.

I know her tickly spots on her chest, under her chin and in the little bit of pudge that she has left on her inner thighs.

Liana loves owls - she has owls on her socks, on her shirts, on a blanky, in books ... she has a stuffed owl in her crib, a stuffed owl pillow and she loves the owls in her books. She proclaimed "hoo-hoo" many times this year.

Sesame Street is her favorite TV show and her love for Elmo is unrivaled among 18 month olds! She has several elmo dolls and SS books featuring Elmo as the star. She has favorite episodes and segments within those episodes. She is certainly a girl who knows what she wants!

Talking on telephone ("hullo") is one of her favorite things - actually pretending to talk on the phone is one of her favorite things.

She loves to see our neighbor Shane - he is 5 years old and Liana says his name over and over again and makes a bee-line for his house when she gets outside.

Liana likes blueberries, pickles (pip-pip), beans, rice, and soup (anything in a bowl is possibly soup so she picks it up and tries to drink it)

Liana seems to really like music - she has a cute little spin move, some great hopping, and good clapping to the beat when the radio or her cd's are on. She has spent some time recently "playing" the piano at Auntie Jenn's and was proud of herself when she got up on the bench, positioned her feet forward and pounded away on the keys.

The moon is one of Liana's favorite things to spot during the day or at night. She loves to point it out and doesn't care if it is crescent or full, in a book or in the sky - the moon is pretty cool.

Liana loves her papa - she sees him a couple times of week through Skype and I am pretty sure he is one of her favorite people.

And of course, I know she loves her mama so much and it is amazing to see the bond they have together. Shelly is a great caretaker and always makes sure food is prepared, clothes are bought, washed, dried, and folded, toys are handy and that learning is being achieved regularly.

It is going to be great to see the Nugget grow even more in 2010 - she has a big year of assuming leadership responsbilities as a big sister.

Latest words and phrases:
"I see it", "I see you", "I did it", "up pease" - said when she wants to see what mama is cooking, when she wants to get in a cabinet to choose a cup, or just after she gets out of her chair at dinner so she can sit on mama's lap and feed her the rest of her dinner.

"mon" - means "c'mon" and is accompanied by a wave of the hand
"nose, tissue" - the combo means she needs a tissue and help blowing her nose - which by the way she does like a seasoned professional at 18 months!

Uncle Joe is no longer 'blah, bloh, blah, blip' - he is officially "Joe"

Telling Stories

Liana took a day trip with her mama to see grandparents and aunties/uncles and from the sounds of it had a good time. She slept in the car on the way home and was wired at bedtime so we decided to let her up for a bit until she was ready to sleep. She was blabbing and talking to me while I sat with her in her room for about 45 minutes before she fell asleep. I told mama about what she was saying and we decided she must have been telling me about her day in the way she knew how. She was pointing to the ceiling (there is a light that projects fishies on her ceiling) and saying "moon, papa". At another point she firmly held up her left index finger and said "no" over and over again. She also said, "arf, meow" a couple of times. Mama told me she had seen a cat and a dog at Aunt Joanne's, had looked outside at the moon with her Papa Dion and told Max the cat (at her grandpa/grandma's) "no, no" after he kind of boxed her when she went to pet him. Too funny!

We now know Liana has been a bit restless and not sleeping well because she has croup and the week between Christmas/New Year's has been a tough week of sleeping for mama, daddy and her. She is taking medicine and we just hope and pray she sleeps through the night and gets back on track!

Merry Christmas 2009!

We had a fun Christmas with the Nugget. She was infatuated with the tree early on - she had an "L" ornament kind of like a gingerbread cookie and before we decorated the tree we let her put it on and take it off over and over again. Eventually
Liana grew to mostly ignore it other than pressing the button to turn the lights off and on which mama told her was okay.

On Christmas morning she awoke to presents under the tree and a new play kitchen all ready and waiting for her to play with. This thing is pretty cool - it only took about 1.5 hours to assemble and it has all kinds of battery operated goodies including buttons for the microwave and stove, over the sink light and telephone. But coolest of all is the weight sensitive stove burner that sizzles when the fry pan is put on it and makes a boiling sound when the pot is put on it.

She spent so much time playing and exploring - we were able to make breakfast and open some of our own presents while the Nugget played with her kitchen. She was pretty good about opening presents but took her time and still doesn't realize there may be more for her under the tree so she plays with what you give her. Liana did want us to get whatever she had opened out of the box and asked by saying "hep" (which means help).

Both sides of the family plus our neighbors Leslie, Darren and their 3 year old son Ewan came over for Christmas dinner. We had a good meal and a fun Yankee swap. Everyone got the news that the Nugget is going to be a big sister on or about 8/14 - we are sure she will be great at it but who knows how she will respond to having to compete for mama and daddy's attention with a little baby.

The Holiday Pops

We have a 5 year running tradition of going to see the Holiday Pops at Symphony Hall in Boston on the Friday before Christmas. We get a floor table so we can order food and we go to the 4 o'clock show - a matinee for kids where Santa shows up and there is a caroling sing-a-long at the end. This is the Nugget's second Christmas and therefore her second Holiday Pops performance. Last year we went in a blizzard to the show and Liana was a perfect angel hanging out on our laps or in her car seat. We fed her some baby food during the performance and she fell asleep by the time the show had ended. This year we got to the show late and made our way to our seats. She sat patiently on my lap and ate some veggies and dip - that lasted about 30 minutes and then it was dancing and running time! I put her down and she hopped, spun and smiled her way through the aisles without a care in the world. Afte the show a few women a few rows in front of us said her smile and dancing made the show for them. When we made our way out to the lobby other people walked by proclaiming "there she is - we saw her from the balcony". Someone else said "there's the star of the show!". We just laughed and rolled our eyes as we are used to the Nugget doing her thing and having a blast no matter where she is. We look forward to this tradition continuing and hopefully the Nugget will continue to bring a lot of joy and happiness to those around her.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow

The weekend before Christmas we got hammered with 18+ inches of the white stuff and the Nugget loved it. It was the biggest snowfall of her young life and she had a blast playing in it. We showed her all the snow in the morning (it was coming down pretty hard) and she kept declaring "snow, snow"! We went outside and down the street to play with her buddies Shane, Christian, Kara and Libby. We did a little sledding but mostly running around and eating the fresh powder. It was fun to see her having such a good time, but also hilarious as she yelled "mow! mow!" when I was starting up and working the snowblower. She loves the snowblower as much as she loves the lawnmower and daddy cutting the grass.

The Nugget also loved the fake snow at the Jordan's Furntiture Enchanted Village. They had a cool set up that made it appear like it was snowing every 10 minutes or so. When the fans came on and blew small bits of wet, sudsy "snow" she proclaimed "snow!" and didn't want to leave - very cute.