Five Things {Ingrid Said}

This weekend my girlfriends and I will run a 5K. The first race of the year! I'm busy putting together a playlist and willing the mound of laundry to somehow get done tonight. Saturday we'll be visiting our family and friends from out of town (and hopefully have a Bloody Mary - or two - while our girls play).


Here are five things Ingrid said this week (some humorous, some obvious): 

1. Run Around 
This sounds more like "Fun 'anoun! Fun 'anoun!" Ingrid loves to "run around" the living room from time to time. She'll simply stop what she's doing - and in this case - put on a hat from one of her stuff animals - and announce that she's going to run around.

2. No Getting Out 
Ingrid started this bad habit of getting out of bed in the night. We'll be in the living room and hear the familiar "squeak-a squeak-a" sound of the doorknob turning back and forth. After asking her to not get out of her bed, this hasn't happened (yet). Now, while tucking her in, she'll let us know "No getting out." Very good Ingrid. No getting out. Now can you try sleeping in too?

3. Please Don't Drink The Chalk.
This came out of my mouth on Wednesday morning.

4. Kiss It. 
After a few minutes of ohhing and ahhing at the nail polish Ingrid announced to everyone at Walgreens that she wanted to kiss it. All of the nail polishes. I entertained one little smooch but received an ear-full when I interrupted the kissing session. And then I heard...

5. I Love It. 
She's figured out that she loves nail polish, swimming suits (aka "Cinderelly dress"), cupcake boxes and a Toy Story 2 DVD case. I'm waiting to hear this phrase directed toward me, Dan or even Harper. Someday. Someday we'll be loved more than nail polish.


I leave you with pictures of Ingrid at Noodles (someone figured out how to create collages!):

Cheers to you on this happy Friday! 

Dinosaurs

As Ingrid inches closer to two-years-old, her little personality and sense of humor are starting to shine. She goes from smiles to tears in a hot second if her requests aren't granted. As in, "No you can't watch another show, it's time to play."

What's surprising though, is her sharp-as-a-tack memory (hoping that "sharp-as-a-tack" is the correct phrase to use here). Off the cuff, I mentioned that she can "earn" an M&M if she uses the potty. Now, like a little solider she'll randomly blurt out "Go potty. Get M. GO POTTY GET M!" Glad we're making this whole potty training thing a causal, welcoming experience.

I can't believe she's still touting this phrase after I muttered it weeks ago.

A back story: When Dan and I were dating, he would do this little move I referred as "The Dinosaur." Stick with me here. While sitting across one another at a restaurant or bar he would move his gaze up and look surprised or scared. Like the face you would make if you saw a really tall dinosaur. I would "fall" for this move, spin around alarmed.

I had completely forgotten about this little joke until Dan played it on Ingrid the other day. She screamed in terror. When we told her there might be a dinosaur outside she thought we were out of our minds. They were on TV - not outside. Mom and Dad joke fail.

Since then, I've tried this little joke on her from time to time. She'll now smile, shake her head and remind me that "No dinosaurs!" but at least she's not screaming in terror. 

Valentine's Day Date

Ingrid was my dinner date for Valentine's Day this year. After overhearing a daycare mom announce that the kids were having frozen yogurt after dinner, I decided that a frozen yogurt dinner sounded even better.

Ingrid was so excited when I told her our plans. I reminded her that she couldn't scream or run around the yogurt shop so she whispered in excitement over the toppings, "Shhhhh - berries! Ms! mango!" 

We grabbed a seat by the window to watch the buses drive by and the snowflakes fall down. She was the perfect date:

Funny sidebar: Ingrid thought the coconut was cheese.

Watching snow flakes.

Dancing around to Mumford & Sons. There was a lot of singing going on. 

P.S. Dan DID receive a special Valentine's Day gift too. I made him a little date-coupon book over at Datevitation. It's a super easy and cute idea, custom coupons for loved ones.

*Please note, this is NOT a sponsored post, I just like the Datevitation idea!

Wordless{ish} Wednesday

While getting ready for work this morning, this sweet scene greeted me in the mirror.

Blurry? Yes. Who cares.

I wanted to snuggle next to Ingrid and listen to Dan as he read The Lorax (or as Ingrid would say, "Ohax! Ohax!").

Happy Wednesday!



More Wordless(ish) Wednesdays found at The Paper Mama

Wintery Weekend

Hey, how 'bout that power outage? I know, I know - it's old news at this point but last night's game was seriously entertaining and I was happy to see the Ravens (and Beyonce) take home a win.

This weekend's theme: Take it Easy. With a teething toddler, a sick pup and two mildly hungover adults we didn't get much done but, we did manage to enjoy time with each other. And when all is said and done, isn't that what weekends are all about.

Here are some highlights:

Double-fisting.

Whipping up some lunch.

Harper is in heaven.

Happily exploring the snow.

Happy Monday! What were your weekend highlights?

Super Bowl Sunday

Last night, Ingrid went to bed after 10 minutes of wailing.

Dan and I chatted about what we wanted to do for the rest of the night - read, watch TV, artwork (Dan) pretend to knit (me) - when we were interrupted by Ingrid's crying.

Fast forward three hours to Dan and I making some brilliant parenting decisions. We decided to bring Ingrid into the living room and announced that she could watch TV with us, but we were going to watch "our" shows. Ingrid tolerated seven minutes of New Girl before popping up and repeating "No. No. No. No."  

She's teething and couldn't get her little body to get comfortable enough to drift off into a peaceful sleep. After another dose of teething meds and eventually, the pacifier, she zonked out around 11. Oh, and then Harper, our dog, got sick. Twice. 

This morning, Ingrid woke up ready to take on the day. As in, spinning around the kitchen to classic Justin Timberlake hits - while I was in need of a coffee the size of...well, the size of Ingrid. Even though she woke up happy - this little baby-spinning, beanie-hat wearing girl isn't 100%. These two-year-old molars are no joke. 

Ready for his new album any day now.

After a low key morning, we went to an open house. This four-bedroom, newly remodeled upstairs also had some of Ingrid's favorite things: a kitty and a doll house. Ingrid did a great job not attacking the kitty or touching the doll house. For her good behavior we stopped for lunch - and a giant, heart-shaped frosted cookie. 

Deep in thought over the likes and dislikes of the house (aka, kitty and doll house).

Now that we've had our sugar fix for the day, I'm making a few game-day favorites for us to enjoy after Ingrid wakes up from her nap. 

Also on the menu is Ground Beef and Rice for our sick pup. 

Try not to be too jealous of our rockin' weekend. 

Seriously though, I'm looking forward to ending the weekend on a high note with some football, good commercials, Puppy Bowl, Say My Name (come on Beyonce, bring back the classics!) and these snacks: 

• Crock Pot Picante Chicken and Black Bean Soup
• Skinny Buffalo Dip 
• Kettle Corn

What's on your menu tonight? Cheers to a Sunday night without the Sunday blues! 

The Toddler Room

Ingrid will turn two (as in, years old) in a few short months.

I have stopped referring to her as whatever-month-old. Now, I inform those who question her age that, "She'll be turning two in April." Which kind of bums me out. She's still so tiny - how can she be two? How can I remember her at nine months so vividly, but 19 months feels like a blur?

A few months ago, Ingrid's favorite teacher at daycare jokingly asked when will we have another baby. She explained that many of the babies leave the Baby Room and forget the teachers. But, the toddlers (and older kids) remember the staff and greet in the hallway and gym happily. If we had another baby, Ingrid would have a reason to visit the room and hopefully remember her "first" teachers.

I had never even thought of this and my knee-jerk reaction was to respond with "Who can afford to send two kids to daycare here?" and then, "Ingrid will totally remember you guys!"

The teacher is right. She won't remember them, but we will and that's pretty important. They were so wonderful at making us feel comfortable. They were in constant communication and more importantly, Ingrid loved (loves) them all. As we drive away from school, she yells "Bye bye Chrissy! Bye bye Malena! Bye bye Tao Tao!" - and will sometimes blow air kisses (too sweet!).
 
Yesterday was Ingrid's first day in the Toddler Room at daycare.

I feel like the time is right, she's ready. Although, it's hard not to feel some emotional connection to these caregivers who have watched her go from laying to crawling to walking. Cooing to talking. From being baby to insisting on playing with babies.


I had planned on going with Dan to drop her off in her new room, but when the day came, it just didn't make sense. We never drop her off together. She would have to say good-bye to both of us. It didn't feel necessary.

After receiving a text from Dan letting me know that the drop off included a tearful good-bye a little wave of shame hit me. Realistically, I could have been there. Should I have been there? Guilt mixed with worry caused me to search for carbs that afternoon. Sadly (and thankfully) there were none available.

I rushed out of work to pick her up. Going across the hall to the new room felt foreign, but as soon as I peaked my head around the door, I saw Ingrid organizing cars (with a baby in hand, natch), and felt relieved.

She had a rough start to a wonderful day. Played with all of the new toys and fell asleep while watching the fish tank. On the car ride home, I asked her if she wanted to go back to the Toddler Room. She thought about this for a few seconds and shouted a resounding "YES!" 

Sometime transitions - like moving to a Big Girl Bed or ditching the pacifier - feel hard and leave me longing for her to stop growing. I know that we'll have ups and downs as Ingrid adjusts to the new space but, thankfully, this transition feels right.