This and That

One of the things that I love most about my Grandmama is her "sayings." On one of my visits to Virginia during the last couple years, I was chatting with one of the ladies that goes to church with Grandmama during coffee hour after the service. She was describing a dish that Grandmama made for coffee hour and how much she liked it - she said that she had asked Grandmama what she called the dish. Grandmama replied: "This and That." "What's in it?" "A little of this...and a little of that." So.Like.My.Grandmama!

And like this post: can you tell that midterms, a presentation, a paper, and (gulp) my last final are almost here??

1. I think Meggie has learned a new word: "No." I know, right? At first, I thought I couldn't be hearing THAT word. Not now, not at only 10 months of age, not her third word after "mama" and "daddy"?!? But, we've noticed her (now on several occasions) tossing her head from side to side when we're enforcing our parental authority - ha! - to do something she doesn't like (i.e. buckling her in her carseat, holding her still so that we can change her diaper, really anything involving being restrained) and saying what sounds like, "Ni-ni-ni-ni-ni" or "ne-ne-ne-ne." Oh, boy...most of the time she's still our fun-loving Meggie girl, but I think we're entering a new parenting stage involving "for real" disciplining. Distraction is still the go-to form for now, but we're getting little glimpses of a future 2-year-old around here.

Meggie's mischevious grin:
she had just gotten some papers out of my Bible, mistakenly left out in plain "meggie sight" after church.

2. Kyle surprised both of us by coming home a tad early from his latest trip. A bird hit the wing of the plane they were flying, causing us all (minus the bird) to celebrate Independence day a little early this year. :) Of course, last night was one of "those" nights where we got one of "those" texts that means all bets are off for our Saturday plans. Meg and I spent the day doing what we always do on a summer Saturday - farmer's market, playing with toys, making the most of nap time...and Kyle spent the day, well, away in an undisclosed location.

3. Meggie loves Douglass. And, she loves pretending to BE Douglass, too. I love that she loves animals and that Douglass makes her laugh. And, oh, how I love her giggle! Here she is in an unprompted, unscripted adventure:

4. When Meggie learned to crawl, she temporarily lost interest in any activity requiring her to be still and focus. BUT, I noticed the other day (she always does these really amazing tricks when no one else is in the room with her) as I was washing dishes that I kept hearing this boat toy that she has - there are four holes in the top of the boat with color-coordinated balls that fit into each hole. With a hammer, you can tap the balls through the holes and watch them glide down a twisty ramp. Up until this moment, she was mostly interested in trying to chew on the balls or carry them from one room to the other. However, this day, I suddenly clued in that I was hearing the balls clanking through the holes over and over. I peeked around the corner and - SURE ENOUGH - Meggie was sitting still, focused on picking up each ball, placing them in their matching hole, and pushing them through. I was astounded. And PROUD! I'm going to try and get some video footage because it's just so Meggie - the way she focuses, so intent on her goal, the way she studies the path that each ball takes down the shoot, the way she sometimes gets impatient and whacks the balls across the room. :)


5. Impatient? Yes, she can be...it's part of her determined, take-charge nature and we love her for it...although it can, at times, be exasperating. One personality trait that will serve her well over the course of her life is her "doggedness." For example, she's really interested in real people food right now. She'll study each bite of food that goes into your mouth and will DEMAND that she be allowed to try it, too. By demand, I mean that she will wave both fists, shout, and point for your food. If she's close enough, she's been known to swipe it out of your grasp. Sigh, we're working on it...but, all to say that the other day I was eating triscuits and cheese. Meggie crawled over to me, pulled herself up to standing by my knee and snatched the triscuit box - which sent triscuits cascading across the entire room. I was flabber-gasted and in the minutes it took for me to regain composure...she returned to playing, happily munching on a cracker. Despite the obvious behavior challenges in this story, I paused in astonishment to realize that my baby was eating a cracker. A cracker...and only ten months ago her lips had their first taste of milk.

6. To see some live eating action, click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUJ0G6jtO_M

7. A dear friend of mine from college had a baby this week. A 9 lb., week late, baby girl with red hair! I've found myself thinking about them so much this week and reminiscing about the day our Meggie girl came into the world. I think I've been inspired to finish recording her birth story - I tried to start it, but for some reason never found the words to complete it. Look for her story in the next couple of weeks!