ABCs

"Daddy do it"

Our top two meltdown sources come from shredded versus sliced cheese and daddy verses mommy help. Lucy always wants daddy to do it - dress her, brush her teeth, read to her, change her diaper, you name it. This girl loves her dad.

Growing up

I feel like all the pictures on my camera are somehow incongruent with the river of volatility that is running beneath the surface at our house, making it feel a tad awkward to post. Lucy never fails to be quite adorable and very kind, but there are some intense emotions surging through those veins that she is trying desperately to figure out how to manage and express. And meanwhile, her floundering parents are trying to figure out how to come to terms with all the new contradictions in their parenting. We believe in picking our battles but we also believe in the absolute necessity of consistency. We believe in distracting little one's attention from triggers but we also believe in working through emotions to grow. We believe in expressing the logical reasons for what we ask her to do but we also believe that she should listen to us simply because we are her parents. It seems pretty clear that there is no stopping all the growing up that is happening in this house - parents and kid both.

Tanner

I switched a curious toddler for a cuddling infant this weekend. Instead of explaining why we don't lick the bottom of our shoes I am trying to explain why it's kind of fun to take night shifts when you are an aunt.

"Megan's having a baby"

My sister had a baby this past week and while she was in labor she was sweet enough to call and sing Lucy a song over the phone before nap time. Lucy adores Megan and when she woke up we joined Meg and Jesse on skype in the hospital. Lucy loved watching Megan and was very interested in what was going on. We collected a pile of books and hung out for the afternoon keeping Megan company during the long labor process. It was a fun day.

Big Girl Bed

We started with naps in the big bed as a little treat but she has done so well that we have moved her over officially to the "big girl room". She is really happy in there and has only broken the rules (no getting out of bed and no crying) once. And I'm happy to have a little time away from the nursery before baby #2 hits the scene.

Wrong Side of the Lens

These days Lucy would rather be behind the lens than in front of it. It has become a battle of wills (and we both have pretty strong ones) when it comes to taking a picture of her. You can see who usually wins...

Spaceship Box

Remember when playing with a box was really quite the perfect way to spend an afternoon...

2x2

A day in the life of two two(ish) year olds...