Already

At 8:05, I sink my weary bones into my plush sofa. It is my ritual, night after night...kind of like my victory lap for surviving another day and another bedtime with a two year old. I tell Cadence when I put her in bed each night that she may not get out. So far, she believes me. But tonight at 8:45, I hear the shrill sound of her voice, "MOMMEEEEEEE!" I poked my head into the dark cavern of her room and notice that she has managed to lug her new tricycle up and into the toddler bed with her. "Already." she says as she reaches out to be held. I go to her and pick her up as I ask, "Already what?" She nuzzles my collarbone with her nose and says, "Already take a nap." Ha! I thought I had the evening to myself. Instead we snuggled on the sofa together, watching "The Donut Man" and eating apple slices. We read a Christmas book as she drank another sippy cup of milk and I think about how blessed I am to be her mommy.

A Bird on the fan is worth two in the bush

Last week a bird flew in my bedroom and spent the entire day there, resting, I presume, before I was able to shoo him on his way back outside. I don't know why these things always happen when Jody is not around.

The trouble with bunnies...

Bunnies made much better pets for Cadence than I had originally thought. They turned out to be very social and let Cadence do ANYTHING to them without complaint. We got her two since she is two. She still thinks that is a novel idea although she has trouble making her hands only show 2 fingers instead of the usual 5.

We even caught her on Jody's bike one day, wearing her helmet (backwards) and hoping to take her furry friend out for a spin.

The bunny didn't even protest.

I originally proposed the names "Dumb" and "Dumber" but I lost to "Hot Dog" and "Biscuit". It turns out that bunnies like to eat...a lot...so food names were a good choice. We lost both bunnies upon returning from the weekend away as a family. We had enlisted a friend to feed them. It seems that after feeding them 4 carrots, a head of cabbage and a bunch of spinach, they still looked hungry enough to eat again so she gave them that same meal a few hours later and they ate every leaf. It would have been enough food to last them an entire weekend so I am pretty shocked that they didn't stop when they got full, but they ate themselves to death. Rabbits are not the brightest pet, but they were good ones. Cadence solemnly watched us bury each of her furry friends. If you were here today, she would sadly tell you that "Hot Dog and Biscuit died". She would lead you by the hand to where we put them in the ground and then she would demand that you get them out so that she can play with them.

Dance like no one is watching

The other day I got out my camera to play with some settings that I never use.

Cadence wanted me to take her picture...dancing...like this.

I told her "no" but she isn't a compliant toddler who follows orders. She is the kind who gives them, and her will is a force to behold.

This last one was my favorite. It reminds me of how fleeting this season of her life really is. I hope I survive it.

Guess who is wearing her Big Girl panties!

On having a pet

It is the opinion of some people that Cadence needs a pet. They should try living with a her for a few weeks. I love critters. I just haven't found a species that is compatible with my toddler. We try to enlighten her on the fact that animals have feelings. She doesn't believe us. She thinks they are all toys.

We actually had two cats a year ago. One day they fell out of our attic and landed in the kitchen.

But they decided to live somewhere else and ran away as if they were in a hurry.

Then we got 5 fish on New Year's Eve, just before all of Cadence's friends came over with their parents for our party. They all died. We could point fingers all day but the blame game will get us nowhere. The most important thing is that no one was hurt. Except the fish. They’re dead. We didn't even have the time to get any pictures or name them. Fish are quitters with weak spirits. They do not enjoy juice or hugs. If you feed a fish too much, dead.

There are monkeys in the forrest where we live...but contrary to what they teach children in America, monkeys are mean. They can stand on two feet, look a two year old straight in the eye and steal the candy right out of her hand. They have opposable thumbs and can get whatever they want...even the tutu that Cadence was wearing. Now she is traumatized by the monkey that de-robed her. I'm sure he didn't look as cute in it as she did.

The neighbors have a bunny. It bit Cadence on the finger and drew blood. Bunnies love being chased by a group of toddlers making a ruckus banging their toys together. They love being hugged and squeezed by little tykes. They love being fed carrots and lettuce and little toddler fingers.

There is no shortage of reptiles where we live. We often find them in our kitchen, bathroom or living room. Not pet material. They run, or hop, too fast for chubby little legs and fat hands to catch them and they make strange sounds in the night.

Occasionally we will find a monitor lizard in our yard. Daddy caught this one trying to sneak into the living room. They grow to be 3 feet long, so we were glad this one was a baby!

Dogs love kids. But there is a rabies epidemic here. So we don’t touch the ones we don't know because they might be wild and scream in our face...or worse. Dogs also have tails. Cadence thinks it will grow if she pulls it. Dogs also enjoy finishing whatever foods Cadence decides she doesn't like.

They are cute when they are little, but they don't stay that way. She can hold them and put them in her baby sling but then they learn to run...fast...in the opposite direction when they see us coming.

Cadence loves to take off running into a flock of birds, squealing with delight when they fly away in a panic. They think she is going to catch them and torture them. Imagine her surprise when she actually did catch a chicken the other day! Nothing more cuddly than a chicken, right? Tastes good too, when you get tired of playing with it!

Ants are the only pets that we intentionally kill. Stomp away Cadence. Do your worst. They’re spicy.

Memory wall

I have a new picture wall in my kitchen...pictures of our family and extended family to prove that we were all on the same continent at the same point in time. Cadence loves to stand on the back of the sofa for a closer view, as she identifies each person in the photo.

She frequently makes reference to the memories she made with her grandparents over the summer, such as,"Big Monkey eat Cadence mint. Take Cadence tutu. Cadence cry." She'll say, in reference to the monkey who took her mint from her hand when she was really only offering to share a peanut from the other hand, and then proceeded to tear at the tutu she was wearing, rudely demanding another mint and driving her to tears. She lives in a world where monkeys run free, look her in the eye, and steal her candy!

I am so grateful that she was able to make memories with the people who love her the most over the summer.

We will cherish those times for an entire year, until we meet again.

Now all that remains are the memories in our hearts and the pictures to prove that it really happened.

Puh-Puh and Mae-Mae

What a fun summer it has been as all 4 of Cadence's grandparents came to visit. We loved the good food!

We loved laughing and being silly together.

We had fun playing in the pool and at the beach.

Even if our living conditions were a bit cramped!

It's my party!

Let it be known that the year Cadence turned two was marked with no less than 4 birthday parties!

The first was an "All-American" party, where all her guests were American!

We celebrated with Jordan's parents, "Honey" and "Bee" at an indoor play ground.

The second party was on the fourth of July, her actual birthday, at home with mom and dad.

She opened her presents from us as well as Granny and we ate homemade sugar cookies.

The third party was more local, with all of her favorite local people.

We celebrated in a noisy arcade.

She loved riding the rides with her friends and we literally dragged her out kicking and screaming at the end of the night because she was the only one of us who wasn't ready to leave.

Her fourth party was at our house with Jody's parents, "Mae-Mae" and "Puh-Puh"

By then, she had mastered the Happy Birthday song.

She had also consumed so much sugar that she was climbing the walls, with her new stuffed monkey, of course!

Neverland

"Are you ready for your adventure now or should we have our tea first?" -Peter Pan

This summer has been pure fantasy for Cadence as all 4 grandparents traveled the globe just to play with her.

We enjoyed taking them on a boat ride to a little island we call, "Neverland".