Tag: Gabrielle
Every Day is the Same
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“Yeah, I’m making a mess at 7am. Wanna fight about it?” |
I am SO over the morning routine.
I think the morning is even worse than bedtime.
Add potty-training to the mix and the mornings are just 2.5 hours of arguing with a toddler and pulling an infant out of harm’s way… all before I even have to go to work. Most days, by the time I get to work, I am sweating, harried, and disgruntled from all of the running around, organizing and nagging I have to do.
I could probably reduce some stress by preparing the night before, but who has the energy to do that?!?!
In addition to all the arguing and resistance to do the same things they are required to do EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. there is the mess-making and insanity-inducing repetitive singing of a two-year old. I actually feel like I am going crazy some mornings after hearing, “ABCDEFGHIJKABC!” over and over and over…
And Lillian’s scream is something to behold. It will stop you in your tracks. One of her teachers at daycare goes out of her way to avoid known triggers for her outbursts. I can’t avoid them. Diaper changes = screaming. Putting on a coat = screaming. Getting her in the car seat = screaming, I would almost prefer hearing Gabby incorrectly sing the alphabet at maximum volume.
Serenity now. Serenity now. Serenity NOWWWWWWW!
Gabby-isms
With her increase in vocabulary, comes an increase in hilarious things she says. Here are five of my current favorite Gabby-isms:
1. Gabby calls Lillian “Lilly-girly.” I sometimes used to call her “Lilly-girl” and Gab has just exponentially heightened the cuteness of her nickname. We all call her “Lilly-girly” now.
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Meet “Lilly-girly” |
My Top 5 Favorite Toddler Toys
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Number one best toy EVER! #howweplay |
Since we are just getting through birthday-mania 2014, I thought a post about the toys we McDermotts love the most for toddlers. These are some of my favorites right now. I will preface this list by mentioning that Gabby is really into pretend play, water and sand play, and puzzles – so that would explain her obsession with these particular toys. Anyway, here are our top 5 best toys for toddlers:
- Gabby got the Step2 Fixin’ Fun Outdoor Grill for her birthday this year and she absolutely loves it. It runs around $30 and is a very simple toy. We also bought the Step2 Stack ‘N Stay Hamburgers Playset to go with it because it only came with one measly hot dog to cook. The grill is very sturdy and also has an oven which is great storage for all of the accessories. The grill also has a sink and stovetop, so kids can cook a full meal. There is lots of room to add accessories, but Gabby is just happy to cook the same hamburger for 20 minutes or longer.
- We got the Hape Gourmet Kitchen for her first birthday, and this toy has been her number one toy for a full year now. It was great when she was just learning to stand, it is even better now that she is running. She likes to load up her shopping cart with food from the kitchen and cook it all over the house. She loves to pretend to wash her hands. Hape also makes a TON of food playsets that go with this kitchen, it is really hard not to buy them all!
- Step2 Water Wheel Play Table – With her water obsession, this is an obvious choice. She likes scooping the water and dumping it all over herself. This is a very sturdy table and was even great when she was just starting to stand. I also love this toy when it’s really hot because I pull up a chair, prop up my feet, and Gabby pours water all over my feet and legs. Life doesn’t get much better than that!
- The VTech Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker is an awesome toy to help early toddlers begin practicing their steps, but it is also a great activity center for not-yet-mobile babies. The songs are not annoying, the volume has two settings, and the activities can all be done by a one year old easily. Great toy!
- The Melissa and Doug Wooden See-Inside Alphabet Puzzle made me really impressed with my kid. She would not do puzzles on her own and then one day she came home from daycare wanting to do puzzles and she was doing puzzles perfectly all of a sudden. My mother bought this puzzle and not only could she immediately do a 26 piece puzzle, but she started learning her letters and SO. MANY. WORDS. Just amazing.
TWO!!!
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Sigh… how did we go from this little mush… |
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to this sweet little toddling baby… |
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to this hilarious, bossy little chatterbox in only two years? |
Every day I am amazed at her vocabulary, empathy for others emotions, love for her sister, her ability to learn new things and her voracious appetite for information. Gabby just wants to know ALL. THE. THINGS.
Here is a list of 5 things I want to remember about Gabby when the memories of these days is a blur:
- She wants to do everything Lillian does. If Lilly rolls over, Gabby follows suit and says, “I roll over, too!” If Lilly has rice cereal for breakfast, Gabby wants oatmeal. You’d imagine it would be Lilly wanting to copy big sis, but so far, Gabby just wants to be like baby sister.
- She loves the number two. When I ask how many books she wants me to read for bedtime, or if I ask her how many monkeys are jumping on the bed, it’s always “Two, Mommy.”
- She wants to say goodnight to Lillian 3 times every night before she will go into her crib. “More see Lilly. More ‘gain, Mommy.”
- In order to convince Rick and I to follow her into the playroom, she comes into the living room, grabs us and says, “Mommy, Daddy, come! It’s fun!” It’s usually not very fun, but she is really cute, so we go.
- She got underwear for her birthday this morning and I never want to forget the image of her sitting on the floor, putting her underwear on over her pajamas, pulling it up to her knees and then carefully walking all over the first floor of the house trying to find daddy so she could show him her new panties.
Just keep swimming!
Seven days of fever and going strong
The Pee-Pee Book and Other Literary Problems
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I don’t know about you, but I don’t think that’s the title. |
3 months update
Lillian turned 3 months old a week and a half ago and here are some facts about her: