A Dandelion or a Daffodil?

On the way to the car yesterday afternoon, Tristan stopped to pick a dandelion. He showed it to me, and I said "oh, that's a pretty dandelion!". He repeated dandelion to himself a couple of times, and then as I was buckling him into his carseat he announced, "it's a DAFFODIL". I reminded him that it wasn't a daffodil, it was a dandelion. We argued this back and forth a few times, with him getting louder and louder and louder. Finally, I tried reason. "Well, if it's a daffodil then you're going to get in trouble, because you're not supposed to pick daffodils. Which one is it?"

It turned out to be a dandelion after all.

The Joy of Soy

Well, it looks like both our kidlets are soy kids. As I've been weaning Naiyah onto the bottle more and more, she's been showing increased signs of lactose intolerance. I'd go into detail, but unless you have kids or are extremely obsessed with them you won't care and will most likely find it disgusting. Anyhow, we switched her to a soy formula as of last night, and it seems to be making a difference already. Hooray! We'll make the final judgment after she's been on it for at least a week, but things are looking positive at this point. Luckily, it costs about the same as the regular formula. When Tristan was a baby he had to be on a super special formula that cost twice what the regular stuff does. Ouch! We're really hoping the soy does the trick for her so that we can avoid that.

In other news, we went out to dinner at our favorite Japanese restaurant on Friday night with some of my friends from high school that I haven't seen in years. It was lots of fun, and Tristan amazed the table by eating edamame (which he loves) and demanding the carrots off the plate of someone who to him was a complete stranger. Which he then took only one bite of. I thought the carrot incident was embarrassing, but the rest of the table thought it was funny. I have to say, it's refreshing to see my kids from other people's eyes. I get so caught up in the minutia of day to day that I forget how cute and entertaining they really can be.

Royalty Is Contagious

Warning, this is a tangent about a pet peeve of mine!

One thing I’ve noticed since I’ve had kids is the recent and increasing trend of people to refer to their offspring as “prince so-and-so” or “princess such-and-such”. Or just “my prince” or “my princess”. And it annoys the stuffing out of me! Are you the heir to a country on this planet? No? Then you’re NOT A PRINCE. And made up countries don’t count (a la The Princess Diaries). Or are you betrothed to someday marry into an existing royal family? NO?? Then you’re NOT A PRINCESS! Please, PLEASE, PLEASE stop already! The nomenclature is highly specific and certainly does NOT apply to everyday people. Sure, I know your kidlets are royalty to you, but it is really annoying when you refer to them as if they were royalty to everyone else as well.

I hope that this trend eventually fades.

Ok tangent is over.

Moms VS Dads

I thought this was funny. It is so true the way it illustrates the difference between how a mom views an incident, versus a dad!

wordless WEDNESDAY!

I swiped this idea from another blog I saw. I though it was a great way to showcase my kidlets and other pics I want to share, so this is the start of a grand new tradition!

Tristan's First Visit To The 'Tooth Doctor'

Yesterday Tristan had his very first dentist appointment. Since I have always disliked the dentist for no good reason, I was understandably concerned about his reaction. I also wanted to make it the best experience possible, so I took him to a pediatric dental office. Now if he eventually hates going to the dentist too, I get to blame genetics.

Anyhow, my mom’s neighbor happens to be a hygienist at that office, so she was the one to do his cleaning and inaugurate him into the whole dental experience. Overall, it went VERY well! He was quite the little trooper and despite being unsure initially, he quickly got the hang of what he was supposed to do and let her clean his teeth with all the tools, and also let them take two xrays. I have to say, I was very proud of him for doing so great. His dental “report card”: A+. Yay! No cavities or other problems. We found out about two potential issues, one of them a surprise, the other not. The surprise was that apparently at some point in recent history he’s fallen hard enough to actually jar one of his teeth slightly out of the bone, which the dentist said may cause it to turn gray and/or fall out prematurely; or else nothing might happen. Huh. Didn’t see that one coming. The other issue we already assumed would be a problem later, and that is that his teeth are already crowded. This will probably mean braces at some point, but she said for not too long. So, the news is definitely positive for the most part. And he didn’t bite anyone. Didn’t even try or pretend-bite. That is by FAR the most important thing that didn’t happen!

I thought about being a dork and bringing my camera, but ultimately decided not too. Thank goodness for cellphone cameras, since once we got in there I couldn’t resist snapping away! .

Not too sure...

Hey cool there's a tv!

What's that thingy?

And this thingy?

I don't think I want those in my mouth...

Well, ok.

Eh, this isn't so bad after all.

Showing off his freshly cleaned pearly whites! He looks remarkably like a chipmunk.

Do The Puyallup

Last Sunday we went to the Puyallup Fair. It's something I enjoy doing every year, enough that I drag Tom along despite all protests and arguments to the contrary. He ends up having fun every time though, so it works out in the end. The last time we went was when Tristan was just over a year old, so it was lots of fun seeing him experience it much more interactively this time.

The fair fun started with, oddly enough, the foot massage chair. Tristan though the foot part was funny, the hand not so much. Oh and notice the blue trumpet in his hand? That was aaaaall Daddy's idea. I wanted to get him the nice quiet stuffed lizard on a leash. But Daddy thought he should have the squeaky blue toy trumpet. It sounded like an elephant on steroids. Let me put it this way, it was obnoxious enough that the carnie manning the toy stand told us how to destroy the sound making thingymajigger! You know it's gonna be bad when that's how the purchase begins! It was very good advice, however, which we took after a couple of hours of in your face squeals. Lesson Learned: Don't buy an annoying toy just because the kid wants it and your husband wants to spend less money. Spend the money and get the quiet toy.
Naiyah had a good time at the fair and was very well behaved. Shortly after we arrived she decided to hold a discussion with her toy lion. Then she proceeded to chew on his nose. Some days it really must suck to be a baby toy. From conversation partner to snack, all in one fell swoop.
Moments before this he was pointing voluntarily. Then when I actually had the camera out and ready to go, he was less than thrilled to repeat the action. Actually, he was less than thrilled with the animals. This was his reaction to a cow.
This picture pretty much summed up his reaction to all the animals. Somewhere between bored and grossed out, I think. He must've been having an off day, normally he's all over the gross stuff! Or could be that most of the animals weren't really doing anything interesting.
I thought the fact that pigs have butt cheeks was very funny. Don't ask me why.
This ride was pretty cool. They strapped the kiddos in and let them jump their little hearts out. All the while being perfectly safe. Check out the expression on Tristan's face in this photo. And see how he's hanging on for dear life? Pretty funny. Two fun facts: 1. My parents lied to get him on this ride. Not on purpose, they really did think he was 30+ pounds, but him being the shrimp he is, he's only at 26lbs. As you can see, he did just fine. 2. I think he had to pee really really bad. He hadn't gone potty for about 5 hours or so, and had drank Pepsi in the meantime. So maybe the expression was just because he had to pee. Tom and I were taking bets as to whether or not he'd have an accident on the ride. I'd have been mortified, but by the time we thought of that he was next in line and I didn't have the heart to pull him out. All was fine in the end though.
The Big Picture of the ride. He really did have a blast, I'm glad he got to go on it. Even if my mom did say the girl who was minding his jump station looked like she'd had more than a passing familiarity with the joys of weed.
We bought this adorable silver baby bracelet for Naiyah. The plan is to have the inside engraved with her name and birthdate, although that could take a while given how fast we get things done around here lately!
So, that was our fair trip in a nutshell. I'm glad we went, and am looking forward to next year's trip! (We also ended up buying a Tinkerbell costume for Naiyah, so her Halloween costume is set, YEAH! You'll have to wait for the cuteness overload of costume photos until we get closer to Halloween though.)

3 is the new 40

On the way home in the car today, Tristan and I had a conversation about his age. I asked him how old he was, and his reply?

"Uhhhh...like, 40?"

Verbatim.

Funny thing is, we neither know anyone who uses "like" consistently in their speech, nor anyone who is in fact exactly 40 years old. My kid is weird and picks up random stuff to say sometimes. What can I say, he probably got it from me.

At least he's entertaining.

Tristan-isms

Just thought I’d share some of the ways in which Tristan mangles the English language on a daily basis. Watching him learn how to pronounce words sure is an entertaining process!

Napkwim = napkin
Lellow = yellow
Free = three
Elphenant = elephant (although he’s actually got this one straight now)
Kyupe = puke (learned that one courtesy of the cats)
Backwards = Backyardigans
Floot = fruit

There are of course others, but that’s all that come to mind for now. His are funny, but I’m very glad he doesn’t say the two listed below. The first one is what my friend’s nephew used to say, and the second is constantly used by a little girl in his daycare.

Dump truck = replace “p” with “b” and “t” with “f”…don’t ask me how the kid managed it, but yeah…
Kitty = replace “k” with “t”

Maybe you had to be there…

Be Careful What You Say...

You know that saying, be careful what you say because it might come back to haunt you? If you have a three year old, you are likely intimately familiar with that one! We don’t swear around Tristan, so luckily he hasn’t picked up any bad words. But I’ve heard things (phrases he’s heard adults say, not even necessarily TO him, but even just in his immediate vicinity) echoed by him at the oddest times – when it’s the completely appropriate thing to say, it is just HILARIOUS that it’s coming from someone who barely reaches my waist!

“Sounds like a plan!”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“It’s not fair!”
“Are you listening to me??”
“I’m not laughing.”

This morning was his inaugural use of the “you’ve got to be kidding me” line when he was told to put his shoes away. I have NEVER said that to him, but I’ve used it in response to something else while he’s been around, so he sopped that one up like a little sponge! My mom and I just looked at each other, and busted out laughing.

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails...Check!

Lately Tristan has been very interested in the grosser parts of life. I’m sure some of that has to do with the fact that he’s recently completed potty-training, and some of it is normal curiosity. But I think a great deal of it is just because he’s a boy. Bodily functions seem to top the list lately, and the repercussions thereof!

This morning we had one of those “yep, he’s ALL boy” moments as we were getting ready to leave. I told him to go wait by the door like he always does while I gathered up my purse and keys. Well, apparently one of the cats had puked next to the door. Common enough occurrence, no big deal. UNCOMMONLY, however, the pile was rather well-formed and I guess didn’t look like puke to Tristan. As I’m approaching the door, loaded down with everything and ready to go, he shows me his fingers and asks “is this cat puke?” Apparently he’d decided to pick it up and take a closer look, and it had partially disintegrated in his fingers, leaving only a sticky (and STINKY) clump clinging to his pointer finger. YUCK, so GROSS! So I had to set everything down, and haul him into the bathroom to wash up. On the way there, I started laughing. While it was definitely disgusting, it was also a defining “boy” moment. And what else can you do besides laugh when something like that happens? It’ll be interesting to see what sort of things Naiyah gets into at this age…somehow I doubt she’ll be picking up cat puke though!

Out of respect for my reader’s stomachs, I decided not to take a picture of the offending pile.

Yes, Boss, The Dog DID Eat The Evidence

Ah, the weirdness of SoCal...Click here to see what I mean.

Supply and Demand, Baby Style

I got this shirt and onesie when Tristan was a baby. It was just too cute not to drag it out again and take a pic even though it's blue. It's not exactly apples to apples, since Tristan was only 1 month when his pic was taken, and the one with Naiyah was taken tonight at 4 months. But it's cool to see the differences between the two of them. And me - it's amazing how much skinnier I was just a few years ago!

Good Ol' Medical Insurance

Anyone wonder why we bother to pay insurance premiums? I seriously find myself wondering more and more lately. For those of you that don't know, my work just switched plans this summer, for the worse of course, and we had several...bumps during the process. Currently Premera owes us a good chunk of money already. The most recent fiasco involves the fact that I had a kid shortly before the change. After our June, and now also July, well-child visits for Naiyah, we received rather large bills. After the first we thought, ok, we just haven't met our deductible yet. So we sucked it up and paid the $100+ dollars. Then last week we get a bill from the pediatrician's office for over $200 dollars. What?!? This didn't feel right to me since we've never had to pay this much for a routine visit in our entire parenting lives. And then when I actually LOOKED at the bill (yes dumb me for not doing it the first time), Premera is listed but they didn't pay ANYTHING!! I could not believe it! Ever tried to decide whether to call the dr office or insurance company first, knowing that there is a 75% chance that the one you pick will refer you to call the other one? Yeah, it's a fun Russian roulette. Anyhow, luckily I happened to choose correctly this time when I called the pediatrician's office. APPARENTLY Naiyah was only covered for the first 21 days and then dropped. WTH?? I filled out the correct paperwork and sent it in to my work before the deadline. I did everything right on my end. And yet things still got screwed up. It’s so irritating to be continually dealing with fallout from the insurance changes in July/August. Premera has dropped the ball SO many times since then, and I always seem to be under the ball when it drops! Anyhow, our benefits person at work said that she’ll deal with Premera for me and get the claims resubmitted, so hopefully I only have to make one more phone call in a couple of weeks (to request the refund from the pediatric office). We shall see.

Moral of the story: When it comes to medical insurance, always trust your instincts and check check check! Otherwise they will TAKE your money and KEEP it.

Fitted, AND Flat?!?

Last Sunday, I finally got around to putting the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse sheets Tristan recieved for his birthday on his bed. It's a toddler bedding set, including the usual two sheets, blanket, and pillowcase. I was putting the second sheet on when I made the most AMAZING discovery - the "flat" sheet is in fact half fitted!! The top part was flat like usual, but the bottom part fitted over the mattress. How awesome is that? So he'll never have cold toes becuase the sheet has - once again - come untucked and bunched up. And making the bed would be a breeze, if I ever actually did it. (Dirty little secret: I'm not exactly a devout bed-maker. Ok, I never ever make my or anyone else's bed. At best I half-heartedly straighten the sheets and blankets out.) Anyhow, I saw this fitted/flat sheet and instantly fell in love. Why don't they make these sheets for grownups?? I would put one on my bed in a heartbeat, it would make not making the bed so much easier!

A fresh new take on the dreaded SURVEY!

Yes, I found this while randomly cruising on the internet.

The Rules: For each question, look up the answer in a Google image search. Then choose your favorite from the first page of results only.

My Age:


A Place I'd Like To Travel To:



My Favorite Place:



My Favorite Object:



My Favorite Food:



My Favorite Animal:



My Favorite Color:



The Town Where I Was Born:



The Town Where I Grew Up:



Where I Currently Live:



A Past Pet:



A Past Love:



My Blog's Name:



My First Name:



My Middle Name:



My Nickname:



One Of My Bad Habits:



My First Job:


My Grandmother's Name:



What I Am Doing Right Now:



That was fun, if a little time consuming. :) Feel free to steal and repost on your own blog!