much overdue pictures...

alleged momentous occasion...

A week or so ago, Alexis and I were hanging out on the couch, and she pulled herself to her feet and stood on her own. A few seconds later, she'd tip back on her hiney, then get right back up again. She was so excited to be standing. Laughing, she'd keep getting up, look at me with a huge smile on her face and giggle, then plop down and start over. Knowing that this was a skill she now possessed, we proceeded to try to coax her to do the same on the floor. She's taken to practicing in some of the most inappropriate places, particularly in the tub. The sides of the rock solid tub are begging to catch her if/when she falls.

Yesterday, I came home and find Jamie and Alexis on the couch, watching TV and sharing some Mini Goldfish crackers. Nonchalantly, he tells me that she took a few steps. "Bullsh*t", I say. We go back and forth a few times, he insisting she did and me essentially calling him a filthy liar.

This morning, as I'm dropping the little Miss off at daycare (oh, I'm sorry, school), I tell Miss Bethany about this awful trick Jamie is playing on me. I ask, "He claims she took steps. Can you practice with her and watch to see if she does it today?" Miss Bethany looks and me and says, "Well, we didn't want to tell you since sometimes moms get upset if they miss it, but Alexis took some steps here yesterday as well." "Are you serious?"

Until I see it myself, I refuse to believe it. As Philosophy professors will sometimes suggest, how can you be sure something is reality if you've never observed it? The world is against me on this one. There is a conspiracy out there. Since Jamie so desperately wanted her to walk, and started insisting that she was either lazy or slow (not very nice, father dear), he decided to use The Secret (if you haven't read it, it's about visualizing something so much that the universe aligns to make it happen - total New Age stuff) and get everyone to buy into this, hoping that if he got those around us to believe it, she would then magically decide to walk.

I will confirm with everyone when she does in fact demonstrate to me that she can walk. Maybe even a picture to support it. Until then, I stand by the title of this post. Alleged is key here.

put that away!...

We have officially put our house on the market. This was our 3-5 year starter home. We're on year 4, have a child and two dogs, and are ready to retire it to move on to our 15-20 year home. We'll see.

As per the TV shows that show you every which way to sell a home, I've done my darnedest to "stage" our humble abode to make it look bigger, cleaner, and warm and inviting. To get it to that point, it required quite a bit of rooting through our things, boxing up items that aren't really needed and stashing those things that we do need in inconspicuous places. Our house looks beautiful. There's nothing on countertops, floors, etc. Just a nice, orderly, non-lived in home (which, c'mon, living is dirty).

Alexis, being the ever curious child that she is, is in a phase where everything that is in must come out (and occasionally it goes back in again only to be pulled out a second or third time). This morning we're in the bathroom as I'm getting ready, and she opens up the vanity cabinets and starts her exploration. Suddenly there are feminine products splayed across the floor. Hair products come flying out (remember, EVERYTHING is stashed away somewhere). I start to put things back in, and of course that doesn't go well. When she finally gives up on the vanity, she moves to some shelving in the bathroom to see what she can pull off/out there.

I love her sense of exploration and curiosity. I adore that, when my purse is in front of her, she peers her little noggin over it to see if it's open, and when it's not she attempts to figure out just how the zipper on my bag works. And once it's open? All contents must immediately be pulled out.

How does one balance supporting a child exploring their environment, touching and evaluating each thing they find, with the fact that things do need to be put away and in their place? At the moment, my strategy has been to let her do her thing until we leave the room, at which point I plop her our of reach of said cabinet/shelf/etc, quickly put it all away, and then move on to getting her interested in something new. I've found that you can continue pulling her away from one thing, moving her on to another, and eventually making it out the door. Whatever works...

the phone call...

When you're a working parent with a child in daycare, you dread that moment when you get back to your desk from a meeting and see a missed call or voice message from the childcare center. Inevitably, you immediately assume that your child is ill and they want you to come pick them up. You check your calendar as you dial, starting to plan for cancelling meetings or getting out of deadlines.

Yesterday, I get back to my desk and see that Goddard called. Ugh. I listen to the message which explains, "Don't worry, Alexis isn't sick, but I do need to talk to you." That can't be good either. It's not an illness emergency, but they don't call you at work to tell you that she enjoyed painting her random mess of colors. I call her back, and she tells me, "Alexis isn't sick, but she's been bitten again."

If you've been following along, you know that this biting thing isn't new. I'm incredulous at this point and can't help but chuckle in my flabbergasted state. The director and I proceeded to have a calm but lengthy discussion about the situation. I genuinely believe her (and can hear in her voice) that she's quite upset about the situation. I can also tell that she desperately wants to tell me which child it is, but that's a no-no.

"Does she provoke this child?" They tell me no, though (as we've noticed at home) she does like to try to touch people's eyes, nose, and mouth. I argue that a finger toward the mouth isn't begging for this girl to grab her arm and gnash as it, but whatever. When I inquire as to whether Alexis seems psychologically affected by this (as in, is she sitting in the corner terrified of all things with teeth) I'm told that within 30 seconds she's ready to go back to playing. She's a laid back child - I can see that being true.

So what's the solution? We talked about the fact that you can't sequester the biter in a cage away from all soft flesh, but what else can be done? From what I'm told, this girl is actually her "best friend." At that age, I'm assuming that simply means they're drawn to each other or something. I'm lost at this concept of friend=bite.

The little ones are all supposed to be moving to the Pre-Toddler room together, but they'll accelerating the biter's transition. It was indicated that sometimes, if a child moves up sooner, they'll stop biting. Makes sense, as those children are older and won't take that crap from a newbie.

Having seen which girl goes right toward Alexis to play, and now being able to witness as one girl moves up quicker, at this point the identity is being revealed. I have no intention of talking smack on her, giving her a cold shoulder, or kicking her on my way through the room. I simply plan to watch intently to make sure the transition happens, and hope that they understand how very unhappy we'll be should I get yet another call.

In Jamie's words, "This is getting f**king ridiculous."

PS - Alexis also bumped her head on something yesterday, resulting in a small mark on her cheek. They gave us TWO incident reports to sign. I can only imagine that they must have felt quite embarrassed about that...