Entries from September 2010 ↓

Can this insidious pink washcloth keep disco dolphin and disco duck apart?

No, their love is too strong. Ezri makes them kiss while making kissy noises and saying “duck kiss dolphin.” (Not sure where she’s picked up making bath toys kiss, but she does it now.)

Who do we have to thank for this reunion?
I believe we owe a debt of gratitude to SUPER DUCK!

The crib with its side removed allows me to take side shots of Ezri napping rather than the more aerial naptime photo.
I used to try to remove her shoes when she fell asleep in the car, but now I leave them on cause once the removal caused a needed naptime to be missed. Don’t miss with naptime!

I like what she’s done with her stuffed friends. They were lined up along the side when this nap began.

Ezri blowing her first bubbles. She is SO PROUD of herself.

Ezri going up to strangers who had beverages in the coffeeshop and lifting her sippy cup and saying, “cheers!” and then commanding the strangers with, “now drink.” Most were delighted. Only a couple with serious medical books open missed the endearing quality.

20 minutes spent reading books with both a daughter and a cat in my lap.

In line at the IKEA cafeteria discussing with Eric what to get for Ezri when a small voice said quite distinctly, “Meatballs, please.” What are we doing asking each other when the kid now has the power of speech.

At the library, Ezri running toward the storyroom saying “Rachel. Kitty.” Miss Rachel has a kitty puppet. I also enjoyed her pointing up at the knock-knock house shelf and saying, “Rachel house.” She can be bossy.

Walking towards my car in the lot near the park saying, “Ezri, where did I park?” Only to have my daughter say, “PARK!” and run towards the swings. She was pretty sure I’d just given permission and luckily we weren’t on a schedule so I could oblige.

Jungle Ezri.

Ezri blew her first bubbles yesterday.
She also may have consumed more bubble solution than is recommended.

Explicit mess advisory:
This video contains drips, dribbles, and general yogurt wearing and may not be suitable for some viewers.

Ezri’s parting comment is “Ezri yogurt” for those who may need translation.

These are some we read today:

The Napping House by Audrey Wood
This classic has been republished as a larger format boardbook and after reading it twice at the bookstore I purchased it. I love it. Ezri asked for it to read AGAIN as soon as I finished. I hope it becomes an after nap favorite. For those unfamiliar, this is about a granny napping who is napped upon by a child who is napped upon by a dog who is napped upon by a cat who is napped upon by a mouse and everything is fine until the wakeful flea brings the pile of nappers crashing out of bed. The gentleness of the napping house and the excitement of the waking up resonate with Ezri who is into things being sleepy and aware.

The Dog House by Jan Thomas
When a ball rolls into the dark dog house, animal after animal goes inside to retrieve it and does not return. When only mouse is left outside the dog house, Dog pops out and says he is having duck for dinner. DUCK FOR DINNER! yells mouse. Luckily, he has made turnips for duck and mouse joins the bunch in the dog house for cake. I am not sure how much of the plot Ezri really gets, but she knows its funny and likes the page where pig is called stinky and the one where duck quacks ALOT. Jan Thomas is a new favorite author for me (and Ezri too). The books have plot and humor, but are short enough to fit in toddler attention spans.

Clifford the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell
Again I am not sure how much of the humor Ezri gets, but she is loving the Big Red Dog. Clifford goes out chasing cars and catches them. He plays fetch and returns with a policeman being dragged by his baton. He tries to hide for hide and seek, but is much too big to hide even behind a house. Though these concepts may not quite be grasped by my kid, she asks for this book again and again and sits through the whole reading.

What’s Wrong Little Pookie? by Sandra Boynton
Boynton is just the best for the toddler aged. Her humor and likable cartoon animals cannot be beat. The zaniness adds to repeat readability for the big people how will be asked for repeat readings. I think Ezri does identify with little Pookie who is crying at the beginning of this book but too upset to tell his caregiver what is wrong. So, she decides to guess and after each guess Pookie responds in a very small voice, “No.” The guesses start out within the realm of reason maybe Pookie is tired or hungry. They end in silliness with wondering whether Pookie’s shoes have been borrowed by a hippopotamus or if his cookies were taken by tiny-winged elephants. Pookie says in his tiny voice, “That’s silly.” By the end he’s forgotten what he was upset about. The story is a very loving interaction and very familiar to a toddler. I am working on a current top ten list of Ezri’s favorite stories and this one almost certainly makes that cut.

Ezri has also discovered the marvel of pockets. Here she’s put a dandylion in her pocket. Usually she puts the pom-poms I keep especially for the purpose in her pockets. She also likes to put in acorns (yes, it’s fall) and rocks. She almost got me to buy her a small stuffed owl by picking it up and saying, “Pocket owl!” and shoving it in. The I realized we have plenty of small stuffed animals for the purpose already – no need to purchase another.

Yesterday Eric transitioned Ezri’s crib into a big kid bed by removing one side. The results are mixed. She definitely is excited by the bed and the opportunity to escape her sleep space on her own. Too excited to sleep it seems. She spent part of last night sleeping on blankets on the floor near her bed. We’ll see how it goes tonight.

Ezri knows the rules now, but sometimes she can’t help but break them in her toddler exuberance.
We tickle and cuddle in the parents’ bed sometimes. The rule is no standing on the bed.
Ezri will stand up on the bed and shout with glee, “Sit Down, Please!”
She will be giving a warning.
Ezri will stand up again and say, “Ezri stand!”
Tonight at this point Ezri was told she had broken the rule and had to leave the bedroom and play elsewhere. This made her most upset she rolled around on the floor saying something Eric and I could not figure out, “Ezri tantomb. Ezri tantomb.” Eric got it before me. Ezri was letting us know that this rolling around was Ezri having a tantrum. I didn’t think it had gotten to what I would call tantrum stage, but I sure thought it was endearing that she was letting me know it had.

This photo is one more reason to love Trader Joe’s and why it can be hard to get Ezri out of the store without a “tantomb.”

This month for the first time I forgot to try for a photo of Ezri and monkey-monkey on the 11th. I thought about it at some point during the day, but it was a busy Saturday of being out & about and it got lost in the shuffle.

Ezri is clearly more active in her play with monkey-monkey these days. She sent him down the slide and let him ride on her tricycle while we sang the Queen song Bicycle Race substituting in “tricycle” for “bicycle” in the lyrics. She now joins us on various of the songs her parents have co-opted to be part of her day. “Swing High Sweet Ezri Blau” to the tune of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. “It’s New Diaper Time” which I think is to the tune of “It’s Tail Whipping Time” from Biker Mice. “L-U-N-C-H” to tune of BINGO. “It’s Breakfast Time” to the tune of Business Time from Flight of the Conchords. “When I say, ‘pants,’ Ezri Beatrice, you best pants,” to the Violent Femmes tune. We sing Rubber Ducky in the bathtub along with singing “Bathtime, Ezri, bathtime, what kind of kid likes Ezri Bathtime” to an Armour Hotdog jingle. I like to think that in Ezri’s mind these songs are what all children hear with their families during their days.