Our Roo. The Bubble Blower.

So things have been a bit chaotic for us. We have yet to experience the lull after the holidays that everyone keeps talking about. No lull in our household. I need a lull. I think all three of us need a lull.

Roo is growing and changing every day, sometimes so quickly I think I blink and she is doing something new. Which is why it is getting harder and harder to leave her for days at a time when I have to travel for work (which has been weekly lately). It breaks my heart. Hopefully I am home now for a bit and can soak in every new word, activity and experience with her.

Recently I returned from one of my trips only to be followed by a week of working very late hours. One night I made a mad dash for the door as soon as I was given the opportunity so I could make an effort to get home in time for Roo's bath and bedtime. Mission accomplished! I arrived just in time to help her in the tub. I reached for a washcloth and as I turned back around to face the tub I heard a strange noise. An odd gurgling noise. Then I realized it was coming from my kid. She had, unprovoked, stuck her face into the bath water and started blowing bubbles. I couldn't believe it. No one had taught her that (at least as far as I am aware of) and although I have every intention of signing her up for a Mommy & Me swim class (add it to the never ending to-do list), we had never tried to get her to do anything like this.

I couldn't stop laughing and she just kept putting her face back in the water and blowing bubbles, just to entertain me. I got Kerry's attention and he rushed upstairs just in time for her to do it 1-2 more times, then...game over. We kept saying "c'mon baby, blow bubbles" and she just looked at us like, "I have no idea what you are talking about". Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. We now try to get her to do it every night, sometimes she gives it a shot, mostly she laughs at us as we dunk our heads in the water and get soaking wet in an effort to convince her try just one more time. We haven't had a whole lot of luck. I guess we will have to wait for her next amazing trick, try to get it on DVD, just to realize that she does not perform on demand. Haven't we learned yet?

Complete Chaos

OK, so it has been a while since I have updated this. A month. I swore I wouldn't go this long without updates, but I have. Bad Mommy. Anyway, January has been complete hell and we have been busier than ever. Shocker. And here we are, officially in February and it is shaping up to be more of the same. I have convinced myself that it will never slow down and I just need to get over it. Accept and move on. But I don't want to.

This year we rung in the new year with our traditional hibachi dinner. Except this time Roo got to join us. We went with our friends Tracy and Tommy and had a blast. Miss Roo loved all the activity at the hibachi table, but her favorite part is chewing on the boxes of fruit flavored gum. Ahh, the little things. At one point she got so antsy that I had to take her out to the reception area for a little distraction time. The host gave her a rubber flower shaped ring that had a flashing light in it. You would've thought she found the best thing ever. She kept screeching and laughing at it, and of course trying to eat it, which led it it's eventual confiscation and disposal into the garbage can. Choking hazard.

On the 5th, it was back to our usual routine. Work, school, work. I felt like I never got a break and got horribly sick. What a mess. I actually lost my voice for three days. Roo is at the point where she is a little mimic. She is always trying to repeat words. Poor kid, all I could do all weekend was whisper, so she would whisper right back to me. Then she would of course screech at the top her lungs and start laughing at me. As if I was trying to tease her and all this whispering was just a game. I wish.

Then we decided to take a family road trip to visit Kerry's Godparents. They live in VA, right outside DC. We had one very important learning on this trip- it is time to invest in a portable DVD player. There is NOTHING worse than an antsy 15 month old in an Audi. Small, bored person in a small space, with lots of energy. It was at times, sheer torture, for all three of us. Gone are the days of the long naps and the days of needed constant entertainment have arrived. But we made it, had a great visit and it was a chance for Roo to spend some quality time with Aunt Peggy and Uncle Bernie, two people we truly love and admire.

So, as I bring the stories of our adventurous January to a close, all I can say is that we are looking forward to a very busy February. And on a sad note, we had known for a few weeks that I was pregnant with our second child, but after getting stuck in the crazy Midwest ice storm last week, I went to the doc and found out that at 8 weeks the pregnancy was not viable. I was sad and a little shocked at first, but Roo always makes everything better. I came home, gave her a big hug and a kiss, which was exactly what I needed. Her laugh lights me up from the inside out and I am so lucky to have her. I know I keep writing that over and over, but I mean it. My life is different and so much better because she is in it. If we are meant to have more children, great, if not I still feel like I am the luckiest Mom in the world.

Reagan's First Ice Skating Lesson

One of Reagan's gifts from Auntie Court was a pair of ice skates. My family has been almost always involved in ice skating in some way. My Mother ice skated in Ice Follies as a kid and my Sister and I grew up skating. Court still does, I had to stop once I got hips and could no longer get off the ground. I was never that graceful anyway.

So, Reagan got a bunch of ice skating themed gifts- a couple of ice skating outfits, her own set of skates, a skating bag and a Pottery Barn Kids doll named "Merry" who came equipped with her own skating gear. Lots of fun!

Since Court was only visiting for a short while, we decided to take Roo to a local rink so we could all see her first attempt on the ice. What fun we had! First of all we dressed Roo in her Gap skinny jeans, ice skating themed sweater and her furry winter boots (which she never wants to take off). Then we headed to the outdoor rink in Westport at the Longshore Country Club. This rink goes up every Winter and is near the beach, so much fun for an afternoon of skating and people watching.

Once we got situated, Court and I put on our skates, then Court got Reagan ready. I have to say that she was pretty good at walking in her skates, especially considering she has only been walking for 5 months. We got her out on the ice and Court took over (she gives lessons to kids and I have no idea where to start). Roo tried and did pretty well. She had a decent center of balance, but couldn't seem to understand why her feet kept moving out from underneath her. Needless to say, we didn't get very far. So Roo wouldn't get bored, Court and I would pick her up and skate around the rink saying "let's go zoom!" She was laughing and having a great time going fast and passing by everyone.

Then we decided to take a hot chocolate break while the Zamboni cleaned the ice. Roo did great standing in her skates and being patient. Of course Daddy had a basket of curly fries, so that kept her occupied. Food take priority with this kid. We also gave her a first taste of hot chocolate, no interest. Instead she wanted the clementine the woman next to us was eating. Luckily she had an extra and offered to share.

Once the Zamboni was done, we went back out on the ice (Daddy was taking pictures and video on the sidelines without skates), but not for long. It was Roo's nap time and the ice skating adventure was wearing her out. She started to figure out how to "march" in her skates and could even stand by herself, but it was time to call it a day.

I don't think that I would ever have considered getting her ice skates this young, but I am glad Court did. It helps to carry on the Dunne-Hodock-McCoy skating tradition in our family, at least for now.

Our Christmas

Christmas this year was busy as usual, but at least we didn't have to travel. So much has been going on we spent much of Christmas Eve fighting the crowds. Then we went to mass (with a very active child I might add) and finally collapsed at home. Before putting Roo to bed in her Christmas themed jammies, we went down stairs and set out cookies, milk and a note for Santa along with some carrots for the reindeer, then finally called it a day.

Christmas morning Reagan woke up at her usual time around 7 and we all went downstairs to see if Santa had arrived, which of course he did, much to her delight. We investigated some of Roo's loot then went into the kitchen to make pancakes for breakfast. After breakfast we opened our gifts and after the excitement we were all ready for a nap.

That evening Auntie Courtney arrived with her usual ridiculous amount of gifts (she really is a great shopper, I think I might need some lessons) and she let Reagan open her gifts. I think Roo was completely overwhelmed and not quite sure what to do next, but regardless had a great time.

Then finally she was off to bed and we could all enjoy dinner. As usual Kerry and I celebrated in true New England tradition with lobster. We were so full we didn't even have dessert. Lots of activity, but a fun couple of days was had by all and we were all grateful that Court came to visit.

The Christmas Spirit

Kerry, Reagan and I tried one final holiday shopping push on Sunday morning. Well, let's be honest it is probably not final. Still more to do....

We decided to go to this local discount store and as we pulled into the parking lot noticed that it was going out of business. The parking lot was packed and we were dreading what we would find inside. Actually it was not too bad, long lines, but you are going to find that anywhere this time of year. We hit up the departments where we knew there were items we wanted and then wandered the rest of the store. Since Reagan is a girl on the go these days, she really likes to walk through the store rather sit in the cart. She must have picked up every gross item possible on the floor. I cringed but just kept cleaning her hands off, with all the action, this was a battle not worth fighting.

As we got to the center of the store, they had rows and rows of these dolls. They were called "Kinder Garden Babies". They had tons of them. Reagan spotted one just at her level and ran towards it. The boxes have a little handle on the top like a suitcase, she picked it up and hugged it to her chest saying "mine, mine". To be honest the doll was a little tacky and we had bought her more than enough Xmas gifts so I just waited until she was distracted, stashed it on another shelf and we moved on.

As we were leaving the store, we paused on the sidewalk to come up with a truck loading attack plan. As we stood there a woman walked by and stopped to say hi to Roo. She said to us "Did you see these dolls in there, they are only $2.99!" as she pulled the same exact Kinder Garden Baby out of her bag that Roo had wanted so badly. "You should get her one." I thanked her for letting us know and said "Not today. Maybe we will come back another time. She seemed to really like them." Figuring that the woman would understand and be on her way. Instead she reached out to Reagan with the doll and said "Do you like this?" Reagan smiled and started poking at the box. Then the woman said, "Well you know what, you can have this one." I have to say that both Kerry and I were extremely touched and we couldn't say no. What a sweet gesture. This woman did not know us, did not know our situation and had obviously made the purchase with someone else in mind. Out of the goodness of her heart and what I can only assume is some good old fashioned Christmas Spirit she selflessly gave a little blonde girl she didn't know the one thing she had really wanted all day. I was floored.

As she walked away and Kerry walked to get the truck (leaving Roo and I to ooh and ahh over her new doll) the woman looked and Kerry and said "Merry Christmas." He said "Well, now you know you will really have a very Merry Christmas because of what you just did, right?" She just smiled.

So, I guess there are still some good people out there that really believe in giving. I think I have to remember that more often and remind myself that is what this time of year is supposed to represent. Treating people (the ones you know and the ones you don't) with patience, kindness and respect. And giving back whenever you can. As frustrated as I get this with the holiday season, I am so thankful that someone reminded me to to just stop and realize that there is kindness everywhere, sometimes you just need to recognize it.

Baby Hippo

Reagan is just learning to talk. For the most part she just mimics what is said to her, but she also learning that by mimicking she gets a reaction out of us. We get so excited about the noises she makes that sound like words. Today she said "ow", "bagel" and "please". But I don't think she completely understands what the words mean. Except "please" (which by the way sounded like "peas"). She was holding the book "Corduroy's Snow Day" and whining. I was completely ignoring her as I tried to clean up the remnants of the stomach bug she caught off her changing table. She just stopped, held the book up to me and said "peas". I was so excited I forgot what she was asking me about. I scooped her up carried her downstairs and announced to Daddy that our smart little girl just said "please". Then nothing. She never said it again (at least not today).

Our doctor said that speech and the understanding of speech develops in three phases. First, babies understand that they can make vocal noise. Secondly, they understand that their noises actually get attention and as they get more and more verbal they think that the sounds that they are actually making are words that everyone else understands, regardless of the fact that we don't. At that point it is every parent's job to play the role of translator. Every little sound might just be that word you have been waiting to hear. For instance Reagan's word for "dog" was "gog". Thirdly, the words, the meaning and the vocalization all come together.

This week she did possibly two of the cutest things I have seen her do. During her bath she pointed towards the shelves in the shower and started whining. On the shelves are two stuffed puppets that look like hippos, one "mommy" and one "baby". I said, "Which one do you want? The Mommy or the baby." She paused, smiled and very thoughtfully said "bay-bee". So stinkin' cute! Then as I handed her the puppet, she put it on her hand and I put the mommy hippo on my hand she started waving her hippo in the air as I waved mine. We had our own little puppet show.

So for now most days the words we hear are "dog", "no" (our favorite, which just started last week), "uh-oh" and "ca" (cat). I am hoping that "please" becomes a part of her everyday vocabulary, but I guess we will have to wait and see. Oh yeah, then there is her "uh-uh-huh" (kind of like a raspy cough), this means her throat is dry and she'd like a drink. Not quite a word, but we understand. For now, that is all that matters.

The Toddler Transistion Meeting

Who knew that at 14 months parent-teacher meetings were required? All of these unexpected parenting responsibilities are happening a little faster than I expected. The toddler transition meeting took place on a Tuesday night (very convenient for babysitting...not), and only a few of the parents attended. All I can say was that it was interesting.

First of all, every parents makes a similar comment about my kid. They all say "my child and Reagan, what a twosome. They are trouble!" Which only makes me think that my kid is trouble and she is just bringing out the "trouble" in everyone else's kid. Maybe the teachers are exaggerating on Reagan's daily comments sheet when they say "Reagan had a good day."

Secondly, one of the parents asked specifically about potty training, ex planing that her daughter was ready. Seriously? She is only a year old. Be patient. I know you hate changing diapers. It sucks. No one likes it, but your kid is not ready. Deal with it.

Thirdly, Reagan and Daddy stopped by the meeting to say "hi", at which point the center director invited them in. They were good for about 10 minutes until Reagan started eating colored pasta off the floor (obviously left over from a previous art project), using the building blocks to build a tower that kept crashing loudly, picking up a book and placing it on the table during the meeting while taking a seat and pretending she was actually part of the discussion. The final moment when Kerry decided to leave was when Reagan proceeded to growl at a monkey puppet that she apparently didn't trust (don't ask she picked up the growling from our dog Reilly, it is how he greets us every morning). We couldn't stop giggling so he decided it was time to go home.

Overall the meeting was good and I am glad that our school makes the time to have these types of conversations with us. It shows that they care. I just think it confirmed that next time Reagan is better off not attending.