Polly Wanna Cracker?

We're at the mimicking phase.

The other day she was very upset

and a very emphatic "SIT" flew from her lips.

I plead the fifth.

Straight from the Horse's Mouth

In case you didn't see her comment:

"Let me lay it out for all ya'lls.
1) presh has two definitions. precious or fresh. as in SWEEET.

2) Probs is obvi probably.

3) Whatevs=more sassy whatever.

4) Creepin'...isn't this a universal word?

5) Loves...how is this a texting dialect...

6) You don't need to know what this is, nbd...

love, manda:) "

Allow me to translate:

1) ok, that's English, I think

2) Probs=probably Obvs=obviously

3) English

4) Creepin'= actually not universal in the sense that she thinks it is. "I was creepin' on someone's facebook" is how it's usually used.

5) Loves is a texting dialect in that she uses it as a noun and applies it to EVERYone and anyone.

6) NBD= no big deal. I'm not sure how her explanation clarifies the meaning, but whatevs!

Amandish

Whilst living with the parents I learned a many new things, including a new language. My 15-year-old sister no longer speaks English, but an adaptive texting dialect. I'm not completely fluent, but can understand most of it.

Let's see if you speak Amandish. I'll post the translations in a couple of days. In the meantime, what do you think the following mean? For bonus points, use it in a sentence!

1. presh
2. probs
3. whatevs
4. creepin'
5. loves
6. nbd

Samish

Samish (English)

S: Mommy! Mom. Mommy! Mommieeeee. (Hey Mom!)

Me: What? (What?)

S: Guy? (Car?)

Me: Guy? (Where?! Do you see someone?)

S: Guy? (No, you idiot, CAR.)

Me: Oh, Car? Where's your car? (You'd think I'd remember what 'guy' meant by now. Where's your car?)

S: Whey go? (Where is it?)

Me: Oh, it's over there. (Oh, it's over there)

S: Dey she is! (There it is!)

Me: What color is the car? (Please perform for mommy.)

S: Reh (I dunno, red?)

Me: No, remember, not everything is red. (Damn.)

S: Eeen. (Green?)

Me: Yes! Very good! (Second guess counts! You're a genius!)

S: Mom! Mommie! mommiemommiemommie. (I want something. Figure it out.)

Forbidden Fruit

Sam saw the Tree.

Sam signed Tree.

Sam saw the duck.

The duck was afraid and flew to a much higher branch.

Mommy's Little Blogger

Samantha loves reading your blogs as much as I do! As I type she is begging to read "OOOOO!"

(Please excuse the unwashed hair)

Move Over Baby Einstein

Get lost, Blues Clues

You are SO last month.

Our lives forever changed the day we introduced Signing Time.

I have a video of Sam doing all of her signs on her 18-month birthday. That same day we introduced her to Signing Time. The reason I never uploaded it here (it is on Facebook) is because it instantly became obsolete.

That list? There's at least 30 more

Signs like fish, dog and bird? Completely different, as she's changed them to what Rachel does on the video (which is real ASL anyway).

Words I've been trying to get her to say or never thought she'd do (diaper and her colors) she says on her own, without any prompting.

Getting that "zoned" look while watching TV?

Gone. The wheels are turning and she is quietly trying the signs during the video. When she feels confident enough, she turns to us and excitedly signs it.

I picked her up from bed yesterday and she said and signed "Mommy". Mommy has been in the vocabulary for a long time. This is the first time I've ever seen a sign added AFTER the verbal word is well established.

And the videos are addicting for me and Jer as well. Instead of falling asleep watching them like we did with Blues Clues and Baby Einstein, I can't fall asleep. I can't help but peek my eyes open to see how you sign "daughter" or "run" or "lizard".

Plus, Jer and I have to keep up with Sam. It's a guilty feeling to have your daughter so diligently signing something and you have no clue what she's saying.

So, even if you don't have the money, go to your local library and check it out!
That is, unless, you live in Lincoln.
'Cause we've either got them checked out or on hold.

Fly on the Wall

"MOMMY!!"

"What, my love."

"Mommy."

"What?"

"Mommieeeee."

"What?"

"MOM."

"What do you want?"

"Mommy."*

Repeat.

All.
Day.
Long.

*Translators note:
Mommy--noun. Informal: Mother
Mommy--transitive verb. to pick up or hold

Peacegiving

Amanda looked at me wide-eyed yesterday while we were playing cards,

"What's gotten into you, Kim?"



"What?"
I retorted back, slightly confused.

"You're so giggly!"

Jer says he misses me being like this- says it's how I was when we met. I guess I'm no fun when "life" happens. Recently, for the first time in 3 years, things seem settled. Money is still tight, but not headache worthy anymore, waitressing is easy now, starting school has been a lot easier than it was last semester, and Jer and Sam's health are great.

I feel like I can breathe!!

Also, after having been married for almost 4 years, we have our first Christmas Tree!

And who doesn't feel care-free when they have their Christmas Tree up?

The Only Shrimp I Love

We went to our last baby well check-up. Sam is in the 75th% for height, 75th% for head circumference and < 3rd% in weight at 19 lbs, 8 oz.

She also learned a new word today, "Owie." We'd signed it with her before, but she never knew what it meant. After two shots she quickly labled the spots on her legs as "oh-we-we."

Baby Book Entry 18-months

My baby is a year and a half. As time is going way too fast, I need to record everything I can think of so someday I can look back and...you know, read it again.



So, whether or not YOU find it interesting...


Sam is teasing me, hovering just under 20 lbs. Considering we're going to wait until she weighs 35 lbs to turn her to front facing in the car, I'm pretty sure I'll be taking her to her first day of Kindergarten with her looking out the rear window.


As far as her health goes, we have a new pediatrician and she is fantastic. She recently tested Samantha for cystic fibrosis and lead poisoning, but both came back negative. So, considering she hasn't had an episode since...forever...I honestly think it was some mold or something in the apartment.


Her sleeping habits are still leaving me frustrated and at my wits end. She takes a 60 minute nap in the middle of the day. When daddy watches her it stretches to a whopping 75 minutes- but not a minute more. It takes everything in me not to scowl at other moms who brag about their child's 4-hour daily nap or whine about how their child only napped for 2 hrs.


Gah, anyway, she goes to bed between 6:30 and 7 and sleeps for 12 hrs, so at least I get an evening break (which still includes a scream fest around 9pm, but the cuddling that ensues usually makes up for it)


Every time we have a physical therapy session, the therapist asks what my concerns for Samantha are- and every single time Samantha will do whatever it is that mention that very evening...

Ooo, that gives me an idea about nap lengths!

My mom has mentioned over the years how her favorite age is around 18 months, and I totally see why. She is such a darling little mimic! SO much fun and her personality (the side that doesn't involve screaming) is finally shining through. Note the wave at the beginning and arm crossing at the end:

We currently play the "grin and run away" game every time we call her or ask her to do something. It's cute except when she does it down the driveway. Fortunately her "running" is actually slower than her walking due to the numerous stops she has to make to catch her balance.

Her other semi-dangerous obsession is with putting things around her neck and head:

(Jer would like me to clarify that he doesn't actually wear the whitey tighties...which begs the question why keep them, but we won't go there)



Her current obsession with babies is almost...unhealthy. She still nurses them, rocks them, washes them, feeds them, lotions them, reads to them. If we decide to have a kid earlier than 'planned' it will be via begging from Samantha when she realizes that we are the ones who could give her a real baby.



One last thing- I've compiled a list of her vocabulary. A month ago it was at 50 words and now I'm pretty sure it's around 75.

Anyway, here it goes:

Verbal:
baby
ball
blues clues (booo!)
bonk (konk)
bubbles
butterfly (buhbuy)
bye (bye or buhbee)
car
cold (coah)
cracker (kah kah)
dada
ear
eye
hi (said to every stranger we pass by)
Joel (goal)
light (ie)
mama
papa
peek
poop
potty (pah-ee)
puppy (her blanket)
pumpkin (punk)
slide (sih)
swing (wing)
thank you (tey tey)
Tsss (Tess)
wait (weigh)
water (wa)
we (what she calls a swing set "Weeeee!")



Animal sounds
bird
car (ok, not an animal, but a sound)
cat
cow
dog
duck
elephant
fish
frog
horse
mouse
owl
pig

Signs
all done
apple
baby
ball
banana
bath
bib
bird
black
book
bread
bubbles
butterfly
bye
car
cat
cherrio
cold
cookie
cow
down
drink
duck
elephant
fish
flower
hammer
hat
help
hold you
horse
hot
hungry
ice cream
light
lotion
milk
more
movie
no
nurse
outside
phone
piano
pig
play
please
poop
potty
pumpkin
rabbit
red
saw
shoes
socks
stars
swing
thank you
toothbrush
wait
water
white
yes

Her 18 month appt is next week, so I'll post exact stats then.


And another scream fest has begun.

*Sigh*

Hard to Swallow

I always dread getting a new job. Not because of the training, learning curve or initial social struggles- those I can handle. Even the humility that I have to face with not knowing everything is tolerable. No, what I hate about new employment is the fact that I inevitably cry in front of my boss. Allow me to premise the following--I only cry when I'm frustrated.
That and watching a sappy movie, but that's not relevant here.

The crying episode generally goes something like this:

I work really hard to try and be proficient at said job (read, I do NOT like being anything but perfect at my job).

I, being only human, make errors, some which are horribly embarrassing.

I continue, only to make another error. Nothing big, just enough to annoy the boss/supervisor/other person near by.

I get frustrated and flustered.

Flustering results in more errors which leads to more frustration and more flustering and--well, it all ends up at the bottom with Jack and Jill.

And the only way out, it seems, is to cry. In front of my boss.

Anyway, where was I going with this?

Oh, yes. So today I wanted to cry. I felt like a miserable failure. But not as an employee- as a mother. I always pictured myself as this super-mom who cooked, cleaned and laundered, caring for the children with patience and ease learned via years of nannying experience.

I'm coming to realize that I don't know who I am as a mother. My child whines and screams most of the day, making me want to claw at the wall and scream back at her. Instead of cleaning I steal a nap during my 30-60 minute "break" during the day while she power-sleeps. Looking around the house I notice the floor is relatively clear, but every other surface is cluttered. I literally count down the time until either Jeremy comes home or 6pm comes (bedtime). Honestly, I have more patience and fun with my child when I come home from working all day at my paying job.

I'm doing my best not to compare myself with other mothers, but I can't help but noticing that I only have ONE CHILD. And I want more. Lots more. But I don't know if that's the mom I want to be or the one I am.

Either way, today I was very frustrated and flustered.

Take a wild guess at what came next.

Pumpkin Patch

Celebrating Lucy's 7th Birthday!

The Cousins really get excited to see each other now! They're at such a fun age.


Signing "pig"

And "bunny" (her bunnies only have one ear)

Getting to know Uncle Joel (she calls him "khhhh")

OOO! I actually took this one!!

Lovely Becca, soon to make me an aunt again!

Kisses on the bridge

Peek!

Whilst Moving...

She became obsessed with being under furniture

She mastered the words, Hi, Bye and Peek

Hey Rubber Ducky, You're the one!

Due to my lack of interest last year (a teething, non-sleeping baby will do that to you), Samantha had a pretty pathetic first Halloween. This year I asked for the assistance of my mother- if anything just to overrule Jer's insistence on dressing Sam up as a Zombie.

Seriously. He had a plan for a bloody mouth and everything.

Sam can pick out a duck anywhere and not only signs it, but quacks as well.

It was a quack decision.

Considering her waddle when she walks and the fact that she leaves the hat on,

I'd say we hit the quack-pot!

Ok, ok, I'll stop now.

Aaaaaaand...

I'm back! Not sure where to start, and lots has happened...so let's try some bullets, and see how we do, shall we?

- We moved. Again.

• Why? It must be a guy thing, but neither my dad nor Jeremy could ever relax. EVER. And when one can't relax, stress is a constant. And when stress is a constant, sickness and tempers take over. Also, my mom got REALLY sick and was still very sick for over a month (the doctors still don't know what she had, but it involved a 100+ fever and feeling crappy. Constantly). And when my mom gets sick, her verbal filter disappears. In other words, I was getting a daily dose of unsolicited parenting advice and my housekeeping skills (or lack there of) were a common topic of frustration conversation.

• When? We all tearfully agreed it was time for us to move, and they gave us 2 months. In two days we found our new home.

• Where? A frickin' awesome duplex! For the same rent as our last place, we have a 2 bedroom (Sam's first bedroom!!) 1 bath, all wood floors, washer/dryer hookups, HUGE unfinished basement (read--STORAGE), backyard with REAL grass and a 1-stall garage. It is on a busy street, and no dishwasher (we purchases a very very used portable one) but it is amazing.
  

-Sam is walking. Like, for real.

She literally 'took off' when we moved in, and a few days ago she figured out how to stand up in the middle of the room. We are attributing the leap in milestones to the wood floors and lack of dog to knock her over.

-Grandma is helping us out, so financially we can make ends meet until I get my Nebraska teaching license and a job.

-Thanks to his immuno-suppressors, Jer got pneumonia. When you ask Samantha, "What does daddy say?" she'll cough.

-This is the first week of a real routine! Just in time for the holidays, eh?

Woah

It's like there's a camera in our house.

Two Words

Moving again.

Little Pinwheel

Classic AFV.

Duh-nun...duh nun...

These Feet were Made for Walkin'

Ok, so this is a little late- this video was taken a while back.

She's almost to really walking alone now!

Lord almighty I can't wait.

Mommy Charmer

Sure beats the constant screaming!

Right now it gets her pretty much anything she wants.

I know I'll get tired of it some day, but for now it's music to my ears!

Vampire Baby

If you know me personally, you know I'm obsessed with tomatos. Jeremy calls me the tomato vampire. I love the juice- not the meat. So much so that I recently discovered first hand the trauma that is caused to ones digestive track if you drink the juice from--oh, let's say--40ish tomatoes in one sitting.

But I digress.

This summer I finally (lived in a house that) had a garden! We (and by we I mean my mom) grew a few green pepper plants, a jalapeno plant, two cherry tomato plants, one heirloom tomato plant and another tomato plant that is somewhere in between cherry and heirloom.





Sam and I have made it part of our afternoon routine to go outside and pick tomatoes. She discovered quickly that she, too, loooooves cherry tomatoes. for a while she didn't like the big ones, quickly tossing them into the bucket.

Until she discovered the heavenly filled juicy center.

That's my girl!

Precious Moments

Can you guess what she's doing?

A Reason to be Fired Part III

Sorry about the suspense, folks. I didn't have a shift with the new manager for about a week, and then weaning happened, along with mastitis again (fourth time baby! That's like, a record, I'm sure). Anyway, the shift finally came where the new manager was working. He sat down next to me at line-up before shift started and things went something like this:

Me "Are you ***, the new manager?"

GM "Yep!"

Me, hand extended, "I think I made a bad first impression the other day-- I'm Kim."

GM "Kim?"

Me "Yep"

Coworker "Uh, yeah. Me too. Hi I'm ***"

Me "Um, probably not as bad as me. I cried."

Coworker "You what?"

GM "OH. Yeah. You're Kim! Yeah, that was my first day and...yeah."

He seems like a nice guy- kind of annoying right now as he's doing the whole- "find something to correct everyone on so they know who's in charge" thing, but--whatever. I did a similar thing as a teacher, so I understand.

Anyway, things have gone smoothly since then- I've been praying before every shift not to make a fool of myself.

So far, so good.

Well, minus a few typical "Kim errors". Things that only I would do, that make me socially awkward.

I can never seem to avoid those...

First Haircut

The rat tail finally got to me. I couldn't stand it anymore! It had gotten too long, with the rest of the hair having no chance of catching up.

Snip snip!

Ta Dah!

Look how LONG it was!

Silly Mommy! You're so OCD!!

The Face

A few weeks ago, Sam woke up and started doing this:

Seeing us all crack up,

she'd do it again,

and again.

Tricks like this come and go. It was too cute to let it go, so I decided to coin the face with a phrase:

We Love You Uncle Bob!!