Quick visit to Bernies

We made a quick stop in Yellville to visit Great Grama Bernie yesterday before stopping in Harrison to hang out with the other Grandparents.

Aylin had a blast in the short time we were there. She loved the doggies (a previous post), especially Buddy. There was lots of "Hi Buddy" accompanied with waving. Bernie also broke out a big blow up Santa just for Aylin which was very interesting. Great Grama Bernie also has an old toy chest with neat treasures and  a child's size rocking chair. Aylin enjoyed playing with all of the stuff in the chest, as well as bringing books to Bernie to read. Although it was a short visit I'm glad we made it out that way.

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Coloring: Daddy Only

Aylin asked to color this morning, which she usually wants company for. Which is just as well because we don't need her wandering off with the crayons to color the house. :) However after just a short time of coloring with momma she calls for daddy. Once he settles in to color too she looks over at me, pushes me and says GO! I made her say please first before I complied. Little goober!

The girls with Dad's goat dogs

Buddy (the Anatolian) was Aylin's favorite.

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Playing with Daddy

Lots. Of. Fun!

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Video: Playing with Daddy

Lots. Of. Fun. :)

Video: Playing with Daddy

Lots. Of. Fun

You can't tell it...

... but she's paying homage to Steve Jobs (black turtleneck).

Jumping to conclusions

Teena texted me today with news that someone from the daycare had called her, saying Aylin had thrown up, but wasn't running a temperature. She also told me that Aylin had thrown up because she'd thrown a temper tantrum after breakfast.

I got all ticked off, of course, because Aylin had been hitting people yesterday, and I saw this as a sign that Aylin was starting to turn into a little tyrant. Based on my understanding of what Teena's told me in the past, I've been concerned that the ladies at daycare were spoiling Aylin. So my immediate reaction was, "We are, by God, gonna put a stop to that right now."

As it turns out, the teacher who called Kristina was a substitute or temporary teacher, and she hadn't told either of the directors -- like she was supposed to -- that she was calling a parent. It also turns out that Kristina just assumed -- incorrectly -- that Aylin had thrown a fit and made herself sick. What actually happened was that she'd been spinning around and dancing like mad to some fun music shortly after breakfast and just spit up a little bit. It also turns out that I've misinterpreted the way the ladies at the daycare are treating Aylin, or -- more accurately -- that I've misunderstood what Teena's been saying about how they handle her.

So, while it's good that Teena and I found cause to sit down and talk about discipline at home for Aylin, we both learned a lesson or two about jumping to conclusions.

Aylin's rapidly expanding vocabulary…

I (Jeff) went outside with Aylin this afternoon (which makes me wonder, at what point does "unseasonably warm" become the new norm?). As she was toddling off to the edge of the yard, I was just sort of moseying along behind her. She stopped, turned around and jabbered something at me that I interpreted to mean, "Will ya hurry up already?"

So I said, "I'm coming!"

To which she replied, "I cummeem!"

For the most part, she's been learning to identify objects (though this weekend's marked a move into some different stuff, including the "I cummeem!"), and she remembers them later. Anyway, "I cummeem!" has been today's phrase of the day. It's stinkin' cute. I love seeing how hungry she is to learn, how quickly she learns and how sticky these new things are.

Yesterday's phrase of the day was, "I d'no! [I don't know]!" That came about after she dragged me into her room — "clay [play]?" — sat us down in the floor, and kind of flopped her hands on her lap. I said, "Whatcha doin'?"

"Doin'?", she repeats.

"I don't know!", I say.

"I d'no!". Repeat ad infinitum all day long — and not a few times today — with lots of variations in tone and inflection, shrugs and hand gestures, to boot.

Pretty amazing stuff. It also serves as a constant reminder to be careful of what I say and what she might hear. That's good for me.

I asked for cheese...

and got it! :D

The girls have been sick a few days…

Kristina's been saying for a week or more that she thought she was coming down with something. Aylin has been tossing her cookies off and on since Saturday. She went to daycare on Monday and Tuesday, ran a bit of a fever on Tuesday, then came home with 101° F temperature Wednesday at lunch. Kristina was really not feeling well Wednesday night, and they both stayed home all day today, fighting the stomach bug.

Aylin — unusually, if you know her at all — fell asleep on the living room floor about 6:45 tonight. Kristina put her to bed, and now she's in bed herself.

Fun times around here!