An Observation

Cate: Mom, your tummy is kind of yuck.

Me: I would tend to agree with you on that assessment.

Cate: Maybe you could buy a new one.

Me: A new tummy?

Cate: Yeah.

Me (thinking plastic surgery): That might get expensive.

Cate (cheerfully): Oh, maybe you could just get a new bellybutton instead!

Let me introduce myself...

As regular readers of this blog know, Cate has a very active imagination. She loves to play dress-up and to pretend. Sometimes she stands in front of the mirror and talks to her "friends."

After we went shopping for spring clothes, for example, she modeled her new wardrobe in front of the mirror, providing a running commentary for her invisible audience. She said something like, "Hi Friends. Do you like my new dress? It has polka dots."

Today I overheard Cate having the following conversation:

"Hi. I'm Cate. I'm a girl and I have a vagina."

Painting is fun!

Cate: "MOM, I'm a total mess!"

Word of the Day: Uckle

uckle

\uk-el\ noun. 1. A gross or yucky injury. 2. An "owie"

Example:

After running down the (very) steep driveway, Ben stumbled, fell, and received his first scrape of the spring.

Cate took one look at his raw, red elbow and said, "Eww. Do you see that uckle on Ben's arm?"

Spring Break

For the past month whenever anyone has mentioned the phrase "spring break," Cate has been quick to join in the conversation.

"We're going on Spring Break," she would proudly inform any interested bystander.

At that point the person would turn to me, eyebrows raised, and I could almost see them mentally cataloging the possible destinations--Tampa? Pheonix? San Diego? I could almost read their thoughts, "Wow, how ambitious to take two toddlers on an exotic spring break vacation."

Then he/she would turn back to Cate and continue the conversation, "That's exciting. Where are you going?"

Cate always paused for dramatic effect, "We're going to...DUBUQUE!"

Yes, dear readers, we hit the Grand Harbor resort/waterpark for a quick overnight trip and, although it did not involve airplane rides, sandy beaches or ski slopes, it was a definite hit.

Happy (belated...) St. Patrick's Day!

Traytch: An Update

I actually met Traytch the other day.

Cate, Ben and I were sitting at the kitchen table having a delicious (and nutritous!) snack of petite baby carrots and string cheese.

C: Traytch is sick.

Me: Really? What happened?

C: Her little brother scratched her in the eye.

Me: Wow. Is she okay? Did her parents take her to the doctor?

C: No. But her mommy and daddy are home with her.

I had no sooner finished processing this conversation when Cate pointed to the chair next to her and said, "Traytch is here."

To be honest, I was speechless. I didn't think that she would ever actually come to our house so I was completely unprepared. I said the first thing that came to my mind.

Me: Does she want a snack?

C: Yeah, she likes carrots.

So I set some carrots on the table in front of her chair.

Me: Does she want anything else?

C: She's gone.

Me: What? That's it? She's gone and we didn't even get to talk to her?

(I was obviously disappointed. There are so many questions that need to be answered: How did she and Cate meet? Why do her parents let her drink beer? Will she have to wear an eye patch now that her brother scratched her eye?)

C (shrugging): She might come back.

She's a mysterious girl, that Traytch.

Pump Up the Volume

Ben has discovered his "outside" voice. He's becoming increasingly verbal--new words and animal sounds emerge on a daily basis--and he is quite eager to share his expanding verbal repertoire with us.

Loudly.

Not content to merely say, "Mama!" to get my attention he heads straight for the boldface, all-caps version, in 36-point font and shouts, "MAMA!", even if he's sitting on my lap, facing me and looking directly into my eyes.

And so it goes. All day long.

MILK! NO! DOG! NO! DOWN! NO! CATE! NO! UP! NEIGH-NEIGH! (Yeah, the last one throws us too. Cate and I are always looking around asking, "Where? Do you see a horse Ben?" Maybe he has a better sense of humor than we give him credit for...)

Anyway, there was a period of time when I worried that he might never speak since Cate often spoke for him ("No Mommy. Ben's not tired. He wants a snack").

It's good to know that I can cross this off of my "List of Things to Worry About" and move on to really urgent issues like global warming. Or the (constantly) worsening economic crisis. Or (brace yourselves for this one) potty training...stay tuned.

I'm not sure if it's a compliment but...

C: Mommy?

Me: Yes, Sweet Pea?

C (very sweetly): You are the best yucky mom EVER.

Me: Um...thanks?

Bedtime Stories

Me: Oh, Cate. Let's read The Cat in the Hat before bed tonight.

C: No, I don't want to.

Me: But it's such a good book!

C (pause): No Mommy. But you can read it to yourself before you go to bed, okay?

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

YUM! Cookie dough is GOOD!

Spending Time With Grandma

Cate and Ben were able to spend lots of quality time with Grandma Joan this week. In the course of 72 hours they decorated a Halloween gingerbread house, baked monster cookies, used the hand mixer, attended Kindermusik, toured Cate's future preschool, visited Daddy's office, worked on several art projects, and played a new game called "Paper Route."

Good times (and good naps!) were had by all.

Ben's 1st Haircut

1. BEFORE (look at those curls)

2. DURING

3. AFTER (what a big boy!)

Cheap Entertainment (or Why I Love the Dollar Store)

3 foam crowns (pink, orange and green): $ 1.00

2 bags foam stick-on letters, assorted colors ($1/each): $ 2.00

Total: $3.00

That's right. $3.00 for 45 minutes of entertainment.

Cate agonized over how to decorate her crown and Daddy's crown. Would Daddy like a 'D' his crown? Or a 'Y'? Purple 'M'? Or an orange one?

Ben, on the other hand, was more interested in eating the letters (see his crown, shown above, for evidence).

Peek-A-Boo

Easter: A Sneak Preview

This is Cate's Easter dress.

Why, you might ask, am I letting her wear it now? Well, I've learned the hard way that just because I designate something an "Easter dress" or a "Christmas dress" does not guarantee that it will be worn on said occasion. (In fact, it probably guarantees the opposite).

There was, for example, the adorable red tartan plaid Christmas dress with ruffles and velvet cuffs that she refused to wear on Christmas Eve. The good news is that she's worn it to Kindermusik every Tuesday for the past month.

Or the pink snow boots with faux fur trim. They would have been perfect for hiking through the snow on those cold January days. Cate, however, argued vehemently against wearing them all winter but begged to wear them the past two days when the temperatures in Iowa City have finally reached 60 degrees.

Although she professes to love the dress and puts it on every night after dinner to dance to her Kindermusik CD she has glammed up the look in true Cate fashion by boldly wearing the matching headband as pictured above. Like a 1920's flapper.

That's my girl.

Deep Thoughts.

Cate: Mom?

Me: Yes?

Cate: If I was a different person...

Me: Yes?

Cate: You wouldn't know me.

(NOTE: I have been known to say the phrase "If I was a different person..." but the second half is authentic Cate).

New Rug

We had a rug delivered the other day and Cate's reaction was immediate and exuberant. Laying eyes on the rug for the first time after her nap, she threw herself on the rug and exclaimed, "It's the rug I always wanted!"

It's Official.

The baby is no longer a baby.

Not only does Ben run, jump, climb and say, "NO!" but he somersaults. Seriously.

To our complete astonishment, our 15.5 month old "baby" did an unassisted somersault on Friday night and has continued to do them ever since.

I think he is officially a toddler now.