Working for Tips

Ok, let me catch up on our weekend now that I’ve had time to catch a breath!

Friday brought us Kindermusik, which was followed by a great lunch with our friends, Jessica and Callum. The two kiddos entertained themselves during the meal so much that Jessica and I were able to actually have a real conversation- wow, what’s that!? It was really refreshing to get to catch up. The babies are so active now that the mamas aren’t usually able to have much ‘real’ interaction.

On Saturday, we spent a great day in Oxford with our family. We stuffed ourselves at Ajax and then spent some time soaking in the town. Spif, HG, and I later went out to the Spirit Song Studio to pick up some future gifts for Grandparents Day (not sure when that is but know it will sneak up on me in the next few months). Pics of those little treasures to come once they are revealed to the grandparents!

On Sunday, I hosted a children’s clothes party at our house. (I will not be winning Wife of the Year Award as I did not remember that the final game of the World Cup was also on Sunday at the exact same time as the party….oops!) Helen Grace, Spif, and I enjoyed visiting with our mommy and baby friends, and HG was able to meet my friend Amy’s little girl, Mary Claire. They are about three months apart and have about the same amount of ‘gusto’! They kept hugging and squeezing each other with all their might. Since Mary Claire is standing on her own but not walking yet, I was holding her while they played together on the floor. Helen Grace soon noticed how much time I was spending with Mary Claire, and she started pushing her out of the way and sitting in my lap. Oooh, I saw that hot flash of jealousy cross her face- yikes!

Some other new developments…she has discovered putting her face in the water during bathtime. She leans down and puts her face in the water, sits up really quickly, gasps for air, and then squeals!

Also, she’s still big into peek-a-boo- at booths in restaurants, behind the arm of the couch, etc. While we were eating breakfast the other morning, she even pulled her pjs up over her face to play peek-a-boo!

One of my latest challenges has been keeping Helen Grace from throwing herself down the stairs. As soon as she gets out of her crib, she wants to be put down, and then she makes a bee line out of her room and toward the stairs. It has been a constant struggle to stop her and remind her to hold my hand when she leaves her room. One morning over the weekend, everything clicked in her little brain. When I got her out of bed and put her down, she reached for my hand and then dragged me toward the stairs. Much better!

I’ve been working teaching Helen Grace where her belly button is as we change diapers or get dressed. Tonight, as I was changing out of my work clothes, she got all excited and pointed at my belly button. I said, “Yes, that’s my belly button, and where is yours?” and then pointed to her tummy. She moved her pjs aside and kind of looked at her belly. Then, later as we were getting her ready for bed, John was reading her a book that has a picture of a Dr. Seuss character with a star on his tummy. I said, “Helen Grace, that little man has a star on his belly button. Where is your belly button?” and she perks up, puts both hand on her tummy, and looks at us expectantly! And John whips his head over to me and says, “How’d she know that?!” Now I am understanding more about why teachers love their job so much. It’s amazingly rewarding to teach your child something and then see the moment of realization that they figured it out.

Tonight, John’s girls had a soccer game, so HG and I went to dinner with Spif and Granddaddy. She had just woken up from a nap at Grandma’s when I picked her up, so she was EXTRA ‘busy.’  She really liked Spif to feed her, so I let her go at it. Spif managed to get most of the food in her mouth, but HG left her mark with some sweet potatoes on Spif’s cheeks! LOL Before we left, Helen Grace got a hold of the napkins and went to town wiping down the table. She has always had a thing for towels and washcloths and apparently now napkins. Spif said she was working for tips! Needless to say, it was a WILD dinner!