1.) I packed Belle's Frosty the Snowman movie away with the rest of our Christmas stuff. She had just about stopped asking for him until she saw a picture of her cousin Eli with "Frosssy" and started begging for him again. I caved to her sweet little "Frossy" dance last week, so Christmas is still lingering around our house...
2.)I am amazed at how cute the hot pink Hello Kitty polish looked on Belle's little nails, and how HIDEOUS it looked on mommys! Hamilton even commented on how "attractive" it was, but I wore it proudly because my little girl really wanted her mommy to paint her nails too :)
3.)Every time I see Belle model something I didn't specifically teach her, like putting her "contacts" in, I am reminded of how careful I really need to be in word & deed...
4.) Hamilton was cleaning his guns when I left for the store. When I returned, it didn't appear he had made much progress. In answer to my questioning look, he replied, "Belle woke up." I think he can sympathize with the fact that chores do take a little longer with a toddler underfoot! :)
5.) Socks-Shoes! Socks-Shoes! Socks-Shoes! Socks-Shoes! (Belle is at the repeating phrases over & over & over stage. What makes me laugh most though is seeing my husband's expression about the 50th time she repeats something, and yes we do answer her)
6.) Love hearing my baby laugh over silly faces with mommy or chasing Nina with daddy!
7.) Belle: "Ho-Ho. Pa-no. Daddy. Notes!" Interpretation: "Yes, Belle. Santa brought you a piano because daddy asked him to. Here are your music notes, honey." She is so quirky sometimes, she insists she needs "notes" to play the piano. Also, when she asks me to play with her, she only wants me to play one specific key. She says, "That one, mommy." Funny thing, it is the only key that sticks and sounds differently than the rest.
8.) Hamilton says I hold Belle too much, but in the blink of an eye, I know my baby will outgrow standing on my feet with arms raised pleading "hold you, mommy!"
9.) When I told Belle we were going to church, she exclaimed "BIBLE! BANANA! BIBLE! BANANA! BIBLE! BANANA!" Coincidentally, I had packed a banana for her church snack the last few Sundays, so now she thinks it is a church essential too.
10.) Belle really enjoys hide-n-seek, and her daddy likes picking incredibly hard places to hide. I had to laugh, when we found daddy and his long legs curled up in our door less cabinets "hiding."
11.) To test Belle's familiarity with her books, I started letting her complete certain sentences in each one. I would say she is more than familiar. My favorite is hearing her say, "GO DOG! GO!"
12.) Belle is way more cooperative letting daddy brush her teeth and cut her nails than she is with me. I think she already has it figured out that daddy is the gentle and patient one. :)
13.) Biblical instruction is always the way to go. Proverbs 29:15. By far the quickest way to curb Belle's sassy behavior is with a paddle pop on the bum. I thought it was kind of odd that she likes to climb up and hold her "pa-pull," until I caught her quietly trying to shove it out the dog door.
14.) Belle loves her cousins. She talks about "T-T, E-I & Ra-rah" all the time. One of her favorite questions is "T-T come?" She talks about E-I every time she puts on her Turtle PJ's "Pam" gave her and when she sees any picture of herself as a baby :)
15.) I like playing with "pa-ough" (play-dough) more than Belle. She is fascinated with the play dough scissors. The whole time we have it out, she says, "I CUT" I CUT!" while I roll it out. Play dough really is quite therapeutic.
16.) I have always heard children thrive on routine, so I do my best, but thankfully, I have Belle who is always quick to remind her old forgetful mother how we did it last time! :)
17.)Maybe it is just disorganized me, but I have the hardest time keeping up with a matching pair of those little things! I really think the washing machine eats them...
18.) Belle's most hyper time of day is right after dinner and before her bedtime routine. Hamilton calls her her "after-dinner energy." She does get really wound up, especially when daddy is home.
19.) After a few nights of midnight wake-ups, I explained to Belle that if it was still dark outside she needed to lay her head on her pillow and go back to sleep. Now, I ask her what to do if she wakes up and it is still dark, and she yells "SLEEP!!!" Believe it or not, this method has worked for the last couple weeks. She is still waking up, but she seems to be quickly going back to sleep on her own!
20.) Breaks my heart when Belle asks me "Daddy home?" and I have to tell her no. She then asks, "Daddy work?" "Yes, honey. Daddy wouldn't miss giving you "good hugs night-night" for any other reason...
PS- The video is more than a month old, but it shows her obsession Frosty, so I thought I would add it. (Don't mind my voice) The Frosty dance still lacks rhythm at 20 months too...sadly neither of her parents have any dancing skills to model :)
