Why, Yes, She is a genius

She likes to organize and putting the little magnets in rows like this she calls "stacking."

She likes to take my grocery list paper and draw on it....recently I realized how intricate her 'coloring' is.

She shades in each checkmark box here

And draws super straight lines across the page here

Mud Puddles

 If it were up to this girl, she would get her 3 hours or Spock-Approved outdoor time, rain or shine.

Chasing the cats - she would get close and lift the front tire then 'I squish Orangie mommy!'

She loves the bike. Oh, and look close. Closer! That's a ponytail! Finally hair is long enough.

Some sort of organization going on here.

February Pics and a Romantic Valentine's Day

"Look, I sit up here! I crazy!" She loves emptying the pantry. No wonder why I'm always out of mac and cheese.

Eating a red orange. I think she learned this from the boys.

Valentine's Day party. Good luck getting one kid to look at the camera!

Here's a little Valentine's Day gem for you. Wayne's parents came to visit for the weekend. I made biscuits and gravy for breakfast, and although I don't usually get into holidays, I went all out and made heart shaped biscuits. We commented on them during breakfast and Geri talked of all of her past Valentine's Day being completely void of any flowers, chocolates or dates. Everyone was also aware that Penelope was invited to a Valentine's Day party later in the morning. Later, in the living room Wayne says, "OH, you mean TODAY is Valentine's Day?" His equally romantic father, "Oh....It's TODAY?" Wayne got this confused look, "I thought it was always on a Saturday."

She fell asleep playing with daddy's phone

Pippy and Grammie - She still loves the flip flops she has outgrown.

Pippy really liked snuggling with Grandpa this time.

The two nicest goons.

Oh, and we are expecting again! Sorry I don't have any cutsie creative 'baby reveal.' But here is the proof. The newbie has been named 'The Karate Kid.' If you turn the picture 45 degrees to the left, the baby is squatting with the hand in a fist to our left punching me. No joke. If this were a video you would see the fist punching back and forth between it's chin and the edge of the sack or whatever it is sitting in. I bet this baby will be calm and sleep all day.

Dr. Spock on Sunshine, Pacifiers and Feelings

Well, Dr. Spock, you've been a decent companion these last few weeks. You've stuck with me through the flood of 2014, an epic ski weekend, and a trip to the beach.

Just kidding. I guess it was more like 5 trips to the grocery store, 15 loads of laundry, and a visit from the in-laws.

If you missed out last time, I have been reading Dr. Spock's The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. It continues to amuse and befuddle me. It causes me to overuse the phrase, "In our parents' generation..." occasionally with some eye rolling.

I think I'm pretty good at getting Penelope outdoors to play in the sunshine and fresh air. However, Dr. Spock recommends babies over 10 pounds be outside for 2 to 3 hours a day, as long it's above freezing and not bitter winds. Three hours at 35 degrees and I would shrivel up and die! After being boggled by that, I read that Dr. Spock "wouldn't keep him out all by himself for more than an hour when he is awake." So I can leave my child unattended outside for an hour while I go inside and take a nap?! This is sounding a little more appealing.

One benefit to living in the mid 20th century would be putting your baby to sleep on their stomach, and not feeling like you were going to kill your baby. SIDS is not mentioned by Dr. Spock. However, the baby is likely shivering to hard to stop breathing...parents are supposed to let the nursery temperature fall to 60 degrees at night. Brr.

The use of the pacifier was common then, but "if you are disgusted by the appearance of a pacifier in a baby's or child's mouth, you'd better not use one; it wouldn't be good for you or your feelings for the child." I had to chuckle at this. They even talked about feelings back then!

Oh dear. On to potty training. Surprisingly the main advice from Dr. Spock matches most of the mainstream advice given today - when your child shows signs of being ready, they will train easily. However, the timing is quite different. 'Early' developers begin potty training between 7 and 12 months, and 'late' between 18  and 24 months (with only occasional accidents between two and three.) I find the age today of potty training varies more, with many children still in diapers until 3 or 4, and nobody really concerned by it. (Except a few great grandmas!)

But I suppose if you are harboring bad 'feelings' toward your child, you better get potty training.

GooMorning!

Pippy likes mornings. So do I, starting about a half hour after my eyes are pried open by a two-year-old. On the weekends, a morning goes like this.

Pip wakes up in our bed or crawls into it and does a little happy bounce:
"Daddy, where [your] glasses?"

 Daddy manages to reach glasses and put them on.

"Daddy, where pants? Get clothes? Get dressed?

Eventually Daddy gets dressed and the two get out of bed.

"Kitties want to come in!!"

They let the kitties inside.

"GooMorning Orangie! GooMorning Ruby! Kitty needs water."

Kitties are pampered/tormented and taken care of.

"Daddy make coffee?"

Eventually coffee is made.

"Pippy need some COFFEE!!!"

Yep, because she needs so much help waking up in the morning.

------

For living over a thousand miles from family, Penelope got to see more than her usual quota of family over the holidays. She is still in withdrawel. Every day the conversation varies, but it goes something like this:

"Where Danny? Where Cheska?"

Me: "They are in Wyoming."

"Where Joanna?" (She says Joanna so cutely, like Jo-OONNa) "Talk to Joanna on the phone?"

"Where Grama?"

Me: "Grama's at her house."

"Grama come 'night." She says firmly, as if she will just come back in the evening like when Daddy comes home from work. I try to tell her that we will see Grama sometime in the future, and she just looks sad and says, "Grama hugs."

One morning Wayne was sleeping in the guest bedroom and Penelope heard a noise from the room. She got the biggest eyes and looked at me with a smile, "GRAMA!!!" Poor Pippy.

Somehow she is able to leave the 'coffee' on the soft chair and get up without it spilling.