Nana Came to Town

Jeannette came to visit last weekend. She had not seen Kenyon since Christmas and was definitely seeing a different kid. Her vocabulary has expanded tremendously since moving over to Early Preschool at daycare.

On Saturday Nana came to yoga with me and then we stopped at Kroger where Kenyon had her first ride in the car grocery cart. She loved it, especially since she could reach all the candy at the check out counter. She is partial to icebreaker sours.

Jeannette managed to get Miss K to sit still to read some books. What else would a librarian do with a book collector? Kenyon must have at least 50 books. I told hank that I would rather stumble over books than step on Barbie shoes that get stuck in my foot. I don't care how good she looks at 50.

Notice her Pooh bear. Kenyon has developed a love for Poooohhh and Mo Mo, which is a good thing since it appears Jack from Jack's big music show on Noggin has been taken off the air.

Kenyon's Kitchen

is open for business. I picked this cute kitchen up at a consignment sale for $15. When Kenyon saw it the following morning she let out this deep "Ohhhh" and spent the next 20 minutes playing with it, which we all know is like a year in toddler time.

She is getting bigger and bigger everyday. Some days too big for her britches. Literally. She is wearing a 2-3t in shirts and 24-2t in pants. I am grateful for the clothes that Aunt Jane and Neighbor Lori passed from their twin girls. We are covered with plenty of dresses and fun skorts.

Lori gave Kenyon a Mo Mo dress (Elmo) and loves to sleep in it and wear it over her PJ's. She also has two more Elmo outfits from Jane that are the next size up. It is funny how she has become attached to certain things. I had to hide a pair of sandals that were too big for her because she kept wanting to wear them. She even slept in one of them.

She loves a brown Gymboree sweater that she not only sleeps in but has dug out of the dirty clothes crusted with dried yogurt from the day before only to wear it to school. What can I say pick your battles. Hank said that the teachers have probably seen kids come to school with s@!t on them. I said fortunately we have never sent her to school like that. Now whether we have gone to work with s@!t on us is another thing.

Full Circle

Funny how things come full circle and you don't even realize it until the moment has passed. Last night during dinner Kenyon put her black olives on her fingers. I grabbed my camera and was reminded how I used to walk around with all five of my fingers covered in black tips. Yummy.

She is truly my child.

If it has to do with olives, cheese, pasta or something sweet (which we try to limit) she is all over it. God help her.

Growing like a weed

Today Kenyon is 19 months old. At her 18 month check up she was 34.5 inches and 30 pounds. I had to buy her new shoes this weekend in a size SEVEN!!!! She is now firmly in a 2t-3t in shirts and 24 months to 2t in pants. She is growing and changing so quickly everyday is something new.

She is now making two to three work sentences or phrases. We still can't understand about half what she says. When all else fails she resorts to whining and pointing. Slowly I am trying to wean her off her sippy cup. I am so sick of those things.

Kenyon woke up on Saturday and decided that she needed to be in the "ro ro" which turned out to be the stroller. How she started calling it that I have no idea. It isn't even a word we say to her with any frequency. She was fine with being pushed around then watching MoMo (seasame street) in it.

Not a Little Girl Anymore...

Yesterday we transitioned Kenyon into her "big girl bed". We got a steal of a deal on Craig's List that is working perfectly for her bed. It is a top bunk that put on the ground is very low. We got a new quilt set and mattress and instant big girl room.

Here is Kenyon's first exposure to the bed, and her trying to get up on it. it took her a couple of tries. Then after a bit of rocking in the glider she was open to taking a nap on it.

Last night was another story. It was after 9 pm before she passed out only to wake up a few hours later because she rolled out of bed. She woke up a couple of more times before deciding 5 am was a good time to get up. We have put the baby gate across her door so if she opens it she still can't get out of her room.

First haircut....

Snip, Snip,. that will be $16.95. Would you like to buy some product? I fell victim to the pressure. Kenyon's hair was beginning to look like a goat chewed on it. Endearing as it was she needed a trim. Unfortunately I suffered from wrong thinking as Hank likes to say, I didn't trust that I could stick a bowl on her head and trim it myself. After all it was good enough for me as a kid.

Of course I kept taking the scissors to my hair and whacking my bangs off so Mom kept having to cut it shorter and shorter. Anyway, last Sunday off we went to Cool Cuts for her first haircut. She did very well. She drove that red fire truck like she was going to a fire at Mrs. O'Leary's barn. I am glad it was attached to the floor.

She sat pretty still and watched Dora on the video while Kim trimmed her hair. Afterwards we got a cute Polaroid (even though I took 20 pictures and video) set inside a nice commemorative card along with a few clippings of hair.

When I got up to the register to pay Kim expertly handed me some leave in conditioner that smelled like apples. She said, "This is the detangler that will help her hair." In my mind as I forked over a total of $29 bucks for a haircut on a 18 month old I am thinking, "Did I say I wanted conditioner?" Hell, I don't even pay that much for a cut and a eyebrow wax.

I guess I was overwhelmed by the moment; standing there watching my baby morph into a little girl right before my eyes. Hank was seated a bit of a distance a way came over to me as I was getting misty-eyed. I wistfully said she wasn't a baby anymore. He said in his ever practical way that burst my bubble on a regular basis, "It is just some hair". Ah, men....it will take him until she is 16 to realize she isn't a baby anymore. Just some hair, yeah right.

The Art of Cinnamon Toast

We had cinnamon toast this weekend. It was good, but not as good as Mom used to make. I was trying to educate Hank on the finer points of toast making. To make the best cinnamon toast in the world I have decided you HAVE to have a gas oven. Electric does the job, but the sugar doesn't form that crust that cracks when you bite into it. That is why my next house WILL have a gas oven.

At the Pasadena house growing up we had a huge gas oven with the separate broiler pan. Now that was an oven! Whether steak, burgers or toast the flames would hit just the right way...perfection.

When making cinnamon toast don't go spend a bunch of money on artisan bread, just plain old sandwich bread is best. IN my youth I am sure it was white bread, but now that fiber and heart health is important I use whole wheat.

Next you have to have a good thick layer of margarine. Butter is too high brow for the job. Besides it is hard and breaks the bread. Then you have to sprinkle an even layer of cinnamon on. Don't go to the field of Africa or wherever cinnamon comes form to get it a 69 cent bottle from Walmart will do. Not too much or you get bitter toast which only rivals bitter beer face.

Now for the most important step....The Sugar. Plain white sugar is the only thing that will work. The sugar should be thicker than the cinnamon, sprinkled evenly, but not so thick that the butter won't mix with the sugar. You have to have the perfect balance and blend.

Don't leave it in the broiler too long or you will have scraped toast, which is another post in itself (sorry Mom). Leave it just long enough to turn golden brown on the edges, and with crisp, shiny sugar crust in the middle.

To this day cinnamon toast remains a household favorite. It reminds me of the comforts of home. It can warm the coldest morning. It makes a kid of any age feel special. I remember the first time I made it for Sara, having never had cinnamon toast before, after one bite you would have thought I gave her the moon and the stars wrapped in the sun. A number of years later she still lights up when I ask if cinnamon toast and hot chocolate is good for breakfast this morning.

This morning Hank walked into the kitchen after I pulled the toast out of the oven and said, "Something sure smells good!"

Just like my mom used to make. Thanks mom.

You know you are a mom when....

Despite carrying my beautiful child for almost 40 weeks it took me a while to feel like a "mom". I have had a few milestones that have reminded me that I am now the person that will forever be referred to as "Momma momma momma momma"

You know you are a mom when you are at work only to looked down at your clothes noticing the dried formula caked on your shirt and pants.

You know you are a mom when you are watching on the daycare cam the first week in the toddler room and she is sitting at the table not doing anything (reading, playing or talking) for over 15 minutes. Just sitting there. It is all you can do not to grab your purse and run out the door to sweep her up in your arms to tell her it will be okay. Instead you sit at your desk and try not to cry for her and for you.

You know you are a mom when you reach in your robe pocket and find a rock that made its way from the outside walkway and into her mouth. You swiftly executed the pry and sweep method of rock removal.

You know you are a mom when at the end of the day you see her crusty face light up as she runs open arms to you from across the room and you know that THIS is where you want to be.

Here Comes Santa....Ahhh, No.

Yesterday we took Kenyon to the Bank's Children's Holiday Party. The planets aligned as we were able to make it on time. The fact we made it at all was a small miracle. Those of you with small children know what I am talking about. You have every intention of going somewhere, but then she won't take a nap, somebody blows out their diaper at the last second, and when you manage to get them strapped into the car they spend the first 25 minutes of a thirty minute trip screaming only to fall asleep as you are turning down the street of your appointed destination.

We made it fine and Kenyon was in a good mood until we tried to take her newly won hacky sack from her. Then she went limp and fell on the floor in front of my co-workers. We stood in a much shorter line to see Santa than we would have at the mall. We got up there and she was having nothing to do with him. I asked if she wanted to sit on Santa's lap and she said emphatically, "NO" accompanied with a strong head shake. This is Kenyon's first brush with Santa forever to remain immortalized.

Then we went to the fishing game, she wanted to crawl into the swimming pool WITH the ducks. It made perfect sense to her, it is a pool, it has water and ducks, you crawl in. Luckily she only managed to get her hand in it before we spoiled her fun.

Kenyon had her first experience with a jump house. She liked it once she got the hang of it. She, however, spent more time on the ground than actual jumping. She had a great time nonetheless.

We didn't stay for the whole party, but she had a great time and wore herself out enough to take a catnap on the way home. So much for the life of a party girl.

My Commute

Some days I think I will go mad driving behind the person going 58 miles an hour in the inside lane during rush hour. Many days I ask myself what the hell am I thinking commuting 52 miles round trip, surely this isn't worth it. Then I see this....

And this....

And this....

And suddenly that slow car just doesn't matter anymore. I pick up my phone and call my husband reminding him of last night when he kissed me under a sunset just like this sunrise. Now that is what is important. This moment makes the commute worth it.