The Gimpy Imp

Wretched is the child born to a neglectful mother.  For she is destined to fall and fall again, without the gentle redirection of loving arms or the guardianship of a watchful eye.  And woe to her who must climb and climb again, for her fate of injury is surely sealed. 

We have had ER visit #2 today.  Annah in bare feet pulled down an end table, which landed on her big toe.  The toenail levered out of the bed completely.  I threw her and Gav in the car and went to the ER, only to find when I got there that the nail had just about fallen off.  She got her toe x-rayed, the remained of the nail clipped off, and wrapped up and sent on our way.  It should grow back, it may look a little funny.  She cried for about 10 minutes, then she was fine.  I had Ryan get some sandals for her, with stiff soles and open toes that Velcro on.  It looks like she has a red painted toenail.  I have not learned how to parent this child.  She has fallen down the basement steps (and still runs to the stairs if I open the door), bit a brick step, and maimed her toe, and that's all within the last month.  Gavin is probably the most cautious kid I have met, who has never been to the ER through his own recklessness, and probably never will.  

Despite that, she is growing cuter by the day.  Now with a little limp, she is even cuter in a pathetic sort of way.  We ask to to say "I love you", and she blows a kiss.  Ask her to say doggie, and she pats her chest to call Gracie.  Give her a tissue and she says "Tate u!" And she was pretty cuddly after today, poor thing. 

Ryan and I went on a date this past weekend, which was nice.  We had Gavin's daycare worker over to the house to watch the kids. Gavin was so excited to have her here, and he tried really hard to impress her.  He brushed his teeth before she came over, and when she got here he showed her a toy, and said "I don't know where I got it, I think maybe Egypt." really?  

To close, I'll relate another recent Gavin train-of-thought:

Gav: (hands me Gracie's bone) "here is your credit card.  We are going to Target and you have to pay.  We are going to buy some super huge bathing suits for you.  Do you want a helmet or a train?"

Me: "Helmet."

Gav: "Here's your train.  Do you want a surprise now? It's a new cup.  Here ya go! Hey, the milk is over there? I am a slimy whale.  I want to bring both my helmets to school. The blue one for Tommy, and the shark one for me.  Tommy is going to like my blue helmet.  Do you want a train track? Here it comes! Look at it.  Do you love it? It looks like a little bush or a big giant mountain.  I am a giant train.  Do you want to go on the train tracks with me? Yes we can!"

Face, meet Brick. Brick, Face.

Poor little Annah.  This weekend she tripped on a brick step and literally bit it.  Her teeth cut the inside of her lip, the brick cut the outside, and she has a nasty abrasion on her chin.  Though she was really brave about the whole thing.  Maybe 5 minutes of tears, which is less than I cried.  She looks pretty tough now, and no other babies at daycare have dared tangle with her.

Gavin, or Monsieur Bossypants as I like to refer to him, is gleefully informing everyone on the planet that he is turning 4.  He has decided that being 4 means that you are omnipotent and that everyone around you should know that too.  To construction workers: "you guys are going to finish this road soon.  That's what's going to happen.  Then you have to go fix it in another place."  To his sister: "you don't know how to do anything because you're a baby".  To his mother: "When you have a birthday you turn older.  I'm older than Annah, and I'm going to keep getting older than her.  How did I get in your belly?"  Well, maybe not totally omnipotent.  

Annah however is in the throes of toddlerhood.  Living with a toddler is basically the same as living with a drunken midget, with the only variation being Happy Drunken Midget vs Beligerent Drunken Midget.  She has perfected the art of The Tantrum, where she collapses in a dramatic heap on the floor and howls.  She is starting to talk a little more (slightly slow to blossom in the language dept compared to her brother), but she clearly understands many, many things.  She was able to jump on command this morning, which is a skill that Gavin did not master until he was three.  And she is really into riding her trike now.  Absolutely loves it.  She's an outdoorsy little girl.

Included this week are some outdoor pics courtesy the amazing weather we have been having - don't let the winter boots that Gav is wearing in pic #3 fool you, that is merely a fashion statement.  See if you can idenify Ani's road rash...

Where Easter Bunnies Live

We had an excellent Easter.  Gavin and Annah woke up to find that the Easter Bunny had indeed stopped by, hidden their eggs, and deemed them "good enough" to leave a basket.  Gavin had previously tried to put in a request for specific items in his basket, but I explained to him that the Easter Bunny, since he lives alone in a hole in the ground, simply does not have the resources, such as thousands of enslaved elves, to dedicate to the task of filling everyone's lists for Easter Baskets, and frankly we should just be grateful that anyone who lives in a hole in the ground is willing to give us anything.  But the bunny came through, and Gavin got a stuffed triceratops in his basket.  He really liked him, and his stuffed t-Rex was happy to get a friend.  According to Ryan, the conversation between the two  dinos at bedtime went something like this:

Triceratops: "I am orange."

Tyrannosaurus: "I am green."

(Conversation then converts into Dinoese, which adults are incapable of translating, apparently.)

Annah got a stuffed puppy, which she held in a death grip through church and then through lunch.  Then she fell asleep for almost 4 hours after her muscles gave out from the fatigue of strangling a stuffed puppy.  She and Gav were running around the house tonight in fire engine hats, and hiding in cupboards, which thappsust realized they could do.  Looks like the kitchenaid mixer needs to find a new home...

Below are some pics of our newly furnished playroom/children banishment center, which is working very well, and I'm quite proud.  Up next is the reading corner/sedation room, which is my summer project.  I've also included a picture of Gavin looking quite g-fab, which was of his own design.  Cheers!

Ferry Beach

It is finally April, and Easter is coming up this weekend.  Gavin had requested that we go visit the Easter Bunny, but I, being the slacker mom that I am, did not oblige.  We will be dying eggs, and Ryan and I did get basket stuff, but we are limiting it to one stuffy and one non-noisy toy.  And a chocolate bunny, which Gav will love since they never get candy.   

Ryan was gone this past Saturday for a school function, so the kids and I went down to Ferry Beach in Scarborough, which is an old haunt of Ryan and I where we used to take the dogs.  It was a bit breezy, but otherwise beautiful, and the kids really enjoyed playing on the sand.  Most of the pics today are from our little excursion.  I spent the morning on Sunday making bagels (super yummy and successful experiment) chèvre (complete and total failure and utter waste of raw goat milk) and yogurt (again, fabulous if I do say so myself).  I have managed to get Gavin to admit that homemade is generally better, with the exception of Kraft or Annie's Mac and cheese, which in his mind ranks as The Greatest and Most Wonderful Food Product Ever Invented By Anyone Ever In the Whole History of the Entire World, so not much can compete with that.  

Annah is doing great.  She is talking up a storm, and we are pretty sure she is saying meaningful things, but no one speaks Toddlerese in the house.  We are trying to learn, but she has gotten really good and her sign language and head bobs to communicate as well.  Big news for her was that she fell down the basement stairs this week under the watchful and responsible eye of her mother.  She was fine, but a bit startled, and she also "acknowledged" that she maybe should still have someone carry her.  So I guess I can trust her around the stairs now.....

Gavin, as a consequence of his deep and unconditional love of the Mac, had his first run with constipation.  If you are wondering if you should continue or not due to squeamish nature, probably best to not.  Though those with children can take it I'm sure.  We went a whole week.  Finally last Wednesday, doctor mom decided it was time, and two suppositories, 1.5 cups prune juice, and a half dose of miralax later, the poor kid was flying into the bathroom.  I perhaps overdid it just a smidge.  Then the next day at school, they were going around the room discussing what things they didn't like.  Gavin told his class that he didn't like it when he could not poop.  But, then with the insight I try to instill in my children, he added "but it's just a temporary thing.". Bravo, young Skywalker.  The force is strong in you.