What time is it? It's Tooth Fairy Time!!!

So this happened.

Yes, Bean lost her first tooth!  It had been loose for a while and she took every opportunity to gross me out show me her wiggler.  Sunday, after being shown the tooth along with a mouth full of food, we knew it wouldn't be much longer.  We checked the wallets - I mean - sent the Tooth Fairy a message like ALL parents do you know and started the watch.  That evening I looked in her mouth, got grossed out again by the wiggler, and sent her to her father for further inspection.

Hubz told Bean that if she kept moving it around with her tongue she would eventually work it enough so that she could reach in and pull it out.  "Eventually" was not fast enough for her, I guess.  She went right into her bathroom and climbed up on the footstool and started wiggling it around while looking in the mirror.

I promptly walked away from the bathroom like any good wuss would.  About a minute later, here comes Bean running out of the bathroom holding her hand high up in the air and saying "Daddy!  Daddy!  There's blood!"  Kids.

I kept my distance while Hubz checked it out.  (See the wuss explanation above. Duh.)  Sure enough, she had wiggled it right out.  She was done waiting on the thing to come out on its own and wanted her visit from the Tooth Fairy that night.

So now this is the face that greets us.  Isn't it beautiful?!

Just in time for fall pictures, too.

Another first: x-rays!

I got a call at work from Giggles, my MIL, yesterday. She called to tell me that when she picked Bean up from preschool, the teacher explained that Bean had tripped and fell on her hand. It was swollen and red and Bean wouldn't let them look at it or move it. My first thought was "you guys never call just to say hello, do you?"

My second thought was "well, she's about as graceful as her mother and that's not saying much."  I really didn't think much about it at the time. Grandmothers tend to want to baby their babies so I figured it would all be fine with some extra hugs and a bunch of "don't tell mommy about this" candy.

When I got home from work last night, Bean was still favoring her hand. She wouldn't pick anything up with it and wouldn't really move her thumb. So Hubz and I took her to a local urgent care center just to make sure it wasn't broken.  I need to put it out there right now that Hubz said everything was fine and it was just sprained. He wants to make sure you all know that after all the episodes of House he has watched, he came up with this medical diagnosis on his own.

So after a couple of hours at the urgent care, half a bag of Goldfish crackers, and three x-rays later, Bean's hand is officially...sprained. Dr. House Hubz called it.

The nurse wrapped Bean's hand up in a bandage, told her she was a really great patient and sent us on our way.

She looks pretty happy for a kid in urgent care, huh?  But now we have a different problem.  She thinks if we take the bandage off that her hand will fall off.  I don't know if Dr. Hubz had anything to do with that twisted logic or not.  Hmmm....

Wordless Wednesday - First Evening After Preschool

Since I forgot to take pictures the morning of the first day of preschool, here are some pictures of the first evening after preschool. Love the messy hair!

Bean is grownin' on up!

Bean sure is growing right up. She's doing it way too fast for my liking, too.

Today was her first day of preschool. I was running so behind I forgot to take a picture or twelve. She's gonna have to let me make up for it this evening. She probably won't be a willing party.

We are still working on our potty training or potty learning as some like to call it. Personally, I like to call it Bean's World Tour of Toilets.

When we are out in public she always says "I gotta go potty". Usually she says this as loud as her little lungs will let her, too. Ah, those knowing grins of anyone in ear shot. But once we are in the potty, it's a fifty-fifty shot of there being any real "production". Most times these little trips just make me realize how much I have to go "potty" myself. Then begins the best game Bean knows how to play..."Let's see how fast Mommy can go potty while I try to open the stall door". She thinks this is hilarious. And she does it all with a huge grin on her face.

That's fine. Grin away, Bean. I will remember this one day...

Back from vacation.

This is how I feel now that I am back at work after vacation.

It went by so fast.

We didn't really do many vacationy things.  We went to the zoo, which will be chronicled in an upcoming post, and went to a local beach and water park, which will not be chronicled because, well, neither my phone or our camera is waterproof so I decided to skip picture taking.

So stay tuned for some really cute pictures and very entertaining writing.  Well, I can at least guarantee cute pictures. 

First day of Summer Camp.

Today was Bean's first day of summer camp. This is the first time she's been to any type of camp, school or daycare. We've been talking up camp to her for weeks now. She would skip around saying "I wanna go to school". She was very excited about this mainly because they have a playground or what Bean likes to call a "park".

I got her all ready and dressed and cutie-fied this morning. She was even happy to pose for the camera.

She was ready to go, ready to get to the "park".  We arrived early.  Very early.  Right after the teacher.  So we waited around in the car for a bit.  Bean kept saying "Mommy, open the door.  I wanna go to the park."

I kept sitting there thinking "You keep your seat, missy.  This is going way too fast for Mommy."  I kept catching myself tearing up and I'd silently admonish myself.  If Bean doesn't cry, why should I?

Let me tell you why.  All she sees is a world full of parks and playgrounds.  All I see is the day she gets in her car and drives away from me.  Melodramatic, huh?  Yeah, I know.  That's me.  These are the times that Hubz likes to refer to me as an "emo kid".  He didn't even know what "emo kid" meant until I told him and now he turns around and uses it on me.  I'm not filling him in on the down-low any more. 

Soon it was time to turn her over to her teacher.  I silently thought to myself "make sure this one stays happy and safe.  The others are on their own."  I'll probably never be offered the job of Room Mom or anything like similar with that attitude. 

Bean was happy to go.  She headed straight for the slide.  I headed straight for our car.  I even made it out of the driveway before I started crying.  I didn't want the other moms to know I was a rookie. 

So there you have it.  I can't wait to get home and hear about all the fun things Bean got to do today and if she loved camp. 

Montessori? Is that a special at Olive Garden?

When I tell people that I'm sending Bean to a Montessori school for summer camp, most of them ask what a Montessori is.

Well, that's a good question. And it's one that I didn't really have a well formed answer for. I have had several friends that went to Montessori schools when they were younger and they loved them. They said they had a great time and learned a lot. I was told it was just a different way for kids to learn how to do things. They are allowed to learn on their own time and in their own way.

Well, I've been trying to do that with many things in my life and haven't had much luck. So that wasn't what sold me on Montessori. What sold me were the people themselves that I knew had attended Montessori schools. These people were great students and all did well in school and went on to do well in life. That's what I hope for Bean, too.

So in order to have a good answer to the question of "what is a Montessori", I started doing more research.

I found the Wikipedia page on The Montessori Method.  I will say that after reading the first half of this page, I wondered what kind of new age, frou frou place had I signed Bean up for. But then I came across this paragraph and it says exactly what I know to be true of my friends that went to Montessori daycare.

From a 2006 study:

On several dimensions, children at a public inner city Montessori school had superior outcomes relative to a sample of Montessori applicants who, because of a random lottery, attended other schools. By the end of kindergarten, the Montessori children performed better on standardized tests of reading and math, engaged in positive interaction on the playground more, and showed advanced social cognition and executive control more. They also showed more concern for fairness and justice. At the end of elementary school, Montessori children wrote more creative essays with more complex sentence structures, selected more positive responses to social dilemmas, and reported feeling more of a sense of community at their school.

[If my brother-in-law reads that paragraph, he's gonna tell me I'm just trying to grow another Democrat.  I can hear it now.]
 
I also found this explanation on MontessoriMom.com and it explains that the teaching method focuses on developing a child's independence.  That's something that Bean is pretty good at demonstrating already but hopefully she will learn how to better assert her independence.  We can only hope.

...It is also an approach to education that takes to heart the needs, talents, gifts, and special individuality of each child. It is a process that helps children learn in their own way at their own pace. The main concept of Montessori is to promote the joy of learning. This joy of learning develops a well adjusted person who has a purpose and direction in his or her life. Children, who experience the joy of learning, are happy, confident, fulfilled children. In essence, Montessori helps bring forth the giftedness of each child.

Another important skill it teaches is self-reliance and independence. It helps a child to become independent by teaching him or her life skills, which is called practical life. Montessori children learn to dress themselves, help cook, put their toys and clothes away and take an active part of their household, neighborhood and school.

Montessori works in a methodical way. Each step in the process leads to the next level of learning. When a child plays, he or she is  learning concepts for abstract learning. Repetition of activities is an integral part of this learning process.

For young children Montessori is a hands on approach to learning. It encourages children to develop their observation skills by doing many types of activities.

I am excited that Bean has a chance to spread her wings and learn new activities.  Well, I'm nervous and excited.  I think this will start her off on a lifetime of learning and not just learning but loving to learn new things.  Being interested in learning and exploring.  But even if it doesn't live up to all these lofty ideas I have in my head, I know for sure, 100% for sure, that she will definitely love snack time and playing on their little playground.  Some things in life you just "know".

First-time parker, long-time player.

Saturday morning Hubz and I took Bean to a local park that I had been hearing about for a few months. I honestly couldn't figure out how to get there by myself. Me and maps don't mix. Me and GPS are just now starting to like each other. So...I needed a man to help me out. Hubz was the best I could find.

This was Bean's first trip to a real park. We usually go to this smaller one near our house but it only has swings and a couple of slides. This new park has trails, a few different playgrounds, picnic tables, all that jazz. We were uptown, baby!

At first Bean was a little shy and hesitant to play. She stared at the other kids and smiled but thought the other grown-ups were complete aliens or something. Frankly, I thought the same thing about a couple of them, too, but what the hey!

Here's Bean trying out some of the slides. She kept putting her feet down and braking her slide. All that kept going through my mind was "whiplash anyone?"

Then she wanted to try out the monkey bars.  Isn't it funny how everything and anything can turn into a song for a toddler?  She started singing "monkey bars, monkey bars, monkey bars" over and over.  She should be on Glee.

I can't get over how long her hair has grown!

She also liked climbing under the big playset.  There was a big spinning tic tac toe game, a car with wheels that spun around and some windows to play peek-a-boo.  Mommy liked this area too simply because it was the coolest spot on the playground.  The other kids tried to get me to move out of the way but I just kept pushing them down.  I kid.  I kid.  Except for that one...

Pretty much the look on Bean's face in this next picture shows you how much she enjoyed the new park.

I think we'll be returning soon.  The Beanster said so.

The 2nd Birthday Bash!

The Bean was so excited it was finally time for her birthday party.  She must have thought we had forgotten it was her birthday because she told us about 15,000 times that morning, "It's my birthday!"  Yep, we know.  Trust me, we know.

I started off decorating for the party the night before.  I put up the garland I made and Hubz hung some ribbon for us.  I knew that last year I hadn't planned well and was running around going crazy at the last minute.  I didn't want to do that again.

I had found cupcake toppers online and wanted to have some for the party.  I didn't have any of the tools to make them and I wasn’t sure how to really get the images so that I could print it all out.  I emailed my friend Leeanna, who is a Stampin' Up distributor, and within a couple of hours she emailed me back a list of the items I would need and she had made a computer file for me to use in printing the images. (Quick ad - If you are in need of any stamping supplies or would like more info on Stampin’ Up, I highly recommend Leeanna.  She also has her own blog, That’s So Cute, where she shows how to make all of her cute cards and projects.)

So anyways, at first my idea was to make these cupcake toppers but then I started thinking that the theme for Bean's first birthday party was cupcakes.  Cupcakes everywhere!  I couldn’t repeat myself, could I?  I’d never be able to show my face in proper preschool society ever again!  So I scratched the cupcakes and decided to use these toppers as decorations around the house.

I glued the toppers to some ribbon and made a garland to go around my MIL’s mantel.  I also used some of the toppers as name tags for the goody bags.  Yes, I caved and made goody bags.  I swore I wouldn’t ever try and bribe someone to come to a party but I did.  I mean, it was fun making them and they turned out really cute.  I’m still against the whole idea but I had fun making them.  Don’t tell anybody, okay?

 

Here I took my MIL’s lazy susan and wrapped it with tissue paper.  I took mason jars and added some ribbon and used them to hold the utensils.  I added more toppers as decorations, too.

I thought it all turned out pretty.  I didn’t go overboard.  Hubz kept telling me not to and I actually listened.  Well, actually, I got tired and ran out of time but if Hubz thinks he won the battle...okay, fine.  Then it was time to get dressed for the party.

I found this dress back in the spring at a consignment sale.  It says “Birthday Girl” and Bean loved it.  She twirled herself all around in it.

Once all the guests got there we served pizza.  I know it's not real "fairy" food.  Abby Cadabby probably doesn't eat a lot of pizza but after all the fuss and craziness I got into last year in making all the food, I wanted something easy.  So salad, breadsticks, pizza and some boneless wings is the way we went.  

Then it was time for presents.  I'm not sure what Bean enjoyed more - the gift wrap and tissue paper or the actual presents.  She got some really cute outfits, books, a purse, food for her kitchen, all kinds of wonderful goodies.  But she also got her very first Playdoh.  I was pretty excited cause I love playing with Playdoh.  I'm probably strange (okay, I'm definitely strange) but I really like the smell of it.  So the first time we took it out and started playing with it, I put it up to my nose and told Hubz "Ah, it smells so good."  Now every time Bean takes some out of its container the first thing she does is hold it up to her nose and says "So good".  Cracks me up every time.

 

After the presents,  I could tell we were entering "Nap Zone".  There was a point when Bean secluded herself from everyone else and sat in a chair with her back to everyone.  Big clue.  So I rushed to the cake.

 

Bean had already had some practice the week before when she and I decorated a birthday cake at home for her.  She is an expert candle-blower-outer.  But when it was showtime this day, she decided she didn't want to perform.  Hubz kept trying to get her to blow out the Abby candle.  I'm sure Abby was sitting there saying "Hey little girl!  My head's on fire here!  Could you help me out?"  But Bean didn't care about Abby's do.  She just sat there.  Hubz even picked up the candle and brought it closer to her.  Still nothing.  So Hubz blew the candle out.  He said he made a wish for lots of toys but I hope he meant toys for Bean, not him.  I'm not so sure though.

 

We had a great time and I hope that fun was had by all that attended.  We'll do it all again next year and maybe, just maybe there will be an appearance by a sock monkey or two.  

Happy Birthday Bean!!!!

Operation Bye-Bye Ba-Ba.

Okay, I'll confess.  I'm a horrible mom and I should be fined or something.  Why?  Well, Bean is 22 months old and still addicted to her bottle, a/k/a her "Ba-Ba".  Bottles!  Bottles!  Bottles!  I am so sick of washing these danged bottles. 

Bean doesn't just drink out of her Ba-Bas.  They are her security item, her best friend.  She can't go to sleep without one.  She doesn't even seem to be able to go a day without one.  She will beg for one and when I cave in and give her one, she'll pop it into her mouth and walk away as happy as a clam.  She'll just walk around with it dangling out of her mouth.  No drinking, just companionship.

Why couldn't it have been a stuffed animal?  A soft, sweet blanket?  Even a pacifier?  Pacifiers are more acceptable for little kids to hang onto.  I know I get looks when we go out in public and other moms see Bean using a bottle.  I know what y'all are thinking.  I can read it on your face.  "Bad mom!  Bad mom!  Bad mom!"  Blah, blah, blah-da-di blah!  Listen, she's my kid.  I'll ruin her if I want to.

When she starts begging and whining and crying and...driving me crazy for a Ba-Ba, I can usually stand my ground for about 2 minutes and then, well, then I just think "she's so little, she needs her friend".  And over to the cabinet I go to get a clean Ba-Ba and put a smile back on my child's face.  Evidently, when I gave birth to her, they removed my spine cause I have no backbone when it comes to this fight.

But I came up with a wonderful, amazing, completely uber-fantastic plan on getting my child away from the horrible, evil Ba-Ba!  I've been telling her all weekend that if she wants Santa to leave her any presents at Christmas then she has to give him all her Ba-Bas.  Isn't it great that I can make Santa the bad guy?  Thanks, Santa!

Now I realized yesterday that Bean probably still has no idea who Santa is, what presents are, or what a Christmas is.  So that might be the fatal flaw in my plan.  It might all fall through.  But I figure I have a month and a half almost now to hype it all up and get her ready for the turnover. 

Please pray that this works.  Please pray cause frankly, I'm tired of getting those looks from y'all.

Happy 22 Months!

Bean was 22 months old yesterday!  She celebrated by partying with her cousin, The Only Boy, at his 5 year birthday party.  A good time was had by all, little and big kids.  Even with lots o' runny noses.

I guess it might be time to start planning another birthday party.  Any suggestions or ideas for a 2nd birthday party?

20 Months Old!!!

Happy 20 Month Birthday, Bean!

Wordless Wednesdays - Big Girl Bed

Is she normal?

Alright. Forget that. I already know my kid isn't normal. I mean, look at her parents!

But there are days that I wonder if she is normal on the developmental scale. I know no two kids are the same and each child develops at their own pace. But hey, I'm new at this. Maybe I should ask if I'm developing as a mommy normally?

That answer is probably no. Who knows? I do know that I am the biggest worrier I've ever met, minus my boss. He will win that contest every time. And I know that I am always comparing myself to others. And that leads me to compare Bean to other kids. Is that fair? Heck no. Does that make me stop doing it? Heck no.

My latest worry is that Bean must have ADD or be one of those "hard to manage" kids. Why do I think that? Well, she won't stay still. Yep. That's it. That's the reason. She's 17 months old and she won't stay still. I know from the outside looking in that I'm crazy. I know that. But here on the inside, it all makes perfect sense to me.

See, the reason that I think there's something wrong with Bean is that today on my break, I was reading a very highly regarded parenting magazine...a/k/a People Magazine. (Hold your rotten tomatoes for a minute.) And in said magazine, there was a blurb about a celebrity mom that took their 17 month-old child to one of those pottery places where you can paint your own bowl or plate or what-have-you.

This got me to thinking about The Bean. I cannot for the life of me imagine me taking Bean to one of these places. I can't imagine a pottery place having enough insurance to cover our visit. I know how it would go...

"Bean, sit down in the chair."

"Bean, don't eat the paint."

"Bean, don't paint me."

"Bean, don't paint that little boy."

"Bean, get down off of that shelf."

"Bean, please stop throwing those plates."

You see what I mean. It would be a disaster. But that got me to thinking. Why can this mom do those things with her child who is the exact same age as mine? I just know that this celebrity spawn did not make a mess, did not fuss or whine, and probably painted something Picasso would be proud of. I just know it.

And I know that The Bean would just have a good time sticking her fingers in the paint and then sticking her fingers in her nose. I know this. So this must be why there is something wrong with my child's development. Maybe I should call the pediatrician to see how young you can start kids on Ritalin?

I need to stop obsessing and let my child be a child, right? I need to take it one day at a time, one "get down off of that" at a time, and not worry about something until there is something to worry about. That's what I need to do but I'm having a hard time computing that on the inside.

The First Tantrum

I don't think I'm ready for this and I know I probably didn't handle it right but I was so shocked my sweet little innocent child could act this way that I think my brain shut down for a minute.

Bean loves to go outside, doesn't matter what the temperature is, day or night, it doesn’t matter.  I don’t understand this fascination as “outside” is where the bugs and critters are and that’s probably why I am so freaking white but that’s another post for another time.

Anyways, Hubz and I were outside last night after we got home from work and Bean was walking all over having a great time.  I decided to go in to start dinner and figured I’d take her in with me so that my husband could finish piddling around in the yard.  So I take her hand and start towards the house.  She snatched her hand out of mine (what?) and took off in the other direction.  After I caught her, I picked her up, or tried to.  She has learned to do the “jelly body” thing where all of her bones suddenly disappear or something and she slumps down on the ground.  I get her up and as soon as I get her in the house and shut the door, she does the jelly body thing again and slumps on the floor and starts wailing.  Just staring at me wailing her head off.  I decide to let her have at it and I walk into the kitchen.  She gets up and zombie walks into the kitchen crying her head off all the way.  Then she walks up to me and attaches herself to my leg and just keeps on crying and screaming and begging me with her eyes.  She wants back outside.

I am still trying to ignore it but my patience was nowhere to be found so I caved.  Yep, I did.  I picked her up and took her back outside to Daddy.  And wouldn’t you know it, as soon as we stepped outside, my sweet innocent child returned and she was all happy and smiling and saying “hey” to all the trees.  I took her to Daddy and told him to deal with it cause I had to make dinner.  Awhile later, they come back inside and she is walking in with a big ole smile on her face just loving life.  I thought “you little brat”.

Have you seen your child’s alien side yet and if so, how do you deal with these tantrums?  I’ve never been around kids much and sometimes I don’t realize how smart she already is and then other times I give her too much credit and expect her to act much older than she is.

The Bean vs. the Cupcake!

This past weekend, we celebrated Bean's 1st Birthday! It was a fun time shared by all the family.

I learned 2 things from this party experience. One, don't get between a group of ankle biters and a display of cupcakes. You will lose everytime!!! Two, I have no clue about giving a party. LOL Mainly my problem is that I don't have any idea how much food to buy. I had so much food left over that we will be eating quesadillas and english muffin pizzas until the next birthday. Ughh.

See, I grew up with just me and my mom and dad. Sure we had big old family gatherings at my Granny's but I wasn't in charge of anything. I just ate! So now, my feeble brain can't figure out the food equations. If you invite 30 people, then you should have, what, 6 dozen english muffins for the pizzas??? I couldn't wrap my brain around it. So next year...I will enlist the help of more seasoned party professionals, my in-laws! They have parties and friends and food and all that junk so they should be able to help me figure it out.

But nonetheless, we had a great time! Bean got her very own cupcake, the Colossal Cupcake from Kroger. She dug right into it and loved it UNTIL...she realized she could no longer see her own fingers. She has a "thing" about her hands. Don't try to hold them and don't let them get messy or...YOU WILL HEAR ABOUT IT!!!

Here are some pictures from the Battle of the Cupcake. The Bean went in swinging, took down her competitor and came out the victor!!!

The battle begins!!!





THIS. IS. THE. BEAN!!!"