Bubble bubble bubble POP!

The past several weeks, Lovie has been calling me Mama.

Before you wonder, she'll be 17 months (holy hell I had to seriously just count to make sure of this) at the end of the month. And she's just now calling me Mama.

Apparently she's been referring to me as Mama to the husband, to my dad, to everyone but me, and she's been doing so when she wants me. Like if I go to the bathroom and close the door, she'll try to get in and mumble something with Mama attached.

Or so the H has told me.

But this past week she's been calling me Mama. She's been looking me square in the eyes and saying, "Mama" and meaning me, her Mama.

I've been waiting so friggin long to hear her call me Mama and to mean it and every time she does it, I melt and get all weepy.

Last night I was sitting on the couch and she turned from the TV and pointed to the pictures we have up of the H and I when we were thin and the H and I from our wedding day and the H and I with our itty bitty Lovie the day she was born. She pointed and said, "Mama," looked me in the eyes, and smiled at me before turning back to the TV.

I sincerely choked up.

This child is so incredibly sweet. I just... sometimes she really leaves me speechless.

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Speaking of last night, it was Lovie's first bath outside of the ducky tub. My little baby doll is getting to be such a big girl.

I went in to the bathroom to start the bath and the ducky tub was against the wall (normally it's in the tub). Lovie grabbed the ducky and tried bringing it to me to put in the tub. Hehe. She's so sweet. And such a good little helper.

I told the H to take the ducky tub, along with Lovie, and go into the other bathroom and leave it in there and let Lovie know that's where it'll be.

When they came back it was time for "Naked Baby!" (we're dorks and get all hyped up about getting Lovie naked and in the tub in the hopes that by being excited, she won't fight getting undressed so much, etc)

We tried getting "Naked Baby!" in the tub but she wasn't liking it... and really, who could blame her? She's spent most of her life relaxing in the squishy, comfy confines of the ducky tub and here we were trying to sit on the hard, huge tub.

She clung to me like never before and I just let her hold on to me but kept her feet in the tub, talking softly, trying to convince her it was going to be ok as I smoothed some warm water on her itty bitty butt.

She still clung to me.

I could tell part of the problem was that it was super slippery and hard so I told the H to grab a big towel so we could put it on the floor of the tub and that way she could have a better grip.

It didn't phase her.

Then I tried squirting her with her little bath toys and that got her to stop whining and actually giggle a little but she still wouldn't leave my side.

So then... I got out the bubbles! And BAM! she sat down and played with the bubbles. Damn, I'm good, eh? ; )

I think last night's bath ended up being her longest ever! Because after she played with the bubbles for a bit, I brought her a plastic container and cup and started pouring water in and out of them until she took over and man was that the bee's knees.

I'm just super glad I waited to do the big girl tub for when the H was home because I'm not sure I could've hacked it all on my own.

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Speaking of bubbles (haha what an awful segue!)... the other day, Lovie started saying/singing, "Rowh Rowh Rowh" to me. The first time I heard it, I looked at her and she looked at me, smiling. She was on the changing table. Then she did it again and I figured she might be singing Row Row Row your Boat so I started singing it and sure enough she got all happy and clapped. Then after I finished she started saying "Bahhel Bahhel."

I thought hard for a minute but had not clue what "Bahhel Bahhel" could mean so I went on to another song and asked the girls at daycare if they've been singing Row Row Row your Boat lately. And when they confirmed it with a smile, I then asked if they were singing something else that Lovie liked and they both (there's two teachers there in the morning at drop off) said, "The Bubble Song" in unison with a laugh.

One of them then sang it pretty fast because she was clearly embarrassed to do so in front of me. I couldn't catch most of the lyrics until the end: "Bubble bubble bubble. Bubble bubble bubble. Bubble bubble bubble. Bubble bubble POP!" And that's when Lovie started smiling super big and when it got time to POP! she and the two other kids in the room at the time, as well as the teachers, all clapped their hands together in one huge POP!

Too friggin cute, if you ask me (I secretly want to work in a toddler room at a daycare).

They were going to write down the words but I finally found it here:

http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/animal-rhymes.htm

There was a little turtle,
His name was tiny tim.
I put him in the bathtub to see if he could swim.
He drank up all the water,
He ate up all the soap,
And now he is in the bathtub,
With a bubble in his throat.
Bubble, bubble,bubble,
Bubble, bubble, bubble,
Bubble, bubble, bubble,
Bubble, bubble, pop!

Ack! I cannot wait to see her face later today when I sing this to her! : )