cutest sponge

This little girl is something else.

Every day she amazes me. Every day is such a gift. Every day I tell her Daddy that we are so blessed to have her. Every day her Daddy and I smile at her and each other.

It's not all rainbows and puppy dogs but, it kind of is. I mean, she has her moments when she flips out over the most odd things... Just this morning she held a nickel in the back seat of the car and it fell. She started whining. I told her I'd get her another, it wasn't a big deal. I give her one and she starts screaming in hysterics: I DON'T WANT ONE COIN! I DON'T WANT ONE!!! "Would you like a couple more coins?" I calmly asked remembering that just yesterday she was enamored over holding three nickels. YES! I hand a couple over, and all was good in the world again.

But then there are other times when she's just ... she just kind of blows me away.

She's a sponge this one. She loves learning and is constantly asking what things are that she sees for the first time or hears about for the first time. We've never really hit a "Why" stage with her, though. She seems pretty content with our answers most of the time. And she absorbs it all and it sticks like glue in that head of hers.

Currently she can spell her first name, Dad, Mama, Stop (that was the first one thanks to the stop signs), Cat. She knows her birthday is December 29. And as of just yesterday, she now knows her address! She's known for a while that we live in Chicago but now she knows the damn street number and name too! (I'd like to teach her our phone number but am unsure which to teach her: my cell, Taye's cell, home/land line??)

She's a sponge!

I mean yeah it's all from memorizing it, but still. Sweet, right?! And if you ask her how she knows all that she'll tell you, "Cuz I'm smart."

Heh, that's my girl.

My girly girl who screams, cries, and runs away at the sight of bugs... but who's also enamored with all things Poop lately.

the first half of three

While she's not yet officially 3.5, the past almost-five months have provided me with a lot of insight into being THREE. I think.

At first? Woo dog was she kinda intense. She was constantly crying and screaming about any and every little thing and bedtime was about to put me into a mental institute. But then things calmed down and I figured that the intensity of January was a result of the holidays and her birthday being days apart; too much of everything fun, fun, fun came to a crashing halt and someone didn't know how to deal with it. That's what I'm telling myself, at least.

She's still intense, don't get me wrong. But she's also really kinda ... cool.

Unlike this article here, I don't think of her as being an asshole. Irrational at times? ABSOLUTELY.  Asshole? No way. She's three. I mean, I get the reasoning behind the author saying three year olds are assholes and appreciate the humor behind the article, but I just can't do it; I just can't call a three year old an asshole. They don't know enough to be called such.

That all said and done, Lovie's irrationality does crack me up at times. Sure, in the moment, it drives me a little batty, but once she's settled down and--rational--it's funny.

Like last night.

I told her I was making spaghetti for dinner and was slapped with a "NO! I DON'T WANT PASGHETTI!"

I made it anyway and told her it was time to eat. Of course she ignored me until I turned the TV off and then she kissed the cat and skipped into the kitchen. I pretended not to notice her reaction when she sat down to a bowl of "pasghetti." I just acted like she never screamed she didn't want it.

Lo and behold, girlfriend gobbled that shit up like she hadn't eaten in days, moaning in delight after each and every fork-full was stuffed into her hole.


Yeah, I'm not so much a fan of the screaming and dirty looks for the strangest reasons, but she's still learning so much.

I don't know. So far three is intense and irrational at times, but it's also kinda badass-fun, too.

TILTW: How the hell is it February edition.

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I can't get enough of Mumford and Sons.
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I feel like I've had a headache every day now for weeks.
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Three year olds are intense.
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It's insane to me that it's February already.
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My dad is going to be 80 this year. Not sure why I just realized this but damn. 80.
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My grandfather would've been 98 tomorrow. Again, damn.
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I absolutely despise the waiting game life deals at times. I've gotten real good at letting shit go in life that I can't change, but there are some things that are just impossible to let go of... and waiting for the change to happen, because it's inevitable, sucks big donkey balls.
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I DON'T WANNA!

It's not every day I say this but... I'm kinda glad today is Monday.

This weekend was kind of rough on a whole.

Lovie was really sick Friday and Saturday- feverish both days all day long. Wouldn't drink unless we held a cup with a straw up to her mouth, ate very little. Just laid around all day both days, and very needy (understandably).

Saturday I had plans with some bitches I know for lunch (and drinks) but Taye was kind enough to keep me updated by sending me pathetic texts and photos of Lovie "wanting mommy" and when I got home, all she did was whimper on top of me for about an hour or two: "Mommy" or "I want mommy" despite the fact that I was the one she was laying on.

Sunday Lovie was finally fever free and while we really should've stayed home again, we wanted to take advantage of free Disney on Ice tickets we had so off we went to see Mickey and Merida on Ice. Lovie was super tired the whole time, but did well till the end. That's when she lost her shit and screamed and cried for about two hours. My poor dad met us for the show and we were going to get some lunch afterward but instead, he went home and we went on our way.

After several hours of screaming, Lovie finally calmed down for a couple hours before it was time for bedtime and round two of Screamgate 2013 January Edition.

This morning, I stupidly picked out her Yo Gabba Gabba shirt and jeggings to wear and she lost her shit again. That's when I just walked out her room, leaving her to freak out on her own, and she howled MOMMY like she was in horrific pain. I turned around after taking in a deep breathe and calmly asked her to tell me what she wanted so we could move on with the day. She did and we did.

And now I'm at work and she's at school.

And despite it being only 9AM, I sure could go for a drink like the one in the photo above.

interview with a three year old

I really do need to video an interview with her because it's just so damn entertaining talking to her. And I need better questions that may elicit more than one or two word answers. As it was, I just asked these this morning on our way to school and I didn't have the questions I asked last time when she was 2.5 so I had to wing it. I do remember asking about our ages last time and how quick she was then to throw out some numbers... not so much this time. Girlfriend is really growing up, huh? And yeah, I know I just posted the photo yesterday but a) I love the photo and b) it's the only recent one I have of her where she's actually looking at me/the camera.

Reflecting back on Lovie's past year, there was a lot of changes: She nixed the pacifier (not such an enjoyable transition but not so difficult either when looking back); she started (and is still *sigh*) potty training; she moved up to the young preschool room at school; we made the switch from rear facing to forward facing; we made the switch from crib to toddler bed; she's pretty much without a high chair except when we play with play-doh; she's still the coolest damn kid in the world.

And. She's now THREE.