Tuesday, January 22, 2008

No!




My sweet little princess has learned a new word ~ No! This word holds much interest for her, because it has become a favorite. She says no to the wall, her stuffed dog, the TV, her reflection in the oven door and of course, to me. I wonder why this little word captivates toddlers so much? The use of "no" often is accompanied by some type of drama~ someone is not doing what Juliana wants them to do. She is not the sharing type and definitely wants things to go her way. But all in all, she is just a great little girl. She is still so funny, smart and happy. Juliana is learning new words, tricks and skills every day. Her new adventure is that she has learned how to open all the child-proof gates in her daycare. She will open the gates from the toddler room to the infant room and lead all the toddlers into the next room. She will keep you on your toes!!
We are still in gym class. She just loves the running and climbing she can do there. I have posted pictures of her on the balance beam (next olympic gymnast?) and others of her chasing bubbles.
One thing that she is not very good at is sitting down to eat. I found this toddler diet and thought it fits Juliana eating habits perfectly.

Over the years you may have noticed that most two year olds are trim. Now the formula to their success is available to all in this new diet. You may want to consult your doctor before embarking on this diet, otherwise, you may be seeing him afterwards. Good Luck !!!


DAY ONE
Breakfast: One scrambled egg, one piece of toast with grape jelly. Eat two bites of egg, using your fingers; dump the rest on the floor. Take one bite of toast, then smear the jelly over your face and cloth.
Lunch: Four crayons (any color), a handful of potato chips, and a glass of milk (three sips only, then spill the rest).
Dinner: A dry stick, two pennies and a nickel, four sips of flat Sprite.
Bedtime snack: Throw a piece of toast on the kitchen floor.


DAY TWO
Breakfast: Pick up stale toast from kitchen floor and eat it. Drink half bottle of vanilla extract or one vial of vegetable dye.
Lunch: Half tube of "Pulsating Pink" lipstick and a handful of Purina DogChow (any flavor). One ice cube, if desired.
Afternoon snack: Lick an all-day sucker until sticky, take outside, drop in dirt. Retrieve and continue slurping until it is clean again. Then bring inside and drop on rug.
Dinner: A rock or an uncooked bean, which should be thrust up your left nostril. Pour Grape Kool-Aid over mashed potatoes; eat with spoon.


DAY THREE
Breakfast: Two pancakes with plenty of syrup, eat one with fingers, rub in hair. Glass of milk; drink half, stuff other pancake in glass. After breakfast, pick up yesterday's sucker from rug, lick off fuzz, put it on the cushion of best chair.
Lunch: Three matches, peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Spit several bites onto the floor. Pour glass of milk on table and slurp up.
Dinner: Dish of ice cream, handful of potato chips, some red punch. Try to laugh some punch through your nose, if possible.


FINAL DAY
Breakfast: A quarter tube of toothpaste (any flavor), bit of soap, an olive. Pour a glass of milk over bowl of cornflakes, add half a cup of sugar. Once cereal is soggy, drink milk and feed cereal to dog.
Lunch: Eat bread crumbs off kitchen floor and dining room carpet. Find that sucker and finish eating it.
Dinner: Drop pieces of spaghetti onto back of dog, insert meatball into ear. Dump pudding into Kool-Aid and suck up with a straw.

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Merry Christmas!


As an adult, Christmas is a great holiday. However, experiencing it through a child’s eyes is just magical. This was Juliana’s first Christmas and it was so much fun to see it through her. Of course, there is a story behind all the festivities. First, I fell a couple of weeks before Christmas and tore my patellar tendon. I was in a knee immobilizer and had limited mobility~ great ~ now my princess had one up on me. I will have to be more creative in my parenting skills. Also, this limited my ability to shop, decorate and basically get around. Ok, I can handle this…. So, I did what I could and got Christmas together. We bought a tree and decorated it. Well, Juliana just fell in love with the tree. I also brought out a moving Santa that was carrying a light and was almost as tall as she was that she also adored. Every night before she went to bed, she would kiss Santa and say bye-bye to the tree. So far, so good….
Then right before Christmas, she got RSV and an ear infection. This meant antibiotics, nebulizer treatments and prednisone. I really felt bad for her, she was wheezing, coughing~ no way to spend your first Christmas. I must say though, she was a trooper. Christmas eve was spent at Aunt Helen’s home ~ thank you all for your presents to her.
On Christmas morning, my mom came over and we opened presents again. She got a lot of great toys and books. Luckily, she felt better after a few days and was back to normal.