A Look Back

It's hard to believe as I look out the window at a sunny, 50+ degree day, that exactly three years ago, I was 35 weeks pregnant and we woke up to an ice storm and no electricity. Rog and I decided not to attempt going to work, so instead we went downstairs to build a fire in the stove and try to keep warm.
My parents' house was also out of power. With no indication of how long we would be without power, and after much discussion and debate, we decided to get in the car and start a trek down to Cape Girardeau to stay with Rog's parents. We stopped before we left town for a late lunch. Throughout the meal, I was feeling tightening and pressure in my lower abdomen. Since I had not yet felt this before, I was unsure as to whether it was actual contractions, or if my stomach was just disagreeing with me.
We were really torn about what to do and were driving down the highway when we came to a split. If we drove south, we would be on our way to Cape. If we drove north, we would head toward the hospital. At the very last second, we veered north to go by the hospital. We were able to walk right into an exam room. The doctor came in, performed the examination, and told us that we would most likely have a newborn in 24 hours. We were terrified. We still had so much to do, nothing packed for the baby, and I had only
begun training my replacement for work, so the first words out of my mouth were "My boss is going to kill me!", and then shortly after, "Thank God we didn't drive to Cape!"
They got us a room, we called some good friends to go by the house and pack some items for the baby, and they proceeded to hook me up to an IV to attempt to stop the contractions. Once the initial shock had worn off, we were thrilled and excited. Later that night, the contractions began to slow down and then eventually stopped. After another exam the next morning, we were told that we could go home. Fortunately by that time our power was back on. We drove home disappointed, but understood that any extra time the baby could stay in the womb would be better for her health.
We made it through the weekend, though I was suffering through some pretty severe back pain, which in retrospect was probably back labor. Monday came, and my office was still without power, so I stayed at home. Rog worked and came home, and that night we decided to go to one of our favorite restaurants, Minion's Cafe. We were enjoying
our meal, though my back was still in pain. I remember shifting to find a comfortable spot and then suddenly felt my water break. I didn't know what to do and I didn't want to cause a scene. I quietly informed Rog, who jumped up, ran to the counter and asked for paper towels since his wife's water just broke. (This is how I remember it, Rog, so you can contest if you feel you need to! I love you!) The owners of the cafe were
people that we had gotten to know since we were in there so often and they were thrilled. We left the restaurant, headed home to get our now-more-prepared-suitcase, and drove to the hospital. Once we were in and settled, they had to give me pitocin to bring on contractions. They were much happier that the baby had waited until
the 36 week mark before she made her appearance. Apparently a few days makes a big difference. I'm not sure the labor could have gone smoother. We were checked into the hospital by about 6pm, the contractions didn't really start until 9 or 10, I had an epidural and tried to nap, and Teagan Hope came into the world at 2:10am on Tuesday, December 5, 2006. She weighed only 5 lbs, 11 oz, which made my part really easy, only about 20 minutes of actual pushing. That easy nature has stayed with her, for the most part. She was sleeping through the night at three months and has since then been a champion sleeper. Though the toddler stage has proven to be somewhat of a challenge, for the most part, Teagan has blessed us with her easygoing and comical personality. Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

Catch Up

Well, it's been a whirlwind month without much spare time, so this blog has gone by the wayside. Rog got a job, which we are thrilled about, but he leaves the house at 5:30am and returns at 7pm during the week. He also works on Saturdays. I hadn't realized how much I had taken for granted his ability to take Teagan to daycare in the mornings and pick her up at night. My mornings are spent getting an extremely-independent-I-want-to-do-everything-myself-and-oh-yeah-I'm-potty-training-so-I-have-to-go-to-the-bathroom-every-10-minutes toddler ready to get out the door and then scrambling to work, then leaving the office immediately at 5pm and fighting traffic to pick her up on time. However, I have been writing funny Teagan quotes on random scraps of paper and finally have a day to compile them! So here are the latest laugh-out-loud moments with which Teagan has blessed us:

- Completely random and brought on by nothing, she tells me: "Mommy, chill out!"

- After telling her to be careful, she replies: "Ok, mommy. I be careful. Are you happy now?"

- "Mommy, I get the mote (remote) cuz I a big gor (girl)."

- "Cheese gor fammich" = Grilled cheese sandwich

- "McDonald's House" = McDonald's (Said with a lot of enthusiasm and pointing every time we pass a McDonald's)

- "McDonald Duck" = Donald Duck

- "Cozen mustard" = Frozen custard

- One day when I asked Teagan to please cooperate, she responded with "Ok, Mommy. I craperate"

- Rog and I started to notice that any compound words with "corn" in them were automatically "popcorn". She called candy corn and cornbread "popcorn" within a couple of days. We corrected her on each account, but a couple minutes after finishing her cornbread, she thought for a second and then asked for "more Pop Bread, please".

- Mimi and Poppi bought her a new baby doll, which she promptly named "Baby Chappy."

- After a coughing fit, she declared, "I very got the coughes"

- After I complimented her behavior one day she responded with "Yes, I very sweet. I a cutie pie!"

- While putting a thermometer under her arm, she said "I gon take my tentchular." She then pulled it out from under her arm, looked at it, and said "Thirty pounds!"

- And finally, the most recent story that I love telling:
When we go to the store, I will sometimes promise her a mint once we get back to the car, as long as she behaves while inside. One night in the grocery store she was really misbehaving. I walked out with her throwing a tantrum and I put her in the car seat while she was screaming "I want a mint!" over and over again. I told her that until she calmed down and spoke to me politely, I would not be responding. So she proceeded to whine and scream a bit more, then suddenly said, "I don't lush (love) you, Mommy". Again, I did not respond or give her a reaction, I just drove. She said this a few times, and then after a few minutes as I thought she was calming down, she said "Excuse me, Mommy", and then waited for me to answer. When I responded with "Yes, Teagan?" She quickly answered, "I don't lush you." It stung a little, but I had to stifle a laugh, too. She later apologized and assured me that she did in fact love me. Phew...








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All I Want For Christmas

In follow up to the previous post, Teagan has adapted very well to life without a pacifier. Each day was progressively better, but she has officially gone more than a week without one. She seems to wake up earlier now, but that's just something we'll have to get used to, I guess.
I didn't want to post about this until we knew the outcome, but the real motivator behind getting rid of the pacifier was the fact that Teagan had an appointment today for a tooth extraction.
I can't remember if I posted about this or not, but a couple of months ago, Teagan went running into her bedroom and tripped and landed face first against her bed frame. We were so fortunate that a friend of ours, Dr. D, who is a pediatric dentist actually drove over to our house to take a look at her. Teagan likes her and responds very well to her. She alleviated our immediate fears but suggested that we bring Teagan in for an x-ray at a later date so that they could check the roots of the two front teeth. We put it off because after a day or two it didn't seem to bother her, but one day we finally took her in. We were dismayed to find out that she did in fact have an infection that would affect the permanent tooth unless the baby tooth was pulled. Dr. D told us that she would be able to do it using nitrous and a local anesthetic, but that if Teagan didn't cooperate, she would have to refer us to an oral surgeon who would need to perform the procedure under a general anesthesia. We made an appointment with Dr. D and prepared ourselves for the worst.
We came in at 9am this morning and Rog and I were certainly more nervous than Teagan. I'm not sure it could have gone smoother. Dr. D was amazing and so was Teagan. She got to pick a scented mask (strawberry or bubble gum) and she allowed Dr. D to place it over her face. There were a couple of minor mishaps that took place before the actual procedure. After Teagan had begun to relax her arms at her side, she suddenly raised them both up in the air and started talking. The nitrous tank had started to run out and had to be switched (which was done very quickly). Even after it was switched over and some minutes had passed, Teagan remained fairly aware of what was going on and kept trying to make conversation. She never really fought, but she did try to take the mask off and get out of her chair a few times. After Rog and I each took a hand of hers, she seemed to relax enough that Dr. D could inject the local anesthetic and perform the extraction.
Afterwards, Teagan received lots of praise for being so brave and cooperative. She picked out some special toys and then we took her home. As the numbness wore off, she whimpered and cried some on the way home in between nodding off and looking stoned, but when we got her home she watched a few episodes of Dora and finally felt normal enough to eat. She then took a very brief nap, woke up and ate some more, and from there on seemed completely back to herself. Nonetheless, we spoiled her with frozen custard, a trip to the park and a long walk. The day may have started off a little bumpy, but it really turned out to be a great day.

Goodbye, Old Friend

I'm not sure which of us is taking this the hardest. This is so long overdue.

Yesterday morning we asked Teagan to decorate a large envelope. When she was finished, we addressed it to "New Babies at the Hospital". We then stuffed it with her pacifiers, sealed it, added some stamps, and clipped it out on the mailbox for the postman. Fortunately Teagan is not yet aware that the postman doesn't come on Sunday and four cents postage won't get anything anywhere. We told her that she was a big girl now and that there were lots of little babies being born that needed pacifiers. She was very agreeable with the whole process... until naptime came around.
When it was time for her nap, we started our usual routine. Pick out one book, find her blankie, and sit in the rocking chair. Part of that routine is grabbing a passy out of the bucket by her bed, but of course there were none to be found. She turned around and looked at me and said, "I want my passy, please". I had to remind her what we had done earlier. She looked at me briefly with a smile in her eyes as if to say, "I know you're joking, mom, so where's my passy?". When it finally set in that she wasn't going to get it, she burst into tears. I calmed her down, read to her as she whimpered pathetically, and then laid her down. She once again requested her passy, but I told her that the postman had come and taken it away. (He can be the bad guy!) She proceeded to cry herself to sleep.
Bedtime last night was similar and she woke up several times. It's hard to know how soothing a pacifier really is until it's gone. We had a rough night. Then she woke up at 6am and again started crying when she couldn't find her passy. I know it's our fault (mine more specifically) for letting her have it for so long, but it was kind of an addiction for me, too. Being able to see that instant calm in her eyes when she's upset about something, or seeing the eyelids start drooping as soon as she placed it in her mouth was comforting to me as well. I know we'll get through it. I just hope we don't sacrifice too much sleep in the process!

Our Pet Caterpillar

One of our favorite books to read to Teagan is "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", by Eric Carle. We recently were able to see a metamorphosis up close and personal, which all three of us found to be a fascinating experience.
A couple of weeks ago, the three of us went outside to hang out on the porch so Teagan could enjoy a popsicle. We noticed a very large caterpillar resting along the siding on our house. We pointed it out to Teagan and talked about it some, but then went on our way. By the time Teagan was finished with her popsicle, the caterpillar had begun to hang upside down.



We checked on it periodically through the evening and on in through part of the next morning, and it hung like that for somewhere between 17 and 23 hours. Rog said he saw it still hanging upside down at about 11 am the next morning, but by the time I got home at 5 pm, it was safely enveloped in a shiny green cocoon.



We kept an eye on it daily just to see if we could notice any changes, but for about two weeks there wasn't much to see. This morning we finally noticed that the cocoon had cleared up, allowing us to see straight inside.



We left the house for a couple of hours to go play at the park, and by the time we came back, we were thrilled to see that our fat little caterpillar had turned into a beautiful butterfly.


It rested for a few hours, allowing its wings to dry, and the final time I checked I saw that it had left us. It made me just a little bit sad to see it go, but I will revel in the fact that we were able to personally see something like that for the first time and share it with Teagan as well.

Down and Out

A little over a week and a half ago, I got called to Kansas City for a work trip. The day that we were finishing up and I was supposed to head home, I received a call from Roger who told me that he was looking for a Walgreens in which to buy a splint since he was pretty sure he had just broken his finger with a hammer.
It turned into a day long event for him since after he found the splint he decided to go to urgent care to have it checked out. With some help from my mom, Teagan was picked up from daycare and Rog was seen by a doctor, fitted with a larger splint, and referred to an orthopedic specialist the following week. After the visit to urgent care, my parents had some dinner waiting for him at their house and I was able to meet up with the entire family there upon my return from KC. Teagan informed me that Daddy had "a big, big, big baind-aid" on his arm.
After his visit with the specialist on Wednesday morning, he returned home with a big, big, bigger "baind-aid", a cast covering his entire arm below the elbow and orders not to use that hand for two weeks. Later that same night, Teagan was playing and ran into her room. She managed to trip and land face first into the frame of her bed. Neither of us actually saw it happen, but the immediate wail following the rather loud thump caused us to get into the room pretty quickly. It was our first real semi-emergency situation involving Teagan and a notable amount of blood. We ended up calling everyone we knew to figure out how concerned we needed to be and if we needed to get to the ER, consult a doctor and/or a dentist. We have been very blessed with good and knowledgeable friends who called us back quickly and offered their advice and expertise while we waited for a return call from the doctor's exchange. One of our friends from church, a pediatric dentist, actually insisted on abandoning her evening plans to see Teagan for herself. She came to our house and quickly put our minds at ease after earning Teagan's trust and being allowed access to look inside her mouth. She told us Teagan would be sore for a few days and needed to eat softer foods, but that we really didn't need to be very concerned and she should heal nicely. After a somewhat rough night of intermittent sleeping, she woke up in some pain and I decided to stay home and keep an eye on both of the patients. (Mostly the little one. The bigger one handles himself pretty well.) We spoiled her with popsicles and jello, and by the end of the day she was mostly back to her regular self, with just occasional episodes of tears and soreness. So, it's been a rougher sort of week, but if this is as bad as it gets, I think we've been pretty fortunate.

A couple of funnies from the mouth of Teagan to end with:
caterpillar = pallapitter or pillacatter

Singing what she calls "The Barney Song":
I lub shoes (I love you)
I lub shoes (You love me?)
Eh fam-i-lee (We're a happy family)
Gig hug an inna kiss from me to you (With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you)
Shu say you lub me too (Won't you say you love me too?)

To Chappy:
"My mommy Aimee and my daddy Rosher. What your name, Dappy?"

New Game

Teagan discovered this new game this weekend. Her inflection at the end of the video makes us laugh every time.

A Week Off

We have had a very busy but very fun week. My friend Sandy came in town. Since I only get to see her once a year, I decided to take the week off so I could be available whenever she was. Monday evening Teagan was able to spend time at the pool with her buddies Quinn and Sadie. Tuesday was a day for downtime. A group of us got together with our combined total of seven kiddos at the zoo on Wednesday. It was hectic, but we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day and we made it two and a half hours before some of the kids started getting grouchy and tired. We were able to cover a respectable portion of the zoo with no major meltdowns from anyone.



After lunch and a nap, we met up again later at the park with some more old friends from high school so we could catch up while the kids played on the playground. The next day we had an adults only night at the ballpark and brought in a win against the Giants. Friday was another day of downtime and a nice relaxing girls only lunch to celebrate a friend's birthday. Saturday we woke up to pouring rain and our plans of the Kirkwood Kids' Parade and/or the pool were shot, but our spirits lifted when friends called and asked us to meet them up at Monkey Joe's. From there on, everything worked according to the master plan. Teagan had a blast at Monkey Joe's, the rain tapered off, she ate a good lunch and went down for a planned late nap. We knew that she would be up late for the fireworks.
The rain stayed away well enough to continue to the park to meet up with friends again and Teagan was able to see and enjoy her first real fireworks display.
One quote to end this post. As Teagan was sitting on Rog's lap getting ready to watch the fireworks, there were neighbors shooting some off as well.
Roger: "Look Teagan. Those fireworks are loud, aren't they?" Teagan: "Yeah!"
Roger: "And they're pretty, too, aren't they?"
Teagan: "Yeah!"
Roger: "Just like Teagan. Loud and pretty, right?"
Teagan: "I not youd!"

Master of Manipulation

Teagan got on an antibiotic for her infected eye and within a couple of doses it looked much better.
Last week we had a lot going on and weren't really able to get her to bed on time any night. It seemed to catch up with us this week. She was exceptionally feisty and stubborn. We dealt with many meltdowns and tantrums.
She's also learning very well how to manipulate, delay her bedtime, and milk her "boo-boos" for the maximum amount of sympathy. Bedtime has started to go like this:
Us: "Ok Teagan, time to get ready for bed"
Teagan: "I hungry"
Us: "No, you already had dinner, let's go."
Teagan: "I need drink water"
Us: "Ok, drink some water and then go brush your teeth."
Teagan: "I gotta go potty." (Keep in mind that we've barely scratched the surface of potty training and more often than not she's just trying to change the subject.)
Us: "No you don't, you just went. Let's go brush your teeth."
Teagan "I GOTTA GO POTTY!!!" (Insert complete meltdown here.)
Once the calm has set back in, after the routine teeth brushing and the book reading and three songs, it starts again.
Teagan: "I wanna hear Barney song". (If it were up to Rog and I, she wouldn't know who Barney is, but she learned at daycare.)
Me: "Ok" (Sing "Barney" song). "Time for bed."
Teagan: "I need drink water."
Me: "No you don't. Get in bed."
Teagan: "I want book."
Me: "Ok, get a book and take it to bed."
The other day, she tripped on the sidewalk and scraped up her knee. Each time this happens (and it seems to happen a lot), you would think that her world is crashing down on her. She is such a drama queen.
Well, this particular night, the same day she scraped up her knee and after we had gone through the usual ordeal of getting her to bed, saying her prayers and kissing goodnight, I started to leave. Then I heard her say “My boo boo hurt”. I replied by kissing her boo boo and saying “You’re fine, goodnight, I love you.”
I then shut the door and could actually hear her working up tears. It was the fake, slow crying which slowly mounted to full blown actual sobbing in between, “Owee, my boo boo hurt!”
Now, overall, we have been very lucky these past two and a half years. Teagan has always gone to bed very easily until this new phase began. In the past, if she has cried, I’ve let it go and it usually stops quickly. But when I heard this actual crying, I couldn’t help myself, so I went back in there. What a sucker I am. I came in, wiped her tears, kissed her knee again, and the tears stopped almost instantly.
Teagan: “I wanna sing.”
Me: “Ok, but you’re staying in bed, we’re not going to rock. What song?”
Teagan: “Barney song.” (Ugh… again??)
So, I proceeded to sing that song again, but couldn’t cover her with her sheet afterwards because her boo boo apparently hurt too much.
FINALLY she let me leave with a “Lushyoutoo, mommy”. Then she was sound asleep within minutes. I just don’t understand why kids fight the sleep when they’re clearly so tired!

What a Shiner

Saturday evening, Teagan was bitten on the arm and near the eye by a mosquito. She's always had sensitive skin, so insect bites tend to swell to larger than normal size. Sunday morning she woke up with a mountain on her arm and one eye almost swelled shut. It didn't seem to bother her much and we didn't want her to miss out on her buddy Quinn's third birthday party that day. So we took her to the party and explained to everyone what had happened. It was a beach party theme and she had a blast. They had containers filled with sand and shells, and they set up the slide to go into the little wading pool. There were minimal disagreements and a lot of laughing and squealing. They finished up the party by decorating cupcakes and then returning to the pool. Teagan stuck out the lower lip and tried her best to squeeze out some tears when it was time to go, but once we got her in the car she began to zone out. That night we tried a few things to alleviate the itching of her eye, but nothing seemed to make much of a difference. The next morning, her eye looked worse and she could barely open it. We iced it down and got an appointment at the doctor. I took the day off just so I could be there with both Teagan and Rog. As it turns out, it had become infected so we were prescribed an antibiotic. After the visit, she perked up so we took her to lunch and generally had a nice family day. I was a little nervous taking her out in public because of the swollen eye, but if anyone asked, we just told them what happened. After two doses of the antibiotic her eye already looked much better when she woke up this morning. Despite the doctor's office visit, we had a pretty nice three day weekend.

Sugar High

This weekend we took a trip down to Cape to visit "Hamaw" and "Hampaw". Teagan seems to pronounce it differently every time we see them. It was a big celebratory weekend. Saturday we celebrated Roger's grandmother's 95th birthday. As the 20 or so people showed up at the house for the celebration, Teagan went through the usual motions of clinging to Mommy or Daddy and not talking to anyone. However, we finally learned what happens when Teagan gets too much sugar in her system. She had what I considered to be a small piece of cake and some ice cream, but it was apparently more than she had ever had at once. After a short amount of time, she was literally bouncing off the walls. She would run from one end of the house to the other yelling, hit a wall and then turn around and go again. She became very friendly with everyone at the party, and took an exceptional liking to her great Uncle Joe. (Or Unkey Joe, as she called him. Sounds a lot like Monkey Joe's, huh?) She had a blast, and I think a lot of people had a blast watching the spectacle. Roger and I definitely did. Once it was finally time to go to bed, she requested that "Hamaw" read to her and put her down. She seemingly crashed pretty hard, because we didn't hear a peep after Liz left the room.
The next day we went to another party to celebrate our niece Andrea's high school graduation. This time around we were a bit wiser with the cake portion!
I kept thinking about how quickly time flies. When I first met Roger, Andrea was this cute little seven year old, and now she's a beautiful grown up eighteen year old. It's difficult to comprehend. I know Teagan will be graduating high school before we know it. I just need to try to enjoy and take in every day I have with her!

Teagan Said

The other day we were playing and Teagan was a little gassy. At one point she looked at me and said "I burp in my bottom." I had to try really hard not to bust out laughing, so I smiled and told her to say "Excuse me".

Last night the storms were coming in and it was thundering as Teagan was eating her dinner. She looked at me and said "Thunder scare my ears."

Catch Up

In regards to the previous post, we realized that the "Oh man" expression was learned by watching "Dora the Explorer", Teagan's second favorite show after "Elmo's World" on "Sesame Street".

I'm a little behind in blogging, so I'll just use this time to catch up. Two Thursdays ago, Teagan got to go down and visit Cape Grandma and Grandpa all by herself. The Friday that she was in Cape was also the same Friday where we got hit by some pretty major thunderstorms and a few tornadoes touched down. Admittedly, I was a little nervous knowing she wasn't close by, but of course I knew she was in good hands. She even got to have an adventure at the mall with Grandma. While inside a store during the storm, the power went out briefly. Liz said it didn't even seem to phase her. That's my brave girl. She also slept very well in a twin bed while she was down there and she seemed to have a lot of fun.
Last weekend we got a call from Uncle Evan who said he was filling in for a friend and grilling at the City Museum outside patio. We headed down so that we could visit Uncle Evan and Teagan could get her first experience at this unbelievable place. It just keeps growing. Every time I visit there is a ton of new attractions and tunnels and things to climb! She loved it. She went through the tunnels and down the slides with Daddy and played in the ball pit outside. She was able to run in big open spaces. We didn't stay long, but we'll definitely go back again sometime soon.

ABCs

A couple more shorts:
Yesterday Teagan was in her room while Rog and I were in different rooms. She was "cuddering" (coloring). We then heard "Oh, man! I dop I cuder ensil!" (Oh man! I dropped my colored pencil!) We had to laugh. We've never before heard the "Oh man" expression.
She has also been working on her ABCs. She usually insists that we let her sing them by herself. She didn't fully cooperate after I pulled out the camera, but she gave it a shot.

The Story As Told To Me

Teagan was spending time with my parents, whom she refers to as “Mimi” and “Poppi”.
For whatever reason, my dad started coughing and couldn’t stop. My mom tried to convince him to get a drink or take some cough medicine, but he refused and therefore continued the coughing fit. My mom finally said, “Gary, would you please go take some cough medicine? You’re getting on my last nerve!”
Teagan overheard this, turned around and looked at my dad. She pointed her index finger and very authoritatively said, “Poppi!! You on Mimi’s nerve!” My dad then had the problem of controlling his coughing and his laughter.

I Dropped Out of Jesus Camp

I went on a women's church retreat this weekend. I used to take pride in the fact that I was up for anything and enjoyed camping and the outdoors. It’s funny how things have changed since I’ve gotten older.
I don't really find sharing a bunkhouse and two toilets with thirteen other women in any way relaxing or spiritually fulfilling. Add to that a cold shower, some feisty ticks, no sleep, and a bird pooping on my book in the woods, and it's a recipe for me to head home early. I tried to go with an open mind. I love the women in my church. Perhaps it would have been easier for me if we had had a cabin to ourselves. But we ended up sharing it with total strangers. I never sleep well in strange places. In an effort to take advantage of our free time, I tried napping during the afternoon. That plan was quickly put by the wayside as every three minutes someone walked through the cabin door and slammed it shut. I usually consider myself pretty easygoing, but when sleep deprivation sets in, I get cranky.
I think sometimes we all need a bit of a reality check to remind us to appreciate the little things that we take for granted. I know I sound dramatic and I don’t mean to because this camp experience wasn’t all that bad. I found the descriptions of the global mission work fascinating, the food good, the workshop I attended interesting and there were quite a few times when I laughed harder than I have in a long time. But I sure appreciated coming home to my family, a hot shower, a comfortable bed, and a quiet house.

Sticky Sweet

I've been trying to be a little better about posting the little things.
Below is a video of a game that we play. It started in daycare but we quickly got the hang of it.

Random Shorts

Tonight during bathtime, Teagan was playing with her two containers of soap paint that Grandma Farmer gave her. Each paint is a different shade of pink. She had the light pink container in her hand and set it down and pointed to the other one. She said "I ont pink one tease" (I want the pink one please). Seizing this as an opportunity to teach her about the different shades, I said, "But they're both pink!" She surprised me by quickly replying, "I ont dock pink" (I want dark pink)... So much for that lesson!
When she got out of the bathtub, and we were drying off, she looked at her fingers and said "I puckered!"

For some reason when she was very little I thought it would be a good idea to name the doll that has become her constant companion "Baby Hope". Lately she has been referring to herself by her whole name, Teagan Hope Moore. She now gets the two confused, sometimes calling herself "Baby Hope Moore". Apparently today at daycare they were working on a project. Each of the kids colored a duck, pasted it to a background, and then were asked to name it. Teagan named her duck "Ducky Hope Moore".



And finally, before I sign off, here are some photos of Teagan "hepping" her Daddy with his crossword puzzles.

I'll Have What She's Having

This weekend, Roger's parents came up from Cape to visit. The one thing we love to notice is that Teagan never needs any time to warm up to them after not seeing them for a little while. She knows "amma" & "ampa" and is excited to see them every time.
Sunday morning we were playing with play doh. Liz sculpted a turtle and I made a mini snowman. Teagan was busy doing her own thing when she grabbed our sculptures and smashed them into her own creation. She then said, "I make hammich", to which Liz replied "What kind of sandwich are you making?"
Teagan answered "Big Hammich".
Liz asked, "What's in it?"
Without hesitation, Teagan replied "Tuttle" (turtle) and "No man" (Snowman).
Of course. How silly of us to ask. Sounds delicious.

I Hep, Momma

I've been meaning to write this down for awhile, but keep forgetting, so I'm doing it now while I'm thinking of it. I can no longer eat my lunch at work without cracking a big grin when I take my sandwich out.
I almost always take my lunch to work, and many times it includes the classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Teagan now insists on "hepping" me make my sandwich each morning. This means she sits on my lap, arranges my bread so that the pieces are side by side and not stacked, and then rests her hand on mine as I scoop out the peanut butter and jelly. If I drop some jelly (which I do quite frequently since this is me we're talking about), she chimes in with that preschool sound of "Awwwww...", which translates to "You're in trouble!" In trouble with whom, I'm not completely sure. But once I clean up the jelly and we cut the sandwich in half, she'll say "I ont some". She'll then take one bite, and carefully place the two halves in the sandwich container to pack up in my lunch. So each day I pull out my sandwich and see that adorable little half-moon-shaped bite, I have to smile.

Goggy Poo Poo

We've had some issues lately with various neighborhood dogs not obeying the pooper scooper law. Therefore we have some additions to our front lawn. Teagan noticed one of these additions and asked "What dat, Momma?" So I explained that it was doggy poo poo and it was yucky, so we don't touch it.
Thankfully she hasn't tried to touch it but she has taken quite an interest in it. Every morning we walk out of the house and she says "Momma, where goggy poo poo? Wanna see it." The other day she chanted "goggy poo poo" the whole time we walked to the car and I buckled her in. As I drove off she yelled "Bye goggy poo poo!"
I hope this phase passes quickly.
I also added a new video in the upper right corner of the page. Teagan is singing two of her favorite songs.

Mission Successful

This weekend we got a new toddler bed for Teagan. She hasn't really given us any indication that she was ready for the switch, but she naps on a cot at daycare so we decided to give it a shot before she starts trying to climb out of her crib. In the past she has been very flexible and easygoing when it comes to change. This proved no different. In fact, she couldn't wait to go to sleep in it. We started our normal routine of two books and four songs in the rocking chair before bedtime. We got through two short books and one and a half songs before she said "Momma, bed."
I think Rog and I checked on her four or five times before we went to sleep but she slept through the night without any problems. The first real test will probably be naptime when we have her during the day over the weekend. We'll see how that goes!

What Is This Thing Called Fear?

Fear does not seem to be a concept that Teagan understands. Yesterday we took her to Monkey Joe's for the second time. For those of you that have not been there, they have an area geared more towards toddlers. Teagan spent some time there, but was more interested in hanging with the big kids. We pretty much let her have a shot at anything she wanted to try. Knowing that by letting her play on the bigger pieces, I was forfeiting my right to be an overprotective parent, I watched nervously while giants jumped and climbed around my little girl as she struggled to maintain footing or pull herself up ladders so she could go down the big slide. She held her own and showed serious determination. She conquered all but two of the inflatables and had a fabulous time in the process. She even got to spend some time with her buddy Sadie.

The toddler area, where she should have spent the bulk of her time:


Moving on to bigger and more exciting things:



And finally, the one she attempted but didn't quite conquer. Maybe next time!

Gotta Write This Down

Teagan is talking so much, and I don't want to forget any of the things she's saying! I know most of this stuff she's picking up at daycare, some of it good, some of it bad. But all of it's pretty hilarious.
-She calls us "guys" now. "Hey guys, look..."
-This morning I sneezed and she said "Bess you mommy". (My heart melted!)
-We taught her to sing Happy Birthday to Chappy because his birthday was last Saturday. She now seems to think that Chappy's name is just part of the song, and instead of her notes getting higher, her voice just gets louder with each "verse". The verses are short, they go, "Hap Birt Day Dap-py". That's it.
-Lately she sings "Where is Thumbkin" with all of the hand motions,
but at the end, where the words are "Run Away, Run Away", she demonically growls, "Go Away!!"
-She loves "Ring Around the Rosie". She calls it "Ashes" and she cracks up every time we all fall down.
-At the end of each book, instead of "The End" she says "Amen".

A couple of pictures to post as well. The first is winding down at bedtime with Elmo and her "Oball", and the second is her reaction when she saw Grandma and Grandpa Farmer's car pull up in front of the house. She was pretty excited to see them!

Welcome Home, Momma!

Last week I was called out of town for a work trip to Baltimore. While I miss the family during work trips, I always enjoy the food, the travel, and the break in the mundane work week.
The trip went very smoothly and I had a good time. However, Thursday could have gone a bit smoother. It started off normally, but when we arrived at the airport for our flights home, we got word of the unsettling plane crash that had just happened. I'm not a very nervous flier. My palms tend to sweat on takeoff and landing, and I find myself looking around for reactions when we hit turbulence in the air, but overall, I'm pretty calm during flights. I found solace in the unlikely probability of two crashes in one day as well as the news that no one was severely injured or killed in this plane crash. So while my stomach twisted a bit at this news, I didn't run screaming from the airport.
I had an uneventful flight home, though I was a bit miffed when I arrived in St. Louis and found it colder than Baltimore. But I was happy to walk in the door to my house around 9pm. Rog and I talked for some time and then I checked on Teagan and lamented the fact that I wouldn't get to spend time with her until the next morning. Silly me.
Around 11:30, when I was halfway between consciousness and unconsciousness, I heard a strange sound over the monitor and then Teagan started crying harder than I've ever heard her cry. I jumped up and ran into her room to find that she'd gotten sick and was in total panic because she didn't understand what was going on. So while trying to console her, I ran a bath and stripped her down. She eventually calmed down but I was a little shaken because this experience was new to me. By the end of the night, though, I had become a pro! Long story short, Rog and I ended up having to give Teagan three baths and do four loads of laundry after 11pm. When it seemed that her stomach had finally settled, we laid down on her bedroom floor and tried to get some sleep. I fell asleep around 5 and was able to sleep until 7. Needless to say, I paid for it throughout the weekend. The next day Teagan woke up, and other than a bit of crabbiness due to lack of sleep, she acted like everything was normal. I don't know what that was, but I did not like it!

I'm Sorry, What??

So, in the midst of this economic crisis I find myself frequently perusing the internet for various coupons, giveaways, sales, etc. I ran across some news today on one of these sites that has literally left me shaking my head in disbelief. This is the first that I've heard of it and I'm passing on this information through the blog so that if anything can be done, here is a portion of my effort. Apparently in an act aimed at preventing lead poisoning, someone has decided that it would be a good idea to ban buying, selling and DONATING secondhand unless these secondhand items have been tested for lead and phthalates. Let's just take a moment to think about the consequences of this law. It means that massive amounts of clothing and toys will be considered hazardous regardless of whether they contain lead until they are proven that they don't. Because of the expense of testing, I think we can safely assume that most of these items will end up in a landfill instead of being available to families that can't afford to pay full price or families that can't afford to pay anything at all.
I have very little information so far on this law that is to go in effect on February 10, but I am going to find out more. Click on this link to read one of the articles. More information can be found on www.babycheapskate.com.