Category: Tabitha

Seems like Tabby is intent on hitting the milestones lately. Turning 2. Getting rid of the binky. Insisting that she needs her hair cut. This has been going on for about a week. I'm guessing someone (more than one someone?) put the idea into her head, but she's been regurgitating it to us off and on for a while. “Need hair cut.” We couldn't really disagree … It looked great in pigtails (hopefully it still will), but it was getting pretty scraggly and she was constantly pushing her bangs out of her eyes.

So we took her down to Lollilocks to have it ceremoniously trimmed up a bit. They are a kid-specific “salon” with riding animal chairs and plenty of cute little barretts, etc. for her. The stylist knew all the tricks and trimmed her up in a jiffy. Tabby did pretty well for the duration, but was sort of over it by the end and fussed when she tried to style her hair and then take her photo. Luckily, she was easily bought off with a lollipop (yes, I know, choking hazard, bad mom, blah blah).

I definitely wouldn't take her back there everytime ($$ yikes!) but it was really fun to do that for her first experience. I don't know that I'll be taking her there for a baby pedicure anytime soon though … though she'd probably be all over that action. Continue reading “First Haircut”

I am trying not to jinx this by saying it too loudly, but it looks like Tabby is done with the binky. Usage had been dwindling over the past little while. She hardly ever used it during the day and primarily needed (wanted) it when she was sleepy or in her carseat (one of her sleepy spots).

She's been a big pain with teeth brushing lately and we've been with holding bedtime stories if she won't cooperate with us and that had been working. But last night she gave us no end of grief about the teeth and Matt said that if she couldn't let us brush her teeth she couldn't have her binky. We both thought this would do the trick. But she stood fast on the teeth brushing issue (clearly a battle for another day) and went to bed without her binky (and without stories). She normally goes right off to sleep without a peep but last night it took her almost 20 minutes to go to sleep. Matt wanted to rush in and offer up the teeth brushing bargain again, but wouldn't hear of it. It was a more restless night's sleep, but she hasn't had her binky since.

Today she was without it all day at the sitter's house and only asked for it when she was tired in the afternoon when she got in the car with me and then once later. Tonight when Matt put her to bed (I was away, losing at Bunco) she didn't ask for it and went straight off to sleep, no whining at all.

Everyone said it wouldn't be as bad as we'd feared and they were right. She did awesome. Matt seems to be a bit sad about it … the end of an era … her baby era. And I am not entirely without similar feelings. But it is nice too.

And I feel like it will be long enough before the baby is born that she will be completely over it and won't bug us if he has one.

A conversation with Tabby.

Scene: Tabby an I are upstairs in my bedroom. We have just awoken from our customary 2-hour early evening nap. Matt is downstairs making “breakfast for dinner.” The smell of bacon wafts in on the evening air.

Me: “Ready to get up, Tabbers?”
Tabby: Yes!
Me: I think Daddy's downstairs making dinner. Are you hungry?
Tabby: Bacon?!?
Me (about to fall over laughing): You smell that too? Smells good. Let's go get some bacon!
Tabby (medatatively): I like bacon.

I know she's only two and probably won't remember any of it, but it was still important to us to make sure she had a special birthday. Our part of the birthday (a short 3 hours before she had to go to bed) was totally Tabby-centric. Picnic at the park, lots of playing, cupcakes, Little Einstein, a bath … and she put herself to bed. So mature already. I just hope she had as much fun as I did. Continue reading “Tabby Turns Two”

Tabby is turning 2! Yep. Despite how much I'd like to deny it and wrap her up in tupperware and force her to be baby for a couple more years, it's going to happen. We're even going to celebrate it. How screwy.

The b'day party this year is going to be very small, with just my parents, sister and grandma in attendance (and of course us and Tabby). We are going to take tea at The Huckleberry. Tabby loves her tea and I think she'll get a kick out of little sandwiches and pastries and such. Plus they have *great* cake. Though I think I may have to promise Matt a burger. Tiny sandwiches aren't really his thing. Afterwards we're going to the 7th circle of hell (otherwise known as Build-a-Bear) where I will prove my undying love for my child by voluntarily spending time there with the hoards of gimme kids so Tabby can have the pleasure of designing and building her own lovie. I look for it to be an array of garish colors and mis-matched fashions. FAB!

As for a b'day gift, I'm not entirely sure yet. The Tabby-constructed lovie for sure, but I'm not quite sure what else. She's obsessed with the giant balls they sell at Target and so we will definitely need to be getting her one of those. We thought about a kiddy digital camera because she loves playing with ours, but we road-tested one and I couldn't have been more disappointed in the thing. I also saw a cute wooden calendar thing, but I would want it to go in the playroom and (as previously discussed) we're still quite a ways away from having that space ready. I also think she'd really dig some more pretend-play things like her-sized gardening equipment and broom and such. I'm sure we'll come up with something.

Meanwhile, I'll try to come to terms with her second birthday. Damn it's hard.

We are looking to eventually move Tabby from her home daycare to a more socially diverse environment. We are limited by our jobs … if we want her in an all-day program there are only so many options available to us. Her current sitter would shuttle her back and forth to a normal 2-4 hour preschool program nearby, but this gets to be pretty pricey, paying for both a sitter and preschool. It is much more economical to send her to an all-day program. Daycare with ABCs as it were.

Montessori was so expensive it made me choke. Primrose was a bit less so, but not ideal still. Ditto Kindercare. What we had placed our hopes on was our public schools' preschool program. It comes with high accolades from many. Most of their programs are just a few hours, but there are a couple of locations that offer all-day programs for very reasonable sums. So we called to inquire about a few particulars and scheduled a tour. As bad luck would have it, it snowed the day of our tour and the road I would have primarily used to get from work to the school was a parking lot, so we rescheduled.

This is where things get annoying. The first person we had talked to was professional and answered our questions with ease and grace. She seemed happy to show us around and encouraged us to bring Tabby. She said that we could put her on the waiting list now (it is a fairly long waiting list) and start her in the program when she turns three (March 2010).

The new person we contacted (the asst. director) could barely be bothered to reschedule our tour. When we got there she was nowhere to be found (indeed there was no one at the front desk) and we waited around for about 5 minutes before finding someone to locate her. She handed us a couple of pre-printed sheets and rambled about the curriculum (not particulars … just rambling … basically what I had already found out from the website). I asked a couple of questions that were more or less ignored (did she not hear me? did she not know?) and she showed us a classroom. She pointed out all the obvious features (stations, circle space, cubbies, etc.) and I asked questions about class size, schedule, class make-up, etc. Throughout the whole process she seemed like she could hardly be bothered going through the motions.

Then finally, she told us to come back in January to put her name on the waiting list. We told her we were under the impression that we could do that immediately so that there would be space when she is chronologically ready to come to school. No, says she, we must wait until Jan because that is when the enrollment starts for the year. Stars for when I ask? Can we start her in March or must she start at the new “school year” in August?? She cannot figure this out. She is not “good with math” she says. Enrollment starts in January. A child must be turning 3 by October to enroll … but to start when? She has no idea.

We never did get an answer. Aside from our incredibly lackluster guide, the program seemed about like most other preschool programs we've seen (how many ways are there to do ABCs and 123s?) and taking her out of the experience, I think it would be a nice place for Tabby. But I have to question any school that would hire this bottom feeder. I guess I'll call back and talk to the director and go from there.

Today, Tabby wore her “I am this many” t'shirt that we bought her over a year ago. I was not concerned that she still fits in it (indeed, she has plenty of room in it), but more that in just ONE MONTH, it will not be correct. She will not be one. She will be TWO.

Her first birthday made me wistful and a bit sad, but she still seemed like a baby to me. But somehow two is a bit worse. I'll go ahead and blame it on pregnancy hormones (work with what you've got), but I also think it's that she's REALLY not a baby anymore. She walks … and runs. She talks … expressing herself with a degree of clarity that I really didn't expect at nearly two. She plays pretend. She chooses her own clothes and puts some of them on (mostly her shoes). She has distinct likes and dislikes, including a favorite TV show (well two anyhow – Barney and Little Einsteins). She can even be a bit manipulative and she's definitely asserting her independence.

This is what she's supposed to be doing. I am grateful that she's developing and growing just as she should. But it definitely makes me a bit sad. It all went very fast. At least she still loves to snuggle.

Already Sunday night again? Amazing. We had a nice weekend. I went to see Slumdog Millionaire on Friday with some of the ladies from my mom's group. That was great fun … LOVED that movie. Only problem was we got there right as it was starting and had to take seats in the front row. It was still hugely enjoyable though.

The rest of the weekend went by in the normal blur of seeing friends and family, household chores, running errands and a bit of fun, of course. I did not sleep too well … I am getting to the stage of being pretty uncomfortable off and on and I woke up this AM feeling as though I'd climbed a mountain yesterday, big soreness in my thighs and calves. Of course I'd done nothing more strenuous yesterday than walk around Target and pick up toys, but I would have given quite a bit for a good dose of Advil. The heating pad was pretty good though.

Tabby entertained me hugely today by singing the Barney end theme in her almost-two-year-old manner (about every other word), complete with hugs and kisses about 100x over. It really never got old though.

It has been snowing all day without much accumulation and we're promised another few days of snow. I'll be getting up early to avoid as much of the traffic as possible. I do not enjoy hour+ commutes. So off to bed for me.

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend.