Heidi-isms

As mentioned in the last "Leila-isms" post, my goal is to post cute/new things my girls are doing on the monthly anniversaries of their birth. This one is about Heidi who is already 14 months old!!

"The baby you hold in your arms will grow quickly as the sunrise and the sunset of the rushing days." - Gordon B. Hinckley
how true it is!

 Since I haven't done a Heidi-ism post before, I've got quite a few that have accumulated.

After becoming a mother and finding that the whole world ends up revolving around your little one, I was struck with wide-eyed wonder. . .how could a mother manage TWO children? I was pleasantly surprised to have Heidi be such a sweet baby girl from the beginning, making the transition to two children quite seamless. She was easy-going, sweet, and cuddly. In fact, I actually nicknamed her "cuddles" for about the first 4-6 months of her life. . .then she became a lot more vivacious and would more aptly be nicknamed "wiggles". But even with all her moving and exploring, she is still a sweet girl who hasn't completely grown out of cuddling. 

When she was a newborn, I would just nestle myself in the corner of the couch and fall asleep with my living doll napping peacefully on my chest. We both felt like we were in dream land! Her favorite way to cuddle was to lean any part of her head on the soft part of my cheek--I became a human pillow. . .and loved it! Even now, we have such a strong bond that I have a hard time weaning the sweet little thing! As I nurse her I will often stroke her soft, nearly bald head. When I forget, she reminds me--she'll pick up my hand and rub it back and forth over her head. In those times that I'm distracted, I'm grateful she's on top of things to help bring me back to the moment and remind me of what matters most--being a mommy! 

Soon after her birth, my mom came to visit and mentioned that her temperament was like that of a housecat's. I had that in mind when I answered the oft-asked question: "what's it like being the mother of two children?" My reply became a canned response: "I don't know! I feel like I am the mother of one lively toddler and a housecat--she just stays curled up in the corner of the room, looking all cute and sweet. When I want cuddles, she's happy to oblige me, but I seldom hear a peep from her unless she's hungry!" 

Here is our little kitty cat on the prowl at 11 months old :)  She learned to walk unsupported only days later!

As she's grown, she has been quick to smile. I love her nerdy toothy grin with big gaps in between each tooth. And I love how she wrinkles her nose sometimes when she smiles. Her happy noise comes from her throat and sounds like a pigeon's purr, though I'm sad to say she is starting to grow out of that. 

Probably one of my most favorite things about Heidi is that she has generally allowed me to comfort her. When she cries, I hold her or hug her, or pat her back. . .and she stops crying! It makes me feel . . .the way I've always wanted to feel as a mom--like I am a strength and a support to my child and my help is wanted and needed. I love that feeling!

One time when she was a few months old, I tried to give her a bath in the bathroom sink. I hadn't tried it with her before and realized by trial and error that she was too big for the sink! As her limbs flailed around to demonstrate her discomfort in this tiny excuse for a bathtub, she pushed the handle on the faucet toward HOT. It wasn't  scalding luckily, but it was certainly uncomfortably hot--worth every decibel of noise that escaped from her lips. Of course I immediately yanked her out of the sink and pulled her dripping wet body close to me. She screamed as she clung to me. I spoke softly to reassure her (and to apologize). I stroked her head and patted her back and within about 30 seconds. . . she was calm. I know that might sound like a simple story, but to me it was profound. I am so grateful for this girl and that my presence comforts her. 

Now that I've caught up on some memories and general feelings about my baby, here are some recent Heidi-isms, with some pictures to spice it up:

Heidi has been learning some ASL signs! So far, at 14 months she knows:

• Dog
• Bird
• More
• Hi/bye
• All done
• Milk
• Ouch!
• Help

This past week, I was holding Heidi and she leaned forward to bite my chin--HARD! I said "No Heidi girl! Don't bite Mama!" She looked at me with concern and made the sign for "ouch!" I agreed, saying "that's right Heidi! It hurt! Can you kiss Mama better?" and she did! Although my chin was sore, it was so fun to see her interact with me and show understanding!

This is what she looks like when she reaches for me. It melts me!

Working on those first steps!

This just doesn't happen anymore--Heidi girl is just too busy to fall
asleep on anyone these days. . .but church got in the way of naptime
and Heidi made an exception. I just had to capture this rare sweet moment.

                                          Not only does this video show that she is just SOOO darn
                                          cute, but see those dots? She likes to "pick them up" and
                                          "eat them" ha ha! Funny baby!

This little sweetie has learned this month how
to fold her arms for prayers, and she does so on
command!

Silly girl, she loves to eat everything! And often times she doesn't take the
trouble to pick it up and put it in her mouth. She just laps it up right from the
ground like a little puppy! She wouldn't have made the cut for  Gideon's
army! (Judges 7:4-7)

This little doll-face just LOVES her chicken dinosaurs! In
fact, I would say they are currently her favorite food. The
trouble with them is that they start out frozen. . .and to get
them to the point of being edible, they've got to be microwaved
and possibly even cooled. The wait resulted in her very first
kicking-and-screaming-on-the-floor tantrum. . .like the kind
you see in cartoons :) When I finally handed her the goods,
she was content to just stay where she was and gobble it up!

Heidi is mesmerized by animals so her favorite song right now is "Old McDonald". She likes saying "E-I-E-I" She doesn't have the "O" down yet, but that kinda makes it cuter :)

Heidi likes the book: "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?"

. . .and she loves kissing things--like this black sheep in the book. . .

Now I think this one is better blurry because it
shows how excited she was to discover helium balloons--
there was just a constant flurry of cuteness zipping past!

                                 . . .and herself. How can she resist? I know I can't stop kissing her!!

This girl thinks she's "ready to read". Here she is at the library, browsing through
the early chapter books. Doesn't it just look like she's saying "hmmm. . .what should
I read today?"

Heidi has learned to color. . .on the floor. But I showed her the

paper and told her that we only color on paper. Ever since then,

she has pulled out a piece of paper and sat down with a crayon/

marker/ pencil crayon and went to town scribbling.

. . .and then she made me realize that my rule
doesn't always hold true. I guess there's a time
and a place to color on the ground.

This one's a little blurry, but still! She made an adorable
elephant for Halloween! Oh goodness!

If you can't tell from this picture, being this baby's Mama is an absolute joy. . .really just a dream come true!

How to Get Your Spouse to do More Housework!

My husband is a stud. Really though! He is a natural at marriage. From the moment we got married it was as though marriage fit him like a comfy pair of tennis shoes--so well, and without rubbing the wrong way. He shines in so many areas and one of those areas is gratitude. It's just his way-of-life to say "thank you", which is nice, because as they say "being a stay-at-home-mom is a thankless job!" And there's definitely truth to that--like when all you have at home is a non-verbal infant whose best version of reciprocity is to "return" the applesauce you gave her by spitting it all over your face. . . But staying at home doesn't have to be totally thankless, thanks to husbands :)

It helps that my husband is observant--he notices things. He notices if I've cleaned the house. . .or part of the house. . .or just vacuumed. I'm sure he also notices when I don't clean the house, but he has a positive attitude and chooses not to dwell on that. One of the things that just warms my heart, actually stems from me having a rough day. . .or at least a not-well-planned day. Sometimes me and the kids hang out at home just long enough to mess up the house. We take off to run errands and then it seems we return home just in time to add to the mess--by making dinner. On some of those days, the bed is even left unmade, there are toys all over the house, the bathroom is a mess, there are dirty diapers on the change table and the kitchen is in shambles.

Then my knight in shining armor walks in the door with a big smile on his face and expressions of love on his lips. Our little girl wraps her arms around his neck for a big welcome home hug. Our baby smiles, coos, and claps. If we're really on top of it, we'll greet him with a chorus of "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow". I give him a hug and a kiss. We're all glad he's home. He doesn't mention a thing about the state of the house. Instead, he gives me a long hug, tells me he loves me and that he's happy to see me. As he walks into the bedroom to put his things down, he lays his backpack down on the unmade bed and notices beside it, a laundry basket. The laundry is clean. . .and dry, but that's all it is. It's not folded or put away, it's just a tangled mess that's accumulating wrinkles. Of the plethora of comments he could choose to make at that moment, he just says cheerfully "thanks for doing the laundry!"

Can I just tell you how very loved that makes me feel? Just moments before, I was feeling a little vulnerable because "why did I even bother doing the laundry if I couldn't do it all the way?" (my thoughts). In stark contrast to my insecurities, I now feel validated for my efforts. I feel safe--safe in my home, safe being myself, safe with my spouse. Have I ever heard him say "what do you do all day?" Never. (And I don't expect to--he protects my feelings . . .and he has spent time with the children, so he knows how high maintenance they are and how it takes at least 4x longer to get anything done when the girls are circling around like hungry sharks.)

Here are my two cute little handfuls!

Anyway, you know what's remarkable about his comment besides the fact that it's totally sweet and selfless? It's motivating! It makes me want to do better! No amount of nitpicking could possibly make me want to do better at cleaning, scheduling my day, or using the girls' nap times more wisely, but sincere expressions of gratitude are addictive! I just want more! In fact, I so appreciate being appreciated that I have often been laughed at for saying "thanks for thanking me!" But I mean it! Not only am I motivated to do better because I think the words "thank you" sound good together, but I'm motivated because he's so good at making me feel happy and loved--I just want to do the same for him! As a side note--it's nice to know that it's possible to make him happy. It's not a losing battle, instead nearly every effort seems to be worthwhile.

Other expressions of gratitude  from my thankful spouse include "thanks for cleaning the house" (yes, that happens too), "thanks for breakfast" (sometimes even when it's just cold cereal--that makes me smile), thanks for dinner (even when I can tell it's not his favorite) "thanks for taking good care of the kids". . . and the list goes on.

Even though I'm not perfect, rather than picking from a list of flaws as long as my arm, my husband gives me the benefit of the doubt that I'm trying. And I don't have to do my "absolute best" either--in fact, he has communicated that he prefers I don't. His love for me is not conditioned on my doing my absolute best--he loves me unconditionally, and he wants me to know that. So my "reasonable best" is good enough. giving my absolute best is risky! Sure, the house might be clean, but my perfectionistic tendencies (along with my stress level) would be sky high. When stress is high, sanity and happiness are low. That's problematic for both of us because my husband has adopted the adage: "Happy wife, happy life". I like that! But I think "happy spouse, happy life", though not rhyming, is closer to the truth.  That way, each other's happiness is in both of our best interests.

In conclusion: as long as my husband and I try our reasonable best to keep each other's happiness in mind, not forgetting to use a healthy helping of "thank-you's", I think we'll continue to be each other's favorite happy thoughts. . .and the house will probably look as good as it's gonna get!

Leila-isms (#4)

So, I keep saying I'll do better with recording the cute things that my kids say/do. . .but it just never comes to fruition. So I've made a new goal to try to make this happen--I'm going to write down moments all month long, then on my girls' "un-birthdays" (the day of the month when my girls were born--Leila is the 5th and Heidi is the 25th) I will publish those memories and milestones :) So happy un-birthday to Leila! She is 40 months old today (3 years, 4 months)!!!

1) A Forgiving Heart
It was a rough day with Leila. She was super emotional, whiny, and oppositional. I lost my cool with her more than once :(

Leila: (mumbling something) . . .like Jesus.
Me: What's like Jesus?
Leila: (smiling) You are!
Me: No. Not today!
Leila: Why?
Me: Because I got really upset at you today.
Leila: That's OK! You're nice now!

I love how forgiving children are!

2) A Sweet Prayer (later that day at bedtime)

Leila: You're a great Mom! And I know you're thankful for me!
Me: Thank you! And you're right! I am thankful for you! I'm so glad you're my daughter! . . . It's time to say the prayer. Would you like to say it? Or would you like me to?
Leila: I'll say it! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! AMEN! Ha ha! Just kidding! Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for my mom and that she's so cute. . .

 3) Swings: Leila-Style 

a fairy dress-up costume complete with shiny stretchy pants, wings, and a bike helmet with a unicorn on top. . .and of course a great big smile :D

4) A Cute Prayer

Leila: Thank you for my mom and that she's so great, thank you for my dad, that he's so great, thank you for Leila, that I'm so great, thank you for Heidi, that she's so great. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.
Me: *laughing a little*
Leila: What? Why are you laughing?
Me: Because. . .that was a cute prayer.
Leila: Ya. . .that's 'cause I'm cute!

5) Mirror 

"Mom, I love you. . .even when I get mad at you."

6) Thanks Mom!

Here's a nice one for the month of Thanksgiving! They call motherhood "a thankless job", but Leila can actually be really good at saying thank you! These are two examples from today:

• Thanks for dinner tonight, Mom!
• Thanks for watching me when Daddy's at work!

7) Before Leila 

Aunt Sarah: (pointing to a photo) Who's that in this picture?
Leila: I dunno. Who is it?
Aunt Sarah: Look closer!
Leila: Oh! It's my Mama!
Aunt Sarah: That's right! That was before you were born, so you were in heaven!
Leila: Oh ya!! I was crying because I wanted my Mama!

8) Watch my Mouth

When Leila was a baby, a friend of mine was expecting her first child. She asked me an interesting question: "Is there anything you say that you don't want your kids repeating?" I just kinda raised my eyebrow at that and shrugged it off--"No". Well, sometimes you don't realize that what you say isn't always the best. . .until you hear it coming from a child's mouth. The other day, we walked outside and Leila started whirling around in circles and saying "What the heck?! It's nice outside! What the heck?! It's nice outside!What the heck?! It's nice outside!" That made me realize I should probably consider "heck" an "H word"!

Well, that's all for now folks! For more Leila-isms, check back in a month. . .hopefully I'll be following through with my goal at that time :)

For previous Leila-isms click here.