{pretty, happy, funny, real} On Pretty Toddlerdom, Wellie Boots, Jingles, and Bugs

Over here, we have just weathered a week without our beloved pater familias!  Donnie has been away at a workshop in Canada.  I'm very happy to see this week come to a close, as it means he is on his way home.  Here's a {pretty, happy, funny, real}.  For more, check out Rosie's post at Like Mother, Like Daugher. 

{pretty}

Picture: Louisa standing on a table.

Picture: Louisa on table, with Maria looking on, delighted that Louisa is doing something as exciting and rule-breaking as standing on the table.

I'm finding this early walking period to be a particularly attractive phase for Louisa!  There's something about her bear-like figure--the belly leading the way, the straight back and the chunky legs, the ever more confidant steps--there's a felicity to it.   Seeing her toddle down the hallway sets off choirs in my head--it's a pint-sized symphony!  As you see, she's climbing as well as walking.  Of course, the mischief she gets into is not pretty.

{happy}

Picture: The infamous, but now-appreciated pink wellie boots.  Maria is introducing Loulou to her favorite hobby--rock collecting.

If you had asked me about these pink wellies three weeks ago, I would have told you a cautionary tale about the hazards of buying clothing for your child to grow into.  I bought these boots at a consignment sale when Maria was 18  months old. I thought that she would grow into them in a few months--clearly, wishful thinking was influencing my projections of Maria's foot growth!

Maria was smitten with these boots from the get-go, and tried to wear them despite their being too big.  The big-boots-on-small-child thing is cute in theory, but Maria inevitably put them on the wrong feet, tripped all over the place, hurt herself, and made a terrible fuss when I took them away.   Somehow, every time I went through the closet to bring out a new season of clothing, the pink wellies resurfaced, causing the drama to repeat.

Well, one overseas move and two years later, they finally fit!  It's been a rainy couple of weeks, so they're getting plenty of use.  Seeing Maria walk through puddles and knowing that her leather shoes are safe and dry a shelf in the foyer, makes me happy we held onto them.

{funny}

Picture: Unrelated picture of Loulou wearing a beret.

Lately, I've found it helpful to do a little internal pr campaign.  It's "internal," as in, "in my head.". It consists of a buzz phrase sung as a kind of jingle.  Here it is:

"Immune-building moment!" 

If I had could put little musical note symbols around it, I would. 

I sing this phrase to myself to gloss over the less than hygienic events that happen in the course of the day.  It's a "document it and call it a feature" sort of thing.

Some sample scenarios:

I'm on the sitting on the floor in front of our changing pad, having just finished changed Loulou out of a  dirty, leaking diaper.   Maria has been looking on from the sidelines. Before I'm able to give the pad a once-over with a wet-wipe (not to mention something with actual disinfecting power) Maria crawls onto to, putting her face where Louisa's bottom was not ten seconds before.

Cue music: "Immune building moment!

Louisa has gotten a hold of the toilet cleaning brush and is covered in toilet water--again!

"Immune building moment!"

What is she chewing?  Oh, it's is a piece of hamburger from a meal we had four days ago.

"Immune building moment!"

You see how it comes in handy!   Now you too can have immune building moments. 

{funny}

More evidence that Maria is a comfortable carnivore.  The other day, we walked by a house that had chickens pecking about in the yard.  Maria pointed to one of the feathered beauties and exclaimed, "Look!  It's food walking!"

{real}

Having Donnie away always feels "real."  It's a long day!

To add to the "reality," we've all been a bit under the weather this week.  Loulou has had a bout of diarrhea that has kept me busy changing her, doing laundry, and singing "immune building moment." Thank goodness, she has been in good spirits.  Thank goodness that we received two musical cards from Nana and Popop last week.  Louisa seldom stays on the mat for the duration of a change--but those two musical cards (one that sings "Lollipop" and the the other that sings "Happy Birthday") have kept her entertained cooperative during changes all week. 

Now, please go over and read Rosie's post, which doesn't mention poop even once!