Her bedtime routine consists of a couple of stories in the rocker and then maybe a short one once she's in bed-or we sing songs. Then I turn on the turtle (puts stars on the ceiling), wind up her (mine, actually that she found in my stuff) music box and she's good to go. She often can take up to an hour to fall asleep-but she doesn't cry or try to get out of bed or her room or anything. She apparently just takes a long time to really settle in. Also-if it's the least bit light outside still-she will not fall asleep until it's completely dark. July was a rough month!
She had her 3 yr checkup last week and she's 38 in tall and a whopping 30.5 lbs. Yep-long and lean! She's all legs . . . We got pictures taken last week too-I'll get them up in another post.
I've been keeping a mental list of all the funny and weird things she does:
-she's obsessed with anything Ariel-do you know how many Ariel movies there are? I do. When someone comes up to her and asks her name-she almost always tell them she's Ariel. She has an Ariel swimsuit that gets worn around the house constantly and sometimes to bed.
--speaking of clothing, for Josie the rule is-less is better. She prefers to run around in "just my tummy" (meaning just a pull-up or underwear). And at night she likes to sleep in "just my tummy" or "just my legs" (nightshirt only). When we go outside she likes to go in "just my feet" (barefoot).
-she's started acting out her favorite movies: she likes to pretend to be Littlefoot and will randomly yell "Oh no! A Sharptooth! Run!" and then she screams and runs away from . . . . well, nothing . .. .
-While she watches her movies (that she's seen a million times), she really gets into it: She's all "Oh no! What's gonna happen?" or "Will he be okay?" There is always lots of screaming, empathy for sad characters, and cheering when the day is saved. Or when the Sharptooth falls off a cliff, again.
-she's taken to coming up and hugging me while nuzzling my neck going "mommy, mommy". Unbelievably sweet even though I know she's mimicking a scene from Land Before Time.
-She loves popcorn but really loves to eat unpopped kernels even though I've told her not too over and over again. Drives me nuts.
-When we brush our teeth together she makes me put my head next to hers and put my arm around her just so and we watch ourselves in the mirror while we brush. She's all "Let's do it together!"
-She can totally laugh at herself-last nite she was all upset because she couldn't find a bath toy and she was upset with me because she thought I took it or something. Anyway-I realized it was stuck in the cup she had in her hand and when I pointed it out she totally realized how silly she was being and cracked up. She does stuff like that all the time-she'll be in the middle of a tantrum over something she can't find or do and then completely turn it around and be laughing because she found it or accomplished it.
--DRAMA QUEEN! She loves to be the center of attention but will act shy at the same time. She'll hide behind me but peek around to make sure people are still paying attention to her. She overreacts to things and likes to burst into Ariel songs at random times.
-stubborn, stubborn, stubborn. The phrase "bit off her nose to spite her face" is a perfect description of her temperament.
--she still loves her fruit and veggies. I've never seen a child eat green beans, peas, corn, and edamame the way she does. She also loves spaghetti, mac-n-cheese. and hot dogs so she is a normal kid. She has a salty tooth (for chips and fries) rather than a sweet tooth. Don't get me wrong-she likes M&Ms and ice cream-but she generally stops after several bites.
--she's very tuned into my moods now. She used to not pay any attention when I lost my temper with her-it would just roll off her back. Now she'll come up to me and say "you mad?" and I'll reply yes or no or tell her i'm just frustrated and why . . . . She'll then wait a moment or two. Then "you happy now?". That alone cracks me up and improves whatever mood I'm in.
-She is extremely concerned about me and where I am ever since I was hospitalized in June. She's always asking if I have an owwie, if my owwie is all better now, etc. When she was with me for a blood draw she held my hand and told me that it was okay and she would take care of me. It was sweet and heart-breaking at the same time-she's a baby-she shouldn't be worrying about me. It's going to be awful for her if I end up having surgery to close the hole in my heart since that would require another overnite hospital stay.
Okay-enough with all of that-time for some pics from our afternoon on the beach. She had a blast with Brady digging in the sand, taunting the waves, and flying a kite.
Jo
