Hold me closer tiny dancer

Mark and I finally uploaded Elisabeth's ballet recital videos. Get out your popcorn and prop up your feet, and prepare to be razzle-dazzled.

I still get choked up when I watch these videos. Not because they're sad or sappy, but because our little Elisabeth is growing up. And fast. She starts Kindergarten in the fall. Holy moly. How is it possible that we are about to enter into the school years? Don't get me wrong - we are like, soooo excited that she is entering this new chapter. Look out stinky cafeteria and sweaty gym locker room, here comes Elisabeth!!!

Anyway, here are the long-awaited videos. Keep in mind that the recital happened while Mark was still in the hospital. So Mark's mom came with me and Sydney. And I am truly impressed with the amount of focus Elisabeth had on stage, all things considered. She even told me on our way to the library today as we passed the building that her recital was in that she loooooved being on the stage. And yet, she says she hates ballet. Go figure.

Do you remember the YouTube sensation "The Evolution of Dance"? (If you know Mark, I highly recommend you watch the clip. Even if you've seen it before. The likeness of this guy to Mark is uncanny! Elisabeth even said "hey, that looks just like my daddy" when I showed it to her.) All of the spring dance classes collaborated and put on their own version of the Evolution of Dance. It's worth watching.

You can't really see Elisabeth (she's the third on the left, with an extra band of orange across her waist - I had no idea which she was when they started dancing so I taped everyone) but the whole group of girls dancing somewhat chaotically but very enthusiastically is 100% priceless!!




And here is our little tap dancer with her two dance classmates. Elisabeth is on the right. For as much as she says she hated ballet (the teacher was 'mean' - but truly not! and her legs always hurt), she looked pretty good! You also get to see little Sydney at the beginning and end of this video, asking about her big sis "ay-yah" (aka ellie).



***sigh.***

And the Coolest Dad award goes to...

At least I think it's the Coolest Dad award - if not, perhaps it's the Guy With the Grossest Job award. I'll have to ask Elisabeth and get back to you on that one.

Either way, there should be an award for Mark.

Oh by the way, this happened in April but I'm way behind on things. I'm not sure what happened. Maybe it's the mommy of two beautiful girls and wife to a man who had a heart attack and woman with the so-called career thing that got in the way.

Anyway, back in April Elisabeth was learning about bugs in her pre-K class. So with daycare's permission, Mark brought in some living, creeping, crawling specimens to Elisabeth's class.

Actually, before he brought them to pre-K he had them shipped to his office.

And then brought them home to sleep at our house.

And then he brought them to her class. Great, thanks. I've always wanted giant petri dishes of fleas, houseflies and cockroaches (two kinds - American and German, so as not to discriminate) in my house.


Eww.

I went in with Mr. Mark the Bug Man, eagerly awaiting the kids' reactions. I grew nervous after Miss Becky informed me that the kids usually freak out over any kind of bug that accidentally travels off course and into their classroom. I worried that the kids would freak their freaks when they saw these Monster-sized cockroaches, too.


Amazingly, when a bug is trapped inside a petri dish and sealed shut with black electric tape the kids lose all fear and realize that THEY are the ones in control.

Eventually the kids got so confident in their bug-handling abilities that they got a little rougher with the petri dishes. Some so rough that the mini-water capsules that are attached to the inside of the dish and help to sustain the bugs broke loose. Do you know what happens when a bug-sustaining mini-water capsule breaks loose? It pretty much turns into a weapon of mass bug destruction, and starts rolling over all of the bugs. And I will admit, there was a monstrously large part tiny fraction of me that enjoyed seeing the yucky gross bugs be demolished. I think the boys thought this was great too. Although I am not quite sure they understood exactly what they were doing, as some of them started asking things like "how come this one's wings came off?"

And just for fun...

I mean...

I should say thank you to the daycare directors for letting Mark bring the bugs in. I think the kids really enjoyed the hands-on experience.


I think the daycare directors enjoyed it too, no?

Perfect timing and a perfect heart

Mark had an echocardiogram this morning.

The tech said that his heart looked as if nothing was ever wrong with it!

I am happy to hear that, and I pray that the tech, nurse and cardiologists have the wisdom to see or not see whatever it is that they need to see or not see, and that his heart is truly healed.

MckMama over at mycharmingkids.net put up this post, which includes a great analogy about God being the one in control even if we think we're the ones in control. How does she do that? She always seems to know exactly what I need to hear. It's a good reminder, that while we may think we know exactly where we are headed (or on the other end of the spectrum, while we may happen to freak out at the fact that we have no stinking idea what the future holds which scares the crap out of us), ultimately it is Him who will guide us to wherever it is that we are headed. To put our trust in Him, and he will get us there when it's time to get there.

Even though we don't know for sure that Mark's heart is healed (but can we just hope and pray that it really is? thanks.) or what's in store for our future, God knows the plan. And he will hold our hands as he takes us on that journey.

Time in a Bottle

I was looking at old videos (what a relative term "old" is - I'm only talking a year here - but a lot sure does happen to a kid in a year!!!) of Sydney today, and ran into this one. It's actually more about Elisabeth than it is Sydney. I love this video.

Elisabeth no longer has that little squeak in her voice. **sniff sniff**

But she still has that same spark and love for making up songs. And, as she puts it, love for her "great fam-i-ly."



Gosh I love that kid.

Brush your teeth!

Brush teeth every night before bed? Yeah, we do that.




Although...now that I look at these pictures I can see quite clearly how Elisabeth got that cavity.

And in case my children aren't enough of a reminder, here is the Sesame Street gang performing in a pageant about oral hygiene, produced by Bert. (And don't ask me what the first split second is all about - perhaps some kind of subliminal message from the 70's?)



I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. I love me some Prairie Dawn. She cracks me up!

Bokeh Master

I have always wanted to take pictures with great bokeh - you know, where the subject is crisp and the background is all blurry. Okay, maybe you didn't know. I didn't know this photographic style had a name until recently. Anyway, in order to achieve the crisp subject with blurry background you need a shallow depth of field / large aperture setting.

My Nikon D40 kit lenses didn't allow me to do this, so for Mother's Day Mark bought me a new camera lens that does allow for this. I LOVE it! And Mark.

The problem is, the new lens doesn't autofocus on my D40. Well, it's our D40, but I think I've claimed the rights to it. I mean, the lawnmower is ours too, but I'm not jumping to use it. So the new lens doesn't autofocus on our D40 - you have to manually focus the lens on your subject. It's a function of the camera from what I hear, which means I'm now saving my pennies for a bigger and better camera model.

And here is why:


I was focusing on her eyes, just like I was taught. Can't you tell?

(But WOW those little foam disks Sydney is holding sure are beautifully in focus!)

Anyway, just wanted to share with you what many if not most of my pictures taken with this lens actually look like. Hope you enjoyed viewing my photographic awesomeness!

gone fishin'

On Sunday we had the pleasure of a short visit by my brother and his family. They just moved from Hawaii to an undisclosed location in the continental US, and in the matter of a week bought their first house and a minivan. Talk about getting a bunch of grown-up moments done at once! They drove 16 hours in their new vehicle and stopped at our house en route to both sets of moms and dad's houses. I'm so glad we are somewhat on their route!

I was SO excited to have them over - it's not often we get to hang out just us kids the two of us and our spouses and children and pets without mom and dad (no offense mom and dad - it was just nice to hang out on our turf)!

It was totally not planned - I swear - but my brother offered to help Mark put some of the finishing touches on the swingset. Without my even offering a beer as payment, mind you. He's so military like that. They put up some handle bars and accessories, and dug up the tree stump. Rest in peace little tree, rest in peace.

And I think this goes without saying that I have the cutest possible niece and nephew.


Growing up, you couldn't have paid me to talk nicely about my brother. But I sure do love him (and his awesome family) now!

One gigantic bubble

I had a sort of awakening this morning as I was watching the morning news. Have you heard about the toddler that got the pencil lodged in his neck, just barely missing his carotid artery, in a freak accident at the playground?

Thank God he is okay!

I immediately thought back to the silly injuries and black eyes my children have gotten recently and started thinking "This is why I would like to live in a bubble." Then I wouldn't have to worry so much, because the accidents wouldn't happen in the first place.

But then I started thinking about Mark's heart attack. Bubble or not, the heart attack was going to happen. So much for that theory.

Here's where my morning coffee kicked in. Are you ready?

What if we are in fact all living in a bubble already? One huge, larger than earth, unpoppable bubble. What if God is our bubble? After all, this is still Plan A, right? That's not going to change. God is not on Plan B. Whatever He has in store for us has already been decided. But His bubble is here to give us comfort in our time of need. He will protect us and give us the strength that we need to get through, as long as we trust Him and His almighty bubble.

I'm still struggling with the fact that the words heart attack have been added to our life's vocabulary. Now I'm a soccer mom and wife to a man who's had a heart attack. At the age of 37. But that is okay, because Mark is fine, and we are learning from this experience. In so many ways. More than I could probably express to you, and maybe I will do so in another post, at another time. But for now, for the literal - we have learned what a heart attack looks and feels like. We have learned that Mark will just need to be extra proactive with his health. We have learned that every day is a blessing. We will learn a new normal - one that's not too far off from our old normal, but again, in so many ways is different. We will survive this. We already have.

It was indeed a heart attack

I have a mix of emotions running through my body right now. And will update with details later. Mark is fine, and it was not your everyday run of the mill average Joe heart attack so that's good. Still, I am left with my own heavy heart over hearing the words heart attack again.

Beads Baubles and Bows

Material girl.

Accessories included.

A father's love (for one of two).

Small packages.

Baby curls included.

What more could a person ask for on Mother's Day?

Ahead of the curve. And a beauty tip.

Remember when I told you about Elisabeth's first black eye at the age of 5?

Well Sydney has got Elisabeth beat by 3.5 years.

This picture was taken on Day 2. And of course, Day 3 is picture day at daycare. Such perfect timing, as always.

I will let those of you who have endured the Icepack vs. Toddler battle in on a little secret: Forgo the ice for egg white. That's right, egg white. Not only is it cold on the skin, it's also a lot gentler to repeatedly dab on vs. fighting to keep an icepack on your child's face. And also takes the swelling down quicker. And gives them a great skin tightening facial. My neighbor's mother happened to witness alongside me the bridge of Sydney's nose meeting the bottom edge of the slide as she fearlessly slid down on her belly. And the jelly bean sized bump that popped up instantaneously right between the eyes. She very calmly told me to get an egg white and I thought "what on earth is she talking about? egg white? how about ICE!" She proceeded to tell me that she grew up in Poland, where they didn't have ice cubes, so this is what they did.

And I will tell you, it works! I wonder if she knows which food product can cover up a black eye...

Humbling

To quote two of my favorite SNL characters, "We're not worthy! We're not worthy!"

It is honestly quite humbling to see the kind of support we have been given over the past 6 days. Prayers. Meals. Chats. Visits. It's made me realize what a great web of community we have managed to weave ourselves into.

Along with our families, our neighbors have been incredible. Our neighbor Erica heard that Mark wasn't allowed to have a chocolate chip cookie from "room service" because he was on the "heart healthy" floor. So what did she do? She made him a gigantic cookie that said "Get Well Soon" which tasted even better than a Mrs. Field's cookie. I would have taken a picture of it, but Mark dug right in as soon as I walked in the house with it! Our neighbors have given us meals. Our field grass is being mowed for us later this week. Elisabeth played at a neighbor's house so Mark and I could lay down and rest while Sydney napped. Have I ever mentioned how much I love our neighbors?

My mom also came down on Monday after the dust started to settle. This was another nice treat for the girls and she helped me to take my mind off of things for a while. I totally needed that.

Our church has also helped us in more ways than one. I ran into two ladies from our church on Sunday at Elisabeth's ballet recital, one of whom was dancing in the recital - and proved to be a fantastic tap dancer. We talked about Mark, and they told me to call if there was anything we needed, and to not be shy. So, in my quest to not be shy, I called. Well, in all honesty, our pastor called us the next day, and I asked him. Baby steps, right? We now have hot meals for the next three nights being delivered. Last night's menu? Roast beast. And green beans and mashed potatoes. And for dessert? Homemade brownies with ooey gooey chocolate frosting. Yum-O. We all devoured it. And of course thanked God for the good meal. Because cereal can be fun for dinner, but not every night for a week. Which is what we would have had if I was in charge this week.

Earlier this week Pastor Mike stopped by. Two days in a row actually. The first day I was not home, so he and Mark had a good manly chat. You would have to ask Mark what they discussed, as I am not privy to man talk. Maybe sports. Or what Mark has been through. Or both. Pastor Mike brought a handmade wooden cross that was made by a member of our church. This man made many of these crosses for people that needed extra prayers - he passed away recently, and we have one of the last few remaining crosses. Have I mentioned that we're not worthy?


The second day Pastor Mike came with a prayer shawl for Mark. A fantastic group of women at our church make these prayer shawls, and I have placed my hands on many of them during church and prayed for the recipient. How speechless was I when I saw that we were now the recipients of one! And yes, I cried. How did you know I would cry?

There was a card that accompanied the shawl, and I hope the ladies don't mind that I'm sharing the note with you:

Dear Mark,

This prayer shawl is covered with prayers for your good health, comfort and strength. May our Lord Jesus Christ continue to use you and shine through you at this time, and in the future.

May His healing hands cover you and hold you in His peace.

"Hearts and Hands"
Shawl Ministry of Living Waters Lutheran Church



Humbling. Have I mentioned that word yet?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On a medical note, Mark is still actually in a lot of pain. Seems morphine is the best stuff ever, but that is obviously not what he was sent home with. He now has a lot of chronic G.I. pain, and I cringe watching him eat because every time he swallows it looks like someone has just punched him in the stomach. The Dr. thinks this is simply from aspirin, but even with Prilosec to stop the burn he is keeled over in pain. His back also hurts quite a bit. He is planning on seeing the Dr. today, whether they like it or not, because really - he cannot keep going like this. Nor can I stand to watch him like this. I am relieved he did not have a heart attack or a clot, but nobody should have to be in pain like this. Or any other pain. Even if it is plan A.

It is God who is my helper, the heart of Love who sustains my life. - Psalm 54:6

It has been a long weekend, to say the least. One of the longest of my life.

Mark woke up very early Friday morning with pain in his chest and back. I, being the good wife that I am, told him to go back to bed. So, after 3 hours of trying to get rid of the pain he did. He woke up with the same pain Saturday morning around 2am and after unsuccessful attempts at relieving the pain, we decided he should go into urgent care. And assumed they would just give him a muscle relaxant and send him on his merry way. I half slept for the next hour or so, and dreamed that Mark had something wrong with his back and would require back surgery. So when I got a call at 4am from urgent care saying they were sending him via ambulance to the emergency room and that he had elevated heart enzymes but was fine, I thought "Oh good, I'm going back to bed".

But the lady kept talking, and calmly started giving me directions to the hospital.

"Am I supposed to go in? I have 2 kids in bed right now" I said, trying to figure out what heart enzymes were.

"Yes, I think that would be a good idea ma'am," she said.

I hung up and started walking in circles. "This can't be happening," I said out loud. I called our neighbors Doug and Lisa. They came over right away. Doug works in a cath lab, and was able to explain to me that yes, I definitely needed to get there right away, and that elevated heart enzymes can be many things - one of which is a heart attack, but hopefully it's just a panic attack.

So I hopped in my car and started driving. Do you know that White Castle is open at 4:30am? Taco Bell too. McDonald's is not. I focused on whatever I could, drove the exact speed limit in the middle lane for fear of hitting a random walker on the side of the road.

I arrived at the hospital and walked around the desk and found a nurse sitting behind the desk.

"Are you Mark Taylor's wife?" she said. Mark was the only one in there.

"Yes, I am. How is he doing?"

"It appears he has had a small heart attack."

A small heart attack. I certainly didn't expect to hear that. After all, I was ready to go back to bed when the nurse called me! I took Mark's wedding rings. They were too big for my thumbs. I really wanted them on my fingers but knew I would lose them. Reluctantly, I put them in my wallet. I walked with Mark and two nurses up to the 2nd floor, where he was going to have an angiogram to check for blockages in his arteries.

"Is there anyone we can call? A friend, or family member?" the nurse asked. The only time I have ever heard anyone on TV ask that is if someone is dying. So of course, I started crying.

"No," I replied. As did Mark.

"Okay, well we can send in the chaplain." Again, never said on TV unless it's really bad. We cried, kissed each other, and off they went. I walked into the darkest, biggest, emptiest waiting room I have ever seen. I called Mark's parents and told them what I knew - that Mark had a small heart attack. They hopped into the car and drove to our house to get directions to the hospital from Doug and Lisa. I called my dear friend Kate, who helped calm me down, and helped me to realize how lucky we are that we have people like Doug and Lisa. She's so right. Lisa was even sweet enough to bring Elisabeth to her ballet rehearsal in the morning, for which I am so thankful. Kate came to relieve Doug and Lisa and spent the day with the girls, so that Mark's parents and I could come and go as needed. I'm so lucky to also have Kate in my life. She spent the day being manipulated by two girls, playing games, playing outside, and baking cookies with Elisabeth.

After what felt like a day but was probably more like an hour, one of the nurses came into the waiting room. "Mrs. Taylor?" the nurse said.

"Yes?" I wiped the tears away from my face and tried to hide the entire box of tissues that I had just used up.

"Mark's angiogram was clear! His arteries are clear, and he did not have a heart attack!"

What a relief! I was not going to be husband-less any time soon!

So we got settled in Mark's hospital room. The heart unit was filled with old men. And Mark. It truly felt like a place we were not supposed to be. Mark's parents came in a while later and we all thanked God that Mark was okay. Mark was already on morphine (among other meds but the initial hours are such a blur) but had a lot of heartburn. He thought he just needed a 7-Up. I am fairly certain that this was the anesthesia talking, or it could be because the nurse was cute and he just wanted some nurse lovin'. Anyway, throughout the day his blood levels and his EKG still showed irregular readings, so we certainly were not out of the woods yet. Mark would need a CatScan to make sure a blood clot/pulmonary embolism was not a possibility. I went home for a while to kiss our girls and help Kate with lunch/naptime, and we all returned to visit Mark prior to the CatScan. When we walked in, Mark was in tears and his mom was rubbing his shoulders. Not knowing what was going on, I assumed Mark had just been given very bad news. However it was only that he was in the worst amount of pain yet. The next dose of morphine had not kicked in yet. I felt so bad, and also so confused. Why, if the heart was being ruled out, did he have such horrendous pain? It was in his chest, across his shoulders and in his finger and elbow joints. Aside from his pain, we had a nice visit with Mark - Elisabeth and Sydney brought cards they had made with Kate that morning, and Elisabeth picked out some flowers and balloons for her daddy. I am not sure who enjoyed the balloons more - Elisabeth, Sydney or Mark. But Mark got to keep them in the room.

Mark had some more tests (an Echo which showed nothing out of the ordinary, more EKG's and more blood work) and his CatScan - what a cool looking machine! - and that came back perfect as well. No blood clot to worry about. Thank God! Still, the question remained - what on earth was going on? Mark's primary physician had suspected that if it wasn't a heart attack or a blood clot, it could be a viral attack on the heart tissue. A viral attack? That scared us. How could that be good? So we all went to bed with many questions answered but many also unanswered.

It was such a long day. It felt like 4 days rolled into one, really. What a roller coaster. Good news, bad news, unanswered questions, worry, relief, etc. Still, as exhausted as we all were, I felt okay for the most part. I put myself on some kind of autopilot throughout the day. Of course I cried, but I also joked, smiled, kissed my husband and my kids, was a wife, a mom, everything I am supposed to be. What else can a person do when there is so much up in the air? This is one thing I have learned recently, that you need to just "relax" (so not possible) and put your trust in God. I did. I also leaned heavily on the support of friends, family, neighbors, and our pastor. For the first time in a while I accepted help. And lots and lots of prayer.

We went to bed. Exhausted. And slept as well as we could. I think Mark got the best night's sleep of all of us! ("Thanks to the morphine," he says.)

The next morning we got ready. I grabbed my 18 (okay, 5) bags of stuff which included Elisabeth's ballet recital costume and we all headed over to the hospital. Mark looked good. He was sitting in a chair, and was no longer connected to saline and Heparin drips. And yes, Mark did in fact get the best night's sleep out of all of us. Potentially better than all of us combined. The Dr. ruled out the viral attack based on extra blood tests, and the new theory was that his two preventative meds (Niaspan for triglycerides and Antara for good cholesterol) were working against each other creating an intramuscular (not necessarily heart) problem. Mark has been taking these meds for 3 years though, so we are not totally convinced that's the only thing going on. Mark's been under a lot of stress lately, so perhaps that added into the equation was enough to send us into this nightmare? In any case, the plan is to stop taking one of the meds and see if that helps. Mark has been eating well and exercising for years now in an effort to prevent the heart issues that run in the family. Which is why we were so confused about the situation in the first place.

Mark's mom, Sydney and I took Elisabeth to her ballet recital and left Mark and his dad at the hospital. The recital was quite possibly the cutest thing I have ever seen. I was concerned about Elisabeth considering the circumstances, but she did great! However when I greeted her afterward she was crying hysterically - to the point that her face looked broken out in a rash - and she said she was upset because her Barbie video game didn't have batteries in it. I am fairly certain this was her stress level finally getting the best of her.

We called Mark after the recital, and he was discharged - and already home! It was so nice to drive home and sit down with him in our own house, knowing we would not have to drive back to the hospital. It was the first time all weekend that my own anxiety-induced chest pains disappeared. Mark is on many prescriptions right now - a Beta Blocker to prevent a heart attack, a blood thinner, a pain killer and an anti-inflammatory. And tylenol and aspirin. Along with his Niaspan. He said he feels like an old man, trying to remember when to take each medicine. He still gets the same pains in his shoulders and of course at the site where the catheter entered the artery for the angiogram, but he is able to control it. He has a follow-up appointment later this month, and we pray that he will be healed of whatever the problem is.

These are the words that were written on the wall in the cardiac unit: "It is God who is my helper, the heart of Love who sustains my life." I passed these words often over the course of the weekend. They were a comfort and reminder to me every time I passed them to put my faith in God. Elisabeth reminds us often that "God is in our hearts and in our bodies and all around us." She is so right. We were well taken care of this weekend by family, friends, neighbors, and God. We are so lucky to have this kind of support system. It's not something I truly realized until this weekend. A swingset is one thing (which is driven by beer, of course). Something like this is a whole other ballgame, you know?

Elisabeth Expressions

September, 2009:

Elisabeth: Mommy, you're a really good cook! You can be the Chef.


Me: WOW! Thank you Elisabeth! And what will Daddy be?

Elisabeth: He can be the waitress.

Me (after wiping the grin off my face): And what will you be when you grow up, Miss Elisabeth?

Elisabeth: I will be a Doctor. No, a Dentistor.

*********

August 7, 2009:

Sydney, when you gwow up, you're gonna have BIG boobies sticking out!

*********

July 11, 2009:

Elisabeth: "Mom, close your eyes."

Me: "Okay, they're closed."

Elisabeth: "Did you close the ones in the back of your head too mom?"

*********

June 16, 2009:

"Charlie, when I get to heaven I'll know just which cat to look for, because there will be lots of gray cats, but you'll be the one with the gween eyes." **sniff sniff**

*********

Mom: What do you think heaven looks like?

Elisabeth: Well, heaven is on an cloud.

With chairs maybe.


*********
Elisabeth, age 3 (in a low grumbly voice) : "Fee, Fo, Five, Six, I smell the blood of an en-glish muf-fin!"

sydney speak

September 28, 2010

Sydney sang the days of the week for us recently. Here is her highly accredited version:

Taturday, Tunday, Monday, Tuesday, Taturday!

That's my kind of week, my friends.


September 15, 2009:

Coo-coo. The first time we heard her say it was while having a bite of Mark's cookie dough ice cream. Oh, the look of sheer delight on her face!


August 13, 2009:

Sydney can communicate pretty well these days, if you know her lingo. Here are a few more words she says:

Kuh (truck)
Kah (car)
Goaaaaa (Goat) - this one cracked me up. She was looking at a metal artform that just happened to look like a goat. I didn't even know she knew what a goat was, let alone a metal sculpture goat!
Mooo (moon) (also, moo)
woowoo (dog) how cute is that?

And here is a typical conversation that you might hear in the car:

Sydney: Eye-ya! Kuh!

Elisabeth: (insert higher than normal voice) Yeah! A truck! Good Jahhhhhb Sydney!

Sydney: Mama!

Me: Yes Sydney?Sydney: Kuh!Me: That's right, it's a truck!

Sydney: Dada!Mark: Yes, Sydney!Sydney: Ah Kuh!

Mark: Yes Sydney, a truck!

Sydney: Eye-ya! Kuh!

You get the idea.

When Sydney sees something of interest, she points it out to every single one of us. It's adorable, and of course we play along!

August 5, 2009:

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new favorite word, and it goes a little something like this:

Nahoh. NAhoh. NAHOH!

(I'm pretty sure I don't have to translate this one, but just in case: it's "no. No. NO!")

June 1, 2009:

Sydney is starting to put multiple babbles into one complete babble sentence! It goes something like this:

MaMA diDEE diDEE ah cahh?

BaBa a mama a bah?

I don't know what either of those mean, but it's the cutest thing I have ever heard! This is one of my favorite ages. (I actually say that about a lot of ages, but really, this is truly on the top of the list!) This is where a little person starts to communicate with the world using the same words (or attempting to) that we do. And in the sweetest little toddler voice. A voice that we should cherish, because it won't be around forever! I love listening to children and toddlers talk.

May 14, 2009:

Here are a few of Sydney's words:

Ah Dada? (Where's Daddy?)
Ah Mama? (Where's Momma?)
Ah Joejen? (Where's Jordan?)
(you get the idea on the "Ah" - she asks this a lot. She's very curious!
Chacha (Charlie)
This is one of our faves: Aye-ya (Ellie)
Dadeeeeee (kittyyyyy)
MaMAH? (MORE?)
MaMih? (More milk?)
Jih (juice)

Of course all of these need to be read in a high pitched voice and read fast because that is how it would sound. They usually end in question intonation as well. (You know, if you want to be technical.)