Rodeo day

I knew that little girls like horses, so we decided to take a vacation day and take the kid to her first Fiesta de los Vaqueros Parade.

Two hours of nothing but horses and wagons.

She loved it. Jumping up and down loved it.

Guess we have to do it again next year.

Damn.

Well ...

... she loved MOST of it.

The world according to Kaylee

"pineconeapple"

Kaylee's first fire drill

First person accounts from the event:

Is berry loud. I scare. I cry lots.

Is no big deal. Is pretend. I go with my teachers. Go outside.

Leo scare too. He cry lots.

Make me sad. Fire engine make my safe.

Potty training

Good to know I could contribute something to the cause. 

Here's a quote from the wall at day care.

Shopping with Dad

It has been a long-standing tradition that I pick out all sunglasses for "my girls." I don't know how it started, but I'm pretty good at it.

So it is only fitting that I should pick out Kaylee's first pair.

Now if I could only get her to wear them on her eyes.

Dress up.

"I wear Mommy panties. Cheeeeesssseee."

At the Japanese restaurant

"Kaylee, do you want chicken teriyaki?"

"No. I no want chicken yucky."

I am going insane.

Huh?

That one word. That one syllable, is going to be my downfall.

Sometime between me leaving for Syracuse and my return, Kaylee has picked up a nasty little habit. She answers every question with "Huh?" I'm not pointing any fingers, but a certain someone was here during that time. I won't even name her (it rhymes with Schmaggie) because I can't prove that she was responsible. 

But if she knew how much it would bug me, I wouldn't put it past her to mastermind this whole thing.*

Do you want to watch Sesame Street?

Huh?

Do you want macaroni and cheese for dinner?

Huh?

Why are you sticking that in your ear?

Huh?

Why are you wearing your socks on your hands?

Huh?

Do you want to talk to Grandpa Charlie?

Huh?

Are you trying to drive Daddy insane?

Huh?

Do you want to go back inside the box?

Huh?

She huhs me. She huhs her mother. She huhs her teachers. She huhs the damn dogs. It's gotten so bad, I've actually caught her huh-ing herself as she plays. She'll ask herself or her dolls a question and reply with her new favorite word.

I'd pray to be delivered through this, but I'm afraid the one time I got a direct answer from on high it wouldn't be a burning bush, it wouldn't be a chorus of angelic voices - it would be one, little, annoying word.

Huh?

 

* Though that would take a certain amount of evil planning I don't know that she is capable of. She's not DIRECTLY related to me after all.

From the road

If you've been wondering what the he'll is going on with the Twitter feed, I've been on my annual trip to lovely Syracuse, NY. (I'm currently stuck on the runway in a plane with electrical woes.)

As part of the trip I spent a lot of time with the SU journalism students and I've determined a few things. 1) I'm old. 2) I'm not ready for Kaylee to grow up. 3) I don't want her to go away to school. And 4) If she does go away to school, I hope she never tells me stories like these students told me. They were no worse than what I did in college, but that's not the point.

Do as I say, not as I did.

The big news is that apparently, as of today Kaylee has been moved up to the next room at daycare. So I'm sure that means more of an emphasis on ABCs, 123s and a touch of potty training.

That may put her one step closer to frat parties, boy troubles and credit card debt - but at least she'll be wearing big girl panties.

And if I can keep her in Disney Princess Pull-Ups, maybe that will keep the boy troubles to a minimum.

Lessons learned at the ComicCon

Kaylee's getting one last run in the Spider-Man costume today. It barely fits, but we've donned it to better blend with Arizona's geeks.

We're surrounded by Stormtroopers, ninjas and a variety of overweight teens dressed in strange outfits that look more like pajamas than costumes.

I know I'm a dork, I dragged my family to a third-tier comic book convention after all, but there's just something about being surrounded by these people that makes you feel so much better about yourself.

And I think that's the lesson I hope Kaylee takes away from all of this.

You may not have a lot of money, you may not love your job, you may not be happy with the hand life has dealt you. But at least you're not an 45-year-old man dressed as what appears to be a cross between a kitty and a Japanese call girl.

OK. Now I'm ready to update.

Pretty sure I got the short end of the stick in this slipper exchange.

Now with 100% more fun!

I just realized that I haven't updated the blog in a while.

Not that I'm going to start now.

But I haven't forgotten about you – I'm just waiting for the next big event. Perhaps Kaylee's first car or her high school graduation.

Parenting tip #134

If your child is eating yogurt – and sneezes – do not wipe the yogurt off her pants and lick it off of your fingers. It might not be yogurt.

Shhhhhhh ...

... Mommy's sleeping.

Kaylee's new word

"But I AM Napoleon!"

At Grandpa Charlie's

"Ah eat da cheez."

Happy New Year 2

Oh, and Kaylee really enjoys bowling.

Happy New Year

We're an exciting bunch.

Knitting and writing performance evaluations. What a magical night.

Baking breakfast

Grandma Cindy knows how to entertain 2-year-olds.

Let them make a mess and call it breakfast.