I win!

Maybe its the hormones, maybe its that I'm not sleeping so well, or maybe its just she's so darn cute sometimes.

Lately, T has been learning lots of new things. New words, new ways to drive Mommy round the bend and new ways to interact with the world around her.

One such new thing is Iny Meany Miney Mo. I think she watched it on Little Bear because it was shortly after the show ended, that she came over to me with a twinkle in her eye. That twinkle can be very good or very bad. That twinkle is usually followed by her saying something that just cracks me up, even when its a bad thing.

She proceeded to make me make clenched fists and she aimed for my fist with her fist (she missed, so her fist bobbed up and down), all the time muttering something completely incoherent. Now, I knew she wasn't having a stroke (I wasn't sure at first given the non-sensical babble) so my next thought was she is trying to play Rock Paper Scissors.

Nuts, I thought (okay I thought a word was a bad word that I must stop saying within ear shot of little ears), I have NO idea how to play Rock Paper Scissors, that's S's department. So I tried to play along by making the paper gesture. Nope, I was told and the fist thumping continued.

Gotcha, it was Iny Meany Miney Mo. I repeated the words to the rhyme and T did her best to follow. She's slowly getting the rhyme but the fist tapping, not so much.

She thinks that she is supposed to hit both of my fists, not one of hers and one of mine.

Today while we were outside, she tried again unsuccessfully to grasp the fist thing. I tried to show her how to do it. When it was my fist that got hit last, I said "I win!".

T liked this idea of 'winning'.

She tried it again. She hit my fist last, therefore following the rules I know, I should have been declared the winner (she was after all hitting both my fists!).

But no, in T-land, she won. She very jubilantly squealed when the 'rhyme' she recited ended, "T won!" with a mile wide grin on her face. I hardly had the heart to tell her she was wrong because she was so proud of herself.

But being the perpetual party pooper, I did tell her she was wrong. So we tried again, she got it wrong again but jubilantly screeched, 'T won!'

I tried to get this on video but as soon as I went to get my tripod and camera (I could not hold the camera because she wanted to hit both my fists), she decided she'd had enough outside for one day and we needed to go inside. Now that she's getting to be a 'big girl', she shuns the camera. I use the term "big girl" loosely as she reverts very quickly to acting like a baby.

She has taken to trying to see the baby in Mommy's belly by head butting me in the belly button area. Then she tells me she's too big to see the baby. God help us all when the kidlet does arrive...if it can survive its sister, it withstand anything!

I'm still not convinced that she is excited about being a big sister. She muttered something to the effect that when she was a big girl, she'd be a doctor and take the baby away.

I guess we still need to work on the concept of the baby coming home to stay....

I done know my letters!

Well, okay I know my letters. T knows M for Mommy, B for Bart, D for Daddy, N is for Nana and most importantly, the letter T is for her name. We are working on G for Gryffin and P for Phenix.

We were working on our letters and numbers today and it evolved into an exchange something like this:

T: What's this?

Me: That is an E, E for Elephant.

T: Right, very good Momma.

Me: Why thank you, I have graduated from various levels of education that have required me to master my alphabet.

Sadly, more often than not, my quips are lost on the cats and the kid.

I'm hoping once we tackle the alphabet in English, she can at least learn it in French...I will leave the Spanish version for Dora as I have absolutely no proficiency in Spanish. If hard pressed, I remember the words for bathroom and beer...not too handy for a preschooler...okay maybe the word for bathroom would be handy but not the beer.

On a side note, my two worlds, my Mommy world and my kid focused worlds are coming together. Urgh.

I get to watch very little Mommy TV that isn't PVRed these days but I do try to sit down Monday nights at 9pm CST to watch my beloved No Reservations. I get to travel the world through the glory of TV, laugh along the way and see what other folks get to eat. I swear T loves meat, more specifically pork, because I watched this show when I was pregnant with her. This next one did quite the little jig when I ate a pork sausage last night...so maybe this one will be the same.

The host, Anthony Bourdain, is a fervent lover of all things porcine and a little caustic for the sensitive types and unfortunately offends some. That being said, he has mellowed a bit since having his daughter, who is about the same age as T. Apparently he has to suffer through the same programming on Nick Jr. as I do.

I was watching last week when Bourdain travelled to Ecuador. Now, for the non foodies like me, guinea pigs (or cuy as they are called locally) are a delicacy. That is one creature that wouldn't land on my plate but to each their own.

When introducing the cuy segment, Bourdain burst into singing the Wonder Pets theme song. Oh my! For those not in the know, the Wonder Pets have 3 heroes, a duck named Ming Ming, a turtle named Tuck and a Guinea Pig named Linny.

Instantly, I was reminded of the time my father decided to share at the dinner table that we were eating a former named member of our barnyard (I grew up on a farm and on occasion we butchered a cow)...it momentarily turned me off my food but not for long.

Let's just say, I haven't been able to watch Wonder Pets lately without cringing a little...

This week, Bourdain travelled to Harbin, China. There was a scene where Bourdain and one of his local Chinese guides were discussing dumplings and their significance for the Chinese New Year celebration. Bourdain piped up that he had learned all about this tradition when Kai-Lan's (of Ni Hao, Kai-Lan fame) Grandpa (YeYe) made dumplings and one of the characters (HoHo, I think, whatever, the monkey) ate them too.

Dear God, can't I have one hour of where my non T time isn't invaded by T? I love my kid but sometimes, I just need a break or maybe a set of earplugs or a cheat sheet of whose who in the Nick Jr. world.

BTW, does anyone have any suggestions on convincing a nearly 3 yr old that despite the sun not being in bed (aka being dark outside) at 7:30pm, she needs to be in bed? All I get is "I'm done waking up!" Translation: Don't you dare try to pull a fast one on me, Mommy! The sun is still out so I don't have to go to bed until the sun does. Sheesh, I wasn't born yesterday.

I swear my next career will be union negotiations. That's gotta be easier than trying to reason with a 3 yr old who has a very strong opinion on just about everything...hmm, I think I can safely say she gets that from both sides of her family...although her father would ardently dispute that fact!

I rest my case.

Our first zoo visit of 2010

Yesterday was the first nice day in what seems like months...so of course we had to make our first trip to the zoo of 2010!

T got new Hello Kitty rain boots and seeing as its been raining constantly, I figured it was a good idea for her to wear them...maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

Shortly after (like 2 seconds) this picture was taken, during T's attempt to get off the bear statue, off fell the boot...into the pond behind her.

Pre boot pond baptism


Post boot pond baptism (in a much faster, less wetter posed shot)

Thankfully our fellow zoo companions, M and her three kids (D, B and 6 week old G who slept the whole trip in her carseat) saved the day. M is about 5 inches taller than me, has longer arms and isn't 6.5 months pregnant so she was able to fish out the boot.

T wasn't impressed to have to wear a wet boot but seeing as brainiac Mommy didn't bring any shoes, that's all we had if T wanted to walk (which she did).

We continued on, visiting the bears, otters, eagles and eventually the tiger exhibit. B and T had quite the time while D, B's brother tried to keep up with the little ladies who squealed and loved nothing more than to run a mile ahead of the rest of us.

B, T and D

T and B

Ms. T has a secret...

Sorry for the delay in posts but its been quite a bit of a start to 2010. Shortly after the calendars changed, my family experienced the loss of a family member very unexpectedly back home in Canada. It has been a bit of a trying time but we are making slow progress getting back to normal.

One thing I've noticed that nevers stops despite the rest of the world turning upside down is the laundry pile...it just never stops growing.

Anyways, back to the entry.

When I was a little kid, my paternal grandmother (her name was Millicent; you'll get the connection in a minute) gave me a book. It was called Millicent Has A Secret. (I think she was secretly excited to have found a book with her name in the title, who wouldn't?)

In the book, Millie went through her neighbourhood like a pied piper, telling every child she met that she had a secret. And if they wanted to know what the secret was, they had to follow Millie. So that's what all the kids did. What kid doesn't want to know a secret right?

The secret turned out to be that Millie's cat was having kittens. Isn't that a nice surprise?

Ms. T has a surprise too! Can you guess what it is?

Sorry, no we aren't moving back to Canada despite folks' comments that it was time for us to move home.

No, we didn't get another new car and are not moving.

And no, S is still employed and working crazy hours at work.

No, no, we aren't being transferred to France, although that would be nice too!

Scroll down to see Ms. T's news.....

Keep scrolling!

I'm going to have to change the name of this blog to be Canuck Kittenz in Kansas! Yes, Ms. T will be joined sometime in June by a new sibling who is currently kicking its mother!

Our due date is June 23rd, but we will likely have this one a little earlier by the same method as T. Seeing as we have to import grandparental assistance, it makes easier to know ahead of time when we need the help to arrive. Its also safer given we've already been down that path with T because of her short cord/breech presentation. And well, we know what to expect from that method of delivery in terms of recovery.

True to toddler/preschooler behaviour, the nice picture (above) is blurred but the 'yo, yo I'm kicking it old school' picture (below) is focused and clear. Go figure!

While T hasn't completely come around to the whole idea of what a new sibling means, she will get there. At least once a day, she asks me if there is a baby in my tummy. When she gets the affirmative answer, she gets all pouty and says the baby needs to go home. When I remind her that the baby will come live with us, she gets kinda excited then all needy/whiny. June should prove interesting!

The cats have been uber lovely dovey with me like last time and I think they have a pretty good idea of what is about to befall them again. Time will tell if Gryffin does his 'ignore the small screaming creature and sulk in the bedroom routine' until its 2 years old and if Phenix will be a furry little walking baby monitor that she was with T.

So that was Christmas..

Maybe its me but Christmas came way too fast and went by way too fast too. I feel like I blinked and I missed it.

For those of you sent Christmas cards, most of them will be in the mail today...so its more so a Happy New Year card and not so much a Christmas card...Also, I haven't mailed off any packages yet, I'm awaiting the USPS to deliver one final item and then they go out too.

Talia had a busy Christmas with her parental grandparents visiting. She thoroughly enjoyed all her gifts and had several tea parties after to celebrate the day. She got tonnes of clothes, books, 'big' girl stuff like a tea set, stove, sink, pots/pans and dishes so we will be having lots of 'cooking' sessions in the weeks and months to come.

We actually got a white Christmas...unfortunately for those traveling to visit family in Kansas, it meant a few anxious moments as to whether their plane was going to actually take off and/or arrive on time.

Unfortunately, my ILs luggage was delayed but they got it the night they arrived. We have been very fortunate to most of our previous guests' luggage arrive with them, so this was a first. Something worth mentioning in light this, its always best to pack pjs and extra undies in your carry on...that is if you can afford the space that is given carry on restrictions now when you travel to the US.

Potty training has been going okay. Some days are better than others but we are slowly but surely getting there. Some days we just don't get there in time or don't want to take time away from playing to hit the potty. T is enrolled for preschool in the fall, so hopefully by then we will have our timing down right.

I will try to post some Christmas pictures when I get a chance...my to do list just gets longer and longer so posting isn't always a priority, unfortunately.

Robots, monsters and worms, oh my!

When I dreamt of what life would be like with T, I never could have imagined the conversations that we would have. Of recent, T has become even more of a chatterbox. She was already decent at trying to converse, just not as clearly as she does now. Some days I can completely understand her and then others, not so much.

People in the grocery store line are so kind, they just smile, nod and say she's talking so much for a 1.5 yr old...umm, yeah try 2.5 yr old. I guess we are behind in her high fructose corn syrup supplements to help her grow...

Lately, our conversations have often involved three topics -- robots, monsters and worms (oh my!) and not necessarily in that order.

T watched briefly part of I, Robot with S about 3 months ago. Ever since then, she has become obsessed with robots. She sees a crane, and she tells me "That's a roooobot arm!""...complete with a robotic arm gestures and noises. Our truck has a lift gate (a wonderful invention I must say) for the back hatch so it has a "roooobot arm". She's going to be an engineer I swear.

Next, here come the monsters.

Lately, out of nowhere, T will coming running to me and tell me she's scared.

Me: What are you scared of?
T: Monsters.
Me: Monsters?
T: Yeah, monsters. Me scared Mommy.
Me: And what do we say to monsters?
T: Monsters no scaring, monsters no scaring.

T does this with her hand firmly up in the air as if to say STOP! Sometimes for added effect, she puts her other hand on her hip. My little Xena, warrior-preschooler! Hopefully Dora the Explorer people won't mind us borrowing her 'Swiper, no swiping line' and modifying it for our own needs.

I've save the best for last.

Everything it seems is a worm to T. Pine cones are worms, carpet tassles from the scratching post are worms, and of course, the dead worms on the driveway are worms. However, this rampant worms everywhere problem has gotten worse.

Recently, my lovely daughter informed me that I have worms. Not just worms, no that wouldn't be bad enough....I have WOOOORMS. And I was under the foolish impression that I bathed regularly and was in good health. Hmmm.

Me: Really? Mommy has worms?
T: Yeah, woooorms. Look Mommy, wooooorms. (she says this as she points to my legs)
Me: Hmph. Do you know who gave me those worms?
T: No. Who?
Me: YOU! (that just opens her eyes really wide and she shuts up really fast...ahh yes the guilt trips have started already and they are quite effective!)

God love her, a biologist she ain't. Apparently my daughter thinks my varicose veins are worms. Charming. I can't wait for that pleasant little nugget to come up in the grocery store line conversations T strikes up with anyone who will listen. My mommy has woooorms! I don't look forward explaining that one to a 80 yr old man. Can you say, awkward?

Now that you've all had a good chuckle at my expense, may I wish you all a wonderful Christmas 2009 and a safe/healthy 2010.

To all of you who have been kind enough to send us a Christmas card, thank you - they are all lovely. I'm a bit behind this year, so yours will be coming in 2010 once I find a decent enough photo to use. And if Walgreens stops selling them, I'll just have do a mass email.

An email is more environmentally friendly...I won't want to harm any woooorms after all!