Sssshhh, Whatever Mum, Oh-no, Uh-oh, Round Up

Sssshhh
A couple Sundays ago, after a weekend of playing outside both days, Lucy and I were winding down after her bath by watching Elmo in Grouchland.
Daddy walked in the room and started talking; Lucy held up her finger in front of her mouth and shushed him!
SSSSHHHHH! she declared
Daddy, a bit stunned, stifled a laugh and kept talking.
DAAddddy! SSSSSSHHH (with finger in front of mouth a second time)

Stiff as a board, limp noodle
Lucy fights me when I try to put her in her car seat....almost everyday
Sometimes only for 5 minutes, sometimes 10 or 15......the record is 32 minutes (give or take)

We have the same routine when I pick her up: I get to Puddle Duck, gather up her things and then retrieve her from her room. She usually lolly gags for a few minutes so she can finish her snack or help the teacher pick up whatever is on the floor or finish the song they were singing...in any case, within a few minutes of my arrival, she is ready to leave. We hug the teachers, wave to our little friends and head to the front door. Lucy leads the way and usually beats me to the door where she waits patiently for me to catch up. Out the door, we open the gate and she reaches up and takes my hand because she knows she does not go beyond the gate without a hand. We stroll over to the car, she knocks on the door to get in, I open the door and she climbs in (as best she can)...this all sounds so peaceful and fun and like a special moment shared between Mother and Daughter right?

Well, as soon as I lift Lucy into the car and try to put her in her seat, she starts screaming. Then, she makes her body go rigid, like a board...then, when she's tired of holding that pose, she throws her head and her arms back and goes limp like a noodle...the whole time screaming blue bloody murder. Then, she'll squirm out of my grip and stand in her seat, throw herself over her seat so she's on the other side of the car from me, jump down into the floor and in general, does everything to get as far away from me the the five feet that is the back seat of my car.....

Its like wrestling an alligator.

I try to pin her down but I'm afraid I'll hurt her. I try to throw the straps over her arms but she someone how manages to get her head in the way and I end up bonking her with the metal buckle....right on the forehead. In the meantime, 5 other sets of parents have come and gone...and couple of them give me an encouraging glance, they've been there with the four year old their hanging onto. Some give me a look like what the hell kind of Mom are you.....those parents are the ones whose kid is still small enough they carry them in and out of day care in their car seat....I used to be that parent wondering what's so hard a bout getting a 25lb kid in her car seat...just throw her in there and call it good.....last time I pass judgement....maybe
Sometimes its only a 5 minute fit, sometimes there is no fit, sometimes it goes on and on and on with no end in sight...those are usually the days I just tackle her, pray I don't leave any bruises and force her into the chair.

I've tried the distraction technique: leaving books or stuffed animals or a toy in the car and bribing her with it...sometimes it works, usually she just uses whatever it is as a weapon.

Sometimes, I try singing her into her chair....

Sometimes I try the hey, we'll do it your way technique...you know, like reverse psychology...yeah, doesn't work.

I'm usually frazzled and totally stressed out by the time I got her in her seat...and if its a drive when she decides to cry the 2.5 miles home/8 minutes home....well, lets just be thankful I'm not operating any heavy machinery.

Anyway, I'm hoping this is only a phase.....that's what Catherine's Mum Liz tells me as she went through it with Catherine who is a year older than Lucy.......I hope she gets over it soon....The new day care, Wonder Years, is 3.1 miles/9 minutes......I'm not sure I can handle an additional .6 miles/1 minute of screaming.......

She rolled her eyes at me
We were in the car one day, I forget where we were going but I turned around and told Lucy to stop what she was doing (kicking the seat and throwing whatever she could get her hands on).
She rolled her eyes at me.....

This past Sunday, I asked Lucy to finish her vegetables, she rolled her eyes at me...again....

Yogurt is good for your skin, and your hair
In a vain attempt to get Lucy to start using her spoon, and to eat yogurt, I have been giving her a container of yogurt a couple times a week - usually at dinner because I know she'll be going straight into the tub.

She starts out with one or two tentative dips in the yogurt with the spoon and licks it off. Then she gets a bit more confident and sticks the spoon in and pulls out a glob of yogurt...78% of it makes it to her mouth, 17% hits the tray of her high seat and 5% lands on the front of her shirt.....the percentage that makes it to her mouth drops drastically with each spoonful. Then, she resorts to just sticking her whole hand in the container and licking the yogurt off her hand. At some point, she will pick the container up and try to drink the yogurt...and when nothing comes out, she gets frustrated and squeezes the container as hard as possible......which results in a geyser of yogurt usually landing on her head or in her eye. And when it lands on her head, she laughs and starts ti rub it...because I showed her how to wash her hair and anytime there is a glob of something on your head it must be shampoo so one must rub massage it into her scalp and through her hair paying close attention to the ends........Good job we have a washer, and a tub...and patience....

OH-NO
For the longest time, everything was Uh-Oh. Now, we've switched to Oh-No which takes on a whole new meaning.

Oh-No is used for when something is not where it should be (ie Elmo is on the couch not perched on the table next to Lucy while she is eating)
Uh-Oh is when Lucy drops something

Oh-No is when a squirrel is spotted under the deck and does not run off no matter how loud daddy yells, stomps and claps at it...and Oh-No is actually chanted in this situation: OHNOOHNOOHNOOHNO
Uh-oh is when Lucy tries to put something somewhere it should not be and it does not fit (ie her shoe in her hippo shape sorter)

Oh-No is used when Mummy or Daddy is trying to strap Lucy into her car seat or high seat and she does not want to go
Uh-oh is when Lucy bonks me in the face as I'm trying to strap her into the car seat

Funny thing is when she says Uh-oh, its sort of under her breath in a quiet voice and she will hold her little hand in front of her face, her open palm over her mouth.
When she says Oh-No it is enunciated and said in a loud confident voice...and she stretches her mouth into an O so her chin sort of drops and her eyes get really big....and sometimes she will hold her hand in front of her face or she will tap her head with both hands at the same time as she says it.....and when she's chanting OHNOOHNOOHNOOHNO, she will often times clap in rhythm with the Oh-Nos

Elmo, Ebby, Ollie, Abbey, Papa, Noni
When Lucy is in the throes of a fit, say when I'm trying to strap her into her car seat, she will scream/chant and cry the following pretty much in this order:
ELMO ELMO ELMO.....oh no.....Ebby, Ebby....OLLLLIEEE, Abbey, Abbey.....oh no..Noni Noni Noni.....PAPA PAPA PAPA, oh no oh no.....

Elmo is, well, we all know Elmo
Ebby is our next door neighbor's dog
Ollie is the next door neighbor;s other dog
Abbey is Abbey Cadabby from Sesame Street
Noni is my Mum
Papa is my Dad

Summer is over
Things have quieted down, summer is officially over and fall is here
The leaves are changing color and the nights are a bit cooler
We're headed to the Big E this weekend in Springfield....its a Fair.....yep, we're making another pass at the fair...it better have Kettle Korn

Soon we'll go apple picking and pick out pumpkins for carving and we'll decorate for Halloween
I love decorating for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas

We're still trying to decide what/who Lucy should be for Halloween: Sean says Abbey Caddaby, I say Lord Voldemort

We're finalizing plans for our trip to England

I finished my Christmas Shopping

Sean got his sleep machine thing and has been doing great with it....we're both getting better night's sleep

We haven't caught any more mice but I'm not taking any chances, the traps are still laid

Cooper and Angela came down this weekend for Lego Fest.
Cooper and Uncle Sean went to Lego Fest and took over 200 pictures.
Lucy and I took Auntie Angela to Talbot's and watched her try on over 200 articles of clothing, she bought one.
Lucy adores Cooper and followed him around everywhere

Lucy starts her new day care, The Wonder Years, October 4th, wish her luck

We missed my in-laws anniversary, so a Happy Belated Anniversary to Sue and Colin. May the next year bring you much love, health and happiness....and may the first 44 always be remembered and cherished. See you in a few weeks!

Mama Maria