Schmorgusboard

If I had had any idea how many great pictures I had on my camera, I would have posted them ages ago. Enjoy the everyday life of Pooka!

Pooka insists on having a bath after every meal. Its only when she smooshes her food in her hair that I am obliged to comply. Some days we even make it to bedtime before she actually needs it. Progress is good :)
Where's Pooka?
There she is!

Are you sensing a pattern here?
Yesterday , we awoke to the sounds of Pooka playing in her bedroom as usual, so we didn't suspect anything out of the ordinary. I went in there to let her out, and all I see is this face:
She had gotten the Desitin off the dresser (heaven only knows how - she's very resourceful) and rubbed it all over her face and, yes, up her nose too. It wasn't until after the bath - where it took 4 applications of soap and vigorous scrubbing - that she started to throw up and I realized that she had eaten some too! So of course, I started to freak out and I called her doc, then I called the doc at home(he's in our ward) and he wasn't there. Then I called poison control and was relieved to learn that she would be absolutely fine. Apparently kids eat this stuff all the time. Who knew?

A Child's Prayer

Yesterday Ivy did the sweetest thing and it reminded me how simple the Gospel is. After putting her dinner plate in front of her, without a word from me, she folded her arms and closed her eyes and said the sweetest, most simple prayer I have ever heard. She did it all on her own, opening to closing. I never realized how happy it could make me to hear her pray. It took everything in me not to break into tears and start hugging and kissing her, I was so proud. Then she would definitely never want to pray again!

Toddlerhood

Four nights ago, Pooka helped Matthew change her crib into a toddler bed, and oh my! she was so excited. Of course when I say "helped" that means she was climbing over Matthew while he worked so she could jump on the bed. She even spent her first night with a real pillow - mommy has been too scared until now to give her one - covered with the pillowcase Daddy Bowler and Athena gave her. I made sure it was super flat though (Mommy has to work in baby steps too).
Well, the first night was golden. She was so excited to be in a big girl bed with a pillow that she went right to sleep and didn't even wake up in the morning until Matthew went in and got her up. I thought "How easy is this?!" Yeah. Sure. The second night, she went to sleep just fine, but then at about 5am we heard this loud THUNK and then screaming. Pooka ran in to our bedroom and climbed up into our bed, and I was shocked to see her chin covered in blood. She had a fat lip and a light shiner. She did NOT go back to sleep, much to my dismay.
Last night, she fell asleep at my folks, and she was half asleep when we put her down at our house, then she slept all night and came in and woke us up at 830 this morning. I thought, "ok, this still isn't so bad. I can do this."
Tonight was a nightmare. I went shopping with my mom and got home right as Matthew had to leave for work. Pooka was still awake so after saying goodbye, I started the nightly routine. When it came time to put her in bed she absolutely refused. I told her about a million stories - all of which involved frogs - and sang just as many songs. I couldn't get her to stay in bed, so I did the only thing I could think of and called my Mother. At this point it was around 9 o'clock. So I did what my dear Mama told me, and closed and locked the door to her room. That worked for about two minutes before Pooka figured out how to unlock doors. I tried it a second time just to make sure she didn't get lucky. She didn't. She was back out even quicker the second time. So I called my Mama again, and tried the baby gate in front of the door, which Pooka also conquered in less than five minutes. Then I remembered that we had a door handle lock and put that on her door. Oooooh, was she mad. So mad that she threw up all over her bed and floor, everything - and I mean everything - that she had eaten for dinner. So I put her in the shower and then turned on cartoons and pulled out the steam cleaner. Mind you, at this time, it was just about 11. I had my enormously loud steamer going full force, waiting for the moment when either my neighbors started banging on my door, or had the cops do it for them. After some cartoons and another story and a few songs, Pook finally decided that she would give up. She only cried for a minute before conking out, just about 11:15. Oye, what a night. Aint toddlerhood grand?

My Mama

No matter how old I get, my Mama is still my Mama. She always finds a way to be all Mama-ish, like today. Pooka and I went over to my parents' house so we could get some good work done and we took a trip to Home Depot (She insisted on going to the one that has the race car carts for Pooka to drive) finished our business, and then went back. It was definitely time for Pooka's nap, so I put her down and sat down for a few minutes of relaxation before getting to work. I woke up about 2 1/2 hours later! My dear Mother let me sleep because I have been a sick insomniac lately - not a good combination - and even took care of Pooka (who did not sleep a wink, apparently). I had the baby monitor on right next to my head and didn't hear her screaming only about 5 min after I put her down. So Mama took care of my baby so that her baby could sleep. If that's not enough, she found out that I was going to feed my dear husband mac n' cheese for dinner and started pulling food out of her freezer, asking me if I had this or that, making sure I had what we needed for some good hearty tacos. Her words: "That man works too hard for you to be fixin him mac n' cheese for dinner!" How can you argue with that? LOVE YOU MAMA!!!!!