1 and a half going on 13

Woke up this morning to snow. Well it was more like sleet, but it still looked nice. It's been a very long time since I've woken up to a gray morning with snow falling. I kind of like it. I don't miss the hard Maine winters, but some snow every now and again is nice.

It's been a nice week. The weather has been horrible but we've been able to keep busy. Tuesday we went to the Cookstown Leisure Center to swim in the pool. The community centers here are amazing. They have gyms, courts, pools, padded play areas for kids, classes and more. It does cost to use the facilities, but it's pennies compared to a gym membership or a YMCA card. There is center in Maghera, but it only has a play area and gym equipment. The next closest is Magherafelt, but it's closed down until the end of this year for renovations. When it's done, it will have the only Olympic sized swimming pool in Northern Ireland, a kid's pool with indoor 2 story slide and much more. The Cookstown is about 20 minutes away and has a nice pool, a kids pool and also a slide. The slide is closed for the winter I think, but the kiddie pool is great, especially when we take O swimming.

This brings me to what we have been dealing with. Her independent nature. She's all about doing everything herself. Which is fine sometimes, but when she tries to push us away in the pool, I don't think she knows she's probably going to sink. Also can't help her hold a book, spoon or anything without a "no" and being pushed away. She's a girl who knows what she wants and is going to do anything to get it. I guess that's a good thing. O is growing up so fast. She's gotten really slim in the legs and is now running all over the place. The most puzzling behavior right is when she hits us, either on purpose or not, we'll say "ouch" or "gentle" and she'll immediately go in for a cuddle or hug. Sometimes we don't even have to say anything before she "apologizes". What's also odd is her tantrums will sometimes only last a few seconds before she's all happy again. If any of you have dealt with this before please let me know. I don't really have anyone else to converse with here.

I have really started to make progress I think with the mom's at the playgroup. No social invites yet, but they seem to be friendlier and friendlier every week. It seems we're just starting to get in the swing of things and we'll be headed off for 6 weeks. The only bad news this week is my husband still hasn't found a job. The economy seems to be just as bad here as everywhere else in the world. Keeps us in your prayers.

I hope everyone has a lovely Sabbath and also pray for all the victims in the Japan earthquake and tsunami.

oíche mhaith

The Battle of the Wills

It has been an uneventful week except for Ms. O and her temper. They say babies hit their terrible two's, well we've hit terrible one and a half. O has been testing her limits to the extreme. If she doesn't want to do something, she fusses and fights you off. If you still insist on her doing something she doesn't want, for example a nappie change, then it's cries and tears that can be heard all over the house. Today's incident was me trying to clip her finger nails. We were in her room hanging out and I decided that since she was in a good mood I would try to clip her nails. You would have sworn I had cut off all the tips of her fingers. Tears and snot all over place. I had to wrap both my arms and legs around her just to sort of finish.
The temper is also starting to flair. She has lashed out with hits if we scolded her for something. After she does it she gets another scolding and we get more tears. She then comes for kisses and hugs so at least she acts like she feels bad.
The best/worst part of this is the dirty looks we are now getting if we ask her to do something or tell her not to do something. The look is "how dare you tell me what to do, I am a princess." She's really coming into her personality, as if she didn't have enough before. All the faces she has been making lately are hilarious.

So other than that our week has been very low key. We did finally book our tickets back to Maine to sort our my visa. We're going to be in Maine for 5 weeks. I'm getting really excited to see everyone again. I am also looking forward to a visit from our best friends A & D at the end of March.

Tomorrow we go to playgroup again. I'm hoping we'll have some more stories to tell .

oíche mhaith

Daddy seems to be the hardest word.

My daughter, O, said "daddy, daddy, daddy" for two months without saying "mommy" once when she was about 13 months. However today is a very different story. All she says is "mommy." You ask her to say daddy or ask her where Daddy is, she still says "mommy." I think the funniest part of all this is her little personality is no longer little. You can see a glint in her eye that she knows she's being cheeky. The other day we asked her to say daddy and she would immediately say "mommy!". This went on for about 2 minutes and at the end she would look at us,crinkle her nose and say "mommy" really loud as if to say," you can't make me do anything I don't want."

Here's the wee impy grin



Her attitude is growing by leaps and bounds. She's already very definant. If you tell her "No" for anything that she shouldn't be doing, she'll get really mad and either throw what she's got in her hand on the ground, or worst case, she tries to hurt either me or my husband. The worst case has happened twice and I never thought I would have to give a 17 month a "time-out." This wee girl is to smart for her own good. If you've had similiar issues, please comment. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

The other side of this is we've gone back with seperation anxiety. It used to be that I could leave the room and she would just wave good-bye. Now if it even looks like I'm headed anywhere without her, it's all tears and crying. Many of you may say that it's because of the huge changes we've made in the last few months. This new development has only started happening in the last 3 days. I think we're on the verge of talking. According to the parenting magazines, this is a sign that something big is about to happen such as walking, talking, and the like. I've linked a wee article that summarizes what's going on with our life. http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/development/behavioral/baby-emotional-development/
I'm hoping the talking does start soon, because R and I are getting really tired of "ehhh" for everything she needs or wants. Even with all this going on, she is the happiest baby. Here are some pics of O in the last few weeks.


This is after she fell on her face in the driveway. Her poor little nose.




Looking alot like her Daddy when he was this age





Monster toes! Thank you Granny P!





O eating grapefruit. Lord knows why. I think that habit comes from both Grannies.


Tomorrow we go to the Mother-Toddler group in Maghera. I'm sure I'll have plenty to talk about them.

oíche mhaith