Um...Clever Update Title?

Bah-bye
Saturday night, we were all sitting in the living room. Kenji was looking up music videos on Youtube. Tamsin was pulling books off the shelf. I was playing with my camera. Suddenly, Tamsin grabs a book (No Cry Sleep Solution), says "Bah-bye" and walks down the dark hall to her dark room. It was so random. Maybe nobody else will think it's funny, but Kenji and I couldn't stop laughing at her.

Now what?
We leave for vacation Friday night. Since we'll be driving something like 5 million miles, we decided we needed to get the brakes checked before leaving. So I dropped Tamsin off at my sister's house, took the car into Les Schwab and walked down the street to use the WiFi at a coffee shop. About 90 minutes after I got here, the technician called and said we needed to replace the brakes (not really a surprise). They'll be done sometime this afternoon. So what am I supposed to do for the next XX hours? There's only so much internetting one can do. And how much longer can I sit here without order another latte or something?

So, this vacation we're going on...
I'm worried it won't be an actual vacation. Exactly how does one relax with a 14 month old, in someone else's (un-babyproofed) house for 2 weeks? Not to mention the logistics of packing - how much of everything do we need? What am I going to leave behind only to discover Tamsin absolutely NEEDS it to avoid a meltdown. I can't handle the stress of this vacation. I think I'm ready to come home now.

More Tamsin
* We've been teaching her some sign language so she can communicate with us a little better. We taught her "all done" to let us know when she was done eating. In her head, though, it means "unbuckle me from this highchair/stroller/carseat so I can go play."
* When she wakes up in the morning, she makes her "all done" sign and hands me my glasses to let me know it's time to get out of bed.
* She dances to anything - any sound that's remotely rhythmic: the phone ringing, the sound of sandpaper, the clink of a spoon on my coffee mug, fireworks.
* For a while, all drinks in our house were either beer or water. My morning coffee was beer. Her morning milk was water. Now everything is just water, including beer.
* She would spend all day outside if given the chance. As soon as breakfast is over in the morning or she wakes up from her nap in the afternoon, she starts asking for " 'side" and brings me her shoes.
* This child loves shoes. She becomes ridiculously excited in shoe stores.
* Her words for "butterfly" and "pacifier" sound exactly the same: Biee.
* She somehow managed to save a phone number into my phone. Smart girl.

Miscommunication

Words Tamsin uses but doesn't seem to understand:

Soft: used for all textures in her touch and feel books - even the prickly hedgehog texture gets a "soft" from her. Also used while hitting you in the face.

All done: This is actually a sign we taught her so she could let us know when she was finished eating. Except now she uses it any time she wants down from her chair, including when you first put her in it and she hasn't eaten a thing.

No: Used in response to any question. Also used when she's about to get into something she knows is forbidden.

Eye: She does know what an eye is. However, when asked "Tamsin, where is your eye?" she proceeds to poke mommy in the eye while saying it.

Ball: Again, this can be used correctly. Or it can be a piece of fruit. We've actually had to resort to hiding the fruit basket at mealtimes to stop the cries of "Ball, ball."

Bye-bye: She says this at random times during the day, but rarely when somebody is leaving.

All Over the Place

It's Only Funny When It's Someone Else's Kid
Tamsin knows the word "no." She uses it in context about 90% of the time - the other 10% is just repeating the word over and over and over and over and...Anyway, when I say "no" to her, there's a 50/50 chance that she'll listen to me. The most annoying is when she's headed toward the garbage can, the hearth, the accidentally-left-open bathroom door, wherever, saying "nononono" as she walks. I always thought it was cute and funny when the parents of toddlers relayed stories of this nature. When it's my toddler? It's just annoying. OK, it's actually really cute and funny. She also says "uh-oh" as she throws pieces of food off her tray. I think that's pretty cute and funny and annoying, too.

My Brave Girl - or Not So Much
Tamsin had her 12-month well child visit yesterday. She received 2 vaccination shots and did not cry. A little screaming, but no tears. When I took the band-aids off later in the day, though, you'd have thought I was beating the poor child the way she cried and screamed. At the visit, though, she was 29.5 inches tall (70th percentile) and 20 lbs 1 oz (35th percentile). Looks like she's growing into a tall skinny girl.

Blog Visitors
Once upon a time, I mentioned I had signed up for Google Analytics to see how many readers I have. It also shows me where my readers live. After my last entry my blog must have been featured somewhere because suddenly I had readers from India, Brazil, Mexico, Sweeden, Honduras and Argentina. I really want these people to come back because I like the idea of being an international, cosmopolitan blogger.

Will Work for Food
I know this is the wrong time of year for students to start piano lessons, but I've been advertising for 2.5 weeks and have only had one tiny, little nibble. I need a lot more nibbles before the fall so that I can have a full studio. So, if you live in the Salt Lake City area and want piano lessons, please visit my new, not-so-state-of-the-art piano teacher website. Or, you know, just go there and critique it. Or, maybe, just visit it because you're curious. I'm good with any of those reasons. Because, of course, I'm tracking visitors to that site on my Google Analytics page.

It's Been a While

You'd think I'd have more time for blogging...
I lost my job 2 weeks ago. I can't help but be relieved and, well, happy about it. I hadn't been happy there for a long time - I remember wanting to quit within the first 6 months on the job. Kenji and I have talked about me becoming a piano teacher full time. But losing that set income for something less sure was too scary a step. But, now I have the opportunity to do it. And hope it works out. Fast. We can't have me without any income for very long.

She talks. And never shuts up.
Tamsin has a lot of words now - in addition to "boo" (chronicled earlier this year), she can say mama, dada, book (which sounds very similar to boo), wow, see, this (as a question) and cheese. She also says "baaa" and "datsy" a lot, but I haven't been able to figure out what they mean. I'll take suggestions on that.

Update: Right after posting this entry, Kenji informed me that Tamsin talks in her sleep. He went in to make sure her blanket covered her feet, she rolled over, held her hand up, said "see," then rolled back, all without waking up.

Only 4 Years left until the Big Itch
We celebrated our 3 year anniversary on the 20th. It's strange to think we've only been married for 3 years. It seems like a whole other life when I think back to the days before I met Kenji. And have I ever mentioned how great he is? He does all the yard work, shares cooking and cleaning duties, takes care of Tamsin and rarely complains even though I can be a nit-picky, naggy brat a lot of the time. Oh - and for anniversary gifts? I gave him a wallet and belt (3 is the leather anniversary) and he gave me a digital SLR camera. Yeah, I suck and owe him big time. But, I am totally loving that camera.

My Odd Child
Tamsin is a strange eater. Like many kids, she loves cheese. That has become one of her main sources of protein. She also loves beans - as long as they are black beans or baked beans. Pinto beans get thrown from her tray (one by one) and we'll try red beans tomorrow. She has eaten any veggie we've given her - peas and green beans are her favorites, though carrots rank pretty highly, too. But she won't eat fruit. No bananas, no peaches, no oranges, no mango, no grapes - you get the idea. Want to know what she will eat? Grapefruit and lemons - loves them. I don't get it. At all.

Birthday Girl
Tamsin turned one yesterday and we had a big ole party for her on Saturday. Just a few pictures (taken with the awesome new camera) chronicling the event:

Balloons














Sharing dinner with her boyfriend














Opening presents with Mommy
















Cake!

And...She Walks

We actually taped this last week. Since then, she's managed to walk on uneven grass and also in sandles.

Two Little Things

My Need for Validation
I've found another way to validate my online self. I signed up for Google Analytics so that I can track readers of this blog. It appears there are 12 of you. Actually, I'm probably one of those 12. I might be 2 of those 12, now that I think about it since I access this blog from home and work so there would be 2 IP addresses. And I check for comments on a very regular basis. Because, you know, I need validation that people are reading what I write. I'm just going to go ahead and assume that you're enjoying it, too, since there are some repeat viewers according to the analysis. But, Yay! 10 readers.

Destiny
Tamsin and her boyfriend are spending more time together. Last weekend she kept hitting him until he cried and then he tried to eat her hair. During dinner, they kept stealing each other's food. I'm telling you, these two are made for each other.

Unrelated

My New Favorite Commercial
I was watching other stuff online when this commercial came on. I laugh out loud every time I see it.


Seeing Double. Again
From my Facebook home page.

Feebee can't focus........
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