48 hour

Dano was gone from 5:30 Friday to 5:30 Sunday this weekend. Very few times since Lilah's debut have I had to handle her unassisted. I worried a bit because she usually listens better to Dano than to me. We had a pretty awesome weekend, all things considered

Friday night, we made grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches and headed out shopping. I figured the less we were in the house, the less we'd miss Dano. We went to Trader Joe's to stock up for the week. Between greeting and conversing with every store employee we encountered, Lilah managed to score mango tea, brown rice, an ice cream sandwich, and a sucker. She was a happy girl when we left to go to Holiday Market. The sucker was gone by the time we pulled in the parking lot. She spent the time between licks telling me that everyone liked her so much because she was such a good listener and the best helper. "I'm your girl, Mother." At Holiday, she sampled crackers with peach chipotle preserves. I was pleased she didn't fuss over the heat of the preserves. I thought it was just right. Another employee offered her a hunk of cocoa honey cake and asked her opinion. She nibbled and regarded it thoughtfully. "I think it's just fine." The baker laughed and said she was glad for that.

"You know, she can also have a free cookie if she'd like."
"Would you like a cookie Lilah?" She raised her eyebrow at me and gave me the "Duh," look. The baker handed her a sugar cookie. Lilah nibbled both out of each hand. She made friends with the manager at the liquor aisle while I gathered mojito supplies. We made our way home and read stories until bedtime.

Saturday morning, we gathered a couple of her cousins and headed to the park after breakfast. Lilah was the shark-monster and they ran from her. One point for bopping Lilah Rose with a ball, one point for each cousin tagged. The game ended Cousins 2, Lilah 1. Not too bad for 2 against 1. The rolled balls up the hill and ran back down. Lilah usually ended up head over heels in the grass. We went back to the house to eat shrimp pasta and watch Kiki's Delivery Service. Lilah napped, then we loaded up and headed to our friends' house for a barbecue. She played with their cats and dog while I visited and ate. It was really nice, but Lilah tried to pee twice and was too afraid to go on a big toilet. She refused to go in her pull-up, so I had to take her home. She took a baking soda bath after being out in the weeds and tall grass all day, then gladly went to bed. I sent Dano a short email telling him how thankful I was for everything he did around the house and for Lilah. I had seen how quickly dished and clothes piled up, plants wilted, the cat whinged for water, and all the other little things that went wrong on a daily basis.

This morning we went to breakfast with Kim and the boys at Pete's Place (my favorite Ferndale diner). Lilah and I went grocery shopping after that, then she actually got a nap on time. We played and snuggled all afternoon, then when the hottest part of the day passed we headed outside. During a bathroom break indoors, I came across a few old party balloons in a drawer and filled them with water. She had fun tossing them around the yard and was totally shocked when one burst at her feet. We spent the next 20 minutes popping the rest of them. Dripping and muddy, we fell on the grass laughing. I had a vision of how Dano's surprised face if he got out of the car and was pelted with water balloons. A tentative plan formed in my head. "Lilah Rose, do you want to get more balloons and try to kill Daddy?" Her face lit up. I knew he would be home in 20-30 minutes, and we were out of balloons. I grabbed my keys and some money and threw her in her carseat. She fussed at me that her buckles weren't tight enough, but we were only going a few blocks to CVS. We got out of the car and ran barefoot into the store, combing the summer aisles. We had to ask an employee. She pointed them out to us and Lilah felt the need to explain.

"They're for killing my dad." She ran them to the check out, slammed them on the counter, and shouted loudly, "Where is the lady? We gotta go!" A woman hurried to check us out. "They're for killing my dad." She laughed and examined the balloons.

"I didn't even know we had these. Huh..."
"Hurry! He's coming!" No one said a word about our bare feet. I drove home a breakneck 30 miles per hour and we raced to the kitchen to fill them assembly line-style. I filled and tied, she handled and bagged. We got the camera and headed to the front porch to plan our attack. We would aim for the head. No cars. Andy was off-limits, but Uncles Adam and Maxwell were fair game. We pretended the tree was Daddy.

"Aim for the head!" She threw with all her tiny might. It landed near the roots.
"I did it!"
"Okay, sweetie. Well done." She sat patiently(ish) to wait for the car to pull in. She nearly nailed the neighbors at one point but I stopped her. "That's not them!" When they finally did pull in, the attack was short-lived and I'm not sure who won. Uncles dipped into the bag of balloons. Andy did get a balloon to the chest, but it mostly got his car (Lilah gaped at this, someone else having broken two of the rules). She spent the rest of the evening snuggled on the couch with her dad, happy as can be. We decided he wasn't allowed to leave again anytime soon.

Life as usual

I'm actually thankful to report that there's nothing to report! Life has been pleasant, happy, and good. We stopped house-hunting, divorced our realtor, and focused on what matters - us.

I have a good balance (for now) going on between work, home, friends, me. One thing I've been repeatedly thankful for is my healthy, happy daughter. I heard one of the doctors talking about putting a 4 year old on a diet. A 4 year old. It blew my mind. An obese child. Every kid I know runs around all summer and wants to be outside come rain, hail, or snow. I watch Lilah gobble up carrots and hummus, broccoli, asparagus, basically any fruit, and gulp down water and coconut milk. Her appetite seems insatiable, but she eats like she moves - constantly. Don't get me wrong, my kid asks for cookies for breakfast and cake pops nearly every day of the week. The difference is, she doesn't actually get them. She's been denied suckers at the doctors' office (yes, the one I work at) for being naughty. She's thrown fits over desired cakes or cookies, but she still doesn't get them. As we speak, I'm watching her "sneak" around the corner (in full sight of me still) and scoop hummus out of the container she was asked to put away. Straight into her mouth. Our eyes meet.

"I'm just tasting it, Mama." Raised eyebrow. "Well...you said it was good for me." Touché, little bird.


We were eating dinner tonight and she started completely scarfing down her baked vegetable chips, so we made it into a teaching point.
"Are those good?"
"Yeah! I like them!"
"I'm glad, babe. It's good that you like them. But do you know what happens when we eat food we like really fast?"
"What, Mama?"
"We don't get to enjoy it. It goes straight down into our tummies and skips our tongue. And our tongue is what helps us taste food. So we eat it, but we don't enjoy it."
"I want to to enjoy my chips, Mama!"
"I do too. Let's practice slowing down, okay?" And we did. Took small bites, chewed well, swallowed. She beamed at me.
"It tastes better!" I smiled back. "Can I enjoy a cookie?" It's hard not to laugh when she tries so hard to be crafty.


While out and about, Lilah has been more often making use of what I've been telling her since she could speak. She asks questions faster than I can answer them, so I always tell her, "Tell me what you see." I like forcing her to observe the world around her. And she notices everything. In the car next to us today: "What's that girl doing, Mama?"
"Brushing her hair, it looks like."
"What kind of a girl is she?"
"I'm not sure, sweetheart. I don't know her. What kind of a girl does she look like to you?"
"A smart girl. You know why? She's a smart girl because she's makin' her boy drive." Sure enough, the male companion was driving. I'm not sure what that says in light of feminism, but she knows I dislike driving! I'm thankful every day for our wonderful family, our private rituals, and our happy summer evenings together. There's nothing terribly exciting going on lately, but after the "excitement" last summer, I'm happy to revel in the mundane.