Accolades from a 2-Year Old...

Today, I was putting Lia down for her nap.

After changing her diaper, I picked her up and gave her a big hug.

AND, told her to wake up happy.

(She's been a bit grumpy this morning).

As I was carrying her to her bed, Lia hugged me back and said...

"I'm so proud of you, mama."

Goodness.

Wherever did that come from?

I don't know, but I'll take the compliment.

I sure needed it today.

She just says the darnedest things...

This past week, Lia said and or did a few things that just made me burst out loud with laughter. She truly is starting to say the darnedest things. Thank heavens for a toddler that keeps me laughing when other things in my life aren't so funny. So, here they are in chronological order:

1. Thursday afternoon: Lia has been in the midst of potty training (round 2) for the past few weeks. It has been pretty unsuccessful. She loves wearing her panties and loves sitting on the potty, BUT only pees in her panties and never on the potty. Perfect system, right? Regardless, we had to throw on some pull-ups for our trip to the bank where we met Ron to sign the papers to refinance our auto loan. Without me knowing, Lia carefully slipped her recently removed panties into her bag that she insisted on bringing to the bank with us. While we were sitting there at the desk, facing the bank manager, Lia suddenly whipped out her panties from her bag and yelled, "See!," so fast that I didn't even have a chance to process what the heck was going on. Before I knew it, Cinderella or Snow White or Aurora or another one of those darn princesses was flying around the air like a white flag surrendering at battle. Caught so off guard, I didn't know whether to burst out laughing or blush from embarrassment. So, I ended up doing both simultaneously. Oh, that girl.

2. Friday morning: The next day, I was madly rushing around trying to get us both ready and out the door for a doctor's appointment. After dressing myself, I yelled down to to Lia that I needed her to come up to change. But instead, my request was met by her overly confident reply, "I can't! I'm so sorry!" After shaking my head in disbelief, I found her busily engaged in "washing dishes" in her play kitchen at the base of the stairs. Good grief. Apparently, her agenda doesn't have time for me on Friday mornings. Note to self.

3. Later Friday morning: As I mentioned previously, this has not been the funnest of weeks for me. I have had some medical complications that have required me to go into the doctor's office several times for some "pokes" (as I explained them to Lia). The first time we went, I decided to get Lia's flu shot while we were there. Ever since that day, Lia has been very interested in "pokes" and has been talking about them constantly. So, after being called out of the waiting room, Lia was patiently sitting on my lap in the examination room while the nurse readied my shot. This particular one came in a pink case. This caught Lia's attention causing her to immediately announce out loud, "Mama's going to get a pink poke." Both the nurse and I burst out laughing. Now, THAT is truly seeing the world through rose colored lenses. If only every shot could really be as cute sounding as a "pink poke."

What would I do without my little Lou?

Happiness is...

shelves lined with freshly canned fruit and homemade applesauce and jam.

I do love harvest time.

Best Friends Forever.

It's sights like these that just warm the ol' heart:

Lia watching some "Tink" on Grandpa while he's taking his daily nap.

They're truly two peas in a pod (well, when Grandpa's in the mood, that is). :-)

Order has been restored.

Jill, this one's for you.

So, some of you may have noticed how ridiculously blond and out of control my hair color got this summer. Let it be known, that it was not intentional. I am not a blond in any way, shape, or form. It just doesn't fit my personality and, contrary to popular belief, I do not think that blonds have more fun! However, one too many hours in the rays this past summer took my highlighted hair to a whole new level. And since my frugal ways prevent me from doing any sort of maintenance on my locks before the golden, three-month mark has arrived, I had to deal with the encroaching roots and the ever-increasing, platinum color for many weeks. BUT, the blessed hour finally arrived yesterday when my gal, Megan, was able to restore some order to my head. It sure feels good to be back to my light brown ways.

Avant.

Apres.

It's Fair Time Again!

Well, it's that time of year....for big scones, big crowds, big pigs, big pumpkins, and big rides. It's Puyallup Fair time. As always, Ron and I made the annual pilgrimage downtown to take part in our town's crown jewel with Lia and my mom in tow. Thanks to those blessed Educator's Passes, we all got in for free and spent a few, fun-filled hours on Saturday "Doin' the Puyallup" until our aching feet and the rain chased us out. Here are some highlights.

Lia's wildest dreams came true in the first barn we visited....miles and miles of nunnies.

The Hartland fam and some heifers.

Grandma, Little Lou, and some little ponies.

This pic captures the joke of the day AND the steal of day that we stumbled across: 3 pairs of sunglasses for $20. The three of us couldn't resist and each picked out a pair that we then sported around the fairgrounds like rock stars!

After animal gazing in the barns and eating fair food for lunch, we ventured into "SillyVille" for the first time so that Lia could have a go at the rides. Much to our surprise, our normally adventurous, little girl was a bit intimidated by it all. As a result, she created some unnecessary drama with a few of the rides we tried. First stop: the carousel. After throwing a fit due to the fact that she didn't want to ride a horse, she and Ron ended up on one of the more tame benches. You can tell how Ron felt about spending $4 to ride a bench by the look on his face. :-)

Last year, Lia loved the bubble machines that we came across. This year, not so much.

After Lia chickened out not once, but twice, on the canoe ride, I distracted her with a trip on the red, choo choo train. We successfully made it through this entire ride without a breakdown.

Heading up the stairs to the giant slide moments before Lia freaked out and ran back to the bottom. Oh dear.

After all of the ride drama, Lia finally found her true love: the motorcycle ride. She confidently hopped on her bike and grabbed the handles like an old, Harley pro. Around and around she went with that same, cute smile on her face you see pictured above. We even did it a second time before dragging her out of "SillyVille" for thankfully another year.

Move over E.T.

Here comes Lia.

The Baddest Bike on the Block

Like many men, Ron has an eye for the sleek and unique on wheels from trucks to motorcycles to camping trailers to, yes, even children's tricycles. So, it should come as no surprise that he spotted the unusual and oh-so-cool red trike while we were camping at Ocean Shores last month. He first laid eyes on it while it was parked outside the campground public restroom, patiently waiting for its owner to return. Ron's fascination only grew stronger each time he saw the little girl pass our campsite while doing circles around the campground loop. Its heavy duty, off-road style was just the coolest thing he had ever seen...like something out of an episode of West Coast Choppers (for tots, that is). So wouldn't you know that the stars aligned this past Labor Day for Ron and his new found trike obsession. After many perusals of Craig's List, he stumbled across a bonanza of a deal as an exact replica was for sale in the neighboring town for only $5. A few hours later, Lia tried out her bad-boy bike--complete with a fixed pedal and a shiny, new paint job! It's just a shame that her legs are a little too short to take the thing for an actual spin around the cul-de-sac. It's only a matter of time before this little hot rod is the baddest bike on the block!

The coolest trike ever.

Our biker girl breaking it in...all she is missing is some black leather with fringe.

Sassafras

Oh, that little Lia.

Her sassy ways just make me chuckle.

Case in point:

Yesterday morning, she awoke.

And began calling for "mama" over and over again.

Why?

Because she wanted a new Elmo band-aid.

Since I was saying my morning prayer, she was ignored.

After repeated attempts, she gave up on "mama."

And pulled out the big guns...

and began yelling, "Lisa," over and over again.

From the top of her lungs.

Oh, that little Lia.

Her sassy ways just make me chuckle.