What are YOU getting for Christmas?

Oh the Christmas adventures with a two-year old...

1.  While Brenda was at work Molly broke a necklace that Jerry got for her.  We weren't too happy, but we just said, well, she didn't know about the necklace so we won't tell her.  We sat down for dinner and Molly blurted "Grammy, I broke your necklace."  The truth comes out...

2.  Molly found a present that Grammy & Granddad bought for her.  When Courtney explained that it was, in fact, for her, but she couldn't play with it until Christmas.  Molly said, "I'll go tell granddad thanks".  And she marched to him and told him "Thank you for the present."  And then told Grammy thank you later, too.  It's good practice, I suppose...

3.   Molly was assisting Courtney with the wrapping of presents.  Courtney pulled out the gift they got for me and said "This is what Edward and I got your mommy, but don't tell her."  Molly very promptly runs to me and said "Mommy, it's a new shirt!!"  I will still be surprised about the color & style of it...

Her enthusiasm is cute and pretty contagious.  :o)

It's gone to Texas

At dinner last night we were sitting around the dinner table and the question was asked to Molly "How old are you?"  She replied "4 and a 1/2"
Woah we all said...are you sure?  I said "I thought you were only 2 and 1/2;  where did the time go?"
"To Texas!" she proudly told us.  :o)

Guys & dolls

Molly has been really aware of gender lately.  She will frequently tell me "Daddy a guy, you're a girl, I'm a girl."  When we ask about her friends she also tells us who is a guy and who's a girl.
Whenever Molly asks about doing something she shouldn't be doing or is acting up her teacher will say "No way, man!"  to which Molly replies "I not a guy, I a girl."

I already knew that

One of Molly and my favorite things is to "tell secrets" to each other.  It's usually silly things, but can also be about what upcoming events there are.  "We're going to see Santa!"  for example.
She was being particularly cute this morning and so I told her I had a secret.  "Molly, I love you."  Her face got big in surprise like it often does when I tell her a secret.  I followed up and asked her "Did you know that?"  and she got serious and said "I did!  I did know that." 
Hope she never forgets....!

How silly?

We went down the Davenport Hotel this morning.  It's a very beautiful hotel and they were hosting a gingerbread making event.  There were teams that were making and it was a big competition.  Then they also had it where you could buy a kit and make your own gingerbread (graham cracker) house.  While there, they had a telling of the story of the gingerbread man.  Molly loved hearing it and watching the characters run around the room.
When we got back home we were talking about how much fun we had.  She said "It was silly...the horse trying to eat the gingerbread."  Andrew said "That was pretty silly."  and she said "That was the silliest thing all day!"

Here's Molly, me, and the gingerbread man.  She was scared of it, so we just took a pic with him in the background.

Where's my sister?

Lately Molly has been asking a lot about where her sister is.  She also talks to her sister at night.  When Andrew heard her say "I love you." he answered "Well, I love you too, Molly."  To his surprise she curtly answered "No, I was talking to my sister."
We thought all the sister talk was just related with her obsession with dolls, but it turns out there is a more likely source.  Molly has a best friend at school, Tommy.  We recently found out that Tommy's mommy is pregnant - expecting a girl.  Sooo, Tommy is getting a sister and Molly wants one too.

In another related "best friend" story, we were told today that Tommy, who has never had a pacifier, is suddenly asking for it because Molly has one.  We have been asked to start weaning her off...
So, the time has come.  We're really going to push the "big girl" and hope it is the motivation she needs. Wish us luck.  The goal is pacifier-free by Christmas.....

Smells good

While driving to school Monday, Molly declared "Mmmmm, it smells goooood!" 
"What does it smell like?"  I asked.
"Coconut"

No clue...

She was listening!

Yesterday while looking through the toy ads, and hearing repeatedly "I want lots of babies, and baby stroller...etc, Andrew was explaining how things work.  You have to use money to buy these things and we can't get these things without it.  She immediately went back to requesting different toys and we wondered if she was even listening.

This morning she crawled into Andrew's lap and said "I want babies. I want baby stroller. I want baby crib.  Get monies...I want babies."
I guess she was listening to us.  Now to explain where money comes from.   

Grumpy pants (eyes???)

While going to sleep tonight it took Molly a while to settle down. She asked to hold my hand...then minutes later said "Don't hold my hand mommy!"
She settled (or so I thought) until I heard angrily "I don't want to close my eyes...I'm grumpy!".
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I bet if you close your eyes, you won't be grumpy anymore."
"No! My eyes are grumpy!"
I hear a lot of things, but that's a new one to me. Grumpy eyes...but not so grumpy that they couldn't be convinced to fall asleep eventually. ;o)

Where's Santa??

During the Macy's parade yesterday they kept teasing that Santa was coming. Molly has been asking to see Santa to tell him what she wants. I guess I can understand the anxiousness since this is the first Christmas she really understands what's going on. She was very excited to see Santa on the TV and waved furiously upon his arrival.
After the parade we went for a walk. She kept asking to see Santa. We explained that he was in New York City for the parade and we'd have to wait until he gets to Spokane. When she called "Santa.....Santa!!" and we told her again, she finally found the nearest dog and told him "I want baby stroller, dog."
Guess she was happy that dog at least listened. Now we'll have to see if that dog comes down our chimney Christmas Eve.

Already reading??

We've been eating some Popsicles lately.  Each one has a joke on the stick for you to read once you're done eating.  She's observed Andrew and I reading the jokes to each other and laughing (groaning.....the jokes aren't very good!)  Yesterday she decided she wanted to get in on the fun.  After finishing her Popsicle, she held it and "read" us her joke.  She did it with her stick again (and dad's).  All of the jokes she reads involve a goldfish & a man.  We're not really sure why those items, but we laugh and she gets a kick out of it. 
And as an added bonus, here's the joke that was really on her stick:

"What does a bunny use to keep his fur in place?"   
"Hare spray!"  - I told you they weren't great!

A new expression

Molly and I were in the kitchen tonight making her lunch for tomorrow.  We were talking about what things she wanted in her lunch...
Very randomly (as toddler's often do) she said the expression "Crack me up."  I kinda laughed and asked who cracks her up.  She answered "Shout"  (from Fresh Beat Band).  I asked her if she knew what that means.  She gave me a puzzled look and so I told her it means that something/someone is so funny you keep on laughing.  "Yeah, Shout cracks me up!"
 

Night time prayers

Molly often asks about where different people are and if they're sleeping while she's drifting off.
Tonight she wanted to know about her cousins.  She asked if they were asleep and I told her yes.  Then I asked if she wanted to say a prayer thanking God for her cousins.  She said yes, so we walked through a prayer together.  She led it by thanking God for different things.  It was a very sweet moment..."
Thank you for Nina, Grammy, Grandad, Lily.....Lily's taking a nap......right, mom?"  "Thank you for Grandpop, Great Grandpa Brown, Rose, ... etc." 
It was raining outside and she had asked "What that noise?"  I told her the rain so we said "Thank you God for the rain....the snow....and my snowman." 
We said Amen and she asked about her cousins again....said she wanted to pray again, so we did.  :o)
What great prayers...thanking God for all the good people and things in our lives.   Let this be a reminder every day, but especially during this week of Thanksgiving.

Amen.

What is that?

We woke to a yard of snow this morning.  I held her up to the window and asked her "Molly, what's that?"  She thought for a minute and said "Christmaaaas!!"   It's going to be a long six weeks if she thinks snow = Christmas.  But too cute not to share.   Time to bundle up and head to school....

How about...

Lately, Andrew and I realize that we've been saying "How about..."  a lot.  We realized it when Molly turned it on us.  Here's a sample conversation:

Molly: " I need some juice."
Andrew:  "How about you drink some milk first?"
Molly:  "Hm, how about some juice."

Hmm...how about it? 

Max and who??

While visiting Waco, we had time to visit with our friends the Towers.  They have two boys named Carter and Max.  The kids had a great time playing together.  Carter is so patient with Molly and so Molly followed them around like a puppy dog.  She cried...hard...when it was time for them to leave.  I figured out she wouldn't say bye to them because that meant they would have to leave.  Little did she know then, that didn't prevent them from leaving.
The next morning we were leaving Waco and had a layover at the same airport as Andrew.  As we went to bed after our visit with the Towers I said "Molly, we're going on an airplane tomorrow and guess who we're going to see"  (Molly) "Carter and Max?!!?"  "Nope."  "Max and Ruby?!!?"  These are two television characters and are bunnies.  Hmmm...I could see how she'd get confused?  :o) 

Tommy talk

Tommy is Molly's friend from school.  I've heard they actually play together (instead of the common toddler playing next to each other). 
There's been a lot of "Tommy talk" at home lately.  Here are a few that I'd like to share with you.

The other night I was rocking her to sleep.  Not common, but was doing it as she was feeling a little under the weather.  She had eyes closed and I thought she was out when all of a sudden she takes out her pacifier, opens her eyes, and asks "Where's Tommy?"  When I told her he was at his house (probably asleep) she said "Oh."  and went right to sleep. 

Yesterday when getting ready she asked again "Where's Tommy?"  She wasn't being entirely cooperative so I answered "Probably at school waiting for you, and if you brushed your teeth, we could go see him."  When we were in the car at the stoplight across from school I hear from the backseat "I'm coooooommmming Tooooommmy!" 

Also, there's a lot of putting dolls in time out lately.  And the response "Time out! Don't hit your friend, Tommy."  To be fair, she also doesn't wanting them hitting Morgan or Bodie.  But Tommy gets mentioned the most. 

Who are you?

Molly was recently playing with her Barbie dolls.  She was role playing a conversation between the two.  At one point I hear "Are you Fancy Nancy?" and then she yells "No!  I Barbie!" 
Maybe we need to put name tags on her toys for their sake when they're "awake" like in Toy Story. 

Sometimes you just don't want to talk

We were getting home from school on Friday and I told Molly "Go ask daddy how his day was." 
Molly responded with "No, I not talking.  I shy."

Telling it like it is

Today was Dr. day.  We went for Molly's 2 1/2 yr check up.  She's perfectly healthy and everything checked out.  Hooray!
At the end of the appointment, all three of us got our yearly flu shot. She did an amazing job and didn't make a peep as she received the shot.  While I know Molly is tough, I give tons of credit to the nurse.  She was really good.
When we got home tonight and were changing into pajamas, she was holding her baby doll.  She showed baby the place on her leg where she got the shot.  I asked how if her leg was ok and she said "Yeah," (looked at baby) "get that shot not fun, baby."

Dancing queen

This morning it was time to get Molly dressed.  After getting her out of her pajamas and changing her diaper, I walked out of the room for a moment.
I came back into the room and asked if she was ready to get dressed. 
Her response:  "Just let me dance....for a little while." 
Morning routine put on pause while we had a dance party.   Happy Friday!

Potty talk

At pot roast/veggie dinner tonight (like so many other nights), Molly declared "I don't like it." before trying it. A bit frustrated I said "Molly, it makes me sad when you poo poo the dinner I made."
She sat half a second before saying "Eeww, poo poo in my dinner? ... That's stinky."
Great, I think I just ruined any chance of her trying any "new" meals in the near future.

Candy and veggies

Tis the season for candy, right? We had a bag of candy corn as part of our Pumpkin Night festivities. Upon hearing us call it candy corn she asked for "candy." Then wanting to be more specific she said "I want some carrot candy!"

What does that mean??

This has been Molly's question the past few days...but it's really ramped up.   One of my favorite things is the tone in which she asks.  Sometimes it seems like she is really curious and wants to know what it means.  Other times, she sounds more annoyed at what I'm saying.  Welcome to life with a girl, right??
Let me give you some examples...

Molly:  "Tuesday, Monday, Friday, Monday, Friday, Tuesday..." 
Me:  "Molly, today is Wednesday."  
Molly:  "Ohhhh,  what does that mean??" 


At lunch she was sitting in my chair and I was sitting in Andrew's chair.
Molly: "Daddy can sit in my chair."
Me:  "Well, he wouldn't be able to because of your booster chair being there."
Molly:  "What does that mean?"

My pal, Monkey

Molly's been very fond of her purple monkey these days.  She snuggles up to him at night & this morning helped him get dressed.
After they got dressed, she said he needed to go potty.  She helped put him on the potty, encouraged him to go -  "You go potty, Monkey", gave him privacy (as pictured), and clapped when he was finished "Woooo!".  She even tried to get me to give him his two candies for going.  Sneaky.  

Never heard that before

On Sunday, I laid my clothes out for church before getting in the shower.  After I got out, I was ready to get dressed but Molly had been messing with them. 
I politely asked her for my panties so I could get dressed for church. 
Her reaction was waving them around her head yelling "No PANTIES!  No panties at church!!" 
But don't worry, I was able to wrangle them away from her while Andrew laughed hysterically.  No wardrobe malfunctions at church this week!

Get off my back

Lately, there's been a lot of talk about monsters.  While most of it is just that they are in the room, she doesn't usually show fear. 
The other day we were eating dinner and she said there was a monster at the table.  When we asked her about where it was she said "On my back."  I said, "Maybe you should tell it to leave."
"Monster, get off my back!"

Here's another story where there was fear.  I was bouncing her on my legs like a horsey (something she said "Like Aunt Jennifer does!"  ) and on the forth time she got a petrified look on her face.  When I asked her what was wrong she said "There's a monster on the pillow!"  I explained to her that there was no monster there, lifted the pillow, and we continued about on our horsey ride. 

Hopefully the "monsters" will go away soon.....

What are those for?

We pulled a pack of diapers out and when Molly saw it she grabbed it and said "Those are for my booty!"

My games

While in the kitchen this afternoon Molly was making random noises. A moo of a cow, a bock bock of a chicken, etc. Andrew and I were repeating her, which often included an arm in the air or a foot stamp.
She looked at us and said "Stop! These are my games!!"

Schooooooool...

editor's note:  by the end of this, you may need to have a tissue handy.

We are so blessed to have a school that Molly absolutely loves. She has gone to bed multiple nights now crying out for her " 'cooooooool"  She can't wait to go back.  She cried the whole way home (after taking 10 minutes to get her to even acknowledge that I was there to pick her up.)
I went into her room tonight to console her and let her know it was two days until she could go to school again (she goes M, T, & F).  We talked about all the things we were going to do tomorrow, and that helped her calm down.
Then I asked if she wanted to say a prayer.  Her immediate response was "Thank you God for my school."  We went through a list of various things we are thankful for....friends, teacher, mommy & daddy, toys, etc. and here's where I about lost it.  She said "thank you for my heart."  I'm pretty sure she was referring to her pajamas which had hearts on them, but still.  Anyone who knows her experience at birth would be aware of how important it is to thank God for her healthy heart.  It's something I am forever thankful for.  God bless this little girl for reminding me to stop and say thank you to God for her health more often.   Love her & love how her school has encouraged her to be so thankful in her prayers. 

I like being me

Molly has been particularly cute today with very few misbehaviors.
After her nap I was helping her put her shoes on and I said "I like being your mommy." and she said with a big smile "Ohhh, I like being Molly."

I'm so confused!

One of Molly's favorite "games" has always been putting Mommy & Daddy to sleep.  She will force us to lay down (with a pillow if we're lucky), put a blanket on us, pat us, turn off the light, and tell us goodnight (regardless of what time of day it is).
She had the rare pleasure of getting both of us this morning.  She squirmed her way between us, demanded we roll over onto our stomachs, and patted us - hard! 
At one point she said this phrase to both of us,  "Close your eyes...go to sleep!"  followed very quickly by "Look at me!"  Well Molly, which do you want me to do? I can't look at you with my eyes closed.
That being said, she left the room with a goodnight and I got about a 10 minute cat nap.  One time I'm happy to oblige to her demands!

Time out!

We watched and attended some football games this weekend.  Each time they spoke of a team taking a "time out"  Molly got a really confused look on her face.  She's not sure if they did something naughty...and if not, why they're being punished.
Anytime we use the phrase "time out" to mean take a pause on something, she will run to her room and get a sad look on her face.
Ahhh, the joys of multiple meaning phrases....

I hear something

From our blackberry picking adventure yesterday...

I'll be careful

As I put Molly to bed tonight, she called out "I ride the horse. I be careful!". I thought she may've been prefacing her dream but then came "We go to the fair...that was fun!". Yes it was, sweet girl. Sweet dreams...about horse rides or whatever your heart desires.

Sheldon & Penny

One of our favorite shows is Big Bang Theory.  Even in re-runs, it's still funny.  We were watching an episode this evening where Penny hurt her arm and it was in a sling.  She wanted Sheldon to sing her "Soft Kitty..." and they ended up singing in a round. After demanding that we watch the scene a few times, she retreated to our bedroom. 
I hear a voice beckoning me to the bedroom and an even softer one starting to sing "Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur...happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr, purr, purr"  Maybe not quite so clear, but I knew what she was saying.  She clearly was Penny and wanted me to sing the Sheldon part.
And to make it even better she had pulled her arm out of her shirt making it look like she was wearing a sling, and had the covers pulled up to her chin. 

Sing a song

While putting on her jacket this morning:
Molly: "I need to zippity-do-dah."
Me: "Do you need me to help get it started?"
Molly:  "Yes, zippity-do-dah!"

I'm Molly

Well, we'll start this off with an introduction to this cute little two year old.  As her speech has increased over the last few months, the number of Molly's "monologues" that make us laugh every day has too.
I'm taking inspiration from my friend Sha who blogs about the quirky things his boys say.  (check it out...   http://maxspeaksout.blogspot.com/ )

We will frequently ask Molly "Are you" questions.  For example "Are you a monkey?",  "Are you grumpy pants today?" , "Are you a big girl?"
The answer is always the same:  "No, I Molly."  
"But Molly you can be big girl Molly."
"No, I Molly!"

Make no mistake...this little girl IS Molly.