Rejecting Comfort

The girl can throw a tantrum. I don't know if her grandparents have seen a category 5 Hurricane Halle before, but when she gets frustrated or hears no too many times consecutively... she could fell a tree. I kid, I kid. What she does do is go limp, scream, shake her head back and forth, and cover her tiny little eyes with her tiny little palms to cry. Understandably, she doesn't want to be comforted by the person that made her so angry.

What startles me, though, is this: say she bumps her head when she comes out from under her side-table fort. She reaches to touch her head, looks right at Brad or me, and starts to cry. What do you think she'd do next? Run to either of us and bury her head in our lap?

Nope. We reach out for her, we call her to us, we go to pick her up, we tell her she'll be okay, we say, let us hold you. Let us kiss it. She recoils. She recoils as if we'll only make it worse.

I wonder why she'd rather run to her big stuffed puppy or her blanket which are comfort objects that are the psychological comforting equivalent to a parent when one must seperate for bedtime. I read an article about it just the other day HERE. Is it bizarre that she'd rather run to a parent equivalent than a parent?

Sometimes I wonder. What am I doing wrong? I looked through our Dr. Spock tome last night, but I truly didn't know where to start. What word to look for in the glossary. I'm not finding much online either. It seems to be implied that toddlers want to be comforted by their parents. There is also another concensus: toddlers are freakin' crazy people. They go through phases by the hour. Maybe this is one of them.

Glamour: A Love Story

Six Pretty Smiles

I couldn't pick out a favorite so I just added them all. Sorry to be so redundant!

By the way, Halle had her 18 month check up today. THREE SHOTS. Oh, the injustice of it all! It's the toughest conflicting emotion EVER to want your child to be immunized. I don't want her to get sick. I also don't want to help pin her hands above her head so that the doctor can stab her repeatedly. Seeing the look on her face, like, "WHY ARE YOU LETTING THIS HAPPEN TO ME! DON'T YOU LOOOOOOVE ME? WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU?!"

So, to keep from pondering the nightmarish image of Halle's pleading face, here are happy faces!

The Firefly Costume

...and I went with none of the above. So this is all we've got so far. Now I need to make a pair of wings with poster paper or cardstock and somehow make her butt glow. I know that tulle and glow sticks are part of the equation, I just don't know how to solve...

This girl had a really cute costume! Well, she should, she was on Project Runway and knows all about circuitry. Halle's costume won't be nearly as professional-lightning-bug as hers, but she'll be cute as a bug anyways.

P.S. I'm going as a mail order bride.

The Shellphone II

This Week in Photos

Needless to say, it's been a fun week filled with STICKERS, fluffy dresses, and many many games of "I'm-Gonna-Get-Yoooo". Enjoy!

Death By Cute

There is no try.

It's almost time for Halle-ween! Naturally, I've been looking for cute and creative costumes for Halle, y'know, before she insists on going as the next young Disney thing. That's right, I'm taking advantage of being wardrobe boss! It's entirely selfish and I am not ashamed! Though I would like to find something warm. After scouring eBay, costume shops, and even Google Images, here are the melt-your-heart-iest toddler costumes I could find. Make sure that you are sitting down and keep your arms inside the vehicle please - this kind of cute is dangerous, folks.

Oh! I almost forgot! Write a comment to vote for your favorite costume.


On a standing toddler? My word! How precious!


Looks a bit challenging to walk in, and not very warm. But! A Peanut!




This baby is adorable and all, but how much cuter would Halle be in it?!?!?!


A mother-baby costume! Oh. My. Gosh. I can't look at this picture for longer than ten seconds or I will have to snack on lobster-baby's pudgy little cheeks. So... irresistable...


If I had a little boy, my decision would be made for me. Goodness gracious, what a smart-looking little fella.

HUUUUUUUUG MEEEEE

Difficult to walk in, but if only worn once, why not just cut off the feet? And those little TUSKS! AWW! I hope the trunk doesn't hit her in the face when she runs!
Dwarf baby! Clogs and all! I do have to admit, the boy version costume is way cuter. Who doesn't MELT when they see a little boy wearing a beard?

This would be fairly easy to make; Party City sells paper chef hats as it is.

The Worst Costumes

You all know I'm a free spirit and all... but I'm nowhere near this free. Dressing your child up as a rainbow for Halloween may be an indication your doctor's got you on the wrong medication.
Little kids have wild imaginations! Crazy imaginations! So I feel sorry for the little boy who decides to be a UPS worker on Halloween, the one day a year you can choose to be anything you want, anything you could dream up, and this is his choice. Unless his father is a UPS worker, in which case I retract my prior statement. But ONLY in that case!


On a scale of 1 to 10, how much sympathy do you have for octobaby?

NEW!

When asked, "what does a chicken say?" Halle replies:

buh-KAW?





Awesome.

Yes we can (hold babies)

My best friend discovered this hilarious niche blog that solely exists to show photos of President Obama holding babies. RELAX! It doesn't wax political. I swear there's a blog for everything.

It's official. Baby heads are for kissing. It's a reflex.

Waxbama is just not the same...

Okay, they might wax political in a way...

It's a pacifier with calories.

And I don't mean to say that I want my kid to shut up and quit her yappin'. I love little Halle yappin'. I mean, you should see the change in her demeanor. Just as a powerfully-piped newborn can be calmed within seconds of getting a pacifier popped into its mouth, Halle is monk-like when she has a piece of fruit. She wanders around the room, meditatively, lost in a fruity melancholy. It's the best way to end a meal for a child that sometimes must be fought with to be fed. I'm starting to make deals with her. I think she's got an incredible grasp of the English language if I can say "You only have two bites of turkey left. You have to finish your turkey if you want cheese. Do you want cheese? Finish your turkey, please."

AND SHE FINISHES HER TURKEY.

And then hands me her empty plate as if to say, "My end of the bargain is taken care of so it must be time for cheese." (And why do I love to start sentances with And?) She's really captivated by all the wordy shows on PBS Kids that drill the alphabet, spelling, rhymes, and grammar. It's not like I would be disappointed if she didn't learn to read before age five or six, but I mean... I wouldn't be surprised.

Then again, maybe I'm one of those moms that is amazed by every little thing their own little baby accomplishes. I don't think it takes much. :)

Ooooo sour!

Hard to get her to smile for the camera, especially when she's eating.

Summer is Almost Gone

"Draw a crazy picture, write a nutty poem, sing a mumble-gumble song, whistle through your comb. Do a loony-goony dance 'cross the kitchen floor, put something silly in the world that ain't been there before."

-Shel Silverstein

THIS is why I'm a dog person, not a cat person. How sweet! Not that I have anything against cats in general, except for our cat COLE who has been PEEING on my CLOTHES and in Halle's CRIB!

Oh, Blogspot, why are you doing this to me? Well I guess you'll have to wait for more cute pictures because Blogspot isn't letting me upload anything. So, I guess this is going to be the most random post ever. Oh well. =(

This one goes out to the one I love

I'm really enjoying her babble right now. Her little voice is like honey - so sweet to hear her croon in delicate baby babble. No sound has ever made me happier.

*mwah!*

STOP........... hamper time!

She probably would've stayed in there for hours.

Where's the Beef?

I'm sorry I haven't updated in what, a week? I have a treasure trove of "Munchies" sitting on my memory card right now. So WHY haven't I been updating? Cords, cords, cords. I love my cords for all their varieties and purposes but I never seem to have the right one with me. As if my purse wasn't heavy enough. So, tomorrow I will find this-cord and thatta-cord so that you can devour all the good "Munchies" that Miss Munchkinbrain dishes up, even if they're not fresh from the kitchen.

Halle Feeding Ducks! And herself!

So it's a bit long, though there are cute little moments throughout.