A week ago today, Kendal suddenly switched from Mama to Mommy. No warning, no reasoning… but I am now Mommy. It’s cute, I like it, but I kind of miss Mama too…
About 3-4 days after the Mommy switch, Daddy came to be as well. It seems like a big step – Mama and Dada are now Mommy and Daddy.
After months of talking about the potting, sitting on the potty and hoping she would go on the potty, I couldn’t believe it when Bobby called from the other room that she peed!!! Yep, the potty started singing because for the first time, Kendal peed (just a few drops) in her potty! We are so proud.
It’s funny to get so excited about pee, but it has taken more than 6 months to get her to pee these few drops in her potty. Big girl!
Kendal’s new go-to phrase is, “me too.” It is interchangeable with “yes.” Did you have fun today? “Me too.” Do you like it? “Me too.”
Don’t you think that is cute? Me too 
Sometimes I wonder where she picks these things up. Kendal’s newest word dejour is delicious. She will take a bite of something and say mmm, mmm it’s delicious. How cute?!
I love Kendal’s names for people. Here are K’s favorite people in her life:
The following aren’t people, but they might as well be as much as she talks about them:
Kendal is Miss Opinionated. She is a girl who knows what she wants and demands it. Some of her favs:
I am at war with “pink bear.”
Kendal has always loved her bear blanket, whom she now calls Pink Bear. It used to help her sleep in strange places, but it always lived in her bed. Recently she has become CRAZY attached Pink Bear and she wants to take it everywhere. I don’t mind her having a lovey , but I think it should be an at home thing. (I’d really like it to stay in bed…)
So far, Pink Bear has remained at home or in the car, but today it came to a head. She did NOT want to leave bear in the car to go the the gym. As soon as I pried the two apart the water works started. She cried the whole way through the parking lot. So, we stopped outside to catch our breath. She wouldn’t stop. Thinking she would let it go when she saw her buds, I took her inside. (Sympathetic looks from moms following me the whole way.)
We got inside the play area and the tears continued to worsen. Pink Bear, Pink Bear… Her friends gathered, but she continued. Even Miss Kelly couldn’t calm her. Suddenly I knew what was coming… Yep, she cried so hard she made herself throw up. Not once, not twice, but three times – and the third was projectile all over me!
Embarrassed and stressed, I cleaned her as best I could with what I had. Then we turned back around and went home. Yep, back to the car where Pink Bear was waiting, and I drove home covered in vomit.
Pink Bear 1 me 0.
Kendal is a reluctant step climber. She has no problem taking steps (even thresholds), but she needs a little reassurance in the form of a hand to hold (or even just a finger). I know she could do it on her own, if she wanted to, but she just needs the magic finger.
This week, she has suddenly gotten her confidence. It isn’t 100% yet, but when she doesn’t over think it up she goes (or down). She does our front threshold with ease, and can take our front step. The one she still struggles with is the garage step, but that is the one step that she actually seems to use the hand for assistance.
I am so proud of my little step taker… Although this just means there ain’t nothing stopping her now.
I know the PC thing to do is to severely limit your children’s exposure to TV, but while it can be a mind sucking problem, it can also be a wonderful teacher (when the right programs are selected, of course). I am not saying that 24-7 unmonitored TV is the way to go, but I think some take the anti-TV thing too far.
Recently Kendal has busted out with two big words that I have to attribute to Playhouse Disney. The first – Imagination Movers. She loves this show, and one day when it came on she just exclaimed, “Imjination Moovers” and started dancing.
The second word she learned from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse that surprised me was “telescope.” We were looking at her “look and find” Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and she pointed to the telescope and said “telscope.”
Of course, the shows have also taught her the names of all of the characters, working on counting (although we work on that a lot too), the lyrics to her fav songs and more…
No TV isn’t her #1 teacher, but it sure makes my life easier knowing that she is getting something out of her “milk/t” (milk and TV before nap time).
A few mornings ago, Kendal and I were sitting on the bed watching her morning cartoons. She was sitting slightly in front of me, completely engrossed in Mik-Me. When I sneezed she turned around to look at me and said, “Bess you mama,” and then she turned right back to the TV. In that moment I was so amazed that she noticed the sneeze, registered what to say, took herself away from the TV and replied with the correct response. It was quite a step in her development and so sweet all at the same time.
She is a very loving and sweet child, and I work with her a lot about asking for “help pease” saying “tanks” and “no tanks.” I am happy to report that it seems to be rubbing off. Not only is she saying these things and using them correctly, but she is also adding names to the sentences – “no tanks mama,” “help pease dada,” etc. I am very proud of my polite and loving daughter.
