School Days

Patterson Pearl started school a couple of weeks back. As you can imagine, we had a bit of a rocky start*. She cried, I cried. I cried, I cried!!! Here's a couple of pictures I took on her first day. She posed for the camera like a top model until I reminded her that she would be staying at school for the day. Then, she gave me the cutest worry-wart look (bottom photo).

Now, several weeks later, school is going great! She's got a wonderful team of teachers who really seem to like her a lot. And, she likes them too! She even claps at the mention of school (you go Patty!). She's still going only two days each week, but in the fall we plan to start her on a full time schedule.

*Regarding the "rocky start" I mentioned earlier, it was mostly parental error. Matt and I sort of forgot how much sleep she actually needs and we weren't getting her in bed early enough. As a result, she seemed to experience lots of anxiety throughout the day - rookie mistake! So to all the new parents out there, remember to adjust your little one's sleep schedule before sending them off to school!!

A day in the life...

Bassey is, by far, Patterson's favorite family member. When Patty wakes up in the morning, she smiles when she hears Bassey's tags jingling and hugs her a million times each day. The only problem is, Patty doesn’t yet know the difference between a hug and a “head-lock!” But, Bassey sure does.

We’re trying to teach Patty the right way to show affection to Bassey. Meanwhile, here’s a picture that sums up a day in the life of Bassey, aka “Super Pup.”

Caillou!

"Growing up is not so tough except when I've had enough, but there's lots of fun stuff."

-Caillou

If you've seen PBS Kids or Sprout, chances are, you know Caillou. For about two months, we've been getting to know him very well. We try to keep television to a minimum for Patty, but Caillou seems to be the cure for the common meltdown. I even keep a few episodes on standby (thank you, DVR) for emergency situations.

Patty has become known for her ponytails. So much so that her Aunt Christy has nicknamed her "Pom Pom Patty." Well folks, it's no picnic getting those "poms poms" placed just right! But, with Caillou on my side, I get Patty's hair done sans kicking and screaming. Now, my aunt Mona, the child development guru, reminds me often "television without interaction is never a good thing." Auntie, rest assured, we sing and count right along with Patty and Caillou.

The picture to the left is of Patty cheering during Caillou's opening song.

M.I.A.

I know, I know I’ve been MIA. Trust me, I feel pretty bad, but I underestimated how busy a 16 month old could keep a person. This is a whole new world – she’s climbing, testing boundaries (and patience), singing, talking (non-stop) and having 4-6 meltdowns a day. Oh, and did I mention EATING? She’s got a ferocious appetite! For about two weeks in January, the two of us were very sick. Her one week, me the week following. When we took her to the doctor, she was back down to 19 lbs which is what she weighed at the one year mark. Her doctor, the all-knowing Dr. Shinn assured us that her appetite would “return with a vengeance.” Those were her exact words and she was SO right. Patterson wants a bite of whatever we’re eating. She can smell a cheddar cheese Pringle from 20 feet away. No matter what we're eating from hummus to a kit-kat, she hovers and sings “bite, bite, bite.” She’s also into green beans, corn, pears, grapes, etc. but she loves Pringles and Sun Chips above all.

Here’s a picture of Patty chowing down at McCallisters a couple of weeks ago. And, I through in a picture of her daddy looking super handsome.

Christmas Day, 2008

We woke up around 7ish on Christmas Day. This was the first year that Patty would be able to actually open her gifts. As I expected, she was much more fascinated by the paper than the presents. What I hadn't anticipated was how long it would take her to open each one. She spent about 15 minutes opening one or two gifts and was done with it! Matt and I ended up opening the rest.

We spent the first part of Christmas Day with the Wards and the other half at my grandma's. Here's a cute picture of Patty in my Gran's hat. A side note: My grandparents keep their home extremely warm, so we had to remove a couple of layers from Patty's Christmas outfit to keep her from melting!

"Baby"

Before the start of the holiday season, Matt and I had decided that one of Patty's Christmas gifts would be a baby doll. Of course, the baby would need to be the right size and weight (so that Patty, only 19 lbs herself, could actually play with her). Also, she would need to have brown skin. Now, I realize the color of a toy baby isn't important to lots of moms, but I grew up with a red-headed Cabbage Patch Doll and always wished that she looked more like me.

After trips to several stores, I found a doll that fit our criteria. I was so excited about it, I wasn't able to wait until Christmas to give her to Patty. "Baby" was a big hit! Patty immediately knew what to do with her and now takes her everywhere!

More cheese, please.

Generally, I find staged portraits to be undesirable. The results can sometimes be stiff and unnatural. I was encouraged by friends/family to have holiday photos taken of Patty, so I obliged. I scheduled an appointment for 6:30 PM on a weekday to try to avoid the crowds. Apparently, there's no such thing as avoiding crowds at a department store portrait studio between November 1 and December 24. Who knew?

I hate being late, so I raced home from work and quickly pulled Patterson's hair into pony tails and got her into her dress and tights (that was the fun part). We arrived early for her appointment by about 15 minutes. Unfortunately, the photographers were running behind. One family had been waiting for an hour! After about a 40 minute wait, it was our turn and we were off to a good start. Patty sat on the tiny couch and smiled. (I was beside her, so I didn't realize her first smile was a gremlin smile until Matt told me later. Needless to say, we didn't purchase that picture.) Three hours later, when all was said and done, we had some pretty good shots! Patty paid them back for the wait by spreading cheerios all over the waiting area. Hey, I picked up as much as I could, but what did they expect from a one year old waiting for three hours in a small space?

This is Patty after three hours of waiting, posing and smiling. I think we all felt the same way, including the photographer. No more cheese, PLEASE!