Garynation

One of Jon’s sisters names is Deidre, pronounced Did-dra. Marielle has yet to say it correctly and says Aunt Did-er-rah every time. She also says “ze-ba-rah”, so it might be something with the “dre” and “bra” that she has trouble with. Either way, she loves Aunt Deidre and I have never seen an adult be so good with kids. She always wants to help us and she will usually offer to take my camera so I can actually be in some pictures. She is wonderful and when sometimes I feel a little bored with the kids, I think, “what does Deidre do with these kids?” I usually re-enact some game she played with them, and it always makes them happy. I dug through all my pics and found examples of just what Aunt Did-er-rah will do for kids… She will play the above “game” of going up and down, up and down, up and down, until the kids get tired – not her!! She’ll keep on and on until they ask to stop. I know she’s not crying in these pictures, but she held Aliza every time she came over to our ho...

Most people are excited and sad that their little ones are starting a bit of school. Me? I’m totally freaked out. Don’t get me wrong, I am so happy for Marielle to meet new friends and learn a few things there, but this allergy is what I’m so worried about. I am met with the director of the preschool and this is what I brought her to post all over the school. I had to scan it in, so it is a little light. Other parents don’t have to do this. I also brought the director a video on how to use an epi-pen to show the whole staff. I don’t want to be THAT mom that is so annoying to other parents and the staff, but really, this is a serious allergy. Allergic reactions of this kind get progressively worse with each exposure. After this last reaction , I’m scared that next time she will start to have trouble breathing and go into anaphylactic shock . It’s not fun to have to deal with this. I still can’t believe that I do have to deal with it. But I do and I have to be very careful about wher...

There they are. The whole Yo Gabba Gabba cast. I can’t seem to get away from this soundtrack. It is everywhere. I hear it in my sleep. In the shower. Even during my workout. But I must confess, some of the songs on it aren’t that bad. Jon and I have been in the car and at the same time said, “I like this song” and it’s on the Yo Gabba soundtrack. There are some famous artists that have written and performed for the show. I’ve said before, Marielle requests it every time we get in the car , but sometimes I refuse. I know – terrible right? Sometimes she’ll whine and cry about it, but really, I can’t ALWAYS give in, can I? If I could just get her to listen to some of the words of the songs, she’d totally understand. Most of the songs are really good and try to teach real life lessons. The lyrics to one of my favorites are: “You can’t always get what you want, it won’t help if you keep on asking.” Really – they actually sing that!! When I refuse to put it on, and she keeps screaming “yo g...

Really, if you don’t know us, you don’t know what this means. I have the only toddler in the universe that is scared of stickers. Until tonight. My sister came over and, with no ulterior motive, started coloring with Marielle. In one of the coloring books are stickers. Marielle has looked at the stickers, touched them, but will not let anyone put one on her. She has been so very scared of having them touch her. One of her worst experiences was having a band-aid on her knees. It was HILARIOUS when she would not move her legs, wouldn’t walk, and wouldn’t move in her bed with them on. I know, it’s bad that I laugh at my child’s fear, but seriously, I wish I had a video of how she acted the 2 times she has put on band-aids. No joke, HILARIOUS. Anyway, somehow Nanny Ally managed to get Marielle to put the stickers on herself – without a tear!!   She put them on and took them off! Nanny Ally – what a great influence!!

Marielle: Aliza: Marielle has got those cheeks!!!

A pudding pop for my little girl

I had wanted to keep doing this, but I forgot. Coincidentally, I was looking through older pictures of Marielle and noticed that Aliza had just worn that outfit and I had taken some pictures. Here are some comparisons at about 10 months each. Marielle Aliza Marielle Aliza Marielle Aliza They really don’t look that much alike, do they?