Pippaisms

Oh toddlerhood, with the giggles, the babbles, the crazy logic, and the absolute certainty that with the lines of communication you can begin to educate your parents on fundamental life theories. And so it is with Pippa. Recently she has stopped listening to that old lady who is always giving commands, and has decided to fast-line me to the nursing home. She tells me when to talk, when not to talk, what to wear, what to eat, etc. It would be annoying if not for the hilarious combination of words she finds. Below are just a couple of the most recent Pippaisms we've been treated to.

This is Pippa shooting her bow and arrow as assisted by Daddy.

And have I mentioned the Disney princess underwear, phone and jump rope? We use the phone to call our BFFs Belle, Ariel, and Tangled to set up jumping dates in the garden. Then she noticed this image on her playlist.

Now she asks to hear "moozak, like Bow and Ariel kind."

And we still do potty treats. All the time. Why? Because I don't enjoy hosing down the car seat every day. The sun doesn't shine bright enough to make that possible here. So when Pippa asked for Captain Crunch cereal as a potty treat I naively said yes. I know she's not stoked over cereal and only recently began eating it. She has requested that I only pour the berries out of the box and not the cereal noodles. She just can't stand the sight of the cereal noodles and when I refused to segregate the noodles from the berries, she defiantly sat down and carefully plucked each berry out with her spoon. The berry pile on the table may have left a stain against the white paint.

She has also taken to asking that Daddy shoot anything she deems "kind a scare-wee." Tigers, snakes, thunder, mosquitos, he can hit any target she names.

Nutty

The dreaded internship started two weeks ago. It altered not only my behavior, but that of my offspring, and in ways that I am not sure are...desirable.  The time and effort required to maintain life right now means all the humor and patience I once had has disappeared. In a flash of temper I stated to my loved ones that they "WERE DRIVING ME NUTS!"

I'd like to think I said it once (really I think that's factual), but it may be those words flow freely from my lips these days. Whatever the frequency that the phrase actually occurred is not important...Fact is, the parrot of the family finds that phrase amusing and has been uttering it herself--specifically when her mother drives on winding roads.

I first heard Pippa exclaim, "Mommy, YOU'RE DRIVING ME NUTS!" while we sped along dodging squirrels. Giant squirrels with large nuts clutched in their grimy paws. I jerked the wheel in surprise as I looked in the rearview mirror at Pippa and then, thunk. 

We drove that squirrel nuts too.

Easter Revival

Hello family time! We spent Easter weekend with some of our favorite Greeks and it was fantastic!

The meeting of the P's...actually they've met before, but Pippa found a kindred spirit in Penelope. That or Penelope was the most enchanting, life-sized doll Pippa ever met. Nelly spent many an hour doing the bidding of a two-year old and for that we offer to adopt her every summer.

Bubbles, bubbles and more bubbles. The only thing that competed with the best cousin ever, was the endless bottles of bubbles that Pippa could find. She just had to step out one pesky sliding door and bubble freedom ensued.

Here the hunters sit enthralled in the red stag roar video.

Ya yai and Pippa on their nature stroll. I think Pippa thought she was being sweet to help Ya yai down these tricky gravel stairs.

Snails! We puttered along poking at every snail, rock, and stick. Aunt Kimmy and Ya yai sweetly identified each one, multiple times.

We loved our mini-reunion and hope for another in the near future!

Hum(or)liation

I have officially entered the parenting phase where your "child's" behavior causes your cheeks to flame red in public. I mean, sure, I've been the parent pushing the out of control toddler in the shopping cart. I've had green goo in my hair, on my bum, and strategically placed on my shirt. My career choice prepared me for that much. In fact if she tries a full-scale meltdown I'll be able to turn it into a teaching moment for bystanders (I should probably get business cards).

So the embarrassment comes from potty training. Specifically potty-training at a restaurant on girl's night out. The GNO where you are the one mom who brings her child. And that child pees, multiple times. On you. It's a good thing she's cute and that she has a cute bum.

Because while I had tucked an extra set of clothing in my purse, (honestly I could not take a diaper bag to girls night) I did not pack clothes for myself. There were two options to my freshly wet outfit. We could freeze in wet clothes on the drive home. Or we could take the opportunity of the moments we had between ordering and the presentation of the food to wash and dry our clothes in the bathroom. I think you can guess what I chose.

Pippa's naked bum darting about the restroom seemed so natural that soon I had also stripped down. Amazingly enough, I was shocked that some stranger would enter to see this scene. The humiliation isn't so much about our nudity as it is that I have apparently lost all sense of decency.

It may be time for an intervention.

My La-la-la Ucky Girl

Pippa Bean is one la-ucky girl. Unfortunately she did not know this. She did know what ucky meant as I am constantly telling her I have to get the uckies out of her nose and that she can't play with her dirty diapers or eat something from the trash because it is UCKY!

So there stood Dad telling Pippa how lucky she was to have a mommy who insanely sewed late into the night to create the Tinkerbell birthday costume. You know, the one she desperately wanted but will not wear. Anyway, Pippa scrunched up her face at this lecture, which launched Dad into yet another lecture on how she should appreciate her mother more. By now, Pippa's lip quivered and she yelled out, "Imma no UCKY. Imma GIRL!"

Oh English how you fail us at reasoning with a two-year-old. I tried to explain luck (harder than you think) and finally just started singing la-la-la lucky. Since there was song, and a little dance, plus smiles, Pippa decided La-la-la Ucky is good. But she's quick to remind you that she is, "not ucky everywhere."

That is just a taste of the kick-off to her birthday month. On the actual day I snuck into her room at 1a.m. to hang twinkle stars from her ceiling. Because all toddlers sleep through bumps in the night. They never wake up to catch you twinkle-handed and with wide eyes and say, "Ohhhh wow Mommy! Look! Stars!" I scooped her up, shushed her and told her it was paybacks for waking me up two years earlier with intense labor pains. I am that mom.

We had the best morning swimming with friends. Now, I'll skip through the family of three party where the chocolate-chock-full-of-love cupcakes I baked gave her hives. Whoops! Instead we'll focus on the Children's Museum. She sang, she painted, she followed every pretty girl in sight. We had a wonderful time and she's asked to go back every day. Multiple times. Doesn't even matter that we do many of the same activities at home (on a lesser scale). And when I tragically explain that the Museum is too far away she asks for the next best thing, the library.

Pippa's dance moves on the big screen.

At two years of age Pippa:
Chatters constantly.
Gives kiss attacks that resemble a shark chomping at your arm, or neck, or thigh, or nose.
Loves fruits and raw veggies and pizza.
Looks up-downstairs for Daddy Boy anytime she wakes up.
Wants to be a big helper for mommy.
Green is her favorite color. Red is daddy's and mine is purple. We do not vary.
Is incredibly particular about her clothing.
Supervises the catching of her pet lady bugs like it is her job.
Acts like Slimey (Oscar the Grouch's pet worm).
Loves to eat Peacock Toast (french toast).

Happiest year Miss Pippa Girl!

The Family Snowles

Our Valentine /Presidents' Day adventures captured on film.

Rough life on the road, answering so many Valentine prayers.

Slide up, slide down

When Dad wasn't immediately available we made a substitute...

And then another friend.

Wouldn't it be nice.

Blue Face FaceTime Blues

We looove to facetime with Grandma. Unfortunately, if we can see Grandma then Pippa believes we should be able to touch Grandma. When I tell her we can't touch Grandma on the iPad, then Pippa believes we should drive to Grama's hoooouse. When I tell Pippa that Grandma's house is too far away, she pouts and starts to demand we go to Grama'a hoooouse now!

I think she finally knows we won't drive her to Grandma's house. Clever girl that she is, she decided today that she could travel through the iPad. While talking to her cousins, who happened to be at Grandma's house, Pippa asked to go over to Grama's hooouse once more. When I starting shaking my head she turned and tried to back into the iPad with her shoulder. I asked what she was doing and she stated, "I'ma goin to Gramma's hooouse!"