Riding the Light Rail

The Phoenix Light Rail began service on December 27th and is free to use through the end of the year, so we went today to check it out.  We took the Light Rail downtown to go to the Children’s Museum of Phoenix.  It was nice to go downtown without worrying about parking.  The Light Rail stopped in front of Chase Field, so it was just a short walk to the museum.

The Children’s Museum of Phoenix opened in June 2008.  We went to the Chicago Children’s Museum in the summer, so we were excited to find out that Phoenix finally had a children’s museum.  While many of the exhibits will not open until the end of 2009, there are several interactive exhibits for young children to enjoy. Alyssa’s favorite was the Noodle Forest.  She would take off running in there and disappear.  When it was time for us to go, she screamed “No!” and ran into the noodles.

We had a nice picnic lunch at the museum and then we walked to the Arizona Center.

 We enjoyed a Starbucks coffee before returning to the Light Rail for our trip back.  Alyssa loves going to Starbucks to get vanilla milk.  Her favorite!  We only waited about 5 minutes for the train, but when the doors opened it was packed.  I guess that’s what happens when you ride free.  So, we stood all the way back.

We had a fun day out and we’re looking forward to many more trips on the Light Rail.  It’s a convenient way to get downtown, go to the museums, or go to the ballpark.  We’re already planning another trip downtown to have some pizza at Pizzeria Uno.

Serenity Now!

I remember the episode of Seinfeld where George’s father said, “Serenity Now!” whenever his blood pressure was about to go up.  Well, “Serenity Now!”  I don’t know if it’s all the excitement of the holidays or if Alyssa is just happy to spend all this time with me.  She knows exactly how to push our buttons.  In the past week, we’ve had some major meltdowns.  She’s entered a phase of not listening, back talking, sneaking, and not telling the truth.  I know this is typical 3-year-old stuff, but it’s hard spending your vacation time dealing with it.  This is supposed to be family fun time, right?

Alyssa got some Wall-e candies in her stocking from Santa and they were all setting on the counter.  I found an empty plastic bag on the carpet in her playroom and asked if she ate the candy to which she replied, “No.”  Then, Daddy pointed out that her tongue was blue and green.  So, we went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror.  She gave me her typical embarrassed look.  I asked again if she ate the candy and she replied, “Well, maybe one.”

With the New Year just around the corner, I’m so thankful for the blessings in my life.  Even though we have our moments, there is no greater blessing than the love of a child.  I write to document these experiences, knowing that I am not alone.  The third year is the most difficult year and we’re not even midway through.  I am hopeful that I will make it to four with my sanity intact and I’m sure there will be many more “Serenity Now!” moments before then.

Christmas

I can’t believe that Christmas is already over. So much has happened in the last month that I wanted to write about. With all the holiday baking and preparing for Christmas, time just got the best of me.

Alyssa had her first dance recital this month. She was so excited to dance on the big stage. When I saw her up there, she looked so beautiful that it brought tears to my eyes. She had three dances during the program. It was a real mommy moment. I have never felt so proud before. Seeing her up on that stage dancing was amazing.

Grandma took all of us to see “A Christmas Carol” at the Herberger Theatre. It was Alyssa’s first play. She thought we seeing a movie. When the curtain opened and the actors were singing and dancing, her face lit up! To our surprise, she behaved very well and enjoyed the play. The Herberger is very family friendly and we’re looking forward to seeing more plays there in the future.

We introduced Alyssa to “A Christmas Story” this year. She absolutely loves the movie! She is still asking to watch it even though Christmas is over. It’s hilarious to listen to her tell you all about Ralphie and the bully (which she calls the “Scarecrow”). She also likes the part where the kids are standing in line waiting to see Santa and one of the kids says, “I like the Wizard of Oz.” That’s one of her Grandma’s favorite parts, so Alyssa keeps saying it because it makes everyone laugh. The other night she was in bed and I found her holding her tongue saying, “Stuck! Stuck! Stuck!” I never imagined she’d like the movie so much.

We had family over for Christmas Eve. We all spent the day making our traditional lasagna. We made a great video of the entire process and it was a lot of fun!   Getting ready for Santa was so much of fun this year. We sat out carrots for the reindeer and even sprinkled powdered sugar on the patio to get his boot prints. Since we don’t have a chimney, we left Santa’s magic key outside. Then, we made chocolate chip cookies and sat out the cookies and milk. Alyssa took a bite out of one of the cookies to make sure it was okay for Santa. With all the excitement, it took her a while to get to sleep this year.

Christmas morning was magical! We woke her up and she went right to the back door to see if he came. The look on her face when she saw the chewed up carrots and Santa’s boot prints was priceless! Then, we went to the tree and saw that Santa was here. She was so excited! Santa ate almost all his cookies, drank his milk, and left his magic key on the table. Santa left the baby doll she wanted and wrapped all her gifts in special Disney Princess paper. She knew exactly which ones were hers. After we looked through our stockings, she opened her Santa gifts one after the other. It didn’t take us very long this year to get through the gifts. I’m still amazed at how quickly a child’s mind switches from one toy to the next. It’s like they are so excited that they don’t know what to play with first. Of course, every toy is bound in the box and it takes scissors, wire cutters, and a screwdriver just to get them out.

The day after Christmas, we went to the movies to see “Marley & Me.” Alyssa and I watched the movie trailers for two movies and she wanted to see the one with the puppy. Little did I know that the puppy was only in a small part of the movie. The movie ended up being very sad and she ended up getting bored. So much for a fun day at the movies!

We had a wonderful Christmas! We have almost two weeks at home, so we are looking forward to spending time together.

Stocking Stuffers

I was having a conversation with Alyssa about stocking stuffers and asked her what she wanted in her stocking.  She listed several items including sparkly lipstick, candy, toys, and a Cubs ball with a string that she could hang on the tree.  She said, "Daddy would like that!  He would!"  So as we were talking, I asked her what she thought Santa would put in my stocking.  She had a puzzled look on her face and said, "Baby Jesus Lipstick."  I chuckled and said, "What?"  She said that's what I get from Santa in my stocking.  It's funny the things kids come up with.  She cracks me up!  I wonder if I should market that product next Christmas.  I can envision the packaging, "Baby Jesus Lipstick... the Ultimate Lip Savior!"

Santa's Coming!

There is no greater joy than experiencing the excitement of Santa Claus through the eyes of a child. It's magical! This year, will be one of the best years ever. The awe and wonder of a mere Santa sighting, the Advent calendar counting down the days, messages from Santa, the preparation of milk and cookies for his arrival, the magical key, the phone call from Santa on Christmas Eve, and the anticipation of gifts under the tree... it's all for preparation for Christmas morning. We're counting down the days until Christmas... just twelve more to go.

While I'm busy preparing for Christmas, Alyssa is preparing for Santa. The other day, she started hiding her toys. "Santa's coming!" she exclaimed. Then, she put her new Elmo in her closet and told us that she doesn't want Santa to take him. That's right! She's afraid that when Santa leaves new toys he's going to take some of her old ones with him. She knows Santa won't go in her room while she's sleeping, so she started hiding her favorite toys in her closet. She's be busy getting ready for Santa's arrival, but in a way that was totally unexpected. I took Elmo out of the closet last night and she told me to put him back or Santa will take him. It cracks me up!

These are the joys and memories of the holidays that last a lifetime.

Mommy's Little Helper

One of the things I love about Christmas is all the baking! Lots of yummy treats to give away and to eat. Alyssa has been my little helper this year. We've been having lots of fun making all kinds of goodies. Her favorite part... SPRINKLES!!! We've made chocolate dipped pretzels with sprinkles, rice krispy treats with sprinkles, sugar cookies with sprinkles. In fact, we had so many sprinkles one night that we had to vacuum them up off the kitchen floor. Daddy wasn't too happy to see green and red sprinkles in the tile grout, but we cleaned them all up.

We had a blast making sugar cookies. Alyssa had fun rolling out her own dough with her little rolling pin while I rolled out mine. However, big balls of dough kept finding their way into her mouth. She thought it was funny to steal the dough while I wasn't looking. She is pretty sneaky! Between eating dough and licking sprinkles off her hands, I think we ended up washing hands that night about 15 times. I tried explaining that we don't lick our hands while we're baking cookies to give away. Every time I caught her, I sent her back to the bathroom to wash them again. I knew she was having a good time, so I just had fun with it.

She really enjoyed making marshmallow snowmen. She put two big marshmallows on a lollipop stick, we dipped them in melted white chocolate together, then she put the mini chocolate chips on them for eyes, mouth, and buttons. They turned out really cute and they taste great!

We're looking forward to building our gingerbread house this weekend!

"Go Away! I Can Dress Myself!"

That's right!  This morning I was told to go away.  I don't know whether to be sad that she doesn't need me to help her anymore or to be happy that we can both get dressed at the same time now.  She's just becoming more independent.  I've thoroughly enjoyed the last three years and it's time for me to let her be her own person.  She likes to pick out her own shoes in the morning, although sometimes I have to "help" her pick a different pair.  I think she'd really enjoy picking out her clothes too, but I'm not ready for that.  Instead, I set out her clothes in the evening and ask if she'd like to wear a particular shirt/sweater.  That way, there's no fussing in the morning and her clothes are waiting for her to put on.  It's amazing how much she likes to do on her own now.  While my mommy instincts try to do things for her, I'm working on stepping back and letting her try to do things on her own.  I think it's good for both of us, but it's hard for me.  For example, she had such a blast this year decorating the Christmas tree.  She was grabbing breakable ornaments and helping put them on the tree.  I could see how happy she was and how much fun she was having.  If you know me though, I was on pins and needles hoping that she wouldn't drop them.  Life is way too short to worry about the small stuff.  Things don't have to be perfect and if something gets broken...oh well.  Becoming a mom has really changed me for the better.  It's the joy of seeing your child do something on their own and seeing how proud they are of their accomplishments that's important.  It's not the stuff that will be remembered, it's the experiences that will last a lifetime.

You Wet It, You Wipe It

I thought potty training was complete when your child stops wearing diapers/pull-ups and starts using the potty.  Seems pretty simple, doesn't it?  Well, I've discovered that potty training continues long after the big switch from pull-ups to panties.  It's the "training" part that I've been working on for the past month.  While we've been fortunate enough to not have any bedtime accidents, we are having paper training issues.  That's right, "You wet it, you wipe it!"  My daughter can't seem to get that through her head.  Boys don't use paper, why should she?  She uses the potty and pulls up her panties.  Then, she walks funny and complains that her panties are wet.  I've reached the point of frustration and cannot understand why she will not use paper.  The problem is that she knows what she's doing.  Sometimes, she'll say, "I used paper, Mommy," and I praise her.  Yet, other times she'll choose not to and she makes this little smirk when I ask her about it.  She has a facial expression that she does when she's embarrassed or has done something that she knows is wrong.  I just don't get it! 

The other part of training I've been working on is getting her to poop in her own bathroom.  Instead, she goes in ours because she doesn't want to make hers stinky.  It took me a while to get her to start using hers.  Now she asks if I'll spray after she goes.  It cracks me up!  She recently made the observation that girls sit and boys stand to go potty.  So, the other day she asked me if boys stand to go poo poo too.  I don't think she understands why they can't do that.  I'm just thankful that they don't.