Elephants and Cucumbers!

OK, I know at least some of you Moms out there have at least heard about the "Your Baby Can Read" DVDs. I know I run across at least 2 infomercials every weekend for the things. Well, anyone who knows me well knows that this is right up my alley. Of course, I ordered the set for Caris way back at the first of the year. The premise is if your child watches the DVDs twice a day eventually he/she will be able to actually READ the many words and phrases in the movies. As you would expect, the manufacturer/inventor is quick to caution you that every child develops any skill at his/her own pace, so just because you saw the 6-month old baby on the infomercial reading Moby Dick, don't expect that from your child. (Obviously, they haven't heard about Caris!) I will admit that I was skeptical once I actually saw the videos. Don't get me wrong, they are very good quality DVDs. It's just that after Caris had been exposed to movies like Veggie Tales, Tinker Bell and Sponge Bob I didn't think that these movies would be "flashy" enough to hold her attention. Thankfully, I was wrong. I will also admit that I had been falling down on her viewing schedule of late; what with moving and all. Be that as it may, she's still into it and asks to watch the videos all the time. She can read "hi", "dog", "cats", and believe it or not "elephant". She doesn't even watch the videos twice a day, as suggested. That's my girl!

I am about to embark on the task that I have lived in fear of ever since I found out I was going to have a child. Yes, Moms, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Never ending loads of laundry (as if they really ever do end at this point); changing sheets EVERY morning; strategically planning ANY and EVERY outing with a restroom ALWAYS within eye shot; constantly asking "Do you need to go" to the point where the repeats in my head keep me up at night...you've got it - POTTY TRAINING! If I could only put into words how much I am not looking forward to this....I would not only appreciate but I am BEGGING for any advice from you Moms out there. I have bought the "3 Day Potting Training" guide and am going to attempt that the weekend of the 4th since I'll have a 3-day weekend. I would love for this to be as painless as possible, but my hopes aren't real high!

Since most of you know that Caris is her Daddy made over you must understand that I jump at any chance I get to "claim" any feature/trait/behavior of her's as coming from me. As I've said before, it's most assuredly not because I think I'm anything spectacular - quite the opposite, actually. However, any Mom out there can understand how left out I feel when I've left no visible mark on this wonderful being, yet I'm half the reason she's here. Don't get me wrong, I don't dwell on it. It's just disheartening sometimes. Anyway, I am officially claiming Caris's love of cucumbers as something I have passed on to her. Granted, Patton likes cucumbers too, but not as much as I do. If you didn't know, there's almost nothing finer that peeling a home-grown cuke, cutting the ends off and munching away. In my opinion, it ranks right up there with chocolate, bubble baths and lazy Saturdays. So, please enjoy the following picture and remember - SHE GETS THIS FROM ME!!

Facebook addict, Blog slacker

Well, for those of you still hanging with my severely outdated blog, thank you. I apologize for slacking so much for the past few months. Truth is, I have become addicted to Facebook. Well, addicted is a really harsh term that should be reserved for more serious problems, so let's just say that I have been extremely active on Facebook the past few months. However, I have come to the conclusion that I can't (and wouldn't want to) go into great depth on the ever-facinating subject that is Caris on Facebook, so I'm back blog world! Back to a place where I can expound endlessly on this miraculous little critter that seems to change daily, much to my dismay! Let's see...where to begin....


Caris is now a little over 19 months old. She's still in love with the outdoors and would live out there if we'd let her. Her favorite person is still her Daddy (can't really blame her there). She still loves watching Veggie Tales but has recently added Dora to her repetoire. (Which I wasn't a big fan of at first until I realized that as much as we eat at Mexican restaurants, a spanish-speaking toddler might come in really handy!) She can count to 10 and almost has her ABC's down pat. The tune is definitely solid but some of the letters are hard to make out. For instance, from L to P kinda sounds like one long letter. She's started talking in complete sentences and that has thrown me for a loop. As if she wasn't grown enough already, now she and I are carrying on conversations. The potty training thing is fast approaching. She'll tell me when she's gone in her diaper and everything I've read and heard says that this is one of the best signs to know if a child is ready to be potty trained. I am SO not looking forward to that.

I have to relay what happened the other morning if for nothing else that the fact that it totally blew my mind and I hope to (one day) put it in her baby book. (You know that ridiculously expensive, beautiful pink book that has not ONE word in it yet - and she's almost 2!) But I digress...First of all, a little background info. One Saturday, Caris was playing in the kitchen while I was cooking (yes, I have started cooking, now gather yourself and move on). She had gotten into the drawer where we keep the spare batteries. She brings about 4 or 5 AA batteries to me and asks "Momma wha dees?" (Translation: "Momma, what are these?") I tell her "Batteries, Baby". She puts them back in the drawer and moves on to something else. Fast forward to the following Thursday. Caris, Patton and I were sitting on the couch and she was "helping" Daddy do some work on his laptop. (Actually, I think she was "helping" Daddy look at hog-hunting websites, but, I was told it was work and I have no actual proof other than my gut feeling.) Anyway, Patton looks at her and says "Daddy's batteries are low so we'll have to close the computer now." She looks at him and says "Ballarees?". His response: "Yes, Baby, the batteries are low so we'll have to use the computer later." Well, the little dickens hops out of his lap and heads off to the kitchen. I'm thinking "I know she's not!" Sure enough, she trots in the living room with a big ole D battery and says "Here, Daddy, ballaree." Stuff like that just happens daily with her. I don't know what we ever did before she came along.