"Tick-Off Tuesday"

I am ticked-off b/c things seemed to be "falling into place" & I got way to happy or comfortable if you will,  and now shit is falling apart. WTH universe, WTH.

I am unsure of how to put 'humpty' back together again.

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Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

"Mommy & Me"

Welcome to Mommy & Me Monday hosted my Krystyn.

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E has been in swim lessons since she was about 16mons old. We were in refreshers the last two weeks; Just to "refresh" her memory since she hadn't been in the water since NOV09. This is us on her last day swimming from Mrs. Susan to me. She did stellar. 

I was so impressed that after only two weeks how quickly she picked it [back] up and so was Mrs. Susan (on the far right).  Now, she is so confident in her skills, that she will jump right in the pool and swim right over to you. We have to be TRIPLE careful now that the babygate around the pool is ALWAYS locked now & never take our eyes off her for one second. I am so proud that my 2y/o knows how to swim, unassisted.  It definitely makes summer that much more Magical.

*Swim lessons were gifted to us by Nana&Papa (my mom & stepdad) b/c they live on a lake & have a pool. Highly recommend to ANYONE with a little one. 

{Photo/Credit}

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Don't miss a beat, keep up in between posts, I Tweet , a lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

"Fireflies"

Summer is in full swing now and for the last month or so we've been drinking it up- diving in headfirst if you will. This is going to be the best  most magical summer yet.

Summer's when I was a kid were amazing. We swam, played on swingsets, ran through sprinklers, played with sparklers even if it was the 4th of july, were in 4th of july parades, went to the beach, slipped 'n slidded, climbed trees, played barbies & beads in the driveway- I could go on for days about how magical my summers were. I loved summer when I was a kid, not much has changed, I still love summer & I am ready to love summer through my daughter. 

I want E to love summer just as much, I want her days to be just as magical, if not more. I want to her look back on her summers and never be disappointed. 

The magic began when I let E stay up past her bedtime so she could experience the joy of seeing bugs whose "butts light-up" and then chase & catch them in a jar. I saw how magical she thought it all was. I was hooked. "My buggies" she said. So proud to have her jar full of lightening bugs, caught by her daddy.    

We've been swinging, sliding & climbing on our swingset out back like its nobody's business. That alone, [seeing a child play], no matter when, is magical. 

After dinner in the early evening hour(s), when the sun isn't as high in the sky and the mercury isn't reading 100+, we 'ride' bikes, blow bubbles and  color w/chalk on Nana & Papa's drvieway. Mostly so when pixie is running around barefoot in the driveway her piggies aren't scorched, oh & to burn off any extra energy left from the day before tubbies & bed. Summer is full of excitement.

Babies born in FL were made to be in and around water... so we've hit the beach, for the 1sttime this season and of course, she loved it... I wouldn't have expected any less.

She is a swimming machine!! It is true my child must be half fish, around these parts we call her "nema" (girl nemo). She giggles up a storm. She swims un-assisted by mama or swimmies. I am so proud. My baby learned how to swim at 18mons. This is the first time she has proved she KNOWS how to swim. I think chlorine runs through her veins.

Love underwater cams. I want one so bad! Thx Miss Susan for this awesome shot!

She let loose on the boat w.Papa & Nana. She def. pitched a fit when it was tome to go in. "No in. Go faster gin!! No Tubbies. No night night" I def. have a summer girl.

E & her "bestfriend ever" Miss Mal went to see TS3 & they were adorable! It was E's 1st movie theater movie & she did great. Summer is all about seeing your friends and having fun & having fun she is. [SN:Hayls & I are taking her to Despicable Me soon b/c of how well she did. My gosh she is growing up too fast.] 

We've even had a tea party on the front porch! While awaiting an afternoon storm. Everyday around 3ish that afternoon storm rolls in and you practically hear the sigh of relief come from outside as everything is instantly cooled by the cool wet droplets. It is then when we get that immense summer feel. 

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I love summer. 

I can't believe that SUNDAY is the 4th. I am so excited to have our gang over. It is going to be an amazing way to really KICKSTART E's magical summer. This is the beginning of years of many magical summers to come.

Keep up in between posts, I Tweet , A lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli

  

   

"Baby Talk"

Once you become a mother or (nanny) you instantly learn to understand and speak a new language. Baby talk.

I realized this the other day [relatively speaking], I was Skype-ing w.my Bestie whilst getting E dressed & talking to her. 

I said "leggie-loos" and was quickly repeated by my little. Hayls heard this phrase... and said "what the heck is a leggie-loo?" 

Me: "Its what I call E's pants, shorts, etc... her bottoms basically"

It was at that moment that I began to tell Hayls, who is E's Godmother, all the silly names I have for things. She not only thought I was a kook, but she was laughing b/c some of them are absolutely ridiculous. Ridic I tell you.

Being a young, single, SAHM [stay-at-home-mom] & full time student, who gets very little adult time, I found myself having full-on convos with my, at the time, infant. 

I was coming up with all sorts of crazy, funny kid words, to make her smile then giggle, that with time just stuck. Esp. now that E talks, like a pro, I love hearing her repat my silly made-up words/phrases. 

I have found giving everything its "own name" makes things more fun & interesting, plus it makes E giggle & her giggle makes my heart swell to triple its size. 

I know from some of my teaching classes & talking to my pre-K & kgarden teacher friends that it can be is a hassle when every child has a different name for things as they have to make sure every one of their 25-30, 3-5yr olds use the same name for things, for teaching purposes.

But at this point I have been using these words for almost 2 yrs now, I am not changing my ways. E knows that "leggie-loos" are also called pants or shorts and she calls skirts dresses but it close enough. 

I am not the only one who comes up with some crazy words for things. E is so creative with her names for things, but I think that more has to do with her being a toddler and not being able to pronounce properly or know completely what something is. I as parents will correct her but, you can only correct so many times before they get self conscious & their talking becomes limited. I correct her and try to lead her in the correct [speech] direction but, I do not over correct her. So between us two crazies we have an insane little vocabulary. I love that we have our own special language. 

It is something that every parent does. My mom did it, she used & is using again now, w.E some of the same words & phrases that HER MOM used. Now, I have come up w.some originals but I do use some of the ones passed down to me by my mom (from hers).

I don't think this is a child only thing. For example my friends who don't have [human] children yet, but have furbabies- they talk this way to them, b/c their pets are their babies.  I think it is an ornate thing that women are born with. Hell I do it with my parents not so much a puppy anymore 1yrold golden retriever 'puppy' Dallas. 

It's not something that I planed on doing you know being a nut case, it just sort of happened and something that become so everyday natural. I don't just do it to my kiddo either. I do it to every child under the age of 8 poor kids.  

Oh stop judging! YOU DO IT TO EVERY LITTLE kid you see too!! 

Don't even say it's a woman thing b/c M does it to E on occasion... and he is in no way the exception. 

**Let me hear it... Do you "baby talk"? To whom do you do it? You kids? Furbabies? Or am I a loonietoon?

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Keep up in between posts, I Tweet , A lot.

xo

-Kandid Kelli