Moments to Build a Life on!

I've re-discovered a love for moments. Yes, as your typical Type A person, I prefer accomplishing tasks that can be scratched off a "to-do" list - but that doesn't happen to be my life at the .... moment! So I've re-prioritized my lists and sure: the house will be clean, my people fed, the church nursery prepped, my monthly purging program adhered to (this month is the master closet...really? That's a YEAR long project, who set these parameters?!), and on 5 out of 7 days we will be found wearing actual clothes rather than our pj's. But at the tip top spot on my daily to-do comes relishing the moments - from super sweet cuddly ones to the aggravatingly repetitive reprimanding ones. Come along for the ride!

2 Dimensional Manners

 My daughter just apologized to a rectangle.

 Let's set this stage. I love colors. So when it came time to replace K’s washed out dry erase markers you can bet your bottom dollar I splurged on the 10 pack of colored fine tips. Her first few artistic attempts involved mixing all the colors into one large impressionist cloud, but lately she has found new uses for the colors. It goes like this:

 Mom – (writing out a grocery list on the couch next to the dry erase board)

 K – “Mom, draw a triangle please?” (holding out the pink marker)

 Mom – “Of course!”

 K – (watches, accepts my triangle, and then reaches out for the pink. Puts the lid on it and grabs the blue marker) “Draw circle?”

 And this continues until we’ve run out of shapes and markers.  At which point I retire to the couch and K starts pointing to each shape, naming them as she goes. Until her lovely tiny finger grazes the green line of the rectangle, erasing part of the bottom line.

 K – “Oh no! Sorry rectangle, sorry.” And as polite as my daughter is, that stinkin’ green rectangle remains silent.

A Rousing Table

 Meals are great fun, and we make time to enjoy each one at the Torrey household. As Judah has begun eating more baby food, his inclusion into mealtimes brings additional hilarity. From snatching K’s apple slices (how did he reach that far?!), to monosyllabic solos this man-child no longer sits quietly by the side.

 Last week, toward the end of a satisfying lunch, K raised little fists in exultation and started knocking on the table (our “yes” that followed a resounding “no” to banging on the table and yelling). I joined in, with a big smile and turned to Judah. He glanced between his sister and I, bent one tiny half-fist to the table and touched it lightly while keeping his eyes trained on us. We rewarded his mimicry with claps and cheers – he beamed.

Not Quite an Olympian

 We love the Olympics in this house - and have pretty much been watching NBCLive non-stop. With the figure skaters having so many performances (two thumbs up for Ice Dancing - fantastic fun!), K has developed a new dance move. Once she's sure of your attention, she begins to twirl. Her arms stretch out, that little face tilts slightly upward, and she closes tight her eyes until gravity overtakes her and she tumbles onto the floor.

 That grace follows a previously perfected dance move she calls "Monkey Baby" - booty shaking while making monkey noises. Thank you Olympics.

Fish Tales

 Taking walks is a favorite family past time. Since the introduction of toddlers into our clan, those walks have dwindled in length and pace, but not in regularity (we now journey to our 1/2 block away mailbox and back). K has walked it with us most days, and has her favorite milestones - in particular to this story, the storm drain cover. It proudly boasts three fish figures stamped into the metal which K loves to caper upon and call out wildly "hello fish!"

 Which is why today's event seemed normal to me, but warranted strange looks from the fishmonger* at Whole Foods. You see, we were strolling along past the seafood and there at K's eye level were three large, locally caught Texas Redfish on ice. As K met their eyes she excitedly proclaimed, "Oh! Hello fish, hello!"

 She meets friends everywhere she goes. 

*I'm not sure fishmonger is still in use, but if it is - Whole Foods would absolutely be the place to do so.