Happy St. Patrick's Day

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day at playgroup!

Kariana and Sophie on the swing.

Everyone wore green.

The Rodeo: What is a Mother's Duty?

The petting zoo was a big hit again this year.

Kariana insisted Pop Pop come with her on the pony ride.

This year Grandma and Pop Pop took Kariana to the rodeo. Last year when we went it was a hot and humid day. Nobody had prepared me in advance for the bus loads of school-aged field trippers that flood the rodeo during the school day. Plus, I felt like we had to rush through so much of it because we were still juggling nap times. So this year when Grandma and Pop Pop seemed eager to take Kariana to the rodeo, I happily agreed. That morning I dressed Kariana in her rodeo duds once again, kissed everyone good-bye and chuckled to myself as I drove to work. Of course, Grandma and Pop Pop had a blast and I think Kariana enjoyed herself too! Maybe I'll have it in me to take her again next year, but I think me taking her once every other year is sufficient enough to fulfill my motherly duty, right?

Kitty, Fire Engine Park and a Host of Other Two-Year Old Annoyances that I Don't have Time to Mention Right Now

Kitty and Kariana

Fire Engine Park

Pigtails for Aunt Kari and Kariana

Kariana received Learn to Dress Kitty as a Christmas gift from Aunt Kari and now Learn to Dress Kitty goes everywhere with us. We call her Kitty for short. Not the most creative name. Okay, not creative at all, but maybe if we had anticipated Kariana’s attachment to Kitty, we’d have thought of something cuter. Kariana has lots of sweet stuffed animals and dolls to play with but she hadn’t grown attached to any one of them in particular until Kitty came along. It’s not that I don’t like Learn to Dress Kitty. Kitty is very cute and colorful with lots of buttons, snaps, zippers, shoe laces, and clothes for Kariana to practice taking on and off. Learn to Dress Kitty is a great concept, but the problem is Kariana doesn’t do any of that. She likes to push Kitty in her stroller, her pink roadster, her shopping cart and the dump truck at the park. She insists on swinging Kitty at the park for what feels like hours at a time. We often feed Kitty breakfast, lunch and dinner. Aunt Kari must have discovered this last week when she came to visit us, because all of these pictures were taken when Aunt Kari and Kariana spent the morning at Fire Engine Park.

Have I mentioned Fire Engine Park yet? Kariana is obsessed with Fire Engine Park and requests to go there constantly. Some days we are at Fire Engine Park in the morning and the afternoon. She smiles at me and requests “Fire Engine Park” in her sweetest and most innocent voice. This results in fits when we have other things to do and aren’t able to go.

Hooray for Aunt Kari! With a little creativity, she was able to talk Kariana into wearing pigtails that day; a constant battle each morning. "No brush hair. No pigtails. No clips." is what I hear every morning. Hench, our trip to the beauty salon this afternoon. Stayed tuned.

Please tell me it’s a two-year old thing and only a stage.