I’m on the computer, surfing-blogging-returning-emails, with Livia playing behind me. I turn around to observe and this is what I hear:

Livia: No. No. Turn around. Work on ‘puter.

Me: You want me to not to watch you?

Livia: Yes.

Me: [blank stare]

Livia: Please? [signs please] Pul-eaze [more signing]? PUL-EAZE [desperate signing]

Me: [turns around, goes back to the www]

Livia and Madeleine, cousins.

Me: [calling downstairs] Livia, what are you doing?

Liv: I’m in the box.

Me: You’re still in the box?

Liv: Yeah.

Me: Are you doing alright?

Liv: Yeah.

Me: [shrugging] Okay.

Problem: No Dora videos in the house.

Solution: iPod, outfitted with Dora and Blues Clues from our vacation last month.

Oh, to be two and a half in 2006…

Jeremy: I love you, Livia.
Livia: I love kitties!

******

After I use the restroom…
Livia: Good girl, Mommy, good girl. [hug] I so pro-oud of you!

******

Livia stops every few feet on our way to the car and every time utters:
Fix hat. [fixes hat] PER-FECT.

******

Livia: I bizzy, Mom. I bizzy.

Mommy thinks this is the cutest phrase the world has ever heard.

Jeremy: Dizzy. D-izzy. With a D.
Liv: BIZZY.
Jer: DIZZY.
Liv: Dizzy. I dizzy!

Yesterday can only be described as a “Two and a Half Year Old” kind of day.

We started the day strong, with minimal toddler fuss at the grocery store and some good outdoor playtime in the beautiful morning sun. From there we moved into playdough fun in the highchair where Livia displayed a new skill: snorting small bits of playdough. I didn’t even notice what she was up to until she began sniffing heavily. And then I was forced into full Mom Mode, “Don’t put anything up your nose, ever!” Check that phrase off my list of Things a mom must say.

Several weeks ago Liv moved into a big girl bed and boy are we grateful because she loves sleeping there. She had not once tried to escape from the bed, until yesterday afternoon. On a day where I was exhausted by lunchtime and desperately looking forward to some rest, Livia made her move. Out of the big girl bed, to her closed bedroom door, where she knocked loudly and cried for her mama. Suffice to say naptimes might be on the decline in coming days. She was still exhausted enough to fall asleep during an evening car ride, but I’m not sure how to convince her that she still NEEDS an afternoon nap. (For another fun story, I should have Nana blog about how Livia snuck out during naptime several days ago and helped herself to many of the no-no’s at Nana’s house.)

Instead of sleeping we then went outside to enjoy the bee-u-tiful November day. We walked around the block one direction, then walked it again the other direction. Liv drew with chalk, I pruned some of the garden. And then I dragged my noodle-y kid back into the house to complete a few chores. (My daughter has perfected the art of turning strong muscles into puny ones in an act of rebellion. I pray it’s a phase that will soon expire. Otherwise I’m seriously going to lose my mind.)

Just as I was starting to go stir crazy and desperate for some alone time, things really heated up. Let’s just say that Livia used a private moment on the potty to have a water fight, only not with water but with urine. I’ve noticed recently that I’ve been saying a ridiculous statement to my 2.5 year old: WHAT WERE YOU THINKING??? She was probably thinking, Boy was that fun! Argh. Off to the bathtub we went.

The final touch to our day (before picking up Jeremy from work) was a fall down half a flight of stairs. We store our shoes on the landing between floors and I thought the loud bump noise came from one of Jeremy’s heavy shoes flying down the carpeted stairs. The cries at the end of the bumping sounds convinced me otherwise and I about had a heart attack running to see the results of the fall. She was fine, wanted a bandaid, but fine.

I, on the other hand, cried, complained and vented on the phone to my husband.

Some days, especially these “Two and a Half Year Old Days,” I just don’t think I’m going to make it.

**Note: If I wasn’t an ESFJ would I be less frustrated with this type of day? I’m a strong F (feeler), so my day feels longer when I’m pushed emotionally. The structured J part of me isn’t a huge problem, but I can’t help but wonder if strong P’s make more laidback parents. Just pondering…

When I was a kid I loved making sheet forts. My brothers and I would stretch sheets all over the living room, pinning edges down with stacks of books, clothespins and sofa cushions. (I’m pretty certain Mom was involved in most of the secure forts that were made.) My favorite part was when I could crawl under the sheets and set up a cozy little home. I’ve been creating little nests like that my whole life… Barbie houses made out of shoeboxes, glass jars as terrariums for all sorts of outdoor critters (the spiders would often be the only living creatures left by morning), and more forts built outdoors with my brothers and neighborhood buddies.

So when we acquired a large cardboard box from the Moreheads’ front porch, it was all I could do to not overtake the small place that was meant for my daughter. During her nap I cut windows and a door, all the while telling my husband about the Boxcar children and how much I loved reading about their adventures. As an adult a boxcar sounds like a terrible place to call home, and yet as a kid, I thought it was terribly creative to store milk behind rocks in a cold creek and to set up house with found objects from the woods.

What are some of your favorite kid memories? What things did you do that you hope to repeat for your own children?

Halloween gets more fun as Livia grows older. Our little Husker cheerleader loves candy… and ringing doorbells… and talking to people… so you can imagine how much she’s enjoyed all the festivities.

“More cany, Mama? Choc-o-late?”

My thoughts precisely. Um, after lunch, that is.

*******************

Thank you, dear friends, for your kind comments, emails and cards over the past week. Blogging about this loss, continuing on with daily activities, reading your sweet words, and knowing you’re praying for us — it all helps. Thank you.