Hair Cuts, Chipotle and Stuffed Animals...

So, Chipotle may forever be my dinner nemesis.  The other night we were on our way to Outback and passed Chipotle on the side of the road.  Now, I realize that Outback may not be much better in most peoples opinions, but I'll do just about anything for a steak.  When we pass by Chipotle, Gryffin yells out CHIPOT!!! (Yes, he misses the end of the name).  Mommy - I want Chipot.  I reply - not tonight honey we're going to Mommy's favorite.  His response - "No, Mommy turn around.  Chipot is back there."  First off - talk about verbal skills, check out those complete sentences!  But, poor mommy.  I learned my lesson last time, I never mentioned the name of the restaurant.  But, children have a habit of acquiring skills at lightning speed. And I think they have now acquired the ability to recognize items when they are repeated in different locations (all Chipotle's look the same!).  So, again I should be thrilled...but mostly I am grateful for the DVD player in car which appeased the beast that emerged when I pulled rank and insisted that I get steak over fast food burritos.

From April 2012

So, Lina got her annual haircut (shave) in preparation for warmer temperatures.  Now, last year Gryffin was convinced she was a deer.  So, this year we made sure to prepare the kids for her new look.  We told them she would look different because all her hair would be gone.  Well, Zailey really took to the idea of "gone."  When she saw Lina for the first time, she says "There's Lina, her hair is all gone.  But she still has eyes, and a nose and her tail!"  Zailey seemed very relieved about these observations and insisted we acknowledge them as well.  We spent a good 5 minutes pointing out everything she still had, only to have Zailey inform us at dinner that Lina's back is gone.  We assume this meant all the hair on her back, but it's been through the toddler filter.

From April 2012

This last story is for Papa.  I grew up in a world created by my father where every stuffed animal I owned had a unique personality, a favorite food, real feelings and funny voices.  The fantasy world I lived in was extremely vivid and I truly believed for many years that stuffed animals actually came alive while I was asleep and partied in the house.  Particularly, they all had a favorite food and left footprints in the food for me to find in the morning.  Note: I still have enormous guilt that all my stuffed friends have been relegated to a window seat in an unused part of the house.  But, last night right before bed, we were reading a book where a dinosaur got into a fridge and left footprints in the butter.  So, it gave me an idea - I should really start creating this wonderful world for my kids.  So, I started telling them that I thought that pink bear and brown monkey really liked butter too, and that in the middle of the night they would raid the fridge and might leave footprints in our butter.  What a great idea....WRONG!  Total backfire!!!!!  Zailey immediately started to sob, tears streaming down her face, and was barely able to get the following words out.
      "No, no, brown monkey, no fridge, brown money stay in my crib, no brown monkey go to the    fridge!!!!!"
     She was practically hysterical at the thought of brown monkey leaving her in the middle of the night.  This of course set Gryffin off and he starts sobbing about pink bear leaving him.
Go Mom!  I spent the next 15 minutes desperately trying to convince them that their respective stuffed animals were their best friends and they would never leave them and that they were always there to keep them safe.
      Perhaps I need to work on my funny voices? Well, as it turns out I just chose the wrong stuffed animals.  The next morning Zailey hands me penguin and says "Penguin goes to the fridge!"  Silly mommy, don't you know that monkeys are tropical animals and don't like the cold.  Penguins, on the other hand, they love the cold!

From April 2012