How does a Toddler recite a memory verse?

Since Tigger is imitating a lot of words recently, I decided to try out the short memory verses in the story of the month from her Sabbath School lesson. 

This month of July (I know a week early) the memory verse is

Work Together as a Team.  Philippians 1: 27

So this is how it went

Me:  Tigger repeat after me
Tigger:  giggles
Me:  Work
Tigger: Wok
Me: Together
Tigger:  geder
Me: as
Tigger:  as?
Me: a
Tigger: a
Me: Team
Tigger: eam
Me:  Philippians
Tigger: Phililililililililil
Me: one
Tigger: un
Me: twenty
Tigger: enty
Me: seven
Tigger: seben

And that's how Toddlers say their memory verse of the month!

I'm really not doing Speech Therapy

However since vacation and my dedicated 45 min of direct time doing reading, fine motor, and together activities daily, my child has been imitating new words....yes I'm gloating.  Now I'm sure tomorrow we'll run into something that will make me eat my humble pie! 

Ah I just like having time to just chill and read more than 3 books at a time.  Well time for lunch...I see that my lovely Tigger has rearranged the laundry for me.  How sweet! 

"PISHY"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A.K.A. /Fishy/

Ok, and here is where my annoying Speech/Language Pathologist side comes out.  Tigger loves to look at /pishies/ or rather /fishies/.  It's not that she can't say the phoneme /f/, after all she says /feet/, /foot/, /food/ just fine, but when it comes to 'fish'....well it's known as /pishies/.  I have a sneaking suspicion it has to do with the fact that the Spanish word for fish happens to be /pez/, so I'm thinking she mixed the two languages and out comes /pishy/....pez and fish together.  Ah, well I'm letting it go.  She's not yet 2 years old, her articulation is just fine at the moment. 

Anyways beside that little tidbit which shows more of my neurotic SLP side instead of the sappy mami side, we celebrated the start of summer for us this weekend by going to Sea World.  It was fun and Tigger liked it too! 

handling Starfish

Here honey, have a dead fish

With the dead fish you can feed this obviously hungry seal

It's fun to see little ones amazed at Sea life....here's "Baby Beluga" Whale

(Adult) Milestones and Maturity

I was a very imaginative child growing up.  I had no brothers or sisters so my room was mine and my stuffed animals were my very own for church/school/house playing purposes.  I baptized many stuffed animals, I played concerts for my "friends" and the animals were family members playing house or the casualties when I played with my matchbox cars. 
I also had these visions of what I would feel when I achieved certain goals.  I would feel grown up when I graduated, I would marry and be mature, I would be the cool mom who didn't forget anything and did everything.  I would sometimes convince myself I would never act "old" and then I would sometimes say that I would act my age with dignity. 

Well then life happens.  Graduating from high school was just fun!  We were 17/18 years of age, we were just excited to march.  Then graduation from college happened.  When I walked on the stage to receive my diploma, there was no "magical" moment, no opening from the heavens with an angelic choir singing "hummmm" or anything.....in short, I didn't feel all that different.  Graduating from Graduate school was a happy event, I was really tired and exhausted from working full time and attending school full time for 2 straight years (had to work during that summer in between as an intern at a hospital/outpatient setting from 8-5pm for 10 weeks....so no break between years) and so if I would have had skates on, I would have rolled with happiness down that aisle....but I didn't feel all that different, just relieved. 

Turning 30 was fun and it has been my best year to date, however, I didn't "feel" 30......well what is 30 supposed to feel like?  Nothing really "changed" me, yet I keep getting older and thinking, when is that magical maturity going to set in? 

Never married so don't know if that would have done the trick, but now in parenting there are some changes I can see.  I don't go to bed past midnight, I have to make sure I have 3 good meals for Tigger plus snacks...every day....she is not a bachelorette nor a college student that skips meals or eats Top Ramen Noodles to save on cash.  She needs stuff.(diapers, milk, food, consistency, sleep) and whether or not I feel a magical maturity or not, I have to deliver. 

Is this the magic maturing that I always envisioned happening?  maybe....maybe not.  However, as I get older, I see that certain things do define us even if there isn't a voice coming down from Heaven or a magical feeling.  In these subtleties, it is up to us to rise to the challenge.  And do I act my age?  well maybe, but more often than not.....not really.  The important thing is to be content and do what needs to be done for whatever stage of life one happens to be in. 

These have been random thoughts by yours truly.  Have a great day!

Pandamania!!!!!!!!

Thought I'd share a post about our fun times at church without too many words. 

under the main banner

don't you love when the smallest t-shirt is way too big?  LOL

must get a picture with the cute panda

First night this bear freaked Tigger out, by tonight, she was giving the bear a high 5!

bamboo sticks to bang for theme song "God is wild about you"

we're on a panda and anything bear 'love' stage...thanks to VBS

Fishing during outdoor play

Jumping in the mini-jumper during outside play

Little Miss Independent wanted to 'walk' to the stations by herself...she could if she held onto the rope

walking from crafts to outdoor play

I have a confession to make.  I really didn't want to go tonight, but you force yourself to go because of the kids, it's what a parent does.....and after hearing about seeing the "Oso" (bear in Spanish) a million times, there was no way I could finagle my way out of it anyways!  Gotta love VBS and kids!

Yes I Did Start Summer

However that is not the reason my blog is lacking this week.  It was my last half week of work, and it's been Vacation Bible School at our church....which means mad dash to come home, cook, feed and bathe, and out the door for VBS which is from 6-8:20ish pm which means since it takes about 20 minutes to get to the church, it's almost 9pm before Tigger has been going to bed this week, which means I've been exhausted.  Pictures will come......Pandamania is going great, gotta love VBS. 

Feliz Dia De Los Padres!

In other words...Happy Father's Day! 

Even though I decided to become a single mom, it doesn't mean that I loathe men or don't think their presence or role model isn't important.  By all accounts I am proud to have the father that I have, and it gives me pleasure that he is being a very real presence for Tigger as well.  So on this weekend, we celebrate my father, who is, in my humble opinion, the very best father in this whole wide world.  So in celebration of Father's day here are the mandatory pictures of 'the man'!

Church on Saturday....Father's Day Sabbath

At one of the CA missions

My dad and his girls

For Father's day we went to a historical landmark, one of the many missions in California.  We had fun and it was pretty despite being overcast.

Need more mommy and Tigger pictures, this will do

Tigger was not really into the camera today...it was during her regular naptime

Grandparents and us....Tigger is tired

Love this picture even though Tigger has had enough

Ah the grandparents!

Finally a smile

Yes that finger is her "binky", will definitely provide fun stories in the future!  I hope you all could celebrate some good man in your life this weekend. 

Today I Cried Silently

We only have 2 days left in the school year (for students that is) so any IEPs that need to be done have to be done before we leave on vacation.  Today we had one, I knew it would be a little longer than most, however, it dragged, and dragged, and while I support parents that advocate well for their kids, unfortunately this parent could not keep the meeting on track and would tangent like crazy.  Finally I was able to jet out of there and I high tailed it to the daycare before it closed. 

As I got there at around 5:40pm (the daycare closes at 6pm) I head into the room and usually the buzzing room that I see in the mornings is not buzzing and I realize, I am the last parent there for their child....and my child has been looking out the window waiting for me instead of playing on the rug. 

I hold it together and say pleasantries to the teachers, hug my baby and head for the car.  Once inside, I cry silently most of the way home as I can't handle coming home late and leaving my child that long without the ability to come home.  Luckily Tigger was satisfied with a car snack and children's music to notice my mood.  Goodness, I'd hate to know what I would be like if I had a year round job with traditional 8am-5pm hours....I think I'd have guilt fest city going on.  Thank goodness midweek next week we'll be doing the SAHM thing til end of August. 

Mom guilt at it's finest!

Bless Her Heart

My mom didn't know that adult adoptees from the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and even 80s don't have access to their information. 

We were talking about how we hope Gov. Christie from NJ doesn't run for President because he doesn't like public school or civil servants much.  Then I told her about the bill waiting on Christie's signature so adoptees could have access to their OBCs (Original Birth Certificates).  Well my mom was confused.  She wondered why that needed to be a law since adoption is more open now and everyone has full disclosure. 

Bless her heart.....she thought everyone knew what their birth families names were at least because I know Tigger's and have her hospital birth records. 

She then furrowed her brow and said "that's not nice".  I said "nope" and we went on with whatever we were doing. 
Check out my parents getting all hot and bothered by adoption stuff they had no idea about. 

Tuesday Truisms: "Under the weather"

Well I am finally getting well after 2 weeks of illness.  Enjoy!

"Illness never comes at a convenient time"

"Children seem much more hyper when the parent is ill"

"Independent children suddenly become clingy and cannot play by themselves alone for more than a minute before begging you to entertain them when you feel the worst!"


"Dishwashers are your friends during times of illness...especially if one is used to not using one due to growing up without one"


"While you don't really 'do' anything, your house always looks way worse and horrid when you are ill"

"You say the weirdest things to people when you are ill"

"The cutest paramedics always come to see you when you pass out in your PJ's and your hair looks like Einstein"

We Have a Winner So Far!

Yeah so my cell phone isn't the best video taker but you get the idea and the male voice is my father who can't miss out on fun with grandchild :)

Too much fun in a place she can actually jump!

This is Waiting for Me to Blow up When I Get Home

So I want to have a fun alternative where Tigger can jump yet NOT on the couch or her bed.....it's too dangerous and when mom says "no" she means "no"....however, toddlers need access to "yes" items so much to my dismay I'm the proud owner of this lovely indoor/outdoor contraption.

Oh joy, a bouncy thing.....let's see how it goes, it can fit in her room...isn't it a crime that she has that much space in her room?  Hope Tigger enjoys her new found jumping fetish

This is why I love weekends.

Saturday afternoon at the park

An Oxymoron

Well maybe not in the true sense of the definition but definitely a contradiction in my "file of important papers"

I recently received (a couple months back) Tigger's amended birth certificate in the mail.  I looked at it and started laughing.  First of all it's only a certificate of live birth.  So just in case my daughter decides to become President of the United States, since I don't have the Original Birth Certificate, the media and [ignorant] people can accuse my daughter of not being born in the USA because this piece of paper will not be enough.  (oops, sorry didn't mean to get political) Yup, I live in a state where the Original Birth Certificate is sealed now. 

The contradiction????

Because Tigger came from foster care, I have copies of ALL the hospital paperwork and birth records.  Including who her mother and father are with names and everything.  Even my social worker gasped as we went over the papers because apparently they forgot to black out a couple of social security numbers (Tigger's mother) which I wasn't supposed to see....oh well I guess it's a good thing I don't do identity theft.  So birth records say one thing.....certificate of live birth says another. 

Gotta love contradictions.  At least I have more information than many people do for future purposes if need be. 

By the way, if my Tigger runs for President, she was born in the state of California just in case anyone says otherwise. 

Summer is almost here!!!!!!!!

So today I got a little something for my Tigger.  In two weeks she will have her last day at daycare.  In August when I go back to work, she will go to a new school and start up a new year.  It's kinda nice because my mother used to work there as a preschool teacher and the director is still the same one so I know the teachers and the director personally which makes things nice. 

It's also a Seventh-Day-Adventist preschool so Tigger will get worship time as well as academic and play time.  Since I'll have to provide lunch daily what I got was a lunch bag for her.  I couldn't find the exact replica but it looks something like this

Tigger is into ladybugs and frogs at the moment. so this works.  We also dealt with the first bloody nose and while she was watching her sing-a-long dvd....I hear a voice sing "all to da town" and sure enough, Tigger is singing to 'the wheels on the bus'.  Good job kid, that was a 4 word utterance....mommy is very proud!  My goodness what is happening around here?  Tigger keeps growing and changing daily!  Did I mention she loves frogs and goes ga-ga over them?

Proud of her new frog pj's

"I give you my index finger!"

"I like wearing bloomers on my head!  Gives me class!"