KDUNK

Dear Lils,

You have been such a little adorable sous-chef to cook with as of late! Our favorite thing to make together is yummy salty kale chips. I need to feel blessed for the small brainstorms I have out of no where in regards to getting you to eat things since our track record has been a long, long road of anti-anything when it comes to getting you to eat. Recently it occurred to me that if I involve you in the cooking than maybe you will be more into the food? And I have to say so far so good. Never in my life did I think you would eat something green much less KALE.

In this photo there is a PILE of Kale stems. I only once showed you how to properly peel off the leaves from the stem and then shred them into small chip sized bits and you took it from there. I am not lying when I say you peeled every kale leaf in that pile. And it killed a good 35 minutes before bedtime when normally you would be whining for me to play you a video!

If you have any memory of us together in the kitchen this will most likely make your father insane. Why? Because he is the real chef in the family. I am the microwave queen that only recently since having a child has attempted to move outside my comfort zone such as boil water and make rice – wow – ambitious I know.

I love you Lils. Thank you for reminding me to always move outside my comfort zone.

xo

Dear Lili,

My friends and roomies used to make fun of me in college. After hosting a party in our dorm room or at our apartment I would inevitably reach some point in the night where I’d look around at the John Hughes style scene – crunched beer cans, tipped over popcorn bowls, people passed out on floors, others making out, etc. and just want it all to end. Immediately. Right then and there. Why? Because I was tired.

I had an expression at the time which they still make fun of me today for. It was:

IT’S BEDTIME

Yes. That’s right. I would be hit almost immediately without warning with the urge to make the party end and walk around with a giant black garbage bag scooping things into it telling everyone the party was over and that …

IT’S BEDTIME

For the last two weeks you have been quite a handful to put to bed. You are SO SO SO clearly tired but you run around your room like a maniac, won’t sit still for a story, do forward rolls off your bean bag chair, ask for snack after snack after snack, beg for water, cry MOMMY MOMMY MOMMY, scream DADDY DADDY DADDY, etc. Yikes. By the time the house is quiet after a long, full, wonderful day it is at least 9PM. A long wonderful day. But LONG.

Tonight Dad was out watching football and I put you to bed. After 50 thousand attempts and needs and wants from you (snack, water, etc.) the lights were finally off and I left the room. I started to walk down the door and hear a huge scream and walked back in saying firmly in the dark:

K: Lilian? What is going on here.

L: Um…let’s see. (you actually said this – and with a perky tone)

K: Lilian.

L: Charlie sleeping?

K: Yes – your friend Charlie is sleeping.

L: Um…Sylas sleeping?

K: Yes – your friend Sylas is sleeping.

L: Um…Daddy sleeping?

K: No. Daddy is watching football. Then he is sleeping.

L: No office Daddy?

K: Lilian.

L: Hmn…now what… (you actually said this)

K: Lilian…(and without missing a beat it all came back to me…)

IT’S BEDTIME

xo

Dear Lili,

We are now wondering if you plan to attend medical school thanks to your recent obsession with playing Dr. Lilian. You are very serious with all of your ‘patients’ which include stuffed animal bears, baby dolls, Dad, Me and one snake. There are tons of Band-Aids used per ‘session’.

Mostly I am concerned that my temperature is the same after each visit: four hundred ninety nine eleventeen sixteen

If you are planning on attending med school just give Mom and Dad a little heads up so we can…oh I don’t know…sell all of our belongings.

xo

Dear Lili,

Your favorite activity as of late is climbing up to my vanity mirror and sitting in front of it trying on my jewelry while fake crying in front of the mirror. Ohhhhhhhh boy do we have our hands full.

xo Mom and Dad

Yo Lils,

It’s 2010. Time for Mom to get off her lazy butt and write a few more blog posts. I know. You thought you were all ‘in the clear’ with me writing about you in public. No such luck.

Life with you has been fun lately. You are a real little person that walks next to us and down the street and eats a slice of pizza in a booth without a booster seat and well…it was a time I only dreamed of and now it is finally here. Some funny and random notes as of late:

LEAVING HOUSE: Before we leave the house you have taken to saying, “Mama…got phone?” This is because EVERY MORNING I pack absolutely everything under the sun but my phone and EVERY MORNING I haul all the crap downstairs two flights, lug heavy stroller full of crap and heavy toddler down Brownstone steps and then walk about one block at least and go ‘oh crap’ and then have to wheel you back Lili to the bottom of stairs and say ‘Mommy will be RIGHT BACK!’ and run up a flight of stairs and frantically search the apartment leaving it a total wreck as if a robber broke in.

NO MOMMY: Lots of NO MOMMY lately. And NO LOOK MOMMY! (complete with finger wag) when I merely glance over at you. Lots of NO MOMMY – GO! as you physically push me away. I know I need my bangs cut but am I that bad?

PRETEND PLAY: You are WAY into pretend play lately. Especially pretend doctor with your little doctor kit. You line up your animals and say, “My name Yil-lee-ann” followed by you bending down wearing a stethoscope at eye level with your dolls asking, “Wha happen?” (no T). You then like to take their ‘blue crusher’ (blood pressure) and use about a box and a half of Band-Aids on everyone. I actually heard Daddy utter the phrase, “No more Band-Aids on Cookie Monster. They are starting to rip his fur.”

DADDY DADDY DADDY: After a long day together doing my best to entertain and please you – you enjoy crying for DADDY DADDY DADDY like it’s nobody’s business. It’s very cute actually. Poor Dad was out on the town the other night and had to return home because you refused to go to bed because you needed, wanted, had to see him before you went to sleep. Every creak on the staircase you heard outside our front door your eyes got big and you said, “Daddy?” There were a lot of creaks from 4:30PM until Daddy got home let me tell you. When he returned home you stood up in your crib and literally shuttered with excitement and then did a little side to side dance. Your world was complete.

SPANISH: You pretty much understand most Spanish thanks to your amazing babysitter and teacher who speaks Spanish to you 8hrs a day for 3 days a week. Any time I break out my gringo Spanish you look at me and sometimes even put your hand on my mouth and say NO MAMA. Sometimes when I walk in the house and sneak up on your two playing you are speaking long streams of Spanish I never knew you could. It’s amazing and I feel so grateful for this. Soon I hope you can teach me.

FOOD: You love ice cream sandwiches. Edamame (sometimes – this is a new one). Pasta. Pizza. Chocolate Soy Nut Butter. Waffles. Honey. Juice. Fruit. Cereal. Yogurt. Pirate Booty. The occasional chicken nugget. And that is about it. You are in the 3rd percentile for weight. Used to freak out about this. Getting better that this is who you are and if the doctor says you are just long and lean and not to worry then that is what you are. I love you.

DRUG STORE: Every night to kill the last 15 minutes before dinner/tub/pjs, etc. you and I swing by the giant drugstore near our house. We wander the aisles. Like a person walking their dog – you have your little particular spots in which you like to stop and look at things. You love nail polish bottles. You like to say, “Look Mama! SCOPE!”, you like to take a fistful of Hallmark cards and hold up individual ones saying, “For Daddy?”, “For Nanny?” etc. You like to pick up all the toothbrushes. You like the toy car aisle and always ask, “This one for Lili?”, etc. Some kids have tree houses. We have Rite Aid.

STORIES: You LOVE reading and books. You love  anything Richard Scarry. You love pop up books. And no matter what the book you like to turn to the part in the book that is either scary or something wrong is happening. You are fascinated by anything going wrong just for the chance to yell dramatically OH NO!!!! complete with a gasp and worried frown.

DANCE: You love to dance sister! Luckily you got your moves from Dad and not your finger snapping/clapping Mom. Most mornings you and Dad are in your room and I hear Dad yell DANCE PARTY! And then when a song ends you yell back MORE DANCE PARTY! Adorable and cute you two are.

I love you my little sweetie. You are more fun to be with each and every day.

Now eat your veggies.

xo