heyMamas

Who gives better presents?

UPDATE: I had to replace the picture that I had originally posted here because Lily's lower lip  looked like a fuzzy peach farm was growing on it and I swear she is not a hairy child but she does have some juicy lips. 

 

Lily FINALLY lost her first tooth last night.  She was getting to the point of actually trying to pull one out because she has been upset that she had not lost any yet and she is almost six and a half years old.  

So before we went to bed we started talking about whether the Tooth Fairy was going to come and what would she bring.  Lily was expecting possibly a present or maybe twenty dollars because it was her first tooth.  She kept repeating, "I need to get paid for this tooth."  And paid came out as 'paaayed' as both girls are currently obsessed with gangsters and will break into rap and funky  movements simultaneously at any given moment.

We talked about how a present may not be in the cards for this tooth since you can't really fit a present under a pillow.  Money was looking a bit more likely, but twenty bucks?!  That was a little steep for a tooth, at which point she shot back that Belle received twenty dollars when her first tooth came out.  

When Belle's first tooth came out Lily could not have been more than three and a half years old, but if any kid is going to remember what someone got for their first tooth falling out it would be Lily.  That kid has got a memory like a freaking elephant!  It is mind blowing. 

Moments after Lily's first tooth fell out...

   

And right before...

After I lowered her expectations as to what to expect from the Tooth Fairy, I tucked her into bed and the following conversation unfolded.  As soon as it was over, I basically asked her to repeat it again so I could write it all down.

Lily:  "Who do I like more?  Santa or the Tooth Fairy?  Probably Santa because he is magic."

Me:  "How is Santa magic?"

Lily:  "Who is Santa's Mother?  What did they do before Santa was born?  I bet they didn't even have Christmas before Santa was born.  Do you think Santa's mother died?  Yeah, I think she died because she isn't magic."

Me:  "Wow, that is a good question I guess, never really thought about Santa's mother."

Lily:  "Where did thy get all that wood?

Me:  "What wood?"

Lily:  "All that wood?  You know, the wood for the toys?  They make all the toys out of wood.  And what about the boxes?  Where do they get all the boxes for the toys?"

Me:  "Not sure, good question."

Lily:  "How do they know if it's for a boy or a girl?"

Lily:  "Where does Santa get all the elves?"

Lily:  "Where does he get the reindeer?"

Lily:  "How do they fly?"

I was sleeping by then.

Do you think he will recognize me?

So remember this... well, this past weekend we shopped around for some bicycles for the girls.  We went everywhere and ended up in Toys ‘R Us which actually had an expansive collection of bikes to choose from.  

Belle and Lily tried different bikes and had fun riding around the store.  At one point, Belle may have gone a little too far out of the “allowable bicycle riding area” and got in trouble by one of the employees.  

She was sort of mortified and told me she had just been yelled at.  I explained to her that she didn’t get yelled out, but that she needed to stay inside the “allowable bicycle riding area.”  She decided to change things up and go incognito so she could keep riding without being detected. 

   

She asked me with the seriousness of a heart attack if she looked like the same girl that had just gotten in trouble.  She thought maybe the guy wouldn't recognize her now.

   

All that bike riding wore her out because when we got to Target, this is what she looked like.

Ahh, the sound of sweet, sweet containment.

And bathroom breaks happen when I wonder?

I have lived in New York my entire life, except for the four years that I was away at college in Rhode Island.  In all that time, I have been in the City just about everyday of the last sixteen years with a small respite during my baby baking years and in all those years I have never, ever come face to face with The Naked Cowboy. 

Today all that changed.  Today, I came face to face with the guitar strumming Naked Cowboy.  I went for a walk during lunch and decided to walk through Times Square so I could see all of the chairs that have been set up and I ran right into him, tightey whitey's and all.  

I tried to be really discreet because I was thinking that I had to take a picture and send it to Drew. But Oh Man, this Cowboy LOOKS for cameras so he can pose in his tightey whitey's and his guitar. And he saw me coming and started to walk over so I put my phone down so fast and kept on walking.

As I walked away I kept saying to myself, "get over it Sadie, why do you wimp out at moments like this? Who cares if the freaking Naked Cowboy sees you taking a picture of him, that's what he wants." Hence, the parading around ALL day EVERY day in his underwear through one of the most traveled spots in the world. 

The Naked Cowboy WANTS you to take pictures of him!  But I just couldn't do it.  I couldn't get any closer than this, just couldn't do it.

And then I got a little more daring and I snuck this shot in, but only because he wasn't looking...

From the mouths of babes

Drew and I are trying hard to carve out some time in our busy night to spend alone with each of our girls.  They are so different when they are alone, no one to steal their thunder, the spotlight shining only on them. 

During Drew's time with Belle he asked her a few questions and wrote down the answers.  And the question was, "What are your favorite things about...?"

MOM:

She's a great Mom.

She loves and cares for me.

She shows respect and I show it back.  (Good thing I wasn't there to object to this one.)

She made me amazing and I love her.

She has very healthy energy and she is the best.

She helps me when I have pee problems and so does my Dad.

 

LILY:

She's an adorable cute little girl and I love her for that.

She's very respectful.

A little whiny at times.

I love it when she gets excited for presents.

She loves life.

She loves me but doesn't hug me alot.  (Working on helping with this one.)

 

DAD:

He's handsome.

Active.

Athletic.

A great guy to hang out with.

A little lazy at times.

Tired at 8:42pm.

Stylish.

Cool haircut.

Awesome.

Funny.

Cute.

A good model for a face.  (Someone's head isn't going to fit through the door anymore.)

 

I would have loved to have posted some pictures next to those descriptions but for mine, yeah I don't think so.  Lily would have loved it but I unfortunately won't allow that, and Drew, let's just say that would have been the end of the road for me.

Quite literally

Sometimes I forget just how young my girls really are. There are times during the course of the day when they will do something that reminds me so clearly of how young and innocent they truly are. Their questions are the biggest reminders because even though they can do so many things that I can do which gives me a sense that they are older than they are, they bust out with a question that brings me right back to the moment where I realize they are simply six and eight year olds.    

Sometimes I catch myself expecting way too much from them at which point I have to reign it in and say, hey wait a minute they can not process that or the realization hits me that they take what I say SO literally.  Like the other day when we were talking about the events of September 11th.  It started as a recap of the weeks events at school and I asked them if their teachers talked about what that day meant in terms of US history?  

I don't recall their answers as much as the conversation that ensued.  We talked about how bad people flew planes into the World Trade Center and Belle asked if I had known anybody that was there that day.  I told her yes, many people in fact and that I had practically grown up going to see my Dad on the 100th floor in one of those buildings.  My Dad had the biggest, fanciest office I had ever seen.  I don't even think they even make offices that big in New York City anymore.  

The girls and I talked about why people would do something like that and did the men who flew the planes into the buildings, did they know they were going to die?  I said yes, they did know but they thought they were doing the right thing for their people and doing this terrible thing would some how bring them closer to God. 

Belle thought that made sense because when they were in the plane they were high up in the sky and therefore that much closer to God already. This simple statement of hers reminded me that she is still such a baby and doesn't totally get some things nor should she be expected too.

My girls are two little people formulating their world and how very literal everything in it is to them. And how they hang on every word Drew and I say and because of that fact, how important it is that I watch EVERYTHING that comes out of my mouth because it is my job to leave their innocent minds with exactly the right impression.  Long after words that we say fade from our memories, you can be sure chances are, my girls will remember we said it.