What a Toddler needs, what a Toddler wants

I seem to be on a "put a song in my blog-title" kick...guess you can say I have a "song in my heart"...yeah, whatever.

I read this in my Focus on the Family "The First Two Years" book and thought it was good enough to share:
The "First Adolescence"-the second 12 months of life

First and foremost, keep in mind that above all else your toddler needs to know that she is loved, accepted, and "at home" with you and that you are on her side without reservations-even when you won't give her everything she wants. She needs kind and loving words and actions all day long, and she will come to you frequently for them.
Expect overtures of all sorts, often with arms outstretched, many times during the day as your toddler seeks:

• cuddling and hugs
• comforting after a bump or bruise
• reassurance after being frightened
• help with a problem, such as getting something out of reach or fixing a misbehaving toy
• your enthusiastic reaction to something she has brought to you
• a response to a simple question (or sounds that resemble a question)
• relief from being hungry, thirsty, or having a wet/dirty diaper
• an invitation to role-play (at her direction)--pretending to talk to her on the toy phone, for example
• confirmation that you are still "there" when she has not see you for a few minutes

Hey, 98.6 it's good to have you back again!

Does anyone know the song in my title? I grew up listening to my Dad's oldie music--this is a song from the 60's about a guy who has his health restored and is jubulant to be back to his normal self...and that's exactly how I feel! The flu really sucked the energy out of me but I am getting back into our routine and I'm loving life again!

We had a great day at church yesterday-8am service, Sunday school and nursery duty-followed by the most heavenly nap time known to man! Cassie slept from about 1pm-5...amazing! Tim and I were able to rest and do some reading/journalling. It was truly a divine gift! Then, we were even more blessed by a visit from Cassie's favorite Uncle Matt and Tiaboo. We ordered pizza for dinner and had a really sweet time watching Cassie play with the train set they brought her.

Here's a little 'list' of Cassie's most recent discoveries:

She requests songs by saying, "Mimi...B-I-B-I-B"...which means, "Mimi, sing the BIBLE song." We don't want to tell her that she's mispelling Bible...they'll tell her that in school! :)
"Tassie...You Sunshine" means, "Please sing for Cassie, You are my Sunshine" which is a special song Poppi and Mimi sing. The sweetest thing about that song is I have vivid memories of my Dad's Mom, Nana, singing that song to me and Beka. Precious to see MY baby enjoying it now!

She's FINALLY saying 'thank you' which sounds more like, "dank due." She's also added "dinosaur", "turtle" and...well, now that I think about it, I'd be listing way too much if I tried to list all her new words, so let's just agree that she's learning at a good, steady pace.

This morning, we had another "deposit" in the toilet...hooray! Lesson learned, when you ask Cassie if she wants to sit on the potty, DON'T believe her when she says "No". :)

Uh-oh...based on Cassie's current behavior (she's pulling at my pants, saying-"Come on") it looks like I won't have anymore "free time" to type...gotta go do my job (be the best Mom I can be and play with my baby--hey, that rhymes!).

Happy Presidents' Day, by the way!

Cough Cough

My counting skills have been improving...last night I laid in bed for hours listening to Cassie cough-I was counting the seconds in between every cough. Of course, my own coughs added to the night-noises but they weren't as frequent as Cassie's--the poor kid was coughing about every 15 seconds. I was on "Mommy alert" for about 2 hours, ready to run in to comfort her but she never sounded like she needed me. She finally stopped coughing around 4am so we both fell asleep. Guess that means the nursery/church are out for us this week. Uh-oh....I hear my baby waking up so I should close this. We will most likely head to the doctor tomorrow. sigh!