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This morning when I walked in the door from running, I heard, “Maaamma!” There is just nothing like the feeling I get from hearing our little girl’s voice. Lately Gabrielle has some pretty funny things that she says. When we were on our way to swimming, she continued to tell me, “No Miss Caroline, kay?” When we got to the pool she continued to negotiate and look at me in the eyes while saying “okaay mommy?” All of the sudden, Gabrielle has added the word, “okay” to almost everything she says. She agrees with herself before I can even answer her questions.
This morning I tried to pack too many activities into our day. As we were sitting together on a blanket having a picnic, Gabrielle patted me gently on the back and said, “okay mommy, okay.” She was making sure that I was feeling alright after listening to at least one solid hour of someone crying because they did not want to swim or fussing because they were hot and hungry.
It is amazing how Gabrielle has become a sensitive caring little person. I am just so thankful to have a buddy encourage me through tough moments even if she is the one who creates hardships for me sometimes. Thank you God for little people who do such BIG things!

Tic Tacs

Yesterday was such a difficult day for me as a mom. If someone had a video camera of me with my two-year old at 6 p.m. last night, I would be completely embarrassed for how I was arguing with a little child! If I have buttons that can be pushed, Gabrielle learned how to push them yesterday. I must admit, she is a little mirror of me some times. I do have a rebellious side. If someone tells me to do something, a voice in my head tells me not to do it just because I do not like being told what to do. I bark demands at my child all day long. She wanted to test me yesterday. Some days are just like that. We wake up on a different side of the bed, and we try to do things a little differently. I am so thankful that today was not like yesterday!

This afternoon, I decided to take Gabrielle to play at Madison Square Mall. We have not been able to spend much time outside because we have Baby Eva who can not stand high temperatures very well. I thought we definitely needed to get out and get some exercise. On the way home, I knew I had to keep Gabrielle entertained for a 20-30 minute ride. I told her that I would give her a treat if she answered my questions. I was amazed at all the things Gabrielle could tell me. I will not go into detail so that I do not sound like I am bragging about my brilliant child, but after she told me her multiplication table through the number 3, I just gave her the whole box of Tic Tacs.

Ok, not really... but we had a great time talking, singing, counting, and eating tic tacs together. I came home and reviewed some videos from the night of my birthday when Gabrielle woke up in the middle of the night and shared some ice cream with me. John was video taping us together on the couch with the little Flick camera he gave me. I got so tickled at her rendition of the abcs in the video that I thought I would post it for kicks. She has come a long way in just one month, so I am glad I have this to remind me how "l, m, n, o,p" , must sound to a child who is just learning the alphabet.