Summertime Fun!

There are a ton of pictures and videos in this post - you have been warned! Proceed at your own risk.

I've already mentioned that one of the nice things about summertime is Mira can be a lot more active outside - and with it reaching the triple digits for several days already being outside typically involves water of some sort. Mira enjoys the water plus I can sit in the shade and take the opportunity to not be chasing frantically after a rambunctious toddler for a little while.

A couple days ago I took Mira to the community swimming pool at my Dad's condo. It was the first time she'd been to a big pool (meaning not a little wading pool in our backyard). It took Mira a few minutes to figure out what she thought. My dad and sister Sara took turns holding Mira and walking around in the water with her, then I told Mira this was like the bath tub but better because in the pool she could splash and kick and jump. That got the wheels turning and pretty soon all she wanted to do was jump into the water - she started to get so excited about it that a couple times my dad turned his back for just a second and barely had time to catch Mira as she leaped into the water.

By the end of it Mira was getting upset because we wouldn't let her paddle around unsupported - so apparently it's time to look into getting her into some swimming lessons. She definitely loved it!

Mira also fancies herself to be a gymnast. She enjoys jumping on the trampoline and she tries to do somersaults and cartwheels by herself, so apparently soon it'll be time to look into getting her into gymnastics lessons.

Don't let that demure little pose fool you!

The outfit, as you may have guessed, was for the Fourth of July a few days ago. I tried showing Mira some sparklers the night of the third and she was sort of impressed with them. Sara and I helped her hold onto a sparkler while it was going off but while we were showing her the bucket of water to put the used sparkler in she reached for the wire with her opposite hand and got a small burn on her thumb. After that she didn't want to touch any more sparklers and amused herself playing with the hose (which is much more fun anyway). I was working the night of the Fourth but apparently this girl absolutely loves big loud fireworks! A bunch of our neighbors were setting off large aerial fireworks and Mira kept pointing and saying "Wow!" and wanting to get closer to them - and according to Mark she threw a fit every time he tried to get her inside for bed because she wanted to keep watching. She wasn't scared of the loud noises at all, which is impressive for a kid her age. I remember being scared of fireworks until I was at least 8 or 9 or 10 or something like that so she didn't get this from me!

And of course Mira still loves to dance and sing. She has a stuffed dog that sings little songs and Mira has invented a different dance/singing routine to go along with each one. So now apparently I'm going to have to start looking into getting her into dance and choir lessons.

Mark still complains that Mira doesn't like him but Mira is definitely starting to do better. Believe me, I can't wait for Mira to decide that's she's going to be a daddy's girl - although looking at the pictures it seems like she's getting there!

Gaming buddies

One day Mira was taking pictures of herself with my phone and Mark got in on the fun. Mira of course thought it was hilarious. At times like this it's pretty obvious where Mira got her goofy streak.

And speaking of goofy streaks, some pictures of Mira just being cute.

This is Stewie's tree - notice it already has apples on it!

Mira certainly likes to take a lot of "selfies." Personally, I think "selfies" can be ridiculous, but Mira has no idea what she's doing, and this face is a lot cuter than any other "selfie" I see posted on the internet!

And now that I've said I think "selfies" are ridiculous, here's one of me.

The only reason I took it is because I'm wearing surgical scrubs instead of navy blue scrubs. I don't get many opportunities to go to the OR during a clinical shift but when it happens it's awesome! The OR would have been a career option for me if only OR nurses got to do something involving patient care - since the surgical techs and the anesthesiologist get to do the fun stuff it's ICU nursing for me.

For the most part it's been a fun summer. When Mira decides she's going to be cute and adorable I can manage the energy expenditure it takes to have a toddler with a mind of her own. Sometimes though, like today when I'd only gotten a few hours of sleep and was tired and impatient to start off with, she pushes every single button I have and by the end of the day I feel like her name is "NO!" or "STOP!" or "COME BACK HERE!" or something similar, and half her waking hours are spent in time out. My mantra these days is "It's just a phase it's just a phase it's just a phase it's just a phase." Seriously I have no idea how people can have more than one child! Maybe if I didn't work full time nights I wouldn't feel so overwhelmed about it but I feel like I have to work full time to get away. I guess with kids it's important to know your limit as to how many you can handle and for me, one is definitely my limit!

One question I get asked a lot is if we've started potty training yet. Well, sort of. A few times a day I'll tell Mira that mommy has to use the big girl potty and would she like to come with me? She always gets super excited and runs as fast as she can to her little pink princess potty and plops herself down - fully clothed. (We've tried convincing her to pull her bottoms down to sit on the potty and she usually ends up having a tantrum on the floor at the suggestion. Occasionally we can bribe her to sit on the potty with her pants and diaper off if we sing endless amounts of songs or promise that she'll get to play with the iPad afterwards, so she will, but nothing has happened yet.) After a minute she'll grab some toilet paper and put a piece in her potty, then get another piece for me. Then she has to help flush the toilet and wash her hands. So she gets the ritual but I think if we were to push the potty training it would just be a bad experience for everybody at this point. One bit of advice I've heard from a mom is to not even bother trying to potty train until the kid turns three - once they're three it goes much smoother and is much easier so that's probably what we'll end up doing. Changing diapers is no big deal and definitely better than cleaning messes off the floor.

And just for fun - random animal pictures.

Notice that the older and younger chickens keep themselves segregated.

The second a box shows up, there's a Wally cat on/in it.