As you know, we now have a full blown, walking, talking toddler running around our house. Seems like it was by the blink of an eye that she was being born and now she is a toddler. Wow, they weren’t kidding when they said that it goes by fast! I hear number two goes by even more quickly, we shall see! Anyway, I figured many of you have either been around toddlers, raised toddlers, are currently raising toddlers, or you are in the stage before they become toddlers! It is not always sunshine and butterflies (especially not in our house, she is terrified of any kind of bug! haha), but man, there are some HILARIOUS moments that you get to encounter when you have a toddler at home. I have been truly blessed to get to stay home with our daughter, soon to be daughters in May; so I get to capture all of the awesome and funny moments that my husband often has to miss and hear about when he is home from work. Sorry Ryan. 😦

Some of the things that they say and do, you just can’t help but laugh or smile. Living life through their eyes is truly incredible, and it helps you put your own life in a little bit different perspective, helps you to slow down, and embrace those moments. You can be upset at something they’ve done, and two seconds later they do something outrageous that makes you remember that life is just too short to be upset and short tempered with these little people. Sure, there are times to correct, discipline and teach, but there are also tons of times to play, laugh, be rowdy and enjoy life through a toddlers eyes! So, I figured that I would share some of our funny and sometimes embarrassing moments that we have gotten to experience thus far with our 20 month old daughter, Novella.

(For reference in any of the stories, Novella cannot say her name quite yet, and refers to herself as “Nana”)

By far my favorite as of late are the bathroom laughs she brings, as she is getting more interested in using the potty, she has been spending more time in the bathroom with momma. The dialog of play by play is what is hilarious, especially when you are in a public restroom and people are overhearing the conversation. Usually it goes something like this. Me – “Okay Novella, stand against the wall and don’t touch anything, just like always, and don’t look under the stalls, remember, we close the door for privacy!”, Novella – “Momma pee pee?”, Me – “Yes, momma is going pee pee”, Novella – *big sigh* “Okay, momma pee pee, and wipe, momma pee pee and wipe” (in a sing songy tone). So I confirm that yes, that is what momma is going to do and then she goes on to discuss that we will wash hands afterward. As I come out of the bathroom stalls sometimes I get snickers, sometimes I get big smiles. It is certainly ALWAYS an adventure in restrooms. However, I am proud to say, she doesn’t touch the floor, or look under the stalls, touch the trash, or the toilet paper. She stands there against the bathroom stall wall and patiently waits and converses with me about the bathroom rituals.

She has recently learned just exactly what licking is, and that licking spoons, and other baking goods is a pretty tasty thing to do! “NANA LICK?!?!” is one of her favorite questions when helping momma in the kitchen. Recently however, she has begun to see food in books, and on stickers, and flash cards and if you catch her at the right moment, you will find her “tasting” the food she sees, although not real. I think she has scratch and sniff confused with see and lick? haha either way, it makes for some very entertaining moments.

We have been working diligently with her to learn manners. She knows please, thank you, your welcome (elcome, as she says) and one of my favorites is excuse me; pronounced “me me” by Novella. Whenever she has gas or burps, she knows that she is supposed to say excuse me. Sometimes you have to remind her, and in a pouty voice she will say “me me”. Might be the cutest excuse me I have ever heard. The fun part about her learning manners, is it is also a constant reminder to us to not forget our manners. If by chance we forget to say thank you or your welcome, she will say them for us as a reminder. If she hears someone have gas or burp, even if she hears us in the bathroom, she expects us to say excuse me back to her. Talk about a house full of manners as of late! It is amazing how much a toddler can teach you as a parent!

When we pray for meals, she demands that you hold her hands until you say Amen, then she will let go of your hands and repeat amen.

She attempts to use the nose frieda snot sucker on herself. Nozzle in her nose, with the sucking end in her own mouth, it is funny to watch, but not very successful.

Novella loves to skype or use google hangouts to talk to family, since we live so far away. Her favorite way to do it is on my phone instead of the computer, so she can be mobile and show everyone around the house, or in most cases the side of her face, because she wants to talk to them like she in on the phone. Not to mention whoever is on the other end has got to be dizzy when she starts bouncing, turning the phone around, and doing ring around the rosie with the phone. Skype calls with grandparents are certainly entertaining. I think it would be fun to be on the other end to watch!

Well, I could certainly go on and on with stories, but this is getting long, and I know not everyone cares about these silly stories, but I still wanted to share some. So here is a recent photo of Novella, she is roaring at the lion in the story Daniel and the Lions Den from one of her bible story books. What a joy to capture such a fun moment on camera! Thanks for reading, more blogs to come!