My OCD Child

I have to admit, I have a touch of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. No, I have not been officially diagnosed by a psychiatrist with a DSM IV in hand, and no, I'm not on any meds, though some days it might not be a bad idea. But I'm pretty sure I qualify. Anyway, all joking aside, my loving husband and I have determined that in some part, it must be hereditary.

Examples:

A couple weeks ago, Jocelyn and I made another visit to Storyville and before my little one would begin to play, she had to return a stray toy. She walked into the treehouse area, discovered a musical toy, and walked all the way to the other side of Storyville to return it to it's proper location (which she remembered from our last visit) before she would start playing. How many kids do you know that will do that???

Teeth brushing is another area that Jocelyn has her own rules. We use two tooth brushes so she can brush her teeth while we brush her teeth. Every night, we have to use the purple brush and she uses the yellow one. Never the other way around.

At nap and at bedtime, Jocelyn takes a vast collection of books to bed with her, nothing unusual, except for the fact that before she can go to sleep, they have to be organized leaning against the wall of the crib, in a specific order (which she remembers every time!), all upright and facing out. Trust me, she knows if there's one missing.

I have to admit, I am not having a problem with any of this. What parent wouldn't want a child that wants to wear only clean clothes, has to pick up her toys before leaving a room, likes helping with household chores, and keeps track of where her family members are at all times. I can think of worse things than Jocelyn sharing my OCD trait. :-)

Aunty's Here!

Right near the top of the list of Jocelyn's favorite people in the world is her Aunty. As I mentioned previously, my sister Lorraine is a working professional, a grown up adult with grown up adult responsibilities. But from day one, Jocelyn has had her Aunty wrapped around her little finger.

Pat and I are beyond grateful for her babysitting services. For us, it's about getting a couple hours of undemanded time together. For Aunty, it's about one on one time with her niece. Someone knocks on the door and Jocelyn yells "AUNTY'S HERE!!" Of course, it's not always Aunty, but you can't convince her of that!!

Aunty and Jocelyn do lots of fun things together. Going "out" in the wagon is a particular favorite. Jocelyn gets in the wagon, all settled in like a queen. They take along a ball, a drink and a snack, a bag for collecting trash (what a good example Aunty is!), and off they go for HOURS! No, I'm not kidding!! When they return, Jocelyn is usually wet and/or dirty, and happy as can be,(our only babysitting requirements are that Jocelyn is safe and happy, dirt is an added bonus!) and, much to her parents delight, she's usually ready for a nap!!

I know one of Aunty's favorite things is to travel with Jocelyn. Mommy, Aunty, and Jocelyn have traveled to NC to visit Pepere and Memere, and to Ocean City to visit Grammy. I'm sure there will be more trips to come.


I often think back on how Jocelyn's birth has changed my life, but my little angel has also been the light in many other lives, too. It's not enough to say how grateful I am for the loving relationship that my sister has with my daughter, I am also grateful for how she and I have become closer over the last couple of years. Thank you Aunty for sharing this journey with us. I love you, little sister!

Storyville with Aunty and Grammy

So there's something you should know about my family. Jocelyn is the first grand daughter and niece, and she has changed the adults in unexpected ways. My mother long ago booted her two daughters out and has moved on with her life. My sister is a professional grown up. But put them together with Jocelyn in a place like Storyville and they turn into people I would not have recognized three years ago!! Above, you see them putting on the puppet show "Three Little Pigs" (note Jocelyn is no where around!)

Then you have Aunty reading books laying on a floor mat, and both Aunty and Grammy letting the 2 1/2 year old conduct the train!

But you can't help turning into a kid in Storyville. This was Jocelyn's second visit, so she was much more familiar and comfortable in her surroundings. We could only hope to keep up with her, but she had a great time!

Stay tuned! Aunty wants her own blog entry, so that will be coming up! Give me some time to dig out some of the early photos! Your turn's coming Aunty!

Fun with Grammy

My mother and Jocelyn's Grammy was in town last week. We did lots of fun things together. We went to Storyville, the pool, and the library, and out for lunch at Wendys. Grammy is game for anything, but I'm pretty sure she's going to need a few days to recover from Jocelyn's demanding "Grammy Come On!!" (Storyville post to come - trust me, it needs one all it's own...)

Me Do It!!

So far I have been able to avoid most of the dreaded terrible twos temper tantrums. Overall, Jocelyn is a pretty happy, easy going kid. I hear the horror stories, believe me, and I thank my lucky stars!!
But recently, I am hearing more and more statements such as "I do it!" and "NO!!! Me do it". Now on the one side, I am so thrilled to see her becoming more capable and independent. She had to depend on me for so long because she was so little and behind the curve on skills. It's so fun to see her learning how to do things on her own.
However, on the flip side, I am REALLY glad I don't have a job to rush to, or generally, any other event that has a time schedule, because we'd never make it!
"Me do it!" usually requires us to undo whatever it is that I did (I have some nerve, huh?), and let her take her time to do it herself. For the most part, this is not a problem, I can just wait for her and she eventually works it out (or reduces herself to the need to ask for my help), but I must say it's just a bit odd when my neighbors notice the length of time I stand outside my car door waiting for Jo to meander through the process of climbing into the car, then into her carseat, turn around to sit down, and put her arms through the straps. (I've considered bringing a book to pass the time!) This is especially fun when it's raining outside!
The one helpful option to speed the process, has been giving choices. I've heard many times that it's a fabulous thing to do to give children the power of making choices for themselves, and Jocelyn loves that power. She chooses what to wear, what cup to drink from, what diaper (Elmo, Ernie, Cookie Monster, etc.), I give her a choice whenever I can think of one. But the one choice that a friend told me about was: "Either you can do _____, or I can do it for you". I love this one! I sound like the nicest Mommy in the world when I say it, but the underlying message is "speed it up kiddo or I'm taking over!"
In all seriousness, I love seeing my little one growing up and becoming more independent. I just hope she will still need her Mommy for some time to come.

Basement Play Room - The Clean Up Continues

Jocelyn's STUFF has officially taken over our world. In an attempt to corral some of it, I decided to stake claim to most of the downstairs playroom. The playroom had previously been reserved for Allie and Shelby, but they are getting older and less interested in playing, and more interested in computer and tv (I do everything I can to prevent the brain rot, but I fear I'm powerless). I digress....

So anyway, yesterday during the blessed nap time, I decided to transfer some of the toys from our living room down to the basement. I reorganized, sorted, separated, and as Jocelyn says: "TaDa"!!


My next project will be reorganizing Jocelyn's personal library. Bring it on!!

Indianapolis Children's Museum

The last stop on our trip to Indiana was at the Indianapolis Children's Museum. It's supposed to be the 4th largest children's museum in the world. There was SO MUCH to see!! They had an exhibit on the Etch-a-sketch, including the world's largest one, another exhibit on the history of Barbie, and still another on Rock-n-Roll memorabilia. They had a dinosaur exhibit, where the girls dug for dino fossils, and Jocelyn and I took in a planetarium show on the sun, moon and stars, that featured Elmo and Big Bird!

We got to walk through the caboose from the first steam engine train.

The girls wedged themselves into an Indy race car.

And played the drums at the Eygptian exhibit.

Daddy helped Jocelyn walk across an alligator (thank goodness it wasn't the real kind!)

And Shelby climbed a rock wall.

Our tour guides, the bride and groom, were pretty worn out by this time, but we did catch them in the act of hula hooping!!

On our way out, of course we stopped at the museum store, and Jocelyn grabbed up her own dino-SNORE, as she calls him! It was love at first sight and he's been a sleeping companion since then.

We had a great time on our trip to Indiana, and again, congrats to my Brother-in-law Scott and his new wife Rachel. We're looking forward to seeing them again soon!

Water Baby

Our hotel in Indiana had a really nice indoor pool and Jocelyn, her sisters, and their cousin Jake, loved it! I went down to the pool after settling into the room and found our little daredevil jumping off the side of the pool into Daddy's arms.

While I'm having heart attacks, they are laughing and laughing!

Allie and Shelby spent some time carrying Jocelyn around and helping her learn to kick in the water.

Stay tuned! The last stop on our vacation was the Indianapolis Children's Museum, the 4th largest children's museum in the world!

Just a teaser - What do Dino-SNORES, Barbie, Elmo and Big Bird have in common???

The Wedding

Last weekend we shared in a very special day for two of our favorite people. Pat's brother Scott and his beautiful fiancee Rachel were married on Sunday, June 27, 2010, in Indiana. The weather was perfect for an outdoor wedding, and the ceremony reflected, to me, the kind of people they are, sweet, loving, laided back, and easy going. Maybe "happy" is too much of a generic word, but to me, it was just about how happy they are together. And I'm really happy for them.

As part of their wedding, they included something similar to the unity candle, but with two different colors of sand. I'd never seen this before, but it was a beautiful part of the ceremony.

After the kiss, we all looked at the darkening sky and realized it was about to pour buckets, so we headed for the reception hall. The girls looked so pretty all dressed up!

Jocelyn had a blast at the reception! And we were able to relax and let her run around because it was entirely closed in.
(Check out that rain storm!)



Our trip to Indiana included lots more fun, so stay tuned for more blogs to come!