Keeping Daddy in line..........

Kali 2.6 was sitting in her princess throne this evening eating some cookies....

Me: Are those good cookies, Kali?

Kali: These aren't cookies! These are Oreos!

--------------------------

Mrs. Lime made the unfortunate decision to leave her iPhone sitting out on a table for two minutes at a public university over the weekend. It was gone in a flash. As a result, Mrs. Lime needed a phone in a hurry and Kali and I were on the case.

Per the usual, Kali was well-behaved, even entertaining the people at the store at some point. After a hour or so, we finally landed a phone and we were on our way.

Today (two days later), we headed over to Target. As we're going through the parking lot, I heard Kali saying something and couldn't make it out. After 3-4 tries, I finally got it. "Daddy, there's the phone store!"

Sure enough. In the distance was the phone store that we had gone to a couple of days before. This girl has a ridiculous memory for a 2 1/2 year old kid.

Do you remember?

Kali 2.6 and I sat down in the living room. She's got a memory game that has various animals that you can flip over the cards and try to match more than your opponents. Kali has just been playing around and reading the cards and what animal each card had on it.

Today, I decided to teach her how to use the cards to play a game. I showed her how you flip over two cards and if they match, you get to keep them. I tried to help out Kali a bit. In the first game, I'd point to a card if she flipped over an animal that we had already seen somewhere else. She was pretty excited to match them up. But generally, she kept flipping over the same cards instead of looking for new matches.

Then a funny thing happened. We started a second game. If Kali flipped up a card where we had already seen its match, I'd stop her and ask her if she remembered where the matching pair was. The first time I did that, she stopped and was obviously thinking about it. Then she picked the matching card out of about 40 cards. I laughed because I was so surprised to see her catch on so quickly.

And then she did it again.

And again.

She beat me in her second game of memory. The only assistance I provided was to stop her and tell her that we had already seen its match so she'd think about it. Otherwise, it was all her. It was pretty amazing. It was like playing against a good poker player who would pretend to play badly initially and then proceed to take back all the money on the table.

As I write this, Kali is begging me to come over and play memory with her again. In summary for those who may be asked to play memory by Kali in the future, no need to take it easy. She's likely going to beat you without any consideration for your feelings or ego. But at least she'll flash a cute smile at you when the bloodbath is complete.

Playtime with Kali 2.6.........

Earlier this week, I decided spur of the moment to take Kali to Worlds of Fun for a couple of hours to play around. Kali was all fired up and ready to go. So we made the five minute drive over to the amusement part and arrived........to see an empty parking lot. Yours truly had forgot to note that the park was no longer operating during the week thanks to school starting back up.

While I'm extremely fortunate to have a daughter who has a fantastic temperment, she was none too happy that Daddy was now driving out of the parking lot away from the big roller coasters. She wasn't throwing a fit by any means, but she was giving Daddy a full dress-down on why we were leaving Worlds of Fun no sooner than we had arrived. I went into Henry Kissinger mode and negotiated a truce. We were headed to the playground in the area.

All was forgiven when we arrived to see the big slides and climbing walls. Kali and I went up the ladders and down the slides over and over and over again. Tons of energy in that girl. I hung with her as best as I could for a 30-something dad. After 15 minutes, a couple of kids and their mom showed up at the playground.

The mom was probably younger than me, but her kids were older than mine by a few years. The kids were climbing all over the place, but their mom just sat on the bench. She was overweight and was texting on the bench. She seemed totally disinterested in what her kids were doing.

I'll fully admit that I'm a kid at heart (or some might say I've never fully grown up), but I don't get why someone comes to the park with their kid and doesn't play with them. I like slides. I like climbing. Kali likes both as well. Why would you not do things with your kid, including playing?

Regardless, Kali and I had a lot of fun, but I think both of us slept well that night. It's not easy being a kid.

It's dark in here.......

Yesterday, Kali 2.6 and I were up in the master bathroom. I went into the toilet room to sit down for business purposes. I hadn't turned on the light in that side room, though the main bathroom light was on. Kali wandered into the room and decided to close the door, rendering the small toilet room pitch black.

Me: (whispering) It's dark in here.

Kali: (whispering) Yeah. It's dark in here. You making poopy Daddy?

Me: (whispering) Yes.

Kali: (whispering) You make BIG poopy Daddy?

Me: (whispering) No, just a little one.

Kali: (whispering) Oooooohhhhh! You need toilet paper Daddy?

Me: (whispering) Not yet.

Kali: (whispering) How about now?

Me: (whispering) No, thank you.

(moment of silence followed by a Kali giggle)

Kali: (whispering) I love you Daddy!

Me: (whispering) I love you too!

Kali: (giggle)

Me: (whispering) Is there a reason we've been whispering this whole time?

Kali: (whispering) No.

Me: (chuckling & whispering) OK, just checking.

Fantastic stuff. Totally silly conversation, but after she said there wasn't a reason why we had been whispering in the dark the whole time, I just lost it. We left the toilet immediately afterwards, but I was laughing for at least the next 10 minutes.

I'm 9 feet tall!

Kali 2.6 and I went over to the local elementary school to goof around for a bit. Did some swinging where she wanted to make sure she went "really high". We played around on some slides. We also walked across a suspension bridge. Kali also showed off her competitive nature by challenging me to a race. I let her win, but not by much just to make sure she doesn't get too cocky.

Later on, we headed over to the kickball/tetherball/basketball area. The school had left their play balls out on the playground, so Kali ran right over to pick up one of the balls. I picked up a different ball and started shooting some baskets. Kali saw what I was doing and immediately ran over to the base of the basketball goal post and stood there with her ball, looking back at me.

I walked over to see what she was doing. She said 'Kali go up'. I was trying to figure out what she wanted. I asked her if she wanted to climb the poll. Nope, she replied, that wasn't it. Then she said 'Kali make ball' and pointed at the basket. She wanted a boost to shoot at the basket just like Daddy did. I picked her up and lifted her as high as I could. She didn't make it, but she was pretty fired up that she got to shoot at the same basked that I did.

A poopy milestone........

Yes, Kali 2.6 had a big day yesterday. She was able to 'drop a deuce' on her potty chair for the first time. She got tons of praise and loved every minute of it. She loved it so much, that she went back an hour later and did it again. Then she went back a couple of hours later and did it again. Amazing what positive reinforcement does for the whole situation once it happens.

I'm sure we have many, many more to come. Unfortunately, Kali's being potty-trained, but another baby is on the way to start the cycle all over again. Hopefully the new baby learns quickly from Kali's poopy example.

Daycare for Tinkerbell 0.10

Tinkerbell was sent to puppy daycare today since Mrs. Lime and Kali 2.6 were going to be out of the house all day. They basically have a huge room where the dogs get to hang out, chew on things, and just be dogs. Tinkerbell loves to go to daycare. She just goes nuts. The staff has told us that Tinkerbell is the absolute last dog to run out of energy while playing. She just keeps going and going.

I went by to pick her up at the end of the day. They specified that this was the owner of the 'big' Tinkerbell. Evidently, there was a very small Tinkerbell at daycare today too. Sounds like they were only separated by 100 pounds. Tinkerbell popped out of a doorway with a teenage boy in tow. And I do mean in tow. This kid's shoes were more like skis as Tinkerbell dragged him through the office. I'd be lying if I said I didn't laugh. It was pretty funny. She eased up once she saw I was there. The kid was more than happy to let me have the leash.

Developing quickly..........

I'm amazed at how quickly Kali 2.6 is changing into a little lady. First, the reports of great advancement on potty training were accurate. Kali has gone from little interest in potty training to looking forward to doing potty training. The apparant catalyst is that you have to put a Disney Princesses potty seat on the regular toilet. If you do that, she's always ready and willing to potty on request. Who knew?

Kali's also grown a large vocabulary in a big hurry. She's soaking up words every day and turning right around and using those words and phrases the very next day. We're not just talking words like cat and dog. These are three syllable words and they come out often. Pretty impressive.

She's also become very good at counting to 20 and saying the alphabet without any issues. She knows the letters just by looking at them and is able to tell you a word that starts with that letter. Her ability to put together puzzles has grown by leaps and bounds as well. She used to just stick the pieces together without little thought as to whether the pictures on the pieces fit together. Now she puts together the puzzles by looking at how they relate.

Crazy stuff. Won't be long before I'm the dumbest one in the house. I'm OK with that.

Kali 2.6 and Grandma.........

I was told last night in Grandma's weekend report that Kali 2.6 worked hard on her potty training over the weekend and mostly wears just underwear during the day now. I knew she was getting awfully close to that point, but it just always seemed like it didn't click for one reason or another.

One of the things you learn as a parent is that there are other ways to do things. Sometimes kids just respond to different techniques in different ways. Sounds like Grandma's method provided the magic touch in regards to potty training. We'll take it however we can get it.

Go Chiefs and (football) Tigers!

I dropped a couple of sports bets at Caesar's Palace on the way out of Vegas yesterday that could pay off well if all my dreams come true.

-I put $20 down on the Kansas City Chiefs to win the Super Bowl. If they do win it, I will pocket $750.

-I put $20 down on the Missouri Tigers to win the BCS Championship. If they do win it, I'll take in $1500.

Longshots to be sure, but it'll make it fun for the upcoming season if either of them make a run.

In addition, I would like to note that we went and saw Wayne Brady's show in Vegas our last night there. Very good show. We were supposed to sit a couple of rows from the top of the theater, but were moved down to 6 rows from the stage when we arrived. Great seats at a cheap price. You can't beat that!

Las Vegas Trip summary.......

We've been in Vegas over the weekend and had a great time. A few notes......

1. I met an Aussie at a poker table on Friday. Funny guy with a bit of a foul mouth. He humored me by saying some Aussie words like 'barbie', 'kangaroo', and 'dundee'. He also had a standard raise of $8, which he pronounced as 'aight'. As a result, everyone at the table raised 'aight' if they raised for the whole game.

2. Also met a guy at a table who had worked for a long time as a traveling businessman. When his child support payments ended (i.e. he didn't have to pay them anymore), he quit his day job and now strictly plays poker. Seemed to be very good and very tight. Walked away up $300 after a couple of hours.

3. Met a Morman at the poker table from Utah. I explained that I lived in the area near the Saw Mills massacre site and near where Joseph Smith was jailed. I also mentioned that a Mormon temple was going to be erected near my home. He said that if the home value didn't go up 75% or more in 5 years after the temple is built, he'd be shocked. Guess I'll hold on to my house for a bit longer.

4. I had a big drunk guy who was hassling a police officer run into me on the sidewalk. I saw the officer had taken away his booze bottle and had the pepper spray out. We got out of there in a hurry.

5. Mrs. Lime had a rough weekend at the poker tables. I think we'll steer her away from cash games for awhile. She was not happy about it.

6. I got to meet the Miss September 2009 Playmate at the Playboy store. I also got her magazine and got the centerfold signed. She even had a brother who spelled his first name the same way I did. So I've got that going for me. Seemed like a really nice girl.

7. Mrs. Lime got to hang out with Elvis. He was originally from New Zealand. I'm not sure how that all happened. Always interesting to hear Elvis with a Kiwi accent.

8. Vegas in August is HOT. Even with no humidity, walking on cement in 100 degree temperatures is pretty brutal. Thank God for air conditioning.

9. Saw Peepshow with Holly Madison (Hugh Hefner's most recent ex-girlfriend). It was pretty obvious that she wasn't terribly happy to be in the show. She seemed disinterested and was going through the motions. At least the crowd was thrilled when she took off her top at the end of the show. But the rest of the performers were actually very good. We had VIP seats right next to the stage. I had one of the girls even toss her feather boa on me to flirt with me (while topless). Mrs. Lime and our friends got a big kick out of that.

10. Kali 2.6 had a fun-filled weekend with Grandma and Grandpa. I'm sure she hardly even missed us. It was nice to sleep in for a few days. We're recharged and ready to get back to see her. 3 more months until baby #2 enters the fold!

Sesame Street!

I started recording Sesame Street episodes for Kali. She watches a DVD of Sesame Street from time to time, so she knows a lot of the characters. I'm amazed at how excited she gets for the episodes. She knows all the names. If she doesn't recognize something, she'll ask what it is or who it is. She hops up and down and sings the theme song pretty well.

I used to watch Sesame Street all the time when I was little. It still does many of the same things that it did long ago. Lots of emphasis on the letter and number of the day. Many of the same people are still on the show from when I watched it, although they're 30 years older than they were in the past. People like Mr. Hooper have passed away. The characters are obviously ageless. It's fun to watch it after not watching it so long. It's even better that it's recorded on a daily basis. That way I can watch it with her if there's any new episodes rather than miss out. Thank God for technology.

Kali 2.6's big weekend........

Kali 2.6 was with her college-age babysitter for the past three weeks or so with Mrs. Lime doing some side work at a local hospital. Not surprisingly, three weeks with a college-age person can have an explosive effect on a child's conversational abilities. We wen't from a somewhat talkative child to a child who carries on conversations non-stop. Not only that, she's giving more specific answers to questions as opposed to just saying 'mmmmm-hmmmm'. Ask her what she had for lunch and she'll tell you the whole menu and then add in some random comment about someone she saw while at lunch. Ask her whether she played today and she'll tell you what she did. It's still a work in progress, but the evolution is pretty impressive.

She's also pretty excited about the upcoming weekend. She's been informed that she's going to hang out with Grandma, Grandpa, and her cousin Gwen. We've left out the part that we're not hanging out with them and we're doing something else, because she wouldn't be too keen on that. Kali knows that Grandpa is getting a new boat and Grandpa has said there's a potty on the boat. While Kali is still using diapers at this point, she has emphatically noted on a daily basis that "Kali go potty on Grandpa's boat!".

She's also very excited to go to the fair with Grandma and Grandpa. She knows that there will be horses and princesses at the fair. She has said on multiple occasions that she's going to "see princess ride horses". I'm not sure we'll see any princesses riding horses, but she's got it in her mind that she's going to do so. Who knows? You never know what you'll see at the fair.

Kali 2.6!!!!!!!

Yes, today is Kali's 2 1/2 year birthday. I think we can officially stop using any reference to 'months old' at this point and now look to 'years old'. Even more frightening? She's halfway to kindergarten.

**shudder**

Look out PTA meetings. Here I come.

Organization?

As I mentioned previously, I have taken on some work with Kali's Papa involving some meetings and paperwork for a project he's working on. In addition, I occasionally have some things like swimming lessons for Kali. This has forced me to do something I have never done before.......organize events on my phone calendar.

I've always been one to just work from day to day. But now, I'm having an increasing number of things that I have to do and I'm too damn forgetful to rely on my grey matter alone. So I now have pop-up alarms going off on my phone to remind me when I have something to do an hour or two before I have to do them. It drives me nuts, but I have little choice in the matter. I'm getting old AND busy, neither of which helps me remember what the heck I'm supposed to be doing at a given time.

I've also started to add people to my phone address book when they call me. I'm now dealing with new people in business where I need to learn/remember their name. I'm terrible with names, so this is the only way for me to fight that battle and win. If I add them to the phone the first time they call me, then their name will pop up right before we chat and I'll be able to better associate the name with a face/voice.

It'll be a struggle for me initially, but I'll work it out. It's probably for the best. Hopefully my wife won't find me to be forgetful going forward as a result.

On this day in 1821..........

The great state of Missouri was founded. Happy 188th Birthday! Thank God we don't live in Kansas!

I wasn't around then, but I'm sure it was a big party.

That's why it's worth it........

Raising a kid can be a pain in the rear. Mrs. Lime and I have been repeatedly told that we've got it easy with Kali 2.5. But she still can have her moments. Of late, she's wanted to stay up later and then wants to come in to hang out with Mommy and Daddy at 3:00 AM in the morning. She's usually not willing to compromise, so it's been a battle.

But then, you have moments like last night, when Kali and I were laying on the couch together. She turned towards me for no particular reason, got a big grin on her face when she knew she had my attention, and planted a ridiculously sloppy kiss right on my lips. That's about as close as you'll ever come to getting approval as a parent from your child. I'll take it.

Yakkity-yak.......

Kali 2.5 has suddenly hit a talkative spurt. No matter what the situation, she always has something to say. There's been some studies noting that women say three times as many words each day as men do. After spending the past month or two with Kali, I can confirm to those researchers that the seeds for all that chatter begin at the ripe old age of two years old.

We're taking volunteers to talk with Kali if anyone wants to do so. Send me your resume and I'll let Kali do the face to face interviews.

A conversation with a two year old.........

The thing about a conversation with a child is that you never know what the kid will say. It's totally random, especially when they're just learning how to make a conversation. Take this conversation with Kali 2.5 last night as she sat with me watching a baseball game.

Kali: That's a bad guy! (pointing at baseball player on TV)

Me: That's right. That's not a Royals player.

Kali: That's a bad guy too! (pointing at player on other team)

Me: Yep, that's not a Royals player either.

Kali: I have blue jeans.

Me: You have blue jeans?

Kali: I have blue jeans in my closet.

Me: Yes, you do have blue jeans in your closet.

Kali: They too hot. I no wear them.

Me: That's right. We wear them when it's cold outside.

Kali: Mmmmmm-hmmmmm. (refocuses on baseball game)

Me: See, this guy is going to throw the ball. (pointing at pitcher)

Kali: (nods head in affirmatie manner)

Me: Did you see him throw the ball?

Kali: (giggling) Yes, I can! He stand in mud!

Me: That's right. It's not mud, but he's definitely standing in the dirt.

Kali: They stand in grass too?

Me: Yep, they stand in the grass sometimes too.

Kali: Mmmmmm-hmmmmmm.

Me: You see the guy holding the bat? The stick?

Kali: (nods affirmative)

Me: He's going to try to hit the ball with the bat. Watch the ball!

(player hits ball into the outfield for a double)

Kali: (laughing) Ball blew up!

Me: No, he hit it with the bat. See it bouncing around in the grass?

Kali: (laughing) Yes, I can! Ball no blow up!

Me: That's right. The ball bounced in the grass.

Kali: Mmmmmmm-hmmmmmm.


Just another building block in Kali's education. We don't wear jeans in summer, baseball players stand in mud sometimes, and baseballs do not explode.