Confirmed

It is confirmed that Julian is the worst. It was bad enough that he bit me but now he's messing with my mom.

Yesterday, when she and I were leaving the toddler room, "someone" slammed the door on my mom's finger. Needless today, it became quite a production with a search for a first aid kit and some less than delicate crying from me while I waited for the whole thing to be over.

We didn't see who the culprit was, being on the other side of the door and everything, but one of Nia's moms was certain that Nia did it. It seems that Nia has been pretty excited about slamming doors at home lately. Of course, that's not enough evidence. We all love slamming doors. Slamming doors is awesome!

Today, Nia's mom went as far as asking Nia to apologize to my mom but Miss Susan stopped her and told her it wasn't Nia's fault and pointed at Julian. Well done, Julian! You are officially on my list.

You do NOT want to be on my list*

This is strike two and I will not tolerate this kind of attack on my family. He might be twice my size and have enough curly hair in his mullet to be a member of Menudo but I will not be intimidated by this bully. I'm scheduling a pow wow with McKenzie and Nia (my brute squad) at naptime to develop a plan. If nothing else, I am immediately discontinuing crayon sharing with Julian during art.

And you can forget about sitting next to us during circle time!

*For legal purposes, I need to make it very clear that this is not a threat of violence or death threat against Julian.

I dressed in the dark this morning

and I still looked more pulled together than Kendall.

The electricity in our apartment went out last night. My parents are acting like it happened to the whole block, but I suspect they are just deadbeats who are late on their ComEd bill. Even so, with no lights, pre-sunrise, my mom managed to get me dressed in clean, matching clothes, brush my hair and put my pigtails in, even if they were a little (a lot) crooked.

Meanwhile, for the third time this week, one of Kendall's parents dropped her off with the excuse that she wouldn't sit still to have her hair brushed and asked Miss Susan to do it for them.

I will admit that Miss Susan's hairdressing skills are far superior to those of Miss Alessandra and I don't blame Kendall for wanting to get in on a good old fashioned high pony, but this is getting ridiculous. Miss Susan has better things to do in the morning than fix our hair. She has to pour milk, put out the step stool so we can wash our hands and deal with annoying parents during drop off. She doesn't have time to play Truvy every day.

I don't trust anyone who does her own hair, but maybe
 your mom could help you out once in awhile, Kendall.

All you need is love . . . and snacks

It's funny how the place where you are in your life can determine whether or not you enjoy Valentine's Day. Last year, I was still new to the learning center, was just learning how to sit up (with the help of a Bumbo, I might add) and I was still taking bottles. This year, I have multiple love interests, a super fun afternoon party in the toddler room and a look that won't quit.
 

Last year: I might as well spend the day watching
Renee Zellweger movies with a 33 year old divorcee,
her cats and a tube of cookie dough.

This year: It isn't even 9am and I've already received
my first Valentine. I must be doing something right.

I selected Star Wars Valentines, colored on them and picked the best ones for Conor, Ben and my new bestie, Addy. Mackenzie got Darth Vader because of our very complicated relationship. I filled out Julian's last because I like him the least and figured he could just deal with whatever was left over.

The queen of Valentine's Day surrounded by her peas and carrots, Ben and Addy.
Photo courtesy of my mom and a set of mini blinds.

My mom brought blueberries and pineapples to the party and I was excited to see that another mom brought Goldfish crackers. I have a feeling there might be a craft involved, too. This will be the best party ever!

Guess who missed me

As my first full week in the toddler room comes to a close, there's a lot to be happy about. Most importantly, it seems that Conor not only remembers me but is clamoring for me.

Yesterday, my mom told Miss Susan that Conor and I were pals (real cool, Mom). This morning, Conor's parents told Miss Susan that Conor talks about me at home all the time. She was kind enough to share the news of Conor walking around the house repeating, "Bear? Bear?" with my mom.

What can I say? I make quite an impression. I certainly can't say I'm surprised or disappointed.