Stay Strong, Mila

There is one thing that is certain - if Mila doesn't want to do something, Mila's not going to do it. You can't talk her into sort of going along with something. She's either in or she's out. Period.

That's why I know that, despite the expression on her face, Mila is all in on Alexis' latest shenanigans.

#MorningThings #ItsAPlayroom #ItShouldBeMessy

A post shared by Burgh Baby (@burghbaby) on Mar 25, 2017 at 6:20am PDT

And I do mean, ALL IN.

Serious talk. She says she's fighting monsters. Has anyone ever dressed so appropriately for such a task?

A post shared by Burgh Baby (@burghbaby) on Mar 19, 2017 at 8:52am PDT

I have a theory that Alexis is secretly sad that she no longer fits into her vast array of princess gear. Thus, she is greatly enjoying dressing Mila is all of the princess gear.

There is so much princess gear.

None of it really fits Mila since she is the literal Tiny Human, but Alexis has figured out how to use hair clips and other nonsense to force things to work.

And she taught Mila duck lips.

I should be annoyed with all of this. One princess kid was enough; there is no need to princessify the other one. Also, COME ON WITH THE DUCK LIPS. I just ... nope. I hate them. It doesn't matter how cute the kid is, they are always a terrible idea. Yet somehow, I'm not mad. Go ahead and try to turn that baby into a girly girl, Alexis.

It won't work.

I WIN!

A post shared by Burgh Baby (@burghbaby) on Mar 28, 2017 at 3:44pm PDT

Mila doesn't do things if she doesn't want to do them. Period.

Squad Time

I can count the number of kid activities I've missed on one hand. Recently, I missed Alexis' band concert, but mostly I've been there. Thus, I know that at the end of it all, she will remember that she had support. I was there.

Even if it were to all fall apart and I were to suddenly stop being at games and shows and such, Alexis would still have a squad cheering for her. There's always a squad. I don't know how we manage it, but somehow there's a whole squad of people always cheering that kid on.

There should always be a squad.

I think that's why this goal that my friend Laura has set matters to me. She recently sent an email that said:

For the second year, Carnegie Mellon will play host to the Special Olympics Western PA Spring Sectionals on Saturday, April 29. I'm working on the communications and PR this year, and when talking to the state folks, I learned that while Games across the state go well as far as getting volunteers, fans to strictly cheer on these incredible athletes have been lacking.

I obviously took that as a personal challenge. 

So, I invite you all to come to campus on Saturday, April 29 to participate in Fans in the Stands!

Fans in the Stands is exactly what it sounds like. Come, cheer and have a great day! I personally think this would be an optimal time for face paint and hair ribbon, but, ya know, you do you.

While you can certainly just show up, I've included a link to sign up for certain slots and events. Each slot is for one hour, but you are more than welcome (and encouraged!) to stay throughout the day. Please sign up for an event not already covered first to ensure all of the athletes have fans. 

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d4caca8238-fans

So, if you're free on April 29th and would like to help make sure that there is a good-sized squad cheering on all of the athletes, go sign up or show up or whatever. Whether it's for an hour or for the entire day, it's a chance to have a little fun while supporting some great people.

Maybe I'll see you there!

Earning My Punishments

I always hesitate to talk about the talking around here because no matter what, someone always compares their kid to my kid and ridiculousness ensues. But, Mila is cracking me up with her latest word choices, so y'all with littles DON'T COMPARE MY KID TO YOUR KID, MMKAY? Seriously. Don't do it. She's a talker, there's no doubt, but it means nothing. Some kids talk sooner, some talk later, at the end of the day, they all tell their parents to screw off eventually. How they get there is irrelevant.

Got It? Good.

So, Mila is full of disappointment when it comes to cute toddlerisms. It blows. As a general rule, if she says something incorrectly, all it takes is for someone else to say it correctly and she fixes it. I got years of "lellow" out of Alexis while I got ten minutes of it with Mila. She has also already fixed "spaghetti," "gymnastics," and a whole host of other words that I loved for a millisecond.

WHATEVER, CHILD. You just go on with your proper enunciation and stuff.

Mila may be a master of mastering enunciation, but I still have odd grammar stuff to bring me joy. Like, "We."

"We" is not a word in Mila's vocabulary. I'm not sure why, but she gets all of the other similar words. "I" and "she" and "he" and "they" and all of them. "We," though. "We" doesn't exist. Thus, Mila says things like "Where am I going?" when we get in the car.

She also says, "What am I doing?" when she wants to know what we are doing. And even though I run the risk of accidentally teaching her the correct words, I enjoy every second of that "What am I doing?"

"What are you doing?" is often my reply. Or, I sometimes tell her what she's doing. "You're sitting in your car seat." "You're breathing." "You're being funny." I have a million responses, none of which are what she's looking for.

"No, what am I doing?"

I usually mess with her for several minutes. Because I'm a jerk. But yesterday when I was playing the part of the household jerk, Miss Mila decided to call me out for it.

"What am I doing?" she asked.

"You're asking questions," I replied.

"That's not nice to make fun. You should go to time out RIGHT NOW," she replied as she grabbed my hand and led me to the time out corner.

I served a two minute time out. It was worth every second, too.