Juice or milk? Huh huh huh huh - Friday, March 25, 2005
Saturday morning church is pretty casual during bible study. The Tink finally had some other kids to play with so they were running ALL over the huge conference center. Yemisi likes to carry a sippy cup filled with juice, and one filled with chocolate milk, at any given time. Her Dada tends to be very diligent in putting only juice in some and only milk in others. I don't give a hoot one way or the other, but apparently, The Tink does. After running 50 laps around the center (pastor says let her do it; I'll be happy later as she tires herself out for a good nap), she runs up to our table and is breathing heavy, nearly out of breath: "huh huh huh huh." She grabbed an empty sippy cup, which used to have juice in it at the top of the hour. She put it to her lips and suddenly goes into a frenzy yelling "juice or milk, juice or milk, juice or milk," while pushing the cup towards me. It became very clear to me this child was saying, "Look, I don't care what you give me, either juice or milk, but give it quick, fast and in a hurry." I gave her the sippy cup filled with chocolate milk, she drank it, let out an "ahhh." Then took off again! Talk about communication!
by Mummy

Ooops, Pepper! - Thursday, March 24, 2005
Well, I must have accidentally left the can of ground black pepper where Y could reach it - amazing what she can reach on her tippy toes now - and she came up to me while I was reading smelling of pepper and screaming her head off. I immediately took her into the bathroom to rinse her face and then I checked on www.webmd.com what to do, and didnt find anything then I called my cousin the doctor and he wasn't home and she was still screaming, so I covered my face and eyes in pepper as well, so I could feel what she was feeling, and then be able to better figure out how to make it stop. Well, it hurt. And if it hurt me, I can only imagine how it hurt her. So, I put her in the bathtub, washed her thoroughly, concentrating on her face, ran her under cold tap water, and did the same to myself - that helped temporarily. Then I used Aveeno soothing lotion on both of us, which calmed things down a bit, then while she seemed to be doing a bit better, OR getting used to the pain, I ran in the kitchen and tried all kinds of things to see what would make the pain stop. You don't even want to know all the things I tried (even butter) but eventually it turned out yogurt did the trick - Yemisi loves yogurt so I keep the fridge full of it. Well, I smeared it on my face, then on hers - even though my face is much bigger than hers, it took a lot more yogurt to cover her face because she kept licking hers off! Well, in the end we sat there and felt a lot better, and she fell asleep leaning against me on the couch, and I put her to bed and then wiped the yogurt off after a few minutes. Phew! Narrowly escaped the emergency room there.
by Daddy

The Things THEY Make Us Buy - Thursday, March 24, 2005
Its a never ending cycle. If you don't get this for your baby you're probably a bad parent. So the ads keep coming at you and there are so many new ways to soothe, clean, calm and entertain your baby and you're wrong if you don't use them. Sometimes we forget that we were all raised without these things and we turned out great.

Well, having said all that, I was at Babies R Us the other day, and I saw a new cleaning product in a spray bottle called Pampers Clean n' Play. Well, of course I bought one to test. I don't want to be a bad parent hahahaha. So, I get it home and unpack all the other things I got suckered into buying and I got ready to test this on Yemisi's high chair tray, as that seems to be the one item I clean the most. On reading the label, it said the following:

Stair with or without. - Wednesday, March 23, 2005
It's really funny to see the difference between how Yemisi goes down the stairs when I'm holding her hand, and when I'm not.

When I'm not holding her hand, she grips the railings with both hands and goes down the stairs very very carefully, with her eyes on the stairs at all times.

When I'm holding her hand, however, it's a completely different story. She basically will jump, backflip, somersault, take 5 stairs at a time, leap and do whatever she feels like - I guess she knows that I won't let anything happen to her.
by Daddy

Good Girl? - Wednesday, March 23, 2005
I have these speaker grills to protect my speakers, and for a long time Yemisi has been taking them off and leaving them on the floor. I've been trying my best to keep putting them back and asking her to stop doing that on a regular basis. Well, this day, she took one off and brought it to me at my desk and I said "no, put it back now!" and she walked back and placed it gently back over the speaker. She stood there and stared at me for a minute, until i turned to her and said "well, what do you want?" and she replied "Good Girl." I almost died laughing. I did explain to her though, that she doesnt get a "Good Girl" for committing a crime and then undoing it.
by Daddy

Orange Juice - Wednesday, March 23, 2005
I went to the bathroom, and when I got out, Yemisi had climbed on my desk, sat in my chair and had my glass of orange juice in her hands and had it almost raised to her lips, about to take a sip. Well, I (unwisely) yelled out "NO!" and that scared her and she dropped the glass. Ew. Orange juice everywhere. And I'm sure it would have been just fine if I hadn't said anything.
by Daddy

Hot Wings - Wednesday, March 23, 2005
I was eating hot wings and Yemisi came up and wanted some. I thought they would be too spicy so I kept telling her no, and offered her Yogurt, then her meat sticks instead. She kept asking and reaching for the wings and I said ok, fine. You'll find out for yourself that it's too spicy. Well, she had some, chewed it up, loved it and even had some more. When it was all over, she said "Takyou!"
by Daddy

This is the life - Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Yemisi and I were sitting on the couth, well I was lying on the couch and she was sitting on me - and she ran in the bathroom and brought back my hairbrush and brushed my hair for about 15 minutes. I think I have a bald spot now!
by Daddy

Little Parrot - Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Talking on the phone is absolutely hilarous now - whenever I say anything, she tries to repeat it. I was talking to someone and I said "that's a shame" and she spent the rest of the afternoon walking around saying "shame, shame, shame" Hahahaha. That's quite a clear sign that I need to be careful what I say around her.
by Daddy

Grocery Items - Wednesday, March 23, 2005
We were in line at the grocery store and Yemisi watched all the items go by on the little conveyor and she named all the ones she knew. It was so so funny.

Nanas
Yogurt
Apple
Bwead
appu Joose
Miwk
Cawwot
Drink
by Daddy

Rub your hands together - Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Sometimes my hands get rather dry so I keep Baby Oil Gel in the car and it works wonders. When Yemisi sees me rubbing my hands together or even just squeezing the gel into my hands she immediately demands some gel. So I squeeze a teeny tiny droplet into her hand and she imitates me and wrings her little hands together and lotions them, just like Daddy!
by Daddy

Big Girl Step - Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Well, there was a step that Y always needed my help with, stepping down from the curb to the parking area, and this time, we were walking along to the car and as usual I reached my hand out to her so she could grab it, but she walked to the edge of the curb, did not reach for my hand, and then took a deep breath and stepped off the curb by herself. You should have seen the smile of satisfaction on her face. My baby is becoming a big girl!
by Daddy

WAIT! - Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Awwww this is a cute story. Yemisi and I went to church (this was last Sunday) and after church we stopped at the grocery store to get some stuff to cook lunch with. Well, in the parking lot of the grocery store, as we were both walking in, there was this pigeon, and Yemisi tried to catch it. The dastardly pigeon wouldnt just fly away like a normal human-fearing bird - it would just basically hop just out of her reach, frustrating my darling baby further with each hop. Well, after a couple of minutes of this, poor Yemisi stretched out her hands, stood still and wailed "WAIT! WAIT!". My poor baby.
by Daddy

Sponge Bob - The Movie - Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Yemisi and I are both avid sponge bob (cartoon character) fans. Well, ok, maybe more me than her. Anyway, we've both always enjoyed watching the short episodes on DVD - and when the movie became available, we immediately bought it. Poor Yemisi started wailing at the part when spongebob died (he got dried out in a frying pan) and she was so upset! I actually had to fast forward until we got to the part where he was resurrected - he started crying because he was dead and his tears brought him back to life - Yemisi clapped heartily at that part.
by Daddy

Fun in the Tub - Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Yemisi loves to be in the tub. Sometimes she'll take a 15 - 20 minute bath. It may not sound incredibly long, but remember I have to be in the bathroom the whole time, so it gets a bit boring for me. Also, nowadays she splashes so much that I can't sit on the edge of the tub unless I absolutely plan on getting wet, so i often end up reading to her while I sit on the floor at a safe distance. Sometimes this gets boring for me. Well, the other day I had a brilliant idea. Now we play bathtub volleyball - I throw the ball into the tub, she gets it and throws it back. That way we can *both* have fun!
by Daddy

Anything can happen - Wednesday, March 23, 2005
When there's a 22 month around, anything can happen - I was checking some prints in my computer room (ok ok my computer closet) and I turned around because I heard a sound - Y was walking by, having taken off her shirt, and put on her church shoes. Stranger things will happen.
by Daddy

They Float! - Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Per a discussion I had with my mother, I realized that I had been a bit inflexible with Yemisi about some things. For example, the other day she wanted to take some of her peek-a-blocks into the bathtub with her and ordinarily, I would have tried to stop her, saying they were not tub toys. Well, who said they're not tub toys? And they're her toys anyway so I decided to loosen up and let her take them into the tub anyway and she did, and it was lots of fun - they float and everything. She's learning. And teaching me too.
by Daddy

Yogurt Haha - Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Yemisi often bangs on the fridge , because she can't open it (yet) and yells for the yogurt to come out ("YOGURT!"). So when that happens, I get her bowl and some yogurt, and she runs and sits in her high chair and I put the tray on there. Well, this time, I put her yogurt on the tray and I forgot a spoon. I wish I had taken a picture of her face when she looked at me like "umm what am I supposed to do with this and no spoon?" I didn't do it on purpose, but it was hilarious! Oh, and I ran and got her a spoon.
by Daddy

Put the fridge back together - Wednesday, March 23, 2005
While Yemisi slept, I did some cleaning, and even cleaned out the fridge, I took out that bottom drawer thing, the vegetable part and washed it in the bathtub. I then laid it upside down to drain on the floor in the kitchen. Well, when Yemisi woke up, and I opened the fridge to get her breakfast, she immediately noticed what was missing, grabbed the drawer and put it right back in it's place! Wow! I was quite impressed, considering that she hadnt seen me pull it out.
by Daddy

Potty Fight! - Thursday, February 17, 2005
Yemisi decided she wanted her potty (yeah i know you all didn't know she had a potty, but now she does, so get used to it anytime...) in the living room - I had no idea what was going on until I heard the potty music (it plays music when pee, poo, baby hands, daddy shoes or toys go in it) much closer than it should be if the potty was where it should be. So, I took it back there and she was ANGRY! Unfortunately that's not something I could bend on - potties don't belong in the living room, honey.
by Daddy

Valentine's Day - Thursday, February 17, 2005
Yemisi and I went to dinner for Valentine's day - she was a perfect little angel. For the first 5 minutes. Just kidding. For the whole evening. She ate all her grilled chicken, and even some of her brocolli and rice, and even tried to feed some to Lambie, her friend that her great-granddaddy sent her :-)
by Daddy

That was easy! - Thursday, February 10, 2005
Yemisi woke up and we were both standing in front of the fridge wondering what to have for breakfast, and she suddenly reached up and grabbed a small Peach Cobbler yogurt cup. So, i immediately got a bowl, emptied the yogurt into it, popped her in the high chair and handed her a spoon, and she's in there making a yogurty mess as we speak.
by Daddy

Christmas at the Zoo! - Sunday, January 23, 2005
Yemisi and I got to go to the Houston Zoo with some of our favorite people - Bruce and Debra, and their munchkins Lindsay, Tiffany and Sean, AND Deb's parents, aka granddad and grandmom :-) The Zoo was having a "Winter" Event with fake snow and everything - we had tons of fun - mainly because I was smart enough to not put Y on the carousel. We also got great photos with Santa - even me! Check them out!
by Daddy

Ouch! - Sunday, January 16, 2005
Yemisi was playing with me on the couch and she was bouncing around and jumping on me and doing all sorts of amateur wrestling moves, and I just basically laid there and took it. Well, after a particularly complicated move, she fell off me, and the couch and landed on her back, and fortunately, in the struggling on the couch, all the couch cushions were on the floor already so she didnt hit the floor too hard, I guess the shock of one minute beating me up, and the next minute having the floor beat her up, kind of upset her because she started bawling and I scooped her up and started cuddling and comforting her, and I think she was enjoying the cuddling a bit too much, because even though she was ok, she kept faking the crying so I wouldn't put her down! Well, after a few minutes I got bored of the charade so I sat her at one end of the couch and laid down on the couch and put my head in her lap. You should have seen her face - it was completely priceless! She was like "What the h_ll!? You're not the one who fell!" Hahahahhaa. She eventually got over it and spent the next few minutes massaging my head, which was cool.
by Daddy

Yemisi Strikes Again - Sunday, January 16, 2005
Yemisi likes to run to the fridge whenever it's open, to fiddle with the little switch that causes the light to come on when the fridge door is opened, so I let her - it's no big deal...

Until this morning... I opened the fridge, and I was late for church and I wanted to have a quick bowl of cereal so I could leave in good time to get around the Houston Marathon traffic. Well, Yemisi had turned up the refrigerator thermostat, which is right by the switch for the light, and EVERY fluid in the fridge was frozen solid. Including the milk.
by Daddy

She Knows - Monday, January 10, 2005
Yemisi DEFINITELY understands. I had her lying on her back in bed so I could change her diaper and she pulled a pillow over her head to "hide" because it's a game we play - when she does that I say "where's the baby? where did the baby go?" and when she pulls the pillow / curtain / book away, I say "oh! there's the baby!" and she laughs and laughs. Well, anyway she had a pillow over her face and I decided to put socks on her, since she has a cold, and i said "socks" and she repeated from behind the pillow - "socks" and she stuck her feet out! Now, if only she understood NO that well.
by Daddy

Balance - Sunday, January 9, 2005
Wow, this parenting gig is TRICKY!

FOr example, when I cut Yemisi's nails, I have to take a hard line, because if you pussyfoot around doing that task, Yemisi will take it over and make it impossible for you to get it done, so basically i sit her on my knee and Just Do It. She knows we will be there as long as it takes to get her nails cut, and as such she behave in such a way as to get the task over and done with in the minimum amount of time.

On the other hand, since Yemisi has had a bit of a cold recently, I've been using her "squeezy thing" to extract mucus and help her breathe better. She doesn't like it and I often have to wrestle with her to get it done. I have discovered that if I take a much gentler approach to it, she's MUCH more co-operative, even smiling and counting along with each squeeze. So how do I know when to be hard and when to be gentle?
by Daddy

Not so gross - Wednesday, January 5, 2005
Yemisi has a cold, and I found out from the pediatrician that if the mucus is green, that's bad. So i'm standing in the bathroom with my hands covered in her mucus, examining it for greenness, and I laugh out loud, because I can't even remember when that would have been considered disgusting. Too funny.
by Daddy

Shooooes - Wednesday, January 5, 2005
It's so cool! EVERY time I put Y's shoes on, she announces it - "Shoooooooes". I love it!
by Daddy

Tree Lights - Friday, December 31, 2004
Often when Yemisi wakes up she goes straight over and turns on the TV - well nowadays, she's been heading straight for the Christmas tree, and yelling at me until I turn on the lights - then she watches the tree instead. 10 points for Christmas spirit!
by Daddy

Sleepy Hair Appointment. - Thursday, December 30, 2004
I took Y to get her hair done at Mrs W's and she fell completely asleep while it was getting done. So, everyone please go to Mrs W to get your baby's hair done - you get a great hair-do AND an asleep baby for no extra charge :-)
by Daddy

Stairs - Thursday, December 30, 2004
When Yemisi and I leave home, she almost always runs to our neighbour's door - I don't mind, it gives her something to do while I'm locking up etc. She knows not to try and go down the stairs before I get there. Well, this time, she went to the top of the stairs and I went "NO" as usual, and she gave me this look, as if to say "Daddy, seriously - I can do this." So, I let her. And she walked all the way downstairs all by herself, holding the rail all the way. She was SO proud of herself, and so was I!
by Daddy

The Wave - Wednesday, December 29, 2004
We (Mark, Kemi, Yemisi and Me) all went to Kemah for lunch, and we had to wait on our walk to the restaurant because one of those little tourist trains was going past. Well, I'm not sure who started it, but next thing I knew, Yemisi was waving, and a hundred people were waving back! Too cool. She loved it. Mark said "Look at that - she waves, and a hundred people wave back"
by Daddy

Hmmmph - Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Mark and I left Kemi at home with Yemisi and went shopping, and when we got back, all was well and Kemi announced "I even changed her - it was a poopie. Reminded me of when I changed her daddy's diapers." The Horror!
by Daddy

Ummm - Tuesday, December 28, 2004
It's been a busy few days running around with Mark and Kemi (my sister and her husband). Finally we have a little downtime - I'm finishing up a little work and she's over in her high chair watching her new Baby Einstein movie that her Uncle Steve and Aunt Rachel gave her. She's totally enthralled, eating yogurt - she's been feeding herself a lot these days.

Hey. She's got a cool orange hat on. I didn't know she had an orange hat? I wonder who gave it to her for Christmas. And that's so cool how it matches her bowl. Her bowl. Ummmm... Be right back.
by Daddy

Why? - Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Why did a lady see Yemisi and I walking to the car and comment "Oh, on the way to the babysitters are we?" I of course couldn't hold it in and immediately retorted "No - actually, we're going to the zoo." She didn't say anything back.
Why did a lady at the grocery store ask "How old is she?" and when I replied 19 months 2 weeks and 4 days, she said "Oh, she's so tiny!" I said, well she's in the top 10 percentile for height and weight - I think she's doing great for her age!"
Why did this really nice old lady called Judy pick Yemisi up and sat her in her lap at the Barnes and Noble and then when Yemisi tried to stick her finger in the lady's mouth, the lady LET HER!!! And said "mmm - chocolate!" That's why I carry hand sanitizer in the diaper bag.
Why were they selling cotton candy TO KIDS at the zoo the other night after 7pm? Don't they know it's simply spun sugar? They were selling packages the size of pillows. Isn't that illegal? Will the kids ever come down from that high?
by Daddy

Happy / proud / mad - Tuesday, December 21, 2004
OK - Yemisi has this thing now where she likes to pull off my speaker grille protectors, which i put on there so she can't damage the actual speakers. Well I managed to get her to understand that I don't like it when she takes the living room ones off, so while I was watching TV in the living room, she went to the bedroom, pulled the speaker grille off and brought it to me with a smile. I wanted to keep a straight face and be like "No, don't do that" but I kept cracking up, and she kept doing it. I did try to walk with her back to the bedroom and say "No, don't do that" and pop it back on, but since I was giggling, I doubt she took me seriously. She must have done it like 8 times. Maybe I should just leave the grilles off.
It reminds me of a friend of mine whose daughter learned to write her name and she was so proud but when she got home that day her daughter had written her name in different color markers all over all the walls. She was happy and proud, but she was mad. She just didn't know what to do!
by Daddy

Aunt Leah - Monday, December 20, 2004
When we leave the apartment, Yemisi often likes to go next door and knock on our neighbours door. She acts like she doesn't understand that sometimes Aunt Leah is asleep or not home.
by Daddy

The Stairs - Sunday, December 19, 2004
Yemisi refuses to let me carry her down the stairs now, so she always walks down holding my hand - of course she snatches her hand back when we get to the bottom of the stairs. She's really good at walking down stairs now!
by Daddy

Low Chair - Saturday, December 18, 2004
I just found out I could lower the high chair so it's really convenient to feed her / lend a hand if necessary. She's getting really good at feeding herself these days - and not just finger foods either. She ate a bowl of yogurt all by herself!
by Daddy

Ummmm - Friday, December 17, 2004
Yemisi fed herself red beans and rice today. Why did I find some on her back when I took her out of the high chair?
by Daddy

Happy! - Thursday, December 16, 2004
The new word of the day is Happy! (sometimes also pronounced "Habby")
by Daddy

Body Parts - Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Yemisi's excuse for pinching and grabbing my nose all day today has been that she's learning how to pronounce "nose". So she assaults me and my poor nose and grabs it and twists it and says sweetly "noooose". And apparently that makes it all ok.
by Daddy

6 months to life. - Tuesday, December 14, 2004
I was telling my friend Bruce that Yemisi is finally figuring out how to open the doors (we have knobs here not handles)- she's been opening doors with handles for months now. So I was telling Bruce - I'm not worried about it, I'll just install these child proof knob covers so she can't open the doors still and he said "Yeah, that'll buy you another 6 months". I thought that was hilarious, but I'd be surprised if it even buys me that much time!
by Daddy

Black Patent Leather Shoes - Monday, December 13, 2004
Yemisi has this new thing where she's always trying to put on her shoes by herself, even just to walk around at home. She especially loves her black patent leather shoes, which she almost went to sleep in last night.
by Daddy

The Sweetest Kisses - Sunday, December 12, 2004
I'm always trying to get Yemisi to hug and kiss me "gimme a hug" "gimme a kiss" and she absolutely knows what I'm saying but doesnt like to do it on command. A few minutes after I've asked though, she'll come up to me, get me to bend down and she plant a wet one right on my nose. :-)
by Daddy

A Ha! - Friday, December 10, 2004
I usually have a bath in the morning before Yemisi wakes up - but this particular morning I was too busy to do that so I had to let her roam around in the living room while I had a quick shower. Well, when I got out of the bathroom, I saw her run away from my desk out of the corner of my eye and upon closer inspection, I found a yogurty handprint on my monitor!
by Daddy

She Understands - Thursday, December 9, 2004
I walked into the living room to find Yemisi holding this vase that she knows she shouldn't have touched. (It's clay and would be hard to break) Well I immediately said to her "Put that back" in Yoruba and she turned around and put it right back where she found it. I walked away like it wasn't a big deal but I was really excited! :-)
by Daddy

Hide and Go Seek - Wednesday, December 8, 2004
Well, I've always liked hiding and stuff and having Yemisi find me but she already knows my hiding places so it doesn't take long to find me, so I have to take extra steps if I want to stay ahead. So... I ran off and hid in the bathroom - she often doesn't check the bathroom immediately if the lights are off in there - because I'm never in there in the dark, and she checked in the bedroom, didn't find me and went back to check in the kitchen. Well, I decided it would be absolutely brilliant to run into the bedroom behind her back and leave the bathroom light on so she would think I was in there and perhaps wouldn't check the bedroom immediately because she had just checked there. I still think it was an airtight plan - the problem was in the execution. I guess I'm not quite as nimble as I once was, because in my short dash from the bathroom to the bedroom, I made enough noise for Yemisi to immediately turn around and catch me flying through the air and yell "Ha!"
by Daddy

No hugs for wet people. - Tuesday, December 7, 2004
Once again I had to shower while Yemisi was awake and I had to lock the bathroom door. She wailed the whole time I was in there (Maybe 3 whole minutes) and when I came to the door, her face was bone dry! Clearly she wasn't even really crying! Nonetheless, I picked her up and asked for a hug. She put her arms out but refused to wrap them around me, and I'm pretty sure it's because I was wet!
by Daddy

Yemisi looks taller today - Friday, November 12, 2004
But yesterday...

While sitting around gloating with my daddy friends about our superior childproofing skills, and how we had completely childproofed all the cupboards and stuff, one by one, my friends started to tell horror stories about how their babies had figured out how to unlatch the childproof cupboard latches. I laughed and said "you must not have done it properly. ask a real man to come over and help you next time hahaha!" Well, yesterday Yemisi ripped open a kitchen cupboard. She didn't even bother to figure out how to unlatch it, she just brute forced it - all the screws fell out and everything from the childproof latches. Booohooo.
by Daddy

Busted Magician - Tuesday, November 9, 2004
Well, it's like this. I thought I was a pretty good magician. At least to someone who is only 18 months and 1 week old. She came up to me and put a Teddy Graham (tm) in my palm and i covered my hand with my other hand and she pulled it off, i covered it again and she pulled it off, and pretty soon we had a game going. Sooooo, one of the times that this poor abused Teddy Graham (tm) was covered by my left hand, I performed a little "slight of hand" and slid the cookie between two of my fingers so that the next time she pulled my left hand off, my right hand would "magically" be empty. Well, one second after she saw my hand was allegedly empty, she looked on the floor, as that was the most logical place for it to be (I guess she doesnt believe in magic, poor skeptical baby) and when she found nothing on the floor, she immediately reached UNDER my hand and found the hidden cookie. I fooled her for about 0.3 seconds. Not bad hunh?
by Daddy

I outsmarted a 1 year old! - Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Yemisi and I were leaving the Children's Museum - well, I was leaving the Children's Museum, dragging Yemisi. She kept trying to go back and I caught her between my legs so she was trapped and was trying to run through my legs so she could go back in. Well, I picked up her legs and spun her around a couple of times, ending with her in a position to go on towards the car. I guess the spinning confused her sufficiently, and she ran towards the car thinking she was running towards the entrance. Yay! Daddy 1, Yemisi 0. Hahahahaha.
by Daddy

Help! - Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Yemisi likes to climb up in the chair beside mine at my desk so she can climb up onto and / or reach things on my desk - you have to understand - Daddy's Computer Desk is like The Promised Land to a baby - everything on there is shiny, lights up and beeps. Well, what I do is whenever she starts climbing up on the chair, i move it so that she can't reach anything from there, and she understands and even thinks it's kind of funny that I have to resort to that. Well, that's all over now. I just moved the chair, and she moved it back and is on the desk as I type this. Help me!!
by Daddy

I'm sleepy - Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Funny thing just happened - Yemisi woke up unusually early, so I gave her breakfast (sliced bananas and milk) and continued working while she watched Blues Clues. Well, when I looked up about 20 minutes later, as she was unusually quiet, she wasn't in the living room any more. She had gone to the bedroom, climbed in bed and was completely asleep. I wish that happened more often! :-)
by Daddy

Autumn - Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Yemisi LOVES the sound of crunching leaves under her feet. It takes ten minutes to walk to or from the car now!
by Daddy

Zoo / Carousel - Wednesday, October 20, 2004
We went to the Houston Zoo, and we were actually trying to go to the children's section where the petting zoo is, and Yemisi saw a carousel and walked towards it and stared at it wistfully. I have taken her on a carousel before at the mall, and she hated it a lot. Well, the workers at the carousel at the zoo said "why don't you take her on it?" and I replied well she's been on one before and she hated it - they then offered to let us ride for free just to see if perhaps she would like it a bit better, and I decided to give it a shot. Well, the last time she was on a carousel, she was on a horse and I was of course standing beside her holding her so I decided to try something different this time - we found one of the seats on the carousel and sat. Well, she still hates carousels.
by Daddy

Daddy's Stereo Game - Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Unfortunately Yemisi is tall enough to twiddle the knobs on my CD changer and she does this whenever she feels like it. I then sternly say "NO" and move her away from there and find something else for her to do. Well sometimes if she comes right back, I have to gently flick her hand and say again "NO". This hurts her feelings more than anything and she sometimes starts crying, so I get on my knees and hug her and tell her I love her but when I say no she should listen. When she gets a hug, she brightens up and goes off on another adventure and leaves my stereo alone.

I never looked at it this way before, but my friend Jacky (who has 3 kids) witnessed this strange ritual of ours a couple of times and pointed out to me that this is clearly a game to Yemisi - she's probably thinking to herself - watch this - I'm not getting the attention I need, but if I push this button, Daddy'll come running and I'll probably get a hug out of the deal. Hmmmmm...
by Daddy

How did she know? - Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Yemisi and I were laying around playing, as usual, and she, as she sometimes does, put one of her toys near my mouth and I held on to it with my teeth as she tried to get it away from me. Usually she's able to, but this time I had a good grip on it and I was definitely not going to let it go. Well, she stopped struggling with me for a minute, it seemed like she was pausing to think, and then she reached over and pinched my nose shut, and when I needed to breathe I had to open my mouth and she snatched her toy! How did she know that would work!?
by Daddy

No Sticky - Thursday, October 7, 2004
Hahahahaha - this *just* happened - Yemisi and I were dancing, (with me on my knees so I would be the right height) when she suddenly stopped and pointed to the fridge and said "Fige" and I said "yes baby that's the fridge" and she kept pointing, and I figured out she wanted the Daffy Duck fridge magnet I have on there, so I grabbed it and gave it to her. It's usually at her level so she can play with it, but I guess I put it up on the freezer door this time - so she knows that it sticks to the fridge door. Sooooo she tried to stick the magnet to my head and looked at me like I was defective when it fell to the floor.
by Daddy

Hide and Seek - Thursday, September 23, 2004
Ok - there's this little game I play with Yemisi - sometimes when I get the feeling she's following me around, I'll walk into my bedroom quickly and immediately spin around and get on my hands and knees right in the doorway so when she comes following me around the corner, she literally comes face to face with me and she falls on the floor and laughs and laughs. Sometimes she'll remember and kind of walk "wide" around the corner so she can see me and I can't surprise her. Well, now it looks like she knows to check all the time now, so I had to step the game up a bit.

So, today I ran round the corner in the bedroom and dashed over to the other side of the bed and she came in the room (i could see her feet from under the bed) and she was at first surprised then upset not to find me. So, not wanting her to cry, I made a bit of a whistling noise from my hiding place and she came and found me and we laughed together and everything was fine. Well, a little later, she came to meet me in the kitchen where I was putting dishes in the dishwasher, and she patted my leg, squealed and ran away. A sure sign that she wanted to be chased. Not really wanting to do housework anyway, I followed her a few seconds later. One guess where Yemisi was hiding in the bedroom! It was so cute and funny!
by Daddy

Butter. - Monday, September 13, 2004
Yemisi got her hands on a stick of butter. Again. I don't even want to talk about it.
by Daddy

Let's take a long walk - Wednesday, September 8, 2004
Ever since Yemisi could walk without any assistance, she's been very much against holding my hand, and she is *very* independent, which means that often, when we're out, she wants to do her own thing. This is often quite inconvenient so I usually carried her, or pushed her in her stroller or in a shopping cart, but recently, I have let her walk around and she in turn has become more amenable to allowing me to hold her hand and guide her where I'm going too. I think she's figured out that this way she gets to stay out of the stroller longer. Very cool!
by Daddy

Hello Kitty - Wednesday, September 8, 2004
Ok - I've heard about this before, but never actually SEEN it. Yemisi and I were at the local Blockbuster video store and she recognized a doll from tv and her bag and I think a couple of other things she has - a little white soft Hello Kitty doll. She grabbed it and hugged it really tight and smiled a HUGE smile, and since it was on sale - I ended up paying under $3 for it, I went ahead and got it for her. She wouldn't let it out of her sight as we ran a couple of other errands and went home. When we got home, as soon as I had a spare moment, I helped her cut the doll out of the cardboard box so she could play with the doll properly. Well, imagine my surprise when she walked away cuddling the EMPTY BOX!!!!! I could have gotten that for free! Is she kidding?
by Daddy

Hey! - Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Yemisi is hilarious - she has absolute favorite things to do in different places. For example, at one of my friend's offices, there's a plant in the corner that has a fake butterfly in it and whenever we go there, she rushes over to the plant and grabs the butterfly and hangs on to it the whole time we're there. Luckily, she has no trouble letting it go at the end of the visit. Also, when we go to the children's museum, she loves to run over to one of two attractions - first the tower of bubbles, which is this floor to ceiling glass tube filled with water that has bubbles floating upwards and is lit with different colors. Then after that, it's off to the "Dancing Camera", which is where she can dance and see herself on a screen right in front of her. Maybe I should make one of those at home. Hmmmm....
by Daddy

Oh, and - Thursday, August 26, 2004
Also last night, Yemisi took my cellphone off the charger in the bedroom and took it to the living room and tried to put it in the cellphone pocket of the diaper bag!
by Daddy

Wow - Thursday, August 26, 2004
Last night was crazy! I haven't lost my mind, but seriously, this is what went on.
(i) I found one of the white cushions from the living room under the bed.
(ii) Yemisi can apparently unzip a bag now. There was a bag full of clothes and I caught Yemisi taking clothes out of it, so I zipped it up, wondering how I could have been so careless as to leave it unzipped. I walked out of the room and came back a minute later with a magazine so I could sit and hang out with her, and SHE HAD IT OPEN AGAIN!!!
(iii) I figured out that I had the bathroom so completely babyproofed that I actually knew she was in there and I left her there expecting her to follow me out. She followed me, alright. Carrying a basket of pot pourri! She then proceeded to try and fit the circular bits of pot pourri into her toy that you put balls into.

It was a crazy crazy night!
by Daddy

Open Letter to Yemisi - Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Dearest Yemisi,
Not everything that comes out of the microwave belongs to you. Please refrain from leaping up and running over to the kitchen whenever you hear the microwave make the "ding" noise. Other people eat too. Thank you.
Daddy.
by Daddy

1-2-3 - Tuesday, August 24, 2004
I was cutting Yemisi's nails last night and as always, I counted her nails as I cut them. Well, this time, after I had cut the first nail, she said "one"!!! before I had even said anything! Then I cut the second nail, and she said "dooooooo" (sounded like two) and then when I cut the third nail, she said "Teeeeeeee" - with NO prompting from me!! Well, after that, every nail was "Teeeee". But hey! That's incredible!
by Daddy

Peek A Boo! - Tuesday, August 24, 2004
In keeping with the game we play all the time, Yemisi came walking up to me just now and pulled her shirt over her head so I couldn't see her face and said "Peeka!". I nearly died laughing. Almost forgot to say "Boo" so she could take the shirt down. Hahahahahha!
by Daddy

Grow up! - Thursday, August 19, 2004
Hahahaha - Yemisi was sitting on the couch with me watching tv, and then she decided to climb down to go and do something else. Well, when she made it to the floor, I applauded loudly and cheered "Yaaaaay!" like I always did when she was learning to climb down. At first she ignored me, but when I wouldn't stop, she looked at me like "Ummm if you're still excited about that, there's something wrong with you." So, I've been told to get over it, and it's not that big a deal. This from someone who used to wait for the applause. Hmmph.
by Daddy

Chicken Nuggets float! - Thursday, August 19, 2004
Ok - so Yemisi and i were eating dinner and I had a drink in a cold cup type of mug - blackcurrant juice (Ribena) and she took a couple of sips and I even let her drink a little without my help. Well, I grabbed the cup to take a sip and i noticed something kind of move in the cup, and I thought to myself - strange, I don't remember putting ice in this drink. I took a sip anyway. Then I looked down. Aaaaaargh! It was one of Yemisi's chicken nuggets floating in my drink. No wonder my juice tasted oily!
by Daddy

Jacuzzi - Thursday, August 12, 2004
This is all my fault. One morning when I was giving Yemisi a bath, I thought it would be fun to splash the water around REALLY hard, sort of like a jacuzzi. Yemisi really liked that, and it was cool. BUT now every time she gets in the tub, if I don't do the jacuzzi thing, she does it herself, and needless to say, now a Yemisi bath now involves cleaning the floor afterwards. Aaaargh!
by Daddy

Emergency Sandwich - Saturday, August 7, 2004
Ok - most of the stories are about Yemisi, but here's one about me. She's in it too of course :-)

We went to the Children's Museum and had a great time, and as usual Yemisi fell asleep in the car on the way home. Well, on the drive, I decided I wasn't in the mood to cook and I wanted to buy myself lunch from Quiznos or Jason's Deli or somewhere, and as we pulled up right in front of one, Yemisi was sleeping so peacefully I didn't have the heart to wake her up and take her in, so I waited until I saw a kind looking person. A couple of minutes later, a nice lady walked up to the door of the Quizno's, right where I was parked and I asked her very nicely if she could buy me lunch for me, of course I had the money out so she wouldn't think I was begging for free food. I explained that my daughter was asleep and she peeped in the back of the car and saw her and immediately agreed and turned down my offer to pay for her lunch as well. She had a Quizno's employee bring me my drink and change, and she brought out my sandwich a couple of minutes later. Cool!
by Daddy

Put that down! - Wednesday, August 4, 2004
Yemisi is getting too tall too fast. I am rapidly running out of places to put things when I don't want her to touch them. Even my computer table isn't a challenge any more. She can reach things up to 10 inches in now! She grabbed my organizer, and I took it from her, put it on the table, and pushed it away from the edge and when I came back from the kitchen, she had it in her hands again! What am I going to do?
by Daddy

A Note from The Boss - Wednesday, August 4, 2004
So i'm standing in front of the closet trying to remember why i opened it, and what I'm looking for - don't laugh - you know it's happened to you too. Well Yemisi came up behind me and tried to get around me to go in the closet and dig around in stuff, and I wouldn't let her. So she looks up at me, right in the eye, and then goes around to the other side and pushes the door shut, like "Well, if I can't go in there, nobody's going in there." Ummm, I pay the bills around here, little girl.

I can go wherever I want.
by Daddy

Rubber Ducky, You're The One - Wednesday, August 4, 2004
Hey - I found out what makes the quacking rubber ducky quack. Apparently Yemisi has known about this for a long time. It has 2 conductors underneath it and when you put it in water, it quacks! Wow.
by Daddy

Milk - Monday, July 26, 2004
Wow, Yemisi should be hired as a Milk Disposal Consultant or something, because it doesnt matter how much milk I buy, she'll drink it all. I just lugged two gallons of milk home, and we still had a half gallon left. I never drank much milk and certainly wouldn't buy a whole gallon, as it would definitely go bad before I finished it...

Hey - how come nobody ever made milk concentrate? Like there is Ribena and stuff where you add water and you can make lots and lots of juice and not have to carry a whole bucket of juice home, just add water. Ooops, they do - it's called powdered milk hahhahhaa.
by Daddy

Uh Oh - Monday, July 26, 2004
Yemisi is a couple of days away from opening the fridge by herself. If I open the fridge a bit she can grab the handle and pull it open all the way. I guess with a tiny bit more practice, she'll be able to do it herself. What she doesn't know, is that I have a childproof fridge latch waiting for her hehehhehe...
by Daddy

Big Girl Wipes - Monday, July 26, 2004
I just changed Yemisi's diaper, and those baby wipes seem to be shrinking. I remember when I would cover her whole body like a blanket with a baby wipe. Now I have to bunch like 2 or 3 of them together to even wipe her effectively.
by Daddy

Laundry Day - Monday, July 26, 2004
Yemisi came up to me and I picked her up and put her in my lap. I noticed that the top part of her onesie was wet, probably from her new habit of drinking water and then dribbling it down the front of her shirt for fun.

I went ahead and immediately took her onesie off, and she took it from me, climbed off my lap and walked away quite purposefully with it in her hand. Curious, I followed her and she walked straight into the bedroom and put the onesie in the dirty clothes hamper! Hurray! We got ourselves a tidy one. I wonder how long this will last... :-)
by Daddy

Bath Time Baby - Saturday, July 24, 2004
Giving Yemisi a bath is probably the easiest thing ever. I hear I'm really lucky that all I have to do at bathtime is walk into the bathroom and run the water and she'll come running and practically climb into the tub by herself!
by Daddy

New Things - Saturday, July 24, 2004
It's the coolest thing to see Yemisi react to new things. This morning I got up really early to clean up, and I put items that need to go into the bedroom on the floor in the hallway, so I wouldn't wake her up and I'd take them in there later. Well she woke up, and I forgot them there. She later went to the pile and pulled out a stainless steel shoe horn and inspected it, turned it over in her hands, licked it, shook it, listened to it, rubbed it and walked around with it. I think I even saw her talking to it!
by Daddy

Forensic Butter - Thursday, July 22, 2004
OK - where do I start? This is a reenactment of a crime I did not witness.

Yemisi came up to my desk and she seemed to be covered in sick - I thought she threw up and I immediately sprang into action, BUT she was smiling quite broadly. I paused for a second and I looked closer at the "sick" - it didnt smell like vomit... I stuck my finger in it and gingerly tasted it. It was butter!

She must have stood up on her tippy toes and managed to grab the butter I had left on the counter to soften a little so we could make pancakes! I couldn't believe it. Now we had bits of butter EVERYWHERE, the kitchen floor was greasy and so was she. Gross. Note to self, don't understimate the sneakiness…
by Daddy

The Great Pretender - Monday, July 19, 2004
Yemisi knows what a phone is! This is a factual statement. She's always on the phone with either me, or daddy, always. For the first time, that I've noticed, Yemisi knows how to pretend! She has this little green key chain; extremely tiny, fits in the palm of Yemisi's hand; it's basically a tiny little book. Well, on numerous occasions, since 04:00 this morning, she's been putting this book to her ear; babbling as though she is talking to someone, not me, and not looking at me. I think I've just witnessed my baby's first make-believe!
Yemisi is so cool!
by Mummy

Memories... - Sunday, July 18, 2004
I wonder if Yemisi remembers when she couldnt sit up, crawl or even walk and think back and say to herself, wow - i've come a long way. I know I do.
by Daddy

I control the TV - Saturday, July 17, 2004
Sometimes Yemisi tends to try to ignore me when she's watching something on tv, so what I do is i turn off the tv so she has nothing else to stare at and then responds to me. Well, this time, I turned off the TV with the remote - I was sitting on the couch, and she walked over to the TV and fiddled with it until she turned it back on! Then she looked back at me and smiled. I liked her better when she was a baby. This toddler business... hahahahaha!
by Daddy

Daddy's Discovery - Saturday, July 17, 2004
Hey! I just found out that Yemisi's plastic keys jingle like metal keys when they are dropped or tossed or thrown. Wow they didn't have that when I was a baby. Maybe I can play with hers when she's asleep.
by Daddy

Dan and the suckers - Friday, July 16, 2004
We went to pick up a check from a client today, and Yemisi walked in holding a yellow lollipop she got from the bank earlier, still in the wrapper. So we walked in and my "friend" Dan said "hey that baby's got 2 suckers!"

Hahahaha! THEN he went on to say - and they're the same color! - I was wearing a yellow shirt. he got me good. I'll get him back though...
by Daddy

Lost & Found - Tuesday, July 13, 2004
If anything goes missing here, Yemisi knows where it is. We need to start a Lost and Found Dept over here! Here is a short list of the things that have gone missing around here, and where it was found...
Brushes, combs and a leather bookmark - in the shredder bin (shredder has been disconnected for months)
Cellphone - in my shoes
Pens - in the dirty clothes hamper
Nail clippers and toothpaste - clean clothes hamper
My watch - toilet
Case for my earpiece - in the diaper box
Ice Age DVD - under the couch
2 bottles of cologne - an empty drawer in the kitchen
If what you are looking for is not on this list, please keep checking. It'll turn up. Trust me.
by Daddy

The Watch - Monday, July 12, 2004
Well, the manufacturers of my watch will be proud to learn that it survived The Tinky Test. She took the watch, walked around with it all day, dropped it a few times, and eventually tried to flush it down the toilet. The watch is ok, but I'm upset! My poor watch!
by Daddy

Mt. Daddy - Sunday, July 11, 2004
Wow I was lying on the couch with all the goodies - the remote, my phone, my cellphone, my organizer and my earpiece on the back of the couch so she couldnt reach them, and she looked up and saw them and i said "that's right. those are daddy's all those toys down there are yours - play with those.", and she promptly pulled herself up, climbed up my chest and grabbed the remote! I had no idea she could climb on the couch (and me)! Aren't there laws against that kind of thing? Where am I supposed to put my things now?
by Daddy

The Fridge Door - Saturday, July 10, 2004
Well well, aren't we getting smart? Yemisi was fooling around in the fridge so I poured her a sippy cup of juice and held it just out of her reach so she would have to move out of the way of the fridge door to get it from me, and I would be able to shut it. Well, she toddled towards me a little, looked back and figured out that if she took one more step, I would be able to shut the fridge door, so she kind of used her foot to hold the door open and stretch towards me to grab the cup! I wish she would use all this planning, plotting and scheming to eat her dinner!
by Daddy

Ruby Tangerine - Friday, July 9, 2004
We like playing with "found objects" that are child safe and not choking hazards around the house. Tinky the Explorer likes to check out new objects and do all sorts of experiments - lick them, bang them, tap them to see how they sound etc. Today, I let her have an empty bottle of ruby tangerine without the top. She took it with her and did her little experiments and stuff and everything was fine. Now, later on - perhaps 2 hours, she came to my table and I was working on something and she saw my watch, one of her favorite objects, and she cried for it. I told her I am absolutely not giving it to her - see "Lost and Found" article - and she got a bit upset and i ended up compromising and giving her the top to the ruby tangerine bottle, which was still on my desk. Well, she immediately stopped crying, turned around and ran off to the bottle and screwed the top on it! I couldn't believe it!
by Daddy

Great Save! - Saturday, July 3, 2004
Yemisi was sitting on my lap, watching me webcam with my friend Steve in California - he wanted to say hi to her, and she was drinking some milk, when all of a sudden she lost her grip on her bottle and it fell - she *quickly* crossed her legs at the ankles and caught her bottle then leaned forward to pick it up with her hands. Wow!
by Daddy

I see - Monday, June 28, 2004
I'd just taken Yemisi out of the tub in her bathroom and sat on the seat to dry her off. She looked up and noticed the two duckie designs on the wall. She just stared with her mouth gaped open...I think she was bewildered, perplexed, or something. In baby gibberish she said "Ah boo gee beh sst. I interpreted this to mean: "what is that?" I said "its two duckies." Yemisi said "I see." Hmmmm.
by Mummy

Outsmarted! - Sunday, June 27, 2004
OK So i went ahead and bought a toy that has different shaped blocks - circles, squares etc. and different shaped holes in the top of the bucket to push them through, so Yemisi could satisfy her craving to put things into other things....

Well Why Oh Why did she take one look at the toy, not like the situation and open the top of the toy and start shoving the bocks directly into the bucket? Shouldn't that lid like stay shut or something? She shouldn't be able to get around it like that! I protest! Yes, I even showed her how you're supposed to push the blocks through the holes, she just laughed at me like "Wow you're dumber than I thought" as she simply took the top off. Hmmph.
by Daddy

The Last Straw - Friday, June 25, 2004
I found a pre-owned chicken McNugget in my shoe today!

OK a little background - in the last week, week and a half, Yemisi has been seriously enjoying putting things INTO things - like a golf ball into this toy can, peekablocks into my shoes, spoons into her ball slide etc. But food in shoes?

When the rain stops we're going to see if we can find her one of those cool toys where you put different things into holes in the top of the toy. This has got to stop. My shoes!
by Daddy

Toot Toot - Tuesday, June 22, 2004
I laid Yemisi down to change her diaper today. She had been carrying a plastic clairnet all morning; blowing into it as she's done since she got it last Christmas. She'd never been able to produce a melody, but this time she did! I watched her face as blew and made the "toot toot" come out; first slowly, then rapidly. She looked at me out of the corner of her eye, not wanting to break stride; smiled and kept going. She knew she'd done something special.
by Mummy

Ooops - I'm sorry! - Sunday, June 20, 2004
So, Yemisi was walking around and trying to dance at the same time when all of a sudden she dropped to crawling position and put something in her mouth. I immediately jumped up and stuck my fingers in her mouth to check what she had - i suspected it was carpet lint or something - it was a Cheerio! I was so apologetic - and she looked at me in horror like - oh so now i can't put FOOD in my mouth? Hahahahaha!
by Daddy

Walking... - Sunday, June 20, 2004
Wow! Looks like crawling is going out of style - Yemisi walks at will now, and is getting steadier and steadier! Now she can help carry groceries from the car! :-)
by Daddy

That's my song! - Wednesday, June 16, 2004
LOL

i'm getting the dirty clothes together in the bedroom and Tinky is sitting on the bed, and she was drinking her bottle and i was going back and forth with clothes and the song Jesus Walks by Kanye West came on and she snatched the unfinished bottle out of her mouth, screamed and started rocking!
by Daddy

Pigeons in the Park - Sunday, June 13, 2004
Yemisi and I went to Herman Park as we often do, and on the walk back to the car, she saw a flock of fat, domesticated pigeons walking around looking for crumbs and she quickened her pace as she approached them. When she got pretty close, a couple of them flew off, and Yemisi ran back towards me! She approached them a couple more times and when they flew towards her she ran back to me again. I think she enjoyed that - she didn't seem to be scared.
by Daddy

Last bite, honey - Sunday, June 13, 2004
Sometimes Yemisi doesnt want to eat her food - she just wants her bottle. Thing about that is if you let her get away with it, a bottle doesn't go very far - she'll be hungry again VERY soon, so i try my best to make sure she eats actual food as opposed to just her bottle - so... sometimes when she's turning her head and twisting like she doesn't want any / more food, I can tell her "last bite" and she'll take it, 'cos she knows what i mean and then she'll smile. I think she's as happy as I am that we understand each other :-)
by Daddy

Diapers go in the trash - Monday, June 7, 2004
So, I was in the bathroom shaving, and Yemisi came in, as usual, wondering what I was up to as usual. I chatted with her for a second and then continued shaving. After a few seconds, I noticed some Tinky movement out of the corner of my eye, and lo and behold, she was taking off her diaper. It was time to change her anyway, so i decided to let her keep it off and I would put a new diaper on when I finished. Well, a second or two later, she opened the little step trash can and started stuffing her diaper into it!!
by Daddy

One foot, then the other foot... - Thursday, June 3, 2004
I was cooking dinner last night and Yemisi was playing in the living room. As I was cracking the last egg, she crawled around the corner into the kitchen, stood up, at first holding a cupboard, and WALKED towards me, arms outstretched! She walked kinda sideways, but hey - progress is progress, right? It's amazing how exciting it is to watch someone learn to walk! Things we take for granted...
by Daddy

Brush my teeth, man! - Monday, May 31, 2004
When I brush Yemisi's teeth I sit her on my lap and I sit on the edge of the bed (i know, i know, we brush teeth in the bathroom, whatever). It's more comfortable for me that way, and then I put the baby toothpaste on the nightstand and then take her to rinse her mouth and rinse off the toothbrush, so I leave the toothbrush in the bathroom by the sink. Well, this morning, she came and brought her toothpaste to me, and then went to look for the toothbrush. I thought that was too cute, and went ahead and brushed her 6 teeth. We're communicating!
by Daddy

Bless You! - Sunday, May 30, 2004
BIG NEWS!!

I was lying on the couch working on my iPaq and Yemisi was on the floor playing and the movie Moulin Rouge was playing in the background. I sneezed, and Yemisi immediately said "s.u." loud and clear! We always tell her bless you when she sneezes, so I think she's learning! Wow!
by Daddy

The Fridge - Sunday, May 30, 2004
hahahahaha

2 things just now.

i'm getting ready to cook lunch, and i was getting stuff out of the fridge, and as usual, Yemisi came crawling up, when she saw the fridge open. she dropped her toy, Clack-Clack on the floor and pulled herself up and started poking around.Usually i immediately remove her from the vicinity of the kitchen when this happens, but this time i decided to leave her alone. she poked around for a minute, basically carried out an inspection and slid a couple of things around, but didn't throw anything out, and eventually she shut the door and went back to her toy. Wow.

So, as I was thinking to myself - wow so that's all she wanted? perhaps i shouldn't have chased her away from the fridge all those times.. and i went into the living room and saw a diaper on the floor. HER diaper! She had somehow gotten out of it, and I didn't notice, because she's wearing a dress!

Too funny!
by Daddy

Super Proton Pill - Sunday, May 30, 2004
Man!

It's like Yemisi got a hold of a super proton pill today

(by the way she took a couple of steps in the bathroom -after the incident i will describe below)

well today yemisi is having a strong day. she had a remote that i let her have - i think the remote that originally came with my cd player, with no batteries in it, and she took it to the bathroom and was getting ready to toss it and flush it, so i rushed up and grabbed it from her and i COULD NOT get it out of her little grasp!

I was all shocked and stuff! and she had the nerve to laugh in my face. "now what, biyatch?"

hahahhahaa!

and THEN, in keeping with the super strength of the day, she managed to get the little white knob thing off of the spring thing that's supposed to stop the door from hitting the wall, and popped it in her mouth before i could stop her (didnt even know they came off!) so i washed my hand real quick and tried to get it out of her mouth, and she was straight blocking like tae kwon do! I really could not do it! So, I started laughing (nervously - like what do i do if she decides she's taking over?) and she started laughing too, and it fell out. Phew!

I need to hire a bodyguard or something. Maybe I should try working out. Might be embarrasing if i cant armwrestle a one year old!
by Daddy

Oatmeal & doors - Monday, May 17, 2004
I had been trying to feed her stage 3 oatmeal, and she hasn't been liking it - It looked the same to me, but now I've tasted it, and its coarser. We went back to the stage 2 version, and everything is just lovely.

She loves to shut the bedroom door now, while she's in it and then starts crying cos she's trapped lol. I had something to stop her from shutting her hand and hurting herself, but now I've just added a peek a block in the way so she cant shut the door all the way, and thus cant get trapped in there, so I don't have to get up every time she decides she wants to practise her door shutting skills.
by Daddy