and then one day...

she started doing this...

i have no idea where she gets it from.

purple pancakes!

it has now been a week that penny is completely pacifier-free.  this took us months of preparation, about 3 days of actual lead time, and brilliant conspirators (our downstairs neighbors).  when we first started thinking about giving up the pacifier, i had a brainstorm while walking home from the subway.
penny's favorite meal, hands down, is breakfast; and her favorite breakfast food is pancakes.  alex makes them on saturdays as a treat for all of us.  penny's favorite color is purple.  what if we combined those things and made the ultimate reward - purple pancakes?  i proposed the idea to penny and she seemed really into it.  we took all of the pacifiers out of her room, went through her normal nighttime routine and told her that if she made it through the night with no pacifier - purple pancakes in the morning.  she did not make it 5 minutes.  but we kept talking about it.  she kept reminding us that when she gave up her pacifier she would have purple pancakes.  we talked about how when she got too big for stuff we gave it to the babies we knew.  her old bear butt pants and teething bracelet were at baby desmond's house.  when she outgrew clothing, we put it in a box outside for the babies in the neighborhood.  when we found a random jar of baby food in our house, we gave it to baby luke, younger brother of penny's boyfriend noah, who live downstairs.  penny gradually got accustomed to the idea that when she was too big for her "pa"s, she would be giving them to baby luke.  last week, i was taking thursday off of work, so on tuesday, alex told penny she only had a few more days with her "pa".  on wednesday, shee took her last nap with the "pa" and went to bed for the last time with it.  i sent an email to the downstairs neighbors outlining our plan and asking their schedule (and permission).  on thursday morning we woke up, had breakfast, wrapped up the pacifiers in a gift bag, and knocked on the neighbors' door.  penny gave baby luke her "pa"s so sweetly, and showed him her monster, which i had asked her to bring downstairs so she could show him what she was going to be sleeping with now.  it all went so smoothly, and everyone was so excited.  (i wish i had pictures of this, but alex and i were too involved in the process to bring a camera, and i couldn't figure out how to use the neighbor's.  picture it in your mind.) penny and i then went to her dance class and i did my best to tire her out for her nap time.  there was protest before naptime.  there may have been a tantrum.  there was also a three hour nap.  penny woke up happy and refreshed.  all was good!  we went back out, played and ran around, ate dinner, and had a smaller protest before bedtime.  in the morning, as promised, purple pancakes!

there are no good photos of them - something about photographing them makes them look like meat.  

in the end, they turned out to be purple peanut butter banana pancakes, and they were super delicious!  it was a day of celebration!  we called all of the grandparents and told them the good news!  saturday was even more celebratory!  we went out for two different ice creams!  we've kept it exciting!  even now, a week into it, she has asked if we have them back yet, but it's getting to be less and less of an issue.  every adult we've told has been so supportive and helpful in acknowledging the awesomeness of penny's achievement  big step!  she's such a big girl!

apparently today is...

lucky penny day!

a glimpse at the future

this morning, penny took alex's glasses, put them on and told him "i'm the daddy now!"

i am so jealous of her complexion.  i hope she keeps it forever.

the playground is open!

there is a playground two blocks away from us that has been completely closed for a year - and it opened last friday!  we have been eagerly watching the construction progress, and it looked amazing from behind the fences.  it is EVEN BETTER than we anticipated.  the only downside is how crowded it gets, but that is no surprise considering how FULL OF AWESOME this playground is.  expect to see MANY more photos from here.

when i got home tonight, penny and i were chatting with the babysitter about her day.  i noticed she was a little bit mush mouthed and hard to understand, but i chalked that up to her being tired and the pacifier in her mouth.  she has a ritual of walking the sitters out and giving them "muffins and cookies" that she "bakes" under the stairs, but she's not allowed to bring her pacifier downstairs.  when she took her pacifier out, i noticed that her cheek was really swollen.  i know she's getting her molars, but this was pretty bad - only on one side, and it looked like she had just gotten a wisdom tooth pulled.  when i asked her what was wrong, and touched her cheek, it was as hard as a rock.  instant panic!  what do mumps look like?  is that only on one side?  how long had it been like that?  the sitter hadn't noticed, so probably not that long...
"it's a carrot, mama"
apparently, she had kept a half of a baby carrot in her cheek for at least an hour and a half.

the rent is too damn high!

Every time Alex would say, "Penny, can you come out please?" she would slam the door and say, "No! I live in here now forever!"

Corn!

Happy Mother's Day!