Hey what?

Hey-Tec! Hey-Tec! Hey-Tec!

Now run back and forth with the dog screaming that over and over and over.  Hey-Tec is the name of the game Lilli created for when we play fetch with Taz.  Maybe it was just her mispronunciation of Hey-Taz, but it has stuck for a while now.

Lilli has quite the imagination on her, she's oozing with creativity and sometimes I'm at a loss to how to direct it.  Luckily, she has found many outlets on her own.  She names her new gifts, no matter what form they come in.  She comes up with things on her own, without our help.  She even gets mad if you try and add your two cents.  "Myself, Mommy. Myself, Daddy." Words that are growing more and more common around here.

Next she came up with Beepbo, a game we played on the patio where we throwing a ball through the gap in her swing on our patio, back and forth to each other.  Then there is Heinie, the way too phallic looking water growing pet she lovingly brings to every tea party.  Laaah, the sun shaped balloon Dave bought her. Thats L-AH not La.  She will correct you.

And of course, there's Gar, the name of the alligator bath puppet.  The first of the named creatures she has ever imagined from before her second birthday.  We thought it was a noise she was making, but it too has stuck.  Even more strange, turns out, Gars actually exist! They're an alligator looking fish that's mean as hell. Ironically, the personality Gar has encompassed has uncanny similarities to a mean old alligator fish.

And lastly, my favorite of her creative exploration, the many songs she makes up every single day.  Her favorite, of course, is Roll Out the Door Ball! Roll Out the Door! Personally, I think she might be looking at some copy write issues with Ludacris.

"Tell them your REAL name!"

Every Friday night we go out for dinner and ice cream.  It's become such a staple, Lilli rarely lets us deviate from the plan. The anticipation is how she has learned the days of the week.  We call it our "date night" even though it involves all three of us and it makes the end of the week feel special.

Last week, as we were eating our ice cream, Lilli met a little boy.  He was about a year older and just as friendly as our little social butterfly.  They talked for a few minutes and then asked each other's names.  Before Lilli got a chance to tell him her name of the week he said "I'm Scooby!"

"Tell her your REAL name!" said his mother.  Dave and I both looked at each other and laughed.  "Your son does that too!?" we both chimed.

"I'm Lilli Jack Scary Doggie" Lilli echoed.  Her name changes every time she becomes enchanted with a new character.  She was Oswald for at least six months, so when she became obsessed with Jack Black, I opted for a compromise.  Not just Jack, Lilli Jack.  Then came the bulldog puppet she is so scared of but can't get enough of so much that she plays the same 5 second frame of this dog over and over.

As I mentioned before, it worries me to a point that she associates with characters and changes her name over and over.  I've come to accept it and try to compromise.  I don't fight her on it anymore.  Most of the time people think it's adorable.  It's rare that I get a wrinkled brow about it.  Still, I had never heard of any other kids being so adamant about their name.

The four of us parents sat and exchanged the mant different identities our two kids had created for themselves while the two kids played nicely.  It was refreshing and with a sigh of relief I felt much better about my creative kid.  We're not the only ones with a toddler going through an identity crisis.  If you can even call it that...

When I was in elementary school, I insisted on being called Crystal.  My grandpa was the only one who obliged.  I never realized how good it made me feel until I watched my daughter scream bloody murder when you called her by her given name.  Just to be accepted... That was all that mattered.  I never changed my name, eventually I was bored of it.  Lilli will too, and has... a few times now.

It's easy to say "stop it, that's not your name!" It's harder to accept her for who she is... I have found, in life, the harder of the paths is usually the most rewarding.

Lilli Jack Scary Dog.  So be it.

Links

I've been hoarding a ton of great articles in my inbox to share on here.

Here is a story about conjoined twins.  The thing that stands out for these two are that they share a thought process but are indeed two different people.  Basically, it'd be like having someone else in your head all the time, sharing your thoughts. So many thoughts on this...

Could Conjoined Twins Share a Mind?

I'm positive my mom would cringe at the thought of what I'm about to tell you. I get rid Lilli's art on a regular basis.  I try to keep one or two parts of her paintings (which I cut up and send out as birthday cards to our family and close friends), I regularly go through her tubs of "mail" and toss away the little pieces of paper she collects.  I toss old coloring books, pictures of kitties and puppies, cards, pieces of mail that somehow made their way back out of the trashcan.  My mom has kept almost all of our art. She has an entire basement filled with our old toys, photos, homework, video games (you name it, it's there).  I call it the Museum of us.  There were 5 of us that grew up (or are still growing up) in that house and if you were to ever visit, you'd see the history of each of our childhoods mashed together.

I appreciate my mom's dedication to reliving our childhoods well into her old age, when the memories become fuzzy. It's just not me. I've moved around a lot, purged my way through what had made it through college.  I don't think about those things anymore, just the memories that went with them. Maybe because I write, I feel less need to hang on to the material stuff that comes along with life.  Hopefully, Lilli won't hate me for it.  If she does, I'll send her to grandma's house.

Recycloflage

And one more... Just cause it's summer

S'mores Recipes!

There you are, Peter...

It's amazing to me how a month of blogging covers so much of one little girl's life and a month without it feels like an eternity of memories and thoughts lost.  So many many ideas come and go and I just don't have the ability to hold on to all of them... Luckily, there's this thing called paper! Imagine that.  So I kept track of SOME of the things I had planned to talk about but now they seem like ancient history and sort of stale.

I have spent two months fighting the computer fates, eventually lead to make a huge transition from PC to Mac. Here I sit, two giant screens later, finally at peace... sort of. Never again will I have to deal with an .exe, disk defragment, or customer service that I can barely understand.  Except when the other PC starts to test my patience.

Over the past month, we said goodbye to a friend who moved on to bigger and colder places.  (Robin, shout out! Woot!) It was incredibly sad to say goodbye to one of my first real friends I made after we moved down here.

Making friends as an adult has proven much more difficult and confusing after college, even more so when you up and move 1,100 miles away from everything you know.  It takes courage, opening yourself up, pulling yourself up from the bootstraps, sucking it up and putting yourself out there.  At times it was like dating, something I never enjoyed even as a teenager. Finding the group of friends I have made down here was no easy task.

To say I lucked out is an understatement.  To say I will miss my dear friend is not even close to describing it.  Luckily, I am not left completely alone in my wallowing. We will talk about how we'll lure her back, maybe even come up with a few good ideas.  To have a friend far away is way better than to have never known her at all.  Robin, we will miss you. You've been an inspiration, a teacher, and a great friend.

I guess it's fitting to come back from hiatus to say goodbye.  At least we have the world of internet, where not a thought goes unspoken (or untyped) and finding a way to keep in touch is as easy as hitting PUBLISH.

It's good to be back. Many stories to tell!

Computer Issue Induced Hiatus

So for the millionth time since I bought my overly priced paperweight of a laptop, it powered down in a dramatic "bzzzzzum" sound mid-productivity.  My coverage was up a few months ago and given the history of said computer, fixing it wasn't going to be cheap. After weighing some options, we decided to invest in a new desktop.  Until then, we share a laptop. I'll do my best to keep up mentally, there have been some good stories. Be back soon!