Category: Totally Tatum

Robert, Tatum’s little friend, is taking Tatum for a walk. Kindly he holds her hand, walks slowly so she doesn’t trip and hurt her toe, and he allows her to be farthest from the street. Shoot. I’m in love. If only I could bypass the dating stage and graft Robert into her future. She’d be set, and I’d be saved from the drama of puberty and discovering boys. Wouldn’t that take the cake!?

After playing with the hose and “kindly” squirting each other (ha), they snuggled in their very own towels. Robert decided to give her some space as she dried off only to tackle her later in his toddler bed. Hmmmm. Never thought I’d say those words about my child…being tackled in a boy’s bed. Luckily, his Thomas pillow protected her, and Robert had to deal with Jennie’s and my unfavorable expressions. He’s a hoot!..Together, they are a hoot and more than a half!

It was a small class today. Only one other kiddo in Naomi’s class today, and Tatum had full attention! Naomi had her try the back float, and I usually hold her head, but today!!?? We sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (10 seconds) as I let go and she floated.
This face represents a tired Tot but a brave girl whose mommy is proud!

It’s those little moments in the day when I am filled with shock and awe.

1. The other day we were picking prayers sticks and she picked Bobby. Then she said, “Bobby!”

2. The paper today had a Target insert. She grabbed it and said, “What do they have at Target!?”

3. She then grabbed the comic section and said, “I want the funny paper.”

4. At Trader Joe’s today, she pointed to the yogurt and said, “Mommy, can we have yogurt.”

The surprise about ALL of these examples is that there is no precedent. She did not know the stick said Bobby. We don’t usually read the inserts in the paper, and she wouldn’t know it is Target. Moreover, I don’t read the funnies. (My mom does, but how would Tatum know this?) Finally, yogurt? I don’t buy it and I don’t ever talk about it in the dairy section.

Surprise and awe.

Maybe this brilliance will translate into some musical capability. Testing it out today with her new Fisher Price keyboard. So far, she just wants to hit the Cymbal button.  CARPE DIEM!

It’s catching on! Tatum has her fingers in her mouth in every picture here, and apparently, Robert is finding those fingers of his quite tasty. Tatum is such  good influence on her friends! What a leader! (LOL)

Such a fun time with her bestie, Robert and mommy, Jennie. It’s pretty hard to not laugh constantly when those two are around.

Today was a day to remember. Why? I fell in love again for the first time.

The opportunity to be Tatum’s mommy over again hit me today. Being at the doctor and being tested for some health issues, it was made aware to me that I could not have been able to have children. Wow. Now, God knew this, and Tatum came into my life.

Minnie mouse symbolizes dreams coming true and happiness. This is what I see when I look at my Minnie blessings: Tatum

A couple more fun facts about Minnie. Supposedly, Minnie was truly a princess but not by name. She was by how Mickey saw her. He even said: “Gosh, Minnie, you’ve always been a princess to me.” (source e-online). This is how I see my daughter and this is how God sees her: A princess who gives Minnie blessings to everyone around her. This is how God sees US!!! Wow, what a revelation.

(http://www.eonline.com/news/598867/12-mickey-and-minnie-mouse-facts-that-will-make-you-believe-in-love-forever)

Sometimes the biggest messes we make create the best opportunity to clean up.

We do it every day; we make a mess of something. Maybe it’s a conversation we messed up, or maybe we spilled our salad dressing all over the counter. Sometimes it’s deliberate (our messes) and sometimes they are quite innocent. Whatever the case, it’s a mess. What we do with the mess? Well, now that is the true test.

Let’s say our mess was an accident. You were at Starbucks at the sugar/cream station, and your ripped yellow packet missed the garbage and the cream you poured dripped all over the counter. Did you just walk away? You just created an opportunity to clean up. Clean up not only your mess, but clean up your intentions. Are you thinking about the fact that you are late or the next person who will be using the cream/sugar station?

Was your mess intentional? Tatum’s mess yesterday was intentional, but she did not realize the ramifications of her intentional actions. When I walked in from her nap, there it was. Two whole books torn to bits all over the floor. It was a sea of pages surrounding her crib. As usual, I had given her about 6 books for her to read while in her crib for nap time.

She loves to sing and talk with her books during that time. However, she decided to tear out each page of two of her books. This was not out of anger but for enjoyment, yet when I walked in with my face filled with sadness, she knew the fun was over. This makes me think she knew it was wrong.

Now what? How do I handle it? How should she handle it? This was an opportunity to clean up not only her floor but her character. After I silently picked up each page one by one as she watched my somber face, I placed them in a plastic bag. I was as silent as a mouse, and she knew I was very sad. As I did this, I tried to think of what to do!? I capitalize on the mess. So, she wants to tear up stuff? Great. Let’s get a box with paper and designate it the tear-up paper box! Have at it!! But books, “NEVER, Tatum…NEVER HURT YOUR BOOKS because it is mean and not nice to the books or to me.”

Mess Happens. Mess gets cleaned up with the right attitude and a plan to make the best of the mess.

Make every mess a learning opportunity.