Thursday, July 2, 2009

Hoku Loves The Cheerios

So things are a bit crazier around here now that Moana is On-The-Go. My stay-at-home-mom job has really turned into a game of Chase The Baby... or Make Sure The Baby Doesn't Conk Her Head... or Don't Let Baby Touch The Bikes.

Since we don't have a garage, my bikes reside in a little nook near the kitchen. They are currently barricaded with a chair, which only does a mediocre job of keeping a curious baby away from the greasy chains.

And seriously, who really cares about a little road grime on a baby's hands? I mean, shoot, her hands are constantly covered with dog hair now that she's crawling everywhere. I vacuum every day, but the second that Hoku stands up and walks across the room, the wood floor is once again carpeted with black hair. We need a yard.

And speaking of vacuuming... lucky me! Moana is not (yet?) afraid of it. Most of the time I do it while she's taking a nap upstairs, but sometimes I do it while she's awake. The other day I held her in my left arm while vacuuming with my right just because I wanted her to be near the loud machine in hopes of minimizing any future irrational fear she might acquire. She had no problem with it. In fact, she reached out for the handle as if to push it herself. One of these days I'll be blogging about how Moana vacuums the room herself every morning as part of her daily chores.

Let me live in my own little Dream World, will ya?

Anyway, it can get a little dangerous around here if I'm not watching Moana every second. One of her favorite past times these days is to cruise around the house looking for stuff she can climb up on to stand. The dishwasher is a favorite for sure. Which isn't a problem now that I'm remembering to put the knives up high or in the back.

So Hoku has really taken a bigger interest in Moana lately. I'd like to say that it's because she really just adores the little baby who likes to grab her hair but doesn't know the meaning of the word gentle, but I don't think that's actually the case. But it might be the Cheerios. Usually in the evenings while I'm trying to make dinner, I stick Moana in this scooter chair thingie and let her cruise around the house. You should see her in this thing- she runs! And then BANG! Right into the wall. It's pretty funny. Anywho, lately I've been putting Cheerios on the little tray table thing. They keep her occupied, but she doesn't eat them. Instead she throws them on the floor, one by one... and Hoku wags her tail and follows her around like a puppy. Or like a vacuum cleaner. Inevitably there will be a Cheerio or two left in the seat after I put Moana to bed, and Hoku finds those too.

8 comments:

Lizzie said...

The vaccuming thing made me giggle. One of my friend's daughters used to love to get into the bottom drawer of her clothes, take each item out, hug it, then place it on the floor - subsequently leaving her mama to pick it all up when she was done!

Can't you factor all this chasing after Moana into your training hours? :)

Rebecca DeWire said...

Elena is always playing with our bikes and getting bike grease on her! She would sometimes grab the pedal and start turning it...she was so OBSESSED with the bikes. The dishwasher scene is also familiar. Once they are totally mobile and getting into everything things get crazy, or they seemed to me for anyways.

Angela said...

Ryan didn't get scared of the vacuum until he was about 15-18 months...by 24 months it was all over. But we're moving past that now. It only took a year. Brayden has yet to be afraid so who knows.

yes, bikes, dishwashers, lower cabinets, bathtub, shower stall and even the toilet. All places you can look for little ones when it gets quiet in the house. Welcome to toddler hood Mama.

N.D. said...

I'm a bit nervous for when Nick is able to move about as much as Moana - it will be soon! Hoku is too cute!!

Regina said...

Ah memories....my son is obsessed with my bike, all bikes, in fact.

We used to turn the vacuum cleaner on to calm him when he was an infant. Something about the sound being similar to being in the womb? All I know is it worked! When he was older we bought him his own toy version. He vacuumed always, I wish it had been real.

The ever changing landscape that is childhood. Enjoy!

Angela and David said...

Welcome to the moving world. It's exhausting. And Zach is also a big fan of the dishwasher, although a bigger fan of getting in the freezer.

And I've given up on keeping Zach off my bike, I'm just focusing on "gentle." Seems the more something is off limits the more desirable it is. We learned that with toilet paper.

Lisa T said...

Excellent idea with the cheerios! It keeps the Moana and the dog both happy! Hoku's going to be disappointed when she starts eating them though.

Charisa said...

I love your bike nook!