school year starts

Josephine loves "school".  Her day-care is at a Christian elementary school and she is the only 2 year old there, the rest of the kids are kindergartners that are there the other half of their half-day.  You wouldn't know she was so much younger than the rest by looking at her though, she is tall, and maybe some of the other kids are a little short.  She goes three days a week and stays with my mom two days.  I had no idea she's like going so much, on the days she stays home she asks if maybe we can just go to my school right now? The school gets out early on Fridays and many of the older kids hang out in the day-care/after school care then.  Josephine doesn't like big kids, only little kids.
I really am enjoying picking her up in the afternoons and watching her try to explain the art project she's done that day.
Something she may have learned at school (or maybe on TV?) is hide-and-seek.  There is something about summer ending that makes being outside the most important thing in the whole world and we have played about six million games of hide-and-seek.

Love

Mama: I love you
Josephine: I love you too
Mama: Do you know what that means? I love you?
Josephine: Yeah.
Mama: What does "I love you" mean?
Josephine: It means "I'm so happy"
Mama: Yes, yes it does... I'm so happy I have you.
Josephine: I love you too mama.

ouch

Josephine has slipped stepping out of the bathtub before, she has stumbled off the step stool that is by the toilet.  Josephine has fallen down the carpeted stairs a handful of times and has tripped and skinned her knee so often that it's odd if she doesn't have a scab on one or the other. 
The other day my dad and I took Josephine to the elementary school down the road to go on the Swings and Slides Right Now! She is very brave on the swings, always wanting to go faster, but this time she got a little cocky. 
She was slowing down, I sat on the sing beside her and soon she felt safe enough to let go with one hand and try to reach over to me.  As soon as I noticed what she was doing I started to tell her to please hold on with both hands but in typical disaster slow-motion I didn't get the words out before seeing her papa move like he was going to give her a big push.  All I could get out was NOOOOO! as I leaped off only fast enough to trip and skid under my swing as Josephine did a full back flip landing face first in the wood chips. 
I immediately pictured a bloody face covered in splinters.  Would this be her first emergency room visit? Have you ever see a lanky two year old flip off a swing like a trapeze artist, a bad trapeze artist, and skid to a stop on her face like Wile E. Coyote? 
Her face is fine, I picked the pieces of wood out of her hair and socks and told her she could push papa off the swing now, it's only fair.  Watching papa fall off the swing is pretty hilarious it turns out.
My right shin, the one I landed on trying to scramble off the swing in time to save my baby, is full of splinters and scratches... so there's that.

joey bologna

Josephine starts daycare Monday.  She's scared to go to "school" and I'm sad she is scared.  She picked out a new lunch box yesterday.

Joey calls all juice apple juice unless it's the carton in the fridge that my sister buys for herself, that one is called pineapple juice.
She likes to tell you exactly when she'd like to do something.  Later. Right Now. Usually, Right Now!
The sleeping in her own bed thing is slow going but I'm OK with that. 
We went to an aviary last weekend and it was better than Disney World for Josephine.  She would like to go back there Right Now!
Other magically wonderful places she'd like to go to Right Now!:

• The "swings and slides" at the playground of the new elementary school down the road.
• The grocery store
• Outside to play baseball
• Down stairs to watch Mickey Mouse
• The garage to get some "apple" juice (usually the V8 fusion juices)
• The beach

I've been writing my Life List. Please write one too and share it with me, I'd love to be inspired by the things you want to do. I'm putting my up in a tab that you can click on if you wish.

to sleep

Remember when I spent a night in Denver a month back? I went out with my girlfriend that night and when we got back to the hotel I saw Josephine was sleeping in the giant comfortable bed with my parents and the teeny tiny lumpy pull-out couch was all set up for my friend and I.  I decided that I'd let Josephine stay in her luxurious sleeping arrangements rather than have her kick me and my friend in the head all night. That night was the first night she has ever slept without me in bed with her. 
Sure, she's fallen asleep with other people before, she's even woken up with my sister a couple of times when I had an early morning class one semester, but she had never spent the entire night without pressing her head on my shoulder for a snuggle and then flipping around and rabbit kicking me in the gut or back of the head.
Josephine has her own bed, a beautiful wooden bed that my grandfather made for me when I was that little.  She naps in her own bed wonderfully but when I bring up spending the night in her own bed she gets sad and I love my snuggles.
Last night the idea of earning a treat was enough to try sleeping in her own bed all night.  She made it to 5:30.
I got much less sleep because I was constantly checking to see if her door was open or if she was wondering around confused and tired.  Also, I missed my snuggles.