ParenthoodNJ.com

Justin Martin stuffed the 1,000th bear at 5:50 pm tonight.

My daughter and I watched as his Dad took photos to mark the occasion and we joked that this bear should have a name, even though his distinction would end once he was packed up with the rest of the bears to be distributed to sick and needy children throughout New Jersey.

I suggested Bear, since that was the name of Justin's original stuffed toy which inspired him & his dad to create The Justin Charity Bear Fund in the first place. His dad recommended Bear II.

Well, it doesn't really matter what we call that bear because some child out there will give it a new name. And that's what the hundreds of hours have been all about: ensuring that children have their own stuffed toy to love and cherish this holiday season. Justin was able to do that for 850 kids last year and this year he's going to do it for 1,000 - and counting. This remarkable 7-year-old is planning to continue stuffing bears as long as there are donations.

My daughter helped stuff several bears tonight but she is still a little young to grasp the full scope of what she was involved in but I think over time she will understand and I'm glad she was able to help, even in a small way.

A friend of mine just mentioned a recent conversation she'd had with her daughter. She'd asked her daughter what she thought Santa would bring their dog for Christmas.

Her daughter quickly replied, "A walk!"

I'm sure Santa will deliver that gift. But give Santa some help and maybe walk a shelter dog this holidayfor those dogs in shelters waiting for a home, Santa might

My 3 1/2-year-old daughter and I were snuggling and I said, "You're a good girl - usually."

And she said, "And sometimes I get cranky...when I don't get the things that I want."

Yeah, don't we all get cranky when we don't get what we want?

My daughter is lucky to see my mom a fair amount but my husband's mother lives far away, making it difficult  to stay connected. It also makes it hard for me to make sure she knows she really has two grandmothers.

So I've tried really hard to be specific as to which Grandma she will be seeing or talking to, for example, my mom is Grandma K. Well, this was a tough concept for her to initially grasp so I said things like "Grandma K is the one we see all the time" and "Grandma K is the one who has the dog, Shadow."

After a pause, she asks, "Is Grandma K the one who always gives me ice cream?"

Apparently so.

And mom, you've been busted!

Danica: "I am a beautiful princess and Mommy is the queen!"
Daddy: "And what am I?"
Danica: "And Daddy is the prince!"
Daddy: "But I should be King, right?"
Danica shakes her head and says, "No, no. You're the prince."
Daddy won't give up. "But if I'm married to Mommy, then I'm the king."
I helpfully point out that just because he's married to Mommy, who is Queen, doesn't necessarily make him King. And I get shushed.
But I'm still the Queen and apparently he's just my consort.

Today my daughter is in one of her many dress-up outfits. She runs up to my husband and asks,"How do I look?"

He says, "You look gorgeous!"

And she says, "That's my favorite answer."

My daughter's name, Danica, is often shortened by me to "D" when I write, so I thought D-isms would be a great way to categorize her funny one-liners.

So here are some I've heard lately:
"Mommy, my shirt is dirty. You can just put it in the dishwasher to clean it."

"I feel much more better."

"I look fablious"

"B starts with butterfly"

So my husband heard this joke on a podcast called Rawrcast (for those who love World of Warcraft beyond playing the game), and he decided to tell it to our 3 1/2 year old. I found her delivery funny - & hope you will, too - so I videotaped her. The subtitle on the punchline is a little hard to read so I've posted it below the video link.

Punchline - Brown Chicken, Brown Cow (sounds like Bow Chicka Wow Wow)

Lately my toddler has given me insight into just how the younger set tracks time and while different than my approach, there still is some logic to it.

The other day she asked me to help her dress her doll and I said "Just give me two seconds" and she promptly replied with "One, two. Now can you help me?"

So I've had to resort to saying "Give me a few minutes" which buys me some time because she doesn't fully grasp the concept. However, she gets it enough to say "That's a lot of minutes."

And today while we were leaving a playdate she wanted to see her friend again. I told her we'd see her friend again next week. She said, "That's a lot of days!"
Yeah, I guess for her, 7 days is a lot of days.