Hey, Stranger

We're convinced that Adeleigh will someday be the Mayor of Fort Collins. Every time we leave the house, she makes it her mission to greet, hug and converse with every single stranger, and animal that we pass. 

We went out for dinner at El Monte the other evening and ten minutes after sitting down, Adeleigh decided there would be no more sitting. So, Nana took her outside to run around for a few minutes. When they came back inside, Adeleigh was ready to make some friends. She started out by walking up to the table behind us where two little boys sat with their parents. They were a nice family, but they were busy eating instead of socializing, so she quickly moved on. 

At a booth nearby, sat a couple without their food. To a toddler, this is perfect friend-making material - No prior commitments. Free to give their undivided attention. She walked right over to their booth and smiled at the pretty lady and her husband. The lady said, "Well, hello, happy girl!" which translates into "Come sit next to me!" because that is just what Adeleigh did. I hurried and stood up to make sure Adeleigh wasn't being too forthcoming. 

Me - "I'm sorry. She's not shy at all."

The lady and her husband - "Oh my gosh. This is just too cute. What's her name? How old is she? Is she always this happy?"

I answered, introduced myself and we all officially met.

Then the lady, Tiffany pulled out her iPhone to show Adeleigh pictures of her dog and horse. Adeleigh started flipping through her photos like a pro. Tiffany asked her, "Do you want to play with my phone?" 

Me - "Just to warn you, she won't want to give it back."

Tiffany - "Oh, she can play with it all night. I don't mind. I just can't believe she knows how to flip through the photos!"

Before Tiffany could finish her statement, Adeleigh had her phone in hand and was off to share it with the rest of the town.

She walked up to an older couple at the next table, pulled herself up into their booth, and sat down with Tiffany's phone.

Adeleigh - "See? A puppy."

Gentleman - "Oh wow! Is that your puppy?"

Adeleigh - "No.........See? A horse?"

I walked a few feet over to go apologize and see if she was bothering them. They said, "Oh, don't even worry. She's such a social butterfly!"

I stood there, chatting with Tiffany and her husband, Yurane, while Adeleigh went back and forth between her four new buddies. Yurane said, "You realize that when she's fourteen, and you tell her about the time she went to sit in a stranger's booth, she's not going to believe you, right?" 

I laughed. 

Then, I told them a story ------

Recently, in Old Town Square, we were all sitting and splashing our toes in the fountain. Across the plaza, sat a family with an empty stroller, watching their toddler play at Bear/Fish Park. All of a sudden, Adeleigh bolted from where we were sitting. She ran across the plaza, bottle in hand, elbows out like a mini-football player, and landed in the empty stroller. Phaeton and I ran after her, embarrassed and laughing. As we approached, I started apologizing to the dad. I could tell that he was trying to figure out who this little girl was and where she came from. 

Me - "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry.....Adeleigh, let's go, sweetie. That's not our stroller."

He smiled and said, "Oh, she's fine. I don't mind."

We all waited awkwardly, thinking Adeleigh would get her fix and jump out to resume playing at any minute.

But she didn't. She would get down for a brief moment, then jump back in and get comfortable. She was perfectly happy staying put.

Then the dad laughed, "Well, I guess we're her family now!" 

Here's a picture of Adeleigh with her new family -

________

Tiffany and Yurane laughed and gave Adeleigh high-fives for her initiative. Then, their food arrived. Adeleigh, feeling completely comfortable with her new friends, reached out to grab Tiffany's salmon off her plate. I stopped her. "Okay, Adeleigh. Let's let them eat. Tell them thank you." Adeleigh generously gave back Tiffany's phone and we said our goodbye's. 

Then, before she would allow us to leave, Adeleigh decided she had to say goodbye to every single person in the restaurant. 

And she did. 

And every single person said it back with a smile.

_____________

She'd make a cute Mayor.

Toddler victory

The other night, I went against Daddy's wishes and let Adeleigh eat her yogurt sans highchair, sans bib, and in front of the TV.
Phaeton - "You know that yogurt is about to get all over the carpet, right?"
Me - "Yeah, I'll clean it up when it does."
Three minutes later, Phaeton jumped up from the couch as we watched in slow motion - - - - - -
Adeleigh scooped up the majority of contents in her bowl and as she slowly brought the heaping spoon up to her mouth, the cats on the Meow Mix commercial started singing, instinctively forcing Adeleigh's head to turn to watch.....Adeleigh's peach yogurt was not just all over the carpet, but strategically spread across her feet and her chubby little belly. Phaeton wasn't fast enough.

Adeleigh - 1; Daddy - 0

Adeleigh said, "Uh, oh!" and looked down.
I started giggling.
Phaeton leaped to grab the paper towels, bent down beside her and started scooping up the yogurt.
Phaeton - "So, you'll clean it up?"
Me - "You beat me to it."
Phaeton - "I'm going to have to shampoo the carpet again." (Disclaimer: Phaeton had already spot-shampooed our carpet three times in the last three days - 1 milk spill, 1 red wine spill, and 1 really big red wine spill.)
Me - "Nah. Don't pull out the shampooer. Water will do it."
Phaeton - "It's milk, Honey. It'll stink if I don't shampoo the carpet."
Me - "Oh come on. A little bit of yogurt is going to be the last thing that makes our carpet stink." (Referring to Rico & Nubi here...)
Phaeton - grumbling indistinctly while wiping the carpet
What happened next was textbook for toddler victory-
Adeleigh, spoon in hand, scooped the remaining yogurt from her bowl and slopped it against the side of her Daddy's face.
My mouth dropped.
Phaeton calmly stood up and went to go be alone for a few minutes.

Adeleigh - 2; Daddy - 0

Phaeton came back all cleaned up. Adeleigh apologized and gave him a big hug. I promised to never let Adeleigh eat yogurt without her highchair and bib again. And then we busted out laughing at how that scene couldn't have played out more perfectly.

Oh, and then Phaeton shampooed the carpet.

Our little trouble maker

Mike Tyson Butterfly

A few weekends ago, we met up with Chad, Shay & Avery at the Pateros Creek Brewery & Waffle Lab benefit for the High Park Fire. The Waffle Lab line was approximately 2.5 hours long. I didn't care how long we had to wait in line because I knew a gluten-free waffle (which I had been craving for weeks) was waiting for my hungry belly at the other end. Plus, I had a delicious beverage which reminds me of a gluten-free version of Sunshine keeping me company the entire time :)

So, for the first half-hour, I chased Adeleigh around. For the 2nd half-hour, Phaeton chased her. For the remaining time, Melody with Best Face Painter, painted our child and kept her entertained.

.....so serious.....

She got a "Mike Tyson Butterfly" (as Phaeton calls it) and after Adeleigh strongly encouraged Melody to keep painting, an arm heart.

Instead of just looking down at her body art, she wanted to look at it through Melody's mirror.

Yes, the 2.5 hour wait in line was worth it. Not just for the delicious waffle. Not just to have found possible inspiration for a little girl's birthday party. Not just to have spent time with good friends. But to have contributed to an event that raised over $7000 for the Fire Relief. Well worth the wait.

This community is awesome.

~~~~~

The next weekend, we were in Old Town with Chris, Christy & Ella. Adeleigh spotted someone in the Square and high-tailed it directly onto her chair.

...so serious...

Ella patiently waited her turn while Adeleigh strongly encouraged Melody to keep painting.

Everyone patiently waited while Adeleigh looked in the mirror for a few more minutes...

I don't have a picture, but after this, Adeleigh ate all of my Ben & Jerry's icecream. 

She's not spoiled.

~~~~

Melody goes to Old Town most summer weekends, sets up shop, paints kid's faces, paints kid's arms that won't leave her alone, loans out her mirror, and smiles the entire time. Plus, she does it all for free.

She really is awesome.

And if I haven't said it enough, so is this town.

A Break from our Annual Phobic Fourth

This is the first 4th of July since Rico's birth eight years ago, that he won't be hiding in the bathroom for the next two days. This is the first 4th of July in eight years that we won't have to think of creative ways to lure him outside for a tinkle. We're hoping so, at least. They've banned fireworks this year, and we hope for many reasons, that our neighbors respect that. We hope they show respect for our vulnerable, scorched earth most importantly, but also that they show a little respect for our aging dog's bladder.

There are two things Rico's afraid of - baths and loud noises. We find it ironic that when he hears any loud noise, he curls up in a ball next to the bathtub. Keep in mind, when I say 'loud noises' I'm referring to - fireworks, thunder, garbage trucks, smoke alarms, hail, screaming babies, baseball bats hitting fly balls, the Hulu jingle at the end of any episode we watch, slamming doors, airplanes flying overhead, and driving over cattle guards on mountain roads - but for the sake of Rico's dignity, we'll just throw all of that into one 'thing to be afraid of.'

It's funny what we choose to be afraid of. Growing up I, like Rico, was pretty much afraid of everything. Around the holidays, I would sit on the stairs for hours staring at our real Christmas tree, making sure that it wouldn't erupt into flames from a faulty bulb. One of the happiest days of my life was the day my parents bought a fake tree. That was one less hazard for me to worry about.
Anytime it was thundering, I would patrol the house and make sure that no one was near any windows or electrical devices. If they were, I would remind them of their increased odds of being struck by lightning and pester them until they gave into my persistent pleas.
Anytime I heard any unusual footsteps, I was sure to report to the 9-1-1 dispatcher that there was an intruder in our home, even if it was just my Mom. On the occasion where I didn't call 9-1-1, I was sure to lock myself in my parent's room armed with hairspray and a razor. Then, when Mom or Dad came looking for me, I'd make them inspect every corner of the house before exiting.
I was an odd one. It's kind of a miracle I found a husband. I could go on and on about my childhood fears, but for the sake of my own dignity, I'll move on.

I just asked Phaeton what his fears were as a child. "Spiders" he said. Then he told me a horrifying story of a time when his Mom sprayed a black widow with ammonia and the spider came screaming, flying with eight knives towards his face. With a fear like that, it's kind of a miracle that he found me. Because one of my criteria in choosing a husband was marrying someone that would willingly eliminate any spider at my beck-and-call. So now, anytime we find an eight-legged creature, other than just screaming at the top of our lungs, one of us needs to get our act together and just grab a shoe. For the sake of Phaeton's dignity, I'll inform you that 100% of the time, it's his shoe.

We just learned one of Adeleigh's fears the other night. Phaeton had to print something for work and while the printer fed the paper through, Adeleigh came strolling into the room with her doll. She immediately stopped, looked over hesitantly toward the printer's face, dropped her doll, then slowly started backing away while yelling out "Mommy! Mommy!" I knelt down beside her and she curled up in a ball on my lap and clutched onto me tightly. Then, when Phaeton grabbed his paper and turned the beast off, Adeleigh made sure everything was quiet, relaxed her grip, and went on her happy way.

She's not afraid of strangers. She's not afraid of bugs. She's not afraid of lightning, or thunder. She loves Christmas trees. She's not afraid of loud noises or baths. She's not afraid of climbing onto high surfaces. She's not afraid of falling. She's not afraid of the dark. She's not afraid of Barney. But, put her in front of a wheezing, one-eyed, paper-eating, paper-bruising printing machine -
Absolutely. Terrifying.

~~~~

Taken last Halloween -
This is Adeleigh not afraid to go say "Hi" to Bill on one of his not-so-good days -