Getting to know a new supermarket is the biggest pain in the butt. Especially when you really only barely understand how markets are organized in general. The other day it took me twenty minutes to find green chiles and sliced olives. I thought they’d be in the canned vegetable section, but noooo. The chiles were in the Mexican Food section, and the olives apparently have their OWN section. How am I supposed to know what has its own section and what doesn’t?! Confusing! When I open my own market, everything will be in alphabetical order.
Annie can count to two. I know, she’s a genius. She goes around pointing at things and going, “One, two.” I have been trying to get her to say three, but no dice. So maybe I’ll have more luck if I try to get her to go, “One, two, check.” Baby DJ!
Annie is also OBSESSED with Rigby’s food and water bowls. If the bowls are on the ground, Annie is putting her hands in there, making a huge mess. It’s so freaking annoying. We end up putting the dishes up on the kitchen counter, and then Rigby stands there all forlorn like, “but sir, I just want to sip some water and nibble on my disgusting prescription food!” I’m not sure what to do to make Annie stop screwing around with Rigby’s dishes. Ugh.
I have a new game I like to play with Annie, and she loves it too:
I’m gonna get you!
Ray says:
Love how she turns tag into a dance. CUTIE! =D
Madi G. says:
We have several dogs, so we have lots of food bowls and water bowls.
In my experience, you have to let them mess with the bowls until they lose their novelty. If you prevent her from playing with the bowls, they’ll retain their novelty for a looong time.
A few friends and I tested this out with our own un-scientific mommy study and sure enough, they lost interest within a couple weeks. But for the kids who were not allowed to mess with the bowls, the fascination lasted for months.
In short, it’s not a battle you’re going to win. And Rigby may get hurt in the process, so it’s just a fight that’s not worth fighting.
So just put a towel under the bowls to allow for easy clean-up and call it a day. And be happy she’s playing in the water bowl instead of the toilet.
Please don’t pick up Rigby’s water bowl. Dogs should always have access to water. They can end up seriously dehydrated if you lift up the water bowl; that leads to a headache, lethargy and other discomfort. It can cause kidney damage if they don’t have access to water on a chronic basis. It’s not fair to poor Rigby.
-Madi G
susanmig says:
true. she’ll lose interest in a bit. it’s only water….if she’s playing with the food and it’s dry food, no biggie either as long as she’s not eating it. pick your battles. danger wins over annoyance, in my book. good luck!
Heather says:
it’s not dry, it’s wet prescription dog food out of the can. And she DOES try to eat it. So yeah.
Madi G. says:
Ah — wet food can be a problem! (Though I’ve never seen the dog food harm a kiddo. I think of it like this: if it’s not good enough for the kids to eat, do I really want to feed it to my dog? *LOL*)
In that case, I’d start feeding Rigby “meals” instead of allowing her to free-feed. It can be a bit difficult if she’s a natural grazer. So you’ll need to transition her gradually. Put the food down, say, four or five times a day for a few minutes when Annie isn’t around to mess with it (e.g. while she’s eating, sleeping, etc.)
When she’s not eating it, just cover it with plastic wrap and pop it in the fridge. That’ll keep it fresher too. You can end up with bacteria in (canned) food if it’s left out. Over time, the bacteria can cause allergies, intolerance, sensitivities and the ever-dreaded diarrhea and vomiting!
Also, know that certain prescription foods lose their effectiveness if left out (due to bacteria growth.)
If she has a difficult time adjusting to meals, you might also consider getting it in kibble form — you can leave that down and it won’t create a huge mess.
Good luck!
-Madi G.
Madi G. says:
Clarification: I meant to say… Get the kibble form of her prescription food to leave out for grazing, but still feed her the canned food for “meals.”
Rigby is getting a bit older and her metabolism is probably starting to slow, so it’s probably best to transition her to meals, as you have more control over their intake. Once a small breed dog reaches age 7, 8 or so, the weight gain begins! Plus, older dogs are more prone to illness, and inappetance is among the most common symptoms of a problem. When you feed meals, it will be easier to monitor her intake and detect a problem if it arises.
Madi G.
susanmig says:
well, that’s a whole different issue….ewww!
annie, stop eating dog food. your mommy is actually COOKING real people food now. yay!!
Aubrey says:
Love that she stopped running to Dance. She is WAY too cute I don’t know how you stand it.
My daughter’s favorite thing to do is beat me to the counting if she gets in trouble.
Me: “Madilynn Jean put that down RIGHT NOW or you get a time out! 1,2..”
Madi Jean: ” 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,14,17,18,,3,4,5,6,7,8,9″
It is so hard not to laugh at her.
Sara says:
ah, we played the “i’m gonna get you!” game too. How fun!
Our dog eats all of her food at once like she’s never going to get food again, so our daughter only had the water dish to play with, and it quickly lost it’s fascination. But we also kept her out of the kitchen with gates when she was little, too.
Angel says:
OMG-OMG-OMG she is so cute. One-two-one-two-one-two… LOL!
Shannon says:
I hope that kid sleeps well at night!
Christina says:
The only thing that scares me is that marble hearth, they make a padding that you can put around it with Velcro.
Kara says:
Same here.
Heather says:
There is clear protective plastic edging all around the step up to the kitchen.
Kara says:
*sigh of relief* Don’t worry u r doing way better then me. I have 4 banged up teenagers lol.
susanmig says:
she gets more adorable by the day. makes me miss the days when my kids were that age. although, each stage is a blast, something about annie’s age right now is just pure bliss….enjoy!!
Rebecca says:
I love the floors in your house. I want shiny wood floors like that.
Shan says:
Isn’t funny how something that would be absolutely terrifying to adults is hilarious to toddlers. She is a beauty..and I loved watching her run off at the end!
Kelly says:
I just love Annie. She is so cute.
I don’t have to worry about my kid with the dogs water bowl, I have to worry about my puppy. Our new puppy figured out very quickly how to make water come pouring out of the self-watering dish. He would step into the bowl, right in front of the spout, to displace the water, the self-waterer would think the water was getting low, and all the water would gush out onto the floor. A gallon at a time. We switched to a bowl of water after I finally caught him doing it.
Now he just tips the bowl of water over. I’m thinking our puppy may need a hamster bottle or something.
Veronica says:
my husband plays the “im gonna get you” game and our girl screeches/laughs and walks as fast as she can in the other directions, but then gets laughing so hard she stops walking! It is such a loving sight to see!!
Let her play with the food/water bowls she will be bored of them in about a week. Our girl ignores them now, where before she would pickup the bowls and toss water and food every where.
I wish our girl would say one and two – she just jumps right to TEEEEEEE (three), but only if we start counting first. Love it!!
Megan says:
I recall reading another blog where someone mentioned that her daughter, who was 2 or 2.5 at the time, kept playing in the dog water bowl. So Annie is indeed advanced!
Melissa says:
My friend’s son is also obsessed with the dog bowls. But he’s also extremely scared of their Tickle Me Elmo doll. So, Elmo lives in the corner right next to the bowls. Works like a charm
Meyli says:
Why is your daughter so cute? I don’t know, but I love the videos you make with her!
Pretty sure I just scared my new neighbors; volume was up loud, and all that could be heard was “I’M GONNA GET YOU!!”
Pattie says:
I love playing that game with Coraline, too. And I admit — I laughed a bit when Annie bonked her head on the cabinet. I’m learning how to handle things like that the way you do (and how everyone says to), by not freaking out.
Coraline makes a beeline for the dogs’ bowls, so I’m definitely going to need some advice on how to keep her out of them in the near future.
Tina says:
Hi Heather,
Just wondering how your friend Jackie is doing…?
Jaime says:
Its so awesome watching Evangeline and Annie follow the same development patterns, have been born a day apart or something. We also have the love of 1,2 with the poor neglected 3 We also share your dog food woes, and have only been feeding the dog overnight to prevent the terror. We babygate the water from her and let the dog pass to drink when he whines.
Chrisie says:
Is Annie’s furniture made by MUNIRE? I swear we have the same crib, and dresser. I also have that exact same green chair. My daughters room is painted purple and pink to match the Cocalo Sugar Plum bedding.
Annie’s little run is toooooo cute!
Heather says:
um…..I don’t know! I bought it at Baby’s R Us in 2008. Is it sold there?
MF says:
Beautiful colored floors & Annie is assure as ever
Alana says:
I’m a total nerd, I know it, but you have to listen to this regarding learning numbers: http://www.radiolab.org/2009/nov/30/
The “Innate Numbers” section.
Hannah says:
Long time reader, first time commenter- just couldn’t help but comment on this! Annie is so stinkin cute, and the part where she says, “Boo!” is hysterical. The look on her face is precious! =)