I had the strangest experience tonight while trying to blog. At first, my site came up saying that I had flagged it as having objectionable content, and then when I finally got it to come up, everything (except the blog) was in German! Weird! And ironic since I spent all day talking to 3 Germans. But, I'm here now, anyway.
I worked a full day to make up some of the time that I missed for my lasik, and I don't know how full-time working moms do it! I suppose everybody gets used to it, but I could tell that Emily was pretty frazzled tonight. She's still such a trooper, though, and absolutely adorable. Of course!
I've probably blogged about this before, but I am again a bit set aback tonight by a comment that my sitter made about Emily - she's a "sharp cookie!" It's a lovely thing to say about her, and it certainly seems to be true, but I am already wincing at her being labelled. Yesterday, she called her "Miss Music" because she had enjoyed the group singing so much, and my first thought was to tell myself not to get excited and remind myself that she isn't just like me and she doesn't have to excel in music at all. If only she just really enjoys music, I'll be very happy. So, how do I teach her to gracefully accept compliments when I have a secret, irrational fear that every label is backhandedly derrogatory? I mean, I got a nice compliment from one of the Germans that I worked with today, and I had to consciously tell myself to just say Thanks and not try to sluff it off stupidly for fear of seeming elitist. I probably won't have many good examples for Emily to learn by in this area - she'll have to learn from her dad, I guess.
I'm also hoping that she gets his fashion sense, cuz he looks GOOD, and I just look adequately clothed. I suppose the latter isn't an entirely bad outcome, but it'd sure be nice if she had an eye for what looks good and not just what keeps you from being naked. :) Do you suppose if we watch enough episodes of "what not to wear" she'll have a chance??
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
My little buddy
It's funny how my perspective on how I view my time at home is changing as Emily gets older. It's less about actively taking care of her needs, and just about spending time with her and keeping her from getting hurt. She's really fun to be around! She doesn't need that much, and what she does is pretty predictable or she'll tell me what she wants. Last night, we sat her up at the table with us for the first time. Her high chair has always been right next to the table, but we took the tray away and now she pulls right up to the table and eats off a plate, using a fork and spoon. She is such a grown up little girl!!!
I went to a playgroup with a bunch of other John Deere moms this weekend, and it was pretty fun. There were two girls who were a little older than Emily - just old enough to be testing the limits! I was reminded that I should really enjoy this innocent, trusting age before the next stage starts. I sure like 1 - what a fun age! She's big into putting things on and taking them off, especially snowpants and hats and sweatshirts. She's pretty successful on her own, which is impressive to me.
I still don't know what to do about her hair that hangs in her eyes all the time. She has such a pretty forehead and expressive eyes, and she's just stunningly pretty with a barette in her hair, but she won't leave it in and instead she ends up looking shaggy. It's gotta be annoying, too, but she doesn't seem to mind to much. My mom said she looks like a precious moments doll, which is a nice way to think about it, I guess.
Happy Inaguration Day!!!!
I went to a playgroup with a bunch of other John Deere moms this weekend, and it was pretty fun. There were two girls who were a little older than Emily - just old enough to be testing the limits! I was reminded that I should really enjoy this innocent, trusting age before the next stage starts. I sure like 1 - what a fun age! She's big into putting things on and taking them off, especially snowpants and hats and sweatshirts. She's pretty successful on her own, which is impressive to me.
I still don't know what to do about her hair that hangs in her eyes all the time. She has such a pretty forehead and expressive eyes, and she's just stunningly pretty with a barette in her hair, but she won't leave it in and instead she ends up looking shaggy. It's gotta be annoying, too, but she doesn't seem to mind to much. My mom said she looks like a precious moments doll, which is a nice way to think about it, I guess.
Happy Inaguration Day!!!!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
20/15
I had my eyes checked this morning after yesterday's LASIK, and I can see PERFECTLY! Or better than perfect, if that's what 20/15 is. Yay!!! The whole process was very, very bizarre, and definitely not painless, but that was only about 20 minutes of burning sensation and then the Valium kicked in and I passed out for 3 hours. So it was still worth it. The doctor was very reassuring to me as I left yesterday, saying that I was very brave (I think he could tell I was nervous from my trembling hands, legs, arms...) because the ones who aren't brave don't get the procedure done at all. I won't go into detail here because I'm not sure how squeamish my readers are, but basically it was a lot of contact in my eyes that I would normally do my best to avoid. I have little red blotches all around my corneas from where they attached the suction thingy that held my eyeballs in place during the procedure, and I feel like I've got a whole ton of sand in my eyes and I can't get it washed out. Tonight and tomorrow night, I have to wear the clear protector shields while I sleep, but after that it's just a few more eyedrops daily (and no eyemakeup for 2 weeks) and then I'm free and clear! It really is as good as I had been dreaming of. So far, a few of my favorite things include:
- Nuzzling Emily's tummy with my face
- Pulling a sweatshirt easily over my head without catching my glasses
- Rocking Emily to sleep without having to keep swatting her hands away from my glasses
- Peripheral vision! That'll help me not trip over my own daughter...
- Not having to deal with fogged up lenses when I drain pasta or come inside from the FREAKING cold
- Waking up and seeing everything clearly
- Watching TV snuggled up with my head on a pillow
- Not having to look for my glasses before I take Emily downstairs for breakfast in the morning
- Looking in the mirror and not seeing crooked glasses
- Wearing sunglasses any time I want!
- Being able to see really, really well!! My contacts were never this good, and my glasses were so scratched and small that they didn't work well either.
- Not having to rack my brain if I've brought my glasses case or contacts case or spare contacts or contacts solution when I go on an overnight trip.
OK, a few of those I am still looking forward to, but I'm sure that's just the beginning of what I'll find! I am a HAPPY GIRL!!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Farewell, Blind-ey
As my husband is so fond of calling me when he is desperate to find fault with me (generally after a discussion where I've clearly kicked his butt ;) ), "Blindey" is one of the many things I will be glad to leave behind after today! It's LASIK day!!
Yesterday was Emily's 15-month checkup, and she did a fantastic job. I felt SO bad when they gave her her shots, though; she cried as though she was saying "...but what did I ever do to you? We were having fun, and now this?? why??" It was pretty heartbreaking, cuz she was so pleasant and agreeable and charming through the rest of it. She is still 95th percentile for head size and height, but moved down again in the weight percentile to 55th. It's nice that even though Travis and I provided a lousy selection of noses in the gene pool, at least she'll fare well in the physique department.
They asked her if she could say 3 - 5 words, and I was thinking that's pretty accurate, but it's probably more like 15, depending on your definition of "say," to sound Clintonesque. She's got 8 - 10 signs, and a few words, but lots of appropriate babble, like "zhuuuu" for shoes, "Yaiyaiyaiyai" for kitty, etc. It was funny to me that they asked only about her verbal development and not her motor development. Okay, honestly, it was disappointing to me because I think that's where she really shines and I could show off a bit. :) I guess they asked if she can feed herself with her fingers, and I told her she feeds herself with a spoon! So, that was my moment of being That Mom.
So, today we are hoping that Grandma S can get past her snowy gravel road and come down to help me out as I recover from the procedure this afternoon. Stupid snow!! When it comes right down to it, I am really pretty nervous about being awake as they cut open my eyeballs, but I am doing my best to trust and have faith and all that. Apparently I'll be pretty drugged up, and people do this all the time, right?? Wish me luck!!!
Yesterday was Emily's 15-month checkup, and she did a fantastic job. I felt SO bad when they gave her her shots, though; she cried as though she was saying "...but what did I ever do to you? We were having fun, and now this?? why??" It was pretty heartbreaking, cuz she was so pleasant and agreeable and charming through the rest of it. She is still 95th percentile for head size and height, but moved down again in the weight percentile to 55th. It's nice that even though Travis and I provided a lousy selection of noses in the gene pool, at least she'll fare well in the physique department.
They asked her if she could say 3 - 5 words, and I was thinking that's pretty accurate, but it's probably more like 15, depending on your definition of "say," to sound Clintonesque. She's got 8 - 10 signs, and a few words, but lots of appropriate babble, like "zhuuuu" for shoes, "Yaiyaiyaiyai" for kitty, etc. It was funny to me that they asked only about her verbal development and not her motor development. Okay, honestly, it was disappointing to me because I think that's where she really shines and I could show off a bit. :) I guess they asked if she can feed herself with her fingers, and I told her she feeds herself with a spoon! So, that was my moment of being That Mom.
So, today we are hoping that Grandma S can get past her snowy gravel road and come down to help me out as I recover from the procedure this afternoon. Stupid snow!! When it comes right down to it, I am really pretty nervous about being awake as they cut open my eyeballs, but I am doing my best to trust and have faith and all that. Apparently I'll be pretty drugged up, and people do this all the time, right?? Wish me luck!!!
Friday, January 2, 2009
Pee!!
Yes, I am excited about pee! Over the past two months, Emily has twice made puddles on the bathroom floor while waiting for the tub to fill, so I hatched a plan to try to avoid more puddling. I put a potty on the floor next to the tub, put her on it (in her birthday suit) while the tub was filling, and she sat there and played with a toy until it was time to get in the bath. I had done it one other time, and she didn't want to sit there and just hopped into the tub. But this time, when she stood up, there was pee!!! She did it!! I don't care if this is all she does for the 6 months, or the whole year, because that's one diaper every 2 days that I don't have to change - or, one puddle that I don't have to clean up. Maybe I can teach her the sign for potty while she's sitting there? Or maybe she'll decide that's a nicer way to deal with pee than keeping it with her in her pants. Or maybe she'll never do it again, but it was sure a fun thing to do tonight. My baby is such a big girl now!!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
An amazing holiday
We have had a crazy past few weeks. We really put on the miles this holiday!
We celebrated Christmas in Barnum, which included an agonizingly long Christmas Eve service with a sprinting and enthusiastic drummer boy, and lots of casual fun time with the Sullivans. We were in Rockford for the Johannsen Christmas, where Emily joined right in with her cousins, tearing apart the house and having a fantastic time. We had dinner with my aunt's family in Ames, and then went back up to Rockford en route to Mankato for New Year's Eve. Emily stayed in Rockford with her grandparents and aunt and uncle and cousins overnight, and she had a really good time. It was my first overnight away from her, and it was probably harder on me than her, but I had a good time at the party too so I can say it all worked out well! Even though she was pretty happy the whole time I was gone, when I came back I think she was actually angry with me. This afternoon, she was exhausted and crying and I think she was remembering that she couldn't find me... maybe I was reading too much into her expression but the guilt was crushing. But, at least while I was gone, she had a good time and wasn't really upset without me at all. Such a nice girl she is!
It's funny how talking to other people about parenting and about Emily's development will inevitably bring up things that make me question whether I'm doing all that I can for her. I asked my grandfather (who is child developmental psychologist) about Emily walking on her tiptoes, and he said it's important that she break that habit and that I need to have her wear shoes all the time. I know Emily doesn't like to, and I think it's because her feet have been growing so fast that her shoes don't fit! Her cousin Megan is a year older and wears a size larger sheos, but it turns out their feet are the same size. OOPS. I asked why it's important that she learn to walk not on her toes, and he said it's for development of the nervous system, that there are nerves in the feet that are closely tied to vision and balance. So, I guess Emily will be wearing shoes now! And my sister will have to remind Megan not to imitate Emily all the time by walking on her tiptoes. :)
I haven't been teaching Emily a whole lot of signs, just a few that are fun, probably just because I'm lazy. but apparently I'm deaf, too! All during the past week and a half, people have been telling me what they heard Emily say, "plain as day!" and I haven't been acknowledging or encouraging her starts of speech. There are some things she says that are clear - "Doh" for dog (or any animal except a cat), "rouw, rouw" for round, round, and a few others, but a brief list of things that others have heard includes: Apple, Up, Down, Thank you, Blanket, and Blue-purple. I am doubting the last one, but the others I should be listening for and encouraging, I suppose. Another oops. I know she understands nearly everything she hears now, so now I just need to be more vigilant in looking for her to say it back to me.
Well, I'm exhausted from the wild holiday, and I don't have much more for details to share. Emily had a most wonderful Christmas, and together I feel like we are the luckiest little family in the world.
We celebrated Christmas in Barnum, which included an agonizingly long Christmas Eve service with a sprinting and enthusiastic drummer boy, and lots of casual fun time with the Sullivans. We were in Rockford for the Johannsen Christmas, where Emily joined right in with her cousins, tearing apart the house and having a fantastic time. We had dinner with my aunt's family in Ames, and then went back up to Rockford en route to Mankato for New Year's Eve. Emily stayed in Rockford with her grandparents and aunt and uncle and cousins overnight, and she had a really good time. It was my first overnight away from her, and it was probably harder on me than her, but I had a good time at the party too so I can say it all worked out well! Even though she was pretty happy the whole time I was gone, when I came back I think she was actually angry with me. This afternoon, she was exhausted and crying and I think she was remembering that she couldn't find me... maybe I was reading too much into her expression but the guilt was crushing. But, at least while I was gone, she had a good time and wasn't really upset without me at all. Such a nice girl she is!
It's funny how talking to other people about parenting and about Emily's development will inevitably bring up things that make me question whether I'm doing all that I can for her. I asked my grandfather (who is child developmental psychologist) about Emily walking on her tiptoes, and he said it's important that she break that habit and that I need to have her wear shoes all the time. I know Emily doesn't like to, and I think it's because her feet have been growing so fast that her shoes don't fit! Her cousin Megan is a year older and wears a size larger sheos, but it turns out their feet are the same size. OOPS. I asked why it's important that she learn to walk not on her toes, and he said it's for development of the nervous system, that there are nerves in the feet that are closely tied to vision and balance. So, I guess Emily will be wearing shoes now! And my sister will have to remind Megan not to imitate Emily all the time by walking on her tiptoes. :)
I haven't been teaching Emily a whole lot of signs, just a few that are fun, probably just because I'm lazy. but apparently I'm deaf, too! All during the past week and a half, people have been telling me what they heard Emily say, "plain as day!" and I haven't been acknowledging or encouraging her starts of speech. There are some things she says that are clear - "Doh" for dog (or any animal except a cat), "rouw, rouw" for round, round, and a few others, but a brief list of things that others have heard includes: Apple, Up, Down, Thank you, Blanket, and Blue-purple. I am doubting the last one, but the others I should be listening for and encouraging, I suppose. Another oops. I know she understands nearly everything she hears now, so now I just need to be more vigilant in looking for her to say it back to me.
Well, I'm exhausted from the wild holiday, and I don't have much more for details to share. Emily had a most wonderful Christmas, and together I feel like we are the luckiest little family in the world.
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