There's only two parts to Christmas this year, which makes me a little sad, but I guess it's nice to be moving on, now.
We were in Barnum for two nights this past weekend, and had a really nice quiet time. The girls handled their visit with Patrick really well (possibly better than I did), and he was so happy to see them. Trav said that after we left, he was definitely less chipper. Emily found a tea party set in the toys that they have available, and she had a great time actually playing, not just sitting and talking and sucking her thumb (sigh). I asked her to sing with me so he could hear her sing, and she did such a great job. Audrey was a little more of a stinker, but still, she is such an agreeable little thing that it was hardly objectionable. On our way in, another person in our visiting group noticed our girls and made a point to tell us that her daughter wouldn't put grandchildren on the visitation list so their uncle could see them. It was just what I needed to hear. It validated my hesitation and apprehension about continuing to do these visits, without me having to raise an unnecessary stink about it, since it really is all right, just an overall sucky situation. For example, Emily was really upset that Grandma was going back in to visit the following morning. What are you going to do: leave your granddaughter in tears, or not visit your son on Christmas? The ripple effect of prison is really awful.
Other than that, it was very quiet and relaxing and delicious and fun. Trav and his youngest brother stayed up super late on Christmas, leaving a bottle of Templeton Rye empty on the counter for our amusement in the morning. They sure have a good time together. They went out in the snow with Emily one afternoon, and were soon distracted by pelting each other with snowbricks. Since it was too cold to make snowballs they just threw whatever they could find, like a couple of 10-year-olds. Emily was impressed, you might say.
Today has been hard, getting back to normal. Travis was impressed yesterday by how much there was to put away after being gone from home a few days, but I had to put it all away the previous week while he was at work and he had no idea what I had done while he was gone. So today Trav went to work and we had a "normal" Monday, plus whining/screaming/protesting out of both girls nearly continuously. There was probably about half an hour where they were playing pretty nicely together, and another 2 hours where Audrey was napping, but the rest of the time was really tough. It didn't help that I was feeling grouchy overall. We'll get back into it, but days like today make the silence of bedtime especially sweet.
Audrey's getting a lot closer to walking. She has been pulling herself up to standing using nearly everything, but tonight I watched her stand up without using any help at all. She looked at me with the funniest expression, like, "Didja see that?? whoa!!" It was really impressive - I mean, can you stand up from squatting, no hands? So, she'll take some steps soon here. In the meantime, I'm loving the crawling, cuz she's got such character about the way she moves.
Emily is really, really good at naming letter sounds now. She sings her ABC's really nicely now, which I'm sure she could have done months ago if I had worked with her, but they do it at her daycare a lot. I'm pretty relaxed on stuff like that, because she'll learn it quickly enough once it's presented to her. She's got two more years of preschool ahead of her so I think the pressure is off at home! She likes to ask me what letter words start with and then guess the answer herself, and although she is really confused by "C" and "S" words and sometimes tripped up by "H"s, she's got the rest down really well. It's a nice game to play while we're shopping or in the car or whatever. My favorite exchange:
E: "Mom, what's Panessa start with?" me: "Vanessa? Vvvvv..." "V! V for Panessa. What's Panelle start with?" (that's Vanessa's mom) "Lynelle? Lllllll..." "L! L for Panelle..." at which point she got really thoughtful and probably realized she might not have that name right. I'm going to miss it when all those little 'isms go away. There are only a few left and although I don't reinforce them, I never correct them, and I do my best to stifle snickers until later because I don't want her to feel laughed at. She's really delightful company, when she's not wigging out about something! I know it's typical 3-year-old stuff, but I actually miss the sweet girl when the demons come out! :)
And one more Emily story that I love: When I was going in early to work last week, I was getting Emily out of bed, snuggling up a bit, and I told her that I was leaving and that Dad would take her to daycare. She protested, and I told her I'd pick her up, and it'd be fine, and she looked up at me so earnestly and said, "but I, but I, but I, I love you!" I love you too, sweetie.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Christmas part 1
We had Johannsen Christmas up in Rockford this weekend, and it was really wonderful. Jenny's and my families were there for Saturday, and Kerri and Dan came that evening after her family's Christmas in Protivin that day. Then on Sunday, my aunt and uncle, cousin w/hubby, and my grandparents all came up from Ames for the afternoon. It was a houseful! We had a great time. I'm not sure I can even describe what a great time it was, but I'll try.
My dad has spent this past year finishing the basement. The carpet was laid on Tuesday of last week, which was just in time because we needed the space! Jenny's family slept downstairs where the ping-pong table used to be (for those of you readers who were at my house when we were young). The area by the chalkboard with the sloping floor drain where we washed fossils out of our hair in high school (don't ask) has been filled in with concrete and leveled so it could be carpeted. The girls had a fantastic time playing down there, with room to romp and squeal and do somersaults and dance. My dad installed a TON of lights in the ceiling, and the walls are drywalled and painted a nice light color, so it's very, very pleasant down there. Hard to believe I used to roller skate down there!! He's very proud of the work, too, as he should be. He'll probably spend a good portion of the next year working on it still, though, because the playroom is still unfinished and they're adding another room to the west of that. The added space is much appreciated, though, when we have that many people there.
We also played outside. there's probably at least 15" of snow there, which means ginormous snow piles to play on. It was so cold that the snow was too powdery for construction, but the girls in their sleds were easy to pull around on the driveway, so they very much enjoyed that. We climbed on big round straw bales, played with superfriendly kittens, and talked to the cows. It was so very still there, and the sky was an arctic blue. Beautiful, peaceful, just awesome. And the only thing breaking the silence was little girl laughter! It doesn't get any better.
Of course, I left my camera card in my computer at home, so I have no pictures. Classic move! But other people were taking pictures, and I'll get them someday. It was a really wonderful, special weekend. It was honestly hard to leave. We opened Christmas presents and ate a ton of great food, and laughed the whole weekend long. We even sang for my grandmother, who was possibly the most enraptured and appreciative audience I have ever performed for. She was so thrilled to have all of us singing together at my mom's piano, she was actually in tears. It's so nice to be someplace where all the things about myself that I normally try to downplay, that others may think stand out as abnormal or unusual about me, just blend in and are appreciated and are normal!
I love home.
Tonight, we took some treats over to Emily's old sitter, and it was such a nice homecoming for her. She was so excited to be there, I thought she'd wiggle herself out of her carseat as we were entering her neighborhood! Audrey didn't remember the place, of course, but Emily made herself right at home. Emma and Brady were happy to see her, too, and it was nice to catch up with Amanda and hear how things have been for her. To go back to the "feeling dumped" analogy, I kind of wondered if this might be the kind of thing where you can't be friends afterwards without one party not respecting the boundaries (that would be Emily, in this case, who decided she'd go upstairs and stay for the evening) but I think you can't go wrong maintaining relationships with interesting people. Life is too short, and most people are too dull! I didn't say that, shhhhh... Anyway, it was a nice evening and fun to give Emily such a thrill. Now, just wait until she sees what Santa has planned! We've asked him to come on Christmas Eve Eve, and then we head up to Barnum for the actual holiday. It'll be less crowded and less active there, which is probably just what we need after last weekend. But I wouldn't've traded it for anything in the world.
And, I did get Emily's singing posted, this time at YouTube. Enjoy!
Golden Slumbers, pt 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t53vlHuEZbw
Golden Slumbers, pt 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLODc-GrZA0
Twinkle, Twinkle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOJce8Hgja4
My dad has spent this past year finishing the basement. The carpet was laid on Tuesday of last week, which was just in time because we needed the space! Jenny's family slept downstairs where the ping-pong table used to be (for those of you readers who were at my house when we were young). The area by the chalkboard with the sloping floor drain where we washed fossils out of our hair in high school (don't ask) has been filled in with concrete and leveled so it could be carpeted. The girls had a fantastic time playing down there, with room to romp and squeal and do somersaults and dance. My dad installed a TON of lights in the ceiling, and the walls are drywalled and painted a nice light color, so it's very, very pleasant down there. Hard to believe I used to roller skate down there!! He's very proud of the work, too, as he should be. He'll probably spend a good portion of the next year working on it still, though, because the playroom is still unfinished and they're adding another room to the west of that. The added space is much appreciated, though, when we have that many people there.
We also played outside. there's probably at least 15" of snow there, which means ginormous snow piles to play on. It was so cold that the snow was too powdery for construction, but the girls in their sleds were easy to pull around on the driveway, so they very much enjoyed that. We climbed on big round straw bales, played with superfriendly kittens, and talked to the cows. It was so very still there, and the sky was an arctic blue. Beautiful, peaceful, just awesome. And the only thing breaking the silence was little girl laughter! It doesn't get any better.
Of course, I left my camera card in my computer at home, so I have no pictures. Classic move! But other people were taking pictures, and I'll get them someday. It was a really wonderful, special weekend. It was honestly hard to leave. We opened Christmas presents and ate a ton of great food, and laughed the whole weekend long. We even sang for my grandmother, who was possibly the most enraptured and appreciative audience I have ever performed for. She was so thrilled to have all of us singing together at my mom's piano, she was actually in tears. It's so nice to be someplace where all the things about myself that I normally try to downplay, that others may think stand out as abnormal or unusual about me, just blend in and are appreciated and are normal!
I love home.
Tonight, we took some treats over to Emily's old sitter, and it was such a nice homecoming for her. She was so excited to be there, I thought she'd wiggle herself out of her carseat as we were entering her neighborhood! Audrey didn't remember the place, of course, but Emily made herself right at home. Emma and Brady were happy to see her, too, and it was nice to catch up with Amanda and hear how things have been for her. To go back to the "feeling dumped" analogy, I kind of wondered if this might be the kind of thing where you can't be friends afterwards without one party not respecting the boundaries (that would be Emily, in this case, who decided she'd go upstairs and stay for the evening) but I think you can't go wrong maintaining relationships with interesting people. Life is too short, and most people are too dull! I didn't say that, shhhhh... Anyway, it was a nice evening and fun to give Emily such a thrill. Now, just wait until she sees what Santa has planned! We've asked him to come on Christmas Eve Eve, and then we head up to Barnum for the actual holiday. It'll be less crowded and less active there, which is probably just what we need after last weekend. But I wouldn't've traded it for anything in the world.
And, I did get Emily's singing posted, this time at YouTube. Enjoy!
Golden Slumbers, pt 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t53vlHuEZbw
Golden Slumbers, pt 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLODc-GrZA0
Twinkle, Twinkle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOJce8Hgja4
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Laugh a minute
Emily has had a ton of funny things to say lately. We we were making chocolates this afternoon, and she saw the bowl of melted chocolate and asked me, "Mom, do you dream in chocolate?" We watched some TV this morning while Audrey snoozed in my arms, so she apparently picked up on that line from a chocolate commercial. Isn't that great?
She has fallen in love with the book Amelia Bedelia, and at one point Amelia says "Yes, that will do nicely." Emily has been parroting that all the time. It's great to hear her talking like a book, and not so much like other kids at daycare. Also during the chocolate-making, she was telling me about her friend Avery at daycare. "Yeah, she's my BEST friend."
Audrey and I were playing the piano together the other day, and she really enjoyed it when she got ahold of one of my fingers so she could get me to play one note at a time. So today when we sat down, she was all excited, trying to get ahold of my hand just the same way, and when she did, she happily smashed my hand around, playing one note at a time. It's hard to write in words, but you know what I mean. She really enjoys hearing single notes at a time, much more than Emily did, and I wonder if she's got more of an ear for melody, although from the singing that Emily and I did together today it'd be hard to imagine. Emily sang "Golden Slumbers" and "Twinkle, Twinkle" with me today while I recorded it, and they are the absolutely most adorable videos you'll ever see (if I can get them posted.)
At lunch today, when Emily finally showed up at the lunch table, I told her I was glad to see her. Travis said, "I am, too." Emily said, "I'm three." It took me a minute to realize why she said it, and then it was pretty funny.
I asked Emily to tell me a story the other day, when I was too tired to read her any more books and laid down on the couch with her, and she yammered and chatted while I laid there with my eyes closed. It was a nice break for me, and she was happy to just keep telling me some nonsensical story.
We've had a great weekend, and I'm finally starting to get excited for Christmas. :)
She has fallen in love with the book Amelia Bedelia, and at one point Amelia says "Yes, that will do nicely." Emily has been parroting that all the time. It's great to hear her talking like a book, and not so much like other kids at daycare. Also during the chocolate-making, she was telling me about her friend Avery at daycare. "Yeah, she's my BEST friend."
Audrey and I were playing the piano together the other day, and she really enjoyed it when she got ahold of one of my fingers so she could get me to play one note at a time. So today when we sat down, she was all excited, trying to get ahold of my hand just the same way, and when she did, she happily smashed my hand around, playing one note at a time. It's hard to write in words, but you know what I mean. She really enjoys hearing single notes at a time, much more than Emily did, and I wonder if she's got more of an ear for melody, although from the singing that Emily and I did together today it'd be hard to imagine. Emily sang "Golden Slumbers" and "Twinkle, Twinkle" with me today while I recorded it, and they are the absolutely most adorable videos you'll ever see (if I can get them posted.)
At lunch today, when Emily finally showed up at the lunch table, I told her I was glad to see her. Travis said, "I am, too." Emily said, "I'm three." It took me a minute to realize why she said it, and then it was pretty funny.
I asked Emily to tell me a story the other day, when I was too tired to read her any more books and laid down on the couch with her, and she yammered and chatted while I laid there with my eyes closed. It was a nice break for me, and she was happy to just keep telling me some nonsensical story.
We've had a great weekend, and I'm finally starting to get excited for Christmas. :)
Monday, December 6, 2010
Going Underground!
Hi! Is it quieter in here, or is it just me? :) So glad you want to continue to hear my ramblings. I am also pleased to find out that a few of my readers have been keeping up with me and yet still want to have families of their own someday! I must be doing an okay job of putting a positive spin on things... and when I fail to do so, at least I'm being honest!!
Today was a great day with the girls. Mondays tend to be hard because we're tired from the weekend, but today was great. I got up early and did some stretching/weights for about 20 minutes, and while Trav was in the shower I got to snuggle with Emily in my bed. She whispered to me, "Mom, we're going to have another great day AGAIN!" Isn't that a great way to start the day??? We went to the chiropractor, and then Audrey snoozed on my lap when we got home, which is unusual these days so that was a real treat. Emily watched Clifford, and then we did laundry. The girls played nicely together all day, and they were so silly at times that there were lots of giggle-out-loud moments. They ate every scrap of their healthy lunch of leftovers (no battles or whining), and we ended up all taking naps this afternoon. Then we went to the library, where they were giggley and happy, and we had tacos for supper. It was a great day. I'll take this day, any day!
Last Monday, however, was a different story. I have a hard time telling Audrey's "I'm tired" and "I need to poop" signals apart, since they both involve general fussiness and wanting to gnaw on her blanket. I misjudged, grossly, and when I checked on her after laying her down that afternoon, I found her happily cooing in her crib with poop EVERYWHERE. I'm not exaggerating at all - I threw away the crib sheet, and had to disinfect in between every crib slat. Audrey got a bath because she had it in her hair, even. Then I had to disinfect the bathtub! It took me an hour, during which time Emily peppered me with "Why's" throughout. I don't know why she wasn't catching on that the answer was always, "Because there's poop on it!" Then, I learned the hard way to not ever wash all of Audrey's blankets at the same time because she requires one specific kind to chew on in order to get to sleep. She wigged out for 45 minutes until she decided that a fuzzy changing table cover was close enough substitute for her to pass out with. It was insane, and I was so helpless. After she woke up, we went to Target and I bought two more of the exact same blanket, so we have 4 now. Crazy.
Audrey is really into standing now, but only with support. She likes to grab onto my pant legs and stand holding onto me, which is fun to see when she smiles up at me but not as fun when I'd like to move somewhere but can't because she's clinging to me and will fall over if I leave. She's very, very attached to me! Her faces crack me up, though; her expression today after putting a few peas into her mouth by herself was so self-satisfied that I couldn't help but laugh. It was like she was so happy to be eating that she just couldn't container herself! (Yum, yum, yum! there!) She's been attacking my head the past few days because I had some pretty clips in my hair one day, and she wanted to play with them. When she remembers them, she brutally claws at my head in search of them. The COOLEST thing was when she was sitting in her rocking chair and I was taking pictures of her, and she turned her head when I changed the camera perspective. I recognized it instantly and told her I knew what she was doing, and she smiled back because of course she understands what I'm saying! SO cool! So I'd turn the camera one way, then rotate 90° and she'd turn her little head just right. Adorable. What a cool kid. Then a few days later she managed to stand up in the same rocking chair and tip it over backwards, smacking her head on the floor and leaving a nice bruise (check it out - it'll be on our Christmas card!). I saw it coming and almost almost got there in time, which was a really awful feeling to just not quite get there. All those years of practice digging volleyballs, and when it really counted I was wearing slippery socks. Gah!
Emily is pretty brutal with her constant "why's" still, but I'm doing pretty well at staying a step ahead of her on things. Is it parenting, or maniuplation and mind-games? I'm thinking there's not much of a difference! Last night she finally slept through the night after a few weeks of getting up to pee during the night. It's hard to tell her to stay in bed, because I'd rather wipe a bottom than change sheets, but on the other hand, it's obvious that she doesn't have to go that much. She has the funniest things to say. She brought me a skirt from my closet today, and I told her I thought I might wear jeans instead. "But you look so beautiful in this!" Funny to hear my sentences come out of her mouth.
We went to church yesterday, which we don't do often so she thinks it's a marvelous special event. She was excited to hear "all the beautiful music," and very much enjoyed the Christmas tree and going up for the children's sermon. That was fun for us, too, because we hadn't told my grandparents that we were coming, so they found out we were there when they saw Emily come trotting up front! We had lunch with them and then took Mommo to the ISU women's basketball game with us. It was a really nice time, especially since Emily decided that Mommo's lap was the place to snuggle when she got tired. It is such a wonderful feeling to see my girls having memorable times with them.
I'd better turn in before it gets too late. It's sure fun to have these anecdotes to share. I think they've been there all along, but I'm really enjoying these moments now. I love my little family!
Today was a great day with the girls. Mondays tend to be hard because we're tired from the weekend, but today was great. I got up early and did some stretching/weights for about 20 minutes, and while Trav was in the shower I got to snuggle with Emily in my bed. She whispered to me, "Mom, we're going to have another great day AGAIN!" Isn't that a great way to start the day??? We went to the chiropractor, and then Audrey snoozed on my lap when we got home, which is unusual these days so that was a real treat. Emily watched Clifford, and then we did laundry. The girls played nicely together all day, and they were so silly at times that there were lots of giggle-out-loud moments. They ate every scrap of their healthy lunch of leftovers (no battles or whining), and we ended up all taking naps this afternoon. Then we went to the library, where they were giggley and happy, and we had tacos for supper. It was a great day. I'll take this day, any day!
Last Monday, however, was a different story. I have a hard time telling Audrey's "I'm tired" and "I need to poop" signals apart, since they both involve general fussiness and wanting to gnaw on her blanket. I misjudged, grossly, and when I checked on her after laying her down that afternoon, I found her happily cooing in her crib with poop EVERYWHERE. I'm not exaggerating at all - I threw away the crib sheet, and had to disinfect in between every crib slat. Audrey got a bath because she had it in her hair, even. Then I had to disinfect the bathtub! It took me an hour, during which time Emily peppered me with "Why's" throughout. I don't know why she wasn't catching on that the answer was always, "Because there's poop on it!" Then, I learned the hard way to not ever wash all of Audrey's blankets at the same time because she requires one specific kind to chew on in order to get to sleep. She wigged out for 45 minutes until she decided that a fuzzy changing table cover was close enough substitute for her to pass out with. It was insane, and I was so helpless. After she woke up, we went to Target and I bought two more of the exact same blanket, so we have 4 now. Crazy.
Audrey is really into standing now, but only with support. She likes to grab onto my pant legs and stand holding onto me, which is fun to see when she smiles up at me but not as fun when I'd like to move somewhere but can't because she's clinging to me and will fall over if I leave. She's very, very attached to me! Her faces crack me up, though; her expression today after putting a few peas into her mouth by herself was so self-satisfied that I couldn't help but laugh. It was like she was so happy to be eating that she just couldn't container herself! (Yum, yum, yum! there!) She's been attacking my head the past few days because I had some pretty clips in my hair one day, and she wanted to play with them. When she remembers them, she brutally claws at my head in search of them. The COOLEST thing was when she was sitting in her rocking chair and I was taking pictures of her, and she turned her head when I changed the camera perspective. I recognized it instantly and told her I knew what she was doing, and she smiled back because of course she understands what I'm saying! SO cool! So I'd turn the camera one way, then rotate 90° and she'd turn her little head just right. Adorable. What a cool kid. Then a few days later she managed to stand up in the same rocking chair and tip it over backwards, smacking her head on the floor and leaving a nice bruise (check it out - it'll be on our Christmas card!). I saw it coming and almost almost got there in time, which was a really awful feeling to just not quite get there. All those years of practice digging volleyballs, and when it really counted I was wearing slippery socks. Gah!
Emily is pretty brutal with her constant "why's" still, but I'm doing pretty well at staying a step ahead of her on things. Is it parenting, or maniuplation and mind-games? I'm thinking there's not much of a difference! Last night she finally slept through the night after a few weeks of getting up to pee during the night. It's hard to tell her to stay in bed, because I'd rather wipe a bottom than change sheets, but on the other hand, it's obvious that she doesn't have to go that much. She has the funniest things to say. She brought me a skirt from my closet today, and I told her I thought I might wear jeans instead. "But you look so beautiful in this!" Funny to hear my sentences come out of her mouth.
We went to church yesterday, which we don't do often so she thinks it's a marvelous special event. She was excited to hear "all the beautiful music," and very much enjoyed the Christmas tree and going up for the children's sermon. That was fun for us, too, because we hadn't told my grandparents that we were coming, so they found out we were there when they saw Emily come trotting up front! We had lunch with them and then took Mommo to the ISU women's basketball game with us. It was a really nice time, especially since Emily decided that Mommo's lap was the place to snuggle when she got tired. It is such a wonderful feeling to see my girls having memorable times with them.
I'd better turn in before it gets too late. It's sure fun to have these anecdotes to share. I think they've been there all along, but I'm really enjoying these moments now. I love my little family!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving
What a great thanksgiving!! We spent a day in Barnum, a day in Rockford, and most of today travelling home. We stopped in Ames to have lunch with my grandparents, too. Despite some difficulty in getting girls to sleep (which is to be expected, I suppose), we had an easy time travelling with the girls, and they were lovely, amazing girls the whole time. It was possibly the most low-key holiday I've ever had, with almost no stress and lots of fantastic food wherever we went. We also got a Christmas tree this afternoon, and Emily was really excited to put her ornaments on it.
A highlight from today: As we were leaving Mommo's house, Audrey was crying because she was overtired, late for her nap. So we got her buckled in, and I was buckling Emily into her carseat. Emily was asking why Audrey was crying (because Emily asks why to absolutely everything these days), so I told her she wanted us to sing to her. Emily and I started singing "Golden Slumbers," and Audrey immediately stopped crying, and stared at us with her big blue eyes still full of tears. Then Mommo joined in, right next to Audrey, and then she stared at her, just taking it all in. It was a wonderful, wonderful moment for me, all of us singing together.
Audrey also figured out how to climb up into her little rocking chair (see picasa). She was SO proud of herself. I took a whole bunch of pictures of her with the camera held vertical (portrait), and then turned it sideways, and she turned her head when I did that! I noticed immediately because my very first memory is of watching my dad take pictures of me, turning the camera and I turned my head so my face would be right in the picture. Audrey did exactly the same thing! I told my mom about it and she thinks I was probably the same age as Audrey, so it's weird to think that she's storing away memories from things that happen, and I may never know what's impacting her long-term... anyway, the pictures are adorable and she totally caught on that I knew why she did that. So we took a bunch more pictures, both directions. What a cutie.
Thanksgiving was also made fun because I learned about friends of mine who will be having kids next spring! Hooray! This will be a fun spring. My cousin and his wife are having a baby in January, my coworker is having twins in February, I get a new niece or nephew in March, and I just learned about a friend who's expecting the end of May (yay!!!). Several other friends are expecting this coming spring and summer, too, so apparently it was a busy fall for some people!! Class of '29 is going to be full of interesting people, if they're anything like their parents!
I've noticed lately that my blog gets more traffic than I expect or can identify based on Feedjit locations, so I will be changing this blog to be password protected after this entry. Please let me know if you'd like the password, and when I do my next posting in a week or two I will email you the info you need. I want to do a better job of staying personally connected with my friends, so this will make me feel a little less like I'm enabling casual stalking. :) If you want to hear what I'm up to, I want to hear from you, too, really! I may not be able to form coherent sentences when I attempt real conversations, and you may not have time to write me a book, but I miss my friends. What's up with you?
A highlight from today: As we were leaving Mommo's house, Audrey was crying because she was overtired, late for her nap. So we got her buckled in, and I was buckling Emily into her carseat. Emily was asking why Audrey was crying (because Emily asks why to absolutely everything these days), so I told her she wanted us to sing to her. Emily and I started singing "Golden Slumbers," and Audrey immediately stopped crying, and stared at us with her big blue eyes still full of tears. Then Mommo joined in, right next to Audrey, and then she stared at her, just taking it all in. It was a wonderful, wonderful moment for me, all of us singing together.
Audrey also figured out how to climb up into her little rocking chair (see picasa). She was SO proud of herself. I took a whole bunch of pictures of her with the camera held vertical (portrait), and then turned it sideways, and she turned her head when I did that! I noticed immediately because my very first memory is of watching my dad take pictures of me, turning the camera and I turned my head so my face would be right in the picture. Audrey did exactly the same thing! I told my mom about it and she thinks I was probably the same age as Audrey, so it's weird to think that she's storing away memories from things that happen, and I may never know what's impacting her long-term... anyway, the pictures are adorable and she totally caught on that I knew why she did that. So we took a bunch more pictures, both directions. What a cutie.
Thanksgiving was also made fun because I learned about friends of mine who will be having kids next spring! Hooray! This will be a fun spring. My cousin and his wife are having a baby in January, my coworker is having twins in February, I get a new niece or nephew in March, and I just learned about a friend who's expecting the end of May (yay!!!). Several other friends are expecting this coming spring and summer, too, so apparently it was a busy fall for some people!! Class of '29 is going to be full of interesting people, if they're anything like their parents!
I've noticed lately that my blog gets more traffic than I expect or can identify based on Feedjit locations, so I will be changing this blog to be password protected after this entry. Please let me know if you'd like the password, and when I do my next posting in a week or two I will email you the info you need. I want to do a better job of staying personally connected with my friends, so this will make me feel a little less like I'm enabling casual stalking. :) If you want to hear what I'm up to, I want to hear from you, too, really! I may not be able to form coherent sentences when I attempt real conversations, and you may not have time to write me a book, but I miss my friends. What's up with you?
Sunday, November 21, 2010
My sweet, sweet Emily
So for some stupid reason I seem to post mainly about accomplishments and frustrations, when I should be sharing amazingly sweet stories like what happened at bedtime tonight.
Emily likes to "hide" a book under her bed during the day, and then have a Surprise Book (or Purrize Book, as she calls it) for her story to go to sleep. Sometimes I sneak one in that she's not expecting, and that's fun, too! Since she's been sick, she's been napping in the afternoons, and then staying up late, and it's not a good system for us. Today, we didn't let her nap, and lucky for us, Sullivan grandparents were here for dinnertime so she was a happy girl on her best wiggliest behavior. But last night, she didn't want to sleep because she wasn't tired yet, and she was mad that I was putting her to bed at 8:30 instead of 10 like the night before. I tried to give her a hug, and she pushed me away, hand to my throat, so I hugged her anyway, kissed her head, told her I loved her, and said goodnight sweetie, and went downstairs. She howled for nearly an hour after that, and my awesome hubby took care of all of it. After a while, she was upset because she did want to give me a hug, but he said that I was downstairs, and if she wanted to hug me, she should do so when I'm tucking her in. In retrospect it seems harsh, but at the time, I was just too tired to deal with it. I had spent the day getting her glasses of water she wouldn't drink, dressing her in clothes she immediately removed, serving her food she wouldn't eat, trying to read her stories that she wouldn't sit still for, and finally putting her in a bed where she wouldn't sleep. And Travis was tired of the howling.
Tonight, she was exhausted, and I read her one book, turned off her light, sang her a song, and offered her a hug. She gave me the biggest, most wonderful hug, and said, (unprovoked), "I sorry I pushed you away. Don't cry, Mom, it'll be all right. You a nice mom." I got all teary anyway. :) I asked Travis what he had told her last night, to make sure he wasn't guilting her or upsetting her into thinking I was mad at her, or anything, and he said he had barely mentioned it. What a sensitive, sweet girl! I will have to be more and more careful what I say when I'm frustrated, because she is digesting every single bit of what she hears, and taking it to heart. Which is insane because i can say other things to her a million times and they just go whizzing right by; complex things like put your shoes away, or take another bite. But yeah, she's a wonderful little girl. I love her!!!!!
Emily likes to "hide" a book under her bed during the day, and then have a Surprise Book (or Purrize Book, as she calls it) for her story to go to sleep. Sometimes I sneak one in that she's not expecting, and that's fun, too! Since she's been sick, she's been napping in the afternoons, and then staying up late, and it's not a good system for us. Today, we didn't let her nap, and lucky for us, Sullivan grandparents were here for dinnertime so she was a happy girl on her best wiggliest behavior. But last night, she didn't want to sleep because she wasn't tired yet, and she was mad that I was putting her to bed at 8:30 instead of 10 like the night before. I tried to give her a hug, and she pushed me away, hand to my throat, so I hugged her anyway, kissed her head, told her I loved her, and said goodnight sweetie, and went downstairs. She howled for nearly an hour after that, and my awesome hubby took care of all of it. After a while, she was upset because she did want to give me a hug, but he said that I was downstairs, and if she wanted to hug me, she should do so when I'm tucking her in. In retrospect it seems harsh, but at the time, I was just too tired to deal with it. I had spent the day getting her glasses of water she wouldn't drink, dressing her in clothes she immediately removed, serving her food she wouldn't eat, trying to read her stories that she wouldn't sit still for, and finally putting her in a bed where she wouldn't sleep. And Travis was tired of the howling.
Tonight, she was exhausted, and I read her one book, turned off her light, sang her a song, and offered her a hug. She gave me the biggest, most wonderful hug, and said, (unprovoked), "I sorry I pushed you away. Don't cry, Mom, it'll be all right. You a nice mom." I got all teary anyway. :) I asked Travis what he had told her last night, to make sure he wasn't guilting her or upsetting her into thinking I was mad at her, or anything, and he said he had barely mentioned it. What a sensitive, sweet girl! I will have to be more and more careful what I say when I'm frustrated, because she is digesting every single bit of what she hears, and taking it to heart. Which is insane because i can say other things to her a million times and they just go whizzing right by; complex things like put your shoes away, or take another bite. But yeah, she's a wonderful little girl. I love her!!!!!
The sickness continues
Back in September, Travis stayed home from work with a fever and chills, then had a lingering cough for almost a month after that. Near the end of that, we both came down with a stomach flu, and then I caught the cough. That's almost done, but earlier this week I caught something else and my head has been congested, my sinuses were on fire. After a chiropractic adjustment and a good night's sleep (that took me 3 nights to achieve, no thanks to my girls), I'm finally on the mend. I think it's gotten into my inner ears, so I'm all woozy and still very weak, but at least I was able to function today. Will I ever feel good again???
Emily has been a handful lately, asking WHY to absolutely everything I say to her, whether it makes sense to ask why or not, and sometimes just flat-out saying No. I usually ignore those and that seems to work well, but the Whys are really grating on me. She's also really getting tired of Audrey being in her space. We have time-outs almost every day for taking toys out of her hand, knocking her over, pulling her legs, or excessive hugging. Yes, I'm that mom that you hear in the grocery store, hollering at her kid to stop hugging her sister. Audrey generally doesn't protest that one much, but I'm suspicious that it's only because Emily goes right for her windpipe and there's not much she could say if she wanted to. And with everyone in our house sick and overtired for one reason or another, I'll admit I haven't handled it as well as I could. But, I'm learning as best I can, and we've made good use of the portable jail and other deterrents to keep the girls happily playing. Emily is just so earnest and clever that I sometimes can't even get her attention to change her actions at all. A new rule in our house, though, is that she cannot ask Why if i say Stop, Let Go, or NO!! Anything else, I'll try to explain if she really wants to know why, but those she has to just do immediately. Gah! so annoying!!
I challenged Emily the other day to stand on one foot, and she really did pretty well for only trying it for her first time. Audrey can pull herself to standing using just about anything now, and I've seen her let go in order to concentrate on whatever treasure she's found, so that's pretty cool. Nice that my girls have some balance even if I'm too dizzy myself!!
And Audrey is babbling so sweetly now. Her "Mom Mom Mom"s are more purposeful and she tells me stories: "Shzuzzzshuzzshuzzshuzz, dju dju dju dju..." It's funny to think that that's what we sound like to her!
Emily surprised me the other day, on the way to the park, by singing along with me all the way through "Mr. Sun." What a good singer she is!
My neighbor has gotten me interested in the Montessori school in Des Moines. Usually the most common factor to Montessori schools is that they are prohibitively expensive, but this is actually a public school, a part of the Des Moines Public Schools. I sent in Emily's application already, so hopefully the waiting list for 4-year-old preschool in Fall 2012 isn't too long to include her! (I would hope not, but they said they'll accept names as soon as the child turns 1. yikes!) My neighbor has sons in 1st grade and 4YO preschool, and she has spoken so highly of her experiences there, I figured I'd throw my name into the hat. One of the biggest advantages, I think, is that the Montessori philosophy is to play off of the child's inherent love of learning, and not try to mold them all into the same kind of learner. They will put kids into whatever age of learning group they're ready for (Kindergarteners reading with 1st graders if they're ready, etc.), and focus on student-discovery over teaching memorization. I can remember learning about the multiplication table in 4th grade, and studying how the numbers added and looking for patterns and figuring out how multiplication was related to addition, groups of numbers and such; and then I failed the multiplication test because I had been essentially deriving the table instead of just memorizing it. In Montessori, that's good learning; in traditional methods, that's failing. Since both my girls will be on the older end of their classes, I'm excited to think that this might keep them from feeling like they spend their days waiting for other kids. It sounds really arrogant of me to say so, but that's how I felt all the way through elementary and junior high. Spelling tests were just agony, waiting for the next word... and then I'd miss words completely because I was trying to entertain myself while waiting. I read novels under my desk, I practiced fingering for pieces I was learning on piano or violin, I bit my fingernails, and I daydreamed a LOT, all day long. Wouldn't it be great if my girls could learn what they're ready for, when they're excited about it? And I know that it's not fair to assume they'll be like me (or Travis; he's said he felt the same way), but still, isn't that a great way to learn?
This past week of daycare dropoffs and pickups went just fine, with no tears. Emily was a little apprehensive on Tuesday, but she got into it just fine. Travis was gone in Dallas on Tuesday and Wednesday, and for some reason I had a really hard time with this trip; lucky for me, he was able to come home on Wed instead of the Thursday that he'd planned on. He switched his flight, and surprised me by showing up with a bottle of wine and a few other treats that we enjoyed after the girls were in bed Friday night. (They weren't asleep; they didn't konk out for good until almost 1 AM. Little stinkers!) Anyway, Emily's class is giong on a field trip in a few weeks to a local gymnastics place, so that's going to be pretty cool! I'm tempted to go along with them, but, if I wanted to do that, why don't I just take her on a day I don't work, right? I thought it was nice that it was scheduled for a day when Emily was there. And Audrey gets lots of 1-on-1 snuggles with one of her afternoon teachers, who is thoroughly smitten with her (but really, who wouldn't be, right? have you seen her big blue eyes??) This place is going to be just fine; not ideal, but since that doesn't exist, this will work.
Emily has been a handful lately, asking WHY to absolutely everything I say to her, whether it makes sense to ask why or not, and sometimes just flat-out saying No. I usually ignore those and that seems to work well, but the Whys are really grating on me. She's also really getting tired of Audrey being in her space. We have time-outs almost every day for taking toys out of her hand, knocking her over, pulling her legs, or excessive hugging. Yes, I'm that mom that you hear in the grocery store, hollering at her kid to stop hugging her sister. Audrey generally doesn't protest that one much, but I'm suspicious that it's only because Emily goes right for her windpipe and there's not much she could say if she wanted to. And with everyone in our house sick and overtired for one reason or another, I'll admit I haven't handled it as well as I could. But, I'm learning as best I can, and we've made good use of the portable jail and other deterrents to keep the girls happily playing. Emily is just so earnest and clever that I sometimes can't even get her attention to change her actions at all. A new rule in our house, though, is that she cannot ask Why if i say Stop, Let Go, or NO!! Anything else, I'll try to explain if she really wants to know why, but those she has to just do immediately. Gah! so annoying!!
I challenged Emily the other day to stand on one foot, and she really did pretty well for only trying it for her first time. Audrey can pull herself to standing using just about anything now, and I've seen her let go in order to concentrate on whatever treasure she's found, so that's pretty cool. Nice that my girls have some balance even if I'm too dizzy myself!!
And Audrey is babbling so sweetly now. Her "Mom Mom Mom"s are more purposeful and she tells me stories: "Shzuzzzshuzzshuzzshuzz, dju dju dju dju..." It's funny to think that that's what we sound like to her!
Emily surprised me the other day, on the way to the park, by singing along with me all the way through "Mr. Sun." What a good singer she is!
My neighbor has gotten me interested in the Montessori school in Des Moines. Usually the most common factor to Montessori schools is that they are prohibitively expensive, but this is actually a public school, a part of the Des Moines Public Schools. I sent in Emily's application already, so hopefully the waiting list for 4-year-old preschool in Fall 2012 isn't too long to include her! (I would hope not, but they said they'll accept names as soon as the child turns 1. yikes!) My neighbor has sons in 1st grade and 4YO preschool, and she has spoken so highly of her experiences there, I figured I'd throw my name into the hat. One of the biggest advantages, I think, is that the Montessori philosophy is to play off of the child's inherent love of learning, and not try to mold them all into the same kind of learner. They will put kids into whatever age of learning group they're ready for (Kindergarteners reading with 1st graders if they're ready, etc.), and focus on student-discovery over teaching memorization. I can remember learning about the multiplication table in 4th grade, and studying how the numbers added and looking for patterns and figuring out how multiplication was related to addition, groups of numbers and such; and then I failed the multiplication test because I had been essentially deriving the table instead of just memorizing it. In Montessori, that's good learning; in traditional methods, that's failing. Since both my girls will be on the older end of their classes, I'm excited to think that this might keep them from feeling like they spend their days waiting for other kids. It sounds really arrogant of me to say so, but that's how I felt all the way through elementary and junior high. Spelling tests were just agony, waiting for the next word... and then I'd miss words completely because I was trying to entertain myself while waiting. I read novels under my desk, I practiced fingering for pieces I was learning on piano or violin, I bit my fingernails, and I daydreamed a LOT, all day long. Wouldn't it be great if my girls could learn what they're ready for, when they're excited about it? And I know that it's not fair to assume they'll be like me (or Travis; he's said he felt the same way), but still, isn't that a great way to learn?
This past week of daycare dropoffs and pickups went just fine, with no tears. Emily was a little apprehensive on Tuesday, but she got into it just fine. Travis was gone in Dallas on Tuesday and Wednesday, and for some reason I had a really hard time with this trip; lucky for me, he was able to come home on Wed instead of the Thursday that he'd planned on. He switched his flight, and surprised me by showing up with a bottle of wine and a few other treats that we enjoyed after the girls were in bed Friday night. (They weren't asleep; they didn't konk out for good until almost 1 AM. Little stinkers!) Anyway, Emily's class is giong on a field trip in a few weeks to a local gymnastics place, so that's going to be pretty cool! I'm tempted to go along with them, but, if I wanted to do that, why don't I just take her on a day I don't work, right? I thought it was nice that it was scheduled for a day when Emily was there. And Audrey gets lots of 1-on-1 snuggles with one of her afternoon teachers, who is thoroughly smitten with her (but really, who wouldn't be, right? have you seen her big blue eyes??) This place is going to be just fine; not ideal, but since that doesn't exist, this will work.
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