What a Girly Girl!

I was a tomboy growing up. Well, not necessarily a tomboy, but I definitely wasn't girly. You, on the other hand, seem like a girly girl to me. It's nothing in particular that I've pushed on you or exposed you to, but you are attracted to shiny things and like to dress up on a regular basis in your bracelets and cocktail bag.

The other night you got into my summer clothes after bath and insisted on wearing one of my summer dresses! It was so adorable! You walked all over the house in it and stopped in front of every mirror to admire yourself!

Anyhow, it was super adorable and a great little memory.

Oh, and lest we forget the Orange in the picture. Your new very favorite toy. We can't leave home without an orange or grapefruit!! I don't quite understand what about it captivates you so much...especially since you can't eat citrus (you have a slight food intolerance to it) but oh how you love carrying those around and smelling them all day! I have to pry them out of your hands at naptime and bedtime. It's really weird. I would love to get into that active little brain of yours and figure you out!

Sweet as pie

Just a little love note to you here. It's been a really rainy morning and I just wanted to tell you just how much I love and adore you and couldn't be more thankful that I am your mother.

You are so sweet that I just want to eat you up sometimes. Even though you are young and your personality is just developing, I can already tell that you are kind, loving and the life of a party. You sparkle when you are happy, you are 'convincing' when you're displeased, and you are an adorable angel when you are sleepy. You have energy and spirit that is so warm and infectious. Your smile is so pure.

I know you'll do so many good things in your life and I'm already so proud of you.

xoxo,
mummy

Coming out of your shell

It's baby steps but we keep taking them, and I love it. The past few days we've been keeping busy and exposing you to new things, new people, and groups. The other day we went to the kids museum again and although while we were inside you wanted to stay up with me, when we went outside you opened up to making piles of balls again and walking well away from me to get them.

This morning we went to our new music class and although you had a tendency to sit in my lap most of the time, you did have some fabulous break out moments where you grooved to the music, hopped to the drum beat and swayed with the guitar. You danced with the silk scarves too and gave Benjamin some shakes. It was very sweet. I love to see you dance, it makes me grin. You've got the funniest moves and it always makes me laugh. (Just like your Dad's dancing...shhhh, don't tell him I said that, but you'll see when you're old enough to dance with him. I can already hear that "Daaaad! Stoooop, my friends are watching us!" in the preteen years :)


Sorry Honey (as in husband here-if you are reading this)- I love you, and your dancing, but that time will come. So will the "Mooooom, stop licking your finger and cleaning my face!" and so many other things I can already picture, and remember from my own youth...including the ever so annoying trying on a skirt in a store and coming out of the dressing room and Mother decides it's time to tuck in your shirt and does it by lifting your skirt up in front of everyone! Seriously Finley, if I ever do that, you have my permission to scold me or worse. I promise to you I will never do that, and now we have the materials to prove that I not only won't, but can't!! I don't want to take a scolding from my future 12 year old. But once again, I digress....

The Wheels on the car go round and round...

We were in the car today, for HOURS! We left at 10am this morning and headed to Santa Monica for the LA Art Show. My great ol' gallery pals from back in Vancouver were exhibiting there and we needed to introduce you to them. Uncle Mark fell in love with you the moment he saw you. He even shed a few tears when we all hugged hello! It's been far too long since I've seen him (since the wedding reception in Tacoma!) and you've only heard him and his wife Lyn and little girl Ally on the phone. We also were so lucky to see Shane as well. It was so great to catch up, and for just a few hours be surrounded by hundreds of works of art. It gave me a little itch to get back to work. I do miss the gallery days, although don't you fret, this stay at home mama is not abandoning you for the gallery life just yet! We've still got so much more playing, laughing and discovering to do.

You were a real delight at the show. You ran around the expo center like a little nutty toddler and wanted to touch just about everything. It's so funny how walking around an art show like that has changed for me. It used to be talking to other galleries, looking at other artists either for personal purchase or to represent them. Now I walk around with you on my hip and spout off things like "Do you see the pretty picture?" and "Look! There's a doggie in that painting!!" or "Wow, see the bright red dots?" Wow is right, life sure has changed.

You did wonderfully though and after 3 hours in LA we turned right back around to avoid the traffic. Poor thing you were in the car over 6 hours and only napped about 30 minutes each way!! But you were a trooper, and you continue to surprise me each time we take you out of your element and off your routine. Dad always says he is never surprised, because he knows what an amazing little kid you are. You went to bed an hour late but you were in great spirits and I'm happy that you continue to surprise me.

No time to be depressed!

So I was told today by a friend that today, January 21st, is historically the most depressing day of the year. Why? Because supposedly by now most New Year's resolutions are broken. After hearing this I vowed to be extra happy today, just to make up for all the gloom and doom.

And I have plenty to be happy about. It seems you are coming out of your shell a little bit. Even if it's temporary, it's wonderful. Uncle Billy and Uncle Bobby have stayed with us the last few nights and you used to be terrified of them (new people, especially men, were never your favorite). Now you played with Billy and flirted with him when you woke up, and you asked for Bobby all day yesterday and even let him feed you this morning. This is BIG super goodness.

And to top off the goodness pie, last night we went to Bubby and Zayde's house for dinner. You were a true delight, showing off your signing skills to your cousin (second cousin to be exact) Sierra. It was the first time you've been around a young girl (she is 6) and you played beautifully with her. She took you to explore the house and danced with you and made you laugh and smile. I see no reason to be depressed at all!

And you raaaan, you ran so far away.....

Yes, I know you can't see a lot of you in this picture...that's the point!! You actually felt comfortable enough to wander away from me! Pretty far too! I'm so proud of you, I feel like today was a major step in you feeling comfortable in groups of strangers, and me doing the right thing as a mum. Here's what happened:

We decided to go to the kids museum this morning. Usually we spend an hour or two there on Sundays. Typically what happens is we get there and I attempt to put you down amongst all the other kids, and you immediately turn around, lift your arms up at me and say "UP! UP!" My usual reaction is to say something like "Don't you want to see the pretty fruits at the pretend grocery store?" or, "Why don't you grab a book and bring it back to me so that we can read it?" The theme is basically that I'm trying to get you out into the museum, wandering and exploring amongst the other children, without you being attached to my hip. Not because I don't love carrying you (well, it's not as fun as it sounds-you do weigh nearly 26lbs!) but because I want so much for you to experience the joy of playing like the other kids, and exploring new surroundings.

Well, over the last few weeks, as you've gotten more and more clingy, I realized that this just isn't the right method. You need your time to warm up to new environments, and if I am your security blanket, then so be it. So into the museum we went today, and together we sat at the table with blocks. I picked it because no one else was sitting there, but lots of other kids were around at other stations playing. You can observe from afar and get your feet wet. We spent 15 whole minutes there! For you, 15 minutes is an eternity and you usually flutter from one thing to another within seconds. But you loved sitting in my lap, handing me different colored blocks to stack, and point out what all the other children were doing. It was a beautiful 15 minutes where you and I both just felt so right. I know that sounds weird, since we were just sitting there stacking blocks, but it was perfect.

Then we continued to the usual stations you enjoy. And we stayed close together, in fact, attached at the hip. Usually I would try to nudge you out there, but today I realized that you don't need the nudge, you just need the time. Sure enough, when another girl came to play at our station, you didn't flip out with nerves, as you often would, but you watched her and felt comfortable. We were partners, and you knew it!

We went outside to sit in the sun and have some lunch. Once again, I would normally try to sit amongst all the other kids, but today I picked a patch of grass away from the play area, where you could observe, and feel comfortable. We had lunch, played some music and danced. As the hour passed, you ventured out. First you asked me to come with you, so I followed you out to the field where all the kids were playing with balls, and you picked up a ball and brought it back to our sitting area. Then, you did it again....alone! And again and again and again! Until we had a pile of balls and you even walked so far away from me at one point you couldn't even see me! I was so proud of you! And of myself! I think we might have finally done it...figured one another out! We're partners baby- Finley and Mummy makes TWO!

Just one of the boys...

Today we went on an all boy play date! That's a big change for you, since you usually hang out with all the little ladies. You always are more comfortable with girls it seems, and it's an amazing psychological study to watch how differently boys and girls play. Are we hardwired this way? Or do parents let boys "Be Boys" and girls "Be girls"? It's so strange!

But anyhow, the good news is, the boys you played with today were extremely polite. You get nervous around rough housing or yelling and these kids were excellent playmates! (good on ya parents! ;-) But it was interesting to watch because whenever the boys gathered around the play table you quickly walked over to me and sat on my lap. As soon as they dispersed, up you went, right over to the table until they came back again. You did this several times and it was interesting to watch your caution. Sometimes I wish you were able to be a bit more adventurous, but I'm sure Daddy will be happy to hear you backed away from the boys!

You did though kiss the boys goodbye...and I encouraged it. In ten years we'll be having a whole different conversation on this topic though!!

My Little Foodie...

Well, not quite. But today we did manage to take you out to TWO restaurants. That's practically more than you've been to in the last 6 months! Let's face it, I'm an anal mother who thinks your solid nutrition is very important, as is my peace of mind...and as such we've avoided restaurants. It's too stressful; we wait, you get antsy, we eat like madmen, barely even finishing a bite before taking the next so that we can trade off on feeding you duties. You think the water is a toy, and next thing we know you are practically taking a bath at the table, straws are to be found everywhere...well, the list goes on as to why we avoid restaurants!

But, your dad and I finally decided we need to re-enter the 'regular' world and do what families do. That would consist of a nice brunch after a morning of hiking and a loud dinner at, of all places, Red Robin. We even bumped into people we know! Who knew that they too go out after dark!

Oh my god I'm embarrassed to admit that not only did all of our nutrition go out the window, but we hang our heads in shame knowing we let you snack on the batter of onion rings (I was compelled to order them after walking in and smelling a delicious smelling tower of deep fried goodness!!). I can't believe we let you eat that. It was enough to fill barely a tablespoon, but still....ugh. You also feasted on apples and apple sauce, one slice of pizza and a tiny amount of grilled chicken. Not your finest meal, but if it's one night every once in a while where you see no vegetables, well, we can deal! (I'm so proud of myself! This is a major breakthrough I think!)

Anyhow, both restaurant excursions went without any major hitch. I tried to act sane and be calm (both very difficult for me, but I managed), and make conversation with our friend and neighbor Dave who decided to partake in the madness. I was smart though and just ordered soup, because seriously your Dad came home with a stomach ache after eating so much fatty stuff. We'll be back to salads tonight :)

Anyhow, we're both proud of you. I guess we're not the only ones that have grown, you have too! This means we can go out after dark now every once in a while. Very exciting stuff. But we may need to pick a different restaurant to go to next time...

So nothing's wrong?

Apparently not. Here I was thinking something is wrong with you. Teething? Interrupted naps? ADD???? Bi-Polar Disorder???? You know how a mother's mind can go just about anywhere.... You're fussy, you say NO all the time, you throw fits, you have incredible mood swings from ecstatic to angry within a split second, you are clingy, you have no attention span. Well the list goes on! So I talk to my wonderful friend Emily who's daughter Abby is 3 months older than you. She looks me in the eye as I say "Do you think something is wrong with her???" and says "What you've got here Shari, is a TODDLER!"

Duh.

Eureka! It's true. Today you threw a fit when I tried to put on your shoes. The shoes you barely wanted to take off all week long. You even wore them with your footed jammies a few days ago! This morning it was a screaming fit as soon as you saw them. I ended up strapping you into the car seat and then putting the shoes on, as it was the only way!! Hmm...it didn't sound all that familiar, since I was blinded by your 'toddlerhood'....but Emily reminded my how, hmm, 3 months ago Abby did the SAME thing. Oooooohhhhh...now I remember!

So happy to hear nothing is wrong. Now tell me, is there an easy cure for Toddlerhood? :)

MORE!!!!!

It's always been one of your favorite words. More this, more that...whatever it is, you want more of it. Food, dolls, TV, milk, water, leaves from a tree....anything you like, you want more of. It fits into your personality type...you do everything with gusto! The more, the better, in your mind I think. I guess I might be a little bit like that too. :)

These days the 'more' applies to bringing every doll into your crib when you get up from nap. You usually sleep with one doll (Harry Elephante) but these days when I come into your room you ask for two things....the first thing you say is "TWO!!!!" meaning you would like two teething tablets, pronto. Right now I don't know if I am giving them to you for the teething pain, or to get you to stop saying "TWO!" all the time...but I digress. The next thing you do is you ask for each of your dolls, by name (or their respective animal sounds) and you give each one a hug, and then sit them in your crib. Sometimes you'll give some of them some milk, or share your lovie, but for the most part you just surround yourself with them until your doll shelf has no more dolls. To which you exclaim "MORE!" :) I always manage to find more....anything to make you happy babe.

Mom's Night Out

I know this blog is supposed to be about you, not me (heaven forbid that I think of myself first!) but today I also wanted to post about some of my friends. And I guess that without you, I wouldn't have these friends...so there you go, this post technically is all about you. ;)

Regardless, the other night a few of my "Mommy" friends and I got together to bid adieu to our friend Megan who is moving to another state. I had such a nice time having dinner and being out after dark with such a wonderful group of women. I feel so lucky to have not only met women who are also mothers to young children like me (it's actually eerie how all of our kids are at most 3 months apart) so that we all can relate to what the other is going through, but they are all women that I've grown to love and have wonderful friendships with.

Amazingly, it's not always about the kids! It's also about us, and how we feel, as parents, or as people. It's about support, and trust, and help, and respect. And sometimes it's about politics, or religion, or husbands, or fashion. Mostly what it's about is real friendships. I am so lucky to have them, in a place and time in my life when I really didn't expect to have them. I figured moving to a new city with a new baby will be impossible to make new friends. I am so happy to be wrong on that front. I don't know what I would do without them.

And one day you too will have girlfriends, and true friendships. It would be so neat if it were with the children of these women :) But with whomever it is with, cherish your friendships and be good to them, and they will be good to you to.

Timber!!

You've been getting good at stacking your cups these days. I recall once several months ago watching a little girl who was a few months older than you stack these cups and I thought..."wow, that's incredible that an 18 month old can do that!!" Well, you still struggle with it a bit, but sure enough, you can do it! At first it freaked you out when they fall down, but once we attached the word 'timber' to the falling action, it's all fun and games!

It's amazing how the changes in you are daily. From one day to the next you can accomplish more, say more, and even try to trick me more. The other day Dad said to me "I'm scared of the day when she can outsmart me....because she's already starting to!" Supposedly at dinner time you pretend to sneak bites of chicken or whatever but really it's fruit.

Really though, all you have to do is flash that sweet smile of yours, and we are putty in your hands.

Half Girl, Half Animal :)

You've always been obsessed with animals. It comes as no surprise that you managed to find some very buried away giraffe slippers that we have not seen in years and now part of after bath ritual is to wear them and try to walk to your room. Every two steps involves putting the slippers back on :) It's super cute.

The most unusual thing has been happening this past week though. Lately every time you've seen Sesame Street characters (as in an Elmo doll at the store, or when we are on the computer together-which by the way, I am afraid of how much you like being on the computer, but I digress...) but you call out "Elmo!", "Ernie!", and "Grover!" (or at least it sounds like that). The most amazing part of this all is....you've never seen more than three minutes of Sesame Street and you have none of the aforementioned dolls or toys!! You've never had interest in that show, so I never put it on! You do have a soft book your Nana bought you that has Elmo in it, but you haven't seen that book in months. But today, there we were at Target and you screamed "Elmo!" from the cart and sure enough behind my shoulder was a row of Elmo pinatas (who knew they made Elmo pinatas?!!). But this is a very interesting phenomenon, and since I am the only one that takes care of you I am pretty perplexed by how all this came to be!!!

Knock Knock. Who's There? Who knows, but It's funny!!!

You and Abby were an absolute riot! I must have shot 40 photos of the two of you chatting away on an El Paseo bench. Abby was telling you stories and there was one joke that had you roaring in laughter! At least Emily & I perceived it to be a joke. You ladies were having a fun fun time! I could have stayed and watched the two of you chat like old ladies on a bench for hours.



But no, there were stroller races to be had! Sorry babe, but you got the heavy stroller and it weighed you down so Abby was the clear stroller race winner. Her prize? Getting a chariot like stroller ride by her fine opponent...you!


I can just tell when I watch the two of you play how much you like one another and enjoy each other's company. The way Abby loves to share her food with you, and likes to feed you all the time. Or the way you let her take your rocks from your pile and not argue. And the way you smile when you hear her name, and blow her kisses or say Bye-Bye when we leave. It's a good thing to have such a good friendship.

Where's the Rain?

It was supposed to rain this weekend. A lot. Especially for the desert. But we saw no rain. Lots of wind though today. I was surprised by how much you actually disliked it as we went out from the car and into the grocery store. You kept saying "No-No" and holding your ears. It was really howling so I guess the sound really bugged you. Plus your hair was all over the place :)

We had a little accident in the crib today during nap. Needless to say when I came in to get you it was not pretty. Into the bath you went! That was a first. Please, please let it be the last.

Five Minutes with Daddy

Need I say more?

It looks like you had a lot of fun pulling all your dolls and toys from your bedroom to your playroom floor. I love that you and Dad get to spend the evenings together. I remember over a year ago when Dad said to me one day "I just can't wait until the day she runs to the door to say 'hi' when I come home at night." Sure enough, you've made his wishes come true.

When Good is Strange

Last night was weird. It was so weird because you were perfect. I know that sounds terrible...but you are a one and a half year old with quirks and one of those is you cry and fuss sometimes. Last night your dad and I felt some strange calm fill the house. I sure hope it isn't the calm before the storm!! Or did you know I blogged about your tantrum and you wanted to give the world a better impression of you? Or are you trying to get me back for writing about your tantrum, and proving to me that I am wrong?? making me eat my words?

Well, eat them I shall. Fact is, you were perfect.

Usually dinner can be a bit of a struggle, and so can bath, getting into jammies and bedtime. It's not usually a BIG struggle, not by any means. But usually you fuss, whether for only a second or a few minutes, during one of the aforementioned activities.

You ate dinner like a champ. Thank you! You downed the egg puff I made for you, which I am thrilled about! You ate your fish, and your veggies, and edamame (you call is "mamee") Then we went to the bathroom to get ready for bath and you giggled your way to getting in. You hugged the sheepskin and laughed and laughed. Wow. Weird.

I went to make dinner while dad gave you a bath. I waited to hear when you were out so that I could come join him in getting you in your jammies, like I usually do. My cue is usually when I hear you start to fuss, as you tend to do when you get your diaper put on and your lotion on. But it was eerie. It was so quiet. I snuck in to look, and there you were, cool as a cucumber, letting dad lotion you and dress you. Wow. Weird.

Off you went to your bedroom for stories and music before bed with dad. I continued dinner and heard nothing. You usually fuss when Goodnight Moon is being pulled out, because you know that's the last book of the night. Nope, tonight you saw it come out, heard the first page and told your dad "I'm done with this baby. I know what's next so just put me in bed." Well, not in so many words, but you did sign that you wanted to go to bed. It was so weird, and one of the quietest hours we've have between 6:30 and 7:30 pm in a long time.

Weird. But we love it. Life is good.

Hugs...and Arghs!

You love to hug your dolls. You get the sweetest look on your face when you give a hug. It's this look of pure love and happiness that makes my heart melt.

But, you certainly seem to be the little Gemini that you are...the twin sign who can be an angel and devil at the same time...

You can go from HUGS to....ARGHS in zero seconds flat....

We welcomed in the new year with your first ever true meltdown. Argh. You've been pretty clingy lately, and wanting "Up" a lot. I am trying to teach you that you can't always have "Up." Oh boy, did you want "Up." You screamed and cried for at least 10 or 15 minutes. I tried every technique I knew, including Karp's caveman techniques, to no avail! Tears streaming down your face, red blotches everywhere and your body flailing on the ground. It worries me that you'll hurt yourself, especially on the tile and when you try to bang your head. I took you in my arms but stayed on the ground with you, so that you wouldn't hurt yourself. You wanted nothing to do with me, but you still, just wanted "Up." You finally ran to your dad who was trying to distract you in the playroom. It was not any of our finest moments...but I'm sure we'll get lots of practice. Practice makes perfect, right? Argh...