She speaks!
| March 27, 2012 | Posted by Lisa under Uncategorized |
Boobin said her first sentence today. It was, “Mo mik?” and was said after she flung her sippy full of milk across the car.
Other gems from the week:
No! No! No! No!- Said while Mommy was trying to set her down in the bluebonnets for a picture and every time she gets her diaper changed. Sometimes said with a wagging finger.
Back!- Complete with raised hand, Boobin says this to the dogs because we say it to the dogs. Really cute, but she gives them mixed messages when she drops food on purpose for them to eat, and then when they approach to eat it she yells, “BACK!”
Fuck – Said after her Daddy, while watching a basketball game that ended up killing his March Madness bracket, said it. She looked up at him, to the tv, and back at him, and said, calmly, “Fuck.” Nice job, Dad.
Be warned! We are officially on cuss word lock down in our house.
I learned it from watching you!
Today.
| March 12, 2012 | Posted by Lisa under Uncategorized |
Today was so ordinary. It was my day off with Alice. She woke at 7:30, we gave Dad goodbye kisses, had breakfast in front of Yo Gabba Gabba. We shared oatmeal and then she had yogurt. She’s eating so well with her spoon until she gets impatient and just shovels it in with her first. She flailed her arms and smiled when she saw the orange fluff of DJ Lance’s hat. Kicked her ham feet. We played upstairs a while until I got the feeling that she was getting bored with me. I put her in her wagon and we took a walk. I get the feeling that now she’s at a school where she spends most of the day outside, she gets cabin fever if kept indoors too long.
I fed her lunch: an egg, black beans. She stuffs the food in her chubby cheeks and says, “OHHHH!” in a low moan… and smiles at me. Such a silly girl.
She skipped a morning nap and went down finally at 11:40. She was reading books before she fell asleep.
I was counting on 2 hours and she woke, crying after just 1 hour. I think it might be the massive molar she has coming in. She was groggy and couldn’t stop crying, stopping only when I sat in her chair and held her, tight, to my chest, and sang, “The Itsy-Bitsy Spider” over and over… about 20 times. I realized that she hasn’t let me hold her for this long since I stopped breastfeeding. I rested my cheek on the top of her head and breathed in, trying to remember her baby smell. I asked her if she wanted to go back to sleep and she walked into her room. I rocked her a while, put her back in her crib, but she just cried. I got her out after 10 minutes and she instantly stopped. She was awake now. She reached for the light on her fan to turn it on like her Daddy taught her. I held her up and after a minute had to pry her chubby hand off of the cord.
She was warm and sweaty and soft and squishy. I kissed her open mouth, wiped her nose, changed her diaper against her whines. She is still healing from a horrible diaper rash that came on due to eating oranges at school last week. No acidic fruit for Boobin. Her hair was in tight curls in the back, one big loopy curl on the top of her head, and flat on one side where she slept.
We went grocery shopping. I got home and started dinner.
I fed her a snack: cheese and grapes. I cut the grapes into fourths because her Dad is afraid that she’ll choke on halves.
We went in the backyard. She played in the rocks and I snapped her picture. I noticed that the highlights in her hair are perfect. She toddled around the yard, losing her balance on the rocky terrain but recovering easily.
She helped me put her ride-in car together, getting in it when I needed to turn it over to put the wheels on. I realized that she understands me more than I was giving her credit for. I asked her to get out of the car and hand me the blue wheel… and she did it. She even took the wheel out of the bag before she handed it to me. I’d really been underestimating her.
When I was done assembling the car we went on a walk. I got about a half mile from the house when Alice decided she was done. DONE. She put her feet down so I couldn’t push the car any further, got out, and ran to a stranger’s house. I bribed her with iPhone games. That bought me about 50 more feet until she stopped the car again. So then I was carrying 25 pounds of Boobin, who is wriggling to get down so she can run away from me, pushing the stupid car, and sweating.
I stopped by Matt and Leslie’s because I saw Matt’s truck in the driveway. I borrowed their stroller, walked back to the house, told her there was no getting out when she asked, “Up?” three times, put her in my car, drove back to return the stroller and get Alice’s car that she won’t ride in.
We drove to meet Ali and Logan at the park. She saw Logan in the swing and decided she liked it ok. She laughed her gorgeous laugh until she’d had enough. She ran and played on the toddler slide, going down over and over. Mollie came outside with her girls and Alice played with Annie.
We went home, I fed her dinner: cheese, pork tenderloin, green beans, and grapes. Dad got home, gave us all kisses, and we ate and watched more Yo Gabba Gabba, this time Dad’s favorite episode, “Sleep”. I sat on the couch. My whole body hurt. Boobin wore me out.
I took her upstairs and Dad changed her and put her in her jammies. He handed her to me, I rocked her awhile and asked her if she was ready for nite nite. She pointed to her crib. I sat her up and told her, “Thank you for spending the day with me. Mommy loves you so much.” I kissed her chubby cheek and her open mouth. I layed her down, showed her the books in the crib, and waved bye. She put her fingers through the slats of the crib, wanting me to grab them, and I did. She smiled. I didn’t want to leave. I told her I’d see her in the morning.
Most boring blog post in the history of blog posts?? Yep. But, gosh, I just want to remember. I want to remember what it’s like to have her sit next to me and watch tv, her tiny hand absently rubbing my leg, her little body fitting snug between me and the couch arm. I want to remember how impossibly smooth her skin feels, how full her cheeks are, how her laugh is the most wonderful thing I’ve ever heard. I want to remember how comfortable she is with me, how she brings me rocks to put in my hand, how she brings me books to read to her. How she hands them to me and turns to sit in my lap, her spot. How when she says, “MaMaMaMa,” she’s looking at me. Her Mama.
My feet ache, my back is going to hurt all day tomorrow, and I am so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open. Tomorrow I have to spend the day apart from her, and my stomach feels like there is a brick inside just thinking about it. My mom is right- Boobin is addictive. Three day weekends will never be long enough to soak her up.
I’m grateful to have her and wistful that tomorrow she’ll be different.
Colored.
| March 7, 2012 | Posted by Lisa under Uncategorized |
I actually used that word today, People. And, after I did it, I felt so, so stupid, but it’s not what you think!
Alice started at a new daycare last week. It’s a hippie school- all play based learning, tons of time outside in the dirt, mud, and rocks, nature hikes, kelp smoothies, etc. It’s sunny? They spend all day outside. It rained the night before and it’s muddy? They spend all day outside. The place looks like a school where kids come first and organization and cleanliness comes eighth and ninth. Not somewhere I’d like to live, but great for a daycare.
I was initially a little hesitant to make such a big change. We loved some of the teachers at her old school but they kept doing things that I didn’t agree with and I finally had to trust my mommy gut and pull her out. Even after I put down the deposit and gave our notice, I was conflicted. I’d grown so attached to the school that took care of my baby since she was three months old. I also knew that I would really miss the lunchtime visits that have been a part of my routine for the past year. But, I did it, and I am so, so glad I did.
Her first day at the Hippie School was last Thursday. I dropped her off and she waved good-bye with a confused look on her face, but made it through the whole without a hitch. The next morning I dropped her off again and her teacher smiled at me. “Alice is amazing!” she said. “I’ve been in childcare for 22 years, and I have never seen a child transition to a new daycare like her. She’s such a happy baby.” That was Friday. I am still smiling about it.
We were warned that she’d come home wet, dirty, missing clothes, and sometimes covered in paint. So, every day George would remind me to send him a picture of her in her dirty, unclothed, painted glory, and every day we were so disappointed because she would come home fairly clean. I mean, Friday she was missing pants and shoes, and yesterday she was quite dusty and I might have called her PigPen, but there was nothing really noteworthy. Until today.
Today, I was overjoyed to find this waiting for me after work:
She was colored! ANDTHAT’SWHATITOLDTHEDIRECTOROFTHESCHOOL! “Look, she has pink hair! We’ve been so excited to bring her home colored.”
And then I walked out, realized what I said, felt stupid for a second, and then shrugged. Whatever. She knew what I meant!
We were so happy to bring home our pink haired Boobin. I think she’s having so much fun at her new school, and I think we’ll all be really happy there.
Back in Bidness?
| February 26, 2012 | Posted by Lisa under Uncategorized |
My dashboard for my blog is still broken, but I am going to push through, because Boobin is getting huge before my eyes and I’ve barely written about it in three months.
A couple of weeks ago we went to Las Vegas with Mimi, and Alice stayed with Grandma for 4 days. We were wrecks the week leading up to leaving, not because we didn’t think she’d have a blast with Grandma, but because we knew that we’d miss her so much the thought of getting on a plane physically hurt. But, we know that little getaways are good for mama, daddy, and baby, so off we went with our teeth clenched and a million texts asking for picture updates from Grandma. We had a great time, and I got lucky at the craps tables, so I adopted a sweet, sweet baby. Auntie Ali named her Millie.
Boobin has a purse of her own now, thanks to Auntie Jess. She loves to carry it around the house with her arm up lest it falls off. She’s so girly. No idea where she got it from.
We’re still here.
| January 29, 2012 | Posted by Lisa under Uncategorized |
It’s been a while, but we are still here! I’ve done something wrong to my blog and media uploader so until I figure it out I won’t have pictures, but I wanted to post because, just as we know it is true that sleep begets sleep, posting begets posting.
I’ve been feeling a little heavy and down lately and I figure the only reason is that I might be having some sort of hormonal change since I stopped breastfeeding about a month ago. I want to write and document these sweet days with my sweet girl, but try as I may it’s hard to find something to say.
I’m more upset than I thought I would be about the end of nursing. Alice self-weened and was only eating for less than a minute per session towards the end until I stopped offering and she stopped asking. Then a few days later she got sick (5 days of high fever and a horribly miserable baby) and all she wanted to do was nurse, nurse, nurse. It was too late by then. Now she pulls down my shirt or nuzzles and it feels like someone punched me in the stomach. It hurts to have to tell her no, mommy doesn’t make milk anymore. A few friends told me that I’d be so glad to have my body back to myself. But, I’m not. I am wistful for those quiet moments that I used to get to spend with her. I know this will pass, but the hormones don’t help.
Despite my blahs, we’ve been busy this month! I forgot to post about our awesome late Christmas on NY’s weekend with Sabrina, Anthony and my mom. We had such a great weekend eating, opening presents and shopping. Alice has had many play dates and trips to the park with her neighborhood friends. We are still so delighted that she seems to have a natural desire to hone her dance moves. The twirling is out of control. I’ll post a great video of it when I figure out this blog problem, which I am not annoyed or angered by at all. Not a bit.
New Year, New You.
| January 5, 2012 | Posted by Lisa under Uncategorized |
Sooo… remember that baby I’ve been writing about for the past year? The one who used to lay and coo and smile shyly and who loved her bottle and breastfeeding more than anything? She’s gone. In her place is a full on toddler who runs anywhere she wants, who drinks from a sippy cup, who is so done with breastfeeding, and who talks. TALKS. This word count is going to be boring for anyone but the Grandmas so just skip it.
Alice now says the following words:
Buh-bye – her first words. She’s been saying these for months. Accompanied by a very cute wave.
Da-da- Daddy
uh-oh – this started last night and is my favorite right now. She doesn’t say it at the right time, but will repeat it. Adorable!
Baw- ball
Doeg- Dog. Said whenever the dogs are in site. Or when a dog appears in a book. She seems to have solid knowledge of what a dog is.
Oof- Woof. The sound a dog makes. This is mimicked.
Ma-Ma- this is not nearly as frequently said as it should be. We’re working on it.
Ok, so not a ton of words, but enough to impress me. She’s amazing. She’s a real person, she walks where she wants, she points to what she wants, she dances. OH! The dancing! She delighted us the other day with her new move: the twirl.
Annnndd.. the genius. So, obviously, we all knew she was very smart from the get go. She most recently demonstrated this with a book from her dear friend Logan. It’s a book with her name and picture in it. On the back are several pictures of animals and one of her. We ask her, “Which one is you?” and… well, you’ll see:
It’s a new Alice. This mama is a little sad that her baby is gone, but in her place is a walking, talking, precious sweet toddler who delights us every day. She does still grunt like an old man and crinkle her nose when she smiles, so I am very sure it’s still her. It’s just a new her. And I love her more and more every day.
Magic.
| December 18, 2011 | Posted by Lisa under Uncategorized |
We are soaking up every minute of Christmas magic that we get this year. Experiencing it all through her eyes, seeing a lit tree and Santa and decorated houses all for the first time, has been pure magic, nothing less. Every new discovery is met with a tiny pointed, chubby finger and an excited, “Doh!” Doh, indeed, Little Bean. I just thought I loved Christmas before she was born.
This weekend we went to Mimi’s house to celebrate with the Gonzalez/Foss/Mahan clan. Alice went through several costume changes each day so that she could fit in all of her cute Christmas outfits. (Some might call that excessive, but I bet they wouldn’t do it to my face.) She had so much fun playing with her cousins and opening presents.
These weren’t her presents, but she took them and carried them around for a good 20 minutes. She already knows that the best things come in small packages.
Sweet babies. Luke, Luke and Alice in their Christmas loungewear. I’ve declared myself in charge of getting them ridiculous outfits for all future holidays. Its not a task I take lightly.
Next up is even more Christmas with my side of the family. I can’t wait!
Oh, ye of little faith!!
| December 14, 2011 | Posted by Lisa under Uncategorized |
So, I showed the dolls to my mom this past weekend. I was so, so proud. “See, Mom!” I pointed to Alice holding the dolls, loving on them. “See how she loves them?”
“Yep. Neat,” my mom replied.
A little disappointed, we flew with the Boobin to St. Louis to visit my aunt, uncle, cousins and their kids. We bundled up.
I showed my aunt a picture of the dolls.
“Look! The dolls!” I exclaimed, bracing myself for the wave of praise that was surely to come.
“Cool,” my aunt said.
“COOL? COOL? What do you mean COOL? I MADE THE DOLLS.”
“No, you didn’t,” she said, looking closer. “You did not.”
“Yes. Yes, I did.”
“How?”
“I bought the pattern, sewed the dolls, and gave them to Alice.”
“You went to the store, picked out the fabric, took it home and made the dolls?” she asked, incredulous.
Finally, someone was getting it.
“YES!” I exclaimed.
“No, you did not!” Ugh.
Then my mom shouted from the kitchen. “YOU MADE THE DOLLS?”
Yes, people. I made the dolls. I promise. Cross my heart. I am more than just a hot ass and a pretty face. I make dolls. Or, I made dolls, once. Maybe next I shall sew myself a cookie.
I’ll just sew my own “Mother of the Year” award, thanks.
| December 8, 2011 | Posted by Lisa under Uncategorized |
Last year while deep in nesting mode I bought a second hand sewing machine. I took a basic sewing skills class and a quilting class. George took my temperature a couple of times, just to make sure everything was ok.
Since then I’ve made a tote bag and 2 baby quilts. Until now. Now, you may call me Susie Homemaker. Ms. Homemaker if you’re nasty.
Last week I started on these dolls, and in a crazed frenzy to finish them before Christmas I worked on them every night after Alice went to sleep. I bought the pattern here on Etsy. They were relatively easy even for me as a beginner. Hopefully they won’t fall apart the first time she plays with them!
