Friday, March 31, 2006

Eliana update

I don't even know what to say about this girl. We spend every day full of fantastic and challenging moments that sadly never stick around in my brain long enough to be written down on paper. She is fully and gloriously two and a half, that's for sure. And a lawyer already... sometimes she makes so much sense, it's scary. (Thankfully, I would make a good lawyer myself, so she doesn't get away with much.) She is in the push-me-pull-me phase - to such a degree that it's not that she wants one thing one minute and another the next... she wants two opposite things at the exact same time. Especially if it involves the dichotomy of dependence and independence.

She copies well - I have come to realize that what sounds like rudeness or backtalk is only the two year old's imitation of the way adults (myself included unfortunately) sometimes talk to her. I've taken it as a learning opportunity to change my speech to better reflect the respect I have for her as a human being, to cultivate her self esteem even when discipline is involved. The fact that a demand from her is easily reshaped into a polite request by the simple statement, "please try again," thankfully provides some assurance that my interactions with her and my guidance are generally (if not always) respectful and patient.

She has taken it upon herself to learn a few new skills recently - putting shoes, undies, and shorts on by herself, and pottying "wif pwivacy", meaning that she can now get to the real toilet by herself. She can also get undressed by herself, if motivated by a bath, and can get into the bath by herself as well, though she is too cold to want to get out by herself. All new skills are taken upon at her own will - should I suggest she try something new by herself, she may try, but after a few seconds she collapses in a heap of "I can't do it! Help help help!!!"

Definitely two years old.

Kessa update

Everyone tells you it goes so fast... well, they mean it.

Kes will be 8 months in less than a week. While physically robust, she's easy-going and happy in temperment, and loves her family. Giggles abound, especially when Eliana blesses her with interaction. Daddy is a sedative, and can induce sleep even when lacking in breastmilk or at inappropriate times. Mommy has the breasts, and as such, I retain an advantage over the others... though I would like to believe she favors me in a few other departments as well.

She is motivated to crawl and is trying to figure out exactly what needs to be done. Toys and Elly are her primary motivations, while cats - which prompted Elly's first adventures in crawling - are objects of fear and fascination: she cries when she sees one up close, but cries harder if I remove it from her view.

Teething is in full force. She has 3 teeth now - 2 middle lower and one upper, just left of center. I think her top four teeth are going to erupt in a row. Kes emphatically asserts that teething and sleep do not mix, except with the help of Hyland's and perhaps a touch of Tylenol. Mommy's presence helps, and nursing continuously would help more, but since I can't abide a ceaseless latch, the teething tablets will have to do. Still, it's fun to snuggle her as she falls asleep with a belly of 99% milk and 1% homeopathy, eyes slowly blinking as she drifts off, assured of my presence by her hand on my cheek or chest, and my drawn-up knees pressed to her feet.

She clearly understands many words, though the most important is, naturally, "milk". I say "Kessa want milk?" and if the answer is yes, she responds vigorously with any or all - smiles, giggles, flapping arms, kicking legs, a smacking tongue, or a sideways dive into position. Other important, obviously understood words are "Mama" "nigh-night" "sleepy" "sister" "clap" "blink" "more" and, thanks to EC'ing, "peepee". Once when I opened the door to get her out of the carseat, she looked right at me, giggled, and said, "Mama!" - which I'm counting as real, despite no repeat performance (yet).

It's flying by... but the part of me that swears I was just meeting her in that tub is being slowly overtaken by the part of me that swears there could never have been a time in my life that I didn't know this loving, determined, giggly babe.

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Growing Pains

Literally.

Elly woke up crying hysterically last night, telling me her leg hurt. I carried her into the living room and looked at it - no bumps, bruises, rashes. She was so happy to get back to her bed, and fell asleep relatively quickly with cuddles. I looked around the net and found nothing besides growing pains that would explain it, thankfully. But, to hopefully prevent a repeat, as the web said this often happens for a few nights in a row, I gave her some tylenol before bed. I hope it keeps her pains at bay.

Man, being a kid is tough.

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

playing catch-up

Wow... time truly flies. Here's a bit of what's been going on in the past month and a half.

We went to Tahoe with our Minnesota friends - our kids' first time in snow! Eliana loved it, though she got tired of it as soon as she got cold. Her favorite part was playing "splat" (snowball fight) with Daddy. Kes rode around on my front or back in my new baby trekker. Eliana adored our friends, and even glommed on to Teri in particular, always asking "Where's Miss Ter?"

Purim was shortly after that and we went to the Purim carnival at our synagogue. Elly really enjoyed it, especially one station that had a bunch of rubber ducks in a tub of water that she had to use a fish net to capture one. It was a hard concept that the next time we went to synagogue the carnival was gone. She had no trouble leaving it that day, but expected it would still be there the next time we went.

Then this past week was the Lamaze seminar - finally! It seems like I've been signed up to go to it for such a long time. It was a wonderful experience, really made me excited to get certified and start teaching. I agree wholeheartedly with the Lamaze philosophy and hope to be able to make a difference for some women, so they can avoid the disappointment and guilt that I and some of my friends have felt. I think even if they don't end up with the birth they imagine, the philosophy will help them cope better with it. On top of that, the other 7 women in the class are vibrant, amazing, wonderful people whom I feel lucky to have met and gotten to know, and the instructors are two incredible women as well.

The only downside was that it did affect Elly a bit. At first she was just mad at me - doing lots of push-me-pull-me when I was home in the evenings. Now she is clingy. I cuddled her for the entire hour it took her to go to sleep tonight, rather than just checking on her every 10 minutes as usual. Poor babe. I missed her too.