I've been blessed that Sarah has not shown too much interest in independent moving. Though she's loved to be vertical since birth, and sat up rather early (pictures by 5 months have her sitting up without my help) she wasn't so much into crawling and she doesn't appear to be in any hurry to walk.
That's no to say she doesn't like to move - the main floor of our house has become a show room for various brands and sizes of baby gates, as we have three different brands on three different entrances/exits. That was the best $60 I've spent in a while as it's now been 24 hours since I've had to chase Sarah up the stairs. Having lost that distraction, she now goes exclusively toward the other two things she's not supposed to do - emptying off the bottom shelf on the entertainment unit and playing in the dogs water bowl, but baby steps (no pun intended). And she loves to cruise - she no longer needs an edge to pull herself up with - a wall, the refrigerator, a screen door, those are all enough of a steady surface to help her get onto her feet. And once she's there, she's quite the confident little girl - showing off with one hand or leaning up against it with the "look ma! no hands" face. But that's the end of her tries at mobility. If you hold her hands to try to walk with her, she pulls her feet up toward her bum, just like she used to do when you put her on grass. If I stand her up two feet in front of me, she'll stand for just long enough to realize she's standing, and instead of tipping forward and trying to walk, she'll plop down and crawl over to me. My aunt got her a learning table and a walking toy at a yard sale - learning table she loves, walking toy she hates (or at least is very much afraid of). The walking toy has some bells and whistles on the front of it, and she's more than happy to crawl around and play with those, but stand her up and have her hold on and she is not a happy camper.
I guess I should be grateful that she's not too mobile yet. It's already scary to think that I have an almost one year old, and I'm not wishing her to grow up any quicker than she is. And my mom told me I didn't walk until about 16 months, and I don't think she'll make it another 7 before her first steps. Lupita has taught her to clap while at daycare, and I suspect toddling is next. Thus far I've only "babyproofed" things that are 12 inches off the floor - once she starts standing I'll have to move my perspective up another foot.
(Family, you can stop reading now - this paragraph is exclusively for my friends who read this who still have babies at home... I mean, if you want to read it or are considering baby-proofing your house, that's cool, but this next paragraph has nothing to do with Sarah, more of a note for me). And gate preferences? I like the first years the best (the step mechanism is really nice and I think it looks the classiest... not like a house with a baby and two dogs is winning any designer awards, but...). Least favorite is the munchkin. I think the magnetic mechanism is too much. The dogs don't like any of them. All gates freak them out.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Miss Independent
Cheese is better than chicken, which is better than sweet potatoes which is better than broccoli (even if hummus is mixed in to make it thicker and tastier). Or at least that is what Sarah "told" me today while taking a break at the food court at Dulles Town Center. When Sarah started eating real food, the only thing she originally didn't like was peaches, and soon even those became palatable. We went out to eat in Bethany Beach, she wasn't a huge fan of my fish (side note, cutest face ever as she tried spitting it out and shaking her head to rid her mouth of all remnants), but as far as I can remember, those are the only two times she hasn't liked what she's eaten.
Recently, this has all changed. She no longer will eat whatever is for dinner. This makes packing for trips quite difficult because I have to bring the equivalent of three meals with me at any given time, not being sure what will go over well that day. I normally throw in some sweet potatoes or applesauce, as those rarely are rejected, but today even the former was not a winner. My new favorite behavior is her ability to physically choose between like items. I love now that when I put small pieces of food on the table in front of her she picks and chooses what she wants to eat. Today we had pieces of chicken and cheese mixed up on the table in front of her and she very carefully chose the cheese, leaving the chicken behind. When given a choice between peas and most any other finger food, I notice the peas are the first to disappear.
And it's not just in her meal choices that I'm noticing her developing preferences. She'll crawl across an entire room to get to a toy that she wants (often that "toy" is a remote control or cell phone). Regardless of where you put her down, she often ends up in one of two spots - the stairs or the dogs water bowls. I think she knows the meaning of the word "no" but just laughs it off. Her new favorite game is "let's pull the books and DVDs off of the bottom shelf of the entertainment unit". Whenever she crawls over to the bookshelf I say "Sarah, no" and for an instant she stops... and then continues what she was doing. As a parent, when do I start enforcing behaviors? At this point, I don't really care whether she eats peas or broccoli for dinner, or prefers the ball to the stacking cups, but I do care that she throws a 10 month old tantrum if she doesn't get what she wants.
But as I sit and ponder that question, I do revel in the fact that in her own special way she's communicating with the world. Her verbalization's are mostly squeaks with a couple of "d" and "g" sounds thrown in for fun, but she does convey what she wants. And she does have preferences. I just hope that at least for another year her preference for clothes will continue to be pink and girly. I'm not sure I'm ready to leave that bandwagon just yet.
Recently, this has all changed. She no longer will eat whatever is for dinner. This makes packing for trips quite difficult because I have to bring the equivalent of three meals with me at any given time, not being sure what will go over well that day. I normally throw in some sweet potatoes or applesauce, as those rarely are rejected, but today even the former was not a winner. My new favorite behavior is her ability to physically choose between like items. I love now that when I put small pieces of food on the table in front of her she picks and chooses what she wants to eat. Today we had pieces of chicken and cheese mixed up on the table in front of her and she very carefully chose the cheese, leaving the chicken behind. When given a choice between peas and most any other finger food, I notice the peas are the first to disappear.
And it's not just in her meal choices that I'm noticing her developing preferences. She'll crawl across an entire room to get to a toy that she wants (often that "toy" is a remote control or cell phone). Regardless of where you put her down, she often ends up in one of two spots - the stairs or the dogs water bowls. I think she knows the meaning of the word "no" but just laughs it off. Her new favorite game is "let's pull the books and DVDs off of the bottom shelf of the entertainment unit". Whenever she crawls over to the bookshelf I say "Sarah, no" and for an instant she stops... and then continues what she was doing. As a parent, when do I start enforcing behaviors? At this point, I don't really care whether she eats peas or broccoli for dinner, or prefers the ball to the stacking cups, but I do care that she throws a 10 month old tantrum if she doesn't get what she wants.
But as I sit and ponder that question, I do revel in the fact that in her own special way she's communicating with the world. Her verbalization's are mostly squeaks with a couple of "d" and "g" sounds thrown in for fun, but she does convey what she wants. And she does have preferences. I just hope that at least for another year her preference for clothes will continue to be pink and girly. I'm not sure I'm ready to leave that bandwagon just yet.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Sometimes It's Hard to be a Grown Up
I know that I still haven't shared the "fun" that was our family vacation (though I probably shouldn't put my sarcastic fun in quotes when the trip itself was fun, just the getting there and getting back were not so much) but I thought after being 6 weeks behind on the last post, I'd make this one more topical.
Being a grown up sucks.
Sorry to be so blunt in my language, but this past Wednesday I went back to work. I struggled with the decision in the spring - I really wanted a part time job to the point where I had resumes in yellow folders ready to send out to various principals in the Ashburn area. Then I found out that part time jobs were going to be exceptionally difficult to come by to the point where most part time teachers that weren't grandfathered in were going to have to be part time at two schools, the worst of both worlds. So I cried and whined and decided that the financial security of having two paychecks was worth going back to a job that I loved. If I wasn't at the AOS I wouldn't be working right now - but it wasn't just any job that I was leaving, it really would have been leaving my ideal teaching job.
Leaving Sarah in February was hard. I was sad to go back, but I left a baby who mostly slept, ate, and pooped. Going back last week was far harder. Now I left a rapidly growing up child who played with me, who laughed, found joy in crawling up stairs, splashing in water bowls or taking the books and DVDs off of the bottom shelf as fast as I could put them back on. Who recognizes string cheese when I bring it near here and screams with displeasure if I don't rip it up quick enough. Though she is still not verbal, she communicates now. She curls into my shoulder when someone she doesn't know comes near, and she lets out a gleeful giggle in the morning when she first sees the dogs. When we were in Florida, T.J. and I took turns playing in the waves and holding Sarah, and whenever she saw the frolicking parent returning she would laugh and laugh and laugh. She knows me. And she knew I was leaving her.
Am I making the wrong decision? T.J. constantly reminds me that there is no wrong decision - there are pros and cons to both. I'm not normally the best person at time managemnt at work - after 3 hours of kids in the morning, I used to take my planning and catch up on email because I was too burnt out to grade or plan. This year, I am planning to use my planning to its fullest. Because this year I have a reason to chase the kids out of the building. Not just because I want to get home and catch up on whatever is saved on the DVR (because let's be honest, that doesn't occur until after Sarah goes to bed) but because I have a little girl who still squeals when I walk up to her. I know this pure, unadulterated love will not last forever. Eventually Sarah will grow up and instead of a happy dance I'll get a sarcastically toned "moommmmm". But not yet.
So why do I potentially regret going back? I love the intellectual stimulation, I wouldn't take forever off, I would only want a couple years, and then I would have regretted leaving this job. But the one thing I can't get back is time. And considering that she crawls faster than I do, cruises around furniture and takes confident steps holding onto my fingers, I suspect my little princess will be walking before I know it. And I will most likely miss her first steps. Might I miss them if I were home? Perhaps, but I would be there fore the second and third and fourth.
So for now, I'm sorry if I don't do as many things on the weekends as I used to. There are only so many more days that I can lay down, hold Sarah close to me and take our 9am nap together. I might have lost my everyday access to my favorite part of the day, but there are always Saturdays and Sundays (and snow days!).
Being a grown up sucks.
Sorry to be so blunt in my language, but this past Wednesday I went back to work. I struggled with the decision in the spring - I really wanted a part time job to the point where I had resumes in yellow folders ready to send out to various principals in the Ashburn area. Then I found out that part time jobs were going to be exceptionally difficult to come by to the point where most part time teachers that weren't grandfathered in were going to have to be part time at two schools, the worst of both worlds. So I cried and whined and decided that the financial security of having two paychecks was worth going back to a job that I loved. If I wasn't at the AOS I wouldn't be working right now - but it wasn't just any job that I was leaving, it really would have been leaving my ideal teaching job.
Leaving Sarah in February was hard. I was sad to go back, but I left a baby who mostly slept, ate, and pooped. Going back last week was far harder. Now I left a rapidly growing up child who played with me, who laughed, found joy in crawling up stairs, splashing in water bowls or taking the books and DVDs off of the bottom shelf as fast as I could put them back on. Who recognizes string cheese when I bring it near here and screams with displeasure if I don't rip it up quick enough. Though she is still not verbal, she communicates now. She curls into my shoulder when someone she doesn't know comes near, and she lets out a gleeful giggle in the morning when she first sees the dogs. When we were in Florida, T.J. and I took turns playing in the waves and holding Sarah, and whenever she saw the frolicking parent returning she would laugh and laugh and laugh. She knows me. And she knew I was leaving her.
Am I making the wrong decision? T.J. constantly reminds me that there is no wrong decision - there are pros and cons to both. I'm not normally the best person at time managemnt at work - after 3 hours of kids in the morning, I used to take my planning and catch up on email because I was too burnt out to grade or plan. This year, I am planning to use my planning to its fullest. Because this year I have a reason to chase the kids out of the building. Not just because I want to get home and catch up on whatever is saved on the DVR (because let's be honest, that doesn't occur until after Sarah goes to bed) but because I have a little girl who still squeals when I walk up to her. I know this pure, unadulterated love will not last forever. Eventually Sarah will grow up and instead of a happy dance I'll get a sarcastically toned "moommmmm". But not yet.
So why do I potentially regret going back? I love the intellectual stimulation, I wouldn't take forever off, I would only want a couple years, and then I would have regretted leaving this job. But the one thing I can't get back is time. And considering that she crawls faster than I do, cruises around furniture and takes confident steps holding onto my fingers, I suspect my little princess will be walking before I know it. And I will most likely miss her first steps. Might I miss them if I were home? Perhaps, but I would be there fore the second and third and fourth.
So for now, I'm sorry if I don't do as many things on the weekends as I used to. There are only so many more days that I can lay down, hold Sarah close to me and take our 9am nap together. I might have lost my everyday access to my favorite part of the day, but there are always Saturdays and Sundays (and snow days!).
What I Did Last Summer
As I've been back at work for three days (and haven't updated this blog in a month) I figured I would title this blog one of the most trite and overused activities ever to go on in a classroom - tell us what you did last summer. Since I've last posted here we've had quite the summer - I debated breaking it down into smaller posts, but I decided to just combine all of our summer activities into one giant post, and then I'll write additional posts about all of the milestones Sarah has accomplished in the last month or so (though she didn't start walking before I went back to work, so I'll most likely miss her first steps, sigh).
I swore I was going to take her to the pool this summer...and summer came and went... and we never went to OUR pool. We did however go to Ida Lee twice and a neighbors pool once, so at least she had some exposure to the world of over chlorinated water. First thing I learned this summer, Sarah likes the taste of chlorine. She would entertain herself for hours (ok, minutes) at a time by dipping her hand in the water and then licking it clean. I figure there have been worse things that she's eaten, so I wasn't too concerned. On July 17th we made our first trip to the pool, and though she was a bit nervous when we let her "float" (holding onto her of course, just not supporting her legs on our legs or the bottom of the pool) she appeared to have a good time.
At this point we still had not decided upon summer vacation plans, so, taking full advantage of having finished summer school the next day we packed up and went to Bethany Beach, thanks to the wonderful hospitality of the Brigleb family. We were discussing going to the beach in Florida, but I was reticent to purchase expensive plane tickets and a pricey hotel if Sarah wouldn't like the beach, so I also viewed this as a trial run. Things I learned about Sarah's first trip to the beach.
She loved having the wind blow in her face.
And she loved, loved loved to eat sand. Carol had called her pediatrician when Jay was little and was told that sand would just "go right through them" so again, I wasn't too worried about this new item in her diet. We tried going into the ocean on this trip, but after just holding her and dipping her toes into the water they turned purple (like actually dark purple) because the water was so cold, so we just stayed on the beach... and continued to eat sand.
I guess since the purpose of this blog is to chronicle her firsts, I should put down Sarah's first junk food... beach french fries.
When it comes to vacations, I am NOT a very impulsive person, but after having such a great time at the Delaware Beaches (where I would return just for the opportunity to shop at the Disney Outlet again!) we booked a flight to Sunny Isles Beach, Florida... for the following week. I really did intend for this blog to be about all of our summer travels, but I think at this point the posting is getting long, so I'll dedicate another post entirely to our first family vacation. Just no promises it will be up before our second or third.
Two short weeks later (because I must have a death wish after the "fun" that was the plane ride to West Palm Beach... more about that later), we were off again, this time to visit T.J.'s family in the suburbs of Chicago. For a short trip we kept very bush, a trip to the arboretum, the zoo, a visit to Great Grandma, lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of food, and of course, Kate beating Uncle T.J. at soccer. After a July that was actually the hottest on record, the weather in Illinois was perfect. We spent the first day at the Morton arboretum just enjoying being outside. The next day we drove to Northwest Indiana to visit T.J.'s grandma. Just days before her 94th birthday and she was looking fabulous!
The next day was a Sarah's first trip to the zoo. As an environmental scientist, I appreciate zoos for what they're doing with species survival programs, but sometimes they make me sad seeing big animals in small spaces. The Brookfield Zoo though has done a fabulous job in really making the spaces seem large and open. As much as her cousins kept trying to point out the animals, Sarah was more enthralled by things like fences, railings and people and dirt. There was one great exhibit where you stood under an incoming tide where a very large quantity of water was dumped above your head - that got a rise out of her, as did the birds flying around in the penguin room and the dolphins (I think she was following them, either that or she was getting tired and her head was kinda just lolling around).
I realize that this has basically become a vehicle to share a series of pictures... and I didn't even delve yet into the fun that was Florida, so perhaps I'll try to be better about updating this more often. However, please indulge me with one more picture of the reason we traveled... two weeks after we travelled and 10 days after we travelled. Family.
I swore I was going to take her to the pool this summer...and summer came and went... and we never went to OUR pool. We did however go to Ida Lee twice and a neighbors pool once, so at least she had some exposure to the world of over chlorinated water. First thing I learned this summer, Sarah likes the taste of chlorine. She would entertain herself for hours (ok, minutes) at a time by dipping her hand in the water and then licking it clean. I figure there have been worse things that she's eaten, so I wasn't too concerned. On July 17th we made our first trip to the pool, and though she was a bit nervous when we let her "float" (holding onto her of course, just not supporting her legs on our legs or the bottom of the pool) she appeared to have a good time.
At this point we still had not decided upon summer vacation plans, so, taking full advantage of having finished summer school the next day we packed up and went to Bethany Beach, thanks to the wonderful hospitality of the Brigleb family. We were discussing going to the beach in Florida, but I was reticent to purchase expensive plane tickets and a pricey hotel if Sarah wouldn't like the beach, so I also viewed this as a trial run. Things I learned about Sarah's first trip to the beach.
She loved having the wind blow in her face.
I guess since the purpose of this blog is to chronicle her firsts, I should put down Sarah's first junk food... beach french fries.
When it comes to vacations, I am NOT a very impulsive person, but after having such a great time at the Delaware Beaches (where I would return just for the opportunity to shop at the Disney Outlet again!) we booked a flight to Sunny Isles Beach, Florida... for the following week. I really did intend for this blog to be about all of our summer travels, but I think at this point the posting is getting long, so I'll dedicate another post entirely to our first family vacation. Just no promises it will be up before our second or third.
Two short weeks later (because I must have a death wish after the "fun" that was the plane ride to West Palm Beach... more about that later), we were off again, this time to visit T.J.'s family in the suburbs of Chicago. For a short trip we kept very bush, a trip to the arboretum, the zoo, a visit to Great Grandma, lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of food, and of course, Kate beating Uncle T.J. at soccer. After a July that was actually the hottest on record, the weather in Illinois was perfect. We spent the first day at the Morton arboretum just enjoying being outside. The next day we drove to Northwest Indiana to visit T.J.'s grandma. Just days before her 94th birthday and she was looking fabulous!
The next day was a Sarah's first trip to the zoo. As an environmental scientist, I appreciate zoos for what they're doing with species survival programs, but sometimes they make me sad seeing big animals in small spaces. The Brookfield Zoo though has done a fabulous job in really making the spaces seem large and open. As much as her cousins kept trying to point out the animals, Sarah was more enthralled by things like fences, railings and people and dirt. There was one great exhibit where you stood under an incoming tide where a very large quantity of water was dumped above your head - that got a rise out of her, as did the birds flying around in the penguin room and the dolphins (I think she was following them, either that or she was getting tired and her head was kinda just lolling around).
I realize that this has basically become a vehicle to share a series of pictures... and I didn't even delve yet into the fun that was Florida, so perhaps I'll try to be better about updating this more often. However, please indulge me with one more picture of the reason we traveled... two weeks after we travelled and 10 days after we travelled. Family.
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