Swaddled in Bliss

Christmas tree 2011

2012-01-28T18:45:00.001-06:00

First time seeing the new Christmas tree.
This was a $12 tree from the thrift store, the perfect size.

Our giant tree stayed downstairs in storage.
I loved this tree so much we might just keep this one instead.

Checking out the ornaments.

This Teddy Bear book story was from my childhood.

Hanging up the elves.
(note - we do NOT do the Hallmark Elves on the Shelf crap but I do have fond memories of these at my Grandma's where they were decorations only, not lame parenting tools.)

Checking out her handiwork.
Anya hung everything within her range.
It was amazing to see her really eye the tree to decide what & where to hang next.

Christmas tree dance!

The red box was full of Christmas/winter stories.

We didn't really celebrate Christmas per say as we are not religious and don't like the commercial aspect of the holiday.

We kind of did our own thing for the holiday.

Next year when she is more aware of it, we will focus on giving to those in need during the season.

Elf tree topper.

Anya finding magic in the first lighting of the tree.

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Anya says, "I wants to go outside in the coldness! Go in coldness!"

late November + early December 2011

2012-01-26T18:24:00.004-06:00

"MMMMM. Cocoa. That's good. I like it!"
First hot cocoa. Homemade chocolate syrup + coconut milk.

Haircut before pics. I do miss that flip.

I do not miss combing the tangles out and the crying that ensued.

Back from the "hair lady" with her bag full of toys.

Chasing Zelda at a friend's house.

"I want a kitty like that one."

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Anya says, "I'm a friend! Come in squirrel!"
Inviting the squirrels in to visit us.

Thanksgiving

2012-01-24T19:38:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving! (I'm a little behind on blogging.)

Anya looks so lonely here.

Okay, getting better.

Such delicious but simple food.

Our traditional maple salmon, sweet potatoes, steamed veggies, rolls.

Fun at dinner.

But then down to the serious task of eating.

Loving the pumpkin pie. So excited she got her own little slice.

Helping Mama tidy up the dishes afterwards.

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Anya says, "I'm dangerous! I'm sharp and pointy!"
I always hug her before a diaper change, then ease her down to the floor to get changed.
Today she didn't want to be changed so she ran away yelling this.
I am loving her imagination and the things she comes up with.

late November 2011

2012-01-22T18:16:00.003-06:00

Playing tents with Daddy.

Hanging out with Wesley Crusher.

Wearing matching leggings.

Getting peeped on by a squirrel.

This one is not afraid of us & we love to leave it chopped apples.

This day I had brought in the mini sandbox to play in the kitchen.

The squirrels went CRAZY at the window looking in at it.

Oh my, I laughed so hard at this.

I really hate this doll but Anya wanted it so much.

It was from the local thrift store & every time we went there, she would hold it and ask for it.

Finally after 4 or 5 visits, I finally brought it home.

We washed it the washing machine and this is how she came out.

I could not stop laughing.

Finally we bent it back to shape. Good times.

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Anya says, "Go to pool tomorrow? No speakers there?"
It's a little too cold for that & yes, they have loud speakers there.

It's interesting what she remembers from what we did awhile ago.

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She's feeling better and does great during the day but at night we've had some more crying. Two great nights in a row then last night was just brutal even after Motrin. Decided to see how tonight goes and if she's still having back pain, will go back to pediatrician tomorrow. Originally we went to a prompt care type place and just got a UTI dip test. Now I wish we had taken home a sterile jar & taken it back in for a culture.

pics from 11/19/11

2012-01-19T19:13:00.005-06:00

Our town's Christmas parade is super early.

Anya's favorite float was the Grinch.

Her own lantern. She carried this for days.

A plastic Halloween decoration pumpkin.
A battery operated tealight.

Who knew that together they would be so much fun?

Awww, that smile.

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Anya says, "I love to dance always! Dance always!"

room makeovers - November

2012-01-16T17:56:00.002-06:00

Key Lime walls for Anya's room. Benjamin Moore Natura.
Sadly all my pictures are way dark & don't show true color.
It's much lighter & fun than this.

All cozy.

She loved it!
Kept saying, "Green! Green walls for Anya!"

The downstairs family room was painted Squish Squash.

Anya helped with some of the artwork.

I love the Ms. Sass photo of her.

We donated our dining set so she has tons of room to run around.

It's a great space for rainy days.

Lots of room to run around and have fun!

Seuss decals I found at Target.

This trim is now up & looks great.
I'm not one for dark trim but it matches the rest of the house.

Looks a thousand times better than before.

This feels like a real, cozy family room now, not just downstairs.

The previous owners turned a closet into a wetbar.

I'm slowly turning their wetbar into a pantry!

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Anya says, "Anya feeling better today! Go to zoo now?"

On the mend infection wise but now coming down with a cough & congestion.

November and December knitting

2012-01-15T11:19:00.003-06:00

leggings for Anya

which she now refuses to wear

hat for a friend at a Secret Santa exchange

then a downsized hat for Anya b/c the pattern was so nice

"go out gate! under tree!"

our giant tree got a trim and Anya loves exploring under it

excited to have found a dandelion

mitten ornament (felted wool + embroidery)

failed mittens for Anya (tested 3 different needles/tweaking pattern)

turned into ornaments!

knit ornaments for tree

one for each of the major sweaters I've made - a new tradition

wintery sky grey socks for me

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Anya says, "Back hurts. Anya's back hurts."
Poor dear is fighting her first ear infection PLUS a urinary tract infection.
Antibiotics + lots of fluids & rest + cuddles = Anya on the mend.

November projects

2012-01-09T19:23:00.001-06:00

Bowling game.
I drew the two on the right, Anya far left, Steve the weird one.

"Bowling!"
Her version is to knock it all over with the ball in her hand.

"More! More!"

Drawing a farm on butcher block paper taped to floor.

Homemade glitter jar.

So enraptured.

Until deciding it needed to be baked in oven.

"Hot! I did it!"

Gluing sequins.

Girl is now a gluestick fiend!

On paper.

Then decorating a box for Daddy's robot parts.

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Anya says, "Love mama!"
Awwwwwww

projects - November

2011-12-29T18:47:00.002-06:00

Spraying a mirror.

Cleaning it.
Then taking the bottle around the house & spraying everything.

Painting with string...

...which didn't go so well so we tried cardboard tubes.

And that was much better.

Creating drums out of new paint. (makeover photos soon)

Tongs + pompoms with a Halloween theme.
She surprised me by sorting by color without being asked.
This is a new major skill this month, she sorts & matches things now.

Lots of other projects that I didn't snap photos of.

We try to do one thing a day that is art or Montessori inspired.

Eventually we'll work up to more.

Our little learner.

She can sight read the word "George" from the Curious George books.

Steve taught her and she is so proud.

pics from 11/9/11 & 11/16/11

2011-12-27T19:07:00.003-06:00

Knit elephant lace vest which she hates & refuses to wear.
Posing like this was her own idea. Silly goose.

Can you see the elephants? One in the middle, two on the bottom row.

On the back they wrap around but I stopped that in the front to make them stand out more.
I am done knitting clothes for Anya for awhile. She won't wear any of them anymore.

If it's not a pair of pajamas, she wants nothing to do with it.

Big smiles. New friends.

Ariel doll was an emergency toy stash find at the thrift store.
I brought it out when the whole family was down with some icky illness.

Somehow Anya had more energy than the rest of us and the $2 doll kept her happy.

Carried everywhere for a few days then forgotten after that.
She didn't touch it for over a month so back to the thrift store it has gone.

pics from 10/28/11 and 10/29/11

2011-12-11T18:13:00.001-06:00

Anya was Rapunzel from Tangled for Halloween, of course.

She carried around her chameleon Beanie Baby as Pascal.

The local community center had a little tots Halloween party.

Anya enjoyed the games but was nervous around the other costumes.

"Making faces! Sticking on!"

Hugs from one of her little buddies.
I think all the kids at the party had been in her classes.
She had been taking Big Fun Gym and we started the art and music classes

but that is when she started getting up super early & having an early nap.
So unfortunately, we have missed all those classes. Maybe next time.

Hauling her loot home. All of which Mama confiscated later.

Seriously, who gives out Tootsie Rolls to 2 year olds?

Her train table! I bought this from a friend and it is awesome.

Anya loves it. She looks so serious in the picture, but she was happy.

She got overwhelmed by all the things on it though.
We packed a lot away and that helped her focus and play more.
It's fun to see what she does with it, and who is going to ride the train next.

I love Steve's addition to this list.

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Anya says, "Hungry! Feed belly!"
Pretty sure we are in the midst of a growth spurt.
Wow did she eat a ton of food this afternoon.

Her new fave? Refried beans spread over Matzo crackers.

pics from 10/22/11 & 10/24/11

2011-12-10T18:40:00.001-06:00

Homemade playdoh, scented like pumpkin spice. Oh yum.

Her favorite thing to do was make "poop shapes".

Toys frozen in a block of ice.

Hammering. She got bored with this one quickly.
Later we poured salt & warm water to make it melt faster.

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Anya says, "I forgot Mexican food!"

Tonight she told us she was hungry and demanded Mexican food.

Steve handed her a plain tortilla and she said the quote above.

So we mushed up some black beans and nutritional yeast and she loooooved it in the tortilla.

Good to know! Easy snack!

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Hating the formatting changes to Blogger.
It keeps changing the margins randomly and photos don't load in order.
That's why I started centering everything, that's somewhat easier.

pics from 10/14/11 and 10/20/11

2011-12-06T19:41:00.001-06:00

Out at the mall walking and playing at their mini playground.

I loved her ragtag clothing ensemble this day.

And the way she was carrying around her bear everywhere.

And the way she ran ahead and explored and only looked back now & again to check on me.

There may have been some mama shrieking here when she made a detour.
So casual as she went over and easily flipped open the plug box!

Bad bad bad safety, Mr. Mall.

Robe was a gift from a friend and she loves, loves, loves it.

She wears and it says, "soft and cozy" and pats her arms.

I wish the company sold matching mama sized ones.

Love the Elvis sneer.

See the robe belt in this picture?

Crazy eyes! I love it. My little Dexter.
I can't remember what we were baking this day but now I'm craving chocolate.

In case you were wondering what almost 10 lb. of Israeli couscous looks like.

(Only almost as one of the larger jars was in the cabinet already.)

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Anya says, "See it! See it!"

What she says as soon as you take a picture and she rushes you to look at herself in the preview screen.

pics from 10/5/11 & 10/12/11

2011-12-05T20:12:00.001-06:00

Our little explorer.

Hiking at the Nature Center. I want to do more of this next year.

Playing dress up in the yard on one of the last amazing fall days.

This is a crochet cape from when I was little.

No, I didn't ask her to pose like this, it was just a perfect snap.

Feeding the doll somehow involves shoving fingers at its eyes.

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Steve has been sick with what we think was food poisoning. Today he felt well enough to go to work but is wiped out. Anya is still getting up early but as long as she is happy, I am fine with it. She takes an early nap and the rest of the day works out okay. We put up our Christmas tree today and that was a lot of fun. Anya loves it and did a great job decorating the bottom half. Seeing it gives me such a warm glow thinking of all the memories and traditions we are starting for her.

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A new feature - I'll end each entry with my favorite "Anya said" of the day.

We were doing a craft of gluing sequins on paper, she paused, looked at me for a few seconds and Anya said, "Mama is a nice lady!"

pics from 10/5/11 & 10/7/11

2011-11-20T19:01:00.001-06:00

I didn't include these in the knitting post because the pictures are really hazy. (I really need to learn my camera, it is frustratingly not "autoshoot mode.") These fairy wings are part of her dress up basket. And the elephant knit vest makes its debut with better pics later.

A familiar site around here: "watch videos Daddy!" She has a half dozen of herself that she loves to watch over and over and over. Steve knows the words by now.

Tanners Orchard train in their giant playground.

Checking out the ponies. Wanting to ride them so so so much.

Getting a bit closer with Mama. Then we watched them ride. Then we pet one. Then we sat her on one (Steve forgot to take photo) and then she said, "Done!!! Get Anya down!!!" and that was that. She still talks about this though and how she will ride horses "next time" so we shall see.

Pirate ship - love this photo.

Hay maze! What a fun idea.

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We've all been under the weather fighting some cold/congestion/virus/bug/whatever. It wasn't too too bad but it has been a long one! Anya had a few bad nights but overall was amazingly cheerful through it all. Even on the days where she was coughing & runny nosed she did great. Steve even took two days off work and if you know him, you know he does not take that lightly. He seemed to get the worst of it but I was also downing elderberry syrup/vitamin C/garlic/honey as soon as I felt the first "ick". And Anya was getting smaller doses of that (well, no garlic) plus another honey remedy plus all the antigens in my milk. So who knows, it could have been random or it could have been that all my hippie ways paid off!

lots o' knitting

2011-11-18T18:55:00.001-06:00

How can I not knit & knit & knit with a model like this? I love the silly faces she makes when we ask her to smile for the camera. Then she rushes you saying "See it! See it!" and wants to look at the photo preview.

Her newest fave babydoll. (She is getting an American Girl Bitty Baby for Christmas though!) Niecy here must have been cold so she got bundled up in Anya's jacket.

Then later Niecy shared her bed with Anya.

Fall mama socks.

Sweater to match Daddy's fair isle sweater (still in the works.)

I love the way she turned her head when we asked her to turn around.

Apparently she thought that was a great look for her.

Yoga! Downward dog!

Nothing like seeing your girl all cozy in her knits hanging out in the yard!

Doll before felting.

Doll after felting. Meh. You'll notice he is missing the jacket as that felted the holes away!

The dreadlocks were cool though.

Introducing Rapunzel!!! Or as Anya calls her half the time: Tangled! Does she look familiar? She is the same pattern as the doll above only I am NOT going to felt her. I figured out the dress by myself. Anya loves her!

Super happy with how this turned out. I spent almost 3 hours just on the hair!

Anya is singing "flower shine. power shine. glow."

The one downside about this doll is that all that hair pulls her head backwards. A temporary fix is the necklace, aka Anya's ponytail holder. Will figure something out later.

Silly goose.

And a knit worm to end the post. Lots of projects in the works too & a few others finished but not photographed yet. Busy busy busy.

Did you know that you can click on any photo to bring up a larger size + a mini slideshow?

9/23/11-10/2/11 pics

2011-11-11T18:55:00.001-06:00

Anya has some issues with sounds and loud noises so she was not too sure of what was going on at the loud parade. She was excited to see all the other people and kids, but got nervous when the bands began to play.

Then she got used to it and started dancing along to the music! Some times though she will talk about loud noises for days and days and days. They bother her that much.

The parade was a Disney theme and Anya's favorite float was The Little Mermaid. She also liked the balloons on the Up! float which was our babysitter's class.

We all love books and reading in this house, Anya maybe the most of us. This is a great book about sharing. We especially love that it also gives that message that it is okay not to share. It is her choice. We will never force her to share but do encourage her to share to make friends, be generous, etc. We had a playdate today and she shrieked, "THAT'S ANYA'S" a few times but then also brought her friend some toys or pretzels or whatever.

Here she is in training to become a listmaker like Mama. I think this was a list and she drew all over it while chanting "list list list".

We won't be able to do these with the colder weather, but for awhile Steve was doing stroller naps on the weekend while I got groceries + a short trip to a coffee shop to knit. It was a nice getaway for me & he listened to podcasts + got a nice walk in too. This day happened to be a super long nap, she was wiped out.

Just waking up. Cuddles with Daddy....

...then wandering around like a zombie for a few minutes until she was all the way awake.

9/19/11 & 9/21/11 pics

2011-11-09T18:57:00.002-06:00

My friend Anna made this gorgeous mini mei tai for Anya's doll babywearing. Anya loves carrying her dolls around in it and that it is the same brown as the Ergo she gets worn in. She calls it Doll Ergo.

Wearing her babies close to her heart...

...while getting some chores done too.

This is the biggest bell pepper I've seen! Wow! Anya has been washing up our fruit and veggies in her kitchen - love that it has a bowl to really hold water.

The bangs! They are almost to her eyes now but the trim lasted 1.5 months so that is great! I like them better longer but will get them short again just so we have less time in between cuts. She did amazing getting her hair cut but still, one more thing, you know?

Still loves her Disney KidClips player. This is one of her few consistent go-to toys that stays out all the time. She loves that she can change the songs herself & turn it on and off.

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Still sleep struggles but I've started adjusting my attitude about it and going with the flow. These 3-4 am wake ups will not last forever although sometimes it feels like it. I'm taking things off my to do list, just doing the essentials, hanging out in maintenance mode for awhile. Having some great days with her though so that is a blessing at least!

She had her 2 year check up (a few months late - rescheduling) and while she is a tiny little girl on the 10% of weight, she is 75% in height! I think she is just going to be tall & thin like Steve's family. She's doing great though & even within the last few weeks we've noticed a giant surge in her language & how she puts things together & remembers things.

9/16/11 photos

2011-10-23T18:20:00.003-05:00

Time for warmer jammies. Love the fleece ones I got as a lot on Ebay. Every night when we put them on, Anya rubs her belly and says, "so soft."

Painting with dot markers which are like glorified Bingo dobbers. Most of the paint ended up on her body.

"No taste good."

Toddler version of a manicure.

More sleep issues to report. Today she was up & ready to go at 3:53 am. I am dreading the time change b/c then it will be 3 am. Not sure what else to do besides embrace the new schedule change and make sure she gets her nap before 9 am now. It's hard but we've tried several things to no avail. The hardest part is the night wakings before the early wake up. That is what is really disrupting our sleep and turning us into a very tired family.

I am thinking about trying a gluten free diet for a few weeks and seeing if that helps. Completely removing dairy again made a big difference but maybe we need more changes. Here is the list of foods we avoid or limit:

Dairy - completely out of our diet
Eggs - none at home although not so worried about baked goods when we go out
Soy - none at home although not so worried about soy lecithen
Strawberries - Anya is allergic, this is in a lot of toddler snack items & fruit snacks
Tomatoes, Citrus, acidic foods - light on these as Anya reacts a lot
Low on Sugar
Low on Salt
Meat - light on the red meat, picky about where our fish comes from, no nitrates/nitrites so low processed food like lunch meat
Caffeine - none at all
High Fructose Corn Syrup - none at home although not so worried when we go out to eat
Red Dye #40 - none at all

And now potentially gluten. And I feel like I missed something in that list? Hmmm.

The hardest thing for me is to adjust my mindset that this is healthier for us anyway instead of thinking that we are depriving ourselves of anything. I sure do miss my Starbucks drinks and Manchego cheese!

9/12/11 photo

2011-10-18T19:17:00.002-05:00

This is my absolute favorite photo ever I think. I know I always say that. Not only is she wearing the craziest "what did Daddy do to me today?" outfit, but that earnest look on her face kills me. Oh my love love love it.

Very tired today. Up at 4:15 and that is not enough sleep. She took a nap at 7:30 so we broke our no-nap attempt for this week but she needed it. She was still so sleepy by dinner. My little zombie child. But we get through the days really well by sticking to our routine, lots of snuggling, and bedtime is so much easier. If she hasn't adjusted to a new sleep pattern though by the end of the week, I will look into going back to regular naps. I think she needs them but I'm not sure it's worth the fighting for 3 hours to get to bed at night. Such a guessing game, this parenting thing.

10/16/11

2011-10-16T19:08:00.000-05:00

Every girl needs her own earthworm. This was a quick knit but had 71 kitchener stitches to graft. My knitting friends feel my pain. Plus I made another wormy friend as a little gift. A fun knit overall!

Today we went to the zoo then out for sushi. Anya looooved the miso soup. Wow - that was a surprise. And then only wanted her veggie rolls if they were dipped in soy sauce. That girl loves her salty snacks lately.

We've been trying something new the last two days and are doing away with her nap. I know, I know. Am I insane? But bedtimes had been so rough lately and suddenly they are taking under 30 minutes from start of routine to sleeping little girl. Much better. It'll be hard for awhile when she gets tired and cranky but she will adjust soon and we will all be happier. So far she has been doing amazingly well with the change.

9/11/11 2 years old

2011-10-13T19:09:00.001-05:00

Most of her presents I gave to her as we got the boxes from Amazon. I did leave some paint & a homemade felt diaper for her to open on her birthday morning. "Presents! Presents!" Then we diapered Elmo after it didn't quite fit Dolly. Then had her annual vegan coconut cupcake. Yummy. A pretty low key birthday but that's what we like. In a few years I'm thinking of having a party at the zoo with her little friends + family but for now this is what works for us.

10/12/11

2011-10-12T19:35:00.000-05:00

Having some very, very hard sleep nights recently. I'm not sure what is going on but I'm unable to get her to sleep at all at night. Hard times. We also have had one of her leg bumps back but I'm not sure they are related since naps have been going okay. I just don't even know anymore. It makes for a hard evening when most of it is spent trying to get her to sleep & the rest is spent rushing around finishing whatever chores, bills, etc then trying to spend some time with Steve that is not with a toddler talking over us. I know this is just one small season of our life but that doesn't always help on the day to day grind of whatever transition we're going through with sleep.

Orchard Trip

2011-09-28T18:43:00.001-05:00

Exploring the giant playground at the apple orchard. Giant. Naturally she goes straight to the pink tractor. I think we have a girly-girl on our hands.

First time playing mini golf & she already figured out it's easier to roll the ball towards the hole instead of hitting with the clubs.

Hole in one!

Exploring the school bus. Yes, a bus! They have a school bus, a train car, two cars, a silo turned into a sandbox, a mini golf course, a pond, two corn mazes, and about half dozen other play structures around this giant play area. It is awesome.

This picture breaks my heart, even to think of her going to school one day. We plan on homeschooling but if it doesn't work out, I can't even imagine not being around her all day.

Anya about the house

2011-09-26T18:34:00.003-05:00

Painting - first time with watercolors.

New plates that her babysitter gave us - Beatrix Potter.

Playing around while trying on snow boots.

Gift from a friend - Anya pulled it on and said, "Nice and cozy!"

Post bath in robe - her startled expression is because a loud car went by just then. Poor girl hates loud noises.

Hard sleep nights recently, not much energy to do much after she goes to bed besides read or knit.

at the park

2011-09-22T19:10:00.002-05:00

Oh look - I do exist. Showing Anya a ladybug.

zoo zoo zoo

2011-09-21T18:55:00.000-05:00

Are you tired of zoo photos yet?

Clearly, I am not.

Flying hold by Daddy.

Look out world, here she comes!

Exploring everywhere. I love that right in front of the tigers she was checking out some dirt instead.

Maybe this time she'll touch the pony. Nope. Not yet.

"Wash wash wash!"
_____

First haircut today!! She got her bangs trimmed and I absolutely love it. She looks great and she can run around without the hair all over her face.

She did amazing. A shaky start as the owner greeted us at the door with a dog. No less than the same owner/dog that cornered Anya in the thrift store & starting her dog fear. Nice. So I made her put the dog in a separate room despite some passive aggressive comments about it. Anya was still a bit nervous, but a bit of looking around, sitting in my lap for the trim, and a couple minutes of snipping and it was all over. Sadly, I didn't get pictures of the haircut itself since I was sitting with her on the chair but I did get some nice pics of her new 'do to put up on Flickr Friday and blog soon. She looks so grown up. It breaks my heart and makes me proud at the same time.

mama's little helper

2011-09-19T18:54:00.000-05:00

Baking up a storm - we try to make at least one thing a week, aiming for low sugar + vegan as much as possible.

I didn't realize she could get into the tower by herself until later this day when I came in to find her like this. One arm slipped out of her shirt....

...with my wallet open, tossing the contents on the floor, happily exclaiming "Bye bye cashies!" as she did so. Brought about a whole other level of toddlerproofing.

The best part of vegan cooking is that she gets to lick the spoon/mixer. This day she had batter all the way up to her forehead!

And wearing the apron doubles as a baby carrier. Here she is removing all her toy animals she so proudly carried in from the living room. How cute are those crab jammies!

Helping me unpack the groceries, she loves sorting things and telling me what she wants to sample, "Try it! This one! Open, Mommy!"

Loving the sushi.

_____

Totally awful sleep nights recently. I don't even want to talk about it, it's so frustrating. I'm hoping this blows over soon because we are both crabby with each other and I hate that. Today we missed her mini gym class because she took an early nap then she woke up crying because she had missed it. Tough days.

July and August Reading

2011-09-15T19:16:00.003-05:00

Godless by Peter Hautman

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

The Walking Dead: Volume 14 by Robert Kirkman

The Order of Odd Fish by James Kennedy

Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay

The Duchess of Padua by Oscar Wilde

Locke and Key: Keys to the Kingdom by Joe Hill etc

The No Cry Potty Training Solution by Elizabeth Pantley

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris

Carry on Jeeves by PG Wodehouse

Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence

Infected by Scott Sigler

Dexter by Design by Jeff Lindsay

Eugenia Grandet by Honore de Balzac

The Infection by Craig DiLouie

Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart

Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

Dexter is Delicious by Jeff Lindsay

Whew - what a list! I think some were actually in June but I didn't write down the titles from my Kindle until July. But I definitely read a lot over the summer - to the detriment of my sleep. Now I try to limit it to 30 minutes or less each night.

popsicles & Silly Goose

2011-09-14T19:16:00.008-05:00

Silly Goose face - not sure how this started but I LOVE it.
Organic popsicles in silicone molds - then the mold becomes the holder - brilliant!

"Cold!"

"Tastes good!"

knitting

2011-09-13T18:57:00.007-05:00

Knit socks - incredibly comfy. Now that we're having more steady bedtimes and longer sleep stretches, Steve and I have settled into a routine of watching one episode of Mad Men (on season 2) then 15 minutes of a movie. So I have at least an hour of knitting time a day + any naps + Anya's short TV times. I've been cranking out the projects!

Octopus! I loved this project - what a fun knit! 3 hours just on the tentacles alone, that's some dedication to knitting toys.

I maxed myself out at 4 projects at once, one sweater project for me or Steve (about to cast on a colorwork sweater for him), one clothing project for Anya (elephant lace vest), toy for Anya (octopus & worm finished, about to start a mermaid Ariel doll), and socks for me (lovely fall colored yarn). It's enough to keep me from getting bored/frustrated if I get stuck somewhere but not enough that I don't see progress.

I wish I had a video of the first time Anya saw the octopus. I was so excited to finish it for her birthday. She took it, looked at it, tossed it to the ground and said, "Donate this one. No!" I just laughed and set it aside hoping she will like it later.

dinner fun

2011-09-12T19:12:00.006-05:00

I have to say, one of my big regrets is not having more photos of me + Anya in candid moments like this. But if no one wants to take them, I guess I will have to settle on being behind the lens.

my fun girl

2011-09-11T18:55:00.005-05:00

Anya turned 2 today! I can't believe it! Pictures of the birthday cupcake eating another day. :)Another trip to the apple orchard. Anya wants to pet the animal so much but then get scared when they get too close.

Smelling the flowers with her entire face.

Driving the apple train.

"Wheel! Driving it! Driving train! Anya!"

Big smiles.

Car nap on the way home. (Steve was in back with her.)

Waking up happy & ready for more play.

"Peeking out!"
Despite my best intentions we do have some character-related things around the house. I hate the whole "Disney Princess" thing but she loves these stories and knows the characters. Same with Cat in the Hat and Nicky Bunny from the Richard Scarry books.

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Brief update on night weaning, we are sort of over the awful part - now we are just taking one night at a time. Usually I can settle her back down within 30 minutes although it usually involves a snack + water. I'm somewhat okay with that, somewhat worried it's still a sleep crutch. BUT she remembers when it is time to nurse versus not. She sleeps longer stretches by herself on her bed. And the best part is she is happier & easier to work with during the day because she's getting more rest.

Now though we are dealing with some skipping of naps. That makes for a long afternoon but for 2 minute night nursing to sleep (awesome) and longer stretches of sleep before the first wake up. Last night she slept an epic, record 8.5 hours of sleep solo. That is the longest she has ever, ever ever, slept in her 2 years. So we are definitely on the right track and I am glad we went through it. Some rough times but done lovingly and with great results on the other end.

zombie fest

2011-08-30T19:24:00.002-05:00

sooo tired. sooo cranky. two nights ago was an amazing night that made me realize we are on the right path. then last night was another really rough one. tonight we start the transition where she lays on my chest a bit, then while she is awake but sleepy I roll her to her own pillow to sleep. we shall see. I'm not expecting much but remain hopeful that it will go well.

and she is ms. chitter chat today so i wonder if it's going to be a rough sleep night anyway b/c of her developmental bump. ugh.

so i'm chugging my water, eating a Z-bar smeared with almond butter for even more protein & prepping mentally for no sleep while still trying to visualize a good night for us.

so freaking thankful Steve is off work this week or I don't know if I could do it

silly girl

2011-08-28T18:35:00.007-05:00

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Nightweaning Night #4: The Sleep Saga Continues

Last night the rocking chair was removed from the room and that was my much needed crutch between nursing whenever to going back to sleep in her own bed.

Last night was rough. It was almost harder than the first night. The goal was to stay in bed but to rock her in arms until she fell asleep then set her down on the bed & sneak down to the floor to my own little nest. Fail. Fail fail fail fail fail.

However, she did sleep an amazing stretch of sleep from around 9 to a little before 1 am. That's 4 hours of uninterrupted solo sleep! Almost a new record for us I think & very rare. So that is progress. AND during the whole night, she was upset with me but she only specifically asked for boobies a few times, she wanted to be rocked instead so that is also progress.

The awful part is that we were up from 1 am to a little after 5 am. That is 4 hours of wakeful, crying, fighting (kicking, arching back), yelling NO NO NO NO SLEEPING, super fun times. I hate that she has to go through this but we need to soldier through in order to all get some better rest. I hope that happens tonight because last night was emotionally draining. I was a wreck.

She finally stayed asleep then woke up again around 6 am to nurse. She nursed all of 2 minutes then fell back asleep. Sigh. She only stayed down until a little after 7 & woke up bright eyed & insistent that we go wake up Daddy.

Then the rest of the day was exhausted mama and exhausted girl with less than 6 hours of sleep. Cue up the tantrums, meltdowns, and just wreck of human beings we have turned into this week.

I am really hoping tonight goes better. I'm kind of doing these transitions in cycles of 3. So the first night with no nursing was awful. Then it got a little better. Then the first night with no rocking chair was awful. So hopefully it gets better for the next few days....until the next transition.

Mini School + More Night Weaning Saga

2011-08-27T17:19:00.010-05:00

Stickers into circles. I cut the stickers into squares so she can peel them off, put a sticker inside a circle, then put the empty paper "trashies" into the bowl. The paper is just Sharpie circles, on the back I already made smaller circles for next time. When she's done, she can walk over to the trash & dump out the bowl.Transferring series. Pouring beans from one cup to another. When she spilled them, she said, "Oh no! Messy! Clean up! Sweeper!" then went & got the dustpan from the corner & started trying to figure out how to scoop up the beans.

Her first sensory bin! Uncooked pasta, rice, & assorted beans.

She scooped it & stirred it for a bit...

...then played with the pieces & ran her hands through it. We watch her carefully with this b/c she keeps saying, "Playing! No eating! No eating pasta!" then looks at you & sticks the pasta in her mouth anyway. I know she's testing boundaries so I have to watch more carefully now.

I even made school lunch! I found these trays at a garage sale & while I do hate the plastic, they are so convenient & for whatever reason, little kids seem to love divided trays. She doesn't eat much at once but kind of picks at it throughout the day. I do a fresh tray for morning then one after lunch + meals are at table on a plate like ours + boobie time whenever. She doesn't eat much, she's a little pixie!

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Nightweaning Night #3 was much better but today we're feeling the impact of all the lack of sleep. Tantrums, hitting me, throwing things, screaming, crying, not a good day.

Last night she nursed a bit before 11 then slept until a little after midnight. Woke up & fussed a bit but she was the one who reminded me that "No boobies! Sleeping! Rocking chair!" so off to the rocking chair we went. She cuddled right up & fell asleep within 10 minutes! Wow!!

I even got her set back into bed no problem within 20 minutes of first waking. I thought we were on the right path & was super excited. Then I left the room to pee & heard a little voice, "Mommy! Mommy!" and she was wide awake. But content to go back to the rocking chair again. So it ended up being a bit after 1 before she was back in bed fully asleep.

Then she slept until 4. That's 3 hours all by herself!! But this time she woke up mad & angry that the sun wasn't up yet. She was throwing a fit & kicking at me but we sat in the rocker anyway. She wouldn't relax & kept yelling NO NO NO NO but then in the middle of that, she sat her head down on my chest and just fell asleep. Probably still within 15 minutes of waking up.

Unfortunately, she then was restless for a few hours so we ended up dozing off & on in the rocker & not back in bed until 6 when the sun was up & she then nursed for almost 45 minutes. Argh. Then slept until 8.

Those restless times were pretty common when she was nursing too, but more difficult to handle when we're going through this weaning process.

Tonight will be tough again because now the rocker is out of the room & I will start rocking her to sleep on her bed in my arms. Exhausting & NOT what she wants. But we talked about it so she at least knows it is coming.

I am really chatty about night-weaning apparently. I guess I write so much about this b/c it's really hard for me & I hope that someone else gets something out of it at some point. It's one of the biggest things we've done "to" her so it's a lot for me to process & plan & make sure I'm comfortable with going forward. I am!

night weaning night #2 update

2011-08-26T19:40:00.003-05:00

no pics tonight, totally wiped out, but I am uploading to Flickr just now...lots of great photos this week

Nightwean #2 was just as bad to start. We're doing the 11-6 window. She slept until 11:!5 so didn't get to nurse at all once I'd nursed her down. :(

Up from 11:15 - around 1:30 screaming & crying hysterical. Rigid & stiff little body, wouldn't even let me hold her against my chest like the night before. Kept screaming "no sleeping!!!" Finally she put her head down & was out in about 5 minutes, woke her up setting her in bed, rocked another 20 minutes, set her down in bed & she stayed out....Woke up again around 4...so she did almost 2.5 hours sleep solo!

She woke up, said "boobies sleeping! rocking chair! rocking?" so we rocked in the chair. Took her forever to fall asleep though so even though she was more relaxed we were up until 5:30 when I put her down.

Then she woke up excitedly some point after that "sun up! wake up boobies, mommy!! sun up" and since it was light we did nurse & she slept until 8.

Woke up happy, having a great day again although I am TIRED TIRED TIRED.

I don't know why the font is all messed up on this but I'm leaving it. Going to try to rest before the night routine starts.

walk in the park

2011-08-25T19:12:00.009-05:00

"Run run run!"

The following unfolded while I snapped away, it is a perfect snapshot of an outing with a curious toddler. I think it was part of a cigarette case she had grabbed out of the mulch. Ugh.

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Tonight is Nightweaning Night #2. I decided to press on despite last nights utter mayhem. I felt so bad for her but tried to stay calm, loving, and "be the iceberg". I nurse her to sleep but from 11 to 6, I am working with her to fall asleep on her own instead of nursing. We say that during "late night boobies sleep" and "sun up is boobies awake".

Of course, her first wake up was at 11:01. Really, universe, really?! When she realized there would be no nursing, she immediately freaked her shit out. Such sad tears & screaming screaming screaming. The worst was when she was begging me, "Wake up Mommy! Wake up boobies! Boobies wake up!!!" Oh man, it was so hard. I can't even tell you how hard. I just wanted to nurse her and comfort her and make her feel better.

But that's not life. Sometimes you have to do the hard things. The great thing about attachment parenting is that I'll there with her every step of the way as we do the hard things together.

So I held her, we rocked in bed, we got up to pee a few times, etc. She was up until around 1:30, 1:45 before basically passing out in my arms. I cuddled her back to bed then went to my own little temporary bed.

Around 3:45 she woke up again. This time she knew what the situation was and was completely inconsolable. I had hoped as time went on it would get easier, last night it seemed to get worse b/c she knew the change was final. This time we were up until 6 am when the singing birds & sun coming in (and a quick glance at my phone) told us that it was time for boobies to wake up. Oh Anya was so happy. Her little face lit up. She especially loved that the birds came to sing & make her happy. :)

She nursed about 20 minutes & we curled up together to sleep until around 9:15. The best thing is that she woke up happy, like none of this had happened. That is because she knew she was loved & I was there for her. We had a great, great day even if mama is totally ready to pass out now & was exhausted. She was great. We talked about it more during the day. She helped me decide that a "little pillow, rocking chair" would help her get back to sleep so we're going to try that tonight. The little pillow is the bunny pillow I embroidered for her so that was really sweet to hear.

This is very hard but we will get through it and hopefully see some more rest in the near future!

mid May photos

2011-08-24T19:31:00.009-05:00

I found a giant bag of cookie cutters at the thrift store this day, a lot of same designs we had growing up. Besides making cookies, we can use them for plahdoh, cutting sandwiches, learning shapes, tracing, sandbox, all kinds of fun activities. But this day was all about cookies.Anya helped roll the dough out a bit, push the shapes in, and sprinkle with sugar. I try to make vegan recipes when she is helping so I don't have to worry about her eating raw egg in the dough.
I think she liked them.

A friend gave Anya one of these squeeze applesauce things to try out. It was soooo strange to see her eat it. She would not stop eating it but had the strangest, almost pained, expression on her face. I kept asking her if she was okay but she didn't unhinge her jaws from this thing until it was totally empty then she asked for more. But then the next time I bought her some she squeezed it all over the table then didn't want anymore. So silly.

Checking out a local carnival. "Loud!! Loud noises." Not a fan of the loud music. No way was she getting on any of the rides although she liked watching the kids until the music bothered her again.

"This one! Camera! Show me!" A problem of the digital age - you can't take more than two photos of your daughter before she is running towards you to see the pics you just snapped.

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Tonight marks day one of the Official Nightweaning Event here. I'm physically ready yet emotionally wavering. I spent a lot of time researching this, asking questions of friends, and getting stuff prepped for it. Then last night when I nursed her back to sleep once, I started sobbing. I will miss the cuddling and the cosleeping and the sweet little one falling back to sleep in my arms. I will not miss the call for "Boobie time!" every two hours and the lack of sleep so severe I thought I had a stroke and was missing my words. I will be a mama with more energy and a better mama during the day after this. And we will still nurse during the day, putting her to sleep, and "sun gets up! boobies wake up"-early morning.

I am moving to a temporary bed on the floor next to her full size bed. We talked a lot today about how during late night, the boobies are going to need to go to sleep so mama & Anya can both get more sleep and have more energy to play during the day. She helped me make up my bed and we practiced "sleeping" in our own beds. We talked more. She helped me pull some of the room darkening foil off her window so she will be able to tell when the sun is up and that is okay to nurse now. I'm getting her sippy of water & snacks ready in a few minutes in case she really gets hungry. We talked some more about it. I added a nightlight to the room when we used to sleep in pitch black. We talked about it. I think we are as ready as we can be at this point. From talking to my friends & reading online, it should take 3-7 days for her to adjust.

NEVER crying it out. Never ever ever. I'll be with her every step of the way.

....as it gets later & later tonight I'm dreading this more & more. I'm so sad to end this but also know it's time.

Mini School

2011-08-23T19:29:00.011-05:00

Transferring series. Water from bowl on her right to bowl on her left using a sponge. Cloth set aside for any spills.

She loves all the lessons with water and when she spilled she reached for the rag right away!

My super simple felt board. Two of those sticky hooks on the wall, large piece of felt with binder clips on the ends, hook the binder clips over the hooks. Boom, felt board in less than 5 minutes & $5. I hadn't cut out many shapes at this point but Anya was just as interested in sticking the felt sheets up. And a friend generously gave us a whole bunch of felt shapes so we are set!

Art day - painting with glue. Flour with water mixed in until it is Elmers type consistency then blue food coloring added for a paint effect. Precut squares of construction paper to glue on.

I loved that she knew precisely where she wanted each to go, no hesitation.

When we were done she even reminded me, "Dry it! Hang it!"

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Trying to get back in the swing of a somewhat formal lesson/activity a day, DIY Montessori style. Usually not more than 10-20 minutes out of her busy toddler day b/c that's about her attention span. Although today she spent over an hour doing the beans project (pics later) so hopefully she will spend more time on these.

So exhausted today, another really rough night then lots of fun out & about today but I am wiped out!! I am seriously, seriously thinking about doing the Dr. Jay Gordon night weaning starting tomorrow.

early May photos

2011-08-22T19:42:00.007-05:00

slowly catching up on these photos...

Anya's first boardgame - Chutes & Ladders. This was a gift from one of the ladies at the thrift store we go to so often. They are all super sweet to us there but this was extra nice.

Of course, we don't play the game yet but Anya enjoys looking at the pictures and moving the game pieces up and down the ladders & slides.
Red basket. (As if that wasn't self explanatory.) Lots of things from around the house to look through & talk about the color. She identifies most colors & even says stripes & polka dots.

Leaving the zoo, holding hands.

Crazy expression!

I love all the photos of them holding hands, it always catches my heart. I do regret that there are few photos of me & Anya because I can't get Steve to take pictures of us. Oh well, that's part of why I do this blog then print it into books, to keep the memories.

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Bought my glasses today, by waiting a few days I ended up getting them on sale & saved over $100! Yay! Then went to the coffee shop for pie and then the library. Anya looooooves the children's librarian and is always thrilled to death when she talks to us. Today we got to see a moth that they had raised from a caterpillar, it was going to be released tonight. We played outside in the yard this morning & it is so much more relaxing for me with that fence up! Now we just need to get our water pipe fixed (next month's project) and we can set up our little pool again before it gets too chilly. Leaves are already falling on some of the trees, I do believe fall is on it's way.

snowsuits & dinner

2011-08-21T19:51:00.007-05:00

Trying on her snowsuit (at her request.) I love that I caught this little tumble on film, the foot up in the air in the second photo just kills me. One of those dinners where enough red food ended up on her face for her to look like an extra in a horror film. Swedish meatballs + lingonberry jam on the side + fresh cherries for dessert.
Getting every last drop of that cherry juice.
"braiiiinnnnssssss"

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Nice family day today, got a few freezer meals put away, thawed & ate one from a few weeks ago. Kind of a boring day but those are nice too! Lots of paperwork to catch up on tonight so not a lot of blog time today.

mid April + early May photos

2011-08-20T16:52:00.008-05:00

Exploring a playground's tractor...
....happily watching the bigger kids...
...posing with Daddy...

...crawling through tunnels. This was a fun outing to a local outdoors mall. Anya was very into the play equipment & we were both surprised at how much she wanted to climb through the tunnels, etc. She had as much fun watching the other kids climbing the fake rock wall.

At the zoo, Anya only wants to be in the stroller or the wagon, or she wants to push them herself. We have a membership so we go a lot. She used to be more interested in the ride or the kids than the animals, but she's starting to talk about the animals and watch them more.

Watching the meerkats. A sure crowd pleaser. She also loves the emu, the camel (she says they are friends), and the tigers. The monkeys, however, are "loud!!! loud!!" so sometimes she doesn't even want to stop for them.

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Family day! We went to the apple orchard again (Steve's pick this weekend) and Anya got to see her beloved baby goats again. She got a little closer this time but not much. We ate lunch there and then did the petting zoo + played on the train. She loved the train, "driving train! anya! choo! beep! driving!"

Came home, chores & some indoor play, now I'm about to finish cooking dinner while Steve & Anya play in our newly fenced yard. Love it! Then we might watch a little bit of Tangled (her current new fave movie) and then it's almost time to start getting ready for bed. Looking forward to some down time & hopefully some good sleep. Last night was another hard night, up for a few hours then restless until morning.

goats & trays

2011-08-19T19:58:00.007-05:00

The local apple orchard has a small goat feeding area. Anya likes to look at the goats, talk about the goats, but they make her nervous. This time the lure of a sweet, sweet baby goat got her this close....but no further.

I started making little snack trays for Anya so she has lots of choices of yummy, mostly nutritious, things to snack on throughout the day. I love how in this photo she has her arms up with indecision on which food to eat first.
It must have been yummy. (Look at her long hair here!!)

Another tray. You know it drives me nuts that these are plastic but it's what we had around the house. Next month for my "Anya shopping" I am getting her some stainless steel muffin trays but this month I'd already bought a bunch of bath supplies + birthday so these will do for now.

I didn't realize that almost everything was red - how random. Her fave was the dried cranberries. When I told her we were out of them today, she paused a minute & said, "Buy some! Ask dude! Buy some!"

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Much better night last night!! Wow - what a difference it made on our whole day. We battled the heat on a midday playdate at the apple orchard, had some good food, got to see a friend. Anya was walking around holding hands with her 4 year old friend, it was soooo adorable. Breaking my heart adorable.

Then we came home and all she can talk about is how she saw a goat poop today. "Goat poop! Big ones! Wipe up! Wipe up!" haha. Love that girl. My heart is full.

mid April photos

2011-08-18T19:54:00.010-05:00

One of my favorite photos of Anya.
After getting Anya's own table & chairs, we of course had to get her a reading chair! It's supposed to be a rocking chair but Steve never attached the rockers. It works out better this way I think & is better for her height. When she gets bigger, we can put the rockers on. She loves it, although she mostly uses it to climb & look out the living room window!

Kite weather! Steve enjoyed the kite flying this spring more than Anya did I think. This day we had our whole house fan running & we had enough current to fly a kite indoors. Check out Anya's hair blowing straight back."Windy!"Not a big fan of dressy-dresses. A simple cotton girl through & through.

That's my girl!

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Last night was such an awful night, I don't want to write too much & jinx ourselves into another one. I think I got 2 hours of sleep...and that's being generous. (I'm supposed to be caffeine free but today was fueled by a Dunkin Donuts caramel iced latte + 2 donuts + 2 protein bars mid afternoon.)

I'm not sure if it was a growth spurt, language development thing, or just teething but Anya wanted to nurse all night. ALL NIGHT. That just wasn't happening. It was very hard. We had two times of trying to switch off with Daddy & both failed. At 4:30 in the morning, he was holding her while she cried & I ate a protein bar, swigged water, then took a hot shower to try to feel human again. I had not gotten any sleep at that point. He finally got her calmed back down and we traded back around 5:30. She slept a little bit but then the fence crew woke her up around 8. With nursing every 10-15 minutes in between. Yep, one of those days.

Despite that, we had a great day together! Went to Toys R Us and Fresh Market together, had a car nap, watched a little bit of Little Mermaid, kept spying on the fence crew. "Dudes! Doing? Outside! Dudes!"

We love our new fence - somehow it makes the yard look bigger even. And what a relief it will be to be able to let her run run run without worrying about her heading into the street or unleashed dogs in the yard. Very happy to be done with that project. 987 more to go.

"get going"

2011-08-17T20:00:00.007-05:00

I almost fell over laughing the other day at Anya's antics. We were getting ready to go out & I heard her in the next room saying, "Get ready! Get going! Bra on!" I was getting water bottles filled so didn't pay much mind until I came around the corner to see that indeed, the girl had "her" bra on and was ready to go.

I enjoy the fact that she felt the bra and sunhat were necessary but that pants were clearly optional.
Anya's feather before it started lying flat in her hair. So intent on eating her grapes (cut in half & still watched carefully.)Snowsuit I bought her at a garage sale that unfortunately won't work for us. (But then I found one the next week.)

But what a cute little bear she would have made in it!

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Today was a much calmer day, we had some reconnecting time, baked some homemade vegan biscuits, made some green beans which she loves, and just had fun at home. Then I went out for a bit while our sitter was here & looked for glasses since a certain someone snapped my frame in two today. Tomorrow I have to get my prescription transferred then go pay, but otherwise I think I found the ones I want, just a few minutes from our house. Easy-peasy.

Anya's conversation of the day:

Cranberries taste good!

I was so surprised to hear such a long sentence!! Then we went through the list of things that tasted good versus don't. "Food tastes good!" "Whale tastes good! Nope!! Not food!" "Ham tastes good!" And on and on. She took an extra long bath while we talked about food, it was very fun.

mini preschool - early April

2011-08-16T18:27:00.005-05:00

Hard at work, building her table. She really got into this and was holding the tools correctly & carefully. We got her a table & chairs set, moved the loveseat downstairs, and brought up a bookshelf so she has her own "school corner".

She loves having a table her own size. "Anya table!"

Examining some spilled food on the table, look at her intent look.

She got her sippy, dripped it over the table, then wiped off with her cloth. Oh, this girl loves to tidy & clean. That's actually a Montessori type skill we are trying to build up in her, a sense of order + taking care of your belongings b/c they have value. (Ha, as you see the doll tossed on the floor & some of the chaos around the room, you see it doesn't always work if we are having a busy day.)Almost....not quite....

....okay....that's better for viewing the art.

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Early post tonight, Anya is outside with Steve getting out some energy/anger. I think she got overstimulated today at a playdate or something because this entire afternoon has been one meltdown after another. We had fun this morning but she had a couple of meltdowns there then cried the whole way home. She's also teething so I think we'll just stick close to home for a bit & keep our usual routine as much as possible until things chill out again.

The playdate was really fun, a bunch of my mama friends & their kids hanging out and we did a swap too of random things everyone brought. It was fun to trade stuff, give thing a new home, and just see what everyone had to bring! (I'm such a bargain nerd, I know!)

dining room

2011-08-15T19:44:00.007-05:00

Eating dinner on Daddy's lap. She had decided she wanted to sit on a big chair for her dinner. Then midway through the meal she leaned over too far & fell out! I caught her but it upset her so she finished the meal here & got cuddles at the same time.
Having dinner in style!

Painting one of the pumpkins my mom brought us from her garden. (Soon to be baked up into pies.)

"More paint!"

Blackberry pie from our blackberry bushes! Probably the last thing to be baked this year as our harvest is dwindling down to 2 or 3 blackberries a day now. My pie pans are still packed away from when we did the house staging so I improvised. Still delicious.

My two biggest baking fans.

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I'm feeling much better today. We had a really rough night last night and I basically didn't eat anything for 24 hours yet nursed her more often than usual b/c she was coming off her own sickness. So that was rough. I'm not feeling sick anymore, just drained & needing more rest.

Today went really well though. Anya seemed to know how much I needed an easy day so we just chilled out, cuddled, and had some relaxed fun. We tried to do a picnic lunch but the neighbors were doing something loud so we came in & had a picnic on our kitchen floor.

Anya's conversation at dinner:

Anya - Mommy done? Plate?

Me - Yep, I'm done eating so I'm done with my plate.

Anya (urgently) - Clean up! Clean up!

Cabbage Patch - early April

2011-08-14T19:49:00.005-05:00

Checking out the doll.
Belly button! (Of course the dress got pulled up right away, toddler's don't know privacy, ha)
Tickle, tickle these weird toes.

This was one of my original Cabbage Patch Kids from when I was a girl. Unfortunately they met a slow demise in storage of a smoker and despite trying many different ways to wash it out, I didn't feel comfortable passing them on to Anya. I was really sad but it was the right call. And I ended up selling them to someone who didn't care about the smoke issue.

Anya now has her own Cabbage Patch, "Dolly", named by Steve. She's one of the many who enjoys a good stroller ride.

my turn

2011-08-14T12:27:00.003-05:00

My turn to be sick apparently. Ugh. No fun. I think this is the same stomach bug Anya had. No wonder she was cranky, I am miserable! Steve is taking care of Anya all day & she is loving the extra Daddy time. I got sick once where she saw and she told me I was being too loud. Indeed!

shrug, music, and cobbler

2011-08-13T19:47:00.005-05:00

Anya modeling her new knit shrug, a Whirligig pattern with cotton yarn. It was intended for her to wear in the morning since we pre-cool our house on this Powersmart Pricing system.

She's not a big fan of the shrug though so I toss a light sweater on her or leave her in her long PJ's for awhile in the morning.

Blackberry cobbler from our blackberry plants!
Anya's first nail polish - a little bit of red to match Mama's. (No Miss brand, non-toxic but kind of clumping.) Today I got my Zoya nail polish order in the mail & am excited to try that out soon. Also a non toxic, vegan brand with better staying power & reviews.

Our super-nice babysitter brought Anya this Disney Kids Clips music player and music clips. Anya loves, loves, loves this because she can play her own music. She is so intent on it, I didn't want to disturb her by getting closer.

She has to work to get the clips in the player just right, but then when she hits the music button & it plays, her smile is giant! She loves this so much. Her blue feather is peaking out here; it doesn't stand up as much now that her hair has been rinsed a few times.

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Today we went to Tanner's Orchard for the pancakes + peaches breakfast. It was really good plus we had to bring home some cider donuts for sure! Next weekend I'll have the photos up to share and you can see Anya's new little friends. I'll give you a hint: "baaaa-baaaaaaa"

no post...

2011-08-12T19:46:00.002-05:00

...but updating Flickr as I write this. Hope to be back tomorrow, blogging/photo upload is now my night routine while Steve takes Anya to brush her teeth then get in bed. Then it's my cue to nurse her to sleep then sneak back out & get a longer mama break. Well, somewhat of a break b/c there's still bills to pay, paperwork, tidying, dishes, etc. But there's also Netflix, knitting, and mindless surfing online.

Today we just stayed home & went from room to room doing a different activity while I tidied up. We made homemade soft pretzels and they were amazing. Really, just amazing. Anya's art activity today (Friday = art) was a Paint With Water book I got from the thrift store yesterday for 20 cents. She enjoyed it and even figured out a faster way was to just dump the water bowl over the picture & smear the water around. ha

early April photos

2011-08-11T19:45:00.009-05:00

We love our trips to the local parks.

Anya burns off some energy & gets a chance to explore a bit.

Oops.

Sliding!! So far she's only gone down the slide a few times by herself.

But we have just as much fun on the slides anyway.

And half the fun is getting up to them anyway.

This park is under construction, due to open in the fall. We're very excited because it's going to have train themed play equipment, a walking path, a sledding hill for winter, an ice rink, AND a water spray play area. That will all be so much fun and it'll be great to have a park for free year-round activities! We even have a sled already, found for $3 at a garage sale this summer. Fun!

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This week has been rough as Anya was puking for the first time ever (besides her dairy allergy spit up when she was a baby). We've been very lucky with her health overall. It must have been a quick stomach bug b/c within 12 hours she was done throwing up, then had some indigestion, now having some gross dipes as her digestive system catches up with the food that was stuck in there. Ick.

She's been doing pretty well mood-wise given the lack of sleep those nights. We brought out our nest (comforter, pillows, soft blankets, special books), watched some extra movie time, and just chilled out together.

We got a little stir crazy today so we went to the local thrift store to donate two boxes. Then came home with half a box of great deals! Her birthday is pretty much done!

I spent $35 and got a really nice almost new VCR, 17 movies for Anya (mostly Disney like Cinderella, Pocahontas, etc.), and a few more books to set aside for rough days/rotate with her current library.

I was excited about the VCR because it seems like I'm always seeing used tapes for sale at great prices but never the DVD's. She has quite the movie collection now. (And she'll still probably only want to watch Beauty & the Beast over & over & over.) We only watch about 15 minutes of the movies every day so this like 3 months of movies for her!

Plus, I had already ordered The Little Mermaid & Finding Nemo DVD's before I found these bargains. I'm also going to get her a custom Ergo-type carrier so she can babywear her dolls and I'll buy set of popsicle molds to freeze smoothies. That's a big birthday for a little girl!

July Reading

2011-08-08T20:40:00.002-05:00

Godless by Pete Hautman

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

The Walking Dead: Volume 14 by Robert Kirkman

The Order of Odd Fish by James Kennedy

Dexter in the Dark by Jeff Lindsay

The Duchess of Padua by Oscar Wilde

a few of our favorite things

2011-08-08T17:46:00.006-05:00

Thrifted toys. $3 for all of this. We try for wooden toys as much as possible and have a stash to rotate around the house for her. Love my garage sale & thrift store finds.
Going to the zoo & renting a wagon. Eating sesame pretzels (no salt). Watching the animals. "Monkeys loud!"
Watching our Elmo in the morning. Love Netflix. One show while I knit or tidy or make a phone call. Anya knows the song already, "lalalala, it's Elmo's World...."
Daddy time. He does fun things like take her in the rain.
Go down memory lane with some of the Little People sets. This was saved for the two days Steve was out of town for work. I got this out one night so I could make dinner, although she just went with the flow, accepting that we "miss Daddy!" but he was at work.
Seeing what Lynx has been up to at night. He's always doing something different & Anya has to find him while I get breakfast ready. One day he was dressed in her clothes reading a book. One day he was "peaking out!" of the couch cushions on the floor.

photos from end of March

2011-08-07T19:59:00.008-05:00

This is my current favorite photo of Anya, even if it was from mid-March. (Since when is that 5+ months ago!?!)

We were playing with her hair clips and trying out new hair styles.

Now her clips are tucked away in the closet because she was taking them off and chewing on them.

That wouldn't be a big deal except Steve caught her putting a whole clip in her mouth then take off running when he asked for it back.

Not good. So no clippies, bands, etc. for awhile.

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Today we stayed home except for mama's little Panera break during naps. Anya got lots and lots of Daddy times while I worked on cleaning up the messy kitchen and some other chores.

Anya has been taking solo baths in the big tub now which is new this week. We got a cute whale cover for the faucet, a natural rubber mat, and gathered up some bath toys. She enjoyed it! I sit beside her and knit or clean the bathroom or make lists or whatever. She does great!

Then she gets bundled up in a towel*, we chill out on Daddy's bed wrapped up in his super soft comforter, then we watch Elmo while I use detangling spray to comb out her hair. She's even been sitting still for that. It's only because of Elmo, but I'll take it. (But never Mr. Noodle. Anya hates Mr. Noodle..."Noodle! Skip it! Skip it!")

*For my bargainhunting family, if you see any size 18 m or 2T terry cloth bath robes at the reasonable price, please let me know! I only found things $20 & up and that is just crazy talk.

busy, busy

2011-08-06T19:57:00.005-05:00

It feels like by the end of the night, I'm so worn out that I just would play around on Facebook then be ready to pass out asleep with Anya. Maybe watching some Hoarders or True Blood with Steve.

I've only been on my "new" medicine since last week + no caffeine and I'm already noticing a difference in my energy levels. We're also trying to eat healthier and I'm feeling better already.

Lots of things to catch up about.

Anya is a chatterbox, such a great learner of words & remembering things in context. She looooves to be read to and listen to songs. She watches a bit of Elmo in the morning then we talk about what we saw on the show.

She has been showing interest in the potties more & more. We now have one large one in the kitchen plus a handful of smaller Ikea ones throughout the house for easy access. So far, she's peed in them four times and already pooped once! Only one accident during all that. I've bought her a variety of training pants (she says "undies!") and they are drying tonight. Can't wait to try them out tomorrow. We're doing child-led potty learning so no stickers, no rewards, no punishment. Just her learning on her own timeframe. So far it's going great. Although of course the day after I bragged about her pooping on the potty, she was adament, "No! No potty! No! Diaper on!" so she's still not 100% ready. We'll get there!

Eating pineapple then drinking the juice - little did we know she was allergic and would have a reaction to the acidic fruit & have a crazy red diaper area for almost a week. Poor girl. :(

Today we signed up for a few preschool classes this fall. Parents stay with the kids for these, she'll be in a gym class (running around on mats, rolling balls, that sort of thing) and a alphabet play class (different themes/toys for different letters). Those will be fun.

The local gym had a family fun day so I took Anya and she enjoyed it despite us both being dripping with sweat in this heat. She surprised me by actually playing in the bouncy house by herself and then sitting still to get a feather put in her hair to match mine. She went right to the feather booth lady and said, "Blue one!"

Then today we baked a blackberry pie from our own blackberry plants and it was delicious! That is an Anya & Daddy activity - checking the blackberry plants every night. She comes in looking like a crazed vampire with blackberry juice all over her face. It's great!

health update

2011-08-04T20:12:00.005-05:00

Atrial Tachycardia

My newest health diagnosis, one more thing to deal with.
Link for info HERE

It's not as serious as it sounds although waiting for test results was nervewracking as always. Then when your cardiologist calls you & says they want you to come in the very next day to discuss your test results, that sounds ominous.

I found out that 11.2% of my heartbeats in a 48 hour period were irregular. That explains some of my fatigue (the rest attributed to a sleepless Ms. Anya) & some of the chest pain/dizziness I'd been feeling.

So the good news is that this is not too serious and it can be treated. The frustrating thing is that it's just one more thing to deal with & worry about.

I'm 34. I can't believe I already have an oncologist and a cardiologist. That pretty much sucks.

Here is my plan of action:

increase medication I'm on currently for blood pressure as it also regulates heartbeat. Small risk of a lower BP than desired so I have to monitor it for a week or so at my local doc.
get new heart monitor sleeve (mine is not working) to check at home
walk 5x a week (maybe 4 to start b/c that works better with our schedule)
yoga
cutting my to do list etc. to cut out stress
no alcohol (messes with meds, I only drank a few glasses of wine a week though)
and the worst for me....NO CAFFEINE....nooooooo. I already miss my coffee very, very much. Decaf coffee still contains caffeine so I am starting my morning with naturally decaf tea leaves like peppermint or chamomile. Not the same at all.

Overall, these aren't giant changes but it's like I needed one more thing to think about when I'm taking care of an active toddler, you know?

Okay - next time some more positive things & stories about Anya & what we've been up to.

June reading

2011-07-10T18:55:00.003-05:00

Prince Caspian (reread) by C.S. Lewis

Teaching Montessori in the Home: The Preschool Years by Elizabeth G. Hainstock

The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure

Vera, or the Nihilists by Oscar Wilde

proud of my friend

2011-07-08T20:18:00.003-05:00

I'm hoping to have more time tomorrow to blog - finally getting my energy back!

Tonight I just want to say how very proud I am of my friend, Kara, for standing up for her rights as a breastfeeding mom and advocating for better education on this topic!!! She's awesome!

Link here:

http://www.centralillinoisnewscenter.com/news/local/Local-Mom-Asked-To-Stop-Breastfeeding-At-Ballpark-125246214.html

more breaks!

2011-07-02T20:45:00.001-05:00

I have been wiped out the last few nights, no energy. Steve did a ton of dishes last night & I did a load this morning so we're closer to caught up. Going out to dinner helped the dishes situation too!

Now I'm going to knit some of Anya's jackalope toy while watching Hoarders. Loving this show!

on break

2011-07-01T20:20:00.002-05:00

I'm on break today. I didn't do dishes so the house is chaos. I didn't tidy anything so the house is chaos. I guess when Mama takes a burnt out break, she just has to work doubly hard the next day to clean it all up anyway. Oh well. In fun news, Anya learned how to do both Jazz Hands and a Bro Tap fist bump today. And learnt to say Jazz and Scat from a Baby Loves Jazz CD which is fabulous. Such great songs.

no blog tonight...

2011-06-30T20:49:00.001-05:00

....teething pains today & Anya was hard to get to sleep. 2 year molars in progress. I've heard it can take months - yikes! Mama is exhausted. I'm going to watch an episode of Hoarders then try to get some rest while I can.

photos from mid - March

2011-06-29T19:17:00.008-05:00

Playdate at an indoor Rainbow center. They sell play structures & let the kids play on their display models. Anya enjoyed watching the kids but stayed close to this tire most of her first trip there.

It was her safety net I think. The next few times we went, she ran around & played more. She likes to stand at the end of the slides though, which is not the safest place to be! A friend's daughter had her birthday party here another day & that was a lot of fun.

The rest of this day did not go so good. I think she got overstimulated at the play time, then was teething, then was mad because I wouldn't give her something (a fruit bar, coffee, I don't remember.)

I feel guilty for writing this, but this is one of my favorite photos. The cutting knife adds a whole other level to her drama.

Of course, during the crying fits I was offering support & comfort. Even if I did take the time to snap a few pics. You have to remember the hard times as well as the fun ones!

And eventually the smiles returned.

recent knitting

2011-06-28T19:44:00.004-05:00

I lost knitting time when Anya went from two naps to one, but I'm still working away on my knitting goals! I finished a shrug for her this week so pics to come. Not pictured were a knit eggplant for a friend's daughter and two pairs of socks for myself. (Awful picture of me.)

Pictured is the sweater I finished about a month ago. It's the Helena pattern from Knitty but I shortened the lace to make it a sweater instead of a long dress. I made it big on purpose for chilly spring days (um, we didn't have any though!) plus for later this fall; I think it will even fit her next year.

This morning I cast on for a knit Jackalope toy for Anya. It's going to be the most complicated pattern I've ever tried, lots of fiddly bits to work through.

pics from mid March - "Daddy's home!"

2011-06-27T19:55:00.006-05:00

Having a bad day.

Hey, who is this? "Daddy home!"

"Show me!" (She has to show him something every time he comes home. Sometimes it's just showing him the couch. I think she is so excited she doesn't know what to do with herself.)

"Pick up-ing!"

That look.

"Anya do!" + garden

2011-06-26T19:46:00.009-05:00

Anya has been showing a lot more independence and desire to try things on her own. This is great in that she is learning to do things herself, not so great in that she often says "nope!" when it is time to do something she's not interested in. Like naptime, diapers, bedtime.

She can get her shirt or dress on mostly by herself but needs help getting her arms through. She tries so hard to get her shoes on but another neat thing is that she will bring things to us to help with.

Or take us by the hand with "show me!" or "mama do!" or "helping!" and get us to help with whatever she was frustrated with. Sometimes we encourage her to keep trying, other times we help her out.

Today I left the room for a bit and when I came back, she was laying down on the diaper mat. She said, "Diaper change! Poopies!" That is the first time she has asked for a diaper change, and she had indeed pooped. Such a smart girl, I am loving watching her mind grow every day.

I'm very proud of my side garden, right by Anya's play area in the yard. Last year Steve tilled the ground up, laid down a weed barrier, and started the bricking. A handyman finished the brick & added mulch. (That was when we were prepping for the open houses.) This year I picked out and planted these myself! Everything will grow & fill out each year so eventually this will be a full bed of purple and gold flowers.

catch up - mid February

2011-06-25T19:56:00.007-05:00

I still remember this day because it was one of the first times Anya nursed to sleep for a nap instead of needing me to carry her around in the Ergo until she fell asleep. We had gone to a playdate at McD's and she was exhausted by the time we came home. She was crying to nurse and fell asleep before I even got her coat off. She looks so small in the bed!

Anya is carrying her penguin in a sling. We're all about the babywearing!

And what a smart girl - if you are going to put your doll down for a nap in the sling, you are going to need your Kindle handy to read during the nap. Of course.

"Hello, how may I help you today?" (this photo from early April)

sunscreen & watermelon

2011-06-24T21:08:00.008-05:00

Our first trip to the pool for the year was not much fun. Sunscreen was a disaster to put on. After this attempt, I got some spray on sunscreen that still scored low on the EWG's Skin Deep database. I also tossed a rash guard over the top of this suit after the photo.

At the pool, Anya kept saying how loud it was and wouldn't go in the water. Luckily, we met a friend of mine there and were able to hang out with her. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been any fun at all and we would have left early. At least we tried. We'll try again next month then just stick to our small blow up pool in the yard.

Anya has been learning how to chop food. She really enjoyed chopping the watermelon. Then eating lots & lots. (This butter knife is not ideal but her little one was dirty this day. Yay for getting the dishwasher repaired today!)

This Learning Tower is great for letting her get involved in the food prep up at my level. She's chopped a few things, helped me stir, helped dump flour into a bowl, etc. Sometimes if I'm cooking, I will just give her some spices to stir in water or chop up an apple and let her eat & move it around in bowls while I cook. She thinks she is helping while really it's "Tower", as she says, that is the real help. Using it keeps her interested and occupied long enough to make pizza dough, etc.

This month's color basket was blue. I can't remember if I posted but last month was red. A variety of things from all over the house for Anya to explore then talk about the color blue. She loved going through this basket the first few days, then lost interest and didn't go through it except to stick the Post Its everywhere.

She's learning so much just from listening to us talk throughout the day, reading books with us, and a bit of Montessori inspired school. She is talking in three word sentences now a bit too.

I try to do one activity with her a day that is "school" time. Recent examples include sorting shells by two sizes, stacking blocks by size, matching Memory tiles (set three out a time, hand her a card & she tries to match). I need to work on prepping these better the night before though. Making a note now to set up something for tomorrow!

what happens when Anya sees the camera...

2011-06-20T19:53:00.006-05:00

Taking a picture.

Hey! Is that the camera?

Want! Want! Want! Show me!

All these from end of January again; at some point I will be caught up!

Loved her in this stripe shirt!

toddler hair

2011-06-19T12:49:00.006-05:00

I can't believe how much longer Anya's hair is from the January catch up posts. Today we realized it is down past her shoulders already! She gets a little flip, almost curls but not quite.

The first time she sat still long enough for me to do an elastic band ponytail.

Washing her hair in her play kitchen. I was very surprised because usually she goes crying insane if we get her hair wet. (I only wash it once a month or so, she hates it so much.) Yet here she is calmly dripping water on her head over & over.

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We're both feeling better, mostly congested/headaches at night. I'm exhausted now because we've had some rough sleep problems too lately. Steve is doing her nap so I'm about to go take one myself. Then he is off to see X-Men solo as his Father's Day present and he's bringing home pizza for dinner. Sounds good!

picks from late January

2011-06-18T19:45:00.006-05:00

Taken during our Green Smoothies stage which came to end when I got tired of cleaning the food processor every day. Anya loved them though! Unsweetened coconut milk + a whole banana + 2 giant handfuls of spinach or kale + flax seed + whatever other frozen or fresh fruit we had around. Delicious! So healthy. I miss these!

Entralled in her fort & Daddy's story time.

Baking cinnamon rolls, loving her smile & how cute she is in these footie pajamas. She will only sleep in long sleeve footies even in summer.

first popsicle

2011-06-17T20:12:00.010-05:00

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Wish us luck getting some good sleep tonight. Last night Anya was up until after 10 pm and only passed out after we took her on a walk around the block in the Ergo. It was nice to be out seeing the stars and the frogs were singing so loudly. They sounded like monkeys. It was neat to see a bit of life that we miss out on most of the time. But not neat enough that I wish for another night like that!

sickies, sorta

2011-06-16T14:37:00.004-05:00

Anya and I have some sort of sinus thing going on. Pressure headache + runny nose. Not too bad except at night I get miserably stuffed up & she has a hard time nursing. Despite that, we are having one of our best days in a long, long time today. Lots of fun, books, walk to the library, playing solo while I do chores, playing together, watching a bit of Elmo. Great day! (Note to self though: Not a good idea to watch an Elmo episode about bananas when ours are not ripe & ready for her to snack on.)

Picture is completely unrelated to our sinus bug...I was cleaning up my car & ended up with a bunch of duplicate maps or ones that were falling apart. I brought them in for Anya to look at & she made a bed out of them! So silly.

pics from mid January

2011-06-14T19:31:00.007-05:00

One of our early Montessori inspired activities for Anya. A bunch of scrap fabric in different shapes for her to move from one jar to another. She loved this one! She even invented her own things to do, like stack them or toss them in the air & watch them fall. So fun to watch.

One of her medical tests back when we had those mysterious bumps on her legs -- her very first band aid.

Almost there...

...I can see it....

...got it!

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Three random things:

1. Anya is starting to string words together more into little sentences and talk about things that happened a few days or weeks ago.

2. We're getting a fence in our back yard within a few weeks. I am very happy about this as I'll be able to relax more during out outdoor time. We're on a busy corner & now I won't have to worry about her running out to the street. (We're working on boundaries but still, she'll test them.)

3. We're at the start of a new tantrum - the Mournful No No No's. She'll ask for something, then when it is offered, she'll say No No No. All the while crying, sobbing, with tears/snot/drool pouring out. It's like she wants it but her little body is making her practice her independence and say No to the very thing she is crying about. It's hard. It's hard to watch her and there is no calming her down, just sitting with her, talking gently, and waiting for her to stop.

climbing + car

2011-06-11T11:40:00.006-05:00

From Steve's cell phone....See, Anya loves her climbing + sitting in her car!

$8 water table + my little reader

2011-06-10T20:55:00.016-05:00

I wanted a water table for Anya to play with, especially as she is rejecting her little pool (at least for now.) A friend found this table for me and with the addition of a $8 plastic under-bed storage bin, we had a water table! She enjoys this very much. Splashing the water, dipping her toys in it, scooping water out to take to the flower bed, that sort of thing....

...as long as there is a towel nearby to keep drying her hands off that is!

We got another bin to fill with sand and that will be fun to watch her experiment with. Last time we were at the park though, she ran to the sandbox, yelled "sugar!" and promptly shoved a handful in her mouth. Nice.

The climbing structure and the car were great deals at the local thrift store. I got both for less than half of what the car would have been full price. Anya loves both of them!

Anya's my little reader, taking after both Mama and Daddy. I love how she is reaching for a snack here while she investigates a library book.

Isn't this a great sight? Little girl with her book.

12/31/10 photos

2011-06-06T20:24:00.003-05:00

This was an unseasonably warm day and we were able to get outside after many weeks cooped up indoors. Anya had so much fun exploring the outdoors.

Holding her stick, checking out leaves.

Trying to figure out where Daddy is hiding.

Taking a break. All that exploration is hard work for a toddler!

She did not like walking on the squishy ground though! Daddy had to rescue her. Her and her stick. Anya had a firm grip on that thing at all times.

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Three Random Things:

1. Today we are testing dairy. I've been able to eat lots lately with no impact on her. We tested yogurt for breakfast, a small amount (tbsp?) of ice cream for snack, and half a large slice of pizza w/ cheese for dinner. We're either in for a rough, sad night or we may be over the dairy issues! (Of course, there is always the chance that she can handle small amounts, & not a lot. And even if she is okay with dairy, we will still try to limit as dairy is just awful for your health.)

2. I'm tired, there is no #2.

3. See #2

May Reading

2011-06-02T18:00:00.002-05:00

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The Genius by Theodore Dreiser

The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman

When Did I Get Like This by Amy Wilson

The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead by Paul Elwook

play

2011-05-31T20:18:00.004-05:00

Loving all the Little People sets from when I was a girl. (The new ones are awful in comparison.) This was one from my favorite thrift store. I remember playing with these a lot when I was little. Yes, I'm trying to limit plastics but these have a soft spot in my heart so we made an exception.

We have a set for almost every room. She really enjoys them!

She's also a big fan of "own kitchen". Her very own kitchen, generously gifted by a friend. She spends a lot of time here while I'm in the kitchen. We even started filling the dishpan with water while I do dishes. She dips her cloth in it then wipes down the counter, dips dishes in it, pours water everywhere, etc. She is learning & growing so fast, I'm having a hard time keeping up with her.
I try to come up with activities each day for her to learn something new or practice skills. And she follows me around while I do housework. Sometimes I feel like all I do is housework and not enough play. Like today we ran two errands, then she did a car nap, then we did dishes, picked up, chopped up food for dinner, and it seemed like the day was over. I wish there was more time to just sit and play.

I love this photo, if only the flash had been on...

catchup - photos from December 2010

2011-05-30T19:50:00.005-05:00

Time does fly & all that....
Knit jellyfish I made for Anya. She calls it 'Cles...short for Tentacles. It's hilarious to hear. This was my first attempt at colorwork & think it came out great!
Anya's beloved Peppa doll, bought from Nova Toys & much favored. Now somewhat pushed to the side for Miss Kitty during the day, but Peppa is the one she asks for every night & nap. Anya falls asleep nursing with Peppa held between us, then sleeps with Peppa close by all night long.

One of Anya's favorite toys over the winter. She's really enjoyed the bead mazes at the library so she got her own for Christmas from grandma. This is still a big hit, especially now that she recognizes animals we see at the real zoo.

Dancing. I love that I captured her head tilt as she danced around the room. And this was one of the first times she let me play with her hair so I'm loving the headband. Although she looks so grown up here, it catches my heart. And then to see how much she has already changed from this photo in December!

3 Random Things

2011-05-21T20:01:00.002-05:00

1. Scanxiety. I'm going nuts waiting until Monday. And just in case anyone is wondering, the worst thing to say to me is, "Oh, I know you will be fine." Because, really, you don't know that.

2. Late night. Anya is out climbing with Daddy now. We went out to the park then bookstores today & are late getting home. She cried on the way home then tearfully asked to "climbclimbclimb" when we pulled into the driveway. Of course we're letting her. What's another 10 minutes when we are already an hour late?

3. Oh no, I hear crying. Time to be mama again.

finger painting

2011-05-18T20:14:00.013-05:00

Anya tried fingerpainting for the first time. She enjoyed it at first then didn't like having the paint on her hands.

We switched to using the paintbrushes and she liked that more. She was very intent at mixing the colors then making a bunch of vertical stripes. She sat back, looked at it, and said "Tiger! Tiger!" It was amazing.

That was the painting she did on the canvas and that is already on display in her room. I think we'll do a whole set of those. They are super cheap at Big Lots and that will be fun project for artwork in her play area.

She was almost as intent on her clean up. This girl likes to be tidy.

She used the towel to wipe her face off, like she would after a meal, and then she had a blue-green beard. I had to get the cloth from her right after this though because she started sucking on the towel! So silly.

"Climbing? Climbing. Climbing! Climbingclimbingclimbing."

2011-05-15T19:55:00.005-05:00

About every activity ends in this request for climbing which quickly escalates into a demand for climbing. We did get her a great play structure for outside at the local thrift store but for inside she has stairs (supervised) or the couch.

Uh oh. Or the table now.

Climbing!!!

3 Random Things

2011-05-15T15:56:00.003-05:00

1. I have a 6 month cancer check scan this week and I'm having scanxiety attacks already. I've been feeling run down for awhile so I'm nervous about the test results. And I'm nervous about the test day itself as I can't nurse Anya for 12-14 hours. I don't think I will be able to be with her because she won't understand why I can't breastfeed. This will be hard, hard, hard. Steve is taking the day off so we'll get through it together but I'm not looking forward to it on so many levels.

2. I am taking a break from my no sugar/no caffeine challenge. With the stress of the test & some of the new "testing mama's boundaries" things going on, I need the crutch of coffee & sometimes pie to cheer myself up.

3. I am ready for bed. It's 4 pm. Uh oh.

3 Random Things

2011-05-10T16:20:00.002-05:00

1. Our realtor passed away unexpectedly this week. We were shocked. She had just told us that although the house was off the market, she looked forward to stopping by every so often & see our little one grow up. We felt like she was a family friend. Our thoughts are with her family, they have had so much loss already this year.

2. I am typing this while Anya plays with her Little People set from the 1960's - the barn with silo. We are on a vintage Little People binge right now as she LOVES them and I love playing with toys I had when I was little. So far our favorite is the castle. The prices are dear on Ebay but I've been stalking some other sites & will keep my eyes open at garage sales this summer! So much fun! (We don't like the new sets, only the old ones.)

3. A good friend is giving us a wooden toy kitchen for Anya today! Steve is picking it up after work. I am so excited. It has inspired me to pass on a few larger items as well, instead of selling them for fun money like I usually do. A toy kitchen karma exchange going on. And the bad news this week has made me want to do little things like that while we can.

3 Random Things

2011-05-09T15:34:00.004-05:00

1. Installing print drivers makes me want to stick pointy things in my eyes.

2. Anya is soooo happy playing with her vintage Little People castle. My heart is aching, it is so fun watching her.

3. Installing print drivers makes me want to stick pointy things in the eyes of whoever designed this interface.

3 Random Things

2011-05-08T20:18:00.007-05:00

These might be a new feature for awhile.

1. My computer is virus free but is stripped of most software. It runs sooo much better now. I think we need to do this every so often for a fresh start. I'm being pickier about what I add back. Open Office instead of Excel. etc.

2. Our night routine is so much easier now & most importantly, I can get out of bed now!! Yes, for almost 18 months I would sleep all night with Anya & could not get up without her waking up & crying. I believe strongly in cosleeping but even I was resentful of not having my own time. I got through it with my Kindle, my smart phone, and giving in and relaxing into her needs. She would be ready when she was ready. And now she is! I nurse her to sleep, slip out, set the monitor up, and enjoy some free time with Steve or by myself. She wakes up sometimes 45 minutes to nurse, sometimes 2 hours! I can get her back to sleep in less than 5 minutes. I do finish the night with her, but it is amazing having my own time back too. (Not counting teething nights, etc., those always just suck from start to finish.) My girl is now a kid, not a baby, as she likes to remind me. "Kid! Kid!"

3. Mother's Day was great. I am exhausted. I am so grateful to be Anya's mama. That girl has some energy! My best present was the nap I took this afternoon. I woke up cranky though, sorry Mom!

April Reading

2011-05-08T20:15:00.003-05:00

Positive Discipline: The First Three Years

Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder (reread)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (reread)

3 Random Things

2011-05-01T07:41:00.003-05:00

1. I have a virus on my laptop. We were able to backup my photos & files but Steve will need to rebuild my computer. Not as scary as it sounds, just takes time which we are always lacking.

2. We are officially taking our house off the market. We will lose our dream home but this past year in housing turmoil has been too stressful. We are ready to be done & focus on our home & little family. We do have plans to do a small project every season with the intent of trying to sell in a few years when the market is better. First project: kitchen counters + painting kitchen. Yay!

3. Anya has all of her teeth in except the 2nd year molars. Her incisors have been hell coming in. So far, it's just the little points coming through but we're glad to be through at least that much. Sleep has been better since those teeth "broke" in.

4/2/11

2011-04-02T18:55:00.010-05:00

Pics from 3/11/11
Anya's first real shoes. We love our Stride Rites!

We are all excited that the weather is warming up. Anya loves her outdoor time & it definitely makes a difference in her mood.

We run around singing crazy songs, drawing with chalk, playing with a ball, exploring the dirt & grass, general mayhem.

Her special look. I love, love, love this.

Spring Wishes

2011-04-01T18:49:00.006-05:00

Crafts

sew quilt top together (the receiving blanket project)
knit swatches for all spring projects + Steve's 2011 sweater
knit Anya's toy - eggplant DONE
knit Leila's toy - eggplant
knit coasters for living room + craft room (2 of 6 done)
knit Anya's spring sweater - Helena pattern
knit pair of socks for myself
knit Anya's toys from winter unfinished - worms

House

purge, purge, purge
open houses / showings - keep our house in better shape
sell large furniture or donate (dining room set, exercise equipment, patio set, chest)
set up toddler art & play area once big furniture gone

Family

work on Anya's sleep - night weaning once eye teeth are in, work on solo naps for her
trip to Wildlife Prairie
trip to Children's Museum

Misc/Fun

get out more during Daddy nap - this Saturday I am going swimming!
set up Ebay store & sell one test item (big thing is finding the time for this)

March Reading

2011-04-01T18:47:00.004-05:00

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (loved this trilogy!)
The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett
Let's Bring Back by Lesley M. M. Blume
The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

3/29/11

2011-03-29T18:11:00.011-05:00

Pigtails! My girl has long enough hair for pigtails!

Anya has finally started letting me put clips in her hair; they are much needed to keep her long bangs out of her eyes.

Daddy liked the look so much, he got in on the clippy action. Please note this was before he shaved his beard into mutton chops this Sunday. (Thankfully those were shaved off yesterday for work!)

This photo from my catch-up folder is from 12/15. Now none of those clothes fit & her hair is almost twice as long. So much difference in just 3 short months.

I hope this is the saddest picture I ever take of Anya. It's hard to look at this one and see how pathetic she looked earlier this month when we were both sick. We had some miserable mystery sickness, sore throats, coughing, congested, general ickiness. No sleep but tired all the time. We spent the days chilling out on this nest I built us on the floor. Extra cushions, soft blanket, piles of books. It got us through and we are all doing well now.

I have so much to write but so little time. We have so many amazing changes in Anya. But so many challenges as well. (SLEEP!) Getting to be her mama is an amazing journey and I feel very lucky. Tired but lucky.

3/11/11

2011-03-11T19:23:00.008-06:00

pics from 1/30/11 - wearing one of my aprons with help from daddy -----
18 months old today. The past year has flown by too quickly. Some nights I go back and look at old blog posts and am amazed at how much she changes from month to month. It's a strange mixture of filling my heart with pride while also breaking it; so big, so soon.

We have had a great week. Some toddler meltdowns and some teething issues but that is to be expected. My best news is that the leg bumps seem to be completely gone. The second batch were faded away last week but I didn't want to be too excited in case a third group of them showed up. So far, so good though.

We have a general 18 month checkup next week with our pediatrician so maybe we are done with this strange health episode. Anya is doing great & we are both over our icky virus too. Things are looking up for us!

3/7/11

2011-03-07T12:29:00.002-06:00

pics from 12/14/10
I clearly remember this day. It was the first day that Anya only took one nap. I knew she was getting close to a change by the way she was fighting her naps sooo much each time. As in, taking 40 minutes of soothing her to sleep to get her to nap only 45 minutes, that type of fighting.
But this day, her little body decided it was time for a change. She didn't get tired at all during the morning so we just went with it. During her normal nap time, we baked cookies instead! What a fun treat. I think this was the first time she got involved & mixed the dough with me too.

(The naps have been a back & forth between two naps & one, depending on her needs for that day. We wing it. We're getting good at that, a mama & daughter team.)
My little baby. A baby no more. It takes my breath away to see how fast she is growing & changing. She is running now. Running! And so quick to make associations and name things. What a way with words this girl will have.

Current favorite was from eating lunch today. She was eating avocados, steamed carrots, steamed apples. We were eating leftover potroast. (Steve took the day off). She looked at his plate & said, "Meat! Meat, Daddy!" He told her she could have some if she ate the rest of her avocado. So she shoved it in her mouth then said, "Meat! Meat!" Too funny.

3/6/11

2011-03-06T19:04:00.008-06:00

Photos from 1/31/11

I've lost my new camera cord but hope to have some newer photos up soon in the midst of all these catch ups.
Babywearing has been such a blessing to us in taking care of Ms. High Needs Anya. We would have been lost without this crucial way to comfort her, especially for nap time or for restless/sick nights. Her entire nap is in a carrier, walked or bounced to sleep, then she rests on our chest while we rock in a rocking chair. She still will not nap solo except on rare occasions.
I've gone through a few different types of carriers, slings, and wraps. Now our go-to's are Ergo for Steve and a Freehand Mei Tai for Mama. I owe huge debts of gratitude to several mamas in my parenting group for their help figuring out different carriers & holds.

Anya had started out with a handkerchief sling and now has a set of pouch slings that will grow with her. She enjoys carrying her stuffed animals around in them.
However, she doesn't enjoy when mama follows her around with the camera then won't give her the camera to play with.

She is wearing a bib in these photos too. She was in a bib phase for awhile but now just gets them out for her meals.

3/5/11

2011-03-05T12:57:00.004-06:00

more December photos catch up
Anya was addicted to her stroller for several weeks. She made a bzzzzztttt noise to indicate she wanted to push it. She would put her beloved Peppa doll in the stroller & take her for a few rounds of the living room. Then it was time for Anya to get pushed by Mama. This was a great way for me to tidy up, I'd push her a bit, put some things away, repeat.

Anya enjoyed watching the snow fall but was too afraid to stand in it. So we carried her around the yard to check out this strange white stuff covering everything.

3/3/11

2011-03-03T18:52:00.003-06:00

Daddy & Anya, true love forever. She wakes up asking for Daddy and when I say he is at work, she says, "miss!" Luckily he comes home for lunch most days & that is a great break in our day. She hears the garage door start to open & runs (runs!) for the door. Then she sees him & immediately grabs the nearest toy to hold out to him like some offering. It's quite the routine. Who wouldn't love to be greeted like that twice a day?

Starting to feel better. Anya slept better last night so I hope she is also on the mend. Still more cranky than usual but so am I. I understand. Feeling sick is no fun. We did miss her dermatologist appointment -- because I had lost my voice again! Second time in two days.

Tomorrow I hope we wake up feeling better & full of energy. Steve took a random day off work & we are hoping to see a Jim Henson exhibit at the museum. Or sit around on the nest being sickies again. Either way, the family time will be nice.

Adding a Conversation With Anya:

looking at family photos

Me: Who is this? [points to Steve]
Anya: Daddy!!
Me: Who is this? [points to Anya]
Anya: Nan-ya!
Me: Who is this? [points to myself]
Anya: My boooffs!
translation: Mama = my boobs!