Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Sprout is Seventeen Months Old!

Today Sprout is seventeen months old!



What a busy month it's been.  Let's dive right in...

-The Bean has been home with us the past full month, and it's obvious that Sprout just adores him.  There's a lot of monkey see, monkey do going on at our place these days.  Very silly.

-Because The Bean is home, we've officially switched Sprout to one nap a day.  She's exhausted by noon(ish) when I put her down and usually falls asleep within 15 minutes.

-Nighttime sleep is still a bit precarious.  We're following the same dinner/bath/stories/bed routine, but now do stories in The Bean's room before bed.  She usually nurses for at least half an hour, and falls asleep around 8pm.  Lately she's been waking up a few times during the night, my suspicion is that it's those darn molars.  She usually goes back down without being picked up if I just lie her down and rub her back for a minute.  She's up for nursing around 4am and sometimes goes back into her pack'n'play, but sometimes doesn't.  We had a few glorious days of 6:30 and 7:00am wake ups, but recently it's been more like 5:30am.  Ugh.

-If I wrote this update on the 24th (when I should have) I would have said her two bottom molars were very close to coming thorough.  It's the 28th and I both through now.  Thank the gods.  (Though I suspect we still have a few more rough days ahead while these ones finish errupting, and if history can be used to predict the future, I would also venture to say that we have several more months of teething hell while her other nine teeth come in.)

-Maybe because of the teeth, but she's been nursing more frequently recently.  Instead of just nursing when she gets up and goes down, she's also been asking for/demanding a mid-morning "snack."  I'm not thrilled about it, but I also feel like she's been eating less and figure maybe she's added the extra nursing session to make up for missed calories.

-The language development is still coming along.  Other than "please" no new words spring to mind immediately, but she will often try to repeat things we say to her.  She's also started this pointing and guttural talking thing.  Like she doesn't want to make the effort to say the word.  I just realized it was going on, so I'm trying to be more diligent about getting her to say what she can rather than just piecing together meaning from her actions.

-She's becoming quite bold in her gross motor movements.  She likes to go up and down stairs on her own now.  She's not entirely trustworthy, but when she's got her mind made up about it, she'll push your hand away.  We hover nearby.  She also LOVES the trampoline.  We were at Jen's parents' place and their neighbours have one and Sprout was having a blast running across it and "jumping" on it.  She also spinning in circles.  Much like her brother did at this age.  She's also a climber... ladders, onto the couch, over the foot board of her brother's bed...

-She's still a super-snuggly girl and manages to worm her way onto your lap if she decides that's where she wants to be.

-Her favourite toys are still her "babies."  She carries or pushes them in a stroller all around the apartment and will ask for her special baby (a small Waldorf doll) when she's going down for a nap or to sleep.   She also really likes balls and has recently gotten into sand toys.  She loves throwing sand.

-She actually loves a lot about the playground these days --the sand, the swings, the slide.  She can go up and down the slide on her own, but will often ask for a hand going down.  She has no fear of stairs, even very steep/high ones.  She also loves being pushed really high in the swing.  We get shocked stares from other parents at the park.

-We spent a week at Jen's parents.  She adores them.  Aside from grandma and grandpa, me, Jen and The Bean are her favourite people.  She's very affectionate.  The other night she even ran back into The Bean's bedroom to give Jen a goodnight kiss.  Too cute.

-Food is about the same.  She's taken to wiping the food off her tongue if she decides she rather not be eating it.  She's a pretty good eater though and a huge mooch.  If you're eating something you can count on her coming over to check out whatever it is you have.

-Her toddler-ness is really shining through in that if she doesn't get what she wants she's taken to pitching a big fit.  Sometimes I give in, sometimes not.

-She maybes seems a bit taller.  It feels like she's outgrowing her sleepsacks.  I also think her feet may be growing.  She loves shoes and it seems like ones that were fitting her well last month are starting to get a bit snug now.

She really is such a joy to be around.  It's hard to believe that she's going to be one and a half next month.  The days are flying by and we are doing our best to enjoy every one of them.

Friday, May 16, 2014

{this moment} worm watching

A Friday ritual. A single photo  - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 


If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Inspired by SouleMama.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Summer

After a seemingly endless winter, my thoughts have turned to summer.

As I mentioned before, our daycare provider had thyroid cancer and had to undergo radiation, so The Bean was home with me and Sprout for a while.  Things went well.  Much better than I expected them to, to be honest.  I figured out a schedule that seemed to work for all of us.  We also had a few visits and trips that broke things up.  It got Jen and I thinking about daycare and my job situation and what really made sense.  Having both kids home definitely helped out financially.  Looking at our budget, it didn't help out enough to make the situation a completely permanent one, but it opened up some discussion to the possibility of me looking for other types of work.  Namely evenings and/or weekends.  Just enough to make ends meet.  We hadn't really decided that that was what we were going to do, but we talked about taking the summer to figure things out.  Only, we weren't sure how our daycare provider would feel about it.  So, when she came to us two weeks ago saying though now cancer-free she would like some additional time to recuperate, we were quick to agree to keep The Bean home for the summer.

And that's where we are now.  The Bean, Sprout and I have until September to hang out and figure things out.  So far we've been having fun.  It is BUSY.  The apartment is an even bigger mess than usual.  Chores and errands are far more difficult to complete. But I think we're all pretty happy to have this time together.  

There's no way I will ever regret getting to spend time with my kids while they are young.  I miss teaching fiercely.  I miss being around other adults and having actual conversations.  But this time to watch as these kids figure out their way in the world?  It's a gift.  Sprout adds new words to her vocabulary daily.  She is a joker.  She adores her brother and gives him the sweetest kisses before his nap, even if he wipes them off, complaining that they are too wet.  And The Bean?  He has boundless energy, except after naps when he just wants to snuggle.  He tries very hard to assert his will, sometimes frustratingly through yelling and throwing tantrums, other times with surprisingly compelling or hilarious arguments.  He makes up songs and stories which I really should be writing down.  He loves the outdoors and is currently enamored with the dandelions growing on our front lawn.  He has told everyone we've come across the past two days about them and ever so sweetly has extended the invitation to "come over any time and you can pick some" to many people.  Yesterday, when I put him to bed, he told me "I love you my sweetheart."  So far three seems to be an age of extremes, but I am still glad to have the opportunity to experience this three-ness while it lasts.  

So that's where we are: messy house, tired mama, long to-do list, but a pretty happy family overall.  If it seems quite around here it's probably because we're out picking dandelions.  Feel free to come over and join us though.  

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Project 52 Catch Up (Weeks 17, 18 and 19)

A portrait of my children, every week for a year.

17/52



The Bean: We discovered a way to use up some of his excess energy.
Sprout: Had so much fun getting soaked at the Children's Museum.


18/52



The Bean: Finding things to give the birds so that they can build nests.
Sprout: Bird watching.

19/52



The Bean: Little boy.  Big adventures.
Sprout: On the tire swing.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Mother's Day

A lot of people have been asking me what we do for Mother's Day, and I feel kind of guilty admitting this, but Mother's Day is pretty much a non-event in our house.

When The Bean was in daycare he'd come home with cute crafts and cards x2, which I though was quite sweet. Now that both little ones are home with me, Jen and I agreed that doing something on behalf of the kids for each other seemed a little silly.  

I know some two-mom families who love making a big deal of the day.  And I get that.  Anyone in this situation had to overcome at least a few obstacles to become a mother.  And that's totally worth recognizing and celebrating.  I know other's who divi up Mother's Day and Father's Day, renaming them appropriately.  That's just not us.  

A day spent together, which is what we've got planned, is probably the way we would all prefer to celebrate.  Maybe we'll go to a park.  Maybe the kids will cooperate and I'll get a cute photo of them together, or even better, be able to get someone to take a cute photo of all four of us together.  Maybe I'll paint their hands and stamp them onto a little canvas, or at least a piece of construction paper, because I know next year those hand prints will seem impossibly small just like last year's and the year before's do.  Or maybe the kids will give us what we really, really want and sleep in until 8am.  (Yeah, right.)    

Whatever you're up to tomorrow, I hope all the mother's reading enjoy their special day.

Friday, May 2, 2014

{this moment} sharing

A Friday ritual. A single photo  - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 


If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Inspired by SouleMama.