Thursday, December 24, 2015

Sprout is Three Years Old!

Today Sprout is three years old! (Yes, I was slow to get this typed out and have backdated it. ;) )


If I've learned anything about myself as a parent, it is that birthdays always come as a bit of a shock. Our round, pink, screaming newborn is now a little girl who will proudly say "When I was borned I was as cute as a ham!"

This girl, she is a character. Honestly, I'm not sure quite what to make of her. Jen says she is 1/2 completely me, and half my total opposite. We're also learning how she is such a different person from The Bean and figuring out what her needs and personality are versus her older brother.

She is such a silly kid. Her sense of humour continues to blossom. She loves making people laugh. Still faces, nonsensical rhymes, crazy dancing... Often times it's quite clear she is trying to get a reaction, but it's the times that she's not trying that I realize how funny she really is. Quirky in the most endearing of ways.

She is sweet. She will gently place a hand on your cheek and cock her head to the side, asking "Are you okay?" if she thinks something is wrong. She gives the best squeeze hugs ever and sweet little kisses. She likes holding hands and is super-snuggly. She definitely is a person uses touch and looks for physical closeness from those she loves.

Leading up to her birthday we talked a lot about how how three is big, and how three year olds don't need to nurse. She said when she was three that she would stop nursing. I was hopeful, but didn't really expect it to be that easy. Of course, she hasn't stopped. I have made the decision to eliminate her morning nursing session though. Things have been crazy with Christmas and traveling and our schedule being totally off, so maybe it's been a little easier... she isn't pleased about the situation, but I also think she realizes that fussing about it isn't going to make a difference. (Though it does make my heart ache and make me want to give in, just a little, when she seems sad.) We have replaced the nursing session with cuddling before getting out of bed.

She can be incredibly stubborn. I know all toddlers are stubborn, but she just digs in her heels and doesn't budge. The Bean was much more compliant, so figuring out how to navigate this stubborn streak has been a parenting challenge.

She can be a bit defiant and as typical of siblings, will tease her brother from time to time... most often when she gets the coveted pink spoon at mealtimes. For a long time this consisted of her taunting, "I have the pink spoon! Too bad, Bean." One day when Jen and I were out my cousin who had been watching the kids reported back that she had been asking to nurse, and when he told her she couldn't because I was out, she said to herself, "Too bad, Sprout." That made me chuckle.

She has started to occasionally push or hit when she's not getting her way. This is always dealt with by a short time out, followed up by a brief discussion about why she pushed/hit and how that hurts and is not acceptable behaviour. She knows it's not allowed and isn't ever very forceful, but we'd still like to nip it in the bud.

Sleep continues to be a bit of a struggle. If she doesn't nap in the afternoon she is an emotional mess by 4pm and crashes early. If she does nap, she really fights going to bed and will often be awake until close to 9pm. She usually falls asleep easily at nap time, but when she doesn't it's not worth trying to get her to. Fortunately she's pretty good about doing quiet time and will look at books for about a half hour or an hour before saying she's ready to come out of her room. She had started to get into an elaborate bedtime routine of asking for water... and pillows beside her bed... and to use the washroom... and to have  a gargoyle to protect her, etc. before we left for the holidays. Hopefully it does not resume when we get back home.

She loves books and LOVES being read to. She doesn't have any strong and true favourites. She likes fairy tales and other princess stories, but also enjoys funny books, adventure stories... anything really. She will sit and listen to stories being read for over an hour... I almost always am done before she is. She also really takes in what is being read and what the pictures show and asks a lot of questions about what words mean or what a character is doing.

Her favourite game is to pretend she is a baby. She and her brother can be quite creative in their play and often will play for a long time together... babies, but camping, Christmas, knights and princesses and Jack and Annie (from the Magic Tree House series of books) have been other recent themes. Her alter ego is still a ballerina princess. She loves to wear her "princess dress."

She loves playing with her babies and toy animals. Her only request for Christmas was a cradle for her babies. Santa did not disappoint. (On a side note: she was SO excited about Christmas. We let the kids pick out gifts for each other and she promptly told The Bean what she got him. She just couldn't wait!)

She was in three programs/classes during the fall.  An art program, a dance program and an outdoor education program. The outdoor education one was fantastic and a nice way to get outdoors and explore, as well as meet some new people. The art and dance classes were at the local library and we attended with my cousin's son who is becoming one of Sprout's best friends. They weren't stellar from an instructional standpoint, but she enjoyed them none the less. We have a music class and a program at a city farm lined up for the winter.

Her language skills continue to develop. She is a chatterbox, but can still be a bit hard to understand at times. When she's excited her voice goes up about three octaves and I joke that she's turned into a cartoon character. Some of our favourite of her misspoken words are "Absowootwe" "Vampirate" and "Snissors." We rarely correct her one these ones just because we love them so much. Other words/phrases that she uses regularly are "Perhaps", "I'm exhausted!", "I'm all puffeled up" (meaning she is full), and "Big thumbs up!" with her forefingers held in the air. She still mixes up pronouns and will say "What is her doing?" rather than "What is she doing?"

If she's not chattering away she will be singing. It could be a nursery rhyme, or Christmas carol or sometimes a little song that she has made up.

She has good manners, and will usually say "thank you" when you do something for her or give her something. Her appreciation was so sincere over Christmas. It was so sweet and made me feel quite proud.

She can count reasonably well and can hold up the correct number of fingers on one hand. She even will alter the ways she holds up three fingers.

She loves to run and jump and climb and skip. She is a little bit clumsy and will often call out "Just me!" when she falls. She's become much more bold recently, letting us toss and flip her around more and will often request that we "Please do that again?"

She's a bit fussy over clothes and also very observant over what others are wearing. If I grab Jen's socks or sweatshirt she always notices and calls me out on it. Funnily, when she wears clothing with pockets, she will put her hands into them and proclaim, "Me mama!" (She also loves pockets to carry money in. She goes nuts over coins. If you drop change she will literally run out from whatever room she is in, in the hopes that you will give her some.)

She's grown! She continues to be a big kid. We have her three year check up early in the new year, so I'll get her official stats then. She's now mostly in 3t clothing, though some smaller things still fit. Shoe size is holding steady at 7. She weighs somewhere in the low 30lbs range. She's definitely stretching out and though she has a nice round belly, she's lost most of her chubby baby rolls. People often comment on her hair, which despite a recent trim, is getting quite long. It's such a gorgeous colour. She doesn't like having it combed, but will tolerate it if I put a video on my phone for her. If she starts to fuss too much about it, I'll insist that it get cut shorter, but so far she does okay. She wants to have "Rapunzel hair".

Eating continues to be fine. She doesn't eat a huge variety of foods, but eats a reasonable number of things from each food group, so it's manageable. She loves dairy products and sweets. A recent favourite is croissants, which she calls "poissants".

Her favouite people still mostly consist of family members (me, Grandma, and my cousin, though Jen and Grandpa are in there too, whether she will admit it or not). Her best friends are The Bean, my cousin's son, and Teagan and Quinn. She will regularly say she is going to any one or several of these people. She also named her new doll Quinny. <3 p="">
She uses the potty/toilet consistently, but still needs reminders as she will wait until the very last second to go. She wears a diaper at naps and bedtime. Naps are hit or miss on whether she'll wake up dry, but she is always wet overnight. I feel like it's going to be a while before she's able to go through the night.

It's a wonder to see the many ways she has grown and changed over the past year(s), but also to see how she has stayed the same. She brings us such joy and we love her more than we could have ever imagined! 

Monday, December 21, 2015

Solstice

I'm not sure about everyone else, but the days certainly do feel short around here. Time is flying by. I can hardly believe it's December, let alone nearly Christmas. Nor can I believe that our little Bug is going to be THREE years old in three days. (Or that The Bean will be FIVE in just three weeks!) Where the time goes, I am really not sure.

The weather has been unseasonably warm. We've had only a dusting of snow. It's not what we're used to and certainly doesn't feel very Christmas-y. The kids are excited nonetheless. We've had our tree, stockings, and other seasonal decorations up since just after American Thanksgiving. There are a few gifts under the tree, taunting the children. The Bean legitimately fell onto one of his gifts and tore the paper open, though the reason he was close enough to fall onto the said gift is a little spotty. I made an effort to cut back on Christmas gifts for the kids this year. There is really very little that the need, and even their wish lists were fairly short because, really, they have most things they could want too. Being an one-income household and the crappy Canadian dollar also impacted things. That said, they will both get what they've asked for from Santa -A remote control car for The Bean (he also asked for a remote control airplane, but that is NOT happening) and a cradle for Sprout's babies (my sister mentioned a while ago that she was going to give her one, but we have since had a falling out, so I'm not sure if she will follow through. There is a back up, just in case, but if she does receive it from her Aunt she'll be getting a jewelry box from Santa, which she didn't ask for, but will be thrilled about).

We celebrated with my cousins' family on Sunday. Sprout and my one cousin's son have become quite close. They're only six months apart in age and did a few programs together this fall. Sprout often says she is going to marry him (as she says about all the people she loves most). While we don't condone incest, they are very cute together. And, as I know I've mentioned before, both our kids absolutely adore my other cousin. All that to say they enjoyed the get together. We stayed longer than we should have, and even though they were both in need of a nap, they stuck it out. We even got a cute photo of the exhausted and over-stimulated kids by the tree.



Aside from that we have been downtown to see the windows, visited Santa and had their photos taken, opened Advent calendars, been visited by St. Nicholas, done a little bit of Christmas baking (that has all been eaten) and made Christmas crafts. I don't think there's much more we've got planned in terms of Christmas activities. Mama and Mommy just have to wrap a few more gifts and get us packed up for our travels.


 




We're all looking forward to the holiday and to the return of longer days... even if they do sill fly by.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

November 2015 Photo Challenge Wrap-Up

So I'm pretty sure I mostly failed my own photo challenge.  The upside is that I did take more photos than I might have otherwise. 

So, without further ado, here are the photos from the last two weeks of the November 2015 Photo Challenge.

November 3:  Music
Didn't happen.
November 10: Colour
Ditto.

November 17: Creativity
Playing "Christmas."

November 18: Technology

November 19: Weather
Nun-uh.

November 20: Water

November 21: Family
Downtown with the in-laws.  Best family I could have become a part of.  

November 22: Nature
Surprisingly, no.

November 23: Love
<3 i="">

November 24: Kindness
I should post a photo of the tea Jen makes me every morning.  The gift of early-morning caffeination is a kind one, indeed.

November 25: Food

November 26: Tradition
Christmas windows downtown.


November 27: Home
I have one on my phone... not sure if I'll be able to figure out how to post it here or not.

November 28: Holidays
Would posting two photos here make up for all the ones I didn't get?  The first isn't stellar, but I can't resist. Pretend the girl-child is looking at the camera and the boy-child isn't talking. ;) 




November 29: Art

November 30: Warmth
I did say I thought I failed the challenge.  

Here's the full list, for anyone who is interested...
November 2015 Photo Challenge 
November 1: Shadows
November 2:  Routine
November 3:  Music
November 4: Comfort
November 5: Words
November 6: Change
November 7: Animals
November 8: Sky
November 9: Touch
November 10: Colour
November 11: Memories
November 12: Clothing
November 13: Rest
November 14: Friendship
November 15: Movement
November 16: Beauty
November 17: Creativity
November 18: Technology
November 19: Weather
November 20: Water
November 21: Family
November 22: Nature
November 23: Love
November 24: Kindness
November 25: Food
November 26: Tradition
November 27: Home
November 28: Holidays
November 29: Art
November 30: Warmth

Monday, November 16, 2015

November 2015 Photo Challenge, 9-16

As I've already said, I'm participating in a November Photo Challenge and anyone who cares to is welcome to participate.  Leave a link to your post in the comments!

Here is my second installment:

First catching up with...November 4: Comfort
I had to pick up The Bean from school early one day as he had thrown up.  He rarely naps anymore, but fell asleep in his "nest" during quiet time.


And onto this past week (or so)'s photos...
November 9: Touch
 The squirrels at the Public Garden were really bold.  They came right up to us looking for food.

November 10: Colour
I don't have a photo that really stands out for this one, so I'm putting it on my catch up list.
November 11: Memories
I am really drawn to ghost signs.  This was one we walked by in Boston.

November 12: Clothing
My suitcase all packed up for my trip. It was such a shocking realization that packing for only myself is SO easy. In fact, I could have gotten away with bringing much less than I did.

November 13: Rest
Admittedly, this is a bit morbid and not at all what I had in mind when I came up with the word "rest" on this list. But many of the gravestones in the Boston cemeteries had this image on them. I need to do some research to find out the history on it. 

November 14: Friendship
Taken by by best friend's fiancee. My best friend and I have both had some ups and downs the past few years that have indirectly impacted our friendship. It was good to spend time together this weekend. 

November 15: Movement
The Bean very rarely stops moving. This blurry photo is from a bedroom dance party.

November 16: Beauty
I know why they put the bench by this tree. I could have sat and started at it for ages. Gorgeous. 


And here's the full list for anyone who wants to join in...

November 2015 Photo Challenge November 1: ShadowsNovember 2:  RoutineNovember 3:  MusicNovember 4: ComfortNovember 5: WordsNovember 6: ChangeNovember 7: AnimalsNovember 8: SkyNovember 9: TouchNovember 10: ColourNovember 11: MemoriesNovember 12: ClothingNovember 13: RestNovember 14: FriendshipNovember 15: MovementNovember 16: BeautyNovember 17: CreativityNovember 18: TechnologyNovember 19: WeatherNovember 20: WaterNovember 21: FamilyNovember 22: NatureNovember 23: LoveNovember 24: KindnessNovember 25: FoodNovember 26: TraditionNovember 27: HomeNovember 28: HolidaysNovember 29: ArtNovember 30: Warmth

Sunday, November 8, 2015

November 2015 Photo Challenge, 1-8

Along with Little Monster(s) & Mommies and Two Lasses, a Baby Three Children, I am co-hosting a November photo challenge. For anyone who wants (needs) motivation to blog this month, here it is. Come join us!  (It's not too late to start!)

All you have to do is:
-take photos using the daily prompts.
-post them on your blog. (I plan to post weekly, because daily photos never mind daily blog posts aren't really that likely to happen.) 
-come back here and comment to let us know you're playing along. 

Here is my first installment:
November 1: Shadows
Not only were we out at the perfect time of day for casting shadows, I like how Sprout is following The Bean in this one.  She really is his little shadow.

November 2:  Routine
The first thing she says whenever we get anywhere is, "I'm hungry.  Did you bring a snack?"  So here she is, munching on chicken fingers at 9am.

November 3:  Music
Next week, perhaps?

November 4: Comfort
See above.

November 5: Words
Tickets for the zoo, courtesy of The Bean. 

November 6: Change
Jen says of all this needs an explanation. 
Since starting school we have seen a HUGE difference in The Bean's interest in "written work" (both drawing and writing). He insisted on bringing along some new notepads and pencil crayons on our nature walk and would sit down at various intervals to write his notes. Prior to this he was solely into the hiking and jumping and throwing of stones into the when we went on our nature walks. This is clearly very important work to him these days.

November 7: Animals




November 8: Sky

And here are the daily prompts for the entire month:

November 2015 Photo Challenge 
November 1: Shadows
November 2:  Routine
November 3:  Music
November 4: Comfort
November 5: Words
November 6: Change
November 7: Animals
November 8: Sky
November 9: Touch
November 10: Colour
November 11: Memories
November 12: Clothing
November 13: Rest
November 14: Friendship
November 15: Movement
November 16: Beauty
November 17: Creativity
November 18: Technology
November 19: Weather
November 20: Water
November 21: Family
November 22: Nature
November 23: Love
November 24: Kindness
November 25: Food
November 26: Tradition
November 27: Home
November 28: Holidays
November 29: Art
November 30: Warmth

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Nursing a Toddler

When I was pregnant, I imagined Sprout nursing until she was a year old. As her first birthday approached, it seemed pretty evident that she wasn't going to be stopping any time soon. Sometime shortly after that, I recall saying to Jen that I was fairly certain she'd self-wean by age two. Her second birthday came and went more or less as her first did: with no end to her nursing days in sight. I've learned from my past experience, so with her third birthday around the corner, I'm making no assumptions about when she will wean.

I always feel a bit anxious when posting even a sentence or two stating that I am still nursing.  Will readers think I'm crazy for breastfeeding for so long? Will those who haven't breastfeed their babies feel judged?  Maybe it's best to begin with this post by stating that I am firm believer that people need to do what feels right for them and their families and their babies when it comes to nursing. I understand that some people can't or just don't want to nurse their children or decide to wean after a certain point. It's a personal decision. Still, I feel judged. I know there are many people who think it's (beyond) time I stopped nursing Sprout. I always feel like I need to justify our nursing relationship --it's only around sleeping times. It's not in public. Etc. Etc.

All that to say, I've had this post floating around in my head for a while. It's just been hard to actually write and publish it.

I am fortunate in that nursing was never a big challenge physically for me. Sprout latched well.  I produced enough milk. One of the most difficult things in those early days, and still a hard part of it now, is the forced stop of all other activity. I've never been one to read on my phone or really do anything at all while nursing except for, well, nurse. Sitting still is not one of my strong suits. I have had to make a concerted effort to be in the moment. To watch Sprout's face and feet and hands while she nurses. To do  my best to commit those moments to memory. To take a minute to rest.

I never imagined myself nursing a child for this long. And for me, in this moment, it does feel like it's been a long time. I am both grateful for my ability to do so and exhausted by it. If we hadn't night weaned her after her second birthday, I may be losing my mind by this point. Fortunately, one of the biggest differences between nursing an infant and nursing a toddler is that the toddler can understand when you say you've had enough. They might not like it, but they understand. In addition to night weaning, setting limits to where and when I nurse has gone a long way towards making me feel comfortable with nursing a toddler.

Without saying when I think she will wean, I do feel like the end to our nursing days is drawing closer. I know I'm no longer producing a lot of milk.  Sprout's nursing sessions have become increasingly shorter. It's obvious that the main goal of the nursing is now comfort. As she snuggles in I can often feel her body relax. Her breath slow. Her eyes close.  For a toddler that doesn't like missing the action, I like that nursing gives her the ability to slow down and disengage when she needs that break. And the weight of her sleeping body in my arms. I will miss that.

I was concerned that when Jen and I went away this summer that Sprout would be done nursing upon our return. When we got back and she asked practically first thing to nurse, I breathed a sigh of relief. A week long vacation that she had no say in was not how I wanted things to end. But, after that "reunion" nursing session I also knew that I would be (mostly) okay with things coming to an end soon. I am ready to have my body back to myself.  To not have to feel guilty about leaving her around naps or bed time. To have a back that doesn't ache from positioning awkwardly in a chair. I've questioned Sprout on whether she is ready to stop.  (No.) Or if she will be soon... perhaps when she is three?  (Yes. But then no.)  If not then, when? (Never. Stopping nursing? Why? What a ridiculous thought!)

Sprout's attachment to me is very strong. Sometimes as a person who needs their alone time it can be overwhelming. I joke about Sprout being a "Mama's girl", but the truth of it is that she is. I feel like a lot of that has to do with our nursing relationship. And while I am glad that she feels close to me, I also feel guilty that she doesn't have that same relationship with Jen and that she will reject Jen in favour of me. The Bean didn't do this. I think I would have been heartbroken if he did.  He also weaned before a year old. While Jen seems to take things in stride and keep the perspective of this as being a short term thing, sometimes I wonder if breastfeeding Sprout for this long has been the fair thing to do in terms of Jen's relationship with her.

Though there are reasons I am ready to stop, I know I will miss nursing Sprout. Maybe that's why I'm not forcing things at this point.  I like to think I'll be able to let weaning happen on it's own. Almost certainly before she is four... right?

Saturday, October 24, 2015

November 2015 Photo Challenge

Get over the "November blahs" before they start by participating in our November Photo Challenge!

All you have to do is:
-take photos using the daily prompts.
-post them on your blog. (I plan to post weekly, because daily photos never mind daily blog posts aren't really that likely to happen.)
-come back here and comment to let us know you're playing along.

This photo challenge is being co-hosted by Little Monster(s) & Mommies and Two Lasses and a Baby so be sure to check out their pages as well.

November 2015 Photo Challenge 
November 1: Shadows
November 2:  Routine
November 3:  Music
November 4: Comfort
November 5: Words
November 6: Change
November 7: Animals
November 8: Sky
November 9: Touch
November 10: Colour
November 11: Memories
November 12: Clothing
November 13: Rest
November 14: Friendship
November 15: Movement
November 16: Beauty
November 17: Creativity
November 18: Technology
November 19: Weather
November 20: Water
November 21: Family
November 22: Nature
November 23: Love
November 24: Kindness
November 25: Food
November 26: Tradition
November 27: Home
November 28: Touch
November 29: Art
November 30: Warmth

Monday, October 5, 2015

Not Grieving

Yesterday my mother's brother died.

It wasn't totally unexpected. He had cancer and had actually just gone in to start a new and aggressive experimental treatment. From what my mom had explained, they either expected it to kill him or to help him recover almost completely.

And while I'm sorry for her loss, especially as he was her only sibling and last surviving family member, I do not have any strong emotions either way regarding his death. Nearly fifteen years ago, when Jen and I started dating, he made his (disapproving, to say the least) opinions clear. I believe it was just after we got married that he disowned me. Other than a very brief exchange at my sister's wedding, I have had no interaction with him since that time.

This place of not feeling affected by a family member's (I use that term loosely) death, is odd. I can see that people expect me to be sad. To be grieving. But I feel like I lost my uncle a long time ago. We were never particularly close to begin with, and any mourning period I went through has been over for a long, long time.

So far there has been no news of funeral arrangements. I am actually hoping that my mom doesn't even tell me about them. While I feel emotionless about his death, I think I would be repulsed by his funeral. He was in the military, and I'm sure whoever gives the eulogy will say something about what a wonderful, brave, courageous, honourable person he was. If that is the case I would have a hard time biting my tongue and not saying anything about how prejudice and hateful he was. Nobody needs to feel that or hear that someone feels like that at a funeral. Hopefully my mom understands.

Sunday, October 4, 2015

October Already?

I cannot believe it is October. Tonight I'm sitting on the couch in my flannel pajamas and sheepskin slippers while the wind blows outside. Just a month ago we had air conditioners running.

I naively thought that with The Bean starting school in September that I'd suddenly have all sorts of free time to start  blogging more (among other things). Turns out things are still pretty busy with one kiddo at home... and I have a feeling that even if both of them were in school there'd be plenty to do to fill the days. 

So, a quick update on some of our going ons over the past month...

The start of September was still warm enough for a trip to the beach. This was definitely one of our favourite spots this summer. I have a feeling we'll be back again even more often next year. 



We took a very impromptu trip to Niagara falls when my friend called me and told me that she and her girlfriend were going to be coming in for a weekend trip. The kids were impressed with the size of the falls. Sprout's favourite part was taking the trolley up the incline. The Bean liked the arcade.



We spent a Saturday afternoon at the apple farm with my cousin and her son. Going apple picking has become an annual tradition for us. While we don't usually bring many apples home, we still enjoy going. The place that we go to has a ton of activities for kids, but this year they both said their favourite part was picking the apples.







After having two other local bloggers/friends recommend it, we decided to go Treetop Village. The Bean LOVED it. Sprout had a harder time navigating the ropes, but loved it just the same. I'm sure it helped that Mommy and Mama piggy backed her around a good bit.

 




We celebrated Jen's 40th birthday with her birthday treat of choice: donuts.


We went down to Harbourfront for Word on the Street. It's been a few years since we last went and Jen and I agreed that it was much harder to navigate with mobile children. Both kids got to pick out a book. The Bean selected a Magic Treehouse book and now I think we're going to be in the market for more of that series. We read it to him, but it is remarkable how well he is reading these days.  Sprout picked out a Little Golden Book called Theodore Mouse Goes to Sea. I had a copy when I was a child. She may or may not have been encouraged to pick this over the Disney Princess book. The kids convinced us to take them on a paddle boat ride while we were down there. Their identical smiles kill me.




Starting us into October, The Bean, Sprout and I all participated in the Terry Fox Run at The Bean's school this past Friday.  


Many more adventures to come, I am sure.  And hopefully a little bit more time to write about them.