first, wow. i was posting something on the bulletin boards at the baby site and had to reference back to my blog to confirm how long i nursed nissa. was it 13 months? 17 months? we just stopped barely a month ago and i forgot already. good thing i have this blog! :D
awww was uttered several times last night after nissa was dropped off by grandma and we were hanging out with the neighbors. telula brought over her radio flyer scooter (very very cool, by the way) and we had fun just hanging out. nissa was very adept at scooting, as it turns out; but spent the most time getting on and off and ringing the awesome little bell. she would get loud when telula would come by the scooter, which i tried to correct to little effect. the both walked up an down the sidewalk (on our side this time), said hello to gibson through the gate (which nissa kept trying to climb, the little monkey) and tried out the steps on several different houses. telula did this first, picking craig's house and sitting down, then calling over her mom, then dad, even nissa. it was sooooo cute. then nissa got into the mix going to the next house over and patting the step next to her and telula and her dad sat by her. we hung out a long while, but it wasn't until nissa absconded with telula's sunglasses that we brought our visit to a close. i offered telula nissa's sunglasses, at which nissa nearly broke down, so we did an even trade back and everyone was kinda happy then. they are so funny together, i just love it. one day i'd like us to hang out together, maybe invite craig and enri over, just to have a beer and be neighborly!
lastly, ouch. the "a-boat" painting in the dining room fell the other day (not sure how or why) and the paiting was along the wall and the hanging bracket (long, flat on top, teeth on the bottom) was on a chair. last night nissa noticed it all and was walking around holding the bracket to her hair like a barrette. i didn't really think anything of it, until i STEPPED ON the bracket, that is. each end is kinda pointy, to be nailed into a frame, and it stuck me in the callus on my foot. the callus was so thick (ick, i know) that i didn't even notice until it was completely in my foot, flush with the bottom. an agonizing removal and several gobs of blood later, i'm walking with a limp but otherwise in good shape. seriously, ouch.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
molars!
while eating dinner last night, nissa was gagging on something and was trying to remove it manually. when she seemed to not be able to get it, i offered to take a look. i did look, and also felt around. much to my surprise, i felt 2 molars on top (one on each side)! woo hoo!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
first trip to the dog beach of the season
and it was a complete success. we got rock star parking and enjoyed a hassle free visit. gibson didn't seem as interactive as he usually is, but i think it may have been out of an instinct of protection. he usually had something to say to any of the other dogs that came up to say hello.
i'm proud to say that all the dogs that did come up were very gentle and curious, putting me at ease to have them so close to nissa. i love dogs and so does nissa, but it's hard for both of us to remember sometimes that not all dogs are as great as gibson, and not all dogs can necessarily be trusted around a toddler. but i was cautious (and swooped up nissa on occasion if some wrestling broke out) and we all had a good time.
nissa enjoyed standing on the edge of the water, so the waves just barely got her feet wet. "water" she tells me. yes, dear, lots of water- it's a lake! it's lake michigan, but you can just call it "the lake." "water, water." yes. and birds. "a-boat!" yep, there's a sail boat on the horizon. oh wait, there's two. two a-boats. "ball." yes, the puppies like to play with a ball at the beach. "puppy!" yep, like every 5 minutes. what a great place to visit- it's got all the nouns she knows and loves!
we found a discarded tennis ball that nissa and i took turns throwing to gibson. he seemed to enjoy it well enough. nissa's throwing needs a little work (not much trajectory after it leaves her hand) but she's trying and seems to understand the concept.
after our stay at the beach, we got some hotdogs and ate them on the rocks by montrose. my mom used to do the same thing with us on occasion and it was fun to do the same thing with nissa and gisbon. though it was more than a challenge to get nissa, gibson and 2 hotdogs with mustard from the stand to the car, from the car to the rocks and into a comfortable seating position without making a total mess and having the hot dogs in tact. i think i'd like to come up with a better strategy next time, but i'm not sure what that will be.
our fun evening on the lake was concluded with wonderfully close parking in front, a miracle considering street parking lately on our block. thank goodness for little favors!
i'm proud to say that all the dogs that did come up were very gentle and curious, putting me at ease to have them so close to nissa. i love dogs and so does nissa, but it's hard for both of us to remember sometimes that not all dogs are as great as gibson, and not all dogs can necessarily be trusted around a toddler. but i was cautious (and swooped up nissa on occasion if some wrestling broke out) and we all had a good time.
nissa enjoyed standing on the edge of the water, so the waves just barely got her feet wet. "water" she tells me. yes, dear, lots of water- it's a lake! it's lake michigan, but you can just call it "the lake." "water, water." yes. and birds. "a-boat!" yep, there's a sail boat on the horizon. oh wait, there's two. two a-boats. "ball." yes, the puppies like to play with a ball at the beach. "puppy!" yep, like every 5 minutes. what a great place to visit- it's got all the nouns she knows and loves!
we found a discarded tennis ball that nissa and i took turns throwing to gibson. he seemed to enjoy it well enough. nissa's throwing needs a little work (not much trajectory after it leaves her hand) but she's trying and seems to understand the concept.
after our stay at the beach, we got some hotdogs and ate them on the rocks by montrose. my mom used to do the same thing with us on occasion and it was fun to do the same thing with nissa and gisbon. though it was more than a challenge to get nissa, gibson and 2 hotdogs with mustard from the stand to the car, from the car to the rocks and into a comfortable seating position without making a total mess and having the hot dogs in tact. i think i'd like to come up with a better strategy next time, but i'm not sure what that will be.
our fun evening on the lake was concluded with wonderfully close parking in front, a miracle considering street parking lately on our block. thank goodness for little favors!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
she really knows what she wants
and she knows how to get it. no, it's not some cheesy 80's sexy movie plot, but nissa's every day life.
last night, i was enjoying some pepper jack cheese its while i waited for nissa to be dropped off. when she came home, she pointed at the bowl (it's clear glass) and asked for some. assuming they were too spicy and she wouldn't like them, i poured her a bowl of cinnamon bunnies instead. ok, i gave her one to try and she seemed to like it as she walked away. i got busy doing something else and when i looked next, she had taken the bowl from off the counter where i had it, and put it down on the butcher block shelf, where she could reach it easily.
i finished up dinner (pasta salad), served two bowls for us and set them on the dining room table while i went to get our drinks. while in the kitchen, i heard one of the dining room table chairs being moved and when i came back into the dining room, nissa was sitting in my chair, helping herself to my bowl! i let her eat dinner in her chair without being strapped in; which worked ok, but she was constantly turning to face me, which made it easier to slide down. i'm not sure we're 100% ready to go without straps.
today, we spent the morning together (instead of friday) and i dropped her off at grandma and grandpa's. on the way there, she was pointing to the center console and asking for "tee". now that usually means tv (which can get a yes or no from us, depending on the time of day), but i think she meant radio. she didn't like riding in silence, she wanted some music! she is just too smart.
last night, i was enjoying some pepper jack cheese its while i waited for nissa to be dropped off. when she came home, she pointed at the bowl (it's clear glass) and asked for some. assuming they were too spicy and she wouldn't like them, i poured her a bowl of cinnamon bunnies instead. ok, i gave her one to try and she seemed to like it as she walked away. i got busy doing something else and when i looked next, she had taken the bowl from off the counter where i had it, and put it down on the butcher block shelf, where she could reach it easily.
i finished up dinner (pasta salad), served two bowls for us and set them on the dining room table while i went to get our drinks. while in the kitchen, i heard one of the dining room table chairs being moved and when i came back into the dining room, nissa was sitting in my chair, helping herself to my bowl! i let her eat dinner in her chair without being strapped in; which worked ok, but she was constantly turning to face me, which made it easier to slide down. i'm not sure we're 100% ready to go without straps.
today, we spent the morning together (instead of friday) and i dropped her off at grandma and grandpa's. on the way there, she was pointing to the center console and asking for "tee". now that usually means tv (which can get a yes or no from us, depending on the time of day), but i think she meant radio. she didn't like riding in silence, she wanted some music! she is just too smart.
Monday, May 24, 2010
what a trip
my daughter is such a trip. i love every minute i spend with her, but also cherish the brief breaks during nap time. she's been up to so much lately, that when i checked to see when my last post was and saw it was the doctor's appointment, i had to check the calendar to confirm that was only about a week ago. it seems ages ago!
last wednesday was an odd day for nissa, but it doesn't seem to have panned out to much. she was a bit more clumsy than usual and it was the day after getting shots. she tripped and fell while walking a few times, bumped her head on the coffee table while bending down, then ended with a face plant after sitting in the laundry basket and tipping it over. the finale resulted in a little bruise on her forehead and a rug-burn-like scrape on her nose. it was such a rough day i ended up putting her to bed a little early just to save her from herself. we called the doctor, but without any new/continued clumsy behavior to report, it was chalked up to post-immunization grogginess. i guess i can buy that.
friday night she made me laugh. we had spent a lot of time outside (we mowed the lawn) then came in to watch a little tv to wind down. after a single episode of handy manny, i said "ok, time for bed." nissa responded with a "no" and ran to the slide, then to the rocking horse, then to the punching balloon, then back to the slide. she ran the circuit a couple of times before i cut her off and dragged her upstairs. she had to get those last few minutes of playing out of her system, so i let her (briefly).
saturday was an experience. we got up bright and early with daddy, then grabbed breakfast from the double d (though a lame one without iced decaf, grrr), then swung by a park. i really like the park at revere, but it was jam packed, so we passed. we went to the bank, then walked through lincoln square- a dangerous temptation alley of desirable wares. we picked up overpriced tea tree oil, then some adorable froggy sunglasses for nissa, we looked for andouille, but ultimately skipped out. then we checked out the playlot by target, which was a little worse for wear. it even still had one of those red fiberglass slides with the metal sheet slide (like back when i was a kid). that was by far the oldest piece of equipment (except maybe the swing frames) but it was all usable. it seemed like not many kids played there, that it had become more of an unsavory adult hang out (funny, considering a recent article in the paper about how north side parks get all the money and south side parks are the pits- the north side has pits too!). oh well. we got our play time in (though the equipment is not as 18 month old friendly as other parks we've visited). we went to target, then headed home. it was later by the time we had lunch, so nissa took her nap and i got started cleaning the house. we were expecting company, so i had the itch. by the time i was done, i had swept all the floors, mopped the kitchen, put away the laundry, cleaned both bathrooms and vacuumed the stairs and basement. all in 3.5 hours. no, nissa wasn't napping that whole time, but she took an hour to fall asleep, then was awake for the last half hour. then we made dinner and dessert and had karl over to sort through baby clothes. hooray for sharing baby clothes!
sunday we got to visit the cool park at revere, then ran a bunch of errands. it got steamy that day, so when we made it home, i pulled out the little pool and filled it up. i filled it first, before going inside to put away groceries and such, to let it warm up a bit in the sun. i had mixed results because although the sun took the edge off, i had to wrestle with nissa to get her to let me put groceries away and put her swimsuit and sunblock on. she kept saying "outside" "outside." yes, dear, i know. but once out, she was the happiest kid ever. she splashed (from standing outside of it) and poured buckets of water everywhere. she'd even climb in and splash her feet while standing up. we had been outside for an hour before i even thought to check the time, we were having so much fun. we'd sit and splash, and stand and splash and had a great time. at one point nissa was taking buckets of water over to the porch stairs, dumping it out and sitting in the resulting puddle. one time she actually bent over, then looked backwards through her legs to aim her butt to sit down. it was hilarious! it wasn't until we'd been at it over an hour and a half that she started to run out of steam and i was starting to get hungry. she willingly came in for lunch, then quickly knocked out for a nap. i used that time to get cracking on some baby shower gifts and made some decent progress. that is, until i found out a piece of fabric i ordered was not big enough. man, i am so frustrated. i gave nissa a snack at the table where i was working, to finish up a few more things, but that was short lived. as soon as nissa was out of her seat, i heard "outside" about 100 times more. she even grabbed her monkey sweatshirt and gave it to me, demanding "outside." but by this time i had started on dinner. i was planning to grill, so we went out to light it. of course, the pool was still out and she wanted to splash and climb right in. oh, what a melt down she had when i had to bring her back inside after not letting her climb in the pool. it was heartbreaking. i called adam to ask him to put the pool away when he came home, so i could finish dinner. nissa was still having her fit, and he asked, "is she crying to go outside and play in the pool?" (he could hear "outside" and "pool" between sobs) and i said yes. oh, our little water baby. she was only partially satisfied by some time in the duckie before bed. man, does she get excited about that duckie. she squeals as it fills up with water. awesome.
i had an unfortunate surprise when *i* went to bed, though. gibson had an issue somewhere along the way because there was a poo stain on the comforter, then a little piece o' poo once i pulled it off (still way to steamy to use a comforter at night). so i changed the sheets and put them in the wash on hot! gibson will be spending the indefinite future sleeping in his own bed. when i uncovered the poo, he gave me this look like he was pleading for his life. it was kinda sad, but i had to banish him from the bedroom. i'm not sure how long it will last, but it was nice to have the bed to ourselves again. we'll see.
last wednesday was an odd day for nissa, but it doesn't seem to have panned out to much. she was a bit more clumsy than usual and it was the day after getting shots. she tripped and fell while walking a few times, bumped her head on the coffee table while bending down, then ended with a face plant after sitting in the laundry basket and tipping it over. the finale resulted in a little bruise on her forehead and a rug-burn-like scrape on her nose. it was such a rough day i ended up putting her to bed a little early just to save her from herself. we called the doctor, but without any new/continued clumsy behavior to report, it was chalked up to post-immunization grogginess. i guess i can buy that.
friday night she made me laugh. we had spent a lot of time outside (we mowed the lawn) then came in to watch a little tv to wind down. after a single episode of handy manny, i said "ok, time for bed." nissa responded with a "no" and ran to the slide, then to the rocking horse, then to the punching balloon, then back to the slide. she ran the circuit a couple of times before i cut her off and dragged her upstairs. she had to get those last few minutes of playing out of her system, so i let her (briefly).
saturday was an experience. we got up bright and early with daddy, then grabbed breakfast from the double d (though a lame one without iced decaf, grrr), then swung by a park. i really like the park at revere, but it was jam packed, so we passed. we went to the bank, then walked through lincoln square- a dangerous temptation alley of desirable wares. we picked up overpriced tea tree oil, then some adorable froggy sunglasses for nissa, we looked for andouille, but ultimately skipped out. then we checked out the playlot by target, which was a little worse for wear. it even still had one of those red fiberglass slides with the metal sheet slide (like back when i was a kid). that was by far the oldest piece of equipment (except maybe the swing frames) but it was all usable. it seemed like not many kids played there, that it had become more of an unsavory adult hang out (funny, considering a recent article in the paper about how north side parks get all the money and south side parks are the pits- the north side has pits too!). oh well. we got our play time in (though the equipment is not as 18 month old friendly as other parks we've visited). we went to target, then headed home. it was later by the time we had lunch, so nissa took her nap and i got started cleaning the house. we were expecting company, so i had the itch. by the time i was done, i had swept all the floors, mopped the kitchen, put away the laundry, cleaned both bathrooms and vacuumed the stairs and basement. all in 3.5 hours. no, nissa wasn't napping that whole time, but she took an hour to fall asleep, then was awake for the last half hour. then we made dinner and dessert and had karl over to sort through baby clothes. hooray for sharing baby clothes!
sunday we got to visit the cool park at revere, then ran a bunch of errands. it got steamy that day, so when we made it home, i pulled out the little pool and filled it up. i filled it first, before going inside to put away groceries and such, to let it warm up a bit in the sun. i had mixed results because although the sun took the edge off, i had to wrestle with nissa to get her to let me put groceries away and put her swimsuit and sunblock on. she kept saying "outside" "outside." yes, dear, i know. but once out, she was the happiest kid ever. she splashed (from standing outside of it) and poured buckets of water everywhere. she'd even climb in and splash her feet while standing up. we had been outside for an hour before i even thought to check the time, we were having so much fun. we'd sit and splash, and stand and splash and had a great time. at one point nissa was taking buckets of water over to the porch stairs, dumping it out and sitting in the resulting puddle. one time she actually bent over, then looked backwards through her legs to aim her butt to sit down. it was hilarious! it wasn't until we'd been at it over an hour and a half that she started to run out of steam and i was starting to get hungry. she willingly came in for lunch, then quickly knocked out for a nap. i used that time to get cracking on some baby shower gifts and made some decent progress. that is, until i found out a piece of fabric i ordered was not big enough. man, i am so frustrated. i gave nissa a snack at the table where i was working, to finish up a few more things, but that was short lived. as soon as nissa was out of her seat, i heard "outside" about 100 times more. she even grabbed her monkey sweatshirt and gave it to me, demanding "outside." but by this time i had started on dinner. i was planning to grill, so we went out to light it. of course, the pool was still out and she wanted to splash and climb right in. oh, what a melt down she had when i had to bring her back inside after not letting her climb in the pool. it was heartbreaking. i called adam to ask him to put the pool away when he came home, so i could finish dinner. nissa was still having her fit, and he asked, "is she crying to go outside and play in the pool?" (he could hear "outside" and "pool" between sobs) and i said yes. oh, our little water baby. she was only partially satisfied by some time in the duckie before bed. man, does she get excited about that duckie. she squeals as it fills up with water. awesome.
i had an unfortunate surprise when *i* went to bed, though. gibson had an issue somewhere along the way because there was a poo stain on the comforter, then a little piece o' poo once i pulled it off (still way to steamy to use a comforter at night). so i changed the sheets and put them in the wash on hot! gibson will be spending the indefinite future sleeping in his own bed. when i uncovered the poo, he gave me this look like he was pleading for his life. it was kinda sad, but i had to banish him from the bedroom. i'm not sure how long it will last, but it was nice to have the bed to ourselves again. we'll see.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
18 months?!?! doc visit
yesterday marked nissa's 18 month "birthday" and it seems a bit unreal, but totally perfect at the same time. she's totally become this fun little toddler that meets/exceeds expectations as an 18-month-old. this is when things start getting interesting and i'm really looking forward to it. she seems to be using a new word every day (not just repeating, which she does more too now). like yesterday, she said "left foot" and knows (or convincingly seems to know) her left food to kick it, and also her right by request. adam's months of practice are finally showing fruit and he's pretty excited about it. all of this new communication is so exciting and fun.
something else fun that she does is love books. i mean l o v e books. we've picked up a few good ones recently that are short, simple and really keep her interest well. dear zoo, bard's rhyme time, doggies are particular favorites right now. we read snuggle puppy every night before bed and i love it. she points out the ball and cookies on the different pages and anticipates the kisses. when she comes across the book in her room during the day, she'll sing "ooooo puppy" and it's too adorable.
last night we went to the doctor for her 18 month appointment and to get a few shots. she weighed in at 21.4 lbs, and has crept up to 31.25", keeping her in the 10th percentile for growth. she seems to be following this curve, so that's good. and as adam and i said amongst ourselves- with the nation facing an obesity epidemic, is it so bad that she's on par with, or bigger than only 10% of other children in the country? sure, this also puts her a bit short too, but i was short as a little one as well and i grew up to be a respectable 5'7". her little noggin grew too, up to 18.5". in all, she seems to be in good health: sleeping and eating well, passing the autism screening, running, climbing, having a healthy wide-eyed reaction to the doctor palpating her torso (hilarious, by the way). another amusing thing she did was while the doctor was asking me some questions, nissa had climbed up on the step to the exam table (in her diaper and snoopy socks, by the way) and was listening, tapping her foot. not in impatience, but more like something to do.
something else fun that she does is love books. i mean l o v e books. we've picked up a few good ones recently that are short, simple and really keep her interest well. dear zoo, bard's rhyme time, doggies are particular favorites right now. we read snuggle puppy every night before bed and i love it. she points out the ball and cookies on the different pages and anticipates the kisses. when she comes across the book in her room during the day, she'll sing "ooooo puppy" and it's too adorable.
last night we went to the doctor for her 18 month appointment and to get a few shots. she weighed in at 21.4 lbs, and has crept up to 31.25", keeping her in the 10th percentile for growth. she seems to be following this curve, so that's good. and as adam and i said amongst ourselves- with the nation facing an obesity epidemic, is it so bad that she's on par with, or bigger than only 10% of other children in the country? sure, this also puts her a bit short too, but i was short as a little one as well and i grew up to be a respectable 5'7". her little noggin grew too, up to 18.5". in all, she seems to be in good health: sleeping and eating well, passing the autism screening, running, climbing, having a healthy wide-eyed reaction to the doctor palpating her torso (hilarious, by the way). another amusing thing she did was while the doctor was asking me some questions, nissa had climbed up on the step to the exam table (in her diaper and snoopy socks, by the way) and was listening, tapping her foot. not in impatience, but more like something to do.
Monday, May 17, 2010
the good and the bad
this weekend was filled with both. mostly good, but a little bad, which makes me sad.
saturday, nissa and i spent time running errands. we went to the kilbourn park organic greenhouse plant sale and picked up some very promising veggies for the garden. i had no idea you could grow broccoli around here, but i'm ready to try! hopefully next weekend i will find the time to get these plants in the ground. hopefully the garden patch will be ready for them. i have the slow drip hose hooked up to the rain barrel, so i think we'll be in good shape. we also stopped by a school e-waste recycling program to give our old monitor and cell phones a new home. after a quick grocery store stop, we went home, and nissa napped while i made goodies to bring to sarah's house. we drove out to the burbs to hang out with my friend sarah's family saturday night. we enjoyed some fab ribs, i enjoyed lots of hugs from the kids and nissa loved hanging out with 3 kids relatively close in age. on an interesting note nissa showed some modest signs of jealousy when i would get hugs from the boys, but it seemed short lived when i'd reach out my other arm for her. it came in the form of a temporary curious/concerned look. they ended up as cute as could be. sarah and i were chatting in the kitchen when she got up to check on something. she found all 4 kids tucked into bed watching tv. the looked nothing short of adorable!
sunday, nissa and i spent time out and about too, but it was a little less hectic. first, we went out for breakfast (yum). then we headed over to another neighborhood park that we hadn't visited yet. it was fabulous and i can't wait to go back. nissa seemed to have a good time: climbing on everything, sliding, swinging, even rocking! the park had a new teeter totter that had 4 seats and a neutral starting position (very cool, by the way). nissa even climbed up to the highest slide in the park and slid down like it was the most natural thing. i'll admit i was nervous, but she enjoyed it, so i encouraged her. she enjoyed climbing the mini climbing wall, but because it was set up on an open-cone piece of material, she really insisted that it was a slide. i didn't let her experience why she was wrong; perhaps i should have.
but here's where the bad came in. nissa joined 3 other kids on the teeter totter and one of the dads was generously supplying the up and down manually (their weights were insufficient for them to do much on their own). i offered to take over and was pumping for a few short minutes when nissa made an unannounced exit from her seat. i was mid story with the dad when nissa ended up on her back and screaming, me feeling (and undoubtedly looking) like a huge jerk for not watching more closely. especially since she pulls this trick often at class on those teeter totters. ugh. we agreed it was time to leave and a few hugs and a drink of water later, all was right with the world again. we stopped and got yet more groceries and i noticed the unfortunate trend i had started a few weeks back. i had handed nissa an apple to hold and she promptly took a bite. i was about to take it away from her when a kind and generous employee offered to wash it for her and bring it back (my argument was that she couldn't eat it because it was dirty). i didn't realize then that now she expects an apple when we go to the grocery store and yesterday i appeased her with cherry tomatoes instead. what nonsense. i'll need to remember to bring an appropriate distraction for next time!
saturday, nissa and i spent time running errands. we went to the kilbourn park organic greenhouse plant sale and picked up some very promising veggies for the garden. i had no idea you could grow broccoli around here, but i'm ready to try! hopefully next weekend i will find the time to get these plants in the ground. hopefully the garden patch will be ready for them. i have the slow drip hose hooked up to the rain barrel, so i think we'll be in good shape. we also stopped by a school e-waste recycling program to give our old monitor and cell phones a new home. after a quick grocery store stop, we went home, and nissa napped while i made goodies to bring to sarah's house. we drove out to the burbs to hang out with my friend sarah's family saturday night. we enjoyed some fab ribs, i enjoyed lots of hugs from the kids and nissa loved hanging out with 3 kids relatively close in age. on an interesting note nissa showed some modest signs of jealousy when i would get hugs from the boys, but it seemed short lived when i'd reach out my other arm for her. it came in the form of a temporary curious/concerned look. they ended up as cute as could be. sarah and i were chatting in the kitchen when she got up to check on something. she found all 4 kids tucked into bed watching tv. the looked nothing short of adorable!
sunday, nissa and i spent time out and about too, but it was a little less hectic. first, we went out for breakfast (yum). then we headed over to another neighborhood park that we hadn't visited yet. it was fabulous and i can't wait to go back. nissa seemed to have a good time: climbing on everything, sliding, swinging, even rocking! the park had a new teeter totter that had 4 seats and a neutral starting position (very cool, by the way). nissa even climbed up to the highest slide in the park and slid down like it was the most natural thing. i'll admit i was nervous, but she enjoyed it, so i encouraged her. she enjoyed climbing the mini climbing wall, but because it was set up on an open-cone piece of material, she really insisted that it was a slide. i didn't let her experience why she was wrong; perhaps i should have.
but here's where the bad came in. nissa joined 3 other kids on the teeter totter and one of the dads was generously supplying the up and down manually (their weights were insufficient for them to do much on their own). i offered to take over and was pumping for a few short minutes when nissa made an unannounced exit from her seat. i was mid story with the dad when nissa ended up on her back and screaming, me feeling (and undoubtedly looking) like a huge jerk for not watching more closely. especially since she pulls this trick often at class on those teeter totters. ugh. we agreed it was time to leave and a few hugs and a drink of water later, all was right with the world again. we stopped and got yet more groceries and i noticed the unfortunate trend i had started a few weeks back. i had handed nissa an apple to hold and she promptly took a bite. i was about to take it away from her when a kind and generous employee offered to wash it for her and bring it back (my argument was that she couldn't eat it because it was dirty). i didn't realize then that now she expects an apple when we go to the grocery store and yesterday i appeased her with cherry tomatoes instead. what nonsense. i'll need to remember to bring an appropriate distraction for next time!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
mother's day weekend
i really feel like mother's day lasted all weekend and i loved it. it started with friday, when nissa and i went to her class. our group activity was coloring a flower to be put onto construction paper. nissa was a little more interested in picking up the crayons and putting them back into the boxes than coloring, much to the other kids' dismay. she put away a few crayons prematurely. we went home and hung out in the yard for a while and when we heard grandma was running late, nissa came to work with me!
we made pretty good time, even stopped for lunch at wendy's. once at work, nissa let me prepare the report i needed to, then was a big hit saying hello to all the wonderful people i work with. she enjoyed looking out the windows the most, appreciating the easy access on the 6th floor. not by my desk, of course, since it's covered in boxes. the day ended with one of my generous coworkers sharing a balloon with nissa. now nice! right before that i shared an interesting conversation about baby talk: how early language is almost only understandable by the parents, but as a parent, you can't necessarily understand other kids in the same development stage. i love those darling little "peez" nissa offers when she wants something.
saturday we spent time getting stuff ready so i could relax on sunday. we ran errands (home depot, groceries), then spent some time with garrett while he took more measurements for his plans for the attic. i am SO excited to see what our new room will look like up there. if we could get the exercise stuff up there too, that would be pretty cool. not sure what we'd do with the front room then, but i'm sure we could manage something. now that we have a furniture store we like, i'd actually look forward to furniture shopping! while nissa napped i mowed the lawn, but didn't have time to use our new mother's day/father's day gift- a trimmer. we've needed it for so long, especially with the push mower. . . so i talked adam into getting it as a joint holiday gift for ourselves. maybe i can use it next weekend :D after nap time, i made chocolates for lisa, roula and annette and prepared the veggie dish i planned to bring to annette's for dinner on sunday. then it was off to the wolff's to meet baby marissa and hang out with some of our favorite people. nissa was obsessed about the kitties and took a weird interest in sarah's training balls (squishy 3lb weighted balls for pilates). at least this time nissa fell asleep on the ride home.
sunday, nissa and i got up to go visit uncle rick and auntie lisa. the got us lunch (thanks!) and i got a monstrous lemon bar as a parting gift. it was HUGE and very tasty. yum. while we were there, nissa was everywhere at once and holding up well to wrigley's affection. nissa and sarah played well together and even seemed to be talking to each other a little. we tried to get pictures of them in their yellow dresses from grandma g, but i'm not sure how successful we were. between the two of them, they weren't in one spot for long and nissa had become a bit crabby. the crabbiness was totally explained when she passed out cold in the car- before we even hit the expressway! nissa continued her nap a little at home, then it was off to grandma's house for dinner. of course, i left the veggie dish i prepared at home! ugh. but dinner was wonderful and i am grateful to have received a box of chocolates and beautiful roses. if only every day could be mother's day. . .
we made pretty good time, even stopped for lunch at wendy's. once at work, nissa let me prepare the report i needed to, then was a big hit saying hello to all the wonderful people i work with. she enjoyed looking out the windows the most, appreciating the easy access on the 6th floor. not by my desk, of course, since it's covered in boxes. the day ended with one of my generous coworkers sharing a balloon with nissa. now nice! right before that i shared an interesting conversation about baby talk: how early language is almost only understandable by the parents, but as a parent, you can't necessarily understand other kids in the same development stage. i love those darling little "peez" nissa offers when she wants something.
saturday we spent time getting stuff ready so i could relax on sunday. we ran errands (home depot, groceries), then spent some time with garrett while he took more measurements for his plans for the attic. i am SO excited to see what our new room will look like up there. if we could get the exercise stuff up there too, that would be pretty cool. not sure what we'd do with the front room then, but i'm sure we could manage something. now that we have a furniture store we like, i'd actually look forward to furniture shopping! while nissa napped i mowed the lawn, but didn't have time to use our new mother's day/father's day gift- a trimmer. we've needed it for so long, especially with the push mower. . . so i talked adam into getting it as a joint holiday gift for ourselves. maybe i can use it next weekend :D after nap time, i made chocolates for lisa, roula and annette and prepared the veggie dish i planned to bring to annette's for dinner on sunday. then it was off to the wolff's to meet baby marissa and hang out with some of our favorite people. nissa was obsessed about the kitties and took a weird interest in sarah's training balls (squishy 3lb weighted balls for pilates). at least this time nissa fell asleep on the ride home.
sunday, nissa and i got up to go visit uncle rick and auntie lisa. the got us lunch (thanks!) and i got a monstrous lemon bar as a parting gift. it was HUGE and very tasty. yum. while we were there, nissa was everywhere at once and holding up well to wrigley's affection. nissa and sarah played well together and even seemed to be talking to each other a little. we tried to get pictures of them in their yellow dresses from grandma g, but i'm not sure how successful we were. between the two of them, they weren't in one spot for long and nissa had become a bit crabby. the crabbiness was totally explained when she passed out cold in the car- before we even hit the expressway! nissa continued her nap a little at home, then it was off to grandma's house for dinner. of course, i left the veggie dish i prepared at home! ugh. but dinner was wonderful and i am grateful to have received a box of chocolates and beautiful roses. if only every day could be mother's day. . .
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
one shoe, really?
nissa has become quite fond of her new crocs. i'm not 100% behind them myself, but i am glad to have a shoe for her to wear at the beach, in the yard- that can get wet and dirty and be ok (stay on, easy to clean, etc). i have my chacos, she has her crocs.
tricky thing is she's become used to sliding around and such and the rubberiness of the crocs grip differently than her other shoes, often causing her to loose one along the way. this happened last night while we were reading books in her room. (yes, reading books is an active thing that can cause shoe loss.) i noticed, said "uh oh" and asked if i should help her put her shoe back on. she said "no". "so, you want to go with just one shoe on?" nissa nods her head. ok. can't argue with a sound understanding of the situation, i guess. shoe stayed off even as we went outside to finish grilling the salmon for dinner. she was completely unfazed by her lopsided gait. would drive me nuts, personally.
a new move of nissa's got the better of me while out at the grill. our fish was done and ready to go. i slid it off the grill and made to go back inside. i called for nissa to join me, but she was more interested in the water we had poured out from the hose (even tried lapping it up like gibson, ugh). so i picked her up, but couldn't get in the door (no hands free!). i set her down near the top of the stairs, hoping she'd climb up the rest of the way. . . but instead she sat down and patted the stair next to her. not sure where she picked up on this, but yet again, i can't say no. talk about taking time to just relax and enjoy! i sat down with nissa and she lets out this exaggerated sigh of relaxation. it's too cute. after a few minutes, i ask again if she's ready to go in, but when i get up, she goes down. oi! i bring the fish in and come back out for her. nissa loves to be "ou side" at all times.
tricky thing is she's become used to sliding around and such and the rubberiness of the crocs grip differently than her other shoes, often causing her to loose one along the way. this happened last night while we were reading books in her room. (yes, reading books is an active thing that can cause shoe loss.) i noticed, said "uh oh" and asked if i should help her put her shoe back on. she said "no". "so, you want to go with just one shoe on?" nissa nods her head. ok. can't argue with a sound understanding of the situation, i guess. shoe stayed off even as we went outside to finish grilling the salmon for dinner. she was completely unfazed by her lopsided gait. would drive me nuts, personally.
a new move of nissa's got the better of me while out at the grill. our fish was done and ready to go. i slid it off the grill and made to go back inside. i called for nissa to join me, but she was more interested in the water we had poured out from the hose (even tried lapping it up like gibson, ugh). so i picked her up, but couldn't get in the door (no hands free!). i set her down near the top of the stairs, hoping she'd climb up the rest of the way. . . but instead she sat down and patted the stair next to her. not sure where she picked up on this, but yet again, i can't say no. talk about taking time to just relax and enjoy! i sat down with nissa and she lets out this exaggerated sigh of relaxation. it's too cute. after a few minutes, i ask again if she's ready to go in, but when i get up, she goes down. oi! i bring the fish in and come back out for her. nissa loves to be "ou side" at all times.
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