nissa is truly a girl of many wonders. as she nears the 2 mark, the wonders are coming fast and furious and of course, it's hard to keep up. i remembered a couple to mention here, so it's not a total loss.
two weeks ago nissa started pretending to be a dog. she'd crawl around saying "woof woof" so i offered to pet her hears and scratch her behind her ears. she loved it! she even sat and gave paw for treats. she does it often now, much to the absolute confusion of gibson. adam joked about teaching her to "die" when shooting her with an index-thumb gun and i suggested making it a part of her dog routine. sad, but true.
we've been dealing the last week with a head lice infestation. nissa and i both have head lice and it stinks. i'm not sure how long we've been infected, but we're pursuing a full week of treatment to date. honestly, if i hadn't had it too, i'm not sure i'd ever know nissa had it. she rarely scratches her head and these little buggers are absolutely microscopic and hard enough to see when you're really looking for them. i'm hoping to be done with the combing and washing sheets daily soon, but time will tell. we're finding less and less each day after a combing, so it's progress.
the funniest thing she's done lately happened yesterday. i was tying my shoe in front of nissa and she pointed to the shoelace and said "aglet!" of course this stems exclusively from watching phineas and ferb and the aglet episode, but still! we've never talked about it amongst ourselves, this was her taking what she saw on tv and applying it to real life. i was shocked and mused by it and adam loved it.
nissa rediscovered the cute brown haired girl doll she got as a baby and spent this afternoon carrying around "girl" with her. she had girl lean back and nissa followed suit, laying down on the floor next to her. when it was nap time, i suggested girl come with us. she had girl lean back on the changing table next to her and nissa asked girl "downstairs?" and nissa replied to herself in an even higher voice (nissa's voice is pretty high, especially when asking questions) "yes." it was just too much. i love the development of this pretend stuff and find it absolutely fascinating!!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
challenges and surprises
being a mom, life is filled with both: for you, for your child, for your husband, for your pets.
gibson surprises us often lately by finding new things to eat/destroy. it may be because we don't let him sleep with us any more, but that's been the case for months now. his late night antics, aka sleeping, were keeping adam and i up, so it was a call we had to make. just the other day he got into a boxed bar of soap that nissa had pulled out of the cabinet. soap? really? yuck. i'd really like to work on some more training and get him more exercise, but finding the time is a challenge. i still have 2 rounds of laundry in baskets in our bedroom that still needs to be put away, with another laundry round coming up this weekend. grrrr.
nissa and i were both surprised yesterday when she swallowed a penny. we were playing in bed and she had a "shiny penny" to hold onto. she was on her back and held it up above her face when she dropped it, fell straight to the back of her mouth, and before i could flip her over and pat her back it was, in her own words, "all gone." of course, she wanted more pennies to hold, but i said only if she didn't eat them again! silly girl. i think she kind of understood i was joking, but was still freaked out that she swallowed a penny, so her reaction ended up kind of neutral. i explained that in a day or two the penny would come out in her poop, to which she repeated "penny, all gone, poop" and pointed to her diaper. yep. that about sums it up. of course, i'd prefer that she didn't swallow pennies (not the first, but first i witnessed), i suppose it's a challenge i can accept. my favorite part was when she asked for a 3rd penny (to have 2 to hold) so she could "jingle" them. i also like her jumping on the bed chant: hoppity dee.
nissa surprised and impressed me when we opened up someof the videos that grandpa g took at tumbling class. there was one of nissa on the trampoline with the other girl in class and she piped right up "nissa, ally" and it took me a second to remember that ally was, in fact, the other girl's name. wow! that was over a week ago and ally was only in 1 or 2 classes prior. she is such a smart cookie.
gibson surprises us often lately by finding new things to eat/destroy. it may be because we don't let him sleep with us any more, but that's been the case for months now. his late night antics, aka sleeping, were keeping adam and i up, so it was a call we had to make. just the other day he got into a boxed bar of soap that nissa had pulled out of the cabinet. soap? really? yuck. i'd really like to work on some more training and get him more exercise, but finding the time is a challenge. i still have 2 rounds of laundry in baskets in our bedroom that still needs to be put away, with another laundry round coming up this weekend. grrrr.
nissa and i were both surprised yesterday when she swallowed a penny. we were playing in bed and she had a "shiny penny" to hold onto. she was on her back and held it up above her face when she dropped it, fell straight to the back of her mouth, and before i could flip her over and pat her back it was, in her own words, "all gone." of course, she wanted more pennies to hold, but i said only if she didn't eat them again! silly girl. i think she kind of understood i was joking, but was still freaked out that she swallowed a penny, so her reaction ended up kind of neutral. i explained that in a day or two the penny would come out in her poop, to which she repeated "penny, all gone, poop" and pointed to her diaper. yep. that about sums it up. of course, i'd prefer that she didn't swallow pennies (not the first, but first i witnessed), i suppose it's a challenge i can accept. my favorite part was when she asked for a 3rd penny (to have 2 to hold) so she could "jingle" them. i also like her jumping on the bed chant: hoppity dee.
nissa surprised and impressed me when we opened up someof the videos that grandpa g took at tumbling class. there was one of nissa on the trampoline with the other girl in class and she piped right up "nissa, ally" and it took me a second to remember that ally was, in fact, the other girl's name. wow! that was over a week ago and ally was only in 1 or 2 classes prior. she is such a smart cookie.
Friday, October 15, 2010
bad mommy day
so two days ago i had a terrible mommy day after work. it started off well, with nissa helping make beef stroganoff by helping slice the mushrooms. we stepped outside to chat with the neighbors and though i suggested otherwise, nissa stepped right into one of gibson's piles. gross.
then we came inside and i suggested nissa help me put the noodles into the water. her stool was right by the stove (ready to help) and when i turned around to grab the noodles, she started screaming. i'm pretty sure she touched one of the pots. . . so i kept her hand under cold running water for several minutes.
then we were hanging out in the bedroom waiting for dinner to be ready (stew meat in stroganoff only tastes good if you cook it forever). we were playing on the bed, rolling on our backs to imitate gibson. . . then nissa stood up and jumped, bounced on her butt then fell backwards off the bed, landing on her back, bumping her head. she had a sizeable knot in seconds and was so upset she went to daddy.
i guess it's a good thing bad things happen in 3s. . . or maybe because i spent the rest of the evening in the kitchen by myself. i'm not sure nissa would have survived much more time with me that day. i joke, but still. poor kiddo.
on a lighter note, nissa has started successfully jumping on two feet. she was jumping for tellulah the day before, and jumping well on the bed (before she fell :( ). it's pretty cool to watch and i look forward to her showing off her new skill at tumbling class today!
then we came inside and i suggested nissa help me put the noodles into the water. her stool was right by the stove (ready to help) and when i turned around to grab the noodles, she started screaming. i'm pretty sure she touched one of the pots. . . so i kept her hand under cold running water for several minutes.
then we were hanging out in the bedroom waiting for dinner to be ready (stew meat in stroganoff only tastes good if you cook it forever). we were playing on the bed, rolling on our backs to imitate gibson. . . then nissa stood up and jumped, bounced on her butt then fell backwards off the bed, landing on her back, bumping her head. she had a sizeable knot in seconds and was so upset she went to daddy.
i guess it's a good thing bad things happen in 3s. . . or maybe because i spent the rest of the evening in the kitchen by myself. i'm not sure nissa would have survived much more time with me that day. i joke, but still. poor kiddo.
on a lighter note, nissa has started successfully jumping on two feet. she was jumping for tellulah the day before, and jumping well on the bed (before she fell :( ). it's pretty cool to watch and i look forward to her showing off her new skill at tumbling class today!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
making friends
so nissa has been at the stage where she is interested in making friends. she likes to follow kids around at the park and engage them. nissa loved spending time with her cousins (2 3-year-old twin boys, 5 yo girl, 3 yo boy, 17 mo girl), running, playing, dancing.
yesterday we had the unique opportunity to run into our neighbors across the street and it was great to catch up. when tallulah was done with her snack, she joined nissa outside and they seem to have had a good time. they sat on the stairs together, climbed the stairs, walked up and down the sidewalk, said hello to the neighbor's cat. at one point they were even walking together holding hands. nissa's outgoing nature seemed to help tallulah warm up quickly to her and bring her out of her natural shyness. it was so great to see them interacting and happy. for the rest of the evening, nissa would repeat "lulah, hand" because i showed her the picture i took of them holding hands. how cool would it be to have a friend right across the street? i love it. we look forward to seeing more of them now that we don't have to rely on just running into each other outside.
yesterday we had the unique opportunity to run into our neighbors across the street and it was great to catch up. when tallulah was done with her snack, she joined nissa outside and they seem to have had a good time. they sat on the stairs together, climbed the stairs, walked up and down the sidewalk, said hello to the neighbor's cat. at one point they were even walking together holding hands. nissa's outgoing nature seemed to help tallulah warm up quickly to her and bring her out of her natural shyness. it was so great to see them interacting and happy. for the rest of the evening, nissa would repeat "lulah, hand" because i showed her the picture i took of them holding hands. how cool would it be to have a friend right across the street? i love it. we look forward to seeing more of them now that we don't have to rely on just running into each other outside.
Monday, October 4, 2010
one mystery solved
so we think we figured out where "ah-keys" came from (nissa's word for sunglasses)- armenian achnots (sp?). grandma a probably used the word one day and nissa improvised and we all just followed along. who new!?
nissa's latest "thing" is to make friends at the park. she is quite outgoing and when she finds someone she'd like to talk to, she walks right up, looks them in the eye and says "hi!" it's adorable to watch. she'll follow the new friend around, maybe even lead the way and giggle the whole time. sometimes the giggle is kinda fake, but so appropriate! only problem is she wants to see her new friend when we go back to the park. i try to explain that maybe next time we'll meet a new girl (she'll ask park, girl?) and that it's not likely to see the same girl at the park again.
even this weekend, when we had the honor of attending the wedding reception of a dear friend (home wedding and reception, so perfect) nissa made quick friends of the 4 nieces and nephews running around. all 10 and under, i think, they event followed nissa around the yard, then asking her the colors of the flowers. so cute to watch.
nissa and i had some fun on our own at the local pumpkin patch at the park. adam had the car (the other in the shop), so we walked over and toughed out the frequent drizzles. we got a temporary tattoo, fed the animals at the petting zoo, waited a LONG time for a horse-drawn carriage ride and picked out a pumpkin. i think nissa's favorite part was the petting zoo, where she got to see all kinds of animals close up. it was tricky for me to keep the pushy goats and sheep at bay (they'd knock her down in an instant, at which the magic would be OVER) but nissa managed to have a good time. as we left, nissa offered an un-prompted "bye bye animals!" hot cocoa and soup for lunch, then naptime spent prepping slow-cooker pot roast and a rustic apple pie. classic fall.
eyes closed, but she's smiling and you can see a lot of animals
nissa sitting with her little pumpkin and the big pumpkin
then we come back for naptime and i have a daughter shouting "my turn!" while she's in bed, supposed to be taking a nap. your turn to do what, exactly? and who is taking their turn before you? there is a video monitor and i'm still not sure.
nissa's latest "thing" is to make friends at the park. she is quite outgoing and when she finds someone she'd like to talk to, she walks right up, looks them in the eye and says "hi!" it's adorable to watch. she'll follow the new friend around, maybe even lead the way and giggle the whole time. sometimes the giggle is kinda fake, but so appropriate! only problem is she wants to see her new friend when we go back to the park. i try to explain that maybe next time we'll meet a new girl (she'll ask park, girl?) and that it's not likely to see the same girl at the park again.
even this weekend, when we had the honor of attending the wedding reception of a dear friend (home wedding and reception, so perfect) nissa made quick friends of the 4 nieces and nephews running around. all 10 and under, i think, they event followed nissa around the yard, then asking her the colors of the flowers. so cute to watch.
nissa and i had some fun on our own at the local pumpkin patch at the park. adam had the car (the other in the shop), so we walked over and toughed out the frequent drizzles. we got a temporary tattoo, fed the animals at the petting zoo, waited a LONG time for a horse-drawn carriage ride and picked out a pumpkin. i think nissa's favorite part was the petting zoo, where she got to see all kinds of animals close up. it was tricky for me to keep the pushy goats and sheep at bay (they'd knock her down in an instant, at which the magic would be OVER) but nissa managed to have a good time. as we left, nissa offered an un-prompted "bye bye animals!" hot cocoa and soup for lunch, then naptime spent prepping slow-cooker pot roast and a rustic apple pie. classic fall.
eyes closed, but she's smiling and you can see a lot of animals
nissa sitting with her little pumpkin and the big pumpkin
then we come back for naptime and i have a daughter shouting "my turn!" while she's in bed, supposed to be taking a nap. your turn to do what, exactly? and who is taking their turn before you? there is a video monitor and i'm still not sure.
camping
so i look at my blog and i have been remiss in posting. almost 2 weeks since we went camping and i'm just writing now. wow.
camping was a lot of fun. the weather left a lot to be desired, but it was manageable. nissa had a good time exploring: acorns, tent palettes, worms, you name it. we hiked up to site 14 (from 5) at one point and though she walked most of the way, she did stop a couple times to dance. yes, to dance.
nissa napped OK (took a while to go down, just like at home) and went to bed well. when it was night time, she insisted on leaving one of the tent lights on, which stunk for battery use, but reasonably minor to be able to leave her on her own. the pack and play worked splendidly. the first night there was a huge storm that had me up worrying if we had put away everything that couldn't get wet and if nissa would wake up, not to mention i really needed to walk to the kybo. nissa slept thru the whole thing and woke up refreshed and ready to tackle the day. the other nights she woke up shortly after we went to bed and we took her to bed with us every time. only problem with that was her 7am wake time. shudder.
nissa really enjoyed the company of aaron and peter, as well as fabian and nancy. in short order, she was calling fabian and nancy by name, asking about them when they were out fishing. nancy doted on her, keeping her well fed and fabian provided some fantastic entertainment for her.
nissa loved to walk around and name things. at one point she walked over to the fire bowl and named the owner of each chair. that night, she even remembered the color of each chair as the owner sat in it (making it challenging to see the colors, both from darkness and being occupied). it was pretty impressive.
nissa got a lot of entertainment from finding acorns (they are everywhere) and hearing them "pop" land on things as they fell. she also enjoyed drawing in the sandy ground, eyes especially.
adam and i took her out on the rowboat for two adventures and she was surprisingly well-behaved for it. we expected to just go out row around a bit then head back, but she was content to watch daddy fish and look over the side into the water. the first trip out i was able to keep her occupied a little longer by going through adam's tackle box. she found the whole thing, including a dancing frog, very intriguing. the second trip was highlighted by adam catching a nice bass, but the yellow measuring tape really kept her attention the longest. we tried to have nissa touch the fish, but she wasn't too interested. she liked the idea of daddy looking for fish to bring them up to say hello. nissa liked seeing folks out in the rowboats and canoes (tenues) but often was upset to see them leave at first.
in all, it was a fun trip. we kept nissa well slept and fed and she was a breeze to have around. can't wait to go again next year, and maybe have gibson join us!
camping was a lot of fun. the weather left a lot to be desired, but it was manageable. nissa had a good time exploring: acorns, tent palettes, worms, you name it. we hiked up to site 14 (from 5) at one point and though she walked most of the way, she did stop a couple times to dance. yes, to dance.
nissa napped OK (took a while to go down, just like at home) and went to bed well. when it was night time, she insisted on leaving one of the tent lights on, which stunk for battery use, but reasonably minor to be able to leave her on her own. the pack and play worked splendidly. the first night there was a huge storm that had me up worrying if we had put away everything that couldn't get wet and if nissa would wake up, not to mention i really needed to walk to the kybo. nissa slept thru the whole thing and woke up refreshed and ready to tackle the day. the other nights she woke up shortly after we went to bed and we took her to bed with us every time. only problem with that was her 7am wake time. shudder.
nissa really enjoyed the company of aaron and peter, as well as fabian and nancy. in short order, she was calling fabian and nancy by name, asking about them when they were out fishing. nancy doted on her, keeping her well fed and fabian provided some fantastic entertainment for her.
nissa loved to walk around and name things. at one point she walked over to the fire bowl and named the owner of each chair. that night, she even remembered the color of each chair as the owner sat in it (making it challenging to see the colors, both from darkness and being occupied). it was pretty impressive.
nissa got a lot of entertainment from finding acorns (they are everywhere) and hearing them "pop" land on things as they fell. she also enjoyed drawing in the sandy ground, eyes especially.
adam and i took her out on the rowboat for two adventures and she was surprisingly well-behaved for it. we expected to just go out row around a bit then head back, but she was content to watch daddy fish and look over the side into the water. the first trip out i was able to keep her occupied a little longer by going through adam's tackle box. she found the whole thing, including a dancing frog, very intriguing. the second trip was highlighted by adam catching a nice bass, but the yellow measuring tape really kept her attention the longest. we tried to have nissa touch the fish, but she wasn't too interested. she liked the idea of daddy looking for fish to bring them up to say hello. nissa liked seeing folks out in the rowboats and canoes (tenues) but often was upset to see them leave at first.
in all, it was a fun trip. we kept nissa well slept and fed and she was a breeze to have around. can't wait to go again next year, and maybe have gibson join us!
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