Well, shoot. I'm going to my first college alumni event tomorrow. Only took me 14 years. Yes, had to check that math a couple times.

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random thoughts about ani

my outside - ani was standing at the back door and i needed to let gibson out. when i only let him outside, she was upset and told me "my outside!" i assume she meant that she wanted to go outside too, but it's too cute the way it came out bath time boss - when nissa and ani were taking a bath, both girls were shampooing their hair at the same time. nissa took a break to scratch the inside of her ear and ani said "no" and showed her how to wash her hair. . . no ear scratching allowed, stick with the program! babies! - for months now, ani has loved babies, any baby doll will do. she'll give it hugs and kisses, have it hug and kiss other toys, feed it with a toy bottle, etc. i just bought a book with a baby on the cover and she's obsessed with the "baby book." kisses and hugs - ani has mastered the kiss (complete with smack sound) and a hug that includes a polite grunt and a pat on the back. she shares them sparingly with people (though she is good about kisses for those leaving) but is generous with her toys, and amongst her toys. glad to see toys interacting with each other with kisses and hugs. dancing - ani loves to dance. mostly it involves swinging her hips our putting her hands up in the air. sometimes you can join her (or she demands it), sometimes you can't (like if you're grandpa armin and she just says "no"). even toys get to dance at times. any music will do, but songs with a beat are a hit, as is the nickelodeon jingle, and she knows how to turn on the radio in our bedroom with the expectation of hearing music.

yarn friends

when nissa was smaller, she watched dinosaur train pretty religiously, so she adored dinosaurs. i couldn't find any cute plush dinos (plenty of hard plastic ones, so couldn't be taken to bed), so i looked for a crochet one and came up with a winner: for ani, she seems to favor monkeys, more than once picking out her monkey shirt to wear when given the choice (or not, she's very decisive). so i looked around and found a bunch of cute patterns to crochet something for her. adam picked out this one from the bunch. ani calls all animals by what they say, so this is "ah ah" (short for ooh ooh, ah ah). dogs are woof, cats are meow, dinos are rawr (with arms waving, of course, a la t-rex), cows are moo, rabbits are hop (they don't make noises). ah ah is a big hit with the kiddo, and for nissa too. i'm so grateful that i have the ability, time and resources to make these fun toys for my daughters; it really warms my heart.

wet team - dry team

sometimes i feel guilty that i don't ask for nissa's help more often in the kitchen (and ani is usually napping when i make dinner). yesterday proved me wrong. we were making biscuits for dinner and i asked for her help in whisking the buttermilk powder into the water, while i collected the dry ingredients. she didn't like that she wasn't able to whisk the dry team, as is her usual job. when i left the dry bowl to attend to something on the stove, nissa got herself a wooden spoon and dumped in the wet into the dry and started stirring, with no prompt from me. she stirred it up pretty well too, just needed a little scraping up. i am very proud.

ani and blessings

ani has been doing amazing things lately and i'm going to try to capture some here. they are coming quickly, so it's hard to get them all down. 

one of my favorites is her saying please. usually it comes up when she wants something that i've already said no to, but it doesn't make it any less adorable. sure, it sounds more like peas, but she is learning an important part of her future vocabulary. i also am pretty sure she is saying thank you and excuse me, too.

with all the new words comes the fits, too. when she gets frustrated, she will assume yoga's child pose, put her forehead in her hands and pout. this happens when a simple "ow" doesn't do the job. it doesn't usually last long, but it can be frustrating all around.

we started ani on the standard night time routine and it's been going well. i cam still bribe her upstairs with the promise of brushing teeth (what???) and she usually willingly participates. i try to never make it a fight. potty check is usually just time spent reading pee-related stories, but we have caught her peeing twice and she even pooped just the other day!

aside from my kids being their fantastic selves, i am feeling blessed by the opportunity to help out at sunday school. there are only 6 kids with 2 teachers, but they are young, full of questions and easily distracted. it is a wonderful challenge that i have come to embrace, despite the huge time commitment every sunday morning. the church community is very supportive and friendly, it is wonderful. i enjoy finding ways to be pragmatic and christian at the same time, realistic and faithful. that, and try to come up with engaging projects that are practical and send home the message of the lesson.

nissa is starting to read

i've always believed nissa is a smart cookie and now i am starting to see that while smart, everyone has their own learning style and i need to dial in to nissa's. nissa knows her letters, both capital and lower-case, and knows the sounds they make. she even knows how some letters can work together (t+h) or influence each other (silent e), thanks to watching electric company. but reading is a challenge that she frustrates her and i have to both keep her calm and not let myself get frustrated because i know she can do this. we started reading ten apples up on top and it went pretty well (she read about half, then i finished up). she'd correctly guess some words on sight (i assume from the context of other words and the illustrations), but then forget them upon seeing them again later. most times a "sound it out to remind yourself of the word" is enough to get her to try again when she doesn't recognize a word right away. the most challenging part is she has a fantastic aural memory and an ear for patterns, so she assumes a lot of what comes next, without actually looking at the words. sad part is she is usually correct. . . but i'm still pushing her to look to the letters to know what the words are, not her memory or assumptions. she is thrilled when she gets words correct and so am i! i can't wait for her to really start flexing those reading muscles!

loves

i love that ani's new favorite book is huggy kissy. even better, she's getting those *smack sound* kisses down, when she's in the mood to give them. i also love that ani pronounces Elmo "melmo." i love that nissa knows how to bread something for frying. she was pretending to be a cat and making some pretend fried fish and narrated herself through dipping the fish in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs, then into the pan. i'm so proud of my little sous-chef. i love that both girls will take up any opportunity to go in the yard barefoot and dig holes in the dirt. nissa loves finding earthworms, ani just seems to love being dirty. i love that ani's favorite aspect of her bedtime routine is brushing her teeth. i can bribe her to get into the bathroom with the promise of brushing teeth. i love (and hate) that nissa was offended by her cousin's singing. it is a delicate learning moment when you have to accept she is allowed to have her own opinion, but emphasize the importance of being tactful and polite. "stop singing" "it's horrible" is not the route to go. i love that i can distract ani by sending her on a quest for some doll. i also love that she understands how to put things back; she may not always want to, but she knows what i'm talking about and can do it when she feels like it. i love that nissa can take something very modern and electronic, like the princess palace pets app on ipad, and transform it into an afternoon of pretend play without any gadgets at all. i love that i can make a meal where both girls "help" and we can all be proud. i'm relieved that i'm learning to do so without any serious injuries to any of us. we recently made pizza as a group effort, and enchilada sauce. yum and yum.

reflections on a nursing strike

i sent this message to a cousin who was also dealing with a nursing strike. it was hard to balance being realistic with being optimistic. when it comes to breastfeeding, attitude has a lot to do with it, so a positive attitude goes a long way to having a positive nursing experience. there is always hope. what doesn't work today might work tomorrow. and there are endless approaches to try, as there are that many babies in the world making their moms nuts! unfortunately, the strike never broke for us. I pumped for a while and eventually stopped because it was a lot of effort for not a lot of output (i'd hand express for 30 minutes for an ounce at the end). but it took a while for us to get to that point. if i had it to do over again, i would have taken a day off after a few days and dedicated the day to me and her in the hopes of re-establishing a positive association with the breast. i'll never know for sure, but ani got 4 teeth in 4 weeks, so i assume she was associating her tooth pain with being at the breast. on that day off, i would have given her something for the pain and just hung out with lots of skin-to-skin. maybe i would have avoided the bottle all together, or tried the bait-and-switch method that worked for my sister-in-law and niece. at the end of the day, ani got 13 months of breastmilk, the first 10 from me directly when i was home, the last 5 via pumping exclusively. it was stressful, but stressing just made it worse. all you can do is give it a good college try and hope for the best. but if you're convinced it won't work, you'll create a self-fulfilled prophecy.

perfect end to the day

last night, we went out to dinner and came home later that usual. i got ani ready for bed, read her the "how many fish" book and tried to keep her on my lap for a snuggle. this used to be our routine, but for the last few weeks, i can hardly keep her on my lap (she usually gets down to sit on the other rocking chair), much less get any huggy time before bed. 

 but last night, she laid on my chest just like old times. then after a few minutes, turned to me to give me a kiss; a real kiss too, not just the open mouth monster kiss she usually offers. then she laid back down for a few more minutes. i could have sat there forever, but i had another kiddo to get ready and read to, so i had to put her in her crib.

then nissa and i started reading james and the giant peach. it's one of many things that i have fond memories of from my childhood, but encountering it again as a parent is almost a nightmare. the first two chapters are totally depressing and nissa almost started crying. i promised her it would get better, and i hope it does quickly! on the up side, nissa is listening well, despite the infrequency of illustrations and miserable content thus far. fingers crossed that the attention continues!

Long desired margarita from the corner cantina.

Just discovered th drawback to bubbles in the bathtub. . . Makes bath time poops stealth bombs. Yuck.

ani, how do i love thee? let me count the ways

ani can be bribed to go upstairs by offering to let her brush her teeth. she can say pancakes, amongst other things like yes, juice, shoes. the eats strawberries, leaves and all. she loves to pretend to be a dog and a cat with nissa. ani loves to share her food, although sometimes aggressively. she gives the best hugs, when she wants to; right around the knees are the best. she loves the word bubbles and self-soothes by holding her wrist to her lips. . . sometimes she will spit on her wrist and make bubbles and is so proud of herself.

Nissa has been busy in the kitchen

Nissa has been busy in the kitchen! Last week she made scrambled eggs all by herself and yesterday she cut up raw salmon with a real knife. No injuries!

ani's 18 month check up

ani and i went to the doctor today for her check up. yay! she's back into the 20th percentile for weight (she dipped for a minute around a year) and 90th percentile for head circumference. man, i hope she doesn't get my fat head. maybe she will. it's not the end of the world. i've finally found a summer hat and sunglasses that fit me well, and that's the worst i've had to deal with. the doc asked if she can say many words. . . of course i couldn't think of many on the spot, but i felt like she couldn't talk as much as nissa did at this age (doc commented she practically came out talking). but she's not without words! i'm going to try to list them below. hey, this doc didn't know nissa since birth. . . ah, whatever. ani is the true musician and mechanic. she loves to look closely and analyze. the push-down top/ball bopper thing- she'll lay down to eye level with the balls and push the top down slowly to see exactly what happens. at the doctor's office, she loved moving the arm back and forth on the scale for measuring length. on the changing table, she loves to play with the window sash.like nissa, she's an observer, taking it all in before making an assessment. ani is climbing more and more and walking better each day. since really walking on her own over memorial day weekend, she's taken to it like a champ, still stumbling like a chimp, but putting in the effort. she can randomly do amazing things, like turning pages in a book, singing along with snuggle puppy, holding a bowl while eating off her lap, putting a straw back in a juice box. but, she's still a baby, likes to put lots of stuff in her mouth, throw everything on the floor, squeal randomly, squeeze the juice box before drinking it and/or tipping it upside down. ani is our little entertainer. she often does silly little things and looks for a reaction. like sitting on a toy bed (way too small for her) and looks up with a big grin. or when we ask her to do her tricks, but she just offers a devilish hee hee. nissa is such a great big sister. i try to reminder about that, since she hears plenty of my exasperations about every other thing. she shares food with ani in the car (and elsewhere, but in the car takes a bit more TLC and she's totally up for the task). she's almost always gentle with ani and the toy/item statching is a rarity. she likes to teach ani to say things, but her favorite is "what does the dinosaur say?" it's mine too, because ani's roar is cute, not too loud and complete with a head shake for emphasis. nissa is a gentle soul that is generous to a fault and adores her friends. nissa is smart as a whip and i look forward to her going back to school. she deduces well and although she "forgets" stuff she knows, she comes right back to it with a giggle and "oh yeah." she's getting better about sight reading and trying to sound out words. she's even counted to 100 more or less on her own a couple times now. she's even confident around older kids - we were at a family party with a pool in the yard, and i was able to trust her to stay out of the pool (just putting feet in, or being on the ladder) but still have fun. mama dada nene/nissa dog woof duck hat hand toes eye head hair nose mouth that (what's that) yes/no (head shakes) ball shoes ouch mmmmmmm

molars??

so ani had had her fingers in the back of her mouth for a while now, but i never really thought about it. then today, she was lying on her back and i was looking into her mouth and saw some white on her gum line. lo and behold, she has skipped her canines and moved right on to molars on top. up until now, she only had the front four teeth on top and bottom.

drizzle

nissa complained that she didn't know how to drizzle a soccer ball. it's dribble, dear.

a miracle!

this morning we were scheduled to have the dishwasher repaired. yes, the same one we got 3 short years ago already needed to have the control panel replaced (by us, of course, heaven forbid *that* be under warranty) and the heating element replaced, by recall. so when i was expecting someone between 9-noon and i set my alarm form 8:30 so i could be showered before he got here, imagine my surprise when my doorbell rang and my door was knocked upon at 8:10 am. imagine, then, my shock that gibson didn't stir downstairs, or neither of the girls made so much as a peep while the repair guy was there. did i mention i tried to get up at 7:30 yesterday in order to shower and do other personal housekeeping in peace but the rest of the house got up too? now here comes a doorbell, the scuffle of a repair and minor conversation and nothing. i'm shocked. but relieved. it would have been chaos to have the girls up with a repair guy taking the dishwasher apart in the middle of the kitchen. . . and i felt compelled to tell the guy, you know, i have a dog and two kids and you'd never know! his eyes got big. was surprised we weren't up already when i answered the door with terrible bed head (and bed face!) and my eyes half open, struggling with the in pouring of eastward sunlight. i guess i should just count my blessings and call it a day.

my amazing daughters

yesterday, i went downstairs for a minute and when i came back up, ani only had one shoe on and was sitting in the pantry. i asked here where her other shoe was, just to make conversation. to my surprise, she crawled off and got her shoe and showed it to me; it was in her room! it was too cute. it always amazes me when she demonstrates how she understands us, but it really shouldn't.

although she's not always a shining star. i found her earlier helping herself to some bread. . . looks up like, "what, i was hungry," but quickly put the bag down too, showing a little guilt.

nissa was watching a tom petty concert performance with adam and i, and i commented that he was looking old. nissa piped up and said, "he'll get older and older and older and then he'll die." adam agreed that everyone dies eventually, to which she responded, "like grandma!" and i tossed in, "but not for a long time." but then nissa said something about people being born again as little babies, and that it's like a human life cycle. adam responded that yes, if you believe in reincarnation, that's true. nissa just carried on about how the cycle goes around and around liked a circle. a few minutes later, not related at all, nissa suggested we "peace with our fingers" and both of us did it and were "peace-ing" as we held our hands in vitarka mudra. she commented that she sits with her legs crossed while peace-ing, and sometimes she peaces when she is in time out to help her stop crying. i asked her where she learned about peaceing and she just shrugged her shoulders. we think it was on tv earlier, but who knows. a funny combination of behaviors. . . our little buddhist in the making.

Hard to see, but ani has two new teeth, one on top, one on the bottom

Cool

Nissa buckled her own seat belt!

well fostered independence

is it normal for a 4 year old to play candy land by herself? i mean, play up to four players at once, all by herself (she'll play for me, adam, and "friends" a.k.a. stuffed animals, as well as her turn)? 'cause nissa does.

I ask ani in sign if she would like more dinner or if she is all done. She puts just her index fingers together. . . Just alit

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Nissa is off on her first field trip with school.

Cuffled - adj. having two handcuffs on your arms. Per nissa.

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Everyone should have something this cute on their desk.

Happy birthday to me - chocolate cupcakes and cream cheese frosting for workmates

Nissa is my budding artist. She is doing more and more drawings of people, especially herself. You can tell which one is her by the curly hair streaming out from the head. Yesterday she drew 2 balloons, herself, me, adam and a backwards 4- a picture of her birthday party!

Ani is such a "tidy" little eater. She uses a spoon- left handed usually and with a 75% accuracy. If she gets food outside her dish, she picks it up and puts it back. If you give her a napkin, she will wipe the table and her face. So funny to watch her in action.

Double bath worked out well today. So well, in fact, that ani cried when i took her out!

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