My favorite words in Heather's vocabulary right now are the ones with consonant clusters...
"grape" is "gape"
"blueberries" are "booberries"
"playground" is "pay-gound"
You get the idea. There are more examples, but my mind is turning to mush.
I'm also a big fan of "shovel" (suh-bul) and "yellow" (yeh-woh).
She's really speaking well. I think these words are especially cute because they are among the few that aren't quite right and because they are contained in long sentences and intricate stories. She is even learning harder concepts like "because" - "Todd doesn't need his pacifier because he is nursing". Although sometimes it isn't really needed in the sentence, it is just used to amplify her point - "I need to eat some grapes because I need to eat them".
I know it will be a while, but I can't wait until Todd starts talking, too. ;-)
Next time, I owe you a post about Todd's stats (he's growing great!), but the numbers are in my purse ALL the way downstairs...
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Three weeks in a hurry
I just really can't do justice to the past three weeks in a long, picture-heavy post...especially because Todd has been sleeping while I ate lunch and moved laundry around and he could wake up every minute. So you'll have to settle for relatively recent pictures of each kid and let me try to sum it up...
The past few weeks have mostly been really nice with the occassional hint of miserably tired and overwhelmed with housework. The nice weather has afforded two trips to the zoo (one with Nana & Bapa and one as a family of four), many trips to the playground, the neighborhood yard sale (see bike above, walks around the neighborhood, a couple of trips to the neighborhood city pool, dinners on the porch, planting of flowers and playing in the backyard. We've also had some rain and one really impressive storm. (We are fortunate to live at a higher elevation, but some residents of our area were really hit hard and lost significant property - our thoughts are with them.)
We've spent time with the grandparents and we're trying to navigate life with two kids. A life where one of these kids wants to nurse often and the other can be sweet as pie one minute & defiantly saying "no" the next. I think we're doing well, but I'm trying to examine our house, our habits and our lifestyle to find anything that could make things easier when I return to work. I'm trying to clean up and clean out (see hint of overwhelmed by housework above), and my mom is going to come for a week to take care of Todd whenever he isn't nursing so that I can get as much done as possible. I've also been stealing moments here and there to put his room together, since his furniture finally came during the past two weeks. The room needs some plaster patching and could use some paint, but its mostly occupiable now...by both of us.
The current balancing act also invoves trying to get enough sleep to function well, to get out to enjoy the nice weather, to have a few more playdates and to have fun with Heather when she's home. Oh, and one day this week I'm going to keep her home and test out a full day alone with two kids. I'm assuming I'm not going to get any chores done that day. ;-)
Yesterday (I think) we had a nice Father's Day. The four of us took the Father's Day brunch cruise on the Gateway Clipper. For those of you not in Pittsburgh, the ship cruises the three rivers of Pittsburgh in and around the area where they meet. It's a great view of downtown, the stadiums, the bridges and of Pittsburgh in general. Heather had been asking to take a boat ride, and the weather was great. She wasn't thrilled about posing for pictures, but overall she seemed to like it. Todd was less obvious in his feelings about the trip. Just like our zoo visits, he spent the whole time sleeping or nursing, so it is hard to judge his thoughts.
Todd's beginning to stir, so just a few short words on the knit/crochet front and I'm out of here. First, Todd's blanket is done - yay! I blocked and washed it this weekend, so now it just needs a photo shoot. It's done just in time for the hot weather so he can still be swaddled without sweltering in a blanket. Second, I've started a baby gift for a friend. I've gotten the blanket done and this gift started by finding time when I can let Todd sleep on my chest while I work. Add this in to the balance equation.
Other than that, my three sweaters in progress are calling to me. I can try Samus on my post-partum body to measure for the zipper. The pieces of Bristow are ready to be blocked so it can be sewn together. And I want to put the alpaca vest on waste yarn so I can try it on and make sure my gauge and measurements will actually fit me. There are also lots of squares for Babette that need to have their ends woven in before I do more crocheting. Hopefully my tension hasn't changed too much since I started the think last year.
ETA: Oh, and I've watched the second season of Family Ties on DVD and I'm on the 3rd season of The West Wing (I have the 1st season and borrowed the rest from my parents. It's interesting to watch it back from the beginning). I'm watching whenever Todd nurses and I'm feeling less lazy & gluttonous when I don't just have random TV shows on in the background all day long...
Monday, June 01, 2009
10 years...
...ago today was my first day at my job.
Even though I'm not in the office today to celebrate, I'm reminded of how lucky I am to have found a firm right out of school that was such a good match to my abilities and interests. In talking with other people in my field, I feel grateful to have found a place that is supportive of my as a mom and a set designer and a person, as well as being a place that has supported my growth as an architect.
I'm thrilled that I've gotten to work on theaters and I never realized the satisfaction I would get from working in higher education. We all have our ups and downs, and days that we just want to stay in bed, but at this point in my life I have trouble imagining a job I would enjoy more. (Especially since no one is going to pay me to go to work and knit what I want!)
Even though I'm not in the office today to celebrate, I'm reminded of how lucky I am to have found a firm right out of school that was such a good match to my abilities and interests. In talking with other people in my field, I feel grateful to have found a place that is supportive of my as a mom and a set designer and a person, as well as being a place that has supported my growth as an architect.
I'm thrilled that I've gotten to work on theaters and I never realized the satisfaction I would get from working in higher education. We all have our ups and downs, and days that we just want to stay in bed, but at this point in my life I have trouble imagining a job I would enjoy more. (Especially since no one is going to pay me to go to work and knit what I want!)
Monday, May 18, 2009
A few Observations
Ignorance is Bliss
The other day I read about a baby born at 35 weeks, 1 day who was 3 1/2 pounds and 15.5 inches at birth. Todd was born at 35 weeks, 5 days. I was worried enough about going into pre-term labor. I'm really happy that I didn't know how scary it could have been.
Timing is Everything
Last night I was reading about a developmental spurt at 2 1/2 years old. It may or may not affect Heather's sleep, but one of the main emotional and cognitive developments is the ability to feel jealous. This will be about the same time that Todd turns 4 months old. *Awesome*
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I started this last week thinking I would add things as I think of them and post every few days. Ummm...apparently not. So here is a quick little update and maybe I'll get a few pictures posted this weekend.
Todd is acting less like a premie and more like a baby. He's still a pretty good sleeper, but he's having more awake time during the day and today he seems to need a little more encouragement to fall and stay asleep. I think we'll be seeing more of his personality emerge soon. Although I won't be surprised if the "laid back" impression that we've gotten so far sticks. He's been pretty pleasant today even though he's gone a few hours without a real nap.
We had a nice Memorial Day weekend as a family. There were a number of trips to the playground, a trip to Target & Supercuts, a trip to the zoo, a birthday party to attend, and Heather and I finished planting the flowers. Also, R and Heather went swimming and Todd & I went out to dinner with some of my friends. It was BUSY three days.
We've got another three day weekend coming up since daycare is closed on Friday, and I'm hoping that this one will be similarly fun but less busy. I could use a little time to catch up around the house while Heather is sleeping and Todd is being entertained by daddy. :-)
Heather is still doing well. She has her 'rough' moments, but they could just as easily be attributed to her age and development as they could to her new status as big sister. She's not always careful, but so far she's been kind and gentle to Todd, so I think we're doing well.
I might have both kids at bedtime by myself tonight for the first time, so fingers crossed that they are both cooperative...
Oh, and Todd is still regularly rolling to his side and to his tummy. He doesn't seem to believe me when I say that he shouldn't be doing that yet!
The other day I read about a baby born at 35 weeks, 1 day who was 3 1/2 pounds and 15.5 inches at birth. Todd was born at 35 weeks, 5 days. I was worried enough about going into pre-term labor. I'm really happy that I didn't know how scary it could have been.
Timing is Everything
Last night I was reading about a developmental spurt at 2 1/2 years old. It may or may not affect Heather's sleep, but one of the main emotional and cognitive developments is the ability to feel jealous. This will be about the same time that Todd turns 4 months old. *Awesome*
---------------------------------------
I started this last week thinking I would add things as I think of them and post every few days. Ummm...apparently not. So here is a quick little update and maybe I'll get a few pictures posted this weekend.
Todd is acting less like a premie and more like a baby. He's still a pretty good sleeper, but he's having more awake time during the day and today he seems to need a little more encouragement to fall and stay asleep. I think we'll be seeing more of his personality emerge soon. Although I won't be surprised if the "laid back" impression that we've gotten so far sticks. He's been pretty pleasant today even though he's gone a few hours without a real nap.
We had a nice Memorial Day weekend as a family. There were a number of trips to the playground, a trip to Target & Supercuts, a trip to the zoo, a birthday party to attend, and Heather and I finished planting the flowers. Also, R and Heather went swimming and Todd & I went out to dinner with some of my friends. It was BUSY three days.
We've got another three day weekend coming up since daycare is closed on Friday, and I'm hoping that this one will be similarly fun but less busy. I could use a little time to catch up around the house while Heather is sleeping and Todd is being entertained by daddy. :-)
Heather is still doing well. She has her 'rough' moments, but they could just as easily be attributed to her age and development as they could to her new status as big sister. She's not always careful, but so far she's been kind and gentle to Todd, so I think we're doing well.
I might have both kids at bedtime by myself tonight for the first time, so fingers crossed that they are both cooperative...
Oh, and Todd is still regularly rolling to his side and to his tummy. He doesn't seem to believe me when I say that he shouldn't be doing that yet!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Unexpected
A few short months ago, this was not how I expected to be celebrating Mother's Day in 2009.
Physically, I'm feeling almost totally back to normal (I accept that my body won't be totally "mine" again until Todd is done breastfeeding, but otherwise its pretty close to what it was last summer.) But emotionally and mentally, I'm a bit all over the place. I'm sleep deprived, so everything I'm feeling seems to be magnified about twenty times...
Thankful for my beautiful children.
Anxiously wanting to make sure that Todd eats enough but tired of waking him to eat.
Happy to be spending the weekend with my mom.
Mourning the loss of my grandmother a few weeks ago but not wanting to mourn on such a happy weekend.
Loving my time with Heather while she is learning and being so engaging.
Simultaneously missing Heather and Todd while they're napping, and later looking at the clock to calculate bedtime so I can rest myself.
Still in shock that I'm the mother of TWO children.
Incredibly impressed by all of the SAH moms who take care of a newborn and don't send their older kid(s) to daycare Monday through Friday - hats off to you!
I'm happy, healthy and very lucky. I can't really ask for more...except maybe for a little more sleep. ;-)
Happy Mother's Day!
Physically, I'm feeling almost totally back to normal (I accept that my body won't be totally "mine" again until Todd is done breastfeeding, but otherwise its pretty close to what it was last summer.) But emotionally and mentally, I'm a bit all over the place. I'm sleep deprived, so everything I'm feeling seems to be magnified about twenty times...
Thankful for my beautiful children.
Anxiously wanting to make sure that Todd eats enough but tired of waking him to eat.
Happy to be spending the weekend with my mom.
Mourning the loss of my grandmother a few weeks ago but not wanting to mourn on such a happy weekend.
Loving my time with Heather while she is learning and being so engaging.
Simultaneously missing Heather and Todd while they're napping, and later looking at the clock to calculate bedtime so I can rest myself.
Still in shock that I'm the mother of TWO children.
Incredibly impressed by all of the SAH moms who take care of a newborn and don't send their older kid(s) to daycare Monday through Friday - hats off to you!
I'm happy, healthy and very lucky. I can't really ask for more...except maybe for a little more sleep. ;-)
Happy Mother's Day!
Friday, May 08, 2009
Uh-oh
Can someone please inform my son that a 2 week old should NOT have the strength or coordination to roll himself from back to belly?!?!
This was just a one-time thing until he gets much bigger, right? But still...I think we're in trouble with this one!
This was just a one-time thing until he gets much bigger, right? But still...I think we're in trouble with this one!
Thursday, May 07, 2009
A little bragging...
...about Heather.
The girl loves her ABCDs. I don't think we've tested every letter, but she knows most of them. She definitely knows her H, Stewart's S, Todd's T, Nana's N, Bapa's B, Mommy's M, Daddy's D and Karla's K. She likes P and Z, too.
She also loves singing. She knows almost all of the songs that Daddy has on his iPod and others, too, that they sing in music class.
She's regularly saying 'thank you' and saying 'please' pretty often.
Heather loves her duplo blocks. She got another bin last weekend when she and daddy were running errands, and now we have enough blocks for all three of us to be building at the same time. :-)
She's doing a good job of being gentle with Todd, and she refers to him as 'her baby', 'baby brother' and occassionally 'Todd'.
Heather looks really big now, compared to Todd. She's still a peanut for her age, but to us she looks so much bigger than she did two weeks ago.
I'm sure there are more cute stories, but I need to decompress my brain so I can fall asleep after Todd's next feeding.
The girl loves her ABCDs. I don't think we've tested every letter, but she knows most of them. She definitely knows her H, Stewart's S, Todd's T, Nana's N, Bapa's B, Mommy's M, Daddy's D and Karla's K. She likes P and Z, too.
She also loves singing. She knows almost all of the songs that Daddy has on his iPod and others, too, that they sing in music class.
She's regularly saying 'thank you' and saying 'please' pretty often.
Heather loves her duplo blocks. She got another bin last weekend when she and daddy were running errands, and now we have enough blocks for all three of us to be building at the same time. :-)
She's doing a good job of being gentle with Todd, and she refers to him as 'her baby', 'baby brother' and occassionally 'Todd'.
Heather looks really big now, compared to Todd. She's still a peanut for her age, but to us she looks so much bigger than she did two weeks ago.
I'm sure there are more cute stories, but I need to decompress my brain so I can fall asleep after Todd's next feeding.
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