Just when I was beginning to worry that she might not be meeting all her milestone, s decided to pull them all out of her hat in basically the same week. She went from a cute smiling little lump who rolled from side to side to a crawling and cruising little dynamo. She loves this. She loves her independence. We have put down some alphabet mats on the floor and she just starts crawling away, gnawing at anything. Of course, she would not gnaw on the basket of teethers that we have purchased for that expressed purpose. She prefers the foam mat that she is lining the floor, the foam that is protecting her from the table corner, pieces of tissues that she finds on the floor. Yes, lots of fun.
This weekend we will begin the exercise of baby proofing. Video to come.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Sunday, July 15, 2007
s...for no special reason
here's a gratuitous shot. I just thought she looked so adorable here.
and another....
and another....
Chasing the sun
Today's weather was predicted to be stormy and windy. I was bummed and couldn't think of any rainy day activity to do at home. We woke to what seemed like a gorgeous day. We checked the hourly forecast and found that rain was scheduled for the mid-afternoon. That gave us at least 5 hours before a downpour. So we thought of taking the kids peach picking. We logged on to check on the hours of our favorite place, Lee Turkey Farms but found out that they don't open till 2:00 PM on a sunday (that'll be about the time the storm would have arrived. So I went quickly to see if there are any other pick-your-own-fruit farms around the area and found Alstede Farms in Chester, NJ. It was less than 50 miles away. So by our calculations, we could get there by 11:00, pick some fruit, see some animals and be home before 3:00 PM.
The peaches were good. They weren't huge like the ones at Lee Turkey but they were tasty. g got a kick out of picking things out for herself. The place is definitely more organized though. They had picnic tables with a nice tent for anyone wanting to do an impromptu picnic. They had a few horses and cows for the kids to feed and pet (you have to pay $1 for a bag of carrots for the horses though). All told everyone had fun. I took s on the backpack and she was taking it all in. I gave her some peach on her fruit strainer. She really liked that.
We were safely at home by 3:00 PM. Of course the thunderstorms never really did arrive. I saw a bit of rain tonight at around 9:00 PM. I am glad we soaked up the sun.
The peaches were good. They weren't huge like the ones at Lee Turkey but they were tasty. g got a kick out of picking things out for herself. The place is definitely more organized though. They had picnic tables with a nice tent for anyone wanting to do an impromptu picnic. They had a few horses and cows for the kids to feed and pet (you have to pay $1 for a bag of carrots for the horses though). All told everyone had fun. I took s on the backpack and she was taking it all in. I gave her some peach on her fruit strainer. She really liked that.
We were safely at home by 3:00 PM. Of course the thunderstorms never really did arrive. I saw a bit of rain tonight at around 9:00 PM. I am glad we soaked up the sun.
Monday, July 09, 2007
g is for....
this is how the dialogue went....
G - ok, g. what is the letter g for? (expecting the answer to be g is for her own name)
g - g is for kenny g (or something that sounds like it)
She picked up on the hilarity of this comment and decided to run with it.
At a later time, we spoke again...
G - g. What is the letter g for?
g - g is for kenny g
f - when did you see kenny g?
g - I saw him yestuhday.
f - really? Where did you see him?
g - in the basement.
G - what was kenny g doing in the basement?
g - he needed to go to hospital.
(after this, g must have felt that the conversation was going nowhere and promptly left the room.)
G - ok, g. what is the letter g for? (expecting the answer to be g is for her own name)
g - g is for kenny g (or something that sounds like it)
She picked up on the hilarity of this comment and decided to run with it.
At a later time, we spoke again...
G - g. What is the letter g for?
g - g is for kenny g
f - when did you see kenny g?
g - I saw him yestuhday.
f - really? Where did you see him?
g - in the basement.
G - what was kenny g doing in the basement?
g - he needed to go to hospital.
(after this, g must have felt that the conversation was going nowhere and promptly left the room.)
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Why are you so sad, Mama?
I love my little girls. It is hard to post this as s is screaming at the top of her lungs. We are now at month 3 of sleep training and although we have had moderate success here and there, sleep is still a challenge. s is such an easy baby in every other respect. She is extremely social, loves to smile, babbles and does all the cute baby stuff that make her quite adorable until it is time for sleep.
The difficulty might be inconsistency. Yiyi (the nanny) rocks her to sleep before setting her down in bed. G would also rock her to sleep. I would sometimes rock her to sleep but I have been trying to let her put herself to sleep. It has worked so there has been no reason to change. Well, it would work one week and not the next. Then again for a few days and then we would have crying for another few days.
I am out of ideas. I have even considered putting her in daycare so that she would definitely get used to sleeping on her own and sleeping through distractions. That might be where g finally learned to just sleep. It seems so desperate but I am desperate. g looked over to me while her sister was crying (again!) and asked, "why are you so sad, Mama?" It's hard to explain to a 2 1/2 year old. I guess I didn't have to because she later added that, "s cry so much."
Through all of this, I thought about the general impression among parents who chose not to cry it out that this is the easy way out. I have heard this many times from many people. True, I don't have to soothe her 8 times a night anymore like I used to before we started sleep training. After crying, she typically sleeps 3-6 hours. That's a decent stretch of time. I don't have to explain how difficult it is to hear your own child cry but I guess the part that's hard for me is NOT doing something about it. It is trying to believe that I am doing the right thing by allowing her to soothe herself to sleep and yet being racked with guilt and doubt. Am I doing the right thing? Am I scarring her psychologically for life? I try reason. She is an infant. She needs her sleep and plenty of it.
In the end it is one of those hot button issue wherein parents would just have to choose a side and live with it. There is really neither a right or a wrong, only what works for the child that one has. How does a mom fight the sadness, a sadness so plain that a toddler can feel it?
The difficulty might be inconsistency. Yiyi (the nanny) rocks her to sleep before setting her down in bed. G would also rock her to sleep. I would sometimes rock her to sleep but I have been trying to let her put herself to sleep. It has worked so there has been no reason to change. Well, it would work one week and not the next. Then again for a few days and then we would have crying for another few days.
I am out of ideas. I have even considered putting her in daycare so that she would definitely get used to sleeping on her own and sleeping through distractions. That might be where g finally learned to just sleep. It seems so desperate but I am desperate. g looked over to me while her sister was crying (again!) and asked, "why are you so sad, Mama?" It's hard to explain to a 2 1/2 year old. I guess I didn't have to because she later added that, "s cry so much."
Through all of this, I thought about the general impression among parents who chose not to cry it out that this is the easy way out. I have heard this many times from many people. True, I don't have to soothe her 8 times a night anymore like I used to before we started sleep training. After crying, she typically sleeps 3-6 hours. That's a decent stretch of time. I don't have to explain how difficult it is to hear your own child cry but I guess the part that's hard for me is NOT doing something about it. It is trying to believe that I am doing the right thing by allowing her to soothe herself to sleep and yet being racked with guilt and doubt. Am I doing the right thing? Am I scarring her psychologically for life? I try reason. She is an infant. She needs her sleep and plenty of it.
In the end it is one of those hot button issue wherein parents would just have to choose a side and live with it. There is really neither a right or a wrong, only what works for the child that one has. How does a mom fight the sadness, a sadness so plain that a toddler can feel it?
Friday, June 15, 2007
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Water baby
Just when I was about to discount g as a ‘fraidy cat, she proves to me that there is no predicting what she would do.
In Philly, we decided to take a hotel with a pool or at least I did. I have had a terrible trauma when I was child around pools that had made me perpetually afraid of going into deep water. So I wanted her to be comfortable around being in the water. So when the opportunity is there, I take her to the pool. I bought her a floatation device (which is really just a personal tire with shoulder straps). She had started using this last summer but she had only used it once. It didn’t seem to really work back then because it seems like she couldn’t balance herself well enough to keep her face out of water. She loved the water. She always had.
So we went to the pool and carefully lowered her into the water. We were showing her how to maneuver herself around the water with G holding on to her the whole time. I wanted to make sure that she didn’t accidentally dunk her face into the water. I was afraid that this would freak her and she would never want to go near it again. Well, within minutes, she had started to insist that G let go of her so that she can kick around on her own.
By the time we left the pool, she was cruising around on her own. The next day I tended to s in the hotel room while G and g went down to the pool. G reported that g had figured out how to lay down in the water. Very Cool.
Memorial Day weekend part 2 - Philly!!!
A little text intensive ...sorry.
Our major stop in Philly was the Philadelphia Zoo. We had read some wildly contradicting reviews online so we decided to try it out. Most people said that it was great while there were others who felt that the animals were depressed and that it was too much like a traditional “zoo”. Well, I won’t pretend to diagnose animal depression and didn’t know that there was a new movement in zoos. So I decided to go with an open mind. One major point against this zoo was that it was really EXPENSIVE. The entry fee was almost $18 and kids over 2 had to pay about $14. Online we had read about a couple of cool rides like the Zooballoon which is essentially a hot air balloon that takes passengers up for a nice vantage point of Philly and the zoo. There was also a boat ride. However we found out that almost everything was an additional charge. The Zooballoon was another $10. Although cool, we decided against going. Aside from the expense, I think it was a good zoo. It had lot of big cats which are always fun to see. Some animals that are not very common in other zoos (like snow leopards, panthers, etc) were there. However I do have to say that some of the animals did appear lethargic. NOW that could very well be because it was 90 degrees and sunny. I did feel bad for the polar bear as he lay baking in the sun. I seem to feel like he should be in a more temperature controlled environment. It also seemed like some of the environments are really small. It does make for a really interesting perspective. The panther truly was just on the other side of the plexi glass. I did get an amazing insight as to the scale of such an animal. Overall it was fun although I would have opted for a cooler day to go.
Next day we were off to the Museum of Natural History. The main attraction was the butterfly exhibit. I have to say though that there was little else other than that. They had a requisite stuffed animals (not the cute and cuddly kind) and a dinosaur exhibit. If you have been to the Natural History Museum in NYC, then this would have been a slight disappointment. We had bought a ticket to the butterfly museum specifically because we had thought g would enjoy it. She disabused us of that notion within seconds of entering. I guess she had been much younger the last time we had taken her to the butterfly exhibit but the butterflies fluttering around her truly FREAKED her out. She screamed and would not stop. So we ended up hurriedly exiting which disappointed G a little. So we decided to take her to the kid’s area upstairs where she played in a sandbox. I was not aware that g had developed a huge aversion to sand in her shoes. While playing, she unknowingly stepped into the sandbox. Now if I didn’t have s strapped to me and I was purposefully keeping quiet so that s could continue napping, I would have either cracked up laughing or grabbed a camera. I know it is horrible that a mom would laugh at her daughter’s “suffering” but it was a moment that I wish I could have on video. When g realized it was sand that she had stepped on, she froze and immediately her face contorted as if in pain. She started crying and not wanting to take a step in any direction. So her dad saved her. Oddly she is fine with playing with sand just not stepping on it.
At the end of her play, we decided to try the butterfly exhibit one more time. This time I held her in my arms. I tried to show her that it was alright. She didn’t freak out but she obviously wasn’t thrilled to be there.
This is such new territory for me. I have no idea where all this fear of butterfly and anxiety around sand in her toes came from. She had seen butterflies before and had been to the beach. I am not quite sure how to deal with. What would you do?
Our major stop in Philly was the Philadelphia Zoo. We had read some wildly contradicting reviews online so we decided to try it out. Most people said that it was great while there were others who felt that the animals were depressed and that it was too much like a traditional “zoo”. Well, I won’t pretend to diagnose animal depression and didn’t know that there was a new movement in zoos. So I decided to go with an open mind. One major point against this zoo was that it was really EXPENSIVE. The entry fee was almost $18 and kids over 2 had to pay about $14. Online we had read about a couple of cool rides like the Zooballoon which is essentially a hot air balloon that takes passengers up for a nice vantage point of Philly and the zoo. There was also a boat ride. However we found out that almost everything was an additional charge. The Zooballoon was another $10. Although cool, we decided against going. Aside from the expense, I think it was a good zoo. It had lot of big cats which are always fun to see. Some animals that are not very common in other zoos (like snow leopards, panthers, etc) were there. However I do have to say that some of the animals did appear lethargic. NOW that could very well be because it was 90 degrees and sunny. I did feel bad for the polar bear as he lay baking in the sun. I seem to feel like he should be in a more temperature controlled environment. It also seemed like some of the environments are really small. It does make for a really interesting perspective. The panther truly was just on the other side of the plexi glass. I did get an amazing insight as to the scale of such an animal. Overall it was fun although I would have opted for a cooler day to go.
Next day we were off to the Museum of Natural History. The main attraction was the butterfly exhibit. I have to say though that there was little else other than that. They had a requisite stuffed animals (not the cute and cuddly kind) and a dinosaur exhibit. If you have been to the Natural History Museum in NYC, then this would have been a slight disappointment. We had bought a ticket to the butterfly museum specifically because we had thought g would enjoy it. She disabused us of that notion within seconds of entering. I guess she had been much younger the last time we had taken her to the butterfly exhibit but the butterflies fluttering around her truly FREAKED her out. She screamed and would not stop. So we ended up hurriedly exiting which disappointed G a little. So we decided to take her to the kid’s area upstairs where she played in a sandbox. I was not aware that g had developed a huge aversion to sand in her shoes. While playing, she unknowingly stepped into the sandbox. Now if I didn’t have s strapped to me and I was purposefully keeping quiet so that s could continue napping, I would have either cracked up laughing or grabbed a camera. I know it is horrible that a mom would laugh at her daughter’s “suffering” but it was a moment that I wish I could have on video. When g realized it was sand that she had stepped on, she froze and immediately her face contorted as if in pain. She started crying and not wanting to take a step in any direction. So her dad saved her. Oddly she is fine with playing with sand just not stepping on it.
At the end of her play, we decided to try the butterfly exhibit one more time. This time I held her in my arms. I tried to show her that it was alright. She didn’t freak out but she obviously wasn’t thrilled to be there.
This is such new territory for me. I have no idea where all this fear of butterfly and anxiety around sand in her toes came from. She had seen butterflies before and had been to the beach. I am not quite sure how to deal with. What would you do?
Memorial Day weekend part 1 - ys & g
updates have been notably lacking in the last weeks. i've been busy but hopefully it'll let up soon.
TheFamilyC had scheduled an impromptu trip to Philly for Memorial Day weekend. It was a necessary trip because I think everyone is a little fried recently. We went down first to visited E&M. They were having a housewarming and gathered a lot of the kids. It was monumental because that was the first time I have ever seen g really initiate play with another kid. As usual when ys arrived, g was really shy and wouldn’t go near him. However after an hour or so, something clicked. One of them had gotten the idea to play with the hammock in the backyard and they did just that. Waving the hammock like a play parachute, they laughed and played. They switched from one hammock to another, going over and under. I have taken some pictures and will post in a short while. It was a joy to watch until something “funny” happened. Ys “touched” g’s behind. It was definitely curiosity but I just found it hilarious that of all the things that he was curious about.
TheFamilyC had scheduled an impromptu trip to Philly for Memorial Day weekend. It was a necessary trip because I think everyone is a little fried recently. We went down first to visited E&M. They were having a housewarming and gathered a lot of the kids. It was monumental because that was the first time I have ever seen g really initiate play with another kid. As usual when ys arrived, g was really shy and wouldn’t go near him. However after an hour or so, something clicked. One of them had gotten the idea to play with the hammock in the backyard and they did just that. Waving the hammock like a play parachute, they laughed and played. They switched from one hammock to another, going over and under. I have taken some pictures and will post in a short while. It was a joy to watch until something “funny” happened. Ys “touched” g’s behind. It was definitely curiosity but I just found it hilarious that of all the things that he was curious about.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
To fear or not to fear
Over the weekend gathered around the table during the playdate, we got to talking about the death of K's cousin's little boy. An autopsy had determined that there was some fluid in the lung and pneumonia, but it was unclear what caused it all. I thought about little E that I spoke about a while back. I found pictures of her recently when I was organizing g's photos. Those pictures were taken in May 2 years ago.
It does not help that g has been nursing a cold for a week. It seems innocuous enough. Except for a constant runny nose, it doesn't seem to have slowed her down till today. Today she received Auntie K's package (thanks, Auntie K) and after an initial burst of activity and curiosity. She settled onto the Wiggles video and has been catatonic after that. She usually is while watching a video but even the hour after that. So I watched and wondered. I took her temperature, put my ear to her chest. I wondered.
It must have been a lot like this in E's house that night when they gently laid her down in bed. She was a little under the weather but nothing that would have caused alarm. They probably kissed her goodnight and tucked her in.
I know that there are too many things in life that are beyond my control, beyond my ability to stop. Though the tug to worry about these things are strong because it is just in my nature to worry. I must resist. It takes away from the moment of living when my preoccupation is in dying.
So I kissed her more tonight, held her just a little longer, sang her an extra song. (I drew the line on two stories though.) The length of life will never be known but the love in her life will always be.
It does not help that g has been nursing a cold for a week. It seems innocuous enough. Except for a constant runny nose, it doesn't seem to have slowed her down till today. Today she received Auntie K's package (thanks, Auntie K) and after an initial burst of activity and curiosity. She settled onto the Wiggles video and has been catatonic after that. She usually is while watching a video but even the hour after that. So I watched and wondered. I took her temperature, put my ear to her chest. I wondered.
It must have been a lot like this in E's house that night when they gently laid her down in bed. She was a little under the weather but nothing that would have caused alarm. They probably kissed her goodnight and tucked her in.
I know that there are too many things in life that are beyond my control, beyond my ability to stop. Though the tug to worry about these things are strong because it is just in my nature to worry. I must resist. It takes away from the moment of living when my preoccupation is in dying.
So I kissed her more tonight, held her just a little longer, sang her an extra song. (I drew the line on two stories though.) The length of life will never be known but the love in her life will always be.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Solid
We started s on solids this weekend, a few days shy of her 6 month mark. She is actually 6 months today (Happy Birthday, s!). She is loving the rice cereal which I had given her with much hesitation. g didn't particularly like rice cereal. We switched to real mush food within a day or 2 and threw out the rest of the box. I was not in the mood to spend money no matter how little on something that will be thrown away. Proving once again how different she is from her sister, s downed the rice cereal and on the second day, cried demanding for more.
We went to a playdate this past weekend and saw JW's baby girl. s was really only that age 4 months ago and yet it seems like it has been ages ago. I look at my digital frame and in my photo selection is one of her during a christmas party. She was only 2 months then. She looked like a shrimp. She is such a chunky monkey now.
We went to a playdate this past weekend and saw JW's baby girl. s was really only that age 4 months ago and yet it seems like it has been ages ago. I look at my digital frame and in my photo selection is one of her during a christmas party. She was only 2 months then. She looked like a shrimp. She is such a chunky monkey now.
Monday, April 30, 2007
the sisters
I love this video despite that g is singing the purple dinosaur song. I loved the way she looked at s.
Cherry Blossoms 2007
Compared to last year, our experience of Cherry Blossoms is a little below par. Last year, we went to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. We went a little late in the season and still were very impressed. This year, we decided to go to Branch Brook Park in Newark for a change of pace. It had a good number of cherry blossom trees and I have read online reviews to say that it was a beautiful park.
Well, it was a beautiful park. We were one week late for the Festival but as far as blooms go, it was truly sad. Most have fallen off the tree but we didn't even see the cool carpet of pink petals. We didn't see much at all. We took a short walk but it was getting late and someone's sleep time was coming up. It would be hard for me to recommend this park but it seems interesting. It was large and well-maintained. I might return but with so many other gorgeous parks around, it is not very likely.
A picture of the daddy and his little girl.
Well, it was a beautiful park. We were one week late for the Festival but as far as blooms go, it was truly sad. Most have fallen off the tree but we didn't even see the cool carpet of pink petals. We didn't see much at all. We took a short walk but it was getting late and someone's sleep time was coming up. It would be hard for me to recommend this park but it seems interesting. It was large and well-maintained. I might return but with so many other gorgeous parks around, it is not very likely.
A picture of the daddy and his little girl.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
WWTTON Awardee
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What Will They Think Of Next? Really and for $35.
I actually think that this is just freaky. Just plain scary but it's out there. Maybe I am missing the point, but check it out and let me know.
Monday, April 23, 2007
g in her new hat
We went to the zoo this weekend to celebrate some of this beautiful summer weather. It was nice to visit the Prospect Park zoo again but it was a much better experience the last time. I guess since it was Earth Day, there were a lot more people there. The heat INSIDE the buildings didn't help things any either. I think the zoo decided to turn off the air conditioning for Earth Day also, which just made me want to highttail it out of the indoors as quickly as possible.
This time around we were prepared for the lack of food service by having a small picnic and meeting up with some other mommy and daddy friends. (NOTE: It was great to see everyone again and all the little ones. Hope to see everyone again soon!!!)
g had a wonderful time checking out all the animals. s was just happy to have caught a few zzz's in G's arms.
All in all, it was good experience. We were looking forward to checking out cherry blossoms at the Botanical Garden next door but it was getting late and s's bedtime was looming. So we left. However thefamilyM told us that the blossoms have not bloomed. So there might still be time in the next weeks for a visits. (Thanks, KM for the tip.)
Friday, April 20, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
A General update
The last few days have been a blur. Between work and home, there have been more than a few things to keep a mommy nutty and that's how I have managed to stay without fail. Gladly I have been given a day of reprieve in the form of a girl's night out which turned out to be fabulous (of course). I love my friends.
What else is going on with the FamilyC?
g has been expanding on her multilingual vocabulary. She has become amazingly adept at addressing the right people with the right set of words. I have begun to slowly start her "preschool" homeschool "program". Because she was born when she was, she would not have qualified for any public school in our area till next year. We could still get her into a school if we had been willing to shell out $$$ for it...NOT. So I had decided on teaching her myself. Someday soon I have to get myself around writing a curiculum for her, but for now, I have picked up some preschool books and go through them with her. She has the attention span of a flea but she gets most of it. She knows most of her letters and numbers. She knows her shapes and colors really well. She is really good with her scissors, so now we are working on precision. She has been using a pencil for a long time but I am trying to have her trace lines. To supplement all this edumacation, she also goes to the little gym with G once a week. During the summer, we'll try to take her to the pool once a week. Now I just have to figure out a way for her to get over her shyness.
s has been sleeping better (-relative term). She hasn't rolled over again since her second month. She loves both her jumperoo and exersaucer. She still HATES being on her tummy. Her intake has been growing and so has her cheeks. Next on the agenda is solids and an attempt to get her to crawl. Wish us luck.
What else is going on with the FamilyC?
g has been expanding on her multilingual vocabulary. She has become amazingly adept at addressing the right people with the right set of words. I have begun to slowly start her "preschool" homeschool "program". Because she was born when she was, she would not have qualified for any public school in our area till next year. We could still get her into a school if we had been willing to shell out $$$ for it...NOT. So I had decided on teaching her myself. Someday soon I have to get myself around writing a curiculum for her, but for now, I have picked up some preschool books and go through them with her. She has the attention span of a flea but she gets most of it. She knows most of her letters and numbers. She knows her shapes and colors really well. She is really good with her scissors, so now we are working on precision. She has been using a pencil for a long time but I am trying to have her trace lines. To supplement all this edumacation, she also goes to the little gym with G once a week. During the summer, we'll try to take her to the pool once a week. Now I just have to figure out a way for her to get over her shyness.
s has been sleeping better (-relative term). She hasn't rolled over again since her second month. She loves both her jumperoo and exersaucer. She still HATES being on her tummy. Her intake has been growing and so has her cheeks. Next on the agenda is solids and an attempt to get her to crawl. Wish us luck.
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