Another Milestone

At 19.5 months and with a little gentle encouragement from me, Ella has nearly weaned. She hasn't asked to nurse during the night for a week (and she did still wake up), and tonight was the first time she has fallen asleep at bedtime without nursing. She asked a couple of times, but settled for a sip of milk instead. I expect her to continue asking for a while, but I think within two weeks time she will be fully weaned.

I have a mixture of emotions about it. Mostly I'm proud - proud that we nursed this long and proud that the transistion from nursing to sleep to cuddling to sleep has gone smoothly over all. There have been some rough nights when we had to back up a step, but she has handled it amazingly well. That is more a testament to her readiness than anything I did through the process. I also have a little anxiety because nursing fixed so many things, but when I look back over the last few months I can see we have already started finding alternatives when she doesn't feel good or just needs some one-on-one time. There's a little bit of sadness at the fact that we started weaning when she was finally able to use a word to ask to nurse. There's a little worry that she's no longer receiving my antibodies, and thus extra support for her immune system. And finally, there's satisfaction.

I'm so glad I continued nursing her past a year. Nursing a newborn is intense - intensely emotional, intensely time-consuming, intensely confusing, intensely satisfying, and intensely empowering. But, nursing an older baby into toddlerhood is just fun.

If there is one thing I'm struggling with about this transition to a new phase of our relationship, it's my identity. That sounds crazy, I know, but the first thing I identify with about being a parent is "nursing mother". Now, when that thought pops into my head, I have to remind myself, "Oh yeah, I'm not really anymore." It's a lot like my small identity crisis when I weaned from pumping for her when she started drinking cow's milk. I'll move past it. Weaning doesn't mean she needs me any less; it just means she needs me differently. We are at the start of the next phase of our relationship.

Farewell sweet nursling, hello beautiful, little girl.

Bye Bye January

January was a horrible month for us, so I am happy to see it gone. Ella was sick and working on three new teeth that still aren't in yet, I was sick, and work was ridiculously overwhelming for me and Dave both. We are hoping February will be better. Two days in, and we seem to be on track.

This is the first time in two months that I've had access to my blog from work, so I thought I'd do a quick update while I stuff chicken tacos down my throat and think about something besides the thousand work things swimming in my head.

Ella's vocabulary continues to expand, and now she can finally tell me when things are wrong, such as "teeth hurt" or "eat". It's wonderful. Her memory and ability to understand things still amaze me. She really doesn't forget anything. She's becoming more and more independent, which means she wants to help with things around the house. She takes her laundry to the basket, cleans up her spills with a dishtowel, throws away any trash she makes or finds, and helps load/unload the dishwasher. She is starting to use the potty now, too. Last week, by her choice, she started going bottom-naked around the house so that she can easily use her potty, and she's doing really well with it. She now consistently asks to get out of the tub at night to potty, and even when we are out of the house, she asks to potty before she will go in her diaper. I'm very excited about this development.

Her hair is finally long enough to put it in pig tails and she really doesn't look babyish at all anymore - except maybe when she's sleeping. She's become a little girl right before my eyes. I'm loving every minute of watching her do or say something new every day.

New Year, New Pictures, New Update

EGR's second Christmas was fun-filled and chaotic. I also think it was a bit overwhelming for her at times. She did really well resisting the urge to open the presents up until a few days before Christmas, so once it was actually time, she was fully in the game. We spent Christmas day at our house for the first time since Dave and I got married, and it was wonderful. I really enjoyed taking it easy at home. The pictures above are from Christmas morning.

As life usually happens, the week I returned to work after my vacation is also the week she decided to cut her next tooth. This one happens to be a 2-year molar. I was happy to have it confirmed at her 18-month check up so I could be sure it wasn't her ears causing her not to sleep at night. This time at the doctor's office, she did wonderfully. She sat quietly in my lap and let him check her out. She was mad about the shot, but it was the last one until she turns 4 (Praise God!). The separation anxiety phase she was in leading up to Christmas seems to be nearly over now, and she's back to being her normal, well-adjusted self. This makes me happy because it gives me a much needed break, and because I love to watch her play contentedly by herself for hours at a time. She lives in such a fun little world. We had a great vacation together over Christmas.

Right now her favorite things are taking care of her babies, coloring, having tea, and walking her stuffed dog. She got 5 new babies for Christmas and she spends her time changing them, feeding them, sucking out their noses, taking their temperatures, and helping them play. The babies frequently have tea and color with her. She had her first friend over the other night during our Sunday School After-Christmas party, and since then we have talked repeatedly about all the things her friend played with while she was here. She really enjoyed having company her age, and I was very impressed with how she handled another child in her house, playing with her things.

Her vocabulary continues to expand on a daily basis and we are now in the stage of watching what we say around her because she has become a little parrot. She's starting to consistenly use 2 word sentences, and she's doing a much better job of using her words rather than grunting or whining. I still give plenty of reminders to use words, especially when she's tired, but she's really doing a great job and it is so helpful when she can tell me "eat!" or "hurt" or "nap" instead of me just trying to figure it out. A random, amazing, and possible bizarre coincidence happened yesterday when she was holding a crayon in each hand. She said, "Color." and I said, "Yes, you have colors." She said, "Two." It was the first time I've seen her count in any form or fashion, regardless of the fact that we count everything, all the time. I have to think it wasn't a coincidence, but my immediate thought after the conversation was, "How early DO they learn to count?" I guess it doesn't matter; she'll do it when she does, just like everything else.

Since my recent track record for updating this blog isn't very good, I'll catch up by saying Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Roll Tide Roll! Maybe I'll get around to writing again before the month is over.

No! Nonononono!

We have officially entered the world of NO! How does this just happen without warning? It's not as if she hears the word all the time. We try to limit the use of it for things that really matter, like dangerous or completely unacceptable behavior (read: hitting the dog, etc) but here we are in No-ville. Which coincidentally, is just down the road from Mine-town - a place we've also been frequenting lately. Oh well, at least it's the dog that catches most of her grief. She just can't do anything right. This morning she was pre-emptively fussing at Georgia, wagging her finger and telling her "No! Nonono!" lest the silly beast think she might get a bite of MY breakfast, which EGR graciously shares with me. She can also be heard telling her to sit and move, and Heaven help us all if the poor dog acts like she might eat the Goldfish crackers she spills on the floor. It's a full contact scramble between the two of them to recover and eat as many as possible before the other one gets them. The credit goes to Georgia for being an amazingly gentle and patient dog.

Ella's vocabulary has exploded recently. She wakes up in the morning labeling the things in her room ("trash" "baby" "shoes" "Pooh" "dog") and continues labeling all day long. She also repeats things back to us now, so she is trying new words all the time. I think "trash" is her favorite. She looks for trash cans to point out to me, and she creates trash so she can put it in the can. She has taken ownership of the chore of putting dirty diapers in the big can outside - going so far as to wear the tied-up grocery sack, diaper inside, on her arm like a purse. She also likes to put her laundry in her hamper, though I think there may be some confusion about it being "trash".

I fully indoctrinated her into the joys of Christmas shopping Monday while I was on vacation. She rode in the pouch on the front of me all over the Galleria, so she had a front-row seat for all the picking and purchasing, even helped by handing the debit card to the cashier. I made my annual stop into Bath and Body Works, and she immediately recognized all the tubes and bottles. She was insistent on having some lotion, so we stopped by a tester tube on the way out the door. I squirted some onto her upturned hand and watched as she grinned with sheer glee and rubbed that lotion all over her hands. It warms my heart to know I've passed on my love of good hand cream. We shopped and shopped, and by the time we were leaving the mall she was yelling at me to "Pay! Pay!" I had to explain to her that we didn't actually buy anything at Sears, so we didn't have to pay before we left.

We had one blurry week when time stood still while she was sick with a residual ear infection (left from the first one she had in October) and virus that caused her mouth to break out in sores. For two days she had nothing but warm green tea because that was all she could drink without crying. She barely even nursed because it hurt too bad. Talk about a fish out of water, that was me trying to figure out how to comfort her without my secret weapon. She is fully recovered now, and officially got the all-clear on her ears so hopefully we will be free of antibiotics for a while. Getting them into her is feat in itself, and I can say that sitting on and wrestling a toddler into a strangle-hold while squirting medicine down her throat makes me feel less than dignified. Should we really both be breathless and panting after the ordeal? I think I have an easier time poking a pill down my spastic cat's mouth.

Now that she is well and her sleep is back on track, she is generally waking once in the night and has taken to getting out of the bed and going to the kitchen all by her big self to get her milk cup. Generally, I intercept her along the way to assist with opening the fridge, which she can't do yet, but she's getting quieter and quieter about the operation. Last night, I don't even know why I woke up because she was so quiet. Once she has her cup, we pile back into her bed and I stay with her until she falls asleep. She might nurse for a minute, or she might not; sometimes she sings to herself "a-bye Baby", sometimes she chats for a minute, sometimes her eyes roll back in her head like she was never awake, and last night she climbed right on top of me and flopped down with her face in my neck. We definitely seem to be in a transistion that is ultimately resulting in more, easier sleep for both of us, even if it is way inconvenient to go to the kitchen for the milk cup and then make sure it gets back in the fridge. Nursing all this time has spoiled me in that respect and I don't regret a minute of it, but I think we are nearing the end of that phase of our relationship. I think she may nurse for a few more months, and the bed time session will be the last to go but I can see that other things are becoming more important to her, like her bedtime stories and her milk cup in the middle of the night. It makes me very proud to see her growing up this way, even if it does mean she's not a baby anymore.

I Wear My Sunglasses at Night

I think Aunt Becca is EGR’s favorite aunt because she lets her play in her purse. It is one of Ella’s favorite past times. She has good stuff in there. Lipsticks, receipts, credit cards, body spray, and sunglasses. Aunt Becca came to Grandpop’s house Saturday night to see the little Sprout, and this time instead of just emptying and sorting the contents of the purse, EG actually put it to good use. She grabbed the sunglasses first and put them right on the top of her head like she’s been doing it all her (long) life. Then she found the lipstick and pretended to put it on her lips. She pulled out the wallet and found the receipts so she could balance the checkbook. Then she decided it was too bright in Grandpop’s house, so she put those glasses on her face. Of course, the paparazzi was there to capture all of it on film.

We have most definitely entered the world of make believe. There are times when I watch her play and I know that she has created an entire little world around herself. It goes beyond pretending to feed the babies and stuffed animals. She now puts on makeup, gets herself ready with her purses and hat, loads her car and gets in it. She will run back and forth from the cabinet, “filling” one cup from various other cups to create a concoction only she can explain. Sometimes she pretends to throw things away – making trips back and forth to the garbage can holding invisible bits of trash. She also fills plates and bowls in this same manner. Dave tried giving her actual trash to throw away, but she ignored it in favor of her game. I love to watch her play this way and try to figure out what she is thinking.

She recently developed a love for coloring, probably due to the Sunday school lessons she’s been participating in. (Can I get a Hallelujah! about the fact that she’s stayed in Sunday school and Wednesday night Bible study for two weeks in a row without crying?) I set her up in her high chair with some paper and crayons the other night while I sat at the table and wrote thank you notes. She colored all over that paper, then put her crayons back in the box when she was finished (this is another topic entirely). We stuck her picture on the fridge and put the crayons away in the junk drawer. The next night, she scurried into the kitchen when we got home, pulled that picture off the fridge and went to the junk drawer for the crayons. Now we have two pictures on the fridge. I like this new interest; it’s creative and it keeps her busy, though she does get distressed when the crayons don’t go back in the box easily. The walls of my house will soon be papered with her artwork.

The child has developed a rather disturbing 16 month-old behavior. She picks up and straightens things. How will I be able to maintain a modicum of general disarray if both my husband and my child need every thing to have a place and be in its place? I guess I’ll rest easy in the fact that this new habit doesn’t seem to apply to her toys except in special circumstances. They are usually still strewn from one end of the house to the other. Seriously though, she made me do a double take when I saw her put her toys back in the hat box they live in, put the lid on it, and put it back on the stack where it stays at Grandma’s house so we could go home the other night. All with absolutely no prompting from anyone. When I saw her move the dog’s food bowl three feet from where it was to where it was supposed to be in a completely absent-minded gesture, I groaned inside. Then she followed her Da into the bathroom so she could straighten the rug he kicked up, and I later watched her pick up the couch pillows from the floor and put them back on the couch. All of these were sort of casual, absent-minded things she did on her way to whatever she was planning to do. Weird. Yes, she sees me do these things in the same absent-minded manner, but it took years of training and self-discipline to make me that way, and Dave will tell you that I still love a pile of clutter. He told me the other night that I will be in trouble when she starts cleaning up after me and I can’t find a thing. He’s absolutely right. Maybe she’ll at least put my things away instead in the middle of the bed where I’ll be forced to deal with the pile like he does.

Finally, though I believe it is a double-edged sword, I’ve been trying to teach her to dress herself. Mostly I just dress her while she stands or sits instead of on the changing table where she is contained. It makes the chore more interesting when I have to follow her around with her clothing, or trap her in my legs, but at least she’s actively participating now. Last night I wrestled her diaper on her, then thought, “What the heck?” and tossed her Tinkerbell shirt at her with instructions to put it on. When I turned back around from whatever I was doing, she had one arm in. She got distracted at that point, so I helped with the rest of the process, but I did tell her to pull up her pants and she did it for the very first time. This is double-edged because having the ability to dress herself is one step closer to potty readiness, but it will also mean she has the ability to undress herself. Since the child frequently asks to have her clothes removed, I’m thinking nakedness might present an issue in the future. In public of course; I couldn’t care less if she wears clothes in the house.

Crocs with Socks: A Story of a Young Shoe Diva

The Shelby Baptist Association is running a Christmas Gift Shop fundraiser store – think flea market, but cheaper. Retailers in the area donated truck loads of holiday and seasonal items left over from last Christmas and Thanksgiving, so the Shelby Baptist Association is selling it at super low prices to raise money for their Christmas Gift Shop program. Reports say that they have everything in any color you could want. I’ve heard tell that ladies have filled 3 giant bags chock full of Christmas decorations for the bargain basement price of $40.

It is one of Ella’s favorite places to shop, so she and Grandmother go there often. The decided to go yesterday despite the fact that pickings are slim now that the holidays are upon us. Oh, what a fateful day it was for EGR. A day that I can only imagine she’s been patiently waiting on for quite some time. As they entered the door of the store, she spotted them – the long sought-after pink crocs. Oh, yes, I believe she’s been looking everywhere we go for pink crocs like Mama’s as she often tries to wear mine around the house. She was beside herself with glee, trying to climb out of the buggy as Grandmother was putting her into it. Nothing else would do but to search the racks for a pair in her size.

They found a pair in size 5 that seemed to do okay, and a pair of size 7 that were too big for her to wear right now. There were no size 6, but she was adamant, so they purchased the 5s for only $1. She tried and tried to put them on as they browsed through the aisles, but they were tied together. Finally, at checkout, the cashier cut them apart and Grandmother put them on her feet. She proudly wore them all day – only taking them off for nap time with the promise that she could put them back on as soon as she woke up. She did indeed march straight to the crocs and insist on wearing them once the nap was finished. She even pointed to them and said, “Shoes Mama!” I don’t know if that meant she wanted to show them to me, or that she has shoes like Mama’s, but she was ready to show them off when I got home.

She wore them until bath time, and this morning she brought them to me when it was time to put on shoes. Of course, since it’s sock season, she is committing the fashion faux pas of wearing them with socks, but I believe I am powerless in this matter. They are just on the brink of too small, but she doesn’t seem to care right now. I will not be at all surprised if I get home tonight to find a pair of size 7s so that she’ll have some to grow into. They are pink with pink leopard print fabric around the edges and insoles, and she loves them so. She does love shoes.

Fall Festival Pics

I was right; it took the full two months to make the Green Giant and Sprout costumes, but I got them finished. Without further ado, here they are.

They posed on the fire truck and listened to the siren. Ella liked the siren so much that she wanted the fireman to turn it on again. He did. She has been making the fire truck noise when she sees pictures of them since we took her to the Fire Prevention Parade at the beginning of October.
When we all sat down for awards and supper, she entertained herself with a giant bucket of crayons. She did actually color on the cardboard, then she piled and sorted and when there were enough crayons on the floor, she left to find something else to do.

This is my favorite picture. She is "feeding the frogs" at the bean bag toss - which she did over and over again, barely waiting on other kids to take a turn.

She and The Giant went fishing for prizes. She also played the ring toss, bounced in the bounce house, and generally ran all over the place with the rest of the hooligans. There was one boy there with a wolf mask and every time she saw him she said, "Doooog!"

She had a great time, and after the Fall Festival we went to Grandpop's house to trick or treat. She and Grandma gave out candy to the other trick or treaters, and she had so much fun that got upset when the kids stopped coming to the door. Grandma taught her how to put the candy in their pumpkins, and when Grandma said, "Where are the trick or treaters?" she gave a great big "I don't know" shrug. She was convinced to go home with the promise of a bath. She was one tired Sprout tonight.