Sharing With Mama

Henry had his first teething biscuit today (wheat, dairy and soy-free) and boy, did he love it!  The smile on his previously cranky face was as priceless as it was instantaneous.  He kept offering a taste to me, as he was in the Ergo carrier and very close to my face.  I pretended to nibble the little biscuit and that seemed to satisfy Henry.  It was very sweet of him to share.  Here he is with his new "treat":

The Poetry of Toddlers

From Evelyn:

What does it mean?
Listen to my word!
Look at it.
Look at my word.

A Snowy Day



On the go



Wine Spectator is the best magazine for collages!





Two bears and a sun





Mama Cooks (in pictures): "Special" Quesadillas, Curry, and Ambience!

Gluten-free, dairy -free quesadilla

Swiss chard, et al before I added curry paste and coconut milk.

The tulips are too excitable, it is winter here. (from Sylvia Plath's "Tulips")



Fun!

Evelyn and Henry have been a lot of fun lately.  I am especially enjoying this time because I know that the "fun" stages come and go, sometimes without warning.  They are both learning and doing new things daily.  We've been making it to a number of fun meetups with friends.  This morning, Evelyn and I even managed a mother-daughter bookstore and cafe excursion while Henry slept in the Ergo on our babysitter. 

Learning to catch snowflakes on her tongue

Evelyn has very recently become aware of the past tense.  Although she has used it correctly (ie:  "I ran here!") for about a year, she seems to have caught onto the -ed ending.  Now, if she puts something on the shelf, she tells us "I put-ed it on the shelf!"  She'll also It's adorable.  She also has a number of favorite sayings; most of them involve her brother.  She just loves Henry!  (The feeling is definitely mutual.  Henry lights up whenever he hears Evelyn coming and he often crawls after her if she leaves a room). 

Henry (the eight month-old with five teeth!) has started to cruise along the train table and any available furniture.  He has reached the stage of mobility that seems to come along with an almost constant bruise or bump on his little forehead.  There isn't much to do except comfort Henry-- thankfully nursing is a great cure-- and comfort myself with the knowledge that his balance and coordination will only get better from here!   

Baby goes flying.

Snapshot: Rice rusks: yum!

Snapshot: Toddler Art

Toddler Group art projects are so much fun!

My Newest Valentine: Eight Months Old!

My sweet boy has five teeth popping through his gums:  three on the top and two on the bottom.  His first tooth cut through a couple of weeks ago.  The rest of these teeth have made an appearance in just a matter of days.  Henry is definitely in a bit pain and it seems worse when he is tired and unable to distract himself with giggles and toys.  In other mouth-related news, Henry is really enjoying solid foods a couple of times each day-- probably about two or three tablespoons worth, but it's much more than Evelyn liked at this age.  He has also just learned to sign "more" so we can be sure to keep the avocado coming!   

Snapshot: Toddler fun

"Threading" penne onto spaghetti

Gluten-free vegan chocolate chip muffins

Henry Swings

Henry had his first outdoor swinging experience yesterday and he quite liked it (though he was not enthusiastic as Evelyn was when she first discovered the swing).  He smiled and closed his eyes and looked blissfully relaxed.  Then, he fussed and wanted to come out so that he could nap in the Ergo carrier. 

What we've been up to lately . . .

Now that I am past the six month post partum mark (and the holidays and residual stress-- even though it was largely "happy" stress-- are gone), I am feeling more balanced and at peace than I have in a long time.  I think that hormones are settling down a bit and though anxiety is still a part of parenthood and life, it is no longer defining my whole week. 

I'm actually really enjoying being a mother of two.  The fact that our household and our family is feeling happier on such little sleep (most nights, I get between four and six hours of sleep-- and no, it is not consecutive!) is great news.  Imagine how we'll feel when sleep begins to improve sometime in the future.  Henry's first tooth is almost completely through his gum line and it looks like a second tooth might be close behind; I imagine this teething pain is contributing to his frequent nursing at night.

Henry climbed into the toy drawer, so Evelyn followed him in (and offered a car).



Evelyn carefully places her piece on the board.

The Simple Pleasure of Toddlers

Dancing at the bus stop.

Chris took Evelyn on her first real bus ride this weekend.  They were heading to the library for a bit and since it's so close, Chris thought the bus might be a fun option.  Evelyn loves buses and since our trip to the school playground (where school buses were loading dozens and dozens of happy children), she has been reminding us that when she is older she plans to take a bus to school.  Since I'm not sure this will happen (we haven't yet decided if we're sending her to our local elementary school and, anyway, we live within walking distance so she wouldn't be on a bus), I began telling Evelyn that we could take a bus for a "field trip" sometime.  I'm so glad that Daddy and Evelyn had a field trip; the pressure is off of me to come up with one that involves balancing Henry on the bus and keeping Evelyn from scampering off!

Apparently, Evelyn was so excited for the bus that she danced for the entirety of the ten or fifteen minutes they spent waiting at the bus stop.  The bus ride was a hit; Evelyn proudly told me all about it and then proceeded to call her Mimi so that she could hear about the trip too! 

Thanks for the ride!

New Year, new book list

I've been tracking and sharing the books I'm reading over on the sidebar.  I think it's time to clean it up, as the list was looking awfully long.
Some Books from 2010

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

Protecting the Gift by Gavin de Becker

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

World Without End by Ken Follett

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The Other by David Guterson

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

Creative Nonfiction by Philip Gerard

Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child by John Gottman

Adventures in Gentle Discipline (LLL)

Mothering Your Nursing Toddler (LLL)

The Happiest Toddler on the Block by Harvey Karp

The Case for Make Believe by Susan Linn

Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv

And the Honor Goes To. . .

The first real name Evelyn has chosen for a stuffed animal (other than "Whitey" and "Blackey") goes to the strongest personality at our Toddler Group.  I involuntarily flinch a little when I see him coming because he's a rough-and-tumble tot who seems to need to push boundaries and test limits and occasionally just run head-on into other children to see what happens.  Well, his actions have gotten the attention of the other kids.  Evelyn, in particular.  She engaged him in some ring-around-the-rosie and a rousing game of chase.  They were laughing and having a good time.  By the end of our class, Evelyn had declared that he was her best friend.  Granted, almost any of her friends count as "best friends" right now, but she was pretty clear that she liked this boy.   

One-on-one

There is nothing like the unbridled laughter of your child.  This afternoon, Evelyn delighted in watching her shadow.  She bicycled her legs wildly while on a swing and her shadow looked like it was running.  Her giggle echoed throughout the playground, as we had it to ourselves.

After a cold, but sunny, walk to the elementary school play ground in our neighborhood, Evelyn was absolutely thrilled to climb up and slide down, gallop about, and swing on "big kid" swings.  Henry slept on my back in the Ergo, warm in his fleece.  It was such a treat to have some one-on-one time with my daughter where neither of us is distracted. 

Evelyn has made a lot of developmental strides recently, and I know that part of our struggles with whining or power struggles is most likely the result of her changing needs and abilities.  So, we've been enlisted Evelyn's help in more of our daily activities and I have been trying to say "yes" to as many of her ideas as I can.  If it had been up to me alone, we'd have gone on a little drive by the horses down the street and stopped at the espresso stand.  It is pretty cold today!  But, I gave Evelyn the choice between a little drive or a stroller walk and she chose the walk.  As it turns out (quite often, really), she really knows what she's talking about!  The three of us were perfectly content on our long walk and our stop at the playground.