Saturday, July 31, 2010

When did I lose a syllable?

With my little man's next monthly update approaching, I thought it might be appropriate to tout the girlie a bit.

I am officially "Mom." A few times I have asked her what happened to the rest of my name. She seems to think that is pretty funny. Every so often out of the blue she will say, "Hi, Mom," and give me a hug. Love it.

She loves the little toys -- Polly Pocket, Petshopt and the like. Then I brought up one of my old My Child dolls (anyone else have one of these? I loved mine!) and she loves to dress it and change it and she calls it her own "Baby Emmett," putting it to bed in her doll bed and sleeping with it as well.

Her preschool teacher says that she seems to be catching on verbally pretty well. She's not necessarily behind with her words, but she doesn't have the best annunciation either. However, the things she says somedays just crack me up.

She still regularly takes a 2 to 3 hour nap. Most days I can coordinate the little man's nap to hers and it is a wonderful thing.

She can be super clingy and needy or she can be fiercely independent, playing by herself for hours. The girl has her mood swings to be sure!

With every day she seems to be growing older. Her hair is getting longer and her little body keeps getting bigger. With, "Mama"being outgrown, I fear she'll be heading off to college next week. Sigh.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Fairy Tea Party

Last week we had the privilege of attending a lovely little tea party hosted by the local garden society. In the Sunday paper (which we have gotten into reading more and more of lately--I think we're getting old) I noticed a fun article about several gatherings they were sponsoring to encourage little people to enjoy and get excited about gardening.





I am a huge proponent of backyard garden. Hee-youge. Unfortunately, this year my garden is barely able to be called by that name. It resembles more of a backyard jungle, and not even a fun jungle that you'd want to explore, more of a scary jungle that might grab you by the leg and suck you down into its weedy depths. If there are any vegetables to speak of this year, it will be a veritable miracle.

At any rate, I love gardening and want to teach my kiddos about the joys and benefits of tilling the earth, (Next year though, kay?) so my ears perked up at this fun tea party opportunity. Besides, my girlie and I love getting all dressed up. "Balls to the wall pretty," as one of my favorite comediennes would say.


Now, I'm not likely going to be making us identical outfits anytime soon, but I did go with similar garb for the two of us. It was just too fun. Is she not adorable as she's holding out her little skirt!?

















The tea party was a great success. They had tables set out with fancy china and lemonade and beautiful cookies, some that even had lavender in them, a recipe I am dying to test out. There was a story time with a book about butterflies and a craft area where the kids could make little fairy gardens of their own with sticks, leaves and dried flowers. The woman who was hosting the party had an absolutely beautiful garden of her own, with paths, fountains, benches and immaculate landscaping. We had a fun time searching for little fairies hidden in the plants and paths, smelling all of the different flowers, and discovering what veggies were growing.


If I ever get my garden to a stage where it is acceptable for viewing from outsiders, I am definitely hosting a mini version of this with friends. It was such a lovely afternoon with my favorite girl and what a great way to teach kids to love gardening!

Monday, July 05, 2010

Month Three

Sweet Emmett, you did just what I expected you to do. This past month with you has had a few lows to be sure, but it has had a lot more highs than your first two months. You can be happy in more places than before. When you are unhappy, you are still not quiet about it by any means, but it is much less frequent than previously. 


You took your first long car ride to New York this month. Frankly, you screamed most of the way through Canada. Mama and Daddy bought ear plugs for the ride home. Of course, you behaved a bit better that way too. Still plenty of screaming, but I found a few more tricks to keep you happier and at least mollified. 

You got to meet some great-grandparents, and many aunts and uncles as well. You also slept your very longest--8 1/2 hours! Unfortunately, Mama didn't sleep any of that time since I had a horrible migraine due to climbing back and forth from the front to the back seat of the car what with all that screaming. You also tend to be a noisy sleeper and were sleeping in the same room with us so I kept thinking you were waking up every few minutes. 



Some days you will take fabulous three hour naps by yourself (amazingly at the same time as big sissy!) and other days I need to snuggle nap with you to get an hour or two. But really, who can complain about a baby snuggle nap!? Take today for example. You took half a nap in your swing, woke up wailing, didn't even want to eat and then happily snuggle napped while I tried to peck on the computer.


Darn it, little man, you have become the sweetest little thing ever. Lots and lots of beautiful, gummy smiles and you'll be happy lying on your mat or looking up at the fan or the windows. Then there is tummy time. I've never heard of a baby who actually liked tummy time, but I can plop you on your belly for ten minutes or more and you are perfectly content the whole time!



You love bath time and even got your first sink bath last week. The only part you don't like is the cold breeze when you get out! You're so sweet and chubby I could just gobble you up.


I just can't stop kissing your yummy little head. Every time I hold you close you get piles of smooches. Isn't that what babies are for anyway? Everyone wants to get a piece of you. Especially now that you're less likely to scream at them when they are holding you. Granted, I am still pretty much the only one who can calm you when you do get riled up. It's just that magical Mama's touch. If I hold you just right, get your paci in just perfectly and whack you solidly on your back all is well in your world. Works every time. 


The car seat continues to be your arch-nemesis. Though you seem to be getting a little bit more tolerant, but just a bit. With a few hanging toys and a mirror to look in, you can actually tolerate a short car ride. Unlike your sister, however, if you fall asleep in the seat, you won't stay asleep once it stops moving. It's a bummer really, because that was one of our favorite tricks with her. I guess I can't really complain since you take such great naps in your swing. 





Here's to an even better month ahead, my little punk. Longer sleeps, since your usual time is still only about 6 hours and even more happy times. Maybe you'll even learn how to keep your paci in or effectively suck your thumb. Kisses and snuggles. 






Sunday, July 04, 2010

Backyard Berries



Berries from the backyard...


Purple stained fingernails...


Fresh homemade blackberry ice cream with more blackberries and backyard mint sprigs...



Blackberry jam...


More backyard berries...



Fresh berry pies!

Pretty impressive for one little bush, I'll say. Now we're just picking the last few and popping them in right away!