Happy Second Birthday, November '05 Babies! - Page 5

[flapjack]

Kavita, what happened about your trip to India in the end? I was just remembering that with Zjande leading the pregnancy epidemic, you'd been thinking out loud about maybe trying after you went to India- which was going to be last month???

Jen, I love the quilts I have no idea how you find the time- or the patience, though. I know you can't just drop a sewing machine whilst you chase after a rambunctious 2yo, at least not so easily.

Thanks for listening to me grumble: I just feel all up in the air about this (and Sunday night is phone-call-from-the-ex night, which never helps.) I know I should just be taking this as a reminder of how blessed I am in my life right now, but I'm having a hard time getting back to my happy place.

[spughy]

Ah, the cooking with toddlers... Rowan helped me make bread this morning, which was kind of fun because she thinks the stand mixer is HILARIOUS and giggled the whole time the bread was kneading. (I held her up so she could see it while it thumped the bread around.) Then I gave her a bit to play with, and I took another little bit and made her a bread bird. Then she got a bit frustrated with her bits and DH swooped in and made the CUTEST little bread bunny. Truly, he has unexplored talent in decorative pastry. They baked up a little lopsided but I'm sure Rowan will enjoy them when she wakes up.

Helen - BIG . . I hope next week goes better for you.

Zjande - enjoy the last bit of your pregnancy!

Jen - FABULOUS job on Ellie's room! Makes me wish Rowan HAD a room to decorate... she doesn't have her own space at all. Honestly we don't really feel the lack, except I go to other mama's houses and see all their toys confined to one room and I admit I am a little jealous. But our place is nice in other ways. Sort of.

Kavita - yes I read Animal Vegetable Miracle and I LOVED it. Especially the turkey sex bits.

After reading everyone's responses to the questions I feel like Rowan is a bit... I don't know, like there's some element of frustration with life in general that she's kind of missing. I mean, she gets frustrated, and sometimes whines a bit if she's singing a song and it doesn't sound like she thinks it should (bit of Daddy's perfectionism already I think - "mummy I can't sing! I can't sing that song!" and really, she's got all the words and maybe loses the tune a bit here and there) but she's never actually thrown a tantrum. She always responds to comfort or distraction. Theoretically this is a good thing, it certainly makes my life easier, especially shopping, than many of you - but it doesn't seem quite normal, kwim? Although, according to my mom, I was like that, and was just a really mellow kid. A blessing, probably - except the next kid will probably be like DH when he was a child and be just a walking sulking tantrum.

Yes, I said next kid. We're starting to think in that direction but my IUD is still firmly in place. I'd like to lose at least 20 lbs before we start trying, I don't think I'd be very comfortable pregnant with my weight the way it is now. So that'll take a few months, but we definitely want to have another one before Rowan is 4.

[barcelona]

i am So sorry i have been so behind this month!
i've been reading along almost daily, but haven't had the right circumstances, or time or energy to write. i'm with you all in spirit, and will share my two-year thoughts as soon as possible.

for now, i wanted to pop on and say hi and send big hugs to everyone, especially the mamas needing it right now.

finley turned two yesterday. it was a really beautiful, calm, fun day. i had rehearsal in the morning, then came home, baked a cake, and we had a little celebration with balloons, some presents, my sister in law, and our next door neighbors who have a little boy 18 months old. finley got a choo choo train, his true love and passion and obsession these days, and was deeply intensely and quietly ecstatic about it, sitting by his new train, pulling it along or watching it for, literally, hours.

we had the pleasure of seeing kaspirant and her man and her little boy, and it was so nice to catch up and see them again, finally, after trying for so long. jacob is a ball of light and energy and joy and action. finley is quite shy and sensitive with new people...the two were just about opposites. it's too bad we don't live closer, or else the two boys might be able to get used to each other and start playing together...maybe one day.

i took a bajillion pictures of our day yesterday, which you can see on the link below.

http://web.mac.com/hillarybaack/iWeb...thday%202.html

i'll be in touch, probably not til later this week, with comments to everyone, and the answers to the 2 year questions. this is my big week with the abc showcase happening on wednesday, so for the next three days, my life is going to be crazy crazy.

you're all in my thoughts! how grateful i am to have you all through this mothering journey, and on this two year milestone, how clear and strong that blessing is. thank you all!

[Kavita]

Originally Posted by spughy

Ah, the cooking with toddlers... Rowan helped me make bread this morning, which was kind of fun because she thinks the stand mixer is HILARIOUS and giggled the whole time the bread was kneading. (I held her up so she could see it while it thumped the bread around.) Then I gave her a bit to play with, and I took another little bit and made her a bread bird. Then she got a bit frustrated with her bits and DH swooped in and made the CUTEST little bread bunny. Truly, he has unexplored talent in decorative pastry. They baked up a little lopsided but I'm sure Rowan will enjoy them when she wakes up.

Helen - BIG . . I hope next week goes better for you.

Zjande - enjoy the last bit of your pregnancy!

Jen - FABULOUS job on Ellie's room! Makes me wish Rowan HAD a room to decorate... she doesn't have her own space at all. Honestly we don't really feel the lack, except I go to other mama's houses and see all their toys confined to one room and I admit I am a little jealous. But our place is nice in other ways. Sort of.

Kavita - yes I read Animal Vegetable Miracle and I LOVED it. Especially the turkey sex bits.

After reading everyone's responses to the questions I feel like Rowan is a bit... I don't know, like there's some element of frustration with life in general that she's kind of missing. I mean, she gets frustrated, and sometimes whines a bit if she's singing a song and it doesn't sound like she thinks it should (bit of Daddy's perfectionism already I think - "mummy I can't sing! I can't sing that song!" and really, she's got all the words and maybe loses the tune a bit here and there) but she's never actually thrown a tantrum. She always responds to comfort or distraction. Theoretically this is a good thing, it certainly makes my life easier, especially shopping, than many of you - but it doesn't seem quite normal, kwim? Although, according to my mom, I was like that, and was just a really mellow kid. A blessing, probably - except the next kid will probably be like DH when he was a child and be just a walking sulking tantrum.

Yes, I said next kid. We're starting to think in that direction but my IUD is still firmly in place. I'd like to lose at least 20 lbs before we start trying, I don't think I'd be very comfortable pregnant with my weight the way it is now. So that'll take a few months, but we definitely want to have another one before Rowan is 4.

I've previously tried cooking with Ella, but she hasn't had interest for more than about 2 seconds until today. I'm excited! I have a learning tower, and like I was telling Amy the other day, I bought it because I had these beautiful fantasies of baking wholesome things with her by my side in the learning tower kneading bread or stirring or what have you, but until this point she's mostly used it (the learning tower) for dragging around the kitchen to reach things she's not supposed to reach and get into and do things she's not supposed to do. Like once I walked out of the room for a moment and came back and found she'd climbed out of it up on top of the dishwasher and was hurling onions from a high shelf into the sunroom. :

flapjack--the India trip keeps getting put on hold for one reason or other. We were thinking of going over xmas but as it turns out it will likely be more like January or so, because there is some business that has come up that can't be put off that will prevent us from going in December. As far as our reproductive plans, they are indefinitely on hold. The idea of a two year spacing between giving birth and getting pregnant again seemed acceptable as a sort of vague theoretical construct. But now that that time has drawn closer and finally rolled around, I have realized that I am just not ready to be pregnant again or have another baby right now. And that I should not rush it based on an idea that my fertility is declining, because in all likelihood I will only have two children, and so I want to really be able to enjoy the pregnancy and the baby which will most probably be my last, which means waiting.

And part of that, like you spughy, means losing some weight first. I actually only gained about 20-25 lbs with Ella and I lost it all within two weeks of giving birth. Unfortunately, I have gained some of that back, so I am not only above my prepregnancy weight, I have the unfortunate distinction of also being above my postpartum weight!! : Right now I am just really annoyed with myself about the whole thing. I want my pregnancy to be filled with belly pictures and cute maternity clothes--right now I would be headed for 9 months of muu-muus and incontinence! Just sayin' . . . .

So spughy--wanna motivate each other?

[gingerstar]

Helen, what a horrible thing, I am so sorry you are having to deal with this; pg hormones are not making it any easier, I am sure. Sending you peaceful, centering vibes

barcelona, what a sweet beautiful boy you have - and your pictures are amazing. If you decide to stop acting, I am sure you can make a living with photography! Although I'm sure part of it is your darling subject!

FSM - so glad you stopped by for a chat!

Jen, you are amazing. You are Supermom, that is all I can say!

Sarah, Rowan just seems like such a special girl, I would love to meet her!
(Actually, I would love to meet each and every one of you and your DC!!)

Kavita, I am coming to your house for Thanksgiving! Now I have to bake some pumpkin choc chip muffins, too.... mmmmm

DiD - happy wedding day, mama! (whenever it is...) Hope it all comes together for you.

zjande, I always love reading your posts, you are so up, enthusiastic, and cool! I love your awesome bump, you are one beautiful mama!

Ok, I think I finally have time for this...

What do you enjoy most about your toddler right now?
This is just such a fun age, she is learning and growing and just fun to be with! She is an intriguing mix of baby and child, has her own ideas and plans, and then will want to be on my hip like a little one.... She has gotten quite independent for the most part, but is pretty easy going for two.

What is the most challenging thing about this age/stage for you?
Communication can be tricky sometimes - she talks well, but there is much she says I have to work at understanding. I have never had that trouble with my other two, but sometimes she is trying to tell me something, and we both get frustrated. She can be very singleminded - once she is set on something, she will get it come heck or high water....

Does your kiddo still nurse? How "well" does he/she eat?
Oh, my, yes.... 3 - 6 times at night, and often the morning marathon, when I would really like to pee. But there is nothing sweeter than her little voice in the night, when I ask if she wants to nurse, saying "Yes peese Mommy!" During the day varies, always to nap unless she naps in the car, but still pretty frequently. She is quite a good eater, sometimes I am amazed at how much she will eat.

How is sleep now? Well, if we weren't cosleeping it would suck, since she nurses frequently, but mostly it is fine.

What are your toddler's favourite activities? Favourite things?
Being outside, music, dancing, and of course her sisters are her fave, and everything they do, she has to be part of. She is quite the Daddy's girl, too. She loves to play with little animals and people, she will bring me a piggy, or a tiger, and say "Pway wif?" How could I possibly say no? She loves to color and "write" - we are working on the minor detail that those need to be done on paper.... She loves purses (mine, or her sisters play purses) and will sling one over her shoulder and say "Bye Mommy, see ya soon!"

If you could go back one year and give yourself advice, what would you say? Back two years?
One year, that she would come un-Velcro'd eventually....Two years, that it would be alright - my DH was still gone, and I was so worried about her not really knowing her Daddy. I needn't have worried.

[DreamsInDigital]

My wedding date is December 1st. 20 days from today (Sunday)

I am so wrapped up in the Holiday Helper it's making it impossible for me to obsess over the wedding. Which is so good for me, because I was stressing so bad about it.

[spughy]

Originally Posted by Kavita

And part of that, like you spughy, means losing some weight first. I actually only gained about 20-25 lbs with Ella and I lost it all within two weeks of giving birth. Unfortunately, I have gained some of that back, so I am not only above my prepregnancy weight, I have the unfortunate distinction of also being above my postpartum weight!! : Right now I am just really annoyed with myself about the whole thing. I want my pregnancy to be filled with belly pictures and cute maternity clothes--right now I would be headed for 9 months of muu-muus and incontinence! Just sayin' . . . .

So spughy--wanna motivate each other?

Hell yeah! It's always good to have someone to be 'accountable' to! I actually posted on my blog, and I do have one friend who IM's me every once in a while to say "hey how's the diet?" like I asked all my readers to, but I think I only have about 3 readers and 2 of them don't care, or secretly want me to be fat. So yes it would be wonderful to have a motivational buddy! I'll PM you.

But I should warn you - and what the heck, I'll make this public - I have 40 lbs to lose. ALL of it is post-partum, since I was back to my pre-preg weight (a semi-healthy 130) within days of giving birth. If you'll recall from our DDC days, I only put on about 17 lbs during my pregnancy, which I was very happy about. Now, I am actually almost 15 lbs heavier than my all-time high PREGNANCY weight, at about 36 weeks (149 lbs) and at my heaviest, I was 20 lbs above it. I've dropped about 6 lbs off that weight, but I'm still around 163 which is just NOT healthy for someone only 5'0" tall. Post-partum depression is a b*tch, if one tends to self-medicate with food and avoid exercise like the plague because it dropped my milk supply. The worst was when I went back to work, when I was sad, desk-bound, and had easy access to a vending machine and a snack lady. I put on 10 lbs in the first month back. Since I quit work I lost a couple lbs without trying, just from not sitting in a desk all day, and since putting some effort into it I've lost a couple more, but it's going to be a long slow battle, since I can't focus on myself single-mindedly like I did before Rowan came along.

Anyway, enough "bellyaching" as my dad used to call it... Kavita and anyone else, I'll be happy to nag you via e-mail or whatever else you want for motivation as long as you return the favour!

[flyingspaghettimama]

Dude, I am so in on any weight-loss motivational work. I don't just visit the snack lady, I AM the snack lady.

I've gained 15, almost 20 (!) lbs since June (when I started writing for reals). It's just me, the laptop, and my hand in the brownies/cakes/pizza. I do exercise 3-5x a week, but apparently burning 200 calories at the gym does not erase the 500 cals I down in one sitting. Funny, huh.

Also, I really like to eat. A LOT. I think you and I may have that in common, Spughy. It's difficult to be a skinny foodie.

Good luck to all of you planning weddings and babies and all that good stuff. I am a little behind, obviously. Too busy eating.

[flapjack]

Spughy, I'm aiming to drop 100lbs once baby is safely earthside. I did a fair amount of self-medicating with food since Skye was born, and put on 4 stone (that's close on 60lbs) that took chubby to obese. My weight's been constant since I've been pregnant, but shifting the extra is my project. In an ideal world, I'd like to be in a normal range by age 33: 32 would be better.

[*Amy*]

Not to interrupt the weight-loss discussion, but I just wanted to share one of the most heart-melting moments I've ever had with Brynn. Pretty much all of yesterday she was *really* cranky - crying to the point of screaming (Kavita, you witnessed this the other night) at the drop of a hat. I still don't really know what her deal was, but by 8:00 last night, I was really close to losing it with her. She and I were in the kitchen and I was trying to clean up the dinner dishes, and she started flipping out about somehting, so I asked if she was hungry. She said yes, so I sat her at the table with a bowl of Gorilla Munch and some raspberries, and she munched happily and QUIETLY for a good 10 minutes. DH came into the kitchen to help with the dishes, and he and I were having a semi-whispered conversation about how irritable she's become the past few days, and how hard it is for me to be a good parent to her after having dealth with it all day. Out of nowhere, in the sweetest and most sincere voice, she says, "Thank you Mommy and Daddy. Thank you everyone." Jason and I looked at each other, and he said, "What are you thanking us for Honey?" and she said, "Thank you Mommy for giving me a bowl of Gorilla Munch and some berries." : I don't know where it came from , but the timing couldn't have been better. I think it's one of those moments I'll store in my Bank Account O'Love to remember next time she's screaming and throwing her dinosaurs at me.

barcelona, those pictures are beautiful. I love the ones with Finley's hands in his pockets!!

Well, we're off to knitting circle. Later Mamas!

[Gunter]

I ate three pieces of cake in less than 24 hours yesterday.

Ezra's science museum party was lots of fun. i will post pics to my blog soon so you all can see how cute her vegan penguin cake was before we devoured it. we only used 4 containers of the 7 soy ice creams. they weren't like gallon tubs or anything but i totally should have eaten more of them! we gave them to a friend with lactose intolerance since we were spending the rest of the afternoon roaming the museum and the butterfly house and outside. we never even made it through the museum b/c we all wanted to play outside! We had about 40 people come and i felt like i didn't get to talk to everyone as much as i would wanted. it was also the first time we saw most people since our return from being abroad the past 4 months.

okay, i gotta go read and catch up with you lovelies! Happy November Birthdays!!! Happy Labor Days, mamas!

amy- i just read the article you linked to and wow~ i am reading more from other links just to that one story. we were in bali when the recalls happened so are just getting caught up on all that info. we've known about toxicity of certain plastics and tried to avoid those. avoiding cartoon characters has helped us avoid exposure to many of the lead painted toys, it seems. off to read up some more and alert the grandparents!

[kaspirant]

Beads

all stamped, sealed and ready to mail. Post office is closed today so DH will take them tomorrow.

Yay!

Thank you all for being so incredibly patient with me. : I can't believe it has taken me this long. I guess we can pretend they are two-year birthday beads

[Phoenix_Rising]

KeaganRae's birthday was yesterday. We had a pretty good day. After he opened all of his presents from Grandma we went to the local kid's museum and played for about 2 hours. The hardest part was when Grandma called the grocery store to order him a birthday cake on Friday night. . . about 2 hours after I told her how excited I was to make his birthday cake for him. I was really tempted to be ornery as hell toward her but I was good
Keagan had his first bite of cake too - and promptly spit it out. I almost laughed but I held it in


Helen - I hope you are doing a bit better. I have a hard time thinking about the world that our children will grow up in as well. Sometimes it is enough for me to know that I am doing the best I can and I am bringing up my babe to know what is right and do what is right. Sometimes though, well, it is just not enough.

[spughy]

Happy Birthday Keagan Rae!

It is crazy stormy here right now. It's like huge buckets of water are getting hurled at the house, which is rocking back and forth alarmingly. Welcome to November on the west coast... Rowan is sleeping through it. Oh and I think something is starting to leak somewhere - I hear dripping.

But I did get a whole 2 hours at the gym this morning... things just all worked out. It was loooovely. I didn't miss any body parts in my workout and did a really good strength session and then 35 minutes of nice cardio. Then I used the sauna for the first time in years and had an icy cold shower to finish. WOOO that woke me up! Good times.

[*Amy*]

Happy birthday, Keagan Rae!

Spughy, you go!!

Hey y'all, could you take a look at this real quick and let me know if you have any recommendations? Thanks!

[flapjack]

Happy birthday, KeaganRae! Susannah, thanks for the hugs. I'm feeling a bit calmer- as I type, the daylight is being excluded from our window as the extension goes up outside : (literally.) AND our main builder went to a lot of trouble to get us the perfect bricks to go with the extension.

Spughy, happy workout day!

Amy, I posted to the other thread, but you might want to look at WABA as well.

Gunter, I admire your reserve

[spughy]

Well I guess we were all busy little bees today, too busy to post!

We had an ok day - DH's PhD convocation was today. Rowan and I didn't go - it was right at her nap time, and he only got 3 tickets so his parents and his grandma went. But, Rowan and I made him Portuguese custard tarts (his favourite thing in the whole world) puff pastry and all (yeah, I made it from scratch, am I the best wife in the world or what?!?!) and then we took him out for dinner with surprise guests - our next-door neighbours, and really good friends, who have observed the PhD saga from, well, relatively nearby. It was fun. But Rowan's been a bit cranky, I think her molars are bugging her a bit.

Question for you all though - does anyone else have a toddler who is totally into the imaginary play yet? I'm surprised to get this so early, but Rowan regularly plays with imaginary food ("Mummy I caught a fish! Cut it up and cook it mummy!") and now has moved on to seeing an imaginary baby moose, who can be a bit scary. Like, seriously - tonight I was fixing her bottle and she came running up to me and glommed on to my leg and wanted to be picked up because "baby moose is little bit scary". Half a minute later she was playing with the baby moose, pushing it around the living room. (It's not like she's calling some other object a baby moose. It's empty air, as far as I can tell ) Is this normal, for a 2 year old? I'm a little worried her imagination will start to get ahead of her and start frightening her more.

Oh and we gave her a real haircut! She is definitely one of the cutest things on the planet now. I'll post pics as soon as we get the computer thing sorted out - DH has to move all his stuff onto my laptop because his was a loaner from the comp sci dept. at the university, and now he's all done with that

[flyingspaghettimama]

Originally Posted by spughy

Is this normal, for a 2 year old? I'm a little worried her imagination will start to get ahead of her and start frightening her more.

Hmm, it's normal in my house, if that makes you feel any better. Probably not.

But, one thing we really emphasized from the start with both kids is real and pretend. Yah, call me a stick in the mud. I talk about how things are real, or if they're "play." So, "play" food or "play" moose, versus the real thing. I play along, "cute baby moose!" but I try to emphasize how this is pretend and it's sooo fun...but just pretend.

I think it's helped with managing fears and other undesirable side-effects of active imaginations. Not eliminated them completely, but it helps.

[DreamsInDigital]

Please forgive my lack of posting. It's not that I'm not reading...it's just this Holiday Helper thing is kind of taking up all my spare time and brain power.

Need sleep. Or caffeine. Sleep would be better.

[flapjack]

Spughy, I can't believe you made puff pastry from scratch, and I don't know whether to take my hat off to you or tell you you need more children. I fed my tribe last night on a ready meal from Tesco, and Skye headed off into the kitchen to eat dog food instead, it was that bad. This is what I get for being ill, I guess, but I figured it would be better than a takeaway. I was wrong.
Skye's verging on make-believe, too, but because she isn't as verbal as Rowan it isn't as obvious. There's a lot of pretend play though. I wouldn't worry, just be glad she knows what a baby moose is

DiD, good luck with the wedding and holiday helpers