Mom Sayings #1

I’m sure I’ve said plenty of “mom-things” over the past 19 months but tonight at dinner I had a moment of realization that yes, I am a Mom.  We introduced Julia to ice cream sandwiches a few days ago and she LOVES them.  She does not have a big sweet tooth so usually desserts are not a big thing for her; she typically ends her dinner with mandarin oranges or applesauce.  However, for the past few days it has been ice cream sandwiches – she is addicted (she comes by it honestly as both Andrew and I love them as well). 

Anyway, tonight we had jambalaya for dinner.  Rice, sausage, tomatoes – all her favorite things and I knew she would like it, but of course being a toddler she refused to try it.  She ate all her veggies and fruit and then asked for an ice cream sandwich.  More specifically, she pointed at the freezer and then at her mouth and we knew exactly what she was asking for.  Then I heard the words come out of my mouth: “you can have one of those if you have a bite of your rice.”  And then I had the thought, “wow, I really am a mom and I can’t believe it worked!”

A New Phase

This past Monday Julia started going to daycare one day a week.  It was a big day for us.  A full day of independence from Mom for her and a day alone for me.  Julia did great; she cried when I left but that was short-lived and then she had a fun day meeting and playing with her new teachers and friends.  She even took a two hour nap (something that is very rare at home).  I was anxious the whole day, wondering how she was doing, but it was nice to go to a doctor’s appointment alone and get some other things done around the house much quicker than usual!  When I picked her up she was playing happily outside and while she was eager to go home, she also said goodbye to everyone and agreed that it would fun to go back again.  Overall I think we made the right decision and that a day of daycare will benefit all of us! 

She has also been showing a little more independence this week.  She has started moving chairs and stools around so that she can climb up and reach things; she picked out her own shirt this morning and even got it halfway on herself; she has started saying some two word phrases (most often it’s “no mama”!); and she has started walking down the stairs by herself (this is not one that Andrew or I is entirely comfortable with but she’s very careful and so far so good). 

The Annual Del’s Lemonade

Here is Julia at 18 months drinking her Del’s Lemonade.

Here is Julia at 6 Months in the same pose:

Summer Vacation – Part II - The Beach

I finally arrived in RI to join Alyssa and Julia the Friday after they got there.  I was very ready to be on vacation.  Especially after making a couple of wrong turns on the drive up and having a long drive!  The week started off with a wonderful trip to the zoo where Julia saw Elephants, Giraffes and some very exiting turtles.   Julia loves the zoo as you can see:

From the zoo we headed to our beach house where we quickly unloaded the car.  However our little angel had this view the from the minute we walked in:

  so we had to head “out” to the beach.

Most of the rest of the week was spent playing in the sand, swimming, chasing birds, making new friends, relaxing and building sand castles.  Here are a few highlights:

Mom & Julia swimming in the “warm” water.

Dad relaxing while Julia plays in the sand.

Our fried the crab, Julia didn’t want to let him go but we convinced her in the end.

Julia and Dad cleaning off the sand.

The monster sandcastle that we built on the last day.

This was also the trip where we turned Julia around in her car seat.  This executive decision was made to keep peace for the second 3 and 1/2 hours of the car ride home.

We had the most wonderful vacation as a family and enjoyed all the visits from Alyssa’s family.   We can’t wait to do this again next year!!!

Ordinary Days

I promise that I will post about the rest of our vacation as soon as I have time to go through the rest of the pictures.  But for today I wanted to post about our last couple of days.  Not because anything special has happened but because nothing special has happened.  Julia has finally recovered from the virus that has been making her miserable for the last week and life is getting back to normal.  We’ve spent the past two days visiting the library, the farmer’s market, the playground, going to yoga for the first time in three months, playing in the sandbox and water table, weeding, making pesto and salsa from the veggies and herbs in our garden, and just hanging out blowing bubbles in the yard.  The weather has been beautiful and everyone’s attitudes have been improved.

As I was driving home this afternoon reflecting on this I was struck by the thought that experiencing all the challenges that we have had, big and small, have allowed me to truly enjoy and be thankful for a perfectly nice, ordinary day.  Like today.

(I was also struck by the thought that listening to John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt for the hundredth time is made infinitely better if you treat yourself to some chocolate!)

Small Things… Blowing Kisses

When Andrew was leaving for work this morning Julia blew kisses to him without being prompted.  I think this makes up for her insisting on calling him “mama!” 

Book Worm

We have made a point to read to Julia pretty much from the day she came home and we are very happy to see that she appears to share our love of books.  In the past couple of weeks though she has not let me read to her unless it is naptime or bedtime.  This is because she wants to do it herself!

The funniest part is when she finishes and then looks at me and says “again.”  Go ahead Julia, I had nothing to do with it the first time!

Summer Vacation Part 1

15 days ago Julia and I set off for our summer adventure in Rhode Island.  We flew up a week before Andrew so that I could attend my 15 year high school reunion and we could spend some extra time visiting with family before Andrew joined us for a week at the beach.  The entire vacation was wonderful and Julia seemed to have a great time.

The first few days we were there it was really rainy.  We spent a lot of time visiting with family but also fit in a trip to the Children’s Museum.  That was a lot of fun for me because although the location has changed and it has been updated there were still some items from when I visited as a kid.  Julia really enjoyed the water area, the woodlands play area where she practiced jumping, and building with all kinds of different blocks and tinker toys.

Water Play:

Jumping:

We spent a lot of time playing in the yard and Julia discovered all the raspberry bushes which she loves as much as I do. 

Julia also had a few firsts over the week:

* She had her first Hoodsie cup:

* She said a few new words: moon, up, pretty, and flower

* She started trying to jump

* She ate half a jar of asparagus pickles (thankfully with no stomach side effects later!)

* She had her first plate of Great Ei’s spaghetti and meatballs (minus the egg)

* She played with sidewalk chalk for the first time

Overall it was a really fun week together.  I enjoyed spending so much time with Julia and having her spend so much time with my family was very special.  But I was also ready for Andrew to arrive!