Posted on | February 2, 2011 | 40 Comments
some days i look at this kid and have trouble understanding how we got here. motherhood is the craziest thing – i swear we just had her but at the same time it’s hard to even remember her being a bobble headed baby. she continues to blow my mind parts daily with her smarts. suddenly she has an opinion on what she wants to wear. she uses full sentences and we have conversations. it’s freaking me out, man.
she is finally, FINALLY in 24 month clothes. it’s actually pretty exciting because for a while there, we had no reason to buy her new clothes because she fit in 12-18 months for an entire year. so as a person who likes clothes and likes shopping, and is married to a person who could care less, this makes me happy. “but she grew out of all her pants! and tops! and dresses!”. and then the husband strains an eyeball from the side eye.
photo by jessica ho.
her hair is out of control. long gone are the days when i could just comb her swoopy bangs to the side. the back is crazy curly, the sides do some crazy wing thing, and the bangs are stick straight. should i get her a trim in hopes that taking the ends off make it all curly? or do i need some after-bath product to control the crazy? any help appreciated. pleaseandthankyou.
binkie free life is great. we no longer have to find one in the middle of the night, endure freak outs if she drops it while in the car and we can’t reach to give it back to her, and all the other things that made us a slave to the pacifier. the only down side is she isn’t stoked on naps anymore. where before she’d fall right asleep, she now plays in her crib for upwards of half an hour before sleeping – if she sleeps at all. this mama? is not ready for naptime to go away. off to target we go for a blackout curtain. i can’t complain about nighttime though – with the exception of a night or so, she has forgotten about the binkie and no longer asks for it. and she sleeps for upwards of 12 hours. before you go unsubscribing or sending hate mail, don’t worry. the next kid will probably be the worst sleeper alive. it’s like a law or something.
we are itching for spring. we want to get out! and go to the park! and stuff! i’m positive she is as tired of looking at the inside of these walls as i am. luckily it’s right around the corner. ::crosses fingers::
photo by jessica ho.
side note: the cute ribbon on my first photo is from the pugly pixel. be sure to check her out – absolutely darling design freebies, tutorials, templates and overall awesomeness.
Posted on | January 24, 2011 | 54 Comments
well, she did it. we were just there to you know, take it away. and tell her the stories of why it was going away. and hope that she didn’t hate us forever.
today marks 2 weeks since we kicked the binkies out for good. they went lots of places. they went bye-bye. they went to the babies that needed them because we are a big girl now. they broke. you know, all those things that an irrational toddler could care less about.
but we did it! and no one died. (i take that back, one binkie totally bit the dust when i cut the tip of in hopes she would no longer enjoy sucking on it. she barely batted an eyelash).
before we began i told myself i really hoped that at the end i’d be saying “that wasn’t nearly as bad as i thought it would be”. the best part? i’m totally saying that. i’m not saying it was easy, because it wasn’t, but it wasn’t nearly as painful as i expected. for a few weeks we started setting her up for what was gonna happen. she kept saying “okay! bye bye binkie! big girl now!”, but i knew come game time, she’d freak her freak. and she did.
night one was awful. she cried for her binkie for an hour. ONE HOUR. we kept going in to reassure her that everything was ok, but that just made it worse. HOW DARE YOU COME IN MY ROOM AND NOT DEPOSIT MY BINKIE INTO MY FACE! so we resolved to not go in the next night, and the next night she only cried for her binkie for 25 minutes. the next night? ten. now, we don’t cry for the binkie. because binkie went bye bye.
(oh and don’t judge me. not for this! reserve your judgements for other more important things like the fact that i sometimes bite my nails as an almost 30 year old, that i own NSYNC cd’s, and never have and never will read or watch harry potter or twilight.)
i didn’t write about it before because you know how it works: you put something into the blogesphere and next thing you know, FAIL. jinxed. kaput. but we’re safe now. 2 weeks and binkie is not in our vocabulary anymore. yippee! the only downside? all of a sudden, without the bink, my little lady no longer looks like a baby. all of a sudden she looks all old and sophisticated! and she’s insisting on wearing scarves and cardigans!
at least we still have the blankie. helps her from looking like she’s headed of to college.
Posted on | January 12, 2011 | 48 Comments
in those first few days and weeks, your hands were my favorite. long pink fingers, mostly curled up into little balls, except when i would squeeze my way in there with a finger so you’d wrap them around mine and hold on for dear life. every so often you’d stretch them out, but always to come back to the little fist. you slept with your fist by your face. we’d put tiny little mittens on those hands so you wouldn’t scratch yourself – they seemed to have a mind of their own.
as the weeks passed the most you could do with those hands was attempt to get them into your mouth. they’d be used for comfort and still used for grasping any finger or brightly colored toy that came into your line of vision. you were getting used to these hands of yours, but still, couldn’t connect your mind and them to create anything but a fist.
weeks turned to months and your hands became the explorers. helping you reach, helping you scoot, helping you sit. they grasped toys so you could jam them into your mouth, gumming them to soothe the pain of the big mean teeth fighting to get through. they’d reach out when you wanted to be picked up. slowly but surely, those hands starting talking to your brain and doing what you wanted them to do.
grasp your blankie for comfort. touch the dogs fur. try to grab the spoon from our hands and feed yourself. pat my arm. clap.
move with purpose.
i remember when i was pregnant with you, casual conversations at the grocery store, with co-workers, baristas – all mothers – and they would all warn how fast it goes. “she’ll be grown before you know it”, they’d say, a look in their eyes that was a little pained but clearly warm – a look that showed years were flying through their mind at that very moment. “enjoy it all, it flies by”, they’d say, with a look that showed sorrow, but also much happiness. not having a clue what they meant, i’d smile and rub my belly with one hand – subconsciously willing it to not happen to me.
today, i watch as your hands do things for yourself that used to be my job – put food in your mouth, put the cup to your lips, brush your little teeth. i watch as you play pretend with your toys – take a little bunny, put it in a little chair, feed the bunny pretend food. your mind not only connects with your hands but it helps them dance, creating a magical world that i could only hope to understand.
today your hands move with purpose, where they used to fumble, wobble, move in time with your unsteady head. it’s heartbreaking for a mother, but in the most beautiful way. it is now that i understand what those womens eyes were telling me.
keep learning, little one. i hope your hands, and heart, always move with purpose.
Posted on | November 30, 2010 | 44 Comments
i know. i said i’d stop the whole month thing when she turned 2. and i have! a lady asked me today how old she was and i said two! but it doesn’t mean i can stop remembering her month-days. so give me a little while longer and maybe these posts will disappear (but maybe not).
this month was pretty big for Harper. she rocked her first month of 2. her sentences are becoming bigger and bigger and we have actual conversations, which blows my mind. she still has trouble completely conveying her wants of course, so tantrums are strong with this one. but for the most part, we are kicking ace on the communication front.
her eating habits are one thing i could do without. they’ve taken a turn for the ZOMGPICKY and i’d be lying if i said i were a fan. one day, she looooves *insert delicious food here* and the next day, i’ve apparently tried to murder her by putting it on her plate. the nerve, mom. but seriously, i hope this is just a phase. i mean, i know it is, but i hope it’s a short phase. asking for more brussel sprouts and broccoli makes my heart happy though. looking at mashed potatoes as if they are a pile of white dog poop makes me wonder who’s child she is.
she had her 2 year appointment this month. it was bittersweet having dr. lavinder tell me that her infant years were now done and we wouldn’t see her again until she was 3. at least Harper had a good time at this appointment. her and dr. lavinder read a book together and Harper super showed off – dr. lavinder was beyond impressed with her vocabulary and knowledge. we thought H would be scared of the dr’s office since the dreaded croup incident, but she seemed to have forgotten all about the trauma. she only cried for a second after her shots until she noticed her new bandaid and exclaimed “YOOK! A STICKER!”.
she is still our little gnomie. she weighs 25 pounds and is 32 inches tall (didn’t grow at all since her 18 month check up, but that could be because the method they use isn’t so much accurate). i constantly have to assure people she is as old as i say she is. then she busts out a sentence and their mind is even more blown. it’s kinda fun to watch.
the funniest thing she said this month was while we were at lunch with Scot one day in a fun old diner (the best food!). the man sitting in the booth next to us was pretty old and blew his nose – you know how old men honk and make a total ruckus when blowing their noses? yes, that. Harper’s eyes got really wide and she yelled “WOAH! AN ELEPHANT!”. seriously, dead from laughing.
i feel unbelievably lucky to be her mama. every day is better, funnier, more patience-testing, more awesome because of her. she is the best thing that has ever happened to us and what else can i say? my kid rules.
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photo by jessica ho.
