So, Rachel and I were eating dinner alone together after Daniella, Jojo and Valerie left. She finished her Gardenburger and pointed toward the stove. I took two jars of vegetables off the baby food tray and said, "Which one? Carrots or sweet potatoes?" I swear she pointed to the carrots.
So I plunked down the jar and a spoon, preparing to feed her, when she whined a bit and motioned toward the jar and spoon. "OK, you try it yourself," I said.
Well!
SHE TOOK THE SPOON WITH ONE HAND, DIPPED IT IN THE JAR AND BROUGHT UP SOME CARROTS AND PUT THEM IN HER MOUTH!!! I applauded the first two times, but she barely even acknowledged it. She kept dipping and eating, dipping and eating until she was done with half the jar. I was speechless. No, really, I kept telling her, "You are an AMAZING baby!" She collided with her elbow a couple of times (I had rolled up her sleeves as a precautionary measure) but she got most of what was on the spoon into her body.
RACHEL ATE WITH A SPOON!
I was so excited that I called Mom and Dad. They were very impressed.
RACHEL ATE WITH A SPOON!
I guess she doesn't need me to feed her anymore, huh?
RACHEL ATE WITH A SPOON!
What a relief. I thought I would have to spoon-feed her through kindergarten. And no, I'm not kidding.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Fun with Tia Daniella, Jojo & Valerie
Oh, we've been having so much fun with my sister and her family! They got in unexpectedly late last night, so all we had a chance to do was to put the girls down for bed, eat a takeout dinner of Thai food and go to sleep ourselves.
This morning Rachel started crying at 6:45 a.m., but we didn't go in an eventually she stopped. Then a bit later she stood up in her crib and looked around (we could see her from a crack in the door) and we prayed she would get herself back to sleep...and she did! End result was we got to sleep in until 8:30 or so. What a blessing!
Between naps and lunch, we didn't get out until 3 p.m. We went to Grant Park, where Valerie made a little friend, Aria, 3, who swung Valerie on the swing. Rachel, meanwhile, had made TWO little friends -- Amelia, 7, and her 4-year-old sister. They exclaimed, "OH, she's so cute!" and promptly decided to play with her. With Drew supervising, Amelia even took Rachel in her lap and slid down the steep slide with her -- the steep slide that moments before, Rachel had pitched head-forward on. It was adorable to see!
Then we got home and I started a roast chicken dinner while Rachel napped in her stroller. Daniella and Darryl got Valerie down quite early at 7, after feeding her a homemade dinner of cooked yams and spinach mashed together. Despite repated offers, Rachel declined to sample either. She stuck to her normal dinner of Gardenburger, pasta shells, and challah.
One great thing about having Daniella here is I get witnesses to Rachel's slowly emerging language skills. Today after I hung up the phone with Drew while he was out shopping, both Daniella and I swear we heard Rachel say, "where's Daddy?" And then when I told her the bread she was eating was called challah, she said, "Cha!"
After dinner we sat around eating cupcakes from Saint Cupcake, one of our favorite dessert places, and laughing. Tomorrow Drew leaves for Seattle, I take Rachel to daycare and I will spend the morning hanging out with everyone. We'll go to brunch before heading to the airport. Too bad the visit is so short but we will see them again in April for Passover.
This morning Rachel started crying at 6:45 a.m., but we didn't go in an eventually she stopped. Then a bit later she stood up in her crib and looked around (we could see her from a crack in the door) and we prayed she would get herself back to sleep...and she did! End result was we got to sleep in until 8:30 or so. What a blessing!
Between naps and lunch, we didn't get out until 3 p.m. We went to Grant Park, where Valerie made a little friend, Aria, 3, who swung Valerie on the swing. Rachel, meanwhile, had made TWO little friends -- Amelia, 7, and her 4-year-old sister. They exclaimed, "OH, she's so cute!" and promptly decided to play with her. With Drew supervising, Amelia even took Rachel in her lap and slid down the steep slide with her -- the steep slide that moments before, Rachel had pitched head-forward on. It was adorable to see!
Then we got home and I started a roast chicken dinner while Rachel napped in her stroller. Daniella and Darryl got Valerie down quite early at 7, after feeding her a homemade dinner of cooked yams and spinach mashed together. Despite repated offers, Rachel declined to sample either. She stuck to her normal dinner of Gardenburger, pasta shells, and challah.
One great thing about having Daniella here is I get witnesses to Rachel's slowly emerging language skills. Today after I hung up the phone with Drew while he was out shopping, both Daniella and I swear we heard Rachel say, "where's Daddy?" And then when I told her the bread she was eating was called challah, she said, "Cha!"
After dinner we sat around eating cupcakes from Saint Cupcake, one of our favorite dessert places, and laughing. Tomorrow Drew leaves for Seattle, I take Rachel to daycare and I will spend the morning hanging out with everyone. We'll go to brunch before heading to the airport. Too bad the visit is so short but we will see them again in April for Passover.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Toddler 2s
..Rachel will probably be joining the Toddler 2s in a couple of months, and the early reports there are that the kids are so friendly! After Drew dropped Rachel off at Toddler 1s one day last week, the Toddler 2s gathered around him, as all of them were in the same activity room. One little boy came up to Drew and handed him a truck!
"I'm glad that the kids here are so well-socialized!" he told Teacher Karen.
Rachel seems to be making the adjustment to Toddler 1s pretty well. She has fallen right into the nap schedule of 11:30 a.m. or so to 2 p.m. We are holding our breaths that she won't get sick, although one of the daycare attendants did write on her report that she was digging in her left ear yesterday. Hope it's not an infection. We are watching her carefully this weekend.
Last night when I picked her up, Liz, one of the daycare ladies on the afternoon shift, said Rachel had a great day. "I've never seen her cry," Liz said. "And she likes crawling into my lap. She's very cuddly!"
Well, yes.
"I'm glad that the kids here are so well-socialized!" he told Teacher Karen.
Rachel seems to be making the adjustment to Toddler 1s pretty well. She has fallen right into the nap schedule of 11:30 a.m. or so to 2 p.m. We are holding our breaths that she won't get sick, although one of the daycare attendants did write on her report that she was digging in her left ear yesterday. Hope it's not an infection. We are watching her carefully this weekend.
Last night when I picked her up, Liz, one of the daycare ladies on the afternoon shift, said Rachel had a great day. "I've never seen her cry," Liz said. "And she likes crawling into my lap. She's very cuddly!"
Well, yes.
Walking' baby!
Rachel got herself up off the kitchen floor last night after dinner and WALKED through the dining room to the living room! Apparently the only thing that stopped her was the pile of Legos on the living-room rug that she had dumped out earlier that night.
We had a lovely dinner of cornish game hens, couscous and salad. I had the day off so I had plenty of time to prepare dinner and we got to eat at a decent hour. Then I raced out to buy ingredients for two quick breads (one, orange bread, for a guy who bid $20 for four quick breads I offered at the St. James auction, and the second, chocolate-chip banana bread, for Drew who kept throwing off hints that, well we have two overripe bananas, Lisa, and they'd be perfect for banana bread). By the time I got back, Drew was already putting Rachel down for the night, so I cleaned up the kitchen, made the bread and had just enough time to read a story in New York magazine before writing in my journal and heading to bed.
As I was curled up under the sheets, Drew notified me that we can't really call Rachel a baby anymore since she is walking so much. He said he caught himself calling her a baby and stopped himself because it's really not accurate.
"She's a toddler now!" he said, and I grudgingly agreed. Can she really be growing up? Can she?
We had a lovely dinner of cornish game hens, couscous and salad. I had the day off so I had plenty of time to prepare dinner and we got to eat at a decent hour. Then I raced out to buy ingredients for two quick breads (one, orange bread, for a guy who bid $20 for four quick breads I offered at the St. James auction, and the second, chocolate-chip banana bread, for Drew who kept throwing off hints that, well we have two overripe bananas, Lisa, and they'd be perfect for banana bread). By the time I got back, Drew was already putting Rachel down for the night, so I cleaned up the kitchen, made the bread and had just enough time to read a story in New York magazine before writing in my journal and heading to bed.
As I was curled up under the sheets, Drew notified me that we can't really call Rachel a baby anymore since she is walking so much. He said he caught himself calling her a baby and stopped himself because it's really not accurate.
"She's a toddler now!" he said, and I grudgingly agreed. Can she really be growing up? Can she?
Friday, November 20, 2009
Rough night
Rachel woke up three times last night -- once at 12:30 a.m., again at 5 and then at 6:30 a.m. Drew took her out of her crib and soothed her the first time; I did the honors the second time, and by the third time we were so tired that Drew said, "I think we should just let her cry it out." We did, and so we all slept in until 8:15! At least we got sleep...
She has been kind of whiny the last few days, maybe she's cutting another tooth. Or one of her tear ducts that is clogged is bothering her. Or...maybe she's just whiny for the sake of being whiny. Sigh.
On the bright side: She apparently has a little boyfriend at daycare named Declan. Her daycare report said she really enjoyed holding his hand and dancing with him yesterday! When Drew picked her up, he said she reached out for Declan. What's the next step? Trading lunches?
Also, the daycare ladies say, she likes tuna fish sandwiches.
She has been kind of whiny the last few days, maybe she's cutting another tooth. Or one of her tear ducts that is clogged is bothering her. Or...maybe she's just whiny for the sake of being whiny. Sigh.
On the bright side: She apparently has a little boyfriend at daycare named Declan. Her daycare report said she really enjoyed holding his hand and dancing with him yesterday! When Drew picked her up, he said she reached out for Declan. What's the next step? Trading lunches?
Also, the daycare ladies say, she likes tuna fish sandwiches.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Yay! Rachel's here!
...that was the reaction Drew said he got this morning when he dropped Rachel off at daycare: The other kids seemed very excited to see her. They all gathered around Drew as he took her coat off, as if to say, "yay! Rachel's here! Let the games begin!"
Her daycare reports are pretty sunny: "Rachel was quite the chatterbox today. She had a lot to say." "Rachel had fun playing with her friends in the house." "Rachel loved looking at books and listening to songs being sung."
Drew thinks she has a little friend, Ruby. When he left daycare this morning, Rachel was reaching out to touch Ruby's face.
She cries when we leave her in the morning, but when we pick her up at night, she whines a little when we have to go.
Drew also reports that Rachel LOVES walking although she continues to need assistance. When she holds out her arms to us these days, it's not so much that she wants to be held; she just wants to hold hands with us so we can walk her around the house. A friend of ours who has a daughter a little younger than Rachel says her daughter likes to do laps around the house while her mom cooks dinner. She doesn't run, she just walks everywhere!
Rachel also said "hi" last night when he put her in the car seat. He said "hi!" back to her, and she answered "hi" again.
Her daycare reports are pretty sunny: "Rachel was quite the chatterbox today. She had a lot to say." "Rachel had fun playing with her friends in the house." "Rachel loved looking at books and listening to songs being sung."
Drew thinks she has a little friend, Ruby. When he left daycare this morning, Rachel was reaching out to touch Ruby's face.
She cries when we leave her in the morning, but when we pick her up at night, she whines a little when we have to go.
Drew also reports that Rachel LOVES walking although she continues to need assistance. When she holds out her arms to us these days, it's not so much that she wants to be held; she just wants to hold hands with us so we can walk her around the house. A friend of ours who has a daughter a little younger than Rachel says her daughter likes to do laps around the house while her mom cooks dinner. She doesn't run, she just walks everywhere!
Rachel also said "hi" last night when he put her in the car seat. He said "hi!" back to her, and she answered "hi" again.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Why I sometimes feel I'm a failure as a mommy
I tried to get Rachel to drink milk from a sippy cup tonight. She took one sip, wrinkled her face in complete and utter disgust, then started crying when I wouldn't take the cup from her and told her firmly, "Rachel, you need to try." Then I tried to force her to drink it, and she screamed and sobbed. I finally gave up, poured the milk into a bottle and she eagerly grabbed it.
Maybe it's the fact that I'm tired from last night, but I was really annoyed at her and angry with myself. When she started drinking from a sippy cup, why oh why didn't we just fill it up with milk and throw away the bottles? She can't drink from a bottle forever. How long is it going to take to wean her away from them? Isn't daycare supposed to be helping with this? Will she be only 4-year-old who walks around with a bottle?
I guess I'm just frustrated because she isn't walking completely yet. Tonight she kept holding up her arms, sometimes when she was sitting on the floor and sometimes when she was standing up and leaning against me. I told her NO -- she needs to walk or crawl on her own. (Preferably walk). She can do it, I've seen her, and then she just stops. I'm tired of people tellking me that I don't want her to walk because then she's harder to keep up with. I DO want her to walk because I want her to hop in and out of the car so I don't have to keep lifting her all the time. For heaven's sake, she's 16 months already!! We stopped in a bookstore tonight to buy a birthday gift for our friend Anna's 3-year-old daughter, Ruth, and I had to drag the car seat in and plant it in the children's section while I browsed. I would have loved to be able to walk into the store with Rachel next to me.
It feels as if she is stuck on 12 months and isn't moving forward.
Maybe it's the fact that I'm tired from last night, but I was really annoyed at her and angry with myself. When she started drinking from a sippy cup, why oh why didn't we just fill it up with milk and throw away the bottles? She can't drink from a bottle forever. How long is it going to take to wean her away from them? Isn't daycare supposed to be helping with this? Will she be only 4-year-old who walks around with a bottle?
I guess I'm just frustrated because she isn't walking completely yet. Tonight she kept holding up her arms, sometimes when she was sitting on the floor and sometimes when she was standing up and leaning against me. I told her NO -- she needs to walk or crawl on her own. (Preferably walk). She can do it, I've seen her, and then she just stops. I'm tired of people tellking me that I don't want her to walk because then she's harder to keep up with. I DO want her to walk because I want her to hop in and out of the car so I don't have to keep lifting her all the time. For heaven's sake, she's 16 months already!! We stopped in a bookstore tonight to buy a birthday gift for our friend Anna's 3-year-old daughter, Ruth, and I had to drag the car seat in and plant it in the children's section while I browsed. I would have loved to be able to walk into the store with Rachel next to me.
It feels as if she is stuck on 12 months and isn't moving forward.
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