Elizabeth is smiling! As in real, intentional smiles in response to things. Joe has noted in recent days that he had gotten what seemed to be real smiles and today I got them and they were definitely real because they were replicable. Every time I brought my face in close to hers she smiled!
I can't tell you how happy this makes me, both because it is fun and because it is such a good developmental sign.
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Monday, December 9, 2013
Christmas Card Pics
We took the pictures for our Christmas card yesterday. And given that Elizabeth was screaming for the first 2/3 (I would put the pacifier in to calm her down and then pull it out when the photographer said "3") and that they had only 10 minute rushed slots because of the holidays, it went much better than it could have. JC Penney has now made it impossible to pull even low-res images from the site, so I can only post pics of the outfits.
Nicholas spent the weekend obsessed with these mermaid paper dolls. One of the student teachers at his school made him one on Friday. He then made his own replica and has since made one for each of us. Ariel has gone everywhere with us, although I put bans on places where she had to stay in the diaper bag.
I allowed Ariel to come to the mall but forbid her from being in the pictures. When Nicholas asked why I explained that she wasn't part of the family. His response: "But I made her last name _____." He is getting too clever for me.
 |
| From 2013 December |
 |
| From 2013 December |
 |
| From 2013 December |
Nicholas spent the weekend obsessed with these mermaid paper dolls. One of the student teachers at his school made him one on Friday. He then made his own replica and has since made one for each of us. Ariel has gone everywhere with us, although I put bans on places where she had to stay in the diaper bag.
I allowed Ariel to come to the mall but forbid her from being in the pictures. When Nicholas asked why I explained that she wasn't part of the family. His response: "But I made her last name _____." He is getting too clever for me.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Stalking Santa
We almost had a holiday disaster yesterday. Santa was going to be at church for our Christmas bazaar and so we had been talking all week about seeing Santa. Nicholas had been thinking up questions to ask him all week. (As a side note, it is so Nicholas to come up with questions instead of a list of requests.) I could have sworn the bulletin said Santa would be there 11-1, but when we showed up at noon we were told that he was there 9-11 and so was gone. Oh no!
Nicholas was crushed. He didn't throw a fit or anything, but he was on the verge of tears. And I was both disappointed and feeling incredibly guilty. And so I began trying to think of ways to get him to see Santa. And then I remembered that Clair had posted about tree lighting festivities in her town (one town north of us). So I looked it up when we got home and, sure enough, Santa was going to be there and meeting with kids. So we changed the plan for the day. Joe was at a choir concert but my mom and I took the kids to the festivities.
We went to see Santa first, since that was the most important objective. And we're glad we did that first because we had to wait in line for half an hour and just made it before Santa had to take an hour break to participate in the activities around the Christmas tree. Nicholas was very patient waiting in line. And Elizabeth was zonked.
When we finally made it to Santa, Nicholas got super-shy all of the sudden. Santa was totally awesome, but he could only wait so long for Nicholas to be willing to talk since there was a long line and many of those families were going to have to wait out his long break as it was. Santa did make Nicholas laugh
and of course I had to get a picture of both kids with Santa
and Nicholas finally spit out one of his questions (why does Santa live where it is so cold) as we were leaving.
We then met up with Clair and family and got the kids balloon animals, decorated cookies, and decorated ornaments. Well, the kids decorated things.
And Elizabeth slept through the whole thing. It was very cold out and we were in and out of buildings, so I had her all bundled up and in the baby bjorn.
It helps that she is suddenly in the last week getting more predictable. She still doesn't have a real schedule yet but between 6am and 7pm she is going about 3 hours between feedings after a given feeding I can generally predict whether she is going to have alert time and cat naps or a 3-hour nap based on what the rest of her day has looked like.
So what started as a disaster turned into a delightful adventure. I love when that happens.
Nicholas was crushed. He didn't throw a fit or anything, but he was on the verge of tears. And I was both disappointed and feeling incredibly guilty. And so I began trying to think of ways to get him to see Santa. And then I remembered that Clair had posted about tree lighting festivities in her town (one town north of us). So I looked it up when we got home and, sure enough, Santa was going to be there and meeting with kids. So we changed the plan for the day. Joe was at a choir concert but my mom and I took the kids to the festivities.
We went to see Santa first, since that was the most important objective. And we're glad we did that first because we had to wait in line for half an hour and just made it before Santa had to take an hour break to participate in the activities around the Christmas tree. Nicholas was very patient waiting in line. And Elizabeth was zonked.
 |
| From 2013 December |
When we finally made it to Santa, Nicholas got super-shy all of the sudden. Santa was totally awesome, but he could only wait so long for Nicholas to be willing to talk since there was a long line and many of those families were going to have to wait out his long break as it was. Santa did make Nicholas laugh
 |
| From 2013 December |
and of course I had to get a picture of both kids with Santa
 |
| From 2013 December |
and Nicholas finally spit out one of his questions (why does Santa live where it is so cold) as we were leaving.
We then met up with Clair and family and got the kids balloon animals, decorated cookies, and decorated ornaments. Well, the kids decorated things.
And Elizabeth slept through the whole thing. It was very cold out and we were in and out of buildings, so I had her all bundled up and in the baby bjorn.
 |
| From 2013 December |
 |
| From 2013 December |
It helps that she is suddenly in the last week getting more predictable. She still doesn't have a real schedule yet but between 6am and 7pm she is going about 3 hours between feedings after a given feeding I can generally predict whether she is going to have alert time and cat naps or a 3-hour nap based on what the rest of her day has looked like.
So what started as a disaster turned into a delightful adventure. I love when that happens.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
St. Nick's Eve
We're ready for St. Nick's arrival tonight.
And Nicholas wanted to make sure Grandma wouldn't forget to put her shoe out so he wrote her a note that she'll see when she gets in from the airport.
He has been asking so so so many questions about Santa recently. I have started telling him he'll have to ask Santa because I just can't spin elaborate enough lies to answer all of his detailed practical questions. The Santa at our Christmas bazaar on Saturday is going to hate me.
He just came out really worried that Elizabeth will cry during the night and St. Nick will leave. Go to bed!
 |
| From 2013 December |
And Nicholas wanted to make sure Grandma wouldn't forget to put her shoe out so he wrote her a note that she'll see when she gets in from the airport.
 |
| From 2013 December |
He has been asking so so so many questions about Santa recently. I have started telling him he'll have to ask Santa because I just can't spin elaborate enough lies to answer all of his detailed practical questions. The Santa at our Christmas bazaar on Saturday is going to hate me.
He just came out really worried that Elizabeth will cry during the night and St. Nick will leave. Go to bed!
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Math
A few of Nicholas' recent word problems:
-There are 3 boys and 3 girls here, so there are 6 people.
-[Counting 7 cherry tomatoes in his bowl.] "Daddy, I need 3 more." "Why?" "Because then I'll have 10."
-"I think it is the sixth day of Hanukah." "Why?" "Because this morning when I saw the menorah [on the town green] there were two spaces left."
Someone apparently has been learning math while we weren't looking. His teacher also told us the other day that when she asked Nicholas to count to 20 for her he surprised her by counting to 100.
-There are 3 boys and 3 girls here, so there are 6 people.
-[Counting 7 cherry tomatoes in his bowl.] "Daddy, I need 3 more." "Why?" "Because then I'll have 10."
-"I think it is the sixth day of Hanukah." "Why?" "Because this morning when I saw the menorah [on the town green] there were two spaces left."
Someone apparently has been learning math while we weren't looking. His teacher also told us the other day that when she asked Nicholas to count to 20 for her he surprised her by counting to 100.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Updates Again
I get to the computer to post so rarely that it seems like all I write are list-like update posts. But I guess that is better that than nothing.
Elizabeth suddenly seems so much older! And I really mean suddenly. In the last two days there seems to be noticeably more animation and personality in her eyes. And she is engaging more with us and her toys. Now, it is a matter of degrees and nothing like that of the 3-month old, but she will focus in on a specific object and get really animated (face, arms, and legs) and coo at it. And she seems to be starting to consider us at least close to as interesting as the lights on the other side of the room.
Nicholas still has his moments, but his behavior has noticeably mellowed in the last couple weeks. Tonight he really didn't want to go to bed since Elizabeth was up, but instead of throwing a fit, he came back out and just curled up silently on the couch next to me and snuggled in. I couldn't easily force him back to bed because I was nursing Elizabeth and Joe was at choir, but I told him I wasn't going to talk to him. And he sat there for close to an hour with only a handful of words and no tv or anything, just wanting to be with us while she ate and I read.
I was back in the classroom today for the first time since Elizabeth was born. I won't say back to work because I would only consider the first 5 or so days actually off. And the Thanksgiving weekend, which I took almost completely off. But the days in between I was doing work from home. And I have to say, being back in the classroom and on campus is way better than the working from home was. Working from home I was feeling stretched so thin as I tried to type out comments on student papers with one hand while nursing or holding Elizabeth. And I didn't get any of the positives that come from the human interactions of actually being at work. Today was much better because I was only focused on work and I got to have the classroom interactions I love. And really if it wasn't for having to pump and everything that goes along with that it would have felt like nothing had changed. I picked up with my classes right where we left off and after I blanked on one student's name at the very beginning of the first class, everything fell back into place. The only problem is that I'm really tired. I may not have to juggle the baby and work on Tuesdays (Joe doesn't teach Tuesdays), but I forgot to factor in the impact of very little and broken sleep. And tonight I have wished at least a dozen times that Joe didn't have choir. This catnap Elizabeth is giving me right now is helping my sanity (and allowing me to write), but she is sleeping so lightly I can't put her down, which means no nap for me. Luckily Joe is taking his personal day (we get one a semester) tomorrow, so I can ask him to help out some overnight.
I have spent a lot of this evening pacing the apartment with Elizabeth singing along to Christmas music or making up my own words to songs when I can't hear the song or the radio is on ads. I am working hard to remind myself how special and fleeting these days are. On a day like today when I'm tired and missing having 7-12 each evening to myself, I am having to fight to remember that holding my little girl and singing to her is actually way better than working or watching tv. It is so hard in the moment, but I know it is true in actuality. And so I tried to soak it in. But those moments honestly already are fuzzy. I'm just so tired.
Elizabeth actually had a really good night by her standards last night. She slept in the bassinet 12-5:30. Not straight, but she did do two 2-hour blocks. And, most importantly, she went back into the bassinet with no complaints or problems after the first two feedings. I think that actually is the biggest factor in how I feel about the night. How many times she gets up and the total amount of sleep I get both matter some, but how much I have to fight to get her down is what shapes my attitude. It is super frustrating when she is crying 5 minutes after I put her down. Switching the bassinet to the rocking setting and putting it next to the bed helps some because sometimes I can get her back to sleep by rocking her for a bit, but quite often she then fusses again when I stop rocking. And I've lost track of the number of times I have drifted off while rocking the bassinet and woke up to her fussing to realize that my hand was still on the bassinet but not moving. We have been swaddling her again for the past week, with mixed results. The first night it seemed to make a big difference, but since then it doesn't really seem to have. We were so hopeful since she is willing to sleep 2-3 hour stretches regularly in anything that encircles her (swing, bouncy seat, carseat, our arms). Don't ask me why I have no problem doing all her naps in those ways during the day but insist on the bassinet at night. Apparently the assumption that nighttime=bed is stronger than my desire to get longer blocks of sleep at night.
There are a ridiculous number of photos in the November album. (Hmm, now that I think about it, a few of those are from December--I forgot the month had changed. Oh well, I'm not moving them.) Joe's entire family was here over the Thanksgiving weekend so we had new things/people to take pictures of. Here are just a handful of my favorites, but go to the album if you want to see more:
Elizabeth suddenly seems so much older! And I really mean suddenly. In the last two days there seems to be noticeably more animation and personality in her eyes. And she is engaging more with us and her toys. Now, it is a matter of degrees and nothing like that of the 3-month old, but she will focus in on a specific object and get really animated (face, arms, and legs) and coo at it. And she seems to be starting to consider us at least close to as interesting as the lights on the other side of the room.
 |
| From 2013 November |
 |
| From 2013 November |
 |
| From 2013 November |
Nicholas still has his moments, but his behavior has noticeably mellowed in the last couple weeks. Tonight he really didn't want to go to bed since Elizabeth was up, but instead of throwing a fit, he came back out and just curled up silently on the couch next to me and snuggled in. I couldn't easily force him back to bed because I was nursing Elizabeth and Joe was at choir, but I told him I wasn't going to talk to him. And he sat there for close to an hour with only a handful of words and no tv or anything, just wanting to be with us while she ate and I read.
I was back in the classroom today for the first time since Elizabeth was born. I won't say back to work because I would only consider the first 5 or so days actually off. And the Thanksgiving weekend, which I took almost completely off. But the days in between I was doing work from home. And I have to say, being back in the classroom and on campus is way better than the working from home was. Working from home I was feeling stretched so thin as I tried to type out comments on student papers with one hand while nursing or holding Elizabeth. And I didn't get any of the positives that come from the human interactions of actually being at work. Today was much better because I was only focused on work and I got to have the classroom interactions I love. And really if it wasn't for having to pump and everything that goes along with that it would have felt like nothing had changed. I picked up with my classes right where we left off and after I blanked on one student's name at the very beginning of the first class, everything fell back into place. The only problem is that I'm really tired. I may not have to juggle the baby and work on Tuesdays (Joe doesn't teach Tuesdays), but I forgot to factor in the impact of very little and broken sleep. And tonight I have wished at least a dozen times that Joe didn't have choir. This catnap Elizabeth is giving me right now is helping my sanity (and allowing me to write), but she is sleeping so lightly I can't put her down, which means no nap for me. Luckily Joe is taking his personal day (we get one a semester) tomorrow, so I can ask him to help out some overnight.
I have spent a lot of this evening pacing the apartment with Elizabeth singing along to Christmas music or making up my own words to songs when I can't hear the song or the radio is on ads. I am working hard to remind myself how special and fleeting these days are. On a day like today when I'm tired and missing having 7-12 each evening to myself, I am having to fight to remember that holding my little girl and singing to her is actually way better than working or watching tv. It is so hard in the moment, but I know it is true in actuality. And so I tried to soak it in. But those moments honestly already are fuzzy. I'm just so tired.
Elizabeth actually had a really good night by her standards last night. She slept in the bassinet 12-5:30. Not straight, but she did do two 2-hour blocks. And, most importantly, she went back into the bassinet with no complaints or problems after the first two feedings. I think that actually is the biggest factor in how I feel about the night. How many times she gets up and the total amount of sleep I get both matter some, but how much I have to fight to get her down is what shapes my attitude. It is super frustrating when she is crying 5 minutes after I put her down. Switching the bassinet to the rocking setting and putting it next to the bed helps some because sometimes I can get her back to sleep by rocking her for a bit, but quite often she then fusses again when I stop rocking. And I've lost track of the number of times I have drifted off while rocking the bassinet and woke up to her fussing to realize that my hand was still on the bassinet but not moving. We have been swaddling her again for the past week, with mixed results. The first night it seemed to make a big difference, but since then it doesn't really seem to have. We were so hopeful since she is willing to sleep 2-3 hour stretches regularly in anything that encircles her (swing, bouncy seat, carseat, our arms). Don't ask me why I have no problem doing all her naps in those ways during the day but insist on the bassinet at night. Apparently the assumption that nighttime=bed is stronger than my desire to get longer blocks of sleep at night.
There are a ridiculous number of photos in the November album. (Hmm, now that I think about it, a few of those are from December--I forgot the month had changed. Oh well, I'm not moving them.) Joe's entire family was here over the Thanksgiving weekend so we had new things/people to take pictures of. Here are just a handful of my favorites, but go to the album if you want to see more:
 |
| From 2013 November |
 |
| From 2013 November |
 |
| From 2013 November |
 |
| From 2013 November |
 |
| From 2013 November |
 |
| From 2013 November |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)