I could go on and on about how much I love this age. This 2-2.5 age so far has, while living up to its reputation of toddler craziness, been my favorite. Zadie is hilarious and says and does the funniest new things all the time. It's amazing how quickly she's turning into a little person, becoming easier and easier every day to converse with and (sometimes) reason with. Some things about Zadie now and a few of my favorite Zadie-isms...
She believes that band-aids can cover a multitude of offenses...emotional, physical, bleeding, non-bleeding, etc. She is quick to show me that she has a "boo-boo" and needs a band aid as well as to point out my tiny injuries and suggest that I too get a Frozen band aid. The other day, she was revisiting some of her "boo-boo's" and noticed that she had an Elsa band aid and an Olaf band aid. She hurriedly found another boo-boo because she didn't have an Anna band aid.
She's really into turns and being "next". Whenever I go to the bathroom, she comes in to either announce "it's my turn!!!!" or "I'll be next". I'm not sure how she decides whether I'm cutting in line or rightfully taking my turn. Of course, she doesn't have to actually go. She only wants to boss me around. Speaking of the potty, her potty-training was unbelievably easy. We had talked about the potty, and for a long time, she's been telling me when she's going but that she wants to go in her diaper. On September 1st, she saw some princess panties. She said she wanted to wear princess panties and I told her that she was welcome to, but that she'd have to use the potty if she was going to wear princess panties. So she put them on and hasn't had an accident since. I debated whether or not to be bold enough to send her to school the next day in panties or run errands, but she never looked back. Girl loves her princesses.
We went to Disney on Ice recently and Zadie's life was made. She LOVED seeing Minnie, Mickey, and "alllllll da princesses". Before we went, she said she was most excited about seeing Cinderella and Baby Cinderella. Not sure where that came from. She's still asking me when we are going to see all the princesses again. She's also learned through this, that she lives in "Char-wit" and has to wait for the princesses to come back to "Char-wit".
We watch a lot of "Fwozen", sings the songs, and apparently thinks that she sings quite well because she told me today not to sing Let it Go because SHE was singing. We also watch a lot of Mickey Mouse and she knows all those songs and characters too. She kills me when she calls each character out in the intro song. She's been successfully marketed to by yo-kids and asks specifically for "Elsa yogurt" as opposed to the yogurts without pictures on them (hey Costco).
She is into counting, "pwaying sapes" (shapes), and colors. She skips 4 though, almost always, and told me that I could NOT help her count. "I do myself" is another of her favorite phrases. She does really well with her shapes, and even knows pentagon and octagon ("pent-a-don" and "ot-a-don"). She does NOT think that I know my shapes, and likes to ask me what they are.
She's in ballet and LOVES it. She loves her outfit and her teacher. I can't watch class, but she tells me that she dances on her tippy toes (big hit) and that she skips (sorta, maybe...). I think she really likes that there's lots of big girls in there.
She's excited about her baby brother or sister and tells me that it's a baby sister. We shall see! She thinks that the nursery is specifically for her to take care of her babies and the carseat is her favorite. She also likes to point out the baby moving in my belly.
A favorite car game right now is asking what you are. We'll say "are you a cow?" and she'll say "no! I'm not a cow! Are you a....". Zadie's animals that she asks about are super random. Goat, octopus...what??? Other than that little game, she's a tough rider. She throws things and then cries that she can't reach it.
So those are a few things about my girl now. She's my little busy buddy and I'm loving spending time with her in our last few weeks alone. I can't wait to see her bond with her new baby brother or sister :)
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Friday, April 17, 2015
22 Months
Zadie is 22 months old...what?? I tell myself I'll never forget the little things she does and says, but I know I will. She runs everywhere she goes. She tries to "jump"..bending her knees and saying "bun...doo...free!" and then with everything in her, she tries to leap up, but can't even get her feet off the ground (yet). She talks all. the. time. A lot of it, I can't understand, but she's so chatty nonetheless. She LOVES applesauce (ass-auce) and is constantly asking for a "sack. ass-sauce." She loves Mickey Mouse ("mouse") and recently Elmo. She likes to tell me that I'm "all done" with what I'm watching and it's time for Sesame Street by saying "all done! Elmo!" and grabs the remote. She's so sweet and loves to share and to help, especially helping me clean, vacuuming and sweeping specifically. She's really interested in her cats and likes to ask where each of them are. Tabs, Navi, and Mini are "Taz, Nami, and Meeeee". Also of note, she knows that Tabs is a cat, but she thinks that tigers are "Taz"'s. An ego boost for tabs I guess. At bedtime she gets only child syndrome BAD. She asks for hugs, squeezes, and kisses from me and Sean multiple times. It goes something like this: "mommy tiss, daddy SEEZE, mommy tug!, daddy tiss!, mommy tug! daddy SEEZE!" and goes on like that. It's sweet, so we indulge her. Girl LOVES an Easter Egg hunt and assumed after our first hunt of the season that we do it every day now. She also loves her baby and coloring. She's also a little sassy, if you define "a little sassy" as laying down- flailing back- screaming and yelling, kicking your feet over say- not being able to rip the toilet paper "paypa".
Some of my favorite Zadie-isms:
Water = Wasin
All birds = ducks...just recently we've added "gooooooooose", bats, and birds. A month ago, even an ostrich was a "guck" who says "cack cack!!"
Small 4 legged animals including squirrels and pigs = doggies...this is funny because Zadie loves animals and can identify most by pointing to what I ask for, but in public, they're doggies
Large 4-legged animals are "moos", unless it's a "gee-ga" (Zebra) or a horse. A month ago, horses were also "moos". Audrey has corrected her a number of times with "Zadie! I already told you! That's a horse!!!"
What is she up to? What is our schedule like? Well we didn't observe daylight savings, so we went from a 7-7 schedule to an 8-8. She naps 1-4. That transition was HARD. She didn't totally drop 2 naps until 18 months. She dropped it every other day from 15-18. She goes to school 9-1 on Tuesday and Thursday and loves it. She really likes art and they do a lot of that! She swims on Wednesdays and is doing great. She finishes "transitional tot" this week and I am totally out of the water. She dives (her party trick), jumps, and makes some forward progression. I've been a proud mom. It was tough for her to get used to being without me in the water, but I think we've made it. This summer she's taking a break and going to 2 3-day camps at her school. My hope is that that will keep her from being too surprised when she goes back in the fall. We're planning to fill our days with the pool, Carowinds, nature preserve activities, and maybe some gym or art classes. Love this age with my girl- trying to enjoy each day with her, I know it won't last long!
Some of my favorite Zadie-isms:
Water = Wasin
All birds = ducks...just recently we've added "gooooooooose", bats, and birds. A month ago, even an ostrich was a "guck" who says "cack cack!!"
Small 4 legged animals including squirrels and pigs = doggies...this is funny because Zadie loves animals and can identify most by pointing to what I ask for, but in public, they're doggies
Large 4-legged animals are "moos", unless it's a "gee-ga" (Zebra) or a horse. A month ago, horses were also "moos". Audrey has corrected her a number of times with "Zadie! I already told you! That's a horse!!!"
What is she up to? What is our schedule like? Well we didn't observe daylight savings, so we went from a 7-7 schedule to an 8-8. She naps 1-4. That transition was HARD. She didn't totally drop 2 naps until 18 months. She dropped it every other day from 15-18. She goes to school 9-1 on Tuesday and Thursday and loves it. She really likes art and they do a lot of that! She swims on Wednesdays and is doing great. She finishes "transitional tot" this week and I am totally out of the water. She dives (her party trick), jumps, and makes some forward progression. I've been a proud mom. It was tough for her to get used to being without me in the water, but I think we've made it. This summer she's taking a break and going to 2 3-day camps at her school. My hope is that that will keep her from being too surprised when she goes back in the fall. We're planning to fill our days with the pool, Carowinds, nature preserve activities, and maybe some gym or art classes. Love this age with my girl- trying to enjoy each day with her, I know it won't last long!
Monday, February 3, 2014
Trying
In these early days of parenting, I have found so much truth in the colloquialism that experienced parents tend to share with new parents, that parenting is the hardest and most rewarding job in the world.
As a new mother of a baby who's only (almost) 7 months old, I know that we have a long way to go, and already, amidst the commonplace difficulties of losing sleep, money, time, and flexibility, it's just so worth it. Even the trying days have left me excited to see her again in the morning (or later that night, although obviously that's less exciting). And while I had anticipated those things, it's the balancing that I have found difficult and (I think) that even if more seasoned parents wouldn't readily have cited the difficulty of balance as a motivator for the aforementioned colloquialism, that surely at least on some level, it is.
The physical strain, emotional strain, and all consuming scary type of love is definitely not to be underestimated, as I don't think that anyone could have adequately prepared me for the pull that our little person could exert on every facet of our existence, yet it is still the balance that always seems to leave me hoping (in the word's of the author of another article that I read recently) that my inadequacies will not somehow hinder my daughter and leave her lacking. And out of this, I have felt a dependence on the grace of God like nothing that I had ever known.
There's the little decisions and balancing issues. Really little things that I had never even considered are such hot topics on Pinterest, Mom Blogs, and general conversation, that I feel like it would be near impossible to handle them in a way that facilitates the growth of my child in the best possible way. There's crying it out- how long do I let her cry so that she will develop self soothing capabilities, good sleep habits, and good problem solving skills, but not learn that I will not be there when she needs me? There's the things like vaccines, fluoride, GMOs, baby led weaning, organic foods, and cloth diapering. My pediatrician knows a lot more about child development and health than I ever will, but where do I draw the line between "just doing what the doctor says" and "having a questioning attitude"? When I have a preschooler, will Christmas be magical enough even when I inevitably forget to move the elf for half of the December days and he didn't have a "north pole breakfast" to announce his arrival? I can't even seem to get our card out BEFORE Christmas and that's basic!
And while I'm sure that all of those little things and decisions that seem so big now will ultimately not be, there ARE big things that I pray that we will find the right balance in. How will we teach our daughter to be humble AND self confident and that her identity is not dependent on her looks or her skills or her intelligence but rather in who she is in Christ? How will we find the balance between encouraging her to do well at things and letting her know how beautiful and wonderful we think that she is at certain skills without leading her to believe that those things, things that can be taken away, are where her worth is? And then even bigger, brought to our attention by our e group, how do you teach a child about the grace AND the judgement of God? That she needs to have a fear of the Lord, but that His grace is still sufficient for all of her shortcomings. As she grows, how can we correct her while letting her know how much we love her? What a responsibility that is to lead our daughter to know and understand these things.
Ultimately, I know that balance in these things and in all of the little things is something that we have prayed for and I believe that our prayers will be answered through each day with the little decisions that make up each day, each week, each year to grow our daughter into who she was created to be. And to take the advice of a very wise woman who I was lucky enough to be a student of, on the days that I don't feel like it's true that He will answer this prayer, I still KNOW he will, and will fake it 'til I feel it.
So thankful for a God who cares about EVERY detail of our lives from cloth diapers and crying-it-out to leading our children to walk with Him. And so thankful for this little girl who has taught me so much more about life, love, sacrifice, and responsibility just in the seven months that she has been here than I ever thought I would know.
As a new mother of a baby who's only (almost) 7 months old, I know that we have a long way to go, and already, amidst the commonplace difficulties of losing sleep, money, time, and flexibility, it's just so worth it. Even the trying days have left me excited to see her again in the morning (or later that night, although obviously that's less exciting). And while I had anticipated those things, it's the balancing that I have found difficult and (I think) that even if more seasoned parents wouldn't readily have cited the difficulty of balance as a motivator for the aforementioned colloquialism, that surely at least on some level, it is.
The physical strain, emotional strain, and all consuming scary type of love is definitely not to be underestimated, as I don't think that anyone could have adequately prepared me for the pull that our little person could exert on every facet of our existence, yet it is still the balance that always seems to leave me hoping (in the word's of the author of another article that I read recently) that my inadequacies will not somehow hinder my daughter and leave her lacking. And out of this, I have felt a dependence on the grace of God like nothing that I had ever known.
There's the little decisions and balancing issues. Really little things that I had never even considered are such hot topics on Pinterest, Mom Blogs, and general conversation, that I feel like it would be near impossible to handle them in a way that facilitates the growth of my child in the best possible way. There's crying it out- how long do I let her cry so that she will develop self soothing capabilities, good sleep habits, and good problem solving skills, but not learn that I will not be there when she needs me? There's the things like vaccines, fluoride, GMOs, baby led weaning, organic foods, and cloth diapering. My pediatrician knows a lot more about child development and health than I ever will, but where do I draw the line between "just doing what the doctor says" and "having a questioning attitude"? When I have a preschooler, will Christmas be magical enough even when I inevitably forget to move the elf for half of the December days and he didn't have a "north pole breakfast" to announce his arrival? I can't even seem to get our card out BEFORE Christmas and that's basic!
And while I'm sure that all of those little things and decisions that seem so big now will ultimately not be, there ARE big things that I pray that we will find the right balance in. How will we teach our daughter to be humble AND self confident and that her identity is not dependent on her looks or her skills or her intelligence but rather in who she is in Christ? How will we find the balance between encouraging her to do well at things and letting her know how beautiful and wonderful we think that she is at certain skills without leading her to believe that those things, things that can be taken away, are where her worth is? And then even bigger, brought to our attention by our e group, how do you teach a child about the grace AND the judgement of God? That she needs to have a fear of the Lord, but that His grace is still sufficient for all of her shortcomings. As she grows, how can we correct her while letting her know how much we love her? What a responsibility that is to lead our daughter to know and understand these things.
Ultimately, I know that balance in these things and in all of the little things is something that we have prayed for and I believe that our prayers will be answered through each day with the little decisions that make up each day, each week, each year to grow our daughter into who she was created to be. And to take the advice of a very wise woman who I was lucky enough to be a student of, on the days that I don't feel like it's true that He will answer this prayer, I still KNOW he will, and will fake it 'til I feel it.
So thankful for a God who cares about EVERY detail of our lives from cloth diapers and crying-it-out to leading our children to walk with Him. And so thankful for this little girl who has taught me so much more about life, love, sacrifice, and responsibility just in the seven months that she has been here than I ever thought I would know.
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Zadie's Birth
We ended up having to wait until Tuesday morning, May 21 for an induction to have Miss Zadie, after 6 weeks of engagement, contractions, and constantly thinking "maybe today's the day"! May 21 was 9 days after my original due date and 5 days after a later due date. I learned that 41 weeks of pregnancy is a different thing than 36, 37, or even 38 weeks of pregnancy. At 37 weeks, I'd gained 25 pounds and was happily walking around with nary a stretch mark expecting Zadie to come any day. By 41, I'd been pregnant for an additional month, packed on 40 pounds, and had stretch marks everywhere. Now that I have her, it doesn't seem like that month was that long, but I know that it was.
Overall, Zadie's birth was really great. We checked in around 9, started Pitocin at 9:30, broke my water around 12, and started hard contractions shortly after. I went in with an open mind about the epidural. Sort of wanting the experience of giving birth without it, but not ruling it out. In retrospect, I think that's a dumb idea, I feel like the experience was had, and next time I'll ask for it when I get there. I definitely did not have an appreciation for the amount of pain that labor involved. Prior to this experience, I'd never been in any real pain so I didn't know how much it could hurt. My mistake involving the epidural was waiting until long past when I wanted it to actually ask for it and subsequently finding out that I needed TWO liters of fluid to get it and I'd only had one. So around 3, at 8 cm, my nurse let the fluid run wide open to get that last liter in. As a consequence of my waiting, the epidural worked very briefly, and only on my right side. Despite all of my repositioning that the nurse wanted me to try before giving me something else, it wouldn't cross whatever nerve that it needed to cross. According to my nurse, this was because since Zadie was already so low, her head was blocking my nerve. The epidural did, however, offer about 20 minutes when I felt like I could catch my breath.
Finally, after trying all of the "nursing interventions" to get my epidural working, she finally called the anesthesiologist back at around 5:00. He gave me something else that worked like a charm viscerally and allowed me not to feel any of the pushing. After seeing the aftermath, I'm really glad that I missed out on what that would have felt like. Hence, I feel like I got the experience and am glad that I didn't get the rest of it.
Zadie arrived at 5:36 weighing in at 8 pounds, 11 ounces, and 21 inches long. She looked just like Sean and was mad as a hatter.
Overall, Zadie's birth was really great. We checked in around 9, started Pitocin at 9:30, broke my water around 12, and started hard contractions shortly after. I went in with an open mind about the epidural. Sort of wanting the experience of giving birth without it, but not ruling it out. In retrospect, I think that's a dumb idea, I feel like the experience was had, and next time I'll ask for it when I get there. I definitely did not have an appreciation for the amount of pain that labor involved. Prior to this experience, I'd never been in any real pain so I didn't know how much it could hurt. My mistake involving the epidural was waiting until long past when I wanted it to actually ask for it and subsequently finding out that I needed TWO liters of fluid to get it and I'd only had one. So around 3, at 8 cm, my nurse let the fluid run wide open to get that last liter in. As a consequence of my waiting, the epidural worked very briefly, and only on my right side. Despite all of my repositioning that the nurse wanted me to try before giving me something else, it wouldn't cross whatever nerve that it needed to cross. According to my nurse, this was because since Zadie was already so low, her head was blocking my nerve. The epidural did, however, offer about 20 minutes when I felt like I could catch my breath.
Finally, after trying all of the "nursing interventions" to get my epidural working, she finally called the anesthesiologist back at around 5:00. He gave me something else that worked like a charm viscerally and allowed me not to feel any of the pushing. After seeing the aftermath, I'm really glad that I missed out on what that would have felt like. Hence, I feel like I got the experience and am glad that I didn't get the rest of it.
Zadie arrived at 5:36 weighing in at 8 pounds, 11 ounces, and 21 inches long. She looked just like Sean and was mad as a hatter.
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Full Term
35: Zadie was engaged at our appointment this week :)
36: 2 cm, 80%, fully engaged. She weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces on ultrasound and had a 33 cm head. 66th percentile. I got out of work for a week since she was so ready to show up and we didn't want that to happen before 37 weeks.
37: 2 cm, 80%, 0 station. This week we packed our hospital bag and Zadie stayed in there through the full moon.
38: 2 cm, 80%, 0-+1 station. Still waiting...
39: 3 cm, 90%, +1 station. 7 pounds, 5 ounces on ultrasound, 68th percentile. 34 cm head. They said ultrasound measurements were accurate within 10%. That makes her between 6 pounds, 9 ounces and 8 pounds even. Still waiting...
40: 3 cm, 90%, +1 station. Zadie passed her NST with flying colors. So still waiting...
41: We are thinking that Zadie's due date was a couple of days off since our "dates" due date and early ultrasound measurements were off by a few days. Lots of contractions, still no baby. We scheduled an induction for Tuesday morning. I never thought I'd love the idea of a Pitocin IV, but I do.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Baby-Mooning
A few weeks ago, Sean and I went to Charleston for our last getaway before our little girl arrives. We mostly just had breakfast at the bed and breakfast (which they serve on a silver platter to your actual bed, which is cool), walked around, and ate good food at Charleston's most popular restaurants. We're big on local cuisine and Charleston is a great place for that!
Our room at The Battery Carriage House Inn. We found out on our second night that this place is supposedly haunted with several ghosts.
Patriot's Point. Sean's grandfather was an engineer in the navy and worked on these boats, so it was really neat to go through and see them. It did require stepping through portholes on the submarine to get from room to room, and at 34 weeks pregnant, that's easier said than done :) Sean said it probably wasn't designed for pregnant women.
34 weeks on the battery
The Inn- this main house is actually a residence and the rooms used for the bed and breakfast are in the carriage house
The gardens outside of our room
Celebrating Miss Zadie
We have had the opportunity over the past 6 weeks or so to celebrate our baby girl with all of our different groups of friends and family in so many fun and creative ways. Everyone has been so kind and generous to her, as she's been gifted about everything that a little girl could possibly need, and has had her life prayed over by so many people that we love.
In these last couple of weeks as we prepare for her arrival, we finished her nursery, picked out some outfits for her to have at the hospital, installed her carseat, packed a suitcase, prepped her cloth diaper collection, and become the wiser on sleep habits of babies and children with the help of some of the field's "leading experts". So I'll dare to say that I really think that we're ready for this little chick to make her appearance.
The doctor tells me that this much anticipated day will be sooner rather than later. Last week, at our 36 week appointment, I was 2 cm dilated with a very favorable cervix, and Miss Zadie was at a 0-+1 station leading our doctor's best prediction to be a delivery within the next 2 weeks (but we all know just how (un)reliable delivery predictions can be, so take it with a grain of salt). As a result, I am having to sit with light activity for the week while I wait to be full term in just a couple of days. We are so excited! Sean and I both agreed that we think that we sort of understand the pride that people take in their children. While the doctor seemed almost alarmed at Zadie's progress at only 36 weeks, worried that she would come before 37, Sean and I both saw it as none other than proof of our child's genius that she would be ahead of other babies her age :) So now I guess we just wait.
In these last couple of weeks as we prepare for her arrival, we finished her nursery, picked out some outfits for her to have at the hospital, installed her carseat, packed a suitcase, prepped her cloth diaper collection, and become the wiser on sleep habits of babies and children with the help of some of the field's "leading experts". So I'll dare to say that I really think that we're ready for this little chick to make her appearance.
Baby girl's bows
Where our Christmas decorations used to reside. Sean said that he is in complete shock over all that's needed for a baby.
This Christening gown has been in my family for over 100 years. When my great-grandmother (for whom I am named) was studying at Cambridge around 1905-1910, the woman who sewed for the queen of England made this gown for her. It traveled back to Norway and was used when she had her two children. It was passed down to my grandmother and used for her 2 children, and then to my dad who used it for the three of us. Sean and I go to a non-denominational church and so Zadie will not be baptized as an infant, but to keep this family heirloom alive, I think that she will wear it at her dedication.
Thanks to Heather for making this pretty bumper exactly as I had described :)
Dresser/changing table
From the door of her room
The doctor tells me that this much anticipated day will be sooner rather than later. Last week, at our 36 week appointment, I was 2 cm dilated with a very favorable cervix, and Miss Zadie was at a 0-+1 station leading our doctor's best prediction to be a delivery within the next 2 weeks (but we all know just how (un)reliable delivery predictions can be, so take it with a grain of salt). As a result, I am having to sit with light activity for the week while I wait to be full term in just a couple of days. We are so excited! Sean and I both agreed that we think that we sort of understand the pride that people take in their children. While the doctor seemed almost alarmed at Zadie's progress at only 36 weeks, worried that she would come before 37, Sean and I both saw it as none other than proof of our child's genius that she would be ahead of other babies her age :) So now I guess we just wait.
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