Tuesdays with Mom

Mom is trying out something new. She is staying home with us girls on Tuesdays. This is the first week we're all home together.

We like staying home with her, but were taken aback by the idea that dad would go to work but we didn't go to school this morning.

So far, mom has finished another load and put away three loads of laundry, gone shopping with us, and we all sat down together for breakfast, lunch, and (most importantly) some nice playtime.

What's so Funny?

When mom dropped me off at school yesterday I joined the other kids at the breakfast table with my cereal, juice, and fruit.

One of the other girls at the table was laughing uncontrollably. My teacher asked her, "What's so funny?" but she just cracked up again and replied, "That was sooo funny!"

Mom started chortling and asked me, "What is she laughing at." As the girl continued with her breakfast table hysterics, I just gave my mom a look and said, "It wasn't funny."

Suddenly both my mom and teacher were laughing. I just don't understand adults.

Rolled Over

Today I rolled over for the first time! I was at school so neither mom or dad saw it, but I've come close to rolling over for them as well.

I'm also becoming quite the talker. I love chatting and giggling.

My favorite game, though, is trying to see how long I can keep the adults around me smiling. It seems that all I have to do is give them a big toothless grin and maybe a little coo and any adult within earshot is smiling too.

2 Month Check-Up

Last week Monday I had my 2 Month check-up. I'm happy, healthy, and growing. They weighed me at exactly 12lbs (above average for my age) and my mom has transitioned my cloths from the 0-3mo size to 3-6mo.

Vegetarian Dinners

I've decided to try to eat less meat. This doesn't mean I'm a vegetarian since my goal is to back down to 2-3 meals a week with meat. I'm not even trying to be a semi-vegetarian or "flexitarian" because when I do eat meat I tend to choose beef first. That beef-first approach may contradict the reason for less meat, but I have low iron... and beef really is much more tasty than poultry!

My motives are mostly green-based. The environmental impact of raising animals is not marginal. Many are sensitive to the costs of feed but there is also the effect of the antibacterial drugs fed to these animals. I was shocked when I learned about the quantity of antibacterial drugs used and I must assume that farm animals contribute heavily to the drug-resistant strains we now see cropping up.

How am I doing this? Mostly through selecting vegetarian options at lunch and when eating dinner out combined with taking the initiative to cook a vegetarian dinner at home once a week. Then M and other meals prepared by friends etc can be a meat-filled as they wish and I minimize my impact on other's food preparations.

So what can I cook at home that a husband and 2yr old will eat? That is where I've turned to the Moosewood Cookbooks. M and I use to eat at the Moosewood Restaurant a lot when we were dating so I'm hoping to find a few recipies in there that he will like. Last night I tried a North African recipie for stuffed peppers with a feta cheese sauce. S liked the rice covered in cheese although the flavors were very subtle. I'm not sure it will be part of my standard rotation, but we'll see.

Crazy Sock Day

School had Crazy Sock Day and I borrowed some of mom's old Elmo socks. I was quite excited about it.

Video of an Artist

Please enjoy the following video highlighting my recent creative endeavor.

Favorite Things

These are a few of my favorite things...

• Eating
• Sleeping
  
• A warm washcloth wiping me off right before getting a clean diaper
• Kicking the duck chime, a stuffed animal, a friendly hand... anything
• The sound of my mom's voice
• My dad during tummy time
• My sister all the time
• Attention, especially from a smiling face
  

Lounging Poolside

My sister seems to think splashing in the pool is a great thing to do. Last weekend she went swimming three times and still wanted more! Her favorite activities seemed to include spraying her nephew with a water shooter.

After a while, she wrapped this big clunky vest around herself and she loved it even more. It looked like the adults all backed off her just a little and she reveled in that little bit of independence.

Then she found the garden hose and it's small trickle of (very cold) water pouring into the pool. All the adults, especially her aunt, gave a big reaction every time S splashed the hose in their direction, which, of course, just encouraged her further.

Her final activity was to jump into the water. This seemed to be fun too, although it looked like S was enjoying the freedom of getting in and out of the pool more than the actual act of jumping into the water.

Through all of this, I just enjoyed hanging out at the side of the pool.

New Blog Feature

Note that I just added a feature that lets you subscribe to this blog (look on the right side of this page just below the "Intro to the Family"). Now you can learn about updates instantly.

School Adjustments

This was a draining week.

A is doing great in the infant room. On Tuesday, we were still trying to use a rather funky bottle system (award winning for evil plastic chemicals but not a very practical design) and she didn't take to the new caregiver giving her a bottle, but since we changed over to a more traditional bottle system (that still lacks most of the evil chemicals) she's been great. Now I just have to learn how much she wants to drink (she keeps draining every bottle dry!).

S isn't handling the transition as well, though. Both the kids and the teachers are mostly the same but the room is different and her favorite teacher moved out as well. We've had a couple of difficult evenings this week. Yesterday morning was a very dramatic drop-off. And last night she didn't sleep well.

Everyone asks me how the baby is doing with the changes and if she is letting me sleep, yet it is the toddler I feel I need to focus on and has me up at night requiring extra TLC.

But this morning's drop-off was pretty smooth so I'm hoping for brighter skies next week.

Potty Successes

I've made it a full week without an accident now!

Survived

Mom arrived at my side early this afternoon and found me happily napping surrounded by toys. She had no reason to fret.

First Day

S is now at her first day in the yellow room (a room for the oldest toddlers, just before entering preschool).

A is now at her first day in the young infant room.

and I survived my first dual-drop-off and made it into work without letting a tear escape.