Such a little girl.

Sunday my baby took a baby to nap with her for the first time, and it made my heart melt. She hugged that doll till she fell asleep. I brought it with me today when I picked her up from daycare, and when she saw it she grabbed on tight and whimpered, like she missed it all day. She carries it around, patting it on the head and hugging it.

This evening, I picked her up off the counter where she was entertaining herself while I did the dishes, and left her doll behind. Adelaide patted her chest where her baby should be, and I thought I was going to cry.

She is so sweet, and growing up. I wish I knew her every thought. She's becoming a little girl, isn't she? I love her so much.... look at this kid:


 I'm 99% sure that these overalls are mine from when I was little... awesome! 

And this sweet tie-dye number is from a beautiful friend of mine... check her out.

Still nursing at 16 months.

From the beginning I've said that I will nurse as long as Adelaide wants to, and my view hasn't changed. I love this relationship, and the cuddles that go along with it. Some days it's the only time she slows down and I treasure the sounds of deep gulps and the little noises she still makes when she nurses.


I never hold her in the cradle position anymore. She sits square on my lap and leans forward. Most of the time she looks out to the side, but she'll also turn her head to look at me and play with my face. I'm able to give her lots of attention and kisses. I love it.


Who knows when we'll stop. I don't see her quitting any time soon. She doesn't ask for it as often as she used to (and she's FINALLY just now using the actual milk sign!), but she still nurses through the night, nurses to sleep, and then once or twice in the evenings. On the weekends she'll nurse at naptime, and then maybe once or twice more.


I actually hope she doesn't stop anytime soon. I love it, and feel proud that we've made it this far. 16 months and counting...

Rice pool party.

I've been wanting a sand box or table for Adelaide for a while now.  I think I will probably end up making something for her, inspired by so many images I've seen on Pinterest, but who knows when that will be.
 
We do, however, have a baby pool that we picked up at Babies R Us when we went to buy her a nice, new, more comfy carseat. It was only $7.
 
I didn't have any sand, but I did have a huge bag of white rice that was still halfway full. I'd bought it and used some to make rice warmers a few years ago for Christmas presents, and the unused rice has sat in my craft closet since.
 

 I dumped it in the baby pool, threw in some bowls, spoons, etc. and let Adelaide explore.    She.Loves.It. It is a source of independent entertainment for her. I'm able to prep dinner for a whole 20-30 minutes with no interruptions! It did take some redirecting when it came to throwing the rice OUT of the pool, but we don't have problems with that anymore. And even I can't help but squat down and play in the rice with her... it's a very nice tactile experience!  
A perfect fix for a sandbox-less household. And when the weather decides to warm back up, I'll throw the rice back in the bag, and fill the pool up with water... and won't that be fun too!

Spot on.

You guys, I was right. I started my cycle the day after that last post, where I talked about maybe having a connection between my cycle and feeling blue. And no kidding, I immediately felt better, and have been doing fine since. My world isn't ending, things look (somewhat)hopeful, and I haven't bawled my eyes out anymore.

So, next month, we'll see if there's a repeat in my emotional roller coaster.  Thanks to all who commented on that last post.  It feels so good to know that I can put something sensitive out there and get support and advice and general well-wishing.  So good.  Thank you!

Feeling the blues.

I may have made a connection between my days of complete sadness and my period. Too much info? Sorry. But it's a revelation, if I'm correct. Pre-baby, and even pre-work, I wouldn't suffer too badly with pre-menstral symptoms. Cramps, a little irritability, stuff like that. Nothing major. (Unless you ask my husband, hah!)

But all this week I have been feeling intense blues. Like, want to cry all.the.time. And I think I'm due to start my period soon. And, wasn't it about a month ago that I had a few days stretch of sadness? I can't remember exactly, but I might be on the right track. Maybe my hormones aren't quite back to normal. Maybe it's because I'm still nursing. Maybe this whole motherhood thing just affects me so deeply and some days I don't know how to handle the whole thing, working, money woes, my love handles, absent friendships and absent family members, and dreams of different circumstances. Somedays it all seems too much. And I think those days just might be happening somewhat predictably.

So I'm making a note of it on the calendar, these darker days, and when Aunt Flow shows up. And next month, if it happens again, I'll know there's a connection.

And if there is indeed a connection, I'll be looking up ways to counteract the blues. Maybe there's a supplement I can take the couple weeks leading up my period, maybe I need to spend as much time outdoors that week, I don't know. Does any of this sound familiar to anyone else? If so, what do you do to handle it?

Playing with our food.

Adelaide hardly eats a good meal anymore. She's always go-go-go and doesn't want to sit still long enough to eat. When she is sitting in her booster seat at the table, she's always trying to climb out of it. In between each nibble, she attempts to stand and I have to sternly say "Sit down, Adelaide." And she does. Takes another nibble, repeat.

But I still offer good food. I try to give a variety though I feel I'm always feeding her the same things. Or, I'll cook a bunch of something and feed it to her daily with different sides.

Things she'll definitely eat: beans. Kidney, black, lentil, green. It doesn't matter, she loves them all. She'll also eat bread, crackers, things like that. She loves bananas. She takes big ole' bites and then looks like a chipmunk with full cheeks. She loves pasta, applesauce, broccoli, and yogurt (though we only give her a teensy bit of it at a time to avoid a big rash.) And thanks to my mom's offering, we now know she likes kalamata olives. Of course, there's more, but those are the biggies right now.

Most of all she loves to play with her food. If she's not down-and-out starving, she'll nibble and play. And I'll allow it until she starts throwing food on the floor and doing her cute "uh-oh." I figure, she's still learning about food, so what's the big deal (until there's a mess on the floor, then that's a big deal)?

Like this meal: black beans, and pita bread with hummus and olives.



Picked all the olives off and ate them first...



Ate some black beans. Then smushed her hands onto the hummus pita bread...



And look at that face when the pita stuck to her hand! Adorable! This is why I let her experience her food in her own way. She is learning all the time. This sticky stuff mama is trying to get me to eat? Lookie what it does to my hand! Wow!



My job is to offer healthy foods. So I do that. She just has to slow down and eat, dang it. :)

Working the dirt.

About a month ago, I posted about prepping my garden beds. And about a week and a half ago, I planted some seeds and some small plants in the beds. My hope is that I'll get a bunch of veggies this summer to eat fresh out of the garden. My bigger hope is that I'll get enough to can a little bit so that we can enjoy our garden even in the dead of winter.

This year is the first year I've planted directly in the bed. Usually I start seeds inside, but with chasing Adelaide around, time just flew by and before I knew it, March was knocking. (And know it's already mid-April, holy cow!) So we just planted right into the soil. So far, nothing's coming up but a TON of little weeds, thanks to all the fun helicopter seeds that keep floating down. Hopefully I'll see a few little seedlings soon. Otherwise, I'm taking a trip to the garden store and buying more plants that are already started, like the 2 tomato and 2 pepper that I've already got in the bed growing.

If everything goes well, I'll have 7 tomatoes, 4 bell pepper, 3 basil, some green onions, and some garlic chives. I've also got some pots on the porch, as well as this 4'x8' bed.

Adelaide helped me plant, after playing her "tummy drum."











Nursing break.







She now helps me water the garden most nights. She either a) grabs the hose and wiggles it around to get all the plants, sometimes rather enthusiastically so we get the grass too, or b) sticks her hand in the spray, which inadvertently gets me wet too. Either way, she's having fun.




It's important to me to have Adelaide be a part of this. I want her to know where food really comes from. I want her to know that it's okay, and fun, to get dirty. I want her to look forward to spending time with Mother Nature and watching tiny little seeds sprout big vegetables that we're able to enjoy. Just as with painting, you are never to young to teach your children about the things you are passionate about. I may not be the best at gardening, but I am very interested to eating as real and healthy as I can (never mind the chips I downed last night... I do have my weaknesses). It's my job as a parent to pass on the skills and interests to my little one, and let her soak up what she will.

P.S. I know that in some of my posts my house is gray, and this one it looks yellow. Well, we are in the middle of a 2-3 year painting project, haha. It was yellow when we first moved in, and now it's halfway the gray that I love. The front and sides are pretty much done, but the back... well. You can see.

A little thrifting...

The thrifting bug has hit me. Maybe it's wanting to save money, maybe it's wanting to find new treasures that already hold stories. Either way, I've had an urge to check out my local thrift stores, and finally got to do so a couple weeks ago. I snapped some pictures of my finds, but let me tell you: I have since found more special things that I need to photo. And will do so. But instead of waiting, I'm just going to share these, otherwise they'd sit for a couple more weeks and that's not fair to them. :)


These hardback books were only $1.29 each, except for Berlioz, which is paperback at only $0.99. The Look At Me! book is a HUGE board book that has oversized pictures of babies, and Adelaide adores it. The art book is a great addition to my classroom. Berlioz is a Jan Brett book (if you are an elementary teacher, you know the value of Jan Brett!), and the Eric Carle book... OH! The Eric Carle book! Perfect condition, except the flashing fireflies in the back need a new battery. My jaw dropped when I saw it. I had to have it!!!


Super-cute clothes for Adelaide. A nice vintage-y frock, a tan jacket that will be perfect next fall, and a dress/bloomer set that will be a nice addition to this summer's wardrobe. Only $1.99 each.


Little strawberries!


And this dress. $4.99. NOT my usual style, but when I was in the dressing room staring at the humongous HEAP of leftovers from other people, I saw this and on a whim tried it on. It fit awesomely, and I figure if I ever go to a fancy dinner place ever again, sans baby, this would knock Kevin's socks off.

So there you have it. About 16 smackers for a nice dress, three items for Adelaide, and 4 awesome books. I was pretty happy about the finds! Especially considering that the Eric Carle book alone, brand new, is about the same price as all of the above! Now, if only I can drag myself to take photos of those other treasures...

Our Easter Sunday.

Pretty dresses.



Chomping on bunnies.



Searching for eggs at Mimi's house.



And finding them!



Counting the loot.



Cousin's a good egg finder.



Discovering treasures and treats.



Snacking on the Easter Bunny's carrots.



Blowing bubbles with Mema.



Handsome daddy.



A little snuggle time!



Playing with Papa.



The Easter Bunny left treats at our house too!



Doing a little bunny imitation. And pulling it off, cutely.



Ahh, relaxing after a fun-filled day!




***
Hope your Sunday was fun and bright, too!

Birthday wishes.

Today is the birth day of two people in my life: my nephew Hayden and my friend Hannah! So, happy birthday, you two. One is five and one is - gasp! - twenty-nine. You can guess which is which.

This might give it away: I've known Hannah for, oh, about 17 years (holy cow, right?). As life does, we've moved in our own paths for many years now, but we keep in touch and are of course there for each other when we really need to be. Living apart definitely has a huge impact on how often we can see each other and how involved we can be in each others' life, but we seem to make it work. Happy birthday, sweet friend of mine!

And Hayden is a boy growing up right before my eyes. Each time I see him, he seems so much more grown. It's incredible. He'll be starting kindergarten in the fall, geez! We went to his birthday party on Sunday, and thankfully Adelaide's teething didn't affect her and make it a poor time (aside from the no-nursing bit). She loved munching on pizza crust, running around everywhere, and enjoying all the attention she always attracts. Here's some photos and a really short video from the day...


Adelaide and her great-grandmother


Kevin's mom's three grandkids together... and the only shot I got of the birthday boy all day!!! Whoops!










Remember our new niece? She's gotten so big!