Happy Halloween

We aren't going trick or treating tonight because we're lazy, we don't need any more candy, and this is one of the last times when we can get away with not celebrating before Willa gets wise. Here are a few photos from the ward party and from the library singing time.

"Mom, why do you have to do these things to me?"

A little happier after she won "Best Costume" for the nursery-aged crowd and got a little treat basket to carry around.

Trunk or Treat - just hold out the bucket, people give you candy. She learned fast.

We went to our beloved library singing time today. I knew all the kids would be in costume so we weren't missing it. It was adorable! Here is Miss Bridgette the cat and Willa. They mostly love to hold hands now. They hold hands and walk to nursery together on Sundays, it is very precious.

One of the many smothering hugs that Bridgette gives to Willa. Sometimes, Bridgette just loves a little too much and Willa rejects the loves and tries to get away.

She really doesn't love to wear the costume, so it is very hard to get a smile, but she at least she doesn't cry.

Jayden, MD - cutest doctor in the world!

After singing, they gather closely for a little story. You can see some of the little costumes. It was just fun, we did a little parade through the library so everyone else could see the costumes. Then, at the end they had a short craft. I love this library!

Presents!

I finally got around to ordering Willa's presents. She got a little potty and a pillow for her crib. At first, she thought the presents were perfect tools for climbing and jumping (hey, don't fault her for not knowing what to do - the last wrapped present she had was at Christmas). Are her pants a little tight? I just finished packing and putting away all the 24 month and 2T clothes. We're now comfortably fitting in 3T in this house!

After helping her start, she got the knack of unwrapping. Joy quickly turned to irritation when it turned out that the potty had to be assembled before she could use it. Note to future self: pre-assemble all child toys before you actually give them to the child. She has been very obsessed with potties whenever we visit friends' houses. She does a good job at lifting the toilet seat, sitting down, crumpling toilet paper, flushing, and then closing the lid when she's done! I don't think there's a lot of comprehension about the  actual going potty part, yet.

This is just a cute photo from Sunday morning. Ryan was at a meeting and I was doing some dinner prep. She wanted to color, but I was not going to let that happen out of my sight. Doesn't she look like a big toddler girl laying on her tummy and using her crayon? I also especially love this velour lounge suit. So comfy, I need one!

Lamb Chops

I had a really hard time figuring out a Halloween costume for Willa. I didn't really care, I just wanted something cheap and kind of cute. Nothing was really sticking out to me, though, and I finally concluded that I just needed to make a decision and probably buy a costume at Old Navy. That's when I had the brilliant idea! Willa could be Lamb Chops for Halloween!!! She loves Lamb Chops so much, it was the perfect costume. Unfortunately, several detailed web searches showed that there were no Lamb Chops costumes to be bought online, only patterns for a costume.

I almost gave up, but then a crazier idea came to me. My visiting teacher had been posting pictures of all the costumes she had been sewing and selling for big bucks on Etsy. She had just emailed me about visiting; I told her I had bigger fish to fry and asked if she would help me with the costume. She was super super sweet, met me at the fabric store (because I would have had no idea what to buy), then had me come over for three afternoons to work on the costume.

I wish I could say that I made the costume. I cut out fabric. I attempted to read the pattern. Mainly, though, I talked to her and asked what she was doing when she would quickly glance at the pattern instructions and then grab two random scraps of material and sew them together. Seriously, has anyone tried reading a pattern? Would it kill the pattern company to add a few definite and indefinite articles to the instructions? Just to make complete sentences? Please?  "Turn in 5/8" on long unnotched edge of each CUFF section. Press, easing in fullness. Stitch 1/4" from raw edge." What the hey diddle who?

Jenny did a great job, though, and was even nice enough to explain what she was doing and what the pattern was saying! I had a great experience and am kind of invigorated and not as scared of sewing anymore. Maybe I will be able to pick up a pillowcase pattern in the future and, with the help of youtube instructional videos, make one!

 She was a little nervous wearing it, but Ryan brought out the full-length mirror and she did like looking at herself! Hopefully it works out for Halloween. There are red mittens to go along! Isn't it hilarious and adorable?!

For My Birthday, LANG LANG!

A few months ago, on two separate occasions I was listening to the classical radio station and heard this amazing pianist. On both occasions I thought, "Wow, this pianist is so amazing!" Which, in my opinion, was a strange thing to think just because if they're on the classical station they should always be good. Anyway, both times the pianist was this fellow named Lang Lang and he really just blew me away.

I was really excited when I found out that Lang Lang himself was coming to perform with the Houston Symphony on my birthday weekend! I'm trying to shift birthday/Christmas gifts to giving or getting experiences instead more stuff to cram in our apartment. I read an article once about how people get more pleasure out of an experience than a physical gift because they relive the experience in their mind. It's a journey for me, because I think my love-language is probably presents, but I really was excited to get tickets to Lang Lang for my birthday. I had no idea he was such a super star! I feel a little late to the game and kind of like a groupie now.

It was a very fun night. He had three performances and was playing a different Beethoven concerto on each night. Unfortunately, on the only night we could attend, he played the 2nd concerto. It was beautiful, but I could have use a little more Sturm und Drang. I mean, it's Beethoven!! According to the program notes (and my ears) it is one of the most mild of his concertos. There was only a small chamber orchestra accompanying him, and so I really felt like I missed out on that huge Beethoven emotion and passion. It was okay, though, because Lang Lang was excellent and Ryan and I both thought that he would very passionately wave his fingers and hands in the air and examine them at times during the performance. 

I chose this picture of Lang Lang because it epitomizes a Wikipedia quote about him - half classical musician, half rock-star! Ryan wondered if that meant that the dress for the occasion should be ripped jeans and a blazer. Lang Lang wore what appeared to be a leather suit (Ryan and I are in dispute about whether it was leather or pleathor or something else, but for all intents, it was no regular suit material).

Here is a photo of us at the concert. 32 years old!

Just for fun, here is a photo of us on my 26th birthday! Ryan got us tickets to go to Madam Butterfly. Aging gracefully?

Mother's Day Out

Mother's Day Out is a brilliant marketing strategy to get stay-at-home moms to put their children in daycare. You can choose from placing your child at a center from 9 a.m - 2:30 pm just one day a week, two days a week, or every day! In fact, as a mother you DESERVE time (the entire week, if you want!) to not be a mother.

Mother's Day Out is very popular out here. I actually don't have a problem with it. If someone really needs a break or if they just want a break, then I think it is a great thing. I get annoyed because a lot of moms are being pressured to do it here. It is being couched in this rhetoric that it is best for your child and that you SHOULD do it.

For example, my good friend Lisa is facing a lot of pressure from her husband and family to enroll in her son in a program. Lisa doesn't want to send her son there. She wants to stay home with him and doesn't feel like she is overwhelmed by staying at home. Why is there this pressure from society to send away our very young children?

I have a friend of a friend who enrolled her son in a program even though she didn't want to. She cried all the way there, then in the parking lot for 15 minutes after she dropped him off. Then, two hours later they called her to come pick him up because he had been screaming the entire time. She doesn't feel like she needs a break (this baby is under a year and well-behaved), but she has been taught that a good mom sends her child to Mother's Day Out. So, she is continuing with the program for at least two days a week even though both she and her child hate it!

This has all come to a boiling point because the doctor mentioned Mother's Day Out at our appointment last week. Willa is not an aggressive baby. She usually stands there while other kids might take her toys. She'll complain and sometimes she'll get the toy back, but she will mostly wait until the child is done and then begin playing with it again, or she'll redirect herself to another toy. She rarely is the type to steal a toy from another child. I feel badly sometimes that she is the more timid child, but I would rather have her be timid than be aggressive and mean. I don't think it means that she needs to socialize more or that she needs Mother's Day Out to learn socialization. She plays with little friends several times a week. They parallel play, they actually play together, and they learn how to share! I don't think the key to helping your child overcome shyness or timidity is leaving them at a daycare center in a pack of other children. The skill they learn there is that aggression produces results. The soft get hard and the hard get harder. Shyness is a personality trait, not a weakness. You can surely introduce your child to gentler situations that will help them learn socialization and overcome their fears. That's all, I just had to vent.

Good Start, Bad Day

It rained overnight, so I thought Willa would be thrilled to put on some rainboots and go splash in the puddles. She always loves to splash in puddles and I finally thought she was big enough to fit in the boots. When I got them out of the closet, I realized that she is almost too big for them now. Oops, my bad. I hate when that happens. She was a little curious about them, but soon learned their real purpose and had a great morning. This morning she came walking into my bedroom with the boots, which she had put on by herself!!! It was so very cute and also very sad when we went outside and she was looking for all the puddles which had dried up.

That was the fun part of the day. The not fun part of the day was getting her two year-old well-visit at the doctor's. She remembers that place ever since the many appointments with her broken wrist and she does NOT like it. Lots of tears, even when all the doctor was doing was using the stethoscope. Plus, a flu shot and a finger prick.

Willa is in the 69th percentile for weight and 80th percentile for height. That was a bit of a shocker to me. The doctor said we could stop buying her whole milk and start giving her what we are drinking. I was saddened to hear this, since I have been drinking the whole milk because I was tired of having so many different gallons of milk in the fridge. Whole milk is very delicious!

I talked to the doctor about Willa's speech and she agrees that she is very behind. I didn't realize how much behind! When I count up all the words she uses regularly or semi-regularly, it is about ten or less. Yikes. The doctor said she should be using at least fifty by now! I almost always understand what Willa is trying to communicate, so there haven't been a lot of tantrums and I just didn't realize how far behind she is. She has taken longer to do other things like waving or pointing out body parts. No matter how many times I worked with her on them, I would eventually give up and then a few weeks later she would just start doing them on her own. I'm kind of expecting that to happen with the speech. I tried to teach her the sign for "more" for MONTHS and never got anything from her. I finally gave up and about two months later, she just started doing it. She seems like she's just on her own timetable for things. She doesn't like to be a performing monkey for me, unfortunately. Still, a speech therapist is going to come and evaluate her and we will have her hearing tested. I'm glad because they can identify a problem if there is one, and even if it's nothing, they can give me tips on how to work with her to get her talking more. The only words she says with regularity are mama, dada, no, bye, hi, done, night, that, and dog. She never asks for a drink or cookie or candy or anything like that.

So, that was the doctor's appointment, which wasn't bad except for the crying! The bad part of the day was later on. She was leaning off the couch and fell and bit open the inside of her lip. It bled a lot and seemed pretty bad. It also happened right before naptime, so then she wouldn't nap because it hurting :(. It puffed up a lot, but is looking normal now. She's been getting a lot of popsicles and ibuprofen and seems to be doing a little better today, but still had trouble with lots of food. It was a very sad end to the day and it has been tricky finding foods to soothe the little tummy without hurting her mouth.

Willa Turns Two, Does Not Realize It

Today is Willa's birthday. So far, she got to eat Lucky Charms for breakfast instead of oatmeal, go for a walk outside, and jump over and over into a pile of pillows and blankets that I built for her. I feel badly that I haven't planned anything (or even bought a gift yet), but Ryan is actually out of town for baby Slate's blessing, so a possible cake et al. will have to come later.

To cheer us up from Ryan being gone and to try something fun for her birthday, I took Willa to the Houston Zoo yesterday. It was probably not so great to go on a Saturday during their Halloween festivities, but I was determined that we would - how many bad adventures have come about because I (or someone) was determined to have a good time?!

I had to take a picture next to the lion drinking fountain - not as big or impressive as the lion at Hogle Zoo.

The best and worst part was the Halloween festivities. There were tons of people there to partake in the holiday which was bad, but there were also "Candy Stations" set up everywhere where you could Trick or Treat. Willa especially enjoyed these little stops. Since it was her birthday, I split the treats evenly. Here she is enjoying a sucker.

The highlight was probably petting the little goats. They had little brushes so you could brush their coats. Willa thought this was hilarious and ran from goat to goat giving them each one brush and laughing hysterically.

I know that Willa is ready to be two. How do I know? Let me give Friday morning for an example. Before 9 a.m., Willa had drawn all over one wall with red crayon, spilled her purple berry smoothie all over the carpet, and made a great escape down THREE!!!! flights of stairs and across the apartment complex before I realized she was missing. Very thankfully, there was a nice lady walking her dog who had taken charge of her. When I ran down and found her, Willa did not act perturbed in any way, she just determinedly kept trying to walk to her little favorite area to play. She's not disobedient, but she is getting VERY independent and that particular morning she just wanted to go play. I was pretty shaken up over the incident and have forever revoked Willa's privileges to play on the front stoop.

Willa does not like to talk yet. She says a few words very regularly and sometimes seems to experiment with others, but doesn't use them for long. At this point, she can still communicate what she wants fairly well, so there's not much pushing her. For example, if I am standing by the door ready to leave and she walks around with her hands in the air saying, "Uh? Uh? Uh?" that means, "Where is my purse? I can't possibly leave without my purse." So then I'll say, "Are you looking for your purse?" She will reply, "Ahh," I will then point out where the purse is, she will put it on her arm, and we will leave the apartment.

She loves her purse and it is a necessary item for sleep and for travel. She also must have one dolly or stuffed animal (preferably Lamb Chops) with her for all sleep and travel.

I'm still getting used to having this bigger and more determined personality to work with and entertain. I feel badly because our apartment is just so boring for her, so we go out to parks and play dates a lot. I love the curiosity of this age, but sometimes it is maddening and I can't always allow her the time to learn and explore. She wants to walk down the stairs by herself instead of being carried, but she has to stop and point out each leaf along the way. If a particular leaf is gone the next day, she spends several minutes pointing at the spot where it was and gesturing to me, "There was a leaf there, what has happened to it?"

When we get to the car, she has to run back and forth over the speed bump for several minutes until I finally lose patience and just put her in the car. If I always let her have her way, it would take an hour to get in and out of the car each day. I'm just trying to be a more patient mom. It makes little sense to force her into the car so we can go to the park and "play", I'm getting better at just letting her set the pace. If she just wants to spend an hour or more playing around the apartment complex and exploring instead of driving to the park, then that is fine.

Basically, she is a toddler and acting just like one. It is so fun to have her at this age. It feels like a long time ago that she was a newborn, but last year's birthday seems all too recent. She's a sweet little soul and we sure love her.

Houston Aquarium

On Monday afternoon, Willa had just woken up from her nap when I got a text from my friend Lisa. They had two tickets to the Houston Aquarium that were good just for today, did we want to use them?

I almost said no, since I teach Monday evenings and usually things are rushed in the afternoons, but then I counted up the hours and thought it would be a much needed break. I was having a few of the Mean Monday Blues so a fun adventure was the perfect antidote! 

The aquarium was pretty cool, a comparison to the Long Beach Aquarium would be unfavorable, but let's remember that this is Texas, and it was pretty darn good! Unfortunately, Willa caught sight of a fun water fountain just as we were entering, so she threw a tantrum and would hardly look at the fish once we got inside. Here she is taking a sip of water and not paying attention to the fish.

Lucky for us (and inexplicably), they had a white tiger exhibit inside the aquarium! What does a white tiger living in a raj's palace have to do with the ocean? I'm not sure, but it was definitely heart-stopping to walk past a fish tank and straight into this floor-to-ceiling plexiglass. Willa was running ahead of me and if it hadn't been for the glass, I'm sure she would have been eaten. Don't you like the evil glowing emerald eyes? Laser tiger. It was cool, but mostly freaky, to be this close and on the same level as the tiger - especially when he would jump up and put his front paws on the glass.

Here is one of the fishtanks, they really were cool. It was kind of sad that they were mostly filled with fish from the Gulf of Mexico. I don't mind seeing a six or ten foot shark. It is extremely unsettling to see a six foot Grubber fish or Carp. Bridget's dad is a deepwater welder and works offshore on the oil rigs. He says it's really disgusting because the Grubbers are attracted to light, so they'll come and swim right next to them while their diving. It's just kind gross to see a plain boring fish actually be that big with their big fat lips.

Outside they had a train, carousel, and other amusement park rides that were covered in the cost of our admission ticket. I couldn't get any better pictures because Willa was terrified of the train! I made her stay on because I thought she would like it once it started moving. Unfortunately, every time she dared to unclench her arms from around my neck and peep her head out of my should, the train would give a really loud whistle and frighten her all over again. It was so bizarre, she's usually not like that.

At the end, I let her strip off her clothes and play in the fountains. We were there just over an hour and it was the perfect escape!