Jordyn's First Haircut

This post is a week late, as her first haircut was actually last Friday. She was exactly 18 and a half months old, which I didn't do on purpose.

My mom's been bugging me to get her a haircut for months. Well, after I told her it was annoying, she pretty much stopped saying anything, but I know she was still thinking it. And she was kinda right, eventually - Jordyn's hair had gotten pretty long and kept falling into her eyes. I'd brush it back, but it just fell again. And Jordyn won't leave any kind of barrette, elastic, or clip in her hair. She calls all of it a "bow", and she's fine with me putting them in, but she just pulls them out immediately. And usually wants me to put it right back in - we could play this game all day! And the back of her hair was uneven, longer on the sides and a little shorter in the middle, and kind of straggly-looking.

I didn't get her a haircut for a while, even though she needed one, because I just wasn't ready. It just seemed like such a big step, and would sort of take away a piece of her babyhood or something. I know that's silly, but for whatever reason, I just wasn't ready.

But then I looked at her one day, and all of a sudden, I thought, "OMG, she looks like such a ragamuffin!" and I was almost embarrassed by the state of her hair. And so, off to Snip-Its we went!

She did AMAZINGLY well!! I was expecting her to have at least somewhat of a hard time, but she didn't. She sat in the chair, ate animal crackers, and looked over at the little girl in the next space at times (who was just slightly younger than her and who we'd met while we were waiting) who was crying and carrying on like, "What's your problem? This is no big deal!". The woman who cut her hair (I think her name was Karen) was fantastic, patient, and did a great job even though Jordyn was a moving target. Even though she sat in the chair with no problem, she'd lean forward, turn her head, etc. And Karen just kept up with her, talked to her, and was just really good with her.

Before, front.

Before, back.

Looking at the girl across from her who was crying pretty much the whole time.

Karen offered to put her hair in pigtails. I told her she could, but that Jordyn
would likely pull them right out. She did it anyway, so I could get a picture. 

Pigtails in.

Pigtails coming out.

Pigtails out. Also an "after" picture. I don't know why Jordyn looks
so serious in this pic, she was fine, just not smiling.

More "after" pics. At lunch with my friend K after the haircut.

What a Crappy Morning!

This morning was a total shit show.

Well, it started out ok. Jordyn slept while I got up and got ready for work, and woke up literally as I was walking into her room to wake her up. Perfect timing!

As soon as we got in the car to leave for school and work, I took my phone out of my pocket to put it in my purse. I happened to look at it, and saw that there was a text from Jordyn's teacher that had been sent at 7:07, saying she was running about 10 minutes late. It was now about 7:20-7:25 and it takes us about 3 minutes to get there, so I figured it would be fine. I texted her that we were on our way. The kicker is, there's no reason she should be running late - it's a home daycare; she lives upstairs!! It's not like she could be stuck in traffic or anything. She ended up saying that their power had gone out, and that she didn't know how she had woken up. She should use her phone as her alarm clock, because it'll work even if the power goes out. Probably should've mentioned that to her, but I didn't.

So we got there, and went down the driveway and down the steps to the door to the daycare which is in the back of the house. The door was locked and the lights were off. I was pretty pissed, because her hours are 7:00-6:00, so 10 minutes late would be 7:10, right? It was almost 7:30! I really needed to leave for work, and I don't like to just drop Jordyn off and leave right away. I prefer to spend 5-10 minutes helping her settle in - she has a hard enough time with me leaving as it is. I also wanted to tell M (her teacher) a couple of things like that she has a little bit of a cold, etc.

I put Jordyn down since she's heavy and there are all kinds of outdoor toys she could play with while we're waiting. There's a patio right outside the door, and then a grassy (well, snowy right now!) area where the kids play in warmer weather. The patio is great for riding and push toys. We kicked a ball around for a few minutes, and then Jordyn started to push around some of the wheeled things. She managed to lose her balance and fall, hitting her mouth on the handle of a plastic play lawnmower. I didn't think she'd hit that hard at first, but she started to cry, and then I saw blood. She'd hit hard enough that I think her tooth cut the inside of her lip. So now I'm already pissed because M is late, I'm going to be late for work as it is, and now Jordyn is hurt, bleeding, crying, and I don't even have a tissue on me to wipe the blood, her nose, or her tears because I leave everything in the car when I drop her off. Awesome.

We went back up the stairs so I could get a tissue or napkin out of the car, and we saw M, who was coming back from walking her family's dog. I immediately got even more frustrated, because why couldn't her husband, grown daughter (who's the assistant teacher 3 days/week) or grown son who all live in the house walk the dog when she was late for work?? Seriously? I'm going to be late for work, and Jordyn got hurt while we were waiting for her, because she was walking the dog? Ridiculous! I asked her why someone else couldn't have walked the dog, and she apologized, but didn't answer the question. I mean, I realize I don't know her family's dynamics or how they divide up household chores, but on a day when she was so late to work (in her own house!), she could have had someone help her out, right? Later, I saw that she'd texted me back that she was walking the dog and would be "back in a few" right after I said we were on our way, but I didn't see it because I was driving. She texted again saying "coming back now be right there" at exactly 7:30, but by then I was already down the stairs with Jordyn and my phone was in my car.

I cleaned Jordyn up with napkins from the car, and M kind of tried to help, but Jordyn only wanted me. Eventually M disappeared, and it turned out she'd gone inside to unlock the door to the daycare and turn on the lights. Once I realized Jordyn wasn't hurt too badly and didn't need sutures or anything, I took her back downstairs. M got a cold teether out of the fridge and we started trying to get Jordyn to let us put it on her lip. M kept trying to take Jordyn since she knew I needed to leave, but Jordyn was upset and clinging to me.

So now I'm already going to be late because M was so late, and Jordyn is hurt and wants and needs her mommy, and I only want to be there to comfort her, but I really have to get to work. I did spend a few minutes holding her and trying to settle her down, but I did have to leave while she was still pretty upset. She wasn't screaming bloody murder, but she wasn't happy. She always gets upset when I leave, sometimes more than others, but she always stops as soon as I'm out of sight. Today, though, was different, because she wasn't just upset about me leaving, she was also hurt. It just felt like one of those times when mommy should have been able to be there for her, to hold her and comfort her for as long as she needed me, and I couldn't do it. I almost cried on the way to work.

The thing is, I wasn't upset because Jordyn got hurt; kids fall and get hurt, and this won't be the last time something like this happens. I was upset because of the circumstances - she wouldn't have gotten hurt if M hadn't been so late to work in her own house, because then Jordyn and I wouldn't have been playing outside while we were waiting for her. Jordyn's injury just made me even more upset than I already was about M being so late. When I left, I told M to let me know if Jordyn didn't end up calming down pretty quickly, because I may turn around and come back and get her. When I got to work, she'd texted a few times, saying Jordyn had settled down and was sipping milk and letting her put the cold pack on her lip, which was a little swollen. She also apologized a couple of times and sent a picture of Jordyn (sort of smiling), and then said she was happy and laughing and playing with one of the other kids. So, I guess there's that.

And then there was traffic on my way to work, more than usual, which turned out to be from an accident that was being cleared. And then maybe an hour after I got to work, I got a disappointing phone call. I'm planning to hopefully sell my house and buy a new one in the next few months, and I went to an open house yesterday for a house that I really loved. It had almost everything I'm looking for, and I could just see us there, you know? There was a paper displayed at the open house that said offers would be accepted until Tuesday at noon, but my realtor had told me the deadline was Monday at 6pm. He was looking into the discrepancy for me, and called to tell me that the paper was a mistake and the deadline was today at 6. I had to work until 4, and couldn't even get to the house until around 5:30. I wanted to see it again because I'd been in a rush yesterday and only got to spend a few minutes there. In the market around here lately, houses tend to receive multiple offers, and often over the asking price. There's no way the house will still be available tomorrow, and there was no way I could get an offer in on time tonight. I also couldn't get in touch with the guy who pre-approved me because he was out of the office today, and I needed some questions answered before I could make an offer, anyway. So, I was bummed out all day about missing out on a fantastic house.

This is the picture M sent me a few minutes after I left. You can see that her
upper lip is a little swollen on the right (her left) side. 

I took this picture and the one below in the bath tonight. You can see
the little bruise that has formed just above her lip.

Disney on Ice and Mini Road Trip

Last Sunday, I took Jordyn to see Disney on Ice. I wasn't planning to go until I found out I could get discounted ($12 each) tickets through work. But that made it worth it! It went pretty well. She spent most of the time on my lap instead of her seat, and she was distracted by the kid behind us who had one of those light-up spinny thingies that I refused to buy her (they were $22, and I can get similar ones at work - we order them in bulk for maybe $3-4 each!), but she did watch a lot of the show. She loves Minnie Mouse, and she also likes Mickey, but she isn't familiar yet with many of the other characters (Cruella Deville, the princesses, etc).

This was the first time she's been to such a big venue, with such a big crowd of people. It may be a little ridiculous, but I decided I wanted to put some basic info in her pocket in case she somehow got separated from me, since she can't yet tell anyone her name, my name, my phone number, etc. I wrote a little note that said, "If lost: My name is Jordyn <our last name>. DOB: 8/7/12  My mommy's name is Robyn. Please call her at <my phone number>. In an emergency please call: <my mom's name and number> or <my dad's name and number>. Thank you!". I thought this was pretty genius, actually... until I realized she didn't have a pocket! I ended up tucking it into the hood of her fleece jacket (we left our heavy coats in the car since we parked in the garage underneath the venue), which was long and pointy. That worked fine, but when we got up during intermission, we left our jackets at our seats. So, probably not worth it, but now I know for next time to make sure she wears pants with pockets! And, of course, I ended up carrying her most of the time, and held her hand tightly when she walked, and all was well.

Her face didn't really light up, but she was definitely focused on the action!

Right after we got home. The people behind us gave her the Mickey ears hat,
which apparently came free with their cotton candy.

_______________________________________________________________

This past Monday through Wednesday, Jordyn and I drove out to central Massachusetts (Chicopee/Springfield, about an hour-and-a-half away) to visit friends of mine who hadn't met Jordyn before. J and B live in Chicago, but they used to live in Cincinnati when I lived there, and J and I worked together there. We also became close friends, hung out all the time, and I was an usher at their wedding.  B travels a lot for work, and J sometimes goes with him, since she doesn't work. They were going to be in the Chicopee/Springfield area for a couple of days, and invited Jordyn and I to drive out and crash in their hotel room with them (that may sound weird, but it really wasn't awkward at all - we're that good of friends).

I'd originally planned to drive out on Tuesday morning, since I had to work on Monday, and so that we'd only spend one night, since I pre-emptively felt bad that Jordyn and I were going to take over the hotel room, and J and B were going to have to leave the room while I put Jordyn to sleep, etc. But then snow was forecast for Tuesday, so we drove out Monday evening instead. I was glad we did! She stayed awake on the drive while I'd been worried she'd fall asleep and then I'd have to try to transfer her in without waking her up, and we ended up having more time to hang out with J and B.

On Tuesday, J, Jordyn, and I went to the Dr. Seuss memorial garden in Springfield (turns out Dr. Seuss was born in Springfield- who knew?). It was snowing, and there was a ton of snow and ice on the ground, so we didn't hang out too long. The Springfield library was right there, so we went in and found the children's section and hung out for a while (and warmed up!).

Jordyn and I in the snowy Dr. Seuss memorial garden.

Jordyn and J. (That's not my car/license plate number).

Then we met B for lunch, and went back to the hotel for naptime. We all took naps - it was wonderful! Later, we went out for a quick dinner, and then after Jordyn was asleep, J and B and I sat on the floor by the door (Jordyn was in a pack and play all the way at the other side of the room), and played Phase 10 (a card game). On Wednesday, J, Jordyn, and I went swimming in the (indoor) hotel pool, and then we all ordered in Indian food for lunch so J and B could watch the Olympic hockey game (I couldn't have cared less, really). Then, sadly, J and I had to leave to head home. I'd planned to drive home during her nap time, and I think she was asleep within 4 minutes of getting in the car. It was good that she was asleep, because I had to concentrate on driving... It wasn't the most fun drive home, since it was snowing, and then sleeting, and sometimes a mix of the two, and then finally raining at the very end. Yuck.

But it was such a great trip! Jordyn warmed up quickly to both J and B (she usually does with anyone), and they loved her! B was the usual male "bad influence", or at least we gave him a hard time about being one, since he was doing things like bouncing/jumping on the bed with Jordyn, and getting her all riled up right before bedtime. She had a great time, though. She could sort of say his name, but it was funny that she kept calling him "man", which she pronounces "mon". She quickly decided she loved running up and down the hall, and around the lobby, and I had to be really careful because the front door opened automatically!

Our drive home.

18 Months

Dear Jordyn,

Today is your one-and-a-half birthday. I can't believe you're already 18 months old! Time has really been flying by, and it shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. I want to stop time for a while, and just enjoy you at this age. It can be frustrating at times (for both of us!), but oh, so much fun, too! So here's a little snapshot of what's going on with you right now...

You're really picking up a lot of words these days. I can't even begin to keep track of all of them. One of my favorite "Jordyn-isms" is that you consistently say "oh" for yes, and it's usually drawn out to two or three syllables (a longer "ooooh", not a repeat "oh oh oh"), depending on how excited you are about something. For instance, I'll ask if you want a "special treat" (dessert), and you'll say "ooooh", or if you need help with something, and you'll say "ooh". It's so cute, and I almost dread the day you start to say "yes".

You call your uncle Alan "Ah-nee". Your friend Alice is "Ah-sah". Grandpa is "Gah-pah". You've been very into bouncing lately, and you love to go "bah-see" (bouncy) on the big exercise ball or your red bouncy horse ("ah-see" = horsey). You say "mun" for moon (I used to say "moo-ee" when I was your age!), more is "mah", and you're still signing "all finished". I love your version of the sign! You started to say thank you when we were in Ohio for the wedding, but you say it like "YAH-toe". The "you" is kind of like halfway between "toe" and "too". It's very cute. You've started to say thank you when you hand me something, I guess either because you know I'm going to say it or because you're telling me what to say.

You call any type of hair accessory a "bow", whether it be a barrette, a clip, or a rubber band (although I think rubber bands were the original "bows"). You have a habit of yelling "bow" in a high-pitched voice when you want to wear or play with a bow. You love for me to put bows in your hair, but you always pull them right back out again. I wish you'd leave them in, because you always look so pretty with them, although you're always beautiful no matter what. You haven't had a haircut yet, but I think it's getting to be time. You're looking a little like a ragamuffin these days! Since you won't leave "bows" in your hair, your bangs fall into your eyes and I'm constantly brushing them back with my hand.

You've been able to fill in words in songs for a little while now. For instance, I'll sing "Twinkle twinkle little" and then pause, and you fill in "stah" for star, and I'll say "how I wonder what you", pause, and you'll fill in "ah" for are. You do this for the last word in each line. We also sing the "Hello" song from our Music Together classes (and CDs), and I'll pause for you to fill in the names. You'll often fill in Mimi (your teacher at school), "Sah-sah" (Sarah, one of the assistant teachers), something like "Jih-bee" (Jayme, the other assistant teacher), Nana, "Gah-pah", "Ah-nee", Lala (your aunt Hila - she chose this name for herself), something like "See-nee" (Sydney, the dog) "Ah-sah", and of course "Mommy"! Yes, that's right, you recently started calling me "Mommy" instead of "Mama", at least most of the time. You'll also sometimes throw in "Nee-kee" (Nikki, Mimi's husband), and a couple of classmates' and other friends' names.

You'll still eat almost anything. The only two things it seems you don't really like are shrimp and string cheese. You'll dip chips into the salsa at a Mexican restaurant - repeatedly! Sometimes you realize your tongue "hurts" after a while, but I'm not sure if you've made the connection that the salsa is what made that happen. You love to "dip", and will dip veggies (or your fingers, which drives me crazy) in hummus or ranch dip, and you also like ketchup and mustard, even spicy mustard! We also recently discovered that you love the pickled ginger that comes with sushi. Lala gave you a piece to see what you thought, and you kept asking for more and more! Your palate reaches far and wide, and we'll just keep experimenting with a variety of foods, including more ethnic foods, to see just how far and wide it'll go.

You went through a phase a couple of weeks ago where you were very excited about sitting on the potty, and wanted to do it all the time. You'd sit there for a while and we'd read books, especially one called "Potty". One of the first few times, you actually peed, and I thought maybe potty training was going to be very easy and early! But I think it was a fluke, because you haven't done it again since. You're also not quite as into sitting on the potty now, but you still ask to do it sometimes. It's ok, though. You'll get there when you're ready, and maybe we'll focus on it a bit more over the summer.

You've been enjoying being in school (a home daycare) three days a week. You're always sad (to varying degrees) when I leave after dropping you off, but I know you have a lot of fun there. You constantly say your teachers names, and I always tell you when you'll see them again (i.e. you'll say "Mimi" and I'll tell you that you'll see her on Monday, and then explain that today is Friday, then there's Saturday, and then Sunday, and then Monday). I absolutely love when I come to pick you up and your face lights up with a huge smile as soon as you see me, and you say "Mommy!" and come running over and jump into my arms). It just warms my heart every time you call me "Mommy", no matter where we are!

This morning we had your 18 month doctor appointment. You weighed in at 29.03 pounds, which is the 97.64 percentile, and measured 34 inches tall, which is the 97.45 percentile. But your friend Alice came over to play this afternoon, and she's obviously taller than you, and her mom said she was recently measured at 33 inches, so one of the measurements must be wrong! I re-measured you with what I think was a more accurate measurement than this morning, and it was just over 32, maybe 32.25.  Either way, your doctor said you're the size of an over-two-year-old! Your head circumference is 19.38, which is the 98.43 percentile.

You've really enjoyed when we've celebrated the beginning of Shabbat either by saying the prayers and singing "Shabbat Shalom" before dinner at Nana and Grandpa's house with Alan and Lala there, too, or by going to Tot Shabbat at our temple. Nana cooks Shabbat dinner many Friday nights, or occasionally we'll say the prayers over the candles, wine (grape juice!), and challah at home, maybe with Lala and/or Alan here, too. It's kind of funny, because you associate all candles with Shabbat, and will say "Sha-bah" anytime you see one! You love singing "Shabbat Shalom", and we have a CD of Jewish children's songs that we listen to in the car sometimes. I've enjoyed doing these rituals with you, and hope to see your Jewish identity continue to develop over time.

Last Friday, I took you to the Wyss Institute across the street from Boston Children's to participate in a study. They needed to videotape you as you walked and/or run, which you were happy to do, but they needed to put "bracelets" made out of stretchy materials and velcro on your arms and legs first (or we also tried using stickers instead), and you wouldn't have anything to do with it. We tried and tried, using all kinds of toys, books and food to distract you, putting the bracelets on me first, etc. We pulled out all the tricks, but you were just too alert and aware and didn't want to have them on you. We eventually gave up, but that's ok. Afterwards, I was able to take you to visit where I work at Children's Hospital about the street. You met some of my colleagues, and charmed the socks off of them all! You played with some big stuffed animals in the office, and kept hugging and kissing them. It was really so cute, and we even got to take one of them home with us. We ate lunch in the cafeteria at the hospital with one of my friends and former student, and you were so well-behaved throughout the entire visit. I was so proud of you, and it was so much fun to show you off to some of the people I work with.

You're so smart. A month or two ago, Alan bought you a pink stuffed dog when we went out to dinner with him, and another time he brought you a sombrero from Mexico. Every time you pick up either of them to play with it, you say "Ah-nee", and you'll answer his name if asked who gave it to you, so I know you remember that they're both from him. One night when we were getting you ready for bed, I couldn't find your sleepsack. I always hang it over the side of your crib in the morning, but you often pull it down and carry it around upstairs with you, so I don't always know where it ends up. As I was looking for it I said something out loud about not being able to find it, and you went to the cabinet in your room, opened the door, got the sleepsack out that you'd put in there that morning, and brought it me with a smile on your face!

You're incredibly friendly. I've never met a baby who gives so many kisses to so many people. For a while now, you've been giving lots of kisses, not only to me and the rest of our family, but also to other kids and babies, and even adults. You'll even kiss random people when we're out and about! You don't always touch your lips to someone to give them a kiss, but you kiss into the air. You'll even kiss someone who's not physically present! For instance, you'll say "Gah-pah" and then kiss the air, as if you're sending him a kiss wherever he is. Or, I'll point out a dog as we're taking a walk, and you'll kiss the air, as if you're giving the dog a kiss. When Alice was sad today at one point when she was over to play, you went over and gave her kisses... maybe you were trying to cheer her up? I hope so, and I hope that's something you'll continue to do - to express sympathy and to help people when they need it.  Sometimes you'll go close to someone and lean in to kiss the air close to them, and sometimes you'll give the person a hug when you kiss them, too. This past week, you've done the sweetest thing a few times when you're in your highchair - you'll take my hand, pull my hand and arm to your face and give it a hug while you kiss it. You also say "hi" to people all the time, both people you know and people you don't, like when we're in the grocery store! You can be quite insistent about it at times, saying hi repeatedly, even when the person has already said hi (sometimes more than once) to you.

You love music, and you love to dance. Oh, the dancing you did when you came with me to my friend's wedding last month! You never left the dance floor. You're starting to add some moves to your repertoire, too. You used to just rock side to side picking one foot up off the floor as you rocked the opposite way. Now you're starting too bend your knees and get your arms into it, too. It's really very cute.

I think I could go on forever. You're amazing, and watching you develop in all kinds of ways is incredibly thrilling. I'm loving watching you grow up, I just wish it could happen a little slower so I could have more time to enjoy and savor each step along the way. I'm really happy that I'm working only part time right now so I can have more time to spend with you while you're young, because it really does go so incredibly fast! I'm going with the motto "carpe diem" for a while, so I can be sure to make the most of every day and really enjoy the ride. I love that we're getting to take Music Together classes, take advantage of various programming for young children in our and nearby towns, and have playdates with our friends. I love watching you have fun and interact with other children, and I'm just having so much fun being your mommy! Keep enjoying life, and being the happy, fun-loving little girl that you are.

I love you, love you, love you,
 Mommy