2 weeks

Today, Cassie went to my parent's house. She will be staying with them for two weeks. Grandma and Grandpa are going to take her camping in their new camper. I hope she has fun. I will miss her, but I will also enjoy the break.

Wow, 2 weeks without her. It should be strange. I was looking forward to her having a summer break. It is convenient to not have to send her off to school every morning, then having to wait for her to come home in the afternoon. It wouldn't be so bad, I guess, if I didn't keep a night shift schedule. Now that it's summer, once she gets back from Grandma and Grandpa's, she'll probably switch to a night shift schedule with us for the summer. I do plan to take her out to see a few local sights though, like maybe the zoo, planetarium, museum, and what-not, if I can ever figure out how to navigate around the area. I am terrified of traffic and this is such a big city that I just want to hide in my house.
My parents are better at doing activities and stuff with Cassie than me. So it is good that she does go there. So long as Cassie doesn't come back with a bad attitude as she tends to do.

Pretty little hair bows

I caved in and bought some bows for Sasha's hair. It's starting to get long on top and if I part it in the middle like I like to, it hangs in her eyes. These are two of my current favorite pictures. I love the one with her sitting on her dad's shoulders. The other one I love as she just looks so pretty in it. I love the expression on her face.
And while we're talking about hair bows, here's a little hair style I did for my older daughter. She wanted a black hair bow in her hair, with a ribbon twisted around it...sort of like Tohya character in the MegaTokyo web cartoon. I think it's very cute if I do say so myself :)

Summer Break!

June 6th was the last day of school. It was a half-day, and I don't know why they bothered. Actually, the 5th was supposed to be the last day of school but the school had to make up some of those snow days, so I guess the 6th was just a token "go to school and go home day" to at least say they made it up.
Cassie's report card came in, and she did better than we all thought, even to her surprise. We walked into her room, report card in hand, and forced some grave expressions on our face.
"Do you know what this is?" I said as I shook the report card in my hand. She said she didn't know.
"It's your report card," I said with a scowl. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
Cassie apologized profusely, made a few excuses.
"What do you mean getting all A's, B's, and C's on your report card? Where are the D's?"
She just looked at me stunned for a moment. She had thought she'd be getting a D, maybe even an F, in her Language Arts class. Somehow, with a lot of last minute hard work, she pulled off a C.

Oh, speaking of last minute hard work in her Language Arts class, the photos in this entry are of her project for that class. Their assignment was to create a super hero, write a story, and make a life-size drawing of that character. The pictures show her making that life sized drawing. She is very talented at drawing, especially manga characters. Her super-hero was a character she named Elixir, and the villain of her story was named Toxic. Elixir is pretty cute, no?

She eventually gave her Elixir drawing to a friend. Oh, note the inspirational pictures of the combat boots she wanted for her birthday, stuck in a picture frame and occasionally hugged. I think she was hinting at what she REALLY wanted for her birthday!

MMMM Ribs!

I love these pictures and had to share. We ordered out at a local italian delivery, and sat at the table for our nightly family dinner. Sasha seemed to be eyeing up my ribs, so I ate most of the meat off of one and handed her the rest.
Such a little carnivore (just like her daddy)! She loved them! I couldn't help but take a picture. She ate the rest of the meat right off the bones, nibbled on the bones a bit. I'm sure that felt good with her new tooth coming in.

Presents for Daddy

Happy Birthday Jon!
For his birthday, we got him a water heater. A 2.2l water dispenser that we found at the local japanese supermarket. This now puts hot tea at his fingertips at any waking moment. Those who know Jon know that this makes a happy Jon. The man loves his tea. But it also makes sure that there is hot water available at any moment to heat the baby's bottle. This should make Sasha happy as well!

Besides the water dispenser, Sasha gave her daddy several presents! First, we have a "30-wipe Ass-pocalypse", and a "15-wipe Ass-pocalypse". She had been saving up and witholding all bowel movements for the past 8 days so that she could give her daddy SUPER OMGWTFBBQ FULL DIAPERS! Her dad was even able to keep her cute little dress clean with the first diaper change, but alas the dress was soiled the second time she exploded in her diaper.

Secondly, I figured out why she has been so crabby the last few days. A new tooth!!! A new tooth has erupted in the top. I think it is her top left tooth but I'm not exactly certain. Only one tooth up top and it isn't visible but it has clearly broken through her gums. I can not imagine what that must feel like but I'm sure it isn't pleasant. Now I'm only surprised she wasn't more crabby, although I can assure you she was inconsolably crabby the previous night. She wore her Daddy out, but he was relieved to know that there was actually a reason for it.

Third present for Dad: She sort of crawled. First time successfully scooting herself along the floor to something she wanted. It took her a while to do so she still has a bit to learn. She's not going to make us pull out her hair quite yet. But still, she did it so it's officially in the baby book. We then put her toy out of her reach a second time and she did it again so it was repeatable. Like I said, she still has a bit more to learn about crawling efficiently. It still pissed her off to be on the floor on her belly.

Hi and Bye-Bye

Sasha can wave Hi and Bye-bye. This post is sort of belated but I find it fun that she can do so on command now. I'll say "Sasha say bye-bye" and I'll wave at someone, then she'll wave at them too. She's definitely copying and mimicking us more in general, so that is a lot of fun for us all.
The other endearing thing that she is doing now is 'sharing'. Like she'll feed us her food when we're feeding her. She'll shove her pacifier in her daddy's mouth.

She is eating finger foods very well! Actually I'm impressed at her ability to bite and eat foods. I get so scared each time she does...I'm afraid she will choke but she is getting very skilled. She's only got the two teeth. I can assure you they are very sharp (she actually gnawed the hell out of a rubber spatula and tore it to pieces). Anyways I've been cutting up pieces of avocado, mango, and tofu, plus I've been giving her handfuls of cheerios and crackers. I let her feed herself some finger foods before I feed her a meal of her smushed baby foods. She seems to enjoy it and she takes forever when she feeds herself so it gives me a chance to do dishes or kitchen work while she plays with her food.

Still not crawling or walking but soooooo close to being able to crawl.
And in other news, today is Cassie's last day of school! Summer break is almost upon us.

Guess what?

Baby Butt!

An extra long weekend

A classic favorite picture: Mom and Newborn Sasha in the hospital.

I decided to use my Memorial Day holiday to take a 3 day weekend. I made that decision when I woke up Tuesday afternoon. Sasha gave me a look like "don't leave me tonight Mommy", and I realized all I wanted to do was spend another night with her. I'm glad I did. She has been really into her Mommy lately. She is so happy in my arms and when I am with her. She and I had been having such fun during my weekend and I didn't want it to end.
So our weekend routine was fun. Each day, we went out somewhere for the afternoon...(a bookstore, IHOP, or a japanese supermarket). Sasha takes a nap at 10:30pm every night like clockwork. (Remember, we're night shifters so our "day" begins at night). After about an hour or two, she wakes up and I would play with her for an hour. I liked to take her down to the lobby of the apartment building and let her explore all the art work and furniture. The change of scenery did her good and brought out the curiosity in her. I would hold her little hands and let her walk around to whatever caught her fancy. She would bang on the floor to ceiling mirror as she giggled at her reflection. She would touch the texture of the fur 'artwork' on the walls, and the tiles on the walls by the elevator. She had such a blast exploring! Then I let her explore the laundry room. She loved to look inside the washers and dryers, and to open and close the dryer doors, and bang on them. I enjoyed watching her have such fun.
After a good hour of exploring, we'd come back to our apartment for her solids meal. I'd dish out a handful of cheerios and crackers. She'd nibble on those. Then when she was done playing with feeding herself, I'd feed her the squishy baby food. She'd play with the bowls, spoons, and cups. When she was done eating another hour was done.
Of course she'd be messy so we'd do a bath. She easily spent another hour playing in the bath tub, splashing and playing with the water and her tub toys.
Another nap, a little more play with Mom & Dad, and next thing I knew, the night was over. She was exhausted and ready for bed. On Wednesday morning, Sasha fell asleep nursing, and I held on to her for two hours, not daring to let her go. She slept in my arms as my husband and I watched an old movie on tv. I kept sneaking peeks at her beautiful sleeping face and I nearly wept at her beautiful little face and at how much I love her. I cherished holding her there and didn't want to let her go or put her down. I just wanted to enjoy every moment of holding that little baby girl in my arms.
She grows so fast. I sometimes wish she would slow it down. But I don't dare hold her back.

Diaper Box Go Kart

I know the above pic is hard to see but let's explain.
Yesterday, I took a break at work to quick come home and feed Sasha. When I walked in the door, I saw Dad & Sasha were having much fun with the cardboard box that bulk diapers came in! Sasha was sitting in the diaper box like it was a go-kart, and Dad was wheeling her up and down the hallway. She was just looking around so matter of fact. It's one of those images that will hopefully stay in my mind. I did try to take a picture of it with my camera phone but there was not enough lighting for the camera (no it wasn't dark). She wasn't smiling, wasn't frowning. She just had this look on her face like all was exactly how it should be, that of course Dad was supposed to be pushing her up and down the hall in a diaper box.

Standing like a big girl

And sticking her tongue out at mommy. She's been sticking her tongue out a lot lately. I find it very endearing.

Grow Baby Brains Grow!

Sasha is back on a night shift schedule with me. She's been back to cosleeping with me again for a week now and I'm actually getting 8-hour sleep days again! I missed her so much. I think the best thing about co-sleeping with her is the feeling that I get an extra 8 hours a day with her. It makes up for the hours I lost by working full time. (In comparison with my older daughter. It felt like she was raised by babysitters, which was so depressing.)

Again I feel as though the baby I have today has grown leaps and bounds from the baby she was last week. She seems to be undergoing a rapid burst of brain development.

Today, Sasha played peek-a-boo with us and it was much fun. We've done peek-a-boo plenty of times with her before but it just didn't seem to sink in. She would usually just stare at the spot she last saw us at and wait for us to reappear. Today, I could see the gears turning in her head and the "A-Ha!" moment as she grabbed the blanket off my head if I didn't take it off fast enough. She officially understands object permanence!
She's been sticking her tongue out at me. She's been practicing her B's and P-sounds. She keeps trying to make the mouth-popping sound like Cassie makes. She copies some of the noises we make at her.
Jon says that tonight she crawled herself into her green bouncy chair several times. When he helped to position her after she crawled in, she pulled the center flap up, then grabbed the connector tabs and tried to put them in. She was very excitable and wouldn't eat much. "she got me real good a bit ago," Jon said. "Forearm across my throat, flat on my back, with her drooling and yelling directly in my ear.. while I was trapped between the couch/Ikea chair/green chair/TV stand. She was going for the 'kill' .. two killer rabbit teeth to my ear."
The biggest tell that she is really going through some rapid brain development is the sudden need for extra sleep. It's like she learns something new, gets sleepy, and has to go to sleep to process all this new information. She is almost newborn-like with her need for naps yesterday and today.

In the gross motor skill department, I am undecided whether she is going to walk first or crawl. She is close to being able to crawl..but she is also just beginning to start "cruising"...the term for when babies walk around by holding on to tables, chairs, etc. We still take her for many walks around the house each day by letting her hang on to our hands. She loves doing that. Anyways, there was one incident this weekend where Sasha was standing and holding onto the living room chair. Jon walked past her and she stared after him. Well she decided she wanted to follow him so she carefully balanced herself, let go of the chair with one hand, and tried to take a step away. She really was going to try to walk after him but I stepped in and grabbed her little hand. I wonder how she would have done if I didn't interfere. Most likely she would have fallen on her little butt, which really pisses her off. And we don't want that, but sometimes I have to remember to sit back and let her learn.

Baby Carriers

Alright, I've been meaning to get these on here and here goes. (OK I don't know if it's my monitor or what but the pics look fine on flickr and blurry on blogger. Weird. Oh well, they can be clicked on to view full size and they're not blurry that way.)
The baby carrier kit 14-day loan is completed and I had to return the kit on Tuesday. I declared the Moby Wrap my winner. I sent this green Moby wrap back and ordered a black one. I should get it in the mail in 3-4 days.
Sasha gets excited the moment she sees me with the moby wrap. She loves it when I tickle her with the ends of it as I start to tie it on myself. But once she's in it, she gets this strange calm and just zones out. She is very comfortable in it with me, and I am comfortable carrying her in it.

I could wear her in it for days and I think Sasha is equally enthusiastic. I haven't had the nerve to try the 'back carry' with it yet. I did try forward facing (Sasha goes right to sleep that way) and also in the 'nursing carry' (Sasha nurses in it and goes to sleep).
Cassie remarked that we seem like one person stuck together when she is in it. I also got a lot of remarks and comments when we were out like this in stores.

We also tried the mei tei carrier. I didn't mind it but Sasha and I didn't have that "two people as one" connection in it. She sort of just flopped around and she squirmed a lot in it. First pic is the 'Hip carry'...hard to see from the camera angle.

Mei tei trial, front carry. The mei tei was reversable- either solid olive green, or the pink with green polka dots side could face outward too.

Mei Tei back carry. I loved that the back carry was so easy to set up. I could get some housework done without Sasha grabbing everything I was trying to clean. Eventually though, Sasha seemed to be uncomfortable in it.

The last mei tei back carry pic illustrates how after a while, Sasha started squirming to get out of it. Note how she now has both of her arms off to the same side...because she was trying to climb out of it.

Steak-N-Shake Baby

Sasha hams it up and destroys a cracker at the local Steak-n-Shake. She is such fun to take out.

Happy Dancing Baby Girl

Cassie had her orchestra spring recital at school tonight and it was pretty neat. Cassie has been proudly practicing her bass for us over the past few months and even gave Sasha a special "show" once, which Sasha thoroughly enjoyed. So tonight I took the girls to Cassie's concert. It was just me, Cassie, and Sasha.
Sasha was so well behaved! I couldn't believe how good she was. And she was in a lively good mood as well. She danced to every song. She smiled at almost every stranger in the nearby audience and the woman next to me even took her picture.

Sasha especially loved the chorus' performance. Is it wrong of me to say that although the chorus performed magnitudes better than their Christmas performance, they didn't really sound very good. (I'm being nice when I say that.) It makes me wonder...when I was in 7th and 8th grade, did our school chorus sound so bad? Oh man I'm going to get hit by lightning now aren't I? How dare I criticise a 7th and 8th grade chorus performance. So what if the boy's voices were in the middle of their changes and most of them sounded tone deaf. But I must say they were very lively and they chose some modern songs which definitely had their enthusiasm. And hey, Sasha loved it. She clapped and danced in my lap and squeaked and seemed to try to sing along. She didn't care if they were out of tune. It gave her a chance to practice her fun new skill: applauding. Her face just lit up everytime it was time to clap at the end of each number.

Cassie did well. The bass and cello sections sounded good. Cassie was the only 7th grade bass player. There were a few violins and violas that sounded very very screechy and off key. Cassie said she was disappointed by the violas. For her favorite song, she expressed exasperation. She practiced it so hard to have the 'violas ruin it'. She mentioned that maybe next year she'd like to try band...sure they didn't have the violas or crackling voices, but when a horn hits a bad note, everyone knows it.
Well don't I feel absolutely low for criticising a 7th and 8th grade band/orchestra/chorus recital. I did enjoy seeing my daughter play and it was a great experience for the little one. I had a good time.