Growing Vocabulary

A day at work
Sasha's vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds and it is so fun to watch! It's also funny and educational to see her mimic us, especially when she copies nuances that we didn't realize she was paying attention to.
For example, when I walk into the bathroom, she'll follow me in and will sternly tell me "out! out! out!" while she points for me to leave. This is probably due to all the times I have to kick her out of the bathroom when she tries to shove q-tips in her ear or play in my makeup.
Tonight, she took her box of milk and squeezed it out the straw all over the living room carpet. She pointed at the spilled puddle of milk on the carpet, sternly scowled at it, pointed, and said BAD! Of course she had to try to help wipe it up with a paper towel.
There is no way I could possibly list all her new words. There are just so many of them. She can ask us for rice. She can say "all done" or "all gone". Her sign language (and mine too) is also growing. As situations come up, I look new words up in my sign language dictionary and teach them to her; she picks them up almost immediately. Today she learned the sign for PIZZA. She gleefully copied the sign and shoved more pizza in her mouth.

Where is our growth spurt?

Good Night Moon at the bookstore. I love this picture.
The signs are all there. Sasha has been eating like Ms Pacman, nearly non-stop all day. No bite of food is refused. She'll even mow down strange suspicious foods she's never seen before.
She sleeps a bit more too. She usually likes to sleep 10 hours straight at 'night'. Now she's doing almost 12. She takes naps.
Eating lots of food and sleeping more is usually a sign of a growth spurt, no? Any day now, she should be growing like a weed. I took her to her Monday playgroup and the teacher there said that even though she hasn't seen Sasha for a month, she doesn't look like she's grown at all. So it's not just me; even people that haven't seen her in a while still think she hasn't grown.
Any day now! Just you wait! She's going to grow in a huge spurt. Maybe it'll happen overnight like I hear some kids do. Maybe I'll get to buy her some new shoes :)

Today she had an adult sized bowl of cereal for breakfast. She stopped eating her breakfast because the bowl was empty, milk and all, not because she was full. When my husband woke up he made a breakfast skillet, and Sasha ate some of that too. She ate a tub of ice cream, a whole slice of pizza, a tub of yogurt, cheese and apple. Plus she drank plenty of juice and whole milk. She's been eating wonderfully and taking her daily vitamins. That makes me very happy.

Making a sweater

Well I've been knitting up a storm lately. My latest fun project is a baby jacket/sweater for Sasha. This is what it is supposed to look like when it's done:

I'm about half done and it's going well so far! Can't wait to see it on my little girl.

UPDATE: Sweater is done!

Just needs some buttons. It was nice and easy. I really like the way it turned out. The body fits perfectly on Sasha, however the hood is too small. If I make another, which is likely, I'll have to find a way to make the hood bigger.
I'll add a pic of my little model wearing it when I get a chance.

Tea Party

Would you like to join me for a tea party?

Yay! I'll make your tea for you.
Would you like some sugar in your tea?

I'm really busy stirring this tea.

Enjoy!

NUM!!!!

I haven't been updating as much as I should lately and I probably have a lot to catch up on.

My little Sasha, thank goodness, is now eating like a garbage disposal. Consistantly! Since I got sick with food poisoning and had to cut back on nursing, it helped us to start the weaning process. She now nurses about once a day, and I have no idea if she's getting any milk or if it's just a habit. If I'm not around, she's fine without nursing.
Her appetite has increased inversely proportionate to her decrease in nursing. I sort of expected this. She is now eating a LOT.
She cracks me up when she eats. She gets so hungry that she eats quickly. Sometimes she eats so quickly that she runs herself out of breath and has to stop and catch her breath to continue on.

If she likes what she's eating, she will loudly declare "NUM!!!!!!!" after her first bite, and will continue eating. I live for those moments. It's so satisfying to see her eat and enjoy what she's eating.
She can put away bowls of cereal for breakfast. Adult sized servings even! She loves noodles and rice and chicken. If she eats chicken, she will cluck like a chicken and pretend to wave her "wings" up and down. She now loves drinking milk and probably drinks way too much of it. She puts away many juice boxes a day.
She is just generally eating MUCH more than she ever has before. I fully expect a nice growth spurt soon.

Walking Through The Forest

Since Sasha was born, and even before, I sort of made up some stupid songs on the spot. I thought I'd record them for my memory for when I get old and forgetful.

When Sasha was still a little baby in my belly, sometimes she would move around a lot and make my belly shake. Or other times, I'd jiggle my belly around and pretend I was making her dance. And I would sing a little repetitive but simple song:
"Dance dance baby, dance dance dance baby. Dance dance baby dance. Woo!". Cassie is the one that added the WOO! part to the song :) Anyways, even after Sasha was born, I liked to make her 'dance' to the song as I sang it to her.

There's another song that I'd sing to Sasha whenever bathtime was over. I'd just mostly say "All done! All done baby girl" repeatedly in a sing song voice. It eventually evolved into a song with a second verse that says "I love you! Love you baby girl".

Then the third song, which makes diaper changes easier on me, is more elaborate. Walking through the forest! I grab her legs and make them "walk" while I sing:
Walking through the forest, walking through the forest
What do you see? What do you see?
I saw a bear! I saw a bear!
Run! Run! Run! Run! Run!
Run! Run! Run! Run! Run!
Walk, walk, walk, walk!
Oh no! There he is again!
Run! Run! Run! Run! Run!
Run! Run! Run! Run! Run!
Oh no, he's mauling me, gah! He's eating me!
At the beginning, I make her legs walk. Then at the running parts I make her legs run really fast. Then she walks again. Then I "maul" her when she's getting attacked by a bear and pretend I'm eating her :P
I know it sounds so silly but she loves it and she looks forward to it at diaper time. She insists upon it if I forget.

Back

Watching her videos on her iPod on a LONG interstate car ride home from a funeral. Worked like a charm and she fell right asleep.
We had to go up north for my mother's funeral. We were gone for 5 days and had to spend four overnights in a hotel. It was a very sad event.
Sasha didn't really understand what was going on. She had fun at Mcdonalds and she also got to go swimming with her dad in the hotel swimming pool. She adjusted okay to the change of surroundings and routine and seeing all the people. She loved one of my parent's cats. She ate well and slept well. I was surprised at how well she switched to a day shift schedule and how well she did with a routine. I hope we can keep the day shift and routine going now that we are back home again.

Fun with Daddy

We went to Ikea and they had a ball pit! So we had to let Sasha play in the ball pit with her daddy for a little bit. She had fun!

When we went up north, we went to a McDonald's with a maze-like playland inside. Sasha and her dad ran amok and had a blast. I couldn't help but remark on how much more fearless Sasha is compared to her big sister. At the same McDonalds a decade earlier, I used to take Cassie when she was a little toddler, and Cassie was always afraid to play in the playland. Sasha had a healthy curiosity and playfulness although she had her dad with her every step of the way.

Death in the family

On Sunday morning, my mom died. Actually, she was my step-mother but she was the woman that raised me since I was seven. Her loss is very sad for me and my family and it was painfully sudden and unexpected. Especially for Cassie, who lived with her grandparents for a few years while I went to college. My father is devastated and my brother is very upset also.
I wanted to rush up home right away, but the weather had been very bad. Earlier in the week, Cassie had wanted to go up and visit her grandparents for the three-day weekend. My mom declined. My mom would normally do anything to see Cassie but she was afraid that the weather would be bad on Sunday so she said maybe the next weekend.
My brother is with my father and is staying with him and helping him out, so they do not need me yet. They are having a difficult time with the final preparations. We think we can have a funeral on Saturday and do the final burial on Monday. My father wants me to return home on Thursday so that we can pick a dress for her. He is finding that task very difficult. Cassie says she knows exactly what dress should be chosen so she will probably help with that.
Just waiting to return home.

Strange mealtime manners

We had a very strange dinner.
I made a beef roast, with side dishes of black-eyed peas and rice pilaf, and some broccoli. We all sat at the table for a family dinner. I gave Sasha some rice and some other foods because I didn't think she would be interested in our beef or broccoli. I did put two small spears of broccoli on her high chair table just to familiarize her with broccoli, but I really didn't expect her to eat it.
As I was eating, I was surprised to see Sasha pick up the broccoli and inspect it closely. I don't know what was going through her mind, but she made the broccoli dance. She just started bouncing it on her tray as if it was dancing around and said "dan dan dan" which is how she says "dance dance dance". We all laughed and she was amused with herself. I went back to eating. About a minute later she shoved the broccoli in her mouth and ate it. I was very very surprised and said "Oh look! She's eating broccoli". She really seemed to like it. She ate both spears. I gave her a few more and she started eating those.
That's my girl!
But strangely, about a minute later, her head started bobbing forward. She put her head down on her tray and stayed like that for a little while. I realized she just instantly fell asleep. I was scared at first, worried that maybe she passed out or something. But nope, she just got tired and fell asleep right there at the dinner table.

Another Snow Day

Today was another snow day! No school for Cassie. We had a nice blizzard and we got to spend more time together.
Sasha has been on a day shift for the last two weeks. My husband needed some sleep (he has a hard time sleeping with Sasha as she night wakes every half-hour) so we let him sleep until about 11am and I got to go to bed at about noon.
I woke up about 6:30pm and we made and ate a spaghetti dinner. We decided to try a new method of trying to keep up with kitchen housework. From now on, when we eat our family dinner, nobody will leave the table to another activity until the dishes are done. And whoever cooked dinner is exempt from doing the dishes. We hope this will help us keep the kitchen cleaner and maybe that will encourage each of us to try planning and cooking dinners.
Since Sasha was born, we've almost always at least had our family dinners together in the evenings. I think it's good for Sasha to observe the whole family eating and it's good for everyone really. We can connect together and talk.

Food Poisoning and a start at weaning

I did something really dumb at work and ate some pizza of questionable age. That mistake cost me much trouble. I was violently ill with food poisoning which left me sick for two days and feeling queasy for at least a few more days after.

I had read that although you can nurse your child while you are sick, you should NOT nurse your child when you have food poisoning because the toxins from the poisons are passed on to the child in breastmilk. It made sense to me so I had no choice but to abstain from nursing Sasha while I was ill. She was not pleased at first and spent many miserable moments at my side sadly crying "mama! mama! mama!" while furiously signing milk at me. I was heartbroken and that compounded my misery. But eventually she carried on without me and eventually it seemed like she and her daddy were having a grand time without her mama.

So I guess you could say that the weaning process seems to have started. My milk production (and ahem... chest size) dropped and although Sasha was not happy to go to sleep without a nursing, she eventually seemed okay during the day. By the time I recovered, Sasha wasn't asking me anymore.

I wasn't quite prepared for a weaning like this, so we are back to nursing for naps and at bedtime, but otherwise we're now in the "Don't Offer; Don't Refuse" phase of weaning. If she does ask during the day, I offer her some juice or a cup of milk first and she is usually appeased by that instead. I did want to at least continue to nurse her at least once a day until the end of the cold and flu season, just in case. But I think I do want to have her weaned by her 18th month-old "birthday" in March.

Again I must note that with the decrease in nursing, Sasha's appetite has increased a lot. So I do believe that weaning will be good for her when the time comes to make the cut off. Until that cut off, we are in a state of reduced nursings, and I will have a month or so to figure out how to get her off her dependance on nursing to get to sleep.

Snow Day

We had a little bit of a blizzard, and so today was a snow day. No school for Cassie. She spent the day at home. Today she actually did wish she could go to school.

Sasha had another non-eating day today. I barely got one single spoonful of rice into her and that was borderline forceful getting that spoonful in. She refused her juice boxes. She nursed like twice. I don't know how this girl survives at times. I get so scared sometimes when this happens. She didn't eat much yesterday or the day before either but each day she's eating less.

Knitting lessons

Cassie's knitting lessons

Once upon a time, before there was Walmart, there was the local yarn store. Some still exist today, and they are wonderful places for a knitter or crocheter to go. They do a lot more than sell yarn. They offer lessons and are a great resource for help or advice with yarn projects. Not only that, but you can often find a congregation of crafty women who dispense advice not only on knitting but on life.
While looking for a pair of hard to find knitting needles, I found a classic local yarn shop. Cassie and I fell in love with the place. Sure they've got tons of gorgeous and inspiring yarns and patterns and supplies. They've also got tables and chairs for you to bring in your knitting work, sit down, and knit with the gals. The shop is normally just full of older ladies who sit and knit while they trade advice, patterns, and gossip.
The shop offered "Learn how to Knit" lessons. While I've knit since I was a kid, but I've had a hard time teaching Cassie. It's something I wanted her to know how to do so I decided to let her take some knitting lessons from the gals at the yarn store.
Best decision ever.
Cassie has been taking knitting lessons for about two weeks now. She thinks the little old ladies at the knit shop are really cool. I think she's learning a lot more than just knitting from those old gals. She especially loves to hear them gossip about other customers. She thinks it is so amusing to hear the old ladies make fun of people.
We had another knitting lesson today. I had to bring Sasha, and I couldn't just let her run amok in the yarn store so that was a challenge. Cassie gave me a big thank you for the lessons, but I'm so glad to see her enjoy them.

Speaking of Cassie, she's so over her ex-boyfriend. She's now got a crush on a new guy, and she actually gave this one her phone number. She missed a call from him yesterday because she forgot her phone was on silent; but she has been checking her cell phone every few minutes today to make sure she doesn't miss his next one. So cute!

You can't make this stuff up

I think the yahoo instant messenger conversation tells the story better than I can.
I was at work, and as usual, my husband was telling me the about this evening with 16 month-old Sasha.

Jon (1/26/2008 10:05:06 PM): damn! little girl decided that potty time wasn't over.. carried her little toilet into the living room by herself
Cindy (1/26/2008 10:05:15 PM): interesting
Cindy (1/26/2008 10:08:35 PM): she's pretty strong sometimes!
Jon (1/26/2008 10:09:46 PM): surprisingly strong
Cindy (1/26/2008 10:10:01 PM): good balance too
Jon (1/26/2008 10:10:04 PM): running around naked, really trying to go potty on her potty

(Previous post, I mentioned how she suddenly likes to take off her clothes and run around?)
Cindy (1/26/2008 10:10:12 PM): hah
Jon (1/26/2008 10:10:24 PM): she *knows* the routine, about like making tea
Cindy (1/26/2008 10:12:24 PM): clever girl. so long as we keep it up and she doesn't experience any 'potty trauma' she'll probably be potty trained pretty early

It was quiet for about 16 minutes, when Jon sends me an emoticon of a laughing and crying smily. I asked him what was going on but he stayed silent for another four minutes. Then he began to explain what happened.

Jon (1/26/2008 10:30:24 PM): well.. naked sasha running around, then sitting on her potty, making grunty faces.. managed to poop something out
Cindy (1/26/2008 10:30:44 PM): ohno!
Jon (1/26/2008 10:30:45 PM): unfortunately, not while she was on the potty...
Cindy (1/26/2008 10:30:56 PM): gah! ahaaha
Jon (1/26/2008 10:31:03 PM): but don't worry, she caught most of it with her hands...
Cindy (1/26/2008 10:31:07 PM): uh
Jon (1/26/2008 10:31:11 PM): and smeared it all over herself..
Cindy (1/26/2008 10:31:18 PM): you're joking?
Jon (1/26/2008 10:31:20 PM): the rest just hit the carpet
Cindy (1/26/2008 10:31:24 PM): omg
Jon (1/26/2008 10:31:40 PM): then she tried really hard to taste it
Jon (1/26/2008 10:31:46 PM): (failed there)
Cindy (1/26/2008 10:31:47 PM): OMGOMG
Jon (1/26/2008 10:32:09 PM): so.. emergency bath, no real fuss from her there
Cindy (1/26/2008 10:32:16 PM): yeah she likes baths
Jon (1/26/2008 10:32:38 PM): ..emergency cleanup of carpet (with sasha trying really really hard to help wipe up her mess)
Jon (1/26/2008 10:32:55 PM): aaaand we're back to normal