Toys

Sasha's pretend play has started picking up lately, and I know it's really going to accelerate soon. Yesterday, we gleefully took her to the toy store to get her some new toys.
She's been fascinated by vehicles lately, especially busses. She got a toy car, a toy bus, and a toy train car. As I expected, she has been playing with them. She makes the car and bus drive around the house, up the walls, across tables, over people's legs, whatever. She likes to make them crash together and exclaim "Accident!" in her careful enunciation.
I was also looking for a toy dump truck for her. One of those nice big ones that you can fill the back up and then dump the load somewhere. My husband found one and we got her that. He taught her how to fill the back full of blocks and dump them on the floor.


My husband saw a toy tool set and we got it for her. He knew it would appeal to her emerging engineering side. In Montana, she was always carefully watching her grandpa and dad when they worked with tools. The tool set has little toy nails with a hammer, and toy screws with a screw driver and a wrench. She likes to try to turn the screws with the wrench while saying "turn turn turn". She also likes to run around the house with the toy hammer and bang on everything with it.

I think I know what I want to get Sasha for her 2nd birthday! A play kitchen. We're considering maybe setting it up in the kitchen so she can pretend to cook while we do our 'real' cooking. This is the one I have my eyes on (click pic to view larger):

It's the Lifestyle Partytime Kitchen. This one has a telephone, microwave, clock, drawers and storage spaces, oven, refridgerator, and even some toy spices. How cool is that! Okay I think the spice rack is what got me ;)
However I noticed it doesn't have any "stovetop burners". How can a kid pretend cook without some pretend stovetop burners? My husband saw another kitchen set that had a coffee maker. But then again, they do sell realistic toy coffee makers separately so that's always an option too.
Decisions, decisions.

Another birthday present options I'm considering (click pic to view larger):
It's a doorway playhouse. Great for small spaces, and highly recommended by online reviews.

Sentences

Cuddling with her daddy.
Sasha is speaking simple sentences.
This has been going on a while now, (like in the "light broken" story posted a few days ago) but it's official. I do believe it started while she was in Montana, but it's been accelerating. Her verbal skills in general are definitely accelerating lately.
She is able to string two or more words together, and lately especially a subject and a verb. For example "light broken".
She has already been saying possessive phrases for quite a while, for example "mama's ninning" (translation "Mom's knitting"), or "Cassie's juice". She has been fascinated with possession for a while.
The thing I love about how she speaks sentences right now, is that she takes a good pause between the two words. It's not a long pause, but it's much longer than an older child or adult would take between words.
She also is good at indicating turns. What I mean by this is say for example she is eating some crackers. She'll say "Mama!" and force feed me a cracker whether I want it or not. Then she'll say "Sasha!" and feed herself a cracker. She refers to herself and all her possessions as Sasha, which I find cute.

She has been trying to say more complex, multisyllabic words such as "accident".

Anything we say, she repeats, including and especially the bad words. There have been multiple occasions where she has said words that we should not have said in her presence.
There was one instance especially, where she used a naughty word in good context. She was walking when suddenly her pants, which were too loose around the waist, fell down to her ankles. She stopped, looked down at her fallen pants, and loudly exclaimed, "Sh*t!". And you know, I do believe I would have said the same thing if I was in her situation. She pulled her pants back up and carried on.

More Zoo

This weekend, I took Sasha to the zoo....twice!
I took her on Sunday, but it was so crowded and hot. We only stayed about 2 hours. It was still great fun though. First I took her to the children's zoo. I let her run around and look at all the animals in the children's zoo section (farm animals). We spent most of our first zoo visit in the children's zoo only. Afterwards, we went on the carousel. Watching her enjoy her carousel ride was very heart warming to me. I want to always remember the expression on her face. It wasn't a smile. She was just soaking it all in and very thoughtful.

Because it was so crowded on Sunday, I figured I'd have to come back to do some of the other stuff that I wanted to do but skipped due to the long lines.
On Monday, we saw the butterfly exhibit. Sasha was mostly disinterested in the butterflies and flowers, and found the sewer grates, rocks, and water hoses more fascinating.
The exhibit was very beautiful. Sasha did wave hello to some of the butterflies, and tried to swat at one. A butterfly landed right on her head but she didn't notice, as you can see on the pic to the left. (butterfly on her head)

Next was the elephants. At the elephant exhibit, there was an elephant shaped water sprinkler that children could turn on and run through the water. Sasha had a BLAST with that. Every time we passed by the elephants, she would start chanting "lalalalalala" (lala means water in Sasha language). She liked to run through the water and watch the other children as they ran through the water. She loved pressing the on button, although her little hands weren't strong enough to push it successfully.


Playing with the sprinklers
We went to the monkey exhibit, the children's zoo again, then we watched the polar bears for a good 20 minutes. Sasha LOVED the polar bear. We caught it in a playful mood, so it was very entertaining. The polar bear was leaping into his pool of water, swimming around, playing with his toys. Sasha was highly amused and wanted to climb over the fence to play with the bear (yikes!)
After some more playing in the water sprinkler, we hit the carousel. Sasha spent a good part of the carousel inspecting the gears above her, trying to figure out how the thing worked.

Sasha napped well afterwards on both days. I really enjoyed spending that time with her. I know she probably won't remember the trip, but I think she actually learned a lot. She learned the names of a bunch of different animals at least.

Sneaky Chef

I read the Sneaky Chef book by Missy Chase Lapine. Good reading. Definitely got some ideas on how to feed my picky little toddler girl (and picky husband). The book had a list of foods that children will eat, and that list alone was worth the price of the whole book to me.
So I decided to give some of the recipes a try.
First I got a ton of fresh veggies:
I got 3 bunches of spinach, some sweet potatoes, a few heads of broccoli, a head of cauliflower, some carrots, some zucchini, and some frozen blueberries.
Each recipe called for steaming the vegetables, so I was a washing and steaming machine. Then came the pureeing. I pureed according to the recipes. I also saved the veggie water from steaming to use as vegetable broth, which turned out well.
ABOVE: Clockwise from top left: White puree, spinach broth (in blue pitcher), carrot broth (in white pitcher), purple puree, orange puree, and green puree in center.

ABOVE: From left to right, From left to right:
Orange purees: carrots and sweet potatoes
Green Purees: Spinach, peas, and broccoli
Purple Purees: Spinach and Blueberries
White Purees: Cauliflower and Zucchini

I tried a few recipes that used the purees.
The brownies didn't turn out so well. My husband didn't like them but Cassie did. Sasha, my picky toddler, wouldn't touch them. I didn't mind them. You sure couldn't taste blueberries or spinach in them! I think I'll skip the wheat germ next time as it gave it a strange consistancy.

The meatballs were a disaster. Nobody liked them. I made spaghetti with meatballs, and the meatballs were mushy. The wheat germ gave it a terrible texture.

The meatloaf, however, was a hit! Cassie and I both really liked it. My husband (who is as picky as my toddler) didn't hate it, which is saying a lot.

I would probably get more use out of the purees than the recipes. This is sort of like when I was making homemade baby food, and I'd occasionally throw a cube of kale baby food into my chicken noodle soups. I could see myself using the purees, but probably not sticking to the exact recipes in the book.

Kiddie Kandids

We took Sasha for her 2 year professional portraits. A month early but we didn't do 18 month pics.
We took her to Kiddie Kandids, and this time they did a really good job! She really did so well this time. The last time we went to this Kiddie Kandids was a nightmare, but the awful photographer from last time is gone (good riddance) and our favorite photographer was in today.
Sasha did really well too. Here are our pics:

Just getting warmed up to the photographer. Still a little shy. The photographer told Sasha to put her hands on her knees.

By the end of the session, Sasha was playful and was actually teasing the photographer a little. On the last pic, the photographer told Sasha to put both her hands at a specific spot on the arm of the chair. Sasha understood and obeyed, but then she kept moving her hands around just to taunt the photographer a little. Then she'd put her hands right back. She totally knew what she was doing and was just being silly, and you can see it in her smile.

"Light Broken"

We have a rectangular glass lamp in our bedroom (from Ikea, like the one pictured left). It has an on/off switch on the cord that Sasha loves to play with.

Today, Sasha accidentally knocked the lamp onto the floor. The glass shattered and the lamp was broken.
My husband and I were in the room with her, so our immediate reaction was to get her away from the broken glass shards ASAP. I ran over to her, snatched her up, and carried her away, while my husband began to immediately pick up the glass pieces. As I picked her up and carried her away, I think I said something along the lines of "Oh no! You broke the light! The light is broken."

It happened so fast that it seemed to really leave an impression on her. She clearly knew something had happened. "Light broken!" she kept chanting over and over. She had a strange look on her face like she was trying to comprehend.
I had carried and deposited her into the living room, so she tried to run back into the bedroom, but I prevented her from going back. "Light broken!" she kept chanting and she continued to try to get into the bedroom at all costs. She sounded confused and concerned.

After my husband had gathered the glass pieces into a pile, I let him know that Sasha was headed his way. He protested because the glass was still on the floor, but I explained that she really seemed to need to see the broken light. I probably picked her up so fast that she didn't have time to see what actually happened to the light. She was just so concerned and agitated that I figured maybe I should let her just see what a broken light looked like. (HEAVILY supervised of course)
She looked at the pile of broken light remnants and kept saying "Light Broken!". She pointed and observed carefully. She then turned around to the light switch in the room.

"Light Broken?" she asked and demanded I turn on the light switch.

My husband had to explain to her that no, all the lights in the house were not broken, just that one. She seemed relieved.

Finally comprehending the situation, she gave a final, carefully enunciated "Light broken" and was done with it.

Too Easy

Tonight, Sasha went to sleep way too easy. Oh it's not a complaint.

No fuss. No trouble. She fell asleep perfectly. Her dad asked her "Nini, sleep?" picked her up, carried her into the room, put her in her little bed. She laid down on his hand, snuggled his arm with both of her arms, and fell asleep forehead-to-forehead with her dada.
Not a single cry or whine - just one nini kiss for dada, and she was out.

Those two have a special bond. I'll have to talk about that specifically one of these days. My husband has a way of just knowing when Sasha needs him. He can "feel" when she's about to wake up. For example, tonight he felt her waking up for her midnight drink. He was already walking down the hall with milk in hand when she woke up and calmly asked "dada?". She didn't even have to open her eyes. She already knew he was there for her.

More weight gain

Whatever Grandma (and Dada) was feeding Sasha the past few months, it's been working well. It appears that Sasha has gained another pound. That means she has gained at least 5 pounds during her 3 month trip. Amazing.
Sasha actually has grown some chubby thighs and cheeks. She is still in the 40th percentile for weight, if the scales were accurate. This was the same scale that measured her at 19lbs when she first arrived in Montana, so she's been consistently weighed on the same home scale. She was weighed a few days before her return flight home, and she was at 24lbs.
I know that Grandma had a whole area of the pantry that was specifically Sasha's Shelf. All the foods on it were easily accessable and Sasha could just walk into the pantry to grab what she wanted. I have followed this example, and set up a little shelf in our kitchen. It is now Sasha's Shelf. In it, we have some tons of toddler-appealing snacks, such as yogurt fruit snacks, some pistachios, some cheerios, some goldfish crackers. I forget what else.

I am also trying to observe my husband and stay a bit more hands-off for now. He's been with her for the last few months and knows all the little tricks to get her to eat, so it's probably best if I just try to learn from him. Hard for me to do sometimes, but he's great with her and it's best for Sasha.

Tonight for dinner, we had meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Sasha sternly requested rice instead.

Welcome home!

Last night, Sasha and her dad returned home from their Montana trip. They had a layover flight in Denver. Apparently she slept their first leg of their airplane trip. She made a little friend on the second flight with a little girl that was about the same age.
I was scheduled to work during the night, so my husband arranged for a taxi to take them home from the airport. But fortunately the guys at work let me come back home to see my family, and I am very grateful.
I waited in front of the house for their taxi to arrive. When it did, my husband did not see me because he was busy paying the fare, however Sasha noticed me. The moment she saw me, she started chanting "MAMA! MAMA! MAMA!" and got louder and louder. She was squirming in her car seat, trying to get out. My husband let her out of her seat and she nearly jumped out of his arms into mine. She gave me the biggest hug ever. It was such a big hug and she didn't stop for several minutes. She stayed in my arms and let me carry her upstairs.
As we walked inside, Sasha kept looking around at everything. I could tell she remembered everything but she was still examining everything like it was all new again. She had to run around the house and rediscover everything. Re-examine. For some reason, she took great fascination in her little potty chair. She sat on it several times, grunted, wiped herself with toilet paper, and carried her toilet around the house everywhere.
I had purchased her a new bed. Well, the bed itself wouldn't fit in the car, but I got the mattress and all the bedding, so I set the mattress up on the floor for her, and sometime later I can figure out how to get the bed frame home. She investigated that and gave it her approval.

At Grandma's house, Sasha had a well established routine for the past few months. Now her routine was interrupted with new people and new surroundings. Bedtime was difficult for her. She cried herself to sleep while laying on her dad's chest, and then transitioned into her new bed. She slept soundly the whole night. She usually does a lot of night waking but strangely she didn't wake up for her usual drink of water/milk/juice at all.

Weight Gain! Finally!

I thought I'd report that Sasha is doing much better with the eating recently and has gained much weight! 2 extra pounds in the last month, which is major. She hasn't had that kind of growth since she was 9 months old. She's even starting to get some chubby thighs again.
Lately especially, she's been eating a lot. When there is rice on the table, she gladly has many helpings. She always did like rice.
She hasn't put on much height but so long as she's getting the calories and nutrition she needs, I'm sure that'll come along with time. From what I can see on the WHO.org child growth charts, she is definitely climbing her way back up the weight charts.
I do put caution in the fact that she was weighed on a home scale, but she's been weighed consistantly on that same scale, and that scale has slowly recorded a 2lb increase. Small victories.
Her grandma has also discovered that Sasha has a weakness for prime rib. She has, on multiple occasions, put away an adult sized portion of prime rib in one sitting.

Little Virgo Window Washer

Virgo Tales

It seems that Virgo children are very particular about how thing should be. I thought I'd share some recent Virgo child stories.

My mother-in-law, Carol, and Sasha share the same birthday. Therefore they are both Virgos, and the two of them share more personality traits with each other than with anyone else. My mother-in-law told me a story about how particular she was when she was a young virgo child, about Sasha's age. Little Carol went to an aunt's house to visit, and at her aunt's house, they had a wall that you could run in circles around. There were some throw rugs on the floor around this wall. Her aunt thought it was funny that if they flipped the corner of the rug up, it would drive little Carol nuts and she had to flip it back to normal. So the aunt would keep going from rug to rug, flipping the corners up, and little Carol would run around fixing them.
This week, the family went to visit the same aunt at the same house. This time, when they flipped the corners of the rug up, it was Sasha who was driven nuts by the improper corner placement of the rugs. Sasha ran around, just like her grandmother had 50 years earlier, from rug to rug, putting all the rug corners back in their place. So picky!

Another cute example. Sasha was playing in the kitchen of her grandma's restauraunt, and her grandma gave her a bucket of water to play with, thinking she'd probably stir the water with a spoon or maybe splash around in it. Nope. Sasha ran to the clean dishrags, grabbed a rag, and used the bucket of water and rag to wash windows.
She just loves to cook and clean.

I think I've already mentioned in a previous post about how particular Sasha was when she got her new little toddler bed. She spent hours arranging the pillows and blankets just so. She knew it was her bed and she wanted it just right. She had no problems sleeping in it even from the first night.

Family portrait attempt

About a month ago when we were ALL on vacation, we did several attempts at trying to get a decent family picture. It's something that's nearly impossible for us to do at home. Alas the sun was in our eyes, and Sasha was NOT in the mood. She did not want to sit around on a rock. She wanted to run and play and was mad at us for keeping her from her driveway gravel explorations.
Here are the best we could come up with out of the 273498237498237492374 pictures we took. Apparently the more people you try to photograph at once, the greater the odds that someone has a silly expression on their face. Also, Sasha would not look at the camera.





And added to show how Sasha was not amused at the concept:

4th of July

For the Fourth of July holiday, my husband and Sasha went camping with the rest of his family. They had a great time.

In the camper

Trying to relax in her chair

Roasting marshmallows (heavily supervised of course!)

Playing with her toys

Shoveling her meal down, literally :P

And this next pic wasn't from camping, but it's amusing. They have a little swimming pool for Sasha at her grandparent's house. One hot day, Sasha decided to take a spontaneous swim. She was walking with my husband and she jumped into the pool, leather shoes, socks, and all. My husband decided to let her swim since she was already in, so he did take her shoes and socks off and rolled her pant legs up.

Sorry

I know it's been a while since my last post! I've been kinda sad I guess. I really miss my daughter and want her (and my husband) to come home. They've been gone way longer than I've ever anticipated, and it breaks my heart.
My husband has been doing some needed work for his family. He will be home soon though, and I count down the days until I can hold them again in my arms. I will never let them get away from me again like this. Never.

Meanwhile, they are both doing great! Sasha has been spoiled rotten by her grandma and grandpa. She's the center of attention of so many people. She has swimming pools, sand boxes, a new bed, and even her own four-wheeler. She has a whole shelf to herself in the kitchen pantry and is free to go into the pantry and grab whatever food strikes her fancy. She loves that freedom, so I'm going to have to do something similar at our home.
She still has her days where she eats well, and other days where she doesn't. Today, for example, she ate a TON of spanish rice for lunch. 5 helpings! The other day she ate a huge french toast breakfast.
I mentioned that her grandma bought Sasha a bed. The bed was placed right next to the bed my husband sleeps in, and Sasha loved it. When it was first set up, she played with it for a while. She liked to get into and out of the bed, then arrange the sheets and blankets, then put her dolls into and out of it as if she was tucking them in. She would lay down in the bed and say "nini" then she'd pretend she was sleeping. She knew the bed was hers and what it was for. Then when it was bedtime, she went to sleep no problem. She's been sleeping in her little bed for the past week or so with no issues.
Her night waking has gotten better. I know I haven't discussed it much in the blog here, but Sasha has never slept through the night. I know sleeping through the night (STTN) is a big issue for some parents. Sasha has never done it. As a matter of fact, she wakes up many times a night, usually for a drink of water, juice, or milk. My husband and mother-in-law have been working with Sasha on that.

Anyways, they're doing well.
Me, I'm terribly depressed without them. I don't think my husband understands how badly I miss my child. I know he means well, but he tries to reassure me that they are in good hands. It doesn't help. Perhaps I'm just selfish, but I am a mother and I want my child back like yesterday. I am terribly worried whether this long of a time away from my child has damaged my relationship with my daughter. She's so young. When I first got out to see her, she seemed like she had forgotten me, and it broke my heart so bad. I'm so scared that will happen again.
But there is nothing I can do. I can't force them home. I can beg but otherwise I can't go and get them (no vacation days available). All I can do is put on a strong face and pretend it's all okay. That she's fine without me.
Anyways, I'll probably delete that last paragraph later.