Christmas is coming! Even Erin is aware of that. She is into watching Polar Express nowadays. This is how she learned about Santa and presents ["pesents" as she calls them]. Though she thinks that he carries all the goodies in a giant balloon and not a sack. Though in the movie the sack does look like a balloon. By the way, her friend Ariana is of the same opinion. Pook calls the show "Choo-choo train" and is ready to watch it all day long.
Our babe overcame her fear of Christmas lights and takes the ornaments off the tree without any hesitation. It is too bad that most of the time she does not return them onto the tree. I find ornaments all over the house-behind the couch, on the floor in Erin's room, under the kitchen table, bike trunk, etc. Erin also loves our Christmas stockings (all made by Grandma Corder). She studies the images, rings the bells on reindeer necks and pulls Santa's beard. But at least she is gentle with them.
This week was super duper cold, but at least it snowed [ Hallelujah!]. Erin got to play outside on Monday and Tuesday. I pulled her in the sled, pushed her down the hill and Erin tried to pull me (Hehe!), off course it did not work. We had fun! However, we've been home since Wednesday due to freezing temperature. Even though Erin seems to have inherited my cold weather resistance, 3F is too cold for her. Her nose and cheeks turn red in a matter of seconds.
Today we opted out for some indoor activities and went to the Kangaroo Zoo. Nope! There were no kangaroos or any other creators in this zoo. This is a residence of 3 story inflatable DRAGONS
DOLPHINS ALLIGATORS FROGS LIZARDS STARFISH SNAILS and LEOPARDS on which to SLIP SLIDE SLAM SWING and CAREEN. I did not think to bring a camera, so here is a photo from their web site. Just imagine that one of those kids is Erin. We are definitely going back and with a camera. Erin LOVED being there. She and her friend Ariana jumped, slid, slammed and had fun in any possible way. After 2 hours of being there both girls were absolutely against leaving. We had to drag them home screaming and kicking. As expected Erin was exhausted and took a nice three hour nap. I put my stamp of approval on Kangaroo Zoo. Highly recommend it to the owners of overactive toddlers.
When you begin a blog you enthusiastically post few times a week. About a month later you post once or twice a week, than a few times a month until you get to the point when you can squeeze just one post a month or even fewer. I am at that point now, ha ha. I think that one of my resolutions for 2010 will be to blog at least once a week.
Erin is finally into reading books. She actually allows Andrew and I to read to her. Before she would just flip through pages not even wanting to hear what it says below the picture. Andrew finally sat her down and taught her that there is more to books than just pictures. I ordered a few books from Usborne books (MaryKay and Pampered Chef of children's books) and she loves them. I like that Usborne books are so well made that they actually will last you through several children even if they get pulled, kicked, drooled on and smeared with food. A huge plus is that the binding does not fall apart even under super-duper pressure. Besides the physical superiority of the books, Usborn can boast a huge selection for any age group with perfect illustration. Erin loves their toddler books. There! This is my sales pitch for the company, he he!
We put our Christmas tree up (I have to say that a 3 foot tree looks pitiful in the room size of our living room). Apparently Erin is being bothered by the tree lights. She likes the way they look , but she thinks that if she touches them while they are lit up she'll burn herself or something, which is good. To prevent Erin from yanking the decorations of the tree all I need to do is turn the lights on. This year Erin even helped me to decorate the tree. Erin rearranges the ornaments at least once a day, off course when teh lights are off. Christmas season will definitely be more fun for her this year.
Erin likes mama's stuff! Rollers are among her most favorite of my possessions. The other day she asked papa to help her put them in her hair , which he gladly did. Doesn't she look older in those :)?
Erin is a happy camper. On Monday morning I dragged her out of the house to stand in line to pick up a ticket for H1N1 vaccine. Papa gave us a lift to Provo, handed 2 buckos in cash for a bus fare and zoomed to work. We arrived an hour after the line has began moving and it was loooong. As soon as we joined the tail of the line Erin said: "Go home!" What can I say, our child has aversion to lines, but don't we all? Fortunately for me the line moved fast and Erin and I emerged triumphant just half an hour later holding our golden tickets for 9 am on Thursday.
We caught the next bus and our journey through Provo, Orem, Lindon and Pleasant Grove begun. It was uneventful, but quite enjoyable. Erin kept shouting out "Truck! Truck!" and I kept confirming the type of the vehicle for the fellow bus riders (Erin pronounces truck with an "f" and swallows the "r"). Next we played at the park, went to the library and then I carried Erin home, because she refused to walk. That seems to happen when she is tiered.
Thursday morning came and we made another pilgrimage to Utah county Health and Justice building to get vaccinated. Ariana and her mama came with us so it was a delightful trip. The line was fast and the girls behaved. Erin was lucky, because she was to get the nasal spray vaccine and not a shot. I imagined that nasal spray required willingness of the party being vaccinated to snort it in. I was wrong. Erin was rather displeased with the nurse jamming a little push thingy up her nose twice, once in each nostril. For her bravery she received a sheriff star sticker. I slapped it on her jacket, but had to scrape it off after Pook began protesting. Despite that she is a sheriff at heart!
Go get vaccinated if you have an opportunity. At least for once the dudes making vaccines got the flue strain right. Do your research and learn for yourself whether the vaccine is safe and effective. Don't listen to people just repeating the rumors and hear-says. Get educated and make an educated choice, whether it is for or against H1N1 vaccine.
Erin had her first trick or treating experience. Though first I had to battle her over wearing her gettup. Even threats of never making her another Halloween costume did not work. Our Elmo decided that it was a game of "don't allow mama dress you in red fuzzy body suit". Eventually I promised her that she'll get her favorite fruit snacks. That appeared to be more effective than threats and indeed she got some. We trick or treated in Orem in aunt Theresa's neighbourhood. It was fun! Erin was not sure what we were going to do and refused to say "trick or treat" and "thank you". She actually acted shy! Despite that she caught on rather fast that she was there to get candy and for some reason people on the other side of the door were going to give it to her. The only time when Erin talked much was in between houses or if no one was coming to open the door after she knocked. She would say "Open door!", knock and say "Treat!". When someone would open the door she just looked at them and their candy, but uttered nothing. Ha ha! Sometimes she would reach for the candy and sometimes just open her bag hinting that she wants the person to put something in it. She was adorable and so many fellow trick or treators, but mostly their parents called out "Look! Elmo! She is so cute!" Amazingly enough it was rather warm and Erin did not even need a coat. This is a photo taken after we returned home. We had to cut our fun short because we had a baby sitter coming at 7, though the 50 minutes we spent in the streets seemed to be enough for our babe. She was ready to get in the car and survey the content of her bag. She pulled out a lolly pop and gave it to me. My first thought was "Oh, how sweet! Erin is sharing with me!", but no! She just wanted me to get it out of the packaging.
We left Erin at home and went on a date to an arcade and a super late dinner at Sizzler (not that many restaurant options out there at 9 p.m.).
Today I finally admitted to myself that Erin is below the average in her speech development. I blame that on using two languages in the home. As any other mom I want my child to be ahead in everything and I don't like when she is not. Part of it is concern for her and part is a fear that I kinda failed at something. This must be the reason why quite a few parents drop the idea of raising their child bilingual when they compare their kids to others. You want to see your child excel and if they don't, you readjust. I am tempted to switch exclusively to English, but I will not. I will look forward to the future when Erin can be fluent in both English and Russian. I don't think I will press her to learn writing in Russian, but my goal for Erin is at least speaking and reading fluently.
My grandma turned 90 years old on the 20th of October! She actually might be a month or two older. Her parents could not spare time from the farm at the time of her birth to make the trip to town to register her with the civil authorities. Erin tried to wish her a happy B-day in her own way!
PS: Erin appears to replace "T" sound with "F". So, please, don't think that we teach our child foul language when you hear her yell "truck".
I loved it when Erin was my cute and bouncy baby, but I like it even better now when she is a toddler. There are so many more things that we can do and actually enjoy doing together. We went to a little farm-sorta place a couple weeks ago (Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point, love that place by the way). There were slides, swings, corn maze, bouncy house (Erin could not get up once inside, all the older kids were jumping too vigorously, he he!), hay rides, animal trains, scary tents, pig races and other activities.
In a little train!
Slides were Erin's favorite! This particular one was rather slow, Erin came to a stop in the middle and than took her time scooting down. The black chute in the background on the right was way faster! I went in after Erin ( it was kinda tight, but I squeezed in, he he!) and I doubt she had time to get scared. This is how fast it got us down!
Making faces with Papa!
Getting ready to zoom down another slide! Notice the happy face.
Zooming down! Notice the terror on Pook's face. That ride did not go smoothly! I am the guilty one! I gave Erin a push before she was ready and to make matters worse she bumped her tushy at the bottom.
Our hay ride. Too bad that nowadays horses are replaced by tractors, but it was fun nonetheless. We went into the corn maze next and wondered around until we had enough and our legs could carry us no more. We cheated and got out through an illegal passage way. Amazingly enough Erin found maze quite entertaining. Part of the way she rode on our shoulders, was carried and even walked ( she was tiered by the time we entered the maze) and hopped like a bunny.
Before going home we took a shot in this spiffy chair. We all had a great time ( even though some might not admit it, he he!)
It is a silly rhyme, but it is stuck in my head, thus I will share it with you:
I see LondonI see France I see Elmo's fuzzy pants.
The other day Pooky-Pie and I went into Jo-Ann's to get some yarn and perhaps find some cute fabric to make a cover to go over Erin's chair. We left with some Elmo fabric instead (and yarn)! Erin spotted it across the store and had to get it. It was red fuzzy and on sale. This determined Erin's outfit for Halloween. I am currently working on turning it into a pair of pants and a shirt with a hood with Elmo's eyes and nose on it. The pants are done and Erin shows them to anyone interested. She calls them Elmo pants, though prefers putting them on her head like a hat. I am currently teaching our baby to say "Trick or treat!". Andrew advised me against teaching her say:
Trick or treat!Smell my feet!Give me something good to eat!
Apparently you can get sunburned in Utah in October. Andrew did just that today while playing in his work's basketball tournament. Despite that he had fun! Erin and I also had fun today- we went to feed ducks with Erin's best friend Ariana. We have a little pond not very far from our home and there is a couple of ducks living there. If you ask me they are geese, but everyone in the neighborhood calls them ducks. To our surprise they were hungry and enjoyed a breakfast of hot dog buns. Those geese-ducks are kinda fat, most likely due to the diet of bun-like-food.
Erin is acquiring new skills. She learned to scale the shelves in the pantry. In fact she closes the door (by the way, it is not a walk in pantry and she is the only member of this family who can fit in there with the door shut) and climbs up, chooses something from the top shelf (as any wise Mom I keep all forbidden, but highly desirable food on the top shelf), drops it down, climbs down, gets out of the pantry and looks for me to open the package for her.
Another new skill is undressing herself. She is good at it! Though she does it exclusively while in her crib. When Erin undresses she takes it all off! The other day I came to let Pooky out after the nap and found her wide awake jumping in crib in her birthing suite, BUT wearing slippers and a hat.
Our offspring is very particular in her music taste. We were in the car when Andrew began singing something. It must have been a wrong song because Erin put her hand forward repeating "No, no, no, no!" Daddy had to stop. She does that to me too. It looks rather amusing, in fact I sing on purpose to get this reaction from my dear audience. On the other hand Erin loves to sing. Her favorite piece is "Winkle, winkle little tar..." and she also performs a number of her own songs and tunes. I would consider her music rather abstract and modern.
Erin's talking is coming along, more words and short sentences, even ones we did not teach her. She also has the best facial expressions, especially when finding things like stains on the carpet (which off course are not her doing. They just magically appear after she's been in the area.) Ha ha! She covers her mouth and exclaims "Oh, NO!" She also makes sure that I noticed that she is tremendously surprised by the stains.
Ah! beauty of home ownership-we get to pay for the carpet cleaning!
Here is a random photo of Erin getting ready for bed while watching Elmo's World, drinking milk and smashing grapes.
Erin loves her pink chair and watches her shows sitting in it. Off course even while sitting down she can not be still for a long time. My favorite pose that I did not get a shot of is hands behind her head and one leg on top of the other, like in the last photo. I ran upstairs to grab the camera hoping she won't move but she did. She is watching her favorite Curious George, by the way. This is her new favorite show.
No big and significant events in our lives lately, but a bunch of little ones.
Pretty stormy Utah sky! Random photo
1. Erin found a dead mouse not far from the play ground and was very tempted to poke it and perhaps even take it home. Fortunately for me another Mom stopped her while I was getting to her.
2. Erin whacked me in the mouth with her toy broom. I had tears and sparks come out of my eyes, but sustained no permanent damage. The split lip should heal in another couple days. Erin was very sorry. It was an accident and she kept apologizing and repeating "Sorry! Sorry!"
3. After a flu vaccination debate between Andrew and I, all three of us got jabbed with a needle today. When the nurse stuck the needle in a) Andrew's arm, than he exclaimed "Ouch!" in a high pitched voice b) Sveta's arm, than she bravely stared at the wall and declared that it really did not hurt c) Erin's leg, than she began to cry and looked very offended, but a bandade made her feel better. Erin's vaccine contained no themerasol, preservative compound containing traces of mercury.
4.We had pizza for dinner which made Erin very excited. It turned out that baking the pizza (Papa Murphy's rocks!) was the exciting part. She did not eat it, but poked holes through all of the pepperonis on her slice. Our child is smarter than us, when it comes to healthy eating! By the way when the pizza was almost done Pooky went into trouble of getting of her chair and getting the hot pads from the drawer so I don't burn myself while getting our diner out of the oven. Our baby is a smart cookie! And so sweet... Erin loves to help around the house.
5. I've began a war against certain dog owners that take their pups to potty at the playground! Yes, you heard it right, a play ground! The place is like field covered in landmines. The complex management is doing nothing, but I am infuriated enough to fight till victorious end. Bwa-ha-ha! Finally it will be cleaned tomorrow and if I find out who is the owner of the dogie piles I'll go into trouble of relocating them under the door of the lawful owner. The trick is to be sure who that lawful owner is. Mmmm....This is a strange item to include into a blog entry, but as I said not much has been going on.
6. Erin got an Elmo balloon on the 10th of this month (Thanks aunt Theresa!) and had been inseparable with the mylar face since. He is still inflated and has to go where Erin goes including walks, car, bed and dinner table. We'll see how much longer he'll last.
Here is a couple of photos from lately. And I can't make it not underline comments. Grrrr...
We went on a real trip for the first time. For the first time we completely paid for it and stayed in a nice hotel, ate at nice restaurants oh...and drove a car with AC. The trip was to Anaheim, CA. Andrew's destination was the Convention Center for Blizzcon and mine was Disneyland. Erin was left behind in the care of aunt Theresa. It was adult only trip, that included us and our friends Tyson and Diane.
It was hard to say " Goodbye!" to my baby. I have never left her for four days. We dropped her of the night before we left and she had no problem with that. She kissed Andrew and I and ran off to chase Bentley. By the way, Erin decided to make her life easier and started calling all dogs Poky, the name of her best friend's Ariana's dog. So according to her Bentley is Poky.
We planed to leave soon after 6 am and naturally did not get out until almost 8 am. Everything was going just perfect until the AC stopped functioning around Fillmore, UT. We pulled into the town in hopes of finding a car shop that could fix the problem, 'cause the day was HOT! Apparently for just a few years Fillmore used to be the capital of Utah Territory which this dinky town is rather proud of . Utah would have been so different if it would have stayed so! Anyhow, the mechanic determined that something was wrong with the compressor, but was unable to determine what exactly and recommended we find a Cadillac dealership. Thus we were doomed to spend the remaining 8 hours of trip in blazing heat. By the time we reached St. George it was 107 outside. I thought I was going to die! Drinks were warm, fan was blowing hot air, sweat was pouring, but my spirits were high!
Gradually the air became yellowish-brown and that meant that LA was not far. After another hour on the freeway we arrived at Desert Palms hotel in Anaheim. Never in my life did shower feel so good. We completed that day by having a super late dinner at an Indian restaurant. It was my first acquaintance with Indian cuisine. As a cautious person I ordered some flat garlic and herbs bread and chicken soup. Yowza! I felt like a dragon breathing fire. I did not know you can turn a simple chicken soup into a concoction so hot, that it can knock your socks off. It was good though! I bet that that soup could cure any runny nose or cold. Andrew had some lamb in sauce with rice. It was all right and to quote my husband "Flavors were just weird!". Will we have Indian food again? Someday. By the way, can anyone tell me whether being extremely slow at getting your order and than taking for ever to wait your table is some cultural normality for Indian restaurants?
Day one
Andrew spent next morning on the phone looking for an opened Cadillac shop. As soon as such was located Andrew, Diane and I piled into our car and Tyson went to procure a rental vehicle to get us back after dropping our poor Bessy off ( are you allowed to name Caddy a Bessy?). It was very kind of them to cover that expense as we had a possibility of having to replace the compressor for a whooping 900-1200 buckos. Fortunately for us the old compressor was still working after Kirby the Mechanic replaced 2 gages and a hose. Though we got to keep the old compressor my dream of a new couch had to die.
After breakfast the girls went to Disney and the boys to Blizzcon. Our first day was spent at California Adventure park. I liked it! We went on all the rides we wanted , had a lunch at an Italian place (would highly recommend their broccoli-cheese soup) and went to Aladdin. By the end of the day we started to wonder what on earth we'll be doing the next day,' cause we've been all over the place all ready. At about that point it occurred to us that there was another park across the Adventure. Ha ha! So we got in line to get inside and took a train ride around the Disneyland park. Lines for absolutely everything were horrendous! Thus we satisfied ourselves by going through the stores and visiting the Sleeping beauty's castle. For some reason I always imagined it being larger. We completed the day by having another super late dinner at PF Chang's.
The highlights of the first day (at leas what I remember 2 weeks after the trip):
Terror Tower-highly recommend, but expected it to be spookier. I was glad nothing jumped at me when the elevator stop on different floors. It is enough that we were falling down.
Roller coaster- the smoothest, longest and fastest roller coaster I've been on, plus wait in line was only about 15 minutes or less with the line constantly moving.
Grizzly bear mountain (or whatever it was called)- the sign at the entrance informs you that you will get wet and possibly soaked. I was lucky! I got a little bit wet and not soaked, but I saw some people getting off dripping water as if they've been through a wash. Was super fun!
Aladdin show-really bad acting, but super fun special effects. I'll definitely wait in that very long line when Erin goes to Disney. The play is very interactive with the audience. There was a carpet that flew, elephant (not real, but looked super good) that Aladdin rode in on, Iago that was really good and genie full of strange jokes...oh and a lot of Asian tourists. Before the show they even made an announcement in Japanese (No flash photography!).
There also was a whole bunch of other rides that we went on.
Day Numero Dos
Even in summer on Saturdays lines before noon are really not that bad at Disney. We started by riding on Space mountain (laughable waiting time). It was a fun roller coaster. Not really scary. I was mostly freaked out by not seeing where the previous group of riders was and in between oohing and ahhing at the stars was imagining what a collision with the previous train might feel like especially when the one behind would join the pile up shortly.
Next we went on Star tours, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster and Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. All of those were very entertaining and fun. By the way, don't you like it how you exist so many of the rides through a gift shop, he he?! After Nemo we got in line for Thunder Mountain, but the line was not moving and we left for something with a shorter wait. Thus we headed for the Haunted Mansion. I don't think that small children should be allowed inside. I would have nightmares for a few days afterwards if I were twenty years younger, ha ha!
Next we got in line fore the Splash Mountain. The sign at the entrance gave a fair warning that you will get soaked. And I did. Never-ever wear jeans to a ride that promises you will get soaked. When it is humid they will stay wet for many hours. That happened to me. Though the ride was fun, it dampened my spirit, ha ha! All I thought about for about next 2 hours was to find some shorts or pans to buy. Off course the gazillion of stores in Disney sell everything but bottoms of any sort and when they do the sizes are either for a mouse or a horse, nothing in between.
Wet I went on Pirates of the Caribbean ride. I was dark and I was cold, but the ride was cool. The movie was indeed based on the characters of the ride. Though again, if I were 20 years younger I would be freaked out by some stuff, like the dude that pirates were dunking into the well, with a line of victims to replace him when he drowns. Was realistic enough to be creepy...but cool.
Off course we went to It's a Small World ride. By the end of it I were ready to shoot myself if I would hear another line from that song. Andrew is taking Erin on this ride! But despite its annoyance it was cute.
We explored Tom Sawyer's Island where we got on a raft and later took a steamboat ride. By that time our feet were tiered enough for us to push and shove to get to the lone visible bench on the first level of the boat. Diane and I got to it before anyone else!
The day at Disney was completed with a parade and shopping. We'll bring Erin sometime in fall when lines are short. She will love it as did I!
Monday, August 31, 2009
I was sure that my next post would be about our California adventure, but I am only 1/3 done and I don't want to wait reporting the latest events. Thus here it is.
Sunday. We were having dinner at the Dyers. Erin was so excited to be visiting aunt Theresa that she did not want to eat and preferred to run around and explore. Playing the grand piano is one of her favorite things to do, so while we ate Pooky provided background music . She was in one room and we were in another. Eventually we noticed that the music stopped and my heart dropped. Silence meant trouble! We discovered Erin inside the grand piano where the strings are. What can I say, she is a curious child. On the way into the Piano guts she knocked down a pretty sculpture. Sigh! But at least she did not knock down the support for the lid, 'cause that lid landing on her would send us to the ER or worse. Fortunately Erin's angel watches over her when her mama does not.
Monday. I was folding laundry and Erin was nearby trying to turn the vacuum on. Little did she know that (ha ha!) it was not plugged in! Next moment I realized that Pooky has left the vacuum alone and I was hearing huffing and puffing coming from the office. Huffing and puffing was interrupted by chanting "Pen, pen, pen". I smelled trouble! I also saw it as soon as I made it into the office. Our baby pushed the office chair against the bookshelf and was balancing on its back trying to reach the pens on top of the 6 ft tall bookshelf, not anchored to the wall. Again her angel watched over her! I had enough sense not to scream at the top of my lungs. I snatched her up first and than screamed. Erin was not sure what all the fuss was about plus she still needed that pen. The office is going to be locked from now on unless I am in there with her.
It rained and we loved it! Despite it being cold and muddy Erin kept running back and forth in the backyard until I dragged her inside to wash her feet. ( At least this time it was real mud and not Sandy's pooh. The dog pooh was just gross. The grossest part was me having to clean it. Sandy is our neighbour's dog.)
She is so cute! By the way Pook poured juice and milk into that pot on the left and this is why that poor strawberry plant died. Well, it was kinda dieing on its own, but Erin style gardening did not help.)
Yeah, I know! She needs a haircut. If you are wondering about the scratch above her lip than I have no idea where it came from.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
I can't believe that it is almost middle of August. July flew by without much happening. It was one hot month! Let's see... since I posted last we had only a couple major events. 1) Gemma and Papa came to visit us and we had a fun weekend with them. 2) Erin was diagnosed with eczema. Poor thing will have it for the rest of her life, but there are much worse things out there. By the way, the dermatologist we saw informed us that a number of studies established that kids with eczema have a higher IQ comparing to the kids without it , hehe. 3) Dr. Payne pulled Andrew's last two wisdom teeth. 4) After all we will have homegrown tomatoes this season and maaaaany cucumbers. I have been enjoying having our little back yard. I wish it were fenced, but oh well. Sometimes Erin will play in her sandbox or draw with chalk on the deck while I cook or clean inside. I can still keep an eye on her and Erin gets her outside time. She loooves being outside! She also loves her tomato soup, thus two spoons. Erin can eat a can of it by herself. My baby is into cooking. Erin loves to help in the kitchen. She stirs, mixes, tenderizes, mashes, adds spices ( though I do not trust her with salt) and does anything that does not involve sharp blades or hot oil. She loves making smoothies. I add ingredients into blender and she operates the buttons. The best part of it is Erin drinking what she makes. Fruit is back on the menu!
Erin got to see a doctor for her 2-year-old appointment. She is 36 inches long (94 %) and wights 26 lb ( 46 %). Despite her unpredictable eating pattern she is doing just fine. She is also doing just fine developmentally. Even her language skills are normal despite the bilinguality (I made this word up :). A 2-year-old is expected to say 50-200 words. We estimated that Erin's vocabulary has about a hundred words or more. It's kinda hard to count at this point.
We almost escaped the office without a vaccination. My baby was on her way out, but the nurse returned us 'cause it turned out Erin did not get one of the Hepatitis shots during her last visit. Andrew played the role of a bad guy and held her on the table for the nurse to stab her in the leg. Daddy told Erin that she was going to have an ouchy. That made Erin cry even before the needle made her cry. The tears did not last long. Pooky-pie was very gracious and even said "thank you" and "bye" to the nurse. I have to say this by far was the easiest doctors visit. Erin behaved! She did not attempt to bite the doctor and did not scream at him either. She was actually curious about what was going on. Anyhow, no vaccination until kindergarten now. The flue vaccine does not count. I am not sure if we'll even get it if the H1N1 vaccine is not ready by the time fall comes.
I haven't been taking that many pictures this month, but here is a couple. Erin and Papa played "Killer Bunnies" (our favorite card game). Erin needed a little help and kept inventing her own rules, but they both enjoyed it.
Erin got her sandbox and we play in it in the mornings while it is in the shade. We are still working on keeping the sand inside the box. Erin and her friend have this urge to just dump it out. Usually we build hats, at least that is what Erin calls sand structures constructed by overturning bucket full of sand. The sandbox has a lid, so we do not get visits by both domestic and wild animals. Around here we have cats (various fluffiness), dogs (mostly small, loud and rude), skunks, chipmunks, squirrels and apparently rats (I saw a huge dead one in the canal).
On Thursdays, our downtown hosts a little farmer's and local crafts market. They also have a band, food and kiddish activities. Erin and I went to check it out today. What can I say...Around here local crafts are represented by 3-4 baby bow, tutu and similar stuff booths, a couple booths selling fabric totes and cute aprons. Off course there is 2-3 jewelry stands and some carved wood. These are the items that can be called local crafts (though baby bows.... come on! local crafts to me means unique). The rest is occupied by Pampered Chef, some health drink (but not Xango or Noni, apparently there is a third one out there), a massage tent, photography studio and heavens know what else. The farmers market looked pitiful-4 booths. One was selling cherries (the best cherries I had this season) and the rest-squash, zucchini, peppers and cucumbers. I surely hope that there will be more produce. We got 2 lbs of cherries.
We had fun though. We listened to the band and Erin made me push her on a swing for good 20 minutes. On the way home we devoured about a pound of the cherries. Erin ate them! Cherries did not interest her before, but she was hungry enough to try something new and she loved them. We still need to work on those pits inside. I would estimate that Pook swallowed about a half of them. Oh, well! She'll live.
Andrew would have come with us, but he had a long basketball game, that left him too tiered for the walk. For the record-his team won.
Ta ta for now
Friday, July 24, 2009
There really has not been much happening worth blogging about. This has been a rather hot and slow July--way too many days in upper 90s. It's been so hot that my tomatoe plants started dropping their blossoms and there is nothing I can do to prevent it.
What is it with 2-year-olds and their blankeys? Erin has this pink super soft blankey that she won't sleep without. In fact some days she insists on keeping it close even while awake. Sometimes, it will just lay on the floor or couch without Erin acknowledging its existence, but if Mom tries to pick it up and haul it upstairs she screams bloody murder. I have to be rather sneaky in order to wash it.
This morning I had to do just that. Pook noticed it's disappearance only by the time I put it to dry. But, oh boy, did I get it for daring to laundry it! A full blown tantrum came my way! There was a plenty of tears, whaling, thrashing on the floor. I have to admit I have not seen such behavior before. Showing her that the blankey was in the dryer and trying to reason with her made matters only worse. It was too wet for her to have it and apparently our 2-year-old still struggles with the concept of "just wait ten minutes and you can have it". Can't say that the latter is news to me. However, every time I attempt to explain that she can have something later I have this secret hope that this will be the moment when she'll stop her screaming, look up at me and say "K, Mama!" What can I say, I am a dreamer. Anyhow, I locked her in her room until the cause of the scandal was dry enough.
Andrew got to stay home earlier this week. It was so nice to spend some time together when we could just hang out, play card games and do nothing. He got two of his wisdom teeth pulled on Monday. And yes, he asked the dentist to save them so he can take them home. I am not sure what he plans on doing with them, but I told him he can not keep them in my jewelry box or make a necklace out of them ( the other two wisdom teeth will be joining his collection in a couple of weeks). The pain still bothers him some, but he is doing better. After living on soups, jello, apple sauce and root beer floats for about two days he could finally eat "real food", aka something you have to chew. It is amazing how sometimes your biggest desire can be just to sink your teeth into something, usually happens when you are not allowed to do that. I had to abide by a clear liquid diet in the beginning of July for 3 days and that sucked! I made it for 2 and a half. I though I was going to die.
This medical starvation got me thinking about hunger in this world. I knew that the end of my fast was near and that I can pig out as soon as its over. Too many people in this world do not have this luxury. They do not know when or what they'll eat next. I beg God to never put me in such circumstances, though it is not the worst. The worst would be to see my Erin asking for food but having nothing to give her. I can not imagine how much a mother's heart bleeds when this happens. The scary thing is that it is a reality for so many every single day...
PS: Erin learned to spit and finds it rather entertaining. Attempts to make her stop have so far been unsuccessful :(.
