Halloween & Thanksgiving 2012

Paige is now 22 months and we are deep into the holiday season.  Halloween has come and gone and so has Thanksgiving - both were wonderful.  Christmas is just a couple of weeks away.

She was red riding hood for Halloween and we took her trick or treating for the first time.  We love our new house, but the neighborhood is pretty dead for Halloween (no pun intended).  We ended up at our friend's house in the University Heights area.  Boy, did we ever pick the best place to be that night!  Not only did most of the houses have treats, but most of the houses were decorated and some of them even had crazy elaborate ones - I'm talking a giant dragon as tall as a house with smoke coming out of its nose!  I'm talking a performance art show with Frankenstein.  I'm talking light shows with smoke-filled bubbles.  What??   It was OOC (out of control)!  Paige was pretty cranky at the start only wanting me to hold her and we were this close to calling it a night before we decided to give her one more chance to walk up to a house.  Once she learned what happened when she went up to a door, she wiggled out of my arms and ran full steam ahead of us.  We had to run after her quite a bit.  She liked to pick one piece and bring it back to her basket.  Our friends were pretty amazed that she was up for it for as long as she was - we walked for about an hour and a half.  When we got home, I counted 35 pieces of candy.  That means, yes, we went to 35 houses.  I packed them away to take to work the next day.  This part will be a challenge next year.

Thanksgiving week was too good.  I took the week off, as her daycare was closed the whole week and Paige and I had so much fun!  We went to the zoo, the aquarium, went to parks, shopping, out to lunch and play dates.  Bob actually took a break from school work on Thanksgiving day so we all got to hang out together all day, cooking, eating and watching movies - just the four of us.  Oh, and my stuffing came out really good this year!

As for Paige, oh the fun we're having right now!  She comes home saying new stuff all the time.  I find myself doing a double-take a lot lately.  Aunt Becky told me the other night that Paige walked into the kitchen while she was cooking and swears she said, "Mmm smells good!".  Later that night, I was clearing the table and Paige was licking the last drops of ketchup on her plate and said, "Mmm so good!".  What?  We're doing sentences now?  Last night she said out of nowhere, "I want a kiss."  We were too happy to give her one!  Her father is melting.  It's lovely to see him soften around her.  Just the sweetest.

As of late, she's been very into trying new things on the play structures at the daycare and at the park.  As she does this when I'm not around I am not aware of how skilled she's gotten at climbing the more challenging ladders and such.  I get very nervous when I see her wanting to go for it.  But, I let her try and just play helicopter mom.  It seems like she's always hangin' with the boys in the photos they post of her at daycare.  

Meanwhile, at home, she loves her clothes and shoes.  Sometimes it's a pain to dress her in the mornings - so picky already.  She's also very much into tutus and dancing.  A new dress came in the mail and she wanted to try it on right away.  She asked for help to take her shirt off, so I did and put the dress on.  She immediately took the shirt and plopped it in the hamper.  Paige then pointed at the iHome and said, "Muse", which is what she calls music so she could dance in her new dress.  Who is this kid?  She saw a ballet video on YouTube and started mimicking the movements.  I've been trying to find a weekend class for us but it appears most of them are for 3+ and the one I've found for 2+ is at freaking 8:45 am on Saturdays.  The weekends are the only days we have where we're not on a schedule, when we can wake up and cuddle for a long time before we get up and start the day.  I really love that time and I'm not willing to give it up.  Everyone keeps telling me not to blink, that it goes by in a flash.  Well, they're right because I can barely remember her as a baby.  When I look at her wee little clothes,  I can't believe she fit into them.  I can't believe she's going to be two!  I am so so glad I took pictures of her practically every day.  I look back at that short spiky hair as a newb, that short little pixie cut as a one-year old and it just blows me away how quickly this has gone.  I miss Paige the newb.  

More after Christmas...

developments

Paige is now 20 months!  It's hard to believe my little baby's going to be two in just four short months!  I'm so looking forward to the holidays this year...dressing up for Halloween and trick or treating, having Tofurkey at Thanksgiving and watching her open Christmas presents.  

She's really soaking things up and understands a lot!  She seems to understand so much more than she can express and it's fascinating to us how quickly she's picking up on things, concepts, vocabulary.  I think being at her wonderful daycare also helps - not to mention being around aunt Becky and her adorable, wonderful children since she was 11 weeks old.  I think she picks up a lot from the older kids at both places.

Paige tells me when she's pooped now and gets ready for to me to change her.  Aunt Becky told me that today she got a diaper and wipes out of her diaper bag and ready for the diaper change after telling her she had pooped.  I can ask her where an animal is in her books and she points to the correct ones and she can say what they are though you'd have to listen closely to some of them.  She can get in her booster seat and strap herself in for a meal when I tell her it's time to eat.  She's such a good helper, too.  I've asked her to put her clothes or mine in the hamper just to see if she knew what I meant and she did it and in the appropriate rooms - her clothes in her hamper and mine in our room.  I can ask her to put her shoes away.  It's just so neat to see all of this.  Apologies if this sounds like I'm bragging - I guess I am a little - I just can't help it.  I'm so proud of her and this is just so fun for us.  I mean, I've known her since she was a little jelly bean!

She continues to eat well and try new things.  She's also very good about telling me when she's done eating or doesn't like what she's eating.  She certainly is good about telling me she wants more.  Lately, we've been really into corn on the cob, noodles and "chicken nuggets" with lots of ketchup.

In other development news, she's also doing toddler things that are not so fun.  Things I've seen in movies or read about such as throwing oneself on the floor, kicking and crying or the ever popular getting into everything.  So far, she's destroyed two of my Stila eyeshadows and my Chanel compact.  She's broken the tissue paper holder and that's just stuff that comes to mind right now.  I'm sure there's more.  It's just a little challenging to discipline her at this age or try to explain why I can't hold her while I get ready in the mornings.  I want to be there for her and respond to her cries but I also don't want to reward some of this behavior by giving in.  I am often conflicted because of what I've read in my parenting research.  I am such a first-time mom!  I guess I'll find my way and try to do what's comfortable for me and what I feel is right.  I try to see if she just needs me more some days or if she's just crying because she wants her way and right now.  Reading a lot of books, blogs and talking to a lot of other moms about all this is helping.

I've also started freaking out a bit about schooling.  Yikes.  I've got to figure out how this school district stuff works and figure out what's best for her - public, private, charter, magnet???  No biggie, right?

Hope all is well with all of you!  And, do let me know if you have any tips or advice about parenting a toddler - what's worked for you and what not to do!  Schooling advice would also be lovely!  Love to all!

new events

Paige is now almost 19 months!  She is talking up a storm - well, repeating a lot of words and really trying to do a lot of things on her own.  She wants to feed herself most of the time and is obsessed with trying to put her pants and shoes on all by herself, brushing her own hair, etc.  Paige is also playing with her toys like a real kid now - dressing and undressing her dolls, moving them around making noises and letting them act out some scene.  Her doctor was so impressed with her at her 18 month appointment.  She is now 32 inches and 22 pounds.  He said it was one of THE best 18 month visits ever.  She let him do his job, had no fear and took her shots like a champ.  He was surprised by how many words she already knows with meaning, well above the average for her age (totally showing off here, I know - can't help it).  He's also impressed by her health and the types of food she eats and enjoys - this kid loves, I mean loves tofu, hummus, salad greens, fruit and most of all, broccoli!  Music to our ears, especially in light of all the haters out there who had concerns with raising her vegan. 

We've also had a couple major events in the past month or so.  The first being that we bought a house and then just two weeks later, Paigey has started a new daycare.  I've been told that moving can be stressful for children, but we haven't seen any signs that our move has affected her this way.  She also seems to be taking to her new daycare very well.  We got rave reviews over her general temperment and ease with which she adapted to her new routine.  They said we were very lucky.  We couldn't be prouder!  We also couldn't be happier with our choice of daycare.  Not only are they rad people, but they are just as educated on the food thing as we could ever hope for.  They offer non-GMO food and vegan alternatives for every meal.  As for the house, she seems to be enjoying her new room and big backyard very much!  I can't wait until we can get landscapers to come out and help us design the perfect outdoor space for her (and us).  We've had a couple of friends over and they were amazed at how much we've gotten accomplished in just two weeks of moving in.  I guess it's my ever-growing OCD that we can thank for that...and I guess Bob helped, too.  Of course, we still have so much to work on, but thankfully they are details like putting shelves and art on the walls and finding some fabulous furniture.

Hope all of you are well.  Take care until next time. xx

it's been a while...

So, it's been a bit more challenging to keep up with this blog than I thought. I kind of knew it would be like this, but hey one less thing for you all to read, right? Paige is now 13 months! Wow! Forget chronicling the milestones of eating solid food, crawling and sleeping without being swaddled! Forget pulling up to stand, saying her first words or taking her first step! She's now walking and saying about six words or so. It's been so cool watching her develop not just in the way of growing up, but really developing a little personality. She is such a goof ball! (I don't know where she gets it from!)

As for me, I'm finally settling into more of a routine with her and getting to know the subtleties of her needs and finding it less overwhelming day by day. It used to be so challenging going out with her. We just didn't know what to do when she started crying while we were out getting groceries or supplies. And, now it's so much more pleasant and I can actually get things done from errands to doing the dishes and laundry! Yay! And, hence now I finally get a chance to write a few thoughts while she sleeps. Hope all is well with you, my friends.