Her first steps!

K sent a little video of e taking a couple of steps while at his mom's for Thanksgiving.  Hurray!  Sarah and Erik were there, and it looks like Sarah actually launched e toward her grandma, then her dad.  A plastic water bottle was apparently e's goal.  This is a real milestone, learning to walk.  Guess what we will work on at Grandma Bootcamp this week?

Our dinner at Dena's was lovely.  A congenial group of people gathered to eat delicious food and talk.  On Friday we ate out with our Anti-Senility Seminar, then played Apples to Apples before serving date cake.  And last night several friends came over for supper and games.  I suggested they bring Thanksgiving leftovers if they wanted; I made a pot of chili because we did not have any leftovers except date cake.  The evening went smoothly, and I think everyone, even the 8 year old boy, enjoyed themselves.

Advent begins today.  I brought out our wreath and placed candles in it.  Maybe Randy and I will take a walk this afternoon.  It is chilly, but sunny.  Tomorrow night I return to Phoenix; I have enjoyed this longer time at home.

Thanksgiving Day

Oops...I began writing this on Thursday morning, put it aside to finish later, then forgot.  So here it is, a couple of days late.


This is the day designated for remembering the people and things for which we are thankful.  At the top of my list is family, especially Randy and the encouragement and support he has given me this year as I have commuted to Phoenix.  All three of our daughters and their significant others have brought happiness to me.  Little e--what a year of surprise, laughter, tears, joy she has given all of us.  My dad and stepmom Skyping at breakfast with e and me, coming out to visit.  My sister and brothers, whom I haven't seen in person but through the magic of technology.  Randy's sister coming last May.

I'm thankful for our home, shelter from the weather.  I'm thankful for jobs and enough money to buy what we need and even some extras.  I'm thankful for music, for being able to use it to encourage members of the congregation as well as myself.  I'm thankful that even though I have some arthritis in my hands I can still play the piano and sew.  I'm grateful for those friends who have stayed in touch through this year of travel.

The list could go on and on, and it does in my heart if not in this post.

Yesterday morning I arrived home, went to the dentist, then to the new James Bond movie with Randy.  After supper, I made a date cake, a couple of days late for Randy's birthday, but we're hosting our games group Friday night and need a dessert for them, and Randy likes the cake best after it has rested a day or two.  I went to bed by 9; I didn't sleep well Tuesday night, and I got up at 5:15 for my 7:30AM flight, so I was pretty tired.  We have been invited to share dinner tonight with our friends Dena and Alan, and their family.  I'm going to make a vegetable dish to take.  For many years now I have made gingerbread cookies on Thanksgiving morning, cutting them into turkey and squirrel shapes.  This began when several of the children at our large family dinner did not eat pumpkin or mince pie, so I brought cookies.  I think maybe I'll make some when I finish this post; I can't cut into the cake yet, so a cookie might satisfy my sweet tooth.

Thanksgiving week

E and e picked me up at the airport Sunday night.  K is out of town again, this time in Ohio for his aunt's funeral.

This will be a short work week for me in Phoenix.  I leave early Wednesday morning; soon after I get home I will go to the dentist for my six-month checkup.  Randy and I may try to see the new James Bond movie later that day.  We went to the theater Saturday night planning to see it, but the 7:30 showing was sold out.  Seeing lots of people in line for movie tickets and walking around downtown was weird; we aren't often out on Saturday night.

How fortunate

K returned this afternoon from a few days in Charlotte on business.  I think e was happy to see him.  He read to her and played guitar when he took over from me as E continued to work a bit.  After supper and her bath, she came back downstairs so E could eat some supper.  At one point e headed over to my chair instead of to K, and he looked disappointed.  He misses her a lot when he's away and often FaceTimes with her in the evening.  Later I said something to E about this.  She replied that she knows that e reaches out for me sometimes when E is holding her, but instead of feeling rejected she is just thankful that e likes/loves me.  Imagine how these months would have gone if e and I didn't connect with each other.

I do indeed feel a connection to this little girl.  We spend a lot of time together, and I enjoy seeing her learn new things.  Now when we're in her playroom and she hears an airplane she will stop what she's doing and point out the window, so I acknowledge the plane and her good ears.  If we're outside walking she will point to the plane.  She also enjoys pointing at birds flying overhead.

This and that

Week 38 of my Arizona adventure began yesterday.  Eight and a half months of watching e grow and prosper, of seeing her parents cope with this new part of their life together, of my itinerant lifestyle.

One of the tasks accomplished over the weekend was installing locks on the lower kitchen cabinets.  K used magnetic locks that must be opened with a magnetic key.  Cool!  One key is kept on the hood over the range, the other on the microwave, both above e's current reach.  One cupboard is not locked; it contains a whisk, pan, and bowl for e to play with.

Although she is not walking independently yet, e loves to walk along by pushing something.  This might be a big box, a dining room chair, her little Radio Flyer wagon, or even her stroller.  She has learned what to do when the wagon or whatever runs into something like a wall.  She walks around to the other end and goes in the other direction.  Problem solved!

One of her favorite games right now is "pull out the straw."  When E came home from the hospital, she brought the 28 oz plastic cup they gave her.  It has a handle and a lid with a small hole for the flexible plastic straw.  She would fill it with water to drink as she nursed e.  Now e has taken over the cup and loves to pull out the straw, which usually takes more than one tug because she does not yet understand about holding the cup in one hand while the other one pulls.  But once it comes out, she will hand me the straw so I can insert it into the hole, and the process repeats.

Probably the best feature of the Grandma Suite is its location.  It sits at the back of the house, the northwest corner, and has two windows.  One looks out over the lovely back yard, and I usually open the blinds each morning to enjoy the view.  The other window looks out on the side yard and cinder block wall at the edge of the property, so I keep those blinds closed.  At the old house my room shared a wall with the master bath, so when K took his early morning shower I was very aware of it.  Some days I was awake before the water began to flow but I think I was always awake before he finished.  Now my room is far enough away from the master bath that I never hear their shower, though one night last week I did hear E put together the new IKEA dresser in their closet, which is above my room.

Video monitor

It is so cool to be able both to hear and see e in her bed.  I put her down for a nap about 20 minutes ago.  She's been standing up, lying down, sitting, playing with her...oops.  The bear just hit the floor and the tears are in earnest now.  I'd better go upstairs and help her relax again.

(About 15 minutes later). All is well.  It took three tissues to wipe her nose (and both shoulders of my sweatshirt) and several minutes of rocking and holding to soothe her to sleep.  Conundrum---we want her to use the plush bear to comfort herself, and it appears to work.  But what do we do when it lands on the floor outside her crib, either accidentally or apparently on purpose?  We don't want it to become a game, "How many times can I drop this and Grandma picks it up before it stays on the floor?"  But we want to respond to her needs.  It's a challenge of balance.

We are still trying to get e to use a sippy cup for her milk but not having much luck.

Brrrr!

Although the sun was shining brightly this morning, the wind was very strong and I was cold as e and I took our walk.  I wore a long-sleeved shirt and light jacket, but the wind cut right through them and I wished I had put on a heavy sweatshirt; e also wore a long-sleeved shirt, heavy sweater, jeans and socks.  I tucked a blanket around her and hoped she was warm enough.  The stroller provides some protection, but we did cut our walk a bit short.  This was the coldest I've been outside since arriving in March, I think.  The temperature was probably mid-50's.

We attended lap-sit story time again today.  You'd be surprised at how still e sits during the stories.  She especially likes the bubbles which are blown at the end of the formal time, staring up at them and sometimes trying to catch one in her hand.  There were more children present than at previous sessions, and for some reason the event had been moved to a different area of the library, which felt more crowded.  But e interacted with others during the playtime, and that's why we go.

K left for Charlotte, NC this morning for several days of meetings relating to a work project.  So it's just us girls.  His mom and step-dad were here over the weekend, and they helped with various projects in both houses, such as taking the large TV off the wall.  E found and bought a red couch/sectional for the family room off the kitchen, which adds a sense of fun to the space.  Gradually boxes are being emptied.

Veteran's Day

One of my high school friends was born on November 11, and he said when he was very young he thought the big parade downtown was in honor of his birthday!  Today he is 65; I don't know if his town will have a parade.

K and E are both off work today in honor of the holiday, so I also have the day off.  I just took a walk by myself, and even though I went a little farther than usual it took less time.  Pushing the stroller makes a difference in my stride, I guess.  I may go to a movie later, or sit outside and read, or spend time in silence.  E and I may go to Ikea for some night stands and a dresser.  E also mentioned taking a hike with K and e.  So there are options.  It is lovely to be flexible, to have a day without any specific demands.

My finger looks good, still a little red, but it does not look infected and the edges of the laceration are knitting together.

Not really a surprise

As e slept in her stroller yesterday morning, after I finished my blog post, I went upstairs to tell E something.  For quite a while now I have been careful when approaching E if Oscar is near, because he is extremely protective of her and has snapped at me several times.  Some of these snaps did not actually connect with my body; others did, though never to the point of drawing blood.  Until yesterday.  Before I even knew he was coming he bit the middle finger on my left hand, the same place he bit e last week.  Odd coincidence.

After washing and bandaging my finger, I called the Kaiser advice nurse and determined I did not need to go to the ER or urgent care clinic.  Last fall I had a tetanus booster, so that is up to date, as are Oscar's shots.  We probably had to take e to the ER because of her age.  My bite was not deep or too long, so I put Neosporin on it and re-bandaged it.  I will watch for signs of infection, but so far it looks clean.

Oscar spent the rest of the day confined in his crate in the closet and will remain confined, except for potty breaks on leash, till K's mom arrives at the end of the week and takes him home with her.  His aggressive behavior towards me has escalated this year and not been dealt with adequately.  After his three-week stay with K's mom in August, she suggested we implement several new tactics to remind him he is a dog and not alpha, but I guess more work is needed.  Having a new baby in the house has brought many changes, and Oscar has suffered.

Shhh!

This morning as e and I approached home after our walk, I saw that she was asleep.  So when we reached the house I quietly lifted the stroller over the  threshhold and left e in it to nap, taking advantage of the unexpected free time to write this.  If she doesn't wake on her own soon, I will wake her so we can go to story time at the library.

She is initiating communication more frequently now, pointing to things she wants, expressing her wishes without words but often very clearly.  We are working on sign language with a few basic signs, such as milk (which she does very well), Mommy and Daddy, more, and eat.

K is back from a week in Myrtle Beach, where men from his family have met each November for a golf tourney for eleven years now.  They fish and golf and enjoy the time together.  K expected 25-30 would come; I don't know the final count.  I'm sure he must be surprised at changes in e in these few days.  For instance, when she stirred this morning he immediately went to her room, lifted her out of bed and brought her to E, not realizing that now she often goes back to sleep.  As she eats more solid foods, she seems to sleep in longer stretches, hitting twelve hours one night last week.

It's fall!

When we Skyped the other day, Randy warned me that the weather had taken a turn toward cooler temps and was likely to stay that way.  Indeed it has!  He put both a blanket and a quilt on the bed, and they felt pretty good Friday night when we slid under them.  Yesterday I wore a long-sleeved shirt and a sweater and was comfortable.  I prefer cooler weather.  Even in Phoenix it is cooler now.  E is putting socks on e so her little feet have a chance to stay warm as she crawls and cruises along the floor.

Yesterday I took down the October quilt and replaced it with November's, which has bright tessalated blocks like leaves on a dark brown background.  Randy put the Thanksgiving print napkins on the table.

I machine stitched the binding to the front of the Narragansett Blues quilt and brought it home to do the hand stitching.  I have managed to accumulate two boxes of fabric at E's house in the process of making four quilts since March.  I think I will either ship them home, bring some each week on the plane, or convince Randy to drive down in December so we can travel home together.

Grandma suite

One of the reasons for buying a larger house was to have a dedicated guest room, for me to use right now, but also for K's mom and others who visit in days and years to come.  This house has five bedrooms, so e gets one as do K and E, there's one for a future child (if that happens), and one for an office, all upstairs.  The "Grandma Suite" is downstairs, with a full bath right next to it, the thought being that as our knees age we grandparents won't have to climb stairs when we visit.  Tuesday we shopped for a queen mattress set and bought one; it was delivered yesterday afternoon, so now the sofa bed is folded up and back to being a sofa instead of my bed.  We plan to add night stands and a dresser to provide comfort for longer stays.

I hope to finish quilting my latest project today.  I have fabric for the binding and may get that cut.  This week I bought some flour sack dish towels and decorated a couple with red patchwork for the new kitchen.  E has red Cuisinart cookware and small appliances, so the red trim on the towels looks nice.

In an attempt to get e on the schedule used at her future day care I am skipping a morning nap and putting her to bed after lunch, letting her calm herself to sleep.  At this point that involves tears and protest, but she settles in a few minutes.  Today she was very drowsy by the end of her yogurt, so I wiped her face and carried her upstairs.  I hadn't thought to change her diaper before lunch, and doing so woke her a bit.  Oops!  Forgot her plush bear and had to go back down to retrieve it.  Tomorrow I hope I am better prepared; I don't like to hear her cry.  Her injured finger is red but does not look infected.

Today is cooler.  We have windows open to the fresh air.

Ouch!

We are all fine.  Let me begin with that.  Last night, while E was starting lentil soup for supper and I was sitting at the table nearby and neither of us had constant eyes on e, she apparently decided to approach Oscar, the Boston terrier.  He is usually pretty good about that, though he sometimes spins away quickly to avoid her.  Last night though he was eating, and that is positively not the time to mess with him.  We heard her start to cry LOUDLY and turned to see her next to him.  Since I was closer, I grabbed her and checked her arms and hands and saw her left hand was bleeding slightly.  I took her to the sink and began to wash her hand with soap and water while E took Oscar upstairs to his crate in the closet and fastened him in.  E then called the advice nurse, who told her to take e to the ER; since the bite drew blood, that was the required procedure.  So we drove to the Children's hospital where e spent several days in March with RSV and spent three hours at the ER.

Her hand was X-rayed to check for broken bones or bits of teeth; she had neither.  We saw a nurse, a doctor and a physician's assistant, in addition to the X-ray tech and someone who applied Lidocaine.  E and I took turns holding e and soothing her tears during the various exams.  Her hand was cleaned and bandaged, and we left with a prescription for an antibiotic and instructions to watch carefully for signs of infection.  Since the dog is E's, she knows his shots are up to date, as are e's.  Texts, calls, and pictures flew back and forth with K, who is on the east coast for a family event and dearly wanted to be home to comfort his little girl.

Part of the fault is ours.  We have not been consistent with how we feed Oscar and have allowed him to eat while outside his crate.  His life has changed since the baby was born; he does not receive nearly as much attention as he used to, and I'm sure he misses it.  But biting cannot be tolerated.  I've mentioned here before that he has snapped at me and bitten, though he has never drawn blood.  When K's mom and stepdad visit next week, they will take Oscar home with them for an indeterminate stay.  We will miss him, but it appears neither K nor E has the time and energy right now to provide the training he needs.

All Saints Day

This is the day to remember those who have died in the faith, who have shown us God's love and faithfulness, and who now worship around the throne with the rest of the saints in glory.  And it is also good to think of living saints who witness to us of those same things.  One family at Trinity asks members to bring in photos or memorabilia of loved ones and then prepares a display for coffee hour that we can look at and think about our own lives on this special day.  It is not a custom I grew up with, but I think it is a good thing to do.

We had just one group of four trick-or-treaters at our door last night.  E sent a picture of e in her pink butterfly costume, sitting on their front porch with a tub full of candy.