Brr!

When I stepped outside this morning to retrieve the Chronicle, the thermometer read 35 degrees.  Brisk!  Mittens and stocking cap for e when we take a walk later.  Last night I wore my long green wool coat and gloves; it is not often cold enough to need Mom's winter coat, but I enjoy this brisk air.

Whew!

This past week was full of activity.  Sunday night Randy sang in the First Pres choir's program, and I watched e so her parents could attend the concert.  Monday the choir repeated the program, and I attended, taking our friend Alice.  Tuesday e's other grandma arrived, and we celebrated e's second birthday with spaghetti and presents.  Wednesday Randy joined me at Trinity's choir practice because he will sing with the choir on Christmas Eve.  Thursday night turned out to be open when Randy decided to skip his choir rehearsal because they were to practice mostly for Christmas Eve and he won't be there.  I had been asked to watch e while her folks attended a dinner for K's company, but Jonnie watched her instead.  So Randy and I relaxed with two videos, "Scrooged" and "You've Got Mail."  Friday our small group, smaller than usual, met for dinner only.  Saturday was the memorial service for Barry and then a holiday party at Scott and Carol's.  Tonight we will attend a Koinonia dinner at Paul and Jane's.

The coming week will be relatively quiet, with no choir rehearsals or other events to attend till Christmas Eve.  Sarah and Erik arrive Friday night, so my focus this week will be preparing for their visit.  Is my Christmas shopping done?  No.  Are the holiday cards mailed?  Not yet.  But that's OK.

Two years old

Yesterday K's mom arrived to celebrate e's birthday.  She is just back from a vacation to Kona, Hawaii, where she was bucked off a horse and injured some ribs and fingers.  But she graciously offered to watch e for a couple of days, giving me a nice break during this busy time of year.  Last night we had spaghetti and meatballs, e's favorite, followed by what our family calls "colored cookies," that e cut out with the E and 2 cookie cutters.  Then she loaded them with sprinkles before baking.  She received several Elmo and Sesame Street-themed gifts--sheets and a blanket, slippers, pajamas, coloring books--as well as socks, mittens, a recycling truck, cookie cutters inside a clear rolling pin, a dress, ornament, sarong from Hawaii, and more.

These two years have sped by, full of new adventures and unexpected pleasures.  i have enjoyed writing these blog posts and expect to continue doing so.

No!

Friday e threw another of her spectacular tantrums.  Sometimes when she's resistant I can find a distraction to calm her down, but other times I feel almost helpless.  This time when she refused to stop picking up leaves and wouldn't walk toward home, I had to put 30 pounds of struggling child into her stroller, not an easy task.  Then she screamed all the way home.  She had not napped that afternoon, which may have been a contributing factor to her behavior.  She can be so sweet, cuddling up as we read books together, helping with laundry, putting forks on the dining table, then boom!  A couple of her books describe feelings by the look on someone's face, so e knows if someone looks sad or happy, and she will say she is happy or Grandma is sad.  I wonder if it is too early to work on how to respond when you feel angry or sad?

Today brings back memories...our first daughter was born 35 years ago!  We were so happy when this bright-eyed, fully alert baby arrived after an emergency C-section.  Randy got to hold her first, since I had been under general anesthesia and took a while to wake up.  We had a lot to learn about babies and caring for one, but we did it. And she continues to bring joy into our lives.

High five!

We were kicking the blue soccer ball around the back yard this morning, then e indicated we should get the stroller and take a walk.  She pointed left at the corner and we headed west.  We soon crossed the street and walked down a block we hadn't visited before, then turned toward home since I didn't have on my walking shoes and didn't want to go too far.  By this time e was ready to walk but I made her wait till we had crossed back over the big street.  She pushed the stroller a bit before saying she wanted to run alongside.  We paused in front of a house with some large blow-up decorations:  a Santa, a Mickey Mouse snow globe,  a snowman, some Chrustmas trees, another snow globe, and colored lights lining the walk.  Real eye candy!

We continued running, and e fell, perhaps because she doesn't always watch where her feet are going.  She cried a bit, but I encouraged her to just get up and brush off her hands then keep going.  A woman walking toward us saw all this and offered e a "high five" as she passed us, and e responded timidly.

Yesterday I wrote about e dropping her bear out of the crib and being unable to reach it.  Today I've just seen her drop Yellow Bear over the rail again, but straight down, and that allowed her to reach out and grab him, lifting him up till her other hand could reach over the rail and get him into the crib. I just love this video monitor!  After about 40 minutes of playing, she seems to have fallen asleep, which is what happened yesterday.

What's new today?

Watching e learn new skills is fun.  Yesterday I saw her thumb through a book page by page, no little feat for a youngster.  She is learning to count; I think it's just learning the words more than actually counting individual items, though she does seem able to count two or three things.  She recognizes many letters and shapes, and her vocabulary is very large.

Just now I'm watching as she tries to reach her yellow bear that she tossed out of her crib.  She reaches over the side of the crib, but of course she can't reach it.  She lies down and reaches through the side, first with one arm then the other, but still she can't reach.  She calls for her mom to come help, but no success with that either.  Fortunately she is in a good mood, chatting to herself.  Since she's been in bed nearly an hour without falling asleep I will probably get her up soon.  Within a couple of weeks E hopes to have window coverings in e's room; perhaps having a darker room will help with naps.

Yesterday she used a glue stick to make a chain from red and green paper strips left over from an Advent festival many years ago.  I don't expect to save it after this season; the same is true of other decorations from the past.

Napping

(Written Friday, but I was interrupted before posting)

I'm sitting at the table in the new house, reading, writing, knitting, filling time till e awakes.  Yes, today she is napping.  We used to be able to count on her sleeping after lunch, often for 2 1/2 hours, but that is changing.  Anyway, when I put her in her crib about 1:00 today, she was quite unhappy, crying, asking to get out of bed, standing up.  But I said, "Sleep tight," and left the room.  Soon I heard her call, "Poopy diaper!"  But I ignored her because she is clever enough, I think, to know that complaint usually brings someone to get her up.  Granted, a clean diaper just before being put in bed is no guarantee that 15 minutes later it is still clean, but I took a chance.  She fell asleep very soon after and is still sleeping now at 3:10.

We played in the back yard this morning, kicking the soccer ball back and forth.  I hadn't tried that before with her because the space is part gravel, part concrete, and two different levels.  But e had fun chasing the ball and stepped up and down confidently.

This week e came to our house Monday and Thursday, which may become the norm.