Eggs n’ Things

Today, we dyes Easter eggs:

  

 

It’s the first time we tried it at home. I didn’t add vinegar or lemon juice as the box suggested, just water, so our eggs are not as bright as they could be, but they still turned out really neat. Some had cool designs because we drew on them with markers first, others were sort of marbled because I added a little oil to the dye. It did not take very long to dye all 11 eggs (lost one when it cracked open during boiling two days ago) and nothing was stained in the process, other than the eggs. The clean-up was really easy. I intended to hide them in the back yard while Fi was napping, but two things prevented me from doing it.

1) It was raining:

 

2) Fi did not nap. This is that means she napped only twice in the last week. Yesterday we drove to my cousin David’s for Passover and Fi slept in the car on the way.

Please, oh please tell me she is not giving up her nap. I really need that time in the afternoons to do work like grading papers, making answer keys, planning lessons, and writing tests. The two hours between when she goes to sleep at night and when I go to sleep at night are not enough time to do everything for my job, let alone my studies. And, while Fi is generally good natured, when she hasn’t had a nap, she is a ticking time bomb and I never know what is going to set off long periods of whining, crying, and yelling. Those afternoon hours are also my only break in the day, when I am not dealing with someone’s child, my own or someone else’s. I NEED that time. I use that time to make phone calls for such things as doctor appointments and dentist appointments and other things that require a little quiet. And I just can’t believe that a week ago she was taking three hour naps and suddenly she doesn’t need them anymore (so she says, “I don’t need to nap, Mommy, let’s play”). It doesn’t seem right to me. All of her transitions have been gradual, so I don’t believe she just dropped the nap like a sack of potatoes all of a sudden. That leads me to wonder what is really going on with her?

Eventually John took her to the park and I hit the eggs at that time. It was fun to watch Fi’s surprise at finding the eggs.

Maybe it is the after effects of the chocolate seder from last weekend:

Yes, a Passover seder using all chocolate ingredients. It will be much cuter when she is older.

Could it be the excitement for Fi’s first time in a kayak?

 

We went to check out the new REI in Oxnard and John spent quite a while discussing kayaks with my friend’s husband who happens to work there. We found a life vest that fit Fi perfectly. She insisted on holding the paddles, even when John was in the kayak with her. We definitely plan to buy some soon as both John and I love kayaking and think Fi will like it too.

Could the no-napping be the prerogative of the princess?

My little cousin Lindsey loves to dress Fi up whenever we visit her. She has many different dresses and shoes and hats and purses just for dress up. Fi likes playing with Lindsey and it helps her come out of her shell.

Nah, most princesses don’t push their own strollers.

Yup, she’s still doing that.

Well, here’s hoping that Fi’s hiatus from napping is only temporary. Otherwise, I am going to have to start staying at work later so that I can grade papers and do other stuff. It’s not the end of the world, but I am not sure I’m really ready for this phase.

March

March has been a busy month at work and school, but relatively calm at home. Fiona’s class took a field trip to a teaching zoo. They saw some interesting animals like this giant tortoise that Fiona informed me was “ginormous”.

She also got to see a coati, an animal I’ve seen in the wild in Costa Rica (it was less than three feet away), some monkeys and lizards, and other stuff, and rocks:

And the ever elusive dinner-making husband:

The rarest animal of all!

Fi also got to see a fire engine and hold the hose at school. Her school does so many wonderful things. April’s focus will be on spring, and I hear they will be growing caterpillars and watching them turn into butterflies, as well as experiencing a science lab for the first time.

Fi makes picnics for us and brings us food from her kitchen. Sometimes, Baby needs to drink water in the sink:

 

She likes to sit on the swing sideways:

Here is Fi in the BOB after a run recently:

I’d like to compare it to a photo of her from December 2010, when we first got the BOB, and February 2012, a little over a year ago:

 

I can actually see she’s grown. She grows so slowly that I don’t really notice until she can suddenly reach something that she couldn’t before, so her clothes seem short, or I look at old photos in which she wearing the same thing she is now, but the fit is very different, like these photos:

Never mind that the jacket fits a year later, she actually grew!

I got the letter for Fi’s NICU Developmental Follow Up Clinic this week. I thought they forgot about us and I wasn’t calling to remind them because the evaluation is not free (thanks Aetna) and because I am not in a rush to take Fi to the basement of the hospital to be evaluated. I know she is doing everything she should be doing at her age, I don’t need someone else to tell me. The appointment is in two weeks. John thinks we should do it so they, and especially the neonatologist, can see how cute Fi is, but I think Fi is going to clam up when we get there, as is her typical M.O.

Some things Fi is doing, beside “reading” to us, is writing and recognizing words. John wrote “mommy” on the wall and asked Fi what it said. She knew it right away. She also recognizes her name in writing and the word “Daddy”. One day, she was writing something and then said “Mommy! Mommy! I wrote you!” I looked to see what she did and indeed she wrote an M. Today, she was able to connect the zipper on my hoodie and zip it. She can climb vertical monkey bars, jump, dresses herself entirely independently, including color coordinating outfits, puts on her own socks and shoes, sets the table for dinner, cleans up, and knows how to handle telemarketers.

So, I don’t need someone who hasn’t seen her in a year to tell me she is or isn’t developmentally on track. On the other hand, it would be nice to have her weighed and measured and to have our opinions of her validated by professionals, as long as Fi actually does some of the things I know she can do.

In other news, I have no reproductive news to report. We took a break from trying and I took advantage of the time to exercise and focus on work and school more. I’ve been swimming a couple of times a week and running whenever I can. My mile is back under 10 minutes finally (it was closer to 8 before I got pregnant with Fi) and I can fit into all of my pre-pregnancy clothes, including some pants I thought I would never wear again. For the last four months, I’ve felt physically good. I’m back to my pre-Fi weight, my stomach is flat(ter) and I can make out the outlines of muscles in my shoulder, arms, and abdomen. I feel a lot less flabby. It’s been really good. I realized that this was the first time since November of 2009 (when I got pregnant with Fi) that I wasn’t sharing my body with anyone. I wasn’t nursing, anything I ate or drank affected only me. I miss nursing still, but I love the feeling when I’m running as hard as I can that at any moment, with the next step, I will lift off and fly. Good new running music helps too.

So no, as far as I know, I am not pregnant. I hope to be again someday and I appreciate the silence on that topic. I promise that when there is news to tell, I will tell it gladly.

Until then, I will continue with my research (coming along swimmingly), teaching (rocking some classes, not so much others), drinking ridiculous quantities of jasmine green tea, sleeping on my stomach, getting up in the middle of the night when Fi has a random fever (like last night), and swimming and running, and wearing my non-stretchy, skinny cut, size 2 black corduroy pants that I wore with boots to a Specials concert recently. Oh, and going to concerts, and beer (well, I hardly drink, but having one once in a while is quite nice).

Happy Passover to those who are celebrating it right now and Happy Easter to those who celebrate it. I’ve been bread free since Monday night and I can’t wait to dye those eggs I boiled today.  Ah, the benefits of a mixed faith household! Le chaim!

It’s a Telemarketer…

Today, Fiona did not take a nap. This makes four days since Sunday that she didn’t nap. My dad and I took her to the park to get out of the house and get some fresh air. Here is what she wore:

On the way home, she told us to stop because she needed to get her phone (I didn’t know there was a phone in the backpack). She got it out, started talking on it, then hung up. I asked her who it was. She said, “It’s a telemarketer.”

Then we wanted to know why we were laughing.

Why? and Snow! and How Was Your Day?

Why? is Fiona’s favorite question. Everything is why? Why are my shoes pink? Why are we using a fork? Why? Why? Why? I don’t mind at all, and try to give her good, true answers whenever I can. But sometimes I don’t have an answer. Then I tell her that I don’t know and ask if she wants to make up a reason or a story why. For example, today we went downtown to see a parade and there was a big green pig (float). When I asked Fiona what her favorite part of the parade was, she told me the pig, then asked why there was a big green pig. John told her the pig was green because it was in honor of St. Patrick’s Day and explained how green is the “official” color of St. Patrick’s Day because it represents Ireland here in the US. But why a pig? We don’t know. The float had nothing to do with pigs and we didn’t ask the people on it why they chose a pig. So if you see Fi, start thinking of reasons for random things in case wants to know why.

Every day when I come home from work, Fiona asks me “How was your day, Mommy?” and I tell her “It was fine. How was your day Fiona?” and she says “Mine was OK too.” So there you have it, Fiona’s days are OK.

Nothing very exciting has happened around here. Just another busy but boring winter. Fi got wear PJ’s to school on Dr. Seuss Day:

She chose her cat pajamas and a sweater. Fi almost always chooses her own clothes now.

We took Fi to see snow last weekend and it was a blast! She loved it! It snowed the night before, so we had a thin layer (maybe an inch or two) or fresh powder. At different times Fi said that the inner tubes were her favorite part, she got snow in her face, it was really COLD, and the sound of snow crunching beneath her feet was her favorite part. I think she liked it all. Here we are:

 

Fiona learned to use her stool to help her reach the knobs on her closet door, so now she can pick out her own shirts and also hang them up after we do laundry:

 

  

We are truly blessed to have such a sweet and polite little girl, who also likes cleaning up after herself and folding her own laundry. She brings so much joy to our life and we feel so thankful to have her.

Here she is, reading to Baby:

I have no idea what the “bear whining” is or what “chew on a carrot” have to do with anything. The book she is reading is a “baby book” that came with her Bitty Baby Doll. You are supposed to record things in it, like how Bitty Baby looks and how you look (your features) and stuff you do. It’s not a story book, but Fiona has made it into one, and an interesting one at that. Anyone care to go on a trip?

Here is Fi singing “Happy Birthday” to my mom:

And here is Fi explaining how to color in her coloring book, using her markers. It’s a little long:

Well, spring break is happening soon and I cannot wait. Fi and I will be on break at the same time and I am very excited to actually be able to do things with her during the day. And to get to eat breakfast in our pajamas, which we only do when Mommy is home on weekends.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone!