Pediatrician visit!

Big-girl baths are a new experience!
Elise loves them.

Kalina is 3 (almost)! Elise is a little more than 9 months! Which means I got to schedule a combined doctor's appointment for them.

I was warned against this seemingly brilliant idea a little too late, and so it was with trepidation that I marched both girls into the office at 10:00 this morning.

My trepidation, however, was nothing compared to Kalina's. I was pretty sure there'd be a finger prick and never trust the assurances at previous visits that there won't be a shot next time (rules sometimes change), so I knew it was my duty to warn Kalina ahead of time that she may get stuck with a needle. At least, that's what all the books say I should do, although I'm starting to wonder if maybe she'd do better if she didn't work herself up into a worried frenzy for the day leading up to the visit. Poor girl. She dug out her old standby, Lamby, in preparation.

Kalina and her favorite museum
attraction: the cow.

I maintained a chipper attitude throughout the morning, woke Elise up from her morning nap (it wouldn't be a doctor's appointment if I didn't have to wake someone up from their nap!), and we were on our way, Lamby in tow.

The receptionist was gone, and a substitute was in her place. She wasn't much for conversation, so the girls and I talked about the fishies instead. Elise desperately wanted to eat one, or at least make friends with it.

As soon as we settled in to read a Clifford story, we were called back, and Kalina began to melt. I carried her on one hip and wheeled Elise in her stroller, and asked the nurse what the shot situation would be. Good news: just a finger prick! Despite the nurse's best attempts to reassure my daughter, though, Kalina didn't quite buy into the idea that a finger prick hurts a little bit less than a shot. I have to side with Kalina on this one--a needle is a needle. Plus, Kalina doesn't really trust anyone whose main job is to weigh her and jab her in the arm.

Lamby did cartwheels in the mirror, which helped only temporarily.

The highlight of Elise's day is
when Daddy comes home!

With my nearly 3-year-old sitting a bit helpless in a puddle of tears, I turned my attention to Elise, who had fortunately been content to watch all the activity from her stroller. The baby was thoroughly enjoying the appointment. First, she gets to get up from her nap early. Then, she gets wheeled into a new place with new people to befriend. Best of all, there's a fish tank! What kind of great place is this?!? "Oooh! Oooh! Fish!" she seemed to repeat, over and over. She also enjoyed the mirror, and, seemingly, Kalina's hysterics.

And now, it was time to weigh the baby. Yet another new place to explore--unfortunately for her, though, Elise only had about five seconds to investigate the scale before she was pulled off of it. No screams, and a happy 17 lbs., 8 1/2 ounces, putting her in the 25th percentile.

And now, back to Kalina. The nurse agreed to go ahead and do Kalina's finger prick, since I was pretty sure getting it over with would be better than dreading it through the entire appointment. Although she didn't demonstrate the wave of relief I expected, the girl at least stopped crying. Then we weighed her (30.2 lbs.--the 50th percentile), and got her height after several tries ("Step back against the wall, Kalina. No, back further. Against the wall." Apparently the nurse has never done this with a 3-year-old who had never done this before.) She was 37 inches, also the 50th percentile. But far from average, in my book. Kalina took some pride in weighing more than Elise, as she predicted ahead of time she would.

Seriously? Makes me laugh.

Next came the vision test, which was almost as stressful as the finger prick. Poor Kalina was gently badgered by the nurse into telling us all which shapes she saw. Once again, it must've been the nurse's first time around a bewildered 3-year-old. Due to confusion, shyness and perhaps her actual visual capabilities, Kalina scored roughy 20/40 on the exam--which according to the nurse is fine for this age. She might have done better with her second eye, and was finally starting to get the hang of things once the test was over.

The poor girl snuggled miserably into my lap, then, as we waited for the doctor to come in. Elise busied herself with a giant bottle and Kalina and I began a game of I Spy to try to calm her nerves. Lamby was in a deathgrip.

The doctor arrived and managed to get Kalina to crack a few smiles. I think the girl was just relieved the nurse was gone. Elise immediately became old friends with him, from the safety of her stroller at least. Arms stretched up, she desperately wanted to play with his glasses, or hair, or face, just like with every other stranger we meet. Fortunately, Elise handles disappointment rather well.

Since both girls were quiet and calm, we began with a general discussion of each girl's development. I mentioned a few minor speech concerns with Kalina (she's tough to understand), and we decided that we may do a speech analysis at some point. We discussed a small spider anginoma (or something) on her nose, that shouldn't be any problem. The doctor asked if she could ride a tricycle (a little bit, but she's really not motivated), about her sleep (motivated enough, but only at night), and about her interactions with other kids (again, not very motivated).

As for Elise, she's doing all the things she should be doing, with the possible exception of clapping and waving. The doctor reassured me that sometimes it has more to do with how much parents work on those exact skills than with any achievement or deficiency. I didn't mention I'd been drilling Elise in clapping with no progress, but that everything else she learns extremely quickly.

"Sleeping well?" the doctor wondered. I laughed: Elise is still eating twice a night. She takes no more than about 3 ounces, but wouldn't miss the feeding for the world. Our pediatrician looked at her growth, figured there's a chance she might need those extra couple of ounces, and agreed with my hopes that night feedings will probably just disappear on their own as the baby takes greater amounts of calories during the day and her growth slows. Who needs sleep, anyway?

It was finally time for the exams. Elise, the most readily compliant, went first. The doctor measured her length at 28 3/4 inches, in the 75th percentile. He did not hear her heart murmur--second time in a row. The baby's only complaint was that she couldn't give the stethescope a good shaking.

Next came Kalina, who'd been basking in the comfort of the stroller as soon as it was vacated by Elise. She soon traded seats so she could be sitting on my lap for her exam, which included listening to her heart and checking her ears. I think she didn't quite trust the doctor that she wasn't going to get a shot after all, and preferred he keep his distance.

The look of relief on Kalina's when the doctor left the room after saying his goodbyes was immediate and endearing. The poor girl had held it together rather well for a good 45 minutes--no small feat when you're not even 3. Elise, for her part, also held it together well as she got re-dressed in her clothes.

We celebrated with donuts, as I'd promised Kalina we would if she had to get a shot. Seeing as 3-ish-year-olds can't really distinguish between a finger prick and an actual vaccination, I felt like I owed her.

The mood was light at the donut store. Kalina chose a red-frosted donut with sprinkles (for the 4th) and downed the whole thing. I know--I shouldn't have let her. We will be cutting back on sugar severely once the birthday is over.

Elise and her beautiful blue eyes made friends with everyone who came into the store, including several chatty grandfathers who let her grab their fingers when she charmed them into it. The cashier would've handed Elise a donut hole had I not intervened. Having never had one, the baby fortunately didn't protest my interference. She instead dined on chopped, mushy banana, which she managed to smear all over herself in a thin, sticky film.

Back at home, I let Kalina open an early birthday present. All was forgiven, and with neither child suffering the effects of any actual shots, we all enjoyed the rest of the day.

Celebrating 3: Part 1

We've had Kalina for 3 years now! Yay!

Here's the rundown of the festivities, which were to span several days for the sake of convenience:

For months now, Kalina and I have been discussing the fact that her 3rd birthday was forthcoming. We talked about party plans (each time, Kalina needed reassurance that there would be balloons and cake) and discussed which of her stuffed friends would be invited (all of them). The closer the date, the more willing she was to accept human friends at her party, but I still deemed it wise to downplay the fact that it wouldn't be just her and Mommy and an armful of cats. We both had fun getting excited and discussing frosting colors.

Friday the 24th rolled around, and presents started to arrive. We opened a couple from Grandma Jan and Grandpa Les, including a heavy-duty flashlight that can be dropped from five feet without incident! This particular toy was loved so much that the batteries died within 24 hours and yes, it has indeed survived a nearly five-foot fall.

At 5:50 a.m. Saturday the 25th, when I first informed Kalina that it was the day of her official birthday party(s), she responded with the wide-mouthed, exhuberantly happy look I've grown to love. It means I've surprised and delighted her beyond her wildest expectations, which is one of the greatest joys of being a parent.

We trooped downstairs to bake her birthday cakes. Yes, we would be making two of them--we doubled the recipe so as to have a fresh cake for each party. Yes, I'm a little crazy and yes, Kalina's a little spoiled, but to her credit, she helped. A few days shy of 3 years old, and Kalina can accurately measure baking powder all by herself. The batter just barely fit in the large mixing bowl.

I'd made frosting the previous night, but I let Kalina help me mix in the food coloring, considering the fact that color mixing is one of her favorite hobbies right now. I managed to avoid greeny-brown (non-chocolate brown, I should clarify) and we settled on bluey-yellowy-green, which, if you do the math, translates firmly to green. We probably would've had enough frosting to cover both cakes, except Kalina decided to be a bit liberal with the tastes since it is, after all, her own birthday cake.

Soon, we were headed out the door to Kalina's Craft Party. Next year I vow we'll do a house party, but this year that's not an option. Instead, we booked a local drop-in craft place to host the eight young guests, complete with providing balloons, plates, cups, you name it.

What fun! Kalina quickly settled in to making a beaded bracelet, and didn't leave her seat until she'd also made a handprint on a keepsake canvas, mixed up colorful playdough, eaten pizza and chocolate Goldfish, drained a juice box and was called over for cake. The other kids, who Kalina barely noticed, fared the same. Not that we don't appreciate mixing at a party, but the giant craft table made the party manageable for our still-a-bit-shy little girl.

And what did Elise do during this time? Fortunately, Daddy was on duty and the store had an Exersaucer (the owner's daughter being two weeks younger than our own baby--the two are good friends), so we don't think she ate anything dangerous, nor did she seem to have pulled anything over on herself. The poor baby emphatically pointed and grunted toward the gift table for at least 15 minutes, but was not allowed near it for obvious reasons. Just a few more months, Baby, and it'll be your turn!

Kalina happily took her place for cake time, smiled as she was sung to, and took about eight tries to blow out the three yellow candles she'd carefully placed. She then proceeded to eat the top off her own slice of cake.

On the way home, Kalina agreed that she'd enjoyed her party. The best part? The cake! The child will go anywhere for cake.

We then had a few hours to chill (or frantically clean the house so it only looked a little bit messy, and frost the second cake) before Grandpa and Aunt Nancy arrived for the family party. Kalina opened a few birthday-party presents and layed around, but certainly did not nap. We were a tired bunch, but our guests cheered us up with story and playtime. Hot dogs--Kalina's favorite--further revived us all.

The second cake was every bit as delicious as the first, and by this time Kalina was able to expertly blow out the three pink candles she'd chosen. And next time, I'll make Kalina's cake purely out of frosting as the girl has learned to avoid anything that doesn't have icing on it. We opened a few more presents, saving some for her actual birthday on Tuesday.

On Sunday the 26th, both girls slept in. Apparently it takes two birthday parties nowadays to get Elise to sleep until 6:00 and Kalina until 6:40 and to nap as well. I guess we'll be doing a lot more celebrating.

And then, Daddy brought home the big present: two white mice! Perhaps with the aid of a magic marker we'll ever be able to tell them apart, but Kalina was adamant that they both be white with red eyes. We've named them Maisy and Mousey. Daddy has decided that the one who's out and about is Maisy, and whichever one is hiding is Mousey. So far Kalina hasn't questioned his logic, but she has corrected us when we've supposedly gotten a name wrong. Maybe she sees something we don't?

The girl proved her ability to care for small animals today when she remembered the mice needed their supper while the rest of us were too busy to notice. We all watched as Daddy dropped in the food, and then Daddy and Kalina hurried out the door to go fishing. More about the mice, I'm sure, later--they'll make a lovely addition to our household and both girls are ecstatic about their appearance. A little too ecstatic in Elise's case.

Two more days until Kalina's actual birthday. We can hardly wait!

Fair game



Caught! Elise munching on
one of Kalina's sacred stuffed
animals when she wasn't
looking.



I've found that nine-month-olds and nearly three-year-olds have one (and only one, it seems) thing in common: a insatiable desire to play. This is as it should be: not only are my youngsters learning about the world around them, but they're developing their own forms of creativity. Good.

The only problem is that at times, Kalina's world and Elise's world overlap and collide, so while one was planning to cuddle the stuffed kittens and then send them into the kitchen sink for their baths, the other really wanted to give them all a good shake. Both would agree, through their tears of frustration or roars of rage, that these activities are mutually exclusive.

In other words, Elise is now mobile so Kalina has to learn to share. And I'm not talking about the "we'll hide Lamby away for the playdate until your friend goes home but share everything else" kind of sharing--this is the real thing.

The other problem being that Mommy really has no idea what's fair, and the kids are too young to work it out on their own. Is Elise really allowed to hand a sopping-wet, gnawed-on kitten over to Kalina when her turn is up? Yuck. Can Kalina really monopolize all of Elise's stuffed animals simply because "Elise isn't playing with it right now?" I don't think so, but I'm not sure.

So for the time being, I allow Kalina to pile her toys on couches and other high places in an effort to thwart Elise's insatiable curiousity. This is my best strategy, other than forcing the taking of turns to everyone's annoyance, which we do plenty of.

I've also recently designated Kalina's crib as sacred, so all the stuffed animals in there are off limits to Elise's jaws. Except the several stuffies of Elise's that Kalina likes to keep in there, and that I remind her daily belong to the baby.

This sharing thing would be less complicated if Kalina didn't run shrieking from the room, terrified, every time she decided Elise was after the toy she was currently playing with. Even if Elise is happily across the room paying no attention whatsoever to Kalina. Even though Kalina is twice Elise's size.

Fortunately, there are still plenty of ways to have fun at our house. We play a lot of games, sometimes from sunup to sundown, as we navigate our busy lives.

Thanks possibly to endless repetitions months ago, Elise has recently learned the classic game of peekaboo. She's utterly adorable playing it, however, she cheats: careful not to obstruct her view of you looking for her ("wheeerrreee's Elise?!"), the baby holds her hands in the vicinity, but not covering, her eyes. To cover them completely, I suppose, would render the game a bit boring. Even Kalina likes this game, although she doesn't seem to understand that a baby's attention span for searching for her big sister is about two seconds, not five minutes.

We also do races, mostly to get Kalina into her carseat without too much dawdling. She has not yet caught on to my ulterior motives. Poor Elise is a very good loser in these races almost every time.

We also do cleanup games, and teeth-brushing games, and singing games, and anything that helps our day inch its way forward.

Then there are the classics, like rocketship, buzzing bees, tickling fingers, a mouse running up and down the baby, and eating the baby like a cob of corn. Kalina likes them repeated even beyond the amusement of Elise, so by the time we're done, one child is on to other things, tired of being the victim of an imaginary stinging insect, while the other is left thinking it's still hilarious, when, really, it's just not anymore.

For the most part, Kalina is content as a spectator for baby games, but at other times, she wants to join in. Which is all fine and good for tickles, but not when I'm required to blast my nearly three-year-old off to the moon in the same spry fashion as I can my half-as-heavy nine-month-old. I do my best, and then promise that Daddy will pick up my slack when he gets home from work (fortunately, the promise is usually long forgotten by then).

Elise and Kalina both seem to be good at following rules, although even at her tender age, Elise tests them. The baby learns fast, however, and still seems to seek my approval, so she did eventually get the message to avoid the fireplace and the garbage can (but not the elusive cat dish). Kalina, for her part, can be an incredibly gracious sharer at times with her little sister, and when she's in a good mood will happily make sure Elise has plenty of nice things to play with, even at times sacrificing the toy in her own hand to the baby's pleasure.

For instance, in a move that I'm not really sure what to think about, Kalina has designated one of her own stuffed animals as a peace offering to Elise. Upon entering Kalina's room in the morning, the first thing we hear is, "Give Elise the white dog and Kalina wants the brown one."

As you'd guess, Elise is now bored by the white dog and desperately wants the brown one. While it's a shaky peace, then, I'll take it.

The Everything-Has-Gone-Haywire Picture Post

This is a picture of Kalina giving Elise a "hug." See how happy Elise is? See how kind Kalina is? We do this sometimes. Not always, but sometimes. 



Trying to model the cat shirts
Krista gave the girls. Note you
can't actually see any cats
in the picture. We tried, though!

 We've slogged through the past few weeks, occasionally happily (see above), and sometimes through chaos, minor injuries, minor crises and general griping on everyone's part. Kalina seems to have been "going through something," as the other stay-at-home moms and I sometimes warn each other about our kids. And truthfully, she has been making a few leaps in general creativity (which is always worth a few "grumps," in my book!) and rational thinking.

In the meantime, Elise has spent the time learning to slap-scoot her way toward anything her sister is playing with, much to the trepidation of the bigger girl, not to mention under the table after mealtimes to look for savory morsels that may have fallen. She can now pull up to a standing position, but only using the side of the bathtub. She can also eat soft finger foods, even slippery peaches that I have lots of problems picking up. All these milestones are wonderful to see--and nearly impossible to monitor the way they should be.



Back when Elise wasn't so mobile
and grabby, Kalina liked to play with
her.

 Kalina, to her dismay, lost her most recent battle to do away with naptime entirely, but is working it out with the help of her "friends." ("Lamby [who was down for a nap on the coffee table] is crying for Blue Horse, but Blue Horse is working and will not come get Lamby," she recently brought to my attention. I had to stifle my giggles and came up with the strangely popular, "How about you take care of Lamby during Lamby's naptime, and Lamby can take care of you during yours!" that brought smiles to everyone's faces, Blue Horse's included, I'm sure.)



A blanket ride with Daddy!

 Ninety-five-degree temperatures have not improved anyone's temperament, as we all spend far too much time on a 5x8 section of rug in the living room, trying not to get in each others' way. Actually, it's only Kalina and I that try--Elise counters as many of our efforts as possible. Which I think is cute, but Kalina doesn't quite agree.

It also hasn't helped that Daddy's been out of town so much, and we've all been preoccupied with other matters (more on that later!). I think Kalina can sense that she doesn't have 100% of our attention (or even the 50% she's allotted since Elise was born) and is just breaks her heart. Poor girl?




Ride 'em, cowbaby!

 We're simply slogging--passing the time, enjoying every moment that's enjoyable, and hoping we all grow out of our gripey phases sooner rather than later.



Hanging out at Aunt Nancy's with
various friends.

 I believe we're mostly on the other side, which is why I can now post again.









 



Kalina and Elise both needed new
swimsuits, having grown out of the
ones that really should've fit (with
no hand-me-downs in the right size,
either, for Elise). Kalina picked out
matching tutu suits at Target!

I'm really not sure why I can't ever get the photos to do what I want, but at least they're here. See, we've had some good times! (Reminding myself.)













Elise, happy as a clam, with two of
her most favorite toys.















Kalina playing with Uncle Tom
and Miss Angela



Grandma Poppins

One of several group photos we tried
to take, with variable success

Daddy has been out of town a ton lately, much to the disappointment of both girls and the exhaustion of Mommy. We like Daddy! We need him around!

Fortunately, Grandma came to our rescue on Monday afternoon. She floated in through the clouds in an airplane (Kalina is positive she saw the specific one as we were headed to the airport to pick her up) and brightened our week considerably. Spoonful of sugar and all--in the delectable form of caramel brownies.

I'd been telling Kalina for weeks that soon, Grandma will come to visit us. The girl would get a huge smile on her face and vow to show off all her toys to Grandma. We also decided we needed to take Grandma strawberry picking.

So it was with high hopes we all loaded into the car after all-too-short naps on Monday afternoon to meet Grandma in the vague area known as "baggage claim." Kalina had been asking all day when Grandma would arrive, and once we got to the airport became disappointed anew every time she didn't see her beloved relative in such places as the parking lot just outside our car, the airport entrance, and every square foot thereafter.

Fortunately, after not too lengthy of a wait, Grandma appeared as if by magic coming down an escalator. I held Kalina back until a path was clear, and then watched her sprint joyfully toward Matt's mom. Elise, who only recognizes about four people in the entire world, continued to snack on her Cheerio halves and wonder what the big deal was.

Elise soon learned--Grandma's games and amusements are all fresh and new, and generally administered with more patience than a sleep-deprived, busy mommy can usually muster. Kalina, who was already well aware of this fact, endeavored to secure as much of Grandma's attention as she possibly could.

We all settled in quite cozily--even the air mattress that was (unfortunately!) Grandma's bed for four nights became a lovely playplace for our bouncy toddler. Elise was not quite so enthusiastic, as the mattress's top was a bit too rough for the scooting the baby was bent on practicing every waking (and some non-waking) moment.

The rest of Monday was spent in a flurry of dinner, playtime, chatting and, all too soon for Kalina, the bedtime routine. Before Kalina settled down to sleep, she made sure to confirm with me that Grandma would still be here tomorrow. I said she'd be here until Friday.

By Tuesday, Kalina firmly preferred Grandma to Mommy for any and all activities. Which worked well, as Elise loudly proclaimed her preference for Mommy about 5-10 minutes into Mommy's shower. We began the morning by baking brownies, and continued the fun with a park playdate. Naps were a success (to my great surprise, as I thought Kalina would stage quite the protest), and the rest of the day was spent with a Mommy/Elise grocery run, oatmeal pancakes, and a tour of the yard, including a visit to some of our newest pets: a tadpole and a crawfish living in a shaky harmony on our deck, as well as a family of Carolina wrens that nests in a yard waste bag.

Several times throughout the day, and every day thereafter, Kalina asked which day it was and seemed relieved it wasn't Friday. I began to wonder how I was ever going to pry the girl away from her Grandma when it became time to send her home.

Kalina, however, solved this problem for me. "On Friday, Grandma will go home to take care of Grandpa Les," she rationalized to anyone within earshot. "Yes!" I almost shouted with glee. "Yes, she needs to take care of Grandpa Les after she's done taking care of us!" This was an idea Kalina could really get behind, with about 34-ish small animal friends to take care of herself.

On Wednesday, we noticed that the girls were both exhibiting signs of tiredness from all the excitement. We laid low for a while, but the beautiful weather tempted us outside for a walk, where a kind stranger took our picture. Along familiar trails we spotted mushrooms, crows, cats, various bugs and other exciting sights--even the very spot where we gather algae for the tadpole and crawfish to eat. We had a photo shoot, that turned out about two dozen mediocre shots. Maybe after another few dozen we'd actually manage to get everyone looking at the camera at once? Nevetheless, it was fun to try. No one really wanted to come inside, but lunch and naps called.

Throughout the trip, Elise increased her scooting abilities almost hourly, catching us all unawares, not least of all her mommy. Clearly, the girl was hard at work as she slapped her hands on the ground and used them to pull along the rest of her body. She amazed us all, and all three of us older girls ran to remove hazardous or treasured objects from her path. No matter--Elise is equally adept at turning 180 degrees in a flash and heading out again after whatever we'd moved. We all had our work cut out for us! Despite her newfound capabilities for exploration, the baby exhibited some signs of pretty intense boredom, having seen and mastered all the toy or like-toy objects we could put in front of her. Around this time, she learned that cool objects come from the stove drawer, and just today I witness her open it to try to get inside. [Not kidding--not sure what else to do, I pulled out a pot lid for her to reward her effort.]

The afternoon was spent at Grandma Tom's house, with a much anticipated hot dog for Kalina for dinner. In a new setting, Elise graced us again with giggles, smiles and coos, and everyone was happy. Grandpa helped Elise practice crawling, and Kalina tagged along for the ride.

The next morning, Thursday, we set out for our promised strawberry-picking adventure. We saw horses on the way. No longer bored, Elise sat in her stroller happily trying to stuff as many strawberry leaves into her mouth as possible, while Kalina, Grandma and I alternately picked and tried to distract the baby from the strawberry leaves. Kalina made sure Grandma knew exactly which berries to pick: the red ones. Not the white ones. And the ones with a little white at the tip "need to grow a little bit more."

On the way home, the adventure continued as we got to follow a real-live fire truck part of the way! Even better: it later turned on its lights and sirens. Is there a better end to a morning than that? This sight could only be topped by the strawberries we gorged on back at home for lunch. Elise giggled through the entirety of lunchtime at Kalina's antics, thereby eating almost nothing without spraying it all over Grandma. Good thing Grandma thinks both girls are pretty cute!

Thursday evening, we made it out for a fancy dinner at Chick-Fil-A. We dined to classical music al fresco, with dinner carried courteously to our table for us. Mommy got to sneak in a few bites, too, and no one ended up covered in ketchup. A success!

And then, the dreaded Friday morning arrived, when Kalina would have to say goodbye to her beloved grandparent. We spent the morning soaking up as much playtime as possible before piling in the car to head to the airport.

Amazingly, possibly because of Kalina's sweet little spirit that wants to make sure Grandpa Les is as well taken care of as we had been, there were no tears shed. However, that's not to say there weren't some long faces (mine and Kalina's--Elise was a bit oblivious) as we trooped home by ourselves.

I reminded the girl that Daddy would be home soon from his trip. Kalina cheered up a bit, but would possibly have cited the age-old adage that a Grandma at hand is better than a Daddy on the road. Come back again, Grandma!

Baby noises

Elise probably in mid-sound. Look
how happy she is!

Vocal cords are a funny thing. Apparently, anyway, to someone who's not used to using them. And Elise has quite the repertoire of sounds. Following is a list of the noises Elise can make/has commonly made using hers:

Grunt: One of Elise's earlier noises, this grunt meant little more than "I'm here, making noise, hear me grunt."

Mmmmmaaaaa: Elise's first consonant happened to be the letter "M!" Which means she can kind of say Mama. I insist to Matt that she doesn't associate the word with me yet, but as the baby only uses it when she's upset, I'm secretly not so sure she doesn't know exactly what she's saying.

Roar: The baby began to roar a few weeks ago, quickly followed by the toddler, who thinks roaring is fun and hilarious. Really, it is, and it passes my criteria for a safe activity we can all do together.



Elise loves to swing! I
actually swing her higher than
Kalina.

Boo-boo-boo: The other day I got to witness Elise saying "B" for the first time. She'd let out a little puff of air, and then say "boo," and it was so adorable I couldn't help but say "boo" back. Many times. I congratulated her on her new skill and she seemed quite pleased with herself.
Oooooowooooowooo: At times, Elise's sounds resemble that of a sweet little fire engine. This is most likely to happen when she's well-fed and well-rested and has something interesting to play with. It's my favorite.

Shriek: Elise has certainly perfected the shrill, glass-breaking shriek that makes the whole family cringe. This often happens during solid-feeding time when Mommy has to leave the table (and a still-hungry baby) to fetch something from the kitchen (ketchup and mustard for the toddler's carrots, for instance). As this can happen about a dozen times in the course of one meal, I now prepare for my absence by sprinkling Cheerios halves across Elise's tray to keep her happy. Kalina appreciates this tactic, happily commenting when I return, "Elise didn't even scream!"

Laugh: Of course, Elise is quite adept at laughing by now. After all, she has a hilarious older sister to watch. When she's supposed to be eating, or getting her diaper changed.

Cry: We do this one too, on occasion.

Pppbbbttthhh: Elise still loves to blow raspberries. They mean, "I'm done with my food, Mommy, so you can have this bite back." I really just need to learn to wear a raincoat, especially when Elise is dining on pureed prunes. Sometimes Elise uses tiny raspberry noices to voice her approval of or interest in something, a habit that I've unfortunately picked up.

Conversation: Although most of the conversation in the house happens around Elise, she'll occasionally join in in her sweet little way. "Oooha?" she'll ask. "Ooowwwooo!" we'll reply. And so it continues.

20 million questions

My dear friend, Krista, who happens to
be a photographer, took some amazing
pictures of our family!

As soon as a child can begin to form words and sentences, you finally begin get a good peek into her mind. This has been going on for more than a year with Kalina, and I've always thought every glimpse I've gotten has been fascinating. Here is creativity unbridled. Few things are more inspiring than the mind of a child. What in the world is going on in there?

Sometimes not much more than, "Kalina would like a snack," and sometimes, "Mountain Lion is spraying water, milk and juice out of his tail. And his tail is cleaning it up," in response to my educational diatribe about what happens at the post office. Either way, Kalina's at an age where she pretty much tells me everything that's running through her mind, including an ironic "Kalina does not want to talk," followed a mere 10 seconds later by: "But Elise wants to talk," followed by Kalina letting me know what Elise was thinking.

As Kalina's language skills tighten up (we're now perfecting pronouns, saying "Mommy" instead of "Mama" and beginning questions) and she becomes increasingly in control of her linguistic universe, we face new challenges. For instance, we have her keen ability to notice every single mistake I make:

Me: Are your cats going to drink their milk?
Kalina: No, Mommy, they lick milk.

Or

Aunt Nancy: Time to add oatmeal to the cookie dough!
Kalina: No, oats!

Plus every single story in which I accidentally switch a "the" for an "a" and the like. Skipping a sentence or a page by mistake usually results in tears, while for other mistakes I may have to endure minutes of chiding laughter at my ignorance.

I'm slowly pondering how I'm going to teach Kalina that some mistakes don't require a gleeful "Mommy messed up!" and that in some households, pointing out each and every little accident of speech might be considered rude, even.

But that it's okay to let Mommy know if her socks don't match or she has frosting on her nose. But only before we go out, and not once we're in public lest she draw extra attention to my foibles. It's a delicate balance.

Fortunately, Kalina doesn't use all of her linguistic talents for ill. In fact, she's been remarkably handy lately in interpreting Elise's grunts, roars and "monkey-being-attacked-by-a-hyena"-shrill screeches for me. Sometimes with the best grammar I've heard out of the girl yet (does that mean Elise will be even more of a grammarian than Kalina? Heaven help us!).

For instance, Elise's grunts in the grocery store apparently meant, through Kalina's undoubtedly exacting translation, "'I want to get out of the cart, Mommy, let me out, I want to walk, I don't want to ride!' says Elise." If Elise were uprightly mobile I might have believe Kalina, but I had a sneaking suspicion that the toddler might be making things up.

Considering Kalina herself never uses such phrases as "No, Mommy, I don't want to wear a hat!" or "No, no, no, Mommy, I don't want to take a nap!" I sometimes think that Kalina sees Elise as an evil twin, alter-ego, or merely an outlet for unpopular expressions. That is okay: she can state her true feelings via Elise and we can both have a good laugh as we get on with the day.

And then there are the questions, which are always phrased like statements. "Kalina does not know if flowers turn into leaves," or "Kalina does not know if Lamby (or Beancat, or Elise) has stuffing." There are questions about everything--from where cars come from to if there will be a truck at church to whether a friend's dog will be attending a birthday party.

The best/worst part is trying to explain complex systems in straightforward English so that Kalina can actually understand and relate to. Sometimes my explanations end up so garbled that even an adult couldn't understand, while sometimes I actually succeed in making sense of a complicated matter. Sometimes I get it completely wrong, either because I have no idea what the real answer is or I know the real answer would only scare her  ("Thunder is just clouds bumping together!"). Sometimes Matt corrects me when I get it wrong ("Thunder is the sound lightening makes as it rushes through the air to hit the ground or an object!"). It's probably both a good and a bad thing that Kalina is not yet old enough to Google things herself.

While I have had to explain a million times where Daddy is every day, I fortunately have not had to silence Kalina's queries about whether another grocery store patron is particularly rotund. Yet.

Kalina also never asks, "How's your day been, Mommy, and is there anything I can do to help?" Yet.