Five Things on a Friday

I've decided to take a page out of the blog of Cynthia Lord, and combine it with a page from The Short Years. I'm making a quick recap of highlights of my week, hopefully a Friday tradition from now on.
1. Linnea had her four-month doctor appointment yesterday! I can't believe she's that old already--it seems like forever and just yesterday all at the same time. She weighed in at 13lbs. 9.5 oz, and is now 24 inches long. I think she's catching up with Scott and Melody's one-month-old, Liam, now! Among other topics, we discussed starting solid food in a month! How is it possible? Not that I'm objecting, or anything. =)
2. We are in the midst of potty-training with Iris. It's going very well, actually. But I haven't purchased training pants yet, because they're so expensive! At $13 a piece (and I figure that I'll need 5), it's a pretty hefty bill. This is the whole reason you have more than one child, right? To get more use out of all the expensive baby paraphernalia!
3. I finished a book this week. That may not sound like much to write about, but I've been working on The Secret River since before Linnea was born. It was phenomenal! Amazing writing, great story, and even though I usually have a difficult time with Australian fiction, it has to be one of my favorites! Now on to The Time Traveler's Wife. Any bets on whether I'll finish it before the movie comes out on the 14th?
4. We met with my brother last night to discuss logos for our new business. It's an exciting step for us, but difficult to decide for certain what we are looking for. I came up with a great idea (yay, me!), so we'll see what the mock-ups look like in a couple of weeks!
5. I made homemade yogurt for the first time this week! It was such an amazing thing to realize that it's possible to do it on your own--no magic involved! It didn't get Iris-approval until I mixed it with some homemade blueberry jam, but all in all, it's going to save me a fortune on yogurt. Normally, we get YoBaby! for $4 for 6-1/2 cup servings. My batch made 8 cups with half a gallon of milk (even with the expensive Lochmead stuff, this is about $2). Hooray!

Positives and Negatives

As I am sure that you have noticed, if you follow my blog with any sort of regularity, that I have been especially negligent about writing since Linnea was born. I can blame this on the kids all I want, but the truth of the matter is that I haven't made time for writing. During the last couple of days, however, I have stumbled upon some truly inspirational blogs, and so, for the present moment, I am determined to once again keep up.
Things have been challenging around here lately, as Iris has prematurely entered her twos. Every question is always answered with an emphatic "no!", whether she actually wants the option she is given or not. Lately, "bye-bye" has replaced "no" as a surer sign of her negative feelings. Lately this phrase has encroached on things that most of us wouldn't think of leaving behind. The other day she hit her head on the crib. She kept repeating "bonkers, head" until I acknowledged that she had hurt her head, at which point she said, "bye-bye, head". That would be a tough one. This morning I told her that we should put pigtails in her hair because it would be cute. She responded, "bye-bye cute!" She may not care about looking cute, but look who won the pigtails debate!

Linnea, on the other hand, has been growing ever more positive. Right now she is contented to lay right beside me giving me happy little growls. As I seem to have the active ones, she loves jumping. We discovered this when she started to laugh hysterically at Iris' jumping. So we tried it with her--success! Sometimes I think Linnea's smiles are what get me through the days right now.
One reason I haven't been writing much lately is because summer has turned me into a domestic goddess. Not that you could tell by my perpetually messy house, but hey, we goddesses have more creative things to do than clean houses! This year I have entered into the full swing of summer's bounty and gone out picking every type of fruit I can find. This has loaded me down with several pounds of strawberries and blueberries that I then have had to figure out how to use. Luckily, my ambition has lead me to create jams, shortcakes, fruit leather, and muffins, which will all hopefully last until next summer. I think by then I will have learned that I actually need to pick a lot more next year!
My domestication this year has also led to the beginning of a small photography business. Don't get me wrong--you wouldn't want me behind the camera. Being a non-techy person, I hate all the details involved with good picture-taking. But Josh loves it, and I have a pretty good eye for posing and composition. And so, we are launching Caffeinated Nerd Photography. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.
So, that's it for catching up with summer! We'll see how it goes from here on out! And I will leave you with a video of giggles from my happy one!

The blessed moments of peace and quiet

The house is a mess, I should be packing for the trip to the coast we're leaving for tonight, or cleaning, or doing just about anything but writing, but the fact is that my house is quiet. It's amazing what a brain can do when its thoughts can be heard!
The fact is that the normal noise level in our home has elevated this week due to the fact that a certain someone seems to be entering the "terrible twos", four months early. Yes, yesterday my fun-loving, cute-as-can-be child erupted into that screaming, throw-yourself-on-the-ground monster that every parent-to-be swears their children will never be like. Luckily, there are a few "I've been there" parents around who know what you're going through. As one person said on a blog I just read, it's as if "[t]he formerly cute baby in my arms had suddenly morphed into a red-faced, furious monster. Kind of like Jack-Jack at the end of 'The Incredibles.'"
It began when we had to leave The Play Factory. I had already had a rough morning. The library's annual Teddy Bear Picnic had been written on my calendar for weeks, and I was looking forward to spending quality time with my girls. We wrestled out the door with teddy bears in hand, only to leave the house 30 minutes after the concert started. Clearly I have not figured out how long to allow for getting two little ones out the door. Once we arrived at the park, there was no parking close by, meaning that we would get to the concert 45 minutes late. Considering that it was a children's concert, I thought the likelihood of having music for more than one hour was slim. Feeling like a failure, I called Josh on the phone and cried to him about what a bad mom I am. He suggested The Play Factory.
The Play Factory is a wonderful playroom set up in a local toy store. This is one of those toy stores that is fun to look around in, but hard to buy anything from because of the exhorbitant prices. However, their playroom includes all of these toys, with only the cost of $3.50 per visit. Iris loves it there. She loves it so much, that she never wants to leave. Thus, the extreme tantrum that left me with no choice other than to take her out to the car and head home immediately, instead of buying her the one thing inside that I was originally planning getting for her. My embarrassment was probably as apparent to the other moms looking at us as her screams were to the whole store and I carried her, arm around her waist with Linnea's carseat in my other hand, out the door.
What happened to make my easygoing, fun-loving child blow up like Vesuvius? I called my mom in tears a few weeks ago for the assurance that this is normal. Even though it is, however, it doesn't make it easier. No one told me that I would hate disciplining my child, that it would hurt when she would disobey and refuse to apologize. I guess that's what we get for loving. Along with the incredible joy that comes with children are the times of heartache. I wouldn't give any of it up to spare the pain, but that doesn't make it too much easier. Even so, while Iris is going through this difficult stage, I do get to look at Linnea and realize that it will be a little while before we have to deal with her in the same way. This makes me savor the her smiles much more, and makes the happy times with Iris even more precious.

Getting to Know You

I am sitting here in the peace and quiet (finally). Actually, it’s not so peaceful or quiet, with the windows open and the wind and rain tearing through the neighborhood, and the thunder crashing. But those are very peaceful sounds when you are used to two young kids who together usually make even more of a racket.
Even while the two little ones make a lot of noise together, I’ve found that I have a relatively quiet new one. Iris has always been loud and demanding, and I suppose that I had prepared myself for another in the same vein. Linnea has surprised me. It’s not as though she doesn’t cry at all—she does when she’s hungry or really wants to be held (she wants to be held all of the time, but she only cries for it sometimes), or when she wants to sleep (she’s a bit more sensitive to sleep than Iris ever was). But she’s not demanding. In fact, she’s rubbish at crying. We noticed this right from the get-go. When she works herself up, her voice gives out. It’s a bit pathetic, really, but so cute. You actually feel quite bad for her crying, so it’s rare to feel frustrated with her at all. Besides the fact that she never went through a crying-for-no-reason-we-could-discover phase the way Iris (and most babies) did. It’s wonderful to be able to understand what she wants the majority of the time!
I found out just how little Linnea cries yesterday at her two-month check up. I have not been looking forward to this appointment at all—I remember Iris’ first shots, and the betrayed look she gave me while screaming in pain. It made me cry to see my baby like this, and I was dreading seeing my second go through this as well. I held her on the table, feeling like a traitor, while the nurse held down her legs. The nurse gave the first shot. Linnea looked at me, her forehead wrinkling. The nurse gave her the second shot. Still not a peep. Only after the nurse started putting the band-aids on did Linnea’s bottom lip begin to stick out in a desperately sad look. But that was it—no crying, at least not from her. I cried while she looked at me curiously, but I was incredibly relieved that she didn’t seem to mind the shots too much. We’ll see what happens next week when we have to go back in for two more.

We also got a great sleeper in Linnea. I always thought that Iris was a good sleeper—sleeping through the night at nine months, waking up sometimes when I go in to check on her, but always saying “night-night” and going straight back to sleep. She has nothing on Linnea. For a week now, Linnea has been sleeping through the night. And I’m not talking the six-hour sleeping through the night. I’m talking about putting her to bed at 8 pm, and not waking up until 6 or 7 the next morning. Ah, bliss. How did I get so lucky? Who could ask for more from a two-month-old? Even before that, she had been sleeping that same pattern for about two or three weeks, only waking once at night. It’s been ages since I slept so well.
It’s been fun so much fun to get to know Linnea. I had so many worries about having a second—worries about not loving another as much, about not having enough time for her. But I’m finding that those worries are disappearing, and I’m enjoying being a mom of two even more than I enjoyed being a mom of one. And even though I definitely appreciate the current quiet, I appreciate the girls I was blessed with more than I could ever say. They are the light of my life. Sorry to all of you other moms out there, but I have the two best kids that have ever lived on this earth.

Monkey see. . .

I have recently noticed a sometimes fun, sometimes startling tendency that Iris has grown into: mimicry. Not only is she repeating absolutely EVERYTHING we say, but she is also doing all of the things she sees us doing. Luckily, this hasn't turned out too badly yet, but it certainly reminds us to stay on our toes. There is nothing more convicting about what we say and do than realizing that your own little one will be saying and doing the same things. So far, the only bad thing that I've noticed is that every time Iris finds a Q-tip, she tries to clean her ears--as this can be rather dangerous, we keep a close eye on every Q-tip! I'm sure there are more bad habits to come that we don't notice in ourselves yet, but maybe this will actually cause us to grow.
The good, or at least cute, that she has really picked up on is my interactions with Linnea. Iris isn't one to attach to specific stuffed animals so the "baby" changes every day. Sometimes it's her mouse, sometimes Disney Bear, and sometimes her Cabbage Patch doll. The only qualification required is availability. Once she's picked out her baby, she goes through a whole series of mothering duties, including burping the baby (complete with a "burp" sound), rocking, strapping it in the carseat or swing (or both), and today she added on giving her baby tummy time. I even had my mom tell me how she held her Cabbage Patch doll to help it walk, and even cheered and clapped its hands for a job well done.
So with my awareness of the little eyes that are watching me, hopefully I'll learn to set a good example!

Wild Corvallis

One thing that I love about being back in Corvallis is how we exist fairly peacefully with nature here. Obviously we have the concrete and buildings which invade the wild, and I (as well as MANY other Corvallists) am bitter about Legend Homes building unnecessary McMansions (which, because of the low demand, they have only carved out the space and not built anything yet)over one of my favorite hiking paths. But for the most part, Corvallis is a very green town. On sunny days like we have had this week, everyone is out in their yard doing yardwork. None of this "hire a landscaper California-Style" for us! Instead, an amazing number of people have a wealth of knowledge about horticulture. Lucky for us, two of our neighbors are experts. We are constantly receiving gifts from various gardens, as well as being offered plants that our neighbors uproot. We try to return the favor, but as of yet, we lack the expertise!

I was reminded about Corvallis' wild side twice this week. On the happier note, as I was driving home this afternoon from Josh's work, traffic on a major street was stopped to let a small herd of deer cross--into our old apartment complex. This is by no means a rare occurance, and I always love taking Iris for walks out to that Northwest neighborhood and pointing out deer, rabbits, and other wildlife to her.

However, we did have a negative effect of the wild this week. Or, rather, a sad effect. We have a resident cougar in a neighborhood somewhat close to us. The neighborhood is across the highway from us, but it's not that unreasonable to keep a look out here, too. I'm used to cougar watches in the Northwest neighborhood, as it's so much closer to MacDonald Forest (OSU's research forest), but was surprised to hear that this cougar was within 300 yards of Wilson School, the elementary school closest to us. Now, I'm all for saving wildlife, and realize that it's our fault as a society that these wildcats are coming into town--we're invading their territory rather than them invading ours. However, I have found that I have developed something of a "mother bear" temperament, and now am against anything that might threaten my family. It's interesting, but it gives me a look at the way the pioneers must have seen nature--instead of same great pastoral view, they would have seen everything as a threat. It's amazing what kids will do to change your outlook!

But we're not changing any of our habits. Here in Oregon, cougars and other wildlife are a part of life--you simply take precautions. So we celebrated the short (but promising!) return of the sun by going to different parks. Iris has become quite a brave soul, and now goes down slides on her own.

I think she even shamed her friend Colin into going down on his own yesterday. He was pretty hesitant until she had slid down a few times. Linnea, on the other hand, seems to follow her mother's philosophy and just sit back and soak in the sun:

Too bad it's raining today. But the weathermen are optimistic, and so am I!

A Glimpse of my Future

Though I promised myself to try writing every day, I did take what I would assume to be a fully justified break--Linnea Coraline will be one week old tomorrow. But with the realization that I still have a napping toddler and a newborn who sleeps a lot also came the realization that I need, now more than ever, to take time for myself. So, once again, I am working to reorganize my life (scary how frequently that happens!).

This morning I got a taste of my life that is to come. Because Linnea is a bit jaundiced (though her numbers are beginning to come down, praise God), the doctor wanted to see her at one week rather than the normal two. The first thing I learned was to never make a Monday morning appointment (though I somehow immediately forgot this and made the same appointment for next week). The office was crazy--I've never seen it so busy! I had a stack of medical history and insurance forms to fill out while Josh kept an eye on Iris who kept trying to play with a little girl who had a cold. Suddenly, my mind went blank. The question? "Mother's age". I couldn't remember. And not only could I not remember, but I couldn't figure it out. I can usually do the math to add up my age, but somehow all of my math abilities went out the window with my final. (For the record, I got an "A" in the class while pregnant; quite an achievement for my 20%brain reduction!) I kept adding with difficulty, but couldn't figure out how 1982 to 2008 could only equal 26. If I was 25 when Iris was born, how could I only be 26 a year and a half later? After much convincing, Josh assured me that the numbers were correct.

But the busy waiting room, sick kids, and brain malfunctions were only the beginning. Once in the office, Iris began hamming it up for our entertainment. Among other things, she decided to sit sideways in Linnea's car seat and rock it back and forth. We are probably bad parents for laughing at something we've been trying to get her not to do, but that's what we did, and thus encouraged her. While Josh was busy at the scales with Linnea who, finding her diaper removed, took the opportunity to do her business, Iris decided to try the car seat trick once more. This resulted in her tripping over the side and falling onto the floor in tears. With both little ones crying, I attempted to calm Iris and Josh did the same with Linnea. Then of course, the doctor came in and upset Linnea even more with her exam. While Linnea cried Iris wore a very serious and worried look on her face (she really is doing well as a big sister). The funny thing was the Linnea cried less when the drew blood from her heel for the fifth time this week, than when the doctor listened to her heartbeat. At least we were spared more incidents by the time we left--or at least there were none that my fried brain can recall!

As we left the office, we joked about how chaotic we had just realized our lives have become. But, amidst the chaos, at least we will have good stories.

Copycat

We have entered the days of mimicry in our house. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing--actually,it's usually quite cute. Iris has taken to repeating all sorts of things that we say, and now she has extended her talents of observation and imitation to things that we do. She has been working on this for awhile; several weeks ago I picked her up from Grandma's house after my class, only to have Grandma ask me when we had taught her to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." I was very confused. I'm not a big fan of kids songs or music (Raffi is about all that I can take), so I don't really know how she would be overexposed to that particular song. We make up our own songs, and sing those that we find entertaining (Mahna Mahna, for example). But Grandma swore that the cadence sounded right, and she kept saying "uppabuppa" (up above the). I wrote it off, knowing that she was working a lot on the words "apple" and "up", which often blended into one: "uppa". However, I awoke yesterday morning to her singing in her crib, along with Raffi's lullaby CD (that's how I didn't know she was actually exposed to that song--I never listen to the CD). Sure enough, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" was playing, and she had added at least one word to the song: "tickle, tickle". But that is not the only song Iris now has in her repertoire. She now also sings "Mahna Mahna", to our great delight, and it sounds like "mama dododo". It's pretty funny, and great for car entertainment!

This morning, I found that she not only mimics words (which has been going on for awhile now) and music, but also actions. On mornings where I sleep in until she gets up, I try to exercise while she eats her breakfast. This is not always successful. This morning, she decided to eat her yogurt quickly, and then wanted down with me. So I let her down and kept doing my "Yoga Fat Burn". She soon began to watch the people on tv (she's pretty fascinated, especially as we almost NEVER let her even look at a tv). When the instructor began doing squats, Iris started bending her knees. When the instructor went into the Warrior pose, Iris' hands went out to her sides. And when the instructor had her palms touch over her head, Iris did the same. I wish I could have gotten a picture! The only thing that worries me, is that she wasn't imitating me in any way. In fact, she wasn't interested in watching me do the same things at all. Instead, she did whatever the person on tv did. Perhaps it's a good thing that we have a tv ban!

Good Moods

One thing that constantly amazes me about being a mom is how the mood of your child can affect your own. Obviously, if your child is in a bad mood, it definitely influences your outlook, but the same actually happens for me when Iris is in a good mood. I woke up this morning grumpy. This is really not a usual thing for me. Though I'm not a morning person, after I wake up, I have a generally good outlook on the day. However, not only am I worn out by this third trimester, but Josh's new job makes him get up and leave earlier (and I'm trying to get up at the same time so that I can have time to exercise in the mornings). And, I have a cold, which has been nagging at me for the past week. So I woke up rather exhausted, only to walk out into the house and find that the hours I spent doing dishes yesterday meant nothing, because I still have a pile overflowing the sink today--we desperately need a dishwasher! This sent me into a brooding mood, thinking about how my days as a stay-at-home mom now consist of cleaning the same things over and over every day. But I couldn't brood for long, as Iris and I had to be at her toddler class a little early this morning for a field trip. I went to get her up, and this picture is what I saw. She had a huge smile on her face, and all of her hair was sticking straight up. It's amazing to me that she has as much hair as she does in the first place, but that hair is so fine and wild and gravity-defying that it constantly gives me cause to laugh.
My cheerful girl helped me a little as I scrambled to get ready, but my day still kept going downhill. All, of course, little things like hurting my hand on the edge of the pergo flooring that the previous owners put ON TOP of the laminate that was already there (and, for the millionth time, wondering what they were thinking when they made their "improvements" to the house), but all things added up, I was not happy when we left. This abruptly changed when we arrived at the Little Gym. Iris took a couple of minutes to warm up to the other kids, but then she was off. I was actually very surprised at her skill level. She is one of the youngest kids in her class, separated by at least 4 months from the older children. However, she keeps up with them. She was very excited to find the balance beam, which she walked repeatedly holding only one of my hands. She also was very excited to try hanging from the bars when she saw the older kids doing it, and though she doesn't yet have the strength to hold on, loved the attempts. It was so much fun to watch her run around and explore the equipment, much braver than most of the children to try new things, that by the time we left, I was downright cheerful.
That was until I ran my errands. It seems like bad days simply plague you, and I had more than the normal share of the usual frustrations of shopping in a small town with a toddler. I also found out the price of the Little Gym (which seems criminal in this economy), which put a damper on my mood. So when grumpy Mommy and Iris returned home, I was ready for my down time. I decided to try to put Iris down for her nap a little early (she no longer sleeps in the morning, but she was really tired after the gym), and when I set her in her crib, she sat down and began to hug her pirate doll. Of course, this didn't last until I could get my camera, but it was sweet to see my daughter, who doesn't cuddle at all, snuggle with her doll. Sentimental as I am, I would say it was heartwarming. She continued to play and giggle while I tried to take a non-blurry picture, and even after I left the room, she sang and laughed with her toys. Leaving her in a good mood somehow changed my own, and she even inspired me to write instead of doing housework. Her good mood keeps putting this day back on track, keeping it from becoming too overwhelming for me. There are days when I feel like it's all I can do to carry myself through the endless hours, and then there are days when somehow, my little one-year-old carries us both.

The Small Insanities of Pregnancy

Pregnancy comes with more than its share of brain-dead moments, much to the delight of my husband, who loves to recount my various befuddlements and mishaps. Up until this point, I have considered it something of a triumph to have thus far escaped tragic and brainless happenings during this pregnancy. My car has escaped unscathed, I have only left my paid-for groceries in the store once, and I leave my purse in the car while shopping once every week or so--a big improvement over the last time. Until today. I suppose each pregnancy has to have its "crazy" story, and our soon-to-arrive little one is responsible for this one.
I had just left the library with my stack of books and a somewhat grumpy Iris. I went through the normal routine of putting her in her carseat, fastening all of the little latches and buckles. Iris put on her usual act of crabbiness at getting strapped in, a tradition that we go through ever single car ride, so I grabbed whatever entertaining thing I could find close at hand: my keys. Iris has always loved my keys, especially since she learned to honk the car with the little buttons. With the little squirrel finally strapped in securely, I attempted to take back the bribe. She was having none of it. So, I thought, I'll go around to the driver's side and have her give me the keys once I get in--she's usually more compliant if I ask for things then. I closed her door, and as I began to walk to the driver's side, I heard it: "Click, HONK!" She had locked herself in.
I couldn't believe I had done it. How could I have given her the means to lock herself in the car, knowing that she loves to push the lock button? I started pacing back and forth, thinking of what to do, almost in tears--not from worry, but from extreme embarrassment. In fact, I wasn't worried at all--Josh works two blocks from the library, and Iris was perfectly happy, ecstatic even, with what she had done. As she sat there repeatedly honking the car and giving great belly-laughs every time I looked at her, the woman in the car next to me took pity. She lent me her cell phone so that I wouldn't have to call from inside the library, but as I talked to Josh and asked him to rescue me, he began laughing so hard that I could barely tell him where we were. After waiting five or so minutes for him to unlock the car, standing in the parking lot like an idiot while my toddler repeatedly honked the car and laughed hysterically at me, Josh arrived and informed me of my entertainment value to his coworkers. "It was perfect, they all really needed a laugh," he informed me. It's great to know that my embarrassment provided some with a bright spot in their day.
So there is my story for this pregnancy. At least it isn't as apparent and permanent as the dent in the truck from my pregnancy with Iris. But what would this lovely nine-month season be without it's little moments of insanity--and giving others great stories to tease you for later?

National Blog Posting Month

I discovered through a friend's blog this morning that it is National Blog Posting Month, in which you are supposed to blog every day. So will this motivation scheme work on someone like me, who allows a blog to sit, unchanged, for months? Probably not. But hey, it's worth a shot! I will probably be taking a leaf out of my friend's book and post recipes and such. Somehow, even though I'm staying home with Iris (or maybe because of that), I seem to lose the time to blog very easily. But let's see what happens!
First order of business, the birthday party! Yes, it's hard to believe, but my baby girl turned one two weeks ago. If she wasn't constantly asserting her toddlerhood, I probably wouldn't believe it myself. But she's walking and talking (at least in her own cute language), and definitely showing that she is as opinionated as her parents. My mom thinks it's all very funny, the way she keeps us on our toes; apparently she's just the way I was. But despite the growing independence, she's good-natured, constantly smiling, and extremely outgoing. I've never heard of a baby that gets as much attention as Iris does, and I think it's all because she's such a ham and will do anything for smiles. =)
So, anyway, back to the party. We had a pirate party (sorry, no cutesy stuff for us!), and it was lots of fun. Most of our family was there (which makes for a rather crowded house), and we barbequed to the sounds of the pirate music in the background. We had delicious cake while Iris opened her gifts (she really got into the unwrapping--loved to tear the paper the way she's not allowed to at home!), and even showed her first signs of true selfishness around other kids (uh oh!). When she unwrapped the ride-on car that my parents got her, my cousin's son, Bo, wanted to play with it too. Normally, Iris tends to stand aside if other kids want what she has. Not so here. Instead, she pushed Bo away and repositioned herself so that he couldn't get to her toy. Ah, the fun that is ahead!
Iris also got her first taste of cake. Now, many of you may know how strange I am about my food--I do as much organic and whole grain as I can afford to, and now I've even gone to making my own breads and (soon!) pastas so as to avoid store bought. Well, having Iris has only made this worse. I won't even use generic meat or any other animal products anymore for the hormones, a fact which I think drives my mom nuts. =) The entire day before the party, while I was making the cake, I was sick with stress about her eating so many things we had been told to avoid up until now, and all at once--milk, eggs, and sugar. So, paranoid that I am, I made an organic cake to put under that unbelievably sweet decorator's frosting. She barely even touched the cake. Once she discovered icing, that was it. For some reason, she was most attracted to the black flag in the middle of the cake, and rapidly gave herself what looked like pirate stubble. (Oh, and just a note, we didn't make her eat with a spoon the way it looks in the picture. We just gave her one because she likes them.) I was worrying about sugar headaches, sleepless nights, and bad reactions, but she was having a blast. And after all that, she slept through the night, no negative side effects.
After giving Iris a bath and cleaning up my parent's house, we left with more toys than we really will ever need, utterly exhausted. Iris won't remember it, but we'll have great pictures!
As it is election day, I do have to put in a plug to go vote. I am jaded, and don't believe my vote will really count except in local elections, but I still am a firm believer that if you don't vote, you can't complain. So if you're an Oregonian, drop off your ballot (if you haven't already done so--I finally got mine in yesterday--it took us over two hours to go through all the measures and politicians and everything!), and if you live elsewhere, go vote! Okay, so there's my duty done. =)

Work Day

I’m sitting in a coffee shop, listening to Ingrid Michaelson, and thoroughly enjoying a day off. Grandma Miller has decided to take Iris off of my hands one day each week, and this gives me the welcome opportunity to work (not, of course, for money, like normal people). So I’m spending my days off writing and reading, working on my website (which is now back up—thanks to those who let me know something was wrong!), and researching for my WIP. It’s rather fun. Makes me feel like a real writer!

Things at home have gotten more hectic lately. Iris is in the full swing of walking—complete with crashing into things and pulling down furniture that I had no idea she could reach. On with the baby proofing! She also has, absurdly, in the last two days, refused to respond to “stop”, which is our alternative to “no”. She has been great about obeying lately, but suddenly, our words have no effect. Perhaps it was a weekend during which she was thoroughly spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa. That’s right. We left her for a full weekend for the first time. We went one entire day without seeing her at all. That was tough. But the time was great. Josh’s birthday was on Sunday, and I’d been planning a photography trip for him for a month. We rented a cabin right on the McKenzie River, brought everything to make his favorite home-cooked meals, and loaded up our days with hiking, photography, and general exploring of an area that was new and beautiful. Josh was in raptures all weekend, and even into the week, so I think it was a success! =)

With the coming of fall—wonderful time that that is!—comes another big event for us to add to the holiday season: Iris’ birthday. That’s right, she’s almost a full year old. I can’t believe it. So, on October 17^th, we will be throwing her a big party. Though my mom is not enamored of the theme (girls can certainly have pirate parties, too!), Josh and I are excited and going all out. We have our costumes planned, as well as decorations, a gorgeous cake (she gets her own, of course, that I will make), and lots of family and friends. What can I say? It’s our first child’s first birthday. Can we have much more reason to celebrate?

So, I hope this fall day finds you all warm and cozy much like I am, and if it hasn’t reached you yet (those of you in CA), I’m wishing beautiful changing leaves on you! =)

Progress!

I usually don't have time to write a whole lot, but as our little family has come down with colds (Iris is the only one who doesn't seem to lose any steam!), I've determined that I have to take it easy today. I didn't feel great yesterday, but as a mom, how do you take a day off? So Josh worked from home to keep from spreading his cold, and I cleaned, and cooked, and did everything I normally do. So, inevitably, today I'm worse. But the house is cleaner (I don't know if I will ever achieve the elusive "clean"), and my energy level is almost nil. So, I'm taking it somewhat easy (its never a complete vacation with an almost-walking 10-month-old prowling around!). I've found that one of the biggest problems with being sick at the same time as the rest of the family is that I can't pass her off to the in-laws or parents, for fear that she will pass the creeping crud off to them. Oh, well!
So, Iris has made some huge progress in the last couple of weeks. After months of discouragement and frustration and trying to guess what we were doing wrong, Iris is now signing. Of course, as she had to know the name of the favorite family member first, she has been signing "doggy" for months. But nothing else. Certainly nothing helpful. But in just the last two weeks, her signing has ramped up. She now raises her hands when she's "all done", puts them together for "more", and sometimes slaps her forehead and chin, which we are hoping means "Daddy" and "Mommy". We would at least like equal standing with the dog. It is so nice to see the fruit of our labors. At least it will give us more encouragement to start more signs--I wasn't going to even try "please" and "thank you" until we got the basics down. Now we can teach her manners!

Summer Days

Summer is one of life's greatest paradoxes. It is a season when you have much more time at your disposal--no school (if your life is run by the school calendar), longer days, vacation time, etc. However, even with more "time" on our hands, we're always busy. Here in Corvallis we have flung ourselves whole-heartedly into summer and all of its joys. First we went on vacation--the biggest trip we've taken so far. Then, Josh bought me a new, gorgeous bike, which he surprised me with for our 6-year anniversary, along with a night at Eugene's nicest B&B, the Campbell House Inn. Ever since then, we've been biking all over Corvallis, enjoying events like Da Vinci Days, berry picking (Iris appreciates the fresh blueberries, as you can see above--and no, even though I don't like berries, I'm not depriving my child of them!), taking a waterbabies class, and working on our yard. So, it's been a busy summer, which is why you haven't heard from me that much. Also, keeping one step ahead of Iris is growing ever more difficult, as she is now crawling VERY quickly, and cruising around the furniture. She can even walk with her push walker--watch out world! If you would like to read my writing more often, please feel free to check out my Live Journal page, which is where I am concentrating on freewriting and getting back into writing fiction. Just have patience with me--it is primarily freewriting, which means it's unedited (other than spell check). But it feels good to stretch my wings again! I'm actually working on a long story idea, which feels very nice! Happy reading, and happy summer!

Vacation-Boston

I didn't mean for it to be quite so long between posts. I actually had a post all written up before we left on vacation, but somehow, it didn't quite make it onto the blog. So instead of the boring "we're leaving soon, I can't wait" post, you get the wonderful "this is what we did" post. Aren't you lucky?
I was very proud of our little family on this trip. Before we left, when we told people we were going to the East Coast for two weeks, they would ask if we were bringing Iris (like I'm going to leave my eight-month-old for two weeks!). However, even with her in tow, and all her paraphernalia, we were still able to pack as lightly as I wanted. If there's one thing I know how to do, it's to travel. Pack light, carry everything. We arrived at the airport on Wednesday night with two suitcases, two backpacks, a car seat, and a collapsible stroller. This arrangement was very nice for the ease with which it allowed us to switch between subways, trains, planes, and boats, which we did do quite a lot of. For the most part, the plane trip was quite good. The flight out wasn't full, and the lady at the gate gave us a whole row so that we could bring the car seat on the plane (without paying for the extra seat), and I wouldn't have to hold a sleeping Iris for five hours without moving. This worked out well, even when Iris turned to her preferred position of sleeping on her stomach in the car seat. And even though we were delayed on the tarmac for two hours out of Newark, Iris did remarkably well.
It was raining when we arrived in the Boston area. We were so exhausted from our trip that we walked downtown Concord (a very small area) and called it a day. With rain again the next day (and wondering if this was any better than being back in Oregon), we headed to Salem. Though most of the town has become very touristy with the whole witch-trial thing, we were able to glean some value. We even toured the House of Seven Gables, which got Josh interested in reading the book--a few well-spent dollars!
The following day we had the sun that we'd been hoping for, in abundance. Actually, we hit a heat wave. The temperatures soared into the high 90's, and with that New England humidity, we were drenched in sweat. Luckily, this was the day we decided to further explore Concord (my personal favorite on the entire trip). We visited the Concord branch of Minuteman National Park, which included the Old North Bridge, the site of the "shot heard around the world" and learned about the first skirmish of the Revolution. What interested me was to see the Old Manse--a house built by Emerson's grandfather, inhabited by Hawthorne, with a garden planted by Thoreau--and its proximity to the revolutionary site. Its fun to see the worlds of my imagination collide like that. We then headed out to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, where we visited the graves of Alcott, Hawthorne, Emerson, and Thoreau. A truly moving experience for me. The day was getting scorchingly hot, but we decided to tour the now air-conditioned house of Louisa May Alcott, where we found how all the writers of Concord were thoroughly interconnected. To finish off the day we cooled off with a swim in Walden Pond (and frightened Iris with the water), and stopped at a roadside stand for fried clams.
Here's the side note about frightening Iris--we wanted to take her swimming, and she was fine in the very shallow water. When we took her a little further, she wasn't too happy, and began to cling to me with everything she had. Then we thought it would be funny for her to watch Josh dunk (the water was a bit chilly), but when he did, she let out the most terrified scream I've ever heard. Since then, she has not been okay with any water other than what's in her ducky bath tub.
So on we went on our journey to Plimouth Plantation, a recreated Pilgrim and Native American village. Very interesting to see the costumed characters and to discuss ways of life with them. And then we came to our final day in the Boston area, in which we decided to travel into Boston itself (we didn't have nearly enough time in this area). So on Monday, we walked the Freedom trail, explored Quincy Market, and arrived too late (for the second time in my life) to tour Paul Revere's house. Oh, yes. And the clam chowder place that I'd been telling Josh about for months (the best clam chowder I've ever had), Jacob Wirth's, was closed the one day we tried it. So, I guess we'll have to go back.
I don't want to bore you with our entire trip in one post, and I'm getting a little tired of writing, so consider this "installment one". I will write more later about Newport and Washington. Now I'm off to enjoy the sun that has finally come to Oregon to stay, and read some professional books (maybe I can sneak The Host in there somewhere!). Oh, and I have all of our pictures up on flickr now, so feel free to view our vacation there.

Changes

It is amazing to me how Iris is developing and changing right before my eyes. Every day she makes leaps and bounds in her skills, and all I can do is follow her around like paparazzi, trying to catch everything on film (or, rather, digital images). Her newest development? She's almost crawling. On Friday she began to lift herself onto her hands and knees and rock back and forth in an effort to move toward whatever she had her heart set on. And it worked. She didn't actually crawl, but he is, slowly, mobile. She amazes me. I promise I will post a video soon.
Someone (who will remain nameless) told us the other day that it will be really fun when Iris reaches nine months and her personality would emerge. I had nothing to say. What do you say to someone who can't understand that she has been a little person from day one and had personality just as long? I know my daughter, I know what makes her tick, I know how she'll react to things, what things she'll like. She has more personality than is probably good for her, and here, this person is telling me that she has none yet. I'm not a baby person--this is perhaps why I have a difficult time making smalltalk with other moms; I don't really care that much and don't know the different stages. However, I can see just by spending a few minutes with other people's children that they have their own unique personalities, and Iris certainly has hers. Anyway, there's my venting.
Flickr is now accepting videos, so please check there for video of Iris' milestones. Oh, and the pictures are one which I caught of her pushing herself up on her hands and knees, and the other is of the new sweater my godmother made for her. Thank you, Aunt Linda!

It's a Dog-Eat-Dog World!

Or, at least, a dog-chase-dog-around-the-house-while-baby-is-sleeping, or dog-bark-at-every-little-sound world. This has been the life that Iris and I have lived for the past week. Oscar, my parents' little miniature dachshund, has been visiting, and just went home last night. While I like Oscar (I can tolerate him much more than any other little dog I've ever known), he consistently reminds me that I'm not ready for a puppy. Before Iris was born, Josh gave me permission to get a puppy. I have my heart set on a Weimaraner, or a German Shepherd. However, he though it advisable to wait until after Iris was born, to see how much work I wanted to take on. He was right (oh, crud, don't let him hear me say that! He'll never let it go!). Oscar is two or three, and I'm frazzled by the end of the day with him. Not only does he have little-dog-syndrome and barks at everything, but he has unlimited energy, and picks fights with those he shouldn't. And in the end, he cuddles up to you, completely innocent. Iris, of course, loved having Oscar around. She is a dog-lover from the start, and now she had two dogs to grab the ears of instead of just one. I just will never figure out why, when Oscar licks her face, she sticks out her tongue to meet him!
The illness is starting to pass from our house (as long as Josh doesn't come down with it now!). Thank goodness for the warm weather that is promised. It had better come, as Iris and I are dressed for weather warmer than even predicted. I'm ready to thaw out! Though I've hated Iris' cold, and it has scared me a few times (her first illness), there have been some upsides. She has become unusually cuddly, burying her nose into me and only me. Of course, this means that she accessorizes many of my outfits with a lovely snot trail, and when I have bare shoulders like today, they get covered in very painful hickeys. Someone needs to capture the suction power of babies and market it to vacuum cleaner companies!
I have used my new spare time (during naps and such) to do a few worthwhile activities, such as drowning hours into Facebook and Shelfari, measuring people's love for me by whether or not they had time to post messages. Wow, I never thought I'd be drawn into that crowd, but here I am, hopelessly stuck. So if you also happen to be on either of these websites and I haven't found you yet, please feed my addiction and look me up. =) Actually, the irony is that Shelfari is a book networking site, where you list all of your books and meet others with the same taste. But this same bibliophile site has pulled me away from several hours in which I could be reading. Hmm. . . I did join a 5o book challenge, so I'd better get on that. Iris is down for a nap--happy reading!!

Mommy Time!

I'm back. After a long absence in order to complete my schoolwork as well as everything else crazy in my life, I have returned for another post. And you might be happy to know that I received A's in both of my classes. I am actually posting right now because it is freezing cold and gloomy outside (it snowed overnight, believe it or not!), and I can't muster the energy to do the housework I know I should be doing. So, I'll get to it later. =)
Things are going well here. As you can see from the picture (and my flickr account), Iris is reaching some milestones. Yesterday, she sat up on her own! However, I still can't leave her alone for very long, as her balance is not terrific. She also started on solid food, which has been an adventure in and of itself. Iris, with all of her independence and strong will, is not the most patient baby. When she's hungry, she's hungry NOW. And you can't get the food in her mouth fast enough. Of course, being on the independent side, she is also trying to feed herself. Her grabs at the spoon typically result in food all over her hands, and she doesn't seem to understand yet that sucking on the spoon doesn't release more food. Oh yes, and then there are the raspberries, which always seem to come when her mouth is full of food. Hmmm. . .I wonder if this is deliberate.
I'm not feeling particularly poetic at the moment, so I'm afraid this post will be rather short. But for all of you who are on Facebook, I now have a profile, so look me up! Sorry, Christina, but I couldn't do myspace. Facebook is more my speed.
In other news, we are planning a trip to the East Coast this summer. Chip and April, welcome back to the States. We're glad you're closer now, for more reasons than simply that we can come and visit you more easily. =)
Happy, um, snow day, everyone!

Homework, oh homework, I hate you, you stink!

As you may have noticed, I've had very little time to post lately. This is because of the surprising amount of homework that two classes can create. During my days, I'm trying to scrape together every ounce of free time to clean the house or work on schoolwork. In fact, it has become so bad that I realized this last weekend how much I'm having to give up to continue on my current track. After much hemming and hawing, I decided to wait another two years to enter the Master's program, thus taking the time to enjoy Iris' early years. This decision has given me such a feeling of freedom, and I'm planning all sorts of fun things for next term: classes with Iris, Waterbabies in the summer, even training for a half-marathon in may, and a full marathon in October.
But more on all that later. I'm sure you are all missing pictures of Iris (and more than anyone, I know my parents, who are currently in New Zealand, are missing her!), so I thought I'd post some on what she does while I study. Notice her mouth in the second picture. This shark bite (her newest nickname is Sharky) is most typical when she's anywhere near what I'm eating. Otherwise, she spins around in her exersaucer putting her mouth on everything she can reach. The third picture is over attempt to devour the educational philosophies of E.D. Hirsch. At least she's enjoying my homework!

Family First

Wow. Talk about your big decisions. I woke up this morning to the phone ringing. Thinking it was probably family (this happens frequently), I picked it up and mumbled a sleepy "hello?". Well, it wasn't anyone in my family, but instead it was a teacher from Mountain View, a school that I frequently sub at. She was calling to offer me a job. How many times does someone wake you up with an ideal job offer at a place you love to work, with people you love to work with, when you haven't even applied? However, there is a reason I haven't been looking for work, so I told them no. But then, as much as I wanted to, I couldn't sleep for thinking about it. After all, it was the job I have wanted, at a great school, with great people, and it just dropped out of the blue. So, I called back for the details. Part-time, temporary, taking over for someone I had subbed for before. It sounded ideal. But what was best for my family? After two hours of going back and forth and trying to come up with various ways that I could make it work, I realized that I was striving. I looked at my sleeping baby and realized that this is time I won't have with her again. I want to decide on a day to day basis whether I want to work, rather than being scheduled into it every day. I haven't had to make a decision this difficult for awhile--I can't tell you how badly I wanted the job. Even after Josh and I made the decision, I put off calling the school until just now, maybe somehow hoping things would change. But I guess that's part of being a mom--being willing to make sacrifices for your kids. It's not a long-term sacrifices, only a short-term. I will get my chance, just not next week. I know I made the right decision, but now I'm going to go cry a little. I want to be a kid again--it's awfully hard being an adult.