Too tired to care

As you all know, sleep has had a love hate relationship with our household for the last 2 years. Here Maeve was so tired, but refused to go upstairs. She laid down on the floor in the kitchen. I asked if she wanted a blanket, she said, "yeah." I covered her with a silk scarf and apparently this was acceptable. She fell asleep right there on the cold (dirty) kitchen floor.



Notice the winter boots!

The Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree

I'm not sure this is how Mark imagined Maeve would follow in his footsteps.


Now moving on to the real apples....

Headed to the pumpkin patch/apple orchard Sunday with Maeve's childcare gang. It was a tad bit windy - hence the hat to keep the hair out of her eyes. And the jacket, well, that's her new (for next season) rain jacket that the moment it came out of the box, she insisted on having it on. I agree, it's pretty darn cute, but as the weather gets colder, I'm hoping she has enough sense to opt for the down jacket I also got her!

The Letter H....

...brought to you by Maeve. H, is the letter that Maeve creates when she is in bed with Mark and I. Usually her head towards me and her feet in Mark's face. I can't be sure this is inspired by her daily dose of Sesame Street (the old school ones that were on when Mark and I were kids), but it's the only explanation I'm willing to allow for at the moment. It's at least a little comfort to have other parents shaking their heads up and down when they hear this. Apparently it's a popular configuration. Maybe to be sure they are in contact with both mama and pa. Who knows, I just wish she would stay in one place and maybe stop kicking (thankfully I don't have the feet all too often). Maeve then usually compounds the issue by creating multiple positions during the night. This may also include both parents smooshed to the outside edges of the bed and Maeve consuming the middle - of a king size bed.

All I can say is that the recent night time regression we have made seems to be showing up in Maeve's language. Her speech is more clear and much more diverse. Today, Milo held his cup up to her and said, "cheers." I'm not sure she has heard this before, and yet Maeve quickly followed suit and the two toasted each other for awhile. Maeve then proceeded to say "cheers" all through dinner attempting to clink glasses with us. All I can say is that if you are planning to dine with us in the near future, be ready with a raised glass.

At the end of the day, when she smile at me, it does make it all worth it. Hopefully at 2 am tonight I'll remember that.

A Day in the Life of Maeve

As promised, some current pictures. Thankfully Andrea, Maeve's childcare provider has taken a few. I think we probably have too, but man, feels like an insurmountable task to have the camera, take the picture, download the pics, and then upload them here. Whew, that exhaust me just writing about it.

Here we are at drop off time. I can't remember who demanded the book this particular day, but you'll notice, they all saddle up. Of course you know Maeve, Milo is in the foreground and Wren is on my lap. These three little people are all within 4 months of each other with Wren leading the pack. I say that in many senses.

Wren has been teaching Maeve and Milo all sorts of things. Maeve and Milo, being the sponges they are, soak it up and make sure that Wren gets a run for her money.


There are a few variations of this next picture. Wren calls this the "up down." Clearly makes sense. Not sure how all three got focused on different things...but the ham, aka Maeve, is lighting up the camera. I love all their little feet.



Then there is my favorite from this round of Andrea's pictures. I wish Maeve would have kept her head a bit more still so she isn't out of focus, but what can we really expect from a toddler that needs to be in motion all the time. Notice the dirt! Andrea is kind enough to clean them up before she ships them home.

I know, I know

Wow, it has been a long time since I've been seen around here. By now, most of you have probably stopped checking for updates. I'll try to be better. If I can I'll even try to get some photos up here. It can be challenging, but I'm up for it.

What is happening in Maeve Space?

Maeve started in-home child care two days/week. She is loving it! The first day drop off was harder on me than on her, but since then we have all found some peace with it. Maeve hangs out with her beloved buddy Milo and her new friends Wren and Fletcher. Wren is 10 weeks older than Maeve (she'll be 2 in August) and Fletcher is pulling up the rear of the group and will be 1 in August. They all have a blast together. Wren being almost 2 has some moves that she has been sharing with Maeve and Milo. They "fight" over things now and declare items as "mine." Of course it was bound to happen sooner or later, having a 2 year old around has just brought that on a bit sooner. What can you do?

Maeve is adding words to her vocabulary each day. She is a bit like Rainman right now as she practices them. "Down, down, down...pee, pee, pee...poo, poo, poo" The list goes on. It's all rather endearing most of the time. Practicing at 1-4 am is not so fun though. Yes folks, we were all sleeping like perverbial babies until very recently. Apparently the system must be on for the updates a young child's brain gets while rewiring for all the new activities it's about to embark on.

Lots of visits from family. Uncle Brendan and Monica then Uncle Paul and Michelle. Soon Grandpa Evan and Nana Fran will be here then off to Virigina Beach for the Healy compound.

Generally lots of summer time fun - swimming, running around bare foot, ice pops and friends.

There is the update - I'll try my best to check back here soon with some photos for all.

Incredible headaches

I am guess this latest crazy behavior is from the Healy side. Mark has not shared with me that he did this as a child, perhaps Paul did, who knows. What I do know is that Uncle Brendan created headaches for himself and Maeve is following suit.

In efforts to express frustration as well as gain attention, Maeve has taken to slamming her head into things. Mostly her crib bars and occasionally the floor. It's horrible to watch and even worse to see the evidence of her actions displayed across her forehead like little hematoma islands. Sometimes she will hit her head so hard that she will grab her forehead and whimper from pain. I can't imagine this is good for her, especially in light of her recent concussion, but what am I to do. I'm going with Dr O'Hern's advice, the Healy kid family doc, "let him do it, his head is hard and eventually he will stop."

I'm praying my child has enough sense to figure out that she has control over this pain and will stop. Until then, I will stare at her forehead and try to make out an image from her Rorschach blood-blots.

NO, no, NO, no

Despite our best efforts to avoid this word, it has seeped in. Over the weekend Maeve mastered the word 'no.' I know my dad is laughing right now, and I'm sure he is partly to blame for it. Just wait until she is at a sleep over with you and tells you no to something. Then who will be laughing...he, he, he.

The word no. SO filled with power. She does not always use it when you would expect, but she uses it frequently. For instance, jumping on our neighbor's bed with a stuffed Simba lion, she kept telling Simba, "no, NO, no, no, no." I'm was right there and didn't see Simba making any obvious offenses, but apparently there are things that I can not see.

She often uses it exactly as she has heard it as well. Silas: "no, Maze (Maeve), no." Maeve: "no, Maze, no." We hear her telling herself this a few times a day. Not sure if she is really making some internal corrections or not with this, but it's amusing the less.

Well, now that it is here, I'm sure it's going to stay. Mark and I will continue to use the word sparingly and for times that it is really needed (read: danger). Hoping with little attention it will loose it's spark and die out like a flame.

Gives another meaning to dropping the kids off at the pool

WARNING
Slightly disturbing material/images below:

Before I launch into the subject matter of today's post I'll catch you up on the last month. It has been a very busy month here at Maeve space - and Maeve hasn't been the only thing keeping us busy, but it certainly would be enough.

Maeve has had both sets of her grandparents out for a visit. I think all four left a little tired and simultaneously fulfilled with happiness and joy. Mark has been busy with his rowing season that just finished up last week - and very well I might add. His junior novice boat took 2nd at the Midwest Junior Championships. Go Mendota! I have been busy with births. I wish I could say that they have all been at home as intended, but I have had a run of complications - sent down from the midwifery gods no doubt, to verify that I have the constitution to make it as a midwife. I would like to say that I think I have passed the first of many tests. Of the three moms that I had to transfer into the hospital, only one had a c-section and that was for a stubborn gal that refused to turn head down. I should mention that all three transfers were girls. Not that I needed more proof that girls are a challenge, after all I have lived with myself for the last 33 years.

That is it in a nutshell. Not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that I can wrap up a month of our lives in a short paragraph like that. Oh well.

Apparently Maeve thought our lives needed a little spicing up, diaper changes more specifically. I came in after Maeve's nap (which sucked by the way - but who can complain, she slept through the night) and realized it was time for a diaper change. This is an event that has been taking place multiple times a day since 10/28/06. Sometimes we have surprises, she is soaked all the way through, including the sheets; or the wetness coming through the fleece pajamas is not pee, it's poop slowly seeping through. Mark had fun with that one. It was a undress in the tub kind of job and the poor girl had it down to her toes. But mostly it's more of the same ol', same ol'. Until today.

Not once during diaper changes have I found a reason to laugh hysterically then think to myself, you have to take a picture of this, today was different. #2 was the offender this afternoon. The diaper service has a rule of thumb, if you can roll it you can flush it. So I went about my business taking the diaper off and setting it aside for a flush and getting a new diaper on. All is mundane in the world of diaper changing...until. I brought the diaper to the toilet for a flush and as I unpackaged it I found two little eyes starring back at me - a look of concern with the idea of a large flush and flume ride they would no doubt never forget.


I kid you not, I did not add these eyes after the fact. I'm just glad they came through. I have not found the poor little soul in the house that lost it's eyes to this endeavor either. I'm sure in time that will be revealed. Whomever it was, I sure hope they didn't look as concerned or angry as this little guy does. Or perhaps that is a smile.

I just laughed out loud for the longest time. I thought it was bit gauche to take a picture of poop, but who would really believe me? Come on. It is beyond me how they would manage to come up lined up as if indeed they were a pair of eyes looking at me. How could that happen? I wasn't about to pick through it to see if perhaps they were connected. I think it was just another amazing act of the human body.

As I said, gives new meaning to dropping the kids off at the pool!

Makes a mother's heart jump

Maeve has been testing her limits (read: mine too) lately. Mostly with gravity and the basic forces of physics. Being the responsible parents that Mark and I are, we ask that she limit her chances of disaster, knowing that we will still encounter many downfalls.

This week has been particularly hard. First mishap of the week was a back arching tantrum about getting in the car. This brought her sweet little eye into contact with the car door and now she looks like Rocky Balboa. Not such a good look for an 18 month old.

Then there were lots of falls in between, most of which produce some sort of small mark - a badge if you will. Like the blister on the heel of her right foot. This from insisting on wearing too small shoes. They were cute, but come on. I'm hoping not to teach a daughter that it's always about fashion and maybe not always about comfort either. If I ever catch her wearing Cobbie Cuddlers I'll just die. Earth shoes on the other hand, I say rock on.

All those badges that she is wearing led to questions at her regular check up that Mark took her to. It didn't take Mark long to realize that he was being questioned about her safety - thankfully they believed that he is just fine.

Last but not least this week (and it's only Wednesday) was her fall off the highchair. Now I like to think I'm reasonably calm for a first time parent. I've been through plenty of falls myself, so I usually don't get all pumped up about Maeve getting hurt. Watching your daughter fall straight back off the top of the highchair onto her head though was enough to send adrenaline through me. We tell her all the time, "on your bum or on your knees." As she saw me witnessing her tempt of fate, she quickly tried to sit, but sitting on the back of the highchair is not enough to hold that big diaper butt. Backwards she went and as fast as I was moving, I still didn't get her in time. She cried for a bit as would be expected, but then kept crying, which is out of character for her. I was busy making dinner so I put her in the backpack and kept making the falafel. Maeve kept whining on and off over the next 20 minutes and I figured her head just hurt - mine would if I fell like that. Then came the vomit...all over my back and neck. The nurse in me did not care I was covered in puke, all I could think was she had a hemorrhage or swelling of the brain and I started doing neuro-checks. Pupils equally reactive, she is responsive, balance is good...check, check, check. Thank goodness.

As it turns out she probably had some adrenaline coursing through her too and it didn't agree with her stomach. After it came up, she stopped crying and all was well. She resumed playing with Silas and wanted nothing to do with me. Sam later came over to check her out and cleared her. It certainly was a lot faster than sitting in the ER.

I'm sure we'll be there before long, just glad it was not tonight!

The Helmet

One of Maeve's few words is hat. She knows what her hat is and where it goes. The word hat has also now been extended to include her helmet. (SO AWESOME that we are outside and using the bike again). Maeve used to HATE the helmet, most likely because it fell over her face like a fencing mask. She has grown now and fits into it better. I fear, much like her mother, she will have a small head. If it wasn't for those plastics breaking down she may never need a new helmet again.

Anyway, Maeve and I biked to Monty's Blue Plate the other night for dinner. Mark is still harboring resentment about that one. He loves Monty's and we went on a night he wouldn't be home. Who wants to cook for one and half? If Milo was here, I would have cooked, at least it would have been cooking for two. I digress. We parked the biked, took our gear off and started walking into the diner. Maeve soon turned back and was pulling her helmet out of the Burley and saying, "hat, "Hat," "HAT." All the while with the her head tilted down to indicate that she wanted me to put the helmet back on, which I did, who could resist. Little did I know that she would insist on keeping it on through out the meal. Folks were looking at me and I felt like I had either a mentally challenged child on my hands or one of those unfortunate kids with the misshapened heads.

I guess I can count my blessings that she likes the darn thing. It would be a bummer if she didn't and a lot of crying would ensue as I tried to lash it to her head and strap her in the Burley. Instead, she is breaking out of the house and making b-lines for the Burley and her helmet.

Thank goodness for spring!

Reward for the work!

Sea Food

For those of you that checked the previous post and have taken part in the mission, you all deserve some reward. What better reward than a mug of my girl. (My folks are going to be sadly disappointed cuz it's a pic my mom took). We'll work on more pics in the next few weeks.

Shameless advertising

OK folks, you've been given a mission. We need to get my website www.openarmsmidwifery.com listing with Google. This little business gal could use all the help she can get. You can help by just visiting the site - often. You can also help by putting the web address on your blogs (Helen) or noting that your sister/friend/etc.. started a business in Madison and list the web address.

Anything you can think of would be helpful. The goal is to get my web address to eventually appear on the first page when searching for "homebirth madison," "midwifery madison," etc... It would be nice if I could surpass my old place of employment, but that is just a very selfish and devilish wish of mine.

Thanks all!

Happy St. Patty's Day

For many, my family included, this day/weekend means "belly up to the bar." I know my sibs took part in that and well, my dad takes part in this regularly (love you dad). For my daughter who is not of drinking age yet, this meant belly down on the street trying to pick up candy with her mouth.

Here is the scene: St. Patty's Day parade, Madison, WI [read: low expectations]. Candy is being thrown to the masses (adjust your perceptions as needed) and the peasants are running to pick it up. Maeve didn't miss a beat. Due to the fact that her hands were imprisoned in her snowsuit, she resorted to the next best thing...belly down on the pavement, coaxing a piece of candy (which she doesn't even know the joy of yet) into her mouth. I did have a brief moment of thought, "I could pretend she is not mine!" The thought of all the winter's dirt being licked up by her tongue made me reach down for her. People around us soon began handing her candy - I think in hopes to avoid another embarrassing situation.

Well, Happy St. Patty's Day to you. Hope you had a good one!

Spring

SPRING was here today. I do not want to get too cocky and think I can put away the down jacket just yet. After all, the first official day of Spring is still about a week away.


Oh, how wonderful it was. I rushed home today to spend a bit of time out of doors. (Ok, Ok, the daylight savings thing has its perks.) Maeve and I took a walk around the block. The first time she has really walked around in our new digs. It's been so cold and icy that the thought of having her struggle with walking around was too much for either Mark or I to take. Her little feet have hit the pavement very little this past season.

On one of her first forays, she made it a point to step ankle deep in a puddle. The fact that the water was bitter cold did not seem to phase her one bit. She stomped her feet and splashed around. Next purchase, rain boots! I wish I had taken the camera out for that too, but alas, some moments are just meant to be experienced.

Remind you of anyone?

Ok, while I'll admit that most of the time Maeve looks just like Mark - the previous post makes my point. When I see her in this jacket, it reminds me of a picture of myself in a very similar jacket. The green jacket my Aunt Pat always speaks of.

Happy Spring everyone! Get outside, you could all use the vitamin D!

In the Money

Mark is in B-I-G trouble. Something tells me this won't be the last time Maeve is laughing while she digs through his wallet.


Notice she has not only the cash, but a gas and credit card too! Whoo doggy!

Daylight Savings

Why is this necessary?

This seriously screws up my day. My child does not read a clock, nor would she care if she could. I'm off and it's gonna take a few days to work this all out.

Interjections!

Maeve is busy soaking up the English language (wish it were more than just English) and in her use of the language is busy mastering interjections! If you don't remember what interjections are, check out this video from School House Rock. I wish this were still on. Guess I can just get busy downloading the videos from You Tube. You Tube - Wow!

"Whoa" is her latest. Learned from her Pa who says this more than I think he realizes, but I digress. This morning I was fishing a booger from Maeve's nose, a habit that started early when her nostrils didn't seem large enough to move air when they were clean, much less when they were blocked up with boogers (Helen knows what I'm talking about here). Anyway, large booger mining successful, Maeve saw it on my finger and was immediately fascinated. She wanted to examine it as any good budding scientist would. After a good look, she exclaimed, "Whoa!" Despite my sleepiness, I laughed very hard.

It's the little things in your day that keep ya going!

The Case of the Missing Boot

For close to a week now, one of Maeve's boots has been MIA. May not seem like a big deal, but when it is the only pair of shoes that my child will keep on, it was a bit disconcerting. While Mark and I had no idea where the boot might be, we did know that Maeve had stashed it somewhere. Maeve is big on putting items into other things.

An APB went out and Mark and I set to looking in all the usual places, the drawer with all her cups, her purses, the hat/mitten basket, but no boot. We searched high, we searched low, and yes, we even searched in. Searching in included sifting through the diaper pail before the diapers went out to make sure Maeve had not placed it there. I figured out to look there for things when one day I found Maeve had stuffed all the diaper covers in the pail. That probably explains the two missing diaper covers too!

Alas today, Mark and I had given up. We thought the boot might be in the trash, but after so many days, we had resolved ourselves that the boot was a goner as neither of us was willing to put it back on Maeve after living in the trash for a week.

Leave it to another kiddo though to find the other boot. We had a two year old over tonight and as he searched through the toys (which I did many times) he pulled out a boot. I was delighted although not completely convinced it wasn't the one boot we knew the where abouts of. A sigh of relief when I had the left and the right together again.

Tomorrow I suspect Maeve's feet will be warm for the first time in a week. Ah, she didn't seem to mind.

A few pics

As promised to Aunt Megan, I posted pics as soon as she booked a flight to Madison.

Here is my little lush again. It will be hard to defend myself to CPS with two photos of my daughter running around with beer bottles. This one she fished out of the recycle bin. What can I do about that. We're trying to be good to the earth around here.


This next one is of Maeve, her evil eye and her bike. She is getting more skilled. Now she can hold onto the cup, get on the bike and ride around. She still needs to stop to eat or drink - which isn't a bad thing. We all probably should ease up on the multi-tasking while we are driving.


This next one is the artsy shot taken by Mark's friend Steve. I just liked it. Maeve in the background reading a book to her frog.

Full Month

Holy cow, the month is almost over. Phew is what I say. It's been a busy and very sick month here at the Maeve Space. We did have some welcome relief from Canada blow our way though. NO, not the 20 inches of snow that fell on Madison (this month alone); Helen, Jake and Milo stayed with us for a week.

Helen, Jake and Milo as many of you know are on sebatical in Montreal until May. The were headed back to Madison for a week and because their own house is rented out, they had to settle for the Healy Eisenhandler abode. I hope they'll tell you it was enjoyable. I think all 4 of the adults were seriously hoping to have the other as friends when the week was over and I think we accomplished that!

Maeve and Mark started getting sick while our guest were still here (and unfortunately passed on their bug to Milo). The plague has since spread to me and it seems to be a hard little bug to kick. We have all had fevers over 100 and boy, adults are just not made to hack those anymore. Me, the ever relaxed parent about illness and injury (unless it's serious of course) decided today that Maeve should get checked out. She has had some intermittent fevers for the past week and a half and that's just not normal. Alas, we found out that Maeve has a double ear infection. A doozy in the left ear too. She started antibiotics today (her first ever, which is pretty darn amazing, almost 16mo old). So Helen, as you are reading this, if Milo gets another fever, go get his ears checked out.

So, we all lay in the sick bay trying to recover. I will try to post a bit more, though upcoming midwifery clients might keep me busy for a bit. Wish me well. I will also try to get some pictures of Maeve up that Mark's friend took recently. She's a cutie!

Must remain caffeine free

Of course I spoke a bit prematurely with the last post - mostly by my own doing though.

I've known for sometime that Maeve is sensitive to caffeine that I have consumed. The closer that caffeine consumption is to her bed time, the worse she sleeps. How could I resist though. Mark sent me out to the yarn store yesterday afternoon for some time to myself. In the store is a little cafe, complete with chai lattes. I love chai, but my love affair with it has been interrupted by the child, like many things I did pre-child. I sat with drinking my chai after purchasing some lovely yarn for one of the next projects (the list is long). Caffeine usually makes me feel pretty good and it does not take much. Apparently does not take Maeve too much either.

Maeve was up lots last night which wasn't so good for this mama who has been fighting off a cold. Bummer. Oh well, I did get a mental health day out of it - I'm playing hookie from work. Hhmm, if there are any ACHC folks reading this, keep that little tid-bit to yourself!

Sweet Sleep

I'm over thinking that talking about it is going to curse it. I've moved on to a different point of view, which is that I will speak it out loud and often and I will will sleep into my life.

I am happy to report that sleep has been much better these days. Often only waking once in the night (outside of being sick that is - who could blame her). Maeve even peppered the last month with 3 (THREE) all-nighters. The first ever on record. It is amazing to wake in the morning and have had more than 2 hours of consecutive sleep. I'm over thinking she has stopped breathing. It's glorious. Anyone who tells you sleep deprivation is not a form of torture has clearly not experienced true deprivation.

I've been told over the last month that I'm looking good - that might have something to do with the additional 5 lbs I lost recently (I'll be breastfeeding well into Maeve's college years). Personally, I think it may be the lack of bags under my eyes! No one looks appealing with dark circles outlining their eyes.

So, off I go to bed tonight. I don't even care who wins the SuperBowl.

Parenting Lesson 798: Preparation

Crib sheets: There should be standard minimum that the store in which you've purchased the crib from shares with you. My idea - no less than 3 crib sheets and at least 2 under/protective sheets. Blankets (if your kiddo uses them) and PJs are also amongst this list and the minimum there = many.



I have been working with sub-par materials thus far. Having been woken up in the middle of the night a few times now to a crying child with vomit or a diaper blow out is how I've discovered this. You're lucky if only the top sheet and maybe a blanket gets it - that's a quick change. But the undersheet - involves some more techinical manuvering that at 3am one is not typically prone to. If the undersheet is soiled, one must gather it all up and get down to the laundry, ASAP. Granted, now in the house, this step is a little less involved. I don't need to get completely dressed and go outside the house to access the washer. The hope is the darn thing will be washed and dried by time the next night rolls around.



So, I'll be looking on the internet for some deals on the undersheet and crib sheets...because of course I had to get odd shaped crib sheets that go along with the Stokke Sleepi Crib that cost a fortune. Of course it's a very svelt crib, made having a crib in the last apartment even possible (thanks Mom and Dad). If anyone sees a deal, let me in on it.

Alleluia!

I do not want to curse this, but certianly wanted to share in my joy. Maeve slept through the night for the very FIRST time Friday, January 11th. And I do not mean some variation of that definition to make myself feel better - I mean what you all experience everyday (including Helen and Jake who's kiddo has been sleeping through the night for MONTHS). We didn't see any repeats though so didn't think it would be worth mentioning.

Until, last night, the 20th we had another all nighter. From 7:30pm until, get this, 6am when Mark was walking around for practice. I brought her to my own bed then, nursed her and we slept for another 2 hours. It was glorious - and a very nice treat for a day off from work (yet another thing to be thankful to Martin Luther King Jr for).

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. -- "Strength to Love," 1963. - Martin Luther King Jr.

Freaking Cold

Today I learned the difference, albeit a subtle one, between -8°F and -1°F. At -8°F, the hairs in your nose freeze adding a very strange sensation to breathing. This does not happen at -1°F.

Huh?

The Minutia

I know you Maeve Space readers love the minutia, so here it is. We've been weighed down the past few days with some sort of intestinal virus, Maeve mostly, but that means that her Mama and Pa also have to deal with the clean up.

The poor girl has had her diaper changed more than I care to keep track of. Her bed linens and the changing table were also a part of one of the massive cleans ups...in the middle of the night no less. It seems to be getting better yesterday and today, but sadly I just learned that we passed it along to our lovely babysitter. That doesn't bode well for anyone!

So, if you're wondering where we are it's probably in the bathroom. Check ya later.

A change of scenery

Yeah, yeah, I've gone and done it again. I guess I need the change. The light dots give me hope that spring is around the corner. The white background likely reflects the very snowy winter we have had here in WI.



If you have complaints, take them up with the management.

Playful bliss

I pride myself on having found a piece of furniture that is fashionable, functional and kid friendly. We have a new ottoman that also has storage within (why one wouldn't is beyond me - really a waste of space). Maeve likes climbing in and bringing a book with her too (see book near leg). Pretty darn cute.

And for those that are wondering...that is the new haircut + bed head. We like bed head around here. The lighting in pic is not the best, but neither is the lighting in our living room. A work in progress.

Persistence

Thanks to mainly Mark's persistance, today Maeve signed (as in sign language) "eat." Mark and I have been signing a few words to her since she was about 6 months old. I remember reading somewhere that it takes many months before children sign anything back, and it usually end up being around 15 months. Well, today it paid off.

After a nap, I was busseling Maeve around to perhaps go out for a walk on this fine snowy day. Maeve had other plans in mind though. When I wasn't understanding what she was asking for with grunts, she put her little fingers together and brought them to her mouth for the sign "eat." I wasn't sure at first that it was truly what she intended, but when I asked her if she wanted to eat, she seemed happy I had gotten the message. We marched downstairs (yes, we can march downstairs now!) and promptly got some food. And if I wasn't sure that she meant to sign today, I think because of the postive reinforcement, she continued to sign "eat" for the rest of the day.

Maeve

Here are a few pictures that my friend Jody recently took while Maeve was in her care. (Thanks Jody for helping make the move to the new house possible). I think some of these pictures really capture this little girl very well.

::Suprise::

::Concentration::
::Oooohh::
::Delight::
::Simply Maeve::

All Thumbs

Ok...so I know I eluded to the idea that the next picture would be of Maeve with her new haircut, alas this is pre-haircut, but it's super cute.

Here is Anabelle and Maeve, excellent thumb suckers, showing off their technique together. What also made this moment very adorable, was that Maeve hadn't seen Anabelle in a few days. Maeve gave Anabelle enough time to get her jacket and shoes off and then headed over to give her a hello. Maeve nuzzled her head into Anabelle and put her arm around her. Too cute!

BItter Sweet

Been away from the blogging world for a bit...holidays and busy with the move. I don't want to downplay all the great things that happened over the past few weeks, such as, a visit from Helen, Jake and Milo, Maeve and Milo going sledding, Christmas with Hannah, Sam, Anabelle and Silas and of course the new house. It was all great, but you'll just have to pick up with me from today.

I have been contemplating cutting Maeve's hair recently, it had been getting pretty unruly, especially after sleep. It was also starting to look like a mullet (you can check out Wikipedia's definition of that). As we sat in the bath last night, I mustered up the courage to give it a try. As I took the first snip, my heart jumped a bit at the realization that I have a child old enough to get a hair cut. Then my heart jumped again as she quickly turned around to see what I was doing and nearly caught the scissors in her face. In the end, there were these sweet curls, no blood and a cute girl with a short haircut!

Next post will have to be a photo of the girl with her new do. Who knows if it will really help control the rats nest that was happening in the back of her head. Either way, it's probably good for me to get these reminders that my baby is growing up.