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!