Tutu Cute

I made Leah a tutu since she loves to dance. (Consequently, she'll be a ballerina for Halloween.) Upon showing her the tutu, she immediately wanted to put it on. Well, you can see for yourself how much she loves it!

Circle(s) of Friends

Over the past few weeks, I've become more and more aware of how grateful I am for the friends that I have. (Please don't think this means I was ever ungrateful or unappreciative of them!) Really, this understanding has arisen because of a better understanding of myself-- who I am and what I can offer to my friends.

Different friends fulfill different needs. There are those who help generate ideas or spark creativity. Others I want to be around simply because they're fun people to hang with. (Again, not to imply other friends aren't. Actually, I have friends that fit this need because I don't consider myself to be the "fun" one. Not like that's a negative, it's just who I am.) A handful of friends are quiet, but maybe that's why we connect: we understand each other's quietness and can really talk about what's happening in our lives. And of course, I have a few friends who are "soul" friends: we just "get" each other, and so we can be totally real with each other.

Though we generally use the term "circle of friends", I wonder if we should call it morphing figure of friends, instead. After all, people move in and out of our lives, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Some move away. Sometimes life circumstances change. Specifically, I think about all my friends from college. We're not as close as we once were, but we're still able to pick right back up when we do have a chance to get together. We knew each other so well, doing life together, so we're bonded forever. And though I might not always acknowledge important dates in their lives, I think about them, and remember our good times together.

Sometimes I wonder how many best friends a girl could have, especially since I feel like I have several. (They might not reciprocate the label, but that's okay with me.) These are the women with whom I have history or a past, though some history is briefer than others. These are the women who know my fears and insecurities, but also my joys and successes. These are the ones I want to call up and spend time with regularly.

To all my friends, thank you. I have been blessed because of your friendship.

And So It Begins

I had heard that around half-birthdays children start morphing into little monsters, yet I hadn't actually experienced that yet with our sweet little Leah... until Wednesday. Oh my! That morning, Leah let loose with the mother of all tantrums (well, at least that she had demonstrated thus far), and thankfully, she felt comfortable enough doing so in front of an audience.

Granted, this tantrum wasn't as bad as some (that I've heard about). In fact, it was slightly amusing, if only because it was such a shift in temperament for my little honey girl. Of course, that didn't negate my desire for it to be over, if only so that I could hug her.

So here's what happened:

Wednesday morning, Leah and I met Alison and Will at the playground. All was going well, until Leah wanted to be held. Not really a problem-- initially. Then she BIT me! "Uh-uh! No bite, Leah!" I scolded, and then put her down. And that was all it took. The floodgates opened and the siren started wailing. Then came the "pick-me-up" dance which consisted of feet stomping and arm reaching. Oh joy!

Alison (a seasoned veteran when it comes to tantrums since Will's older than Leah) and I just talked over the tantrum, doing our best to ignore Leah's cries for attention. I kept waiting, in fact, I was WILLING her to stop for just a few seconds so that I could pick her up (I refused to pick her up while she was crying, and thus reinforce the tantrum), but she persisted... for a good 15 to 20 minutes. (Even Will, sweet boy, tried consoling her, but to no avail.)

Thankfully, she finally settled long enough for me to pick her up, hug her, and reassure her, before loading her up in the car to go home.

I know that this is just the first of many tantrums. I just hope that I will be as amused as I was on Wednesday.

18 Months

My baby girl turned 18 months old last Friday. 18 months! How is this possible, especially when I don't feel 1.5 years older than when I had her?

Our little miss had her check-up today, and aside from the relatively small vocabulary (more later), all is well. She's still little (25th percentile for height -- 31"-- and weight -- 23 lbs), but that's okay by me. And I'm not even that concerned about the vocabulary issue, thanks to reassurance from friends and family (and the fact that Leah understands everything).

Here are some tidbits about Miss Leah:

*Words: mama, baby, uh-oh, hi. The scarce amount is what concerned the LPN today, but then I told her that Leah also says animal sounds (for elephant, rooster, sheep, pig, dog, lion/ tiger, cow), and she thought those might constitute as words.

*Self-expression: Leah loves draping her pink feather boa around her neck... along with wearing my apron as a cape. Oh, and then she likes to top it off with all FIVE bows in her hair. Funny how there was a time when she was resistant to wearing ANY bow, and now she actually "asks" for all of them. What usually happens is I'll pull out her bows so that she can choose which one she wants to wear. Lately, she'll point to one, I'll put it in, and then she'll point to another (or she'll simply pick it up and try to put it in her hair). I'm sure the sight of five bows in her hair raises some eyebrows (it certainly elicits comments), but if that's how she wants to exercise her independence, so be it.

*Dance: Leah LOVES to dance. She'll turn on one of her musical toys and then start dancing in circles around the family room. When the music stops, she'll walk over and start it up again. When she wants to mix it up a bit, she'll dance to music she hears in the background (tv or radio), or she'll simply "ask" us to turn on the iPod or radio.

*Games: Leah's favorite game is a combination of hide-and-seek and chase, and it usually takes place after dinner (who knows why). What happens is she'll run into the dining room to "hide" by the window (she "hides" by standing in front of the window with her back to us; she doesn't even hide behind the curtain!). Scott or I will then seek her, looking under the table or behind a chair before "discovering" her at the window. Just as we're about to "tag" her, she'll run into the family room and cop a squat on the hearth, which is apparently "base". This can entertain her for MINUTES!!!

*Favorite Daddy Activities: Venturing down to the basement. Exploring the great outdoors and the porch swing Scott made us. Going for shoulder rides throughout the house (Leah now tries to climb on Scott's shoulders if he's just holding her).

*One more tidbit, though this is more of a story: At dinner, Scott and I sit opposite each other with Leah between us at the end of the table. We're both attentive to what she might need, but obviously Leah has a certain way of doing things. So last night, she asked for her milk, which was sitting on the table. Scott passed it to her, and then told her to give it back to him when she was done (she usually does). Apparently, she wanted ME to take the milk, for she extended her cup in my direction. I couldn't, so I told her to give it to Scott. Wouldn't you know it, she just LOOKED at me, as if to say, "Uh, Mom? I want YOU to take it." Scott managed to take the cup and put it back on the table. Not even two seconds later, Leah asked for it again. I don't even remember if she took a sip, but I do know that she held it out to me AGAIN, but more forcefully this time. I think she actually tried staring me down so that I'd take the cup! (No, I didn't give in, but Scott and I both had a good laugh.)

I'm sure there's more to share, but I can't think of what's new for her at this stage. I just know that we have a very sweet baby girl who still enjoys cuddling in my lap and reading a book, or who wants to help in whatever way she can (throwing away trash, sweeping the floors, putting away dishes, you get the idea). I love her more and more each day, and I'm so grateful for all the time we have together.

Confessions of a Facebook Failure

The time has come to admit what most of you (well, those of you on Facebook) already know: I am a FB failure. Now, in this "everybody-wins-a-medal-just-for-showing-up" society, maybe I shouldn't be so hard on myself, but let's be honest, people. How often do you see a status update from me, much less any other type of update?
It's not that I want to be a failure; that's certainly not in my nature (I'm a recovering perfectionist), but I've discovered that I'm just not all that interested in what FB has to offer, which means, I don't really care if I fail (at it).
1. Games & such. Here's how much I use those features: I don't even know what other applications are offered! I don't play online games too often, and when I do, I gravitate toward Majjong Titans which came standard on my PC.
2. Photos. This is a feature I use (and view), but I often forget to since I'm more likely to post photos here (on the blog). Why be redundant?
3. Status updates. Updating my status on a regular basis means accessing the computer daily, which doesn't always happen (sometimes by choice, sometimes not). I suppose doing so would be easier with a fancy cell phone (you do know mine is a standard PHONE-- no bells or whistles-- that's hardly ever on, right?) or a laptop, but we have space for a PC, and I'm accustomed to it, so why switch to something only for its portability? Even with improved accessibility, I doubt that my status update frequency would improve. I have a hard enough time thinking of blog topics sometimes; how would I ever maintain a steady stream of status updates?
4. Staying informed. You know those updates some of you regularly post? Well, if I'm lucky, I'll read one of them every other month or so (well, maybe a little more often than that). Yes, I'm serious. When I log in, (about once a week, though sometimes more) I scroll down the first page, quickly scanning the updates. If I remember to, I might pop over to the photo section, but most times, I've already logged out (unless there's been an exceptionally interesting or provocative update).
My failure to utilize FB "properly" is not without its irony: I joined to stay/ get connected, but I'm just as dis-connected now as ever. Yet despite all this, I don't plan on closing my account anytime soon. After all, how else would I stay (pseudo) connected?