Luckily for both my girls' sakes, this was not my problem:
Few Women Get Enough Exercise During Pregnancy
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Families in front of Eastport, and Passamaquoddy Bay by Thomas Chambers_007
Families in front of Eastport, and Passamaquoddy Bay by Thomas Chambers_007
Originally uploaded by Center for Creative Connections
Families in front of Eastport, and Passamaquoddy Bay by Thomas Chambers_008
Families in front of Eastport, and Passamaquoddy Bay by Thomas Chambers_008
Originally uploaded by Center for Creative Connections
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Catching up
(This was written on 3/23/10.)
Today is the proverbial first day of the next chapter of our lives as parents. Today is the first day I actually return to the regular working world of a 9-5 job...or in my case, 7:30 - 4:30 p.m. I've been working on a special assignment for a week, but thanks to a wonderful boss, I've been able to do it from the comforts of my home, with my beautiful baby girl by my side.
Needless to say, Miss Cora Ann arrived safe and sound at 6:19 p.m. December 16, weighing in at 8 lbs. 4 oz. They measured her at 18.5 inches, but that was at least an inch short. Those darn newborns - always scrunching up their legs! j/k. Like her big sister, Savena, aka the squid, the "monkey" came exactly five days early. Must be something about my body that sa
ys 'I'm done' on that particular day. One thing that's certainly true - second babies do come much, much quicker. Cora took a whopping 15 hours - one third the time it took the squid to make her grand appearance back in June 2007. It also took much less time "pushing" as well. Mark likes to tell friends that it only took 3 pushes and there she was, but I think it was actually more like 3 rounds of pushes. I'll spare you the details, but it was much quicker. I like to think that I learned how to push w/ the squid! The only negative outcome of pushing so hard was that I threw my neck out and was in major, major pain until our neighbor told me that the pain was likely exacerbated by the epidural and that I needed caffeine. A cup of black tea later I was already feeling better - with fewer painkillers!
Life since Cora's birth has been a whirlwind of doctor's visits, walks in the park, lazy mornings, plane trips to Gaga and Papa Chris' house, play dates and snow. Yes, snow. In Dallas and Santa Fe. We've actually christened Cora the snow princess because since her birth, Dallas has seen more snow than it has in decades. We've had more than 17" inches this winter - and I'm honestly not sure if that's since Dec. 21 or Jan. 1. We even had a white Christmas! Go figure.
Today is the proverbial first day of the next chapter of our lives as parents. Today is the first day I actually return to the regular working world of a 9-5 job...or in my case, 7:30 - 4:30 p.m. I've been working on a special assignment for a week, but thanks to a wonderful boss, I've been able to do it from the comforts of my home, with my beautiful baby girl by my side.
Needless to say, Miss Cora Ann arrived safe and sound at 6:19 p.m. December 16, weighing in at 8 lbs. 4 oz. They measured her at 18.5 inches, but that was at least an inch short. Those darn newborns - always scrunching up their legs! j/k. Like her big sister, Savena, aka the squid, the "monkey" came exactly five days early. Must be something about my body that sa
ys 'I'm done' on that particular day. One thing that's certainly true - second babies do come much, much quicker. Cora took a whopping 15 hours - one third the time it took the squid to make her grand appearance back in June 2007. It also took much less time "pushing" as well. Mark likes to tell friends that it only took 3 pushes and there she was, but I think it was actually more like 3 rounds of pushes. I'll spare you the details, but it was much quicker. I like to think that I learned how to push w/ the squid! The only negative outcome of pushing so hard was that I threw my neck out and was in major, major pain until our neighbor told me that the pain was likely exacerbated by the epidural and that I needed caffeine. A cup of black tea later I was already feeling better - with fewer painkillers!Life since Cora's birth has been a whirlwind of doctor's visits, walks in the park, lazy mornings, plane trips to Gaga and Papa Chris' house, play dates and snow. Yes, snow. In Dallas and Santa Fe. We've actually christened Cora the snow princess because since her birth, Dallas has seen more snow than it has in decades. We've had more than 17" inches this winter - and I'm honestly not sure if that's since Dec. 21 or Jan. 1. We even had a white Christmas! Go figure.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
The squid's budding vocabulary
Sorry I've been so negligent in updating this blog. It seems like everyday I have something I want to post about, but either have to compile a cognizant blog entry over on RaceTrackHollow for class or am chasing Savena around the house while trying to read Marx! Ugh. Ok, so that was just Sunday evening.
Savena's vocabulary is, not surprisingly, growing every day. She has yet to say her own name, preferring to call herself "me" rather than Savena. I'm just "mommy," but Mark is either "daddy" or "Mark Shear." Not sure where she picked that up, but it's pretty cute. Devin is "sissy" and Ms. Jeane, her sitter, is Nini.. or is it Neenee. Not sure, but the J never comes out.
Her other fave words/phrases include:
BABAR* (her favorite show. Of course, it's also one of the few she has seen)
More peas (more please.)
Apple
Boots
Dutty (Dusty, one of our dogs)
Hey!
Go person, go! (usually when we're stuck in traffic)
Huh. (This one drives me crazy, but at least she hasn't started saying "Do what?" yet. She may be put up for adoption if that starts. :-) J/K )
Acorn, leef (leaf)
Duck, dog, skirl (squirrel), cowww (cow)
Juice
Dora (has seen the show once, but she has a Dora doll)
My baby.
Belly, elbow, leg, knee, feet, eye, noz (nose), ear, mouth
sky, rain
plane (she adores planes - takes after her mamma!)
No, peas. (When you ask her to do something, she says this instead of 'no, thank you' if she doesn't want to have anything to do with it.)
In other news, the monkey's growing every day. We're definitely going to have a very active little one on our hands when she makes her arrival in 8-9 weeks. Part of me can't believe it's almost time, but then my brain kicks in and reminds me that there's a reason I haven't had a margarita since March. Due date is still 12/21, but Mark's taking bets that the baby comes in early December. We'll see.
Savena's vocabulary is, not surprisingly, growing every day. She has yet to say her own name, preferring to call herself "me" rather than Savena. I'm just "mommy," but Mark is either "daddy" or "Mark Shear." Not sure where she picked that up, but it's pretty cute. Devin is "sissy" and Ms. Jeane, her sitter, is Nini.. or is it Neenee. Not sure, but the J never comes out.
Her other fave words/phrases include:
BABAR* (her favorite show. Of course, it's also one of the few she has seen)
More peas (more please.)
Apple
Boots
Dutty (Dusty, one of our dogs)
Hey!
Go person, go! (usually when we're stuck in traffic)
Huh. (This one drives me crazy, but at least she hasn't started saying "Do what?" yet. She may be put up for adoption if that starts. :-) J/K )
Acorn, leef (leaf)
Duck, dog, skirl (squirrel), cowww (cow)
Juice
Dora (has seen the show once, but she has a Dora doll)
My baby.
Belly, elbow, leg, knee, feet, eye, noz (nose), ear, mouth
sky, rain
plane (she adores planes - takes after her mamma!)
No, peas. (When you ask her to do something, she says this instead of 'no, thank you' if she doesn't want to have anything to do with it.)
In other news, the monkey's growing every day. We're definitely going to have a very active little one on our hands when she makes her arrival in 8-9 weeks. Part of me can't believe it's almost time, but then my brain kicks in and reminds me that there's a reason I haven't had a margarita since March. Due date is still 12/21, but Mark's taking bets that the baby comes in early December. We'll see.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
New Squidisms
Savena and Mark were merging onto Central the other day when the car in front of them slowed WAY down. Without missing a beat, she yelled out "Go, people, go!" Gotta love that kid!
Friday, August 28, 2009
It's a boy, it's a girl..it's a MONKEY!!!!
Just kidding. No monkeys here! We're calling the baby "the monkey" a la "the squid", but we did actually find out what we're having this time. Drumroll please...it's a GIRL! I think Mark put it best when he saw the sonogram - "Yup. Nothing (hanging) there. Must be a girl." Mark was hoping for a little boy, but it deliriuosly excited about adding a third girl to the world. Just think - by the end of the year we'll have the Big Princess (Devin), the Little Princess/Squid (Savena) and a Duchess (Name still in progress). You must have been born before 12/25/78 to be a Queen, so I'm still the only Queen in the house. Woo hoo!!
The due date is the same: Dec. 21. Dr. D is happy with the baby's growth, heart rate, etc. I'm exhausted much of the time, but am eating well and re-learning how to sleep with my growing belly. It's at times like this that I wish sleeping on my stomach wasn't my preferred position. Oh, well. It's only for another 17 weeks - maybe less, if "the monkey" comes early. Her big sister did, so we're hoping that she'll decide to make her entrance at least a few days early to avoid some of the pre-holiday madness.
Life is pretty hectic right now. Ginger moved to Houston, so Mark's in the midst of training a new employee. She's very nice, but change is hard, particularly when you've been working with someone for close to 10 years. I just started grad school again. I'm only taking one class this semester, but between work, raising a two-year-old, "growing" another child and everything else - I feel that I'm in for a really long semester. The best part is that my (work) office was recently moved to new digs across campus and there's black stuff falling from the air vents!! Fun times. It's not that surprising given the building's age, but it's still enough to make a pregnant girl worry. Facilities is supposedly on it, so hopefully it'll be cleared up soon.
Then there's the swine flu pandemic swirling around. I know that pregnant women are supposed to be first in line for the vaccine, but I'm very conflicted about getting it. Nobody has any clue how it'll impact the fetus, yet they're encouraging us to get one. I need to keep gathering info/recs from the infectious disease specialists I work with and my own personal physicians. I'm leaning toward not getting one, but will probably change my mind a dozen times in the next few days alone. The good thing is that I still have some time. It's not like they're going to have a vaccine until mid-October.
As you can probably imagine, every day is a new adventure with Savena. Her vocabulary is expanding and she loves everything - particularly if it involves being outdoors. Here's a sampling of her new words:
More peas. (More please)
Apple
Mark (she occasionally calls her daddy this, much to his disdain.)
Tummy
Baby
Elbow
Knee
Sissy
That's all for now. :-)
The due date is the same: Dec. 21. Dr. D is happy with the baby's growth, heart rate, etc. I'm exhausted much of the time, but am eating well and re-learning how to sleep with my growing belly. It's at times like this that I wish sleeping on my stomach wasn't my preferred position. Oh, well. It's only for another 17 weeks - maybe less, if "the monkey" comes early. Her big sister did, so we're hoping that she'll decide to make her entrance at least a few days early to avoid some of the pre-holiday madness.
Life is pretty hectic right now. Ginger moved to Houston, so Mark's in the midst of training a new employee. She's very nice, but change is hard, particularly when you've been working with someone for close to 10 years. I just started grad school again. I'm only taking one class this semester, but between work, raising a two-year-old, "growing" another child and everything else - I feel that I'm in for a really long semester. The best part is that my (work) office was recently moved to new digs across campus and there's black stuff falling from the air vents!! Fun times. It's not that surprising given the building's age, but it's still enough to make a pregnant girl worry. Facilities is supposedly on it, so hopefully it'll be cleared up soon.
Then there's the swine flu pandemic swirling around. I know that pregnant women are supposed to be first in line for the vaccine, but I'm very conflicted about getting it. Nobody has any clue how it'll impact the fetus, yet they're encouraging us to get one. I need to keep gathering info/recs from the infectious disease specialists I work with and my own personal physicians. I'm leaning toward not getting one, but will probably change my mind a dozen times in the next few days alone. The good thing is that I still have some time. It's not like they're going to have a vaccine until mid-October.
As you can probably imagine, every day is a new adventure with Savena. Her vocabulary is expanding and she loves everything - particularly if it involves being outdoors. Here's a sampling of her new words:
More peas. (More please)
Apple
Mark (she occasionally calls her daddy this, much to his disdain.)
Tummy
Baby
Elbow
Knee
Sissy
That's all for now. :-)
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Thursday, July 09, 2009
How do you update a blog that you've been meaning to update for close to 6 weeks but haven't had time? You just start. So, here goes.
Much has been happening to our growing family since the last post, chiefly that both Savena and the baby have gotten bigger and we've all gotten older. Just kidding.
Savena did have her first dentist appointment. That was fun! Just kidding again. Mark will be taking her to the next appt. The dentist was nice and courteous, but wasn't who we wanted to see - evidently the staff didn't understand that we were going there to see one particular dentist - and only her. The whole reason we went to this place was to see a new pediatric dentist who Mark has been seeing as a patient since she was a teenager. We wanted to support her, but then didn't even get to see her. Savena got a pink balloon and a toothbrush, but I'm going to try to avoid dental offices with McDonald's style play yards on Saturday mornings. It was a bit much.
Savena also celebrated her second birthday on June 26! We had her party at Heights Park just down the street from our house and as luck would have it - it was one of the hottest days of the year. I think it actually topped out around 103 degrees right in the middle of the party. A friend said it sounded like the perfect Jeff Foxworthy joke - you know you live in Texas if the birthday cake icing melts! Yes, the icing melted - but Savena didn't mind. She wolfed down more cake than anyone else - and still had room for dinner about 2 hours later. (I have to credit Tom Thumb here. The one at Coit and Campbell makes the absolute best cakes! Be sure to check them out if you live in Texas.) I swear that she must have a tapeworm: our girl can eat...and eat...and eat some more. So, it was hot - but fun. A bunch of her friends came, as did Mudge, Grandma Beth, Aunt Amy and Uncle Will.
What else is there to say?
I've decided that being pregnant in July is no fun. Should have planned this better, but too late now. Please don't remind me about August. I plan to spend the entire month in the pool. If only, right!?! I had my first sonogram about 3 weeks ago now and our great Dr. D said that everything looks great. It's too early to tell the sex (yes, we're going to find out this time) but the baby is very, very, very active. Dr. D actually had a hard time getting all the measurements because he/she was practically doing backflips. Mark thought it was awesome, but we're both a little worried about what's to come. You know the saying "If we'd had the second one first, we never would have had more?" Well, that may hold true....we'll just have to see. We're still more excited than anything. Savena doesn't really understand, yet, but we're trying to get the message across. She already points to my belly and says "baby." She points to Mark's and her own belly and says the same thing, but it's a start.
Back to the baby: The due date is still Dec. 21, but evidently we have neighbors taking bets that I won't last that long. I'm definitely getting bigger faster this time around, but I haven't gained much weight. And we're not having twins - we made Dr. D double-check that fact.
Ooops, I've rambled on too long and must get back to work. Lunch break's over. More to come...sooner this time.
Much has been happening to our growing family since the last post, chiefly that both Savena and the baby have gotten bigger and we've all gotten older. Just kidding.
Savena did have her first dentist appointment. That was fun! Just kidding again. Mark will be taking her to the next appt. The dentist was nice and courteous, but wasn't who we wanted to see - evidently the staff didn't understand that we were going there to see one particular dentist - and only her. The whole reason we went to this place was to see a new pediatric dentist who Mark has been seeing as a patient since she was a teenager. We wanted to support her, but then didn't even get to see her. Savena got a pink balloon and a toothbrush, but I'm going to try to avoid dental offices with McDonald's style play yards on Saturday mornings. It was a bit much.
Savena also celebrated her second birthday on June 26! We had her party at Heights Park just down the street from our house and as luck would have it - it was one of the hottest days of the year. I think it actually topped out around 103 degrees right in the middle of the party. A friend said it sounded like the perfect Jeff Foxworthy joke - you know you live in Texas if the birthday cake icing melts! Yes, the icing melted - but Savena didn't mind. She wolfed down more cake than anyone else - and still had room for dinner about 2 hours later. (I have to credit Tom Thumb here. The one at Coit and Campbell makes the absolute best cakes! Be sure to check them out if you live in Texas.) I swear that she must have a tapeworm: our girl can eat...and eat...and eat some more. So, it was hot - but fun. A bunch of her friends came, as did Mudge, Grandma Beth, Aunt Amy and Uncle Will.
What else is there to say?
I've decided that being pregnant in July is no fun. Should have planned this better, but too late now. Please don't remind me about August. I plan to spend the entire month in the pool. If only, right!?! I had my first sonogram about 3 weeks ago now and our great Dr. D said that everything looks great. It's too early to tell the sex (yes, we're going to find out this time) but the baby is very, very, very active. Dr. D actually had a hard time getting all the measurements because he/she was practically doing backflips. Mark thought it was awesome, but we're both a little worried about what's to come. You know the saying "If we'd had the second one first, we never would have had more?" Well, that may hold true....we'll just have to see. We're still more excited than anything. Savena doesn't really understand, yet, but we're trying to get the message across. She already points to my belly and says "baby." She points to Mark's and her own belly and says the same thing, but it's a start.
Back to the baby: The due date is still Dec. 21, but evidently we have neighbors taking bets that I won't last that long. I'm definitely getting bigger faster this time around, but I haven't gained much weight. And we're not having twins - we made Dr. D double-check that fact.
Ooops, I've rambled on too long and must get back to work. Lunch break's over. More to come...sooner this time.
Friday, June 05, 2009
News about the Three Bears
Mark and I are expecting another baby! Yes, I'm pregnant. I'm 12 weeks along, so we're wrapping up the first trimester. Besides feeling physicaly exhausted, things are going really well. We had our first doctor visit a few weeks ago and Dr. Dinh said the baby is due on Dec. 21, 2009 (my grandpa's birthday!!). The due date could change, but that's the current expected arrival. We don't yet know the sex, but many of you will be glad to know that we are leaning toward finding out this time. I have my first sonogram on June 16, so we may actually be able to find out then. We'll just have to see. Savena was turned in such a way that they really couldn't tell at that first sonogram, but maybe this one will be different. Who knows, right? It's a completely new adventure but one that we're thrilled about.
Love to all.
Love to all.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Another reason I love being a mom
The other day, I was dashing out the front door at 7 a.m. when I heard these little feet patter up behind me. Savena's normally still in bed at this time, but it was Friday, so she was up and getting ready for Mark to give her a bath. Anyway, I turned around to see the squid smiling up at me like she wanted to say goodbye. I kneeled down and was about to give her a hug when she planted a kiss right on my lips, turned and sped off across the living room. Awwww. (Cue the angels). Talk about making your day start on the right foot! It certainly made mine. :-)
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Deciphering Savena
Kids say the darndest things, right! That's certainly true of Savena. Trying to figure out exactly what she's saying is another matter entirely. While she very clearly understands just about everything we say to her, she hasn't exactly busted out in song ... yet. For those of you unfamiliar with toddler vernacular, I offer this introduction to our world.
Mama mama mama mama - That's obviously me.
Dada dada dada - another easy one.
Daug or dawg - that's dog, with a sharp 'g'
Peas - Please, not peas, though she does enjoy them.
pupl - On the rare occasion that she says purple, it sounds more like puple. Maybe we should try violet.
Pi pi pi pi - If she tells us she has to go to the bathroom, this is her preferred verbage. She rarely does this until afterwards, but we're trying.
Bu or blu - Blue
Dor - Door
No - That's also with a sharp o. It usually goes something like "No, dawg."
More to tome.
Mama mama mama mama - That's obviously me.
Dada dada dada - another easy one.
Daug or dawg - that's dog, with a sharp 'g'
Peas - Please, not peas, though she does enjoy them.
pupl - On the rare occasion that she says purple, it sounds more like puple. Maybe we should try violet.
Pi pi pi pi - If she tells us she has to go to the bathroom, this is her preferred verbage. She rarely does this until afterwards, but we're trying.
Bu or blu - Blue
Dor - Door
No - That's also with a sharp o. It usually goes something like "No, dawg."
More to tome.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The little exhibitionist
I always knew this day would come. The day when we'd open the bedroom door to find the squid traipsing around in her birthday suit. I'm not sure why I thought this would happen later in life, but I did. Unfortunately, I missed the first event. It happened at our sitter's house. Evidently, Jeane heard Savena talking to herself in the nursery/crib room, so she went to get her up from her nap. When she opened the door, she came face to face - or should I say face to "cheek" -- with the squid standing straight up in bed wearing nothing but her socks. Somehow or other, she'd managed to get her shirt, undershirt, pants and diaper off and was just having a grand ol' time leaning up against the railing. She didn't have as much luck getting her diaper off the next day, but she has decided to practice her new skill as often as possible.
Now to the conundrum: I have absolutely no problem with her showing some skin (she's only 21 months old, after all) but I do wonder when and how to address the topic of when it's ok and when it's not ok to run around naked. Is this even something parents address with kids nowadays? The last thing I want to do is pass my own shortcomings on to her, so I'm tempted to just let things go for the time being, maybe bring it up in a year if she starts to make a habit of it. It is pretty cute, after all! My only goal is for her to love herself as she is and not feel ashamed or that she has to cover herself up.
Until next time, be sure to enjoy the sunshine, dance naked in your room, and take a toddler for a walk. :-)
P.S. The pic is of Savena applying her lipstick (lip gloss). She's such a girly girl!
Friday, January 30, 2009
Our daughter the headbanger
I've always figured that young children develop their musical tastes by osmosis. They pick pick up their tastes in music by listening to what their parents played on the radio, etc. I'm not entirely sure why I thought this, but it seems to be wrong as Savena is a fan of "headbanger" music! Yes, my sweet, angelic little child likes to rock out to hard-core rock! How I learned this is a story in itself.
It started one afternoon when she and I were at home doing chores. I was in the back bedroom folding clothes and she was playing in the living room. I'd turned a country music station on and was listening to some sappy song about love gone wrong when all of a sudden the station changed...and then changed again...and then again. I hurried down the hall to find Savena standing on the ottoman in front of the stereo punching the scan forward button. At each station, she would stop, listen, then hit the button again. I'm not sure whether she just enjoyed pushing the button and it got old or if she actually liked the music, but she finally stopped on the headbanger station. Being a new mom, I laughed, sat her back in front of her pile of toys and books, changed the station back to what I was listening to, and went back to folding clothes. I probably don't need to tell you what happened next.
Yup, she did it again. (does that make anyone else think of Britney Spears?!?) A few minutes later, the dogs and I were once again listening to headbanger music. This time, instead of changing the station, I ditched the laundry pile and rocked out with Savena.
P.S. One of the funniest moments of the day was when Mark came through the door to find me sweeping to headbanger music - He said, and I quote, "Is everything ok, sweetie."
It started one afternoon when she and I were at home doing chores. I was in the back bedroom folding clothes and she was playing in the living room. I'd turned a country music station on and was listening to some sappy song about love gone wrong when all of a sudden the station changed...and then changed again...and then again. I hurried down the hall to find Savena standing on the ottoman in front of the stereo punching the scan forward button. At each station, she would stop, listen, then hit the button again. I'm not sure whether she just enjoyed pushing the button and it got old or if she actually liked the music, but she finally stopped on the headbanger station. Being a new mom, I laughed, sat her back in front of her pile of toys and books, changed the station back to what I was listening to, and went back to folding clothes. I probably don't need to tell you what happened next.
Yup, she did it again. (does that make anyone else think of Britney Spears?!?) A few minutes later, the dogs and I were once again listening to headbanger music. This time, instead of changing the station, I ditched the laundry pile and rocked out with Savena.
P.S. One of the funniest moments of the day was when Mark came through the door to find me sweeping to headbanger music - He said, and I quote, "Is everything ok, sweetie."
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Juice boxes, toilet paper and more
The past few weeks have brought lots of excitement at the Shear household. This wouldn't be a big deal to most people, but the fact that Savena had her first juice box on our way to the ranch for Thanksgiving was a big deal to us. Until now, she's been relegated to drinking out of bottles and sippy cups. But a whole new world has opened up now that she's figured out what straws are for - and how to use them. It was so exciting to see her face quite literally light up with pure joy when a small twinge of apple juice hit her tongue - it's a whole new world, baby!
Much to our chagrin, another of Savena's favorite playthings is toilet paper. She has more blocks, noisemakers, dolls and stacking blocks than Mark or I ever did as a child (she has many of our old toys, plus some of her own), but one of her favorite things to do is to grab the toilet paper and pull. For example: I was washing the dishes earlier this week when I heard some giggling in the hall. I turned the water off and found Savena practically knee-deep in toilet paper and she was still pulling. Yikes! She was quickly redirected to the kitchen cabinets, where we have plenty of plastic tupperware and canned foods that she loves to pull out and leave in various places around the house. Luckily for us, she usually remembers where she put something. All we have to do is ask "Where did you put the can of soup? Or where did you leave your milk? and she races off in the direction of whatever happens to the missing at the time. The only real problem with this is that sometimes we don't realize her sippy cups of milk are missing until she comes careening into the kitchen drinking from one that has been missing for a few days. Yuck! Needless to say, Savena has very little patience when she wants her milk -- it's a mad dash to replace the spoiled stuff with a fresh cup of it before she knows better.
One more quick note: We finally found a hat that Savena will keep on her head. She absolutely adores the hat and won't leave home without it. Half the time we find her wearing it inside, so stay tuned for adorable pics of the little princess. Thanks, Bass Pro!
Much to our chagrin, another of Savena's favorite playthings is toilet paper. She has more blocks, noisemakers, dolls and stacking blocks than Mark or I ever did as a child (she has many of our old toys, plus some of her own), but one of her favorite things to do is to grab the toilet paper and pull. For example: I was washing the dishes earlier this week when I heard some giggling in the hall. I turned the water off and found Savena practically knee-deep in toilet paper and she was still pulling. Yikes! She was quickly redirected to the kitchen cabinets, where we have plenty of plastic tupperware and canned foods that she loves to pull out and leave in various places around the house. Luckily for us, she usually remembers where she put something. All we have to do is ask "Where did you put the can of soup? Or where did you leave your milk? and she races off in the direction of whatever happens to the missing at the time. The only real problem with this is that sometimes we don't realize her sippy cups of milk are missing until she comes careening into the kitchen drinking from one that has been missing for a few days. Yuck! Needless to say, Savena has very little patience when she wants her milk -- it's a mad dash to replace the spoiled stuff with a fresh cup of it before she knows better.
One more quick note: We finally found a hat that Savena will keep on her head. She absolutely adores the hat and won't leave home without it. Half the time we find her wearing it inside, so stay tuned for adorable pics of the little princess. Thanks, Bass Pro!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
A biter in our midst.
The past week has been a veritable madhouse as we've literally rushed from one thing to another in order to get ready for Thanksgiving. Savena has taken it all in stride - she's a real trooper. The only slighly disturbing thing that happened is that she bit me -- twice. I'm not talking about cute little love bites, either. She really chomped down on my shoulder and actually left little teeth marks once! This coincided with her decision to stop sleeping through the night and instead wake up and demand to be fed/nursed. There is no wrath like that of a hungry child. What finally did the trick -- stopped the biting and 2 a.m. feedings -- was giving her lots and LOTS of meat for dinner. No carbs for this girl. Give her meat and she's good to go!
We're headed to the ranch in a few hours, so we'll be off the proverbial grid for a few days. I can't wait to see how Savena reacts now that she can walk.
We're headed to the ranch in a few hours, so we'll be off the proverbial grid for a few days. I can't wait to see how Savena reacts now that she can walk.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
For the past 16 1/2 months, I've been talking about getting back to this blog. Well, today's the day. Though life is extremely hectic with work, grad school, the Junior League and everything else life throws my way, I'm determined to update this blog a few times a week with short, possibly humorous, glimpses into Savena's life. Feel free to submit your own anecdotes about the little princess/squid as they come to you. I'd love to have a collection of stories to share with her as she grows up.
1st cute story of the week: Since Savena's now old enough to understand what you're telling her, she gets stars at our sitter's house for things like eating with her fork, walking to the front door by herself (so Dad doesn't have to carry her), drinking all her milk, etc. Yesterday she finished her row of stars and got to pick something out of the treat basket. The first time she got to do this, she brought home a purple bouncy ball with the words "I'm special" or something like that in bright pink letters. This time? A plastic brontosaurus the size of my hand! All I can is that it made her day...she dragged that thing around the house all night long!
1st cute story of the week: Since Savena's now old enough to understand what you're telling her, she gets stars at our sitter's house for things like eating with her fork, walking to the front door by herself (so Dad doesn't have to carry her), drinking all her milk, etc. Yesterday she finished her row of stars and got to pick something out of the treat basket. The first time she got to do this, she brought home a purple bouncy ball with the words "I'm special" or something like that in bright pink letters. This time? A plastic brontosaurus the size of my hand! All I can is that it made her day...she dragged that thing around the house all night long!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Savena had a lot more fun at this year's State Fair of Texas than the last time she graced the historic Fair Park fairgrounds. Here she is getting a lift from her daddy in one of the pavilions. Supposedly, they had prancing dogs in there right before we arrived. We got to pet the dogs, but missed the show searching for cowboy boots for the little princess.
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