Christmas

We had such a great Christmas in California.  I didn't take nearly enough photos-- but here are a few good moments from there and from here, all jumbled together:

Mind/Body Growth in Children

The body and the mind--  as we get older I think we sometimes try to separate them.  But the tango between the two is a powerful beautiful thing in children. 

My 8 month old is learning more and more every day how to use her body-- her legs are getting strong and so is her will.  

I came into the living room yesterday and she was standing, holding on to a tub of Christmas decorations-- overwhelmed with jubilation and pride-- grinning, laughing, able to see tall and high across the room-- her mind dancing around, soaking in the new perspective; her strong stout little core straight as a post.  

Later in the day, I went to put her down for a nap, and peaked into the room 5 minutes later, only to find her like this: 

That strong little body is now going to enable her protest of sleep.  The mind and body of a soon to be toddler-- I'm not sure I'm prepared quite yet to take this on.  

Then there is my 5 year old who has become completely enamored in all things ballet over the last couple of years.  It's the music, and the stories, melded tightly with the the flounce and strength of the dance itself. 

I've always enjoyed ballet, but I've never truly understood its full appeal until recently.  It's one of those mind-body marriages; storytelling and physical movement; costume, color, twirls, and music.  

We watched V in her rehearsal yesterday for her mid-year show.  In a modest room in the community center, with a mop and broom in the corner, these spunky little dancers brought sparks and life to the rainy evening.     

There's no real ending to this post.  I just wanted to take a moment and reflect on the past day's happenings.  So much growth is happening around us as this year comes to an end, and I feel lucky to witness it every day in these two little elves of mine.  

8 Months

I think if I looked hard enough behind the slats on Eloise's crib, somewhere etched in baby scritch-scratch on the wall, I would find a list of activities this small child has mapped out for herself and one by one marked off over this past month.  

The list would look like this: 

Sit up. 

learn to crawl.

eat an entire banana in one sitting.

grow two front teeth. 

tackle cat. 

attack curtains

pull up on coffee table

etc.... 

 

Because it feels like the past few weeks have been time lapsed-- every day she gets out of bed ready to take on the world a little more with fierce determination.  

Earlier this month she learned to maneuver herself from back to front to sitting up-- often times she'll wake herself up, her little body has propped itself upright in the middle of the night, and she's sitting there holding a bunny, half asleep, wondering what happened.  But we come in, and she's laughing, pleased as pie, as only Eloise can be.  

Thanksgiving came, and she took it upon herself to learn how to crawl.  

First slowly, now full speed-- like a field mouse.  

She's made her way to all things not baby proof-- we have crates and boxes set up as blockades to contain this little whirligig, and our drapes are tied up in knots because she's learned how to pull up and swing a bit on them.  

Oh dear, Eloise.  You make your mother worry.  

Violet has a nativity scene set up, and this morning I came in the living room only to find Eloise sucking on one of the kings.  She had pulled herself up to the coffee table and grabbed the poor fellow; he never knew what hit him.  

8 months, and every day is an adventure with this little joyous creature.  Sleep is still on and off; there's too much happening to ever settle into a schedule with this one.  

One thing is for certain-- this Christmas will be extra Merry and Bright, because our Eloise is here in all of her exuberance.  

      

PNB Nutcracker

To the dancers, the musicians, the directors, the stage crew, and everyone involved in the PNB Nutcracker--  I know that it can't be easy spending so much of the holiday season on stage.  I know that many of you dancers are far from your families, and that there are probably moments when the loneliness, the injuries, the exhaustion of putting on a perfect show-- as much as you are living your dream-- might not always seem so glamorous.
So I just wanted to write and say thank you. I want you to know how special you have made this season for so many of us.


Here is something I will remember for as long as I live:

My 5-year old daughter sitting next to me in the balcony in the grand McCaw Hall.  She's in her bright red dress, covered in chiffon roses, and she's reading the program cover to cover.  

We are there to see the Nutcracker.  She has never seen it; but she's all grown up and 5 now.  She's ready.  She knows all the music from her tiny-tots ballet class at the YMCA.  She is completely present.  We don't go to many shows, and this was a Christmas splurge for us.  We feel like royalty waiting for the theater to darken.  

I want to save this memory somewhere safe.  The way she whispered to me throughout the entire thing, narrating the story, humming along, eyes wide wide wide open.



How is it that it took me nearly 33 years to really understand the story of the Nutcracker, but this tiny child completely gets every detail?
She is sitting there explaining it all to me--  See mama?  Clara is dreaming and sees the story of Pirlipat in her dream.  Then at the party Herr Drosselmeyer recreates the dream with the three dancers, and Clara is scared, so Drosselmeyer gives her the nutcracker doll.  Fritz was so naughty!  I'm glad the parents are sending him to bed   etc etc etc.... 
Clara's killed the rat king with her shoe!!  She's dreaming again and she's going off with the Nutcracker who's a prince and she's all grown up and off they go to a far away land!  Oh my gosh!  It's the Peacock!!  It's the flowers!  And it's the Pas De Deux!.... etc etc etc.... 

It was a completely magical show.  Bravo, to each and every one of you-- Bravo and Thank You!  It's a beautiful thing to inspire and excite a child.  My daughter will carry this day of music and magic with her always.  

7 Months

Happy 7 months, sweet bear. 

You spend your days laughing and wiggling around the floor, trying to eat your big sister's toes as she reads you books.  

This world is a little less sullen now that you are here with us.  Smiling, squishy, babbling at me from across the room, don't take yourself too seriously, mom.   

Our nights are getting better, although I still see you every morning at 1am.  I come in and there you are bunny-eyed awake and laughing when you see me.  

You are sunshine and lemonade and raspberry tarts.  You are cheesy christmas jingles and big red balloons.  You are everything happy and good.  

You are 7 months today, and we feast on mashed potatoes in celebration.

1 Month

7 Months

Adventures with Solid Foods

I had forgotten how fun it is to have a baby who is just starting to explore the world of solid foods.  Eloise has been exploring this exciting new gastronomic world for over a month now, and it's been such a jolly adventure.  (I realize I use the word "jolly" quite often in relation to this tiny person; it's who she is, in and out--  there is no better word to describe my Eloise and her little doings).
This may sound strange, but I find that there is something extremely satisfying about making baby food.  I genuinely enjoy picking out the best organic fruits and veggies I can find, cooking them up, freezing them in little ice-cube trays and then eventually watching my little one taste, often for the first time ever, the purity of a sweet potato or plum.  It's also an endlessly entertaining show to see the expressions she makes as her whole being reacts to a spoon of tart yogurt, or the soft pleasant sweetness of a banana.
Anyway, here's what we've tried so far:

The top of our list: 
Pears-- absolute favorite
Sweet Potatoes-- mix 'em with rice cereal and she's in heaven
Squash-- yum yum-- but looks the same going out as it does going in.
Banana-- yes please!
carrots-- certainly!  but this is another one that looks just the same going in as coming out.

Second tier foods: 
Peas (and pea soup)-- some days we're into it, some days....not so much.
chicken-- pulverized and mixed with boob milk-- not bad.

No thanks:  
avocado-- this is one that Violet loved.  Eloise, not so much.  Her first rebellion?  Possibly!

I was talking with our pediatrician a little while back about starting solid foods.  She mentioned that it's a good idea to expose babies to as many flavors and textures as possible before 9 months because at that age they begin to get a little more discriminating with their tastes.  I had never heard that before, but thinking back to our days with baby Violet, it makes sense.   We started Violet on solids super early because she wasn't gaining any weight.  By the time she was 9 months, I was just blending up whatever we had for dinner and spooning it into her mouth.  She has always been a great eater-- loves to try new foods and will eat almost anything-- possibly this is because we exposed her to so many different foods so early on..?  I don't know.   But anyway... I've been trying a few new "exciting" foods with Eloise this week.  Greek yogurt mixed with various fruits seems to be a winner.  Quinoa is exciting because she can pick it up and play with it.  The texture is different and sometimes surprising.  And cheerios, always always always fun.

I've also started adding a little more flavor into her foods here and there.  Pea soup with thyme, butternut squash blended with chicken broth and olives.  Today: carrots with cardamon and ginger.

I'd be curious to know what other parents have tried with their babies as first foods.  It's quite a ride!

And a video:  Quinoa, for the first time:

   

Rainy Day Songs

Rain, rain, rainy-rain-rain.  Rainy.
What's your favorite rainy day song?
Violet and I were talking about our favorites this morning.  Here are our top three:

First, my all time favorite: Early Morning Rain, sung by Eva Cassidy.

And we can't leave out this one!

But for some reason this is the one that seems to stick in my head every time we have a rainy day:

 

National Cat Day!

I just sat down at my computer to drink my mid-morning tea out of my commemorative Moon cat mug that Tyler made for me a few years ago (just an average morning here), and whaddya know, the first news item that popped up on my screen was that it's National Cat Day today.

There's been so much horrible news lately, and often I am consumed by it; I am filled with worry and anxiety nearly every morning when I drop my daughter off at kindergarden, and it keeps me up at night.   

Last night, as I lay awake staring at all of my worries dancing around the dark room, out of the blue there came these strange noises from the basement.  I swore someone was breaking into our home.  So, naturally, all lights on, planning my exit strategy with the girls, and Tyler bravely up to investigate ---  

Nope.  Not a burglar.  Not a creeper.  Not an axe murderer.  

Just our tiny lady cat, Pigeon.  

She was pulling out the drain in the basement sink.....of course!  (What else would a cat be doing at 3am??)  I told myself she probably was going after a giant spider, and forgave her-- because really there's not much else you can do. 

So, cats.  Why do we love and keep them?  I always joke that living with our two cats is a little like living with two squirrels.  They are everywhere, and get into everything.  They climb stuff they shouldn't.  They ate/tore a hole in one of our doors when they were kittens.  They steal food-- recently Pigeon stole a block of cheese off the coffee table during a dinner party--  they jingle around the house and climb our curtains.  

But we love them anyway.  

Tyler and I were recently talking about why we feel it's important to have animals in our home.  Like music, like art, having an animal in your house fills the unseen spaces with this energy that extends beyond what we could do alone as humans.  We see our children relate to these creatures-- they learn how to care for something in a gentle way-- they learn hands on (quite literally), how to build a trust between another creature through their actions.  It's been a good thing.  

So, anyway, on National Cat Day, I would like to share some of my favorite photos with you of past and present cat-kid fun.
Enjoy!

Violet and Moon

Violet and Moon

Violet and Moon

Violet and Chowder

Violet and Chowder

Violet and Chowder

Violet, Taco, Pigeon

Taco and friends 

Rachel, Violet, Pigeon

Taco and Eloise

Pigeon, Taco, and Violet

 And one more oldie but goodie....

Happy National Cat Day, everyone!!