after two years here at the daily bebe, i've decided to move to a new blogging space. please join me at l plus j, where i hope to be blogging about our family life for years to come!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
dear bebe,
tomorrow we will celebrate your second birthday. how has it already been 365 days since i marveled at the fact that you were turning one? in those days you have learned so much, grown so much, blossomed into truly the most delightful person i have ever known.
you had the basics down at your last birthday: you were walking, and saying a few words, and moving through your world with purpose as you sought out toys and activities that interested you. but oh my, look at you now! you run, march, slither like a snake, swing like a monkey, spin in circles, and jump up and down. you are speaking in full sentences and are able to communicate your needs, desires and feelings to a degree that astounds me. (just last night when you and i were at the playground, you asked me if daddy was coming too. i told you i didn't know, and asked if you'd like him to. "that would make bebe so happy," you replied.) and your play has recently reached a whole new level, as you talk to and for your dolls and cars, and pretend all kinds of things -- you put emma in your doll stroller and take her for a ride on the orange train to go see the ducks, you put your dollhouse family on their potty to go pee and poop, you put gas in blue car at your car garage. you have also recently become interested in story books, and we spend lots of time snuggled up together on the couch while you choose one book after another. your current favorites include spoon, where the wild things are, and in the night kitchen.
you continue to be a very easy-going kid. you are more likely than not to listen to me when i ask you to do (or to stop doing) something, which i try to model for you by agreeing to your requests when they're reasonable. since you're a toddler, they sometimes unfortunately are not -- like when you would prefer to walk to mems and teed's house rather than ride in the car -- and at those times what works best for you is to be given some time and space to feel sad/mad/frustrated, after which you'll usually ask for a snuggle or for "mommy holdu!"
after a long period of shyness and clinginess in new situations or around unfamiliar (or kind of familiar) people, you have very recently become much more independent and comfortable in all kinds of environments and around all kinds of people. you'd still prefer it if people you don't know well would stay out of your personal space and refrain from touching you (and honestly, kid, i can't blame you there), but as long as your boundaries are respected you will engage with whatever is going on around you happily and with great interest.
one of the most fun parts of this past year, for me, has been watching you develop your own relationships with others. you now remember your grandparents and aunts and uncles between visits and are comfortable with them almost immediately. you have a whole crew of playground and playgroup friends -- alma and jakob, aya, riley, ben, oz, vienna, ila, ivan, zaylie -- who you talk about regularly and get excited to see when we're out and about. you continue to love to spend time with euan and ari (and now baby wren, too!). your visits with nora jane, both here and in california, have been really fun and have kept that friendship alive for you -- this morning, you told me you were flying like a bird and when i asked what kind of bird, you answered, "a nora jane bird!"
the four days per week that you and morrie have spent together every week since november have given you two the space to forge what is, by all appearances, a fairly unique relationship for toddlers. you play together -- not parallel play, but true together play, including your own silly nonsense words that make the two of you laugh and laugh, elaborate projects that involve moving all of morrie's toys from one room to another, and crib jumping routines that include the side-to-side twizzle, the flamingo, and the switcheroo. you hold hands, hug and kiss, and offer comfort when the other is sad.
and your relationship with your daddy has blossomed as nursing has become less and less a part of our relationship and as the two of you have spent more time together when i've been working. when you're with your daddy, you love to ride skateboards, read books, go for walks, take the train downtown, play with cars, build with blocks, and talk about star wars. you now frequently request daddy rather than mommy for many things, a welcome sign that the dynamic of our family is becoming more balanced.
i would have thought that i'd feel more emotional and sad at the prospect of you turning two, but the thing is, you just keep getting more and more fun, so i find myself looking forward rather than looking back. the next year is sure to be full of new kinds of fun, new challenges, and new opportunities for us all to grow and change. i can't wait to spend it with you.
love,
mommy
you had the basics down at your last birthday: you were walking, and saying a few words, and moving through your world with purpose as you sought out toys and activities that interested you. but oh my, look at you now! you run, march, slither like a snake, swing like a monkey, spin in circles, and jump up and down. you are speaking in full sentences and are able to communicate your needs, desires and feelings to a degree that astounds me. (just last night when you and i were at the playground, you asked me if daddy was coming too. i told you i didn't know, and asked if you'd like him to. "that would make bebe so happy," you replied.) and your play has recently reached a whole new level, as you talk to and for your dolls and cars, and pretend all kinds of things -- you put emma in your doll stroller and take her for a ride on the orange train to go see the ducks, you put your dollhouse family on their potty to go pee and poop, you put gas in blue car at your car garage. you have also recently become interested in story books, and we spend lots of time snuggled up together on the couch while you choose one book after another. your current favorites include spoon, where the wild things are, and in the night kitchen.
you continue to be a very easy-going kid. you are more likely than not to listen to me when i ask you to do (or to stop doing) something, which i try to model for you by agreeing to your requests when they're reasonable. since you're a toddler, they sometimes unfortunately are not -- like when you would prefer to walk to mems and teed's house rather than ride in the car -- and at those times what works best for you is to be given some time and space to feel sad/mad/frustrated, after which you'll usually ask for a snuggle or for "mommy holdu!"
after a long period of shyness and clinginess in new situations or around unfamiliar (or kind of familiar) people, you have very recently become much more independent and comfortable in all kinds of environments and around all kinds of people. you'd still prefer it if people you don't know well would stay out of your personal space and refrain from touching you (and honestly, kid, i can't blame you there), but as long as your boundaries are respected you will engage with whatever is going on around you happily and with great interest.
one of the most fun parts of this past year, for me, has been watching you develop your own relationships with others. you now remember your grandparents and aunts and uncles between visits and are comfortable with them almost immediately. you have a whole crew of playground and playgroup friends -- alma and jakob, aya, riley, ben, oz, vienna, ila, ivan, zaylie -- who you talk about regularly and get excited to see when we're out and about. you continue to love to spend time with euan and ari (and now baby wren, too!). your visits with nora jane, both here and in california, have been really fun and have kept that friendship alive for you -- this morning, you told me you were flying like a bird and when i asked what kind of bird, you answered, "a nora jane bird!"
the four days per week that you and morrie have spent together every week since november have given you two the space to forge what is, by all appearances, a fairly unique relationship for toddlers. you play together -- not parallel play, but true together play, including your own silly nonsense words that make the two of you laugh and laugh, elaborate projects that involve moving all of morrie's toys from one room to another, and crib jumping routines that include the side-to-side twizzle, the flamingo, and the switcheroo. you hold hands, hug and kiss, and offer comfort when the other is sad.
and your relationship with your daddy has blossomed as nursing has become less and less a part of our relationship and as the two of you have spent more time together when i've been working. when you're with your daddy, you love to ride skateboards, read books, go for walks, take the train downtown, play with cars, build with blocks, and talk about star wars. you now frequently request daddy rather than mommy for many things, a welcome sign that the dynamic of our family is becoming more balanced.
i would have thought that i'd feel more emotional and sad at the prospect of you turning two, but the thing is, you just keep getting more and more fun, so i find myself looking forward rather than looking back. the next year is sure to be full of new kinds of fun, new challenges, and new opportunities for us all to grow and change. i can't wait to spend it with you.
love,
mommy
_
Monday, July 12, 2010
birthday weekend
this past weekend, we went back out to mems and teed's house. the purpose of our visit was two-fold: to attend lucy's show, which we do every year, and to celebrate bebe's birthday (which, of course, we also now do every year!).
before i get to the show and the party, however, i need to tell you about the rain. on saturday morning, it poured. poured. the forecast i had checked the day before was completely inaccurate (thanks a lot, accuweather -- might want to think about changing your name), so we were totally unprepared. bebe kept standing at the door asking to go outside, and josh and i kept telling her she couldn't go outside because it was raining. finally it dawned on us, duh, why not? why can't she go outside in the rain?
and so she did.
before i get to the show and the party, however, i need to tell you about the rain. on saturday morning, it poured. poured. the forecast i had checked the day before was completely inaccurate (thanks a lot, accuweather -- might want to think about changing your name), so we were totally unprepared. bebe kept standing at the door asking to go outside, and josh and i kept telling her she couldn't go outside because it was raining. finally it dawned on us, duh, why not? why can't she go outside in the rain?
and so she did.
the show.
rare family picture, courtesy of aunt marge.
the side pigtails have taken bebe to a whole new level of cute.
she was very excited to see her friends vito, harry and john again. she spent a lot of time watching them.
and chasing them.
harry
vito
john
bebe wore a dress that lucy gave her right after she was born, when she came to meet her in the hospital. i couldn't stop taking pictures of her.the party.
pool party! woo hoo!
i loved seeing so many of my favorite people all gathered together to celebrate bebe. mems, teed, aunt marge, omi ingie, papi don, alec and rachel and harry and john, lucy and vito, my friend jessie and her husband liam. the only one missing was uncle ben, who's in california visiting his family.
waiting for cake.
(like the white dress, this bathing suit was also given to bebe when she was born -- by omi ingie.)
she had been singing "happy birthday to bebe" for days, and talking excitedly about her party, so i was a little surprised that she got very shy when everyone sang to her. she hid one eye with one hand and refused to blow her candles out. luckily, harry helped.
she wasn't shy when it came to eating, though.
bebe got some great gifts -- books and cool alphabet flashcards -- from our guests. after they dispersed (some to give a talk at a local library on 10 years of painting in italy, others to watch the world cup final), she got some more from aunt marge and uncle ben, and mems and teed.
this year, she's actually old enough to open the gifts herself!
her favorite gift from aunt marge and uncle ben was some awesome matchbox cars and trucks (including a helicopter, cement mixer and crane truck!).
and mems and teed gave her a dollhouse, which she was instantly taken with. i had no idea that she would be so ready for it -- i thought this was a gift that she'd grow into. but as soon as we got home and set it up, i walked past her and saw her putting the entire family into the bed, pulling the covers up over them and saying, "now, everybody is taking a nice cozy nap." then she made them each pee on the potty in turn. last night, as she was walking to her bedroom to get into bed, she stopped by the dollhouse and called, "good night, doll house!"
after another fun weekend at mems and teed's, she was so tuckered out she fell asleep on the way home, right in the middle of a snack. she was actually still chewing a pretzel when her eyes closed!_
Saturday, July 10, 2010
fourth of july weekend, part two
on the actual fourth, in the evening, we took bebe to her first baseball game. the pittsfield colonials kicked the state of new jersey's ass, 17-4, in the charmingly cozy confines of waconah park.
bebe had a great time. her favorite activity, which i unfortunately didn't get a picture of, was high-fiving captain colonial, the colonials' mascot, a man with a baseball for a head dressed in a colonial soldier's uniform. where on earth my stranger-shy child got up the courage to high five him not once, but twice, i'll never know. she was thrilled and spent the entire night looking for him in the stands.
bebe had a great time. her favorite activity, which i unfortunately didn't get a picture of, was high-fiving captain colonial, the colonials' mascot, a man with a baseball for a head dressed in a colonial soldier's uniform. where on earth my stranger-shy child got up the courage to high five him not once, but twice, i'll never know. she was thrilled and spent the entire night looking for him in the stands.
she also tried on mommy's sunglasses
and daddy's hat.
and spent some time being the cutest kid ever.there was a big fireworks display after the game, but due to the insane run-scoring of the colonials, the game didn't end until looooong past bebe's bedtime, so i took her home before it was over. luckily lots of folks in the vicinity of the ballpark were setting off their own fireworks during the game, which we were able to see through the trees, so she didn't leave disappointed.
the next morning was pittsfield's annual fourth of july parade. i haven't been to this parade in years, though it used to be an annual event for my whole family. it is very, very long, and after a while all the marching bands and big balloons and fire trucks kind of start to look the same, which is why i first stopped going. then, the jingoistic patriotism that took hold during george w. bush's presidency, wherein the display of the stars and stripes was taken as an automatic show of support for his ill-conceived war-mongering, turned me off to the whole holiday even more. however, the sacrifices of motherhood, blah blah blah. i knew bebe would love it and i wanted to see her face when she saw the fire trucks.
first, we had breakfast with some dear family friends -- strawberry shortcake, blueberry muffins, john philip sousa marches, and a dramatic reading of the declaration of independence have started off every fourth of july for almost as long as i can remember. (even when i skipped the parade, i always went to the sawyers' breakfast.) then we all walked the half-mile or so into the center of town.
we got to see some of the cool old fire trucks, lined up and ready to join the parade, as we walked.
and there were lots more to come!
it was HOT -- we were sitting directly in the sun the entire time. bebe, like everyone else, was absolutely dripping with sweat, and after 90 minutes or so i convinced her to go home with me. that heat was a bit too much for a toddler and a pregnant mama! but all in all, it was a blast. i just may be coming around on the fourth of july, now that i get to see it through the eyes of my kid.
_
fourth of july weekend, part one
as usual, we headed out to mems and teed's house for the fourth of july weekend. we had a lot of fun stuff planned, including an evening with some of our very dearest friends. i'm sure i've written about them before, but the brief explanation of our relationship is that ingrid and don have been my parents' closest friends for as long as i can remember. in fact, they met when my mother was eight months pregnant with me, so i have indeed known them my entire life. their son alec is one of my closest friends, and their daughter lucy is one of aunt marge's closest friends. our two families spent countless evenings together while we were growing up, having long dinners full of interesting conversation, culminating in some cutthroat games of pictionary. alec and his wife rachel now live in the DC area and have two sons, harry (five) and john (two and a half). (they weren't in town over the fourth, but we got to see them the following weekend). lucy has lived in italy for the past ten years. she is a painter and she has one son, vito, who is four.
so much for a brief explanation. anyways, on saturday night, we headed over to ingrid and don's house (bebe calls them "omi ingie" and "papi don") to visit with them and with lucy and vito. watching my daughter and lucy's son play together in the yard where alec, lucy, maggie and i played so often as children was unexpectedly moving.
bebe has recently reached the stage where she is very interested in older kids, and she was fascinated by vito.
so much for a brief explanation. anyways, on saturday night, we headed over to ingrid and don's house (bebe calls them "omi ingie" and "papi don") to visit with them and with lucy and vito. watching my daughter and lucy's son play together in the yard where alec, lucy, maggie and i played so often as children was unexpectedly moving.
bebe has recently reached the stage where she is very interested in older kids, and she was fascinated by vito.
lucy, aunt marge, uncle ben, looking on.
it's a big yard. bebe got right to work.
with some basketball breaks, of course.
battle helmets!
after a while, bebe and vito got down on the ground and started rolling around.
they somehow convinced the grandfathers to join them.
later in the evening, vito gave bebe a hard hat just like the one he was wearing. (josh totally blocked my shot here, but vito actually put it right on her head.)
she couldn't have been more excited.
_
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