So tired.

 

I am worn out.  I am both emotionally and mentally drained.   I need a day to totally unplug and unwind and totally check out.   Instead, I sit here in front of the TV with my laptop on my lap in my PJ’s feeling guilty I’m not outside.   On a similar note, I am also feeling guilty that I am not working out while I sit here waiting for my latest ice cream concoction (peanut butter s’more) to warm up enough for me to eat.  Whatever. 

Tessie has been the master of “don’t mind me I’ll keep myself busy” today.   And I swear that I will never (NEVER EVER EVER) get sick of the sweet smile on her face as she waves at me from inside her crib before her nap.  

I will probably shower before going to Emily’s for dinner.   I will hopefully remember to pack a cup and bib for Tessie before we leave.  In the mean time, I am going to watch TV and eat ice cream and throw in the towel on being productive today.  Tomorrow…  may be another story.

Some Things about Tessie

 

Today is the most beautiful day ever.   The temperature is perfect, the sun is shining, it isn’t too hot or humid or anything.   I love it.    Sadly, Steve had to work all day on a job site  (don’t ask) so he isn’t enjoying it.    And if he isn’t enjoying it then Tessie and I don’t really enjoy it much either.   She and I have, however, had a lovely day.  

During the last week she has become smarter.   Or maybe she is just stronger in her ability to communicate.  Who knows, maybe she has just finally started connecting the dots..   ha ha, I’m kidding.   We are just in that magical time together when she is slowly slowly demonstrating to us what she knows and we love it.  

We can ask her things  “where is your baby?”  or “where is your belly?”  and she instantly goes in search of them.   I told her when she was done with her milk she could put it on the counter instead of throwing it on the floor.   She tried, but she was too short to actually reach  (my fault).   She will sign please and thank you and night night to me on command. 

She chatters non stop.  Seriously.  Non stop.   I am not sure if she can actually say 100 words or 10 words because amidst all that chatter I am starting to hear things.    She is obsessed with the book Brown Bear Brown Bear  (what do you see?)  and 1/2 the time will point correctly to the animal you ask her about.    She put her finger to her lips and shushed me this morning.   Not sure where she picked that up, but it was amusing to see.   She continues to clink glasses with us in a toast every single time we sit down together at the table.

For some reason she is waking up during the night wanting to nurse again.  Just once.  It’s inconsistent.  Sometimes at 11:30pm, sometimes at 5:30 am, sometimes any time in the middle.   When I go to her it isn’t the sleepy slow motion sign she gives me, it is hard and deliberate and a bit forceful.  Like she is SERIOUSLY hungry and not in the mood to play games.     We don’t really nurse much at all anymore.  I just take her lead and go with the flow.  Yesterday she abandoned me in favor of her water glass.    Someday soon she’ll decide she’s done; probably.

Aside from the night time waking, she remains a great sleeper.  Still a morning and afternoon nap and lately one of those naps has been in the 2 1/2 hour – 3 hour range.  Fantastic for me when she is home because I can get lots of work done in that chunk of time.   When I ask her if she is ready she giggles a bit  (and then lately puts her  hand on her cheek to sign for nap).   She isn’t doing the 30 second fuss any more and this afternoon she smiled and waved at me as I walked out of her room.    I will never forget the day my niece Mikayla did that to me 11 years ago; and now my sweet girl just did the same thing.

When we are cooking she wants to be in on the action.  She wants to watch.   Steve puts her up on the counter with him.   It’s possible that is how an egg landed on the floor this morning.   There is only so much I can do with her on my hip so today I pulled up a chair and told her not to fall off.   I like that she is curious and I am happy knowing that she will have memories of cooking together with both of her parents. 

 

 

 

 

 

Ciao!

It takes a village…

 

Well, I survived working the Anoka & Dakota County Fairs.   I always know what to expect, and I am always surprised at how incredibly hard it is to sit there and look approachable while being bored out of my mind for hours and hours a day.  The beginning of the week is easier, and by the end of the week I am exhausted.  I am just simply too much of an introvert to work that many hours in a row at an event like that.  This year it was just worse looking at all the adorable little girls while missing my baby girl. 

We only work the 2 fairs so we rely heavily on family to watch Tessie while we work.  Steve could totally watch her while I work the fair, obviously, but then he is not able to run appointments or visit installs or take care of any errands that need to be done.  So sometimes he ends up being here most of the day while we also have someone else here to watch Tessie.   At least then he gets to visit, right?

Should we do a recap of our last week?  Here goes. 

Saturday – Brady and Ben Birthday Pool party – we saw ALL of the Prindles, and Greg & Peg Palen.   

Sunday – my high school girlfriends came over for a good old fashioned catch up & giggle.

Monday – Great Grandma Lorraine and  Auntie Pat came over during the day while I was prepping for the fair, and then Grandma Katie came over at night while I was at the fair and Steve ran an appointment.

Tuesday – Grandma Jean and Grandpa John came over for the day. 

Wednesday – Daycare day so she could play with the kids at Stephanie's.  Then she and Daddy hung out all night – and shared a blizzard at DQ!

Thursday – She went to see Emily, Mikayla and Zach, and then spent the afternoon at the Fair with Bryan, Brady, Audrey and Dane.  After seeing the lumberjack demonstration she now makes the chainsaw noise pretty much all the time.  I showed here a YouTube Video of a guy cutting down a tree and she laughed her baby butt off.

Friday – She went to see Auntie Cecelia and I’m pretty sure she saw Great Grandpa Irv for a bit too. 

So today…   we needed to seriously chill.  Steve is out at the Fair and I got a whole long day at home with no agenda but to love up my baby and recharge.   We made tons of messes and we did lots of cleaning up.  Then we did some shopping and some playing at the park.  While she was napping I finished reading a book, and tonight I finally finished Steve’s Father’s Day Gift.   Better late than never, right?

Thank you so much to my village.   We absolutely couldn’t do this without you.   As hard as it is to be away from Tessie for so long it is so very nice to have that time with her in the morning to tell her about what to expect for the day.   I love that concentration she has while looking at me when I give her the plan.   I love it even more when she perks up and grins when she hears a name she likes or points to Stephanie’s house when that is the plan.     I know that she has a blast with everyone.

Ciao!

Stacky Stacky Choo Choo

 

We bought her this rings stacker for Christmas.   For 6 months this toy has sat in the background waiting for its day.   That day has come.    It is like a switch flipped in her and she is now obsessed with stacking rings.    I just watched her take everything off so she could get them on in the right order.   

Now I’m not saying this is FOR SURE a fact, but it is possible that the appearance of these Thomas the Train Engine PJ’s  (from Brady, Jake, Dane and Ben) may have brought a special power with them.   The  special cousin stacking power.  

Dear Tessie,

Your Dad and I are completely obsessed with your awesome-ness.    Everyday we tell each other stories about just exactly how awesome you are.  Every night before bed we go into your room and stare at you.   Your Dad holds your hand or rubs your head and back sometimes.    If he hasn't seen you much that day he picks you up to snuggle.   Sometimes the light from the bathroom or our bedroom wakes you up.   We either drop to the floor to hide so you can't see us or your Dad holds a blanket in front of him so you don't notice.  We giggle every time.   Even though we are always a little bit sorry for disturbing you;  we need that last little "Tessie fix" before we go to sleep.   And you are such a good sleeper that you never stay awake for long.

Fourteen Months old already!!   Somehow you are more fun and more interesting with every passing day. Here is a list (you know how I am) describing your awesome-ness right now.

• You are incredibly expressive. 
• You babble non stop
• A few weeks back you said good bye to crawling and have been walking ever since.   
• You stay busy for SO LONG on your own loading and unloading things, carring stuff around, distributing it into different places, then going and retrieiving it all and putting it back.     The office isn't nearly the mess it used to be.  Everything is just moved.  constantly.
• The bottom step is your favorite.  It is just your size.
• When you see people you know you reward them with huge smiles and excitement.   Your Grandparents, Great Grandparents and Great Aunts especially love this.
• You eat everything.    You are not picky whatsoever.   Even those weird organic pouches with all the wacked out flavor combinations.. nothing phases you.   We had fajita spiced chicken meat the other day and you shoved it in your mouth like it was candy.  (It WAS good!).   You grabbed a peach the other day and devoured it.   I didn't get a chance to cut it even.   And when you got to the pit you pulled it out and thew it. You begged for broccoli and fresh tomato the other day.  Corn on the cob is becoming a fast favorite too and at the grocery store yesterday you were pointing at avocados.   
• When you are tired you sign "more" to me, while looking me square in the eye so I pay attention.   More than once I have asked you if you were ready for bed and you start walking to the stairs.   A few days ago you answered with "YES".    You literally dive in to your bed.  If you squawk at all it is for 15 seconds.  You are generally quiet by the time I get downstairs.    
• You love books.   You turn the pages and "read" them aloud to yourself.   You don't usually sit still long enough for me to read to you anymore though.
• We signed you up for swimming lessons so you would be comfortable in the water.   Last week at Angie's you wouldn't stop jumping off the side of the pool to me and you even went under a few times.    At Katie's cabin you want to be in the lake every second.   You take it beyond comfortable.  You are obsessed.
• You figured out how to snap your Duplos together.  You clap for yourself when you do it.  
• You say DADDY all the time.   You can say HOT and YES and I swear the other day you said DID IT.  
• 
  

So here is the thing.

I start writing blog posts but I don't publish them.   All the time.   I have a few minutes while making dinner or after I put Tessie to bed.   Then the phone rings or the day continues or I hit a wall, and the draft just sits there.

Then suddenly I feel like I'm behind and one of the million things I "need to get done" is getting this blog current.   So crazy.   It's crazy in the same category as "my DVR has 5 episodes of CSI left on it..  I better get that cleaned up."   Lucky for me, I can multi task.    In my PJ's while my angel baby sleeps.

Enjoy the old posts.   I may or may not get better at being current.  =)

Ciao!

Easy Peasy Smartie Pants.

My incredibly easy baby is actually getting easier.  Is that possible?
This weekend she started to sign “more” to me; which I love, obviously.   She doesn’t necessarily do it when she wants more of something, but she does it when she wants something.   And she is so sweet and deliberate with it that I melt every time.   I’ll ask if she wants to eat and she signs it.   I ask if she wants a bath and she signs it.    And yesterday she walked half way across the room to me and after our little mini celebration she signed it to me and I got out of the way so she could keep walking. 
She continues to sign “all done” to me – completely appropriately.   I love how it takes the guess work out of stuff.   Has she had enough to eat?  Yes.   Is she done playing in the office?  She is.  Was that long enough in the tub?  Oh..  yes .  She says it was.   But guess what?  She isn’t using the normal sign.  She made up her own.  My little process improver throws her hands in the air like she is on a roller coaster when she is done.  It’s clearer.  More obvious.   And she isn’t turning back. 
Her pointing is in overdrive but there is no question what she is interested in.   This includes the neighborhood.   She stands in the bay window on her tippy toes and points at everything that happens across the street.  And if you’ve ever heard me talk about the shenanigans at the house across the street you’d know that was a lot. 
Her one and only word continues to be HI.   For 3 solid months now we’ve been greeted and re-greeted and greeted again throughout every single day. She has a million variations of it.  Sometimes she barks it like a dog with a huge smile on her face  (HI HI HI HI HI HI).    I love it.  I hope it never ends.
Tonight during her bath I decided we should start grouping the foam animals by color.  I put up two green animals and asked her if there was another green one in the water.  She looked around and pulled the last green one out of the water.   Huh.  So I put up two red ones and asked her if she could find the other red one.  Again, she looked around and she offered the red one to me!!   I was so proud and so excited!   She didn’t do again to the other colors but I didn’t care  I was just so stinking impressed.  
I think its easy to forget that even though she is little she is insatiably curious and soaking in information at warp speed.   Ever since Mr Swanson asked Tessie where her shoes were that day and immediately pointed to them I have been trying to ask her more questions so she could demonstrate to me what she knows.  Its amazing to me how much babies learn in such a short period of time.  As a parent it would be so easy to brag about how smart she is.  I know she is smart and I am sure she is normal smart. I am not a parent who is going to brag about her being anything more special than every other child every born.  I am going to be openly crazy head over heels in love with the miracle that she is.    And I am quite certain that for the rest of her life I will be in awe of her.
Before I go….
When I left the living room she was channel surfing with the remote.  When I came back she was clapping.   She had landed on “so you think you can dance” and was amused.   Love.