Playing Catch Up

There's been a lot going on in the past week and I haven't had a chance to sit down and write about any of it! Last Saturday my favorite family down in Corvallis (I watched all 3 of their children and continue to visit them frequently) invited my man and I down for a visit. We were excited because at our last get together we did an 'adults only' night out and it's been awhile since I've seen the kids. They have three kids: oldest is a 5-year old boy (M), then 2-year old girl (A) and finally the newest boy(L) is one. They are the most amazing kids and I've always had a most special relationship with the entire family. 

So we drove down Saturday evening and unfortunately A. wasn't feeling well and went straight to bed and L. being young still heads to bed early as well. So it was just M with Cole and I all to himself (and Max the dog). M. is at this age where he's really becoming a boy and is less interested in playing with any girls and will choose the dude if the choice is given. So needless to say he and Cole were like peas in a pod or something. :)

They spent the remainder of the evening building lego castles while Max and I hung out and watched. It was pretty adorable seeing them interact and for once getting to sit back and enjoy someone else playing. And at the end of the night, M. wanted Cole to put him to bed. It was heartbreaking for me but adorable that he loved Cole so much. 

Elizabeth and I had a pretty fun day today as Fridays are "Tiny Tots" group at the library. It's like a giant playgroup where we sing, read, play with toys and have a great time together. Elizabeth loves to go and although she is usually shy and just hangs out with me; today she was all over the place. She loves the teacher "Jane" and was making friends left and right leaving no time to hang out and sing songs with me! I think I was the one having a harder time with the separation than she.

Here are a few pictures of her fun......

Want to play ball with me?

Making new friends

Peek-a-boo! Can you see me?

Girl's Gotta have her Shoes

Another day, another adventure. Today we traveled to the mall. This isn't typically somewhere that we would go except that Elizabeth's mom had bought her these great new jelly sandals from GAPkids and I decided we should get another pair as I can see they are going to be used a lot! PLUS, they were on sale! So we packed up around 9:45am and headed to the mall with snacks and the stroller and had a great time. We found the shoes.....

....and I found some things at Bath and Body to buy with this giftcard I've had in my wallet for far too long. It was a good trip for us. Plus it's always fun to do something outside of the house and we got back just in time for nap so I'm hoping she'll sleep well today. Didn't sleep great yesterday as she woke up after only about an hour (unusual for the girl who sleeps about 2 hours) and although visibly tired; wouldn't go back to sleep. I guess it just happens sometimes. Although if it were me, I'd have slept the whole day. But unfortunately in life we only get naps at the beginning and end of things. The part in the middle where we work till we want to die is when we never have time to rest. Oh well. 

I thought I'd share a few more pictures today of Elizabeth that her grandma sent me and I just love. 

Didn't I tell you that she loves DORA? In fact while we were at GAP today she was reading a Dora book in her stroller and loving life. "Do-da" is her way of saying Dora and it's adorable. She used to say "Ra-ra" which for the longest time I always thought was me (Ta-ra..... unfortunately just like Do-ra) Oh well. ;)

And here's one last one of the little angel girl. I just love her. 

 AND who couldn't love those curls with those big eyes!

Clouds, Toes and Kisses

Today has been so fun despite the fact that I have been so tired and not sleeping nearly enough lately. Elizabeth has been in such a good mood and she is really figuring out so much around her that mostly its fun to just watch her play. It was another horrendously cloudy morning here in Portland and so I really wasn't feeling the desire to walk around in the cold air and so we hung out at the house and played together. 

She's such a funny little roo now that she's learning things about the world and also learning what's right and what's wrong. Like on the couch today she thought it was hilarious to stand up and would giggle whenever I sat her back down and said, "Bum-Bum's down on the couch". But maybe she really just thought the word "bum-bum" was the funny part. ;)

She also can climb the stairs to her room all by herself now so we did that and then decided to play in there for awhile because since the weather's been good we haven't really done anything up there for awhile. It was fun listening to one of her old "Music Together" class CD's and singing all the familiar songs together. She got really tired while playing in there today and eventually just asked to be on my lap and we sat together and read stories (Goodnight Moon being one of the favorites) and she gave me lots of hugs and kisses. I love when she's sweet like that and just wants to snuggle. And I taught her how to do eskimo kisses with her nose and she loved it! 

Today was also the first time she got terribly upset when mommy had to leave for work. Usually she says bye-bye and continues playing but all morning she wanted mommy and was so upset when she had to go. I was expecting we would get to this stage eventually and luckily I am used to dealing with it. Distraction always works best and we had the tears gone in about 2 mins with that method. :)

Another really funny part of today..........Toes! Elizabeth loves her toes, my toes.... songs about toes. We have one that we sing at the "Tiny Tots" group at the library that goes:

"Everybody knows, I love my toes

Everybody knows, I love my toes

I love my eyes, my ears, my elbows and my nose

But everybody knows, I love my TOES!" 

She loves when I sing this and today we sang it a lot. And she loves to play with my toes because I always have them painted and she's fascinated by it. In her room she would take the pillow and cover my toes and then reveal them in a "Ta-Da!" fashion and just thought it was hilarious! But the funniest part was when she leaned down and gave my toes a kiss! She just cracks me up. 

It's been a good day but I am definitely thankful to be going home later and taking a very long nap (just like Elizabeth is doing now). It's a hard life having fun. ;)

Fun times in the fountain

Elizabeth and I decided to embrace the 80 degree heat at 9am and go down to the AMAZING fountain in NW Portland. If you live in the area and haven't been there.....GO! It's on NW 11th (you'll see it) and parking is even easy. It's a nice area, totally safe to leave your stuff in the grass and it's the best fountain for kids of all ages that I've ever been to. I wish I had taken pictures of Elizabeth but watching her was my main priority (obviously) and cameras and water don't mix well anyway. But she was so cute in her swimsuit and slathered on sunscreen and little pink shoes. Here's a picture of the fountain from the parks website though so at least you can get an idea....

She's quite the daredevil too. The water gets deeper as you go toward the middle but nothing deeper than bellybutton height. It's so great because it's treated water so you get that pool feeling afterward but know that it's clean. And it's a lot of fun whether you are an adult or child. AND, Elizabeth took ten or MORE steps while in the water....without any help! It was the most I'd ever seen her do and she looked like any other walking kid. It was awesome! Wish I had a picture of that! 

Anyways.... if you are looking for something to do as it climbs closer to 100 degrees today.... take a wander down to any of Portland's great fountains.

If you're happy and you know it.....

Kids are really sensitive to other people's moods. This is also why they can easily tell whether or not they can trust/like someone just by being near them in a room. They can read your emotions better than you can yourself sometimes and know whether you are feeling happy, sad, sick, angry, tired, etc. They then in turn will respond to your emotion with emotion of their own that usually corresponds. Sometimes it is great when you are sick because they shower you with love and concern. But on days when you are feeling tired or grumpy, it can mean that a once happier kid is now acting tired and grumpy as well. 

Fortunately today I was in a great mood and Elizabeth responded accordingly; even though for the past couple weeks she's been whiny and frustrated at being on the brink of both full mobility and communication. Today we were giggly and goofy and even though it's the hottest day so far this year; I feel like we've had the most fun. 

It's funny this sixth sense kids have about people because we don't always carry it on through adulthood. It's also the most important reason why you can't force a relationship with a child because if they don't feel comfortable with you, they certainly aren't going to with you trying terribly to "make them like you". 

I learned from worked in the childcare atmosphere that with kids, new ones especially, you must interact with them in a delicate way and try as much as possibly to let them come to you. Play with toys in the area or other children and be aware of your emotions. You may not think you are putting forth your tired, exhausted attitude with the smile you've pasted on your face but children can tell how you're feeling inside; looking straight through your facade. 

Oh, and try to never argue in front of kids. Or even somewhere they can still hear you. Knowing that adults aren't perfect and never is life is important, but save that lesson for a smaller argument like who makes better dinner. Kids don't need to know at age 3 that mommy and daddy are struggling financially or having trouble in the bedroom. 

Keep your kids emotional perceptions in mind when you are having a hard day and try to see the world through their eyes...... eyes where you are their best friend/playmate and bubbles are the most spectacular thing they've ever imagined!

Rainy First of July

Of course on the first day in July (in Oregon) it would be raining. But no worries because Elizabeth and I were still able to get out this morning before the wetness hit. We took our normal loop around the main stretch of road.....stopping for coffee (tall soy cinnamon dolche latte) for me because I SO needed it today, and then a stop at Freddie's for puffs (for Libby). 

Next we circled the neighborhood stopping by the school to see if the chickens were out. The amazing school right down the street from where Elizabeth's family lives has the best set-up I've ever seen in a school. They have each of the classes plant their own gardens with a theme so the school has giant raspberry bushes, tall corn stalks, veggies, numerous flowers, etc as well as CHICKENS! The chickens have a beautiful caged area but are also able to roam around the perimeter of the school throughout the day and amazingly they stay in their "yard". Elizabeth really loves to check them out although part of me is sure she enjoys this stop just because I take her out of the stroller to really check them out and she likes the escape. :)

I do have a lesson about coffee and strollers.....they don't mix. Every slight bump I hit the coffee would spew out all over me; even though the cup was safely in the holder! Lesson learned and can't believe this was the first time I've experienced that. 

Nap time was long today, which is always good and I was able to get a lot done. I cooked tortellini for our lunch, did the dishes, and cleaned up the house. I also updated her nanny notes and even texted my mom. ;)

It's really important to go the extra mile when I nanny because I feel like it's the difference between mom and dad being really happy and being stressed. And they really appreciate the extra touches and usually help you out when you need it in return. 

Oh and "nanny notes" are something I do but not everyone will. I literally keep a small journal notebook and hour-by-hour, day-by-day, I write down things we do, experiences we have, what she eats, when I change her diaper (whether it was wet or poopy), and anything I want to communicate with her parents. It's the best way for them to know how the day was and to look back later and see all the things she's been through and accomplished. It's that extra step. 

I'm home now and exhausted. I cleaned my own place and have a 14-hour day ahead of me tomorrow. That's for real, 14 hours of work, not including wake up/travel/or even breaks. Bummer, but it's worth it because the 4th is ALL MINE! 

I'll leave tonight with this:

This is the precious girl when I first started with her at 4 months old. 

And this:

Is the goofball now.......She's so funny. ;) At 15 months.