Another 'Tidbits' Post

It feels like all of my posts have been in Weekly Wrap-Up format lately. I haven't had any great stories to tell, but there are still things that I want to document. I've also noticed that yet another week has gone by without regular posts. I just haven't had the energy. I feel more like myself today, so maybe things are on an up-swing :-)

In Lily Ruth news, she now says 'baf' for bath and 'ICE, ICE, ICE' in reference to anything frozen. She references frozen foods MANY times each day. She loves all forms of frozen treats. I've taken to freezing her organic baby-sized yogurts so that she'll eat them more often. So far, she's just as excited about that as ice cream or juice popsicles. She is also obsessed with carrying things in containers. She has the felt purses that I made for her and two Halloween buckets with handles. She fills them all up with various items, stacks the containers, and attempts to carry them all (at the same time) to a new location. Then she unloads them all, sorts through the items, reloads them and starts off for greener pastures.

In Halloween news, I've decided against making an elaborate costume. Lily's too young to remember this year, and it's really hard to make a 16-month-old wear something that she doesn't want to. I'll save my energy and effort for next year. I had already made yet another dress up skirt. Here it is - modeled by her giraffe (since she was at Mother's Day Out when I wanted to take pics):

It's 3 layers. Aqua trimmed in orange balls, black trimmed in candy corn ribbon and orange tulle trimmed with black ric-rac. Add the a cute onesie I found on sale at baby gap:

and that's what she's going to wear. Not a costume, but a festive outfit. She'll have darling pigtails (since she refuses to wear hats), and if it's cool enough, coordinating leg warmers (of course). We're debating the purchase of baby-sized Chuck Taylors to finish it off. My only reservation there is the rigid sole. Lily Ruth has only worn soft-soled shoes. Her balance isn't awesome, and her pediatrician agrees that she's better off barefoot or in soft shoes until she's sturdy... I would LOVE to see her tiny feet in shoes that match mine, though :-P

In crummy news, Frank is still missing. I don't think he's going to make it back. My heart is broken. Also, Bing is still not 100% better. This only fuels my suspicion that they got into something poisonous :-(

In family news, we drove to Houston so that Lily Ruth could meet her Great Aunt Sharon and Great Uncle John who were visiting from Hawai'i. Lily Ruth wore her Hawai'ian dress in honor of the occasion:

She also ate red frosting in honor of Uncle Brad's birthday:

and did some hot tubbing:

I love that picture. It looks a bit 'art-y', but in reality, Daddy was shooting blind since it was pitch black out there. He would just point the camera in her general direction and hope for the best. I deleted a lot of pictures of my knee and the top of her head. We had a good time with our family. Lily especially approves of Tutu and Pops' new dachshund puppy. Pele is Lily Ruth-sized and completely lovable. They got along like a house afire. Soooooooo cute!

That's enough for now. Maybe later I'll post about my new favorite recipe and Lily Ruth's kicking skills. That kid has some mad skills, yo.

Snippets From Our Recent Life

I don't know if I've mentioned this yet, but Lily Ruth is taking swimming lessons! Well, a her age they are more like survival lessons. A good friend found an instructor that will take babies this young, and even enjoys them at this age ;-) The lessons are at her home in a saline pool. It has been a really neat experience. The class was originally six babies ranging from 8 months to 16 months. Three of the babies had been through a class before and were there to continue their progress.

The first day was full of screaming - from almost all of the new babies. I say almost all, because while Lily Ruth and her pal Sidney cried a LOT (in Sid's case, continually), Henry took to the lessons like a fish (or, as his mama says, a SHARK). The second day had less crying (from Lily - Sidd-o was still ticked), but Lily was not yet convinced about the whole process. There is an exercise that requires the baby to sit on the edge of the pool and wait until you count to three to fall into the pool and 'swim' to you. I would say 'One', and Lily would clap hesitantly - hoping that I was leading up to something fun. I would say 'Two', and she would sign 'all done/finished'. I'd say 'Three!' and a resigned look would settle onto her face as she took in a breath and plunged. It was adorable, funny and a little bit heart breaking.

Each day has been consistently better and by Friday, Lily Ruth and I were playing and laughing through our time in the pool.

We have a whole week left, and I'm really looking forward to it. I hope that Lily Ruth is, too!


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My friend June has a great bracelet with her son's name spelled out. She's been wanting one with her daughter's name as well. I decided to make one for her, and one for me. I really like the way that they turned out.


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Lily Ruth has become obsessed with putting the tops back onto anything that has been opened and fitting things into other things - like her bottle into my shoe...





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Lily Ruth also spends a lot of her time talking softly (and occasionally loudly) to the animals. Even Frank has softened toward her. In retrospect, I should have known that he was ill when I took these because he was holding so still for her... don't worry, he's fine. Just ANOTHER abscessed bite wound. No more sleeping outside for either boy cat.



Lily had a supermodel moment while we were taking these :-) She was moving so fast that the wind blew her hair back


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This weekend, Lily Ruth and I were both congested. This meant that I got almost no sleep, and she got very interrupted sleep as her usual 'half-wake to nurse back to sleep' routine was broken by the need to suction out her tiny nose.

At one point, I had almost drifted back to sleep when she turned toward me and (still asleep) whispered "Mama... Mama... Mama...' in the saddest, most plaintive tone that anyone has ever used. That was it. I was awake.

In my quest to keep her breathing as even as possible, I kept propping her up on my shoulder or my pillows. We spent a good portion of the night cheek to cheek. My exhausted brain burped this out:

breathing face to face
baby lashes on my cheek
fingers drum my lips

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We go to Starbucks a LOT. Lily feels very comfortable there. She even likes to show off for her 'friends' there - like 'talking on the phone', 'drinking mama's coffee', and my favorite - wearing her sunglasses!

Back Seat Business

This morning was a bit busy. Because darling Lily Ruth is not an early riser, Daddy got up super-duper early and dropped the Monkey Dog off at the vet for her shots. We went to pick her up at a more civilized hour. It also happened to be a good day for Crazy Frank's monthly steroid injection, so we dragged him along with us.

I had intended for Frank to stay in the front seat with me on the ride home, but he had other ideas. The back seat ended up being Lily Ruth's idea of heaven - a pet on either side. Too cute to keep to myself:




It was great. We pulled into the driveway. I let Keely & Frank out, unlocked the front door, and they both sauntered in without prompting. I felt like I had won a contest, and my prize was perfect behavior from my pets. What was in those shots, anyway?

A Lady, A Baby, A Frank and Some Rosemary

Yesterday, I found myself in a position that (let's not kid ourselves) I often encounter... I had forgotten something at the store that was fairly integral to my dinner plan. Now, since that item was just Rosemary for the steak marinade, I probably could have modified my 'plan' and gone without it. Well my friends, that's not how I played it. It was a lovely afternoon, and I know for a fact that a house just a little more than a block away has a HUGE Rosemary bed. I decided that Lily Ruth and I could go herb-begging.

I scooped up the baby girl, and started down the block. I was sincerely hopeful that there would be Rosemary available in a yard closer than that, but I was prepared to go all the way if needed. Now, as I mentioned, it was a lovely day, so the Boy Cats were already outside. Bing was keeping the pool area Ginger Cat-Free, and Frank was watching doves and mocking birds from the front yard (also known as 'Home of the Dandelions - Sorry They Are Spreading To Your Yard'). Now, one of my favorite things about Frank is how he earned the nickname Crazy Frank. Quite simply, he runs around like his butt is on fire in order to garner attention. It's especially hilarious when he does this outside, because he can run even farther even faster and can climb random trees for emphasis. When I noticed that he was out front when we started out, I was secretly wishing that he would break into his Crazy Frank routine, but I also thought it would be fun if he wanted to come with us.

Since he had been dozing while watching birds, Frank was not in a Crazy Frank mode, but he was interested in coming with us, so off we went. I was talking to Frank and Lily Ruth about where we were headed and why. Both seemed supremely uninterested, yet I pressed onward, carefully scrutinizing each yard for Rosemary. Frank reached the edge of his comfort zone after three houses, and decided to wait for us in that driveway. Lily Ruth and I trudged on. A few houses from the corner, I spied some! There were no cars in the driveway or on the street in front of the house, so I was tempted to grab and run, but then I got paranoid. What if a neighbor saw me. Lily and I walk the neighborhood all of the time. We were bound to be fairly recognizable, and nobody wants to earn the moniker 'The Stealer', so we went to the door to ask nicely.

It was immediately apparent that someone was home from the thumping noises coming from inside. I knock, and the door is opened by a woman of around my own age. She was slightly surprised by my presence, and a bit frazzled-looking, but quick to politely respond 'please, help yourself' to my request for Rosemary. She seemed to be in a hurry to end our encounter. I was disappointed, because I had decided instantly upon seeing her that I would introduce myself and attempt to make a new friend (I've been doing this a LOT lately... stay at home motherhood can be a bit isolating...). Before she could close the door, the reason for her haste reviled itself as a nude toddler slid into view a la Risky Business - followed quickly by an equally nude younger child. I was stunned into amused silence. Seeming to mistake my mirth for silent judgement, the lady of the house firmly closed the door - leaving my as yet unspoken hope for friendship on the outside.

Lily Ruth and I pinched a few stalks of Rosemary and made our way home - picking up Frank as we passed. He was more interested in moseying than hurrying, and chose to roll on cement, poke into crevices and slink along the curb. Lily was enthralled. She seemed to have already forgotten that he had accompanied us on the first part of our journey, and watching him in a setting outside of our home was the coolest thing that had happened to her all day. Taking a cue from Frank, we ambled slowly home, enjoying our way. He returned the favor of our company by throwing a Crazy Frank fit that covered 3 yards, two trees and a fence - it was awe inspiring, and well worth the wait.

Well, we didn't make a new friend, but we DID get the herb we needed, a small amount of exercise, a good amount of fresh air, a visual comedy memory to cherish (it's not every day that naked kids come sliding unexpectedly into view), and a truly note-worthy Crazy Frank fit from a cat who almost died earlier this month. Not bad for a quiet Friday afternoon.

a couple of things... take 2

While nothing worthy of it's own post has happened, a few small things could be lumped together to give you this...

1 - My Mama took me up to Boerne this past weekend to spend my birthday money! I stepped out of town, away from the chain stores (I'm looking at YOU, Old Navy), and just far enough out of my comfort zone to make it completely worthwhile. No more boring t-shirts here! If you make it to Boerne, stop by Ella Blue :-)



2 - I don't think I've introduced you to Frank. He's my middle child - I mean pet. He's my renegade, my rouge, and my snuggle bunny. Frank joined our family when my first cat died, and Bing was left lonely. He's a shelter kitty. Don picked him out. In the way of all great cats, he's an unpredictable goofball. Last night, I went into the bedroom to change into pajama pants. I opened my CLOSED sliding closet doors to drop my jeans into my hamper, and found this:



He's hysterical :-) I'm just glad that he's moved inside for the winter and rejoined the family. He moved into the yard last spring while I was pregnant, and acted like we were just food dispensers. My assumption is that he was displaced for a baby at some point in his life before us, and this time he wanted to pre-empt our impending rejection of him by leaving first. It hurt my feelings, but he would not be dissuaded. Well, now that it's cold, he has agreed that our love (and central heat) is better than sleeping in the bushes and battling creepy ginger cats all night.

3 -Lily Ruth is obsessed with the dog's dishes. I know that she is not unique in this, but that knowledge does not make it any less annoying and hilarious in turns...



4 - Lily Ruth ALMOST has enough hair for clips! It currently takes me approximately 90 years to get a clip into her bangs, and it stays in place for less than 5 minutes, but DANG is it cute while it's there!



5 - This will not make any friends for me among those forced to drive on the freeway today, but I thought our tiny sleet was BEAUTIFUL. Miniscule, perfectly round, individual drops of ice. Since this so very rarely happens here, I was able to be full of joy and wonder instead of angst and stress. It was fun. Lily Ruth and I watched it go from sprinkling rain to larger drops mixed with tiny 'splats' of slush to giant drops of slush to teeny-tiny ice balls



to more rain to dry, fluffy fat, huge flakes - before you start to worry, I took that picture at a stop light, NOT while I was in motion! Now it's cold and gray, but precipitation-free. Such a strange weather pattern. Oh well, it's South Texas - the one thing I can count on is that tomorrow will almost certainly be completely different... and I ain't just talkin' about the weather :-)