Wishful Slacker

My Valentine

Didn't everyone snuggle with their cat while watching the Westminster dog show this Valentine's Day?

Nothing Gold Can Stay

It could be due to the effects of dreary winter, or perhaps a harkening back to our days reading The Outsiders in high school, but whatever the reason, this poem kept cycling through my mind in the shower this morning.

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leafs a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
~Robert Frost

 

Big girl

Ellie transitioned into the toddler room at her daycare this past week.  Next week, instead of walking through the building to the infant rooms all the way at the back, we will be dropping her off in the toddler room, right at the front.  I have so many mixed feelings about this.  She is certainly ready for the toddler room- the toys, the schedule, the fact that she no longer will be navigating her uncoordinated toddler physique around small infants cooing on the carpeted floor.  But the saddest part is the fact that her teachers, the lovely women whom we gave our child before we turned and walked away for the very first time, will no longer be her caregivers.  It is quite an adjustment for Jim and me!

These past 15 months, it has often been the unexpected that leaves me grappling with the emotions of a mother realizing that her child is growing up faster than a science experiment pea plant.  The first toddling steps were not what brought the lump to my throat, necessarily.  But that day when I went to pick Ellie up from daycare after a harried day at work, and she walked over to meet me at the door, arms outstretched, for the very first time?  Yeah, that did it.

On Thursday I emptied the basket of clothes from Ellie's infant room cubbie and when I got home that evening I spread the contents on the floor, deciding what to bring to the new toddler room the next day.  Something took me completely off guard then.  Next to the infant-size striped socks and baby legwarmers was a plastic pacifier cover.  Ellie was never really in to pacifiers, but I remember we brought one to daycare, one year ago, in hopes that it would calm her when they laid her swaddled body down to nap.  I remember bringing the pacifier home a few weeks later and assuming that we had lost the cap.  And suddenly there it was, a sucker punch instigated by a simple piece of plastic polymer on a blue living room rug.  The formal realization that my sweet little girl, the small being whose warm head I kissed as we rocked to sleep countless times in the odd hours of morning, was no longer a baby.

That's when I got the lump in my throat.

Chicago at nap time

This is the second Saturday in a row where we have driven around and around the city. Eleanor fell asleep on our way home from Kohls. We know she won't transfer up to her crib and, being the queen of the cat nap, that she won't fall asleep later either if she's allowed a 10 minute power snooze.

And so we drive. Around and around.

Daddy would likely not approve

A request

Hint hint!

In case the man in your life is still looking for your very romantic Valentine's Day gift. But be careful, a gift like this could easily lead to vampire babies, and I don't know if you're ready to take that step right now. Think long and hard.

Toddler Gear Guide- 15 months

Here is an update on the toys, books, etc, that strike Ellie's fancy, now that she is almost 15 months old:

1) Baby dolls
Jim and I got Ellie her first real dolly for Christmas.  There are many makers of baby dolls, and the brand that Jim and I were really looking at were those made by Corelle.  They have a plastic head and limbs with a cloth body, and come with different outfits.  The big problem is that they are PRICEY.  And the thing is, does our toddler really understand that she's been given an expensive dolly?  She's thrilled playing with cardboard shipping boxes, so there's our answer.  We got Ellie a $20 Madame Alexander plastic baby doll, and she is really starting to carry her around.  In addition, Ellie has started playing with her Baby Stella doll, which we received as a baby gift.  Baby Stella is an all-plush doll.  Ellie seems to really enjoy both- she picks one up, drops it, and then picks up the other one.  She likes getting Baby Stella's magnetic pacifier to stick to her mouth, and she slings both of them into her grocery cart and baby stroller.


This morning at our toddler class at Pied Piper Eleanor began to feed the baby dolls there with a plastic bottle.  She took it very seriously.  So, apparently we must now add "doll feeding accessories" to our list of future do-dads to acquire around here. 


2) Push carts
For Christmas Ellie received a little plastic shopping cart, which she really, really likes.  She places her bunny or one of her dolls in the front, and sometimes throws the others into the back.  Having a shopping cart at this age is great for her infatuation with constant movement.  At first, she kept leaning on her shopping cart as though it was a walker, and it would tip over and she would get frustrated.  She seems to now have gotten the knack of it.  There are many brands of shopping carts for kids. 


At a friend's house over Christmas break, Ellie had a great time playing with their doll stroller which my friend said she found at Target for about $10.  Sure enough, Target has these umbrella strollers (that actually fold up), and Ellie really loves hers.  I didn't know if there was a need for her to have both a stroller AND a shopping cart, but she really does seem to enjoy having both. 


3) Crayons.  Ellie is starting to enjoy coloring.  Jim got her a set of jumbo Crayola crayons for Christmas, and now we have one more thing to do on rainy days.  :-) 

4) Mega Bloks or other Lego/block sets
I got Ellie and Jim a killer set of Mega Bloks for Christmas.  I got a great deal- 100 pieces in a plastic tub from Walmart.com, for just $10!  It was right before Christmas, so I think I benefited from a good Christmas deal because I haven't seen them that inexpensive since.  Other Mega Bloks sets come in a zippered pouch, and I like the sturdy bin that came with our set.  The Mega Bloks are really easy for Ellie to snap together.  In the play area of a Barnes & Noble she was really enjoying playing with their Lego table.  My biggest issue with the blocks is that she always knocks down my amazing skyscrapers.  Sigh. 


Along the blocks theme, Ellie also received this train set for Christmas and really likes it. 

5) Corn Popper.  Yes, I am referencing that classic toy that we all enjoyed when we were kids.  We got one for Ellie for her birthday.  It took her a while to be able to push it forward properly without falling, but now that she is much sturdier on her feet it has become one of her favorites, especially when she needs to run off some steam. 

6) Laptop.  I still feel that I don't want all of the toys in our home to be electronic and an imagination-zapper.  But there are some battery-operated toys that Ellie just LOVES, and her little laptop is one of them.  We now bring it along for long car rides because it is great entertainment for her when she starts to buck in the backseat.  Hers is a little Vtech laptop, and there is a larger model at Pied Piper.  She loves that one too, and today almost launched into a full temper tantrum after another child TOUCHED it.  Yikes. 


7) Shape sorters.  My mom got us this one for Christmas.  I knew Eleanor would enjoy playing with it, but I was surprised to find after the holidays that it was probably her favorite new toy.  After she inserts the shape into the hippo's body, she pumps the plunger at the top and the shapes spin around inside and come spitting out the hippo's mouth.  She really likes that part. 

8) Maisy books.  Ellie likes all of her board books, but we have gotten several books about Maisy (who is a mouse, apparently, but I think she looks more like a rat.  Don't tell Ellie that).  They've got great illustrations and Jim and I like the stories.  Okay, maybe it's really Jim and me that love Maisy, and we are pushing that onto our child.  That may be more of the underlying picture here.  But, I have to say that if you tell Ellie to go get her Sweet Dreams, Maisy book, she goes and gets the correct one, which tells me that she must like it, right?  Oh, and we have gotten many of ours used (but in quite good condition) from Amazon.  We also like Moo, Baa, La La La by Sandra Boynton. Ellie is starting to say "BOW WOW WOW" in a deep and husky voice when we get to that page.  Cracks me up. 

So, yes, bottom line is that Eleanor received many toys for her birthday and the holidays, and I am pleased to say that we will be taking quite a toy-purchasing break for the time being.  In 2-3 years, when I need to buy another munchkin a gift and my memory is fried, I can look off of this list.  :-)

Oh, one more thing!  We have had some friends inquire about the little play area that we have in our living room.  It is the playzone sold from the One Step Ahead catalog, but we found ours used on Craigslist.  We have the basic set plus two extensions, and then we got the foam tiles to go inside. 

Why has he not clawed her eyes out? Seriously

Chaos

There were two adults, one carrying a large Amazon box, the other carrying work and diaper bags, a toddler who refused to be carried, and one cat who leapt into the hallway for some exercise.

That is how we started our evening- the entire family running up and down the hallway.