Friday, June 20, 2008

at the pool

Here are a couple of videos from the pool the other day. I am so proud of our little swimmer!



Thursday, June 19, 2008

First day at her new school

This has been a big week. Today is Roan's first day at her new daycare. Deep down I'm excited for her. It's a wonderful place, with exposure to art, music, an educational curriculum, and 9 other kiddos her age. I know it's going to be really good for her.

I just didn't expect today to be so hard on me! I guess I haven't had to experience the trauma of leaving her with new, different care providers for a long long time... about a year in fact. It's not so much that I worry they won't care for her well. They are amazing. It's a nagging pain in my heart that the next few days there might be a difficult transition for her. I just hate to think of her being scared or confused. And I hate being without her all day. It's so nice when she's upstairs with our nanny and I can hear her tromping around or giggling or even crying on a rough day. Even though I'm not in the room with her, I feel like I know how her day is going.

Gosh, I don't know why I'm being such a big baby. At this very moment I'm logged into the daycare's web site where they have streaming video. I can watch what Roan is doing, whether inside or outside the center, at any time. About half an hour ago she was having a rough spell. It was snack time, and instead of sitting at the table with all the other kiddos she was wandering around with her paci and blankie crying. *heart breaking* But I just peeked back in, and she's sitting on one of the caregiver's laps holding a pair of maracas, shaking them enthusiastically while the other kids in the circle around her are singing. *awww*

I strongly believe that one of the best gifts we can give our kids is the gift of independence. The privilege of experiencing the world around them on their own, the ability to make their own decisions, their own mistakes, and to experience and learn from the consequences. I see today, however, with crystal clarity that I may find it hard at times to walk that walk. An ounce of pain for her I experience tenfold. But I guess no one said it would be easy!

Friday, June 13, 2008

So much to catch up on

I haven't written lately because we've been too busy having lots of summer fun. (And working in the backyard... it's still mostly dirt back there though!)

Last weekend was her friend Scarlett's first birthday. Here they are together. Notice how Roan is intently eyeing Scarlett's cheese stick, shrewdly waiting for her opportunity to strike.

Roan is saying all sorts of new words. Every time I turn around she's got a new one. Last night it was "ca-coo" for cucumber. And tonight, giraffe (or "raff" as she calls it). I've noticed that unlike most of her peers who seem to start saying new words by pronouncing the first syllable or first few letters, Roan most often starts at the back end of the word. Yogurt is still "gurt". Milk was "ilk" for the longest time until she recently added the "m". It makes it tricky for words that share the last few letters like stuck, duck, and quack, or cup and up. But it's so darn cute.

In addition to linguistic development, she is also progressing socially. When I picked her up at Mommy's Day Out on Monday I learned she has a friend who is a boy whom she appears rather taken with. I am not, however, calling him a boyfriend. I mean come on, they're ONE. Her teacher said she was saying "Brice Brice Brice" all day long. And when you ask her about this dubious Brice character she gets a big smile on her face and acts all shy. Watch out Daddy, she's getting an early start!

This week Roan had her last nanny share playdate with her best buddy Audrey. Next week they're starting up at a new daycare but on different days, so they might not see each other for a while. It makes me a little sad because she adores Audrey. After they've had a play day together all I hear is "Aw-dee, Aw-dee" all night long. They played outside with the water table today and Lindsay got some great photos; I'll post them soon.

On a personal note, we are starting a running program. A group of people in the 'hood (not necessarily mommies) call themselves the West Side Runners. West Siiiiiide. Oh yeah. Anyway they meet up once a week for a 3 mile run (I once ran 3 miles at one time. ONCE.) at a local restaurant, followed by cocktails and half priced appetizers. They call it reverse carbo loading. Anyway, it must have sounded like fun for me to break my "I don't run" mantra. I often say I'd rather walk 2000 miles than run 26. But with the limited time I have, there's no denying that running is the shortest path to getting and staying in shape. So of course we had to get a jogging stroller. I hate the fact that I now have TWO strollers. Ugh. But what can ya do? At least I was able to pick it up used on Craigslist for chump change - those things can be pricey!

What else... .oh yeah! Roan is fast becoming quite the swimmer. The outdoor pool at the park down the street from us opened for the summer and we've been making the most of it. Roan has a little swimsuit that has an innertube around the middle. At first she seemed to think it was a new torture device, but after just 3 or 4 trips to the pool she is a real pro! She *loves* the pool. We canNOT say the "p" word unless we are just steps away from the pool or else there's hell to pay! Yesterday they were closed unexpectedly, and I didn't know that till we got there and let me tell ya it wasn't pretty!

Considering she's only been swimming a handful of times in her life I could not believe what all she was doing tonight. She would actually kick her feet and try to paddle around in the water by herself, climb up the stairs and jump in, pull herself along the pool's edge with her hands, and beg to be put up on the side of the pool so she could jump in. It was amazing! And the whole time she just had the biggest grin on her face; she was so proud of herself.

Tomorrow Arwen, Jen & I are going to a class on composting. We're hoping to get some more work done in the yard this weekend. This past week we built two new huge planters for vegetables out of broken up recycled concrete. They came out quite lovely in my opinion. Next it's plants, then more irrigation, and then mulch!! I can't wait till the last of the dirt is gone. Which reminds me... that's the other thing we've gotta do: get rid of the 6-7 yards of dirt piled up in the back. Oy vey.

Oh and of course Sunday is Father's Day. Let me wish a preemptive Happy Dad's Day to all the dads out there. Roan has a card and a couple little gifty things for Arwen, and I have a couple of suprises up my sleeve for him.

Well that's about it for now. Big hugs to all our loved ones out there...

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Last weekend

Our first camping trip with Roan and the Little Guy last weekend was good overall, although it was not without a few hiccups. We had some trouble finding a campsite (we didn't have a reservation) and got into camp much later than we expected after traveling long distances down some rough roads.

Just as we were congratulating ourselves on not having to set up a tent, we discovered that our 2 1/2 gallon water jug opened up inside the Little Guy and got all of our bedding wet. We found ourselves towling up water at 9:00 at night in the dark with Roan still not in bed.

But finally Roan went down like a champ and gave us a chance to enjoy some time by the campfire. She loves the Little Guy. I was skeptical that we would be able to sleep all together as a family in there, because co-sleeping has never worked out with her. But she slept soundly through the night, even with Sasha curled up with us. I wish I could say the same for us, but I'll take a night of solid sleep for Roan over us any day.

The next day she was in heaven out there in the woods. She wandered all over our campsite, picking up rocks, sticks and pinecones, placing them in her bucket and carrying her "treasures" to and fro. She toddled over to the campsite next door and introduced herself to the four other kids staying there. She discovered the fun of swinging in the hammock.

She also had fun at the lake with the dogs. And later on Aunt Jen (now sometimes referred to as "fee-fuh") and Uncle Micah took her on a walk to see a waterfall (she fell asleep in the backpack before they got there). She also got her first taste of roasted marshmallow, not to mention a campfire breakfast and hamburgers and hotdogs. I have never seen her so dirty, or so happy. I don't think she cried once all day except when I had the gall to try and make her take a nap.

You can see the rest of the camping photos here.

As if that wasn't enough fun for one weekend, on Sunday we went to a neighborhood picnic organized by the "Highlands Mommies," the mom's group I belong to. They had hamburgers, hot dogs and veggie burgers for everyone; neighbors brought every kind of side dish you can think of; there was a dessert contest, a raffle with excellent prizes (we didn't win any) and wine and beer. Not to mention a lot of our friends from the neighborhood. Roan had a great time playing on the playground with the other kids, hanging out with her little buddies and poaching food off of our plates. After all that excitement, she slept in the next two days and took extra long naps.

Here she is all cuddled up with her Daddy on Monday morning. Normally she's all chipper first thing in the morning, ready to get after it. Not that day.

I told her that's ok; lots of people feel the same way about Mondays.

I can't wait...

to post the pics and videos from this past weekend's camping trip. Suffice to say, Roan was a very happy camper! The apple doesn't fall from the tree where love of nature is concerned. Hopefully I'll get the pics up tonight.